The Truth Untold | kth.

- ten: the basketball game -

It was after school on Tuesday. Unlike how there would usually be no one on the campus at this hour, the basketball court was surrounded by hundreds of students that day, and the corridors where you could see the basketball court were also filled with people.

And the reason for that was none other than Taehyung's participation in the inter-class basketball game. After learning that Taehyung was going to take part in the game, all his fangirls, who had never been interested in basketball, rushed to watch the game after school. After all, it was Kim Taehyung playing basketball— just imagine the visuals.

"Kim Taehyung you're so handsome!"

"Kim Taehyung fighting!"

Cheers and screams rose one after another, resounding through the campus.

In the centre of the basketball court was Taehyung, who was wearing a basketball jersey. Sweat drops slid from his forehead to his chin as he was busy dribbling the ball, and when he turned around to shoot a three-pointer, all the girls screamed at the same time. Surely, the sight of Taehyung sweating profusely while wearing a focused expression was something next level, so it was no surprise that all the girls were fascinated.

Standing next to the basketball court with a bottle of sports drink in her hand, Hanna looked around, only to find that at least a hundred girls also had water or sports drinks in their hands, just like her.

It was only then that Hanna realized she had spent too much time with Taehyung, which almost made her forget that Taehyung was the most popular person in school. There were so many girls in school who had a crush on Taehyung, and from Hanna's point of view, a lot of them were prettier than her.

Who am I to prepare drinks for Taehyung? Hanna thought to herself as she looked at the bottle of sports drink in her hand, I guess I shouldn't have prepared this.

Beep— The basketball game ended with a loud whistle. Taehyung's team defeated their opponent by merely three points, and won the championship. Fortunately, Taehyung managed to live up to the expectations of his teammates, and he heaved a sigh of relief.

After the results were announced, Hanna turned around and was about to leave; but before she had gone far, someone behind her grabbed her wrist. It was a familiar sensation, and Hanna felt like time had frozen for a moment. No way, it can't be him...

Startled, Hanna turned to look behind her, and realized that the person grabbing her was none other than Taehyung.

"Where are you going?" Taehyung asked, with beads of sweat rolling down his cheeks and panting heavily, "You haven't handed me the drink yet."

Before Hanna could answer, Taehyung snatched the bottle of sports drink from her, and started gulping it down. The movements of his Adam's apple formed a sexy curve as he swallowed the drink, causing all the girls around to shriek.

Upon seeing that, the girls immediately shoved their drinks in Taehyung's face, hoping that Taehyung would notice them and drink theirs too, but were disappointed when Taehyung didn't do so.

"It tastes great, thank you." Taehyung said as he jiggled the empty bottle, and flashed Hanna a boxy smile.

"You're... You're welcome." Hanna stammered, unable to comprehend the situation.

-

In the same old park, Hanna and Taehyung were sitting on the swings, fixing their gazes on the children who were feeding pigeons with bread crumbs in front of them.

"Congratulations on winning the championship," Hanna smiled softly, "Your hard work has paid off."

"It was only possible with your encouragement." Taehyung replied, and after a moment of silence, he went on to ask, "Where were you going at the end of the game? Why did you turn to leave without waiting for me?"

Hanna felt her heart skip a beat, and instead of directly answering Taehyung's question, she asked hesitantly, "Why did you only drink the sports drink I'd prepared? When so many other girls prepared drinks as well...?"

Taehyung chuckled upon hearing Hanna's words. So that's what she was thinking, Taehyung thought to himself, and looked earnestly into Hanna's eyes, "You know what? You're an amazing girl, Hanna, but you've got a significant weakness."

"What is it?" Hanna's jaw dropped as Taehyung's sudden remark caught her off guard. What is he trying to imply? Does he... dislike me?

"Your greatest weakness is," Taehyung paused for a while, poked Hanna's forehead with his index finger lightly, and his lips curved up into a smirk, "You're lacking self-confidence. You've got to know this: not only are you no less beautiful than the other girls, but your personality is also much better. So don't look down on yourself anymore, and stop thinking that you're inferior to others when you're not. An amazing girl like you should learn to love yourself and appreciate yourself more."

Taehyung's words shook Hanna, for no one had ever said such things to her. No one had ever praised her like that, saying that she was beautiful inside and out. Never had she imagined that the adjective "beautiful" would be used to describe someone like her.

"Really? Do you actually think of me that way? In your eyes, am I not inferior to others?" Hanna's eyes lit up, but her tone was still a little uncertain.

"See? There you go again. Now be more self-confident and stop doubting yourself. In my eyes, you're better than any other girl." Taehyung smiled, eyes curving into a crescent moon-like shape, and patted Hanna on the head affectionately, "Let's go, I'll treat you tteokbokki to celebrate my victory in the basketball game."

"Tteokbokki? Gosh, Kim Taehyung you're the best!" Hanna started jumping with excitement upon hearing one of her favourite dishes. At that moment, all her worries seemed to be gone completely.

And so Hanna and Taehyung set off for a nearby restaurant selling tteokbokki, and the two again walked side by side in happy footsteps, leaving behind two trails of shadows in the sunset.

-

A/N:

It's been ages since the last update, sorry for keeping you waiting!!

Today is the 10th day of my quarantine. I wrote the first 1/3 of this chapter while I was still in Taiwan, while the rest was written in this hotel.

As I announced earlier, I flew back to Hong Kong last week because my grandpa was seriously ill, and I regret to announce that my grandpa passed away a few days ago. I was trapped in this hotel when he passed away, so I was unable to meet him for one last time unfortunately, and this will always be one of the deepest regrets in my life. I'm doing fine, though, so there's no need to worry about me.

In the near future, I may be busy with things like my grandpa's funeral or providing emotional support to my other family members, so I sincerely ask for your understanding and forgiveness if it takes longer for me to update this story.

Thank you so much for your continued support, and I promise I'll continue to write as soon as I have time. I'll see you in the next chapter!!