librarian: taeseok

[twelve] ˘ ³˘

taehyung stood on his tippy toes trying to reach the top row of the tall bookshelf, his duties today were to restock all the books, dust and sanitize the computer keyboards. luckily all the computer keys were sparkling clean and contained the bare minimum of germs until someone touches it and it becomes a germ paradise for socializing and mutating with other germs. all he had to do was stock the books, must were on the top shelf and he didn't feel like taking a second trip to retrieve the ladder that barely did anything, so he settled with straining his delicate hamstring muscles. "damn it" he curses, messing the top shelf by mere forced inches causing the book to fall backwards nearly taking out one of his brown eyes and shoulder, "maybe i should go and get the stupid ladder" he mumbles, weighing his options, walk to the very front of the library, down millions of steps, go through the back room, literally search for the ladder, pick it up and carry it all the way back. no thanks.

"d-do you need some help?" someone spoke behind him, startling him. "i've been watching you struggle for the past ten minutes. i mean i wasn't entirely watching, but i couldn't ignore frustration while i was reading"

"oh, so sorry i disturbed you" he replies, turning around after collecting the book. "oh? you're taehyung, right?"

he stood still, looking at the unfamiliar person in front of him, he didn't recognize his face from anywhere so curiosity increased that a stranger knew his name. "y-yeah?"

"i'm a friend of hoseok's, jeongguk, he talks about you a lot" the male snickers softly, extending his hand, "he's mentioned you, it's so good to finally meet you" he shakes the boy's hand, flashes a warm smile before looking down at the book in his hands. "we're about the same height but do you think you could put this book up there for me? i'm too lazy to go and retrieve the ladder" jeongguk nods, and within seconds the book is happy in his new home between his old friends who were tearing at the spine and had coffee stained pages.

"have you spoken to hoseok today?" taehyung asks, pushing the cart filled to the brim with books onto a new aisle. "i haven't, have you?"

"well, he had his exams this morning but i figured he would be done by now, i'm too scared to message him, what if he's still testing?" he swiftly places around ten books but in the places almost like magic, his eyes scanned quickly and his hand moved swift. "oh yeah, i forgot about that" truthfully hoseok had forgot to mention that tidbit to his friend because they were both so busy or caught in their own things and lives that sometimes they barely communicated. usually friends did that sometimes, but with jeongguk and hoseok it happened a lot, they tried hard to message or call one another everyday but sometimes days ran late and their bodies were too tired or overwhelming to remember the small stuff.

"i haven't spoken to hoseok-hyung in a few days, maybe even a week or two, how are you two? are you two smitten kids dating yet?"

he blushes a sweet coat of pink and clears his throat hoping to distract from his glowing cheeks, but jeongguk still noticed, "oh, well, yes, we're going to the art museum this weekend, it's our first date. i'm a bit nervous" he confesses with a soft chuckle, he's been on a few dates before with a couple of non-serious guys, he enjoyed hobi so much and wanted everything to go smoothly, which he knew it would. whenever the two were together they always had so much fun and learned so much about each other. "you like him?"

"y-yes, a lot actually. we've known each other for five months, he's such a sweet guy and really wise and talented"

"— he's a sweetheart. and trust me, he likes you a lot too, he talks about you constantly, it's so cute"

half of the cart was gone as jeongguk tagged along, getting to know the boy better, and occasionally helping him reach the highest shelves. once thirty minutes passed, taehyung messaged hoseok asking him to meet for coffee and cake as a celebration for taking his exams and as a good luck token to make sure he passed. the last few days the two located in hobi's room in his university apartment, mickey stayed in his lap most days while the older studied for exams. many balls of crumbled paper were tossed onto the man's clean floor, and many containers of ramen and miso soup were also on the man's floor, hobi would always apologized for not taking them out to retrieve dinner, but tae didn't mind eating something simple but yummy. when the older got frustrated, the young would massaged the man's neck, hand and scalp as they laid on the small bed together with some random song playing in the background. one night — thursday night after taehyung's shift, after eating dinner and taking the rest of the delicious food to hobi's apartment, they laid down on his bed with their hands entwined and eyes closed, tae's sock clad feet and exposed legs laid across one of hoseok's thighs. the boy's head laid on the man's chest, the peach had his fingers soothingly combing through the boy's long hair as he hummed a tune that didn't belong to any lyrics.

that night was the night they kissed. so tenderly their lips touched, and moved together with a smooth quickness. within those few minutes their lips moved without warning, the bodies moved without guidance as the chestnut sweetie shifted his body closed to hoseok's as a form of intimacy, the man's hands stay positioned on the younger's waist and one of his chubby pink burning cheeks. afterwards they listened to music from the older's radio while hobi studied distractedly as he watched tae dance to the beat which caused tons of laughter.

"hobs said he'll be here in about two minutes. you should join us, he'll be happy to see you" he smiles up at jeongguk. "ok, sure. thank you"

in approximately five minutes, the man walked in through the double set of doubled doors with a white turtleneck sweater and tight pants with shoes like almost looked like fancy dress loafers. he was all smiles as he looked over at taehyung's desk, seeing him collect his things into a pile and shoving them into his gucci branded bag. "morning sweetie, how's your shift been so far?" he leans over the desk to reach the boy's lips that tasted like the candy he had been eating all morning long. "long, but interesting. i have a surprise for you. anyways, how was your exams? do you think you did well?"

"i hope i did well, i've been studying like crazy for the past week"

"i'm sure you'll do great, hobs. i think i did a great job tutoring you" he rolls his eyes at his boyfriend's comment, "you did more dancing and playing with mickey than you did tutoring me, but i must admit you did do a fantastic job for someone who hates science. oh yeah, you said surprise?" the boy nods his head as he walks, meeting him on the other side of the desk so they could get a celebratory treat. "yep. i can't tell you yet. so, sit down and close your eyes, no peeking" he sat down at the table with four chairs and waited in silence, the hustle and bustle of college students rushed around him, he was tempted to peek but couldn't, because he didn't want to ruin whatever surprise his boyfriend had for him.

he could hear the sound of sandals coming closer, "open your eyes hobi" and he does. he smiles widely with being greeted with his close friend, who engulfs him in a large hug. "surprise!" jeongguk chuckles, high-fiving the slightly boy beside him.

"how do you two kn—?"

"your boyfriend has quite the temper with reaching the top shelf so i helped him after hearing him curse and groan for five minutes. i immediately recognized him from a picture you showed me" he was in fact glad that his two week old boyfriend had met his best friend, but regretted not having them meet earlier in time. the trio sat down in the coffeehouse as taehyung happily ordered them coffee and three pieces of carrot cake to share, the man of course offered to pay, but the younger declined many times, he wanted to treat his boyfriend and new friend to a sweet snack. during the small talk and catching up between friends, hobi held tae's hand and gently rubbed his thumb against the boy's soft skin, he even flirtatiously placed his hand on the boy's knee a few times out of habit.

they laughed and talked as the café emptied out and filled back up many times. jeongguk enjoyed spending time with his long close friend and his boyfriend who seemed as sweet as pie and as cute as a button.

good night my sweets !! it's a two month skip and they're boyfriends. i hope you guys have a greeeeeeat night, stay cool ! { or good morning, make sure to stay safe }
— annie
xoxo 💋