JJG
Jeongguk waited excitedly, green tea ready, for Taehyung to enter.
Finally, the boring plain old colours were gone. Jeongguk had wanted to do an office makeover since he first laid his eyes on it. The bland colours, monotone grey and grey-blues were just throwing Jeongguk off. He didn't know how Taehyung could sit in such a depressing atmosphere and work.
Jeongguk stood back and admired his work. Taehyung didn't come in on the weekend as he had a business meet and since he knew ahead of time, he requested the white leather couch from the storage room to be swapped for the one in Taehyung's office. Added a rug underneath the glass table for an extra pop. He got some more colourful decorations like a few paintings he thought Taehyung would like, new plant pots and even a new mousepad. He even changed his office supplies to match his new themes.
Then lastly, he got rid of that damn microwave. Jeongguk admitted he doesn't have the best diet but he at least tried to cook dinner five times a week and prepare his own lunch as often as possible. Taehyung, on the other hand, had probably lived through a much healthier lifestyle than him being a model and he had the money. He couldn't let Taehyung eat anymore instant microwaveable food when Jeongguk is right there. He wasn't the best chef but he can whip something up.
The office door finally opened and Jeongguk jumped up from his seat. "Surprise!" he yelled and Taehyung looked as shocked as ever.
"Oh my god," he muttered, taking a look at his new office before a smile cracked to his lips. "Jeongguk, did I step into the wrong room?"
Jeongguk chuckled and walked over to him. "Do you like it? I can revert it if you don't."
Taehyung shook his head and stepped forward so that they were closer as he got another glance at the room.
"I love it," Taehyung said and Jeongguk let out a sigh of relief as he could tell the man was being genuine. He would've felt real dumb if he didn't after all the work he put into it. He would've felt even more embarrassed if Taehyung had to pretend to like it.
"But where's my microwave?" Taehyung asked, his eyes landing on the stand that now held cat ceramics and a small plastic plant.
"From now on, I'll be in charge of your lunches. If you need to use it, one of us can go to the staff room. Stop rotting you hot bod away," Jeongguk explained.
"Hot bod," Taehyung repeated slowly and Jeongguk rolled his eyes.
Taehyung grabbed his waist and pulled him close. "Thank you. I really appreciate it. It already feels much more calming already."
"You're welcome," Jeongguk said and pressed his lips against the other's for a second.
"But is this a new tradition of yours? Giving surprises to others on your birthday?" Taehyung asked when they pulled away.
"My birthday..." Jeongguk trailed, confused about what Taehyung meant.
"Gguk, don't tell me you forgot your birthday!" Taehyung exclaimed and Jeongguk was at a loss for words.
"I guess I did. I don't know. With the proposal date coming up and this side office flip project I took... I don't know," Jeongguk tried to make sense of it. He'd never forgotten a birthday before but they have become more and more repetitive. His friends would come with drinks and a cake, sometimes it'd be at his house or the rooftop and other times, a restaurant. He didn't feel the excitement of those birthdays as it always felt like a normal hangout with the addition of a cake.
"Well, happy birthday, baby," Taehyung wished and let his hands wrap him in for a hug.
"Thank you, Tae."
"Also, why wasn't your phone working last night? I tried to call you," Taehyung asked pulling back and clicked his tongue.
"My charger is broken and my spare is in the office. I was going to plug it in first thing but forgot," Jeongguk answered and it all made sense. His friend's always messaged him or called him exactly at midnight.
"Well you should go do that before everyone else who's tried get too worried," Taehyung advised and Jeongguk nodded, letting go of the man.
"Oh and, if you don't have any plans, do you want to do something after work?" Taehyung asked with hopeful eyes and how could Jeongguk say no to that?
"I'd love that," Jeongguk said and Taehyung smiled wide. Taehyung nodded as he made way to his desk and Jeongguk went to his secretary desk.
As expected, when Jeongguk's phone turned on he was flooded with messages from his friends and family. It took him a while to reply to all of them and make promises to call as soon as work ends. Then when he went to his office, his colleagues began yelling inaudible nonsense that almost sounded like the birthday song. Almost.
Jeongguk laughed at their attempt but thanked them nonetheless. He was just glad they didn't pull out the streamers and confetti like the previous year. They all even chipped in and got him and head massager that Jeongguk didn't know he needed until then.
"Thank you, I'll put this to good use," Jeongguk said them.
"So, any plans for the night?" Eric asked.
"Uh, yeah," Jeongguk said, putting the gift back in the bag to put under his desk.
"A date?" Jin teased, hoping to get a reaction but Jeongguk nodded and his smirk fell.
"You've got a date?" Jisoo exclaimed, eyes darting to Chaeyoung.
"Damn, Gguk. Get it," Chaeyoung said, laying a punch on his shoulder.
