[ listen while reading; highly recommended ; starts at :45]
[ http://youtu.be/ZYUJy2EGgdY ]

November 19th 2012

Her morning starts with coughs that echo the apartment.
Tossing and turning in her bed of flowers, breathing in the mist of the morning. 
The more she thinks about how much her head hurts the more she wants to continue lying in bed. 

She doesn't want to but she knows she has to get up.
She gets up and wonders down the apartment to the kitchen. 
The apartment is quiet, it's cozy, it's dim, not scary dim, comforting dim, she lives with her aunt and uncle. 
However her aunt and uncle live in America, she lives alone. 

She wants to get close to someone, anyone, but she's scared of the consequences. 
She's scared of commitment, but most of all she is afraid of how they would feel if she were to go away. 
She'll go to the place that will bring her peace, a place where the sun always shines but the night is dim and romantic, where there is nothing scary and there is nothing to fear. 

She leaves, dressed in a black long sleeve, white dress, black tights, white converse, black coat and light pink scarf. She walks to the bus stop  , the bus that takes her to her favorite coffee shop. 
She admits to spending most of her time here, it's a simple place, but it's nice, the people are nice, she got offered a job, she didn't need it. 
She walked in, she took the scarf off her neck, she smiled as she looked at it.

She remembers the day she got this scarf. 
Her thoughts cut short because it was her time to order. 
"Hey Seul, the usual?" He asked her. 
"You know me so well, Tae." 
"No violin?" He asked writing the order on her cup. 
She sighed, "Not today." 
He sighed back. "That's saddening." 
"Sorry, next time I promise." She said with a smile. 
He nodded and she walked away.

He smiles while making her drink. Sometimes he looks forward to seeing her here. 
He likes her, he likes her personality, her aura, the way she talks to people, the way she plays violin. 
He likes it all. He just wanted to tell her. He wanted to get to know her, and he's been trying.
It took him 3 months to learn her full name, a half a year to find out where she lived. 
He remembers that night. The night of Secret Santa gift deliveries. 

Another customer, another order,  another call. 
It's all very ordinary. 
"Hey, it's you." Jimin says as he walks up to the cashier. 
"Yes it's me."
"Oh, it's her!" He pointed to the girl with the pink scarf, "Did you talk to her today?" 
"A little."
"Invite her to our thing tomorrow."
"No she'll be creeped out.." Taehyung gets shy and looks down. 
"If you don't I will. She won't say no to me, I've got a killer eye smile." Jimin jokes. 
Kind of.. 


November 23rd 2012

Taehyung wakes up to the cold, he's shivering, he left his window open last night. Bad idea. 
The girl with the pink scarf, Seulki, he remembers the last time he saw her. 
Two nights ago, Jimin had invited her to go with Taehyung and Jimin's younger brother to a midnight firework show. 
They sat on the grass, she had Taehyung's lion blanket draped on her shoulders. 
Jimin and his brother were running around yelling and falling at the sight of big fireworks. 
Taehyung laid back on a sleeping bag and watched the fireworks, watched the smiles on her face, the occasional flinching of her when a loud firework boomed.  
She clung to the blanket. 
She felt safe, secure, like she belonged, she felt a little selfish being with him. 
At this time she was admitting the feeling she had for him. She was hanging out with him more than usual, and he was happy about it. 

Taehyung wondered his apartment in search for his work uniform. 
If he didn't hurry he'd be late. 

November 30th 2012

It had taken him 8 months but he got Seulki's number. 
He even went over a few days ago. 
She made him coffee, it was like they had switched places. 
He hugged her, a few times that night. He really enjoyed being in her company. He liked that she had started to open up around him. Due too the first few times they've hung out she was awkward and distant. 
He had left his lion blanket there. 
Possibly on purpose, possibly on accident, he didn't know why either. 

December 4th 2012

"Oh, Taehyungie~ When do you want your blanket?" Seulki asked after she ordered her coffee. 
"Ohh, I'll pick it up eventually." He smiled. 
"Okay~ I'll make sure of it!" She laughed. 

