One thing occupied Taehyung's mind until the moment he fell asleep: it didn't mean anything. And this phrase came to his mind when he woke up the next day as well.

Another disturbing thing that happened first thing in the morning was that his landlord came to his apartment. He informed him that he had to raise the rent, and Taehyung was left dumbfounded. Who would pay €200 for a shithole like that? He said that if he didn't want to renew the contract, he had a week to leave.

He managed to push the sudden news out of his head, but one thought still lingered in his mind. He chanted mentally that it didn't mean anything, and at some point, he convinced himself and finally stopped thinking about it when he went for his shift.

For him, it was as if it never happened.

After some time with everything going smoothly at work, a familiar golden blonde boy made his way into the cafe.

"Baekhyun! Hi," Taehyung exclaimed with a grin.

"Hi, handsome." He chuckled upon seeing his cute, wide smile.

"You disappeared."

"I know, the other server at work took a leave and I had to work double shifts." Baekhyun sighed as he perched on a stool.

"I bet it was exhausting."

"It was, so they gave me a day off since the other guy returned."

"That's nice!"

"How have you been?"

"Good, same, boring, you know."

"Did you miss me at all?" Baekhyun folded his arms over the counter and asked with something playful laced in his voice.

The black-haired boy giggled timidly at his question. "I did."

"Good, because I wanted to ask you out on a date after your shift."

Taehyung's eyes popped at the unexpected proposal. The last time he was on a date was almost six years ago, and he would be lying if he said that he wasn't freaking out about the thought of going on a date again.

"Relax, nothing too serious," Baekhyun reassured once he discerned his stunned expression. "I just want to see you outside of here finally."

The corner of his lips tipped up into a bashful smile as he glanced away. "Okay, let's do that then. But I still have to work for one and a half hour."

"It's fine. I can keep you company until you finish."

It was perfect. Taehyung didn't have a single thought about Jeongguk, and he couldn't be happier. Indeed, it didn't mean anything. He was worried about nothing.

A group of people slipped into the cafe that caught Taehyung's attention, and his smile found an early death when he saw Jeongguk stand in front of the bar just seconds later, gazing at him with an expression he couldn't comprehend.

"Hi," the young CEO uttered while he shot a glare at the golden blonde boy, who was sitting a little further away from him.

"Um, hey." Taehyung forced a smile as he peeked at him. "What can I get you?"

Jeongguk glimpsed sideways once again and returned his gaze to him. "Nothing, I just wanted to say hi," he said as he lifted an indifferent shoulder, taking the other by surprise.

"Oh, okay," Taehyung mumbled and ducked his head as he felt timid.

"Do you want to join us once you finish your shift?"

He cast a glance at Baekhyun then. "Um, I'll go out with Baekhyun."

"Oh." Jeongguk held eye contact for a spell, poker-faced, and spun around.

"Maybe another time?"

His tentative voice brought him to a pause, and he glanced over his shoulder. "Okay."

Baekhyun observed through narrowed eyes as Taehyung remained stuck in his spot for a little while, watching the CEO, and then took his seat in front of him. "I thought you hated him?"

"I did, but we kind of talk now."

"You like him?"

"What? No!"

"Relax, I'm just asking." Baekhyun chuckled at his adorable reaction. "It just seems that he likes you though."

"Why would you think that?"

"He came just to say hi and invited you to his table after your shift? And not to mention how he was glaring at me like I was a threat."

Taehyung frowned as he puzzled over it. "He's not, there's no way."

And Baekhyun just shrugged. "I just said what I think. I hope he doesn't though. I don't want him to steal you from me."

"Don't worry about that," Taehyung said with a tiny chuckle that piped down rather fast.

"Since when are you talking to Taehyung?" Yoongi asked with confusion written all over his face.

"I said I'm sorry and we kind of talk now."

"I'm glad you apologized," Hoseok chimed in with a smile.

Ten served them with Taehyung's help soon enough, and the other three boys greeted the black-haired boy warmly before they started eating.

Once Taehyung finished his shift, he sauntered towards the exit with Baekhyun. "Bye, guys." He smiled at the four boys who were still eating.

