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When you step out into the rain, you feel a bit sad, shutting the door behind you. Smiling to yourself, you sigh, trying to find Taehyung through the tinted windows, your hand lingering on the door.

You don't want to leave, you want to hold onto him for a bit longer. Somehow, you know that if you say goodbye now, things will stay the same, you will stay the same.

Broken as you've always been.

He's lost behind the dark, and you have to let go, turning away.

You can't rely on him. You can't let your burdens rest on his shoulders, you have to figure out how to solve them on your own. Nevertheless, the temptation is there. To lose yourself in the fantasy of bliss and happiness dancing in the rain.

What happens when you finally let go?

You don't want to find out.

Inwardly, you try to swallow the lump in your throat as you leave him behind, holding tightly to the bittersweet memories he has given you.

Smiling softly to yourself, you lift your satchel to cover your head, shielding you from the rain like a little umbrella, only a few feet away from the apartment complex door. Glancing to your left, you receive a pang of nostalgia as you recognize the small bench where you waited for Jaejin before.

Was it only yesterday that you came to Korea?

You find it so hard to believe that in a mere span of 24 or so hours, so much has already happened and yet you're here.

The same as before.

You scoff a bit to yourself, finding how pathetic that is. You know you have to change, that you have to fix yourself, and find it sad that you can't seem to do it alone. The only moments where you start to feel okay are moments like today, where others can distract you and give you their strength.

Is that all you're capable of being?

A parasite that leeches off of other's happiness?

You are weak, aren't you?

Turning away, you start to resume your trek to the safety of your apartment, your new home but pause at the sound of someone shouting behind you.

"Wait!"

It's a familiar voice, and frantic. Curious, and a bit worried, you turn around, trying to find the source of the sound. It takes you a moment to peer through the rain, but soon you can see a figure stepping out of a sleek black car that is parked on the curb.

The same car that dropped you off just moments ago.

Why hasn't he left yet?

Furrowing your brow with confusion, you step forward, but then you see him.

As the figure turns towards you, even from this distance, you're still able to recognize his face. Why wouldn't you, when you have been looking at it, memorizing it, adoring it throughout the 5 years you have known him? His eyes glint as they meet yours across the way and he calls out your name once more, leaving you frozen, speechless.

"Wait for me!"

Kim Taehyung, little do you know, I have been waiting for you all my life.

He starts running towards you. Through the rain, splashing through puddles, getting drenched all over again. Not even bothering to pull up his hood as he runs to reach you, his eyes never leave your gaze, braving the monster that is the storm.

You shake your head almost in disbelief as he comes to a stop before you, drenched from head to toe. He's dripping almost as much as the clouds around you, his hair now plastered to his face. The rain has turned it from its normal dark brown shade to a deep pitch black. His clothes stick tightly to his body from the rain, all efforts to dry off in the car now futile. He shivers a bit from the cold, his teeth slightly chattering as he stands before you, those eyes boring into yours.

He must be so uncomfortable, so cold, and yet...

His eyes can't stop shining.

You look up at him, half stunned.

"Thank goodness you heard me. I thought I would have to chase you inside." He says, chuckling to himself. Stunned, you are frozen, your eyes wide and searching his. He notices the strange expression and tilts his head, confused.

"What is it?" he asks, but you don't answer. He looks left and right as though he weren't the cause of your stare before bending forward and whispering...

"Do I have something on my face?"

At his question, you can't help but chuckle.

"Yes." You nod, lowering your satchel to rest by your hip once more and reaching around his neck, pulling the now soaked and heavy fabric of hood up to cover his head. "You have quite a few things on your face."

Before pulling away, you can't help but absentmindedly brush a bit of his hair out of his face, your hand resting on his cold but soft cheek. He doesn't complain, just stares at you with wide expectant eyes. His hands itch to raise and keep your comforting hand there on his cheek, but he's too late as you slowly pull away, meeting those dark mysterious eyes.

"What were you doing?" You ask, raising a hand to shield your eyes to see him better and he stands straight, clearing his throat.

"I never got your name." He says quite plainly, shocking you a bit.

"You came out here...for my name?" you ask, quite incredulously. "I'm sorry I--"

You're cut off, by the hand that he holds out to you, a smirk playing on his lips.

"I'm Kim Taehyung, what's your name?" Taking his hand after a moment, you shake it.

"My name is Lin Yen, it's nice to meet you." You reply and he smiles broadly, his eyes seeming to shine with a million stars.

"Was that all?" You ask him, having to raise your voice over the growing torrent of rain.

