After having breakfast with his parents, Taehyung prepared Yeontan to pick you and Hyeri up. He slipped his harness on and after taking his leash and his favorite toy, he went by the door to put his coat on.

"Are you leaving already, honey?" his mom asked.

"I'll stay for dinner when I bring back Yeontan" he smiled, he knew he didn't spend as much time with his parents due to his busy schedule.

"That sounds like a long walk, where are you going?" she asked curiously.

"I'm meeting up with"— he hesitated for a second —"a friend and her dog."

"Oh well, you look handsome, bear" she said fixing the collar of his coat and aligning the seams on it with his shoulders. He sighed and turned to take his bag and opened the door.

"We'll be waiting for you at dinner time, have fun with your girl friend."

He knew she didn't mean it like that, but his face flushed at the thought. That sounded highly unlikely as things were.

Tae got out of his car and scooped up Yeontan. He rang your doorbell as he snuggled up to the little dog, it was getting chillier these days. Shortly after, he saw you walking out of the elevator through the glass. Hyeri was a fluffy white pungsan dog.

You saw as he looked down at Hyeri as you walked up to the entrance, you remembered how cutely he smiled when he talked about his dog when he asked for your number. When you opened the door he looked up at you instantly. You blushed at his still smiling face and fixed your eyes on the dog in his arms.

"You must be Kim Yeontan" you cooed and he held him a little higher for you chuckling.

"He also goes by Tan or Tannie to friends" he replied cooing. You weren't sure who was cuter, his dog or him. You couldn't help but smile widely.

He looked at you as you petted Yeontan and wished you'd smile like that when you saw him. His cheeks flushed at the thought and, as he handed you his dog, he crouched down next to Hyeri.

"Hey girl" he cooed as she sniffed him from afar, shy to walk up to him still. You saw him patiently waiting.

"She's shy, like me" you mumbled, the last part almost inaudible. Tae looked up at you for a second with a side smile and you held Tan a little higher to cover your cheeks.

You weren't sure why you'd said that. Encouraging Hyeri to divert the attention from you, you waved your hand so she'd come closer.

"It's okay, Eri, he's nice" you cooed and she looked at you before nuzzling Tae's hand "there you go" you said as she got overly friendly now.

She stood oh her hind-legs to sniff his face and he giggled at her little whiskers brushing his face. Your heart was melting at the sight.

He finally stood up and saw you instinctively holding Yeontan like a baby, making him bounce a little in your arms. He chuckled and took him back so you could walk back to the car.

"I thought we could go to this place that is a little more secluded, just outside of the city" he shared his plans with you.

"Oh, I'm excited!" you genuinely sounded more relaxed.

Dogs definitely made everything better each time. Tae kissed Tan gratefully and nuzzled him. You chuckled and he looked back at you with a small surprised smile, which made you blush.

You tried not to look away and smiled back instead. He laughed softly at you holding his gaze and after a few seconds of admiring your gold speckled eyes, he looked away. 

His heart seemed to be beating unnecessarily fast, when was the last time he had felt this way? All he could remember was how it felt after running or being scared.

You finally got to the car and he unlocked the doors. He secured both pups in the back seat as you got in through the passenger seat once you made sure Tae didn't need help.

After a short drive, Taehyung turned on a dirt road and found a spot to park a few miles in. You got the dogs out of the car and picked up your bags.

"This way" he said as you walked out of the road and down a little hill. You got through the tall grass and finally made it to the riverside.

"We should be alone around here" he said and instantly realized how that sounded, "away from fans who could notice me" he cleared his throat.

"Ah, yeah" you said distracted as you walked closer to the river and Hyeri splashed in the water. Tae sat down next to you and Yeontan climbed on his lap.

You sat next to him quietly and after looking at the water for a bit, you took a deep breath.

"Taehyung-ah" you started, your voice a little shaky. "I'm sorry I..." you tried to find the words, but you didn't know where to start. He looked at you intently and chuckled when you buried your face in your hands.

"I'm just so awkward" -— your voice muffled —"I've always been, since I can remember, I was the odd one out, the alien." Tae cut you off before you could continue.

"Wait, an alien? Me too!" he said laughing airily and you glared at him. As he caught his breath, he saw the way you were looking at him and quickly tried to explain himself.

"That's what the fans call me sometimes, I'm not a fan of it though."

"I mean, I've been told I'm weird, but I don't think they say it because of that" he said scratching his neck embarrassed.

"Seriously?" you looked up at him with wide eyes as you rested your arms on your knees and your chin on your hands. You both started laughing awkwardly.

"O-okay, I'm sorry, go on. I didn't mean to interrupt" Tae said after a bit as he caught his breath.

"Well, I didn't have a good time in school because of that. I didn't have proper friends until college and" — you hesitated, no matter how you phrased this it would sound embarrassing — "it's not just girls that didn't like me." 

You could feel your cheeks burning as you looked down at the grass by your feet.

"Guys have always made me uncomfortable, be it their words or their actions, they just..."

"I was bullied too" he cut you off as he fiddled with the rocks around him, he didn't need to hear the details, he could imagine, "my own friends pushed me away" his voice was soft, you looked at him to notice a slight pout.

"I'm sorry, I wouldn't have done that" you said and he met your eyes smiling weakly.

"We would have been good friends" he added. "I would have made sure no one hurt you, treated you right" he nodded reassuringly. You gave him a small smile and he scooted a little closer to you.

"You can lean on me" he said. You laid on his shoulder unexpectedly as you moved your legs to a side and Hyeri laid by your feet.

"I mean, I don't mind this, but what I meant" he started saying nervously and you quickly interrupted him.

"I know what you meant" you said giggling.

"Oh, I...can I" he wrapped his arm around your shoulders and before he placed his hand down he checked, "is this ok?" You chuckled and placed your hand on his pressing it down on your shoulder.

"It's fine" you looked up at him and gave him a sweet reassuring smile. He bit his lip holding back the need to smile from cheek to cheek.

His face was flushed and he could only hope you didn't notice the crazy pace of his heartbeats with your face so close to his chest.

When you didn't remove your hand from his he carefully wrapped his thumb around yours. You shifted and he held his breath scared he had pushed it too much, but you only made yourself comfortable in his hold. He exhaled relieved.

"Are you okay?" you asked after feeling he'd tensed up for a second.

"Yeah, I'm doing great" he said hurriedly and laughed awkwardly at his choice of words.

You stayed like that in comfortable silence for a long while, until the dogs demanded to stretch their legs. When there were no words in between you is when you seemed to feel closer to each other.

You both secretly wished it would last as long as possible. It felt so good when no clumsy actions or awkward exchanges could mess with your feelings.

-