The warm light dimly lit the room filling it with serene atmosphere. The large window in the room twenty storey high, overlooked the busy roads that were filled with red and yellow lights. With such a calm ambience, anyone would plop on the comfy bed to sleep. But Taehyung tried his best to look awake and fresh. After positioning the laptop on the table, he took his seat on the chair and adjusted the screen to focus the webcam on him. He ran his fingers through the hair fixing the style and asked, “Can you see me clearly, now?”

“Mmm…”, a soft and endeared hum from Sohyun from the other end of the video call reached him. “I can see your tired eyes… ruffled hair…”, she knitted her brows to focus on him, “Hair… evidently wet after shower… Your wrinkled pyjamas that was worn in a hurry… I can see them all…”

He listened to her nodding and never uttered anything in reply. It wasn’t that he couldn’t come up with a witty answer, but he wanted to take his time to look at her and register her every nuance. His eyes gazed at her, scanning every inch of her face. When he realized that she too was scanning him, with a smile in the corner of his lips, he asked, “What are you looking at?”

“You.”

Her bold reply made him chuckle. “Nice flowers…”, he said as his eyes fixated on the vase filled with white and red roses. “Do we have an admirer?”

“That’s from the crew”

“What’s the occasion?”

“You’ve been away for almost two months now… You probably have no idea about what’s go-”

“‘The dream pairing’, ‘The eye candy and candy princess’, ‘On-Screen Couple of the year’… I added the ‘On-Screen’ which they missed in the article title!”, he said cutting in to prove that he was updated about her.

His words, sure earned a chuckle from her. “So…?”, she sang.

Grasping the meaning behind her ‘so’, he asked, “Why? Is it strange to make a video call to my girlfriend?”

“Not strange… just abnormal”

“And did you find anything abnormal in the coffee truck I sent to Bogum?”

“I enjoyed the snacks, thanks!”, she said hinting at the favourite snacks that he sent her through Park Bogum. And the next second, her tone sounded sour with the question, “What’s with the banner?

“Why? What’s wrong with, ‘Take care! See you in the concert!’ banner?”, he asked innocently shifting his eyes away from her.

She raised her one eyebrow at him, questioning his answer.

He wet his dry lips and asked, “You mean ‘Don’t forget to get your co-stars to the concert!’?”

She replied with just a smirk. Because she clearly knows he enjoys the explicit display of his emotions towards her and that he could never be stopped.

And a wide smile appeared in his lips on seeing her convinced face.

“You know… I received an offer for another movie, but I want to pursue higher studies… Planning to turn it down…”

He nodded listening to her, “Are you sure about the break from the industry?”

“I’m afraid of taking a break… But I wanna give it a try!”

“Okay…”, he gave her an update in return, “I’ll be releasing a song, soon!”

“Wow! Good news, finally!!”, her eyes beamed. “When will I get to hear that?”

“Do you want to listen before the official release?”, his expectant eyes inquired about her curiosity.

She softly shook her head negative. “When is the release?”

With a little hesitation, he subtly uttered, “On 30^th of December…”

“On your birthday?”, her eyes widened. “And… on that day… will I be hearing your voice in person-”

“I’m sorry…”, her interrupted her apologising.

The moment his apology reached her; her eyes fell low.

“Don’t be-”, he dropped his sentence when a knock on his door disturbed them. “TEN MINUTES!”, he answered the door and turned towards her, “Just 2 more weeks…”, he uttered in whispers. “I need to go now, Sohyun-ah!”

“That 10 minutes you asked…”, her voice softened as emotions took her breath. “Spare me few more minutes…”, tears lined her eyes.

The longing she had in her heart took its form in tears.

The soft on the hair, the caress of the fingers, the embrace of the hug and the warmth of the breath that remained only in memories incited their yearnings for each other.

