Jeongguk woke up the next day with great difficulty as always. He was sleeping late for a while now, and he wasn't getting enough sleep, leading him to feel constantly tired.
Once he got ready, he went to the kitchen. I should really learn how to make breakfast. He released a heavy sigh, but his phone buzzing earned his attention, and he slipped it out of his pocket to check the new message.
I'm here
He hurried to the door, and he was greeted by a smiley Hanae when he opened it.
"I got the things you wanted," Hanae said quietly as he walked inside.
Yesterday before sleeping, Jeongguk sent a text to him asking if he could do some grocery shopping, and requested to text him instead of ringing the bell when he would arrive since he didn't want to disturb Taehyung at all.
"Thank you," Jeongguk said as they trod towards the kitchen.
"Will you cook?"
"Do you think I know how to?" Jeongguk retorted, educing a low chuckle from the other.
"Then why did you ask me to buy so many things?"
"Because I have a guest." He rifled in the bags for a bit and started putting the items in the fridge, unsure about what he was doing.
"Oh yeah, I forgot. That's a first."
The young CEO stayed mute and continued his task which was a lot harder than he thought.
"Jeongguk, spaghetti doesn't go in the fridge."
"But I remember my mom putting a pot with spaghetti in the fridge."
"Yeah, that was probably cooked spaghetti. When something is cooked, you usually put it in the fridge if you want to warm it up later and eat it." Hanae couldn't help but chuckle at how oblivious he was about these things.
"Just help me out here, I don't know what I'm doing." Jeongguk sighed as he threw the pack of spaghetti onto the table.
Hanae only nodded and started arranging the rest of the stuff. The dark brown-haired boy observed his every move carefully, trying to memorize what went where, but after some time, he gave up. He needed to write these things down, but he was too lazy to do it at that moment.
"Can you make me a list with what goes where and important things like what you said earlier?"
Hanae looked at the boy in front of him with raised eyebrows. "I know I'm supposed to do whatever you ask me to do, but I'm not doing that."
"Why?" Jeongguk whined, a deep pout settling on his lips.
"It's not so difficult. You just need practice. You can find anything online, anyway."
"But it sounds like too much work."
"Then don't do it."
"But I want to." He pouted harder as he looked at him with doe eyes, making the other shake his head and giggle at his words.
"Why don't you just hire a chef or something to do the cooking and arrange these things?"
"But I want to take the credits."
Hanae nodded slowly as he crossed his arms. "Why do you want to impress Taehyung so much?"
"What? I don't."
"Yeah, okay." His tone was filled with sarcasm, something that prompted the young CEO to roll his eyes. "I'll be leaving if you don't need anything else."
"Do you know how to make breakfast?"
"Bye, Mr. Jeon," Hanae sing-songed as he waved a teasing hand at him.
Jeongguk only snorted at his behavior and then sighed for the nth time. Shit, I have to go. His eyes popped when he glanced at the time. He was already ten minutes late. He hastily wrote a brief note for the older and left the house with long-legged strides.
Once he arrived at the company, he went to his office, only to be greeted by an infuriated Yoongi. "You're twenty-five minutes late."
"There was traffic," he mumbled, barely audible, and dragged his feet to his desk with his head bowed.
"I don't know what's happening to you and why you're so distracted, but we have a meeting in ten minutes. You better be ready." Yoongi's tone was strict and managed to intimidate the younger.
He wilted on his chair as his hyung left and rubbed his face, frustrated. I need to get my shit together.
The meeting didn't go that well. Although Jeongguk tried really hard to seal the deal, the old businessman wasn't convinced. "Looks like your CEO isn't prepared for an investment like this," were his last words before leaving the meeting room, disappointed.
There was a thick, uncomfortable silence right after the old businessman left that suffocated the younger. He stayed in his seat with his head ducked, waiting for his hyungs to scold him.
A sigh was heard, probably from Hoseok, and another sigh followed from Namjoon. "Since that deal is off too, and we haven't made a deal for a while now"—Namjoon shot a glance at the CEO, but he missed it since he didn't dare to meet their gaze—"we should do another commercial or a photoshoot or something. We need more clients."
"Should we look for a female this time too?" Hoseok asked.
