Taehyung decided on a quiet place and sent her the location. She agreed without much thought.
It was the weekend when he pinged,Taehyung:"I'm leaving from my house. Will reach there in an hour."Rhea:"But from my place it's two hours. I'll be late, but I'll come."Taehyung:"Fine. Come comfortably."
When she finally arrived, he was already waiting. The moment she walked in, Taehyung smiled. She returned the smile, a little shy, adjusting her olive-colored trench coat. She wore blue jeans and a plain white top, simple, neat.
He noticed it right away. "You really like this color combination, don't you?"
Rhea gave a small, awkward smile. "Kind of. Honestly, I'm not much into fashion. I wear what's comfortable rather than what's fashionable."
"That's strange to me," he chuckled. "Here in Korea, people care a lot about their looks."
"I know," she nodded, "and I admire that. I like how people here take care of their appearance. But for myself… I find it hard to get involved in those things."
Taehyung studied her for a second before teasing lightly, "By the way, if you really want to impress Jungkook, you should be a little fashionable. His taste is… quite different."
Rhea looked at his face seriously, a faint smile tugging at her lips. "And you really think I came here to impress him?"
He grinned. "Who knows? Maybe that day will come, you might actually meet him."
She chuckled under her breath.
"What? Why are you laughing?" he tilted his head.
she said, "That's not possible."
"Why not? If you want, I can fix a meeting with Jungkook for you."
Her heart stopped for a second. Just the thought made her throat tighten. She shook her head quickly. "No thanks. I don't want to embarrass myself in front of him by confessing my feelings."
Taehyung's eyes widened in amusement. "What? You don't want to meet him? You said you love him, right? Then why are you denying it now?"
Rhea chuckled again, though there was a sadness beneath it. "Yes. I loved him, and I still do. But I don't see myself confessing. He's an idol, a celebrity… very charming, very handsome, a lovely human being. When it comes to choosing a partner, he deserves someone from his league. Beautiful, famous, confident, someone who matches him. Not someone like me."
She gestured toward a giant poster of Jungkook on the street nearby. "Look at him… and look at me. We're not a match."
Taehyung's smile faded. He watched her quietly as she continued.
"I've tried to move on from him, you know? But I can't. He's filled every inch of me. No matter how hard I try, I fail. The love, the devotion… It's what brought me here to your country, but I don't see myself beside him. He's both life and death for me. I'm not able to unlove him, and I'm not able to find someone else either. He gives me happiness and pain, strength and weakness, everything at once."
Her voice cracked. She gave a small, shaky laugh. then she looked at him and said, smiling, "We're here to hang out, and I'm dumping my nonsense on you."
Taehyung shook his head. "It's not nonsense. It's your feelings. Your love for my brother Jungkook." He paused, looking for the right words. "I don't know what to say further…" he smiled, "Let's get something to eat."
She nodded, relieved to change the subject. "What do you want to eat? And… what if someone sees us? I don't want to cause trouble for you."
"Relax," he smiled, waving it off. "This is my spot. No one will notice us here."
At the restaurant, before the food even arrived, she held up her hand. "Wait, I'm paying for my meal."
"What? Why?" Taehyung frowned. "Let me—"
"No," she cut him off firmly. "I don't want to burden you."
He gave her a dramatic, exaggerated glare. "Yaa.., we're friends. What's wrong with me paying the bill?"
"Exactly," she countered, "we're friends, hanging out. Friendship rule number one: friends treat each other. But the problem is… if you treat me, then I'll have to treat you next time. And honestly, I can't afford the kind of places you go to. So better let me pay for myself."
Taehyung burst out laughing at her logic and gave her a playful bow. "Okay, madam. As you say."
She nodded with a small smile.
When the food arrived, she quietly pushed all the meat toward him and kept only the eggs, chicken, and noodles for herself. He noticed but didn't comment, instead enjoying the meal while they talked about random little things.
To his surprise, the conversation felt easy. Natural. With her, he wasn't Taehyung the celebrity. He was just Taehyung, a friend sharing food. And she, for the first time in days, felt lighter in his company.