The face he wanted to see every morning and greet every evening with a smile after a tired day and the space for themselves to share their breath seemed a long road. Before the tears could leave his eyes, he lowered the screen to not let her see him like that. He shut his yes tightly and all that appeared in his mind was the replay of the moment when he saw her for the time after their breakup. With his eyes closed and his laptop facing the keys rather than his face, he spoke softly, “The time after we broke up… I unconsciously thought about you a lot… You know, the joy in just the thought of you being close to me was indescribable… The breakup, that unexampled distances! I never understood why the separation between us was necessary. I always questioned why you gave me that such distance from you…”

His words echoed in her. Because he wasn’t the only one afraid of this never-ending distance. Many concerns ran in her head, and she uttered the words that conveyed her feelings and her doubts, “Taehyung… I don’t really know what I should call this relationship with you. But, if this is what people call as ‘love’, then I have to admit… I love you like I never loved in my entire life!”

Her words coated his lips with a genuine smile. And he poured his heart, “I had already decided to never leave your company. I swore myself to steal you from the world. I’ll have you scripted in my fate. I decided that, at the moment I saw you again in that award show! I swear I will become yours!” His tone turned into whispers as he said, “Have to go, bye… take care”

What more does her eyes long for than the smile of her beloved? What more can she ask for than those passionate words? But what more left of her is the longing and tears.

He pushed up the screen once, to look at her. And he quickly paced away from the laptop, but never he did go far, not even beyond the walls or through the door. He crouched down sliding against the wall beside the door, and his eyes never looked up. Silence accompanied him for the next few minutes until Jimin knocked on his door calling out to him.

“Do you remember that award show?”, Taehyung’s question out of nowhere was thrown at Jimin who was at the other side of the door with his ears glued on to the door and hands trying to turn the knob of the locked door.

“Which one?”

He slowly stood up and unlocked the door, “That one?”

Jimin turned the knob to open the door and breathed out a sigh on looking at his downcast state.

Taehyung smirked “You replied with the same sigh whenever I stood frozen at the sight of her!”

He was left with no option but to cheer up his mood with memories, “You are so emotional regarding her… Don’t you remember the award show where she completely avoided you?”

“You all called me crazy, I remember…”, he nodded his head recollecting. “But I wanted to know if I’m crazy just about her!”, his spoke softly with a smile realizing the truth in it. “It was good, magical… And it was a great feeling… seeing her on stage, all dressed up, looking gorgeous… after a very long time”, he paused and bit his lips before he uttered, “Especially after our break-up”. Silence occupied the room for few seconds before he chuckled at himself saying, “But… My eyes never left her!”

Just like that, they got through the days by holding on to the memories that made them miss each other and also gave them strength to get by.

Days rolled on towards the end of the year, and Taehyung presented the year ending with his song. But his song, though simple never failed to convey his honest feelings. The struggle of his separation from her; her absence that slowly poisoned him; the mornings that compelled him to move on; the nights that bring the thoughts of her back to him; the feelings that never faded in its hue; his desperateness that led him to forsake the world and his resolve to have her scripted in his fate, his song conveyed it on point. The song lasted for a complete six minutes, that featured him in dishevelled clothes and unkempt hair in a messy apartment within a black and white frame. There was no extravagance in the frame, no luxury in the props, just the pleasure of music and simplicity. The music video sure gave him the recognition as an actor. Since the MV was shot in-between the world tour, these few months of separation from her gave him the emotions needed to befit the theme.

As soon the song was released, it attracted the critics for the raw emotions. Articles and comments cited this song as the ‘Past of every man in love’ and of course never forgot to raise suspicion about his relationship status.

Irrespective of the speculations, his song became a hit. It hit the charts within a day and his song became the most searched word. His song didn’t score the top rank in music charts, but it secured its place in Top 10.

And, the new year dawned. The new year welcomed the BTS’ finale performance of world tour at Seoul. BTS’ agency planned to make the public appearance of the members only during the concert, so the members arrived at the airport quietly in a private jet early in the morning.

Meanwhile Sohyun who was unaware of his arrival, following her schedule, left for the shoot. After an hour of travel and hours of shoot, her filming for the day wrapped around evening. Changing into her own clothes, she took her seat in front of the mirror in the caravan and waited for the stylist to take off her makeup and the accessories. While she waited, she engaged herself with her phone reading articles by song critics who had praises about Taehyung’s new song. After a few articles, her heavy hair accessories started giving her a hard time. Under the doubt that the makeup artist for the movie might be busy with other casts, she decided to take off her heavy accessories. With her eyes fixated on the reflection in the mirror, she slowly started to untie the hairdo. It was then, she found a reflection of a person in dark outfit with a hat and a mask who had been waiting in the shadows behind her for a long time.

