❝ 1x3 ― squeeze ❞
( palm-yeeun )
There was no doubt that Kim Taehyung’s urges lied within the stars. Anything regarding Earth seemed minuscule and unappealing to large, round eyes, which for as long as could be remembered, only stared upwards, longing for something more than what the dirt beneath him could offer. Humans provided the least appeal to the male, despite sharing the same cellular makeup – the only solace he found was in characters, who brightened up his television screen, fictional characters that no doubt went back to a dull existence, as soon as the cameras turned off. Yet even someone like him yearned for things he could not provide himself. Comfort, affection, the warmth of another’s arms. When he struggled with such things, Taehyung felt undeniably weak, as if wishing for a hug on occasion, from someone other than his mother, made his so-called “cool exterior” fall to pieces.
But the pressure from society, to touch and be touched in return, caused him to crawl up inside of himself. There was no way he’d pursue a low-level intimacy, if anything more was asked of him. He had known, since a very young age, that romantic and physical endeavors were beyond his understanding. Aside from a scientific curiosity to learn what a kiss felt like, Taehyung felt no desire to be with another. If only there was some way to get what he wanted, without worrying about the possibility of being pushed into something he didn’t want. Then one day, while the television flickered away uselessly, as he did his homework, an ad caught his eye. A website designed to bring two people, who wished to cuddle and nothing more, together.
Never had his fingers flew across the keyboard so fast. Within minutes, he created a profile, a fluttering of anxiety licking at the edges of his stomach. Now, he had to wait. A fitful sleep fell upon him, and the first thing he did upon awakening was check his profile. There were a handful of results within the city, but on a whim, he decided to message the first person he clicked on, deciding to allow fate (a concept he usually had no belief in) to do the rest. A week later, he was sitting on his couch, wiping sweaty palms on his jeans, waiting for the girl, supposedly named Yeeun, to arrive. Sociability was definitely not his best trait, much closer to being the worst, and he fought with himself, wondering how to best approach this, without blubbering out a forward request to hold the other.
it was three o’clock in the morning when yeeun stumbled onto an online site, offering free cuddles to anyone and everyone, without any strings attached. honestly, she had no clue how she even ended there– a click here, a click there and soon, she found herself staring at a picture of herself, with basic information about her location, her hobbies and interests on the monitor screen. maybe it was the lack of sleep that had got to her, or maybe it was one too many romance movies or the very fact that she just wanted to be held but within seconds, she entered the send button and off her profile went.
just like that, she had forgotten all about it, moving onto the next movie on her playlist, some american movie called, the notebook. it wasn’t until a few days later when she had gotten an email, notifying her about a request from a boy named taehyung to cuddle. she had let out a squeal of excitement, in a very crowded mall, earned many shocked glance but none of that mattered anymore. for the first time in yeeun’s life, she was going to be cuddled by a boy.
it did seem a little pathetic that yeeun, at the age of seventeen, lacked experience in the social field. she’d grown up with scientists, one that showed their affection through good work! comments and pats on the backs. this summer was one where she was going to experience what she had witnessed only in works of fiction and with a smile, she pressed her phone close to her chest and skipped to prepare herself for her meeting with taehyung, which would take place a week from now.
fast forward to the day itself. yeeun had spent many nights, staring at the ceiling, her mind reeling with possible scenarios. would they hold each other? was he taller than her? would he smell nice? her heart racing in her chest, she could barely keep the smile off her face as she made her way to where taehyung resided. after getting lost three times, she finally arrived and knocked on the door.
“hello! is kim taehyung here? i’m yeeun, ready to give you a cuddle!”
