#its a little more grounded so i hope you wonderful peeps enjoy this lil change of pace

[lupucs]

Noelle and Berdly fall into the Dark World (with sound!) 📟 This one ended up looking like a trailer of sorts, hope you all enjoy! Heavily inspired by Holosynth's video, which you can watch right here!

Berdly and Noelle renders again (making these was the reason why I wanted to give them a proper animation):

Some mid-production memes:

[your-daily-biaswrecking]

Serva me, Servabo te

save me and I will save you

pairing: photographer!Taehyung x f.reader

genre: angst, slight enemies to lovers, slow burn, lil spooky, lil fluffy

word count: 7.7k | reading time: 40 min

chapter summary: perhaps staying close is going to be better

warnings: as always a little spooky house and a little twist

All chapters | Masterlist | Read on AO3

Chapter 4: Meticulous chaos

You didn't want Taehyung to be the first thing you thought about when you woke up, yet he was. Probably because you woke up due to noises coming from another room, and you must have subconsciously connected that to the only other person living there with you. Nevertheless, there you were, lying in bed with your eyes fixed on the ceiling but only seeing the face of a pretty boy. You shook your head. See, this is why you didn't want to stay there with him. This is why you didn't want to spend too much time around him; because you can easily get used to it.

Because when you looked through your clothes to pick what to wear, the idea of him seeing you in that outfit crossed your mind and surely affected your choice. Because when you kept hearing noises from around the house, you couldn't help but wonder what he was up to. And because you worried about how it was your turn to cook, as if there was a dire need to impress him. When you hopped down the staircase, you walked around the rooms with a clear intention of spotting him. He wasn't in the kitchen, nor the hallways. Not in the sitting room either, that solely boasted its fireplace with a strong flame.

That fire was almost out last night. Yet there it was, dancing about as if it was immortal.

You headed back to the kitchen after your small search was proved fruitless. Even though you had thought you wouldn't have to eat again for the rest of the week after the feast you had the previous night, your stomach was tight from hunger. There was, of course, the easy solution of buttering up some toast along with all the toppings the Manor provided. But Taehyung had gone out of his way to make pancakes for the two of you, it would be a weak admission of defeat to settle for less. You chewed on your lower lip as you investigated the cupboards for ideas; it almost felt like you had put yourself in a competition no one had asked for. A competition that you were doomed to fail, considering the skill Taehyung had displayed in the field already. But if he had to brag about making his hook-ups fall for him through breakfast, you had to at least try to go against him, didn't you?

And then you saw the perfect item: a pudding mix. All you had to do was add milk and bring it to a boil, no extravagant cooking talent needed. And you'd get nice little bowls of vanilla cream that not only would be a unique breakfast but would also fit the aesthetic of the Victorian house and appear as intricate as his pancakes. He didn't have to know it was actually an instant mix.

The wooden floors from upstairs kept making loud noises while you stirred the cream in the flower garnished pot. It almost sounded like he was moving around furniture, but why? You tried to take your mind off him -he had been in there too long, you thought- and finished up your breakfast, serving four small balls. The pudding smelled absolutely delicious but was still steaming, so you opened a window and put two of the bowls out to help them cool down faster since you were impatient to eat. The yellow pot had gained a couple of dark spots at the bottom, a clear sign that you hadn't stirred the milk as much as you should have. You went straight to rubbing it, hoping to fix it, while you noticed the noises had died down and you assumed the other man would walk into the kitchen any time now.

Then you heard the obvious sound of the front door closing. You dropped the pot. Where was he going? Without eating breakfast? Without even saying a "good morning"?

"Tae?" you found yourself calling out. Then you cleared your throat. "I mean... Kim Taehyung?"

There was just silence. You looked out the window but he wasn't in the garden. A sort of itch bothered your right hip, something like curiosity, or even affection for the man, that you had buried and embodied deep in your gut. An itch that acted up when you decided to ignore your thoughts of him once again and go back to scrubbing that pot.

But then the unmistakable sound of the door was heard again. You froze and bit your lip, trying to stop yourself from calling out his name again. However, you couldn't stop the way your head slowly turned towards the door, peeping from the corner of your eye at the hallway, waiting. You heard the footsteps, then you saw just the tip of his shoe before you jerked your head back forward. You wouldn't be caught watching the door, waiting for him to enter. That would be embarrassing.

"Something smells delicious." His voice was husky, his tone lower than normal, as if that sentence was the first one he had spoken that day. Which could very easily be the case.

