Another morning, another day spent being barred from meetings and anything of real importance. Another day swathed in silky clothes and coddled like a young child, whose parents couldn't trust to be independent even though he was over twenty years old.  

Seokjin was sick of it. 

The tawny-haired boy sat up in bed, shoving the silken bed-covers away and swinging his feet over the side. His room was filled with sunlight, and a glance at the clock on his nightstand informed him that it was already 11:30 in the morning. Perfect. It wasn't as though his day would contain anything remotely exciting, anyway, so he might as well spend as much of it sleeping as possible. 

Seokjin took his time going through his extensive closet and choosing what to wear for the day. His parents were attending a very important meeting that day and, as per usual, they hadn't allowed him to attend. So he was in a particularly foul mood, and wasn't looking forward to eating at the long, empty table by himself as they were off making important decisions about the future of New Seoul and the ten Areas they presided over. 

Eventually he decided on a dark blue satin shirt and a pair of slim-fitting dark slacks. Stylish but comfortable. 

I must be the best-dressed do-nothing in all the Areas, he thought glumly as he slung his nightgown over his head and onto the floor. He paused for a moment, watching his reflection in the mirror, the pale bare skin of his torso where a number would reside if he was anything but a Ten. The Tens were not marked by their numbers, as it would deface their sacred bodies. The purest of all people, the angels of the earth, those most worthy of wealth and power. The Tens, the people who deserved the world. Days like this, in which he was left to sit about idly while others were off doing important work, made Seokjin wonder how he had ever been deemed a Ten. He certainly didn't feel very deserving. 

But of course that was a ridiculous notion, he reminded himself as he finished dressing and wandered down the grand stairs of the Noble House. He must be valuable and worthy in some way, or he wouldn't have been numbered a Ten. That was just the way the system worked. He'd just have to figure out a way to make himself deserving. 

The Noble House was quiet, the only audible sounds being Seokjin's footsteps and the faint twittering of birds from outside. It wasn't necessarily unpleasant, but it did feel a bit lonely. Seokjin found himself half-tempted to call the staff to come sit with him as he ate his muffin, but he knew that would be frowned upon. They were technically lower Numbers, though when they had been hired they had moved to Area Ten and sworn themselves to the service of the pure ones. It didn't truly make them a part of the society of Tens, though, as Seokjin had discovered as a child. He remembered his parents admonishing him for befriending the staff. Seokjin, you can't mix with them. You must remain surrounded by the company of other Tens, do you understand? Anything less will only taint you. You have to stay pure.

**

With nothing to do for the day and no supervision, Seokjin decided to venture outside of his estate. The grounds of the Noble House were quite extensive, but throughout the course of his youth he'd managed to explore every inch of them and they no longer seemed very exciting.  

Seokjin's parents didn't usually like him to wander around by himself outside of the estate, which he had never really understood, as Area Ten was perfectly safe. But there had been many days like this, where he was left to his own devices, and there was getting to be more and more in recent days - and Seokjin planned to take full advantage of them to explore, and to visit one favorite spot in particular.  

That place was exactly where he found his feet leading him at that moment, almost without his knowledge. He strolled down the hill and boarded a railcar when he arrived at the station, on the outskirts of the ornate, beautiful city. The railcar was luxurious, the seats plush and comfortable, and combined with the warm sunshine streaming in through the window and the idea of embarking on an adventure (albeit a small one) brought about a lifting of Seokjin's spirits.  

When he disembarked, the boy found a smile tugging at his lips. He was near to his favorite place in Area Ten now. Or maybe his favorite place in the whole entire world - it wasn't as if he'd ever seen anything outside of Ten anyway.  

The walk to the Observatory wasn't a very long one from the station, and Seokjin could see the Astronomy Tower from quite a distance away, its glossy white exterior nearly melting with the pale blue of the sky. Then the large domed Observatory came into view, and the beating of Seokjin's heart picked up its pace.  

Is he here? Will I get to see him? 

The streets of Area Ten were a bit on the quiet side that day, as they always were on meeting days. Couples made up the main body of traffic, which was to be expected. The streets surrounding the rectangle of land the Observatory resided on was a well-known path for couples to stroll down together. That was part of why Seokjin liked the area so much - there was always a happy, romantic feeling in the air, and that sentiment went perfectly with the real reason for his love of the Observatory. The real reason, whose platinum-blonde hair he spotted after only a few minutes.  

Seokjin couldn't help the smile that lit up his face. He'd hoped to find the blonde boy somewhere near the Observatory - really, he was always hoping to see him when he came to this place. The Astronomer, the one and only Kim Namjoon, who was said to live in the uppermost floor of the Astronomy Tower. Seokjin had developed a fascination with Namjoon so long ago that he couldn't even remember when it had started. The other boy had made frequent trips to the Noble House with his father as a child, and with his dimples and intelligent eyes had won Seokjin over completely. He'd begged his parents to let him and Namjoon go out and play sometimes, so that they might become friends, but they'd refused. Instead, Namjoon had always been part of the discussions between Seokjin's parents, two of the most prominent leaders in the guild, and the genius Astronomer. Seokjin had always been shut out of the meetings, much to his frustration. His one attempt at eavesdropping on the meetings had been found out and punished, so he'd given up. To this day he didn't know what business brought the Astronomer to the Noble House, and the visits still continued, Namjoon having taken over his late father's place. 

"Kim Namjoon," he called out now, striding over towards the other man. The Astronomer looked over and met Seokjin's eyes, his mouth curling into just enough of a smile to showcase the dimples in his cheeks. His platinum hair was in complete contrast with the rest of his outfit, which was all black as it always seemed to be.  

"Ah, Kim Seokjin. It's been a while." 

Seokjin had drawn in near to the other man now, and they both stood in front of the path that led to the Observatory. He was still smiling, but he didn't seem capable of wiping it off his face. He hadn't really expected to run into Namjoon, as he was a busy person. But how lucky that he had! 

"It has been a long time! Fancy seeing you here," he said, before heat flooded to his face. What am I saying? He lives here! And who says things like 'fancy seeing you here,' anyway? 

Thankfully, Namjoon seemed to take it as a joke. "I know, it's like I live here or something, right?"He responded in a playful tone. Seokjin inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. "So what brings you to this area?" 

"Oh, I -" I wanted to see you. "I'm just passing through. I was going to, uh, visit this tea shop nearby. For some tea. I really like tea." Not the smoothest delivery, but Seokjin had to give himself credit for coming up with an excuse. 

Namjoon's dark eyes surveyed the other boy for a moment, gears seeming to turn in his head. That was something Seokjin remembered being fascinated by as a child on the occasions he had a chance to speak to the Astronomer's son - the way one could watch Namjoon and know that he was calculating something, but have no idea what he was thinking at all. "Tea, hm?" Namjoon's mouth had quirked into a smile again. "If you like tea so much, you should really try the kind I have from Area Seven. It's some kind of mango-mint-green tea fusion, and I've never had anything like it before." 

"Sounds intriguing," Seokjin responded, glad at the turn of the conversation. Look at him, successfully having a conversation with Kim Namjoon. Hopefully without blushing too much, although that seemed unlikely.  

"Would you like to come up and try some?" Namjoon waved a hand behind him in the direction of his Astronomy Tower. 

A warm feeling accompanied the burst of butterflies in Seokjin's stomach. Though he hadn't stopped smiling throughout the whole exchange, it now transformed itself into something positively blinding. "I would love to."