« Hey, Sivilla. »
It was the next day already. Despite it being a Friday, I went to the abandoned classroom at lunch break to stay with Taehyung.
“Hello. How are you today?” asked I as I made my way to the chair next to the brunet’s.
“Fine. You?”
“I’m the same.” It was probably owed to the hangout we had with Emma. 
“The weather still wouldn’t spare me.” he rolled his eyes in annoyance “Why is autumn yet to come?” 
“Global warming is most likely to be the cause.” Silence, then chuckling. His, that is.
“It wasn’t what I really asked for, but it was expected from you.” I didn’t comprehend what he meant, so I ignored it.
“Even so, you are wearing long sleeves. “ there was an inconsistency, so I asked, to which he looked quite stunned.
“I wore the first thing that met my eyes.” 
“One shouldn’t make a mistake twice in two consecutive days. Add to it the fact that you hate too much warmth.” He only shrugged with -in lips.
“You never know when rain could start pouring, right?”  I looked even more intently at his hands that shuffled with the hem of his shirt’s sleeves, and then was when my doubts became confirmed. 
 “Self harm is deliberately injuring one self.” His eyebrows knit “Started from long ago, even performed during funerals for further mourning or during religious rituals. Only now, they do it for psychotic relief from fury, melancholy, and other disturbances.” His jaws clenched at that.
“Why would you mention that out of the blue?”
“One of the ways to hide it is wearing long sleeves. It was mentioned enough in some of the books that I have read to notice that you do it. You didn’t hide the bite on the side of your palm either.” 
“It was a dog.”
“The teeth Mark’s seem to be a human's.”
He stood silent, eyes wandering around the room, probably searching for yet another lie, only to heave a sigh.
“It’s a trivial problem.” Was I supposed to trust him?” Believe me.” I couldn’t do anything either way.
“I apologize for not being of much help.” He showed a thin-lined beam, and his dull eyes were filled with a dim shimmer.
“This is my first time opening up to somebody, regarding this matter, and I do feel delighted, to say the least. I feel like I have yet again a friend with whom I can converse  about anything.”  I felt a faint sensation of pride, honor, even glee; so I smiled. None of my past year companions did ever feel that way towards me, and I had never known that being in such a position could bring such great fulfillment till then.
“I am glad.” 
“At least we are helping each other get better.” I nodded immediately in agreement.
For a reason, I felt an urge to perform a special hand shake called ‘high-five’, and even though I avoided physical contact with other people, I didn’t mind having one with Taehyung.
Thus, I raised my hand and put it above my head’s level, wanting him to clap his palm with my own.
He chuckled before doing just as I anticipated. The sound of contact was faint.
“You are learning how to be friendlier with people, for sure.”
“Oh, really?” he idly nodded, making me feel even more accomplishment.

I went to the laboratory on that Saturday to stay with Taehyung, and we talked a tad more than usual. He even told me about his favorite color; blue. He kept looking too much at the tissue wrapped around my bag’s handle, which was essentially a gift from mother, and I got curious as to why. He said that it has the perfect color; ‘bewitching sapphire blue’ as he described it.

The classes ended, and I was on my way to the subway when I felt a touch on my shoulder. Although gentle, it startled me.
“You fret quickly.” Declared he in his monotone voice.
“And you like to scare me often.” Responded I, clutching my bag near to my chest.
“It’s unintentional, but I’m starting to have fun with it.” It probably was supposed to be a joke.
“That is quite sadistic. Perhaps you could make a good criminal.” So I carried on with it.
“That’s over the board.” 
“Is that a bad thing?” asked I.
“Well, no. Dark humor is still humor.” I felt relieved at that, so I beamed, to which he chuckled slightly.
“Are you heading home now?”
“No, but I still haven’t decided where to go.” I lifted my head in understanding. “I will probably go see Emma again. Are you interested in joining?”
“O-oh, I..” I had already broken that barrier, so it should be compatible to visit her often, without neglecting my studies, nonetheless. 
“Take your time to think about it. We have the whole trip there.”
“It’s fine, I think I will accompany you, if not disturbing.” He looked down, then got a hand out of his pocket to mess with his hair.
“As I said before, I don’t want to pressure you. It’s not necessary to accept all offers, neither be nice to me-“
“I want to.” I could muster up enough courage to cut him off “Candidly, I do. When I go home, I don’t have much to do either way, so your offer is an optimum opportunity.” He looked quite convinced.
“Okay then.” Said he as he shrugged a shoulder, then waited for the train together.
As it came, we entered, and again disappointment struck me. There weren’t any vacant seats, so we stayed standing, hastily getting surrounded and pressed by other passengers. In the process, I got stuck to Taehyung’s side, who surprisingly stood there, shielding me from others. 
“I’m sorry if I am too close to you.” I shook my head.
“No no, it’s fine.”
We stood, silently, the sound of the wheels against the railway, phone notifications, and chatters overwhelming the air.
And yet, I could only sense one smell, rather a note.
A strong aroma of cologne, mixed with a somewhat sweet smell. It certainly belonged to Taehyung, considering that he blocked everyone else’s.

