Mark was trying very hard not to show his confusion and smile kindly as a boy with dark brown hair, cut in a bowl-cut, suddenly stood before him after a show and pressed a bottle of ice tea into his hands.

            “You worked hard, Mark-hyung.” The boy said in a deep voice that must have come from somewhere in his stomach and while Mark tried to widen his smile, he was pretty sure it became a grimace. He knew the boy of course; he had seen him and his group at shows, but they had never talked. His eyes dropped to the bottle in his hand, a futile try to lessen the awkwardness that had settled between them and which only Mark seemed to register, and saw a note stuck to the bottle. His eyes scanned over the surprisingly neat handwriting and with knitted brows he read the sentence out loud.

            “Do you like dogs?” Mark looked up again; Taehyung was still staring at him, his expression black and mouth slightly opened. He uneasily shifted from one foot to the other and watched Taehyung blink a few times before he showed Mark a bright and rectangular smile.

            “So do you like dogs, Mark-hyung?” Mark blinked at him for a moment. The question seemed odd and not something you’d ask someone you never talked to, especially not over a post it.

            “Yeah, I like them. They’re cute.” Taehyung’s smile got even wider and his eyes disappeared for a moment and Mark had to admit even if he was weird his smile was quite cute.

            “Cool.” The dark haired boy replied before another voice called his name. Mark looked over his shoulder to see a tall, blond boy stand there, waiting impatiently. Without another word Taehyung bowed curtly and ran off to join BTS’s leader.

After a few hours Mark had forgotten all about the incident and the, now empty, bottle of ice tea lay forgotten in the trashcan.

--

Taehyung, as Mark found out, was a force to be reckoned with. There was no avoiding the younger boy and there was certainly no hiding from him. Mark still wasn’t sure where Taehyung’s sudden interest in him came from, but he was very well aware that it was there. Some way or another, Taehyung got his phone number and had started texting him.

            Hallo, Mark hyung.

            Who is this?

            Kim Taehyung. We talked about dogs a few weeks ago remember?

Yes, Mark did remember, but he wouldn’t really say they were “talking about dogs”, it was more a quick exchange of very few and very short sentences.

            Yes, I remember.

            Did you like the ice tea I gave you?

            I did! Thank you. ^^

Even their conversation over text messages was overflowing with awkwardness and Mark had to suppress the urge to cringe.

            Mark-hyung I think you’re a very important addition to the team and I like your weird perm hair.

Mark frowned and Jackson, who had been sitting next to him quietly, let out a short cackle.

            “Now you know that he’s lying. That hair looked weird.” Mark glared at him and pushed at his shoulder. Jackson barely moved and still carried an amused look on his face.

            “I don’t understand what that weird kid wants from me.” The older boy muttered and Jackson just shrugged.

            “If he’s bothering you then just ignore him.” Mark nodded thoughtfully before locking the screen of his phone and focusing his attention back on his laptop screen.

--

Taehyung hasn’t texted him again and Mark forgot ever talking to the younger boy when they met again in the public toilets of a broadcasting station. The other seemed just as surprised to see him; this time he didn’t smile, but bowed deeply.

            “Good Morning, Mark-ssi.” The change in behaviour surprised the other quite a bit, but he chose not to comment on it. 

            “Good Morning, Taehyung-ssi.” The dark haired boy’s eyes avoided his as he slipped past him and out of the rest room.

Later he saw the boy and his group again when they were standing on stage together. Taehyung’s eyes locked on his for a moment and even though his expression was blank he seemed sad somehow.

            “Is the weird kid bothering you again?” Jackson asked next to him. Mark’s eyes stayed on said boy’s face and he answered, not bothering to spare his friend a glance.

            “No, he isn’t. He didn’t do anything.”

Mark didn’t know why, but when Taehyung blinked and finally looked away he felt guilt settle in his stomach like a heavy stone. “And stop calling him weird kid Jackson, that’s rude.”

            “But you called him that first.” The older boy frowned and dropped his gaze to the floor.

            “Shut up, Jackson.”

--

            After the stage in BTS dressing room

            “Don’t worry, Taehyung-ah. You’ll make another friend.” Namjoon said kindly and wound an arm around his shoulder. The younger boy only nodded.

--

            Four Weeks Earlier

            “Yoongi-hyung he said the ice tea was good!” Taehyung exclaimed happily, rectangular smile in place as he rested his head on Yoongi’s shoulder. “What do I text back?” the dark haired boy asked and Yoongi smiled at him.

            “I make friends by complimenting them, try that.” Taehyung nodded happily and went back to texting.

Later that night, when his message was read but no reply came, Taehyung’s spirits have been dimmed.

            “I don't think Mark-hyung likes me Yoongi-hyung.” The older boy frowned at his sad face and ran his fingers through the messy hair.

            “That’s ok Taehyung-ah, we like you enough for twenty people.”

            “That’s right! That hyung was way too quiet to be a cool friend anyway.” Namjoon added and grazed his fingers along the frowning boy’s cheek.

            “I don’t understand why you wanted to be friends with him anyway.” Jimin spoke up. Taehyung’s eyes were glued to his own fingers, which were pulling at a stray thread of his sweater.

            “I just felt like we were really similar in some aspects.” Taehyung muttered.

            “Similar? How?” Yoongi asked.

            “People often only recognise our looks, but don’t look beyond that.” He thought to himself. But what he said out loud was:

            “Our hair had a similar colour once. His was red and mine was orange.” Jimin snickered and Yoongi rolled his eyes at him. He may not have won a new friend but he realised how great his old ones truly were.

--

            Three Months ago

Taehyung was nervous as he paced through BTS dressing room with a bottle of ice tea in his hands.

            “But what if he doesn’t like me?” The dark haired boy came to a still stand and looked at Jimin, who only gave him a reassuring smile in return.

            “Don’t worry Tae, everyone likes you! Just be yourself!” That brought a smile unto Taehyung’s lips and with confident strides he went out of the dressing room to find Mark.