The next morning was brighter than ever. After a passionate night, Sunday morning welcomed the young resident Korean man with bright blue skies and wet roads with brown water stagnant on either side. Sunlight passed through the opened windows, striking his handsome face.

Curtains danced along the direction of the flowing cold breeze. Taehyung opened his eyes to a gloomy morning devoid of sunshine. As he flattered his eyelashes, Erin's room came into the view.

The weather was quite cold and the chill crept through the mattress on which Taehyung lay. Eventually, he remembered the events that happened last night, and to his surprise, his cheeks darkened. No one could ever confess how this blushed man was a daddy last night—

Firstly, he stretched himself and then his eyes wandered around to look for one person. He woke up alone. Erin was nowhere to be seen. Taehyung scanned the whole room, and then himself. Under the bedsheet lay his naked body. Somewhere his back ached a lot, as Erin dug her needle-like nails when they were having their precious Intercourse. However, a sly smirk embarked on his face.

He was tired, but at the same time, strangely refreshed. As he woke up to gather his clothes, he heard sounds from the defunct kitchen and inferred that it must be his girlfriend, his love. Upon this, a relaxed sigh escaped his mouth and went straight to the bathroom for a quick freshen-up.

Five minutes later, the door to the bedroom opened and in came the ravishing Erin with a mug of piping-hot chocolate drink. Upon her arrival, he exited the restroom at that same time. The woman smiled brightly at him and asked him to position himself on the bed.

Beside him, she sank and captured his lips with her in a tender and slow kiss. Her fingers tugged the back of his hair until they felt themselves out of breath. As they navigated their earlier kiss, a cry echoed, particularly of an infant. Gazing at each other, Erin moved towards the crane and found out Elias was waking up. She cradled him on her hands, and quietly approached Taehyung.

Taehyung sipped the hot drink, placed it on the cupboard and felt like he had just tasted the best shake ever. Nevertheless, when he observed his champ, a smile grew on his face and advanced towards him. He gently handled Elias and swapped him side by side.

"I wonder, how he didn't make any kind of noise yesterday. He was so silent," Erin spoke while measuring his steps. Taehyung agreed in the meantime.

"Thank you baby for permitting me and your mother to have a great and wonderful night," he gave a slight peck to the child, and a heartful laugh was audible from her side.
Tiny wrinkles crinkled at the corner of her eyes, hinting at unspoken laughter and a playful spirit that shone in that very sunlight. A beacon of warmth in the cool embrace of the day.

Watching all this, Erin took her leave to make a quick breakfast. As she left, Elias's whimper grew more and soon transformed into a flow of cries. At this, Taehyung's tension increased rapidly and thought to change the diaper. Upon hearing Erin, he investigated the required bunch of packets under one of the drawers. The moment he almost extracted one of them, his eyes caught a photo, just placed right beside it. It was the size of a Kindle reading device, about six inches in length and three or four in width. A curious expression dripped on his face and initiated him to look further.

Unfortunately, a sudden cry from the baby jolted Taehyung's framework. Sliding the picture away, he proceeded towards Elias. Taking him in his hands, he replaced the wasted diaper with a new and fresh one. He scrunched his nose as the rotten smell of the matter afflicted his nostrils and diffused with the surrounding air.

He washed his hands thoroughly after he cleaned him up.
"All done! Now come to appa."

The more he would swing him in his hands, the equivalent Elias would drift into sleep. The silence was introduced to Taehyung as he watched Elias catch the wink. Carefully and slowly, his baby was organized on that usual wooden crane. With a quick peck on his lips, Taehyung adored the boy fondly and found himself drowning in his cuteness.

As he laid his hands on either side of his hips, that former photograph pounded his head like a lightning bolt. He sighed. He watched out for the image and held it between his index and middle finger. Slightly tossing it away, anyone could infer how old it was. Looking closely at the photo, his eyes popped out.

It was the love of his life, Erin. She had gone from a late teenager with an acne-riddled face, to a gorgeous woman of twenty-eight. He warmly smiles at the sight. She seemed something nineteen or twenty in this. It was a raw picture—unedited, untouched. A wide shot of his girl near a teakwood bench....at the park. The background is visualized so similar to the park of his residence.