While her brain saw the image of that person in that reflection, her eyes widened, and her reflexes froze.

On realizing that she became aware of his presence, he took his light steps towards her. The wrinkles at the corner of his eyes expressed his wide smile beneath that mask. With a soft gaze, he approached her from behind and gently untangled the ribbon in her hair accessory.

She didn’t realize the seconds or the minutes that passed while she was staring at the reflection of him, Kim Taehyung in the mirror. All that occupied her mind is the very existence of him within her hand’s reach. After taking the heavy accessories off her hair, he took off his mask and leaned in gently supporting his hands on her shoulder and pressed his lips softly on her cheeks. Drawing back, he looked into her surprised eyes and asked with a smirk, “Missed me?”

With a smile in her lips, she nodded innocently saying, “A lot!”

He gave her another kiss on her cheek but this time the kiss was more endearingly firm. And asked, “Heard the song?”

She pursed her lips and paused to look for a lie. “Your first-time writing the lyrics, right? Not bad! It was decent…”

He smirked and said, “Lies! I heard you wept for a long time after listening to the song… crying while hugging your knees!”

“Yeri?”, she asked for the source of information leak.

“Jungkook!”, he provided his information link.

“Then, why did you name the song title in my name, ‘So’? What’s the idea? There wasn’t even a link between the title and the song!”

“Do you think you are the only one with name ‘So’?”

“You could’ve used your friend’s or parent’s name… You could’ve even given a title with a catchy phrase. But you chose ‘So’! You used my name, since it’s lucky?”, as she spoke, he listened to her without speaking a word against her and with a smile. “Tell me the truth, you had me in mind when you chose the title ‘So’, right?

He smiled and said, “Do you remember the monologue in-between the song? It says, ‘People are trying to be happy despite their failed love stories. Why should I become one of them?’ And then the stanza continues expressing the determination in getting the loved one back!”

Not buying his answer, she asked, “How much do they pay for writing the lyrics?”

“Huh?”. He was a bit taken aback by her question.

“I want a share of the royalty! 50 percent! Half!”

With a wide smile, he responded, “As you say, madam!”

“Was what have you written true or all lies?”

Triggered by her question, with a forced smile, he said, “One blow and all your 32-teeth will fall out!”

“28! Creator made a mistake!”

He chuckled at her reply. His smile was short as he looked at her amazed. May be the months of separation, or the overwhelming emotions on seeing her after a long time might’ve caught him off guard to make him stare at her like that, but words that escaped his lips were, “A girl who cries just after few weeks of separation, how did she handle those years?”

His gaze ascertained his seriousness in his question. She stood up facing him and with a lingering smile in the corner of her lips, she replied softly, “I’m not a girl… But, a woman! And I know when to seal my emotions and when to let it out!”

“Who said women are delicate?”, he uttered hearing her response.

“Not delicate, but handle with care!”, she warned with a smirk teasing him.

“Sure, my lady!”, he said smiling. “By the way, do you remember our bet? I hope you won’t throw the question, ‘what bet?’ at me!”

She chuckled saying, “I remember… I just have to comply with one of you request right?”

“Come to our concert in Seoul”, he placed his request promptly. She opened to utter something, but he interrupted her pleading, “please!”

“You laid out a carpet for me by putting that banner on Park Bogum’s food truck. How can I not come?”

“I love you”, he said welcoming her with honey words and wide smile.

“I love you’, isn’t enough!” She grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer.

Reading her intention, his lips curved into a smile.

She tiptoed and slowly aligned her face with him.

He angled his head and leaned forward helping her to reach him.

When her lips brushed his, the knock on the caravan’s door demanded her attention.

Before she could turn to the sound, his hands covered her ears, held her head in position to  sustain the attention on her. “Sohyun-sshi, are you there?”, when the question demanded her response, before she could reply with words, he sealed her lips in a kiss.