She remembers that night he came over. She tried to make a coffee that was like his.
He rewarded her for her efforts. 
He hugged her and praised her. Complimented her furniture. The table isn't the kind that uses chairs. It was low to the floor, they sat on the floor. So when they had ate snacks and sat with each other, their legs touched occasionally. 
She was scared to get close to him. 
Not physically, emotionally. 
She wanted to, she wanted to get to know him more and fall in love with him, he made it easy, but she just couldn't pull herself to do it. She kept pushing her feelings away. But she knew her guard had fallen when he back hugged her..

Of course she had left the stool in the living room, she couldn't reach the coffee on top of the fridge. 
He came behind her, nonchalantly, and got it for her. 
Balancing it on her head while she processed the feeling of his chest on  her back, he caught it as it was about to fall, which accidentally cause him to back hug her. 

She thought about this as she hung her pink scarf on the chair and placed her books down.
She was gonna mess with her hair, she turned around rather quickly to head to the bathroom. 
Splash. 

"Aah!" 
Coffee had spilled all over her white blouse. 
The worker apologized and apologized, working to clean the mess first. 

"Aiiish.." She tried to cover herself, the cafe wasn't very full, but the people that were they're happened to be mostly guys. 
Taehyung rushed to her. 
He covered her quickly and walked her over to the break room. 
"What am I doing in here?" she asked, she had pushed herself on the wall in embarrassment. 
"I should have an extra shirt.." He opened his locker, he had an extra work shirt, a coat, and -yes! He had an extra white baseball tee. 
It had his name and number on it. 
Kim Taehyung. 95. 
She looked at him with great appreciation. 
She bowed her head, took the shirt and turned around as he quietly kept his forehead on the door waiting for her to finish changing. 
She looked at the black sleeves and the almost perfect length. She smiled and ran into Taehyung's back, hugging him. 
"Thank you so much!" He turned around and held her shoulders as she stepped back. 
He looked her up and down, she smiled and so did he. 
"It fits you well. Sorry for what happened. He's new here."
She nodded in understanding. 

It came time for her to leave, he walked with her down the street to the convenience store. 
A sweet ahjumma had convinced Taehyung to buy her a rose. 
She hugged him as he left, smirking to himself, hands buried deep into his coat pockets. 

December 5th 2012

She didn't go out today. 
Taehyung worked an early shift. 
He was changing into his casual shirt from his locker when he saw hers hanging. 
He grabbed the shirt and slowly, walked towards his apartment a few blocks down. 

[text message]
- You weren't there today, are you home?
~ Yes. Tae... Can you make soup? ㅠㅠ 
- Are you sick?
~ Maybe 
- I'll be there soon. Wait for me. 
~ Yes sir. 
[end text message]

She coughed and coughed as she clung the blanket closer to her. 
She had felt ill last night, she awoke this morning to a headache like no other and shivers that's made her feel nauseous. 
She wasn't going to ask Taehyung to come over, but her knees felt weaker the more she tried to walk. 
She'd have to make a doctors appointment soon. 
It's almost time for check up anyway, hopefully there wasn't anything else wrong with her. 

She fell asleep, but woke up to her phone ringing. 
"Hello?"
"Seul, open the door so I can make your soup." 
"Oh, I'm coming then." 
She moved, slowly but surely to the door. 

The door opened and he stepped up to enter, but she was starting to lose her balance. He grabbed her arms to steady her, she groaned, he helped her back to the couch. The couch where she had made herself comfortable with his blanket, a pillow, and a box of Kleenex. 

"Sorry, I don't want to get you sick, but, I'm really feeling bad.."
"Do you need to go to the doctor?" 
"Maybe tomorrow... Would I be terrible if I asked-" 
"Don't worry I'll take you." 
She smiled and thanked him. 
He went to the kitchen and began to make the soup. 

He stayed there for a while, he had made her appointment, she ate well. They watched a movie, she fell asleep halfway through. After the movie was over he himself was getting a little sleepy. He got up from his spot on the chair and wondered her apartment. 

It's two stories. There's two bedrooms, a living room, and one smaller room that seems to be an office, the kitchen is moderate, there's two bathrooms. The hallways don't have any pictures. 
Strange, he thought, maybe she has them in her room. 
He went upstairs to look for a better pillow for her, he found her room and observed it, sat on the bed, grabbed the pillow and left. 
Why are there no pictures on the walls? 
What do her parents look like? 
He heard her coughing downstairs and hurried back. 

