⚠️ Trigger warnings

Fluff

Slow Romance

Anxiety

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Hoseok

He caught her by an arm just before she completely fell to the ground. But for some reason, her other hand had covered his lips, which were now mere centimetres away from her own.
Hoseok felt his heart begin to race and he suddenly felt drinking her in.

Something about the way she smelled and the faint scent of cinnamon on her hands had reminded Hoseok of his favorite spiced tea.

"I'm glad you caught me." Was all she could say to him.

Hoseok felt like a cat had got hold of his tongue.

He was completely spellbound, and was unable to speak, now that Minali was close enough to kiss.

Their eyes met, and Hoseok felt something change inside him. It was like a flame igniting in his core, burning outward.

Minali's eyes were captivating. All he could do, was look into her hazel eyes as she looked back into his coffee coloured ones.

His heart began to beat faster, the longer he held onto her. One arm had unintentionally slinked protectively around her dainty waist.

Hoseok slowly became conscious of his desk behind him and her cousin, Jimin, watching them. It felt like they were standing like this for hours... if not days.

Surely Jimin would have noticed him by now. Boss or not, he, Jung Hoseok was inappropriately holding an employee's younger family member.

'Jimin's going to be pissed at me. I think I'll be damn lucky if he doesn't lodge a grievance with HR.' He winces as he slowly lets go of Minali.

"Ahem..." Hoseok cleared his throat awkwardly, looking away from Minali and avoiding Jimin's eyes as they both straightened up.

"Minali? Are you alright? I'm so sorry cousin, I didn't see you enter the room again." Jimin apologises to her. "It's just as well Hoseok hyung caught you in time." He turned away from his cousin to face Hosoek.
"Gomawoyo hyung. I'll take your leave now, I have a client awaiting some advice in the next office." He bowed slightly and left the room.

"Thank you Mr. Jung." Minali squeaked and stepped back a little. She looked as if she had just registered how close to Hoseok she was standing. It was close enough for her to wrap her arms around him in an embrace.

There was an awkward silence in the air, an obvious build up of sexual tension between the two. However, they were still quite oblivious to their own feelings.

Was she thinking and feeling the same as he did?

Or was she indifferent to him?

"I- er... Yo- you're welcome miss Park." He stammered nervously as he eyed her reactions.

"Call me Minali, Mr. Jung." She smiled shyly at him, turning a rosey shade of pink.

'First name basis... Maybe she does like me?' He sounded hopeful.

"Only if you agree not to call me Mr. Jung." He smiled back at her.

"What would you like me to address you as, sir?" She blinked at him, making his insides melt.

'She's amazing! I can feel myself falling for her more and more.' He admitted to himself.

"Hoseok."

Hoseok didn't care if he was being too bold at this point. He really wanted to see how Minali felt about him, even if it was about an hour since they had actually met.

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After a few minutes of talking about the most suitable options for Minali and Jimin's business, based on the three year projections of their business plan, Hoseok happily closed the deal.

"Thank you Hoseok-ssi." Minali stood up from her seat and bowed.

"It was my pleasure to assist you Minali-ssi." He returned the bow. "Would you like some masala chai to celebrate?"

"Masala chai? Is that like cha?" She's asked innocently.

"Ne... it's a blend of tea, brewed with spices, thus the word masala."

"Arrasso..." She pondered over his explanation. "Sure, I'd like to try it. Which cafes serve this blend?"

She enquired politely, oblivious to his effort and the fact that he is asking her out on a date.

"Most cafés do, but I can take you there now, if you're not too busy?" He tried again, persisting in the hope she would say yes.

"Sure. I'd like that." She smiled adorably at him.

'Yes!' He smiled to himself.

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Minali

Hidden from herself, Minali's curiosity bloomed in the depths of her heart.

'Hoseok looked like a really big deal. Jimin oppa said that Hoseok was his boss.' She thought to herself as Hoseok walked her to his car.

'So why is he asking me out to tea?' Minali wondered, oblivious to the man's feelings for her.

'Surely he has far better things to do with his life than to celebrate a silly new business venture?' She innocently thought, clearly not wanting to hurt herself.

'I wonder where this café is?' She wondered to herself as he opened the car door for her and drove off towards their agreed destination.

Jimin had agreed to let her go with Hoseok, trusting his Hoseok hyung.

So here she was, off on a trip with her cousin's boss, to try out this tea he kept going on about.

'Why did he even bring up the tea in the first place?'

Poor Minali was slowly falling for Hosoek, but she also was scared of getting hurt.

She had to make sure.

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At the café

"I hope you find the café to your liking, miss Park." Hoseok said to Minali nervously.
He was so formal, it was almost as if this was some British programme she watched on Flix instead of a date she was at.

'Date?'

She noticed his hands trembling and innocently covered them with her own.

'It is endearing how nervous he was around mr. Perhaps he really does like me?'

"Yes Mr. Jung, it's a lovely place. Very quaint. Thank you for bringing me here. And please, do call me Minali." She smiled at him, mirroring his nerves.

Though she was unsure why she felt so nervous.

Little did these two individuals know the kinds of new adventures life would have in store for them...

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A/n:
Sorry it's such a short chapter.

(my ramblings)

Masala chai is a special kind of tea originally from India. It is often made by adding roasted, ground, whole spices such as cinnamon and cardamon, to name a few of the spices.

In Korean, tea is cha - which is much similar to the Hindi word chai.

Side note for language enthusiasts:

A lot of Asian words across the various languages and dialects are very similar in pronunciations and meanings.

For example, 'appa' means 'father' in Tamil but it means 'dad' in Korean.

Interestingly enough, the manner in which one would politely say 'goodbye' in Korean are quite similar to the way one would bid someone 'goodbye' in isiZulu.

Also note: cha in Korean has more than one meaning (it can also mean 'car').

Meanings:

Masala: spice(s)

Chai: tea

Pronunciations:

Masala: mas-sa - la

Chai: Cha-yee

(To my fellow Indian (and any Korean) friends reading this - please feel free to advise if I've missed anything out in my DMs and I'll amend accordingly).

Minali: This beautiful name means 'buttercup'. (As per baby names listed online.)