The babysitter - Taekook

SIXTEEN

"Ah, there you are!"

A familiar voice exclaims, making Jeongguk flinch.

"Taehyung? What are you doing here already?", the younger questions while getting up from his sitting position.

"I got off from work earlier today", Taehyung explains, eyes darted on the garden bed behind Jeongguk.

The younger had spent the last few hours since noon with planting flowers in the garden. Dasom wanted to spend some time with Chansol, so she came to get her grandson in the forenoon.

That leaves the opportunity for Jeongguk to do his work in the garden what is a rather difficult task when Chansol's here.

"It's beautiful, Jeongguk. It makes the garden look more colorful and lively."

Jeongguk smiles at the compliment. "Glad you like it.", the younger says while taking off his gloves, "But I need to buy a few more. There's still free space and I don't have more flowers left to plant there. The shop's still open so I'll go get some more."

Jeongguk knocks off the dust from his pants to look presentable.

"I'm coming with you.", Taehyung suddenly says and starts to make his way out of the garden and onto the street.

Jeongguk raises his eyebrow at the elder's enthusiasm. Taehyung's still wearing his office suit - Jeongguk doesn't know wether he's aware of it or not - but the younger hasn't the heart to tell him.

Jeongguk quickly follows the elder, a content smile on his face. Seeing that Taehyung gets more comfortable around him makes him happy.

Jeongguk knows how hard it is to distract onself in a situation like Taehyung's. That's why he's happy to see Taehyung in such a good mood.

Every little smile that appears on the older male's face makes Jeongguk's heart swell. It makes him feel like he achieved something. Even if it's just for short, every second that Taehyung's not full of sadness is worth everything.

"The weather's nice so we can walk there right?", Jeongguk asks as he reaches Taehyung.

The elder hums approvingly. "Yes, and the shop's not far from here."

After a fifteen-minutes walk, the two men arrive at the flower shop.

It's a small shop, kinda old but it looks very inviting from the outside. All different kinds of flowers are neatly arranged in front of the shop.

As they both enter, a little bell rings, making the middle-aged woman behind the counter look up. "Good evening! Can I help you?", she smiles.

The woman's maybe in her early fifties and has a heartwarming smile on her lips.

Jeongguk greets her back, also smiling, "Hello, uhm yeah. We're searching for dahlias."

The woman hums in acknowledgement as she puts her cup of coffee down and gets up. "The same ones you bought earlier today? How many do you need?"

Jeongguk nods, "Yup those! Uhm three are enough."

She makes her way outside, only to come back with the three dahlias, only a few seconds later.

"Are those the right ones?", she asks, as she puts them down on the counter.

"Yes, perfect."

They pay for the flowers and leave the shop after saying goodbye to the woman.

"What's your favourite flower?", Taehyung asks all of a sudden, looking over to Jeongguk who's walking beside him.

The younger lifts the head and locks eyes with Taehyung's. "Roses. Red roses."

Taehyung hums. "I like-" A loud thunder sounds, making Taehyung shut up and look up at the sky.

"Seems like there will be a storm, we should hurry.", the elder detects.

They both start to walk faster, wanting to avoid getting wet at all cost. But it seems like the luck isn't on their side.

Only a few seconds later the first raindrops fall down. It gets heavier and heavier just in seconds, wetting the two men completely.

"Jeongguk, over there.", Taehyung shouts over the rain and points to a bus stop.

Jeongguk lets out a relieved sigh while he follows the elder under the protective roof.

It got a lot colder in a really short amount of time, causing Jeongguk to freeze. He tries to make his shivering less obvious but it doesn't seem to work as Taehyung notices right away.

"Are you cold?", the older male asks but before Jeongguk could answer, he already feels Taehyung's suit jacket over his shoulders.

Although the jacket's just as wet as Jeongguk's clothes are, it helps him to warm up a bit since Taehyung's jacket's still a bit from the elder's warmth.

"Thank you", Jeongguk mumbles gratefully.

They both watch the rain pour down. After only a few minutes, the weather seems to calm down entirely, allowing the two to continue their way back home.

The sun starts to shine again, making the raindrops on the flowers glister.

"As a kid, I would always run out after the rain just because I loved how the nature looked after it rained."

Jeongguk doesn't even know why he tells the elder that - he somehow just feels the need to share this with him. But he didn't expect Taehyung to also speak up.

"I ran out during the rain because I loved the smell of rain on the tar. My mom wasn't so fond of it as you can probably guess."

Jeongguk chuckles at that. "I can imagine that. Didn't you get sick?"

Taehyung shakes his head, "I did, but it was worth it for me. I did it again and again."

Jeongguk can't help but imagine little Taehyung running around in the rain, laughing, without any sorrows or duties. Just like a child should be. Carefree and happy, without anything that could bring a shadow over it's face.

Jeongguk looks at the male beside him. Taehyung's beautiful. Absolutely and completely beautiful.

Jeongguk loves how the sun makes his hair shine and his face glow. Jeongguk lets his eyes roam over Taehyung's prominent jawline, up to his nose and eyes. The elder's side profile is nothing but stunningly beautiful.

And Jeongguk is so immersed in studying the other's features that he doesn't notice that Taehyung's staring back at him.

"Jeongguk? Are you alright?", Taehyung asks, making Jeongguk snap out of his trance.

"Yes yes of course." Jeongguk looks away quickly, trying to hide the redness that's creeping up his cheeks. Is there anything more embarrassing than getting caught while staring at another person? To Jeongguk, definitely not.

To his luck, they arrive at the house soon. Both men hurry inside to get out of their wet clothes.

"We should both shower immediately to avoid getting sick.", Taehyung states as he closes the door behind him.

Jeongguk hums in agreement while he takes off his shoes. "Thank you.", he smiles shyly as he gives the jacket back to Taehyung.

"No problem. And now go showering!"