♣ ♣ ♣

The orange tint of the sky indicates that the day had officially transitioned into evening, but even so the town was more alive than ever. Busy streets reeked with delicious flavours from traditional Korean cuisine, popcorn and sweet cotton candy. Children laughing, people talking and the sound of street-chefs calling out their menus in order to attract more customers, was all one could hear once they enter the heart of attraction that is the seaside area.

It's Friday, at last, and all of us are currently strolling down the seafront, almost drowning in the mass of people around us who are here for the same reason; the annual fireworks festival. Thank goodness Areum warned me not to eat before leaving, because a festival in east Asia apparently equals to an immense consuming of street food -- and oh boy if we aren't eating everything edible our eyes can possibly find.

Our hands are currently occupied with various of foods, and it was interesting, to say the least, to finally try some traditional Korean food that I haven't eaten before. Everything from the well-known kimbap (which I still count as sushi but I won't argue against my native friends), a wide range of different skewers, to beongdegi -- which I was really hesitant to eat at first because I thought they were pranking me, but the silkworm pupaes turned out to have a rather okay taste, after all. My favorites were of course the sweet and crispy bungeoppangs with either red paste or custard, which I happily devoured a number of that I've already lost count on.

"Bro, if you keep eating those things your intestines will explode," Areum says beside me, eyes wide in concern for my health.

"Then at least I'll die doing the thing I love the most," I reply simply, finishing the last piece of dessert in my hand.

"I think that's enough food for tonight," Kai says with a heavy groan. "I'm honestly afraid that my stomach will blow up if I even smell more food."

Everyone lets out an alien sound, not really saying anything, but we all interpreted it as a 'yes please'.

"Let's go to the souvenirs! They always have super cute accessories and ornaments here," Areum says enthusiastically before leading the way, and we all followed without arguing against her idea.

Since Areum seems to know the way to everything around here, we let her walk in the front in order to guide us. I wasn't really fond of pushing through people, so I naturally wandered to the back of our group, walking behind everybody. Though, it didn't take long until a certain someone joined me.

"What are you doing here in all your loneliness?" Taehyung asks beside me, grinning with one curiously arched eyebrow.

"Just avoiding bumping into people as much as I can. It makes me uncomfortable," I explain with a chuckle. To this, Taehyung's grin widens and I feel his arm snaking around my back in a protective manner, firmly holding his hand on my waist.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Unable to help it, I allow myself to smile widely, along with a burst of butterflies being released in my stomach in reaction to his unexpected action. I thought I would be used to his touch at this point, but being out here in public with his arm around me, I couldn't help but feeling the tingles all over again as if he had touched me for the first time.

Since the day Taehyung took me to the hill, everything between us kind of.. changed. And it was making both my heart and my mind go insane. Every night after that one, Taehyung had begged me to stay with him, and we had now spent three nights together in a row; every morning I had woken up entangled in his embrace. I never had thought of Taehyung as a cuddly person, but this boy sure loves morning cuddles -- and there's no way in hell I'll complain.

However, as much as I greatly enjoy being his sleeping partner, I'm still unsure about this whole unspoken thing we have between us. I can literally feel the charge in the air in between our skins and it's almost painful how much I crave being near him. Deep down, I know this is bad if it keeps going on like this. Sooner or later, we have to talk about it. I want- no, need to know if he feels the way I do. But that's also the answer I fear the most to hear; what if I "lose" him if I talk about it? What if he doesn't want us to be more than this? This particular thought had been bothering me all day, since I was actually starting to wake up from my dreamy haze of having the privilege to sleep in the same bed as him.

Soon enough, reality hit me hard and our behaviour started making me more worried than blissful. I've been starting to develop very mixed feelings towards this, because I was beginning to realize that this can end up breaking me; like something bad will happen eventually.

Though, now wasn't the time to think about it -- especially when I can feel his hand burn through the fabric of my jacket. I can enjoy us being sneakily couple-y behind our friend's backs -- literally -- for one more night.

"Blue!" Areum suddenly exclaims, causing Taehyung to immediately withdraw his arm from me. My heart skips a nervous beat as I watch her approach us, silently praying that she didn't see anything. To my relief, her fingers wrap around my hand and starts dragging me to some souvenir shop nearby.

"This one always have some good stuff! We have to check it out," she explains as we approach the little boutique before heading inside. My mouth form a small 'o' as I let my eyes roam over the jewelry filled walls, not even the least disappointed by the glimmering view in front of us.

"Wow, you really weren't kidding," I say, eyes wide as I step closer to the silver chains cascading from the small hooks. Areum rummages through the entire shop like a tornado, already observed every single piece of jewelry in less than a handful of minutes -- she clearly knows every piece of metal by heart and thus needed less time to find what she's looking for. I, on the other hand, had my eyes glued on the charm bracelets the entire time -- and one particular caught my eye. It's nothing out of the ordinary, really. A simple thin silver chain, with a small new moon attached to -- nothing more, nothing less.

I let the delicate piece of jewelry glide through my fingers as I inspect it further, fully immersed by its simple beauty.

I want it.

