hi guys ✌🏼

sorry for not updating for a month :( i've been super busy with school and i didn't get the chance to write...

let's just get to the story, yeah? sorry if it's short tho :v (omg why do i keep on apologizing in every chapter lmao)

is the new cover good? ;) oh and happy belated bday beomgyu!! uwuuwu♡

***

y/n pov

scribbling down on the papers quickly, my heartbeat was rapidly increasing, beating against my rib cage. and the more fast it went, the messier my handwriting got.

i kept on writing, taking too many glances at the clock as pain stinged on my wrist.

come on, come on, come on.

"times up! put your pen and pencil down." the teacher announced, sighs and groans filling the class.

i threw my hands up in surrender and frustration. my test was far from finished, and i was going to fail another test. god damn it, why y/n??

it's not that i didn't study. i understood the lessons pretty well considering that i tend to capture information quickly. it's just that recently, every time there was a test, my mind would just drift off.

i would think about my list.

yes, a bucket list full of stuffs to do before i turn 17. i mean, everyone has got to have one, right?

the teacher's figure towered me, eyeing me as he took my messy papers. he sadly sighed before leaving for the last paper behind me.

the classroom was bright, and it was oddly cold, the windows slightly covered in fog as my classmates started to draw on it. laughter and yelps filled my ears, giving off a lively air.

"you are dismissed." the teacher boomed, quickly sitting on his desk as he tried to look busy.

"thank you and goodbye mr. kim." we greeted in unison before the classroom turned into a bustling rush of excited children.

i came out last as i limply walked, looking down at my sore feet. tears stared to brim in my eyes, upset with my stupidity.

"miss y/n." mr. kim called out to me when i was at the door. i turned around as i slowly approached him at his desk.

"yes?" i looked down at him.

"i don't know what's going on, but whatever problems you have, please sort it out. i saw you during the test, and you were staring into the space," he sighed before continuing, "i don't want to see you next year, you know that right?" he spoke, gently glaring at me.

"yes sir."

"go home. don't pressure yourself, y/n." he reminded and flashed me a smile before looking back down, resuming to the papers.

"okay, sir." i simply replied, feeling more relieved at his words as i went out of the classroom.

_

as i stride through the wide corridors, my mind went back to the list that has been distracting me all day.

the thing is, it's only a few days left before i turn 17, and i have one more thing to do. and what's worse is that i lost that list.

i turn 17 in a few days and i haven't finished my bucket list.

i let out a sigh, its echo haunting my ears throughout the silent, empty - almost looking abandoned - hallways.

"hey!" a distant yell broke the silence, stopping me in my tracks when i almost got out of the main gate.
the sun was about to set, the sky orange as the birds flew, singing its last goodbye.

i swiftly turned around to see a figure running frantically towards me. slightly chuckling, i instantly waved at the familiar figure of my best friend as he got closer and closer to me.

"what's the rush, bro?" i blurted when he got to me, his hands leaning onto my shoulder, looking down as he swiped his forehead and searched for breath.

"i waited for you." taehyun said in between breaths, finally lifting his head up and flashing his cute smile.

"i thought you went home already."

"why'd you leave me?" he pouted, engulfing me in his embrace as we started walking.

i playfully pushed him away, "you're sweaty."

"you didn't answer my question." he pouted more at my tease.

"i told you, i thought you went first." i repeated as i rolled my eyes.

"oh, i see..." his voice faded away just like the sun.

the streets were now dark, the lights flickering along with the stars. the houses around us started to light up, silhouettes of people inside moving around showed up and was busy with their own business.

stuck in a brief of comfortable silence as we walked, taehyun suddenly spoke out, "do you wanna go somewhere?"

i looked at him as he looked at me, slowly walking along the sidewalk. the air was filled with faint sounds of cars passing by as we stared at each other.

"where?"

he giggled, looking back at his feet, "secret." he breathed out, smiling as his eyes were still on his shoes.

"yah! tell me!" i whined, smacking his arm.

"oh hell no!" he simply grinned after getting hit.

"ugh fine... when?" i resumed asking.

"now, duh. when else?"

i glared at him in mixture of shock and confusion.

