An Orphans World - Vmin

9

Jimin's POV

Each minute at work felt electric, a thrill pulsing through me at the thought of Taehyung arriving later at my work.

I had never been fond of the younger kids from the orphanage visiting my workplace, but now, with Taehyung around, I found a flicker of hope that their presence might actually bring some joy.

There was something soothing about his presence that I craved, a comforting balm to my otherwise dull shifts.

But my daydreams shattered with a loud crash—metal and a thud of a body clanging against the floor. 

"Hoseok!" I gasped, rushing to my coworker, who had tripped over a bin and fallen face-first on the floor beside the tin can.

"Are you okay?" I knelt beside him, concern flooding my voice as I helped him stand up.

Hoseok dusted his black work uniform off while our manager from behind us began complaining, "Really Hoseok!? You need to clean up this mess at once. There's rubbish everywhere. I bet it's visible from the front desk." The male snapped.

"Shut up, Jungkook," I shot back, my protectiveness flaring. "Your first concern should be whether your workers are uninjured, not the trash."

Jungkook rolled his eyes, hands on his hips. "He's not injured; he's just clumsy." Jungkook said, lowering his voice to a more calm but snarky tone.

"Well, you're the one who got me to lift multiple boxes of ice creams at once." Hoseok whined.

"Whatever. Jimin, get back to the front desk. Hoseok, clean up the trash. Can I seriously not have a calm afternoon just watching the security footage." Jungkook grumbled before walking off.

I darted back to the front, where familiar faces awaited. 

"Oh my goodness, hi!" I warmly greeted as I stepped outside of the counter to crouch down in front of Myeong.

"Happy Birthday!" I chimed as Myeong beamed and threw his arms around me.

"Wow, you're getting so old." I commented, while pulling back from the hug to look at the boy.

"I know, you must be ancient." Myeong teased making my lips fall agape at his response.

"Since when did you get so cheeky?" I stammered.

As he laughed, I looked up at the man Myeong was with, Taehyung.

Taehyung wore dark jeans and a fitted gray shirt, the casual outfit accentuating his effortless charm.

"I thought you were bringing all the kids to the cinema." I remarked, stepping back behind the counter.

Taehyung chuckled softly. "I considered it, but I didn't think the others would be interested in the movie we're seeing." Taehyung commented, his deeper timbre sending shivers of delight throughout my body. 

I cocked my eyebrow while asking, "Why? What movie are you going to see?"

Before Taehyung could answer, Myeong enthusiastically squealed, "Transformers!" He followed up by doing a robot dance that made both Taehyung and I burst into laughter.

"He's really excited about it," Taehyung said, a fond smile spreading across his face.

"Clearly." I said while containing my laughter.

"He told all his friends at school today about going to see it so hopefully it is a good movie." Taehyung confessed as I brought up the tickets on the screen.

"Are you buying just the tickets, do you want any food or snacks?" I asked Taehyung afterwards.

Taehyung glanced down at Myeong, brushing the boy's shoulder gently while asking what he wanted to eat. I couldn't help but recall the time Taehyung had entered my room while I was studying, his hand resting on my shoulder, sending warmth through me. I swallowed hard, grounding myself in the present.

"I want butter popcorn! Can I have a drink too, Tae?" Myeong asked eagerly.

Tae, that's a cute nickname.

"Yeah of course, whatever the birthday boy wants, he shall get." Taehyung confidently replied. 

"I want Cola." Myeong demanded, making me smile as I typed it on the screen.

"Anything for you, Taehyung?" I asked shifting my gaze back to the male.

His espresso eyes seemed to swirl and melt with warmth as he gazed back into my eyes.

After we gazed into one another's eyes for noticeably too long, he spoke up, "I'll just have a coffee." Taehyung simply replied while I broke eye contact feeling shy, focusing on the computer screen as my cheeks warmed.

There seemed to be some connection there, whether it was floating in the air or due to our closeness only separated by the counter. There was something about him that made me feel like a gooey mess.

However, I wasn't the only one who'd noticed our eye contact as I suddenly felt a presence behind me, taller and pressing against me. My breath hitched as I stood still, trying to focus on the screen while feeling the heat radiate off his body.

I couldn't even move as I saw his hands, one covered in tattoos, press either side of my body as he whispered against my ear, "Hurry up and come back to the storage room, or you're going to be doing a lot of explaining for disregarding your manager."

I could barely respond, my voice stuck in my throat as I focused on the computer, praying he would step away. When he finally did, I exhaled softly, realizing I had been holding my breath.

"Oi! Hoseok! Go open the cinema for Transformers!" Jungkook called, retreating out the back.

As I printed the tickets, I sensed Taehyung's gaze on me, an unspoken question lingering in the air. What would I even say? That my Manager, Jungkook, has a one-sided love possession over me?

I can yell at Jungkook as much as I want yet he still seems possessive, even if he's a couple of years younger than me.

The popcorn machine stood behind the counter, and I turned my back to Taehyung, catching my breath and reorienting myself while gathering the popcorn.  

"Here's your popcorn, the drinks will be brought through when the movie begins." I explained, handing the popcorn out to Taehyung who passed it to Myeong.

Taehyung seemed to have decided not to say anything with Myeong present so turned to the boy to leave the counter.

"Oh wait," I stammered, going over to the freezer beside the popcorn machine.

I walked back over to the side of the counter that Taehyung had stopped in front of whereas Myeong kept walking.

"Give this to Myeong." I said, holding out an ice cream.

"But I didn't pay for it?" Taehyung asked while cocking his eyebrow.

"I'll pay for it, it can be like a gift from me." I explained and Taehyung nodded as he raised his hand to take the ice cream.

As he took it out of my hand, his rough, textured fingers ran along mine, the warmth from his slight touch was electrifying. 

His eyes seemed to flick between my face, to the ice cream, and back to my face making my stomach churn.

Taehyung gently smiled before chiming with a wink, "I'll see you a bit later."

A smile appeared on my face in response to his cute gimmick.

"See you soon, Tae."

~~~~

Sorry for not uploading this chapter sooner. I've been quite busy, but I will try to update more regularly now. I hope you like this chapter, it introduces more characters into the mix which helps to stir the plot a little and give more details into Jimin's life. 

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Until the next chapter, take careeeee... Byeeeee my lovelies!!!