⫣1⫦ The Stranger In My Garden

And here she is: *drumroll noise*The One. The Only: LIAN CHEOL.

(As you will soon see, she is based on the looks of IU, but feel free to imagine her any way you want. I literally just needed a model for all the chapter covers...)

Lian POV

I don't sleep well these days.

For some reason, I go to bed wide awake and then turn and toss all night, as if the day left me with too much energy.Moving here was a shock, but my father just couldn't refuse the deal he got.

Lawyer in one of the top firms of Seoul.

But moving also meant a new start.It meant I could get away from that horrible private girl school and convince my parents to let me go to a normal school- with the promise of working twice as hard of course.

In my entire life, I never disobeyed my parents. But this once, I was adamant. Wouldn't let them change my mind.

They already have this big plan for me to become a doctor and since I don't really know what else I want from life, I figured why not.But at least they would have to allow me to experience real school experience.

The only passion I ever had were gymnastics anyway.

Still, I'm nervous about tomorrow- first day as the new girl.Nervous and excited.

I need something new in my life. I feel restless and pent up and every day, the feeling just grows.

I hope I can make some decent friends, maybe even get a best friend for the first time in my life.I just couldn't bind with the girls from my last school. They were all about fashion, boys, school and oh.. yeah school.

I make the nervousness responsible for my inability to got to sleep.

Frustrated I throw the covers away and get out of bed.

I don't turn the light on, afraid my parents might wake.They don't like it when I'm out of my room after ten.

A bit strict maybe, but they only mean well.

Silently I make my way down to the front door.The door clicks shut behind me and I breath in deeply, enjoying the warm summer night on my skin.The air is a bit stuffier than I am used to, but this is Seoul after all. Even in the rich quarters, the pollution is noticeable.

I stand there for a few minutes, looking at the clear sky with all its stars. There are so many, all of them twinkling in the dark, like they're trying to challenge the darkness surrounding them.I used to love looking at the stars. They made me feel like life was full with choices and possibilities. I sigh as a feeling grips my heart. I don't know why, but since a few months, whenever I raise my head to the clear night sky, a heaviness fills me, like their light is no longer bearing promises but burdens.

Slowly I turn back to the door, fully intending to go back inside and try to sleep again, when I hear the rustling.

Curious, I look at the direction of the noise.It seems to come from the little outdoor hut in the garden.Maybe a cat or another animal hunting in the night.I don't know what makes me.I know I definitely shouldn't, but I suddenly feel myself walking towards the noise even though I know it's a bad idea.

The outside of the garden hut gleams in the silver moonlight as I near it. There is no more sounds coming from it, but I open the door carefully anyway.

It's dark inside and since I've only been in here twice and never at night, I realize I have no idea where the light switch is. Nervously I take a few step into the dark, then yelp in pain when I hit something hard and wooden.

"Hello? Is anyone in here?", I ask into the darkness.

There is no answer and I wonder if I only imagined hearing something.

There is a sudden click and then I blink into the sudden brightness, my body going rigid.

"You know, it's pretty brave of you to come in here not knowing what's inside. Or stupid."

I turn so fast, I nearly loose my balance and look at the voice that ended the silence of the night.A boy stands next to the door, smiling at me with an easy grin.

My words leave me.

He's stunning. Easily the pretties boy I have ever seen.

Long, tousled black hair, beautiful big, black eyes and a sensual mouth.

He is leaning against the wall next to the door, his hands crossed in front of his chest, wearing a plain grey shirt and ripped black pants, chains attached to it and gleaming in the light.It's the tattoos and the piercings in his ears that give him the sense of something dangerous.From the neckline up to his jaw, I can make out the black shape of tattoo lines, formed like edgy vines from a tree.

A piercing gleams on his lips, which my eyes stupidly get hooked on.

And that smile...It holds something I have no words for. Only that it makes me... itchy again. Restless.

"Lost for words?", he asks with a grin, and I finally snap out of it.Jeez, I am probably drooling too.

My cheeks flame in embarrassment and I actually managed some bite in my next words, shooting him a low glare.

"Who the hell are you and what are doing in my house?"

He chuckles and stands a bit straighter like he owns this place and considers me absolutely non-threatening.Not the slightest bit ashamed that he is currently invading someone's property. He is tall and his body, especially his arms are well defined despite having a lean statue.

"I'm in your garden hut, not your house," he answers, as if I care about semantics right now, then takes a deliberate step in my direction.My breath hiccups and I take one step back, overwhelmed by this sudden encounter- and the way he slowly moves like a predator, ready to jump at his prey any minute. My heart is racing, and I'm not entirely sure whether it's because of fear or something else.

"And my name is Taehyung, by the way."

He comes to a stop a step in front of me and reaches out his hand as if this is a casual first meeting between strangers.I am not dumb enough to take it, though I have this itch again.

"I'm Lian. But what the hell are you doing here? You can't just walk into someone's private back yard!"

That's when I notice the duffel back slouching off his right shoulder.

"Are you stealing something?," I ask surprised and maybe just a little bit scared.

He chuckles again, and the sound is utterly male and dark. A shiver runs down my spine but I keep myself rigid.

