SonderTaeWonder
Taehyung tried not to let it bother him. He really did.
(Or, alternatively, Namjoon shares some important information, and Taehyung doesn't take it well.)
~~~
Chilly air blew through the streets, flinging dead and dying leaves down to the cement, tapping and scraping as they went. Fall was already sleeping into Seoul, and while Taehyung disliked summer for its intense heat, he disliked winter just as much for its chill. His hyungs made fun of him all the time for it, so he never let them borrow coats and scarves during winter and never offered to buy them frozen treats during the summer.
Payback.
One hand in his coat pocket and the other hand tucked into Jungkook's pocket to tangle his fingers with the other boy's hand, the two of them turned the corner, walking down the sidewalk until they reached a red door with intricate carvings and an oval, frosted glass window in it.
Jungkook rushed ahead, turning its knob and holding the door open for Taehyung with a dramatic, flourishing bow. The elder laughed in response, nudging him playfully as he passed. The door closed behind them as they shuffled inside.
Stepping into The Rkive always filled Taehyung with a sense of vellichor. The atmosphere inside was wistful despite there being nothing particularly special about the place. The two story building itself wasn't necessarily big, but it wasn't small either. It seemed small, though, because of all the bookshelves placed in any available space with limited, near cramped walkways weaving in between. Each was filled to the brim with books, tomes, scrolls and any other kind of written work.
The smallest section of the mini library, tucked away at the very back of the bottom floor, had plenty of books that were non-supernatural and magic related. The rest and vast majority, though, housed books whose topics ranged from spells to specific creatures. If you wanted to learn anything about the supernatural world, The Rkive was a good place to look first.
No one sat at the tiny front counter, the old register and call bell sitting lonely in the cluttered space. Neither of them willing to adventure too far into the maze of shelves to search, Jungkook tapped the top of the call bell, the ding ringing crystal clear through the quiet as they shrugged off their coats to hang on the rack by the door.
There was a couple of thumps of what sounded like some books tumbling to the floor not far away, a soft curse following. Soon enough, a brunette peaked around the corner at them. "Oh!"
Taehyung smiled as the figure rushed to greet them, brushing the dust off her dress as she went. "Hello, Haseul. Hey, you got a haircut! It looks good!"
The girl smiled. "Hi, Oppa, hi, Jungkookie! Ah, and thank you. Everyone keeps telling it suits me," she replied happily. Her fingers reached up, fiddling with the ends of her newly cut hair. Taehyung had only known Haseul for about a year, having been introduced to her by Jungkook during one of his boyfriend's breaks in between classes, and while she'd always been pretty with long hair, Taehyung had to agree that the shoulder length bob hairstyle suited her well, if not better.
"It does, Seul." Jungkook reached out, tugging at it as well. Same age friend benefits, Taehyung thought, snorting as he watched Jungkook just grin under Haseul stern glare.
Haseul's friendly smile slowly died into a cringe when she took in the state the messy entrance area was in. Taehyung hadn't even noticed the stacks of tomes haphazardly placed on the floor when they'd first came in.
"I'm sorry about all this mess," Haseul sighed. She took a couple of lighter books from a stack and tucked them into the crook of her arm, carrying them towards a metal book cart. As a brownie, the girl often couldn't resist the urge to keep things clean. That and her smarts made her a wonderful assistant in The Rkive, since, despite Namjoon's own intelligence, the man couldn't keep clean to save his life.
