To Be or Not To Be: A TaeLice Story

Chapter 5: Blue and Grey

(Song by BTS: Blue and Grey)

Morning came quickly and Taehyung couldn't get to work fast enough. He threw on a suit, fixed his hair a bit so it wasn't messy, and then he had his driver take him to work. As usual, his early workers greeted him and asked if he needed anything. He was handed his usual large cup of fresh hot chocolate with shavings of Hershey kisses and whipped cream on top. He thanked the temp worker and headed up to his office.

Lalisa was already there and had gotten everything he needed ready for the day. As soon as he exited the elevator, she stood up from her desk and quickly walked over to him and began giving him his messages, an agenda for the day, and a list of paperwork that needed to be signed. He was very pleased with how quickly she had become efficient. "Thank you Lalisa. Please log into the system and look up report templates. Fill out which one you think is best suited from yesterday's meeting and email it to me as soon as you're finished..." he looked down at her beaming face and held back a smile. It was only those two on the floor for now, but he knew there were wandering eyes and ears everywhere outside of his office.

"On second thought, email me when you're done and we can review it in my office together to make sure you did everything correctly," he corrected as he walked with her towards his office. Lalisa and Taehyung were awfully close to each other, but they weren't doing it on purpose. It was as if a natural force were slowly pushing them together. "Yes Mr. Kim. I'll get started on that right away. I'll let you know when something comes up," she spoke quickly. Suddenly she remembered how she'd kissed his cheek and ran off the night before and she cleared her throat and looked down. Taehyung smirked at this before nodding to her and heading into his office, closing the doors behind him.

Something about her just made him go crazy. He didn't know how much longer he could hold back around her. He needed to clear his head before he did something that would hurt someone. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt anyone. He sighed and closed his blinds so he wouldn't stare at her and could actually get a bit of work done. Work seemed to be going smoothly until he heard a strange sound from outside of his office. He went to check on Lalisa only to find her on the phone and in some kind of shock. He thought she would cry at any moment.

Taehyung, feeling the need to come to the rescue for whatever it was, closed the distance between them and grabbed the phone gently from her. "This is Lalisa's boss. May I ask what has made my employee so upset?" he asked. Lalisa was just staring and tearing up. She started to fall to the ground but Tae caught her with one arm as a voice on the other side of the phone explained that her whole apartment building had burned down in an accident.

Taehyung mumbled something and hung up the phone. He helped Lalisa stand up on her own two feet again and then led her into his office and closed the door. "My home...everything that was Eun Beyoel's was in there..." she whispered, completely distraught that she lost not only all her belongings, but the belongings of her late friend and roommate as well. Taehyung was already aware of Eun Beyeol thanks to his extensive background check, but he couldn't let her know that. Not right now.

"Hey now...shhh..." he lifted her chin up slowly to look at him. "It's going to be ok. I have a huge place. You can stay with me for now..." he whispered and began wiping the tears that were trickling down her cheeks. She was about to refuse her offer when he pressed a finger against her lips. "I don't take no for an answer. Do you have anywhere else to go? I didn't think so...We will take a half day and go out to get you some new clothes and stuff," he was commanding so she couldn't say no, but it wasn't in a mean or forceful way, so she simply nodded her head. "Thank you..." she whispered.

Taehyung pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back. As they touched both of them felt a flood of emotions go through their bodies. He was glad she couldn't see his face because his lips twitched as he wanted so desperately to kiss her. She buried her face in his chest and took in his scent. With him there she felt that everything would be ok. At this moment, she realized she wasn't the only one that was longing for the other...or maybe it was just her imagination. She didn't want to be wrong so she chalked it up to her imagination and pulled away slowly. "Sorry Mr. Kim...thank you for your generosity. I'll pay you back somehow," she assured him. Taehyung waved his hand signaling that he wasn't doing this for a pay back.

"Well...if we're going to take a half day, I better reschedule some stuff and get busy..." she looked down and hurried out of his office and back to her desk. Taehyung gently shut the doors behind her and leaned against the door with a sigh. Holding her like that had stirred something deep within him. A primal instinct to protect her. His phone went off and it was his boyfriend asking if they could see each other soon. Taehyung felt bad, but he just wasn't in the mood to see him. He texted him that things were hectic at work and it would be a while before they could see each other.

In response his boyfriend sent a pouty face but also said that he understood that work came first. Taehyung felt guilty though, as it wasn't work he was putting first, but Lalisa. Even if they had done nothing inappropriate yet. Well not technically, though what he'd done the night before while thinking about her was probably wrong, but he didn't have time to worry about that right now. He called a few stores and had them close for the afternoon so nobody would bother them while they were shopping.

Lalisa worked as quickly as she could to clear his afternoon schedule and make sure that everyone was either understanding or compensated for the inconvenience. Lunch approached quickly and Taehyung came out of his office and locked up before looking at Lalisa. "Are you ready to go?" he asked politely. She was typing quickly and staring at her screen. "Just one moment, sir. I need to finish this email," she stated. Taehyung patiently waited for her to finish and then escorted her out of the building.

By this time rumors began flying around the office. Yesterday he took her to lunch and today he was taking off early and leaving with his new personal assistant. There must be something going on between them. That's when Jennie decided to start a rumor about her. It wouldn't reach Lalisa's ears in time, the damage would be done and people would look at her differently.

End of Chapter 5