Her | ✓

Chapter 11 - Sketches of Her

Kyung Mi opened the front door and stepped in. She waved at her cousin and Sooyun before going towards the kitchen. Taehyung smiled down at his house guest. "Welcome to my living quarters. My aunt is at work at the moment."

"Okay. What now?" She looked around the living room. There was a noticeable difference between her living room. This place was a bit messier and more...lived in. Taehyung pointed towards the stairs.

"Let's go to my room!"

He grabbed her sleeve and pulled her along, Sooyun not really minding it. Every time he dragged her around somewhere, it made her feel at ease. Like, no matter where they're heading, he'll keep her safe. It was weird. She hated it, but at the same time...

Taehyung shut the door behind them and took his coat off, throwing it on the back of his desk chair. "Make yourself comfortable."

She nodded and slid her coat off. She slowly walked around, observing his bedroom. It was kind of plain, like he didn't really bother to decorate or express himself. With a grunt and a sigh, Taehyung flung himself on the bed, his legs hanging off and barely grazing the floor.

"I expected a bit more color from your personality. Why don't you change up the room?"

"Hm...At the time, I didn't really feel like it. It's because I knew that no matter what I did to the room, it would never feel like home. I can never get back to that comfortable place." He smiled wryly and shut his eyes.

Sooyun turned around to spot him half-asleep on the bed. How? You have cool friends, a big house with family members who love you. How could this not feel like home?

She stepped over tentatively and crawled up on the bed next to him, laying down beside him. She turned her head and stared at his features. Taehyung turned on his side and faced her, his eyes fluttering open. Sooyun felt her heart skip a beat again. She didn't like that.

"I lost my parents." He answered as if he knew what she was thinking previously. Lips parting, Sooyun couldn't think of words to say.

"They still haven't caught the guy, and frankly, I doubt they ever will. It's been almost two months."

He wet his lips. "I never had much back home. Real friends weren't a thing for me and my grades weren't spectacular. The only thing that could make me smile was getting to see my beautiful parents every day. They were my haven."

He sniffed at the memories.

"...Then one day, that light was taken away from me. Afterward, all I got was pity and fake love from the relatives that barely knew me. And then I was shipped here to live with my aunt and three cousins." He chuckled pitifully. "I could barely remember them. At family gatherings, I never took the initiative to get to know them or talk to them. I kept to myself. Now it's come to bite me in the ass because...they're all I have now."

"I haven't smiled properly in a long time. I've tried and tried. Even cracked a few small genuine grins when my friends did something funny or when...when I saw you."

Sooyun shook her head. "That's not true! I've...I've seen you smile and it's-" She stopped when she saw his expression. The goofy grins she had been seeing...there was so much pain and loneliness behind them.

"I admit, it's been better than I thought here. I made true friends for the first time and I met someone really incredible and amazing. Still...that haven I once had will be hard to find again. But I'm getting there. I know because...every time I see you I get that warm feeling. That feeling that says 'Hey! Your happiness is waiting right over there!'"

"...I...I'm nobody, though. I can't be anyone's happiness."

A few tears left his eyes as he smiled lightly. "You, Jeon Sooyun, are incredible. I won't stop saying it, even after the day you realize it yourself. You make me want to smile again." Sooyun sniffled and wiped away the tears from his face. Inside she knew it was all wrong.

She couldn't help anyone. She could never do anything except hurt others. That's why she hates being with him. That's why she hates that she gave him a chance to be close to her. Despite all this fear and hatred, that small part of her that wanted him around won over the majority. Thus, she did a stupid thing.

She took a step towards him and asked him a question. Because of her stupidity, they ended up lying beside each other talking. Because of her stupidity, she felt content. Because of her stupidity, he would get hurt in the end.

Taehyung shivered under her touch and she smiled sadly. "Sorry, I'm too cold." He shook his head. "It's not that. That's not why I shivered."

"Then why?"

He gave her a mischievous smirk. "You'll find out later."

It was the electricity. That was why he shivered. The feeling he got from her being so close to him. They stared into each other's eyes in a comfortable silence. It wasn't said, but there was a strong connection between them.

***

Taehyung rolled around in his bed Saturday morning. The rest of the week had been strange, yet awesome. Sooyun continued to sit with him and his friends at lunch and the two would occasionally bump into each other on the way to school in the mornings.

He stopped rolling around and stared up at the ceiling with a creepy grin on his face. There was something he felt the urge to do. With an itch in his fingers, the boy hopped up and ran over to his desk. He took out the hidden sketches he had started and sat down.

Chewing on his lip, different thoughts and ideas formed in his head on how to complete his artwork. Taehyung pulled out all of the supplies he thought he could put to use and began testing out various designs and colorings.

He spent the whole day like this. Locked up in his room with drawings and colors scattered around.

***

A knock on his door momentarily disturbed Taehyung from his work. Kyung Mi walked in with a bowl of fruit and went towards him.

"Here, Oppa. You've been in here all day, eat something." He smiled at her gratefully.

"Thanks, Kyung Mi." She nodded and glanced down at his messy desk. Her lips parted slightly in awe. "Did you draw all of this? It's amazing."

"Ah, yeah."

"You're really talented, Tae." She picked up one of the sketches.

"Thanks, but not really."

Tilting her head in wonder, Kyung Mi squinted her eyes and peered through her glasses. "Isn't this...that girl who was over here a few days ago? S-Sooyun?"

Taehyung nodded bashfully. He flinched under his cousin's teasing gaze. "Oppa, do you-"

"Alright! Thanks for the fruit Kyung Mi, you can go now! Bye~!" He got up and pushed her out the door, snatching the drawing from her hand and shutting the door with a click of the lock. He sighed as he sat back down.

He stared down at the various different drawings of the girl. He tried all different types of art styles and designs to see which one fit her best. It was almost in vain, though, since Taehyung came to the conclusion that they all looked good. At least it was fun to draw them.

CHAPTER XI fin.