To Find Something True

※ forty

Sunlight twinkled through the blue sky as Jiah walked to her workplace. The morning's atmosphere was still cold, prompting her to hug herself. High school students passing by, chatting on random stuff. The smell of coffee lingered as she walked through an office worker.

To her surprise, when she reached the boutique, she found Hoseok immersed with his phone in his hand, casually leaning against the display. With his hoodies down, she almost mistook him for a customer who was waiting for the store to open. Although it wasn’t her first time seeing his hoodie down, it amazed her to see him outside their office. A wide smile adorned her lips.

He didn't seem to notice her presence, so she planned something mischievous. She jogged towards him and jumped, holding his arm as she exclaimed in a low tone, "Boo!"

Startled, Hoseok almost cursed out loud. His hand shook as his phone went to stick to his chest. Realizing it was his assistant, he exhaled a sigh and muttered, "Seriously."

Jiah threw her head back, laughing out loud. Smiling widely with her head tilted to one side, she chirped, "Good morning, Hoseok!"

Hoseok breathed out, "Good morning."

Raising both eyebrows, Jiah asked, "Are you angry?"

"No, but goodness, don't do that!"

She threw her head back again, giggling. "You were so immersed in your phone. What's up?"

"Ah, it's nothing. I was chatting with Amber noona," he answered.

"Is she coming back?"

Hoseok shook his head with a downward expression on his lips. "Not yet."

Nodding her head, she smiled at Hoseok. Then, she said, "Ah, let's go now." She patted her stomach with a grimace and said, "I'm hungry."

Hoseok chuckled and said, "Let's go."

They were a few steps away from the boutique when they bumped into the Kim siblings, Namjoon and Jungkook. Seokjin had a confused look on his face when he saw them together. Jisoo greeted them, "Hi! Good morning!"

Hoseok and Jiah replied to her in unison, "Good morning."

"Where are you going?" Seokjin asked.

"We're going out for breakfast," Jiah told him.

"What?" Seokjin exclaimed. "You're having breakfast without us?"

"It's not a big deal for a boss and his assistant to go out together," Hoseok muttered, staring at him in disbelief.

"It's a big deal to me!" Seokjin said. "Which restaurant are you going to?"

Jiah looked at Hoseok, and then Hoseok looked at Seokjin. The red-haired guy said, "I'm not telling. Important business. Let's go, Jiah." He grabbed Jiah's wrist and giggled at her dumbfounded look.

"Hey! Don't tell me you're dating too!" Seokjin shouted.

In frustration, Jisoo exclaimed, "Don't make a fuss so early in the morning!"

"How can I not? They—" Seokjin was interrupted. It made her question what was going on. When she turned her head back, Jisoo was covering her brother's mouth as she hurried Jungkook to unlock the door. Then, she instructed Namjoon to carry her brother's legs. Just as she hooked her arms under Seokjin's armpits, he shouted at her, "How dare you do this to your brother!"

And then, the door to the Bejiwoo boutique was slammed shut.

She waited to see what was going to happen next, but only the cold morning wind blew through. She turned her head to look at Hoseok and asked, "Why didn't you tell him?"