Winter’s Serenade

☼✫

~~~~~~~

The following days passed quietly for Taehyung, yet the memory of that evening at the café lingered. He had replayed the conversation over and over in his mind, recalling the easy rhythm of their interaction, the way Jungkook's eyes had sparkled when he spoke of his photography. The snow had continued to fall, soft and steady, but Taehyung couldn't shake the feeling that something had shifted within him.

His phone buzzed one afternoon, pulling him from his thoughts. A message from an unknown number popped up: "ℋℯ𝓎, 𝒾𝓉'𝓈 𝒥𝓊𝓃𝑔𝓀ℴℴ𝓀. ℐ 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉ℯ𝒹 𝓉ℴ 𝓈ℯ𝓃𝒹 𝓎ℴ𝓊 𝓈ℴ𝓂ℯ𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑔."

Before Taehyung could wonder what it was, a photo attachment appeared on his screen. He opened it, and there, framed by the soft glow of the café's lights, was an image of himself, taken from the moment they had shared that night. The snow had swirled around him like a delicate veil, the light from the window casting a soft halo around his figure.

Taehyung's heart skipped a beat. He had never seen himself through someone else's eyes quite like this—like he was part of the scene, yet somehow apart from it, like a fleeting moment caught in time. His fingers hovered over the screen, unsure of how to respond. It wasn't just a photo; it felt like an offering, a quiet invitation to something more.

"ℐ 𝒽ℴ𝓅ℯ 𝓎ℴ𝓊 𝒹ℴ𝓃'𝓉 𝓂𝒾𝓃𝒹. ℐ 𝓉𝒽ℴ𝓊𝑔𝒽𝓉 𝓎ℴ𝓊'𝒹 𝓁𝒾𝓀ℯ 𝒾𝓉. ℒℯ𝓉 𝓂ℯ 𝓀𝓃ℴ𝓌 𝒾𝒻 𝓎ℴ𝓊 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝒽ℯ ℴ𝓇𝒾𝑔𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁 𝒻𝒾𝓁ℯ." Jungkook's message came through shortly after.

Taehyung stared at the photo again, his feelings conflicted. He felt flattered, of course, but also a little exposed. It was just a picture, yet it felt more intimate than anything he had experienced in a long time. Jungkook's interest was clear, but Taehyung wasn't sure what he wanted. He had been living in the quiet corners of his own life for so long, avoiding the complexities of romance and connection. Could he really open himself up to something new?

Just then, his phone buzzed again, this time with a message from Taemin: "𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲. 𝐈𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐤𝐲𝐚? 𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐮𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐟𝐞́!"

Taehyung chuckled softly, but the humor didn't quite reach his eyes. He typed back quickly: "𝐈'𝐦 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤."

A moment later, Taemin's reply came: "𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞. 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠'𝐬 𝐮𝐩. 𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝. 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐢𝐦."

Taehyung hesitated. The weight of his friend's words settled heavily in his chest. Taemin was always the more adventurous one, the one who pushed boundaries and took risks without fear. Taehyung, on the other hand, had always been more cautious, guarding his heart carefully. But Taemin had a way of making him reconsider. Maybe I should be more open, just this once, he thought.

With a deep breath, Taehyung opened the photo once more. He couldn't deny the pull he felt, nor the way his heart beat a little faster when he thought of Jungkook. He typed a simple message: "𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎ℴ𝓊 𝒻ℴ𝓇 𝓉𝒽ℯ 𝓅𝒽ℴ𝓉ℴ. ℐ𝓉'𝓈 𝒷ℯ𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒾𝒻𝓊𝓁."

☼ Will Continue...✫