Eunha had been a nervous wreck for the majority of her life but nothing could ever compare to how nervous she felt today as she walked through the transparent glass door of the Villain's Den, the small bookstore she had gotten hired at and was presumably about to get fired from.

After running away the previous day, she had forgotten to come back and was only showing up now to explain herself. Surely, Eunha knew that didn't give her supposed-to-be-boss a good impression of her. She was afraid of losing the job she barely got as she walked further inside with slow, hesitant steps.

The blonde owner of the bookstore sat behind the counter peacefully, reading something that looked very much like a magazine. Her dark blonde hair was rolled up in a messy bun and she wore a plain sky-blue sweater with jeans. Even in her bare skin, she looked beautiful and Eunha felt a sudden wave of self-consciousness wash over her as she looked down at her old overcoat and jeans and her black high-waisted boots that showed obvious signs of being overworn. She shook her head and reminded herself that this wasn't about her insecurities. She had a more pressing matter at hand right now. Her job. Pushing away pessimistic thoughts, her cheeks flushed in embarrassment, Eunha walked forward and into Ms. Nam's range of vision.

"Ms. Nam," She addressed in a quiet voice but loud enough for the woman to hear her. Ms. Nam looked up at Eunha and stared for a moment before her eyes glinted in recognition. She closed the magazine, stood up, and walked around the counter immediately.

"Eunha? Where were you? What happened yesterday?" She showered Eunha with questions as her eyes looked her up and down.

"I'm sorry," Eunha awkwardly bowed before continuing. "yesterday, I went after someone who'd stolen my things. I think he showed up here by coincidence,"

"Oh, did you get him?" Ms. Nam asked, sounding more curious than worried.

"I did. I got my things back too," Eunha told her, internally pleased with that fact.

"That's a relief. I was worried something bad might have happened when you didn't return," Ms. Nam turned and walked back around the counter, placing the closed magazine in her hands down on the stale white marble surface.

Something bad almost did happen but that's not what's important right now. Eunha thought to herself as she had a flashback of Taehyung and Jungkook fighting.

"Am I...fired?" She asked abruptly, flushing even more. Ms. Nam stopped and stared at her like she'd grown two heads.

"Why would you be fired?" She blinked.

"Well," Eunha fidgeted. "I just ran off without telling anyone anything on my first day of work. That's quite irresponsible, isn't it?"

"Wrong. You weren't working," Ms. Nam sat down and shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. "I said you can start working from the next day which is today so basically today is your first day at work. I let you be here yesterday because you insisted on staying," She paused for a moment then added with a wink. "And emergencies like chasing down stealing bastards will be understood."

Eunha simpered. "So you're not mad at all?"

"Nope,"

"Thank you," She bowed.

"It's my pleasure to have you here."

They exchanged smiles and Eunha felt truly glad to have found this bookstore all over again. She was relieved that she could work here, in this small safe place where she was free of the fear of being exploited. Nam Jiyeon was a kind boss and Jimin had to be the sweetest coworker ever. This job was a jackpot for Eunha and she knew it.

"Shall we have the hot chocolate you missed yesterday today?" Ms. Nam asked, grinning.

"That'd be amazing," Eunha smiled and nodded and Ms. Nam got up and threw on her avocado puffer jacket which was hanging by her chair.