"tae... you know how badly i wanna go home right now..." i sighed as we entered the compound.

after a while, he replied, "you're right." he gave out a sigh, looking straight ahead.

i frowned at his reaction. in the corner of my eyes, i could see that he was trying to hide his disappointed expression as he failed to do so.

"but maybe i could check my schedule." i continued, stopping in front of my home as he turned around, his face lighting up. his eyes sparkled under the moonlight as we stood facing each other.

"great! tell me when your schedule clears up."

"see ya tomorrow, taehyun." i waved before stepping towards my front door.

"bye, y/n!" he yelled from behind. and when i looked back, he was slowly slipping into the night.

_

you
yo bro

taehyun 💫
what's up?

you
well ya know

you
just the usual

taehyun 💫
usual my ass

taehyun 💫
why would u be texting me
literally in the middle of the night

you
bc im not asleep yet??

you
anyways i just wanna tell u
that im free after sch tom

taehyun 💫
and??

you
don't tell me u forgot

taehyun 💫
forgot what 👀

you
bitch nvm bye

taehyun 💫
JSJSJAKJSKA Y/N
IM KIDDING

taehyun 💫
are u usually grumpy like
this when u lack of sleep?

you
usual my ass

taehyun 💫
hey that's mine 😠

you
the fuck no

taehyun 💫
the fuck yes

you
🙄🙄🙄

you
well since u forgot imma
just head out and sleep

taehyun 💫
didn't i just tell u that it
was a joke...?

taehyun 💫
damn ur slow

you
NO IM NOT

taehyun 💫
whatever

taehyun 💫
anyways, i'll take u
there tom

taehyun 💫
goodnight y/n :)
read 01:02 a.m.

_

goodnight. 

these past few nights haven't been good at all.

no matter how many times i tried to erase all the thoughts, the list just kept on haunting my mind. in result, i never got a wink of sleep.

sighing, i got up from my bed to get ready for school. my parents were away that moment, so they don't even know the fact that i've been staying up late. they don't even know about the list.

the list. then i gasped in realization. 

oh god, tomorrow's my birthday.

i felt like giving up. it was still gone, and i didn't know what to do to finish it.

"hey, y/n." taehyun greeted from the sidewalk, blurring my thoughts.

i smiled, "hey." i waved at him as i locked the door behind me.

i guess today's gonna be a long day... 

_

those footsteps got louder and louder just like my heartbeat. i gulped, taking in a deep breath in an attempt to calm myself down.

"miss y/n."

"hm?" i hummed in response. 

a paper was thrown onto my desk, making me flinch. as i scanned through it, i saw red marks all over the test paper. then at the last page, i saw why mr. kim was annoyed.

5/25. 20% 

i sighed, finally looking up to see him scowling at me.

"you better sort your problem out, y/n. if not, you won't make it to the next grade." he boomed, calling out the attention of my classmates. blood started to rush onto my neck out of embarrassment. as i looked down, frustrated tears formed on my eyelids.

when the bell rang, i quickly threw all my stuff into my backpack, the tears starting to roll down my cheeks. feeling angry at myself, i pushed the chair with all my power before stomping out of the class.

everyone - including the teachers - glared curiously at me as i walked through the hallways. i didn't care, i kept on walking even though some people called for me.

he's right. the bucket list is stupid. 

"hey!" that one voice that kept on calling me finally yelled, making me freeze on the spot. everyone else started to gather around to see the commotion i caused - not that it was a big of a deal.

i slowly took another step, but before i could take another one, taehyun pulled me out of the crowd. 

"what happened?" he asked, genuine concern in his tone. he leaned down to my level, constantly caressing my shoulders with both of his hands.

"i... i don't want to talk about it." i croaked, my throat all dry.

"come on, let's go somewhere." he breathed, handing me a bottle of mineral water.

i nodded and took the bottle, letting him engulf me in his embrace before walking out of the school.

_

"it's..."

"yep, come on." he said before i even got to finish my sentence. with the night stars twinkling and the colorful lights illuminating the scenery, he dragged me closer towards the place.

splashes of the ocean waves soothen my soul, all the other noises blurry as i walked in my own world.