Your eyes ran to his form the moment you deemed to be safe, and even though you knew who you would see, you still didn't expect the exact sight and ended up smiling sheepishly. Taehyung's somewhat long and curly hair was falling over and under a pair of clear glasses that hung low on his nose, poking at his eyes, looking like he had just woken up and hadn't even run one hand through it. His head was tilted back so that he could stare at you from under his locks, and his jaw was slightly turned to the side as he was probably biting his tongue. Lips and cheeks a soft pink; long fingers stroking his chin. His hair tucked behind his ears made them stand out, along with his thick neck that was framed by a short turtleneck he was wearing.

All that and your eyes hadn't even traveled further down yet.

"Hey," you simply said, your voice small, barely escaping your tight throat.

How could a man look so good in such a sight of sloppiness and untidiness?

"Hey," he rasped, let his arm fall to his side, and smiled at you. He had his camera hanging from his neck and hovering over his stomach. One hand in a pocket of his dark jeans, and a jacket on. Took two steps closer while keeping his eyes to the ground. "Did you cook something? What's the smell?"

"Yeah, breakfast," you responded and gave up on the pot you were cleaning altogether, washing your hands to turn to him. You swallowed hard when you realized Taehyung was standing right in front of you, close enough that you had to look up to see his face, yet far enough to not guarantee a complaint. And there you were again, almost uncomfortable just by existing around him. Though this time it was a different kind of uncomfortable. Something that derived from a sense of comfort that you, but mostly he, displayed right now. You couldn't quite place what it was.

"What kind of breakfast?"

"Vanilla pudding." You noticed his eyebrows rise under his fringe.

"Sounds nice." He gave you a smirk. "Didn't think you'd do that for me." He tilted his head to the side, trying to make you look at him, but you avoided eye contact.

"Don't worry, princess, it's not because of you." You bit the inside of your cheek, regretting immediately having called him that, even if it was his own words you were using against him. And the silence that followed for a heartbeat made you grow with worry.

But then Taehyung laughed. Loudly. He pulled away, swinging his feet towards the island with his back turned to you, clearly enjoying your remark. Enjoying the air in the room, the entire moment and interaction between the two of you, so casually, as if it was all going according to a plan he had made.

And then you realized. There was something in his aura that had changed. Looked a lot like the one he exuded when you first met him. Yeah, those past couple of days he had been walking around as if he was sorry he was taking up space. Now he was walking around as if he knew he could seduce you just by standing next to you. He probably wasn't wrong. Yoonji had said the fact that Taehyung was attractive made the whole situation of being stuck with him there easier, but you were certain it was the exact opposite. Just how attractive that man was, was starting to make staying there with him so, so difficult.

"Uh, well... I had breakfast hours ago when I woke up but- I'll indulge in some pudding since you made it," Taehyung murmured, leaning on the counter with his elbows and looking you up and down as if he was talking about eating something else.

You frowned a bit as you processed his words, along with his outfit. "Where have you been?"

He grinned in a way you knew he had been waiting for you to ask. Then he took the camera off his neck and placed it on the table. "Actually, I thought I'd go find that fairy ring you talked about."

"You've been out?"

"Yeah, I took the mushroom trail you said you took, the one in the tour guide. But I didn't find it."

"You've been out all morning?" you insisted.

"Yeah, I told you. But I didn't find any mushrooms. Like, how far into the woods did you go? I was walking for half an hour and I still hadn't found a single mushroom."

You stared blankly out the windows. "That's weird, when I went, the path was filled."

"Weird, huh?" he mumbled. He hummed and looked around a bit before he turned his attention back on you and your frozen stare. "How many days do mushrooms live? Maybe I was too late?"

"So, you just got home? You were out up until now?" you asked again.

Taehyung frowned. "Yeah, I already told you. Why do you keep asking?" His frown deepen when you didn't answer. When you just kept looking off at nothing like a statue. "Amy? Why, what happened?" he asked concerned, something in your expression not sitting right with him.

Finally, you looked at him. The inner corners of your eyebrows turned upwards as you took a deep breath. "I... I've been hearing... noises."

He pushed away from the counter and walked closer to you. If he did that to make you feel more protected, or himself, you didn't know. "What do you mean? What kind of noises?"

You shrugged, still staring at him without even blinking. "I don't know, just- noises. From upstairs. I thought it was you."

