When I'm with you :: TaeJin

Chapter 1: Starting anew this story

Seokjin smoothed down his dress pants and blue sweater as he waited for the bus to take him into the centre of the small town he calls home. The bus arrives and he sees the familiar faces on the same seats as he takes his favourite spot in the middle of the bus on the right-hand side. He sees brick and wood houses, old and older cars, people out exercising, and dogs being walked while the sun illuminates the day, turning sky into a light blue.

As the bus rounds the corner where the town's buildings were shorter and provides a beautiful view of the hillsides, Seokjin can't help the itch behind his eyes and his heart beating slightly harder against his chest. The trees part in the distance and there he sees a house sleeping quietly among the rows of towering evergreens.

Seokjin's breath hitches with a hesitant hope as he observes the lights are all off and the car is not in the driveway. He continues to gaze at the house as he thinks of the man who calls it home. The man who barely knows or even cares about his existence, but lights it up all the same.

The bus continues its way and just like that, the town once again blocks the hills and the little house, closing Seokjin's secret window, but hopefully leaving him with something or someone to look forward to today at work.

~~~~~~~

The office bubbles with activity from the flurry of mouse clicks, keyboard clacks to the indistinct mumbling and whispered grumbling of employees.

Seokjin sits at his desk and tries to focus on his own work on the computer, but the partially enclosed cubicle opposite his has been attracting too much of his attention for the past hour and he tried to ignore the tiny kicks disappointment that hit in time with the small pink clock on his work desk.

"They say if you stare for just 10 minutes more and say his name into your stapler, he will reappear back at his desk and tell you that you've been typing your report in that Amazon comment box."

Seokjin startles at Yoongi's voice and quickly closes the open website on his screen, glaring into the sharp eyes of his friend. Yoongi shrugs his shoulders and chuckles as he makes himself comfortable on the edge of Seokjin's desk.

"Shouldn't you be working?" Seokjin snaps, fluffing around sheets on his desk to look busy, "And I wasn't staring, I'm just thinking."

Yoongi catches Seokjin taking another quick look at the opposite desk and decides to hold his tongue, feeling his friend is feeling particularly unhappy today. He makes for small talk instead, filling the minutes during which Seokjin will decide to tell him what was really bothering him.

Seokjin knows what Yoongi is doing, as any platonic soulmate, close childhood friend and now officemates would know. He takes a deep breath and resist the urge again to look around the office and his little desk clock.

"I thought he would be in today." Seokjin mumbled, trying to keep his volume steady and not completely reveal how glum he did feel, because he felt a little ridiculous as well.

"How come? You haven't managed to find his schedule, did you? Coz stalking isn't cute hyung." Yoongi gave him a pointed look and Seokjin rolled his eyes and the corners of his lips twitched in a half smile.

"No Yoongi, I am not invading his privacy like that. You know his place can be seen from my bus at a certain street, right?" Yoongi nodded, "Well I saw the lights off and the car not in the driveway, and usually that means or has meant that he is coming into the office for the day."

Yoongi can see the sparkle in Seokjin's eyes and snickered, prompting Seokjin to school his expression to something more stoic and less lovestruck. He knows his face gives away his feelings too honestly, it's how Yoongi came to know his blossoming crush on their co-worker, though Yoongi would remind him that he would have been able to tell with his eyes shut.