Jiah couldn't tell how long it had been since she started working at Bejiwoo Boutique. Had it been a month or more?
Her job as an assistant was almost nothing like an assistant. If she wasn't up to checking the emails and informing Hoseok about his schedule, then coffee. Nothing else! Working as a personal assistant in real life and in drama didn't match at all. Or maybe it just happened that she had a boss like Hoseok.
Lame, it was fun though, especially when she had amusing scenes every day.
She tried to not complain. She respected her boss's need for personal space, but she was afraid she would get accused of being lazy. What was the point of working with a big salary but doing little to nothing?
On another new day, she woke up earlier than usual to have breakfast with her colleagues and chose the most comfortable clothes she had for winter. Leaving for work while her father woke up early too wasn't a problem anymore. Her father stopped insisting on money for her, but another habit developed. He often asked her when she would be back home. It was just the beginning, so she had no problem answering him.
Walking down the street, she was notified that the siblings were already in the restaurant waiting and saving seats for them. She met them after that, followed by Wheein and the rest of the staff. After days on working with them, she realized Hoseok never joined them for breakfast. Not even when Seokjin and Yoongi were around. When asked Jisoo for details, even the existence of Amber didn't convince him to join them.
"Are we getting some fish carp bread for Hoseok?" Her ears perked at Jisoo's mention of her boss.
"Nevermind, I guess. Jiah will get him a cup of black coffee," Seokjin said. That drew Jiah's attention.
They were seated across each other. By instincts, she looked at him to find him looking at her as well. He said, "you can order black coffee for Hoseok if you don't feel like making."
Jiah got a bit flustered at his statement. "O-oh! I saved hot water in the flask yesterday though."
"We finished them," Jimin said, having her turning her head to face him. "I was the last person using the flask."
Jiah shaped an 'o' with her mouth before expressing it. "Oh! Making coffee for our boss isn't a problem for me. I can boil water again." Some of them nod their heads. It looked like they were just cool with it.
In the midst of the prolonged silence, Wheein spoke, "I'm starting to wonder if Jiah is his assistant or babysitter."
All attention was directed to her.
She didn't seem to be fazed by them. Her matte gothic purple lipstick appeared darker than usual, her eyeliner appeared bolder than the other days. In Jiah's opinion, she had the coolest fashion sense. Yet, it still amazed her at how Wheein appeared intimidating due to her mien and once she got closer to her, Wheein was actual a silly, cute being. It was likely Jisoo had influenced her.
Wheein added, "Jiah's cute. She always saved hot water for the next day. It's like parents preparing hot water in a flask to make milk when it's time to feed their infants."
Seokjin raised both eyebrows, chewed on his food and covered his mouth with his chopstick-wielding hand. His cheeks looked rounded and it seemed he was holding back his smile. He said, "I only realized that now."
"It's time to get Hoseok onesies. Onesie has hoodies, doesn't it?" Taehyung said, grinning broadly.
"He doesn't like to stand out. He's definitely planning to fire you if you get him one," Jimin said, throwing his head back as he laughed.
Seokjin was also laughing. His laugh somehow reminded Jiah of the sound of windshield wipers wiping a damp glass. He commented, "Hoseok is likely to hate you if he receives one.
"You should've burned his clothes last time. We'd buy him onesies if that happens," Jimin said. Everyone, except Yoongi and Jiah, laughed.
All the comments about Hoseok, hoodie and onesies got Jiah a bit upset. They sounded like they were making fun of his fashion sense with hoodies. She thought, 'what was wrong with Hoseok liking hoodies?' But she didn't want to think bad of them. She was still at the beginner level in knowing them.
Yoongi was on her left. In a low voice, she heard him say, "Don't mind them joking around like this."
"Do they do it often?" she asked.
"Not often. But I think you can sense that they used to complain a lot about Hoseok and his love for hoodies."
It intrigued her. She asked, "his love for hoodies. Is it a problem?"
Yoongi shrugged. He put down his chopstick and dug his finger into his curls to scratch his head. He said, "I can't confirm. Saying he wears hoodies everyday won't say much about how problematic it is. You can ask Seokjin."
And she waited until they finished their meals. It was eight in the morning when they finally left the restaurant. Seokjin, being the oldest, collected their money and had their meals paid. Others left first. On the other hand, she waited for him with questions prepared in her mind.
When the door was opened, she noticed that Seokjin was surprised to see her there. "Oh. You should've left with them."
"It's more fun to have a company to walk with, don't you agree? I've been assuming you always run after them to walk with them." She pointed to his stomach, saying, "It's full! It's a terrible idea to run with a full stomach."
Seokjin gave her a soft smile. He shoved his wallet and phone in his jeans pockets and said, "let's go."
They walked and walked until they walked a few steps farther from the restaurant. She wasn't hesitant, but she was waiting for the right moment to ask. When they reached the third store, she opened her mouth. "I talked to Yoongi about Hoseok."
Seokjin looked down at her height. "Uh-huh. What did you two talk about?"
