drafts //

𝚃𝙾𝚄𝙲𝙷

This was going to be a long ass ride.

Taeyong's stop finally arrived, and he hastily exited the train. He could finally breathe, clean, uncontaminated air. He glanced over his shoulder as he walked out of the underground station onto the sidewalk, and he felt the air leave his lungs once again.

The boy from the train was hurriedly following him up the steps. Taeyong quickly darted away, briskly walking down the sidewalk towards his office building.

"Hey! Wait! I need you ask you a question!" The boy called, easily catching up with Taeyong's brisk strides. Taeyong cursed lowly, his voice muffled by his mask.

"What do you want? Can't you see I'm late for work?" He asked gruffly, stopping and turning on his heel to pin a harsh glare on the boy. Now in the sunlight, the boy looked a little better than in the cramped, sweaty and artificial light of the train. His hair was a little frizzy now, hands gripping the straps of his backpack tightly. He looked like a cute little kid going to school on his first day, but he was an adult and not cute nor little at all.

"I...uh...yeah but I'm kinda lost..." the boy said meekly, scratching his hair with his long fingers. "I'm looking for the main office building of Neo Culture, do you know where that is?"

Taeyong raised a brow. "Yeah, that's where I work." Was all he said, before he turned and walked away, leaving the boy stunned. He stood there, staring after Taeyong, until the smaller turned around to look back at the boy. "Are you coming?"

The boy beamed, dimples deep, dashing after Taeyong like a puppy.

They arrived at the building, and Taeyong sent a nod to Sicheng behind the reception desk as he headed to the elevator. The boy followed him, and Taeyong sighed. He pressed the button for his floor, and the boy stared at the movement of his hand.

"Oh, same floor." He said with a smile. Taeyong ignored him.

The elevator dinged, and Taeyong took off into the office, heading for his own solo office. He unlocked the door to it and walked inside, the door clicking shut behind him. It was a spacious yet small office, with a big desk and a big desktop on one side, and a small desk tucked away in the corner. The walls were decorated with pictures and bright lights, bringing some flare into the bleak office.

Taeyong slipped his mask off, exhaling deeply in relief. He set his things on his desk, rubbing his temple with his gloved fingertips in irate.

The door opened, then, "Taeyong."

Said male looked up, standing straight as his superior, Johnny, stood by his desk.

"Good morning, hyung," Taeyong said. Johnny glanced at the gloves and mask, sighing, before looking back at Taeyong. "Don't look at me like that, I wear them every day."

"I know, I know, but that's not why I'm here," Johnny went to lean a hand on the desk, but Taeyong shot him a dirty look, causing the taller to back off and hold his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, sorry," he laughed. "Anyway, you know that friend I told you about? The one that was starting an internship here?"

Taeyong sat down in his cushioned wheely chair, beginning to sort through the files that were jumbled up when they felt out of his bag on the train. "Mm?" He hummed absentmindedly, raising his dark gaze to meet Johnny's.

"Well, he starts today and I want you to show him around," Johnny gestured to someone just out of Taeyong's sight, and the same dimpled boy from the train stepped out from behind the wall.

"Oh! It's you! You look a whole lot different without your mask on!" The boy said, beaming. Taeyong groaned loudly, banging his forehead against the desk. Johnny looked between the two, bemused.

"You two know each other?" He asked, and the boy nodded meekly.

"We met on the train before, he dropped his bag and I went to help him," the boy answered, and Johnny laughed.

"You're so sweet, Jaehyun," Johnny then cleared his throat, "so, Jung Jaehyun, meet Lee Taeyong. He's going to show you the ropes around here." Johnny gestured to the small desk behind Taeyong's in the corner of the room, and Taeyong's head whipped around so fast he might as well have whiplash.

"No." Taeyong hissed, and the boy frowned, casting his gaze to the floor. He looked like a kicked puppy. Too bad Taeyong didn't like dogs.

"Taeyong, I'm not asking you," Johnny said, frowning. "This is your job, and Jaehyun wants to do work with marketing, and you're the head of the marketing, so who's better to show him what to do?"

"There's Yuta, he's the other head of marketing, not just me." Taeyong muttered, and Johnny shook his head.

"He's looking after a kid doing work experience for high school," Johnny said. Taeyong grit his teeth and sighed angrily.

"Fine," Taeyong grit out. "But he sits over there, and doesn't touch anything that isn't his. Understood?"

Jaehyun's eyes widened, looking to Johnny in slight panic. This motion caused Johnny to burst out laughing.

"He doesn't bite, don't look so scared, Jae," Johnny slapped the slightly shorter male on the back, sending the boy stumbling forwards into the office. "You'll be fine, just don't touch Taeyong or his things."

"But why?" Jaehyun asked, eyes wide. He was clearly confused, poor guy, Taeyong pitied him just a little. He knew he was a handful, but hey, people were disgusting and he'd rather not touch anyone or anything.

"Just don't," Taeyong snapped again, sending a harsh glare to the poor boy. Jaehyun swallowed thickly, casting his gaze away. Taeyong sighed, slumping into his seat. This was going to be long.

—

This is the first half of the first chapter of "Touch". More angst cause why not? Also, "Love Scenario" and "Let out the Beast" are published to AO3 if you wish to read them on there!