You felt his right palm fold nicely around your left elbow, a touch you almost didn't register right away. He didn't speak immediately, nor did you. Perhaps because there was only one thing that crossed both of your minds, yet neither of you wanted to admit it. It was foolish, wasn't it? You were adults. Adults don't believe in those kinds of things. So you kept quiet, looking with wide eyes and searching in each other what was proper to say. Because you wouldn't profess what you really wanted to say.

Perhaps that is the most adult thing you could ever do; not admit your true thoughts and feelings.

"It's an old house," the photographer was the first one to speak, starting a sentence even he didn't know the ending. "Sometimes it just makes old house noises."

"What are old house noises?"

"Maybe it's just the pipes."

"Yeah, that's what they always say," you snorted. "In horror movies!"

And then Taehyung laughed. With the hand that was on your arm, he ruffled your hair like you were some kind of adorable kid making up stories, completely invalidating your comment. I guess he chose to play the grown-up.

"Well, good thing we're not in one then, right?" he chuckled as he walked away and sat down in one of the chairs.

He was probably right. But still, how dare he pretend to be the logical one and insinuate you weren't. You rolled your eyes and puffed, crossing your arms over your chest.

"I mean, you never know," you grunted.

Taehyung bit his tongued visibly between his front teeth as he smirked at you. "Don't you think that if this place was haunted or something, they would advertise it as such? They'd make a lot more money that way."

"Not if it was really dangerous," you argued. "Then I think they would keep it a secret and offer the place at a great price to lure people in. Which is probably how Jimin and Yoonji could afford this in the first place."

"Ha!" Taehyung simply said in a way you couldn't tell if it was a genuine laugh or a sarcastic one. "No, Jimin is a lot richer than you think." He frowned as if scolding himself. "Motherfucker is richer than me!" he complained. "That's not fair, I'm the one who made him famous. What's a model without his photographer, huh?"

You tried not to break character, rolling your eyes back to avoid smiling. "That's beside the point. The noises?"

"Probably the housekeepers."

"Oh."

The truth was you hadn't thought about that, had almost completely forgotten about them. Possibly, you had even started doubting their existence; what kind of housekeepers are completely invisible?

"I didn't see them," you said. "Did you?" He shook his head in response. "Did you light the fireplace in the sitting room?" He shook his head again and you had to sigh in defeat. "Well, I guess that was them, too. Even if this house had ghosts, I doubt they'd be lighting us a fire to keep us warm."

"Or cleaning our rooms," he added with an amused grin.

You reciprocated his energy. "Unless the housekeepers are the ghosts. That would be convenient."

"Maybe that lady that was here the first day was a ghost, too. Maybe the whole Manor is run by ghosts."

You both laughed at the idea. Yeah, it was indeed ridiculous. You had to laugh.

"So... pudding?" Taehyung suggested then, pressing his lips together and motioning towards the bowls that were sitting on the counter next to you.

"Oh, right." You jumped a bit at remembering. "I have some here," you mumbled as you turned around and opened the window that put up little resistance.

You frowned at the sight. The two bowls you had placed on that window sill not long ago were still there, but...

"The bowls are only half-way full," you announced, bringing them inside while you stared at them confused the entire time.

"It's okay, I'm not that hungry."

"No, I mean they were full, then I put them outside to cool down, and now half of it is gone!"

Taehyung narrowed his eyes at you, considering how to reply for a second. "Are you suggesting I ate them somehow?"

"No!" you exclaimed, your frown deepening.

"Then what are you suggesting?"

You shook your head, exhaling. "I don't know," you said, and you really didn't. "Do you know if there's a cat or something around here?"

He humored you for a moment and thought about it. "No, actually... Haven't seen any cats. Have you?"

"Or- do you know if fairies, perchance, like pudding?"

Taehyung smiled at you and shook his head. But he didn't argue that any kind of mystical being was out of the question to be the culprit responsible for your pudding disappearing, so you guessed there could be a part of him that believed it. Or at least thought about it. And yet again was too pragmatic to admit.

"If we don't know what ate those, I suggest we just throw them away," he said eventually.

You agreed. "There's more, anyway." And with a motion, you emptied the little cream left in the bowl in the bin. The two spare bowls were still filled to the brim and warm to the touch. "But these haven't cooled down yet."

"It's okay, I prefer them hot anyway."

"You do?"

"Yeah."

You raised your eyebrows as you grabbed two little spoons and sat down next to him. "Hm... I'd never have guessed that about you," you whispered and pushed one bowl in front of him.

He opened his mouth dramatically. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know," you said biting back a smile, shrugging too, for added effect. "You just seem like a cold guy."

