A window cleaner wasn’t the most impressive job, nor did it make the most money, but Taehyung was satisfied. It was a simple job, not very stressful, and it paid enough for Taehyung to get by without worries. All in all, Taehyung was pretty content with his job.

The only downside to his job was the lack of social interaction. Taehyung was naturally a very sociable person at heart, so standing there in a lift cleaning windows with pigeons as his only company could get pretty lonely. All the other cleaners had their own sections of the complex to clean, and they were much too far for Taehyung to talk to. The best he got was talking to a few of the residents whenever he was not on the lift, which only happened before and after work, and when he wasn’t lazy, on his breaks.

That’s why his favorite part of the job was being able to see the residents inside each window living out their lives. It always gave him something to look forward to. Admittedly, it was a bit creepy in hindsight, an invasion of privacy, but the residents didn’t seem to mind much as they didn’t pay him much heed, too busy preparing for the upcoming day.

It was the start of any other day, and Taehyung always walked into the apartment building with a bright smile on his face.

“Good morning Taehyung!”

“Good morning to you too Mrs. Min!”

It wasn’t a common sight for at least one of the residents to greet him. After the morning rush, the only people who tended to linger around the apartment complex where the elderly and the younger children. And Taehyung, being the friendly young man that he was, always made sure to take some time out of his day to have a little chat with them. He was quite popular with the older ladies. With his good looks and a boyish charm, who could resist him? It was pretty common for them to ask him to date their grandchildren.

After excusing himself, Taehyung signed in, went into the storage room, grabbed his cleaning utilities, and headed toward his lift on the roof. He placed all the utilities in the compartment box, tucked his little lunch box in the corner, the power, and sprinkled a little bit of bread crumbs on the floor next to him for when the pigeons came.

While Taehyung did clean multiple buildings, this particular apartment complex was his favorite. The residents here always stood out to him in a way that the others never did.

Hearing the sound of the lift descending down the building, Taehyung got his supplies and was ready to start his day.

On the first residential floor, which was the second floor of the building, there lived this younger couple. If Taehyung had to guess, they were most likely around his age. It didn’t surprise him much, as the lower floors tended to be cheaper, and he didn’t think that the two of them were that well off to begin with, especially being so young.

After a while, he had eventually found out their names to be Jimin & Jungkook. Jimin was the older of the pair, and the one who matched Taehyung in age. He was freshly graduated out of university, and had started working a simple desk job of some giant conglomerate Taehyung couldn’t quite remember the name of. Taehyung had had some friendly conversation with the young man before. There was a little coffee stand in the lobby, and the two of them would sometimes catch each other there before starting the day and struck up conversation while waiting for their coffee. After one chat, conversation came easy between them and a little friendship had formed.

The younger of the two, Jungkook, was still in college. Taehyung had come to know a lot about him as Jungkook happened to be a popular topic with Jimin. Taehyung had to admit he was a little jealous. He & Jimin were the same age, yet they were in such different places in life.

From what Jimin had told him, Jungkook was in college for kinesiology. Jungkook was an athlete when he was in high school, but had suffered a serious injury in his final year, ending any future he had in athletics. Jungkook, who had determination as strong as iron, didn’t let that keep him down. He didn’t want others to suffer the same fate he had and focused all his studies into physical therapy.

Since he and Jimin were basically supporting themselves, and with Jimin working from the bottom up, finances were always tight. Apart from school, Jungkook also had a part time job at the university’s post office to help ease some of the burden from Jimin when it came to money. A lot of their salary went into Jungkook’s schooling, so Jungkook couldn’t help but to take some responsibility.

As Taehyung began his daily cleaning routine, he was able to hear the young couple starting their day. Taehyung smiled fondly at the pair’s light banter. Today was one of those days Jimin was running a bit late, as he had not run into him earlier. Jimin had always told him it was because he had missed his alarm, but secretly he thought it was Jungkook turning it off and giving his boyfriend a couple of extra minutes to rest.

“Jungkook, have you seen my black tie?”

“I think I saw it in our underwear drawer.”

“What are they doing ther-oh you’re right. How about my shoes? You know, the really nice ones.”

“They’re in the shoe rack.”

“No, not those. The really nice ones.”

“Have you tried our closet?”