"I think we should look for a male model this time for a change. We should appeal more to female clients somehow. I think that's a good start." Namjoon saw all of them nod except one.
"Jeongguk," Yoongi called, voice low, face somber. "Do your job properly. You have a lot of unfinished things to do. Finish them all today."
"But hyung, I won't be able to finish until seven even if I start now," he muttered as he risked a peek.
"You should have thought about that before missing two days of work and leaving earlier than you should. You're not concentrated, you're not prepared for meetings, you're not acting like a CEO, you act like you don't give a crap about anything work-related. This is your company, but we all have worked really hard to achieve everything we have achieved. I won't let you ruin that." Yoongi stormed out of the meeting room then, leaving Jeongguk a wreck, and the other two speechless.
After the fierce scolding, the younger retreated to his office and started working without taking a break. Yoongi was right, and he hated it. He even told Jisoo to cancel his order from Jjang's cafe. He couldn't waste any time eating if he wanted to finish until seven.
🥀
Taehyung bantered with Jimin and Seokjin, who went to the cafe to surprise him. It was after six, and the black-haired boy had some time to rest since he didn't have so many customers at the moment.
"And where are you staying now?" Seokjin asked, worried, after Taehyung explained to them what happened with his landlord.
"Um, currently, until I find something else, I'm staying with... Jeongguk?"
"The rich CEO? You hate rich people, and you hated him as long as I remember," Jimin said as surprise seized his face.
"Things happened... and he's not how he seems to be. He's kind and he cares."
"That's good, Tae, I'm glad you finally realized that he cares about you." Seokjin smiled at the boy warmly.
"I didn't mean it that way?" Taehyung whispered as his brows pulled together in bafflement. "I meant that he cares in general, not for me."
"Well, I'm sure he cares about you. Why else would he be helping you so much?" Seokjin asked, and Taehyung could only frown more as he puzzled over his words.
Three familiar boys walked into the cafe then, and Taehyung jerked his head in their direction, a smile etching on his lips. But it dropped in a flash when he discerned that Jeongguk wasn't with them.
"Oh, there's Taehyung," Hoseok said to the other two boys and waved at him. He saw the black-haired boy wave back a moment later and two heads turn around to look at him.
"Who's that?" Jimin questioned as he observed the brown-haired boy. Then, his eyes fell on the smaller boy who stood beside him. "Scratch that, who's that?" He pointed at the unsmiling boy as his lips twitched with interest.
"Stop pointing!" Taehyung hissed with a scowl. "They're Jeongguk's hyungs."
"Then where's Jeongguk?"
"I don't know," he said as he glanced at the three boys who were placing their order to Ten.
"Go ask. And introduce us too," Jimin whispered at last.
"Why would I do that?"
"Oh come on, that guy is really cute." Jimin twisted around and glimpsed at the reddish-brown haired boy once more.
"Fine, maybe after my shift."
Taehyung started cleaning around the bar a while later with a pout engraved on his lips. Jeongguk's absence bothered him more than he thought. Maybe he forgot about it. His sullen state only deepened at his thoughts. The thought of Jeongguk forgetting about him upset him for some reason.
Just then, he felt his phone buzz and scrambled to get it out of his pocket.
Jeongguk: Tae I'm really sorry, I have to stay at the office for a few more hours because I have a lot of unfinished work. Can you wait for me there until I finish?
The black-haired boy smiled faintly when he saw Jeongguk's name but frowned upon reading his text. He felt bad for him since he had to work extra hours, and he was sure he was already exhausted.
Taehyung: I can come by your office if you want
He pressed send, and not even a minute later, he got a reply.
Jeongguk: I don't want you to walk alone at night
Taehyung: It's not even 8:30. Besides, it's only 15 minutes away from here on foot.
Jeongguk: Are you sure?
Taehyung: Yes
Jeongguk: Fine, but hurry because I don't feel okay about this
A wild smile flashed up onto his face when he read his last message, and he couldn't hide it. He really cares about me, he thought to himself as he placed his phone on the counter.
"Hey, hyung, I want two portions of japchae and a portion of bulgogi. Can you make them fast?" he asked Inguk once he went to the kitchen.
"Are you really gonna eat all these alone?"
"Yeah, I'm kind of hungry." He didn't know why he lied to him, but he felt uneasy about telling him the truth.