December 6th 2012 

Steam was gathering around her face and her living room. 
She groaned as her eyes opened. 
A figure was sprawled on the chair next to her. 
A humidifier was placed on the table next to the couch her head laid on. 
Her nose was less stuffy. 
She slowly rose, the body was wakening too. 
"Tae?"
"Mmmm."
"Ah, I'm sorry.. You could have taken my bed.. Or the spare.." 
"You're sick Seul, I can't leave you." 
Did she blush? Or did she feel comforted by his caring? 
"Thank you.." 
Taehyung gave a sleepy smile and a thumbs up. 
He helped her upstairs and took a nap on the spare bed until she was ready to leave. 

They shuffled into the back of a taxi and he used this time to find out more about her. 
"What are your parents like?" 
"Uh, I don't, I don't remember.." 
He looked at her confused, "What happened?" 
"When I was little we were in a car crash, they didn't, my mom did, for a little while, but she kept getting worse. I was four years old." 
She looked at him and smiled sadly. 
He was impulsive. 
He grabbed her hand hand held it. 
"Do you live alone?"
"In a way, it's my aunt and uncles apartment but, they moved to America, they still pay the bill." 

Are they rich then? It's a nice looking apartment. 

She had asked him to stay outside while she was getting examined. She came out after a while, she had a paper slip and bandage on her arm. 

He looked worried. 
"They drew blood, to make sure. It's okay, it's just a bad head cold. They prescribes medicine."
He took the slip from her, nodded and marched off. 
She smiled to herself and followed. 

December 13th 2012

She rolled over, the cold breeze hitting her back. Her blanket pulled around her and she groaned.
It was easier to breath now. 
Her head aches and coughs had gone away. 

She went out the that day, she met with Taehyung and Jimin, they had coffee, she was helping Jimin with some homework. Jimin is still doing study over Christmas break. Taehyung and Seulki don't have any. 
Seulki is hardly taking any classes. 
She's smart, but she knows she doesn't need to do any work. 

Taehyung watches as he works and she tutors Jimin. 

He washes the cups and plates and thinks, they've gotten close these few months. There's a lot of admirable things about Seulki. She's a girl that becomes someone you love more and more each day. 
She's got a lot of charm. 

He got off work and they were still studying away. 
It was 2pm on a Thursday. 
He had the entire rest of the weekend off. 
It was raining that day, pretty heavy. 
Taehyung puts his street clothes on and hangs his coat in his arm, debating if he wants to leave right now or not. 

Seulki had taken a break and Jimin had too. 
She stood outside, under the awning, while it was raining, and begun to play her violin. 
He sat next to the window, at the same booth they were studying at. 
He rested his chin in his palm as he watched as she played. He watched as she closed her eyes and moved with the music. He watched as she was leaning back and forth. He watched as she paused - briefly - and started a new song. 

The Nutcracker. 

A somewhat perfect song for this season. 
Her eyes were still closed, her body still swaying, the rain still pouring. 
People had stopped to watch, her violin case had collected a few won. She came back in, the rain had gotten heavier and she had gotten tiered. She came in and saw Taehyung watching her, she smiled, he smirked. 
It's 3:30 now. 
She loses track of time when she plays. 
Jimin had been fake sleeping at the table. She could tell he didn't want to study. 
"Ya~ " she pokes at him. 
Taehyung put his finger to his lips to hush her, as he moved closer to Jimin. 
He placed one arm around his side and the other on his stomach. 
"Attack on Jimin!" Taehyung whispered, as he started to tickle Jimin. 
Jimin squealed and smiled trying to stay quiet. 

She had gotten Jimin to study again. Taehyung had fallen asleep on the table. 
It was 5 pm. The rain had started pouring harder than before. 

The tv was playing the news. The bus system has stopped working. 

She stood at the end of the table staring up at the screen and sighed in frustration.
How was she going to get home? 
She tapped the back of the chair, chewed at her lip and thought. 
"Seulki, are you okay?" 
"Yeah. I'm just thinking of how to get home." She looked up at the heaviy rain getting heavier. 
Taehyung looked too. 
They're attention was caught by the news, stating the temperature was dropping further, and there would be hail soon. 
She sighed again. 
"You can stay at my place tonight."