"If I were a thief, would I have turned on the light- Lian?"

He leaned in as he whispers my name, like it's some secret he finally figured out.Or one I let slip because of my carelessness. I try to regain my composure but find it hard to think when he stands this close.

I didn't have much to do with boys before, considering that I went to an all girls school and barley had any friends at all, so I have absolutely no fucking clue how to deal with this entire situation right now. Can't even begin to make sense of why he is even here.

"Then what are you doing here?", I whisper, trying to take another step back, but there is a table in the way and all I can do is lean back a little.It doesn't help much.

Taehyung is still smiling with a mysterious glint and inches a bit further forward.

I tense, my entire body just locking up as I come face to face with him, his eyes so close, I can see my own reflection. Obviously this boy has never heard of personal space.

But it is the whiff of danger radiating off him that has my adrenaline spiking.

A far-away memory of my self-defence class wriggles it's way to the front of my brain and I realize that all I have to do to get him to back off, is to jerk up my knee. Right into the soft parts of a man where it hurts the most and gives me enough time to run and alert my parents.

I stay still though, not moving an inch.

But before I can get my act together and do it, he let's out an amused huff, the heat of it teasing my lips before he rights himself and takes half a step back.

I finally take the breath I have denied myself.

"Relax. I'm not here to cause any trouble. I'm just getting some of my things."

It takes my brain a second to function properly again, but when it does, my eyes fly wide."Things? Did you live here?"

He shrugs and looks around the room as if he truly made some memories here, sighing deeply as he shakes his head.

I suddenly feel uncomfortable -guilty- like I took something away from him.

"But I thought this house stood empty for a while now," I answer him uncertainly, fighting between wary and pity.

He looks back down at me and just shrugs it off again before another grin finds itself onto those well-shaped lips.

"So, Lian... I am curious. What are you going to do now that you caught me? Are you going to tell your parents? I'm sure they would want to sue me for trespassing."

I look at him with wide eyes. He didn't sound the least bit afraid and there is no trace of worry in his stance. As if he is merely stating a fact.I want to tell him that my parents would never do such a thing, but to be honest, I'm not so sure. My dad is kind of relentless when it comes to breaking the law- being a lawyer and all that. And my mom has a tendency to go hysterical when it comes to boys- especially boys like him.The dangerous kind. Anyone can tell just by looking at him.

But I feel my head shake to a no before I can think it through any more. Perhaps I really am stupid.

"I'm not telling anyone, I promise."

He looks at me with a smirk, as if he's not sure he believes me, his head tilting to the side. I shiver, because the movement makes him look almost animalistic.

"So you would lie to your parents for me?"Even that sweet spoken question is barely more than a purr.

I bite my lip, torn. Honestly, I never lie to my parents. At least not about important stuff. And maybe they have a right to know someone is trespassing- but... if he really lived here, and we were the ones who moved in- it just doesn't feel right to rat him out.

"I won't tell anyone. But you have to leave. Now!"

Taehyung nods, then leans down again, making me all tingly with that intense stare. I have absolutely no idea what to do- or what he is going to do.

He gives me another long look and I count to three. He has three seconds to step away or my knee is going to find it's target.

But he only nods his head slightly, his dark smile replaced by a lighter one. One that almost makes him look... cute. Almost.

"I'm glad we have an agreement then."

He pushed away suddenly and without warning, the simply turns to the door, leaving me leaning over the table.I gape after him. He doesn't make a move to stop, striding out into the night. Is he...

"Wait! Are you- just going to leave?"

I don't know why I stop him. I literally just told him to!

And he is the very definition of my mother's warning about boys. Taehyung stops just after the threshold and then slowly turns back to me, a secretive smile playing on his lips. I only stare at him, again taken aback by how beautiful he is. But it's the thing beneath that has my heart set out a beat.

And his eyes- they sparkled in amusement as if he is well aware of his effect on me and is enjoying it immensely.

I scowl.

And then I am forced to watch as he downright starts chuckling. Laughing at me!

But before I get the chance to open my mouth and tell him exactly how I feel about that, he simply lifts his hand in an easy wave.

"See ya tomorrow," he says, chewing gum around the words and then disappears into the night, the dark swallowing him up like he was never there.

I just keep staring at the space. My feet are itching again... To do... something. Something as stupid as running after him.

I huff to myself in annoyance, then try to comprehend this strange encounter. I go as far as wondering if I fell asleep after all and this is just a very realistic, very strange dream.

When I come to the conclusion this has definitely been real, I play with the thought of waking my parents and telling them about the intruder after all.

For some reason though, the thought doesn't sit right with me, which only annoys me more.

With a last growl at my own idiocy, I push off the table and head back towards the house.

I stop as if I ran into a brick wall, coming to a complete halt when his parting words come to mind again.

"Tomorrow?" I whisper into the night.

"What's tomorrow?"

But of course, no one answers. And all I can do, is wait for tomorrow to come and hopefully forget all about this in the morning.

________________________

To be fair, I'd loose my brain functions if I ever stood in across from THE Kim Taehyung. That man is a whole ass model. Need proof? Here:

Just joking. That man doesn't need to proof he's handsome af.His existence is proof enough.