Three times the fist pounded into the brown wooden table, barely a few meters above the silky, black locks. "Wakey, wakey!" Seokjin cooed as he landed his butt on the black leather armchair and placed a small bottle of soda on the table that Hoseok told him to buy.

Hoseok squirmed on the table, his khaki jumper hood covering his head. As a long stretch of his arms formed on the table, he sighed, attempting to rise. The cracks from the boss' stiff bones disturbed the silence in the office.

"What time did you go to bed last night?" questioned the elder.

"I didn't get any sleep."

The statement caused Seokjin's eyes to widen. "How come you didn't?"

"I couldn't," Hoseok said sluggishly, resting his head on the table with his arms dangling.

Seokjin was certain that the latter had been staying up late finishing new designs, or even binge-watching an anime series, for whatever reason he was trying to disguise. The older witnessed his employer neglect to sleep to do some projects before or during a sleepover, and that guy nearly forced him to watch anime or movies with him.

"You should've asked me to buy you coffee," Seokjin said.

The youngster sighed and nodded slowly once more. "I know, right?" When he remembered something, he raised his head. "Do we have coffee?"

"I haven't gotten around to purchasing the refills yet."

"Ugh..." Hoseok slouched his head on the table once more, his cheek flattened against the flat surface.

As he crossed his legs on the chair and took out his phone, Seokjin let out a quiet laugh. "Hey, Amber told me to approach you to arrange a meeting time."

"Oh... Why?"

"She's going to New York next week."

Hoseok sat up straight from his posture, the dark rings beneath his eyes obvious as his eyes grew large. "What?"

"Amber is leaving for New York next week," Seokjin said again.

"Why?"

The group's second-oldest member shrugged. "I don't know."

"B-but -"

"We need to discuss what needs to be discussed."

"O-of course."

"Don't take so long."

Hoseok's tired eyes blinked slowly yet still big in astonishment. "Uhm. Yeah."

Seokjin got up from his seat. "I'm going out with Yoongi to get some items," he said over a quiet, hissing sound from the chair's metal legs sliding on the porcelain surface.

Hoseok nodded as he watched Seokjin escape from the chair by rotating clockwise. He then slid it beneath the table and walked out of the office.

"Amber going to New York?" His lips curved down as he muttered, "why?"

**********

The next day, every Bejiwoo boutique employee was told through a group chat to assemble in the meeting room after working hours ended.

They completed their jobs as usual before heading to the meeting room. Sweeping the floor, calculating earnings and losses, and reorganizing the stocks in case they got mixed up. Their present boss was extremely conscientious about the stock arrangements. Jisoo, Jimin, and Taehyung, who had completed their assignment early, had made their way to the meeting room to join the boss.

Hoseok had been sitting under the air conditioner, waiting inside. The hood on his head, knees crossed, clipboard on his lap, with a pencil in his dominant hand and an eraser in the hand that supported the clipboard.

Jisoo was on her phone, while her best friends, Jimin and Taehyung, spoke softly among themselves, knowing that the boss preferred a quiet environment.

As more people arrived, the peace shattered. Yoongi and Seokjin were the last to enter. And if Hoseok counted their heads in the room, they were all there. When he noticed Amber sitting across from him in her usual seat, he put the stuff in his hands away. Seokjin was on his right, and Yoongi was on his left.

"Good morning, boss!" With a hand raised and a goofy smile, Wheein greeted him. After that, Jisoo joined her.

"Don't start," Seokjin warned. "It's evening."

"Come on, oppa. It's a warm-up!" Jisoo chirped.

Wheein said, "we're brainwashing. When it's evening, say it's morning. We're constantly exhausted when we get home from work."

"Hyung, let them be," Hoseok said gently as he nudged Seokjin.

Seokjin glared at the younger girls, his lips pursed.

Namjoon swiftly shifted the subject. "Why are you calling us here, Hoseok?" he asked.

After hearing the question, everyone's gaze was drawn to Hoseok. The boss shifted in his seat, his ears flushed with blood and his gaze fixed on Amber. "W-w-well... I set this meeting because of Amber. That question - n-noona!"

"Okay," Amber started. "As you are all aware, I'll be leaving for New York next week. You're also aware that Hoseok isn't used to dealing with new people, aren't you?"

Everyone nodded to the question.

"While I'm away, you're all his assistants."

"Aren't we all his assistants already?" Jimin remarked, raising his hand.

Amber gave a slow nod. "Yes, that's true. But, if you think about it, you're not all his personal assistants. So, while I won't be around, I'd like to remind you to stop fooling around and take this business seriously. I'm not going to name names. If you have any questions, you can phone me or ask Seokjin and Yoongi."

There were no objections raised. Before Jimin asked another question, they all nodded their heads. "What about the technically but not personal type of assistant? I'm not sure what you're talking about."

