ACT VIII | SCENE XXXVII

❝BROKEN❞

YOONGI'S EYES TRAVELLED to his notes before glancing up again. "hm, the dark mode looks alright, but get rid of that white glare when the app is initially opened. it's off-putting. and shorten the loading time for the app slightly. it takes a little bit too long to open an app." he said with a slight frown. there was a series of nods from the team before their pens scribbled across papers.

"using a spinning daisy as the loading page and a wilted one for a bad connection was good initiative." one corner of his mouth tilted the slightest bit. "however, you should remember our client wants a user-friendly app, meaning no overcomplicated interfaces. categorise everything clearly, so that users can find whatever they want without difficulty. we want them to feel like their shopping has been made easier." his voice was soft but still carried through the room with ease.

"yes, president." the head of the development team, miss jo, replied. "also, i don't see an option to find a store here. i believe that should be an included feature where physical stores exist, no matter how well known." yoongi's brows drew together slightly. miss jo's lips stretched in a straight line, wincing slightly as she realised what she'd overlooked.

"but otherwise, everything so far is really good. great work. let me see the beta app again when you've worked out the kinks. and if there are any problems, i'll fix them myself." he closed the note in front of him. there was a chorus of "yes, president."

"alright. that would be all for today." he got on his feet. the team stood up immediately, bowing respectfully as he exited the room. yoongi exhaled deeply once he was outside, eyes shutting as he rubbed at his temples. when he opened them again, jeongguk was standing right in front of him, making him jump a little in surprise.

"you scared me." he muttered when his heart rate which had momentarily spiked returned to normal. it was then he noticed his secretary's slightly widened eyes. "what now?" he asked as he handed the younger man his things and resumed his walk to the elevators.

"hyu—" jeongguk cut himself off, realising his mistake. "president, kim seokjin has been calling nonstop." he continued. "shit," yoongi cursed under his breath, realising he had practically forgotten his plan to call his best friend. "he said to tell you he will not hesitate to leave in the middle of his shoot to come here and embarrass you in front of your staff if you don't call him back after your meeting." jeongguk's voice significantly lowered.

yoongi let out an exasperated sigh at that. "of course, he will." he said as jeongguk pressed the button for the top floor. the doors slid open soon after. "i'll call him once i'm back in my office." he stepped inside and his secretary followed suit. "i'm about to get a real earful." his chest rose and fell with a deep intake of air.

back in his office, yoongi had to mentally prepare himself before dialling seokjin's number. "ah, he's going to kill me." he groaned as he listened to the ringing on the end of the line. finally, it was answered but he was met with dead silence rather than seokjin's loud voice ranting off at the speed of light like he expected.

this was worse.

the sound of a deep breath being taken soon followed and yoongi was certain that this was far worse than any reprimand at a hundred words per second. "ah, so your phone isn't broken." seokjin sounded calm. "hyung—" yoongi began only to be cut off by seokjin. "then is it your brain? is your brain broken? i'm just wondering because it seemed like you forgot the main function of a phone is to make and receive calls."

yoongi's eyes fluttered shut, fingers running across the bridge of his nose. "hyung—" he tried again, only to be interrupted a second time. "it just seems weird to me. did you have selective amnesia or was your brain overworked to the point you forgot how to use a phone?"

"hyung—" a third attempt by yoongi was once more met by seokjin's interruption. obviously, he wasn't planning on listening to any excuse or explanation he might have. "but you know, the good thing is you figured it out again. best to focus on the bright side of things as they say. so in celebration, you're buying me lunch this weekend. i'm picking the restaurant."

yoongi would have much preferred to be yelled at, at this point. he was certain seokjin would try his best to make as significant a dent as he possibly could in his wallet as payback for ignoring him. he let out a defeated sigh. "alri—" he started to reply but just like the other times, yoongi was cut short. well, it seemed like seokjin had no plans of letting him speak at all. since he didn't want to speak to him before, he wasn't allowed to now. "and wow, why didn't i think of this earlier? you can even bring haneul! that way, she can see her uncle before he has to travel to japan for work."

yoongi was so surprised by seokjin's revelation, he hardly registered his demand. "you're going—?" again, he wasn't allowed to finish. "alright, then. you better clear any other plans you have this saturday because you're taking me and haneul for lunch. and rian is invited if she wants to come along as well. actually, i'll ask her myself. bye." seokjin stated with mock cheeriness before the line went dead.

yoongi's mouth fell open in astonishment. seokjin was going on a work trip? he had no idea, which admittedly was nobody's fault but his. he frowned. when seokjin went on these trips, he always ended up gone for longer than planned and would turn out to be going on more than one trip. after leaving japan, it was likely he'd be jetted off to another country before returning to south korea.

it was tradition for them to meet up a day before he was scheduled to leave and seokjin would always insist on paying for everything. well, not this time. yoongi pressed his lips together. this time would be different. a gasp slipped past his lips, pupils blown out in realisation. seokjin wanted haneul and rian there. and there was no way yoongi could change his mind.

this time would be completely different.

🌻🌻🌻

hehe fun time. hope you have a lovely week ahead. and don't forget to stay safe!