"Hardly." He murmurs under his breath, so soft that you can't hear him. Squinting your eyes at him, you push your hair away from your face, the wind playing with it violently.

"What did you say?" You call out to him, wincing as another howl of wind shrieks in your ear. He doesn't respond, just turns to you and holds out his hand. You give him an incredulous look, thinking he wants another handshake, but he smiles, shaking his head slightly.

"Give me your phone." he requests, and you sigh in exasperation.

"Tae, we're in the middle of a storm, I don't--"

"I don't care." He says, cutting you off and you regard him in silence. "Besides, you're short enough that I could be your umbrella. So you don't have to be so worried about the rain." You raise your eyebrow at his statement, a bit offended. He notices your expression, but at the sight of it, his smile only grows wider, mischief playing in his eyes.

"You did not just call me short." You warn him, crossing your arms across your chest as you wait for his response. He rolls his eyes, shrugging a bit before stepping forward, so close that he's hovering over you.

"Just stating the facts, sweetheart," Taehyung replies, raising his brow as though asking for a challenge. You narrow your eyes at him, pursing your lips a bit before he smirks and speaks once more. "You're like a little fairy, and I'm your protective tree."

He chuckles, sliding his forefinger under your chin before you pull away with a scoff. Just because some people have the biological genes that make them as tall as the freaking sky...

Tired of his incessant teasing, you raise your hand, take his nose within your fingers, and twist it lightly in retaliation, as though you were stealing it from him. He blinks, a bit surprised as you pull away smirking. Holding your thumb between your fore and middle finger, you wave your hand in front of his face, brandishing it as though it were your prize before turning on your heel and walking away.

"Come on, Mr. Tree." You call over your shoulder and after a moment, he follows you. When you reach the small overhang above the entrance to your apartment complex, you stop and turn around to him, no longer bare to the storm. Giving him a triumphant smile, you turn to your satchel, slightly humming to yourself. "Looks like you don't have to be an umbrella anymore."

"Your loss, for your information I am an excellent tree." He scoffs, rolling his eyes before resting his hands behind his neck and peeking into your apartment complex. The doors are glass, so it's not hard to see through and as you glance up from your tiny task, you smile at how cute and innocent his expression seems. When your hands finally close around your phone, you let out a small gasp of excitement, startling him. He jumps, his hands falling and resting on his chest as though to try and calm his pounding heart. Pulling it out of your satchel, you try your hardest not to burst out into laughter at the sight of his surprised expression.

"You okay there, Mr. Leafalot?" You ask and he scoffs, a bit annoyed, his soft lips pursing into a small pout.

"For one thing, I have no idea what that means." You bite back on your laugh, snorting a bit as you raise your hand to hide your ever-growing smile.

"For another, I am perfectly fine, thank you." Scoffing, he rubs the back of his neck glancing away from you for a moment.

"Honestly, I don't need a clumsy Tinker Bell telling me to be careful." You roll your eyes, deciding to ignore the slight taunt he just directed your way.

"Whatever, Peter Pan." You shoot back, earning a slightly surprised look from him. He opens his mouth to reply but you cut him off, holding your phone out to him. He looks at it, then back at you, a question waiting in his eyes. After a moment, you grow tired of waiting and sigh, lagging your arm a bit. "Didn't you ask to see my phone?"

His eyes light with realization and he nods as though he has forgotten why he was there. He takes the phone from you, your fingers brushing against his before you draw away. As he glances at your home screen, he smirks.

"So...am I your bias?"

You glance up at him, a bit confused by his question, but then you realize.

He has your phone.

The same phone that has him...

On your home screen.

As your wallpaper.

Inwardly, you curse, trying to ignore the blush rising in your cheeks, and lunge forward, trying to take it back. He laughs, dodging and holding your phone out of your reach.

"What's wrong, Tinker?" he antagonizes, grinning like an idiot as he blocks you with his arm.

Curse your tiny arms.

"Taehyung!" you whine, the embarrassment clean on your face. He just laughs, his fingers playing on your screen doing God knows what as he holds you back. You droop on his arm, pouting as he shows no signs of pulling away, nor giving the phone back.

"What did you even need it for?" you complain, slipping off of his arms and crossing your arms once more. Having finished, he turns back to you, smirking. You tilt your head a bit confused as he hands you your phone. Cautiously, you take it, wondering what he's done.

"See for yourself." He instructs.

As soon as you see it, your eyes widen.

He opened your contacts and entered one, the new contact set up and filling your screen. On it, he entered a phone number and titled the contact as Your TaeTae with a purple heart next to it. You breathe out a stunned scoff, before looking up to see him smiling at you. A soft, but innocent smile, which shows his hope and unanswered questions. You smile back, touched at his gesture, and still caught in slight disbelief.

