"Hyung, would you like to go on an adventure with me?"

We were walking back to the Slytherin Dorm (Taehyung wanted to grab his scarf because he felt cold) when I asked that. I studied his side profile until he turned his face towards mine. Then I was sucked into his eyes. They were endless depths of darkness, warmth in them only if you knew where to look for it.

I did.

I've seen him laughing with Jimin Hyung enough to find that touch of warmth the moment he looked into my eyes.

Head tilted, he gave me a curious look, not replying to my question.

"We can explore the Castle if you want," I said, dropping my gaze to my feet. His gaze didn't make me feel stupid for asking. If anything, I felt like I had surprised him by suggesting what I did. And he didn't answer me out of shock, it was nothing else.

"Okay."

His voice was deceptively soft. I wouldn't have heard it at all if the hallway we were walking on was deserted or if I had been even an inch further away from him. I didn't realise he even said it until he added, "Let's do that. Let's go exploring."

His voice gained momentum as he kept talking. It grew louder and mischievous, a sparkle in his eyes as he looked back at me. "In fact, how about we show each other all the secret spots we found through the Castle. Let's see how many we have found?"

I nodded my head in an instant, loving the idea.

"We can guess if it's somewhere we have already found on our own, count how many of those as well," I said, brightening up with the idea. Taehyung chuckled, brushing the hair out of his eyes. Then he shook his head, grabbed my hand and sped up.

We laughed as we all but ran back to the dorm to get his scarf and start on our adventure.

Right before we stopped in front of the barrel that was the entrance to the Slytherin common room, he stopped short and cleared his throat, properly composing himself. Wiping the smile off his lip in favour of his usual expressionless mask, he tugged at his shirt, straightening it out. He shot me a quick smile, fingers tightening around mine in a vice-like grip (out of nervousness or to keep me close, I couldn't tell).

Heads turned our way, eyes narrowing at our linked hands, girls throwing heated glares at me. Taehyung ignored them. He held his head high as he walked, as if he were unbothered by all the attention.

It was the iron grip he had on my hand that gave away the fact that their attention bothered him.

I tried my best not to wince, keeping my head down as I followed him. He kept his pace leisurely, not hurrying along. The hand that wasn't holding mine was tucked into his pocket: he looked the perfect example of unbothered.

Entering the seventh years' bedroom, he closed the door with immeasurable patience. The death grip he had on my hand didn't release until the lock of the door clicked shut and we were plunged into the darkness of the room, the silence somehow louder than a word either of us could say.

A light flickered on, followed by a sigh. I looked up to find Taehyung with his wand out, back to me as he walked over to his trunk.

My fingers tingled as blood rushed back into them. I shook them out, throwing a glance at Taehyung, who seemed to have lost all of his light the moment we stepped into the Slytherin common room.

"Hyung."

I took a hesitant step towards him, feeling like I was walking on eggshells. Humming, he looked over his shoulder at me, looking no different than normal. No smile. Straight faced.

If he was still affected, I couldn't tell.

"Maybe we should go out after midnight."

Eyebrows furrowed, he turned to face me properly.

"It's just that... it's the holidays so they don't patrol the corridors as heavily after midnight, we would have more freedom to explore," I explained, rubbing at my elbow and looking at the floor.

The silence that followed my words making me feel stupid for my remark. He looked completely fine.

"A game of snap while we wait then?"

He was grinning when I looked up at him, my own eyes wide.

Between the two of us, we found five new hidden passages and three hidden rooms. Two passages that he showed me were ones I already knew, and one of the two I showed him he knew. The hidden rooms were new discoveries for the both of us.

It must've been close to three am when it happened.

The two of us were walking at a leisurely pace, our footsteps light and voices hushed so we wouldn't disturb the paintings. It was my turn to show him the next hidden room I'd discovered when footsteps behind us caused both of us to freeze.

I looked up at him to see him already looking at me, eyes wide.

Yep, that wasn't my imagination. Someone was coming this way.

We both reached for the other's hand at the same time, palms connecting in the middle, fingers entwining as we held on to each other's hand. We took off running down the hallway at the same time, almost like we were following the same wavelength.

Our footsteps echoed down the hallway.

So did Filch's voice as he cackled and complained about students out of bed and punishments. I was too busy running to pay attention to whatever he was murmuring about as he chased us.

Thank Merlin the man was old enough for us to lose him, but that didn't mean that he was going to give up the chase that easily. Neither of us was foolish enough to believe we lost him so quickly.

Filch knew these hallways better than anyone in school, he probably knew a thousand shortcuts to cut us off. I tugged on Taehyung's hand and drew him into an alcove to hide in until Filch ran past.

We were too far from our dorms to escape any other way.

What I didn't account for was how tight and small the alcove was.

It was the perfect fit... for only one person.

However, for both me and Taehyung...

Not so much.

In our hurry to hide, I had pushed him in first and followed after. I had not expected to push right against him and almost toppled backwards in my surprise.

I'm not sure what exactly happened, one moment I was losing my balance. The next, Taehyung's body was pressing me up against the wall. One hand was on my waist, the other beside my head. His leg settled between mine, cheeks brushing as he turned his head, listening for sounds of approach. My fingers were fisted on the sleeve by his arms. My breath was short - whether our run or our position caused it, I wasn't fully certain.

