Chapter 5

KTH POV

I'd felt it before when I saw her at the park and I felt it again now as I walked across the grass towards her. Peace.

She was standing watching Sophia and as I looked up and our eyes met, I walked faster, wanting to spend as much time as I could with them. She was ruffling through Sophia's hair as I approached, I couldn't help the smile that lit up my face at the sight of them. I focused on Sophia, needing a moment before I looked back at Marley. Sophia was tucked in against Marley's leg and her eyes were big as she greeted me with the cutest little "Hello man."

But Marley's were bigger, beautiful and drawing me in when I finally met hers properly and took a breath to steady myself again. I wasn't sure what feeling washed over me in that moment. Fondness? It was too soon to be love. "Hello again Marley. I am very happy we could do this today. You look beautiful." She blushed at my words, a slight pink tinge across her cheeks as she looked down and again, my heart was moving quickly.

"Shall I call you Tae as well," I heard her ask and tuned back into the conversation. I took her hand, guiding her down close to me on the picnic rug she'd spread out, the zing between our fingers raw as we touched. This wasn't the normal feelings I got for someone so quickly and I was becoming aware that I wanted this to continue long past today. I squeezed her hand as we went to let go once she was settled and breathed in, steadying my voice before I spoke. "V is my stage name, Kim Taehyung is my full name, Tae is who I am to friends. You can call me any of those but I like Tae." Hopefully I'd communicated to her that I wanted to be friends. I'd need to work on showing her that I wanted to be more than friends, if it wasn't too soon.

While we ate, we talked and I tried to keep up with the flow of conversation. I think she slowed her speech so it was easier for me to follow and I loved her for that. Especially when I just wanted to watch her and taking in what she was saying in another language could be exhausting. But she was so easy to be around so it didn't feel that way most of the time, instead, being around her invigorated me. When she talked about sign language, an idea formed in my head but I tucked it to the back of my mind as it hinged on a few things coming together.

As she was sorting Sophia, I watched, taking in her face, especially the way her eyes crinkled when she smiled at her daughter and how her tongue appeared at her lips to moisten them every now and again. Without realising it, I had been staring and she'd caught me. I didn't look away, I couldn't but she began to blush under my gaze averting her eyes as it all started to feel serious.

She looked up at the sky, commenting on the cloud formations and I was glad to have a moment to regroup, feeling a little dazed and breathless. Finding a flower in the clouds, I beckoned her over to rest on me while we searched the sky for more shapes and she seemed to willing lean against me. Having her rest on my stomach while we looked felt perfect, her hair twisted up in a bun at the base of the neck, my fingers itching to take out the hair tie and let it cascade around her shoulders and down her back like I'd seen yesterday. I knew it would look beautiful, she was beautiful and very distracting. Had she noticed how I couldn't take my eyes off her?

When Sophia came over with flowers, I offered to make flower chains with her, something I'd often done in the past with my cousins. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Marley watching us while Sophia handed me more and more flowers, the chain growing. I began to turn it into a crown, trying not to notice the way Marley tilted her head to watch me, like she was analysing everything about me. I had the eyes of the world on me often, this felt more scary, like I wanted to prove myself more than ever before. I fitted the crown to my head, checking it was small enough then gently rested it onto Sophia's curls, her smile splitting her cheeks as she turned to show it to Marley. The pixie was quickly winning my heart, the pixie's mother already had.

When she ran off again, the conversation easily turned to travel destinations around our tours and places we wanted to go. Some of her favourite places were mine too and I wanted to take her away with me, travel somewhere we could get to know each other more deeply without any real life distractions. I joked about travelling to Antarctica, the only continent I hadn't been to.

"Well, you seem to be very skilled at getting what you set your heart on so I'm sure you'll make it to Antarctica one day," she said with a laugh.

"I get everything I set my heart on? I hope so," I replied, the change in the air significant as our eyes met and I reached for her hand, briefly running my thumb across the top before our fingers locked together. The way they fitted so comfortably made my heartbeat escalate and she was gazing down at them, the rise and fall of her chest quicker than normal.

The moment was broken as a sleepy Sophia returned to us and I lay back on the rug, Marley settling Sophia, the sun beating down on us all so I pulled my hat down over my face to protect it. Relaxing like this was a luxury and I felt sleepy and comfortable as my eyes followed Marley. Sophia had her thumb in her mouth, eyelids closed and my eyes did the same, thinking of how perfect the last few days had been.

I felt my shoulders being shaken a little and my eyes popped open, seeing the staff standing close. "We need to leave soon Taehyung, in about 5 minutes," they said and I sat up, rubbing my face. Marley was blinking at me in a sleepy way and I stretched, marvelling that I had been asleep for as long as I had, a little annoyed at myself for wasting time with her.

"We all did," Marley said, pointing at Sophia who was curled up near my feet.

