Chapter Text
14.02.2017
'Tannie, paw'
'Tannie, nose'
'Good boy, here's your treat. Stay home and be nice until I come back, yeah?'
The treat left Taehyung's hand and into Yeontan's little mouth, who had his black eyes widen and locked on his master. Taehyung let out an 'aigoo' at his Pomeranian's cuteness, softly rubbed his head then stood up and opened his front door.
'I'll be back' was answered with Tannie's tiny waving tail.
And Taehyung's first day off peacefully began. Having worked 3 jobs throughout his Christmas and New Year holiday without a single day break at a bookstore, a florist and a cafe, Taehyung finally arrived at his well-deserved four-week break, before his second year at university commenced.
'This is niceeee.' Taehyung mumbled to himself as he strode to the nearest train station. The plan for the day was to visit his grandparents and get some items to bring on his trip to Europe the next day. Just thinking about getting to spend the next 3 weeks going on a trip he could only dream of for years instantly drew a smile on his face. Given how much he loved travelling, Taehyung had thought of going on an exchange program, but being away from his grandparents for more than 3 weeks was something unthinkable for Taehyung. It wasn't because they needed him to stay close to them, he simply couldn't bear the thought of them getting sick and him being unable to be on their side, even just for a short period of time. And so, Taehyung decided to save up for this short trip instead. Reassured by his grandparents that they could, definitely, take good care of themselves, he worked days and nights, earning enough to fund himself for the next 3 weeks in unfamiliar countries. And the day finally came. Needless to say, Taehyung was over the moon.
It was a lovely spring day. Taehyung finally had the pleasure of taking his time to look around, instead of hurriedly dashing to his cafe shift at 5am in the morning. The sky was clear blue, the sun was still hiding in some white cottony clouds and occasionally a cold breeze blew through Taehyung's hazelnut hair. While humming to his favourite song, Taehyung arrived at the station. His apartment was only 5 stations away from his grandparents', and conveniently they were both along the same train line. Although both places were relatively close to his university, Taehyung still decided to move out so that his insane work and uni schedules wouldn't interfere with his grandparents' daily life too much. It wasn't of great concern for them since he still paid them a visit every week or two, making sure they could play with their beloved Yeontan often as well. Not this time, though. His shopping trip might have turned out more chaotic than he wished if his Yeontan wasn't left home.
As he got off the train, Taehyung didn't forget to buy some freshly baked sponge cake for grandma and beef pie for grandpa. It had been a habit of his whenever he came to visit. The pair had always have nicely made Korean food by his grandma every day, so whenever he came over, Taehyung always bought some Western food, and they enjoyed whatever he offered. His grandma also never forgot to give him at least 2-3 days’ worth of Korean food, considering how hopeless he was in the kitchen, and having takeaways every day was far from pleasant. It was never a fair trade, but they were happy enough that their grandchild cared about them. This time, however, Taehyung reminded her not to stuff him with a world of containers like usual, since he was leaving the country the next day.
After having brunch and chatting with his grandparents about his work recently and his plan for the 3 heavenly weeks ahead, Taehyung had to leave for some last-minute shopping.
'Taehyung ah'
'Yes?' Taehyung instinctively turned back to answer, slightly surprised at his name being called just a split second after saying goodbye to his grandparents.
'You know, when…will you have a partner to introduce to me? It's Valentine's day today, right darling?'
Taehyung couldn't help but let out a cough at the sudden question. So, she waited until grandpa went inside to ask, or rather, to tease him? Is this really happening?
'Grandma, when the time comes, I will tell you firsthand.' he shyly smiled, didn't know how else to react.
Taehyung didn't see much meaning dating. It's not like he had never met anyone whom he had feelings for. It just never struck him that a single person could make his life any better than he himself could. Rather, he found comfort in being on his own. He wasn't surprised that his grandma secretly hoped he would be in a relationship, though, despite him having just entered his twenties. It was nice of her to worry for him, but Taehyung would like to avoid following up with this particular topic as much as possible.
To Taehyung's surprise, his reply seemed to satisfy grandma. Very quickly reassessing his sentence and realising he might have given her the wrong idea, Taehyung added 'After I have met the person, that is.'
'Oh?' her face drooped.
Yep, she misunderstood him.
Amused at his grandma's amazingly quick change of expression, he laughed.
'Grandma, I'm still young, don't worry!'
'You are, excuse this old lady, I shouldn't trouble you with this, go and enjoy your trip darling.' She changed into a cheerful smile, again at the speed of light. 'Enjoy the afternoon with Minjae too, give him my thanks for the ginseng he sent last week!'
'I'll let him know. I'll call you before I board the plane too! See you in 3 weeks grandma, take care!'
Taehyung smiled as he walked off, this time actually leaving the building. He was too excited about the upcoming trip that the dating topic left his mind in a matter of seconds.
Taehyung planned to have his last dinner with his best friend Minjae, who had kindly offered to take care of Yeontan, Taehyung's puppy, for the three weeks he was away. That meant he had a solid 5 hours all to himself.
As he walked back to the station, Taehyung could feel the weather becoming remarkably pleasant. The sun was out for moments, then hid in the clouds again, making it seasonably chilly yet occasionally warm. Finally, once in the past 2 months, the warmth brushing his face was coming from the bright shining sun rather than a standing heater that smelled like old books.