LET ME - taehyun x oc

CHAPTER 6

TAEHYUN
Saturday, November 6, 2021

I lay next to her as she sleeps, watching her stir gently into the sheets. Her hair falls across her cheekbone, wisps of it moving softly with her breath.

I only get to see her on the weekends, but I'm constantly thinking of her smile, the way she looks at me, the sound of her laughter, the softness of her skin. Her details play in my head over and over again, like a song I never expected to love.

It's been three months since we met. The days went from long and humid, to short and cold. The maple trees outside her apartment are now in their mid-autumn golden glory. But I know that in a few weeks their bright yellow leaves will be brown and scattered on the street. Getting crushed between rubber and concrete.

"Hey," she smiles, groaning sleepily as she flutters her eyes open to find me watching her. "Did we oversleep?"

"No, I just couldn't sleep anymore," I smile sweetly, moving her hair back behind her shoulder.

Are we like the maple trees?

Are we in our golden glory now? How long do we have until our leaves turn brown?

"What's wrong, Tae?" she asks, propping herself up on her elbow to look at me. "You seem off..."

"I guess I'm still tired," I try to wipe the anxiety off my face with a smile, but I know she can see it in my eyes.

I've been thinking about us a lot. How she feels close but far away at the same time. How we share deep moments of intimacy one minute, but the instant she senses I'm about to drag us into the deep end of the pool, she gets scared and becomes detached.

I know that the day that we met, we lost control. We let the waves crash over us and we've been floating together, weightless, with no anchor to hold us down.

But I'm scared.

I'm scared that if I tell her how I feel, she'll let go of me and I'll be left to float alone. At least now we're weightless together.

But what happens if one of us lets go? What happens then?

"What time is it?" she says, inhaling deeply as she stretches her arms above her head.

"It's 6pm," I mutter, noticing the playful look on her face. She scoots closer to me, draping her arms over my torso as she tucks her chin into my chest.

This is how she pulls me out when she senses I'm falling too deeply into my thoughts. She touches me, she kisses me, she brings me back to the present moment where it's just us.

I hold her tightly and gaze out the window. The sun's dim golden light peeks through the highrises across the street.

"We should get ready then," she grins, pecking me on the cheek. "We don't wanna be late to the housewarming party, right?"

I smile and nod, watching her push the sheets off as she sits up on the edge of the bed. Her bare back silhouetted against the golden sunlight.

She picks up her shirt off the floor and pulls it over her chest, turning over her shoulder to give me a look.

"Are you gonna get up or are you just gonna look at me?" she smirks, knowing full well that if it were up to me, I'd watch her day and night.

"I wish we could just stay in bed, babe-" I whisper, leaning across the mattress to gaze up at her. She caresses my cheek softly and pecks me on the lips.

"We can do that tomorrow, baby-" she coos, looking me in the eye. "You can keep me in bed all day if you want, okay?"

"Promise?" I smirk, reaching for her waist as my fingers slide under her shirt.