Mr. Kim surprisingly let us four stick together for missions. We’ve gone on several since the incident and we’ve all gotten closer. Taehyung and Jungkook have become friends. Sort of. I mean Taehyung doesn’t shoot him down all the time. And he doesn’t get jealous anymore. Aera started training with us and has been on a few missions with us. She’s really good. Apparently the last three missions have just been tests for an upcoming announcement. Each team went through the same five missions that we went on. Mr. Mr. Kim surprisingly let us four stick together for missions. We’ve gone on several since the incident and we’ve all gotten closer. Taehyung and Jungkook have become friends. Sort of. I mean Taehyung doesn’t shoot him down all the time. And he doesn’t get jealous anymore. Aera started training with us and has been on a few missions with us. She’s really good. Apparently the last three missions have just been tests for an upcoming announcement. Each team went through the same five missions that we went on. Mr. Kim said that he’ll give the announcement tonight at their anniversary dinner party. I'm anxious to know what it is.
“What do you think Mr. Kim’s announcement is?” She asks as she brushes her hair in the mirror.
“I have no clue.” I shrug, petting Kimchi. “I just hope I don’t have to wear a dress again.”
“Oh you’re wearing a dress. It’s a party.”
“But-“
“No buts. And you’re wearing heels with the dress that I have for you.” She adds.
“I can’t even walk in heels and you know that.” I say. Aera laughs at me.
“I’ve had to wear heels for parties before.” She says. “I love going to parties. I can’t wait!”
“Well I like parties, I just don’t like wearing heels or dresses.” I cross my arms and sit next to Aera on my bed.
“You’re so weird, Akari.” Aera teases. “But no wonder Taehyung loves you.” Sakura glances at me.
“He loooves her but she won’t admit it. Just because ‘he’s never told her that he loves her’ doesn’t mean it’s not obvious.” Sakura laughs.
“Whatever.” I scoff.
“Well, do you love him?” Aera asks.
“I mean..” I pause. “Yeah, I guess.“
“You guess?” Aera chuckles. “That’s a ‘I'm madly in love with him’ answer.” She jokes.
“Whatever.” I roll my eyes. “Let’s just get ready.” I say, putting Kimchi on the floor.
“Ok then. First I’ll do your nails.” Sakura says. “And we all have matching outfits.” She says, starting on my nails. “Ok so you’re gonna be light pink, Aera is light blue, and I’m light purple. We have matching dresses and shoes.” She says.
“Ooo that’s cute!” Aera praises. “I can’t wait. I feel like I’m actually your sister now.” Aera giggles.
“Well I love you like one.” I say, smiling at her.
“Aww.” She says.
A few hours later all our nails were finished. Mine were pink and sparkly. Aera’s were blue with diamonds and Sakura’s were purple and sparkly.
After doing our nails, Sakura started on our makeup.
“Be careful not to get this on your dress. These dresses were very expensive.” Sakura says. She did Aera’s makeup first. She had pretty blue, sparkly eyeshadow with eyeliner and clear lip gloss. She did mine next. I had light pink eyeshadow with eyeliner and a coral color lipstick. Sakura had light purple eyeshadow and sparkly purple eyeliner with clear lip gloss.
“Now go change into your dresses and then I’ll finish your hair.” Sakura says to me and Aera. She hands us our dresses. I walk to the bathroom and Aera goes to my closet.
Our dresses weren’t exactly the same. But they were similar enough.
“Aera, you look so pretty.” I gawk at her.
“Thank you.” She blushes. “So do you. That dress looks really good on you.”
“Thanks.”
“And we all know what Taehyung’s gonna say.” Sakura says.
“Akari, you look beautiful.” Aera and Sakura say at the same time. I roll my eyes.
“Y’all are so immature.” I say.
“You know it’s true,” Sakura says.
“I’m really glad Taehyung got my necklace fixed.” I say, changing the subject.
“Aw he gave that to you?” Aera asks, looking at it. “It’s so pretty.”
“Thank you. I’ve never taken it off except for the one time that I lost it on a mission.”
“He’s so sweet.” Aera says.
“Yeah he is.” I agree with her.
“Let’s stop talking about boys and let's finish getting ready.” Sakura says. “We all have matching shoes. Sit here Akari. I’ll start on your hair.” I sit in front of her on a stool.
“I hope Mr. Kim’s announcement isn’t bad.” Aera says.
“Me too. I-OUCH!” I exclaim when Sakura suddenly pulls my hair.
“Shh. Akari be still.” She pulls my head again.
“Oww. It’s a little hard to when you’re yanking my hair out.” I scowl.
