A few days passed by normally for Taehyung; he worked every day except Sunday, went to his piano lessons, did all the housework daily, and coped with his hyung's cruel and abusive behavior. It was a never-ending circle of torment he couldn't escape.

Everything was the same, yet different at the same time. He had something to look forward to every day now, and it surprised him terrifically, to be honest.

Taehyung wasn't like this. He didn't socialize much, he didn't get close to other people, he didn't wake up with someone in his mind, even when he had a boyfriend. For years, the first thing that came to his mind when he woke up was his misery. Then his hyung, and the agonizing day he had to get through.

It was an immense shock the first time the image of a certain cherry-haired boy crawled into his mind when he hadn't even opened his eyes yet.

He didn't know what was so special about him. He didn't know why he was so eager to see the younger boy, chat with him, and pore over his gorgeous traits. He didn't know why his face glowed with red when he kept eye contact for a few more seconds or when Jeongguk got too close. He didn't know why he wanted to use the slightest excuse to touch him.

Jeongguk offered him a breath of content in his pitfall of agony, and he didn't even know it.

When he drove him to the subway or home at times, despite Taehyung's protest about not wanting to put him through trouble, they gleefully bantered, teased each other, laughed almost nonstop, and other times, just enjoyed the palliative silence.

But even though they spent more time together for the last six days, the only things Jeongguk knew about that boy was his name, his age, that he didn't like coffee, his favorite drink was iced chocolate, and his best and only friend was Jimin.

Taehyung just didn't want to open up to him, and the younger was understanding, of course, but it saddened him when he thought about it. He had that itch to know more things about him, to discover bits of his life and get to know the real him, to feel as if Taehyung would ask for him when he would need something.

Taehyung was the one who sparked something inside him after three years of indifference, and he couldn't deny it nor hide it.

Did he like him? Yes. He was effortlessly beautiful; his wavy, bouncy hair was adorable — just like everything about him — his bright smile, which he wished he could cement it on his lips since it pricked his heart to see him sad, his dreamy eyes that held all the stars in them. He could gaze into those eyes for hours, and still, he would never get enough of them.

Not knowing what else to do to learn even the tiniest thing about him, Jeongguk ended up doing something that wasn't like him at all.

He asked his two friends, Yoongi and Hoseok, to visit the cafe but bring Jimin with them as well. After the opening, those three continued talking and getting to know each other. It wouldn't seem suspicious if his friends asked him to come instead of Jeongguk since he didn't know Jimin that much.

It was a good plan, if you asked him — a tacky one, but still good.

🥀

Jeongguk was sitting at the bar thirty minutes before his shift, chatting with Chang Wook and Dohwan when Taehyung entered the cafe.

"Hello," the fluffy-haired boy said and continued his way downstairs since he didn't want to interrupt their conversation.

"Hey, wait." Chang Wook's voice prevented him from leaving. "Everything okay?"

After Taehyung told him about his hyung that day in his office, Chang Wook seemed to care a bit more about him. He asked him daily if everything was okay and checked him during his shift to see if he needed anything. It was something that made Taehyung feel rather soft inside.

"Yes, Mr. Ji." He couldn't help the smile that sprawled on his lips at his caring behavior.

"What happened to you?" Jeongguk narrowed his eyes on his boss, receiving a questioning look in response. "You don't like new employees, and you even fired him. Now you're asking if he's okay? You don't even ask me if I'm okay!"

"Why would I ask you?"

"Because I'm your favorite, and you love me. Let's not say the same things over and over again," he uttered with an eye roll, eliciting mild chuckles from the others.

"My favorite now is Taehyung."

Jeongguk gasped at his statement, a fake huffy expression decorating his face as he threw a hand over his chest. "I'm really hurt right now. But I'll forgive you because Taehyung deserves it. He's my favorite too." The corner of his lips tipped up into a smirk as he sent a wink in Taehyung's direction, which brought flushed circles on his cheeks as expected.

"Hmm, someone's flirting," Dohwan sing-songed close to Jeongguk's ear, effacing his playful smirk.

