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Sitting atop a tree branch and tightly clutching your phone in your hands, you felt quite stupid.
First of all, you didn't know how to get down. It was adrenaline that managed to get you up in the first place, but now it was all gone. Your hands were red and full of scratches from the rough tree bark, and your shoes were in no better condition. Not to mention, in your haste to run away from the inn, you didn't change your clothes and were now in the skirt you wore to dinner, your bare thighs itching from all the friction with the bark. The tears on your face had long since dried up, and from the initial anger and embarrassment, only a feeling of slight fear was left in your chest.
Second, why did you have to text someone to come help you? You got yourself into this mess, so you should be able to sort it out. The branch wasn't even that high up. If you jumped, you most likely would only end up with some nasty bruises. And yet, the fear was crushing your heart, paralyzing you.
You had to admit, though, the view was quite beautiful. Sunset had always been your favourite time of the day. The sun was setting behind the hill to your right, the one on which the inn also sat, but your direct view to it was obstructed by the tree trunk. However, the light fell so beautifully on the vast field in front of you, that you could complain no longer.
Such a weird tree, in the middle of nowhere! How lonely it must be without any others like it, you thought.
The old tree really was in the middle of an otherwise empty field. There was a small, rare forest far behind you, but all those trees were different from the one you were sitting in. Suddenly, you felt very compassionate towards the tree.
You heard a very loud yet distant laugh. You tried to peek towards the place it came from, but that required moving around, so you decided against it. You were sure that it came from the inn where you and the rest of your classmates were staying at. You only moved your head slightly towards the place, and after a minute or so you were surprised to see a figure walking down the hill, away from the inn.
It only took another three minutes for the person to get to you. (You knew, because you counted.)
You tucked your phone away safely at the same time as the boy put his hands in his pockets and looked up at you.
"How did you get there?"
You shrugged.
"Climbed."
"Figured out as much," he sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Then why did you ask?"
Taehyung didn't answer you, only smiled. He stretched his arms forward and neared the tree. "Jump," he said. "I'll catch you."
You felt how all the blood in your body rushed up to your face. Your heart picked up its rhythm, but you weren't sure if it was out of fear or embarrassment.
"I don't want to," you told him, shifting slightly on the branch, mostly to make sure your skirt covered you properly. "I'm too scared to. And anyway, I'm too heavy."
His smile only grew larger. "I'll catch you, y/n."
You really didn't want to jump. But if you didn't, the only other option was to slowly and very clumsily climb down, possibly hurting yourself further more. Truth be told, you preferred Taehyung's arms. You took a deep breath.
"O-Okay. I'm sorry in advance if I hit you."
You tried to jump as gracefully as you could, but could anyone really be graceful when jumping from a tree?
You landed flat on the ground. Except, it wasn't really the ground, just Taehyung's warm chest, his hands carefully holding onto your waist.
He did catch you, it just so happened that he lost balance after the impact.
"I told you I'm heavy," you laughed, but made no move to roll off of him. His hands also didn't leave your body.
When he laughed back, you felt his chest vibrate beneath you. "You're not. I just didn't position myself correctly to catch you," he said.
You groaned, and at that, his arms wound around you, completely encircling your body and pulling you even closer. You flushed from head to toe, but tried to keep quiet. Taehyung buried his face in the crook of your neck, one hand reaching up to your head and gently brushing your hair. "What happened? Nina again?"
You nodded. He sighed against your skin.
Your fights with Nina were a usual occurrence. Well, they weren't really fights, since a fight supposed that there were at least two people actively taking part in it. When it came to you two, it was mostly the other girl screaming at you, throwing insults, or even cursing. From time to time, a curse would leave your lips in a futile attempt at fighting back, but your vocabulary didn't match up to hers.
"She's a dumb bitch," you muttered. "I don't know why I still take to heart what she says. It's not like it's even true."
"What did she say this time? If you want to tell me, of course."
You sighed.
"It's just the usual. Calling me dumb, ugly, fat, you name it, she said it." You paused way too long not to seem suspicious before starting again: "That's pretty much it-"
"What else?" he prodded. "There's more, I can tell from your voice there's more."