Taehyung snapped his head away, his chin raised high. "I'm not cold. You just don't allow yourself to get to know me better."

"I'm talking about pudding, princess."

"Stop calling me princess!"

"You first."

A small battle of stares and smirks ensued between the two of you before he gave up and picked up his spoon. You remained, and watched, waiting for his reaction like it would be your payment. And the boy, as if he knew, dragged him movements out; dipped that little spoon in the jiggling, runny cream slowly, moving the bite close to his lips ever more so, as though he was filming a commercial. He held the spoon there long enough for you to lose your thought while staring at his lips, the deep cupid bow decorating the top. Then, finally, he tried your pudding and you had to hold your breath when he closed his eyes. Was it because it was really good, or really bad?

"Oh, that's really good."

You sighed in relief. Then snorted at his act. "Don't sound so surprised." You had a taste too and you mentally congratulated yourself. Not that you had done anything much, but he didn't know that, and the result was good enough to boast about.

"I mean-" Taehyung continued while taking another bite, "-I did notice you almost burned that pot over there, so excuse me if I am pleasantly taken aback."

You rolled your eyes and smacked his upper arm, but decided to stay silent. At least for as long as you ate. Taehyung didn't speak either, simply gave you a quick glance after every bite, almost as if he was checking you were still next to him. Next to him, so close to him... You could have easily chosen a seat farther away, but let's be honest, whether it was consciously or unconsciously done, you needed to be in as low of a proximity as possible. It felt safe.

Which is probably why you got up at the same moment as he did, walked to the sink right after him, left the kitchen, and headed down the hall right behind his steps. Taehyung didn't notice, or if he did, he didn't mention it; even if it could be a nice excuse for the teasing he loved to do. He simply stopped in front of the main staircase, looked up, then around him, and then straight to you and said:

"What are you going to do now?"

"Eh?" Were you supposed to do something other than follow him around all day? Well, damn... "Um, I don't know. What about you?" you chewed out your words.

"I wanted to continue some of my work."

You remembered what he had said the previous day. "Right... And you need the sitting room to yourself, I assume?"

He shook his head. "I don't mind sharing," he said in a near whisper.

Your chest puffed as you took in a deep breath at that, trying not to let your face light up. Then again, you couldn't see your face and you could only hope it didn't betray the way your toes curled at the thought of Taehyung implying he wanted to stay in the same room as you. The way his eyes searched your own for a reaction, however, let you know he probably hadn't detected it.

"Oh, good," you mimicked his voice. "I mean, that room is easily the coziest one here, so I'd like to do my reading there, too." You felt proud of your quick and believable excuse.

"Right." Taehyung smiled at you. "It has a lit fireplace, too, so of course we both wanna stay there," he said, basically revealing an excuse of his own.

Inarguably, those were the true reasons to stay in the sitting room. It had nothing to do with the fact that both of you were starting to think the place might be haunted or, God forbid, the fact that you craved each other's company.

Satisfied with yourselves, you jogged up the stairs with the same pace, parting ways for only a minute in order for either of you to fetch your laptop and your books respectively. Taehyung called dibs on the large armchair by the window facing south and you settled for the side of the sofa that was closest to the fireplace. That way you were opposite one another and it was not only easy, but unavoidable, slipping a glance over your work and onto the other. And, simply due to the laws of statistics, it was therefore easy and unavoidable making eye contact a few times as well. He seemed more comfortable when that happened than you, giving you his usual smirk, or even the occasional wink. You, instead, cleared your throat or pretended you were taking a break from staring at the same page all the time, rereading the same sentence.

Yet it was impossible to stop. Taehyung was like a colorful flower in a garden and you were like a starving bee; simply put, you were drawn to him. Both your eyes and mind were incapable of staying focused on your books, every few seconds drifting off across the room in search of the same image again and again: the photographer's serious face, his eyebrows naturally set in a frown, his lips moving along with his thoughts, his jaw clenching and unclenching. Despite that, you weren't upset when that wasn't what you got. You weren't upset when you were met with his smug expression instead, or his head thrown back, or his attention on the dancing flame. Sure, getting caught made your face burn disagreeably, but you were never upset.

You thought being there with him -and I am referring to the entire week- would just make your blood boil. Yet it didn't. Was it because he was acting unexpectantly nice to you, an indication of a different character than the one you were counting on? Had you simply stopped hating him so much with the passage of time? Or had you gotten used to him already? Was it a combination of all three?

Whatever it was, it was definitely causing you to appreciate his presence right now.

