CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

The Gift

One year later...

A wistful sigh escaped her lips as her fingertips delicately danced over the cold glass of the picture frame that cradled one of her most precious memories; a picture of her and Taehyung last summer vacation on their favorite amusement park. She could still remember the sound of his gleeful laughter as he wrapped an arm around her shoulder while pressing his cheek against hers to pose before the camera. The way he smiled her favorite rectangular smile of his on the photograph was enough to make her miss him like crazy and make her eyes turn glassy with unshed tears.

It was exactly one year since everything in her life turned upside down, since she learned that the life and the people she came to know was not exactly how she thought them to be. Now, she was turning a year older, yet, everything that happened a year ago in Lucere was still as fresh as the gaping hole in her heart.

Yoongi, Jungkook and Haeyoon decided to continue living in the human world where they grew up, passing the throne over the most loyal and trustworthy elder in Lucere, Kim Myungsoo. He declined the offer at first, saying that he was not worthy enough but he was the perfect sorcerer to rule over their world because of his wisdom, skills, loyalty and kind heart. There were peace and harmony under his ruling for a year now and Lucere was slowly getting back to the way it used to.

The twelve loyal Guardians decided to return to the human world, too, wanting to be as close to Haeyoon as possible while the Hunters chose human world, too.

A ghost of a bittersweet smile danced over her lips. “You’re never gone…but why do I feel like I’ve lost you?”

It was one of those days when she let herself spiral down the pain and sadness that she tried so hard to bury down the deepest parts of her heart. She tried to be happy, she really tried to act normal but everytime she saw Taehyung at school or at the places where they usually hang-out it broke her every single time because he treated her like a stranger. She had spent months and months of trying to befriend him again but the boy was avoiding her at all cost and she had no idea why. She was willing to make new memories with him again if only he would let her.

Putting back the frame carefully on its place on her bedside table, she took a deep breath and tried to convince herself that everything will be fine— a lie she knew she would hold on to until who knows when.

“Haeyoon?” a voice softly called her name and she turned to see Yoongi standing beside her open door.

“Hey,” she gave him a small smile and her brother walked over and sat beside her on the bed.

“You okay?” he asked as his hand started caressing her hair in a soothing way.

It took her a moment to answer, “I’m…getting better but it would take me a lot of getting used to not to have him jumping around like an energizer bunny on my own birthday.” She chuckled a little at the memories of her bestfriend’s crazy antics.

“He will come around,” he said as he pulled her head to rest on his shoulder. “The mind may forget but not the heart. Give him some more time…maybe he’s just a little…confused.”

She didn’t speak and just laid her head there with her eyes closed.

“I’m always here for you, Princess,” he said before planting a sweet kiss on her forehead. “We all are.”

“I know,” a grateful smile tugged at her lips.

The sound of the doorbell resonated throughout the whole house and a grinning Jungkook poked his head inside her room. “They’re here,” he beamed excitedly at the both of them and Haeyoon smiled back at one of the sources of her happiness.

They all went down to greet their friends who were all armed with all sizes of gifts.

“Happy birthday, Haeyoonie!” they all greeted her with warm hugs and sweet kisses on either her forehead or cheeks.

“Thanks, guys!” she grinned at all of their dorky-ness and silliness, thankful that she had friends like them.

When it was Jimin’s turn to hand her his gift, he gave her a sad guilty look and said, “I’m sorry if I’m not able to convince him to go here and celebrate your birthday.”

She visibly stiffened at the mention of “him” but she played it off with a smile too bright that Jimin immediately knew it was a forced one.

“It’s okay,” she said with a shrug, “We can’t force him anyway.”

Jimin sighed and gave her a comforting kiss on the forehead and a warm hug. “Don’t be sad, please, it’s your birthday.”

“I’m fine,” she said against the fabric of his shirt. “I’m fine.” And she didn’t know if it was Jimin she was convincing or herself.

Soon, they were all stuffing themselves with food and chatting animatedly with each other.

“Oh my stress!” there was a loud shout of distress from the kitchen followed by noisy clattering and sounds of splashes making Haeyoon rush to the area.

“What in the world—,” she exclaimed before a laugh bubbled up her chest.

There in the middle of the kitchen was a cola-soaked Jackson and an equally soaked Namjoon both looking so comical. Jackson was holding a frying pan while Namjoon was pointing a half-empty bottle of cola towards the former.

“What the are you doing?” Kyungsoo, who followed Haeyoon in the kitchen piped up.

