Whiskey on ice and fingertips tapping on keys, a melody that was blissful through the eyes of a writer; however concentration had seemed to elude me as I stared blankly at the screen of my laptop. I have been in the process of writing a novel since May, and the process within itself has proven to be far more daunting than the last book I had written which was an analysis of the life of William Shakespeare where I drew parallels between his personal life and his work in theater. In truth, the last book was easier to write because there was little expectation of me, but this time around the stakes were high and my publisher wanted something refreshing, or as he stated, “something personal that has life, it would be good for your career and maybe you could eventually turn it into a screenplay.”  

          “This is pointless,” I grumble as I slam my laptop shut, I was torturing myself for nothing! My brain hadn’t even been able to come up with a story I wanted to tell! My frustration was growing on a daily basis and I was dangerously close to throwing in the towel; I would go down in the literary world as a one hit wonder.

          “Tae, I’m open!” called the familiar voice of Jimin.

The boys were in their backyard probably playing basketball. It had been a few days since the last time I had a proper conversation with them; I’ve been so caught up in getting this book started and planning out my curriculum for the fall term that I haven’t had time for much else. The casual greeting during encounters to collect our mail was probably the extent of conversation between myself and the neighbors but aside from that, I’ve been pent up working. I stood up from my bed and made my way towards the window in my room that was facing the boy’s house, watching them engage in a competitive game of basketball. My eyes found themselves trained on one person in specific, Jungkook, whose words still echoed in my head about our so called “date” that was going to happen the day after tomorrow. I snorted at the thought, there was no way he meant what he said about the “date” being an actual date; this guy was so far out of my league, he was built like a daydream completed with starry eyes and a gorgeous smile. Jungkook would be turning a lot of heads at the university and no doubt become a fan favorite amongst the girls on campus, I could already tell. Besides, I’m a couple years older than him, I’m sure he would prefer a girl more his age and not someone who is a potential professor of his. I sighed dejectedly, turning away from the window as a familiar ache nestled itself in my chest.

In the short amount of time after meeting the boys, I have come to realize that I have been developing some kind of an emotional attachment to the boy, and for many reasons, it was wrong. The realization dawned on me the day I woke up in a sweat and panting from a rather dream I had about the boy. It was odd; to say the least and I could only imagine the awkward atmosphere that will loom between us today since it was movie night at my place.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of something shattering into pieces which was then followed by an “Oh, ” from one of the boys. I looked out of the window again to see Jungkook glancing over our shared fence to a specific spot in my backyard, I followed his sights direction and realized that their basketball had hit and broken another clay pot that was holding the precious Zinnia flowers that were just starting to bloom. At this point, I was never going to have my dream garden.

          “I’ll be back guys,” my attention snapped back to Jungkook as he called back to the boys, lightly jogging out of their yard to cross to mine.

          “Take your time, Tiger!” hollered Taehyun with a hint of playfulness present in his voice which was followed by a few hoots and hollers that the youngest dismiss