However, before I had any chance to fulfill my dream of owning that particular little moon, Areum had already dragged me out of the shop and I could feel my heart break a little in my chest as we keep straying further and further away from it.

"The fireworks are starting in twenty minutes! We have to get to the beach now so we can get the best spots!" she exclaims as if it was the greatest deal in the world. I follow her without argument, though throwing one last miserable glance at the little shop which now had completely disappeared from my sight.

I'll go back and buy that damn bracelet after the fireworks as if it would be the last thing I do.

Again walking behind everyone, slightly grumpy on the inside, I suddenly notice that Taehyung is nowhere to be seen. I look to my right and then behind me to see if he was somewhere nearby, though he wasn't visible anywhere.

Really? He ditched us?

"Looking for someone?"

His voice made me flinch, making me slap my hand on my heart as I recover from the almost-heart-attack caused by Taehyung's sudden appearance out of literally nowhere.

"The hell did you come from?" I breathe, watching him with wide eyes.

"Calm down, I was just looking at something real quick. Did you miss me?"

I roll my eyes and punch him playfully on the arm, while he still had a teasing grin plastered on his face.

"You wish," I mutter under my breath.

But you did miss him.

Shut up, brain.

After eight minutes of squeezing our way through the crowds, the view of the ocean finally opens up to us and we quicken our pace in order to reach the shore faster. However, in midst of the intensive pushing ourselves in between other people, I suddenly feel someone secure a grip around my wrist and tug me to another direction, away from the center of attention.

Instead of questioning him about why we're escaping the others, I giggle uncontrollably as we hurriedly make our way out of the crowds and into some sort of a forest.

"Taehyung, where are we going?" I exclaim behind him in laughter, trying to slow down our fast pace as we enter the peacefulness between the trees. I draw a heavy breath of the fresh air around us, finally feeling like I wasn't suffocating anymore.

"You'll see. But we gotta run, it's a long way up and they're starting soon!"

Letting his hand envelop mine, we tighten our grip and start running up the slightly hilly ground. Though it was getting quite dark around us, I trusted that Taehyung knew where we were going. It didn't take long until the forest thinned out, revealing an open meadow which held an amazing view over the horizon. The entire ocean was within our sight, making me understand why he took me here in the first place.

With heavy breaths, I let go of his hand and stop, supporting my hands on my knees while trying to catch my breath.

"Dude, my stamina isn't that good," I heave out, clearly exhausted from sprinting up the hill with all the force I had. Taehyung snorts, approaching me and grabs my hand again.

"Come on, we have to get closer to the edge."

With a heavy sigh seeping through my lips, we start walking again -- with a slower pace this time, thankfully. My lips gradually form a large smile as we step closer to the extraordinary view in front of us, finding myself in awe at how Taehyung always managed to find these hidden gems, that no one else seemed to know about.

"Wow," I breathe out, a wide smile still evident on my lips. Taehyung flashes me a bright grin, probably proud that he managed to surprise me with this secret getaway.

"Just wait until the fireworks start, now that will be 'wow' indeed," he says with a wink, which for some reason made my entire body shiver in affection.

We remain standing for a moment in silence, waiting suspensefully for the fireworks to burst out any minute now. Though, I keep wondering why he only took me here and not everyone else.

"Blue?"

His voice sounds so incredibly soft as he utters my name, causing me to turn around. My heartbeat accelerates in my chest when he takes a step closer to me, creating no more than a breath of space between our bodies. I look at him curiously, thousands of questions erupting inside my mind as he watches me with a small smile on his lips.

"Close your eyes," he murmurs, still smiling. Slightly confused, I do as asked and let my eyelids fall closed. I flinch slightly when I feel his fingers ever so softly graze mine, though my whole body reacted to the charged touch by sending euphoric flutters through my entire nervous system. He then brings my hand up in front of me, holding it still in the air for a few seconds. Even when he lets go, I hold it in the same place and wait patiently with my eyesight still in the dark. Eventually, I feel something light and slightly cold embrace my wrist, making my heart pound in excitement to what it could be.

"Open them now," I hear him saying, and with that I let my eyelids flutter open so I can finally inspect what kind of item he had put on me.

My heart almost bursts in happiness when my eyes register the familiar silver chain that was now decorating my right wrist.

It's the bracelet.

An almost inaudible gasp escapes my lips as my mouth fall open in surprise. I can't stop the incredibly wide smile that's now decorating my lips as I let my fingers fiddle with the moon charm.

"How did you know?" I breathe in perplexion, breaking my gaze from the jewelry to capture his eyes with mine. His smile is almost equally as wide as mine, looking almost relieved at my positive reaction.

"I saw through the window that you were staring at it, and you looked like someone close to you had died when Areum made you leave."

I laugh at that. "It felt like I left a part of my soul in there. Wait, so that's why you disappeared? You went back just to buy it?"

He shrugs in reply, flashing me a mysterious crooked smile.

My brain is currently in a state of utter shock, causing my vocabulary to just temporarily vanish into oblivion.

I must be dreaming, this can't be real. If it's all a dream, then please don't ever let me wake up again.

