Chapter 16

Marley POV

We pulled up to the back of the restaurant just before 730pm and I noticed security standing outside.

"They're here for you?" I asked.

"For us, yes. Just to make sure no-one disturbs us. They won't interrupt unless they have to. I booked the whole restaurant so it's just the two of us, they'll make sure it stays that way. But it's still best we go in the back."

I turned to face him in the car, a half smile of disbelief on my face. "Wow, I mean, just us. That's, ummm... amazing." I felt overwhelmed at this display of his wealth. I knew he had money but it wasn't something I had thought a lot about. That he could hire a whole restaurant out for some privacy was crazy to me. "Thank you, I'm looking forward to it." His eyes lit up and he kissed my cheek before opening his door.

He came round to my side of the car, opening the door and escorting me out as he closed the door behind me. "Thank you sir," I said with a curtsy and smoothed his suit jacket. His hair was ruffled from the earlier wind, sitting at cute angles and I smoothed that down too.

"Since we're fixing things, I need to fix this," he said, pulling me into him as he kissed me.

"How is that fixing anything," I asked with a smile as we pulled away.

"Our kissing from earlier in the car, a lot of the lipstick is gone so I'm just helping it all the way," he smirked at me.

"Oh no, I need to fix it," I said embarrassed, reaching for my handbag. I riffled for my lipstick before I realised I'd left it sitting on the bathroom counter. Feeling a little flustered, I found a lip balm instead, quickly putting some on so at least, if they weren't pink, my lips would be shiny.

"Perfect," he said as he watched me, leaning in for another kiss then pulled away. "You taste great."

"Watermelon, it's my favourite," I said with a smile.

"My new favourite too," he answered, extending his hand to take mine.

The security bowed as we walked close by and we returned their greeting. Choi Ji-ho gave me a big smile and I waved out to him as Tae thanked them before guiding me through the door, his hand at my back. I took in the surroundings as we walked through the kitchen, a few staff present who all bowed low as we passed through into the main part of the restaurant. He'd chosen Korean and I was looking forward to asking which new dishes I should try. I loved Korean food and had been here before a few times with friends but I was sure coming here with Tae on our own would feel very different. He'd have some favourites he wanted to share with me and I wanted to learn everything I could about his culture.

We were escorted to a booth at the back of the room that was lit with multiple candles laid out in a heart shape, flowers in the middle. I realised the restaurant lights were lowered so the candles seemed more vibrant and he waited while I slid in before sliding round to sit next to me, our legs touching. "Did you ask for all of this? It's beautiful."

"Of course, they were more than happy to set it up. I wanted it to be like a proper first date. Security has also given them all briefings about taking no photos. I said I would take one during the evening with them if they would wait until after we leave the country to post about it. Not to sound vain but once it is out, lots of people will come here, it's just what happens. It will be very good for the restaurant so I think we'll be OK and they'll respect what we asked. The members all ordered from here the other night and got food delivered, it was really delicious and felt like being back home."

"You must miss home a lot when you're away?" I asked as he picked up my hand, linking our fingers before resting them against his leg. My mind was distracted by his hand and the fact he'd referred to this as a first date.

"I miss my family but right now I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

I blushed and thought that although it could have come across as a line, it seemed so genuine coming from his mouth. And I wanted it to be true.

The restaurant staff delivered water and menus, asking if we'd like anything else to drink. "Coke for me, what would you like Marley?"

"I would love some green tea, thank you."

As they left us to choose what to eat, Tae asked what I liked to order.

"I'm always keen on ramen and I usually order lamb bulgogi."

He laughed. "There was a time, in early days, when staff got us bulgogi for lunch every day. Eventually we all got sick of it. But, shall we order some to share and are you happy if I get a selection of other things I like that you can try? Some of it might be new to you."

"Yes, that sounds perfect, I love trying new things. What about staff, do they get to eat?"

"I love that you care about everybody, Marley. I am going to order a lot of food so we can have some sent out for them too. Staff is also like my family."

"Shall we order the food not too spicy though?"

"Don't you like spicy food?"

"I actually love it but I have a feeling you don't so I'm happy to have it the way you like it."

