"Would you mind if I join you, here?" 

Joohyun instantly lifted her eyes up from the book she was reading when she heard Kim Taehyung's deep voice breaking the silence in the balcony. Turning her head to the side, she found her housemate leaning against the sliding glass door with two mugs in his hands and a cheeky grin on his face. From the sweet warm smell of hot chocolate and curls of steam that was coming out from the mugs, Joohyun could easily tell that he had come straight from the kitchen right after making the drinks. The fact that he had not only one but two mugs in his hands, Joohyun's heart was happy to assume that one of it was made for her.

"Oh come on, Taehyung. You never asked." -She said, placing her book on her lap faced down and tapped her hand against the unoccupied cushioned seat next to her. "Come and sit."

It used to bother her a lot whenever Kim Taehyung shows up and interrupts her peace but lately, she doesn't mind at all if he does. In fact, she now anticipates Taehyung's presence wherever she goes and she would actually feel out of place if Taehyung gets a little too quiet or doesn't come around to disrupt her for a day. She couldn't deny the fact that she has grown fond of Kim Taehyung as days passed. Having someone to talk to, listen to her rants and goof around with after a long tiring day at work was something she has learnt to appreciate. With Taehyung around, her daily life was no longer as mundane as it used to be. 

"Is that for me?" - she shamelessly asked, eagerly pointing at the mug he was carrying.  

"Bold of you to assume I'd be nice enough you to make you a drink. Sorry to disappoint, your highness but this isn't for you..." -He replied bluntly, placing the two mugs of hot chocolate on the wooden coffee table as he plops down next to her. "They're both for me." 

"Oh..." -Joohyun said, biting her lower lip and looking down in disappointment. Tucking her hair behind her ears, Joohyun then folded her legs on the chair and lifted her book up to resume her reading.

"You know I was just messing with you, right?" -Taehyung chuckled, shaking his head when he noticed the way Joohyun tries to hide her sullen pout behind the book that barely did any justice in hiding her face. Carefully sliding the mug towards her, he said, "I made them for us. Drink it while it's still warm."

Placing her book back down on her lap, Joohyun instantly lifted up a happy smile on her face and enthusiastically reached her hand out for the mug. "Thanks, Taehyung. I could really use a hot chocolate on a cold night like this."

"Don't mention it." -He smiled, bringing his legs up to wrap his arms around them as he leaned back against the chair and gazed at the quiet scene of the night outside their home. 

The night was rather calming with a refreshing fragrance of after-rain accompanying the cool, gentle breeze. As Joohyun sips on her hot chocolate, she lets out an audible sigh of satisfaction then laid her head back on the chair. She exchanged a smile with Taehyung then shifted her gaze back to the drink in her hand to take another sip of it, enjoying the blissful night with her drink that tasted just the way she liked it to be - not too sweet but also not insipid.

"How was your day, today?" -The two of them asked synchronously, then laughed at themselves for blurting out the exact same question they had in mind,xat the same time. 

"Well, you go first." -Joohyun insisted,

"No, please. Go ahead. I'd like to hear yours. Your stories are always interesting." -Taehyung said, resting his chin against his palms as he looked at her. "You and your endless pent-up frustrations about that boss of yours. Mr Lee Minhyuk."

"Hey, my stories aren't always about that jerk, alright. My life does not revolve around him." - Joohyun said, narrowing her eyes at him. 

"Right..." -Taehyung smiled, 

'Here she goes...' -He thought.

"Honestly, I don't even want to talk about it but sometimes he's just...I don't know. He's so obsessed with himself. I have never hated someone so much and I never knew I could even hate someone this much. Seriously, he doesn't even have to do anything. It's like...he just...exist and just his presence is enough to annoy the living hell out of me. Do you get me?" -Joohyun began to rant on about the person she detested at work. 

Joohyun's boss was a complete stranger to Taehyung but he had heard so much from Joohyun about the man that he somehow felt as if he has already met the man in person. Despite repeating the same story over and over again, Joohyun was quite surprised that Taehyung had never once complained if he was sick of hearing them. He'd sit and listen intently to what she has to say, hearing her word for word before chipping in his thoughts and opinions, which sometimes manage to soothe her down from getting too worked up.  

"I get you, baby. Go on." -he said, looking at her admiringly. 

"And I - Wait, what?" -Joohyun instantly paused, thinking that she had heard Taehyung wrong. "Did you just...uhm...a-anyway, I'm glad there's one other person in my office who is the only normal person out there who has the same sentiments as I do."

"Mhmm...and that's Kim Jennie, right?" -Taehyung asked, 

"Right. Jennie." -Joohyun said, then snapped her fingers and said, "You remembered. See, this is why I like you. You always listen and you remember the things I say." 

"Wait. Could you repeat that again? You...like me?" -Taehyung raised an eyebrow, already lifting up a smirk on his face. 

"Yeah, I really do" -Joohyun confidently agreed, then instantly froze with her eyes widened when she realised what she had mindlessly said. "No, wait. Uh...I mean, I like the fact that you're a good listener. That's what I was t-trying to say. Anyway. Enough about me. How was your day?" -She quickly asked, changing the topic before Taehyung could try to again. 

Still wearing a smirk on his face, Taehyung replied, "Not that great, actually. Well, it wasn't great until you said you liked me." 

Brushing off his teasing, Joohyun placed her mug down on the table and gave Taehyung a rather concerned look on her face. Immediately moving her seat closer towards him, she said,  "Alright. I'm all ears for you, Taehyung." 

"Why are you so serious?" -He fakes a chuckle, then took a big gulp of his drink. "It's really nothing. It just wasn't great."

"Can't I at least find out what a day in life of a photographer is like?" -she asked, casually placing her hand on his forearm, "Come on, tell me what's bothering you."

Heaving out a loud sigh, Taehyung pushed his hair back, then stared into space for about five seconds before he shifted his gaze back to Joohyun. Taehyung was never one to hold back when it comes to sharing his stories. Good, bad or embarrassing, he would tell Joohyun everything about himself whenever they sit and talk. Sometimes Joohyun feels like she already knows each and every person in Taehyung's life even though she hasn't met all of them yet. From the way he was behaving at the moment, Joohyun could sense his tension and reluctance to share his troubles with her, as if her question was giving him so much pressure to answer. He wasn't being himself that night and it was honestly worrying her. His eyes were on her but she could tell that his thoughts were wandering elsewhere.

"Taehyung?" -Joohyun gently nudged his han