"Is this real?" you ask and he nods. Still unsure, you chuckle a bit shakily turning back to the phone. "I mean, this isn't your manager's phone number or something...?"

He rolls his eyes before stepping forward and taking your hand into his own, gently cutting you off. You meet his gaze with wide eyes and he holds it with his deep ones before turning back to your phone. You still have your hand around it, the same hand which he holds in his own, a gentle touch that never ceases to fill you with warmth.

You watch as he saves the contact to your phone. Held in beautiful silence, the two of you watch as it registers. Once it's saved, he presses the call button and puts it on speaker just as it starts dialing. It holds out three long beeps before a muffled sound can be heard.

A ringtone echoing from Taehyung's back pocket.

You watch in silence as he pulls it out, holding it next to your phone, an unknown caller ID flashing on his screen. The two of you watch as your soft beeping and his ringtone mix together in a strange symphony. That is, until Tae pulls away, answering the call and holding his phone to his ear. It takes you a moment, but as he softly nudges you, you raise yours to your ear, murmuring a soft response.

"Hello?" He smirks at your faint whisper before replying.

"Hello, is this Tinker Bell?" He asks in the same soft, quiet voice, subtly mocking you. But you catch it, and narrow your eyes at him, playfully smacking him in the arm. He winces, pouting, but you don't buy it and ignore him.

"It is she, is this Peter Pan?" He wrinkles his nose at the nickname, and you scoff, looking away.

Like Tinker Bell is any better?

"No." He answers, dropping the mocking voice, his deep silky one returning. At the sound of it, you look up, wondering why he turned so serious all of a sudden. He meets you with those large dark hooded eyes, looking at you with an unreadable expression.

"This is Kim Taehyung." He takes a step forward, so close you can feel the heat radiating off of him, his smell wafting over you once more.

"This is real."

You look into his eyes, take in his face, the serene look he holds and everything seems to fade away. There's only you and him, the rain far away, your troubles falling behind you. There's only one thing that matters.

After a moment, he slowly smiles, ruffling your hair softly. You flinch, raising your hands to protect your head just as he pulls away.

"I'll see you later, Tinker Bell." Stepping back, he raises his hand, waving goodbye before turning on his heel and running off into the rain.

You smile, a bit stunned as you watch him until he rounds the corner around the car and opens the door, looking up at you one last time. You smile, and dramatically wave goodbye to him. He laughs, you can hear it, though it may be faint, as he waves back.

Then he's gone.

The door closes and you watch the car as it drives away. You stare after it long after it's gone and though you're still smiling, it's almost as though you're returned to your dark and empty self.

As though when he left, he took all the light with him.

Sighing, you shake yourself off.

Now is not the time to lose yourself.

So what if the dream has gone?

You promised yourself you would be strong. You promised yourself not to fall.

So you won't.

Before you turn away, you look down at your phone, which is still open to Taehyung's contact. You smile at the sight of it, a small sign that what just happened was real, and not a dream. Smiling to yourself, you tap on the empty profile and replace it with the same picture you have on your home screen. Smiling like an idiot, you save the contact changes and are about to turn to the door before you see it.

The option to send him a message.

Licking your lips, you raise your hand to your bottom lip, absentmindedly playing with it as you contemplate whether or not you should do it. After a moment, you press the option and watch in anticipation as it brings you to the empty chat page, waiting for you to type. Biting your bottom lip, your fingers fly across the screen. Sweet and simple, you smile once it's finished, adding a purple heart at the end before pressing SEND. The transaction done, you press your home screen button before turning it to sleep, pocketing the phone safely in your satchel once more.

Taking one last look at the rain, where your dream faded away not a moment ago, you sigh with content before turning on your heel and pushing open the door to enter the apartment complex.

And somewhere amongst that onslaught of endless rain, Taehyung, driving down the slick streets of Seoul, receives your message. He opens it, finding it to belong to an unknown number. But when he reads it, he knows it's you.

Goodbye, Peter Pan

After all, who else would call him that?

Smiling, he sends back a purple heart before pocketing his phone and driving farther and farther away.

And yet...

It's almost as though he never left. 

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🌽Thanks for reading Corn-Cobs!🌽

You can thank blossom_ivy and Luna_Meya for this update today! I wouldn't have done it without their encouragement and kind words! You can also thank the MANY new Corn-Cobs who have recently joined, making our family one of 200!!! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!

lolol and we can also celebrate 200 pages in Infinite Stars with the 200 Corn-Cobs! 

OKAY I'm done lolol.

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