HOME - Taejoon

33. Leaves, words & sounds

"Am I supposed to believe you only gave me flowers to convince me to renovate your apartments?"

"That's the idea."

They both saw each other at the meeting, smiling with false modesty. Taehyung almost shakes enough to fall to the ground throughout the entire meeting; Seeing him there, sitting calmly while he talked about a major renovation in a complex of his, made him seem so oblivious to those around him, so oblivious to the nervous architect that you see him biting his pen over his notes. The page ended up full of scribbles instead of words. They were the way he avoided glances, how he bit his lip when they mentioned his name, wanting to change it to something less catastrophic.

It was a constant ping-pong between the two, wanting to exchange more than an always 'I understand' every time there was some other request in the design. The clock on the wall between them moved quickly, however, and sooner rather than later it was all over. At that same moment Taehyung fled to seclude himself in his office, ignoring words and questions in order to open the door and breathe; However, upon achieving it, Namjoon's hand had managed to stop the door.

He froze, standing near his desk with his client in front of him, blocking the door. There, in an environment where his name was the only title, the conversation began.

"I didn't mean to be bold, it's just a detail." Namjoon's voice was just as he remembered it, everything but one thing.

"It was good." Taehyung admitted, not wanting to give emotional weight to the whole situation; He looked around and found the flowers in water in a corner of the desk. "Although somewhat exaggerated."

Namjoon pointed to the seat in front of the desk; Taehyung understood and nodded his head. They both took their seats. Not knowing what to say to each other, they explored the sober decoration of the office, with a couple of plans, drawing objects and a demonstration screen.

"You've already eaten?" Namjoon asked, to which the muscles in Taehyung's body responded by tensing. He seemed determinedly happy, as if the two of them were merely two old friends.

"Your design will be ready in a week... there will be a scouting of the place soon, it could be several days from today..." he tried to avoid the question but was blocked again.

"And what do you think about this afternoon? We could go together and grave a bite." Namjoon's insistence was like a rope around Taehyung's neck, slowly tightening without revealing any more logical solutions.

"I don't want to." He found himself saying, even at the risk of contradicting a client. "It will have to be later."

"But I want to start work as quickly as possible." Namjoon insisted, leaning back in his chair, pretending to be relaxed. The look of the man in front of him was incredulous, and Namjoon noticed how his hands were shaking on the computer keyboard.

"Then in two days. That's the soonest." He seemed fed up, totally cut off from whatever Namjoon wanted, which made him change tactics a bit. Namjoon calmed down in the chair, this time looking gentle with his legs firmly on the floor and his hands on his knees.

"Taehyung-ah, you don't have to be like that."

"I just don't see the point in you treating me like that, I don't want to have anything to do with what you're trying to do." Taehyung found himself responding, looking at him for just a few seconds while he tried to type something more important than seeing the man who was still in his heart.

"I'm just happy to see you." Those words stopped the fingers on the keyboard, but they were not enough for their eyes to meet. "I still see you as a friend...if I can." Namjoon took a moment to continue; "Even after everything and, I would like to talk," Namjoon let out a light gentle laugh, "I promise to be more civilized than last time."