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( song of the day :
best of me - bts )

jace and sicheng led doyoung to a near conference room with zero occupants, the three of them directly plopping down on their desired office chairs. there were approximately three minutes of silence before one decided to break it.

"look, we know," jace said with a stern glance, his ten fingers intertwined together above the wooden table as if he was speaking with much formality. doyoung immediately understood what he meant, making him a bit anxious. "well technically, sicheng knows because of his shocking attention to details, but he already told me, so that means that i already know too, but i wasn't the first to━"

sicheng nudged him lightly to stop his confusing spill of words from continuing. he was the one to extend his expression. "and we just wanted to tell you that it's alright. don't let the rumors offend you because you're accepted by many. it'll all pass, trust me."

doyoung shot them a small smile of sincerity. he decided to speak up and say, "most of my worry is regarding . . mr. lee ahnhyuck though. will he be okay?"

his two seniors exchanged meaningful looks before looking back at him. "i'm saying this as his friend. ahn is someone i admire very much. through all the problems and speculations he faced, i have never seen him break down. ever. you don't have to worry about him, bro. he's gonna be fine!"

the three of them had wide smiles, carrying on small conversations and even getting each other's numbers for inclusion in their office team group chat.

"i have one last question," doyoung said with a hint of shyness. "are you two . . you know . . umm . . gay?"

after hearing what he asked, jace leaned forward and quieted his voice a bit, but it was enough for all three of them to hear. they started to erupt in a booming fit of laughter after jace winked and said :

"i can be when i want to."

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the next customer that entered the 7-eleven store caught youngmi's eyes. his expression was comparable to a phone that wasn't  charged for three days : drained. even from afar, it was noticable that he heaved multiple sighs.

"mr. moon taeil?" she called his name out in concern. even his walking looked weak. "do you need more coffee?"

"my work," he walked towards her with a big frown, "is falling apart and i don't know what to do."

youngmi scanned the place if there were any customers, then smiled once she realized there were none yet. she walked away from the counter, then stood directly in front of him.

without taeil noticing, he was pulled into a hug, which had a feeling more special than anything. it was like a sweater worn in the coldest times. it was like a sudden shift of the gloomy weather to a sunny one.

"i did my research and the internet says that hugs relieve stress."

and it seemingly was true.

his happiness increased upon feeling her warm embrace.

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