“So dramatic.” She rolls her eyes. “Now sit still.” She continues tugging on my hair.
“Is there gonna be dancing?” Aera asks.
“I’m not sure.” I reply. “I’m not good at it, though.”
“I am. My mother taught me when I was young. Maybe I’ll get to dance with someone tonight.” Aera says.
“Maybe Jungkook.” I suggest. “I mean he likes me but there’s no way Taehyung will let him near me. I’m sure he would love to dance with you.”
“Maybe.” Aera shrugs.
“Ok done.” Sakura says, taking a step back. “Your turn Aera.” I stand up and Aera sits down where I was sitting. I walk to the mirror as Sakura starts on Aera’s hair.
“I love my hair. Thanks Sakura.”
“You pull it off so well. When I tried to do my hair like that, it failed.” She says, laughing. “But you’re welcome.”
“How are you going to do mine?” Aera asks.
“You’ll see.” Sakura says, starting her hair. As Sakura did Aera’s hair, I decided to text Taaehyung.
Me: Hiiiiiii
Taehyung: Why are you texting me? Can’t you just come in here?
Me: Nope. Sakura won’t let me leave until we’re done getting ready for tonight
Taehyung: The party’s not until 8:30. It’s literally only 6:15. I’m not gonna start getting ready until 8
Me: 🙄men
Taehyung: 😘
Me: Well us girls take forever to get ready.
Taehyung: 🙄women
Me: Whatever 🙄
Taehyung: Well i’ll let you finish getting ready…..since it takes soooo long
Me: Wait no! I’m booooored
Taehyung: see ya
Me: Wait!!
No reply.
Me: TAEHYUNG!!!!
Taehyung: Kim Taehyung is currently not available. Try texting him back later
Me: Ugh! Fiiiiine.
I close my phone and sigh.
“Alright, your shoes are in Akari’s closet. I’m gonna change and do my hair.” Sakura says, finishing Aera’s hair.
“Thank you, Sakura.” She says.
“You’re welcome.” Sakura answers, grabbing her dress and walking to my bathroom. I walk to my closet and grab the three boxes sitting on the floor. I bring them to my bed. We all had matching shoes.
“These are cute.” Aera says, putting hers on.
“Yeah on you. I cannot walk in these things. They’re way too high.”
“You’ll get used to it. Sakura and I can help you.” She suggests.
“Well I’m not putting these things on until the last second.” I state.
“Ok then.” Aera laughs.
“How do I look?” Sakura asks, walking out of the bathroom a few minutes later.
“Dang that was fast.” I say. “But you look great sis.”
“Thank you.” She says, putting on her shoes. “We’re all matching now.” I walk back to my closet and grab my purse.
“I have something for Taehyung.” I admit to them. “But I’m not sure when I’m gonna give it to him.”
“Ooo what are you giving him?” Sakura asks as I sit on my bed.
“It’s a promise ring.” I reply shyly.
“How romantic.” Aera giggles. “Show us.”
I pull the ring out of my purse and they gawk at it.
“When did you get it?”
“How expensive was it?”
“Where did you get it?” They bombard me with questions.
“Ok, ok. Calm down.” I laugh. “I got it while I was on break. I couldn’t participate in training so I had plenty of free time. It was a decent amount of money and I got it from the jewelry store by the boba shop.” I explain.
“That is so romantic.” Sakura says. “Are you already wearing yours?”
“Yeah.” I hold out my hand.
“It’s so pretty.” Aera says.
“I’m sure you’ll find a time to give it to him.” Sakura says.
“For sure. You know he’ll want to find a way to be alone with you tonight.” Aera adds.
“Yeah. I guess.” I put the ring back into my purse.
15 minutes before the dance…..
We all rushed around, trying to find my special event perfume that my mother gave me. We searched the entire room but couldn’t find it. Eventually, we gave up and sat on my bed.
“Uhh Akari?” Aera stops us in the middle of our conversation. “Is that the perfume right there?” She points to my vanity table. Sakura burst into laughter.
“Yes.” She says, laughing.
“I can’t believe it was there the whole time.” I laugh too. “Well then.” I grab it and spray a little on. I give it to Sakura and she does the same. Aera does too. After that, I put on my heels as Sakura and Aera attempted to teach me how to walk in them.
“How have you never learned to walk in heels?” Aera asks after a long five minutes of teaching. I go silent. Little does she know about my mother.
“My mother never taught me.” I say quietly. “She died when I was younger.”
