taehyung is driving, one hand gripping the wheel of his audi while the other holds a cup of half-finished pure black coffee—cold brew, with three shots of espresso—out to the side. the beverage was far from his, of course—kim taehyung hated coffee just like he hated particularly bad hangovers.

as taehyung turns into the parking lot of the company, he glances up in the rearview mirror to see irene still typing furiously in the backseat, chewing unconsciously on her lower lip in concentration.

"irene, we're here." he announces ceremoniously after shifting the gear into park, only to receive a unintelligible mutter from a preoccupied bae irene. with a sigh, he gets out of the driver's seat, circling around the car and sliding into the backseat instead.

"today is the twentieth, irene." he reminds her as he watches her type the header of her email over her shoulder.

irene frowns quickly correcting her mistake. she turns to thank him, only to find his face inches away from hers, the scent of his cologne seeping into her senses and making her heart pound in her ribcage. suddenly, her skin pricks as her gaze slides down from his eyes to his nose then his lips.

she wants to kiss him, she realizes as she feels her cheeks start to burn, and when she sees the concealed heat in his eyes, she realizes that he wants her, too.

in that moment, a lock of his hair falls into his eyes, and irene moves to brush it away. her fingers tuck the silky strands back almost instinctively, and the naturalness of the movement causes her breath to hitch.

since the start, she'd been attracted to him, and since the start, he'd never questioned her actions. even that kiss in the lobby of her apartment building had been settled silently without either of them needing to provide any sort of explanation.

she'd always assumed that she was caught in the moment, that she had been so desperately wanting to show her gratitude that she had given herself in return—but irene can feel something far more than gratitude tugging at the strings of her heart.

"taehyung," she frowns, looking up at him through her eyelashes. "is this wrong?" she asks.

her voice barely passes the volume of a whisper, as if breathless.

taehyung stares into her eyes, the darkness of his irises pooling with uncertainty as he answers, "it is if you don't like it, irene."

she turns away then, and slowly, she closes her laptop and slides it into its case.

then, to taehyung's surprise, she turns back once more, her fingers reaching out and grasping the base of his tie, closing the gap between them so that her lips meet his.

he responds quickly, recovering from an initial moment of shock as his hands find way to her waist, his tongue and teeth coordinating excellently to allow her access.

as the tip of her tongue slips into his mouth, her hand moves from his tie to the base of his neck, gripping the soft locks of his hair. she lets out a whimper when she feels him tug at her bottom lip.

for the first time, irene is far from cognizant of the fact that she is kissing kim taehyung in his car, in a busy parking lot, right before a meeting with his father, of all people.

", our meeting." taehyung gasps against when he feels her position herself so that she is settled on his lap, her body pressed flatly against his.

suddenly, irene freezes, pulling back immediately and scrambling off of him hurriedly.

"god, i almost forgot." she hisses before adjusting her clothing and smoothing out the wrinkles that had been created, frantically using her fingers to comb through tousled hair.

how unprofessional.

"i'm so sorry, tae." irene shuts her eyes in embarrassment when she feels his gaze on her. "i guess i was just nerv—"

"did it help the nervousness a little?" he asks as if he knew exactly what she was going to say. he smiles, but it doesn't reach his eyes.

"yes," she barely manages to reply, watching as he opens the car door, taking her laptop from her and swinging his long legs out onto the pavement, before holding the door open for her as well.

"so much for controlling yourself," she scolds herself underneath her breath as she exits the car, her normally pale complexion flushed with pink.

to her surprise, taehyung doesn't even raise an eyebrow as he shoves his hands in his pant pockets, following her to the entrance of his family's office—one of the largest furniture manufacturers in seoul.

irene had met taehyung's father before, when namjoon had signed the contract binding their companies together in a ten-year partnership. he was a well-groomed man, with pepper hair and a clean-shaven manner, with a loud, booming voice and seemed to be more secretive than he let on.

as the secretary confirms their appointment outside the door of kim taeil's massive penthouse-style office, irene feels a chill run down her spine, her bare, skirt-clad legs and stiletto-clad feet shaking almost visibly.

taehyung seems to pick up on this beside her as his larger hand reaches down and brushes against the back of hers. "are you cold, irene?" he murmurs, concern clouding his gaze.

the tone of his voice seems to mirror that of the night she had kissed him, full of warmth.

"it's okay." she manages to answer before the doors to the office open and the two are welcomed in.

"irene, is it?" comes kim taeil's strong, thick voice as he gestures for her to be seated at the angled glass table in the corner.

irene nods while taehyung takes the seat beside her, her teeth flashing, "bae irene, mr. kim."

to which kim taeil nods politely.

across the corner, irene spots a middle-aged woman who doesn't look quite so middle age, with hair neatly pulled into a low bun and dressed in elegant business attire.