"Okay," Inguk said with a smile, and the other returned to his friends.
"Come on, let's go!" Jimin chirped.
"Where?"
"To introduce us, duh!"
"Fine!" Taehyung groaned as he cast him a glare. "But when my order is ready, I'm leaving."
"Where will you go anyway? Who made you smile like that with a text message?" Jimin gave him a loaded look as they sauntered towards the three boys.
"No one."
"I bet it was Jeongguk," Seokjin teased, causing the black-haired boy to shush him since they were close to their table.
"Hi," Taehyung greeted a tad awkwardly. "I thought I should say hi."
The three boys chuckled at his cuteness. "Hi, Tae," Hoseok said.
"These are my friends, Jimin and Seokjin," he said as he pointed at each one. "This is Namjoon, Yoongi, and Hoseok."
"Nice to meet you," Jimin said, a bashful smile surfacing on his features as he made eye contact with Yoongi, and Seokjin bowed to them, receiving a polite nod as a greeting.
"Come join us," Hoseok said in a perky tone.
"Tae has to leave in a while but we would be more than happy to join you." Jimin took his seat at their table in a heartbeat, but he received a smack on his nape by Seokjin at his bold behavior.
"Are you sure you're okay with this?"
"Of course!" Namjoon answered as he smiled at Seokjin. "Right Yoongi?"
"Right," Yoongi said, rather indifferent.
"But why do you have to go, Tae?" Hoseok pouted.
"I have, um, things to do," he uttered with an awkward smile as he lowered his head, earning near-silent snickers from his two friends.
"What's so funny?" Namjoon glanced at the two boys, confused.
"Nothing, he just has a date." Seokjin's mischievous tone led Taehyung to glower at him.
"Hyung!"
"Oh, with that blonde boy?" Hoseok asked.
"Yes, y-yes," Taehyung spluttered, anxious. He really didn't want to be the one who would tell them that he and Jeongguk were spending time together. Especially since he didn't know if Jeongguk wanted his hyungs to know.
"Wait, did he dye his hair?" Jimin asked with a puzzled expression as he shot a glance at Taehyung.
"Brown seemed to fit him perfectly," Seokjin said this time, sending Taehyung's panic level to the limit.
"Can you please shut up?" Taehyung grunted as he glared at his two friends.
"Wait, who are you talking about?" Hoseok asked with wrinkled eyebrows.
"Jeongguk," Jimin blurted out.
"Jimin!" Taehyung exclaimed, his eyes bulging in shock.
"Jeongguk?" Yoongi questioned as he stared at the panicked boy.
"Why did you lie, Taehyung?" Namjoon asked.
"Tae, your order is here." Inguk appeared at that moment and handed the bag with his takeout to him.
"You have a date with Jeongguk?" Hoseok asked, completely ignoring Inguk.
"Who has a date with Jeongguk?" Inguk asked wide-eyed.
"Okay, stop, seriously." Taehyung raised his voice, shutting everyone up. "I don't have a date with Jeongguk, we're just friends and nothing more, so please calm down, and you two"—he pointed a warning finger at Jimin and Seokjin—"you better shut up and not say anything else."
"Wait, so you're not gonna meet Jeongguk?" Namjoon asked, still bewildered.
"No, I'm going home."
"But you're staying with—"
"Jimin, I swear to God," Taehyung growled before the other could finish his sentence.
"No, let him talk," Inguk chimed in curiously, but Jimin stayed silent upon seeing Taehyung's deadly scowl.
"Don't tell me..." Yoongi trailed off as he looked back and forth at Taehyung and Jimin.
And Taehyung just lost it. "Fine! Yes, I'm staying with Jeongguk because my landlord kicked me out and I didn't have a place to stay and it's only temporary until I find something else. And now I'm going to his company because he's still working and he canceled his order today so I'm pretty sure he's starving right now and you guys are stalling me.
"And seriously thank you guys for exposing me like this to his hyungs, Jeongguk will be furious now that I told everything to them and probably won't talk to me again for talking about his personal life with you!" he went off on his two friends, his fists tightly clenched, as he felt his insides blaze with outrage.
He bolted out of the cafe, paying no mind to the boys who called his name as all he could think about was how the hell he would explain to Jeongguk what just happened.
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