All of them said their goodbyes except one who didn't even glance up from his food. Taehyung, of course, noticed since he mostly looked at the dark brown-haired boy and couldn't help the gloom that settled inside him. His smile petered into a bitter one as he strolled off with Baekhyun.

They went to a restaurant that was close by and ordered their food. They were having a good time as Baekhyun was able to make him smile and laugh almost nonstop. After two hours give or take, they decided to leave since Taehyung was exhausted by work.

"You can drop me off at the convenience store around my neighborhood. I need to buy some things," Taehyung said with an uneasy smile since he insisted to drop him off at his apartment. He just didn't want Baekhyun to see the shitty building he lived in.

"I can wait for you and then drive you home."

"No, it's like five minutes away so don't worry about it."

Baekhyun nodded with a smile and drove towards his neighborhood. Once they were in front of the convenience store, he fixed his gaze on him. "I had a great time with you."

"Me too."

The golden blonde boy wrapped his arms around him then, and Taehyung smiled warmly at the gesture as he hugged him back.

Baekhyun drew back a few seconds later and cupped his cheek, rubbing it with his thumb as his gaze fell to his lips.

Taehyung had a small freakout when he caught on to the situation, and he froze wholly, his mind going blank. Soft lips were attached to his a moment later, and he shut his eyes at the contact.

The kiss was short but gentle and sweet, their tongues brushing against each other at a slow pace. "Goodnight, Tae."

"Goodnight." Taehyung gave him a sheepish smile and exited the car. When Baekhyun drove away, he released a sigh and started walking towards his apartment.

Just two minutes before reaching his destination, a stranger popped up in front of him, making him halt abruptly.

"Where is a beautiful boy like you going this late?" the man asked with a smirk as he stepped closer to Taehyung who was already panicking.

Taehyung scrunched up his nose in disgust when a pungent smell reached his senses, recognizing that scent as whiskey. He stepped sideways, wanting to walk past him, but the man snatched his hand and yanked him back. "Let go!" he shrieked and immediately wrenched his hand away.

"We can have some fun." The stranger slurred his words as he threw himself onto Taehyung, something that made his eyes grow bigger in shock.

Thankfully, the guy was drunk and not too difficult to handle, so Taehyung managed to shove him away, and the stranger stumbled back, almost collapsing onto the ground. Taehyung took the opportunity and sprinted towards his apartment that was just at the end of that alley.

Tears overflowed his eyes as he stormed into the building and resumed running to his studio apartment, not even thinking about taking the elevator. His ankle stung awfully a lot since he hadn't run for a while now, but he was too petrified to care about anything at that moment.

He locked the door with quivery hands once he entered, drawing in gulping gasps of air. He tossed himself into his bed then and grasped the bedsheets as a stream of sobs burst out of his mouth, his entire body shivering. What if that guy wasn't drunk or what if he was a lot bigger and stronger than him?

He couldn't stop crying. Even though he lived there for years, it was the first time something like that happened to him. Of course, almost every day he caught weird people staring at him, but they never did anything.
 
As time passed, his horrified state didn't ease in the slightest, and so he called the first person that surged into his mind. His sobs only became louder and more desperate when there was no answer.

. . .

Jeongguk held his phone as Taehyung's name was displayed on the screen. He didn't venture to pick up the phone. He didn't know why he called him, but if there was a chance that he wanted to tell him anything about Baekhyun, he really didn't want to listen to him talking about how much fun he had with another guy.

But after a while, he couldn't help but wonder if Taehyung truly called him because of that. With a sigh, he decided to text him at least.

Jeongguk: Everything okay? I was taking a shower

Yes, he lied and he felt outright bad about it. Not even a minute later, Taehyung texted him back.

Taehyung: Please come to my apartment

Jeongguk's brows clumped together upon reading his text. Without contemplating it at all, he grabbed his keys and bolted out of his house. He drove at a fast speed, and thankfully, there wasn't too much traffic, so he was able to get there in no time.

He rushed all the way to his apartment and knocked on his door, then waited until Taehyung's raspy voice was heard.

"Jeongguk?"

"Yeah, it's me."

