Persona |K Th

<15>

Taehyung

Peyton noona has been quiet and distant this morning. When I got here, she handed me her keys and told me to put my bag in her car. She's just sitting here, slumped in her seat, flat, not starting the car. I'm low key panicking. Maybe she's regretting taking me to meet her parents. "Is something wrong?"

She looks at me with sad eyes and sighs. "I'm out of creamer and they made me watch movies till 3am. We have to go by Brew Ha Ha on our way out."

Relief floods through me as I realize she just wants caffeine. A bark of pure joy escapes me.

"Don't laugh at me." She's pouting and squinting and I think how comforting it would be to see that every morning of my life.

"It's because you're so adorable." I tossle her hair and tuck a strand behind her ear. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I am beyond whipped for this girl, and I really want her to like me back. I wish my inner critic would shut the fuck up. I've avoided relationships up till now, but I can't fight the pull I feel for Peyton. But I'm still worried that my family baggage will ruin what we have.

"We need some tunes in here, Tae baby."

My dick twitches when she calls me that. She put me in charge of music so I've been randomly clicking around her playlists on songs I've never heard, which is the majority of them. I need something familiar. Finally, I see one from way back. It's Justin Bieber's Baby.

Peyton whoops and then starts singing, "Oh oh oh oh oh oh woah."
Her eyes light up and her coffee cup is her microphone. And I realize Peyton can't carry a tune. She is so fucking cute. I have to nod along as she belts it out.

"So... Bieber?"

She straightens up with her nose in the air. "First generation Belieber. Mimi took me and Cassie to our first concert. We all had matching Bieber T-shirts, purple chokers, and sparkly pink lip gloss. Oh God. And feathers in our hair. Those dangly ones that you'd weave into your hair."

"How old?"

"12"

I bet she was hot, even back then. "My first concert was PSY. Gangnam Style!" I sing it and do a bit of the dance in tiny. "Jimin and I begged for days. They made two of the bodyguards take us." I laughed, remembering how uptight and disgusted they were. "It was a smart idea. We were so small, we would have been crushed by the crowd.But the energy was ... man ... amazing. That's when I decided I wanted to be an idol." Why did I say that? I want to hide now, but there's nowhere to go.

"Like a rockstar? You'd be so cute. No, wait! Hot! You'd be... both. You'd have the deadly hot/cute combination." She sighs and bats her eyes imitating a fangirl. "So what happened? You can't sing?"

"No, I sing just fine. My mother was supportive, but my father flatly refused. He didn't think it was dignified." I give the words some air quotes.

"It's never too late. If you want to be a pop star, I'll cheer you on." She punctuates her promise with a dramatic head nod.

"I'm fine where I am. You know idols can't date, and I'm not willing to give you up just yet."

"Yet?!" She arches an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I giggle. "We'll see."

"When we stop for gas, Mr. Sassy Pants may not get any snacks from me." She cuts her eyes at me.

I need snacks, so I hit her with some of my best aegyo. Her fierceness crumbles in mere seconds.

Peyton

My family has stolen Tae. I haven't seen him since we got here. We were getting out of the car when my grandmother swooped in and snatched him, to help her gather flowers from the yard for a bouquet. She told me to go help Mom finish brunch. After that, my dad took him to the museum for a private tour. He's the curator there. Dad's buzzing about the new exhibit of the ancient mound builders, Native Americans that lived here 1000 years ago. Tae looked convincingly excited.

I'm being forced to play bridge, as Mimi's partner, against Mom and Dad, while Taehyung plays basketball with my brother. I miss Tae and my brain hurts. Uno would be so much easier.

I am so relieved they like Tae. It makes me trust my judgment on his character. They never liked Bo. I like everybody - until they hurt me. Mimi said because I look at the world through rose colored glasses, the red flags just look like flags.

My brother has also reserved my boyfriend for a Fortnite battle after dinner. A rendezvous after bedtime is impossible. The creaky floorboards in this old house would rat us out. I'm ready to leave so I can have some Tae time. Did I just call him my boyfriend?

                         Taehyung

I'm getting drowsy. The morning sun filtering through the windshield is warming my face. I was peppy earlier, after Peyton and I took a walk around her block to see the other historic homes. That took care of the cover story to my father that I was going out of town to view antebellum Greek Revival architecture. "I need more coffee."

She looks amused. "Did you not sleep well last night?"

"It was great. Your brother's top bunk was great. The cat that used me as a pillow - great. Your brother's hamster, and his squeaky little hamster wheel- all ... really ... great."

"Just say it. You're never coming back to my house, are you?" She's laughing.

"Not true. Your family is amazing." She doesn't know how lucky she is. That house overflows with warmth. Her parents insisted I call them Bret and Dawn. Mimi hugged me good-bye like I was her own grandson.

"We'll stop in 15 to get you coffee. Let's keep playing. What's next?"

I'm reading these questions off my phone. "Favorite ice cream? Mine's strawberry."

"Birthday cake. Or... Cherries Garcia."

"That's two, but I'll let it slide. Ok. First crush? Oh, wow." I think for a second. "Jimin's sister had this friend I was in love with. I was probably 6 or 7. She would give me piggyback rides and tie my shoes for me. I've always had a thing for older women." I wiggle my eyebrows at her.

A smile tugs at her mouth as she rolls her eyes. "I was in kindergarten. He drew a horse and colored it lavender. So at recess, I asked him to play jump rope. The little twit kicked me in the stomach. He went from artistic  genius to  colorblind delinquent just like that." She snaps her fingers. "I used to have bad taste in men. But... I am older and wiser now." She smiles at me and winks, and I can feel the heat spread across my cheeks and ears. And in my stomach, spreading south.

"I know you're a good guy. But also, my family thinks you're wonderful."

"So you're sure they like me?" I wondered if maybe her family was friendly to everyone.

"Are you serious? They love you. You can take me to Japan. My family LOVES you."

My heart speeds up at the thought of traveling with Peyton, maybe even sharing a hotel room with her. "Ready to book our flight?"

"Yes!" She squeezes her eyes and squeals. "We are going to have so ... much ... fun!"