Hoseok left his office to look for Jiah after realizing she hadn't been appearing in his office since brunch hour. His feet stopped before the main area, observing the scene with both of his palms on his hips.

On the couch, Taehyung was watching something on a phone with Jungkook. Loud cheers and announcers narrating could be heard, indicating a live sports match. Jisoo was at the counter, organizing the table, while Jimin was fixing the cashing machine. Seokjin sat in front of a desktop, looking bored as he scrolled the mouse wheel with his index finger.

In front of Seokjin, Yoongi leaned his hip against the counter wall, engrossed in a paper sheet on the table. With Chuseok approaching, he might be organizing the staff's schedule. Wheein was assisting a customer, squatting down to find different shoe sizes. Scanning the area again, Hoseok feared he might miss the sight of his assistant, but her silhouette was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Lee Jiah?" he asked. All of his staff, except Wheein, looked at him.

Seokjin replied with a flat tone, "She went out with Wendy."

Surprised, Hoseok raised his voice, asking, "What?"

Seokjin clicked his tongue and repeated forcefully, "She went out with Wendy!"

"I heard you just fine," Hoseok drawled, his eyebrows furrowed. "Wendy came?"

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me?" the boss asked, groaning.

"I saw no point in telling you," the brown-haired man replied in a flat tone.

Hoseok sensed Seokjin's foul mood and decided to stop talking to him. He didn't want to bother the other staff, so he returned to his office. He walked to his table and picked up his phone, opening an app and calling Jiah's number. He waited as the phone rang, placing it to his ear. After a few seconds, Jiah answered.

"Hello?" Jiah's voice came through.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm on my way back. What's wrong?" His assistant asked.

"Who were you with?"

There was a long pause before Jiah hesitantly answered, "Wen... Wendy."

Inhaling deeply, Hoseok muttered, "Why didn't you tell me Wendy was here?"

Jiah let out a short buzz. "Hmm... It's not that I didn't want to tell you—"

"Then what? She asked you not to tell?"

"Aish, let me finish talking!" Hoseok bit his lips in response to the scold. Jiah continued, "I know you'd get mad if I said I'm going out with Wendy."

Rolling his neck to one side, Hoseok exhaled another sigh, rubbing his face with his slender hand. "What were you two doing?" He asked.

"She took me to the spa, and we talked. Then we went to the café and kept talking," Jiah explained.

Hoseok waited, expecting Jiah to say more, but nothing else came. He asked, "That's it?"

"Yup, that's it."

"What did you talk about?"

"Many things. We talked more about ourselves." Jiah sighed, "Wendy isn't a bad person, you know."

"How do you know she isn't a bad person? You've only met her twice," he emphasized.

"You're right, but there's a side you don't know," Jiah paused, creating a brief silence. "I'm almost there! Talk to you later." And she hung up.

He put down his phone, directed his feet to the office chair, and sat down. Leaning back, he stared at the partially visible main area, anticipating his assistant's appearance. He exhaled a sigh when a presence he wanted hadn't appeared. However, after a few minutes, he heard a cheerful "hi!" coming from the main area. Rustling sounds disrupted the peace in the corridor.

"Pizza!" Taehyung and Jungkook roared, making him assume that Jiah had returned with takeout. The savory smell started to dance around, reaching his office. For the first time in a while, it was tempting, making him hungry. As he was unable to resist any longer, he got up from his chair and headed to the main area.

When he arrived, Jiah sensed his presence and looked up from arranging the takeout on the coffee table. "Oh, Hoseok. Come and join us!" she exclaimed, waving her hand down. "I bought you tiramisu too!"

He walked over to the group. On the table, there were three boxes of different flavored pizzas with eight slices each. Jisoo returned from the pantry with ten carbonated canned drinks, five in each hand, carefully balancing them on top with her chin. Wheein hurriedly went to her girlfriend, stopping Jimin who was about to stand up to help. Hoseok wasn't surprised that Jimin had become the forgotten one.