"y/n? hello?" i was quickly snapped away from my own world as soon as i realized we stopped. he was calling me as he stood in front of me, waving his giant hands close to my face.

"oh god, sorry." i sneered, looking around the place we stopped in.

"it's okay..." his voice faded away as i admired the scenery. city lights with all sort of colors and sizes filled the bay, flickering while spreading the city charm. up above the border between the ground and the sky, the stars were shining brightly as if they wanted to reach out to us. the dim moonlight was reflected by the still waters of the bay, moving like silk.

the boats parked onto the dock was crowded, its booming music faintly heard from our place. trees were surrounding our spot, and it felt like we were watching the city from the clouds.

"come on, let's sit down." he comforted, patting onto a spot next to him as he sat on the bench.

"this place is... beautiful." i gasped in amazement, sitting down next to him.

"exactly why i took you here." he admitted and winked at me before looking back at the view.

"bro what's up with that wink?" i teased, smiling mischievously as he blushed.

"no-nothing." he stuttered, still gushing at my tease.

"pfft- HAHAHAHAHA" i burst out laughing, leaving him speechless as he glared at me.

"your face - HAHAHA" i managed to say in between hysterical laughter.

"shut up." he playfully hit me as he resumed gazing lovingly at the view.

as my laughter died down, we sat in comfortable silence, mesmerized by the atmosphere the entire city gives us.

"y/n." he finally spoke out, breaking the silence.

"yeah?"

"...what happened?" he hesitantly asked, my mouth turned into a frown.

i thought for a moment before replying, "i lost my bucket list." i murmured after a while.

"bucket list?" he started, his expression a little surprised.

"mhm. and i have this goal to finish it before tomorrow. but..." my voice trailed off as i thought more about how or why i lost that list.

"but what?"

"i lost it." i sighed, finishing my little uninteresting story. i looked down at my feet, prepared to be laughed at or mocked at.

but taehyun simply smiled.

as he gently brushed a few strands of my loose hair behind my ears, i turned my head to see him gaze at me with a warm smile. a blush crept onto my cheeks, but it felt different.

because i wasn't blushing out of embarrassment.

"you must be upset..."

"kind of. but there's nothing i could do." i tried putting on my widest smile as i took a glance at the sparkling city.

"y/n."

"hm?"

"i have something to tell you..." he doubted.

"spill." i commanded, still looking at the city from afar.

"...i like you." he confessed.

and it felt like the world stopped for a second. i remained in my position, frozen due to his words.

all the emotions held down came rushing into my chest, overwhelming me even though it didn't seem like it. my mind went hazy as i stared at basically nothing. my head was still facing the view, i couldn't look at him with all the emotion i was feeling.

"y/n. look at me." he gently told, and for no reason, i did as told.

"may i finish your list?" he requested, his voice soothing as he held my cheek.

i nodded without hesitation. i lost my ability to speak.

as the distance between us got smaller and smaller, i gulped. when he found my nape, he slowly closed the space between us. 

his lips found mine, and butterflies started to fly around inside my stomach in an exhilarating way. our lips started to move in sync, his mouth soft against mine. i could taste a bit of the churros we had on the way here. 

sparks flew inside my body, just like the banging fireworks that started a few seconds after we started kissing. it felt like magic. when we pulled away, we both looked for air, still in each other's embrace. fireworks was still lighting up the sky with all sorts of colors.  

i got a little startled when he backed away and reached for his backpack. as he ransacked his bag, i stared at him - dumbfounded.

"happy birthday." he cheered, pulling out something wrapped beautifully. a gift!

"awwhh, taehyun! you shouldn't have!" i gushed, admiring the gift.

"open it."

i ripped the wrapping out of excitement. and as soon as saw the content, i smiled like a goof.

i scanned through a really cute notebook i once admired from outside a store. and when i reached the last page, something fell off. 

my eyes widen in shock.

my bucket list. 

i frantically took it and opened it, looking at the last box i was supposed to tick. and i smiled ear-to-ear after seeing it. 

romantic first kiss was already ticked. a tick that stood out because of how different it looked from the other ticks.