“Oh.” Aera says. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“That’s ok.” The room gets awkwardly silent. I clear my throat. “We should probably go now.” I stand up and stubble over my feet, twisting my ankle. “Ouch.” I say, grabbing my purse. We walk into the hallway and down the stairs towards the backyard. We walk to the backdoor and see a HUGE table set up in the field.
“Woah.” Aera says, opening the door. We stepped on the porch. Loud music and chatter could be heard for miles. Everyone in the gang was here. So about 100 people.
“I’m gonna need help walking down the stairs.” I say, gripping onto Sakura’s arm.
“No worries. I’ll help you.” She put her arm around me as we started walking down the stairs. Taehyung meets us at the bottom.
He looks stunning. Almost glowing. I suddenly become shy.
Taehyung’s POV
I quickly sprayed on some cologne and ran to the hallway. I hope I’m not too late. I walk down the stairs and walk to the backdoor. I walk outside and down the porch stairs. I don’t see Akari anywhere. Maybe she hasn’t come yet. I see Jungkook and walk towards him.
“Has Akari come yet?” I ask him.
“I was just about to ask you the same thing.” He says.
“You know, I don’t know why you even bother. She doesn’t like you.” I remark.
“I know. But I can like her all I want to.”
“Yeah but-” I freeze when I see Akari, Sakura, and Aera walk outside. They all have matching shoes and dresses but Akari looks the prettiest. I can’t take my eyes off her. I see Sakura wrap her arm around Akari and help her walk down the stairs. I laugh, remembering that she’s never worn heels before. I ignored what Jungkook was saying to me and walked towards Akari. I made it to her as she made it to the bottom of the stairs.
“Hi.” She says, looking at the floor. Aera giggles and nudges Akari’s shoulder. Sakura grabs Aera’s arm and they walk towards the table.
“Hi.” I say, holding my arm out to her. She links arms with me. “You look beautiful.”
“Thanks.” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “Sakura picked out everything.”
“She did a great job.” I say as we walk to the table. She trips a little.”You ok?” I steady her.
“Yeah .” She chuckles. “I just can’t walk in heels.”
“I noticed.” I tease.
“You look nice too.” She says, still looking at the floor.
“Why are you shy?” I ask her.
“I don’t know.” She laughs. We walked to the table and I pulled the chair out for her. “Thank you.” She says, sitting down. I sit in the chair next to her. “Do you have any idea what the announcement will be?” She asks me.
“I honestly don’t know.” I answer. “But it must be important if he’s doing it at this huge party.”
“Yeah.” She says.
“It’ll be a while before dinner, so do you wanna dance?” I ask her, standing up.
“Umm.. I don't think I can.” She laughs. I hold my hand out to her.
“I’ll help you.” I offer. She rolls her eyes at me.
“You’re so persistent.” She chuckles and takes my hand. She grabs onto me to steady herself as we walk to the dance floor. Perfectly timed, a slow song plays. I grab her waist and pull her close. She puts her hands on my shoulders. “Sorry if I step on your toe.”
“It’ll be fine. As long as you don’t leave me alone on the dance floor like last time.” I joke.
“Well, if I do leave the dance floor, it’ll be with you.” She replies.
“Ok then.” I say, swaying with the music. Akari looks at the floor, trying not to step on my feet and I guess to keep herself from tripping. I guide her through the dance, stepping side to side. “Look up at me, Akari. The floor’s not going anywhere.” She laughs.
“Ok, but if I step on your foot, it’s not my fault.”
“I bet you won’t.”
“I bet I will.” She says, looking at me. We continued dancing together and she never stepped on my foot once. “Do you want to know the real reason I was shy?” She asks me. I chuckle.
“Of course I do. But I think I can guess.”
“I just…” She pauses, blushing. “What you’re wearing..I mean like..you just looked…like..I don’t know…really…-“
“Sexy. Like you couldn’t take your eyes off me.” I smirk at her, making her blush harder.
“Sort of.” She admits.
“Called it.” I say as I spin her around and dip her. “You’re getting better at dancing.
“Thank you. I’m a fast learner.” She informs me as the song ends.
“Shall we walk down by the lake?” I ask her as we walk off the dance floor.
“I don’t know.” She sighs. “I’m done with all bodies of water until further notice.”
“Then what about the gardens?” I suggest.
“Ok.” She says, interlacing our fingers together. We walk in silence for a while as we walk down the empty trail to the garden. She was holding on to me the whole time so she wouldn’t trip.
“So how are you doing?” I ask in the silence, just to be greeted with more silence. After a while, Akari sighs.
“Better, I guess.” She pauses. “I think having Aera around has really helped me and Sakura. It keeps my mind off of all that’s happened.”
