Moonlight | Kim Taehyung

21: Luna

Do I love Taehyung? Should I let myself love him? He's telling me that he loves me; that he wants to be with me, but what if he regrets it? What if he isn't ready to move on and becomes afraid?

Despite these thoughts, I still say to Taehyung, "Okay,"

"Okay? So, you'll date me?" he says joyfully.

"Yes, I will," I reply assuredly.

"Then... umm... we should go on a date," he says. "I'll take you out tonight."

"Great," I reply with a smile, then fall back asleep as soon as we end the call.

This would be my first date ever. Taehyung will become the first guy I date; my first boyfriend.

---

It's soon almost time for me to meet up with Taehyung. I'll be meeting him at the park, the place where we first met.

I'm desperately rummaging through my closet for something to wear, but I'm never pleased by whatever outfit I pick out. I groan as I fall back onto my bed that's covered in heaps of clothing.

Mina enters my room and she seems surprised as she says, "Luna? What are you doing?"

"Trying to find something to wear," I reply in slight annoyance. "I can't seem to find the right outfit."

"Right outfit for what?" she says and comes to sit at the edge of my bed.

"To go out," I reply simply.

She raises her eyebrows, "Are you going somewhere special? Why can't you just wear what you're wearing now?"

"I'm going to meet Taehyung," I say hesitantly. "We're going on a date."

"A date!" she says in astonishment and I just nod without explaining anything. "I didn't know you two were dating."

"Well... this will be our first date,"

"And you didn't even bother telling me?"

"I... umm... I was afraid of how you would react if I told you."

"I'm happy for you, Luna. Really. I'm glad that you're going out. This will be good for you."

I knew I didn't need to be afraid of telling my sister about my date with Taehyung, because I suppose dating him would be good for me. Good for my mental health. My sister has always wanted me to go out more and be more social; she just wants me to be happy. So if dating Taehyung makes me happy, she'll definitely let me date him.

"I'll help you pick something to wear," my sister says as she looks through the piles of clothing on my bed.

She eventually picks out an outfit for me. It's a white mini skirt and a light blue blouse. The skirt cuts across my thighs and the blouse has a wide collar that makes my collar bones visible.

I tie up my hair into a low ponytail, then glance at myself at the mirror and twirl around for my sister.

She nods and smiles in satisfaction, "You look beautiful."

"Really?" I say uncertainly.

I'm still worried that Taehyung wouldn't like it. I just want to look good for my first date.

"This outfit is perfect, Luna. Stop worrying," Mina assures me.

"Okay..." I say and do a final twirl in front of the mirror.

---

I arrive at the park as the sun is setting. I make my way to the lake by following the same path as before. I'm slightly nervous as I fiddle with my fingers as I walk. My heels clicking and the fallen leaves crunching on the ground as I walk. I try to calm my beating heart and slow down my breathing, but the closer I get to the lake, the more nervous I get.

I'm amazed by what I see when I finally reach the lake. Bright fairy lights hang from the branches of the trees surrounding the lake. There are a blanket and pillows on the grass, as well as lavender scented candles placed all around the area.

I'm caught off guard and yelp when I feel arms wrap around me from behind. I catch a whiff of a salty, ocean scent and realise that it's just Taehyung.

He whispers into my ear, "You look so beautiful, I just couldn't resist embracing you."

I feel my cheeks heating up and my heartbeat quickening as I say, "Thank you."

He then says, "It took forever for me to decorate this area, I hope you like it."

"It's amazing," I say honestly. "I love it."

"Good," he says and pecks my cheek before letting go of me.

He holds onto my hand and we make our way to the blanket. We sit side by side on the pillows and face the lake. The moonlight once again reflecting on the water.

"It somehow feels a little strange to be here again," I admit.

"I guess it kinda does," Taehyung responds. "It also feels somewhat weird that I'm meeting you when I've got nothing to tell you about. We only ever meet up if we have problems, but right now, I've got no problem at all."

I nod in agreement and we stare at the lake's reflection.

"Tell me more about Haneul," I say cautiously.

"What do you want to know?" he asks.

He doesn't seem uncomfortable to talk about her, so I ask him, "Were you going to do the same thing with her? I mean this date? Were you going to prepare it the same way?" I ask.

He admits guiltily, "I umm... yeah...I was going to..."

I nod and he hurriedly says, "I just thought you would also like this. So I wanted to prepare it the same way, it's not like I'm using you to be able to do this date or..."

I interrupt him before he can finish whatever he was going to say, "Taehyung, it's okay, I'm not mad. You don't need to explain."

"Just know that my feelings for you are real," he says.

"I know that," I reply.

I believe him. I trust that he really has feelings for me. We've connected with each other so much, all because of the suffering we're going through. I'm glad that I came here and met Taehyung that day. If not, I don't even know if I'll be able to cope with my problems on my own.

I lay down and Taehyung lays down beside me, with our hands intertwined. The sudden cool breeze makes me shiver. Taehyung seems to notice as he inches closer to me and wraps an arm around me. He instantly warms me up as we lay on the blanket in an embrace.

"What does Haneul look like?" I ask. "Do you have a picture of her?"

"Do you really want to talk about my ex-girlfriend this much?" Taehyung asks, but he doesn't seem offended.

"I don't know, I'm just curious," I say.

He takes out his phone from his pocket to show me a photo of Haneul and I'm stunned by her beauty. She has the most gorgeous smile spread across her pale, flawless skin. Her eyes are dark brown, and they seem so bright and alluring. Her long amber hair is wavy and she has wispy bangs that suit her face shape so perfectly.

"She's so beautiful," I say in awe as I stare at the photo.

This makes me somewhat self-conscious about myself. The girl in the photo is so much prettier than me. She looks so charming; so perfect, no wonder Taehyung loves her so much.

"She's not the only beautiful girl I know though," Taehyung mutters and kisses the top of my head. "You're beautiful too."