Marco Polo (Taehyun x Reader)

C

  The first clue that I missed was that cute little habit. It wasn't as cute as I thought it was, but I wasn't one to pick up on things like that. I thought it was an innocent gesture of a cute girl. It was the opposite. It was the nervous gesture of a scared girl.

  The second clue that I should've noticed was her smile. Now that I look back on it, often, it wasn't genuine. I always say 'Now that I look back on it.' This has made me realize so many things that I should've noticed, but didn't. Funny how that works out, right? You only notice the things when they're too late.

  We went hiking together once. It was a twisty trail and, of course, I got lost. I didn't know where she was. I was scared and alone. My heart began to pound. I waited a minute or two to see if she would yell out for me, but she never did, so I took matter into my own hands.

  "Marco!" I yelled out, staying in my spot. I looked around and I couldn't distinguish which way I came from. I was terrified. The path was empty other than me, and it wasn't comforting at all. I didn't know if there were bears or deer or any other animal that could've potentially harmed me. When she didn't answer, I got more desperate. "Marco?!" I yelled louder.

  "Polo!" I heard from farther away. It was her voice. It was shaky and out of breath, I could hear it.

  "Marco!" I called again eagerly.

"Polo!" I heard her shout. She was getting closer and the closer she got, the more my anxiety just melted away.

When she found me, she wrapped her arms around me tightly. I could tell that me getting lost had scared her beyond belief. It scared me too.

"I'm sorry! I should've kept an eye on you or leant you my arm, or anything! I'm sorry you got lost!" She cried into my shoulder.

Yet another sign that I missed. I just thought nothing of it.

"It's okay. It wasn't your fault. I just got turned around and went down the wrong path, but it's okay, because I'm here and I'm okay," I assured her, trying to calm her down.

After that experience, we got closer. But not close enough.