“Thanks! How about--”

“Hyung! I have to get ready too!”

Taehyung couldn’t see either of them, but judging from the volume of their voices they weren’t in the same room. He saw Jungkook emerge a minute later from the bathroom freshly bathed and dashing toward the kitchen. He could see the younger boy opening various cabinets and rummaging through their fridge, probably preparing a simple lunch for the two of them. Sacrificing one of their meals was also a consequence of their current lifestyle, but the two of them seemed to make it work.

Soon after a disheveled Jimin came bounding out of their bedroom with a suitcase by his side, in a rush to the front door.

“Bye Jungkookie, I’ll see you later tonight I have to go now!”

“Hyung, stop right there.”

“I’m gonna be late!”

“Wait. Hyung, you can’t go out looking like that.” Jungkook approached his antsy boyfriend. Calmly, Jungkook adjusted his tie, properly tucked in his poorly tucked shirt, and fixed the boy’s messy hair.

He gave Jimin a once over, and as soon as he had determined that his boyfriend looked presentable, he gave a reaffirming nod and handed Jimin a bag filled with his lunch.

“Much better. Go kill ‘em Jimin hyung, have a great day at work, I know you can do it. I love you.” Jungkook gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, which left the older boy blushing.

“I love you too.”

Soon after finishing cleaning the first set of windows, Taehyung turned the lift back on and rose up to the next window above the first one.

In this room lived another couple, though they were quite a few years older than he, Jimin & Jungkook were. Compared to the previous two, Taehyung wasn’t as familiar with them as they were the newest residents in this complex, only moving in within the past year.

Taehyung was lucky enough to run into one of them when he was coming into work one morning. The man, who he had learned to be named Hoseok, was coming back home after work. The two of them hit it off right away. Hoseok’s bright personality complemented Taehyung’s perfectly.

He had learned that the two of them had moved into town after Hoseok’s boyfriend, Yoongi, had landed a job promotion as a music producer in a larger company than his previous. Hoseok on the other hand had to start over. He worked as a nurse for a living, so once he moved, he had to find a new job at wherever hired. Luckily he had found an opening at a nearby nursing home. The only downside was that he worked per diem. That explained the weird hour that Taehyung had met him.

Both of their jobs were exhausting and required them to work at weird hours, so Taehyung was curious as to how the two worked around it. Obviously, the two of them had to be very serious if Hoseok left everything behind to move to another city with him. Usually, when he washed their window, only one was present, or one was sleeping while the other was awake. It was a rare occurrence for him to encounter them both at the same time.

Today seemed to be different, because he could see the both of them through the window today. As Yoongi was entering their room, Hoseok, dressed in his scrubs, seemed to be getting ready to leave.

“Hoseok, babe, I’m home.”

“Welcome back Yoongi hyung. I wish I could stay, but now I have work. Sorry.”

“Again? When was the last time we even spent time together? A month ago? Hoseok, come on.”

“Yoongi, we talked about this. I’m contracted. It’s all part of the job. It’s just something we have to deal with.”

“Can’t you get a better job? You know, with better hours? You’re a nurse Hoseok, people are always hiring nurses.”

“They are hyung, but they’re all like this. It’ll get better after I’ve worked with them a bit longer. After all, we moved here for you. I wasn’t the one who got the job promotion. This was literally the best I could get.”

Yoongi flinched at the younger’s response, hurt etching his features. Hoseok realized how spiteful he had sounded, and immediately felt guilty.

“Hyung, I’m sorry. You know what I meant! I didn’t mean it like that.”

“No, you’re right. I should be the one who’s sorry. I made you leave everything behind. I was so excited about the job offering I took and didn’t even get your input on it. I pretty much forced you into coming with me.”

“Yoongi, don’t blame yourself. You didn’t force me into doing anything. It was my choice into coming with you. I chose to leave everything behind. Yoongi, you’re more important to me than anyone. I chose you over everything else, didn’t I? I’m sorry I’m not around enough to tell you how much you mean to me.”

Taehyung wasn’t completely sure, as he wasn’t close enough, but judging from the slight quiver in both of their voices, the two of them were on the verge of tears.

“Look.. let’s not play the blame game. Let’s just both promise to do better. I have just as much fault in this. There are a few days you don’t work right? Per diem can be an , I get it. I’ll try to spend less time at the studio and more time at home. It’s still because of me that we’re here, so I’ll pull my weight. Hoseok, I really want us to work.”