"What are you working on?" Right, and it was definitely helping in wanting to know more about him.

Taehyung smiled at you. "I'm editing some photos for the magazine I work for."

"Oh. The ones you took in the garden?"

His smile grew, his teeth showing. "No, no. Those were just for me." He seemed so happy with the interrogation, so happy that you were showing interest. It almost made you cower a little, but he went on right away. "These are from a photoshoot I did right before I came here."

"With Jimin?"

"No, unfortunately," he chuckled. "This one was a lot harder to work with."

You nodded to show you understood. You gave your books a glance, debating whether you should keep the conversation going or go back to silence. Not that you could focus on those books, but perhaps Taehyung could focus on his thing and you were preventing that. "What magazine do you work for?" you asked, anyway.

"Vogue."

You choked. "Wha-" He had said it so nonchalantly you weren't sure you had heard that right. "Vogue? As in, the Vogue?"

"Vogue Korea, yes."

You laughed, shaking your head. "And you just say the magazine I work for? As if it's not a Devil wears Prada kind of situation?"

He licked his lips, his eyes running over your whole face. "What do you want me to do, brag? Isn't that the type of thing that made you dislike me in the first place?"

You raised an eyebrow at his words. "You don't even remember meeting me, how do you know the reason I dislike you?"

Taehyung tilted his face and lied back in his chair. "An assumption," he said casually. "Anyway, I thought you already knew I worked there."

Your tongue poked the inside of your cheek as you narrowed your eyes at him. "Believe it or not, Taehyungie, I didn't spend my free time looking up facts about you."

"Such a shame, I happen to like stalkers."

You snorted at his odd sense of humor, one of the things you clearly remembered about him. But the implication that he wanted to like you didn’t go by unnoticed. In fact, you had picked up on every single comment that served some type of flirting role, at first brushing it off as just the way the man is -he probably did the same to everyone- but you couldn’t help but question whether it was more than making conversation and if it had something to do with you. If, namely, he thought you were pretty or liked you enough to toy with you that way. It didn’t sound improbable.

“How does someone like you get a job at a place like that?” you asked again, seeing you had room to annoy him further with your questions. He didn’t seem exactly eager to get back to editing.

“Someone like me?”

“You know what I mean,” you said, rolling your eyes.

“Do I?” he asked again, but raised his eyebrows in a way you knew he was more entertained than offended.

“You’re so young.”

“Touché. Well, um…” He placed his laptop on the coffee table and leaned closer. “I made a video with Jimin and I in it as my last project in college, and then when I uploaded it on Instagram it went kind of viral. That way I was able to find a job right after I graduated, meanwhile, my follower count kept growing. Jimin gained traction too, and when he was scouted as a model for a commercial, he asked that I be his photographer. We’ve been working together ever since.”

You nodded along. You knew parts of that story, like how Jimin started his modeling career, but you had never considered it from Taehyung’s point of view.

“And Vogue?” you questioned.

He shrugged casually. “Started working there about half a year ago, when Jimin had a photoshoot for the magazine. They offered me a two-year contract.”

You hummed in response. You knew Taehyung was not doing bad in terms of his career, but you had never grasped just how good of a career that was. In your head, you thought of him on the same level as some random influencer; simply had a cute face and a few million followers online. But he seemed to be on his way to becoming one of the greatest photographers in our days, given the exponential growth of his fame in just some years.

And you… You were staying in an old house alone with this celebrity. It should be overwhelming, and it was, but not for that reason.

“Wow. It had never dawned on me just how big you and Jimin are,” you mumbled. “Like, how is Yoonji managing to keep such a man around, still?”

Taehyung laughed. “Yoonji is one of the coolest girls I know, of course she has Jimin. Also, I remember the man had a crush on her since day one of meeting her, and also she was one of the few people that were nice to him back then. He had a lot of bullies, you know.”

You fidgeted a little, looking away. “Even so, he could have cheated or left her for someone better,” you almost whispered. “Isn’t that what celebrities always do?”

You noticed out of the corner of your eyes that he was chewing on his bottom lip aggressively, staring at you unblinkingly. He didn’t respond. Neither to deny nor affirm your words. You cleared your throat and looked around the room, spotting the grandfather clock next to the door, and decided to change the subject.

“When should we have lunch?”

Taehyung finally looked away, picking up his laptop again and placing it on his lap. “I’m in no rush.”