The door opened, and the sight he faced had his heart clenching and shock etching its way into every crease on his forehead. He was a crying mess, his eyes bloodshot and swollen, his shoulders shaking with each of his silent sobs.

"What happened?" His need to cocoon him in his hug was immense, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

Taehyung returned to his bed and sat with his knees close to his chest, fastening his arms around them.

"Did that guy do anything? I swear I will—"

"No, Baekhyun didn't do anything."

"Then?" He neared him and sank down onto the bed in front of the boy.

"Someone... someone hit on me?" he whispered as his bottom lip started trembling. "It was awful and gross. That guy just appeared in front of me, and I tried walking past him, but he grabbed my hand." He tucked his face into his hands and bawled harder as he recalled what happened.

The news rendered Jeongguk shocked once more, and he didn't care anymore about anything; he scooted closer and pulled the crying boy into his embrace, and Taehyung instantly clutched his sweater, burying his face into the crook of his neck.

"Shh, it's okay, Tae, you're okay," he uttered as he rubbed palliative patterns on his back. "Did he do anything to you?"

"No, he was drunk, and I was able to push him away, but if he wasn't... he could have hurt me."

Jeongguk's whole body stiffened at his words, and he tightened his grip around him. "You can't stay here, it's too dangerous."

"I can't stay here anyway. The landlord told me that he's raising the rent, and it's not worth staying in this shithole." He took some deep breaths, and with the combination of the younger's warm hug, his distressed state gradually eased.

"Pack your things then."

Taehyung frowned at his statement as he pulled back. "What? I don't have anywhere else to go."

"I have a quite big house though."

"Jeongguk, no, I can't stay in your house."

"Why? It's big, I have a lot of rooms, it's closer to the cafe, you won't even see me that much since I wake up early to go to the company."

"But I won't be able to pay you for rent for that damn big house," Taehyung said, frustrated. "And don't say that I don't have to because I can't live in your house for free!" he added in a rush once he perceived that the younger was ready to say something.

"We can find another way of payment?" Jeongguk asked warily, causing the other to narrow his vision on him.

"I'm not doing you any sexual favors!"

"What the fuck are you talking about? Why are you so dirty-minded? Jeez."

Taehyung didn't even know how or why that thought crossed his mind and how he ended up voicing it out. "What do you mean then?"

"You can clean? And do the grocery shopping and cooking? Honestly, I don't want you to do anything, but you won't accept that."

Taehyung eyed him as he mulled over it. It was crazy to live in a billionaire's house for free, right? A billionaire who was rather obnoxious most of the time and was getting on his nerves, too.

"I can't."

"And where are you gonna stay?"

"I don't know. I can stay at Jimin's or Seokjin's apartment."

"Why would you accept their help and not mine?" He didn't realize he pouted as he asked that.

"Because they are my friends and I know them for years? I don't know you at all."

A tense silence engulfed them for a stretch as Jeongguk froze at his words. "How can you say that? I opened up to you about my life. About my dad." His bitterness was evident in his tone. "I thought you said we were friends, too."

"I'm sorry. It's just that... I can't go from a shithole to a billionaire's house. I won't fit in there."

"You can stay at least until you find something else."

"But still..."

"At least for tonight? I know you're still scared," Jeongguk said softly as he placed a hand on his shoulder. He couldn't fight it anymore. He was attached to that boy, and he couldn't do anything about it.

Taehyung sighed and bit his bottom lip as he thought about it once more. It was true; he was still scared, and he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep at all. "Fine."

Jeongguk endeavored to rein back the grin that forced its way to his lips but failed miserably, and so he dropped his head in an attempt to hide it. "Let's pack your things."

"Wait, we said only for tonight. Why do I have to pack?"

"Fine, pack a bag or whatever with the things you need," he mumbled with an eye roll, but just the thought of having the boy in his house was rather exhilarating and brought a strange flutter of content into his system.

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In just two to three days, this book went from 1k to 2k+ reads. I'm so excited that you guys like this book and I hope you'll continue reading until the end. I know it's boring sometimes because of the filler moments/chapters but you won't be disappointed. A lot of fluff is coming soon too. I purple you💜🌹