Eventually, as he fixed his eyes, the very memory of someone gave the bronzed-skinned man chills. The familiarity in her face resembled one person in his mind. Just like he felt some sort of resemblance during the first conversation between the two—
at the library.
However, most of the attempts failed to succeed as he tried to recall the features of that someone. Soon, he felt a viscous resistance in the air. He grabbed the steel crucifix on his necklace and with the other, he hand clasped that particular image.

Without his knowledge, the door opened briefly. Erin slid in and saw Taehyung—back facing her. There was no noise from her side, tip-toeing all the way, she went closer to him and submerged him in a back hug. Inhaling his intoxicated cologne drives her crazy. The lavender smell of his body lingered in her nostrils, as decent silence lurked to dupe them.

Not to forget, Taehyung must confess, he got chills as Erin hugged him. When he turned around and saw her: she was smiling broadly and two poppies appeared on her cheek as she bumped her nose with his high bridge ones.
"What are you doing handsome?"

Erin appealed to capture his beauty. The most striking feature, however, was his eyes. They were pools of serenity, the bearer of galaxies, they held an intensity to pull her in. Flecks of amber, like fallen stars, sparkled beneath the surface, hinting at the universe swirling around his sunken orbs, unseen but deeply felt. His long lashes rested softly on his bronzed skin, signed by the sunlight's soft cries.

To this, Taehyung responded,
"Eh—nothing, I just got one of your old photos."

That one previous smile which beamed on her face was now morphed into an emotion of worry and anxiety. She gulped hard and swallowed the saliva down her gut. Something confiscated her mouth as if choking her and ceasing her to speak further. "You look so beautiful! I don't know why but I gather some kind of familiarity with this."

An expression of fear and agonize spread on the woman's face. She blinked abruptly and tried to answer.
"It must be because—eh, yeah, because sometimes strangers are present in our subconscious mind which made us suspect them in some other photo. Anyways, that's my perception," she tried to give a reasonable response and finally ended her speech with a restless breath.

Meanwhile, Taehyung stared blankly at the image, eyes fixed and circulating his random perspective. "Strange."

Fortunately, an unanticipated call interrupted his courses of antithesis. He reached out to the device and stretched his well-shaved brow. "Hello, Kim Taehyung this side."

Erin stared at him with bewilderment and tried to eavesdrop on his conversation. The usual expression he had earlier while approaching the caller ID was now exchanged with a contentment face. An excited smile lingered on his face as he responded,
"Thank you, thank you, sir. This is such wonderful news to hear. It's my gratitude to have an amazing mentor like you."

Once again he replied with a thank you at the end and stuffed his phone under his pocket. Eventually, he approached Erin and took her in a warm embrace. He entitled his head on her neck as they both were two pieces of a puzzle and delightfully whispered, "I am so happy love."

He continued his speech and this time, riveted his eyes on hers,
"I just got a scholarship and they cancelled all of my pending dues. This is such an amazing thing, isn't it?"

Erin concaved his face, stroking down her finger on his cheekbone and persuaded to plant a quick kiss on his lips. She brimmed from ear to ear, and a gorgeous grin reappeared on her face, "Of course sweetheart. I am so proud of you."

When he once more embraced her, she felt a sense of allay within herself. As a token of gratitude, she thanked God for not letting her carry any unpleasant burden. Out of a sudden, unaware of anyone she battered and deteriorated the photo in her hands before shoving it in her trousers pockets.

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Thank youuuuuuuu
(1562 words)
-Heyyy! How are you all? Sorry for this boring chapter 😭 ...yk what? I want angst so bad 😈...unfortunately, this book doesn't have one, at least not between Erin and Tae🥲..
.BTW, A great thank you to @Cutie25army  for being a great supporter. This chapter is dedicated to you sweetheart. Your valuable time really matters to me! I hope you achieve more and moreee.
Thanks to all of you as well!
See you in the next.
-JIYA!