You puffed your cheeks full of air. Maybe it was just an excuse to leave now, but you said: “Yeah, but making food takes a while.” You closed your books and held them tight in your arms, getting up and heading for the door. “Perhaps I should start cooking. Or, at least, see what there is to cook, I don’t know.”

You were almost out of the room when he quickly spoke up, hasting to stop you. “Hey! What… What do you think about having a picnic?”

That really caught you off guard. “A what?”

Taehyung licked his lips when you looked at him over your shoulder. “A picnic. The weather forecast says there’s going to be heavy rain from tomorrow on, and the woods seemed lovely this morning. I was thinking today might be our last chance to get outside a bit.”

You turned fully to face him, trying to digest his words. “You wanna go into the woods?”

He shrugged just one shoulder. “We could go towards the river. I mean, do you really like being in here so much right now?”

Oh, he knew you were scared of these walls. What he didn’t know, however, was that the outside sounded just as scary. Especially after something ate your pudding. What the hell was that?

“I don’t know,” you mumbled. “A picnic, though?”

“We can just get something, like, to eat, some snacks and stuff, fill up that basket in the kitchen, and go for an afternoon walk by the river,” he tried further to sell the idea to you. “It doesn’t sound too bad, does it?”

You fidgeted again. “No, it- it sounds romantic.”

“And that’s a bad thing?”

Maybe it was. You weren’t sure yet. Then again, the idea did sound nice, something that you would have definitely liked to do normally. You switched your weight from one leg to the other, back and forth, thinking about what to say. But the longer you took to respond, the more intense his look seemed to get. It put you on the spot, it prevented you from thinking straight, only making your mind focus on his eyes and the way he was waiting for your agreement. And the longer you couldn’t think straight, the harder it was, the more anxious you got.

“Fine,” you blurted out then. Why, you didn’t know. Maybe because you couldn’t think of a decent reason to say no.

You missed the way he smiled at you in favor of getting out of there quickly. You hid away in your room, no longer concerned with being alone since you had other things to keep your mind busy with. The other things being Taehyung and Taehyung alone. You tried contacting your roommate in need of some advice or a simple willing ear to listen to you, but she either was ignoring you or the signal was so bad she didn’t even get your texts. So all you were left to do was walk up and down the room, rummage through your clothes to find something to wear, sigh repeatedly while lying face down on the bed, bounce your leg and pull your hair… Nervous as if you were going on a date. Feeling funny in your stomach and you didn’t know why.

Taehyung was already in the kitchen, making a couple of sandwiches. You joined him without too much noise, packing up some crackers, some cheese, some charcuterie, some fruit. The basket was already looking deliciously full, and it was all starting to seem like a good idea, after all, ignoring the itch that was against this whole thing. You even smiled and agreed to the bottle of wine he suggested completing the meal. You covered everything up with a blanket you borrowed from a spare room and left the house with the hiking guide in your hands.

“The stream seems to be very close, only about a ten, fifteen-minute walk,” you let him know as you read the guide.

Taehyung was walking ahead of you, caring the basket he had insisted on, leaving you in charge of recognizing the path. He had his small camera with him, hanging from his shoulder like a purse, and every now and then he stopped to take a picture of the scenery. He was right; the forest seemed inviting today. Looking around you almost couldn’t believe it was the same trees surrounding you. There was ample sunlight boring through the branches and the leaves, hitting your face gently and providing some warmth. The trail was wide and easy, making the walk enjoyable enough, something the other trail had barely offered. What you didn’t expect to find was wild, purple little flowers by the egde as if it was already springtime.

Taehyung bent down and collected every single one of them, making room for them inside the basket.

“Why are you picking flowers?” you asked.

“For you,” he simply answered.

You clicked your tongue, not quite believing him. “Seriously.”

“I just thought they’ll look good with our picnic,” he said, changing his original answer.

You hadn’t even walked ten minutes and you could already hear the running water, gentle yet loud enough to reach your ears. And then it appeared next to the trail. The river was wider than you expected and boasted the bluest waters you had ever seen. White, roundish rocks were inside and around the stream, causing it to splash onto them violently and make all the noise. It was shallow, you could easily see the bottom of it, and the trees were almost falling over it, hiding it away, giving the water its bright, turquoise color.

“There should be a bridge here,” you said, checking the guide again, while Taehyung had already placed the basket down and was taking pictures of the place.

“There is,” he said, pointing upstream without taking his eyes off his camera.

