“I assume they didn’t like it?”

Yoongi grumbles out something affirmative. “No. They think it’s too ‘loud’.” Yoongi sneers.

The look on Hoseok’s face is half pity half annoyance. “But they said they wanted something more energetic last time.”

“They changed their mind. Now they want a ballad.” He almost throws his laptop on the couch.

Hoseok shouts in alarm and quickly checks on the device. “Hey! This is expensive! Take your anger out on something cheaper.”

Yoongi is too angry to care about it. Nothing has gone right ever since he moved to Seoul, leaving his hometown and family to take his career to a new level. He had thought this would give him a new opportunity to create better music and help it reach to more people. The reality was a great disappointment. All they did here was up to big name companies and slave of for nothing.

This specific project was more annoying than the usual. A big company hired him to write the title song for their new girl group. But it seemed nothing satisfied them. This meeting was a test for Yoongi to keep his calm and not punch that snobby manager in his face. He succeeded but it left him on edge.

“I need a smoke.” He declared.

“I thought you quit.”

“I did… for a month.”

Hoseok looked disappointed but decided to let it go. An annoyed Yoongi was scary to work with. “There’s a small 24 hours convenience store nearby.”

~

Yoongi walked there alone. It was quite late and the streets were empty. Yoongi liked the quiet and the nice chill in the air. It took some of the anger away.

By the time Yoongi found the store, he was almost back to his normal state. All cool and stony. The store was nothing special. Yoongi walked straight to the counter. The packs of cigarette were arranged beside it. He picked one unceremoniously and dumped it on the counter.

It was then that he noticed the boy behind the counter.

He hadn’t looked up ever since Yoongi walked in, his full attention on a huge book on the counter. The boy muttered a ‘welcome’ and scanned the item, his eyes still on the book.

It is rude not to mention unprofessional as well. But Yoongi didn’t really mind. He wasn’t one for formalities or small talk. Besides, it gave him the opportunity to observe the boy.

His bright red hair was what gained his attention at first. Then his sun kissed skin. Then Yoongi noticed the sharp edges of the boy.

Although he couldn’t see much of the boy, there was no doubt he’s pretty.

Yoongi paid for his purchase and walked out the store. The boy left his mind immediately.

~

After two weeks, he was back at the store. The deadline for a song was approaching and his mind refused to work. He hoped smoking would clear up the block.

This time the boy wasn’t bent over a book. Instead he greeted Yoongi with a big smile.

Yoongi felt himself freeze a little at the sight of that smile. That was the most endearing smile he has ever seen. And he has seen Park Jimin smile. Never before did Yoongi think anyone could top Jimin’s eye smile and puffed up cheeks.

As the boy did his work, Yoongi again observed just how pretty the boy was.

“Thank you for your purchase.” He boy said with that smile of his.

Yoongi was horrified when he felt his face warm up a little. He walked out of the store in a hurry. The walk back cooled his face and cleared his mind. And as he lit up the first cigarette, Yoongi wondered. “Was that a mole under his nose?”

~

It is!

Yoongi found himself staring at it the next time he went to the store. He also noticed how the boy’s nose was pretty much perfect. High and straight. Although he had to admit, it was pretty hard to find a flaw in this boy. Yoongi had yet to find one.

~

He found the first flaw after two more visits. The boy didn’t seem to notice Yoongi at all. It irked him a little how he was just another customer for the boy. And here he was buying more cigarettes than he needed just so he could…

*cough cough*

No! Yoongi was really stressed. Yeah! That’s it! Nothing else! Pfft! No!

~

It started to annoy Yoongi how little time he had to creepily stare *cough* observe the boy. It took a couple of seconds for the boy to ring up one pack of cigarettes. So Yoongi intentionally pretended to search for chang just so he could stall. All the time, the boy stared at him politely.

Yet it still wasn’t enough. He just wished the boy didn’t think he was a chain smoker because of all the cigarettes he bought. Most of them were sitting unopened in the drawer beside his bed anyway.

Whether the boy thought so or not, his coworker/friend definitely did.

“Yoongi hyung is there something you want to talk about?” Hoseok asked one day. His eyebrows scrunched up in worry.

“What?” Yoongi asked, a little bit taken aback.

“You take so many smoke breaks. I’m worried. Are you getting addicted?”

Yes. But not to nicotine.

Yoongi tried to hide the flush in his cheeks. “No. Don’t worry too much Hope-ah.”

Hoseok frowned but didn’t push it.

~

Next time, Yoongi decided to buy some ramen as well. He missed dinner because of work and he was starving. He brought it to the counter and continued his observing while the boy worked.

He noticed how the boy got a new piercing in his right ear. He was wearing a silver dangling earring. Yoongi found it really y.

He was so disappointed when the time was up. As Yoongi walked back, he wished he bought something more to prolong it.

“…Oh!”

~

“Hoseok. You want some ramen?” Yoongi asked before slurping on some.

“Uh… yeah but hyung?”

Yoongi hummed in question.

“Why is there so many of them?” he pointed to the table where ramen after ramen was stacked up together.

Yoongi tried not to choke on the extra spicy shrimp flavored noodles. “I was hungry.” He said simply and hope Hoseok bought it.

He didn’t.

“You were hungry? So hungry that you bought… how many is it… twelve cups?”

Yoongi rolled his eyes and tried to appear annoyed. “It’s not like I am going to eat them all right now. I’ll take the rest home. It’s food for the week.”

Hoseok seemed to buy that. As his friend was busy making up his own cup, Yoongi thought back to the store.

This strategy was a fail. He had hoped it would take the boy a long time to scan all these cups but the boy just scanned one, counted the number of cups and manually put in the quantity.

But you learn from your mistakes. And Yoongi knew what to do next time.

~

“Um…” Yoongi jolts in surprise. “You w