a cup of tae; taennie

CHAPTER ONE;;

jennie focus;;

"i'm going out to get some tea, do y'all want some?" jennie stands in the doorway, shoes half on as she turns back to look at her friends in the college dorm. they stare at her wordlessly.

"no? i'll be going then," she grabs her gucci-wannabe purse (she got it from a market in Bangkok, and yes, she was aware that a ten dollar gucci purse could only be fake) and heads out of the door.

a gust of chilly air hits her immediately, and she curses quietly as she turns back to the dorm to grab a sweater. she begins walking towards the coffee shop near their college— it was called Seokjin's Café if she wasn't wrong, not expecting it to be as bustling with customers as it would be in the daytime. it was almost midnight, after all, there was barely anyone on the streets — an occasional shadow here and there, but otherwise jennie was the only living soul in the cold night.

she quickened her pace, not that she was afraid of anything, but eager to have a cup of warm tea in her hands. she just simply wasn't a coffee person; although she didn't mind drinking the sweet kind, she couldn't stand the bitter taste on her tongue, unlike her friends who would devour every chance to get a coffee.

the little bell rings as she pushes the door open, eyes roaming around the empty coffee shop. it was dark, lit only by a few lamps here and there and fairy lights hanging off the walls. there wasn't anyone there, well of course there wasn't, it was dead in the middle of the night after all. the sight was a change, the silence refreshing. she sees a lone man at the counter, idly resting his weight on it and playing with his fingers, only to look up sharply and regain his composure at the sound of the bell.

"hi, what would you like to order?" he greets politely, head bowed ever so slightly.

she's never seen him before; maybe it was the odd timing at night or simply the fact that she never bothered to remember anyone's faces. he was different though, something about him hinted at mystery and jennie felt inclined to get to know him better.

she reads his name tag. kim taehyung, it read. a pretty name for a pretty person. her eyes travelled upwards where it lingered only for a mere glance, but it was long enough for jennie to take note of his distinctive features, his box-smile, the mole on his cheek (jennie was never good at distinguishing left and right), and his eyes— they were a honey brown, and she couldn't stop staring.

a throat clearing broke jennie out of her trance, and she looks up to see taehyung staring up at her, an amused grin on his face. she realised she was staring at taehyung way too long.

"uhh, can i have a cup of tae please?" the words come out of her mouth without any thought. her cheeks reddening at the slight mispronunciation. it wouldn't have been obvious if the shop wasn't so quiet, and if jennie didn't just accidentally say the first syllable of his name out loud, but it was out there, hanging over them like a cloud.

jennie chuckles nervously and brings her hands to her cheeks in an effort to hide the red spots. good job jennie, now you've gone and embarrassed yourself — he probably caught you staring like an idiot.

"what kind of tea?" his voice was deeper than she imagined, surprising her.

"g-green tea please," jennie smiles sheepishly, lifting her head up to meet his gaze. her eyes met his, and she couldn't tear her eyes away.

"okay, one green tea coming right up!" he flashed his box smile and turned around to begin working. jennie finds a seat at the corner, although the shop was pretty much empty, she liked the corner — the confines of the walls to her sides comforting her.

taehyung arrives with a cup in his hand. "here's your tea, ma'am," he sets it down gently and bows. jennie mumbles a small "thank you" and smiles up at him.

taehyung scratches the back of his neck, seemingly embarrassed about something. jennie quirks an eyebrow at him, gesturing him to speak. "uhh," he wipes his hands on his apron. "can i sit with you? i'm sorry, i mean i'm just pretty bored and you're alone so i thought we could talk for a while, i've been quite bored and oh look i'm rambling—"

jennie smiles. "yeah, you can sit."

[a/n: hello how's the rewritten story]