When you walked closer to him and leaned over the edge, you spotted the stone, single arched bridge that was definitely older than the Manor. Its grey stones having turned dark for the most part where the water hit. Over it, it was clear enough for you to be able to see the peaks for a couple of mountains in the background, the river probably having begun up there and gotten so far in its search for the sea.

“Here.” Taehyung’s voice pulled you from your thoughts, along with his hand that landed on your arm. He pushed you in front of him. “Stand over there.”

“Wha- why?”

“Let me take your picture.”

You stayed still, where he needed you to be, and stared at him as you felt your entire head fire up. “Me? Why would you do that?”

Taehyung just looked at you as if you were acting weird and this was something normal you did all the time. “Isn’t that what people do on vacation? Take pictures?”

“Um…”

“Do you not want a picture with the bridge?”

You gulped, pushing your hair behind your ear and then immediately undoing it because you knew you looked bad that way. “Alright,” you whispered. Truly, it wasn’t anything that crazy, you had your photo taken so many times before, by so many people -even strangers- and still, you had no idea what to do, how to pose. You just stood there, looking not at the camera but at the man hiding behind it.

“Right!” he called once he was done. Gave the screen a glance and nodded, satisfied with himself. “Not bad at all. Wanna see?”

He wasn’t lying. The picture was more zoomed than you expected, your face taking up most of the space and outshining the scenery, but it wasn’t bad. Apparently, your a little confused-a little awkward face appeared pretty nice through the lens. Or maybe it was all just the talent of the photographer.

“Where do you want to sit?” he asked you.

Happy to be back to occupying yourself with anything but your thoughts regarding him, you looked around and walked deeper into the path. “Let’s get closer to the bridge, there’s an opening there.”

And so you did, found some grass you could put the blanket down on right by the foot of the bridge. Taehyung gave you the piece of clothing to lay down, and right after the bouquet of flowers he had gathered. Shaking your head at his antics, you placed them on the side, by the basket. The photographer left you alone to take the food out as he got distracted by the beauty of the place again, walking right to the middle of the bridge and taking many pictures. Up the mountain, down the stream, back at you and your little picnic set.

You arranged all your food on the two plates that proved themselves too small for everything, keeping the sandwiches along with the bottle of white wine inside the basket, two glasses on each side of the blanket. It was a nice spot, you thought. It had a nice view and the sun reached down to cover you, the wind blocked away from the forest to your left and all of it together making for a cold-free location.

“Tae,” you whined his name when he got back down there yet was still just taking pictures here and there. Pictures of nature, of the food, of you. Again. “We’re not here for a photo shoot, we’re here to eat!”

He hit himself on the head. “Oh, right. How could I forget,” he said in a teasing voice, yet put the camera away and finally sat down crossed legged in front of you. He gave you a big, boxy smile. “This is nice, isn’t it?”

You looked away, kind of not wanting to admit it, but nodded anyway. “Let’s eat,” you announced, picking up a sandwich.

Taehyung opened the wine bottle and pour both of you some. He clicked his glass onto yours and smiled at you before tasting it. And you were taken aback; that was the best white wine you had ever had.

“Hold on!” you mumbled, taking a look at the bottle to double-check the name. “This is really good!” It was a Sauvignon Blanc, but that wasn’t surprising. It must have been the specific variety because it had such an aroma, just a fruity taste, it seemed more like drinking juice than a dry wine.

“I know,” Taehyung told you. “You know, I’m not a big fan of alcohol but I always make an exception for this wine. It’s my favorite.”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

He sucked some air through his teeth. “Probably because it’s a little pricy…”

“Are you implying I’m poor?”

He laughed. “No, I’m implying I’m rich.”

You chuckled while rolling your eyes at him, too. Then you both started biting down on your sandwiches that, needless to say, were delicious, the bread soft and crunchy as if it was baked just that morning. You filled your mouth up with all other snacks as well, appreciating the combination of the wine with the cheese. Oh, and you gulped down that ambrosia-like drink so fast. One glass, then another… You couldn’t have enough.

“I swear, I’ll get too drunk to walk back home at this rate,” you chuckled as Taehyung was pouring you the third glass.

“Then I’ll carry you.”

You dismissed him with a push on the arm. He wasn’t drinking as much but was reciprocating your energy easily. Your chuckles, your jokes, your openness. He threw a grape in the air and caught it in his mouth, which in turn gave you the brilliant idea to turn this into a game. The rest of the food was all gone save for a couple of crackers, the sun was getting more golden as it was slipping downwards, the birds’ chirping getting louder and the temperature falling just enough to make you squirm.