It was at that point that Hoseok couldn’t hold back any more tears, because soon after Yoongi stopped talking Hoseok let out the loudest wails Taehyung had ever heard. Yoongi quickly wrapped his arms around Hoseok and did his best calm down his boyfriend.

“Me too hyung, me too.”

Embracing each other for a bit longer, the two had to come back to reality. Hoseok still had to leave for work, and the two of them promised to continue their talk some other time. Shortly after Hoseok had left, Yoongi headed back toward their bedroom, getting ready for a day’s worth of sleep, but not before noticing Taehyung and giving him an embarrassed wave. Taehyung gave him an understanding smile and waved back.

Taehyung had eventually finished their window, and he had to move on. By this time, the pigeons had started coming and joined Taehyung on his little lift. He turned the knob on his lift and moved on to the next floor.

On this floor, the resident of the apartment Taehyung was cleaning belonged to a young father and his little toddler of a daughter. When Taehyung first started working here, there was a mom, a dad, and their little girl was still a newborn. After a couple of years, their cute family of three dwindled down to two. The family that consisted of a mom, dad, and daughter had become a family that consisted of a dad and a daughter.

Taehyung never figured out what had happened until a few months after, when he had coincidentally run into the father, Namjoon, snacking at the lobby during one of the rare occasions he got off the lift during his breaks. Taehyung, as friendly as he was, made it his mission to befriend the father.

Namjoon was a little apprehensive at first, but he, like everyone else Taehyung has come into contact with, had fallen for the younger boy’s charms and quickly opened up to him. Namjoon had eventually revealed to Taehyung the fate of his wife. He told him that his wife had been murdered in a robbery that had gone wrong, but he never went any further than that.

“After all this time, it still hurts so much.” That was all Namjoon had told him, so Taehyung didn’t probe any further. He couldn’t blame him. The pained look on Namjoon’s face whenever it was brought up was something Taehyung hated seeing.

Taehyung really felt for Namjoon, because he couldn’t imagine how hard it was to take care of child by himself, especially when he was working. He could tell Namjoon really loved his daughter, because despite all the difficulties he faced, Namjoon looked at his daughter like she was his entire world. In all honesty, Taehyung believed that she probably was.

“Daddy, no! I don’t want to go to school!”

“Jinhee please, don’t make this hard for daddy. Daddy still has to go to work! Jinhee doesn’t want to be home alone right?”

“I won’t be alone! See, Mr. Taehyung the cleaning man is here too!” Jinhee pouted, pointing at the said man.

Namjoon looked over in Taehyung’s direction and chuckled. He waved at Taehyung before focusing all his attention back on his moody daughter.

“Mr. Taehyung the cleaning man is a very busy man Jinhee. Mr. Taehyung has stuff to do too! He’s popular with all the little animals here. You don’t want Mr. Taehyung to tell all the little animals that Jinhee is a bad girl right? If he does, then the little kitties we always see won’t let you pet them anymore!”

Jinhee’s eyes widened, a pout forming. “No! Jinhee’s not a big baby! Mr. Taehyung please don’t tell the kitties I’m a bad girl! It’s not true!”

Taehyung just laughed and gave the two of them a big thumbs up. Namjoon mouthed him a ‘thanks’ in return.

“See? Show Mr. Taehyung you’re a good girl that goes to school. I don’t want to hear from Teacher Ahn that you’re acting up again.”

“Daddy! Not so loud! Mr. Taehyung will think Jinhee’s not a good girl.”

“Okay okay kiddo, now let’s get going.” Namjoon got up and started patting his daughter toward the door.

“Daddy, neck.”

“Aren’t you a little big for that now Jinhee? It’s getting harder to pick you up.”

“No, daddy’s just getting old!”

“Jinhee!”

Namjoon blushed at his daughter’s sassy remark, but nonetheless got down so Jinhee could get on his shoulders. The two of them waved Taehyung goodbye before walking out of the apartment.

Taehyung continued to clean up Namjoon’s windows with only the pigeons around him to keep him company. Taehyung repeated the process with the next few floors until he reached a certain floor. It was on this floor that Taehyung’s secretly favorite resident lived.

