Taehyung expects to see Jungkook again after class, or at least the black van parking somewhere nearby. But all Taehyung finds instead is a smiling Park Bogum and a small bouquet in his hands.

It takes him a moment to remember that guy is his 'boyfriend'.

"Hyung?" Taehyung calls.

Bogum turns around from the crowd of fans around him and once he sees Taehyung, his smile grows wider.

"Hey~!"

He comes in for a hug and Taehyung disappears into his embrace for a moment. Bogum gives good hugs, tested and proven to be true.

When they break away from each other, Bogum hands the bouquet to the confused Taehyung.

"Is there any assignment I didn't know about?" Taehyung asks in a quiet tone, aware that they are still in the presence of a crowd. He accepts the flowers anyway and the older male's smile might just grow even bigger—if that's possible.

"No," Bogum tilts his head cutely. "Why?"

"You showing up at my school like this," Taehyung can't help but blush at the flowers, can't deny he's loving the gesture. He never got a bouquet from anyone before. And Park Bogum's gentleman concept isn't helping.

"I had work around this area and figured I could stop by to say hi," Bogum grins. "Hi?"

"Hi," Taehyung returns an equally big grin. "Are you done with your work now?"

Bogum nods. "And you? Class?"

"I'm done for the day,"

"Perfect. Do you... drink coffee?"

Taehyung simply shakes his head and smiles at the fallen face of his public boyfriend.

"But strawberry shake at the café around the corner is great. I like it there,"

"Yes, strawberry shake. I want one too. Shall we... go together?"

"Of course," Taehyung gives him a friendly smile before he pulls out his phone, "Let me inform my manager first. He's supposed to pick me up after class."

"Sure thing."

-

Jungkook isn't too happy about the whole impromptu date thing but he says yes anyway because how else is he going to stop Taehyung from living his life. But that doesn't mean he'll just sit around and wait for his boyfriend to come back to him. So while he's plotting how to stalk them, his sister peeks over his shoulder at the phone screen.

She sighs at the live updates/fan accounts her brother is reading about the couple.

"If you're that jealous, why not tell him so?"

"And what, tell him to come back to work?" Jungkook looks up briefly. "I'm not that heartless. He can enjoy himself. I'll just... keep myself updated from here."

"Or," Haneul suddenly has a glimpse of evil in her eyes as she lowers her voice. "You can go and see for yourself. You know where they are."

Jungkook looks up again, and although his face says he's skeptical, his voice says otherwise.

"When you said you're on my side, I didn't expect you to mean it."

His sister winks.

-

He doesn't have to look twice to know that he isn't heading toward a wrong cafe. As soon as he turns the corner, he can easily spot the unusual crowd gathering around the cafe entrance and peeking inside through the glass. The van isn't that easy to park without drawing attention so Jungkook decides to stop as far away as possible before he goes on his little plan by foot. He strolls along the road, acting as casual as he can.

The sound of camera clicking constantly gives Jungkook a small headache. He stops on the other side of the road, and thanks to his height he manages to see over the sea of heads to the inside of the cafe well. In there, Taehyung has his back facing the outside whereas Bogum is sitting across from him, adorning a bright smile on his face the whole time. Taehyung seems to be slouching a bit, hand repeatedly brushing through his own hair.

Jungkook knows immediately that the boy is uncomfortable. He texts him.

To: Baby <3

Everything good? Let me know if I need to pick you up or something

Jungkook looks back at the couple inside to find Taehyung reading from his phone. He waits, but it's been more than a few minutes and there isn't a reply yet. Jungkook looks back inside again only to see Bogum grinning at something Taehyung has just said. He doesn't get it. If Taehyung's uncomfortable, why not ask for his help?

Taehyung drinks his second glass of cold water and can't help but fidget with the things he finds closest to him. Along the way, he ends up gripping onto Bogum's sleeve and pulling at some loose thread. Bogum smiles at that.

"You okay there?"

Taehyung nods quickly, "Just, I can feel their eyes on me. I mean, I did not think this would happen."

Bogum chuckles lightly.

"It's a part of our job,"

"How do you get used to this? I still feel so... ... whenever people look at me all at once."

"That's not good," Bogum leans onto the table with his elbows. "With your job, you get stared at a lot of times."

"Yeah, but it's alright when there are photoshoot and stuff. But times like this? Like right now? I don't know how to act. It's just so silly..."

"You know, Taehyung," Taehyung's fake boyfriend takes his hands into his and gently grips them. "I won't tell you that you shouldn't feel that way, because what you're feeling matters. What I'm going to tell you instead is, people look because they appreciate you. They like you that's why they gather around, want to catch a glimpse of you. You asked me how I get used to this, well... I don't. I'm still as nervous as you whenever I gather a crowd. But how I appear this calm," Bogum grins. "I'm an actor. I'm basically trained to put on roles, so... This is just a fake image. I'm panicking on the inside right, can't you tell by all these dry smiles??"

Taehyung sighs but bursts into a laugh halfway through and Bogum follows soon after.

Jungkook leaves after that. Taehyung's laughing so happily like this, what else can he ask for?

-

He doesn't go to the penthouse he's supposedly sharing with Taehyung. Instead, Jungkook goes back home. He