Blue (KTH 18+)

New Dawn, New Day

After taking attendance, Rhea noticed that Taehyung wasn't in class today. It was hard to miss that blue hair when he entered the room. Jimin was here today though. That empty desk hung heavy in her mind. She prayed that nothing happened to him. Rhea decided she would ask Jimin about his absence after class.

It was 11:15 and the students run out of the room as they usually do. Rhea's eyes follow Jimin until he walks right by her. "Jimin, can you hang back a moment." Jimin meets her eyes and looks as if he's panicked. He shifts his eyes around and then stops in front of her. "Yes?"

"Taehyung is missing today, is he alright?" Jimin scratches the back of his neck, he looked conflicted. He wanted to tell her the truth but knew Tae would but furious if he did. So, he decided to keep it vague. "He's having a family issue and had to miss class." Rhea's eyebrows knit together, concern evident on her face. "Is he alright?"

Jimin nods solemnly. "He is now, yeah." Rhea blinks at the words. She desperately wanted to pry but knew it wasn't her place. She stares at Jimin for a moment, hoping to learn something from his eyes. All she could see was a hint of sadness and worry. He looked more tired than usual. Her thoughts were all over the place.

"Can I go now? I have dance practice." Rhea nods and Jimin quickly walks out of the classroom. Rhea sits down at her desk and opens her laptop. She clicks on her email and decides to send Taehyung the homework for today personally. He wasn't one to miss class, and if it was an emergency, then she wouldn't hold it against him. She quickly added a few words to send with the attachment.

Taehyung, please answer these questions for homework tonight. Do this and you won't miss any points towards your grade. Let me know if there's anything you need.

She hit send and Rhea laid her chin in her palm. Rhea couldn't figure out why she was so involved with this student. Was it because of his talent? Was it because she was attracted to him? Or was it because he always looked truly sad. She found herself thinking about him more than she should. It was worrisome.

It was the end of the day, Rhea packed up her belongings and laptop. She shut her classroom door and locked it behind her. She walked through the now quiet halls of the university. It was past peak hours, and the only people still inside were mostly professors and the cleaning staff.

She exited through the front doors and headed towards the parking lot. After passing through the entry gate, she was startled by someone calling her name.

"Ms. Stone." She turns around and sees a familiar blue-haired boy. He's leaning up against the gate. Rhea's heart is racing. She can't decipher if it's because she was frightened or because it was Taehyung. "Y-Yes?" She squeaks out. He steps closer to her. "Can I speak with you in private?" Taehyung says softly, glancing around. Rhea nods.

"We can talk in my car." Rhea informs him and she goes walking towards her vehicle. Taehyung follows behind her. The pounding of her heart is loud in her ears. Rhea hits the unlock button on the keys and unlocks her white SUV. Rhea opens the passenger door for Tae and then walks around to the other side and gets in.

"You weren't in class today." Rhea says once they are both inside. Taehyung nods, avoiding her eyes. He looks even more tired than Jimin did. It made Rhea's heart shrink. He looked more miserable than usual. "Sorry, I had something come up. I already submitted the homework though." Taehyung explains and Rhea smiles slightly.

"Good, so what's up?" She turns sideways in her car seat and settles her eyes on the boy in front of her. He looks so tense and uncomfortable. Rhea couldn't figure out why. Taehyung plays with his own fingers. "About the other day, you said you could help me get a job. I really need one. I need one like now." Rhea raises her eyebrows in surprise. She didn't expect him to take the offer so soon.

"Can you help me?" Taehyung whispers and finally turns his eyes to hers. He seems like a broken shell of a human. Rhea didn't know what happened, but he seems hurt. The empath part of her wanted to reach out and hug him, but she knew she shouldn't do that.

"Yes, of course. I know of a couple openings right now." Taehyung looks up at her again. "Tell me about them." Rhea nods and starts naming them off. "There's a photographer wanted for newborn photos. There's one I know of that's for weddings. Oh, and for a company named Rkive, they need photos to start promoting their new company."

Taehyung listens thoughtfully, not interrupting her. He thinks about the positions for a moment. "I won't be able to do the weddings well. And newborns scare me, they seem so fragile. Tell me about the other one."

Rhea leans back slightly. "Well, I personally know one of the owners of Rkive. It's a producing/recording studio. They need photos to show off their new building and equipment. It's for promotional purposes. I don't know if it'll be a long-term job though."

Taehyung looks at Rhea again and holds the eye contact for once. "Why aren't you taking the photos for them then?" Rhea laughs slightly. "They won't let me, I even offered but they said they didn't want to burden me while I was already a professor." She shrugs, displaying it didn't make much sense to her either.

"Can you get me an interview with them?" Taehyung asks softly. Rhea gives him a bright, positive smile. It was almost blinding, Taehyung had to blink away from it. "Yes! I'll ask Namjoon about it tonight." Taehyung runs his hand through his blue hair, it flops down back into place perfectly. "Make me sound good, okay?" Rhea chuckles slightly. "That won't be a problem. You do amazing work."

Taehyung smiled slightly; the muscles that felt rigid in his face relaxed a tinge. "Okay, thank you so much. Let me give you my number in case they are interested." Rhea grabs her phone from her purse and punches in the numbers as he recites them.

"Okay, I'll let you know what they say." Taehyung nods to Rhea's words and exits the car.