- III -

Coffee

Yoongi gawked at the girl standing before him, clearer and bolder than the versions in his dreams. He blinked several times, almost going as far as rubbing his eyes in disbelief. He relived the few moments they had together and separated them from the one’s they had merely created in his head.

Jimin, who stood beside the dumbfounded Yoongi, nudged his side with a concerned yet scolding look on his face. Snapping out of his trance, Yoongi laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck in hope to relieve the growing heat in his cheeks.

“It’s nice to see you again,” he greeted, biting his lip as he stammered.

The other member’s faces only grew in confusion and shock as Junghwa’s polite smile became one of friendly familiarity between the two of them. She gave him a nod before reintroducing herself.

“I’m Kim Junghwa and I’m the curator for this exhibition,” she clarified as she acknowledged the other boys and their manager.

Hobeom nodded and explained that Junghwa was best suited for the project because of her fresh outlook and similar age that would complement and emphasize the concept of youth.

Junghwa laughed shyly and waved her hand at the flattery before gesturing for them to follow her through the exhibition site. The following information was to help them with their V app live broadcast so that they could in turn explain the exhibition to their fans.

As Junghwa went through each area explaining and describing the reason of layout, the meanings, functions and so forth of each section, Yoongi seemed to take nothing in. The information slipped through him, leaving only a ghost of an impression in his mind as he absentmindedly admired the girl. He always got to see himself and the other boys every day so even in a room of high ceilings, white walls, and the brightly coloured photography, his eyes would much rather look at her—and like that he was left speechlessly nodding throughout the V app filming.

“Okay, that’s all for today,” Hobeom called out as they ended the broadcast.

After thanking all the staff, Yoongi rushed to find Junghwa in fear of her leaving early. He found her seated with the rest of the exhibition staff, huddled together discussing something over an overfilling clipboard. She lifted her eyes at the sound of footsteps. A smile graced her features as she knocked eyes with the boy from the gallery.

“So,” Yoongi said as she approached him, “You didn’t tell me you were working with our company.”

 Stopping about a meter away, she cocked her head and shrugged. “You didn’t tell me you were an idol,” she retorted.

Yoongi paused. “True,” he admitted regretfully, “But did you know me already?”

Junghwa’s smile grew with a tinge of guilt as she nodded her head.

“Should we talk about this over coffee then?” Yoongi offered. He noted how her eyes grew and caught the light as her smile broadened in delight.

“Thank you,” Junghwa chirped as Yoongi returned with both their cups of coffee in his hands. He placed them on the small circle table between them before taking his seat opposite her.

“So how long have you known it was me?” Yoongi sighed as he sunk into his seat.

Junghwa swivelled her cup around. “I’ve had this project for about a month,” she admitted while slipping a sachet of sugar in her beverage and stirring.

The light tinkling of her teaspoon sounded like chimes against the mellow music humming around the café. The heater warmed against their coats and blushing cheeks, their heads with a warmth only known in winter.

“There are so many photos of you so I immediately recognized who you were at the gallery,” Junghwa explained as she lifted the cup to her lips, she blew it softly, the foam dipping where her breath whistled.

Yoongi chuckled in embarrassment. “So you knew all along?”

Junghwa lifted her eyes as the cup came into contact with her lips; they creased as she smiled in reply and took a sip of her coffee.

Yoongi rolled his neck back and let out a playful sigh of exasperation. “Ah, really??”

Junghwa’s shoulders shuddered slightly in laughter. She nodded again, her eyes brightening up at the sight of Yoongi’s expression. “I would have guessed you were an idol anyway,” she replied as she glanced at his hair.

“Is it that obvious?” Yoongi laughed as he ran his fingers through his mint coloured hair.

Junghwa giggled blissfully. In that very moment she appeared to unwind to some extent. Her smiles and laughter were no longer merely stiff and polite; her nose would crinkle slightly and her eyes would slant into two dark upturned crescent moons.

Yoongi smiled as they exchanged playful glances over their cups of coffee. They were in the café for longer than their beverages stayed, conversation whistling between them like non-stop steam of the coffee machine. They talked about their professions and fields. They learnt they had shared similar hardships; their parent’s disapproval, stress, lack of inspiration, fatigue, and the unending doubt and anxiety of the future. But they also shared the similar strong will and passion for their fields that broke through it all. They came to acknowledge that each other’s first priorities were work. They loved their jobs and all the pain and pleasure that came with it. Despite this they wanted to prove each other and themselves’ wrong and slipped into a relationship they were already sure would falter.

A/N: the cover may or may not be temporary. I put a request in a store a few weeks ago but maybe they're inactive? so I quickly made one since I didn't want to update without one... And I still haven't fixed the font problem (the headers are actually in a pretty calligraphy font)

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas. Hopefully Yoongi and Taehyung (and possibly the other boys) can get some rest)