Compared to the rest of the residents, the one who owned this apartment was someone who he had never spoken to. The one that Taehyung knew the least about. He was also the only one who never actually acknowledged Taehyung’s presence by the window at any point. As easy as it was for Taehyung to make friends, the one person that had caught his interest didn’t even acknowledge his presence. For as long as he’s lived here, Taehyung still knew little to nothing about him apart from the fact that his name was Seokjin. Maybe it was the mystery of it all that had Taehyung so interested in him. It didn’t help that he was very easy on the eyes.

‘Just my type.’

From what he had observed in all his years of working cleaning windows for him, all Taehyung knew was that Seokjin often brought different boys and girls home, all of which Taehyung assumed were one night stands. At least that’s what he had gotten from what had gone on the following morning. Some days Seokjin’s partner for the night would leave earlier so that Taehyung would miss them. But lucky, or unlucky, for him, today wasn’t one of those days.

From his position by the window, he could see Seokjin quietly creeping out of the bedroom to the kitchen, wearing only a pair of underwear. Taehyung, as creepy as he would never like to admit, always took a good minute to admire Seokjin’s built frame and how well his underwear clung to his firm thighs and flat . Like Taehyung’s always seen whenever he made it to see one of Seokjin’s one night stands, Seokjin was working around the kitchen, making what Taehyung assumed was a mouthwatering breakfast made for two. There was always this bright twinkle in Seokjin’s eyes during this time, as if he was still on a post high from not even a night before. Like always, he had set the table for two, in hopes that his partner would join him for some breakfast.

“Seokjin right? Ah, so you’re awake.”

Taehyung turned toward the source of the voice, and saw a half man, clad only in jeans by Seokjin’s bedroom door. Taehyung gulped a little, throat dry. Damn, the guy was hot. Seokjin definitely scored. Taehyung couldn’t say that for all the guys and girls Seokjin’s brought home.

“Oh, Kikwang, you’re up! Did you want to join me for some breakfast? I made enough for the two--”

Kikwang stopped Seokjin from finishing, putting a hand up as a signal, and sighed. “Listen, Seokjin.. Last night was great. I can’t even remember the last time I had that great. But that’s all there was to it, nothing more. I’m sorry.”

Like Taehyung’s seen numerous times before, he saw the little twinkle of hope in Seokjin’s eyes disappear. “Right. No you’re right sorry. It was just .”

“So, I should probably get going..”

“Okay, you can see yourself out.”

Kikwang nodded awkwardly, before pulling back on his shirt. Taehyung couldn’t help but to stare as his muscles flexed. Kikwang walked out after that, which left Seokjin alone in his apartment again.

Once he heard door shut, Seokjin let out a sigh and sat down at the little breakfast bar in defeat. It was at this point in the morning that drew Taehyung in the most. As often as Seokjin brought people home, he always seemed to have a hope that more would come out of it. In Taehyung’s eyes, Seokjin was just a young adult that knew he was aging and was desperately seeking for love before it was too late. It always brought an uncomfortable feeling in Taehyung’s chest, as if he was the one who’s heart was getting broken. At this point, Taehyung always just had the biggest urge to stop everything and comfort the lonely man.

-

While Taehyung’s day tended to be very routinely, he couldn’t say the same thing about those who lived in the apartments of the windows he cleaned. While Taehyung lived a life of monotony, the residents did not.

As always, Taehyung started on Jimin & Jungkook’s floor. Today was one of Jimin’s rare days off, so rather than seeing Jimin running around trying to get it together, Jimin was helping Jungkook get ready for his day.

“Bye Kookie, have a great day today! Love you!”

“Love you too hyung. Rest well, you deserve it.”

Like always, the two finished with a kiss before Jungkook had to leave.

However unlike most of his days off, rather than Jimin smiling in content, greeting Taehyung and going back to bed, something else happened. As soon as Jimin was sure that Jungkook had left completely, he sat down on their couch and curled into a ball, bawling his eyes out. Taehyung didn’t even think that Jimin had noticed him watching the entire scene.

Taehyung wanted to go over and comfort him, but there wasn’t much he could do with a window in between the two of them.

Jimin continued to sob until their apartment door had suddenly slammed open.

