Much to Taehyung's surprise, Jaeyoung didn't keep him waiting at the front gate. Right as he whipped out his phone to check the time, the thin girl appeared in front of him and he returned it to his pocket. He smiled, greeting her again and then gesturing by his side as he began to walk toward the Starbucks in the center of town.

Taehyung ordered his usual, a venti white chocolate mocha. As if Jaeyoung's compliance didn't make his day any better, he had finally bought his thirtieth drink and was promoted to a gold membership. This also meant that he had earned a free drink. He turned to Jaeyoung, urging her to order whatever she wanted.

"No," She protested. "I can't possibly–"

"Go ahead, I mean it." He insisted, smiling. "It's my treat."

"Fine." She sighed, turning to the cashier. "I'll have a venti green tea frappuccino, please."

"I'd like to make the green tea frap the free one." He added. 

Once the two got their drinks, they set down their bags and sat across from one another in the leather armchairs by the fireplace. Taehyung took a whiff of his mocha, savoring the creamy sweetness that danced about his nostrils. He watched as Jaeyoung took a modest sip of her frappuccino, holding the plastic cup with both hands.

They sat in silence for a while as Taehyung fished around in his head for conversation topics. As much as he wanted his questions answered, he knew that he would have to grow closer to her. He needed something more than the usual, polite "How was your day?"

"So, Jaeyoung," He brought his cup into his lap, gripping the sides tightly. "Do you usually go to Starbucks often?"

"Not really." She replied shyly, averting her eyes from his. "My cousins own a small coffee shop in Hongdae so I'll go there when I want coffee."

"Really? That's cool." He nodded. "How long have they been doing that?"

"Since they were kids, actually. Their parents owned it before, but they passed the ownership on to them after they retired."

"Wow, I should stop by sometime. It seems like a lot of work, but it could be fun too."

"It is quite nice, actually. I've done a few weekend shifts."

Jaeyoung's eyes trailed downward to Taehyung's backpack, eyeing the small stack of papers sticking out from the space between the open zipper. Actually, there were a lot of papers. The only thing separating the first pile she saw from the rest of the crumpled, tearing sheets was his math textbook. She shook her head, mentally scolding Taehyung for being so messy and disorganized.

"Taehyung," She began.

He looked up from the white surface of his mocha. Time seemed to stop when she spoke his name for the first time. He was so caught off guard that he nearly dropped his coffee. Part of him thought, Holy crap, she just said my name. Meanwhile, another part thought, Hell yeah, she just said my name.

"If you want me to look over your literature essay, I'd be more than happy to do so. It's due next Thursday, right? I can look over it this weekend and get back to you by Monday, if that works for you."

"That would be great!" His eyes lit up. "Thank you so much!"

Taehyung looked out the window, noticing that the sky was increasingly growing a fiery orange. He then checked his watch, realizing that it was starting to get late. By this time, he was done with his coffee, and Jaeyoung was also holding an empty cup.

"Say, it's getting dark now. We should probably head back home."

Jaeyoung nodded in agreement, as Taehyung grabbed his bag from beside the chair and swung it over his left shoulder. She followed as he threw out his empty cup and walked out the door.

The two took the subway home, standing beside one another in silence. Taehyung looked out the window, watching his illuminated reflection standing in front of a shadowy black backdrop. One, two, three, four stops later, they stepped off the train and made their way out of the station. A few blocks further and they reached the residential area. 

Jaeyoung stopped walking, tugging at Taehyung's backback to tell him to stop, too. She glanced over her shoulder at the apartment complex beside her. The building was tall and gray, with a lot of windows. 

"This is where I live." She pointed to the fifth floor. "Guess I'll see you later."

"Yeah," Taehyung waved farewell. "Have a nice weekend."

He walked on in the dark with only the street lights to keep him company. Today he had learned a few new things about Jaeyoung: her cousins owned a coffee shop in Hongdae, sometimes she works there, and she lives on the fifth floor of an apartment complex that was two subway stops from his home. Despite knowing this, he still chose to walk, wanting time to collect his thoughts.

That night was the boys' movie (or as they called it, "Netflix and Chill") night. This week, it was Namjoon's turn to host. The seven of them crowded together on the couch, which ended with Jimin crushing Hoseok's thighs and Yoongi clinging to the top like a sloth. Yoongi sighed and let his body roll down into the cushions, nestling himself behind his friends' backs. This prompted Namjoon, Seokjin, and Jungkook to move to the floor.

"Namjoon," Jimin whined. "Just pick a movie already. You've been through every category."

"Let me do my thing." He insisted. "Oh, wow! Naruto is listed under Exciting TV Shows!"

"You're not doing anything right now." Jimin sighed. "And besides, last time Taehyung had a Naruto marathon. Never again, please."

"Can we just settle on Mulan?" Seokjin suggested. "You can't go wrong with Disney."

"I want to watch Batman Begins." Jungkook protested.

Hoseok leaned in toward Namjoon's ear. "Just go with the Road to El Dorado."

"Gotcha."

Namjoon clicked the remote a few times, and then the screen went black. A moment later, the opening scene appeared onscreen, making the others groan in dissatisfaction. He ignored their complaining as he headed to the kitchen to pop a few bags of popcorn.

When he returned, he threw one bag at Seokjin, who flinched as the hot steam made contact with the flesh on his hands. He set the other bags on opposite ends of the coffee table.

"Jeez, Namjoon!" Seokjin hissed. "Watch where you're throwing the popcorn bags! They're still burning-hot, you know. Are you trying to destroy my priceless face?"

"I get it, man." Namjoon shook his head, sighing. "I'm sorry."

"You know why Hyung's face is priceless?" Hoseok whispered snarkily to Jimin. "Because it's too worthless to have a price tag on it."

Jimin chuckled, prompting Seokjin to whip kernels at them.

"Do you want to die? I can feed my family Jimin jjigae and Hoseok bokkeumbap if you still want to shade me like that."

"Guys, shut up, oh my god..." Namjoon shoved them lightly, hushing them immediately.

About an hour and a half later, the movie was over. Surprisingly, those who did have an opinion on what to watch seemed rather satisfied with the selection of the night. Jungkook was tearing up, touched by the events of the film, while Seokjin was quietly clapping. Yoongi, of course, had fallen asleep.

It was time to clean up. Taehyung and Jimin moved the couch back a few inches while Namjoon grabbed the vacuum out of the supply closet. After plugging it in, he up all of the fallen kernels, popped and unpopped. Once he was done vacuuming beneath the table, Jungkook wiped down the surface of the table with a wet rag.

"That was a good movie." Namjoon said as he returned the vacuum to its place in the closet. "Bless you, Hoseok."

"Yo, Taehyung," Jimin called. "I forgot to ask, how was your date today?"

Taehyung's face flushed a deep shade of red. "It wasn't a date, but it was fine."

"Oh? Do you like her?" He raised an eyebrow as the other boys turned their attention to Taehyung.

"Um... I don't know." Taehyung's expression became blank. "I mean, she's cute and pretty and all, but..."

"But what?"

"I just don't know yet, I guess." Taehyung shrugged. "I think we need to get to know each other a little better. I want to ask her out–AHEM, ask her to go out–wait, no–ask her to HANG OUT again."

"Good save." Jimin smirked.

Taehyung rolled his eyes. "Sh-shut up!"