Jungkook

After he'd come back to work, the days seemed to pass as uncharitably as he'd expected, and Jungkook couldn't even do anything to stop the seconds from slipping away from his fingers. There was a deadline, a deadline which guaranteed Lisa's product to finally be shipped worldwide, a deadline which he himself had decided upon to which his team had worked valiantly to meet, a deadline which overall would sever his ties with the pink-haired project designer who he had become utterly and completely infatuated with over the past half year.

The 22-year old couldn't really fathom how exactly time had passed so briskly, as irritable as that fact was it was still indeed a fact; April had become May, June had become July, August had become September, and the rainy spring days where Jungkook had first become acquainted with Jimin had soon shrouded past the warmth of summer and into bitter, Autumnal breezes. As much as he had wanted to spend each waking moment at work alongside Jimin, the small part of him which remained engulfed in insecurity, and uncertainty, still endured enough to hold him back from doing what he wanted.

Then again, not everything was about doing what he wanted. Jungkook could fool himself and reassure his mind with answers to questions he didn't actually want acknowledging, just to make everyday slightly less painful by saying irrational things like, 'we can still meet up after work for a drink' or, 'I'll still see him around the office.'

But, in all honesty, who was he kidding? He didn't know anything about Jimin, and Jimin didn't know anything about him, and Jungkook was sure that the other wasn't at all interested in getting to know the younger in the slightest. Or at least, not in the way Jungkook wanted.

"Hey, Jungkook!"

Again, like always, and in a way unsurprisingly, Jungkook's heart thumped faster at the sound of that sweet and soft voice. And again, like always, and in every way unsurprisingly, the younger turned around with his mask, the one which hid every ounce of his true countenance when around this bountiful being.

"Mr Park?"

Jimin smiled, beamed in fact, before bowing and almost shoving a portfolio into the taller's arms. "I think this is the last of my work! Emphasis on 'I think'," the older joked, his arms tugged tightly behind his waist just to contain every ounce of giddiness he possessed. "But yeah, I got everything checked with the lab, the risk assessment just needs to be overlooked by a certain someone?"

"...Ah. Yeah," Jungkook replied, his voice drier than he'd anticipated. "I'll get to it, then."

Fading from the corners of his lips, Jimin's smile died down at Jungkook's not-so-full-of-excitement reply and he didn't even try to hide it. "Aren't you glad? Our hard work is finally paying off! We get an entire month off work too because of the expected profit we're supposed to receive!" the older egged on, those large almond eyes staring daggers into Jungkook as if searching for something more than he was acquiring. "An entire month! What other companies can afford to do that?"

"I'm pretty sure LOréal is very well off," Jungkook sourly quipped, his arms folded over his chest once again in an effort to avoid the other's gaze. Why was this so difficult to brave? To tolerate? Maybe tolerate wasn't the right word, because no matter how sullen he became the younger still relished his time stood beside the project designer.

"Haha, very funny, would it be too conceited of me to put our company next to LOréal?"

"Do what you want, although I'm sure being too prideful is a deadly sin," Jungkook coughed, his attempts at hiding his smile proving futile once he caught the older's adorable pout. What could he do? As bittersweet as he'd have wanted it, Jungkook couldn't help but feel somewhat at ease, maybe even happy, around this smaller man.

"I don't follow Christianity, I'll have you know," Jimin retaliated, and this time it was his turn to fold his arms profusely and turn away.

"Neither do I, although I'm sure that list of sins applies to most followings," the younger smirked, before he dragged a palm across his mouth to settle himself. "I'll check this over. You can leave early, if you'd like," Jungkook mumbled as he straightened his back, shoved his palm in his pocket and held the thick portfolio by his waist.

Maybe it'd been his imagination, but he was sure he'd caught the older's eyes dart up and down his figure before constricting once again. At this point, Jungkook didn't even try to kid himself and instead he passed it off as a pointless fantasy.

Jimin shrugged and ran his fingers through his bangs whilst staring down at his leatherette loafers. "If this is my last day here until November then I'd like to stay until regular closing time."

That definitely took the younger back a few steps. "What do you mean? Usually when I tell people to leave early they sprint for the front doors."

"Mmm...I guess this project has made me like my work a little bit more," Jimin pursed, his gaze abruptly zipping upward to meet the younger's in which Jungkook by reflex shot his eyes anywhere else but to his left. "So, are you busy later?"

What? "What?" Jungkook blurted out, his inward voice apparently making its way past his lips.

"I mean, it's what people do, right?" Jimin repeated, his fingers again hidden behind his back and his mouth jutted to the side, whilst his gaze still remained pinned to the floor. "You know, in manga's and stuff..."

"Jimin, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You don't read manga?"

"If I had the time, which I don't by the way," Jungkook sighed, however his simper widening once he glimpsed the older's expression of disbelief, "I wouldn't spend it idolising over shoujo comics." The younger turned his head, gesturing to the empty hallway, and the two slowly paced down the corridor towards Jungkook's office.

"So, what would you do? You get an entire month to yourself next week," Jimin pondered, his bangs still managing to flop over his eyes despite the amount of times he pinned it back with his hands.

"I'd go somewhere abroad. Somewhere warm."