"Two minutes, you're in charge, I'll be back quick." She briefly told Eunha as she grabbed her bag and left the bookstore. Eunha looked around the store with a satisfied smile on her face. The job was safe.

~~~

When Jeon Jungkook had hoped that Taehyung and he could get along and become friends, he had been hoping for too much indeed. Taehyung wasn't getting used to him and he wasn't willing to try either. Neither did he make an effort to hide his dislike towards Jungkook.

"Seriously, stop it,"

Taehyung rasped, clearly annoyed, as he walked down the snow-covered street. Jungkook skipped after him like a little boy. The proof of yesterday's blizzard was evident. The sky was still grey and fresh snow covered the roads and roofs of buildings like a pristine white blanket.

"Stop what?" Jungkook asked as he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jacket. He was wearing Taehyung's clothes again. As much as Taehyung hated to see his clothes on Jungkook, he had agreed to it because he knew Eunha would have convinced him one way or another anyway so there was no point in arguing and making a fuss.

"Stop following me," Taehyung grunted. He was walking at an unnecessarily fast pace as if he was trying to lose Jungkook but Jungkook kept up well with him. He didn't seem like he had any plans to leave Taehyung alone.

Taehyung wore a blood-red turtleneck, layered with a black blazer and pants, and shiny black Oxford shoes that looked completely new. In comparison to Jungkook, who was dressed in a grey sweatshirt and a brown sweater on top with dark jeans and looked warm and decent, Taehyung looked confident and classy.

"I'm not following you, it's just a coincidence that we're headed in the same direction," Jungkook explained as he jumped two big steps to cut the distance between him and Taehyung and soon was walking side by side with him. Taehyung seemed irritated. He sent Jungkook a glare but it slowly melted into something kinder and less angry when he looked away.

"Uh-huh? And where are you going exactly?" Taehyung asked, raising an eyebrow. Jungkook thought for a moment before speaking.

"Wherever you're going," He shrugged and smiled but Taehyung didn't mirror his playfulness. Instead, he gave him an unamused look.

"I don't find that funny,"

"I didn't say a joke,"

Taehyung halted instantly and so did Jungkook. He turned to Jungkook with a furious look as he brought out his hands from the pockets of his black slacks.

"Jungkook." Taehyung glared, his jaw clenched.

"Taehyung." Jungkook glared back with the same intensity, imitating his deep voice.

"You're pissing me off. Go away and do whatever you did before instead of following me around like a lost puppy, it's cringy and pathetic." Taehyung told Jungkook, his voice cold and a deep frown etched into his forehead. Looked like he was losing his patience with Jungkook and he barely had any, to begin with.

"But I don't have anything to do!" Jungkook whined.

"Then this is your sign to get a life!" Taehyung snapped.

"Maybe you should take your own advice first," Jungkook retorted, crossing his arms.

"I don't care, Jungkook, just go anywhere, leave." Taehyung shut his eyes in frustration and pointed in the direction opposite to where he was going. Jungkook stayed silent as he looked at where Taehyung had pointed. He seemed to consider leaving for a split second but then changed his mind.

"Nah, I'd rather follow you around. It's quite entertaining to see you all grumpy like an old man." Jungkook stated with a playful tilt of his head.

"Do you have a death wish or something? Let me remind you that the cuts on your face haven't healed yet," Taehyung growled and Jungkook's face darkened as he remembered their fight yesterday. There were still bruises on his face and body but Jungkook didn't want to think about that. He felt awfully conscious of the bandaid on his cheekbone and the wound in the right corner of his lips. Taehyung was such a jerk.

"Where are you going that's so top secret that you can't bring me along?" Jungkook questioned, rolling his eyes, as he ignored his last comment, pretending to not be affected by it.

"Where I'm going is none of your business—"

"Just tell me where you're going, dammit, it's not that hard. Why are you so difficult to talk to?!" Jungkook snapped which seemed to silence Taehyung. His expression faltered then he let out a sigh.

"I'm going to a club," He answered.

"Alright, let's go together then, I also want a drink. We drank together last night so you're fine with drinking with me again, right?" Jungkook wondered out loud.

"That was— I got carried away last night. Don't get ahead of yourself just because I drank with you once," Taehyung looked away, frowning, but Jungkook noticed his ears turn a light shade of pink. A silent moment passed between the boys.

"So are we going to the club or are we just going to stand here and waste both of our time?" Jungkook said, faking a yawn.

"You're so stubborn," Taehyung deadpanned.

"Are you talking about yourself?" Jungkook blinked at him innocently. "Oh, come on, please, I just wanna go with you. I won't bother you at all," Jungkook added, having gotten tired of the bickering, and Taehyung thought that he looked like a little kid, begging his mom to buy him a toy. He wasn't going to give up, Taehyung knew that. He bit the inside of his cheek as he told himself he'd just ignore Jungkook at the club.

"Fine." Taehyung sighed, uncrossing his arms.

"Finally!" Jungkook threw his arms up in relief as they started walking again, this time at a slower pace than before.

"What club are we going to though?" Jungkook asked, casually looking at his surroundings.

"Wild Stars," Taehyung responded even though it looked like he was bothered by Jungkook's constant yapping.

"Oh, I've heard of it, it's quite popular, isn't it? No, I've never been there myself. It's always so packed in there. I prefer smaller places." Jungkook said, chewing on his lower lip out of habit.

"Stupid," Taehyung muttered under his breath.

"Excuse me?" Jungkook turned his head to glare at him. Taehyung side-eyed him blankly.

"The bigger the place is, the better." He stated without any context.

"I don't get it," Jungkook frowned.

"I'm talking about stealing. The bigger the place, the more the people. The more the people, the more the money and expensive things which ultimately means the greater the opportunity to steal valuables. How are you gonna steal in a small club, someone will notice you." Taehyung explained like it was the most normal conversation ever. Jungkook stared at him in disbelief for a moment, as if he hadn't expected Taehyung to say that, and then his expression faded into an amused smirk.

"You know what, you're right," Jungkook grinned. "so I assume you're not going there just to have a drink. Am I gonna be your partner in crime?" He asked excitedly, bumping his shoulder into Taehyung's teasingly. Taehyung turned his head, smirking. Jungkook's doe eyes looked even rounder and bigger from this close-up. Taehyung raised his index finger and pushed him away by the shoulder.

"Not at all. I don't make clingy amateurs my partner in crime. In fact, I don't need a partner." Taehyung deadpanned with an odd amusement in his eyes. Jungkook's smile faded.

"I'm neither clingy nor an amateur and you're an ass, by the way,"

"Thank you." Taehyung snorted as if this was hilarious. Jungkook opened his mouth to say something snarky again, but Taehyung spoke first.

"Here we are." He said, looking ahead of him. Jungkook turned his head and found them standing before Wild Stars, the popular club with expensive drinks and bright lights.

Let's find out what's the hype about this place for, Jungkook thought to himself as he stared at the red neon sign saying 'wild' and the purple one saying 'stars' next to it in bold cursive letters. The letters seemed to be outlined in gold, matching the shade of the fancy entrance. Before he realized it, Taehyung had already walked on forward without Jungkook, and he followed right after him.

_________________

A/N: It's cold these days so dress properly and stay safe everyone! <3
And people who are living in regions where it's summer, 👹 BURN 👹 HUHUHUHU This is a preview of hell, better fix your attitudes now.