Your brain felt fuzzy but you would argue it was in a good way. You lied down on the blanket with a giggle, folding your arms behind your head, looking at the sky. It was pink.

“We should head back before it gets too dark,” you shared your thought.

Taehyung hovered over you, enjoying your eyes instead of the view. He hummed. “I don’t want to leave yet.”

You smiled at him. “Me neither,” you admitted, and it was true. “Look at the sky!”

He glanced up just as a flock of birds flew over, making him decide to grab his camera one more time. As he was too busy to notice, you let yourself look at him. Stare at him. He blended so well with the artistry of nature, you thought. And he was acting so nice lately, he was making you feel so nice. You knew that meant you were letting your icy cold walls break down in front of him, but at the moment you didn’t have the mental strength to stop that.

“Can I take a picture of you just like that?” he asked when he turned to you again.

You didn’t flinch, you didn’t cower away. You just grinned and let him. The man hovered over you again, hiding his face behind the lens, and you kept giving him the brightest beam you had to offer. Not because you suddenly knew how to pose; it came effortlessly. Taehyung stood up to photograph you from farther away, then got back on his knees and literally crawled to you. Your expression couldn’t help but get more and more serious, the closer and closer he got. Kneeling next to your hip and holding himself up with an arm next to your head, you heard his camera snap a couple more times, and he was so close to you now you felt like there was barely enough space to breathe.

“Tae…” you purred in an attempt to bring his attention back on earth, feeling like he had drifted away somewhere.

He heard you, and with one last snap, he pulled the camera away from his face. You couldn’t have predicted how much worse that would be; how much worse it was to be looking at his eyes -his lips when he licked them- instead of an inanimate object. And he was, oh, so close.

He smiled at you sweetly and completely dropped the camera next to you but still didn’t move an inch. Perhaps he was even getting closer as he used both hands to trap you under him- you didn’t know, you couldn’t fully understand.

“You know, Amy, I’m really glad we came here,” he spoke, his voice as low as it was that morning, basically resonating in a whole different frequency, nearly hard to be registered by a human ear.

You pressed your lips together as you gave him a curt nod. “Yeah, the picnic was a good idea.” He wasn’t even touching you but you felt like you couldn’t move. Why couldn’t you move? Why didn’t he move?

He licked his lips again and pushed his glasses up his nose with his middle finger. “I mean- hmm…” his voice vibrated in his throat. ”I’m glad we both came to this Manor. It’s better that you’re here.”

You had to bite your lower lip and your legs pressed well together. “Uh, yeah…” you said, clearing your throat immediately after. “I’m glad you’re here, too. To be frank, it would have been very boring if I was staying here alone.”

He licked his lips a third time- what the hell? Was he doing it on purpose, solely to keep your attention on them? Or had he always been doing it and you were just noticing now? Noticing because your eyes were on his lips anyway.

“I’m good company, then?” he chirped.

“You’re not terrible.”

Taehyung chuckled. You noticed his eyes traveling down your body with an amused smirk. “You’re not so bad yourself, princess.”

The way the nickname rolled off his tongue made your stomach do a flip. It wasn’t like all the other times he used it to make fun of you. Or maybe it was, but this time you liked it. Maybe you were too tipsy, or too lost in the moment, but your breath was heavy and his eyes felt like beams of fire burning into your form. And you couldn’t get a hold of yourself; you couldn’t stop, you couldn’t pull away, you couldn’t think straight. Your muscles moved on their own, your body taking control over your mind and you leaned in without knowing, without realizing. You really didn’t realize what you were doing until your lips hit his.

Taehyung immediately kissed you back. One of his hands snaked under your head and held the back of your throat to pull you closer to him as he swallowed you desperately. It was impossible to escape- his lips were soft and fit on yours with practiced ease. He was warm, and your body craved this heat as if it was freezing to death. And you couldn’t stop, you couldn’t pull away, you couldn’t think straight. And perhaps you didn’t want to.

He broke away only for a second to catch his breath; it was a second too long. The moment his lips left yours it was like you were freed from a prison spell. You could move, you could think. And you did, pushing him away.

“No…” you mumbled. Got on your feet right away, looking around as if you were lost. “No, no!” you basically screamed.

And you started running away.

“Amy!” Taehyung called your name as he got up too. He called you again, and again as he saw you run down the path you had taken to get there. “Amy, wait up!” you heard his voice get fainter as you got farther. But you didn’t wait up. You didn’t slow down. Now that you had started running from him, you didn’t know how you would stop.

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