let's game, shall we?

Upon arrival at the Kim residence, Taehyung's house was completely dark and secluded. His parents were off occupying themselves with their full-time, company jobs. Due to a post-it left on the counter, it was apparent that they wouldn't be back until later tonight. It wasn't a shock, since they often worked late, and the fact that it was couple's day, it didn't help them to come earlier. Taehyung's energetic Pomeranian named Yeontan had greeted the pair excitedly, whining and pawing at their legs.

Seulgi knelt down and picked up the dog in her arms, smiling widely whilst ruffling the fur on its head.

"Do your parents have any plans after work?" She asked as she embraced the pup. She, then, entered the living room and plopped herself onto the couch.

Taehyung flicked on the light switch. "Most likely, but it's not like they'll tell me much. They're into the whole Valentine's Day occasion. Plus, they always have a ton of things planned every year."

"That's cute: that feeling of being a couple doesn't die off, like what you usually see with married couples these days, you know?"

He waltzed into the kitchen and collected a bottle of water to wash away the taste of bitter coffee, as well as an extra one for Seulgi. Clicking on the gaming system, he gathered two controllers and set them on the living room table in arms-reach. "Yeah, I guess you got a point. Not many married couples can say the same for mine. It can be gross sometimes though. Too dreamy for my taste."

As soon as Taehyung sat down, handed her the water bottle, and dove into his snack of the day, Seulgi elbowed her best friend in the side of the arm, "what do you mean by that?"

He shrugged, munching away like he hasn't eaten in two days. "Nothing, you're simply a hopeless romantic, and sometimes I forget that you have such a sappy way of looking at things."

"And, what about it? You're a sap all the time, you just never notice."

"Yeah? And, to who? My nonexistent girlfriend?"

Seulgi narrowed her gaze slightly, and countered: "You don't have to have a girlfriend to be a sap. For instance, like today towards me."

He guffawed, as if that was the most foolish thing he's ever heard, but only half-heartedly. Deep down, he knew she was right. "I'm being extra nice to you because you had an awful day, that's all."

"Mhm, sure," she hummed, unconvinced. "Just admit that you have a soft side, Tae. You don't have to hide it under all that masculinity and rough exterior."

Ignoring her accusation, he stopped mid-crunch on a chip and twisted his head to look at her in amusement. "Rough exterior? I wouldn't go that far."

"That adds to the fact that you're a softie, then. So, are you implying that I'm right? Because, I don't hear you objecting," she giggled victoriously as he looked away and the T.V., a controller in-hand. He smiled a little at the sound of her sweet laugh; it was almost automatic.

"Whatever, let's game, shall we?" He glanced at the watch on his left-wrist that he rarely takes off. Seulgi had gifted it to him on his birthday last year. "We have about two and a half hours before we got to go to the exhibition."

"Don't get discouraged once I beat your ," she smirked in challenge, grabbing the other controller. "What is it this time? Mario Kart? Call of Duty?"

"Are you sure about that last suggestion? Every time we play Call of Duty, I beat you by a crazy amount of kills."

She scoffed hotly: "Don't be so confident. You know I'm better with a sniper, but you refuse to let me use it. Even worse, you only allow machine guns, how boring."

Taehyung was in tune with his best friend's mini-rant, watching her little mannerisms and hand gestures. He laughed, enveloped with her and her only. 

Clearing his throat, he conceded, "fine, you know what? Since I want you to be happy, I'll let you make all the rules today, cool?"

"All?" 

"Yes, if you want to play strictly with snipers, then so be it."

"How about a little challenge this time?" She smirked coyly.

He returned it. "I'm always up for a challenge."

"To prove that I'm the better player, I'll let you shoot with any gun you want, while I use a sniper."

Her best friend snorted at the large disadvantage she now has, but doesn't decline the challenge. "I like your confident attitude, but I'm afraid you're making a big mistake."

She shrugs her shoulders. "In the end, if I win, you have to admit that I'm better than you. That's all I ask."

"Deal, but if I win, you have to say the same."

"No need."

Taehyung and Seulgi have drowned the last thirty minutes in a one-versus-one gunfight. Whoever reached fifty kills first was the winner. Since it was only the two of them playing, the pace of the match was going slower than usual, but that wasn't an issue. The larger issue was that Seulgi was winning by four kills with only three more needed before hitting the victory number. 

Taehyung whined: "Yah, Kang Seulgi!" 

It was evident that the two best friends were always a very competitive pair, whether it be with video games, board games, or sports. In terms of who was the winner and who was the loser, Seulgi was more likely to come out as the victorious one. To Taehyung's dismay, he was a massive sore loser and would often ramble with random excuses, as he was doing so now:

"That's cheating, you can't hide behind the wall all the time!"

Seulgi simply giggled, "It's not cheating if you can do it too, you moron. I thought I could make all the rules, huh?"

He yapped on and leaned forward in the nerd-neck position. His full-attention was on the screen, pressing down the button to aim down the sights. "Yeah, but you can kill me faster, because you have the sniper! It's a one-shot kill!"

"Shut up, you can kill me easier with your semi-automatic machine gun."

"You keep peeking, but not coming out--" and, as an interruption, his character was shot dead by Seulgi's, in which he groaned in defeat and she laughed some more at his sour attitude.

Ten minutes later of crouching, jumping, shooting, and peeking behind walls, Taehyung was able to get a few kills, but came out short in the end. Seulgi had won by a whole four kills, and jumped out of her seat in excitement, rubbing it in his frowning face. 

"Ahem," she cleared in accentuation, causing him to stare up at her with sad eyes. She was too exhilarated and energized to feel bad for him. "I think you need to admit something."