“I know it’s hard but Aikoku would want you to move on.” I say. She suddenly pulls her hand away from mine and goes silent. “Sorry did I….did I say something?”
“I just….haven’t heard his name since….you know.” She says quietly, stopping to sit on a bench on the path. I sit next to her. “It’s just….Sakura and I never really talk about him anymore so I haven’t….I don’t know.”
“What?” I ask. “You can say it. It helps, trust me.”
“How would you know? The only person you’ve ever lost is your mother.” She snaps, creating a pain in my heart that I haven’t felt in a long time. Anger wells inside of me. How could she say something like that? Before I know it, tears begin streaming down my face. Tears of anger. I turn away from Akari so she doesn’t see me crying. I take in a deep shaky breath and wipe the tears. After a while, I compose myself and turn back to Akari who’s fidgeting with her dress. What she said hurt, but I know what she’s been through so I swallow my pride and attempt to comfort her.
“I don’t know.” I say softly. “Talking about difficult situations sort of relieves the stress of holding it in.” She scoffs.
“No. It doesn’t. It just makes everything more painful.” She says, tearing up. She looks away from me. I smile and place my hand on her cheek, turning her head back towards me.
“I know your brother would want you to be happy.” I say. “So think of the memories that make you happy.” She smiles at me.
“Later.” She chuckles. “Or I’ll finish this party looking like a racoon.” I laugh.
“So what will cheer you up?” I ask. She looks into my eyes and then down to my lips and back to my eyes again. I tease her, by closing my eyes, leaning in, and then kissing the ridge of her nose. She scrunches her nose.
“Really.” She rolls her eyes.
“I’m just messing with you.” I say, connecting my lips with hers. I place my hand on her cheek. She rests her hand on my leg as I rub my hand down her arm. I grab her hand and interlock our fingers together.
End of Taehyung’s POV
“I’m just messing with you.” He says after I roll my eyes. I feel his lips against mine. He puts his hand on my cheek as I put mine on his leg, leaning closer to him. His hand slides down my arm. He touches my hand with his and I weave my fingers between them. He puts his other hand on my waist and deepens the kiss. Suddenly, there’s a rustling in the trees causing us both to snap our heads in the direction of the sound.
“What was that?” He asks.
“Is it Yeontan again?” I chuckle, looking closer at the stop the sound came from. There was a little piece of light blue fabric sticking out from behind a tree. “Hold on.” I say, walking towards the tree. “Aera.” She slowly peeks her head out from the tree.
“Hi.” She waves shyly at me.
“What are you doing?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
“Well, Sakura was dancing with some guy and you left me to be with Taehyung. I was lonely so I followed you to get some action.” She snickers. “I saw Taehyung crying.”
“It’s not nice to spy on people.” I reprimand her. She looked at the floor. “But since you’re lonely, I guess it’s ok if you hang out with us for a little bit.” Her eyes brighten and she hugs me.
“Thanks, Akari.” She says.
“Anytime.” I chuckle, pulling a leaf from her hair. “Come one.” I take her hand and we walk back to where Taehyung’s sitting. “Do you mind if Aera stays with us for a bit? She’s lonely.” I ask Taehyung.
“Of course she can.” He smiles at her. “It’s not like we were doing anything.” He winks at me and I roll my eyes.
“Sorry if I interrupted something.” She looks at Taehyung while saying this.
“That’s ok.” He replies, smiling at her. Taehyung and Aera continued talking as I sat there awkwardly on the side. I eventually was fed up with it and texted Jungkook.
Me: Plz come hang out with Aera. 🥺
Jungkook: Why
Me: For me 🥺
Jungkook: 🙄fine.
I smile and close my phone. She’ll at least be happy because I know she likes Jungkook. I look over and Taehyung is entertaining Aera very well, making her laugh every now and then. I just want some alone time with him.
“Aera.” Jungkook holds out his hand to her after finally finding us.“Will you dance with me?” Aera’s eyes widen.
“Y-yes of course.” She stutters, blushing. She takes his hand and they walk back to the dance floor together.
“She’s really sweet.” Taehyung says as they walk away.
“I know. She’s so cute.” I smile. Taehyung grabs my hand.
“She’s really lucky to have you. You’re a great sister.” He kisses my hand.
“Thanks.” I reply, although I don’t feel like one. I was a little selfish about Aera hanging out with Taehyung. All I wanted was to be alone with Taehyung for a bit. I feel horrible. Taehyung grabs my hand and we start walking towards the lake. I eventually took off my shoes to make it easier to walk. A few minutes later, we made it to the lake. We stood in silence, looking up at the stars. Suddenly, Taehyung turned to face me and grabbed both of my hands.