In a few days, Sohyun’s shoot came to a wrap. She planned to take a break to pursue her higher studies. While her agency was still considering her plans, she started her preparations for the entrance exam. Her days were spent in CF filming and her nights were filled with study materials.

Juggling between shoot and study, Sohyun felt weary. Because of long hours of shoot, she struggled to read at the upright position in her study table. So, she sat on the bed leaning against the wall and placed the book on the pillow over her lap, and then resumed her study. While she just got comfortable with the position, she heard Yeri’s exclaiming screech voice, “Yaaaa! Look at you! Where are you going?”

Sensing an anomaly in Yeri’s tone in the hallway, at the same time refusing to let go of her position Sohyun shouted from her room, “Yeri-ya! Who is ther-”, prior to her sentence, Taehyung stood representing the answer. Leaning on the door frame in a half-drunk state, he gently smiled at her. As she sat baffled at the sight of drunk Taehyung, he took his careful steps towards her without making a sound on seeing the books with her. He took his beside her on the bed and looked at her with a wide smile without averting his gaze.

“Yah!”, when Yeri entered her room entered the room calling out to him.

“Shhh”, he hushed her and said in whispers, “She is studying! Don’t disturb her!”

“Who? Me? I am disturbing her?”, Yeri sounded angry. But he just nodded in reply. Giving up on him, her angry stare shifted towards Sohyun. “I’m sorry. I’ll be fine, thanks”, Sohyun mouthed. Murmuring her frustrations in dealing with those two, she walked away.

On seeing Yeri leave, Taehyung turned towards Sohyun and continued in whispers, “She left. You study peaceful-”, he yawned in the middle of his sentence and lied on her lap on the book. Seeing him acting like an innocent child, all Sohyun could do was smile. After few seconds of silence, he spoke softly in broken sentence, “The MV… brought… a movie script, ‘One true lie’… accepted… I cried while reading it!”

“You did well!”, she said running her fingers through his hair.

“Why did you ask me if my lyrics are truth? You ask me if all those is true, so lightly. How could I utter the truth if not through a song? You are the tune to my music and I’m your poem, together we make a song!”, he expressed what he kept buried inside him.

“Every single moment I spent with you, will not be forgotten even in my death bed. How could those years of separation could take away those minutes I spent with you, touching and caressing you? Few minutes with just the looks… few minutes with fear… with an intimate hug, a few minutes with tears. Without any rules to obey, a few minutes in the intoxication of kisses that I seeded all over your body. Those moments, I spent with you… What is ethical and what is sin? We were never able to discern… Whether it is night or day, we did not care to know about it. Who should start? Who should end? We could not figure it out. We both started it, and… about whether it is right or wrong… we never questioned that till now. I undressed your fear, you adorned passion… I undressed you, you adorned your shyness. Then one day, the gorgeous beauty that I saw, faded away as a dream… Though it faded away, the tears from your eyes in the end, still lingers in my hand.”, he said as he gently wiped the tears that trickled down her cheeks, “I’m sorry, Sohyun-ah…  for being so difficult” After a pause, with knitted brows he confessed, “You must be a little crazy that you chose me!”

Author’s note:

Hello :) How are you doing? Had a bad day? Well, you have a bunch whole new days ahead to start fresh :)

Thank you for reading this chapter and please forgive the mistakes and typos…

I’m back again with a thanks and a sorry. ‘Thanks’ for sticking with his story and ‘sorry’ for the irregular updates. I think I really need to explain the reason for the late updates…

Well, I’m getting married next month! Surprise! *hehe*

I got engaged when I was doing my thesis and it was then the late updates started… I thought I could manage with the writing, but wedding preparations demanded more of my time. Kindly excuse me for the late update.

I’m yet to develop the last chapter (it was in the same state as it was months ago, in hints and outlines). So, I need two days to write, I hope I get that time before the wedding. I planned for a one shot too, but I think it won’t be possible for at least two months…

Most importantly, I hope you will like the ending I planned for this story;) If you ask me if it will be a happy ending or a sad one… I don’t know ;) You’ll know it when you read the next chapter!!