************ Two Years Ago **************

 

It was his first day on the job and Hoseok had been nervous from the moment his boss Namjoon had introduced him in front of the entire office. Hoseok didn’t naturally get nervous around people— in fact, he had a naturally charismatic aura around him that made it easy to make friends wherever he went— but any sensible person would get nervous on their first day of work.

 

Everyone lazily said hello back and Namjoon had proceeded to show him to his desk next to the other accountants, sans one.

 

“These are all the other accountants, minus Yoongi-ssi who prefers to work alone,” Namjoon had told Hoseok as he pointed out the last accountant sitting at an isolated desk in the corner of the office. Yoongi hadn’t paid him any attention when he was introduced in front of the office, Hoseok recalled. He hadn’t even lifted his head from his computer to acknowledge Hoseok.

 

Normally Hoseok would feel a bit irritated at this blatant disregard, but something about his man garnered his interest. Instead of focusing on his work, Hoseok spent the first part of the day studying Yoongi. Maybe it was the fact that he sat by himself or that nobody ever talked to him, but Hoseok was determined to get to know more about him, and maybe even become his friend.

 

Hoseok noticed Yoongi heading over to the break room, probably taking an early lunch. Through the window, he could see Yoongi at a table eating by himself, a scene that broke his heart. Nobody should ever be left alone.

 

“Does he always eat alone?” Hoseok leaned over and asked Jackson as he gestured to Yoongi’s small figure eating in the break room.

 

“Who? Oh...Yoongi-ssi. He’s a scary guy who likes to be left alone. I value my life so I wouldn’t ever dare eat with him,” Jackson replied back with little interest.

 

With that response in mind, Hoseok decided to take his lunch break a bit early. He grabbed his lunch from the fridge and went into the break room.

 

Upon entering the room, Hoseok was met with a confused stare from Yoongi that was a tad bit intimidating. Determined to stick to his plan, Hoseok introduced himself to the other man, and then proceeded to sit directly across Yoongi.

 

Yoongi was obviously taken aback by his action, so he attempted to defend himself, ”Is it alright if I eat with you? It’s just that I don’t like being alone. P-plus, you looked like you needed some company.”

 

Yoongi surprisingly agreed and continued to eat his food in silence. But sitting in silence was not part of the plan. So, Hoseok began to ask the other man many different questions to get him talking— How his day was going, whether he enjoyed working at the company, what he liked to do when he wasn’t working. Yoongi answered back in short sentences, clearly not enjoying the attention.

 

Despite this reaction, Hoseok continued to pester Yoongi, and his efforts finally paid off when he asked about pets. Yoongi’s face immediately lit up as he talked about his dog Holly. He even pulled out his phone to show him some pictures and videos he had taken.

 

Hoseok was absolutely taken aback by this sudden change in attitude— but he enjoyed every second of it. He couldn’t help but smile at the way Yoongi’s eyes sparkled as he talked about his dog, or the way he cutely cooed at all the photos he had saved on his phone.

 

After this short talk about pets, Yoongi became more receptive to his conversation efforts, even supplying questions of his own. A funny joke on Hoseok part rewarded him with the beautiful sound of Yoongi’s laughter— a sound that Hoseok decided he wanted to hear again and again. Time seemed to pass almost too fast, until their lunch break was finally done.

 

“Wow, time flew by fast! I really enjoyed talking to you Yoongi-ssi. Hopefully we could do this again in the future.. you know if that’s alright with you,” Hoseok sincerely told Yoongi.

 

“It is. Thank you for this… I really appreciate you— I mean your actions,” Yoongi responded back shly, causing Hoseok’s heart to do a backflip.

 

He waved back at the other man before heading back to his desk. Hoseok sat in his seat and contemplated everything that had taken place. Yoongi was by no means the grump everybody made him out to be, but rather a shy guy who just needed to warm up to you. It was safe to say that Hoseok enjoyed getting to see the true side of Yoongi… he absolutely enjoyed it.

 

It’s only your first day and you’ve already fallen for one of your coworkers. Great job Hoseok!, he sarcastically thought to himself as he glanced over Yoongi. Hoseok figured this was going to become a habit, but he really didn’t mind.

