peace | taekook

chapter nine

the faint tap of the keyboard was the only noise that roamed between the two conjoined offices. on one end, namjoon sat with furrowed brows and pent up tension regarding some report that showed a downturn in monthly sales, on the other, taehyung was trying desperately to get the square block to fit into his tetris pattern.

he groaned when he lost, never quite able to make it past level eleven. a discarded sandwich sat on his desk, he poked at the melted cheese, tearing a corner off and wondering if was hungry enough to justify eating.

he opted instead to call jimin who had stayed the night at yoongi's which meant he was not updated on the jungkook situation yet. the phone barely rang before the blonde picked up, "tae! oh my gosh, i have so much to tell you."

"hello to you too. what did you have to tell me?"

"yoongi took me to the most incredible place last night. it was a club but it was all secret and hush-hush and that guy we met, j-hope he was dancing and rapping and he's actually super talented. was not second hand embarrassed for him at all!" jimin sighed in delight, "how did i get so lucky? yoongi is so cultured. he knows all the details of the city! he's a gem."

"he sounds it."

"he mentioned that you stopped by the shop and that you... got a tattoo?" jimin halted before saying it, still shocked the words were falling off his tongue.

"i did. you must have maybe made it known that my mother used to call me v because that's what he surprised me with."

"really?" jimin bit his bottom lip, "were you sad? because you know, your hunky new man was tattooing the nickname that your dead mom gave you and i know you don't like to think about emotions especially regarding her?"

"jimin that is so morbid!"

"the dead mom thing?"

"yes!" tae knew his friend didn't have a filter yet every time it shocked him.

"well, my bad. i take it back!" that was his way of apologizing, "how was it though? good? did it hurt? was he nice? gentle?"

"it was good." taehyung wasn't quite sure how to bring up the most important aspect of the night; best to just blurt it out, "we kissed actually!"

the other side of the line went totally silent, a moment passing by and tae wondered if the call had dropped, "hello?"

"you what?" jimin squealed in delight, "you kissed him? he kissed you! what happened?"

"it just happened."

jimin rolled his eyes, the annoyance almost audible, "but who made the move? him, right?"

"are you saying i'm not capable?" taehyung pretended to be offended, "obviously him. he just leaned in- he smells like sandalwood- and kissed me."

"so, are you two like going to go on a date or what's the plan? jimin thrived on progression, on knowing more information- he'd plan out the next five years in five minutes for anyone who asked.

"i'm not sure! we left it kind of..." tae sighed, disappointed, "open ended, i guess."

"i'm trying to put any additional pressure out there but i have heard that jungkook moves on quickly. he bounces around!" the blonde tried to be encouraging in his tone but it seemed to come out in the opposite way, "i mean he was just with lia like last week."

"yes, i know. thank you jimin!" his tone dripped with sarcasm.

"either way, in other news, you remember j-hope?"

"the one we were just talking about a minute ago? you went to his show?"

"so you were paying attention!" jimin joked, "he's starting up a new fashion line for spring and i told him you're a model, showed him some of your past shoots; he's interested."

"in me?"

"in you. being the face of his brand!"

taehyung bit his lip to hide his excitement, "you're serious? he barely knows me."

"but he saw how undeniably handsome your stupid face is and how good you look in front of the camera. you're not saying no, are you?"

"i'm saying that i should be focused on my new position at work but, i'm also saying i'd rather work with j-hope."

"then it's settled. i'll give him your info!"

"do you know what day it is?" tae popped his calendar open on his screen, the week filled with investor meetings and marketing strategy brainstorms none of which seemed interesting.

"it might... maybe... be tomorrow." jimin could feel the frustration from his friend knowing he'd have to convince his brother to let him go.

"are you going to be there?"

"of course! yoongi is going so i am going." jimin paused, "and to support you of course!"

"save it!" taehyung mocked, "i see i've been demoted to second best."

"either way, tell joon this is important and get your ass home so we can do face masks and prep."

"you're at my house more than i am! why aren't you paying rent again?"

jimin hung up the phone before that conversation could continue, leaving tae to clean up the mess he'd be leaving.

he glanced through the shared door into namjoon's office. it reminded him of the cabin they would go as kids, a bathroom in between two bedrooms with doors on each side; they'd leave all of them open and sleep at the foot of their beds so they could talk long into nights.

somewhere a divide had happened with different life goals and drama but despite, tae knew his brother would ultimately allow him to go to this shoot and a million more.

"joon!" tae called, rolling his chair over, his shoeless feet tracking on the carpet, "what are you working on?"

"i'm breaking down the analytics for the projected marketing strategy as we move into more corporate partnerships." his glasses sat at the edge of his nose, daring to fall at any second, "and you?"

tae smiled sweetly, the tips of his mouth practically reaching his ears, "we should get lunch more."

"we already ate lunch." namjoon was so factual and stern, the tension in his shoulders sat like an aura of anger.

"i meant in general!" tae huffed, climbing from his own chair and into the one that was across from his brother's desk.

"okay, tomorrow then."

"ooo..." tae sucked the air from the room into his lungs, pausing, "i can't tomorrow."

"okay then another day."

"you don't care why i can't?" tae's fingers were dancing nervously along the edge of the walnut desk they was covered in printed papers and busted pens.

"i assume you have errands between our meetings, am i assuming incorrectly?" namjoon had finally paused what he was doing, his eyes darting to his younger brother curiously.

he couldn't help but laugh nervously, "well, you see, i actually can't attend those meetings because i have another job tomorrow!"

"another job?" joon folded his hands together, "besides this one? the one that is in your family name?"

"it's a gig joon; a really important one!" taehyung felt himself pleading, a bit embarrassed as he tried to justify why he wanted to go, "and you can just send me the notes like you always do and-,"

"it's fine tae. i should have expected it!" he looked a little disappointed which made tae's once nervous stomach drop to the floor.

he knew he was the difficult one but, it didn't mean he wanted to be, "i'll make it up to you."

namjoon didn't need compensation. he knew tae had dreams distant from the corner office and the chair at the top and despite what it seemed, he supported those entirely, "good luck tomorrow, okay?"

"thanks joon."

the younger retreated back to his office, closing the door and shoving his laptop into his bag. one one hand he was giddy to be going home, on another he was laden with guilt.

those feelings would have to pause for a minute, make room for excitement and nerves.

he'd dwell in due time.