She Doesn't Like Flowers

Don't Run

"She's not available at the moment, sir...." Her assistant was on his feet in an instant as Taehyung strode out of the elevator.

"Bullshit, I can see her office from here." The assistant stepped in front of him.

"But she's not available..." Taehyung fixed the man with a glare so potent it could've frozen hell over.

"I'm. Done. With. This. I come in. You don't get in my way. We clear?" Before her assistant could reply... "Good." Taehyung shoved him to the side and threw open her office door. In hindsight that might've been a bad idea.

Y/N had been curled up in her office chair, looking over a report, but her panicked look and instant jumping to her feet reminded Taehyung that loud noises were a big no-no. He needed to be more careful. Even though he was annoyed.

She didn't say anything, just looked at him warily. That look. Directed at him. He hated it. But he forced himself to take a breath and stay composed, choosing to lean against the door jamb with his hands in his pockets.

"Is there a reason why you're ignoring my phone calls and texts?" He said evenly. She sat back down in her chair, eyes on him at first but they shifted down when she replied.

"I'm busy."

"So am I. It's a little inconvenient to have to come all the way down here to talk to you."

"So don't."

"Y/N..." He stopped himself from an irritated comeback and stepped inside, closing the door. "Y/N, why are you avoiding me?" He tried, more quietly. She still wasn't looking at him.

"I'm busy."

"Cut the bullshit, we both know that's not the real reason."

"Please just go, Mr. Kim." Distance. She was distancing herself from him. And that hurt a little. Well, actually a lot. He swallowed.

"No." Her head snapped up.

"This is my office. Leave."

"No." He said again, firmly.

"I can have security up her in a moment to remove you."

"But you won't." Her jaw clenched.

"Don't test me, Kim Taehyung."

"For fuck's sake, Y/N!" He said exasperated, walking over and planting his hands on her desk. "I don't want to do this! I don't want to fight! What's wrong?! Tell me, what's wrong?" He quieted his voice at the end. She didn't reply, eyes once again glued down to the desk in front of her.

"What did I do wrong, Y/N? Did I love you wrong? Did you not enjoy it? I was trying to make you forget, did I not do that?" Still nothing but, although Taehyung couldn't see it just yet, there was an almost imperceptible quiver in her chin. He felt like he'd had her and now she'd slipped away and he didn't want to see that, he couldn't deal with that.

"Nothing, you did nothing." She was so quiet he almost didn't hear.

"Okay, then what? What's the issue? I text you if you want to grab coffee, no answer. I call to ask if you want dinner, no answer. Lunch? No answer. Are you really trying to make me that guy who fucks and leaves..."

"Stop it, stop it, stop it, JUST STOP IT!" She was on her feet, hand clamped over her mouth, tears starting to leak from her eyes, stepping away from the desk. It startled him and he stepped back, hands up so she could see he'd stopped. She looked at him for a second then away and he heard a strangled sob from behind her hand, followed by another one. Her torso shuddered.

She was trying to keep control and failing miserably, it felt like everything she'd been struggling with had come collapsing down on her shoulders. She stepped away from the desk, from him, arm out to lean on the wall for support. She turned her back to him, facing the large windows overlooking the city of Seoul from many stories up.

There was dead silence for several seconds while she fought herself before another sob slipped out. And then another. It physically pained Taehyung to watch, her whole body shuddered each time. Her crying got worse, her hand sliding up to cover her eyes.

He heard a noise behind him, her assistant had been observing the whole exchange through the windows separating her office from the main lobby, but one glare from Taehyung and he shrank back. Taehyung wasn't sure if that was good, they'd be left alone, or bad, what if it wasn't him.

"I can't..." She sounded so heart-broken.

"Can't what?" He approached her slowly, his voice soft.

"I can't..." Her voice cracked. "I can't be vulnerable. I can't owe you. I can't love you." Each word felt like a stab in his heart but he wasn't going to leave just yet. He hesitantly walked over and rested his hands on her shoulders, whispering a soft "shhhh" so she would hear him coming.

"Why not?" The question triggered a round of fresh sobs. For her it felt like she was ripping her heart out with each thought that passed through her head. "Who says?"

"I can't...I can't..."

"Says who?" He whispered again, gently rubbing her shoulders. "Who says you can't, Y/N?"

"I can't owe people, I have to be strong, I can't trust people..."

"Why not?" He really wanted to know where all this was coming from.

"I can't let myself...."

"Please tell me why, Y/N."

"Because I'll get hurt." Another sob. He gently turned her around to look at him, lifting her chin up so she couldn't avoid his eyes.

"And you aren't hurting now?" She closed her eyes.

"I can't let my emotions rule me." She said softly.

"Y/N, look at me." Yeah, he had an incentive to convince her but he knew that anyone looking from the outside in would see the same thing he saw. "Y/N." He said firmly. It took a little bit but she finally did. "Y/N, I'm young and I'm not always the smartest person in the room.  Especially when you are in it. But I can tell you right now that if you give in to whatever is telling you to fight against what you feel, you'll still be ruled by emotion. It'll just be fear. Not love. Fear." His face took on an incredulous look. "Is that how you want to live the rest of your life?" His heart was hammering, he himself was feeling fear. Only it was fear that she'd run far away from him.

"But that's...that's..."

"Vulnerability, yes. But that's part of being human." He cocked his head and despite himself a trace of a grin formed on his face. He could read her. And he was starting to read what he wanted to see. "Are you human?" The lack of a witty snap-back revealed just how emotionally spent she was. She nodded weakly and he sighed, slipping his arms around her and pressing her into him. 'Then don't fight it, Y/N. Work with it. Please. For your sake and mine." He felt her hand grip the back of his shirt. "Because if you don't, I know I'm going to go batshit." It felt like hours but he most likely held her for about ten minutes.

"Be with me, Y/N." He whispered when he felt her shift. "I want to give up my lunches to talk to you, not chase you down." He heard a soft snort and knew she was starting to come back to herself a little. "Is that a yes?" He wheedled. He didn't care how insecure it was. He needed to hear it.

"Yeah." She sighed into his chest.