“Thank you…” Taehyung mumbled, looking down at his coffee, trying oh so desperately to hide the dark pink on his cheeks.

                So cute… Hoseok thought to himself as he studied the rose-colored cheeks.

                After a moment of comfortable silence, J-Hope gained some confidence and slouched in his seat, clearing his throat to capture the younger male’s attention. Once those dazzling eyes were on him and him only, Hoseok spoke once more; “Tell me about yourself. Preferably start by telling me your name, please?” The words put together sounded a bit demanding, but the sweetness of his voice made Taehyung smile softly.

                “I’m Kim Taehyung; my friends call me V. What’s your name?” Taehyung asked, leaning over the table a bit before resting his chin on his hands, drawing out a small smirk from the boy across.

                “Well, Taehyung, I’m Jung Hoseok. My friends call me J-Hope,” Hoseok introduced; his voice was a bit lame but that was only because the light reflected off V’s skin so perfectly it made it look as if it were glistening and this magnetized Hoseok’s eyeballs.

                “So… Hoseok… I know it’s impolite to ask this, but… uh… how old are you?” Taehyung asked, voice drowning in shyness with every word.

                This, however, only made Hoseok’s grin widen. “I’m 20.”

                Taehyung’s eyes widened. “20? Seriously? Wow…” Taehyung mumbled, removing his hands from his chin to shrink back in his chair.

                The black-haired boy frowned. “Something wrong?”

                Shaking his head vigorously, Taehyung blushed. “N-no. It’s just that I’m 18… and don’t get me wrong, I’m totally fine with your age. It’s just…well… you don’t look 20. You look like you’re—I don’t know—seventeen.”

                Hoseok chuckled, hand coming up to rake through his locks. He then smiled handsomely at the boy, making V’s heart skip a beat. “Seventeen, huh? Then I guess you look 15.”

                “Fifteen?” Taehyung giggled, cheeks painting this rosy color that was now Hoseok’s favorite. “Okay, fair enough… do you have a job?”

                “Yeah, actually I do. I work at a CD shop—we on—and it pays fairly well. Good enough that I have my own apartment…” he didn’t mean to show off…

                Taehyung smiled, always listening intently, small smile on his face. “When did you move out of your parent’s house?”

                And so, it continued. They talked and talked and talked… it was comfortable. Eventually they got so comfortable around each other that V was comfortable enough to chuckle obnoxiously around Hoseok. It was cute; his nose that crinkled up, his laughter that out-shone the sun outside. Hoseok was being very charming, even V had to admit, and he also had to admit that this new guy he had just met had somehow managed to make him smile and blush so much in only a few minutes. Everything was going fine; Jennifer could tell from afar and she just had to mentally high five herself. It was around two in the afternoon that Taehyung finally decided to head home.

                Taehyung stood and stretched, smiling at Hoseok, who was doing the same. “I guess… I should go.”

                J-Hope wanted to do something when Taehyung shook his hand, but he couldn’t. All he could manage was a smile. And then all J-Hope could see was Taehyung’s back. Why did Hoseok suddenly see the image of sand slipping through fingers? His heart leaped a beat, he couldn’t think as Taehyung’s back left… and then, suddenly, his legs went flying to catch up with him.

                It was a few blocks down that Taehyung’s heart felt so heavy it might as well have been a brick in his chest.

                Didn’t he actually like me?

                He thought it was going great. They were hitting it off and Taehyung wouldn’t be lying if he said he wanted to see the close to perfect guy again. But the guy didn’t want to see him. Hoseok should’ve known he was too shy to ask him out, so why didn’t Hoseok do it? The thought of going on a date with Hoseok sent off a billion butterflies in his stomach. A date… was he getting ahead of himself? Of course he was. He—

                “Taehyung!”

                …What?

                V turned his back, a huge grin on his face when he saw Hoseok only a block away from him, panting, but that contagious smile was still spread on his lips. Taehyung took a few steps towards Hoseok, only to meet him halfway. With a hoarse voice, Hoseok breathed, taking a second to smirk.

                As a response to this sweet gesture, Taehyung hugged him. Hoseok blushed; not only was he bashful about this but he had just finished running—he was probably sweaty and he probably stunk but this boy—WOW.

                His hair smelled of strawberries and his own scent just drove Hoseok’s hands to his back, pulling him in closer. “Kim Taehyung,” Hoseok mumbled, voice muffled by Taehyung’s hair. (Yes, they were still hugging). “Will you go on a date with me?”

                Suddenly Taehyung was happy Hoseok couldn’t see him. All the blood rushed to his cheeks—and he felt as if it was the billionth time this had happened this day. He could feel Hoseok’s arms grip him just a little tighter as every second passed by that he didn’t answer. “Of course I’ll go on a date with you, Jung Hoseok…”