Completely not ready for it, something suddenly lights up the sky behind me along with a piercing explosion sound, which caused me to flinch and turn around to witness the sudden transition from an empty black canvas, to a beautiful burst of colour right in front of our eyes. The entire ocean was glimmering with red, green and blues, reflecting the vivid colours of the sky caused by the highly anticipated fireworks that had finally erupted for us to witness with wide eyes and blissful smiles.

In that moment, I suddenly feel my hand being tugged at, and a second later I find my eyes staring into the glowing ones belonging to no other than Taehyung. Yet again, my heart accelerates in my chest as he slowly pulls me towards him, narrowing the space between our bodies until it was pretty much non-existent. With our eyes locked solely on each other, the sound of the fireworks behind us fades as the scent of his enchanting cologne invades my senses, gradually making me melt into his touch in affection. He soon allows his fingers to ever so softly graze my cheek before cupping it gently, while the edge of his lips slowly curve upwards, revealing his signature smile that always seems to send hoards of butterflies to flutter uncontrollably in my stomach.

His eyes wanders to my lips for a moment, studying them as if they were a work of art. That's when he finally draws his face towards mine, completely closing the last breath of space left between us. The air around us was so thick with lust that it almost suffocated me. My brain is in an utter daze, leaving me too overwhelmed to actually process what was happening next. It wasn't until I finally felt his lips ever so softly pressing against mine that I realized how much I've been longing for this moment to occur. Sensations unlike anything I've ever experienced before bursts inside me, immersing my body and soul with otherworldly euphoria which slowly, but very surely drove me insane.

I had never thought that someone else's touch could feel like this, but as our lips move in perfect sync against each other, I knew that this was something only Taehyung could make me feel. My entire body was raging with tingles, shivers and flutters -- as if the fireworks were inside me and not blessing the actual sky with its vivid colours. Our lips fit so perfectly as if they were meant to be, created solely for one another. I can't help but smiling into the kiss when his arm snake around my back, while his other hand is keeping its place on my cheek. His lips are so incredibly soft, somehow even softer than I had imagined them to be, and he's so incredibly gentle. He took his time, slowly dominating every single cell in my body with only his lips -- and I let him.

My entire being had entered the gates to utopia, floating on cloud nine and not ever wanting to come down. Somehow, it felt like an eternity had passed when our lips eventually part ways, slowly breaking the kiss, but at the same time as if the kiss had lasted only a fraction of a second. Our breaths are heavy when we untangle ourselves from each other. He leans his forehead against mine, then a low chuckle is heard from his throat.

"You have no idea for how long I've been wanting to do this," he murmurs softly, his lips curved into the dorkiest, most happiest smile I've ever seen. And I can't help the same dorky smile that's finding its way up my lips either, thinking; finally.

"Took you long enough," I murmur in reply, earning another chuckle from him.

"Sorry," he coos with a pout. "Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

I think for a second, smirking before suggesting, "Well, maybe you can... do that again?"

He suddenly withdraws slightly, in order to look into my eyes. One of his eyebrows is raised in a questioning manner, an amused smirk on his lips.

"With pleasure."

And with that, he crashes his lips onto mine again.

♣

"Where the hell have you two been?!" Areum exclaims in both panic and worry when she sees me and Taehyung strolling casually towards them. My body was still slightly on fire after two consecutive, very heated makeout sessions on the hill, hoping that my cheeks weren't giving out any reason for them to be suspicious. Though, my body was as light as air, almost floating on clouds as we approach them, due to the extreme happiness that had been constantly bubbling inside me since his lips had grazed mine.

"Blue wanted to buy some bracelet before they closed, and it took us forever to find you since our phones are practically dead," Taehyung explains simply, sounding really convincing. I nod and raise my wrist in the air, showing off the bracelet in order to strengthen our lie.

Areum immediately darts towards me to inspect the silver chain, before nodding in approval.

"It's cute. Good find," she praises with a content smile. I silently exhale in relief, thanking the Universe for not letting her suspect anything.

"Since we're all here again, shall we just walk around for a while until everything closes?" Baekhyun suggests, to which we all agree.

And so we all stroll around the seaside area once more, stealing one or two glances from Taehyung, who seems unusually smile-y for the rest of the evening. I even catch Namjoon and Hoseok grinning weirdly at Taehyung at times, making me wonder why they were doing that.

When midnight approached, we all decided to eventually part ways since it was late already, and quite chilly. We bid our goodbyes and goodnights, and then Areum and I made our way towards my car so I could drive her home. The whole fifteen minute ride, she talked non-stop about how Hoseok sneakily held her hand in front of everyone -- and I couldn't help but fangirl with her, especially when she said that he hugged her from behind as they watched the fireworks together.

When we eventually reached her house and said goodbye, I thought about how badly I wanted to tell her about Taehyung. All these built-up emotions inside me needed to be let out in some way, I wanted to talk about it to someone, especially her, but I'm afraid of how she will react. And if this 'thing' between us suddenly ends, then I don't want any drama to occur in our friendship group since she's dating his best friend. Unfortunately, it seems like I can't tell anyone just yet.

♣