Taehyung went to his job at his usual hour the next day, and he frowned once he discerned Inguk's swollen, red eyes and his weary expression. "You didn't sleep well?"

"Not really. It was my cousin's birthday and I had to go, although all I wanted was to drop dead in my bed."

"You're here all day, huh?"

"Kind of, yes. Thankfully, my house is just down the street so I can get there quickly."

"Aren't you tired of the same routine every day?"

"Well, sometimes yes, but I love my job. I worked hard to start this business and it was my dream since I was little. I shouldn't complain if it's tiring sometimes."

"It's okay to complain sometimes, you know," Taehyung said, raising a smile from the older.

"You never complain, though," Inguk uttered in a soft tone as he offered him a warm smile.

"I don't have a right to complain."

Inguk was about to reply when the phone started ringing. He took the order and immediately went to prepare it as Taehyung waited for his first delivery of the day.

The next few hours passed by peacefully, and it was time for his delivery to JK Auto Company. He pedaled there at an unhurried pace since he had time, and he removed his helmet and mask before he entered.

"Hello, Jisoo."

"Hi, Tae! You're early today."

"Yeah, it's a slow day. We don't have much work," Taehyung said as he received the money. "I'll come to say goodbye later." He saw her nod and then trod to the elevator. Once he got to the eighth floor, he sauntered to the CEO's door and knocked.

He heard a muffled sound, and assuming it was his usual 'come in', he slid the door open and walked into the office. But every muscle in his body glaciated the moment he glimpsed at the sight in front of him, his mouth hanging open.

The CEO was sitting on his chair with a boy on his lap, kissing his neck, his hair was in a mess, his lips reddened and puffy.

"Did I say come in?" he bellowed in a fit of rage.

"I'm so sorry," Taehyung breathed out, all out petrified, and then burst out of the office. What the fuck was that? He hazily stared at an empty spot in the air. Should I just leave the package here and disappear from this hell? He pondered over it for a while, and he was ready to place the package outside of the door when it suddenly opened, causing him to bounce back in surprise.

The unnamed boy stormed outside with a pouty face and slammed the door behind him. He thought the boy was sulking because he interrupted them, so he just shrugged it off.

He clenched his hand into a fist and ventured to knock on the door again. It was silent for a moment, but then the door was suddenly yanked open by a furious Jeongguk.

"Get in," he growled, the cords in his neck tightening, just like his jaw. The boy obeyed with wary moves and set the package on the table, keeping his head bowed. "Did you hear me say come in?" he asked, vexation pouring off his words as he stood in front of him.

"No, but I heard—"

"Stop talking! It's a yes or no question. Or are you that stupid to understand it?"

Taehyung dug his fingers into his palms, his body lightly shaking as he strove to contain his temper. "I get it."

"Did you hear me say come in?" he asked again, his voice much more demanding than before.

Taehyung felt his insides blaze with outrage by now. "No."

"Then you shouldn't have. It's that simple. Why can't you follow a simple rule? Is that too much to ask from a dense boy like you?"

"I heard wrong, people make—"

"Shut up!"

"Mr. Jeon!" Taehyung exclaimed, taking him by surprise. "I get it. I walked in when I clearly shouldn't have. It was a mistake, I know, I'm sorry. You yelling at me now and telling me to shut up won't take back what happened. I don't care who you are, I don't care how much money you have. I won't let you talk to me like that." He kept his gaze on the floor the whole time and his voice low, afraid it would tremble if he raised it again. "I don't want to deliver your stupid food anymore. Keep your stupid money."

Jeongguk, maybe for the first time in his life, didn't know what to say.

Without wasting another second, Taehyung stomped past the stock-still boy and left the office. He didn't bother saying goodbye to Jisoo, and he made his way out of that goddamn company. He was mad. No, he was infuriated. So much he felt tears sting his eyes.

He took a moment to cool down before he put his helmet and mask on and returned to the cafe.

 
Although he endeavored to hide that something was wrong when he arrived, Inguk was able to notice. "What happened?"

"Nothing," he muttered and continued his way to the bathroom without waiting for an answer.

He splashed a few handfuls of cold water on his face and drew in a series of deep breaths, trying to ease his already frazzled nerves. Whatever happened, happened. You have work to do, he said to himself, decisive, and exited the bathroom.

"Hey, Tae, what's wrong?" Inguk questioned once he saw the boy walk outside.

"Nothing, hyung."

"Come on, I can see that something is troubling you."

They sat at the bar, and Taehyung stayed mute as he contemplated what to say. "Nothing. It's just that when I ride the bike, I can't help but think about my problems and stuff. Don't worry about it."

"Oh, I feel you, Tae. When you're busy, you don't have time to think about anything."

"Exactly." He smiled, relieved that Inguk believed him, although he knew he had to talk to him at some point since he really didn't want to deliver to JK Auto Company anymore.

🥀

The end of his shift came a while later, and the boy headed home. He took a cold shower as usual since he didn't want to turn on the boiler. He was trying to save money as much as he could.

When he finally flung himself into the bed, his phone rang, making him open his tired eyes. "Hey, Jimin."

"Hi! How are you? I haven't seen you in a while."