“Well, I told this idiot here not to shake the bottle but he did it anyways!” Jackson exclaimed, pointing the pan accusingly at Namjoon.

“Well, I didn’t mean to shake it but you wouldn’t give it to me so I did it and then it exploded so it’s not my fault!” Namjoon argued back childishly, stepping forward and accidentally slipping over the spilled sweet drink on the floor. As he flailed his arms helplessly, he managed to snag Jackson’s shirt front and dragged the Hunter down with him.

Haeyoon laughed in amusement while Kyungsoo face-palmed himself while muttering words of disappointment under his breath.

“Oh…kay?” Jin and JB said in unison as they were about to walk in the kitchen to get some drink only to witness the messy riot.

“Don’t even ask,” Kyungsoo said with a roll of his eyes.

“How dare you drag me down with you!” Jackson cried as he smacked the pan on Namjoon’s head a little too hard.

“Damn it!” Namjoon roared as he snatched the pan away from Jackson and smacked him back. “That hurt! What if my brain cells were damaged?!”

“Please tell me that that is not the last bottle of cola,” Jin said, looking expectantly at the two males on the floor.

Jackson and Namjoon froze while they slowly turned at Jin.

“Actually—,”

“What in the freaking hell did you do to my kitchen?!” Yoongi who just came in screamed in shock.

“You’re dead,” JB said with a chuckle.

And soon, Namjoon and Jackson found themselves cleaning the mess they made in the kitchen, both with pouty faces.

“We’re back!” Kai and Tao hollered from the door as soon as they got in. “We’ve got the drinks and icecream.”

“Yey!” Baekhyun and Chanyeol were the first one to bound up to them, snatching the bottles and the plastic bags containing the tubs of cold treats.

The party was in full swing and everyone was having fun. Chen and Youngjae were singing their lungs out on the karaoke while Lay, Yugyeom and Hoseok were having some sort of dance battle. JB, Suho, Kris and Sehun were having a foosball match on the table that was recently bought by Yoongi on his first paycheck from his first part-time job. Namjoon and Jackson who finally finished making the kitchen sparkling clean joined Baekhyun and Chanyeol on digging up the icecream tubs.

“Ah, don’t eat it all!” a whine was heard from Bambam.

“Hey, that was my pizza!” Yoongi complained followed by a loud scream of “Ouch!” Someone must’ve been socked on the head.

“Where’s my chicken?” Kai asked no one in particular. “I just left it here!”

“Is this the one you’re talking about?” Luhan blinked innocently at him as he raised a drumstick bone that he had just finished.

Jin and Kyungsoo were busy cooking Kimchi spaghetti on the kitchen while Jimin, Tao and Jungkook were goofing around.

Jinyoung and Xiumin were patiently waiting for their turn on the microphone while munching on some hotdog on stick. Mark shook his head at the rowdy boys, a small contented smile playing on his lips. Then his eyes roamed all over the house and found Haeyoon standing by the window with a soft smile on her face as she watched all her friends.

She really was beautiful and he can’t help but fall even harder for her.

Haeyoon caught his eye from across the room and sent him a smile that made his heart flutter. Suddenly he felt that it was the right time to tell her his feelings. With a few long strides, he was standing in front of her.

“Can I talk to you for a sec?” he asked.

Haeyoon blinked cutely up at him, “Uh, sure.”

They slipped out to the backyard and sat on the hammock hanging on the porch.

“Listen, Haeyoon, I have something to tell you,” he started and his heart began picking up its pace. He could even feel his face burning up to the tip of his ears. He was a nervous wreck.

The girl looked up expectantly at him, “Sure, go ahead.”

“But I want you to know that this won’t change anything between us, alright,” he said, “And I don’t want you to feel obligated to answer right away.”

Haeyoon’s eyes widened a fraction as she got an inkling on what Mark wanted to tell her. “Mark…”

“I just want you to know that I really like you…no scratch that— I love you…” he finally confessed and he felt as if a heavy load had been lifted off his chest, “I’m willing to wait for your answer…and no matter what it is…just know that I’ll forever be here for you, okay?” Then he leaned in and planted a lingering kiss on her forehead, “Happy birthday, Princess.”

* * *

That night, after the rest of their friends had went home, Haeyoon decided to go take a walk around the neighborhood to clear up her thoughts. With Mark’s sudden confession and her longing for Taehyung, she suddenly felt confused with her feelings. Mark was an easy boy to love, he’s a total sweetheart and had also been a very good friend to her but she can’t deny that a huge part of her heart was still filled with Kim Taehyung and his adorable smiles.

