Taehyung was on edge the moment he woke up the next day. The thought of not working, which meant not earning money, drove him crazy and terrified him, to be honest. He couldn't survive otherwise. So he crawled out of his nest of misery and got ready to head to Jjang cafe-restaurant.
"Taehyung!?" Inguk exclaimed, shocked by his appearance.
"Hi, hyung. I'm here to work," Taehyung stated with a smile.
"What are you talking about? Tae, you can't work like this and you need to rest. Go home."
"Hyung, please." Taehyung grasped his hand, his desperation shining through his pleading eyes. "I can be behind the bar. I can be here all day and help you with something. You don't even have to give me my full payment. I can't just stay in my apartment and do nothing."
"You should, Tae. You should do that." Inguk heaved a long sigh as he gave him soothing strokes on his back.
"Please, hyung. I will do anything."
"Okay then. Is it okay if you work from three to eight? I could use a hand in the bar."
"Yes, hyung! Thank you, thank you, thank you." Taehyung's gloomy face lit up in a flash, and he would be jumping up and down from joy if he wasn't wearing a cast.
"You should go home and rest now. It's still early." Inguk chuckled at his cuteness.
"Since I'm here, you can teach me what I have to do and where everything is."
"Okay, stay here. I have to prepare an order, and I'll come to find you." Inguk disappeared towards the kitchen then.
A hopeful smile dangled on the corner of his lips as he perched on a stool. He felt extremely lucky for having a boss like him, although Inguk was more of his hyung now.
After Inguk showed him everything he needed to know, he sat at a table to have lunch.
"You know, many of our customers called me to ask what happened to you. They like you," Inguk said as he served him his meal.
Taehyung broke into a wide smile at his words. "That's nice."
"And maybe you won't believe it, but Jeongguk called too."
"He even called me," he muttered with a sigh. "Wait, did you give him my number?"
Inguk glanced away as he tittered. "He pestered me for ten minutes straight. With everything you said, I didn't want to give him your number, but he literally wouldn't shut up, so I did. I'm sorry."
"Whatever the rich CEO wants, he gets it anyway, right?" Taehyung sneered. "Don't worry, I'm not mad at you."
"Nice. I was feeling kind of bad."
"It's okay," he reassured with a warm smile and then started eating as Inguk headed back to the kitchen. He didn't want to tell him that not only Jeongguk called him, but he also bought him some of the things he needed and left them outside of his door. It was already weird, and maybe a little creepy too, so he decided to keep that to himself.
He started his shift a while later. He had to use his crutches to walk, but because the space behind the bar was narrowed, he chose to hop around as subtly as possible.
A lot of customers asked what happened to him and why was he working in that condition, and when Taehyung explained what happened to each one of them, they gave him that look of pity he despised. He chose to brush it off and smile in return.
At some point, the door opened once again, and the one person he truly didn't want to see sprang up in front of him, staring at him with wild eyes.
"What are you doing here?"
"What does it look like?" Taehyung shot back with disdain, raising a snide brow at him. "Working."
Jeongguk tsked as he rolled his eyes. "I can see that, the question is why."
"That's a rather stupid question," Taehyung snickered as he flashed him a derisive, incendiary smile. "To make money."
"You can't possibly work with a broken leg."
"First, it's not broken, and second, as you can see, I can."
"That's not something you should be proud of. You should be home doing nothing and not be here working."
"Well, given my state"—he mimicked his words from yesterday as he pointed to himself—"I can't just stay home and do nothing. I need to work so I can survive."
Every trace of annoyance or scorn fell from Jeongguk's face then as he glanced away for the first time since he walked into the cafe. "If you're working, why don't you have enough money to rest for a week or something?"
"Why do you even care? Just leave me alone," Taehyung mumbled, vexation cloaking his entire face. Why would he sit there and talk to Jeongguk out of all people about his debt and hospital bill? The only thing that would happen was to receive that look of pity from him as well.
"Jeongguk, sorry, I was busy." Inguk emerged from the kitchen. "What are you eating today?"
The ferocious scowl that flashed up onto his traits by Taehyung's words and tone remained unfaltering as he darted his gaze at his hyung. "Bibimbap."
"What's wrong with you?"
"Just having a bad day." Jeongguk shrugged as he peeped at Taehyung, who was just sitting behind the bar, staring at his hands.
"I feel you. Do you want a beer or something? It's on the house."
"Yeah, thank you. And I'll eat here too."
"No, he won't," Taehyung blurted out as he shot him a glower.
"Why not?" the CEO questioned with a snicker. "And since you're working"—his voice was cram-full of derision—"get me a beer."