I stretched a little more, distracting myself from the fact I wanted to reach out and wrap her in my arms. And I didn't want the afternoon to end or at least I didn't want our time together to finish.

"I have a concert tonight which is short to tell you about but tomorrow there is our last one here. Would you like tickets to come?" The way her face instantly lit up made me think the answer was yes but I held my breath in case. Everything in me wanted to show her all sides of myself. She had met Taehyung at the park and now at the picnic, when I'd been able to relax and be myself. The other side of me, V the performer, she needed to know he was a huge part of my life and someone who was intertwined with Tae.

When she said that both of them could come, I was relieved and thrilled at the thought of one more chance to see her. I knew the concert tomorrow was something I was going to put my all into. Impulsively, I said "I would like to see you more today but I will go on Instagram tonight, live during the concert and say hello to you. Not in words but hopefully you will know. And then, tomorrow." It was impulsive as I always had trouble on Instagram, clicking the wrong buttons but it was the first thing that came to mind and I already had an idea of what I'd like to do.

Her eyes shone, surprised at my words and she took a moment before answering, a moment where our eyes locked again and then she smiled. "Tomorrow sounds amazing and I'll check in on Instagram tonight to see you."

I wanted to reach out and hug her, physical touch was definitely my top love language but I wasn't sure. How soon was too soon when she likely was grieving? The looks we'd been sharing seem weighted, I didn't think I was misreading that there was attraction there from both of us but I was still very hesitant so I took her hand and kissed the back of it, squeezing it to prolong the contact. "Today was another beautiful day. Have a good afternoon Marley."

I actually couldn't turn my back on her in that moment, walking backwards as I held her eyes, beautiful, glowing in that moment and maybe just maybe, filling up with feelings. I know mine were growing far quicker than made sense but I was rolling with it because it felt unbelievable.

I stopped at the car, the door open ready for me and watched her for a few moments. She was standing on the picnic rug, next to where Sophia lay and she was following me with her eyes. I couldn't see the expression in them as she was too far away but I could see the small smile on her lips. As I raised my hand to wave one last time, the smile spread across her features and mine grew in response as I climbed inside the car, staff starting it up. I keep my eyes on her as I buckled in, mouth dropping open slightly as I watched her begin to turn. She was captivating, like she was spreading light as she spun, graceful, beautiful and enchanting. I turned in my seat and watched as she sunk like a dancer next to Sophia, her hand to her chest as if she was out of breath. I didn't take my eyes off her until she was too far away to see and even then, I closed them to see her image was stamped under my eyelids. Namjoon was right, I was smitten.

The rest of the afternoon was sound check and getting ready for the concert. The amount of times someone commented that I was distracted became too many to count on my hands. "I'm not missing the notes or my timing in the dances so stop teasing," I replied, when Jimin said it for the 18th time.

"But you're not present and we all know when you are in your head. ARMY will want you there tonight, all of you."

I frowned, knowing full well that he was saying it in a joking way and wasn't actually mad at me but I was a little annoyed at him and myself. "I love hanging out with ARMY and you know I love to perform," I replied. "I'll be fine tonight, don't worry."

"It's OK Tae, you always do your best, even when you have no voice left. I have to say though, this Marley has you tied up in knots already. You said she's coming tomorrow?"

I nodded, a smile breaking across my face at the thought.

"I hope you'll introduce her to us all then."

"I'll see if I think you can behave," I replied, smacking his arm as I walked away.

2 hours later, we were backstage, listening to the VR hype up the crowd before we walked on. I had butterflies in my stomach as I always did before a concert. They were extra flighty tonight as I thought of Marley back home and when I could go live for her. The members had a chat to decide on a place in the concert to send some hearts to ARMY and I decided that would be the right time to say a quick hello. Instagram and I weren't really friends so I hoped I was able to make it work after telling her to watch out for it. I decided to test it by doing a quick live backstage, tucking myself away in a corner.

I pulled my phone from my pocket, flicked to Instagram and clicked on live where I filmed my feet. You could hear the crowd in the background and I said quietly "Stay tuned for later," before clicking it off. Just 10 seconds long but when I played it back, it seemed to work and I was satisfied that I could do that during the concert too. Handing my phone off to staff, I explained when I wanted it back for a few minutes and they nodded, putting it away for later and then I breathed a few times, tucking Marley away in my heart so I could focus on the evening.

And 90 minutes later, sweaty and almost ¾ through the set, it was nearing time for us to stop and have another chat with ARMY before our last few songs. I searched for staff along the edge of the stage and they handed me my phone as we lined up. RM was speaking as I switched it on and to Instagram, getting ready to hand it back so they could film for a little bit. As the other hyung talked, I gave the signal to staff to begin recording.