She passed by a convenient store and decided to buy a cup of hot chocolate. As she entered the store she accidentally bumped into a warm broad chest and when she looked up, her heart skipped a beat or two. His manly scent overwhelmed her and she realized how much she really missed Taehyung. They were engaged in a staring contest and Haeyoon wanted to get lost on those bottomless pair of dark brown orbs. They were looking into her eyes as if she was some kind of a mystery to solve.

His name almost escaped her pink lips but she caught herself in time when she saw how Taehyung was frowning at her. “I’m s-sorry,” she squeaked, ducking out of his way. Her heart was beating so hard it almost hurt.

“Do you know that chic, Tae?” the guy with him asked and Haeyoon held her breath in anticipation.

It was the longest three seconds of her life until Taehyung said, “Just someone from school.”

Her hand flew to clutch at her chest because, damn it, it still hurt even if he had been saying it for the last few months.

They walked out of the store and Haeyoon was left feeling cold and empty. After half an hour of sitting on one of the tables with a bottle of water, she finally gathered up her composure and walked back to their house.

Her brows pinched together when she saw a tall figure standing in front of their gates. She narrowed her eyes and she can’t be mistaken, she knew that side profile like the back of her hand. Under the light of the street lamp, she noticed that he had changed his hair color which she had failed to notice earlier since she was too busy calming down her heart. Gone was the vibrant orange, replaced with a more mature and masculine chocolate brown with green touches on the fringe.

“Taehyung?” she breathed as her feet brought her closer to where he was standing.

Startled, Taehyung turned to her with wide eyes, like a deer caught in headlights. The blush that overcame his cheeks was visible even under the pale light.

“H-hey,” he lamely said as he shifted from foot to foot, his hands both tucked behind him.

“What are you doing here?” she asked in utter confusion. “Oh, are you perhaps here for Yoongi? Or Jungkook? Want me to call them for you?”

“Ah, no, no, no,” he frantically shook his head, his blush intensifying.

“Then…why are you here?”

A deep frown tugged on Taehyung lips as he sighed, “I don’t even know myself, so please, stop asking me.”

“Are you okay?” she asked, pressing down the urge to push back his hair like she used to.

“Look, I don’t know why my stupid feet always bring me here,” he said, frustration lacing his tone. “I don’t know why I always find myself near this place like I’m some kind of a stalker. I don’t know why I always found myself thinking about you. I don’t even know you yet I have this strange urge to be always close to you and it’s scaring me,” he started ranting, “I tried avoiding you thinking that all these feelings I have for you would go away but I still find myself looking for you every single time and the more I try to stay away from you, the more I…yearn for you.” He took a deep breath and gazed straight into her eyes. “Who are you really and why am I being like this?”

Haeyoon was stunned into silence as she stared back at her bestfriend. “Taehyung…”

“See?” he brought his hands out and showed her a parcel wrapped in a fancy paper with a red bow. “I even bought a gift for you when Jimin told me that it’s your birthday.” He ruffled his hair in frustration. “I can’t understand myself anymore… and I’m getting tired of avoiding you already.”

“Then don’t,” Haeyoon said softly.

The boy bit his lips, stared at the small box in his hand before looking back at her. “I guess you’re right.”

A genuine smile dance on her lips and Taehyung was mezmerized by the beauty in front of him. His heart fluttered inside his chest like a humming bird as butterflies swarmed his stomach. He had this strange urge again to pull her in his arms and feel if she’s as soft as she looked.

“So, can we start over again?” he asked with his rectangular smile that Haeyoon missed so much, taking a step closer to her.  

“I guess so.”

“I’m Kim Taehyung,” he said, extending his free hand to her, eager to have any excuse just to feel her skin against his own.

“I’m Min Haeyoon,” she replied, slipping her soft small hand into his larger one and Taehyung wondered how he managed to last this long without feeling her hand on his. It was like the best feeling in the world for him.

“I have a gift for you,” Taehyung grinned as he passed her the parcel. “Happy birthday, Haeyoon.”

“Thank you, Taehyung,” she said, beaming back at him.

Thank you for coming back to me.

FIN.

Author's Note: Ahhh, finally, I'm soooo done with this one. Gonna focus on my next story: SUMMER CAMP GONE BAD.

Thanks for all those who supported me all the way!!!! I love you all, guys!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

Gonna party all night long!!!woohooo! Don't forget to COMMENT, VOTE AND SUBSCRIBE! <3

Date started: June 2, 2015

Date Finished: December 31, 2015