“Wait.” Taehyung says. “Where’d you get this ring?” He asks, fidgeting with it.
“Oh, Jungkook gave it to me.” I say, teasing him.
“Really? Why would he-”
“Taehyung, relax. I’m just joking.” I laugh.
“Then where did you get it?” He asks again. I pull my hands from his, open my purse, and grab the ring. “What’s tha-”
“Shhh.” I put my finger to his lips. “Look, I’ve really enjoyed my time being with you. And although we’ve both been through so much this past year, I’m glad we went through it together.” I sigh. “What I’m trying to say is, I love you.” I hand him the ring and he looks at me, speechless. “It’s a promise ring. So no matter how far apart we are, we’ll always be connected by the rings.” I explain. He takes it and puts it on his finger. He caresses my face with the back of his finger.
“Akari, I lo-”
“Guys!” Sakura calls, walking over to us. “Mr. Kim’s about to give the big announcement.” She informs us. “Come on.” She grabs my arm and yanks me towards the dinner table. Taehyung grabs my shoes and follows behind us. We finally made it back to our seats, just in time for the announcement. Taehyung sits down next to me.
“Thank you all for coming tonight.” Mr. Kim says, stepping onto the podium. “As you all know, I have a very special announcement for you all. But before I do, I would like to congratulate one of our newest members, Kimura Akari.” Everyone turns to me. I smile awkwardly. “She has made the most improvement since being here. I remember when she first started training with us, she wasn’t the best at using a knife. In fact, she was the worst in the class.” Everyone laughed and my face went red. “But the point is, she’s improved tremendously in this past year.” He starts clapping and everyone joins in. Taehyung puts his hand on mine and smiles at me. I smile back. “And now for the announcement. I have recently heard that the North Korean Mafia is planning a military strike against the Americans. Since we are allies to the Americans, we have been requested to send a five person squad to earn the trust of the North Koreans and intercept their assignment. My big announcement is that one of you will be chosen to be the squad leader who gets to choose his or her team. We will have a vote box by the left side of the stage. At the end of the night, one of you will become the leader of your squad. Now you all may continue the party. Thank you.” Mr. Kim bows and walks off the stage.
“Oh my gosh. Can you believe that?” Sakura grabs my arm excitedly. “One of us may become the squad leader. Wouldn’t that be cool if I was the squad leader? I would choose you, and Aera, and-” She pauses and the excited look on her face disappeared.
“What?” I ask her. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s just…If Aikoku was still here…I would choose him too.” She sighs. I put my hand on her shoulder.
“Sakura, you know he’d be proud of you.” I assure her.
“I know. I just…miss him a lot.” She says.
“I do too.” I hug her.
“That’s ok.” She sighs. “Let’s just…finish the party.” She says, standing up and taking me with her to the dance floor.
Near the end of the party……
I tried to spend more time with Taehyung tonight but Sakura kept dragging me all over the place. Not that I minded hanging out with her.
“So, Aera told me you were dancing with a guy earlier.” I nudge her shoulder.
“Yeah.” She smiles. “His name is Hyunjin. He’s really sweet.” She swoons over him. “I think he likes me, but I’m not sure.”
“Ooo. You finally found your knight in shining armor.” I tease.
“Yeah.” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. “And I can’t believe you finally confessed your love to Taehyung.” She says. “I thought you weren’t gonna do it until he confessed to you.”
“Yeah. But I wanted him to know. I think he was about to confess to me too. But then SOMEONE, not naming any names, interrupted us.”
“Well I was excited about the announcement.” She shrugs. “When do you think he’ll tell you?” She asks as Taehyung walks over to us.
“Hey ladies.” He sits next to me. “Akari, I need to tell you something.”
“I’ll just uhh… go over here.” Sakura stands up, giving me a thumbs up. I roll my eyes, chuckling.
“Wanna know something funny?” He asks.
“Sure.” I reply.
“Well, I also got you a promise ring.” He laughs, holding out the ring to me.
“It’s beautiful, Taehyung.” I say as he puts it on my finger.
