"We become the monsters we're most afraid of."
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"Jimin," she breathed out. "You're allowed to touch me."
His plump lips slightly parted as a gasp escaped him. "I-" he exhaled, his fingertips slightly grazing her cheek.
"I'm someone else tonight...
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"Glad to see you're alright."
Taehyung pushed himself off the wall just as Aera closed the door of her penthouse with a subtle click.
She blanched, abruptly stopping in her tracks. Slightly frantic, she gulped. Had he by any chance seen Yoongi walk out of her place?
Oddly enough, the black-haired man showed no signs of hearing any part of her conversation with her ex.
Taehyung stepped from the wall, facing her. One arm crossed over his chest, he rubbed at the back of his neck, the rings on his fingers gleaming in the dim light.
His teeth caught the lip ring adorning his full mouth, chewing on it. A gesture Aera had come to realize he was exhibiting when he was uneasy.
"I'm feeling a lot better." she beamed, trying to sound confident.
He tilted his head to the side, dark eyes darting to examine her face.
"Are you really?" he questioned, his velvety voice laced with doubt.
"Of course," she assured him, desperate to appear convincing. "Things got really overwhelming at some point and I guess I just... internally combusted." She felt both ashamed and abashed that Taehyung had witnessed her in such a pitiful state.
"Do you remember..." he trailed off, eyebrows dipping slightly as his teeth dug into his lower lip.
"In bits and pieces, yeah," she gave a small nod. "It's slowly coming back to me." she paused, uncertain of whether she should address the issue or not. "You were the one who brought me back to the penthouse, weren't you?" she said in a breathy voice.
"Yes." Taehyung said in a small voice, gaze averted to the floor.
"Thank you," was the only sentence her mind could produce. "Really, thank you." she stressed, wanting to convey the great amount of gratefulness she carried in her heart for him. Taehyung had never been affectionate or sentimental, if anything he was the exact opposite of that. Emotionally withdrawn and mysterious, he'd offer his embrace to no one.
Yet that night, he had offered it to her.
"Don't worry about it." he shrugged, his nonchalance visibly exaggerated.
An awkward silence engulfed them as Aera searched her mind for anything appropriate to say.
"I thought a lot about what you said," Taehyung said, placing a hand over his forehead. "About our friendship. You apologized a thousand times to me and I still treated you so poorly. I guess I'm just too good at being a jerk." A faint smile painted over his lips, flashing a set of white teeth.
"It's okay." she returned his smile eagerly.
"It's not," he shook his head, soft jet black hair flowing with the motion. "I admit I had a lot of issues with you, without ever taking in consideration that you had your own problems, too. I suppose I expected too much from you. When I realized how attached I'd gotten, I decided I had to push you away."
