It should take another five weeks until I met him the next time. Since we had exchanged our numbers, our messages amounted in the meantime to something like 1 million - ...at least. In the meantime, a dumb grin even appeared on my face every time my cell phone rang. However, Taehyung had never been able to promise me that he would actually be able to come to arranged meetings. I resigned myself to this and went about my daily life as I always had: with new bruises from somewhere every day, whining customers and the animals at Lucky Ones. On the weekends I took care of the condition of the apartment with Jenny and then in the evenings I watched movies with her that were on TV.

When I opened my eyes this morning, my stupid alarm clock was omnipresent again. Trying to turn it off, I now also finally managed to throw it broken. Well, after all, it had been doing what it was supposed to do for 10 years: Wake me up. Right after the alarm went silent, I reached for my cell phone. Tae had sent me a selfie of himself, in which the neckline of his T-shirt was very generous and I caught a small glimpse of his trained chest. Lost in thought, I began to chew on my lower lip. I lay back in the pillows and snapped a picture of me in bed for him. Then I sent him a small and innocent morning message wishing him a nice day. He replied with a winking smiley face and then referring to my selfie .... With a heart. The first time he sent me...a HEART?! Then he wished me a nice day and when I asked him what was on his agenda today he replied that he was going to visit a restaurant with the guys. I got up and prepared myself for the day. Today I didn't have to go to the shelter after work. It was Friday and I had gotten time off for the weekend.

I met Jenny in the kitchen, already standing by the open window with a coffee mug in her hand. "Isn't it a beautiful morning, Demi?" She turned and looked at me out of her blue eyes. I glanced out the window. The sun was shining in the cloudless sky. Due to the fact that it had rained yesterday, the smell of damp leaves and summer permeated the apartment. I loved the smell - and so did Jenny, apparently. "It's wonderful." so I replied to her question, stood next to her with my coffee, and looked out into the quiet, green courtyard. "You Demi? I'm out tonight. Remember I told you about that guy I met two weeks ago? We're doing something together tonight and I plan on going to his place." I nodded with a knowing smile. "Okay, well have fun then. But if you want me to come over and beat him up when he does something you don't want him to do - let me know, okay?" She laughed and patted my shoulder gently before going to get ready to leave the house.

The day at the store dragged along like that. There were a few more difficult customers and a few pleasant ones who asked me a wide variety of questions about fashion. I answered to the best of my knowledge, hoping not to start a discussion or attack anyone personally. During the small break I took with a colleague around noon, I sat in the small break room and ate some salad. On warm summer days, I always managed to eat larger portions only towards the evening. The afternoon then also seemed not to want to pass. When it was finally 4:00 p.m., I started to clean up the clothes that had been left behind in the locker room.

I was sorting polo shirts in the men's section when someone tapped me on the shoulder. "Excuse me, do you also have a corner for Gucci?" I turned to the customer - an appropriate response on my lips - and froze in surprise for a small moment. Then I blinked in disbelief. "Taehyung?" He shrugged innocently. "Tada!" He was wearing a loose T-shirt and loose pants made of light material. I ran my hands to my head and whooped with joy. "Oh my god! It's you!" I laughed and greeted him with a savage hug, which he returned. He then held me longer than usual for a normal greeting and I lifted my head to look him in the face. His smile slowly melted me and his smell was so intoxicating that it almost got me high. I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts before I could ask a sensible question. "How...when...", I groaned impatiently at myself. Then I took another deep breath before looking at him again. "How did you get here?" Now we released ourselves from the embrace and he let his hands disappear into his pants pockets. "Well, I told the guys about you and they wanted to meet you..." he began, but alarm bells started ringing right away in my head. Hectically, I looked around to see if I could spot the other members in the store. "Everything's fine," Taehyung reassured me. "They're waiting outside in the van." I nodded and inconspicuously wiped my damp hands on the fabric of my jeans. "Would you like to go out to dinner with us and hang out for a bit? I think you had written that you only had to work until 4:30 today." I had indeed done that.

Nervously, I ran my fingers through my hair, "Do I look okay?" He laughed, tossing his head back. "You're as beautiful as a flower and as sweet as honey." "But...", I protested, but he just put a long index finger on my lips and looked deep into my eyes. "Trust me, you are beautiful with or without a branch and leaves in your hair," he picked up our first contact again. Instantly, a deep calm settled in me and I smiled dumbly at him. "Okay. I'll just do a quick cash cut and then come out." "Cool, we're around the corner on the side street. I'll be waiting for you at the car." With that, he turned and ran toward the exit. "Hey!", I called after him and he turned around with a questioning look. "If you're still looking for the Gucci corner..." gesturing wildly, I pointed to the back of the store. "Tadaaa!" He laughed, but then walked out the exit. One look at my colleague was enough for her to burst into bright laughter as well. Her eyes were wide and her mouth was open. "Wow, that guy is hot." Well lucky she doesn't know who he is - I thought as I grinned to myself.