 

************ Present Day ***************

 

“Balloons... Check. Streamers...up and hanging. Plain cupcakes that I didn’t even want but Seokjin told me to buy cause apparently we can’t afford gold flakes… Check,” Yoongi looked around the room as he went through his checklist to ensure that everything was perfect for the party.

 

“Yoongles, we’ve been here since five in the morning and you still haven’t given us a break! I’ve literally got cramps in my arms from hanging up all these decorations! You better pay for my hospital bills!” Jungkook complained.

 

“I told you never to call me that again! And you can have a break after I finish going over my list, so quit your complaining!” Yoongi shot back.

 

“This is the tenth time you’ve gone over the list! I’m pretty sure it hasn’t changed since the last time you went over it,” Taehyung interjected as he put on a green party hat and then attempted to place one on Jimin’s sleeping body next to him. Jimin had fallen asleep sometime after all the balloons had been hung up and didn’t even stir at Taehyung’s movements.

 

The pair, along with Jungkook and Jackson, were called by Yoongi to help set up decorations. Although they were happy to help— well not Jungkook, but he lived with Yoongi so he didn’t have any excuse— they did not anticipate having to come in to the office before the crack of dawn. Yoongi’s demands had really worn them out, and much like the sleeping Jimin, they were all tired.

 

As the morning progressed, the other employees slowly trickled in and began to help set up. Luna arranged the cupcakes into a nice display while Moonbyul poured out some drinks. Minho, Taemin, and Kibum were all gathered around a speaker trying to decide what songs to put on the playlist (“For the last time Minho we’re not playing SHINee’s Hello” Kibum shouted in the background). And Hyungwon was sitting at his desk, playing on his phone as usual, except Taehyung had somehow managed to put a party hat on him.

 

In the midst of all this commotion, Seokjin and Namjoon had finally arrived at the office, arm in arm. Seokjin appeared to be in a better mood than usual, as shown by his bright smile, while Namjoon sported a shy grin.

 

“Did something happen to you two?” Jungkook was the first to question the pair, suspicious of their awfully cheery behavior.

 

The couple shared a quick glance at each other before Seokjin wordlessly out his left hand for the whole office to see the silver band around his ring finger.

 

The pair was quickly surrounded by a chorus of congratulations and yelling.

 

“FINALLY!!” Taehyung and the recently awakened Jimin shouted.

 

“Wow Namjoon-hyung, I thought you would never man up,” Jackson teased from his desk.

 

“Oh my goodness! How did Namjoon-ssi propose to you?” Luna questioned as she gushed over the pair.

 

“Well, after a nice dinner out, Namjoon surprised me by taking us out to park where we had our first date. As we sat by the fountain, he suddenly got down on one knee and started to spew out his heart before finally asking the question. Of course I said yes! And as we were hugging, Namjoon lost his balance— so typical of him— so both of us went tumbling into the fountain and we had to go home soaking wet but I didn’t care at all,” Seokjin explained as everyone listened with rapt attention.

 

Namjoon rubbed the back of head at his past actions, but completely melted when Seokjin smiled at him again.

 

“Wow guys, you know how happy I am for you, but did you really have to announce your engagement at Hoseok’s party? That’s kinda wack if you ask me,” Jackson shrugged and looked over to see if Yoongi was angry at this change in plans.

 

“I think it’s great that you guys got engaged! It makes the day more fun for everyone,” Hoseok announced from the front door with his usual grin.

 

“Seungri!! I told you to keep an eye on the door and tell us when Hoseok was coming!” Yoongi reprimanded.

 

“Well, my OTP just got engaged! What else did you expect!” he responded back.

 

Everyone chorused out a loud “SURPRISE!!” as Yoongi gave them the signal, like what was originally in the plan. Hoseok eyes twinkled as he basked in the attention he was getting.

 

Kibum pressed play on the speaker and the office was suddenly filled with loud party music. “Hey girls, do you know what time it is? It must be party time! Here we go. P-A-R-T-Y,” Kibum sang along with the Girls Generation track before proceeding to do some outrageous dance moves.

 

“Thank you so much for planning this party for me!” Hoseok tried to yell his appreciation over the loud music.