“Akari, it’s like you said earlier. I’m really glad to have spent this last year with you. You always find a way to make me happy, no matter what I’m going through. And I really, really lo-”
“Alright everyone. I am now going to announce who the leader of the squad will be.” Mr. Kim says, interrupting Taehyung. Everyone gathers near the stage “Now according to the votes, the squad leader is…” Mr. Kim opens the slip. “My son! Kim Taehyung.” He starts clapping. Taehyung looks shocked. I clap as he walks towards the stage. He bows to everyone and Mr. Kim shakes his hand. “This mission is the most dangerous one yet. And you and your squad will be in America for a minimum of a year depending on how it goes. Now tomorrow morning we will have another gathering and that is when Taehyung will choose the other four members for his team. After that, you and your squad will train for the rest of the day and then leave the following morning.” Mr. Kim says. “You are all dismissed. See you all tomorrow.” Taehyung walks off the stage and back over to me.
“A year.” He says.
“That’s a long time.” I add. “But I mean at least we’ll be together.” I shrug, hugging him. “Now what were you saying earlier?”
“Umm, I gotta go, Akari.” He says, pulling away from me. “I’ll see you later.” He kisses my cheek and walks inside, leaving me standing awkwardly. Aera walks to me.
“Hey Akari. I had such a fun night with Jungkook.” She says. “He took me dancing and we hung out the entire night.” She says, linking arms with me as we walk towards the house. “I think he likes me. I mean why else would he dance with me and hang out with me for the whole night?” She says. “Sakura’s already in her room, so I guess it’s just you and me for the rest of the night. Ooh we should try to pull an all-nighter.” She suggests. “Akari, are you ok? You haven’t said much.”
“Nothing.” I shake my head, clearing my thoughts. “I’m fine. But there’s something I have to tell you.” I say.
“What is it?” She asks as we walk into my room.
“Well, when you came over to me and Taehyung to talk, I got a little annoyed because I wanted to spend time alone with him. So I texted Jungkook and told him to hang out with you for the night.” She freezes.
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying, I told Jungkook to hang out with you so that you’d leave me and Taehyung alone.” I sigh. “I’m really sorry.”
“You should be.” She crosses her arms. “I can’t believe you did that. I thought you were better than that. Akari, I looked up to you.” She storms out of the room.
“Wait.” I chase after her. “Aera, I’m sorry.”
“I’m staying with Sakura.” She says, walking into her room. I sigh and walk back to my room. I really messed up. I slowly changed out of my dress and put on some shorts and a sweatshirt. I went to the bathroom and wiped off all my makeup. Sitting on my bed and petting Kimchi, I sulked about the day. There were only a few great moments at the party today. But Taehyung was acting so strange earlier and now Aera’s mad at me.
“You still love me right?” I ask Kimchi. He starts purring. Suddenly, there’s a scratching sound at the door. I stand up, open the door, and see Yeontan sitting there. “Hi buddy. What are you doing here?” I pick him up. He barks. “What’s wrong?” Yeontan wriggles from my arms and runs to Taehyung’s room. I follow him, open the door, and see Taehyung kneeling on the floor crying. “Oh my gosh, Taehyung what’s wrong?” I squat down next to him. He turns away from me. “Taehyung.” I put my hand on his back. “What’s-”
“Nothing.” He snaps, wiping his face. He turns back to me. “I’m fine.”
“Taehyung, you can tell me. You’re always there for me. Just talk to me.” I say. He stands up and walks towards his bed.
“I can’t.” He says as I sit next to him. He looks at me with tears in his eyes. “I can’t.” he repeats. I kiss his cheek.
“You can tell me anything.”
Taehyung’s POV
I feel really bad for leaving her so abruptly like that, but I couldn’t take it. She kept saying how excited she was to go on the mission together. I just don’t know if I’m even going to choose her to be on the squad. And it’s not because I want to be away from her for a year, it's because my father said that this mission is the most dangerous mission we’ve ever been on. I can’t risk losing her. Just the thought of leaving her here pains me. I squat on the floor and pet Yeontan. Suddenly, I’m overcome with emotions and begin to cry. I try to stop but I can’t. Yeontan leaves and my eyes are blinded by tears.
“Oh my gosh, Taehyung, what’s wrong?” Akari bends down next to me. Really Yeontan. “Taehyung.” She rubs my back. “What’s-”
“Nothing.” I snap at her. “I’m fine.” I turn my face away from her. She can’t see me crying.
“Taehyung, you can tell me. You’re always there for me. Just talk to me.” She says as I walk to my bed and sit down.
“I can’t” She sits next to me. I turn to her. “I can’t.”
“You can tell me anything.” She says after kissing my cheek. I can’t tell her the real reason why I’m upset. At least not yet.
“Earlier when we were talking, you said something that hurt me.” I lie.
“I did? Taehyung, I’m sorry. What did I say?”
“I don’t want to sound like a baby.” I chuckle, wiping my face.
