Crimson

제 1 장

The city of Seoul was drenched in the pouring rain. In his 4 months here, this was the first time Taehyung had seen such a heavy downpour. But he was not oblivious to it, such rain could be seen in his hometown, Daegu, almost daily. He smiled while looking outside, missing his family.

The smacking sound of a palm colliding with the counter was what shook Taehyung out of his thoughts. Taehyung flinched and smiled sheepishly while looking at his customer.
"May I take your order sir?"
The customer, who earlier seemed angry melted at hearing Taehyung's velvety voice and looking at his angelic, innocent face. The man, who was perhaps in his mid-twenties blushed and gave his order, all the while seeking not-so-subtle glances at Taehyung.

Taehyung rolled his eyes. He knew the effect he had on people. He knew that his soft golden skin, his fluffy silver hair and his deep brown orbs attracted people. Furthermore, his velvety voice and innocent look acted as the cherry on top of the cake to lure people in. This man was no exception.

Taehyung looked at the man in front of him. "Your name, sir?" "Garret", the man replied. Taehyung hummed, this man did have an American accent and was red faced. Perhaps the genes of one of his parents was what contributed to his slightly Korean appearance. After writing his name on the cup, Taehyung served Garret his coffee.

His shift got over at 5 that day, since it was a Saturday. He still had ten minutes before he was free and could return to his dorms. Taehyung's attention was diverted from the customer in front if him, just as he was about to hand her her coffee, by a commotion near the entrance of the Starbucks he worked in.

Taehyung shifted slightly to see what all the commotion was about. In stepped a panting boy, perhaps in his late teens, with his soaking clothes dripping water everywhere. He fragrantly abandoned the tradition to wipe his wet shoes on the mat and stepped right in, instantly making puddles on the floor.

The boy had a shock of bright orange hair on his head, which would look ridiculous on anybody else, but he carried it surprisingly well. Taehyung was able to catch a glimpse of his face, his almond eyes and pink lips, his delicate and beautiful features which were only highlighted by the water droplets on his face.

But all the positive thoughts about his beauty went right outside Taehyung's brain as he rushed forward, breaking the line and grabbing the hot expresso meant for the lady customer right out of his hands. "I'm sorry, my boss is in quite a hurry and can't possibly wait in the line for his turn to arrive to grab some much needed caffeine.", the boy said as he slapped a couple of won (Korean currency) down on the counter.

Taehyung's eyes narrowed. He might look extremely innocent, but he was not a pushover this rich boy ( He wore an expensive gucci suit and Taehyung recognized a rich person when he saw one) could boss around. "You can't take that! There are rules to be followed in this cafe, and if you can't follow them, the exit is to your right.", Taehyung yelled at the boy. But his words seemed to fall on deaf years as the boy seemed unbothered by what he just said - except a slight apologetic smile thrown his way - and walked out of Starbucks.

Taehyung was left there gaping like a fish, but he was not having any of this bullshit. He took off his apron and threw it carelessly behind his back, due to which a jar of coffee beans spilt over, the impact of which resonated around the cafe. But Taehyung could not be bothered by such things right now. Muttering a small sorry to the woman in front of him, Taehyung dashed out into the rain, his eyes scanning the crowd for a head of orange hair.

The rain water soaked his shirt and ran into his sneakers but Taehyung just gritted his teeth. He has had enough of being pushed around and dominated by people. Taehyung knew he was innocent and looked delicate, but he was slowly learning how to stand up for himself, thanks to his Jin hyung.

His Seokjin hyung always said that Taehyung only looked at the good in people and ignored the bad,which resulted in him getting hurt more often than not, but Taehyung couldn't help it. This was how his Eomma raised him. To look at the positive side of people as well as situations. But on arriving to the city, Taehyung knew he would be stomped on if he just continued with this mentality. He knew he had to change, but innocence could not be vanished in a day or two-or in his case four months - but that was just how he was.

But now as Taehyung searched frantically in the fierce rain, he knew he had to somehow learn to stand up for himself and fit this quality inside, right alongside his innocence. Taehyung's thoughts came to a stop as he saw the same attractive boy from earlier from the side of his eye. His bright orange hair was unmistakable and acted as a giveaway.

Taehyung's feet ached as he ran behind the boy, who was now heading towards a Mercedes Benz. Bloody rich fucker. With his heartbeat ringing in his ears, Taehyung cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted "Hey you! Stop right there.". The orange haired boy turned around, the look of confusion in his eyes morphing to that of shock.

While the boy was getting over his initial shock of seeing him behind himself, Taehyung marched up to him and grabbed the coffee out of his hands. Taehyung could not believe it. Had this carrot head really thought he could just do whatever he wished by flaunting his money in Taehyung's face ?

"What do you think you are doing?", yelled the boy-his sweet voice raised-and Taehyung could not believe his audacity.
"Who do you think you are? Marching into cafes and just grabbing coffees out of people's hands like some unmannered scoundrel ?"
"I already paid you! And I told you my boss is in a hurry, so please hand me back the coffee, he needs the caffeine in his system right now."

Taehyung remembered now, he wanted the coffee for his so called boss. Well, he was not going to hand it over. He has had enough of these rich people's attitude.
" If your boss wants it so much then he can come get it himself. He is not entitled to this coffee. Where is your boss? I want to see this person who can't even get a damn coffee for himself and sends his people out in the rain for trivial tasks. Where is your boss?"

The orange haired boy opened his mouth to speak but another voice cut him off,"Enough Hoseok."
Taehyung heard the black windows of the Mercedes Benz which was behind him being pulled down before an authoritative voice filled his ears.
"I believe his boss is right here."