"With who?" Yoona asked but realized she may be crossing boundaries. "I just want to know if it's someone in the office," Yoona defended and the others nodded.
"Is it the new intern I saw you talking to Friday?" Eric suggested, making reference to the lady Jeongguk had to talk to about the couch exchange with.
"No, not it is not," Jeongguk shot him down. He then realized something.
He'd been never mentioned his sexuality to his colleagues as he didn't care enough to in the beginning and after a while, didn't want them to feel uncomfortable. He let Jisoo and Yoona have their fun trying to get him and Chaeyoung together. Jeongguk could keep going on letting them assume he liked woman but they have all quickly become important people in his life and he doesn't want to keep hiding something so important about him. Chaeyoung already knew it was only fair if they all did too.
"I have a date with my boyfriend," Jeongguk admitted and everyone went quiet.
Then after a moment, Jinyoung spoke first. "Cool."
"Can't believe you hid a whole boyfriend from us! You should introduce him to your wonderful colleagues some time," Yoona said, giving him a smile.
Jeongguk nodded, relieved the reactions were well. "I will."
"God, am I the only one who's single here?" Jisoo groaned and they shared a laugh. "Chaeyoung, we've got each other, right?"
"Actually..." Chaeyoung trailed and Jisoo gasped.
"Jisoo-sshi, you know I'm single too?" Jin with a playful smile and Jisoo's face was instantly red. She became flustered and put her attention back to her work like the rest of the office began their obnoxious and childish "oohs".
Jeongguk didn't know why he didn't let them know sooner. Even at school, almost everyone supported him and Taehyung. Yes, there are still homophobic pricks out there but it's just how they are. Maybe how they were raised or maybe they're just ignorant. Either way, not everyone was going to be like that. Hopefully they realize love is love and change that opinion one day. Jeongguk knew that the people who truly cared about him would never be like that, even if it took some time.
He heard a buzz from his office pager, signalling Taehyung needed him. He got out of his seat and quickly went over to the man's office.
"Director Kim?" Jeongguk said standing at the door.
"Ah, yes. Come in. Would you please make a copy of these two files and upload them on the drive?" Taehyung asked, pointing at the folders at the corner of his desk.
"Of course," Jeongguk said and picked up the folders.
"Thank you, Secretary Jeon," Taehyung said, shooting a smile and Jeongguk nodded. Just as he was about to turn around and leave, his eyes caught the cork board he put up for Taehyung to put up whatever he wanted. He saw he had already begun filling it up. Starting with his heart-shaped sticky notes.
"I'm sure you already saw those in my little box," Taehyung said, noticing what Jeongguk was so drawn to.
"Yeah. Sorry about that, I didn't mean to snoop or anything," Jeongguk said and Taehyung shook his head.
"Nothing I wouldn't want you to see now," Taehyung reasoned.
"What was in the velvet box?" Jeongguk asked as he never got to open it.
"The velvet box..." Taehyung repeated and Jeongguk noticed how his face fell.
"The locket!" Taehyung said a bit louder than expected. "The one I gave you?"
"I thought you had it with you on the plane," Jeongguk said, his brows furrowing.
"Oh right, right. What actually was in it, I can't remember," Taehyung said and smiled a bit too wide.
"You can always check, silly," Jeongguk said, wondering why Taehyung was getting so riled up. "But if you don't even remember, must've gotten in there by mistake."
"Yeah, probably," Taehyung said nodding.
"Anyways, I'll get on these," Jeongguk said, lifting the folder before leaving the room. Strange, he thought, Taehyung had an impeccable memory.
•—•—•
"An amusement park?" Jeongguk asked excitedly as Taehyung pulled up through the parking gate. Now he understood why Taehyung told him to go home and dress casual first.
"I hope you still enjoy them," Taehyung said and Jeongguk nodded repeatedly.
"I haven't been to one in years. We had our first date here, right?" Jeongguk told him, looking out the window to see all the rollercoaster rides he couldn't wait to get on.
"Mhm. I was afraid you'd say we'd be too old for this."
"Woah! Never!" Jeongguk said with a gasp. "'Cause it was still winter that day a lot of the rides were closed. We can't miss them this time."
Taehyung bought them a whole roll of tickets which will surely be more than enough. They first went to the longest rollercoaster in the park as per Jeongguk's wish. Luckily, neither of them were the type to feel nauseous on a ride full of screams. Next, they got on the Viking twice. Then Jeongguk spotted the merry-go-round and told Taehyung how he wished they had a child so that they could get on without looking like two weirdos and the words came out before he could realize what he was suggesting. Instead, the settled on one of the circular rides that got them up high in the air.
"Are you hungry?" Taehyung asked as they were walking after spotting a churro stand and Jeongguk would never say no to churros. They bought a few and went to find a seat to sit down and eat.