He looked at me fondly, his cheek tucked into his hand. "You constantly surprise me, did you read that online?"

"Yes, I might have checked out your food preferences on Google the other day. I didn't want to kill you if you ate at my place and had allergies." I felt a little embarrassed, my ears feeling warm. What was the right thing to do with so much information at my fingertips about him, knowing a lot of it was possibly not true.

"That is very thoughtful of you. And of course, I'm probably a better person to ask than the internet about most things. There is a lot of rubbish out there about us. You can always ask me anything."

"I didn't want you to know I'd been looking you up online," I said with a small laugh. "That could be weird."

"It would be weird if you didn't. I know there is the story of a lot of my life out there to look at. I wish I had the same to find out more about you to be honest. But I will answer all your questions if you have them."

I nodded as the restaurant staff came over to take our order and I listened as the words fell from his mouth, thinking I needed to start learning Korean. The server was probably in her 50s but clearly was also under his spell, bowing several times and giggling at something he said.

"You're a flirt," I told him as she left and he raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sorry, I don't even know I'm doing it. I really am just being friendly."

"No need to apologise," I replied. "I don't blame them for coming under you spell. You're fascinating."

He was in his happy place as the food was laid out in front of us, rubbing his chopsticks together with glee as the selection grew. The first thing he did was gather a little of everything on three plates to send out to the security, politely asking the restaurant staff if they would mind taking it out to them. Then he explained to me what everything was, putting the things he wanted in front of himself, his eyes expressive. "Please help yourself Marley, it will all taste really good, I hope you like it. This is exactly my kind of meal."

"It all looks delicious," I answered, taking some things to try.

I watched his cheeks rise and fall as he ate like the cutest 6yo munchkin, a little pout on his face. He was chewing and raised his eyebrows at me when he caught me looking.

"What's that look for?" he asked, reaching for some more meat.

"Just admiring you, you're charming."

He stopped his eating and moved his head from side to side, his expression endearing as he did a little smile. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I laughed, I'd seen that Tata Mic face online and in person it was just as adorable. Reaching out, I took his hand, holding it between us on the table. "I can't get my head around how someone so sexy can also be so cute."

His cheeks flushed a little and he swallowed his mouthful. "I feel flustered around you sometimes."

"You have exactly the same effect on me," I answered.

The restaurant had music playing in the background and I assumed it was Korean, recognising a handful of words every now and again. When a BTS song came on, he smiled and nodded at the staff, singing along to parts of it as he ate. His voice was alluring, I was drawn into it whenever he spoke, catching myself mesmorised on more than one occasion.

"So," he asked between mouthfuls, running his thumb over my hand, "What did Jungkookie say to you earlier in the hotel room?"

"I don't think he'd mind if I told you. He said you were the nicest person on the planet and if I cared about you like you already cared about me, to hold on tight because you'd fight for me. It was very sweet.

"He's my best friend. I love him."

"The members all seem to care about each other so much, it's beautiful."

"Oh, we argue but we'd destroy anyone who came for any one of us," he said passionately, fire in his eyes.

"I believe you," I answered, admiring their commitment to each other. That had to be a big part of what made them so successful, they genuinely seemed to like each other.

"So, I got you something," he said, reaching into the pocket of his suit jacket, pulling out a small bag.

"You didn't need to get a gift, this day has been more than enough."

"It's just something really small, to remind you of me. I have something else in mind too but it won't be ready before I go so you'll have to watch out for that."

He looked kind of nervous as I began to open it, shyly casting his eyes to the table and then back up to watch me.

I pulled out a little bag tag, a red heart attached to it with a tiny cartoon face. "That's Tata, my BT21 character. I know it's kind of cheesy but we were spending so much time together I didn't have time to properly shop for you. I didn't want you to forget about me so this will help to remind you."

It was adorable, like being back in high school when a boyfriend gave his girlfriend a sweet gift. I was enchanted and told him so. "It's really cute Tae, thank you," and reached to attach it to my bag straight away, his smile enchanting. "And, there is no way I could forget you, that's something you never need to worry about. I won't need reminding but I'll smile every time I see it," and I leaned in to give him a kiss.