It seemed that the other two didn't hear what the manager said to him, and he let out a sigh in relief. He was flirting with him almost all the time, but it was a different thing to do it and another to address it. "We're gonna go change now," Jeongguk declared as he hopped off his seat, and he draped his arm over Taehyung's shoulders to guide him downstairs.

Taehyung's face was blazing with pink by now as he bit his bottom lip to inhibit himself from squeaking by the younger's well-built body that was pressed against his side.

"You stole my spot from Chang Wook's heart. How dare you?" Jeongguk asked in a coltish tone as he pinched his florid cheek.

"I'm sorry, I'm just more lovable than you." Ignoring his heartbeat that was going wild at that moment, he teased back with a timid smile.

"That's so true though," Jeongguk whispered as they entered the changing room. Noticing that no one else was there, he tugged the boy from his side to his chest, enfolding him into his hug.

It was actually the first time they were hugging like this, face to face, bodies in full contact, and Taehyung could swear he was panicking. His arms girdled his waist out of instinct, but his entire body was rigid like steel in his hug.

Jeongguk shouldn't be doing this, and he knew it. He could feel how stiff the boy was and imagine how uncomfortable he must feel. But with a simple drag of his heady scent, he was left mesmerized.

"Je—Jeongguk," he spluttered, feeling as if his heart would burst out of his chest at any minute. But Jeongguk didn't budge in the slightest, and he didn't leave him any other choice. With trembling hands, Taehyung pushed him away gently, but he had to use a bit more of his strength to pull him out of wherever his mind was floating.

"Shit, I'm sorry." Jeongguk jolted back and gaped at the flustered boy, hesitant. "I don't know w-why I did that. Please forget it." He attempted to cover his bold action with a chuckle and brush it off, although he was on the brink of having a meltdown by his stupidity.

How am I supposed to... forget it? Taehyung found himself thinking in a daze. He didn't like whatever he was feeling at that moment — it messed with his head and heart, and he couldn't handle it.

"I'm really sorry for making you uncomfortable, Taehyung. I won't do it again." It stung to say these words and to know that the older didn't want him to hug him.

The door flew open then, and a few employees swept in, cackling and bantering. Wordlessly, Taehyung scurried to the bathroom to change his clothes, leaving the cherry-haired boy with a rueful expression painted on his features.

It's okay. Nothing happened. Get it together. He didn't do anything wrong. Taehyung drew in calming gulps of air as he changed, convincing himself that everything was fine and it didn't mean anything.

When he stepped out of the bathroom, Jeongguk was already gone. He made his way to the bar while scolding himself mentally for freaking out so much over a hug. Warily, he sat on a stool in front of Jeongguk, who had his back turned to him as he seemed busy with something.

With one more reinforcing breath, Taehyung set his gaze on him. "Can you make me an iced chocolate?"

Jeongguk flinched at the unexpected request. He thought that Taehyung would avoid him after how uncomfortable he made him feel, but there he was, gazing at him timidly and giving him a soft smile. He grinned at him a moment later, his eyes glittering with glee. "I-I'm kinda already making you one."

"You haven't even made your coffee yet," Taehyung pointed out, a wave of soothing warmth washing over him.

"You come first, Taecute." He quirked his brows in an impish manner and spun around again.

"Thank you, Kookie." A smile flashed up onto his lips. The nickname he had come up with was somewhat sappy — he couldn't deny that, but his stomach did tiny flips every time he heard it, even though he was used to it by now.

And the two boys continued to chat as if the incident in the changing room never happened, despite that both were thinking about it nonstop.

  
With everything going well, a few hours passed, and three familiar boys bobbed into the cafe, heading towards the bar.

"Chim? What are you doing here?" Taehyung stared at him wide-eyed as he had no idea he would come.

"Hey, Taetae." He gave him a brief hug and sat at the bar. "Just came for a coffee. Sorry I didn't say anything. It was kind of a last-minute thing."

"Why are you with them?" he blurted out, a frown engulfing his face.

"Nice to see you too, Taehyung," Hoseok snickered, and only then Taehyung realized that his tone was a bit frosty.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to be rude. It's just that... you guys are Kookie's friends."

"Kookie's?" Yoongi inquired with a raised brow.

"I m-mean, uh, Jeongguk's friends."