"Hey, wasn't that the exact spot you took the picture of me? The one in your locket," Jeongguk asked pointing over at the empty table right by the planted cherry blossom tree.
"It is. Let's go," Taehyung said, tugging Jeongguk's hand that he was holding along with him as they went over to sit at the very table.
Jeongguk remembered the day clearly. He could barely sleep the night before knowing the next morning he'd have his first date ever. Taehyung was a complete mess looking for a date spot but still wanted to plan it on his own so Jeongguk purposely hinted at how he'd been dying to get on the newest ride at the park.
"You were so flirty that day," Jeongguk said, grabbing a churro to get a bite.
"I wasn't that out of the ordinary," Taehyung retorted, getting a churro of his own.
"You called me pretty seventeen times, asked how you got so lucky 9 times, then complimented every single article of clothing I wore. I was surprised you left out my underwear.."
"God, stop. And you kept count?"
"Duh. It was the one thing I could do that involved math."
Taehyung chuckled and reached over to wipe the corner of his lip that had some brown sugar stuck on. "You weren't that bad."
"Yes, I was," Jeongguk said, picking up a churro and steering it over to Taehyung's mouth.
"You got better," Taehyung said and took a bite of the piece Jeongguk held out for him.
"Thanks to you. Anyways, if your goal was to make me a blushing mess, you succeeded."
Taehyung pressed his lip together and stared at Jeongguk for a moment, letting the suspense build-up. "Actually, I searched on the internet what to do on a date."
"You did not!" Jeongguk exclaimed, laughter erupting from his lips imagining eighteen-year-old Taehyung browsing through the web and reading the nonsense other users wrote about the perfect date. "You're so cute."
"You're cuter."
"No, you are," Jeongguk whined cutely.
"No way. You are."
"No, you."
"No–
"Don't argue with me," Jeongguk warned in his most menacing tone, instantly shutting Taehyung up until they both bursted out into laughter.
Once they finished the churros, the couple continued to go around the park and get on all their favourite rides at least once, getting more snacks along the way as well. Taehyung was stopped a couple of times, asking for an autograph or picture. Taehyung looked at Jeongguk every time as if he was asking permission and Jeongguk smiled, letting his fans take a minute out of their date.
There were rare times when someone would ask who Jeongguk was and even though it wasn't their business, Taehyung and Jeongguk silently agreed to introduce him as his friend and to also tell them to not post about their sighting for the day on any social media. Taehyung would apologize and say how he should've worn a mask each time even though Jeongguk didn't mind at all. He felt more proud his boyfriend was recognized and embedded in people's minds and hearts.
Then there was the odd bunch who would come in pairs and ask how they are and try to make small talk to get their numbers. Taehyung and Jeongguk did their bests to stray away from them in the most polite way but it was always a good laugh.
Eventually, the two got tired and gave the rest of their tickets to a group of boys that showed their gratitude by showing them some skateboard tricks. Jeongguk thought they were absolutely adorable. They were going to end their night with an open circus act. People were seated on the benches, waiting for the show to begin. Since there was still a little more than half an hour before the show was to start, Taehyung told the other he'd go buy them some popcorn and a blanket.
When he returned, there was a bag along with the snack and blanket. Jeongguk tilted his head with a soft smile, knowing exactly was in the bag. Taehyung set the popcorn and blanket aside and took a seat.
"Happy birthday," Taehyung said, handing the bag over to the man.
"Tae... You didn't have to. You already got me the locket and–"
"That's different. And I already bought it. Open it," Taehyung insisted and Jeongguk sighed, accepting the bag.
Jeongguk reached his hand in and found a box with little animals with birthday hats that made him smile. He opened the box slowly, setting the lid down to pick up the camera that was inside. It was a vintage film camera from Jeongguk's knowledge. He'd always had an interest in photography but he just never set the time aside for a new hobby.
"Woah," Jeongguk sounded, taking a look at all the small details of the camera. He didn't know a camera could be so beautiful. He turned his attention back to Taehyung and almost leaned in to give him a kiss before he remembered they were still in public.
"Tae this is awesome. I love it. Thank you," Jeongguk said, settling for a hug instead.
"I'm glad you do," Taehyung said. Jeongguk looked back into the box and saw there was a card inside. He gently placed the camera back and picked up the envelope. Jeongguk's hand slid over the cover, feeling the texture against his skin. He took off the wax sealing with ease and slipped the manila paper that was tucked in nicely out. Taehyung's handwriting was beautiful.
My dearest, Jeongguk,
Here's to another year. I know I haven't been there for the past seven but I promise you I will be there with you for every birthday to come. I know I've broken a promise before but I've learned from my mistake. I'll be by your side, no matter what. Even if one day, you come to hate me and try to push me aside, I won't let you as I will never stop loving you.