As promised, he was waiting for me at the van. When I stepped out of the door of the rear exit, his head lifted and he grinned broadly at me. Through the tinted windows of the van, I could make out the silhouettes of the other members against the light. A few heads turned and twisted to look past Taehy's body, and a hand pushed another head away again. Nervously, I came to a stop in front of Taehyung. By now, my heart was hammering again with excitement against my chest with all its might after all. "If only you had warned me...", I spoke, looking at him accusingly. He briefly snorted, visibly struggling not to laugh. "That's exactly why...because of that reaction," I continued. He brought his hand to his mouth to hide his smile. Then he gestured in my direction. "Why? It looks cute, doesn't it?" I looked down at myself. I had messed up my white Mickey Mouse t-shirt with salad dressing and unfortunately didn't have a spare shirt with me. Unfortunately, I had also noticed the stain just before in the break room. So I would meet the rest of the members with stained clothes...and Mickey-Mouse.... great. Tae opened the van door for me and held out a hand to help me get in. He followed me inside and sat next to me. Then he gave my seatbelt a test tug to make sure it was engaged and the van started up too.

The van stopped in front of a huge pagoda. The guys had booked a separate room there for dinner, moreover we were now accompanied by the restaurant staff. Again, Taehyung and I sat down next to each other. The other members had greeted me warmly and friendly. Funnily enough, all of them had displayed a manner that made it easier for me to relax, at least a little. Only Tae's fleeting sideways glances at me signaled to me that Tae was hard to stop from impatience and excitement. If I caught him in one of those sideways glances, he quickly looked away and those were the moments when I quietly smiled to myself. There was an incredible amount of food, all placed in the center of the table so that everyone could help themselves. I didn't eat that much, though, because I didn't want to spend the evening with a bloated belly.

"And you're volunteering at the animal shelter?" asked Namjoon, who was finishing up some roasted pork belly. I nodded and took a sip of the iced Coke. "Yeah, right. I've been doing this for about five years now." Hoseok and Jin looked over at me curiously, but held back for the moment. "Cool. It's good that there are people like you to take care of the animals," Namjoon countered as the pig suddenly slipped through his chopsticks and splattered, slapping his plate. "Have you met Yeontan yet?" suddenly straddled Jimin, and Taehyung and I glanced at each other before grinning and returning our attention to the portions in front of us. "Yes, indeed," I replied. "He's really cute. Oh my god and he has such fluffy fur!"

Hoseok laughed out and patted Suga on the back, making him almost choke. "Yoongi, you owe me now!" Yoongi rolled his eyes and pushed his baked banana over to him with a slight smile on his lips. "Sorry.", Hoseok apologized because he apparently thought he had embarrassed me with that. "I bet him here that you would mention Yeontan's fluffy fur," he explained himself. I calmly waved it off and winked. "All good." Hoseok stuck his tongue out at Yoongi. He rolled his eyes again. "Like. An. Infant..." Hoseok laughed and the boys resumed their conversation.

Suddenly, under the tabletop, I felt Taehyung's knee gently nudge my thigh. Surprised, I looked to him and he wiggled his eyebrows conspiratorially while continuing to chew as if nothing was happening. I slid my thigh up to his and nudged back, but didn't think to pull back afterwards. Taehyung sat up a little straighter and let his hands slide to the serviette on his lap, where he wiped it clean. Then he surreptitiously reached under the table for my hand, which I had placed on my lap, and squeezed it lightly. I slid a little closer to him and unobtrusively sucked his scent into me.

The evening grew longer and longer. Likewise, I increasingly struggled with the urge not to just sit on Tae's lap and kiss him. Regarding the kiss, he seemed to feel similarly.

After dinner, we all went to the dorm together and talked and joked around. I won against Jimin at Mario Kart and drank some red wine together with Yoongi and Jungkook. Taehyung stuck to water, but that didn't dampen his mood. He seemed to enjoy how everyone's spirits continued to rise and rise with hilarity. The glances that the two of us exchanged now and then grew longer with each passing time. With each further and longer look, moreover, something stirred deep inside me that wanted to feel him from top to bottom and everywhere. There was this strange tingling sensation that pulsed stronger and stronger through my veins and slowly but surely made me go insane....

When it was finally three in the morning and I was about to leave, Tae jumped up from the couch and insisted on taking me home. Before that, he went to the bathroom and left me alone with the boys for a while. But then we ran to the garage, got into his car and drove off....