Hoping I had practiced enough for her to understand, I swiped my hands together signing my message before pressing my fingers to my face. I heard ARMY cheering and it may have been for me or it may have been for Namjoon but I was just focused on making sure Marley knew I was thinking of her before turning with my finger heart from Marley and towards the crowds. ARMY was important to me, I wanted to make sure the heart was for them too as they were the reason I was where I was today. I was quietly pleased with myself and couldn't wait to check in with Marley to see if she had seen. The rest of the concert would be fun, but for tonight, I was ready for it to be over so I could text the person who had taken over my mind.

Marley POV

Sophia was out like a light and I collapsed onto the couch. All afternoon since the picnic, I had been distracted. The whole day I had thought about Tae, from the time I woke up until now. The picnic had been a dream and I had been thinking about him performing while Sophia and I went about our ordinary life and I was trying not to think about how different we were from each other. That just led to sadness and I was trying to remind myself I had reasons to be happy.

Notifications were popping up and I kept checking only to be disappointed by other accounts posting. There was a cute, short live that showed his feet and you could just hear his deep voice over the sounds of the crowd in the background. His voice that sent waves through my body and caused me to stop in my tracks. It was like food for the soul, the way it reverberated through me.

I switched on the TV to distract myself, my phone at hand and I must've picked it up 50 times before, finally, a live popped up. All the members were lined up, it looked like they were giving little speeches. Tae was on the end closest to the camera and he was grinning out at the crowd, his side profile stunning as whoever was operating the camera zoomed in on him. His smile made me automatically smile back and then he turned to face the camera and the full force of his smile lit up the screen, my heart bursting as it sped up. His hands came up to the camera, signing "Today was a beautiful day" and I gasped. Then he held up 3 fingers to one cheek, and V to the other cheek and my face flushed. Signing 3 fingers on your hand was an M and the V was obvious. He raised his eyebrows with his signature smirk and then did a finger heart before turning away from the camera and it cut out.

I gulped, blinking over and over, trying not to read too much into it but I couldn't help it. I'd told him I knew sign language and he had said he would be sending me a message. When did he even have the time to learn those signs? And were the 3 fingers on his face instead of his hand an M? I felt stunned at such a public gesture, millions saw his lives. I wondered how many people would see it and understand the words but wonder what it all meant. I couldn't help but feel incredibly special that he had gone to all that trouble for me.

I played it back, over and over, analysing the movements and confirming that's what he had signed and the smile didn't leave my face. I refreshed my Instagram feed, not surprised that his live was already reposted by fans and that someone had translated it as I scrolled through the comments section of one post.

"Looks like he's using sign language."

"What does it say?"

"Well, it's local signs so I looked it up, he said Today was a beautiful day."

"Awwwww, he's so lovely. Do you think he was talking about the concert and being with ARMY?"

"Probably, V loves ARMY."

"I think there was more to it, V always sends hidden messages in his posts. What's with the hand on his cheek? It was like a 3 fingered salute?"

"Oh, I'm going to watch it again, I didn't see that, I only saw him. He's so gorgeous, that smile!"

ARMY was smart, they knew Tae well and that he did hide things in his lives. I just hoped they didn't connect the dots and work out anything to do with me, I knew that would make things complicated. With the park and the picnic, we had been out in public but so far, I hadn't seen any photos of us together, apart from the ones Tae had posted himself of Sophia and I at the park and they were still hard to identify.

Half an hour later I was still riding the high of his message when my phone beeped and a text came through.

"Did you see it?"

My fingers tingled as I went to reply, slipping over the keys as I had to delete and retype again a few times from nervous mistakes. "I did, more than once. When did you learn that? And it was definitely a beautiful day."

"Oh, so I got it right? I started learning in the car on the way back to the hotel from our picnic. I wanted it to be so you'd know right away that it was for you. Did the M work too? I know that's not the normal way to do it."

"Yes, I understood it all. You are more than I could have thought. Thank you for doing that for me."

There was no reply and I hoped I hadn't sounded too gushy with my last text, wishing I could've taken it back. Maybe it was too soon to say that, even though it was the truth and I always valued honesty. 10 minutes passed and then a series of texts came through.

"Sorry!" "I had to do some quick press." "I wanted to continue our chat, work does often get in the way of life." "You are worth learning it for."

When the texts stopped, I smiled and replied. "What do you have planned now?"

"The members are all having food together and then we are meant to have an early night because another busy day tomorrow. I won't sleep well though, too much to think about."

"Enjoy your food, I'm looking forward to tomorrow."

"Will you stay after the concert to see me, staff can bring you to the dressing rooms?"

"I'd love to!"

"The more time the better Marley. The food is here and my tummy is empty, I'm going to go eat. Goodnight, until tomorrow."

"Goodnight Taehyung, you make me smile."

I tossed the phone onto the couch next to me and did a happy wiggle. I didn't feel like the same person from a week ago, so much had happened in just a few days. And he was the reason I was smiling so much. Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.