hoping for love | kth

|| part #14 ||

|- taehyung pov -|

"See you tomorrow, stupid!" Choi Dong-Min called cruelly as he jogged away from where I was sitting on the ground, my arms and face aching from the harsh punches of the group that had just left.

I sat on the ground for a couple of seconds, slowing my breathing down a bit.

I crawled over to my bag which was three feet away from me on the frozen ground.

I reached over and grabbed it, taking out a water bottle and my small first aid kit.

Desperately, I opened up the kit only to find that nothing was in there.

I let out a sigh in frustration.

I twisted the lid of the water bottle and poured some water over a bruised part of my arm and leg.

Grimacing, I balled my hand into a fist and pushed up from the freezing grass, losing my balance a bit as I stood up.

Somehow, I leaned downward toward my bag and picked it up, unzipping the front pocket for my phone. 

I only had five minutes before the bus came. 

I began to slowly limp over to the stop, each step causing me to wince in pain.

"Are you alright?" The bus driver asked me, concerned, as he noticed my gait.

I nodded. "I'm alright, thanks."

I took a sigh of relief as I sat on the bus, my bag next to me.

I leaned my head against the window and sighed staring at the signs flashing by. Around ten minutes later, the bus driver called out the name of the café where Meili worked.  I slowly grabbed my bag and made it off the bus, using the seats as support. 

"Have a great day!" The bus driver said to the middle-aged man who was also getting off. "Oh, you, have a great day, too! Take care of yourself!"

I smiled at him before gingerly stepping off the bus and walked a few feet to the café. 

"Hello, welcome to Café Tart," I heard Meili say as she led the middle-aged man over to a seat. Compared to my messy bedhead, Meili looked clean and cheerful. 

"Hey," she said as I walked over. I caught her looking at my leg to check what was wrong with it. "Are you alright?" 

I nodded my head, but it was evident that she didn't believe me. 

"Sit down, I'll be right back," she said. 

I was going to stop her, but there was no point. Slowly trudging over to the nearest table, I sat down, gently resting my leg. 

Around three minutes later, Meili came back, a porcelain mug in her hand and a small nylon kit in the other hand. 

"It's hot, let it cool down a bit," she said placing the mug on the table. 

Hot chocolate. 

I couldn't help but smile. 

She crouched down and rolled up my pant leg until the top of my calf where there was a large purple bruise and a small amount of blood coming out. 

She opened up the orange kit and took out a bandage, antiseptic spray, and a few tissues. 

I watched her as she delicately began to clean up my wound. Every so often, her hair would fall in front of her face, causing her to frustratedly try to brush it away. 

"Stop," I said, amused, reaching over and moving it to the back." 

"Thanks," she said, getting up, placing the spray back in the kit, and zipping it up. "I'll be back in a minute."

I watched Meili walk through the kitchen door. 

Before I knew it, she was back. 

She sat down across from me, moving her hair to one side. "How was your day?"

"Uh, okay," I replied. "Yours?"

"Good, so far," she said. I felt something vibrate in my pocket. I took out my phone to see a text from Areum.

Areum: what time r u gonna come to study?

I glanced up at Meili, who was looking at me, her eyebrows raised.

"Is something wrong?"

"No, I have to go somewhere," I replied.

"Where?"

"Your dormroom," I said, scratching my head. "To study with Areum."

"Okay, gimme a sec," she responded.

I raised an eyebrow as she walked into the kitchen again.

I typed my response to Areum.

Me: I'll be there in fifteen

"Let's go," Meili said, a red javket on and a bag over her shoulder, the hat I had given her yesterday on her head.

I smiled. "What do you mean by 'let's' go?"

She sighed. "My boss told me to go home. Are you coming or not?"

I blinked. "O-Okay."

I stood up, using the table as support. Meili walked over to me and offered her hand. 

I froze, looking like an idiot.

"What?"

"Why are you offering your hand?"

"Because you can't walk," she said. "Why? What did you think.?"

"Nothing," I replied. I held onto her hand with my clammy one.

We slowly walked toward the bus stop as Meili helped me. After only two minutes,  the bus arrived. 

"Good afternoon," the driver said lamely.

Meili smiled as she rummaged through her bag for some money.

"I got it," I said, handing the driver some cash.

She looked at me before we sat down at the front of the bus.

"Thanks," she responded after a few minutes, looking down into her lap. "But, you didn't have to."

"I know," I replied. "But I wanted to."

We sat through the rest of the ride in silence.

Once the driver had called out our stop, we stepped out of the bus, walking in the same fashion as I relied on Meili for support.

After reaching the dorm room, Meili unlocked the door and we both entered.

Areum, who was watching something on her computer, looked up from her bed, where she was sitting, to see us hand in hand.

She raised her eyebrows. Meili noticed and quickly let go of my hand.

"He was limping," she said, throwing her bag to the side and walking toward the kitchen.

Areum smirked. "I didn't say anything, did I? Taehyung, let's start!"

I slowly made my way to the desk and sat down as Areum set up her computer and Meili made something to eat, a slightly grumpy look on her face.

Huh.

Kinda cute. 

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Hello! A quick note; you probably noticed that I tried a Taehyung POV in this part. This is my first time doing a member's point of view, but please tell me if you think I should continue to add in Taehyung's part, or stick with Meili's.

EXO question: Do you like 'Love Shot' or 'Tempo' more?

I think that I like them both equally, but I'd probably pick 'Tempo.'