#e2f2l

“did you take out the trash?” your aunt does not care for niceties.

“i said i would, auntie,” you answer, your voice still husky form sleep.

“but did you?” she asks again. now, you sigh. you didn’t even have your coffee yet.

“yes i did, auntie, of course i did.” you want to add ‘don’t you trust me?’ – but right now is not the time to test family ties.

“and what about the dishes, are they clean?” is she talking to an animal?

“i know how to clean up after myself,” you tell her. although the way you mutter it into your phone sounds more like a whiny child than a backtalking adult. in your defense, the coffee maker does take a long time to start in the morning.

“what about the dog?” yeah, what about the dog, you think as you watch yeontan lying in his back, all four legs wiggling in the air. the sun hasn’t even fully come out yet and your client is already too awake for you to keep up.

“tannie is perfectly fine,” you answer as the coffee maker beeps to life. thank the lord! you do a silent happy dance which the pomeranian watches with critical eyes.

“send me a picture, child, will you?” your aunt orders and you roll your eyes at nothing. of course, she doesn’t trust you with kim taehyung’s dog. even though it’s you that is doing her a favor.

“sure, auntie. how is your leg? are you in pain?” now the caffeine is ready and hot, making you a bit more empathetic to your aunt’s situation.

she huffs while you get down on the floor – steaming mug in hand – to sit next to the sweet dog still on its back. yeontan’s eyes lit up when he feels your hand on his belly. a thorough belly rub is a good start in the day, you think, as you hear your aunt huff from the other end.

“i cannot believe i had to break my leg right now, how inconvenient,” she mutters. only your family can make it sound like this is actually your fault. though you weren’t even in the city when it happened.

“rest well auntie, i’ve got everything under control,” you try to appease her. it’s no use as you hear her answering groan. still, you tried.

“then send me the photo of the dog!” she says, clearly agitated with her injury. your fingertips scratch tannie’s skin and you feel his purr under your palm.

“of course,” you mumble and after another round of questioning, you finally end the phone call. falling down next to yeontan, you put your half-finished mug on the carpet next to you. both you and the dog lie there for a second as seoul tries to wake up. and you watch the sunrise from kim taehyung’s penthouse while the model shoots in italy.

**

you hungry? you sign with one hand while the other holds the pitiful rest of your burrito. your friend eyes your dripping taco bell wrapper with a mixture of disgust and astonishment.

but we ate just now! she signs back, accentuating the ‘now’. you just shrug as you crumble up your garbage.

so, just ice cream then? you ask silently and see her shake her head with a chuckle.

lead the way, she signs – clearly giving up – and you happily take her hand as you skip across campus to your favorite ice cream place.

**

i still cannot believe you are house sitting for the kim taehyung, your best friend mari signs while you both devore your dessert.

shush, mari! you can’t just announce it out loud – it’s top secret! you answer back, only to hear her laugh loudly. it’s the highlight of your day when you get mari to laugh; so, your grin is bright.

have you met him already? or talked to him? she signs after taking a deep breath to compose herself. your best friend looks beautiful with her flushed cheeks and the lightest of freckles on her nose.

you shake your head and explain. all the contact goes through my aunt. she’s the one who’s supposed to take care of everything.

but, mari takes a second with her hands in the air, isn’t it weird to be in the house of a former idol?

you think about the rainforest showerhead, the tv that’s bigger than your own bed, the sound system which connects with your fitbit while you work out in the personal gym.

it’s really, you start, but trail off, not sure if weird is the right term.

different? she offers.

decadent, you sign back. mari’s eyes widen before she shoves you, making you lose balance. your ice cream melts on the floor while mari apologizes profoundly to the store owner.

**

“and then i was like – why would i need that layout when not one – not one magazine, tannie, was printed in that format since world war two.”

your knife is pointing at the ball of fluff on the counter. the both of you realized on your second day dog-sitting that your conversations were best held eye to eye. so yeontan took his place on the kitchen counter while you prepped your dinner. it’s not as unsanitary as it sounds, you tell yourself silently while feeding him a piece of sliced carrots.

the dog munches on your treat for a second, still, his eyes are trained on your face, as if to tell you to continue.

“and then he said that we have to be flexible in design formats. flexible. this ass on a stick can’t even bent over for his own professor.”

you justify the not so kind description of your ta with yeontan’s age – this pup has seen and heard worse in his lifetime; you are sure of it.

the knife in your hand swings with ease as you try to continue the well-deserved bashing of your ta. but before you can even open your mouth, you hear an angry voice from the kitchen entrance.

“what the fuck is going on here?” kim taehyung does not look happy. the years have been kind to him, his defined jawline pressed with anger. his hair is ruffled, the red eye flight having left its mark in the man. his shirt looks crumbled, and you don’t miss the light stain on the jacket he so carelessly throws at the chair close to you. it’s his eyes that worry you – the furry of dark brown is fixated on you.

“let my fucking dog go!” now he screams, pointing to the knife in your hand. however, the former idol doesn’t leave you any time to react – within seconds he’s in front of you, knocking the knife out of your hand. you just stare in astonishment as you try to catch up with his actions.

“what the fuck is wrong with you? isn’t killing my dog even a bit harsh for a sasaeng? what do you garbage people actually think you’re accomplishing with this? hm? get out of my fucking house, you scum!” taehyung’s scream is bone chilling, making you wince with every syllable.

the man himself has picked up his dog, cradling him to his chest. there is only disgust in his face when he looks at you. you feel a weight crushing your lungs as you watch your idol of many years cursing you out. you’ve never felt smaller. the last time you cried was at your parents’ funeral. but now, you can already sense the traitorous tears in the corner of your eyes.

“what? got nothing to say, idiot?” he yells. you can’t answer. “are you not only stupid but deaf?”

taehyung’s accusation makes you freeze. it’s been years since you heard deaf and stupid in the same sentence. so, without even thinking about the consequences, you start to sign.

you are really mean, kim taehyung.

with your first gesture, the man stops breathing. it’s like a glass shatters at his feet as he watches you sign. and with this silent ringing in his ears, he looks closely at his surroundings – the prepped food bowl for yeontan, the unfinished stir fry in the pan, the opened bottle of oj next to the fridge and your plush house slippers.

it takes him another moment of silently starring at your challenging eyes when he realizes: he fucked up.

___

hello to you all! i hope you enjoyed the first chapter of my new fic! just as an author’s note: i do not agree with the readers actions, nor do i think that taehyung is totally in the wrong here. i hope i do not disrespect anyone with this storyline. it will only be used throughout the next two chapters. the ASL speaking with mari will be part of the whole story, though.

i’d love to hear what you think about the reader! as always, if you want to be tagged, just ask! lots of love from dana