Taehyung was beyond furious at that moment and truly strove to tame his boisterous nerves. He was ready to move when Jeongguk's low, guttural voice rang in his ears. "Inguk, get me my usual."
Inguk was outright baffled about what was happening, but he grabbed a beer from the fridge and placed it in front of the CEO before going back to the kitchen.
Taehyung rose from his seat when a customer neared the bar. "Hello, what would you like?"
"How about your number?" the seemingly young boy asked with an alluring, flirty tone, making Taehyung's eyes pop in astonishment.
He wasn't used to people hitting on him, even though it happened more often than he could even believe. He never thought he was that beautiful; he thought he was just average and that was why he wouldn't flirt back usually.
But to be honest, that boy in front of him was quite handsome. Just his enticing, persistent gaze on him brought a tinge of red on his cheeks, and he had to glance away.
With a deep pull of fortifying air, he chose to flirt back just for once. "The cast didn't scare you off?" His voice was scarcely audible and a dram hesitant, but he at least managed to say what he wanted.
"This cast doesn't stop you from being unbelievably gorgeous," he said with a smirk as he leaned against the counter, inching closer to him.
Taehyung giggled as he tossed his head down, timid, and the dark brown-haired boy, who observed the scene in depth, rolled his eyes skywards at his behavior.
"Tell me your order and I'll see what I can do about my phone number."
"Two beers and three bottles of soju."
Taehyung nodded and hopped his way to the fridge. He placed the items in a bag and returned, passing it over to the boy with a sheepish smile.
"Thank you." He fished his wallet out of his pocket and gave him €20. "Keep the change." He cast him a playful wink and eyed the flustered boy for a spell, confusing him with his intense stare. "I still need your number."
With a soundless gasp, Taehyung reached for a piece of paper and a pen that was on the counter. He wrote down his number as Jeongguk gaped at the scene with owlish eyes. He didn't think he would actually give him his phone number.
"Your name?" the boy asked as he took the piece of paper in his hands, his smirk unyielding.
"Taehyung."
"Beautiful, just like you."
The statement was made with great confidence and allure, something that had Taehyung blushing even harder, and although he tried his best to hide it, he failed.
"I'm Baekhyun. And now that I got what I wanted, and I'm talking about your phone number and not the drinks, I'll leave. I'll call you, Taehyung." He winked at him once more, educing a shy giggle from him.
"Bye," he said with a bashful smile, completely unaware of Jeongguk's penetrating stare.
The CEO poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue multiple times while he watched the scene that took place right in front of his eyes. At that moment, Taehyung met his rowdy gaze, causing his smile to wither in a heartbeat.
"Your food will be out in two minutes," Inguk informed then.
"I changed my mind, I'll eat home." Jeongguk pulled himself to his feet, and Inguk snorted as he trod back to the kitchen to prepare his package.
The CEO stomped towards the bathroom, leaving Taehyung with a deep frown on his face. What's his deal? I will never understand what he's thinking, he thought as he plumped down on a stool again.
He was gone for quite a while, so long that even Inguk walked out of the kitchen with his takeout first.
"Where's Jeongguk?"
"Um, he went to the bathroom."
Jeongguk only went to the bathroom to have a moment to himself. For some reason, he felt peeved, outraged, he could say. He mellowed his steamed-up state with some drags of calming air and went back outside. He paid for his food, giving him a tip as well.
"Thank you, Kook!"
Jeongguk took the bag and presented a lackluster smile to Inguk before he whirled around and bundled off without even glancing at Taehyung.
And the black-haired boy couldn't help but pout at his behavior. Was it so hard to say goodbye? A long sigh slipped out of his mouth, drawing Inguk's attention.
"What's wrong with you now?"
"I hate Jeon Jeongguk," he grumbled, something that made the older chuckle.
"He's not a cold-hearted guy. He's been through a lot actually and he ended up with massive responsibilities at a young age. For example, at the age of seventeen, you should be going out with your friends, talking about girls or boys, caring about where to go for vacation, and overall living your life. Not becoming the CEO of your dad's company because your dad died in a plane crash."
Taehyung's jaw hung open at his words as he stared at him moon-eyed, unable to say anything.
Inguk studied his shocked expression, and only then he realized his mistake. "I shouldn't have said that to you or anyone actually. Please don't say anything to him. He'll kill me."
"His father died?"
"Yes," he sighed. "He hasn't lived his life as a kid should. He was always surrounded by older people and businessmen. Don't say anything please."
"Yeah, don't worry," Taehyung mumbled after a moment as he dropped his head, still unable to take in what he just heard.
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