You pushed at his shoulders and tried to sit up and get off of him. However, Taehyung didn't let you go, and instead held onto you even tighter and sat up himself, making you adjust your position so that you were now seated on his lap with your legs on either side of his body, straddling him. You let your arms go around his neck; it felt like the most natural thing to do.
"Really," you whispered, "that's all. Nothing new."
"Then why were you so sad, y/n? You can't lie to me, you know."
You did know. Truthfully, you didn't even want to. But just thinking about it again made you cry.
A single tear rolled down your cheek and landed on his shirt.
Taehyung's face suddenly looked alarmed.
"Y/n? Y/n, why are you crying? Goodness, I- y/n, please, please calm down. What did she say to make you feel this bad?"
You hastily wiped your face, but it was too late. Tears were flowing down your cheeks and small, sad whimpers were leaving your mouth.
"I hate her, Tae," you told him. You let your head fall on his shoulder and hugged him. "I never did anything to her, but ever since university started, she keeps throwing insults at me. I hate her, and I hate myself for not being able to completely block her out and ignore her."
For a few moments, silence fell around the two of you, interrupted only by your sobs. Taehyung rubbed your back, his chin on your shoulder, his embrace warm.
It was nice, being held like that. If someone saw the two of you, they'd most likely immediately think that you were a happy, loving couple, not just two best friends. But if you thought better about it, you would have liked to be more than friends. After all, what was the difference? You two got along so well, and physical contact was not even a problem. Hugging, holding hands, even these positions where your limbs were so intertwined you weren't sure where you ended and where he began were not something out of the ordinary.
And yet, why did none of you take the step and leave the "friendly" relationship behind?
Deep inside, you realized, it was maybe the fear of rejection. What if he really only thought of you as a friend? Taehyung was a social butterfly; it was so easy for him to make new friends, start up conversations with strangers, and he was easily likable. You, on the other hand, while not the most introverted person out there, dreaded even speaking on the phone with your relatives.
How on Earth did the two of you even click so well together? You believed in all those stories of fated soulmates, like the red string of fate and such. Was this it? Just fate doing its thing?
Taehyung jabbed at your back.
"Now that you calmed down a bit, care to continue your story? I'm not letting you leave until you spill all of it." You puffed, and he did the same thing back at you. "You'll feel better if you let it all out," he continued, voice much softer.
You raised your head and looked him straight in the eyes. He had such warm, friendly eyes, framed by that wavy, soft, dark brown hair. You couldn't help yourself and let your hands run through his locks, at which he smiled. Out of habit, you smiled, too, but then became serious again.
Taking a deep breath, you started speaking.
"Usually when we fight - well, she fights, I only take the hits -, it's the usual insults, you know. I got used to them. They still hurt, but they're getting old so I'm no longer really paying attention. But today, when she saw me in this skirt she-" you gulped and averted your gaze from his. "She called me a slut and an attention-seeking whore, because apparently I'm not allowed to wear a shorter skirt in the summer without being accused of trying to hook up with someone. I'm aware her words are not true, because at the end of the day I know myself best and I know where my intentions lie, and I know I'm not doing this for attention or anything like that and GOD! I hate myself so much for giving her the attention she accused me of seeking, but I guess I'm just a little stupid girl who still cannot stand up for herself and ignore the world-"
And fuck, there you go crying once again.
Taehyung resumed rubbing your back and brushing your hair. His hands were so gentle and full of love, and you couldn't help but lean into the touch.
"Y/n, listen to me," Taehyung started. "Let Nina leave in her little world full of anger and hate. She's clearly projecting some frustrations she has about herself upon you, just because she thinks you're weaker than her and enjoys making you suffer. But look here." He took your chin between his long, slender fingers and guided your head so that you had no choice but look at him directly. "You're not weak, y/n. You're one of the strongest people I know, okay? You're strong, compassionate, hard-working, kind, and beautiful inside and outside. People like Nina cannot even compare to you." His lips curled up in a soft smile that also lit up his eyes with something far deeper than happiness, but you couldn't quite put your finger on what it was. He wiped your tears, then continued. "For all those good things that you are, I appreciate and love you so, so much."
