Seren sat in the break room with a cup of ice water in her hand, staring at the screen of her phone, mindlessly scrolling through social media.
She was taking her fifteen-minute break, still having about three more hours to go until she could clock out.
It felt strange not having Rina or Seokjin there with her to chat when she was on her break. She would usually join the two of them whenever things were slow at the lounge, talking to pass the time, on the lookout to make sure Miyong wasn't watching them to reprimand them.
A slow smile trudged on her lips, her cavalier expression finally feeling genuine pleasure for the day.
"Hey, Seren." A deep male voice called from behind her, "I didn't know you were on break." He sped over to the fridge, opening an iced tea that was open to the employees.
Seren turned to that unfamiliar voice, her taut eyes relaxing with reassurance when she realized it was just Ren, her co-worker.
He was polite, though she hadn't known him for more than four days, he was quite helpful with anything she needed.
His hair was an authentic obsidian black, nearly blending in with the black long-sleeve he had on that day. He wore black spike horseshoe piercings on his earlobes, a few cartilage piercings following on his ear.
She smiled, putting her phone down. "Yeah, I went on break about six minutes ago." Seren informed.
Ren hummed, taking a sip of his drink. "How has work been for you so far?" He asked, twisting the cap on.
Seren couldn't complain. Anything was better than where she was formally working.
"Honestly, it's great." She said. "Better than where I was working before." Seren waved her curtain bangs off her cheek, placing strands behind her ear.
Interest peaked in Rens' features. "Oh, where did you work before?" He questioned, reaching for the chair in front of her. "I mean, not trying to pry or anything."
She chuckled, completely understanding his interest, she guessed she'd also be interred in hearing where her co-workers formally worked as well.
"Um, it was at a bar lounge, not too far from here, actually." Seren stated, envisioning the distance in her head. "I worked late hours, went in around six and got out like at two in the morning."
He gritted his teeth, holding his iced tea with a firm grip. "You were surrounded by drunks until two in the morning? That sounds like hell." Ren sympathized, shaking his head.
"Yeah, it was hell." She agreed. "But, I think the worst part was probably having to walk alone in my house at that time, it always gave me the creeps."
"Man, I would be terrified." He leaned back in his chair, chewing his lower lip. "You're pretty brave for that. No– you're real brave for that. How long did you say you worked there?"
"Maybe two years and a half? Almost three, I believe." Seren speculated, truly having no idea of how long she had been working there.
"Wow, you were there for a while, huh?" He gathered, slightly tilting his head.
When she thought about it, she really did stay there for a while. Though, it felt longer.
"You know, it feels like I was there for years, but I don't regret working there, it was kinda fun sometimes." Seren expressed, picturing her co-workers and all the amusing moments they had.
Mostly when Miyong was in his office, and when the lounge was empty.
"How do you feel about working here though?" He continued his queries, leaning into the table.
"So far, I like it. It's so calm, and even when we have a rush, it isn't as stressful as the ones I'd have to deal with at my other job." She stared off into the table, placing her chin in her hand. "And there's something about watching people sit calmly in their seats sipping coffee that also kind of calms me down, too. Somehow."
His dark eyes lit up. "I feel the same way. Well, I've been working here for about a year and a half, but that never gets old. Neither does the smell."
"Really?" Seren asked, laughing. "I feel like I would be tired of the smell of roasting coffee beans."
He shrugged, "I actually feel like this is where my coffee addiction started."
She smiled, the purity in his eyes igniting joy in her body when he spoke about his interests.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, Ren, but how old are you?" Seren asked, turning the questions onto him.
"Me? I'm nineteen, twenty in a few months." Ren happily answered. "How about you? I'm assuming you're older since you worked at a bar, right?"
"Yeah, I'm twenty four." She answered.
Something about Ren flickered a warm, familiar feeling in her chest.
He reminded her so much of Jimin, the way he seemed so interested in her topics, how his eyes would gleam innocently just like her little brothers did. How young he was. It made her realize how much she truly missed Jimin, saddened that she hadn't seen him in three weeks.
"Wow, yeah figured you'd be older." He nodded, running his fingers through his hair. "By the way, I like your lip ring."
Seren licked her lips absentmindedly, always forgetting that she had jewelry on her lip.
"Oh, thanks. I forget it's there sometimes." She earned an innocent chuckle from him, her heart aching from how similar it sounded to Jimin's.
"But, I should clock back in soon." Seren muttered, pushing out of her chair. "I might have spent longer than fifteen back here."