Too absorbed in the scene, he didn't realize that his assistant had stood beside him with a cake in her hand. "Hoseok," she called, startling him. "Here." She showed him the cake, prompting him to take it.

He took the cake, also taking a fork from her grip.

Jiah then told him, "In case you want another piece, I put it in the fridge."

Hoseok whispered, "Save it for tomorrow."

"Alright!" she replied cheerfully. "I've been gone for quite a while. Did you get your coffee?"

He gave her a slight smile. "I did."

"Great! Do you need anything else?" she asked, raising her eyebrows and tilting her head.

In response, he shook his head. "Go, eat with them," he said, pointing at his staff with his chin.

Jiah clapped her hands once and hurried off to join her colleagues, grabbing a slice of pizza.

Hoseok was about to scan the boutique when he noticed Seokjin rolling his eyes at him. His sudden sour mood made Hoseok wonder what he had done wrong. But then it struck him that he had been spending a lot of time outside the office with Jiah the day before. If that was what had upset Seokjin, then he was in for some fun.

Turning around to return to his office, he pushed the fork into the cake. Smirking, he put it in his mouth.

**********

Hoseok stayed at the boutique to finish his design. Going home would only disrupt his concentration and peace.

He was glad he still had some toothpaste, body soap, and clothes in the small cabinet; otherwise, he would have to go out and buy new ones. He wasn't in the mood to go out at that hour.

It was half past ten when he heard the lock at the main area clicking. Assuming it was Yoongi deciding to stay in for the night, he ignored it and continued his work. However, his expectations were shattered when he heard Seokjin's voice at the door. "I need to talk to you."

Hoseok raised his head, surprised by his presence. "Oh, hyungnim," he whispered. "Sure."

The older man stood at the doorframe, staring at him. Tension grew, and it seemed that Seokjin had an idea of why he was there.

Monotonously, the older man spoke, "You and Jiah. Keep it strictly business."

Hoseok's face remained blank as he muttered, "Oh."

Another silence ensued, turning into a battle of stares. Hoseok began to wonder why Seokjin had gone through the trouble of coming back to the boutique just to tell him that. He could have sent him a text message. If it wasn't because he liked Jiah and planned to pursue her, then he didn't know what else it could be.

He broke the staring contest with a chuckle. He adjusted his sitting posture and said, "We can discuss this on Ka-talk*, hyung."

"I drove here to warn you," Seokjin said in a dark tone.

"Just to warn me? To remind me to keep my relationship with Jiah strictly business?" Hoseok scoffed. "Hyung, why?" Only silence answered him. "Unless you like Jiah."

Immediately, Seokjin said, "Yes, I like Jiah!"

A slow smirk formed on Hoseok's lips.

The older man repeated, "I like Jiah. You're right. I've been watching you. It bothers me that she has to follow you around, and I don't get the chance to spend time with her in the boutique like before."

"It bothers you that I've accepted her presence in our circle," Hoseok sneered. "How absurd it is. You were the one who insisted on hiring her as my P.A. And now that she's doing her job, Amber and Yoongi aren't complaining, but you are." He clicked his tongue and added, "You're the one who should keep your relationship with Jiah strictly business. You hired her for me."

"You've been getting all her attention. I asked Jiah where you went yesterday, and it didn't sound business-related. You didn't clock out of your shift until this morning. I can see that you like it," Seokjin said.

Hoseok smirked, teasingly asking, "Jealous?" Silence answered him again, making him chuckle darkly. Shaking his head, he expressed, "I'm sorry I've made you jealous. But you don't have to worry. I only took her around Seoul to release stress, to bond with her as my assistant. Nothing more than that."

"Oh yeah? All the deep talks and secrets you've never shared with us. How deep has the bond between you and Jiah become?" He paused. "I believe there's a line between trusting Jiah as your assistant and liking her as a person."