"Hm, how about Tenerife?"

"Too touristy," Jungkook smiled.

"Thailand?"

"I've got family over there. Not exactly preferable for a 'getaway'," the younger air-quoted, his response somehow rupturing a giggle from the older. That lovely resonance only seemed to tug at Jungkook's heartstrings even more, and his hand dropped to his side once again.

Jimin bit down onto his bottom lip in thought, and Jungkook's face jerked away to his empty side. "What about Cyprus? It's supposed to be really warm over there?"

The younger shook his head. "Nah."

"Mexico?"

"Hm," Jungkook grunted, as he reached into his back pocket for his office keys. "I actually haven't been there before. When I was in the US the official's recommended against visiting there because it'd have taken us off schedule. What I'd do for Mexican street food," Jungkook shook his head whilst he opened the door and stepped into the room with the older tailing him, before he took a seat at his desk.

"So why don't you go? To Mexico?" Jimin walked up to the younger's desk, and leant against the side of it with his hands clutching the edges and his rump just ever so slightly grazing Jungkook's mug of pens. Just keep your eyes down Kook. "I've always wanted to go, but as you can imagine, my pay checks aren't enough to get me a good hotel to stay in."

"What do you mean? You live alone don't you?"

"Yes, but I've been helping out my brother. He's fresh out of university. I haven't really had the chance to save up for anything big, so if you do end up going to Mexico, make sure to have plenty of fun on my behalf!" the older laughed, however his voice wavering toward the end of it.

Jungkook swallowed, the sound of his pen scribbling across paper drowning out the steady palpitations of his heart, and so he continued to write quickly and loudly. "Well, I haven't decided anything just yet. Here," the taller stated, as he stood from his chair and handed the portfolio back to Jimin with reluctance. Was that really the last piece of work he'd receive from this mochi-man? "All that's left is to take that back to the lab and show them my signature, and you're finished."

"Um, sooooooo..." Once again, the older's eyes trailed the carpeted floor beneath lengthy lashes and blushed cheeks, in such a way to give Jungkook whiplash.

Just what was he supposed to think when Jimin looked like that? Did he show such a side to other people? Had Taemin, or whatever his name was, seen this expression too? "Mr Park?"

"You didn't answer my question earlier? Are you busy later?"

"A...are you insinuating something?"

"I mean, when I was talking about...manga," the older mumbled that last part, "I was referencing when coworkers go out for after hour drinks, and a meal, obviously," Jimin stuttered, his crinkles in his dress-shirt deepening the more he leant forward. "And, you know, we can invite some other people too? I thought it'd be a nice thing to do. I know there's the official office get together next Friday but I maybe thought-"

"Yeah, uh," Jungkook spluttered, suddenly unsure as to how he'd make the most of this situation, "Tae, he's...spending time with his partner, and I'm pretty sure everyone else's already left or they still have work to do."

"Really? I can check-"

"Uh, Jimin." The younger rashly reached out to grab the smaller's tiny wrist, and the man became overwhelmed with the soft, delicateness which radiated just from the warm touch that seeped up his own palm through his fingertips. Jimin had stopped, upon his boss unexpectedly pulling him back into the room physically, and the older man's bare pink cheeks feverishly blossomed into a deeper shade of crimson which again, took the younger off guard. "Since you asked, well, I don't mind treating you."

"How gentlemanly," Jimin taunted, his brow raised with shameless sarcasm and his hand placed atop his jutted hip. "I mean if you're serious I won't turn that offer down, since I know you're loaded! I'll go get the others-"

"I-I meant," Jungkook called out once more with his lower lip sucked into his mouth out of frustration, his inner turmoil finally seeming to explode outward past his obstinacy in its shrill, raucous appearance, "Just you. I'll treat only you."

"Oh...I..."

The centralized confectionary which brashly lingered across those coral, rounded cheeks perhaps was enough to give the younger the strength...the courage, to voice his inherent, inward desire for this smaller man.

All Jungkook had craved for lately, was just the time to spend within this smaller man's circle of acknowledgement, of attention. Selfish wasn't a word Jungkook would use to describe himself, rather he preferred to use the term 'independent'. A solo artist. He liked spending time alone, he had for such a long time adopted the commonplace he had become accustomed to as 'loneliness', and the younger had forgotten what it'd felt like to be dependent on the company of another person. Somehow, Jimin had wormed his way into his life and meddled with Jungkook's feelings like it had all been nothing, a piece of cake, and now Jungkook couldn't seem to go a single waking second without this devilishly attractive man swarming his thoughts, and so stating what he was going to say out loud appeared to be the most logical route to ending his torment.

"Just the two of us. You're a hard worker, and deserve this much at least for everything this past half year."

The older peeked out from beneath his feathery bangs, a tiny smile playing upon those heavenly lips. "Are you sure? You wouldn't rather want to invite someone else...?"

Grinning whilst slinging his arms through his blazer, Jungkook cocked his head backward in somewhat disbelief. "Mr Park, you were the one who asked me."

"O-oh yeah, fair enough...should we get going then?"

Jungkook swung his office door open before taking a step back, and he could no longer hold back his brutish smile when the pink-haired mochi did a miniature courtesy in return. "After you, Mr Park."