“Hey Jimin hyung I’m back I forgot som--” Jungkook barged back in unannounced, stopping when he saw Jimin crying his eyes out on the couch. “Hyung?! Why are you crying? What’s wrong?”

Jungkook had immediately rushed over and crouched down so he was eye level with Jimin. He had grabbed one of his boyfriend’s hands and intertwined it with his own. Jimin just shook his head, trying to wipe away the tears.

“Tell me what’s wrong hyung. You know you can tell me anything. How can I help you when you’re not saying anything?” Jungkook spoke softly.

“N-nothing.. It’s nothing Jungkookie, don’t worry about it. Hyung’s just very emotional.”

“Hyung please, just tell me what happened? I’ll always have your back. It hurts me to see you hurt.”

“M-my job..”

“Your job? Hyung, did you get fired? Laid off?”

“No! It’s not that.. You know how I’ve been taking a couple of extra hours at work because there was a chance that I was gonna get promoted?”

“Of course I do.”

“W-well, I didn’t get it. My bosses kept leading me on and telling me that I was gonna get it, but then I didn’t. Some other guy did, because he’s related to one of the directors. It’s not fair!”

“Hyung is that all? I know it’s upsetting but that’s nothing you should be ashamed of. Prove your bosses wrong next time and show them the same Jimin that I see.”

Jimin was still sniffling, but Jungkook’s words did bring a small smile out of him.

“I-it’s not that that I was upset about. It was the money. If I got promoted then that would mean I’d get a bigger paycheck. We could’ve used that extra money and put it away for your PT school. I’m just so worried about the future, Jungkookie I’m so scared. You deserve better than me. You could’ve found someone who could support you better.”

“Shh. It’s ok. We’ll worry about that when we get there okay? Right now we’re doing okay, even without the promotion, so don’t worry too much. Money is important, but it’s not everything.”

“Jungkookie please don’t leave me.”

“Never hyung.”

-

Unlike the cool and collected man Taehyung knew Yoongi as, he was very antsy today. Taehyung was just watching him pace back and forth in circles muttering to himself. Despite the glasses he had on, the bags under his eyes were still very prominent. He was very confused with the older’s behavior until he saw Yoongi pause for a quick moment to take a quick look at the little box hidden in his sleeve. Taehyung widened his eyes.

Yoongi was about to propose.

He kept pacing back and forth until he heard the door open with Hoseok entering the apartment.

“Hoseok! W-welcome home! How was work?”

“It was good.” Hoseok replied, taking a good look at his nervous boyfriend. “Is everything okay hyung?”

“Everything’s okay, why?”

“You’re a little jumpy today. Are you sick?”

“What? No--”

“Hyung! I told you to take better care of yourself! I know I’m a nurse but I don’t want to have to take care of you. I hate seeing my loved one hurt.”

“Loved one? You love me Hoseok?”

“Yoongi hyung, are you stupid? After everything, you don’t think I love you?”

“I-I was just making sure.”

“Hyung, really, what’s going on? Are you okay? Is it work? Is Taehyung bothering you again?”

“Hoseok, I have something to say!”

Out of nowhere, Yoongi raised his voice, startling the other man.

“..hyung?”

Without warning, Yoongi got down on one knee and began to speak.

“Look, I know I’m not the best boyfriend, not the most romantic one either. I mean I’m doing something like this in our ing apartment. We see each other, what, maybe twice a month? And by see each other I mean like actually being together, not just exchanging greetings, like we’re just some roommates sharing an apartment. What kind of relationship is that? I can’t even remember the last time we went on a date, much less had . A-anyway, that’s besides the point. I always knew I loved you, but I knew you were the one when you came with me here without question. What I’m trying to say is, Hoseok, will you marry me?”

Hoseok, who was still in shock, was trying to process everything that his boyfriend was saying. Without thinking, he stupidly responded. “I’ve never heard you speak so much at once before.”

Yoongi blushed a deep red at the response. “H-Hoseok please! I’m trying to be serious here.”

“Yes Yoongi hyung, my answer has always been yes.”

“I promise I’ll be a better man. For you I’d do anything.”

-

Taehyung, after unintentionally witnessing a wedding proposal, quickly moved on to Namjoon’s floor. After witnessing two very private moments, Taehyung was a little apprehensive to what he would find here. He knew he was in for another ride when he saw that Jinhee was not being the loud brat she normally was at this time of day.