"When you guys were talking about Hoseok's fashion sense, he told me to ask you to know how serious it is."
"Ah. So, you want to know how bad Hoseok loves hoodies?"
Jiah nodded her head.
Their paces began to slow down as Seokjin sighed and let out a short hum. He said, "I can say that it's very serious. I won't complain if he wears hoodies during winter and spring, rainy days or summer nights. But he even wears hoodies during hot weather. Yoongi wasn't with us when we were on a holiday trip to Sarawak. Hoseok fainted because of the heat. He was wearing thick and long sleeved hoodies, not a thin one or short sleeved one."
"Oh," Jiah said, eyebrows frowned at the information.
"That boy doesn't learn. He's still wearing it. Which is why you don't see him leaving the office often."
Jiah's head nodded slow.
"No one understands him. No one knows what made him change," Seokjin said.
Confusion spread across her face. "Change? That isn't how he actually is?"
"Uh-huh, he used to be a normal boy with normal fashion sense and a hobby that doesn't require him to coop in one place." Again, he sighed. "Personal things might have changed him. I'm afraid what Yoongi and Amber assumed was true."
"What did they assume?"
Seokjin pursed his lips tight before saying, "his sister."
**********
A mumble broke the silence in the cold office. "I'm tired, noona." An arm lay flat on the table and his head rested on it. The other held his phone up to eye level, an index finger scrolling onto Jiwoo's Instagram.
It had been long since the last time she uploaded a post. The last post was when she traveled with her boyfriend. They were in a committed relationship. He remembered she told them they traveled for their second anniversary. She was happy. But he wasn't. There was something fishy about her boyfriend.
Their first meeting. He remembered the happiness on his parents' faces when they meet him. He smiled warmly at him and at them. But there was something he didn't miss. Once, they had dinner together at a restaurant. He was walking to the toilet when he heard a harsh whispering coming from the end of the corridor. Hoseok took a peek behind the granite-tiled wall.
"Your parents are goddamn annoying! Why didn't you make them stop?"
Hoseok remembered the company Jiwoo's boyfriend used to work for declared bankrupt and he was fired from a job. He had applied for jobs in many companies after that, but none contacted him. It had been more than a year since that happened.
"They were only asking when are you getting a job. What's the problem?"
"What's the problem? What's the problem, you say?" His sister's boyfriend gritted his teeth and rubbed his face. "Are you blind? Have your brain melted?"
Silence, before a loud spring noise reverberated through the wall. He knew the man had punched the wall when he saw his sister flinch, taking small steps backwards. There was a deep sigh before the man whispered, "tell your parents I'm leaving."
"Just like that?" Jiwoo asked, baffled at the sudden decision.
"How else?" This time, he wasn't whispering. He heard a sigh again. "Say anything you want. Don't forget our relationship relies on what you going to tell your parents."
Hoseok remembered he had to retrace his steps and acted like he had just reached the area. When he saw the man, he lifted his head and said, "Oh, Soohyuk hyung! What a coincidence." He chuckled, trying to behave as normal as he could.
Soohyuk gave him a curt smile and left. The sudden change in his behavior - from warm and charming to cold and dark - had confirmed Soohyuk wasn't as good as he (or they) expected.
"Are you leaving?" Hoseok asked, halting Soohyuk from proceeding his walk.
Soohyuk looked over his shoulder, revealing his side view. His tall nose, fish-tailed eyes and thin lips were the things Hoseok paid attention to. He learnt that humans couldn't hide their facial expressions, and that these features could tell others something if they paid close attention.
His lips opened slightly as if to answer. However, he shut his mouth again, his jaw clenched below his prominent cheeks, the corner of his lips twitched. And then, he walked away, rolling his eyes.
His memories came to a halt when knockings on the glass door jolted him from his seat. He instantly sat up straight, seeing Jiah pushing the door with her back and entered the room with a cup of coffee in her right hand. There was a plate in another hand but he couldn't see what was on it. Coffee's fragrance awakened his sleeping cells. His sight was welcomed by a cake on a plate. He gulped. He didn't remember the last time he ate Tiramisu cake.
His favorite cake.
The coffee cup and plate clinked on his table. They hissed when she pushed them to him. She stepped a few steps backwards and held her hands together on her back. She said, "I heard you can't eat sweet food well. And, uhm..." Nibbling her lips, she swayed her body from side to side lightly, looking around. "Oh, I love cakes! So, I thought it'd be nice to treat everyone what I like."
"Oh. Okay."
"Eat a lot, Hoseok!" Jiah said, smiling big with eyes
His eyes drifted down at the cake, staring and he said, "Yeah."
**********
Jiah
is there more tiramisu cake?
| I've bought more ^^
| Just found out you love Tiramisu
bring another slice in
coming~ ^^
| no, 2
| remove the icings
ok ^^
[ read 10:36 hours ]
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author's note:
I'll spam the rest chapters some day. Stay tune~ 💖