 

“Give your thanks to Yoongi-hyung. Everything was all his idea,” Jungkook said as he patted a blushing Yoongi on the back.

 

Luckily for him, Seokjin walked up to the man and handed over his birthday gift, effectively stealing Hoseok’s attention before Yoongi could pass out.

 

“So you just gonna bring me a birthday gift on my birthday to my birthday party on my birthday with a birthday gift,” Moonbyul recited as Taemin laughed at her imitation of the meme.

 

“It’s from me and Namjoon. We know that you’re really into street clothing, so we both decided to get you this,” Seokjin told Hoseok as he handed over the gift.

 

Hoseok pulled the tissue paper out of the bag to reveal a brand new pair of (really expensive) shoes. “Wow, thanks guys! I’ve really been in the need of some new sneakers!” Hoseok brightly told the pair as he walked over and gave them each quick hug.

 

“Open my gift next Hoseok-ssi!” Luna yelled out as she rushed forward to the man. It was a known fact in the office that Luna absolutely loved giving gifts, and it seemed like today was no exception.

 

Yoongi slowly slipped out of view once a crowd began to form around Hoseok as everyone waited to hand over their gifts. He walked over to his desk and opened the top drawer, where he had placed his present earlier. Yoongi grabbed the gift before hesitating. It wasn’t something he wanted the others to see, so he slowly placed it back in his desk, deciding it was best to give Hoseok the gift later.

 

Suddenly, Joonmyun — who had just arrived at the office— walked up to the man, with clear confusion written across his face.

 

“What’s the party for?” Joonmyun asked Yoongi innocently.

 

Yoongi turned over and looked at him with an appalled expression, which quickly turned into irritation as he realized Joonmyun seriously did not know what day it was.

 

“Hoseok’s party is literally everything that we have been talking about for the last week!” Yoongi yelled at him, causing Joonmyun to shrink in fear.

 

“Are you for real?! You really don’t know?!,” a passing Jackson contributed to the conversation.

 

“Yoongi-ssi hasn’t let anybody get any sleep because he wanted everything to be perfect for Hoseok’s birthday. He even called me at midnight to make sure that I had bought him a gift,” Seungri said as he passed Jackson a drink.

 

“Well I was sick all last week, so I didn’t know today was Hoseok-ssi’s birthday,” Joonmyun attempted to defend himself. Jackson and Seungri shook their heads in disappointment before they took their leave.

 

“So you’re telling me that you didn’t get Hoseok a gift?” Yoongi seriously asked Joonmyun to which he nodded in response, “Then get the out.”

 

Across the room, Jimin was engaged in a serious conversation with Taehyung.

 

“Jimin, we’ve been over this a million times already. You felt disappointed yesterday because maybe you actually do have some feelings for Jungkook. Maybe that’s why you always pick fights with him, you just want his attention,” Taehyung tried to reason with Jimin as they watched Yoongi walk over to a stressed Jungkook and tried to calm him down.

 

“What do you think they’re talking about? No, nevermind, I don’t care,” Jimin remarked before continuing with the original conversation, ”That’s impossible Tae. No feelings besides anger exist.” They watched as Jungkook fiercely nodded in agreement to whatever Yoongi just said. It almost appeared as if Yoongi was trying to get Jungkook to do something.

 

“Instead of focusing on what you hate about him, try to list out some of his positive qualities. Things you like about him, you know, when you aren’t fighting.”

 

“Hmm… I guess his annoying face is somewhat good-looking, he’s pretty diligent with his work, and he manages to become good friends with everyone, his concern when I accidentally hurt myself with the stapler that one time...and the way he looked at me at the party store, how he listened to me ramble about dumb things, the subtle compliments he gives me that I never realized before….and OH MY GOD I think I like him!” Jimin screamed out in realization. Taehyung gave him a few pats on the back to calm him down. It wasn’t easy realizing that you might have a crush on the guy you thought you hated.

 

Jungkook glanced at him quickly before looking away once he noticed he had made eye contact. All his confidence seemed to disappear as he leaned back into Yoongi’s shoulder. But Yoongi was having none of it and pushed Jungkook up from his chair… towards Jimin.

 

“My work here is done. I’ll leave you to your thoughts now,” Taehyung replied as he got up from his spot. Jungkook was making his way towards Jimin.

