01 so close yet so far

Taehyung fumbled around for his house keys with his free left hand, his other arm busy with trying to hold up the drunken girl, his long time friend Irene in a tight navy dress wearing the thick coat he had wrapped around her like a sausage in a hotdog before he had picked her up from the club. 

She was unsteady and her weight mostly on Taehyung, her messy hair covering half her face.  When he finally opened the door, he picked Irene up carefully, making sure not to touch her skin and carried her gently to her room by the far end of the corridor. 

Taehyung could not touch Irene. 

It was a promise he made to himself.  He just couldn’t.  He was a cursed person.  He couldn’t ruin her life like that. Everything always went wrong if he had another vision.

As Taehyung laid Irene down on her bed, he sat on the side of the bed and his hand hovered around her hair, just inches away from moving away the loose strands of brown-blonde hair covering her face, but he hesitated and finally moved his hand away.

He always made fun of the mess of her hair, which had been dyed multiple times and the colours of brown and blonde had faded in together because she had always opted for quick DIY dye treatments at home.  He always referred to it as a ‘hot mess’.

He took off her black heels off, revealing her wore out feet.  She sleepily wrapped her hands around him and pulled him closer to her, the scent of her favourite cherry blossom perfume overwhelming his senses. 

Their faces were inches apart.  It was tempting to steal a kiss right then and there. 

Taehyung had known Irene since they were kids, yet she was able to twist Taehyung’s insides like no one else could.  She grew up in a lonely household like him. 

He chuckled wearily.  “You really like to test my patience, don’t you?”

He untangled himself from her as she murmured in her sleep and tucked her in her white bed sheets.   Tae looked around for some makeup remover and found a bottle on her messy vanity table by the side of her bed.  He grabbed a cotton pad, dipped it in the remover and sat down beside Irene and began wiping the makeup away.  He took his time, because he was afraid to wake up her up.

Her makeup was messy and eyeliner was smudged around the edges.  She was gorgeous, there was no question about that, but he always thought she looked even prettier barefaced.  Once her makeup was off, he wiped her face with a damp towel.

She would get drunk.  He would bring her home. 

Irene always let herself become vulnerable.  He knew she was punishing herself this way.  He didn’t even want to imagine another guy taking her home when she was in this state and what they would do.

- - -

Irene fumbled around for her phone.  She took it wearily to her face to see the time.  Her head was spinning but she tried her best to focus her eyes on the phone screen.

It was 9am.  She also noticed that there were 3 missed calls from an unknown number.

She sat up on her bed, trying to make sense of her surroundings.  The white walls with piles of clothing stacked over the grey carpet floor greeted her.  She was definitely in her own room. 

Her small white vanity table covered in makeup and skincare.  She was the type to accumulate mess and then when she reached the point where she couldn’t stand it, she would clean it in one go.  Irene observed the room and concluded that the limit was closing in soon. 

She looked down and saw she was still wearing her dress from last night.  But judging on how tightly she was tucked into her bed and her shoes were actually off her feet, she knew that it wasn’t herself that got her body into bed, it was definitely the work of Tae.

She got out of bed and abandoned her tight dress for something more comfortable, and slipped on a pair of grey cotton pants and an old t-shirt.  She smiled when she realised that Tae had removed all the makeup from her face last night.  He had always been good with the details, she would give him that.  After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she tied her long messy hair into a high bun and headed for the kitchen.

Taehyung was already busy m