"this is the co-owner of our company, taehyung's mother, hong yejin." taehyung's father introduces pleasantly, just as irene realizes how similar taehyung's features are to the woman.

quickly, irene bows her head respectfully, her hands trembling underneath the table. why was she so nervous? she'd never been so unstable before—first in the car with taehyung, then now.

all thoughts, however, fade into unequivocal warmth as she feels taehyung's hand envelope hers underneath the table, the pad of his thumb brushing her knuckles soothingly. irene gives him a grateful sideways glance before he pulls his hand away and their presentation begins.

throughout the meeting, irene watches in the corner as taehyung's mother nods her head in approval at several of the points she and taehyung make, followed by murmurs of appreciation from taehyung's father. in fact, irene is surprised when the conclusion seems to leave the both of her collaborators satisfied with the progress of most aspects of the joint project, so much that taehyung's mother approaches irene after the meeting, just as they are leaving towards the parking lot.

"miss bae." comes the voice of taehyung's mother from the elevator, and irene turns to see the lone approaching figure of hong yejin, who reaches out to shake her hand.

irene returns the gesture with a courteous bow, while taehyung takes a step closer behind her.

"i have to say, i am impressed with your results." his mother says, beaming. "not many people are compatible with my son in such a manner, you know."

taehyung seems to catch wind of where the conversation is going before irene does. "mom—" he attempts to interrupt, but is disregarded.

"are you two, perhaps," hong yejin begins, gesturing with her hands as she brings two fingers together. "dating?"

irene feels panic course through her veins as she stutters on impulse, and before she knows it, the jumble of words in her head unconsciously slip out.

"y-yes, since two weeks ago."

she quite literally feels the shock of taehyung's gaze in the back of her brain.

—

as soon as taehyung's mother takes a step in the opposite direction, irene flees hurriedly towards the parking lot, leaving taehyung to catch up behind her. when he unlocks the car doors, she immediately slides into the backseat, hands covering her eyes as she tries to comprehend what had just gone down.

"oh god, oh god, oh god," she repeats to herself in a mantra, burying her face in her hands as taehyung seats himself in the driver's seat, but taehyung doesn't mention the situation earlier, to her relief, and instead offers to send her home.

irene agrees, mustering a small nod, and the two simmer in silence along the road back, with taehyung whistling to himself while irene stares out the window. it's not until taehyung offers to send her up the elevator that irene offers him a blushing response that sounds more like an unintelligible "hmph."

slowly, the elevator begins its climb, which almost seems like an eternity to irene as she stands awkwardly to one corner, with taehyung in the other.

3.

breathe in, breathe out.

8.

it's not the end of the world, bae joohyun.

12.

sure, it's ing embarrassing, but he'll forget about it soon.

17.

or not.

19.

"you didn't tell me we were going to see your mother today, too." irene breaks the silence with a dissatisfied tone. "i can't believe she thought we were dating." she adds, frowning.

she feels his gaze on her then, burning hot.

"but you said yes when she asked you," taehyung responds humorously, humming lowly.

"did not. you must've heard wrong." she lies half-heartedly, her eyes trained on her own clammy hands.

"hm," he objects with a chuckle, "if i remember correctly, your exact words were, 'yes, since two w—"

irene resists the urge to turn and face the corner of the elevator, like a punished student in an old-fashioned elementary school.

"fine!" she interjects, "so what if i did?" she demands with a challenge, and he tilts his head before stepping closer to her slowly, eyes sparking like fireworks.

21.

"so, does that mean we're dating, irene?" he laughs, his deep voice sending shivers of warmth down her spine. "that was the day you kissed me, wasn't it?"

she panics inwardly. no, no, no, bae joohyun. control yourself. what happened to the detached, rational you?

"you know, i think," irene begins with a deep breath, attempting to change the topic. it's no time before her back is pressed flat against the freezing elevator wall. "you seem to be a really good cure for my fear of elevators."

"am i?" his voice grows even deeper as he leans in.

22.

she begins to babble frantically when she feels his lower half press solidly against her. "well, actually, the third day after i moved into this apartment complex, this elevator broke—"

her words are cut short with a hiss as his warm lips press against her cold skin, right on the juncture of her neck.

"." she curses, tilting her head back against the wall as his lips continue to skim against her skin, a flirting kiss here and there, never enough to leave a mark.

her eyes close as his hand pins her right wrist to the elevator, her other hand gripping a fistful of his shirt.

23.

the elevator doors slide open.

irene pushes taehyung off frantically when she hears the elevator ding, but it's far too late when a tell-tale shriek that could only belong to park sooyoung fills the hallway.

"oh my god," joy cackles, nearly on the floor in front of the elevator, clutching her stomach as she doubles over with laughter. "and all this time i thought you'd rather die than bring a man home for the night."

behind her, a casually dressed young man offers a pleasant, but somewhat awkward smile. he has plain, raven hair, dark brows, a charismatic nose, and full lips.

"i'm kim seokjin, joy's boyfriend." he says to irene, nodding politely to taehyung, perhaps apologetically, but more so with a harmless humor.

irene clears , refusing to look in taehyung's direction to potentially save herself of dying of embarrassment. "nice to meet you, seokjin. my name is irene."