You could have sworn that everything in that moment stopped. Time, the Earth revolving around the Sun, your heart and breathing, everything took a pause while you processed his words, and then it all exploded back to life.
"L-love?" you asked, shyly.
He chuckled. "Yes, I did say that, didn't I?"
"L-love as in… that love?"
"I- um… I'm not sure there are more kinds of love…?" Taehyung frowned.
"Yes, sure there are! There's platonic love, like, between friends, and t-then there's that love between a family, like what a brother feels for his sister…"
Why were you stuttering? Most importantly, why were you looking into details like that?
"Then," he said, and cupped your cheeks in his palms, "what kind of love is this?"
And then he kissed you, his lips softly touching yours like a butterfly. After the initial shock, you closed your eyes and kissed him back, pulling him to you by the shoulders.
It was a tender kiss, and yet your body was hyper-aware of everything around you. The sun rays filtered by the branches and the leaves of the tree suddenly felt hotter on your skin, the green grass was tickling your bare legs, the summer breeze ruffling through your hair no longer could be ignored and every single part of your body that came in contact with Taehyung was begging you for more more more.
Before you could get more, though, he interrupted the kiss, but didn't pull too much away. When he spoke, his lips still brushed over yours.
"I'm sorry if that was too bold of me."
You frantically shook your head. "No! No, God, no, I-" A furious blush crept up your face. "I liked it," you muttered, finally. "I liked it very much, almost as much as I like you."
In the small distance between your faces, you saw his eyes light up.
"I- actually, I love you, too, Taetae. I've felt like this for quite some time, but I was too scared to tell you." You laughed nervously. "Who knew I had nothing to be afraid of?"
You couldn't help but let your fingers dance over his features. The curve of his lips, the bridge of his nose, the arch of his brows. His smile grew larger under your touch.
The world seemed so at peace at that moment, and yet so much more vivid. You really didn't want to get up and leave, but the sun was so close to the horizon and you really should get back to the inn.
"Thank you for catching me," you blurted out, trying to change the subject.
"No problem. I'd take the fall for you anytime, any day."
You buried your face in your hands, and when he laughed you mumbled, "Is this how it's going to be from now on? You'll make corny comments like that?" You laid one hand over your heart. "You can't do that too often, you know, I have a weak heart, I might die from all that love."
He pulled you back to his chest, and you wrapped your arms around him once again, your legs also going around his middle. You felt like a toddler clinging to their parent, but it gave you such a warm, fuzzy feeling inside your chest and a sense of safety. You longed for that for so long, and you weren't going to ignore that longing anymore.
"Well then I'll tread carefully, I don't want to lose my girlfriend."
You groaned with your face buried in his neck, while Taehyung only burst out laughing.
"Let's just go back to the inn please," you said. He nodded and made a move to get up, still holding you in his arms. "Wait wait wait!" you protested. "Let me get down, I can walk by myself."
It felt weird being separated after staying in the embrace for so long. Your blouse clung to your front, and so did Taehyung's shirt. After you both got up and cleaned yourselves as best as you could, you started back towards the inn.
His hand found its way to yours and gripped tightly.
"How come you came here and climbed up the tree?" he asked, swinging your entwined hands back and forth.
"I saw this tree out the window earlier today, and it looked so calm and peaceful. I needed a moment of quiet, so I came here. And I wanted a view from above so I uh, climbed up. I didn't think it through at that time, though."
His laugh sounded cheerful and genuine, and you giggled a bit yourself. All thoughts about Nina and mean words left your mind, which was now only filled with Taehyung, love, my boyfriend.
While the two of you walked back to the inn, hand in hand, with your heart lighter than ever, you couldn't help but think that his hands were gentler than the softest summer breeze, his eyes brighter than the most brilliant stars, and his smile warmer than the sunset light.