too scared to be afraid

chapter one: long hours

"Oh baby, you don't get it, do you? We did it for you."

001: long hours

xxxx

Hoseok shuddered, another wave of nausea running through him. His cold had been really taking a toll on him all throughout the first week of January.

He managed to stay upright, gripping tighter onto his tray that held five empty glasses ontop of it. Hoseok couldn't afford to lose this job due to his clumsiness, he just had to finish ten more minutes and he'd be done. He could make it!

"Hoseok-ah, why don't you head home early? I can take it from here," Seokjin, Hoseok's co-worker, offered. Seokjin had started working here a week prior to Hoseok. For Hoseok's first two weeks on the job, Seokjin only shared his Monday shift with Hoseok, but for some reason their boss made an adjustment to his schedule and now Hoseok found himself always working with Seokjin.

"Ah, I'm okay, I can-"

"Seok-ah, really I've got it. Go home, you're sick and tired."

Hoseok sighed, nodding to his hyung. Too tired to resist, he quickly finished cleaning up the dishes and gathered his belongings from the back room. Waving once more, he thanked Seokjin and left the cafe with droopy eyes.

xxxx
Seokjin POV

He would never know.

The way Seokjin had stared the first time they had met.

It wasn't the cafe where they first met, although that was what Hoseok believed. But before that, Seokjin had been walking down the street when Hoseok ran into him. He had been wearing a mask, just getting over a cold when they met which had to have been why Hoseok didn't recognize him, Hoseok was great at remembering people.

Hoseok had dropped a locket that day. It had slipped from his hoodie's pocket as he ran into him then ran off apologizing. He must've been in a rush.

Seokjin spotted him a few times and followed him to give it back but each time, Hoseok would disappear before he got the chance to.

A month after his constant failed attempts to return the locket, Seokjin was still determined to give it back to him. But each time he tried, he found himself getting more and more attached to Hoseok and his cute mannerisms. His schedule was already ingrained in Seokjin's mind.

His classes started in the morning and Hoseok always left with heavy limbs and tired eyes. Sometimes he'd take the bus, but most of the time he walked home.

Seokjin would see the cute way Hoseok spoke to himself and admired the world. He never passed a flower bush without complimenting it on its beauty and he never failed to have a friendly smile on his face. Often times, Hoseok came home in an amazing mood and despite the exhaustion that visibly made his limbs sag, he would skip down the sidewalk, humming a light, fast-paced song.

It became a habit, following Hoseok around.

It wasn't his fault Hoseok was so endearing. It wasn't Seokjin's fault that he fell in love with him.

It wasn't his fault that he had to watch over the boy. No, Hoseok was a clumsy creature. Sometimes he'd trip on air. Seokjin couldn't have him getting hurt.

Not only might he trip and fall on his way home, someone might break into his house and hurt him! Seokjin couldn't have that either. That became another responsibility of his, watching over the boy at home.

Seokjin knew it was all just excuses. Excuses to watch the boy, but he couldn't bring himself to stop.

Not when Hoseok would look so cute sitting on the counter waiting for his pancakes to cook with a spatula in his hand, or when Hoseok would giggle as he watched a comedy or k-drama.

These things were too precious to miss, and now, Seokjin didn't have to! He could watch him whenever he pleased! He even found out that Hoseok went to his college!

Now, it was all a matter of finding a way to talk to Hoseok.

That's when Seokjin had overheard a phone call where Hoseok had said he'd got a job at Persona, the cafe down the street, and would be starting next week.

Now, Seokjin didn't need a job. His parents were wealthy and so was he. He was studying to be a doctor and had all the financial support he needed. But a chance to work with an angel? Who could pass that up?

So he used his parents' connections. Both of them were well-known people who owned the largest branch of hospitals in Korea. The owner of Persona didn't even ask why a wealthy boy like Seokjin wanted the job, he just gave him a good title and told him he was hired.

One lie to Hoseok and bam! Seokjin had got to see the angel up close. He was even more precious as he got to know him.

Watching him stumble his way through Persona with droopy eyes didn't sit right with Seokjin but Hoseok wouldn't go home. He had told him to go a hundred times! Only ten minutes left of his shift did he actually listen to Seokjin. Seokjin's baby must've been exhausted..he should've done better to take care of him.

Seokjin pulled out his phone, tapping on one of his apps before placing it upright on the bottom of the cash register as he heard the bell chime at the door, signaling another customer had walked in.

"Welcome to Persona! What can I get for you?" Hoseok threw his backpack to the side and slipped into bed. He was too tired to change.

"Can I have a carmel frappuccino?" He passed out, oh Hoseok's sleeping face was the cutest!

"Yeah, that'll be three forty-six." He never snored when he slept for some reason, while the volume was off, Seokjin could recall all of the times he had watched him sleep before.

"Thank you! Come again," Seokjin said with a smile. As soon as she left, he picked up his phone and held it close to his face. The cameras set up in Hoseok's house were set at the perfect angles for Seokjin to see. Seokjin knew exactly where Hoseok went the most.

The camera that displayed his bed was Seokjin's favorite. Hoseok's cute little nose scrunched up when he wasn't comfortable and when he shifted, he let out the cutest whines.

Seokjin sighed, the sight of the boy calming his seperation anxiety.

He had become a stalker, and despite being well-aware of that fact, he couldn't bring himself to be ashamed of it.

"I love you, so what's wrong with watching over you?"

xxxx

edited.