Minah smiled as she watched Taehyung talking over the phone. Unlike her, he looked serious.

Well, she could explain.

A few weeks ago, Taehyung called his friend, Seokjin-hyung, after Minah had told him that she had decided to sell the house they were living under. Seokjin was working as a real estate agent and that was exactly the person Minah needed at that moment.

She talked to Seokjin from Taehyung's phone with speakers on, and she found a little more information that she originally wanted.

Aside from talking about her plans to sell the house and how Seokjin would be able to help, she heard from Seokjin that he and the other guys were holding a party at Yoongi's apartment, and half-joked that he would appreciate it if they could talk the next day because he was already a bit too intoxicated to hold a proper business conversation. And also, he asked if they could borrow Taehyung because he was supposed to be there as the rotational party cleaner of the day.

He called Seokjin for her even though he knew it was late at night, during the weekend, and knowing well Seokjin was in the middle of a party he himself was supposed to be joining.

And that made Minah even more grateful towards Taehyung.

She was feeling happy, now that Taehyung was on good terms with her again, now that he was back living in her house again, giving her a type of company she had grown to enjoy.

And for that, she smiled, appreciatively looking at Taehyung sitting at the other end of the sofa in the living room, watching and waiting for his call to be over.

Taehyung did notice her expression during the call, but he only gave her his reaction after he hung up.

"Noona, you okay there?" Taehyung asked as he scooted closer and placed his palm onto her forehead, his eyes judging with concern. "Why do you keep smiling?"

"Because I'm happy?" Minah chuckled, shrugging. "Because I have someone who's helping me?"

"That happy?" Taehyung scoffed, "Don't be happy so soon. We have to figure out why nobody has contacted us about the house yet."

"Anything from Seokjin-ssi?" Minah asked, her smile yet to fade away.

"Yeah. He told me he'll ask his senior colleagues if there's anything else we can do." Taehyung sighed, but his eyes were slightly brighter. "He said this house is basically good to sell at its current state. So the problem is not really in the house itself. The marketplace is probably sinking, but he'll look more into it and let us know."

"That's good."

"You look really silly right now, noona." Taehyung said, but he still chuckled at Minah's persistent smile on her face. "Seriously, what makes you so happy these days?"

Her smile only grew wider to a toothy grin.

Taehyung probably had no idea how much better she felt after her decision to quit her third part time job; how much better to have someone support her and help her through problems she would struggle to do on her own.

"Why can't I be happy? I'm sure everything will go fine. It hasn't been that long since we put the house into the marketplace." Minah reassured, confidence displayed in her tone. "Besides, my friend is coming to get better photos of the house. I'm sure a professional photographer will help to boost the house's appeal by miles."

"I guess, yeah." Taehyung nodded as he stood up. "Let's cook before your friend comes. Oh, what was her name again?"

"Sojin-unnie, you are creeping me out with those smiles." Minah said, cringing at her friend as she pulled on her pleated skirt while watching Sojin's reflection in the mirror in front of her. Sojin had been watching Minah tentatively, but for some particular reason that Minah was sure didn't have anything to do with what was supposed to be right then. "You are supposed to judge which outfit I would look good enough in for my next blind date."

"Do you really need a blind date at all?" Sojin asked as she played with her high-quality camera that was hung around her neck, resting peacefully on Minah's bed.

"What do you mean? Why wouldn't I?" Minah queried, bothered by her friend's smile as it appeared more mischievous and knowing. But knowing what?

"I saw that." She stated, like catching Minah in the middle of a sneaky act.

"You saw what?" Minah asked, clearly clueless.

"Taehyung feeding you."

"So what?"

"Are you pretending not to get my point or are you really not getting my point?" Sojin asked, still with a mischievous tone in her voice. That made Minah even more weary of her friend. "Name me another man you would let feed you."

"My hands were occupied with making the dough. And he just wanted to make sure the soup was good enough? I remember telling you that he wanted to learn to cook simple dishes, didn't I? He was just seeking advice." Minah explained. But that expression on Sojin failed to falter as she hoped. "Really, we are just friends."

"As if. I've never observed any pair of friends acting affectionate like that and not having feelings for each other." She sang.

"Well, then you just saw one." Minah scoffed and shook her head, paying no mind to her friend's words. It never crossed her mind that she and Taehyung would be anything beyond good friends.

"Okay. Okay. I got it." Sojin mused, "You don't realize just yet."

"When should I be able to realize I have feelings for him then?" Minah asked Sojin half-jokingly, though she was definitely curious to what an experienced woman like Sojin would say. She was a 29 year-old with plenty of ex-boyfriends. She was a confident woman who always took the initiative in dating; first to confess, first to break up; straightforward and mature.

Sojin hummed, diverting her gaze at Minah to the wall in front of her, pondering. "Let's see. I usually realize it when that person gives me a kind of smile, that I don't want anyone else to look at it."

"Cheesy." Minah held back her laugh, not trying to mock the older as much as she could. That was probably how her possessive friend loved someone, and that was totally fine. It was just that, Minah was sure she was different. She never had that mindset when she was dating her first and only boyfriend back in high school; to be precise, she never really thought about it.

"Be smug while you can. You have been warned." Sojin stuck out her tongue at her younger friend, making the latter scoff light-heartedly.

She had been going out on two different blind dates and both times, she was actively looking to set Taehyung free. To her, that was good enough a reason for her to deny Sojin's assumptions.

