Bargain (Not Met) (JungHope)

Interlude - Mesmerized

He didn't know that man; that man didn't know him.

Now out of the man's vision, Hoseok observed him from the secure, secluded corner.

He's strange.

The first thing that struck out to Hoseok was his clothes; large, baggy clothes. Unfit for public wear, much less a workplace. They looked to be more fit for bedwear. The silky smooth material of his pants pooled against the floor and framed the heels of his shoes oddly perfectly. His shirt looked three sizes too big and hid all but the tips of his fingers; the material hanged loosely off his strangely broad shoulders.

The accessories he adorned, the second most strange thing about the man, looked much too expensive for someone who was living off of paychecks from a slightly failing company. The lone earring he wore gleamed and shimmered in the dim light of the elevator whenever he shifted his weight, or the lift shuddered as it ascended. (Too much money was put into making it shine like that, and much more money was put into obtaining it.) Another gleam caught Hoseok's eye, directly on the base of the man's neck, and sent a tremor through his body when he realized that the man was more than likely hiding more precious jewels underneath his outfit. (He hadn't seen any sort of necklace in the middle of the man's chest when he first entered the lift, which served to baffle Hoseok even more.)

Hanging loosely from the man's fingertip, was the third and last thing that Hoseok thought strange of the man: his I.D. card.

It was a standard rule that everyone who worked in the building bore their identification cards around their neck and that it was visible at all times. So him not wearing it like it was issued in the employee handbook was a little more than a shocker. Though it's not that big of a deal and it's not like the higher-ups made it that big of a deal, it still added to Hoseok's growing list as to why the man was anything but ordinary. (And it infuriated him to no end that the card was swiveling and twirling around too much for him to get a good look at the boldly printed name that was also a standard for employees to have.)

"Later."

Hoseok startled so severely his entire head slammed back against the elevator's wall.

"Woah! You okay?"

Hoseok shimmed away from the approaching hands (goddammit, he had fucking fancy rings as well) and nodded shakily.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," Hoseok muttered, eyes glued firmly to the floor that seemed miles away from him at that particular moment. "I, uh, you-you should get off before the doors close..."

And it was at that moment he dared to glance up at the man that had haunted him for all of two minutes. It was also in that moment that his brain decided to short circuit; his words trailed off as he gaped at the unfairly gorgeous man, and he was just thankful his entire jaw didn't fall slack.

Hoseok selfishly took the man's moment of panic as the perfect opportunity to study his facial region; having been too startled by his mere presence upon entering the lift to have gotten a proper look of his frontal appearance.

Chartreuse eyes stared at him worryingly so; irises flicking between him and the groaning doors before him. Large, long hands hovered around his head and occasionally brushed against the tips of his hair; more than likely from the fact that both Hoseok and the man were trembling. In those same hands hung his I.D. and Hoseok watched as it swung worryingly close to his eyes.

Averting his attention back toward the man, Hoseok's breath was stolen away by the sheer beauty the man held; even with his brows furrowed in mild confusion and apparent worry. His raven hair fell down across his forehead and threatened to cross over his line of vision. Flicking his eyes to the outline of the man's build, Hoseok realized that the hair growing on the back of his head was lengthened into a handsome mullet, which perplexed Hoseok because "handsome" and "mullet" had never been uttered in the same sentence before that very moment.

Bypassing his swirling wave of emotions, Hoseok refocused back on the man's face and offered him what was sure to be a dopey grin. Hoseok watched as the man's face morphed from worry to relief and as he slowly backed away from Hoseok's form.

Amidst the man's calm retreat, Hoseok finally caught sight of the man's I.D. and could only let out a silent sigh of exasperation at how the name held no meaning to him.

Kim Taehyung: lost amongst the waves of employees wandering the vast company building.

May I hope to see you again? Hoseok prayed, twitching his pointer finger in the form of a wave goodbye in return to Taehyung's.

The moment the doors closed and the light on the fifth-floor button flickered out of life Hoseok brought his hands up to his hair and tugged at the wild mane until he was sure the roots would rip free from his skull.

He was smitten.

For a fucking stranger.

As a croak of a screech pushed past Hoseok's clogged windpipes, a faint whisper of a familiar ache blossomed inside the office worker's body. But its presence was lost to the pounding against Hoseok's chest and inside his ears, and a sickly unfamiliar heat blooming across his cheeks.

A/N - Oh no romance is happening.