 

“What, you can’t leave now— not when I’m having an existential crisis! Where are you going?” Jimin cried as he clung onto Taehyung’s arm.

 

“I made Yoongi-hyung promise to sing Psy’s ‘New Face’ with me in exchange for letting him borrow my karaoke machine at the party,” Taehyung responded before slipping his arm out of Jimin’s grip. Jungkook had finally made it to Jimin.

 

“Hey Jimin-ssi, can we talk,” Jungkook asked him as he rubbed the back of his head nervously.

 

“Uh s-sure,” Jimin stuttered out as he followed Jungkook to the secluded break room.

 

Yoongi watched as Jungkook headed towards the break room with Jimin in tow. It had taken a lot of convincing, but Yoongi had finally knocked some sense into the younger guy. He sighed as the pair disappeared from view before Taehyung grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the karaoke machine. Well a promise was a promise.

 

After a rather energetic performance from the two, Yoongi decided to return to his desk, away from all the celebration. Although he had worked hard to set the whole thing up, parties weren’t really his thing, so he preferred to be alone during these kinds of events. As long as Hoseok was happy, so was he.

 

 Yoongi spent a few seconds twirling around in his chair, trying to pass some time, until he heard another person walk up behind him. He stopped his spinning only to come face to face with Hoseok.

 

“I figured you would be out here by yourself since you don’t like parties,” Hoseok observed as he took a seat next to Yoongi.

 

“Did you come over to compliment my fantastic duet with Taehyung?” Yoongi laughed out. Maybe it was the entertaining air of the party or all the sugar coursing through his body, but he found himself brave enough to joke around with Hoseok.

 

“Your ‘New Face’ performance was rather amazing if I do say so myself. But besides that, I wanted to thank you for fixing together this whole thing. Nobody’s ever done this much for me before,” Hoseok sincerely told Yoongi as they locked eyes.

 

Before he lost his nerve, Yoongi pulled out his gift from his desk and handed it over to Hoseok. “Well, you deserve every second of it. Here’s my gift. I hope you like it.”

 

Hoseok unwrapped the gift to reveal a photo of the two they had taken at some other office party. The picture was encapsulated within a hand-decorated frame. Hoseok smiles gently at his gift, which was undoubtedly the best he had received all day. It wasn’t big or expensive, but it meant a lot to him.

 

Yoongi seemed to mistake his silence as disappointment. “I’m sorry if it’s lame. I thought it would be nice, but I guess I was wrong,” Yoongi mumbled out.

 

Rather than respond, Hoseok rushed forward and enveloped the smaller man in a bone-crushing hug. “I think it’s absolutely perfect. Everything has been perfect. Thank you for being you.”

 

Yoongi was glad Hoseok couldn’t see his beet red face at the moment.

 

“You’re welcome Hoseok,” Yoongi replied as he leaned back into the hug. All his hard work had paid off.

 

*******************************************

Silence echoed throughout the break room as Jimin and Jungkook just stared at each other. Each tick of the hands on the clock reverberated throughout the entire room. Neither was sure if the other could hear his heart beating loud like a drum. Jimin, totally unsettled by quiet atmosphere, was the first to speak.

 

“So, what did you want to tell me?”

 

“IjustwantedtoapologizeforbeingsomeanallthetimeandIwantedtotalkaboutmytruefeelingsforyou,”Jungkook rushed out all in one breath.

 

“Wait what did you say? I didn’t understand any of that,” Jimin replied, his face skewered up in pure bewilderment. Jungkook mentally screamed.

 

“Yoongi-hyung said to just spill it out, but this is totally not the way I imagined this happening...,” Jungkook rambled as he walked across the break room nervously.

 

“Are you sure you don’t need some time by yourself? I can leave if you want,” Jimin declared totally perplexed by the scene in front of him.

 

This statement got Jungkook to stop his pacing and gather up his courage. He took a deep sigh before walking up to Jimin and locking eyes with him. Jimin was taken aback by the tender expression on Jungkook’s face. He felt his heartbeat nervously speed up at the close proximity, much like it had at the party store.

 

“Jimin-ssi, do you want to out on a date with me?”