Monster High - Kim Taehyung (BTS V)

Chapter 3

"A-A date?" I squawked in surprise, my eyes pulsing from their sockets.

Taehyung shrugged. "That's what I said, isn't it?" he answered, his eyes gleaming in amusement. "So, is that a yes?"

My mind spun. Taehyung was asking me out? That was more than unexpected; he was light years out of my league, and he must've had better things to do than to hang out with new students. But, we did already seem to be quite involved with each other, even though my first week hadn't even finished yet.

"Earth to Sori?" Taehyung waved a slender hand in front of my face with a playful puppy expression plastered on. "You there?"

I nodded. "Y-Yes!" I exclaimed suddenly. "I mean... Yeah, I'm there, and yes to the date."

Taehyung beamed. "Great," he said. "We'll go after school on Friday?"

"Sure, but where?" I asked.

"Oh, it's a surprise," he replied, "You'll find out when we get there."

-

"Ta-da!" Taehyung flung open his arms into the sunlight when we emerged from his car. His door slammed shut behind him, in contrast to mine being gingerly closed, with my palm pressed against the ridge to mute the sound.

I shielded my eyes from the sun with my hand, squinting at my surroundings. "What is this place?" I asked. "O-Oh wow, that's definitely the smell of the ocean."

The salty odor had infiltrated my nose immediately. I winced in surprise, though it wasn't too horrible--just unexpected. I stole a glance at Taehyung, who was breathing in the air deeply.

"I love the smell of the ocean," he confessed. "It has so many memories!"

He led me to a row of buildings lining the shore. We entered a café, and immediately, the cozy atmosphere engulfed me. Silverware clinked against porcelain dishes, people were chattering lowly, and the staff bustled around, their arms full. The line to order was nonexistent, so Taehyung went ahead to order as I lagged behind so I could pay for myself separately.

"Ah, a caramel macchiato and a triple chocolate sundae, please," said Taehyung to the cashier. He casted a glance back at me. "What do you want, Sori?"

I shook my head. "I'll order separately," I replied sheepishly.

"No, no, I'll pay for you," he insisted. "Don't worry about it."

I scrunched up my face in an expression of discomfort, but I complied, since I didn't want to keep the cashier waiting.

"Can I have milk tea and mango frozen yogurt, please?"

The cashier nodded. "That'll be about ten-thousand won," she said before getting handed a wad of cash from Taehyung. I murmured a quiet thank you and an "I owe you" to him as he put his wallet back, and replied in a nonchalant head shake with a smile.

We received our order quickly and chose to eat outside so that we faced the shoreline. Seagulls frequented over our heads, which was thankfully covered by a white umbrella. Even though it wasn't summer anymore, people were swimming in the dark water, though some limited themselves to only toe-dipping. We ate while watching the environment around us. My spoon sunk slowly into the frozen yogurt whenever I scooped up some of the goodness. I twirled the spoon around so that the orange cream twisted around the metal before sticking it in my mouth.

"Is it good?" Taehyung leaned over the table to peek at my frozen yogurt.

I nodded. "Yeah, you should try some."

He nodded slowly before reaching with his spoon to try a bite. The metal scoop disappeared into his mouth, and his eyes rolled upwards as he took in the flavor. Then, a soft smile tinged his face.

"It's good!" he remarked. "Really refreshing, compared to this. I think I overestimated my sweet tooth a bit too much."

He gestured to his chocolate ice cream sundae with a giggle. Three scoops sat in a paper cup, topped with hot fudge and blue sprinkles. I almost felt nauseous just looking at all the sickly-sweetness.

"You can have more, if you want," I offered. "I'm kind of full anyways."

Gratitude immediately flashed in Taehyung's eyes as he proceeded to shovel a spoonful of pale orange frost. I leaned back in my chair to enjoy the warm, salty air and the ocean. Taehyung raised his eyebrows to look up at our surroundings as well.

"Isn't the water wonderful?" he sighed adoringly. "I grew up with the ocean, so it's quite comforting to me."

I nodded. "My family and I used to go to the beach every other summer," I answered. "I haven't been in a while, though, so this is nice for me too."

"Oh?" Taehyung raised an eyebrow. "So you're not an ocean dweller?"

I laughed and shook my head. "Sadly, no," I replied. "That would've been nice, though."

After we were finished with our food, Taehyung and I went back to the car to return home. He began to play music from his phone, which was hooked to the car via auxiliary cord. I took notice that his music taste was incredibly diverse; I heard English, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, EDM, and soft guitars. However, all the songs were still good, despite how different each was from the last.

Eventually, his car rolled to a stop in front of my apartment complex.

"Well, this is it," I said, undoing my seatbelt. "Thank you for today. It was fun, and I had a great time!"

"No problem." He smiled warmly. "Thanks for coming with me."

I nodded and moved to open the door, but his hand found my shoulder.

"Wait," Taehyung said. "Was this date worthy of a kiss?"

I whirled around quickly, shocked. My breath hitched, and I felt my temperature rise as I became increasingly flustered. Suddenly, it felt like my tongue had become tangled.

"U-Uh," I stammered, "I don't know... Was it?"

He smirked, self-satisfied. "I think it was," he commented, leaning in so that our faces were mere centimeters apart. "So can I get one?"

"A-Ah, I-" I stuttered, still unable to form coherent sentences.

"Kiss me," Taehyung commanded.

I felt the atmosphere change with those words. Chills ran down my spine, and my mind blanked out. All of a sudden, I was gravitating towards him without thinking, and when I was finally aware of what was going on, our lips were already locked.

I gaped at Taehyung through wide eyes as we kissed. His eyes were fluttered closed, his thick eyelashes lightly dusting his skin, and I felt sleepy just looking at him from such a minuscule distance. Slowly, my own eyes shut, and I pressed forward to eliminate any remaining space between us. My heart pounded in my ribcage, and I felt electricity coursing through my veins and arteries.

Oh my God, I thought. I'm kissing Kim Taehyung.

When he pulled away, I sat up straight abruptly. My cheeks were beyond warm, and I couldn't seem to make eye contact with him. Had that really just happened?

Taehyung was smiling. "That wasn't so bad, was it?" he inquired.

I shook my head rapidly, eyes glued to the gear shift.

"I guess I should go, then," I said, my hand reaching for the door. "Thanks again."

"Say, before you go," Taehyung interrupted again, "what are you? I don't think you told me."

"Um... Korean? Year of the pig? Virgo?" I babbled on, nervous and unsure of what he was asking.

Taehyung narrowed his eyes, though they grew in size seconds later. He seemed confused as well before his expression transformed to one of shock and slight... horror? I squinted at him, trying to read his expression.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

Immediately, his face returned to normal, and he shook his head quickly. He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. With a casual wave of his hand, he dismissed me.

"Nothing, nothing," he answered in a clipped tone. "Anyways, I'll see you around, Sori."