“Jinhee, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing daddy.”

“Are kids bullying you at school? Do I need to talk to Teacher Ahn?”

“I said it was nothing!” Jinhee screeched, and immediately she started crying.

“Jinhee please talk to daddy.” Namjoon begged. “Daddy doesn’t like to see his little girl so sad.”

“Daddy, what happened to mommy?”

Namjoon stiffened. If Taehyung went by what he learned when he spoke with Namjoon, then Taehyung didn’t think Namjoon was ready to have this conversation with his daughter.

“..mommy’s gone Jinhee.”

“Where did she go?”

“She went very far away.”

“She’s dead right?”

“Yes Jinhee.”

“So why is daddy always so sad? Mommy’s happy now. Daddy says he doesn’t like seeing Jinhee so sad, but Jinhee doesn’t like seeing daddy so sad too.”

“Jinhee..” Namjoon spoke, voice cracking. Namjoon was crying at this point and had wrapped his arms around his daughter.

“I love you daddy. Please don’t be sad anymore. It makes Jinhee very sad.”

“I love you too sweetie. So so much.”

-

At this point, Taehyung had figured this day wasn’t going to be like the rest, if the previous three apartments were anything to go by. As happy as he was for the others, it left him with a sense of dread as to what he was going to expect coming to Seokjin’s apartment. Was this the day Seokjin was going to meet the love of his life? He couldn’t bring himself to be happy about it. In fact, he was anything but happy.

As always, Taehyung watched from afar as Seokjin slowly crept out of the bedroom clad only in his underwear. Unlike the rest of the days, Seokjin didn’t have that after glow the following morning. Rather this time, he came out looking the most lifeless Taehyung’s ever seen him. Things were already different, and Taehyung’s feeling of dread was returning. By now, Seokjin would normally be preparing a breakfast for two, which Seokjin would eventually eat all by himself due to rejection. Instead, Seokjin just walked over to his couch and lifelessly sat there.

After a couple of minutes, Seokjin’s partner from the night had walked out of the bedroom as well, only dressed in his underwear as well. Taehyung took a good look at the man, and that same uncomfortable feeling from before arose within him again. While he wouldn’t call him hot like Kikwang, the only word Taehyung could think of that would describe this boy was perfect. Pale skin, flat stomach, doe eyes, and a perfect face, Taehyung literally couldn’t think of any other way to describe him. Taehyung was seething.

Seokjin looked over his face with a blank look, and the other guy just smiled bashfully in return.

‘, even his smile is pretty.’

“So.. Seokjin, I had a really good time last night.”

“Yeah, thank you. The was great.”

“It was, so I was wondering if you wanted something more? I wouldn’t mind getting to know someone like you.”

By now, Taehyung’s senses had all gone into panic mode. This wasn’t right. By now, Seokjin should have been the one asking for the man to stay, and not the other way around. Seokjin’s “dates” were never this successful, they weren’t supposed to be. Taehyung knew he had no right to Seokjin, as he had never done anything himself, but he was still panicking.

“Listen Jinwoo, I had a really great time last night, but I’m sorry. Last night is all we’ll have. I don’t want anything more.”

Hurt had marked Jinwoo’s face, but nonetheless he accepted. “Oh okay.. I understand. Thank you anyway. I.. I should get going.”

“That’d be best.”

After that, Jinwoo had quickly gotten dressed and quickly left the apartment. Seokjin continued to sit on the couch and stared at nothing.

Taehyung thought that he would be relieved at Seokjin’s rejection, but if anything, it had just made him worry. This wasn’t the Seokjin he had grown attached to. The Seokjin he had grown to care for always had hope that one of those one night stands would blossom into something more despite the constant rejection. And now that the opportunity had arisen, Seokjin shot it down without a second thought. Taehyung was panicking, this wasn’t right.

At that moment, he knew what he had to do.

-

After a persistent knocking on his door, Seokjin got up to go get the door, not really caring that he was only in his underwear.

“Who is it?”

As soon as he opened the door, he was met with a boxy grin and a paper bag shoved in front of his face.

“Hi! My name’s Kim Taehyung and I clean your windows. Please have breakfast with me!”

-