LATTE TALK • yoonseok • #WattPride

☕ trente et un ☕

Three days have passed by since that incident. Three days of Hoseok trying his best not to blurt it out to Namjoon at the most inappropriate moment. But then again the topic is inappropriate, so it takes all that is within Hoseok to avoid it happening. And to add the salt to the wound, Namjoon has again retreated within himself, wrapped himself within his mesh of thoughts and worries, pushing Hoseok closer and closer to the edge he does not want to topple over. It should seem like it's easier for Hoseok then, to avoid spilling the issue to Namjoon, but it's not like Hoseok wants to. He needs, or rather, should know why the fuck would Namjoon come to a name that does not seem to have any connection to him.

Could it be that Namjoon had known Yoongi way before they had met? He asks himself as he hands over the warm cup of creamed coffee to the pink sleeved hand.

Or maybe, just maybe, Namjoon had actually said nothing and my stupid brain only conjured something up to compensate for his heavy breathing? Hoseok retaliates himself and pulls a taut smile over his lips as he passes Seulgi on his way out. His shift has ticked itself to its end and Hoseok, by sacrificing his entire shift timing for the past three days to think this particular thought through, still cannot bring himself to bring the question up during dinner.

No, he's not afraid of Namjoon's reaction. Of course not. He is not exactly put off by having to voice out such an accusing issue. What makes apprehension crawl beneath his skin is the possibility of Namjoon revealing something about himself and making Hoseok believe he really hadn't known his boyfriend all along.

He can't even ask Yoongi. Honestly, which asshole will ask one of his acquaintances if they had once, in their entire lifetime, shagged his partner? Hoseok wouldn't, even after knowing he does happen to become painted an asshole if his accusations turn out illogical. If he happens to have mistaken Namjoon's harsh breathing for Yoongi's name.

But how will he know if these thoughts are illogical or not if he doesn't ask Namjoon? Or Yoongi, as a matter of fact. Jimin is right: Hoseok has to ask someone. Hoseok has to know before he throws himself under the bus for thinking the absolute wrong thing.

So our protagonist falters in his steps as he makes his mind up in the middle of the street crossing. He lets himself be carried along the crossing with the eventide of workers returning home as he steels himself to his newfound decision. He resumes his walk with new vigour once he convinces himself and steps inside a bakery just a street away from the subway stairs to buy donuts sprinkled with Namjoon's favourite icing. He gets on the subway and steadies himself with his hand firmly grasping the overhead railing to avoid having himself toppled over in the middle of the train and finally realises this entire idea is shit. Hoseok should have walked back home instead of switching course and right now, here he is, sandwiched between a man smelling strangely of petroleum and an old lady wearing a jacket with a moth perched on her shoulder.

But he knows he has to address the topic sometime. Sometime before it's too late and asking Namjoon about it would only confuse him. So, he persists and tries not to stir too much, clutching the bag of donuts tight within his palms, in case the moth decides to change its host and shift to Hoseok's coat, and waits for his station to arrive.

He walks out into the twilight lit streets of Seoul and notices that the chilling winds have subsided, making him smile within at the realisation that Spring happens to be nearby. Which means a hopeful repetition of last spring.

The elevator to Namjoon's floor isn't creaky or scary like their apartment's, so Hoseok strides within the confines of the steel box rather amiably and he nods at a familiar face he had seen when he had last been inside this office.

"Jackson, isn't it?" Hoseok asks as the elevator empties onto the fifth floor and he moves towards the back of the cart to avoid colliding with the fresh wave of people filling in.

"Yeah." The boy smiles at him and returns to tapping his foot against the carpet, before his eyebrows scrunch up together in confusion and he jerks his head back toward Hoseok in alarm. "Wait, aren't you the one who's with Namjoon?" Hoseok nods affirmative with a hesitant shake of his head and Jackson now looks thoroughly perplexed. "Then what're you doing here?"

"Um, visiting Namjoon with some donuts? Why is something wrong?" Hoseok is not sure if the foreboding feeling creeping up under his shirt is actually there or if it's just his imagination.

"Uh, I thought you were supposed to be at the hospital?" The monotonous voice overhead announces the floor number and Hoseok and Jackson are pushed out onto the hall. "Namjoon left with him in the ambulance Nayun called for, and I stayed back because PD-nim needed someone to cover his shows. I thought you'd be there considering how much... Wait, am I missing something here?"

Hoseok stares at Jackson with utmost confusion sketched on his features while the other mirrors the same look, neither really clear on what the hell is going on. Fifteen seconds drift by, and Hoseok knows this because his stupid brain, unable to do process anything else, counts the seconds and Jackson is the one who cuts the silence in half.

"Yoongi slipped down the stairs just as he was about to leave. He had hit his head pretty hard on a broken tile and I heard Namjoon call you to ask you to come over to the hospital?" His brain is a blank parchment where the ink slides off every time Jackson tries to write something and Hoseok is certain he had missed out on an entire season of the show titled 'The life of Jung Hoseok: a mess.'

"Am I in the SBC building right now?"

Now it's Jackson's turn to potray Hoseok's confused expression. "What? Well, yeah you are. But why do you ask?"

"The Yoongi I know works at Seoul Graphics. And the Namjoon I know doesn't know him. Jackson, what're you talking about?"

If only Jackson Wang had known the stupidly cruel game the Fates were playing with Jung Hoseok, he would've feigned stupidity and admitted to have mistaken Hoseok for someone completely different. He wouldn't have given Hoseok the address to the nearest hospital and hurried him on. If he had known, Jackson Wang would have lied to Hoseok and asked him to sit down for a cup of coffee while his fingers furiously tapped away under the table to a certain Kim Namjoon.

But he is unaware of such godly games and interventions. So Jackson Wang thumbs down the address to the nearest hospital and hurries Hoseok on. He does not lie to him, nor does he furiously tap away to Kim Namjoon to warn him that today might be the day he lost everything he holds dear.

author's note: u n e d i t e d  but here's the celebratory chapter for the 1k reads. love you all so much for this milestone.