"we know, we know." joy butts in, still sporadically giggling in between syllables before glancing pointedly at taehyung. "and you must be kim tae—"

"joy, we'll talk about this later." irene cuts her off immediately, cheeks burning.

"and you—" irene then points at taehyung, who blinks back at her innocently. "you're going home."

taehyung's expression morphs from an amused one to that of a kicked puppy, causing joy to collapse into a fit of laughter once more.

irene however, refuses to buy into it, shoving taehyung into the elevator without a hint of guilt.

level 23 group chat;

joy
listen up laid ease !1!1!!1!!
i have some tea to spill
this is a few hours late cuz i went out for dinner w jin and i got distracted but

yerim
???

seungwan
i feel like joy has become the equivalent of our apartment's dispatch

seulgi
does dispatch run license plates?

joy
THIS IS BETTER THAN A LICENSE PLATE MY DEARS

yerim
WHAT IS IT THEN
HURRY THE UP

joy
yerim ur just pressed cause ur man is probably whining for your attention next to you

seungwan
lol that's probably true but pls spill already joy

seulgi
i have my popcorn

yerim
is jungkook allowed to hear this because he's right next to me

seulgi
i knew it!! heh

seungwan
mister jeon jungkook as your honorary noona i'm gonna have to ask you to leave

yerim
sjfhshswgwviBhaiwuVHJWISGfxwh

joy
are yerim's 2 jungkook-centric braincells alright lmao

yerim
sorry jungkook threw me onto the bed n my fingers slipped

seungwan
pg-13, yerim....

joy
i like this song

yerim
WE WERENT DOING ANYTHING I JUST ASKED HIM TO MOVE ME ONTO THE BED CAUSE I WANTED TO SLEEP N THEN HE THREW ME TO BE PETTY

seungwan
wait is that his bed?
are you gonna stay out tonight again?

yerim
...yes

seulgi
HAHA i won, seungwan unnie owes me money!

joy
ok back to the topic

seulgi
my popcorn is almost gone

joy
anyways i saw irene n her boi kim taehyung living it up in the elevator

yerim
WHAT

seungwan
what

seulgi
w h a t

seungwan
you ruined it didn't you

joy
why is that your first reaction?
and no, the elevator doors opened mkay...not my fault

seulgi
where's irene unnie?

yerim
probably still holed at home working at this hour???

irene
I appreciate your information, Joy.

yerim
nevermind lmaO

joy
damn right you do

seungwan
yah park sooyoung how reliable is your information anyways

irene
Taehyung and I are dating now.

yerim
o

seulgi
eeeeeeheheheheheheh
OUR SHIP! ooh la la

seungwan
i approve oh my god
i also can't believe joy was right about something

joy
i predicted it since the very start 😤
see this is why everyone gotta touch base with ur fav tall friend
because it's useless hiding from me tbh for instance
seul how is jimin treating you!!!!
i can't Believe you let him meet everyone in lvl 23 except ME

seulgi
well i didn't want you to ask him for his license plate

seungwan
she has a fair point

joy
look
i already promised not to do that

seulgi
but we're doing great actually!
he uh, hugged me yesterday

joy
congrats slugger
you've been impregnated

irene
Joy, what did I say about crude jokes?

joy
I'M JUST KIDDING OFC!

seungwan
i'm pretty sure you almost made her go out and buy a pregnancy test

irene
See?

yerim
seulmin is ing cute, ok
it's like teddy bear love

joy
makes sense, seulgi is a teddy bear
unlike you and, uh, jungkook

seungwan
lately i find myself agreeing with joy...
i must be losing my mind lol
btw yerim are you sure you aren't coming home for the night?

seulgi
yerm don't come home
seungwan unnie owes me 10,000 won

yerim
ugh i wish but

seungwan
but?

yerim
jungkook literally fell asleep on my lap and i can't lift his coconut head
poor baby

seungwan
your twenty-four year old baby

joy
must've been a pain to give birth to

yerim
UNNIES SHUT THE UP

yerim puts her phone down on the nightstand as she leans over and ruffles jungkook's hair. she places a kiss on his forehead, just above his brow.

his eyelashes flutter before he opens his eyes slightly, finding yerim hovering over him with an unreadable expression.

"don't worry, i'm not leaving." she tells him softly, her voice gentle as he shifts closer to her stomach.

her hair tickles his cheeks as she looks down at him.

"sleep, kook." she says.

so he does.

a/n
hi guys! a lil update from me here, rv is coming back soon, and i'm dyinggg. also, i decided to co-publish lvl23 on aff, for those that like to read fics there instead, and will be uploading the 20 chapters i have so far here over there ASAP. thank you as always for commenting, reading, and voting, and for allowing this fic to have reached #1 in jungri, #4 in vrene, and #19 in seulmin for a period of time. 
💞💞💞 ju