The red-head's smirk faded. How much did Jiah tell him? To be honest, he was disappointed with Jiah for telling Seokjin. He tried not to let the disappointment sink in, but the thought that Jiah might have told Seokjin the reasons why he always wore hoodies bothered him. He couldn't be sure if Seokjin would tell him if he asked. Seokjin's jealousy was somewhat bothersome.

Sighing, he shook his head again. "Go home, hyungnim," he said. "I'm giving you the day off tomorrow. I'll inform Yoongi hyung."

"I don't need a day off," Seokjin said.

Hoseok's face contorted, his eyes squinting as he expressed, "I don't know what's gotten into you. Just because Jiah hung out with me, you got annoyed?" He shook his head again. "Go home. Sort out your thoughts."

He returned to his sketch with a bustling mind. He could barely draw, so he just darkened the outline until Seokjin left. He heard the fading sound of Seokjin's footsteps as he moved away from his office. There was a slam at the door, but no sound of the door being locked, which made Hoseok roll his eyes. Getting up from his seat, he went to the main area to lock the door, pulling the curtains together.

He couldn't deny that he mentally celebrated after finding out Seokjin liked Jiah. But it felt like he competed with Seokjin, and he didn't know why the thought of the older man liking Jiah made him feel rushed and restless.

**********

Seokjin didn't take a day off the next day, which had Hoseok vexed, but he didn't voice it out. And Jiah's name seemed to be the only one resonating through the store.

Here, Seokjin called, "Jiah-yah, I need your help!"

There, Hoseok called, "Lee Jiah, come to the office now."

There, Seokjin shouted, "Lee Jiah! Can you get me a roll of tissue?"

Here, Hoseok shouted, "Jiah, I need the invoice report now!"

When Hoseok asked for the fifth cup of coffee that day, he heard his assistant sigh as Seokjin called her name again. He also heard her grumble, "Why does today feel more tiring?"

None of his staff seemed to notice the behavior of the two men except for Jisoo. She seemed to have already suspected that something was wrong. He called his staff to gather in the meeting room, and he caught her squinting her eyes at her brother and him. He doubted that she knew her brother liked Jiah.

On the other hand, Jiah attended the meeting looking exhausted, and he began to feel sorry for her. He wanted to blame Seokjin, but for what? Seokjin might have noticed Jiah's fatigue, and he might have been blaming him as well. If they were playing a game to vie for Jiah's attention, he had to admit it was childish.

He had already decided to back off for a while, feeling sorry for Jiah being caught in the middle of this 'attention game.' If Seokjin wanted Jiah to himself for the day, then so be it. Glaring at Seokjin, he rolled his eyes. Fortunately, the older man didn't see it.

Taking a deep breath, Yoongi started, "So, what's up?"

"Well," Hoseok spoke up. "Winter is coming. I plan to take the kids somewhere in Southeast Asia."

Glancing at him from the corner of his eye, Seokjin muttered, "Don't tell me we're going to Sarawak again."

"No," the red-head drawled. "We're going to Singapore this winter."

Except for Jimin, the younger staff let out deep, loud cheers. "Oh!" Taehyung punched the air in excitement as he sang, "Singapore, Singapore! Yeah, yeah!"

Amid Taehyung's enthusiasm, Yoongi asked, "When do you plan for us to go?"

Hoseok answered, "I don't know. January or February? I haven't decided yet. But I want us to go before school starts again."

The curly-haired man nodded casually and then asked, "Have you decided where we'll be staying?"

"I have."

Yoongi nodded again. "Okay, I'll inform Amber that we won't be here during those months."

Hoseok's lips turned downward, and his eyebrows furrowed as he asked, "Hm? Why?"

"Amber is coming back after the new year. We don't want her to come back and think we abandon Bejiwoo," Yoongi explained.

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

*Ka-talk – Kakao Talk

Author's note:
Childish Seokjin... 😶‍🌫️