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chapter seven
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Taehyung couldn't sleep that night.
At first, he was unconvinced that it was because of you. Sure, he hadn't been interested in anyone in a while, not since Mina. But still, he surely wasn't that deprived of wanting someone, to stay up all night thinking about the first pretty girl he'd met all year?
Wait, that was a lie. He'd met lots of pretty girls.
You were by far the prettiest.
And he wasn't just talking about the way you looked. It was the way your eyes lit up when you spoke, the way you defended yourself and held your own when you were challenged. The way you'd grown emotional when he gave you the gift.
The way you said one thing, but seemed to mean another.
Friends, you had said. You just wanted to be friends. But the way you bit your lip and held his gaze suggested so much more than that.
And it was this uncertainty that was causing Taehyung to lose sleep. He tossed and turned, swimming in images of the mysterious girl next door, until the sun cracked on the horizon.
As soon as he heard Jin padding around in the lounge that morning, he went out to him. Jin looked surprised, to say the least.
"Damn," Jin smirked, shrugging on his suit jacket and reaching for his briefcase. "My little brother, out of bed before nine? It must be a special occasion."
"I couldn't sleep, hyung," he rubbed his eyes, looking Jin up and down. "Are you going to work now?"
"Yeah, gonna grab a coffee downstairs and go," Jin nodded, making for the door. Taehyung lit up with an idea.
"Can I come with?" he asked, seizing an opportunity to get away from the apartment, and therefore, his memories of you. "I can't get back to sleep."
If Taehyung had been paying closer attention, he would have seen the flicker of uncertainty that passed over Jin's face as he contemplated it. But he masked it quickly, shrugging noncommitally. "Sure. Put your shoes on."
A few moments later, Taehyung followed his brother into the busy coffee shop that resided in the ground floor of their building, the one that gave the apartment it's distinctive java smell. Indigo Cafe, the sign read.
In all his time living with Jin so far, Taehyung had never been in here - most likely because he never drank coffee. But he noticed now that it was cozy and comfortable. A great place to sink into an armchair and get lost in a book.