"Right, I'll clock in with you." He invited himself.
She just grinned, it truly didn't bother her.
Actually, it was nice that she was making a friend at her new job. It encouraged her social battery, learning that she still had it in her to push her introverted feelings away, and communicate.
Before entirely clocking in and giving her time to the company, she sent a quick text to Jimin, telling him that she missed him, dismissing the exchange of messages that they had going on before.
***
Seren entered her leaving into the iPad in the breakroom, relieved that she was finally going home for the rest of the day, still four in the afternoon, giving her enough time to get home at a reasonable hour and finish assignments for school.
She said bye to a few of her co-workers that she got along with, exiting the caffeine and pastry-fumed building.
She unlocked her car, landing in the driver's seat with a sigh escaping her lips, deflating into her chair.
She took a moment to herself, placing her hand above her eyes.
Her phone rang, receiving another message from Jimin.
Her eyebrows pinched, reaching for her phone in the cupholder to finally read his messages.
There was one she received after she clocked in.
1:15 pm
I miss you too 💔
4:05 pm
Seren, I dyed my hair again.
Attachment: 1 image.
What do you think?
Seren clicked the image, meeting with a lively smiling Jimin, blond taking up the color of his hair that was once a fading orange. His hair still seemed damp, his innate straight hair falling over his forehead and eyebrows.
A gasp left her lips, zooming in on the image, hoping it wasn't just a filter that he was using.
It seemed real.
Seren exited the messaging app, wanting to see his hair through FaceTime, not just an image.
He instantly answered her call, not letting it linger after the second beep.
She laughed when he answered with his camera pressed against his forehead, hiding his hair from her.
"Jimin, lemme see your hair?" Seren requested, squinting as if it would reveal the color he was covering. "Did you just use a filter?"
He laughed, removing the camera from his face to reveal the color.
"What do you think?" He asked again, this time through their call.
She hummed, pressing her lips together. "I like it. It looks really nice, did you dye it all on your own?"
He shook his head. "This girl in my class said she does hair, so I just asked her to do mine, and she did."
Seren raised her eyebrows, inquisitive of their new topic. "Oh, a girl did your hair, huh?" She alluded, teasing her brother.
He rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "It wasn't like that at all. She's nice, but we were with other friends while she dyed my hair."
"Well, why not try dating?" Seren proposed, shrugging.
His nose scrunched with disdain, acting like a child. "I didn't want to date. I kinda want to just focus on school for now, and focus on making friends."
"Well, at least you're making friends." Seren encouraged him. "I could never do that when I was your age, I was too reserved."
"Did you make any new friends at your new job?" Jimin asked, running his hands through his wet hair.
She inhaled through her teeth, rubbing her leg. "I made one. His name's Ren, but so far he's the only one I've had a full-on conversation with."
"Oh, a guy friend, huh?" It was his turn to tease, only receiving the same reaction Jimin gave her. "I wonder how Hoseok would feel about that?"
"Stop it, he's still young. He's barely gonna turn twenty." Seren prudently informed. "Besdies, Hoseok doesn't have an issue with me having guy co-workers. How would he control that?"
"No, I didn't say guy co-worker, I said guy friends." Jimin corrected, "And I can only imagine how he would react when he meets Yoongi and Namjoon if he's the controlling type." He envisioned, shaking his head.
"Well, I told him about them, and he actually had no problem with it." Seren stated in a pompous voice, content that Hoseok trusted her.
"Oh, sure." Jimin said with bitter sarcasm, just to spite her. "Wait till he hears about your relationship with Yoongi."
"I happened to tell him everything about Yoongi and I." Seren justified, almost offended.
"Did you really?" Jimin asked, nonplussed by her truth. "And he didn't mind?"
"Well, no. I don't think so." She sighed, picking at the loose thread in her long sleeve. "He said he wants to meet them both."
"Oh, wow. When is that gonna happen?" Jimin asked, his left eyebrows raised in question.
"I'm not too sure, I haven't told Namjoon about it." Seren muttered, always failing to inform the two guys of the supposed meet-up. "Maybe soon, whenever Yoongi decides to come back to Busan."
Jimin laughed. "Ooh, that's gonna be in a few years."
Seren had no other choice but to agree with Jimin, Yoongi hardly paid them visits. Which was understandable, they were all aware of how busy he was with his new lifestyle, but they had become woefully accustomed to seeing their friend once every year.
