5.0 [bad days will get better]

t/w mentions of mental health conditions
___
taehyung's POV

When Taehyung woke up that morning, he could tell it was one of those days. 

The nasty kind, the kind where the poisonous thoughts he worked so hard to suppress broke through to swirl in the front of his mind. Like some sort of really sad tornado.

The fact that he'd slept through both of the alarms he'd set didn't help his mood, but oh well.

The only person that'd get mad at him for being late today was his Jin hyung, who apparently now doubled as his employer. It worked out great for Taehyung, because as a fashion design student, he needed to work somewhere with somewhat flexible hours.

Too many times he'd lost a job because he'd stayed up till sunrise perfecting his ensemble for his Fashion Design course, only to sleep through his entire work day.

The clock by his bed read 9:02 AM, meaning he'd probably be about half an hour late to his first ever shift. Maybe even more since he still hadn't gotten out of bed and instead opened up Twitter first thing.

Taehyung was a very observant person. This also meant he was good at leaving subtle cues for...  less observant people to find. 

Essentially, he knew he was having a bad day, so he decided to post a terrible joke first thing in the morning so that his friends wouldn't worry.

Some weird crap about uncles and chicken tenders, he's already forgotten the punchline by the time he slouches into the bathroom.

The face that greets him in the mirror is a little paler than normal, but at the very least he looks well-rested.

"It's a good day. I'm gonna have a great fuckin' day," Taehyung muttered as he scrubbed the remaining fatigue from his face. Hyping himself up a little wasn't gonna hurt anyone.

By the time he'd done his hair, picked his outfit (no uniforms, thank you very much) and grabbed his keys, it was 9:23 AM. 

He scoffed in annoyance as he walked by his roommate who was passed out haphazardly on the couch, clearly having come back home drunk as hell last night. No wonder he hadn't heard Taehyung's alarm either.

As he entered the elevator and pressed 'G'  for Ground Level, he heard aggressive steps and yelling coming his way. Startled, he turned around and saw his elderly little neighbour reaching for the elevator as it closed.

The devil on Taehyung's shoulder told him to let the door's close. Ah, but I shouldn't be such an asshole so early in the morning. 

So he held his hand out with a pained smile, watching as the old woman clambered in with shopping bags and her strange dog's leash in hand.

"Good morning, Ms. Choi. Good morning, Fiona," he said pleasantly, like he wasn't considering letting the elevator shut in cold blood a second ago.

A little dramatic, but still true.

"Why do you speak to my Fiona? Fiona does not like you. She will not bark 'good morning' for you. Where are you going?" Ms. Choi said all this in her signature rapid-fire Korean.  Taehyung was well acquainted with her tone and her nosiness, so he answered, "An interview, ma'am."

"Interview for what?"

"A job." Why is she interrogating me?

The weird little chihuahua stared up at him unblinkingly.

"Hmph," she gave him a shrewd look, "here's some free advice: try to actually keep the job this time, boy. I've seen you head off to 4 different interviews in the last couple months itself."

Taehyung prickled, glancing at the numbers ticking down on the screen. Almost there, almost-

"If playing dress-up doesn't work out, you'll need a back-up plan. A real man needs to support his family, not live up in dreamland and-"

"Ah, this is my floor. You two have a good day!" and with that he rushed towards his car, his mood having soured even more. 

Once settled in his car, he opened the glove compartment and saw his little orange bottle of antidepressants.

He was slowly trying not to use them, as per his doctor's orders. However, on days that he could feel the symptoms kicking in, he was supposed to take them. Immediately.

After some deliberation, Taehyung sighed and dropped the little bottle and shut the compartment. He'd hold out as long as possible. Perhaps seeing his friends' faces would help him come out of this fog. That's not how his condition worked, but it also couldn't hurt, right?

For now, he drove the short distance to The Astronaut and practiced a lighthearted smile on the way. He hadn't had a real Bad Day in months. This was probably a fluke.

___

Taehyung hated coffee. The way it smelled, the way it looked, the way it tasted-

He was a hot chocolate guy. But more than that, he was a tea guy. It was one of the reasons Jin had come running to hire him. Taehyung has learned the art of tea brewing at his loving grandmother's knee, and he was basically a tea connoisseur by now.

Speaking of Jin, he'd been mad at Taehyung's tardiness for all of 5 minutes before he spotted the stupid "Free Hugs" sign the younger had doodled. Taehyung was feeling loads better after the long hug and affectionate teasing from his oldest hyung; Jin really kept him together sometimes.

Back to the tea thing , though. One of the biggest reasons the line at the cafe was so painfully long and impatient is because Taehyung felt the need to thoroughly explain each variety of tea.

"No, ma'am, hojicha and genmaicha are not the same. Hojicha is green tea leaves that are fully roasted, so they have a deeper, smoky flavour. Genmaicha is green tea with toasted brown rice, so it's mild and light, almost a cereal kind of sweetness," the brunette lectured from his spot behind the cash register.

Jimin had clearly had enough, judging by the way he violently nudged Taehyung out of the way and just punched in a normal green tea for the poor customer.

After she'd left, Jimin fully took over the cash, instructing the younger to help Jin crank out the orders instead.

"There's back-up coming in like half an hour, so do not burn, impregnate, or destroy anything before then," Jimin called after him.

Ignoring how loud his best friend had just yelled the word 'impregnate', Taehyung excitedly asked the more pressing question. "Is Yoongi hyung coming?!"

Taehyung sort of idolized Yoongi. But seriously, who wouldn't?

Jimin arched a brow. "Yes, he is."

Jin sighed dreamily as he washed out the moka pot. "Namjoon-ah is coming too. I cannot wait to see those biceps in an apron. I'm sure photos don't do them justice."

Jimin and Taehyung gagged simultaneously before all 3 of them scrambled to tackle the growing crowd of customers.

Things were going fine, albeit a little hectic. Often, the brunette had to google how to make certain drinks. He did it discreetly, holding the phone in his sleeve or under the counter- all that cheating in high school Chemistry had turned him into a ninja of the iPhone.

True to his word, Yoongi and 2 of his friends- Namjoon and Hoseok, he'd called them- marched into the store, ready and eager to help. They all introduced each other quickly before assigning the newcomers with their tasks.

Taehyung had a suspicion that all the hot men in the store were responsible for the crowd not dissipating fast enough for a Saturday morning.

As he pondered this and wiped a dry coffee stain from the counter, a customer called out to him. Specifically to him.

Did they not see Hoseok standing in front, at the register?

"Um, excuse me, do you guys make café noisettes? I'd like a coffee before I gotta work on my day off," a melodic, male voice asked of him.

"Sorry sir, I don't really know what the hell that is, please try asking the cashier," Taehyung huffed back, scrubbing harder at the determined stain. Sure, he was being a little impolite, but his nerves were frayed with stress.

"That's not a problem, I can teach you. But first, do you mind passing me a croissant? I skipped breakfast for this."

There were many hints that this customer was somehow forced to come here and torture Taehyung on his first day, so he finally turned around to face him.

"Alright, listen here-" the brunette looked up to meet the biggest, sparkliest doe eyes he'd ever seen. They conveyed amusement, mischief, and a gentleness he couldn't name.

Taehyung dropped the dish towel in his hands.

"Right, my name's Jungkook. I, uh, probably should've led with that. And according to Yoongi hyung, I'm your co-worker for the day!" the ravenette explained sheepishly.

Taehyung literally winced at how unbelievably cute this guy was. Not a good sign.

Ah, shit, here we go again.

___

i have the same condition that tae has (to be revealed in a future chap) so this is pretty personal for me. please be kind <3

i promise this fic has more crack on the way <3