Some minutes passed by, spent silently, until the train finally reached our destination.
We exited the vehicle, then made our way to the shopping district nearby. 
“Have you ever planted a flower?” 
“No.” answered I.
“I see.” He paused before carrying on “So today would probably be your first.” I looked at him in befuddlement. “It’s a sort of a rule.” Declared he as he shrugged a shoulder “The second time you stay with Emma at the flower shop, you will plant a flower together.” I lifted my head in understanding.
“I see. I hope that it would be advantageous.”
“It will be a new experience for you, so it should be of benefits.” His words made me a tad..excited, per say. 
The flower shop was in front of us by then, so we entered, and were welcomed by the cheerful girl.
“Hello, Tae, Sivilla!” 
Taehyung grinned at her, so I decided to mimic his move.
“How are you Emma?”  she put a thumbs up, a bright beam on her reddish face.
“What about you two?”
“I am fine.” Replied I, the smile still on my face.
“Me too.” Responded the latter. “Where is your mother, though?” we didn’t encounter her yet.
“She went to buy a snack for me, and told me to keep eye on the shop.”
“You’re such a responsible girl.” Complemented Taehyung to which I nodded in agreement.
“Of course I am!” laughter. “By the way, Sivilla, you promised that we would plant a flower together, isn’t it time already?” my brows knit at that.
“I am positive that I didn’t-“ a sharp nudge from the male standing next to me took me by surprise.
“Yes she did, so why don’t you start already?”
“Yey!” as she cheered up, she grabbed my hand and dragged me with her to a corner. There was placed a pantry, full of shelves, on which were placed jars filled with various kinds of seeds. “Which flower would you like us to plant, then?”
 “U-um, why don’t you choose?” she tilted her head “I don’t know much about plants in general, so it would be more fitting if you would make the decision!” I tried to sound as merry as possible.
“Oh, I see.” She cupped her chin with her own hand, body swinging left and right, eyes fixated on me, before finally talking. “Could you untwist your hair?” although a bit perplexed, I loosened the braid I wore that day, and that I wear everyday, the hairs being liberated earlier than usual. “You hair is very thick and curly…it reminds me of chrysanthemums!”
“What is that?” asked Taehyung, to which I replied.
“It’s an Asian flower, petals numerous and curly just as Emma described.” 
“Yes! I think that they must be planted in autumn, making this time of the year perfect for its plantation!”
“Indeed .That is quite a good choice, good job!”  
“And you have much knowledge on flowers too.” Emma looked flattered by then.
“Okay then, why don’t you choose the color?”
“Oh, alright.” I couldn’t decide “What’s your favorite color?”
“That doesn’t matter now, I want you to pick a color first.” That didn’t work.
“Um, pink then?” I used to find it pleasing when I was younger, so I presumed that all little girls would.
“Pink it is then!” she hopped on a chair, then extended her arm towards one of the jars that had pink lids.
“You can easily tell which one it is just by looking at it?” commented Taehyung, sounding a bit surprised.
“I spend a lot of time here, so mom teaches me about seeds!” I nodded in appreciation.
After that, the girl took a pot filled with soil, then put it on a small table.
“Could you teach me how to plant a seed?” 
“This is what I am about to do!” i sensed a tickling feeling “Take a seed first.” I opened the jar and did as asked. “Then, put it in the soil, make sure to cover it.” again, I did as instructed “There it is!”
“That’s all?” 
“Yeah!” it was incomparable to the level of difficulty I thought it would be on.
“Easy enough, right?” 
“Oh, you are back.” Said I before exchanging greetings with the shop’s owner.
“Mom, did you bring me cake?” the mother responded with a grin, then gave her daughter a chocolate cupcake. “Yey, cupcake!” Emma looked way too happy to have received the snack, but I couldn’t really understand the reason behind it. It was but a piece of cake, right?
“You should come here more often,” I diverted my attention to the woman “flowers require much irrigation.”
“Yeah, definitely! Please do come frequently, I might forget to water them, you know.”
It was quite a clever  plan from a girl at such age. 
“Of course, I will.” 

We stayed a bit longer at the flower shop before bidding farewell to my newly made acquaintances, and heading back to the foyer.
Taehyung insisted yet again on accompanying me home, and I found it useless to argue with such a persistent person, so I left him do to his own contentment.
“Did you have fun today?”
“I did.” He seemed indifferent “Thanks to you.” He displayed a thin-lined smile at that.
“You seemed more involved in the conversations today.” Really?
“Oh, I guess so. I probably got familiar with them.” He nodded, eyes fixated on the asphalt below us.
“That is progress, which is great.” 
“Progress towards what?” I voiced out my thought, to which he clicked his tongue.
“I don’t precisely know. Probably to being more sociable?”
Sociable. 
I definitely was nothing near it, ‘but maybe with a little more aid, I could make my socializing skills more polished.’
“I am ready to put my sheer devotion in it.” To my bewilderment, the male chuckled.
“Don’t think of it so seriously, you will make things less painful on you if you do.” He was of more experience in the field, so I nodded in understanding. “Also, you shouldn’t just accept information.” 
“What should I do then?”
“You ought to declare your own opinions and thoughts. For example, you shouldn’t have just blandly nodded at my advice. We could even start a radically new conversation if you did.” 
“It’s just.. I don’t know, you seemed more experienced, so I didn’t argue.”
“What if I weren’t?” his monotone voice made it even harder to think about the answer.
“I could just try the recommendation and judge for myself.” He only looked back at me, blankly.
“That can do the trick, but results aren’t guaranteed.” 
“I, well, I understand now. Thank you.” We stood silent for a tad.
“You did great. You actually could receive a point of view and give yours.” I scratched the back of my head.
“Well, if you didn’t tell me, I probably wouldn’t have done it.” 
“Let’s keep that matter for another time.” I nodded in understanding, before stopping and turning fully towards him as he did the same.
“Alright then, thank you again for today.” He shook his hand leisurely.
“It was nothing.” That was certainly untrue.
“See you next week then.”
“Later.” He waved two fingers lightly before turning and walking away.