"Yeah, we've been talking after we met at the opening," Jimin explained since they didn't have time to catch up with their busy schedules.

"Oh, okay." Taehyung flashed a reserved smile as he placed some drinks on his tray.

"We should hang out all together sometime, Taehyung. We'd love to get to know you as well," Hoseok chirped.

"Maybe." He nibbled his lower lip as he took his tray and bundled off. He was a tad jealous, to be honest. He wanted to have the ease Jimin had to meet new people and hang out with them, but he was just afraid of making new friends. Would he ever be able to break free from that fear? He really didn't know.

As the three boys ordered their drinks and resumed rambling about an array of things, Jeongguk found a moment to sit with them. He nodded and chuckled faintly at whatever they were talking about, but in his mind, he had only one thing; how to learn a few things about Taehyung from his best friend without being obvious.

"He's doing a lot better, huh?" Jimin asked as he shot a glance at the fluffy-haired boy, feeling proud for him.

This is your chance. Jeongguk swallowed thickly as he straightened his posture with a roll of his shoulders. "Yes, he is. So, how did you two meet?"

"We met in high school, on the first day. I had just moved to Seoul, and he was the first person I met."

"Oh, where are you from?"

"He's from Busan, like you," Yoongi chimed in.

"Nice. And did you guys go to college together?"

Jimin's brows drew together at the back-to-back questions, but he shrugged it off. "Yes, but we didn't have the same classes."

"Why? What did you guys major in?"

"Kook," Yoongi said, a wordless question in his eyes.

"What?" Jeongguk glanced away, hoping they wouldn't comprehend what he was trying to do.

"Excuse me, I'm gonna go to the bathroom." Jimin gave an awkward smile before he left.

"Will you now tell us the real reason you wanted us to bring him?" Hoseok whispered as he leaned against the counter.

"There's no real reason."

"Why did you interrogate him like that? Are you trying to get to know him? Do you like Jimin?" Yoongi asked, still puzzled about his behavior.

Jeongguk was ready to answer when his eyes traveled behind his two friends, meeting two doe eyes that were strewn with confusion and something else he couldn't grasp.

"You—You like Jimin?" Taehyung stuttered, unable to tear his restless gaze away.

"What? Taehyung, no—"

"Taetae, table number thirty-four is empty now," Inhyuk said as he walked past him.

"Thanks," he said under his breath and veered off, ignoring Jeongguk who called his name.

"What the fuck, Yoon? Where did that come from? Why would I like Jimin?" the younger spat out through clenched teeth, frustration simmering inside him.

"Why did you ask him these questions then?"

"Because I wanted to know more things about Taehyung!" he whisper-yelled, slamming his fist against the counter.

His friends' jaws fell open at his remark, eyebrows went sky high, and nothing could describe how shocked they were. "Are you... Are you interested in someone? After three fucking years? What kind of miracle is this?" Hoseok let out a chuckle in amazement.

"I don't fucking know, but now he thinks I like his best friend!"

"Chill, Kook. You'll just explain to him it was a misunderstanding, and everything will be fine. And does he like you back?" Yoongi questioned eagerly.

"I don't think so. Although he blushes when I tease him and stuff, I don't feel like he likes me, you know?"

"Then why did he look so sad just now?" Hoseok asked as he cocked his head to the side.

"He—He wasn't sad. He was just confused, right?" Jeongguk glanced back and forth at his two friends, who shook their heads in disagreement. "You guys are imagining things. He didn't—Why would he be sad if he doesn't like me?"

The two boys shared a look, then erupted in soft chuckles as they fixed their gaze on their oblivious friend. "Because he does like you, you dumb fish." Hoseok carried on laughing as Jeongguk's sense about these things was always tremendously awful.

"Wh—What?"

"Hey, that was one hell of a line in the bathroom," Jimin snickered as he took his seat. "What did I miss?"

"Nothing," Yoongi lied with a smile, knowing that the younger wouldn't want to discuss whatever happened.

And he was right. Jeongguk went back to work after that with Hoseok's words engraved in his head. But as much as he mulled over it, he couldn't believe it was true.

⚜✳⚜
 

Would you do what Kook did to learn a few things about someone you like if you had that chance? 😋