Chapter 7

Marley POV

He was wiping off make up when I walked into the dressing room, facing a mirror and laughing along with J-Hope who was sitting next to him. When he caught our reflection in the mirror, he spun his chair and jumped up, pursing his lips together with a shy smile. "Was it good?" he asked, awkwardly reaching out to hug me around Sophia who was fast asleep on my shoulder.

"So so good, I had an amazing time Tae," I replied, hoisting Sophia up higher on my shoulder, her heaviness from being in a solid sleep weighing on my arms. "You. Were. Amazing." My body was also trying not to register that this was the first physical contact we'd had apart from when he'd kissed my hand after the picnic and the occasional squeeze.

He blushed a little and I marvelled at the duality of his stage persona of V and the Tae I was slowly getting to know. He really was a beautiful human being, inside and out, his damp hair falling slightly over his eyes and making me feel flutters in my chest proving that I was definitely attracted to him.

I couldn't keep that train of thought and look him in the eye so I focused on Sophia who now felt like she weighed as much as an adult. He noticed my arms drooping and guided me into his vacant chair so I could rest and I thought again how considerate he was and how much he noticed without words. J-Hope nodded to me with a smile as he continued to wipe his own makeup off and I smiled back, looking around, trying not to notice those in sleeveless shirts as they cooled down and wrapped up for the night, all laughing together, surrounded by staff. All of them trying not to look in our direction and not succeeding. I felt very self conscious.

Turning back to Tae, I rested my head back on the chair and gazed at him and his eyes met mine in the mirror. He paused mid wipe, reaching out to touch my hand. Could he read what I was thinking, was it obvious on my face? Because I had been thinking how much I had wanted his touch or was it how much I needed his touch? How I wanted to talk about the concert, ask him questions about his life but felt too shy with others around. I rested my cheek against the top of Sophia's head and just watched him through the mirror as he stood behind me.

Finally, the hum of the room and voices seemed to blend away and it felt like it was just him and I, "Thank you for inviting us," I said, thinking I needed to express something of what I was feeling. "We both had a great time."

"Of course. I wanted to show you all sides of me. V is different from Kim Taehyung and from Tae but all are inside of me. You need to know all of me if you want to spend more time together."

I tilted my head slightly. More time together was something I definitely wanted but I knew they were leaving soon so wasn't sure that was even a possibility.

"More time, is that something that we can make happen?"

"Our schedule is not as busy now concerts have finished here and we have a few more days. If you are OK, I would like to spend everyday with you until we go." His eyes held mine in the mirror as he finished, a question in them that wasn't obvious enough to scream at me, implied but not exactly spoken.

I inhaled sharply, was he asking if we could get to know each other as more or was I misreading him? It had been a while since I had dated anyone other than Matty, I had forgotten the rules of how this all went. I swallowed and nodded knowing there wasn't any other option I wanted to give. "I'd like that," I replied quietly and his face lit up.

Before he could reply, staff spoke to him and I couldn't understand what they were saying but there was a bit of back and forth and then the room went a lot quieter after Tae said something that raised a few eyebrows. He spoke again and the staff nodded, seeming to be a little hesitant, looking between him and I and Tae's low voice repeated a phrase I'd heard him just say in what seemed like a slightly more forceful way. Some of the members exchanged a quick smile before turning away and I was intensely curious what had just happened, raising an eyebrow at him in question.

"You probably want to know what that was about," he said softly, crouching down to talk just to me, shutting the room out with his volume. "They asked when I'd be ready to go in one of the cars back to our hotel. I told them I wasn't sure yet if I was needing one. I don't want to put words in your mouth but I was hoping I could come back to your house for a few hours. I never sleep after a concert so I'll just be back at the hotel thinking about you anyway."

My mouth dropped open a little as he spoke so openly, feeling flattered and flustered. No wonder there had been conversation, surely they were wondering what had gotten into him. And if it was safe for him to do. "You are welcome to come back. I have my car here, we could travel together, if that's OK with the staff? I know there are rules."

"Please understand, I am not inviting myself to stay the night."

I smiled. Was this his way of saying he wasn't asking to come back to sleep with me? Because, it was kind of cute. "It's OK, I understand and I'm not assuming anything. I would enjoy spending more time with you tonight. I want to talk more about everything, I want to know all about your life."

"I am very happy you said yes. Can you tell me where you have your car? Staff can go and bring it here for us so we can leave."

"It's not far, we can just walk?"

He looked a little embarrassed. "I can't. Too many people, if they see us... It would be complicated."

I immediately realised how he had to always be thinking of those things and it hadn't occurred to me at all as we lived in two very different worlds. Two worlds that were so far apart I wasn't sure they could do more than collide in passing."Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't think. I can go get it though, staff don't need to do that."

"I'd rather they did and you stayed here, safe with me. It is dark outside now and colder, Sophia is asleep. It is better this way, is that OK?"

I nodded, appreciating being asked rather than told. "Whatever you think is best," and I fished around in my bag for the keys. Standing up with them, Tae called someone over and they took the keys, listening to my description of where I'd parked and what the car looked like. I felt a little weird handing my keys over, like he was a valet at some upscale restaurant but I supposed there was lots about Tae's world I had no idea about and the staff had bowed as they left, seemingly unbothered by this nighttime errand.

Over the next few minutes, members and staff left in groups, waving out goodbyes to each other and Taehyung as they did, bowing to me with a smile which I returned. All of them looked curious and it didn't escape my notice that he hadn't introduced me properly to them. My insecurities flared up as I wondered why. Was I just someone who wasn't worth enough to introduce? I mean, I was only around for a short time right, getting to know him while they were in town. As if this could turn into a relationship or be any kind of long term thing. Even if I was finally ready to think about trying after the sadness of my last year.