"Do you want dessert?" he asked as we pulled apart.

"Do they have Mochi? If I'm going to learn more about all of your friends too, I can't really pass up trying mochi although I only need a little taste as I'm feeling very full."

He laughed and called a server over, telling them what we wanted as they bowed and left.

There was a small noise at the front door and I turned to watch a man walk into the restaurant, escorted by security. He was holding a case which he put on a table.

"Ah great," Tae said as the man pulled out a saxophone. "He is a jazz musician I asked to come play for us."

The man turned on some backing music and started to play, the sound flooding through the room as Tae smiled. "Oh, he's even better in person, I have only seen him on YouTube when I looked up local musicians." He closed his eyes to feel the music and I leaned forward to watch him, taking the music in as Tae bobbed his head.

Then he slid out of the booth and stood up. Taking my hand gently in his, he asked,"Do you dance?"

"Not like you dance on stage but I can move to music," I grinned. He helped me out of the booth and stepped closer, placing a hand on one hip and taking the other in his. Our faces were inches from each other as we slowly started to sway to the music together. When our eyes met, they held for an unbearably long time and I had to look away as I felt my soul being laid open, placing my cheek to his as we continued to move to the music. We didn't need to kiss to feel connected in that moment, our bodies pressed close, the warmth between us undeniable. I felt every part of where we touched and when the song finished and we both pulled away to clap, it was almost a relief. I still struggled a little to let these feelings in, they could feel overwhelming.

We sat back down to listen more as dessert arrived, several kinds set out for us to try.

"I wanted to kiss you while we danced but held back, because of the staff, just in case," he said quietly, handing me a spoon.

"It was perfect Tae, another memory to hold onto," and he rubbed my leg gently in response, leaving it there, creating another connection between us.

He reached over to the flowers in the middle of the table, handing them to me. "I ordered these for you to hold onto too, to take with us."

I buried my face in the pinks and whites, inhaling the scent. Today had been amazing and I was blown away so many times at how everything was going. It felt too natural and easy, the shoe had to drop at some stage. The last year had taught me that things happened out of the blue and could wipe out everything that felt precious. And I wished it didn't cloud a little of how I felt in this moment.

I lifted my eyes from the flowers to meet his and all I saw in them was tenderness, the corners of my mouth lifting with a tiny smile in response. "Thank you Tae, it really has been a beautiful day."

He put his arm behind the back of the booth and I rested against him as we listened for a little longer. Eventually he looked at his phone and we realised there weren't too many hours left of the evening. I knew he had an early start and we still needed to talk.

We started to gather our things and security came in to let us know that there are three or four fans outside the front so we'd leave the back way again, one security member blocking the driveway so people couldn't get around there. It's not that they knew Tae was definitely here but ARMY often staked out all the Korean restaurants when the band was in town on the off chance that one of the band would come. When they saw security outside, word had gotten out and people had turned up just in case.

They handed us both masks, Choi Ji-ho reaching for my arm, tucking it into his as he escorted me out to my car. I kept my head down, the mask covering most of my face and Choi Ji-ho shielding my body with his. Tae was coming out a few minutes later and travelling in the security car, we would meet up once they were sure no-one had followed. Not exactly the ending to our dinner I had expected but nothing could help that.

We drove 5 minutes up the road and pulled over, sending our location to the other security with Tae. When they pulled up, Choi Ji-ho and I had made progress with our limited communication skills, he was married and showed me pictures of his family. He shook hands with Tae as he climbed out of the seat, Tae slipping in next to me. He leaned over, kissing my cheek. "Sorry, that was a bit of a hard piece of my reality. Security will follow us and take me back to the hotel when we're ready."

"Can we go to one more place on the way back to mine? I'm assuming no-one is following us?"

"It doesn't look like it and of course, where are we heading?"

"The beach. It's obviously too cold to get out but the moon is sitting really low so it will be pretty."

Secretly, I was procrastinating. I didn't want to go home. That meant talking and that he was leaving. If I could've driven around all night and stopped that from happening, I would've but I knew I was just putting off what eventually would have to happen.