He slouched deeper into the couch cushion, hoping it'd swallow him whole. Pouting like a child, he folded his arms over his chest. 

"I refuse."

"You can't refuse," she grinned widely.  "It was a deal, you big baby."

"I'm not a baby," he countered, not daring to make eye-contact. "I'm not admitting my loss to a wall-hider!"

After her excitement had passed, she took a seat beside him and began clicking her tongue, ultimately teasing him: "Eighteen years old, and you still act like when we were younger."

"Losing brings out the child in me," he mumbles under his breath, but oh, she heard it.

She pointed a finger at him, catching his admittance to being a loser. "Ha, so you finally agree that I'm the better player? Say it, you know you want to."

"I really don't, Seul."

"Fine, then on that note, I'm not going to the exhibition with you or tag along for anything else you have prepared." 

Taehyung's frown deepened and returned her gaze. Her smirk grew, only knowing that would work. "Yah, don't be so ridiculous, will you?"

She bit her lower lip, suppressing the giggle that would come out. 

"Come on, Tae," she leaned forward, nudging his bicep with her elbow. All she wanted to hear was the simple phrase. 

"You're a better player than me," he mumbled so quickly that it could've been cursive. 

"Huh? I'm sorry, I can't hear you."

He huffed, scooting away from his best friend. Louder, he repeated: "You're a better player than me, do you hear me now?"

She smiled at the obvious attitude in his tone. "Yah, don't be so mad, Taehyung."

He puffed out his lower lip and continued to sulk at his loss. "No."

Subconsciously, and purely out of temptation, Seulgi reached over and pinched his cheeks, knowing that'd make him smile or laugh. She had been known to do it often, vice-versa, ever since they were kids. Perhaps, the action would annoy him more, but she didn't care all that much about the outcome.

His reaction was a mixture of laughter and slight irritation, but his joyful side outbalanced the other. The more that Seulgi giggled, her smile growing into its final form, as beautiful as it is, he couldn't be annoyed by her actions. Seeing her happiness washed all that away, it seems. He attempted to scoot away from her grasp, but it only caused her to climb on top of him. 

He proceeded to tell her to stop stretching his cheeks, the scene playing out as if they were two children fighting foolishly: 

"Seul, it hurts!" He laughed with joy, despite his plea. 

"You deserve it. Now, stop pouting."

"I have stopped pouting," he responded, taking this chance to fight back with tickling her sides. Almost instantly, she recoiled and laughed, trying to push him away as he continued to do so. Of course, it was only to get her back for squishing his cheeks and stretching them in all sorts of directions. He enjoyed these moments--he found her adorability too much to handle.

"Enough, Taehyung! I stopped, you !" She grabbed his hands and halted his movements, but he didn't completely let go, holding onto one of them. Between them, holding hands was nothing out of the ordinary, after all. The pair grinned at each other with the same energy, slightly panting at their little play-fight.

"You wouldn't have stopped if I didn't tickle you," she smiled, ignoring, since it was true. At her seated-position, he took his chance and laid his head on her lap, looking up at her. "You're annoying, Seul."

She peered down at him, "feelings mutual."

"Ah, but you love me."

"Don't make me start, again. I don't mind bothering the hell out of you."

"Do you ever?" Seulgi shook her head, and with her free hand, she plunged her fingers to rake through his hair. She often played with his hair as an aid to help him go to sleep. He'd return the favor, too. With all the supposed plans that they have today, helping him drift off into a nap wasn't her goal, but since it all became a habit, she did it anyways. 

It wasn't a shock to find that he did, indeed, close his eyes at her hypnotic touch. Unbeknownst to her, her heart picked up speed when she felt his hold tighten around her hand. For a few seconds, she studied his features, as sleepy and exhausted as he appeared. She didn't bother to lull him out of his sleepy state as he looked so peaceful doing so. She continued to play with his hair, until he peeked one eye open to find her staring down at him.

"I can feel your eyes on me as I try to sleep," he mumbled. "It's a little creepy, don't you think?"

She wiggled her hand away from his grasp and flicked his forehead, in which he winced. "Shut up, Taehyung. I hadn't gotten the memo that it was naptime, either."

He chuckled at her snappiness, ignored her response, and interlocked his fingers with hers once again.

"We'll be able to go to the exhibition if I nap for twenty minutes, right?"

"Yeah, of course. I think we have another hour and fifteen minutes before then."

"Perfect, wake me up when it's time to go."

"Fine, I have to go home and change, anyways. I'll be back in however amount of time it takes to get ready, okay?" Taehyung nodded, but as she tried to get up from the couch, he didn't let her go, nor did he move a muscle. 

"Please, stay for a little while longer, Seul," he pleaded, his eyes completely shut in an effort to go to sleep. It was difficult to decline him, so she sighed and remained in her position. Plus, he was being cute, and whenever he was acting this way, her heart would soften and her mind would turn to mush.

Lasting until he had fallen asleep, which was a quick process, Seulgi's hand ran through his hair whilst the other had been plastered to his. She hadn't minded, because not only were they used to this, but a hidden part of her liked this. She liked--no, loved--being with him, laughing with him, fighting with him, and sharing precious moments like these with him. Often, she'd look at him and wonder how she was blessed to have someone like him in her life--someone so caring, so sweet, so funny, and so playful. Someone like her. Though, it's times like these where her thoughts metamorphize into a bunch of craziness and absurdity, or at least that's what she thinks whenever she mulls over the slight idea of being with him, romantically. 

In actuality, that was something that had crossed her mind ever since she knew what crushes were, and especially when they were close enough to feel those type of things. Her pondering wouldn't get far once she acknowledged that best friends was all they ever were and all they ever been, no matter how quick her heart beats when he holds her hand or how her stomach fills with butterflies when he smiles.