AFFINITY.

eight

Taehyung was dragging his feet. He was feeling miserable and he kinda wished he hadn't bothered getting up that morning. He sighed deeply, passing by the road that would lead him to Yoongi's shop. Taehyung wanted to say fuck to his plans with Jungkook and go to see Yoongi again, knowing just the sight of the other man would help cheer him up. But after what happened last time Taehyung was – for the first time ever – hesitant about returning to the apothecary.

With a heavy heart Taehyung passed the street, feeling how Bogum was leaning to the side, he too longing for Yoongi's presence. The silly ivy almost knocked itself and Taehyung's hat off his head.

"You did this," Taehyung huffed reaching up and straitening his hat, ignoring how people looked at him oddly as he passed. "You were the one who couldn't keep his twigs to himself, Bogum," Taehyung scolded the plant, hating how Bogum dropped even more, a few leaves turning yellow at the edges. "No, don't begin to wilt again, that doesn't help anything. That just means I'll have to trim you again. And honestly, Bogum, don't you think you've been trimmed enough the last few days," Taehyung muttered, lifting a hand to pat the heavily trimmed ivy on his hat.

"Weirdo," a Fire Witch Taehyung recognized from the Academy muttered as he walked past and Taehyung had to repress his desire to make the petunias the guy was holding grow wild and strangle him. Taehyung knew he was friends with the douchebag who had wreaked Taehyung's experiments last week.

Who even cared that Taehyung was talking to his plant, so did every single Wild Witch and if Taehyung had had the courage to wake Sugar Cube up from his nap and had brought him along nobody would have said anything. It was so damn frustrating that people couldn't even curb in their own jealousy but had to steal Taehyung's stuff and ruin his experiments or looked down on him. It wasn't that Taehyung didn't want to share his knowledge or his powers, it was just that nobody ever asked - they just took.

Taehyung scowled down at his bright blue sneakers, perhaps he should have worn the purple ones so he could have dropped by Yoongi's shop on the way home.

When Taehyung finally spotted the café, he was feeling even more miserable than he had when he had left his apartment this morning. If waking up to find out that he had forgotten to close the window so that somebody had been able to steal his øjnæble orchid seedling, Sebin, hadn't been bad enough, somebody had fucked up his potion again, meaning he had to start over for the third time this week. Taehyung had even tried to ask his professor if he could use the private potion kitchen but his professor couldn't see the issue. He just thought Taehyung needed to get over it.

Taehyung didn't know what he had expected. The professor was an Elemental after all and it was pretty clear he didn't feel a 'common' Wild Witch like Taehyung belonged on the advanced potions track.

"You look like someone tried to kill you with a teaspoon," Jungkook said, his familiar voice making Taehyung return to the present. "Were potions that bad?" Jungkook asked, frowning as he looked up at Taehyung from his seat.

Taehyung blinked a few times, surprised he was already at the café. Taehyung was so lost in his thoughts that he had almost walked past Jungkook, he had to take a step back, awkwardly trying to make it look like he had been about to just walk past a place he was actually meant to be at. He looked around seeing a few people look at him from the small out-door tables around them, but none of the looks were malicious. That was the good thing about this café, the owner tolerated no bullshit form her customers.

Thankfully it also seemed like Jungkook was willing to forget the fact that Taehyung had almost walked past him. Thank the universe for small mercies.

"They put fox fur in it again," Taehyung sighed, dropping into the seat opposite of Jungkook. It was one of the first sunny spring days, so Taehyung couldn't blame Jungkook for choosing the seats outside. Besides, with the mood Taehyung was in it was possibly for the safest. There was already grass beginning to grow wildly between the stones beneath Taehyung's feet.