WISHING FOR AUTUMN | kth

05 | PENNIES

THE AMBER LEAF swirled in the cold autumn breeze before resting on taehyung's shoulder. gaze settling on it for a brief moment, he picked it up, inspecting it with partial fascination. glancing at autumn sitting across from him, a thought played around his head.

he reached for the camera that sat comfortably on the table between them, adjusting the settings a little. holding the leaf up right in front of the camera, he focused the lens on the girl tapping a pen against her lips in thought, so that there was an amber blur in one corner of the frame.

as usual, autumn stood out and yet fit in so perfectly against the branches of carmine, apricot and gamboge leaves that climbed the brick walls of the outdoor café. the burnt orange jacket she wore over a white turtleneck sweater matched the season's palette and offered a nice contrast to her mass of black locks.

her eyes were cast down on the journal in front of her, the pen now digging into her cheek of brown gold. the skin between thick brows furrowed lightly as she contemplated the development of the script she was working on. the cup of coffee and slice of strawberry roll cake on the table had momentarily been forgotten.

he grinned when the picture came out the way he'd hoped. "i saw that." she remarked suddenly, eyes still focused on her journal. his widened in surprise and he saw the way her lips curved up subtly. "saw what?" he cleared his throat, feigning ignorance.

one brow arched in a fluid motion, her gaze moving up to meet his. "nothing then." she replied after a moment, an amused look on her face.

"how's it going? you ignored strawberry cake for it." he swiftly switched the topic. her brows pulled together and lips pursed in a pout, chest heaving when she let out a deep breath. "i am seconds away from losing it. at this rate, the series is going to get cancelled." she said and stuck her fingers in her hair, slightly tugging on the tresses.

he reached over to grab her hand, brushing a thumb over it soothingly. "don't push yourself too hard. remember you're writing this for yourself, because you love it. and don't let the stress of pleasing everyone else weigh you down." his voice came out on a soft lull.

"thanks, tae. you're always here when i need someone." she turned her palm up underneath his and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. he tried to ignore the instant reaction his heart had to the action by observing the tonal differences between his matcha latte and the plate of matcha and white chocolate macarons.

a glint in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he glanced down. brow rising, he watched a coin rolling unsteadily down the cobbled pavement to clatter to a stop when it hit the toe of autumn's white ankle boot. she looked down curiously and, letting go of taehyung's hand, she picked it up. "it's a penny." she twisted the coin between her fingers, making it dully catch the sunlight for a brief moment.

excitedly, taehyung reached for his wallet, pulling out a coin. "it chose you, like mine chose me!" he chimed. "it's officially your lucky penny." he concluded. laughing softly, she gave him a strange look. "what?"

"out of everyone here, it rolled to you like fate." he replied. "this guy's brought me luck since i found him. maybe yours will as well. just tell him your wishes." he continued, clearly on a happy note. nude painted lips pulled up over white teeth, brown eyes regarding him with fascination. "you still have that?" she propped her elbow on the table, resting her cheek on her open palm.

his head bobbed in an enthusiastic nod and he couldn't help but notice how her smile only grew. the feeling that time had slowed down, even when he knew it hadn't, overcame him, his mind slowing autumn's every action in an attempt to savour the moment.

long thick lashes fluttering over warm rising cheekbones. fingers twisting small coin around. tongue peeking between exposed pearly whites. head tilting more into small palm. he took note of everything.

the cool breeze was tickling their skins and exciting the warm toned leaves, tempting them to let go of the branches they held on to. soft murmurs of conversations around them fluttered through the air, words indiscernible as they weaved into each other. her corkscrew curls did a little dance every time the breeze snaked in between the thick strands. his fiery locks swept over his eyes and glasses.

the spell was broken when she looked away from him, staring at the penny again. "i'll keep it. who knows? maybe it'll bring me some inspiration." she slipped it into the pocket of her jacket. he blinked, feeling heat rise up his neck when he realised he'd been shamelessly staring.

his gaze shifted to the coin in his hand, eyes tracing every contour of the small disc. he couldn't help but wonder if he would need a lucky coin forged by the hands of the gods to be able to hold autumn in his arms the way he truly wanted to. he would give anything for that. anything for such a coin to choose him.