We were pressed up so close, not a breath of air remained between our bodies. I could feel the thud-thud-thud of his heart against my chest. His breath was harsh as they brushed over my cheeks.

Not like I was any better.

It didn't matter how close he was to me for long. Hurried footsteps rushed past, making both of us freeze.

Tae shifted, pinning me closer against the wall. We both held our breaths as we strained our ears, trying to make as little noise as possible. The sound of our breathing felt too loud, our chests pressing against each other with each deep inhale as we fought to steady our breathing, not wanting our position to be given away.

We were frozen for what felt like hours until the footsteps faded away. Even then we stayed still, keeping our ears trained for any more sound.

Filch had a knack for finding us even after we gave him the slip. We had to make sure he truly was gone.

It was when we collectively released the breath we were holding that we realised exactly how compromising our current position was. Our bodies locked in place as our eyes met, open wide and each as startled as the other.

I'm not certain at what point my hands wrapped around his waist, or his finger fisted on the hem of my shirt. Our noses brushed with each sharp inhale, lips so close that all it would take is a tilt of my head to press right against his. The thought only had me going even more rigid than I already was, not wanting to accidentally do as my brain had realised exactly how possible that was right this moment.

"Hi there."

Taehyung took the initiative to break the silence. His voice no louder than a whisper, for my ears alone. I couldn't tell if the low seductive tone he used was on purpose or just me being delusional. Either way, it didn't change the fact I possibly resembled a very unattractive tomato right about now. I hoped it was dark enough that he wouldn't see. Like this whole situation wasn't embarrassing enough as it is. I didn't need to spot a hard-on to top it off.

That I wouldn't be able to hide as I could my red face. Not with his thigh pressed right between my legs.

"H-hey."

If my voice was a barely breathless whisper even I could hardly hear it, that was no one's business but my own. How did anyone expect me to function like a sane human being pressed chest to chest against Kim Taehyung? That was as easy as breathing underwater.

"I guess that's enough adventure for today don't you? I don't think Filch will be back, but I also don't want to run into him again."

Taehyung decided to choose the exact moment I opened my mouth to shift his weight. While this pressed me deeper against the wall, the whimper that slipped out was ten times more embarrassing.

I could feel more than see the smirk on his lips. The way he pressed tighter against me threatened to make my lungs give way. It was already difficult enough to breathe with him being so close, his cologne filling up all my senses without him crushing me against the wall as well.

I'm not exactly certain how we kept eye contact in the dark - or how I could feel the intensity of his gaze boring right into my soul. In a way, I felt lucky that I couldn't see exactly how intense the darkness of his gaze was. On the other hand, it felt like a curse because it was the hottest thing on this planet.

After what felt like an eternity later (but which couldn't have been less than a minute), his hand released the hem of my shirt, only to trail its way to wrap long fingers around my wrist. Holding secure, he finally pushed away from me, stepping out of the alcove without breaking eye-contact. He didn't even check if the coast was clear. His movement was gentle as he guided me out of the alcove after him, eyes never once leaving mine.

I felt trapped in a trance, unable to break away from his gaze. My body followed after him as if it had a mind of its own. My words dried up in my throat. I couldn't even remember what he had said in the first place. Even my embarrassment on whimpering was forgotten by the softness of his movement, graceful like a swan, yet prideful like a lion at the same time.

A beautiful dancer and predator wrapped in one.

I would have suspected him of having cast a spell on me if I didn't feel like this on a normal basis around him, like a siren's call that I couldn't ignore, the sinful sound drowning me in its sweet melody.

When we both were once again standing in the middle of the hallway, he took a step closer to me. His hand freed my wrist just to wrap around my waist, pulling me right back flush against him. I still felt as if I was under a spell, words stuck on the back of my mind, unable to focus on anything that wasn't his eyes.

He bent slightly, pressing his lips against my ear, body bending sensually with the motion yet still keeping us pressed right against each other. His breath was a tickle against my ear that caused me to shudder, keeping me trapped under his spell.

"Come, I'll take you back to your dorm."

His lips quirked with amusement despite how soft his voice was when he said it. A pretty contradiction.

Dazed as he stared down at me, it took me about a full minute to process that he was waiting for an answer, and another minute to nod my head in reply. I doubt I could have replied to him had I wanted to. Not when I couldn't find words that didn't sing praise about what a stunning sight he was in front of me.

His chuckle was dark and the step he took away from me compelled me to follow right after him, pressing our bodies right back against each other.

He sucked in a breath, the dark look in his eyes somehow turning even more intense (how was it even possible?). His muscle flexed against me, jaw tightening as he gritted his teeth. Closing his eyes,he took a deep breath, staying still for a long moment. I took this chance to study every curve, every lash and every mole on his face. The pretty features I wanted to run my lips against. Every moment I wanted to savour.

I wanted them tattooed on my mind.

Releasing a harsh breath, he finally opened his eyes. The intensity in them died so much to the point that I felt like I could finally breathe again. His smile was much sweeter as he took a step away from me, hand releasing his hold on my waist as he did.

This time I didn't feel compelled to follow after him, even if I still felt stuck in a trance. Dazed under a spell called Kim Taehyung.