"I don't think so." Taehyung said as he put his hand on his chin, looking at Minah. "It's not any guy's fault. It's yours."

Minah couldn't hide her drop in expression. She felt insecure at Taehyung's remarks as she gawked at him. It was the fourth time she had gone out on a blind date and also the fourth time she had turned down the offer of a second meet-up. Every guy was nice to her and they all left good enough of a first impression, but she could not bring herself to meet up with them again.

But she felt slightly disappointed that Taehyung was blaming her. She knew it was a selfish reaction. She guessed she just wanted some validation from Taehyung, after all.

"My fault?" Minah pursed her lips, "How?"

"You are too picky, that's how." Taehyung stated, unfeigned. "If the guy is good enough, you should give him another chance. That's how we eventually learn about and love somebody. Isn't that right?"

Minah felt some truth to his reasoning, but she still stood by her feelings. "Probably, but I guess being picky from the start is still better than wasting time trying to cut people off later on."

"You know what," Taehyung sighed light-heartedly, squinting his eyes at Minah, "At this rate we'll live with each other at least for the next five years."

"I'll keep trying. Don't worry too much about it, Tae." Minah said, taking his joke a little too seriously to Taehyung's expectation.

"Noona, don't push yourself. I'm fine." Taehyung stressed, smiling softly at Minah. "Speaking of which, are you doing this because you are concerned about me?"

"I can't help it." Minah confessed, "I want to set you free as soon as I can."

"Is that a sugarcoated way of saying I'm a nuisance to live with?" Taehyung furrowed his brow.

"You know it's not." Minah chuckled.

"Well, I know you've been busy with school. It's your senior year. Just focus on your studies, I'll be fine for the next year."

"Thank you, Tae." Minah said at last, sighing contently. "You really are the best."

"I am." Taehyung proudly said, giving her a lop-sided smile. "Come to my room."

"Can I?" Minah asked cautiously, wondering if she had misheard him. Why would he ask her to come to his room? Was it okay for her to see his room in the first place? At that moment, she assumed the rush of questions that crossed her mind made her heart race and her face flushed with heat.

"Why not? I've seen yours, so you can see mine." Taehyung shrugged, not paying much thought to Minah's concerns. It seemed he was occupied with whatever that he planned to show Minah.

And so, she followed him inside.

She dropped her jaw slightly at the unsightly mess that was on his bed, and the floor, and everywhere else.

"Tae, you are not keeping your room clean. It's supposed to be the place you pay most attention to. Not the living room, not the kitchen, not anywhere else you've been able to keep tidy." Minah commented, shaking her head at Taehyung. To which he replied with a shy smile.

"Sorry, I can't help myself. Bad habits die hard." He scratched his nape. "But hey, check out this cool thing I've made for you."

Minah chuckled at his clumsy attempt to change the topic, but she followed his movements as he took out an object from one of his drawers, and she sat on the edge of his bed.

"Here, for you." He handed her the little circular, slender object. After a moment of observing it, Minah still couldn't fathom what it was.

"It looks like a pen but I'm sure it's not." She turned to look at the amused Taehyung that already sat next to her. "What is it?"

"Do you have any self-defense items?"

"I have pepper spray and a stun gun." Minah said, noticing the fascination plastered on his face. "Dad had told me to keep them in my purse or handbag long time ago."

"Well, those are cool and all. But mine is more handy." Taehyung cleared his throat, his face displaying a comical solemnity. He then explained to her how the pen-looking thing was used.

"To activate it, the cap must be taken off. Then you'll be able to push the device at the other end to release the pepper spray that I filled in the barrel."

"Can I try?" Minah asked, looking at the little device with fascination.

"Go ahead." Taehyung nodded, beaming gleefully while he reached out to the Kleenex box and gave her a handful of the tissues.

She turned her attention to the device. She did as instructed and the red liquid sprayed on the tissues speedily and plentifully. She laughed out of excitement and that made Taehyung laugh along. Their joyful sounds were interrupted by a loud alarm sound from Taehyung's phone. He did not seem affected by it as he showed the screen to Minah.

"It's more than just a sprayer. It will send a notification to my phone each time you press on the device." Taehyung explained, "Namjoon-hyung helped me with the implementation of the cellular and GPS signal on the chip inside this buddy. I'll be able to track where you are."

"Wow." Minah dropped her jaw, amazed by the ability that came from the thing she was holding. "It's indeed much better than my pepper spray and the activation lock is less vulnerable too." Minah commented. "I love the idea. Is this for one of your projects?"

"No, I made it for you." Taehyung shrugged as he gave her a gentle smile, "Since you only have your blind dates at night, who knows, some guys might be a predator and I would hate it if you happen to meet one. You know, being one of the reasons you go out on dates, I thought I should do something."

Minah just stared at him, speechless. She felt a rush of heat creeping up her cheeks. Her heart started to beat faster and harder till the point she was afraid Taehyung could hear it.

She was touched by what he had done. And more importantly, she finally felt the spark that she was looking for on her blind dates but she never got.

Something like love. She was feeling it, vividly, certainly.

She wished he could keep eye-contact with her for longer, but he broke it and proceeded to take the device from her hand, saying that he still needed to fix it up as it was leaking even after spraying. But she couldn't care less. The only thing she heard was a pleasant voice that warmed her heart, and that smile still on his face.

The next thing she knew, she pulled him by his neck and placed a chaste kiss on his cheek.

Sojin-unnie, you are right. The owner of the smile that I don't want to share with anyone else, he does exist.