An honest lie | Kim Taehyung (editing*)

- Dinner -

XLIV

Tempting. Very tempting.

How else would she put it after seeing that face of his? He was standing tall, with a warm smile and an inviting aura that placed Eda in a difficult spot. If it weren't for the unbearable anxiety that was overcoming her senses and cutting her appetite, she would've probably excepted his offer. But for the moment, she did not feel at her ease at all.

The fear and exhaustion had dissolved her cool demeanor completely, leaving her with only her silence as a defense. Rightfully so that her voice wouldn't tremble or stutter at the attempt to form two words in her dry mouth. And that's what she did. Silence.

She just kept staring at him. She couldn't do this. She had to keep up with it. But obviously, her fears and insecurities as a human had to take over in the worst moment making it impossible for her to even breathe normally. In fact, every breath of air felt like burning down her throat. A typical anxiety attack, which consisted of her feeling like fainting on the inside but looking rather composted and calm on the outside.

Funny wasn't it?

While she'd been having her inner crisis, Taehyung studied her face. He could barely see it, but it was there. From the bigger size of her eyes, he detected how uneasy she felt at that moment. He did not care if it took her long to answer him, just wanted to let her figure things out in her own time. And that allowed him to finally observe her figure since everything had been too hectic for him to notice that her hair was loose on her shoulders. Not too long or too short, but gracefully falling in dark heavy curls pushed to the side as baby hairs covered the left side of her face. Almost like a fringe but not quite. Her curls weren't defined but rather messy and yet they complimented her slightly olive skin.

Taehyung's orbs traveled to her warm clothing as he unconsciously smiled at her way of dressing. She had a military green hoodie with a long black coat that reached about five centimeters above her knees. And her black pants hugged her loosely making her look comfy for a nice night walk.

Speaking of which, he suddenly wondered where she had been before getting to the department but stopped himself when he saw her eyes staring intently at him. A shiver run down his spine and gulped for fear of her reading his thoughts again.

But he did not have anything to hide did he? There was no shame in him thinking she was very pretty.

Taehyung looked around him before shaking his head at her. "What?"

His voice brought Eda back from her daze as she hummed in inquiry. "Uh?"

"Uh?" He raised his eyebrows looking more lost than her.

"Uh?" Eda shook her head. "Wait. What was the question again?"

Taehyung parted his lips but stopped as he went back to the begging of the conversation. If it could even be considered one. Yeah, what was the question? He frowned as he stared at nothing in particular.

Right.

"Do you want to go out with me?" He blurted without even thinking.

It was Eda's turn to raise her eyebrows at that as his question took her completely off guard.

When Taehyung realized what he had said his eyes doubled the size and he shook his hands frantically. "No no no no, I meant if you want to eat! I mean- go eat.." he grimaced at his choice of words. "Grab dinner you know. Eat. Out." He pressed his lips together. "With... me." And pointed at himself almost questionably.

Eda watched his little crisis in amusement when she realized her anxiety had left and she had finally been able to breathe normally again. Her breathing steadied and she could no longer feel her heart ringing in her ears. Eda stared up at his cringing face as he waited for her answer when an appreciative warm feeling soothed her chest.