"I don't know, he did mention to me that he would visit soon, but who really knows." Seren's voice shook with hesitance, wanting to believe Yoongi and the open promises he made.
A tall figure moving into her peripheral vision caught her eyes, turning to her head left to see Ren walking to his car that was parked just a few spaces down from her.
He must've sensed that someone was watching him, looking up from his car door, meeting eyes with Seren.
She smiled, keeping her phone lowered in her lap.
He waved, getting into his car.
"Who're you smiling at?" Jimin asked, being a snoop.
"Ren." Seren picked her phone up from her lap, allowing Jimin to see her at a better angle. "He just left right now. He reminds me of you." She smiled, glancing back at Jimin
"Lemme see, point the camera at his car, I wanna see what he looks like." He requested.
"No, I'm not gonna show you, it'll look like I'm recording him." Seren instantly disapproved of his odd request, pushing the keys into the ignition. "He reminds me of you because of the way he acts, not from the way he looks."
"Just know it doesn't get any better than me." Jimin retorted.
Seren just smiled, shaking her head as the engine started.
"I'll remember that." She told him, putting her seatbelt on with one hand.
"Okay, I'll let you drive." Jimin insisted.
"No, I can put you on bluetooth, I'm still not done talking to you." Seren insisted, placing her phone into the cupholder, messing with her radio to get her phone synced.
"Call me when you get home, it'll be better." Jimin instructed.
"Alright, fine. I'll call you when I get home." Seren compromised, grabbing her phone after failing to connect.
"Okay, drive safe." He said, waving at his camera.
She waved back, "I'll call you in fifteen."
She clicked the red button, not wanting to keep Jimin on the phone.
Before she was able to put her car in reverse to back out of the parking space, her phone was ringing once more.
Seren picked it up, placing it near her ear.
"Jimin, did you change your mind that quickly?" She asked, pulling out of the parking spot.
"Jimin? Seren, it's Yoongi." His voice was gruff, but still calm and modulated.
He didn't even have to confirm that it was him, Seren was already mindful of who called by the quiet song of his voice.
She hit the brakes, putting her car back into park. "Sorry, Yoongi. I just got off the phone with Jimin, I thought he was calling me back for some reason."
He chuckled. "No, it's okay. I just wanted to let you know that I'm back in Busan." She could picture his adorable smile, hearing it in the way he spoke.
"Oh– You're back?" Seren asked as if she didn't hear him confirm it himself.
"Yeah, and I wanted to visit you at work tonight but Namjoon said you left your job, is that true?" He questioned.
"Yeah, it is." She closed her eyes for a moment, pinching her lips. "Sorry I didn't tell you, I just made that decision recently."
"No, it's okay. I was just calling to see if you were busy?" He asked, hesitation lodging his throat.
"I just got out of work right now, a new job." Seren confessed, unable to meet up with him at that very moment. "But, how long are you gonna be here? Maybe we can meet up tomorrow, I'll even invite Hoseok."
"I'm gonna be here for a while, I'm looking for a place." Yoongi explained. "But, that sounds like a plan. Why don't we? Namjoon can come, too. Has he met Hoseok?"
"No, actually, he's only ever heard me talk about him." Seren began to wonder why she didn't introduce the two of them sooner. "But, I'm down. We can figure plans out in our group chat with Namjoon, I'll tell Hoseok himself."
"I'm actually with Namjoon, I'm staying with him until I can find a place." Yoongi chuckled, clearing his throat before humming in agreement. "But, yeah, let's do that. We can figure something out."
"Alright, I'll message you guys later." Seren confirmed, tapping her fingers against the wheel.
"What? Invite her over, we'll have a drink." She heard Namjoon's disembodied voice emit through the phone.
"Did you catch that?" Yoongi asked.
"I'm in my work clothes." Seren guffawed, gaping at her attire. "And my hair probably smells like brewed coffee beans."
"So?" Yoongi chortled, finding her excuses to be inane, yet adorable. "Come, just for one drink, we'll order food."
As much as she would love to spend time with the two of them, she had things to take care of at home. She had assignments that were due in a few hours, she couldn't just blow them off for a few drinks.
"Let's have a raincheck." Guilt swelled through her body when she heard his awe.
"Ah, alright." He ultimately decided, letting go of his invitation. "But, it'll just be the three of us when this raincheck happens. Like how it used to be."
Seren smiled, liking the sound of his idea. "Yeah. just the three of us." She promised.
☾