Taehyung
you're in daegu

Seokjin
Yes, I am.

Taehyung
but why

Seokjin
If you didn't notice, we'll be having a concert in Daegu in two days

Taehyung
.... ...,... . i see

"He's—he's in Daegu," I stammer, barely getting the words out.

"Are you okay, hyung? What happened?"

"We're standing on the same ground as Kim Seokjin," I wipe my sweaty palms on my comforter, fingers shaking.

"We always have been standing on the same ground."

"Yes, but we can actually reach him now. He's not... He's not 4,000 light years away anymore. One of these days I can just go to the printing office and bump into Kim Seokjin and it's all because we are walking the same ground and... Wait. I don't think Seokjin would pick up something at the printing office," I ramble, and more words keep running out of my mouth until I completely lost track of what I'm saying.

"Hyung, stop talking about the theory of relativity."
 

And that, my friends, is exactly what happened later at 4 in the morning.

"Hyung," a loud whisper wakes me up from my slumber, and two harsh hits on my leg bring me to send Jungkook a soft kick on his head.

"What do you need?" I ask groggily, pulling the covers over my head.

"Go to the printing store for me."

The request—no, command—was so blunt and I had to pause, letting it sink in. "You want me to what?"

"Print my essay. The printer broke down and it's too cold outside and I'm too lazy to walk," he says, lying back down.

"You broke my printer?"

"... Yes. I'm sorry."

"And you expect me to print your homework in return?" I give him an incredulous look. "No. You do it."

"Please, hyung? I need this by 6 AM," he pleads. "I'll treat you to Jungang Tteokbokki."

"No."

"I'll send Seokjin all those embarrassing messages you sent me. You know which ones I'm talking about."

"... How many files do you need me to print?"
 

Now I'm walking on the sidewalk at 4 AM, wearing five layers of clothing and shivering intensely from the cold air. I take out the crumpled ₩1000 banknote Jungkook gave me and twiddle with it with my fingers. At least he had the decency to pay for it.

Jungkook's not a bad guy, really. He's annoying, sure. Demanding, even, but he knows his limits and he does what he needs to do. I forgave him for what he did simply because he was a good friend. Yes, he made me walk out here in frigid weather for his own project that broke my printer, but there are a lot of things that I want to thank him for, too. He deserved my ticket and he chose not to use it.

Somewhere in between my train of thought, the banknote slipped from my fingers and to the direction of the wind—chasing, chasing, and chasing, but as I stop in front of a low-budget church, it's nowhere to be found.

Devastated, and needing the warmth the church provided, I step inside the empty corridor and let out a loud sigh of frustration. Now, I'm not a religious person, but I'm going to go up there to the confession box and pour all the heavy things off my shoulder, even if there's no one listening on the other side. I'm content with that statue letting my words enter its plastic ears.

"Hello," I start, sitting down on the cushion provided. "Okay, I don't think anyone's there, but I'll just... um, okay.

"I will be confessing my sins. The biggest one I'm carrying right now is that I lost Jungkook's ₩1000 banknote. Now I'm not gonna be able to print his homework because I'm stupid and I didn't bring any of my cash with me in case this type of situation happened. And it did happen.

"My second biggest sin is that I have these unholy thoughts of Kim Seokjin and I just can't stop thinking about them. I mean, yes, he's cute and perfect and handsome and his personality wins over his appearance, but that's my second biggest sin. I know it's wrong to lust after someone but have you seen his—" I whine a little, cutting myself off mid-sentence. "Whatever. I'm going home. Thank you, Father. If you're even there."

When I stood up to rest my head against the plastic wall of the confession box, it flips over and before I had the time to register what was going on, I'm on the floor of the church, with the confession box turned sideways, and I'm met with another pair of shoes.

Heat fills my neck. Someone was on the other side.

"I'm—I'm so sorry, I uh—" I get outside the box and push it away to help the person on the other side. "Are you okay?"

I hear a soft groan coming from the hooded person and when I pull it off, I'm greeted with a very familiar set of jet black strands and this can't be happening.

My thoughts were confirmed when I heard that unmistakable voice and I, in all my shock and embarrassment, backed away a few steps with my entire face glowing red as I cupped my burning cheeks with my hands.

"That was a very romantic first meeting. Absolutely breathtaking," he laughs, helping himself up. "Hi, Taehyung."

"Um... hi," I stupidly respond, too dazed to give a half-decent answer.

He stands there, across from me, with his head tilted to his side and his hands behind his back, shifting from his left foot to his right foot. It's so adorable. He's so adorable.

The silence, while awkward, was not the uncomfortable type. I'm sure I looked like I had half a stick up my , hair sticking in all directions from having only woken up half an hour ago and my face swollen from the lack of sleep and the number the bullies had done on me. I was a potato standing in front of the diamond that is Kim Seokjin.

Kim Seokjin. My heart speeds up, and now it all settles in. I'm standing in front of Kim Seokjin.

"Seokjin," I exhale, "What are you doing in a church at 4 AM?"

"I tend to wander when I can't sleep," he says. "And I know Daegu quite well. It's still the same as before."

"You've been here?"

"I have," he smiles, and we just stand there, looking at one another. My heart was sending off these horrible vibes that felt like electricity and death, but never had I felt more alive. "And you, Taehyung? What are you doing out here, confessing your sins to me?"

"Oh, that," I laugh nervously. "I was joking about me thirsting over you. I'm not that nasty." Lies.

"Should I be disappointed, or...?" He raises his eyebrows and I can't help but to smile.

"Yes," I nod. "Anyway, I was gonna print something for Jungkook's project but I lost the money he gave me and I have no money, so now I have to—"

"No, don't worry, I got it." He's fishing for cash in his pockets and I shake my head profusely, but he's already ing three ₩1000 banknotes into my hands. "That, and..." he gives me two tickets.

"Seokjin, no, I can't, this is too much." I shake my head, returning what's in my hands but he's stubborn.

"If you lose another banknote, you'll have two more backups. Take care of the tickets, though. Those two are the only ones I managed to sneak in," he chuckles and I can't help but to smile too, stuffing them all in my pocket.

"Thank you," I say. He covers his hands with the sleeves of his sweater and begins walking outside the church.

"You're welcome."

And we're just walking, even if it's freezing and it's awkward and a bit too quiet.

"I really didn't think we would meet at a church inside a ruined confession box," I said, kicking at a pebble on the ground as soon as we got to the printing office.

"Me neither," he says. "I thought we would see each other according to planned. I wasn't prepared," he points to his bare face, laughing.

"You're still handsome, though." I'm smiling genuinely, and we're just staring at each other, again, wordlessly.

"I have to get going. Practice in two hours," he says after a brief glance at his watch. "I'll see you when I see you, Taehyung."

I nod. "Take care. Thank you for everything," I say one last time and he squeezes my shoulder gently before walking away.

As I open the door to the office, I can't help but smile despite the pain in my cheeks and the horribly embarrassing things that happened mere moments ago. I'd just talked to Kim Seokjin.


 

am i moving too fast OTL cri cri but WOO aren't you guys glad seokjin's not talking in italicized words anymore

thank you, as always, for reading, and for your lovely comments. they are my fuel. mehehehehehe

i love taejin a lot if you didn't know yet

my twt is @B4NG74N i changed my @ recently

thank you everyone! sorry for the wait! i'll try to get the next chapter up as soon as i can (exam week starts on monday ew)