"I'm good, just busy with work. But I missed you, Chim." A long sigh seeped through his lips at last. With everything that happened that day, he truly needed a friend to hang out so he could take his mind off everything. And maybe he needed a hug as well.

"I missed you too. Do you wanna meet up? Seokjin had a morning shift just like me, and he can join us this time."

"Yeah, that sounds nice."

"Let's meet at Jjang cafe?"

"You love that place, huh?"

"Yes, and you get to be there every day. So lucky!"

"Fine, let's meet around six? I want some time to rest."

"Great! I'll see you later."

Taehyung had about two hours to rest, and that was what he did. He stayed in his bed, watching random videos on YouTube since even if he was tired, he couldn't fall asleep. He couldn't even fall asleep that easily at night when he would be throughout exhausted.

Once it was time, he picked a dark blue sweater and his black trousers from his closet, finished getting ready, and trudged to the bus stop. After a rather boring ride with the bus, he reached his destination, only to see that his friends weren't there yet.

"Tae? What are you doing here? Don't tell me you want to quit? That's why you came? Taehyung, please—"

Taehyung shushed his rant with a hearty giggle. "Hyung, relax. I came to meet my friends."

"Wow, I think I almost had a heart attack." He threw a hand over his racing heart as he sighed in relief.

"I like this job and you. You're the best boss I ever had."

"Thank you, I get that a lot," Inguk said with a smug face as he lifted a playful shoulder.

"Well, aren't you cocky now," he sneered, eliciting soft chuckles from him. As the conversation quieted down, Taehyung thought it was a good time to talk about his deliveries to JK Auto Company. "Um, hyung—"

"Hey, Tae!" Jimin chirped as he draped his arms over his shoulders, squeezing him into his hug.

"Hi, Chim." He chuckled at his adorable friend as he turned around and fastened his arms around him as well.

Drawing away a few seconds later, Taehyung glanced at his boss. "I'll talk to you later," he whispered, and the two boys strolled to an empty table to sit.

"Where's Seokjin?"

"He'll come later. His mother found out about his plan for the cafe he wants to open and now he's explaining everything to her."

"Wait, she didn't know?" Taehyung asked, and at that moment, Ten appeared to take their order. "Hey, Ten, meet my friend Jimin." The two greeted each other, and once they let him know what they wanted to drink, Ten took off.

"No, she didn't know," Jimin continued. "It's a risky plan if you have barely enough money to start a business."

"You're right. Oh! He could talk to Inguk. He told me he started this business himself, so apparently he knows about these things."

"If he could help, that would be awesome!"

They resumed bantering, and it must have been an hour later when Seokjin finally joined them.

"How did it go?" Jimin asked.

"Not so well. She was trying to talk me out of it and I told her that I'll think about it again. But I don't want to think about it, I want to open a cafe!"

"We can ask my boss for advice. He started this business himself so he could help you." Taehyung gave him an encouraging caress on his shoulder.

"Yes please, let's do that!"

Taehyung scoped the cafe in an attempt to find Inguk, but he couldn't locate his target. "Probably he's busy now. We'll talk to him later."

The three boys chatted blithely about various things for a little while longer, but then Taehyung's smile dropped in a heartbeat when a certain someone bobbed into his vision, heading towards the bar.

Seokjin peeked at Taehyung and then at the boy he was shooting daggers at. "You know him? He seems rich. You hate rich people."

Taehyung darted his gaze at his friend once his voice infiltrated his senses. "Um, he's a customer. I deliver his food every day," he explained in a mumble as he sank in his seat. It was a desperate attempt to hide, but he knew it was pointless; if Jeongguk turned around, he could easily spot him.

"He's hot," Jimin said as he eyed him in depth.

"You can only see his back, Jiminie," Seokjin snickered as he shook his head.

"I saw him when he walked in. But even his back is hot."

"He's the devil," Taehyung murmured as he glanced away.

"What was that, Tae?"

"Uh, nothing."

Jeongguk rose from his seat and trod towards the bathroom. Although Taehyung knew he would see him when he would return, he didn't care anymore. It wasn't like he would come to their table and greet him or something.

And he was right. When Jeongguk appeared again, his eyes fell straight on Taehyung, who was already looking at him warily.

Jeongguk maintained his stoic expression and didn't stop staring until the moment he took his seat at the bar. He raised a brow a second later as Inguk walked out of the kitchen. "I've been waiting for some time."

"I was busy, Kook," he said with an eye roll. "What will you have today?"

"Surprise me."

"You don't like surprises."

"Of course I don't. Make me a generous portion of japchae."

"Okay," Inguk snorted at his scornful tone and passed the order to the chef before he joined him again. "Did something happen today?"

"What do you mean?"

"With my delivery boy, I mean. He was weird when he came back from your company."

Silence overtook Jeongguk as he felt a sudden need to steal a glimpse of the black-haired boy, but he suppressed it. "He walked inside without me saying come in."

"And because you're a little asshole you had to scold him, right?"

"He has to know his place."

"Why can't you be nice for once?"

"Because I can't, and stop pestering me about it," he spat out, annoyed. "And since he didn't even let me pay for my takeout, here." He fished €30 out of his wallet and placed the money on the counter.
   

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