This time Yoongi responded, "not to become involved in anything related to Hoseok's personal life. If there's anything, it has to do with this boutique. If anything comes up about your task, find him, especially Namjoon and Taehyung. For this shop, your positions are crucial. You can find him and ask him any questions you have."

"We can find you two too, can we?"

"Of course."

Jimin said, "Ah, okay." Taehyung, who sat next to him, muttered something about his being an idiot. Jimin was poised to strike him with his elbow.

With a glance at Amber, the boss disregarded them. "Noona, about my personal. Why- why do you bring it up?"

Amber exchanged glances with Seokjin and Yoongi. She then returned her gaze to Yoongi. "This is something we'll discuss later. Just you, Seokjin, Yoongi, and I, okay?"

The boss gave a slow nod to Seokjin before returning his gaze to Amber.

"That concludes our discussion. The meeting is over." Amber leaped from her seat, followed by the others.

"W-wait! I thought there was something we should talk about as a group," Hoseok said as he looked at Amber.

Amber gave Seokjin a puzzled glance. Before staring at his friend, Seokjin's eyes widened.

"Uh-" Seokjin scratched his head. "After this, it should just be the four of us."

Amber was criticizing Seokjin with her gaze. She started to think that she should not have entrusted telling Hoseok to set a short meeting with Seokjin.

"Let's-" Amber shrugged, her hands shoved in her jacket pockets. "In your office, discuss it. The others can return home."

As soon as Amber concluded her declaration, the others stood up and walked out of the room. Hoseok trailed behind Namjoon, who was the last to leave, and Yoongi trailed behind him. Seokjin and Amber walked together, and Seokjin received a little slap from the tomboy as a result. Walking out with Amber was a horrible idea for him.

"Ow!"

Hoseok and Yoongi turned their heads to see what happened, but Amber was slinging his arm on the tall man beside her.

"What the heck?" Seokjin snapped.

Amber said low, "whut?"

Seokjin hissed, shoving his friend's arm from his shoulder as he was trying to catch up with the two who went ahead.

Amber silently scoffed to herself, "tsk! It wasn't even hard."

Hoseok walked into his office, let himself in, and held the glass door open for them before closing it. He didn't sit or stand still when he arrived at his table; instead, he stood with both hands in front of him. The visual gave the impression that he was not the boss.

"What are we going to talk about?" he asked, occasionally peering at the elder buddies.

Amber wished to approach him with caution, not physically but in a mental sense. Hoseok, on the other hand, she was concerned he would be rebellious about her ideals, even though she knew he wasn't like that.

"Hoseok, change your style. You're the boss of Bejiwoo, yet you're not behaving like one."

Hoseok raised his head, a pang in his mind causing him to gaze up. He then looked down once more as shame engulfed him. He had his reasons for wearing exclusively shirts or sweaters with hoods.

"Noona," Hoseok called. "I... I just... I like wearing hoodies."

Amber interrogated, "since when? And why? Because it's trendy? Cool?"

"Because..." Hoseok gulped, thinking of the reason behind his choice of hoodies, an agony broke through the shield of holding back.

"Seokjin hyung!" Hoseok was interrupted by Taehyung barging into the office, exclaiming. All of the occupants changed their attention to the door, looking at Taehyung. "Jisoo tripped!"

"She only tripped. That isn't a big deal," Seokjin drawled.

"She broke her finger!"

Jisoo's brother exhaled a deep sigh. "How come her finger broke?" He muttered. "Bring me there!" Both Taehyung and Seokjin rushed out, leaving Yoongi, Amber, and Hoseok.

Amber wanted to pursue this further, but it seems that now was not the appropriate time. She sighed and nodded, her lips tightly sealed. "Let's talk about it next time," she said as she walked away from the area.

Only Hoseok and Yoongi were in the room at the time, but not long after Amber left, Yoongi chose to leave as well. Before pushing the door open, he gazed at his introverted boss and said, "to be honest, I don't care about your fashion sense. When I first met you, I remember you weren't always about hoodies. I'm not a fan of leaping to conclusions, but I believe it has to do with your sister."

Hoseok raised his head, his gaze falling on the curly, black-haired man.

Yoongi offered him a bitter smile. "It's just what I had in mind. If it isn't the case, don't take it to your heart."

"Hyung," Hoseok said abruptly, halting Yoongi from leaving the office. "What if that's true?"

Hoseok noticed Yoongi's tensing.

"I-I don't mean to make you feel awful, but what if that's true?"

Yoongi drew in his upper lip after licking his lips. He struggled for a long time to summon the fortitude to say, "fix your mindset." Finally, he left.

Hoseok was at a loss for words. He yanked his hood down, exposing his black, soft lock, and fell his butt on the office chair.