He was looking at me and I realised it was just us and a couple of staff left, I guessed they were waiting to make sure we got away safely before they too went back to the hotel. I chewed my lip as I overthought and he noticed, taking my hand. "Are you OK?"

"Yes," I replied, half heartedly.

"Marley, something is not OK. Please tell me so I can fix it."

I twisted my mouth, unsure how to put it so I didn't sound stupid. "I didn't really meet any of your friends."

"No, I'm not ready," he replied straight away, stroking my hand with his thumb.

"Not ready? You've talked about me though, I could see in their eyes that they knew who I was."

"Of course, they're probably sick of listening to me talk about you. But, I'm not ready to share you and Sophia with them yet. You're too precious and I don't want to yet. My life is very open to many people, I want to keep some things just for me, for now."

I wasn't really sure what to make of that. He talked about me all the time but not enough to introduce me because he didn't want to share us? Was he the possessive type because I wasn't sure how I felt about that. But the look on his face was concerned, maybe he wondered if he had explained himself properly so I gave him a small smile.

He went to speak again but the staff came back with my keys and so I stood up as he grabbed his and my bags. Another quick conversation and Tae explained the car was tucked away somewhere fairly private but that it would be best to wear a mask so my face was hidden, handing me one from the staff. He said he would follow into the car after a few minutes, when I'd driven it around the corner to somewhere less obvious. It all sounded cloak and dagger stuff but I understood. There was a balance between privacy and his very public life.

I nodded as he gave my hand another squeeze and I followed the staff out. They held the door for me, blocking us from prying eyes, as I buckled Sophia inside the car, careful to keep her asleep and then going to the front seat and listening to instructions of where to go so he could meet me shortly. Driving off and round the corner, I pulled to a stop, hoping I had understood where to go, leaving the engine running.

I kept glancing in the rear vision mirror, waiting for him, unsure of what him coming back to my place looked like for us. I wasn't ready for things to get intimate, although I had been thinking of his lips for days. I worried again about the fact I hadn't met his friends. Thinking about the last few days and how crazy they'd been. I had to admit to myself, I was falling for someone who was going to break my heart because there wasn't a reality I could see where this would end well. But I was enjoying the ride these last few days so I wanted to play this whole thing out even if my heart hurt when it all came crashing down.

I was startled out of my thinking by the black SUV pulling up next to my car and Tae getting out. He was wearing a hat pulled down over his eyes and a mask but it couldn't really hide who he was by the way he moved and dressed. There were only a few paces between the two cars though and he grabbed the passenger door and quickly climbed into the front next to me. As he buckled in, I pulled away trying to see if there were any cars or people around but it seemed to be fairly quiet. Even so, he kept his mask in place for a few minutes as we drove towards my house before finally removing that and the hat, ruffling his hair to adjust it back to how he wanted it.

We'd travelled in silence but once his mask was off, he seemed to relax and reached for my hand, resting back into the seat. "Is this OK?" he asked, giving my hand a squeeze. I was driving with one hand, possibly subconsciously leaving the other free and it was definitely OK with me. "Yes, I like your touch."

His eyes grew big as did his smile and he linked our fingers together, turning his body slightly so he could look at me. I glanced sideways and then grinned at the way he was looking at me. A mixture of sleepy eyes from a long day and intense stares were causing butterflies. "How are you feeling after the concert?" I asked, trying to focus on the road.

"I always have extra energy before a concert and then afterwards, it's a nice tired feeling but also a loss. I miss not being on stage almost as soon as the concert is finished."

"When we get home to my house, you can relax and do whatever you would normally do to unwind."

He laughed. "It's sometimes going live to talk to ARMY. If there is a holiday for a few days then I might have a drink to relax. But, I'll be with you so talking would be nice."

"I'd like that too. I still have lots of questions about you, your life, what this is." The last bit was an added after thought that went straight from my brain to my mouth and out before I could stop it. Yes, I wanted to know what this was between us but I didn't want to ask so soon or blurt it out like that. I felt my cheeks flush and couldn't look at him.

"Marley, do you think I would be here if there wasn't something between us? I don't want to say the wrong thing but a relationship is not an easy thing in my job. It is scary for everyone and if it is in the media, you can get very hurt. But I am here because I want to see what it could be that makes me not stop thinking about you."

I tried to swallow and couldn't, my emotions trapped inside my throat as tears welled in my eyes. I began to furtively blink in an attempt to make them disappear but he was looking at me and noticed, reflexively squeezing my hand.

"Oh Marley, did I say something to make you sad? I'm so sorry. Please tell me, I don't want to hurt you."

"No, no, it's OK. I just have what I tell Sophia are her 'big feelings'. I am feeling happy which has been a long time coming but I'm also excited and a little scared to let the feelings in."

"There is no pressure, we will talk. Get to know each other more. I want to learn all about you, the things that make you who you are are."

I nodded, still partly overwhelmed by everything but he had a calming tone that settled my feelings for the moment.

"Thank you Tae. You make me feel like you're listening to what I need and I am really thankful that you're taking things at my pace. I promise that I want to keep things moving forward if you're willing to be a little more patient?"

He pulled my hand to his lips again, resting it there a moment, pressing heat to my skin. "I am willing to do what you need for as long as that takes until you are ready."

He wrapped both hands around mine, encasing it in their warmth and it radiated up my arm, leaving a smile on my lips. "You are a dream," I replied as I pulled into my driveway, turning the engine off. "Lets go inside and relax," and we reluctantly let our hands separate although I had a feeling it wouldn't be for long.