I hope you can capture some of your beautiful memories with this and I really hope to be a part of them.
Happy birthday, my love.
Yours forever,
Kim Taehyung
"Taehyung..." Jeongguk whispered, biting his lips to not let the tears come up. He folded the letter back neatly and slipped it back in the envelope. He returned it to the box, closed it safely then grabbed Taehyung's hand with both of his.
"I can never hate you, Tae," Jeongguk said then snickered. "Trust me, I've tried. Mission impossible."
"Well I don't want to ever make you take on that mission again," Taehyung said. Jeongguk nodded, giving his hand a light squeeze. "I love you."
"I love you too," Taehyung replied just as the music began to signal the commencement of the show.
•—•—•
KTH
7 years ago...
"The amusement park! Woah!" Jeongguk exclaimed and Taehyung chuckled loosely. He knew Joengguk was faking the surprised face and he also knew Jeongguk was dropping signs to help him plan the date but Taehyung pretended not to know since he was truly grateful for that.
He'd never been on a date before and none of the stories he read really featured romance to help his young mind in this category. He may have messed up on the location, but Taehyung made sure to check all the forums to what he should do on a date to guarantee success.
Beginning with holding his hand. It's not like they've never done it before but there was just something about this being an official date that made his palms all sweaty.
"Let's go buy the tick–" Jeongguk stopped mid-sentence as Taehyung quickly grabbed his hand, linking it with his.
"You were saying?" Taehyung said. Jeongguk smiled and continued, swinging their arms a little as they made their way over to the ticket booth.
After a couple of rides, Taehyung decided to put the next step into use. Get him to laugh.
"Hey so a book fell on me the other day," Taehyung started and Jeongguk instantly stopped in his tracks.
"What? Are you okay? Is there a bump? Did you get it checked?" Jeongguk began to bombard him with questions.
"Yeah, yeah, it's fine. I only have my-shelf to blame," Taehyung said and waited for a reaction but Jeongguk only stared back at him confused.
A few awkward seconds passed before Jeongguk finally got it. "Oh! My-shelf, I get it, I get," he said, adding a weak chuckle.
"It wasn't funny, was it?"
Jeongguk stretched his lips and shook his head slowly. "Sorry. But hey! What happened to your math ones. Those suited you much better."
"My math jokes are lame," Taehyung said as they continued to walk.
"Shut up! I love your math jokes and puns," Jeongguk said, bumping into his shoulder lightly.
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Taehyung nodded. Well that was another failure but hey, all failure's come with a lesson.
"How do you make seven an even number?" Taehyung asked and Jeongguk smiled.
"Hmm. I d'know."
"You take away the 's'" Taehyung finished and Jeongguk giggled, making Taehyung feel all warm.
"You're so pretty when you laugh," Taehyung said and Jeongguk quieted down, looking away but Taehyung caught the smile.
"You've got to stop throwing that word around so easily," Jeongguk said.
"You're the only one I've ever called pretty," Taehyung said and he saw the way Jeongguk's ears burned red.
"Good," he heard Jeongguk mumbled and Taehyung felt succeeded for once. He may have called him pretty a lot more times after that. He didn't even think about if the other might get sick of it. Whenever Jeongguk smiled or did something adorable, he would express his admiration without a second thought.
Like right now as they're sitting down, eating their lunch. Jeongguk made the most adorable squeal as he took his first bite of the sandwich.
"Have I told you how pretty you are?" Taehyung asked and Jeongguk rolled his eyes as if he was annoyed but the blush on his cheeks said otherwise.
Taehyung pulled out his phone. He'd never really taken pictures of people before and none of Jeongguk which he has no absolute idea why. The boy was just too beautiful not to.
"Say cheese," Taehyung said and Jeongguk looked like a deer caught in headlights and managed to look absolutely beautiful.
"Hey! You can't do that," Jeongguk said trying to grab his phone but the other pulled away just in time.
"Why? You look amazing, baby," Taehyung set and Jeongguk quickly backed down at the pet name.
"Whatever. Send it to me later. I'll kill you if it's not," Jeongguk mumbled and aggressively took his next bite.
Taehyung hummed and looked at the picture for some more time before he began eating too. "How did I get so lucky?" he whispered and he was sure Jeongguk caught it.
The rest of the day went well. It was cold due to the weather but they had each other to keep the warmth. Taehyung only had one more box to check off. The perfect date could only end with the perfect kiss.
—•
This update took me foreeeveeeeer but lmao it turned out to be longer than usual
Anyways, I bring with me some news... this fic is almost done, you guys! I'll be missing it very much but at the same time, I can't wait to only be focusing on one fic!!!
I swear if you ever see me trying to juggle more than one fic again, virtually slap me pls
I srsly have mad respect for authors who can
Stay safe!!
Bye<3