WISHING FOR AUTUMN | kth

01 | FIRST STAR

THE SKY WAS slowly darkening, dark blue hues bleeding into swirls of pink and gold like rays of sunlight getting lost at the bottom of the blue sea. taehyung leaned back, palms pressing into the slightly damp grass.

the hint of a smile found its way to his face at the sight of jeon jeongguk piggybacking his girlfriend with ease before running down the rolling hills with her. summer isaac's squeals of excitement could still be heard as they went down at a speed that ordinarily would have had taehyung on edge, if it weren't for the fact that he knew his friend's abilities.

"what's on your mind?" a familiar voice drifted into his ears. he looked up to find autumn grinning at him in that angelic manner of hers as she settled down next to him. it was the fraction of a second, but taehyung was certain his heart ceased to beat in that moment.

eyes fixated on her, he took in her every move. the scent of sweet oud filled his nostrils, accompanied by hints of cinnamon and vanilla that clung to her – most likely from the scented candles that adorned her home.

she turned her head to him, brows raised, making him realise he was practically gawking. "oh, you're here." he snapped out of his daze, sending her a smile. she returned the gesture, features softening and pearly whites peeking out between glossed lips. "mhm, got here with hobi." she glanced away from him. he followed her gaze to see jung hoseok running up to lie next to min yoongi who had a hand over his eyes as he lay in the green grass.

"oh," taehyung's features scrunched in a soft smile at the scene. but his eyes travelled back to the girl next to him. the cool breeze rustled through her full, jet black hair, sending tight corkscrew curls in a frenzied dance of euphoria.

autumn looked away from the scene she was watching to glance at him, lips pursed in question. "what? you seem really lost in your thoughts." she assumed the same posture as him, head tilting as she took him in. feeling somewhat self-conscious, his gaze shot down, noting the distance between their hands pressed down on the grass.

the short, thin, green blades were tangled between their fingers, lightly tickling their skin. if he just slid his hand across by a whisker, his fingers would graze hers in a featherlight touch. the temptation to lace his fingers through hers only grew.

ignoring the thought, he lifted his head, a playful grin plastered on wide rosy lips. "do i?" he chirped. plump lips pursing in a reluctant smile, she scrunched her nose at him. "yes, you do. so are you gonna tell me?" she looked at him seriously. "well," he pressed his lips together, smacking them loudly. "i was just thinking it's going to be a nice night and the stars will probably be bright from here."

both their eyes travelled upwards. by now, the dark indigo had nearly swallowed the softer hues of daylight whole, the sun now lost to another side of the world.

"you're right." autumn's voice was soft, reaching him in a whisper. he glanced at her, finding a smile on her face, her eyes admiring the sea of dark blue above them. slowly picking up the camera that lay next to him, he snuck a picture of her. she turned to him, eyes narrowing in suspicion. "what did you just do?"

"nothing." his deep voice squeaked towards the end, unexpectedly betraying him. "hm," she hummed. one hand moving from behind her to rest between them, she leaned in closer to him. he leaned back in reaction, big eyes rounding in surprise. "w-what are you doing?" the question sputtered out of his mouth, eyes blinking incessantly.

she reached around him, her eyes holding his captive. every muscle in taehyung's body had gone rigid. but his heart was doing twice its work, frantically pumping, he felt it was seconds away from escaping the clutches of his ribcage. her scent overwhelmed him, wrapping around him like a warm blanket.

suddenly she was moving back, a smug smile tugging at her lips. "let's see." she raised her hand, revealing that she'd taken his camera without him realising. he remained rooted to the spot, eyes never leaving her face, heart still racing faster than a wild cheetah.

"wow, this is amazing." her lips pursed in a tiny pout, head bobbing in a nod of approval. "i look so good even in the bad lighting. i will never not be awed by your talent." she looked up from the camera, gaze meeting his.

he wanted to tell her that it had nothing to do with talent. that it was simply because she oozed so much light and warmth from within that everything around her seemed to get brighter just by her mere presence. especially him. but he couldn't. instead, he offered her a shy smile. because saying that would probably be crossing the line of friendship.

"it's the first star!" kim namjoon's excited voice carried through the air as he ran up the small hill, jimin hot on his trail. "ah, is that why you're yelling in the middle of the night?!" kim seokjin responded from the place where he was admiring a small cluster of autumn flowers. "you're doing the exact same thing." yoongi pointed out, his eyes fluttering open.

autumn and taehyung tilted their heads back at the same time, eyes taking in the luminous and momentarily solitary star sparkling like a diamond only a hand's width away from the moon.

"everyone, make a wish!" summer called out, showing as much enthusiasm as namjoon. "yes! i wish—" hoseok's words were cut off by jimin's yelling. "you're not supposed to say it out loud, hyung!"

autumn let out a small laugh, drawing taehyung's attention to her once more. from the corner of his eyes, he took her in again like it was his first time. there was a smile on her face and her eyes seemed to glitter like stars in the night sky. yet it was all he could see. that sadness that sometimes trickled out of her.

pressing his lips in a line, taehyung looked back up at the solitarily visible star. shutting his eyes, he took in a deep breath and made a silent wish. one that he terribly longed for. if, perchance, stars truly granted wishes, he just hoped they would listen to his.

"what did you wish for?" autumn's curious voice drew him out of his thoughts. eyes fluttering open, he sent a cheeky grin her way. "i can't tell you that." he pouted, letting the words out playfully. "hm, let me guess. your own studio? to travel the world and take pictures? become a tree in your next life? go back in time and photograph basquiat and be painted by van gogh?" she leaned closer, wiggling her trimmed brows.

"i'm not telling." he responded. "i was close, right?" she looked at him with big expectant eyes. taehyung couldn't help but laugh, not because her guesses were so strange, but because they couldn't be farther off from the truth. he hadn't made a wish for himself, he'd made one for her.

that autumn could find her happiness again.