“Taehyung, whatever I said, I promise I didn’t mean it. I mean I don’t know what I said but-” I hug her.
“It’s ok.” I say. “I’m fine. You don’t have to worry about it.” I assure her.
“Are you sure? I feel bad now.” She says when I pull away.
“I’m sure.” I grab her face and kiss her. “You should get some sleep. We have to get up early for tomorrow.”
“Yeah. I can’t wait to do this mission with you. I mean, a whole year is a long time.” She laughs. “At least we’ll be together and-”
“Akari, you should go now.” I say suddenly.
“Why?” She tilts her head to the side.
“Cuz..I have to shower.” I say. I pick her up, walk out of my room and set her on the ground outside my door.
“What are you-” I kissed her.
“Sorry. Goodnight Akari.” I close the door in her face. I feel terrible. I lay down and turn off the lights. She’ll never forgive me. Unless…
End of Taehyung’s POV
“What are you-” He cuts me off by kissing me and closes the door in my face. What is up with him? I scoff. I can’t believe he just shut the door in my face. I walk back to my room and lay down in my bed, cuddling Kimchi. “Men.” I say, petting him. “At least you love me.” He rubs his head on my hand and curls next to me.
“Good night Kimchi.” I kiss his head and close my eyes.
“Akari.” Someone shakes me awake. “Akari, get up. We’re gonna be late.” I open my eyes and see Sakura and Aera looking down at me.
“Hurry and get dressed.” Aera says. I sit up and walk to the bathroom to get ready. I pull my hair into a cute messy bun.
Then I put on shorts with a brown belt, a white t-shirt, and a flannel shirt to go over it. Then I put on mascara and a little bit of blush.
I walk out of my bathroom to be greeted by my two *ed off sisters.
“We’re gonna be late if you don’t hurry your ass up.” Sakura says.
“Ok,ok. I’m ready. Let’s go.” I grab my phone and walk with them downstairs and into the meeting room. Everyone was already there and seated. The three of us found seats near the front of the room and sat down. Taehyung was already on stage. He looked at me and I smiled and waved at him. He waved back but looked at me sadly. I wonder what’s wrong. Everyone chattered in excitement.
“We all know who Taehyung’s gonna choose first.” I hear someone behind me say.
“Yeah. There’s no way he’d leave her here for a year.” Someone else says.
“Akari’s really lucky to be dating him.” Another female said. “She’s so pretty, though of course Taehyung loves her.” I smile at everything they’re saying. By now everyone knows that Taehyung and I are dating. Suddenly, the audience hushes as Taehyung stands up and walks to the microphone.
“It is such an honor that all of you have chosen me to become the squad leader for this mission.” He starts. “As you all know, I am to choose four of you to be a part of this squad, so no hard feelings if I don’t pick you.” He says. “Now my first choice is one of my closest friends here. He’s been training almost as long as I have. Park Jimin is my first choice.” Everyone claps and Jimin stands up, bows to everyone, and walks onto the stage. Only three spots left. Jimin shakes Taehyung’s hand. “My second choice is also a good friend of mine, Hwang Hyunjin.” Sakura claps loudly along with everyone else as Hyunjin walks to the stage and shakes Taehyung’s hand. “I promise I won’t be sexist here.” Everyone laughs. I will now choose the two female members that I want on my squad. First, I would like to choose Lee Aera, because she was once a part of the North Korean mafia. She knows more about them than we ever will.” Everyone claps. Aera glances at me as she makes her way to the stage. She bows to Taehyung and shakes his hand. “And last but not least, Choi Chae-won because…” Everything becomes inaudible as I process what he just said. Not me. Many emotions fill my body. Anger. Jealousy. Betrayal. It takes all the power in me to keep from crying. I see everyone clap for her but no sound reaches my ears. Everything moved in slow motion after that. Chae-won walked to the stage and shook Taehyung’s hand. Mr. Kim walked to the microphone probably to tell everyone that they were dismissed, because everyone began to leave. Sakura took my arm and guided me towards the door. I looked back at the stage and made eye contact with Taehyung. He looked at the floor as we made it out the door. Sakura was saying something to me but I ignored her and kept walking to my room. I got to my room and shut the door behind me. They’re training one last time before the mission so I won’t see them for the rest of the day. I slump to the floor, pull my knees to my chest, and sob. Kimchi curiously walks next to me and rubs his head against my leg. I continue crying and ignore Kimchi. He paws at my leg until I acknowledge him. I pick him up and cry into his fur.
“I hate men.” I complain. “They’re always so overprotective.” I say.
