Ewon

I probably shouldn't have been surprised that Taehyung took off the moment we'd left the stage. I'd stepped backstage, paused to get my bearings, and when I looked up, he'd been gone.

Apparently everyone wanted me gone, too. The kid with the clipboard handed me off to a bald guy who didn't say much, and minutes later, I was in the backseat of an SUV en route to my hotel. By the time I walked into the lobby, breakfast was still being served and I'd only been gone for maybe two or three hours.

And they were already done with me.

I'm spending three days away from my dog for this?

I tried not to take it personally. This was how show business worked. I had a few friends who'd tried to make it here, and some who'd been moderately successful, and most of them had eventually walked away jaded and with no desire to see Hollywood again. To the people running Los Angeles This Morning, I was a prop, and I really hadn't expected any more than that. 

I just wish I'd been a little more than a prop to Taehyung.

Oh well. At least I'd gotten to see him again, and the conversation we'd had onstage had been really nice. It wasn't a bad experience, just a bit disappointing in the end. And over too quickly.

My flight home wasn't until tomorrow, and I had the entire day in front of me, so I texted my parents in Orange County to see if they were busy for lunch. Then I took a cab to the airport, rented a car, and drove out to the old familiar house.

"Oh, honey! It's good to see you!" Mom opened the rickety storm door, hugged me, and kissed my cheek "All our friends were watching this morning!"

Heat rushed into my face, but I tried to laugh it off as I released her "I hope I didn't sound like too much of a dork."

She snorted and waved a hand as she let me into the house "No, you two were adorable. I don't think I've seen you smile that much in years." she glanced over her shoulder and grinned "Can't imagine anyone not smiling with a boy that cute sitting beside him."

"Mom!" I laughed "Really?"

"Oh, come on. He's gorgeous and you know it."

"I'm not arguing with that, but you're not supposed to ogle him too!" 

"Pfft. I'm old, but I ain't dead." she paused and called up the stairs "Hon, are you ready to go?"

"Just a minute." came Dad's reply.

"Always just a minute." she muttered, shaking her head "You're not in a hurry, are you?"

I laughed "Nah. I grabbed something on my way out of the hotel so I wouldn't keel over."

"Didn't you eat breakfast? I guess you must've been out of bed at the crack of dawn to be there. I hope they fed you."

"Yeah, they had food." she didn't need to know I hadn't had the appetite for any of it.

She studied me "I'm a bit surprised you went on that TV show. I never thought you'd do something like that voluntarily."

"Neither did I. But..." my cheeks were so hot they had to be glowing.

Mom laughed, nudging me gently "Well, to meet up with him, I don't blame you. That face? Those y lips?"

"Mom. Oh my God."

She just chuckled. 

"Anyway, yeah. It was nerve racking. And it was seriously early too. Hell, they were..." I sighed, and my shoulders sank under an invisible weight "They were done with me by eight." all of them. Including Taehyung.

She tilted her head "What's wrong?"

There was no point in trying to convince my mom that I was fine, so I admitted "I guess I was hoping to actually, you know, talk to Taehyung for a few minutes. I didn't even see him until we were onstage, and as soon as we were backstage, he was gone."

Mom frowned "That's a shame. They brought you all this way just to talk to him for ten minutes?"

"Apparently so." I sighed again and rolled my shoulders "It's disappointing, but I mean, at least I got to see him again. It was short, but it was really cool."

Her smile came back to life "Well, you certainly can't say you didn't make an impression on him. Not after that speech he gave and how he was getting choked up this morning."

My heart sped up. So that hadn't been my imagination "Yeah. True. I guess I just wish I'd gotten some more time with him. Going on TV was terrifying and I had to really push myself into doing it in the first place. And it was cool. But it would have been a lot more worthwhile if he'd actually talked to me for a few minutes afterward." 

"I don't blame you, sweetheart."

A moment later, Dad came down the stairs, stuffing his wallet and keys into the pockets of his cargo shorts "So how was the TV show?"

"Early."

He grunted in amusement "Good thing they never saw us trying to get you out of bed as a teenager."

I laughed despite my heavy heart "Hey, I'm better about getting up early these days. Just...not that early."

"Nobody should be getting out of bed that early." he shook his head "Especially not for a damn TV show."

Especially not to see someone who's going to hightail it out of the room as soon as the cameras turn off.

I tamped down on the bitter thought. Taehyung hadn't been obligated to do more than meet me on the show. I was disappointed, but there was no point in wasting energy being pissed at him. We'd had a moment five years ago. We had a moment today. That really should be enough.

So why is it so hard to accept that he just walked out without so much as a parting goodbye? 

Probably because I was sleep-deprived and coming down off being terrified to the point of nauseated. Everything was bound to seem bigger and worse now. Once I'd had some food, and once I'd had some sleep, then maybe I could be more rational about things. I hoped, anyway.

When my parents were ready to go, we went out to the garage. I climbed into the back of Dad's car, and while he and Mom got situated, my phone vibrated. I took it out of my pocket, expecting a text from one of my friends in Seattle who'd seen the show, but no—it was a direct message on Twitter.

From Taehyung.

'Hey, sorry I had to take off this morning. Had to catch a flight. Would have really liked to have coffee or something.'

I blinked. Was...was that real? I actually rubbed my eyes, blinked a few more times, and read it again.

Yeah, it was real. And from the same Twitter account we'd used to go back and forth after the awards show.

I wrote back 'It's okay.' I hesitated, finally decided to grow some balls, and added 'Happy to take a raincheck on that coffee! ;)'

Hopefully he'd take that for the invitation it was. I didn't have the nerve to be more direct than that. 

A reply came through as my dad was pulling out of the neighborhood and onto the main road.

'I'm traveling a lot the next 2 weeks. After that, I have some time off. I could meet you in Seattle?'

I almost squealed like a little kid 'Really? I mean, I'd love to see you, but that wouldn't be too much of a pain?'

'Not at all. You flew down here to spend 10 min on camera with me. I can fly up there for a cup of coffee.'

Holy . I was dizzy now. Kim Taehyung was...we were really...I hadn't had a and died or something, had I?

Grinning like a dork, I wrote back 'Name a time and place. Looking forward to it.'