Hours later, Sakura comes into my room. I’m sitting on my window seat reading a book.
“Hey, Akari.” She sits down next to me. “How are you feeling?“ I set my book down and glare at her.
“I’m great. Couldn’t be better.” I say sarcastically.
“I’m really sorry about-“
“I just don’t want to talk about it, ok? That’s why I’m reading this book. So I don’t think about it.” I snap. “So if you’re just gonna keep asking me if I’m ok, please leave.”
“Ok. Do you want to watch a k-drama?” She asks me.
“No. They’re all about romance and stuff. That’s the last thing I want to do.” I cross my arms.
“Ok then what do you want to do?”
“I want to beat Taehyung up.” I reply.
“Akari you know he only didn’t pick you because he didn’t want you to-“
“I know. He didn’t want me to get hurt. Classic him. I just don't understand why he has to be that way.” I sigh.
“It's because he loves you.” She assures me.
“He could’ve at least told me instead of letting me believe that he was gonna choose me.” I roll my eyes. “But whatever.”
“You know they get back from training in an hour. You’ll have to talk to him because you know he’s gonna come in here and try to justify his actions.” Sakura points out.
“I don’t have to talk to him. I have the right to ignore him.”
“Yeah I guess so.” She stands up. “Just text me if you need me.” She walks out of my room. I sigh and open my book again.
Before I know it, it’s 9:30 pm. So they should be finished with training. I put my book on the window seat and bend down to pick up Kimchi.
“Kimchi you might wanna leave the room. I’m sure there’s gonna be yelling.” I warn him, walking to the door. I open the door. “Why don’t you go to Sakura's room?” I set him on the floor and he ran to Sakura’s room. When I turn around I nearly bump into Taehyung. I roll my eyes and walk into my room with him following behind me.
“Akari-“
“Don’t, ok?” I cut him off. “I know why you didn’t pick me.”
“So you understand.” Taehyung says.
“No. I said I know why. I didn’t say I understood why.” I cross my arms. “I mean you could have at least told me you weren’t gonna choose me. But you let me believe that you would.”
“I’m sorry. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”
“But you chose Aera?” I point out.
“Yeah, well I care more about you then I do for her and Chae-won.” He replies.
“But I’m better than them. Mr. Kim even said so yesterday, I’ve had the most improvement.”
“Yes but-“
“No buts.” I raise my voice. “I’m better than you at everything and yet you chose Chae-won.”
“Except using knives. You suck at that.” He snaps. I go quiet and start pacing, trying to keep cool.
“Well you suck at everything else.” Is all I think of to say.
“Nice comeback.” He retorts, making me more angry.
“Ugh.” I yell. “You’re so annoying.”
“Even better comeback.” He smirks at me, folding his arms over his chest. I glare daggers at him.
“Why didn’t you just choose me?”
“I told you. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I’ve been on plenty of missions probably just as dangerous as this one. All of them I completed without you there to be worried.” I start to raise my voice again. “I’m just as capable as anyone else. So would you stop treating me like I’m a helpless child?”
“Akari, listen-“
“No you listen. I was doing just fine before I met you, keeping myself alive and all.”
“But-“
“Stop!” I yell. “I don’t need you to constantly worry about me. I can do anything you can. So I don’t-“
“Akari, shut up!” He yells. “I’m not changing my mind!” I look at him, shocked, hurt. I don’t know.
“Fine.” I cross my arms and turn away from him. “Then there’s nothing else to say.”
“I’m sorry. I just-“
“I said, there’s nothing else to say. So go.” I snap, facing him. He touches my arm. “Don’t touch me.” I pull my arm away. “I said leave me alone.” I say, looking into his eyes. He nods and turns to walk out of the room. I crawl into my bed and sit there contemplating what just happened. He’s so annoying. I close my eyes. They leave first thing tomorrow. I know I’m mad at him but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to tell him goodbye. He’ll be gone for a whole year. I slowly drift off to sleep.
I open my eyes and it’s still dark outside. I slowly get out of bed and walk to the window. It’s cloudy outside so no wonder it’s dark. I look at my phone. It’s 7:45! They were leaving at 7:30! I rush out of my room and downstairs. I see Jungkook.
“Hey.” He smiles as I walk up to him.
“Hey. Did they already leave?” I ask.
“They just left.” He says.
“Did Taehyung say anything?”
“No. Sorry.” He replies. “He did say that you two had a fight last night.”
“So he didn’t say bye to me just because he was still mad?” I ask. Mainly talking to myself.
“I don’t know.” Jungkook shrugs.
“Ok. Thanks.” I say and walk outside.