to want a chocolate milkshake instead of an americano sometimes (“Are you /trying/ to make me diabetic, Jeongguk-ssi?”). He gives Taehyung exactly five minutes to finish breakfast before grabbing his planner and knocking on the man's door.

2. the look

3. rich people are dramatic

4. taehyung's mood

5. mood ring

6. don't feel like it

7. dinner with the kims

8. i'll handle it

9. stop making good points

10. not happy

“Why the fuck does that man talk so much,” Taehyung says as soon as the elevator doors shut. They had just sent the editor-in-chief of KNBC off. The media visit turned into three long agonizing hours of Taehyung pretending like he gives a shit about what Kim Jihoon has to say.

It was only supposed to be an office tour and a quick chat for the PR team to write about, but Jihoon was insistent about overstaying his schedule. Jeongguk heard him tell Taehyung about wanting to put the past behind them,

and that anything his paper had written about his company years ago was merely business. (Jeongguk wanted to roll his eyes so bad.) “Well, he /is/ a journalist, sir," Jeongguk reasons, though he can't say that Kim Jihoon's a very good one.

Taehyung only grunts in response. A single glance at his boss’ face tells Jeongguk that he’s exhausted and drained. Jeongguk won’t be surprised if he turns non-verbal for the rest of the day.

“You know, they featured you in their fashion column last month. Your top five outfits from your public appearances the past year! You always make quite the impression online,” Jeongguk offers, attempting to lighten Taehyung’s mood.

That gets Taehyung to look at him at least. A look of pure irritation, that is. Jeongguk, however, is used to Taehyung’s many expressions, so this one doesn’t faze him at all. He’s sure that he’s gotten on Taehyung’s a bunch of times before but has never told him off for it.

“Want me to send you the link to the article?” The elevator dings. “Tell them to take it down,” is all Taehyung says before he steps out. “Right. Of course.” Jeongguk sighs and follows suit. He doesn’t know why he even offered.

Now he just has another thing to do on his already long list of tasks. “Though I’m sure you’d be pleased to know that the article was trending for three days! Everyone loved the black fit you wore—” “Get rid of it, Jeongguk,” Taehyung repeats. “Yes, sir.”

Spirits deflated, Jeongguk heaves a sigh as he sits down at his desk. He pulls up the aforementioned article on the computer and snapshots of Taehyung in various outfits load on his screen. Jeongguk scrolls through them aimlessly.

An appearance he made at some young conglomerate’s birthday bash ranks at first place. In that one, Taehyung is decked out in an all-black ensemble except for the red button down underneath his coat.

Jeongguk wasn’t there at the party but he vaguely remembers seeing the photos circulate online, and him greeting Taehyung the following weekday with a bright “red looks good on you, sir!”.

(Taehyung, of course, only grunted in response. Jeongguk has never seen Taehyung wear red again since then.) But while Jeongguk understands why this outift got number one, his favorite actually ranks at fifth.

This one was taken while Taehyung was coming out of a news outlet building after having given an interview that he desperately wanted to avoid. He was wearing a broken white-colored satin shirt, dark brown pants, and no blazer for once (Jeongguk was holding it).

Taehyung’s hair was actually styled by a hair stylist that day since the interview was taped. His dark locks were swept away from his face, revealing the expanse of his forehead and strong brows. There’s a faint crease between them.

He must’ve been caught off guard by whoever snapped the pic. It’s a good photo, but Taehyung’s always been the kind of person who’s naturally photogenic. Jeongguk just likes this one the best because seeing Taehyung in anything outside of his usual black suits is

a rare occurence. The man really suits earth tones. Jeongguk sneaks a glance at Taehyung’s office and sees the man engrossed in his laptop. He makes a few clicks to save the photo into the computer, airdrops it to his phone,

and quickly sets it as Taehyung’s contact photo, fingers swift and heart racing like as if he’s doing something scandalous. He’s breaking a silly rule he made of only ever using pictures of people he took himself as their contact photos,

but he hasn’t had any of Taehyung up until now and he can’t exactly just come up to his boss and say “hey, can you pose for a pic” right? With Taehyung’s contact information newly updated, Jeongguk locks his phone and sets it on his desk.

He goes back to his computer, opens his email, and starts drafting a message addressed to the editorial team of KNBC News.

/ “Does /anyone/ have any good news?” The dead silence that falls across the room is so stiffening that Jeongguk swears he might just be able to hear a pin drop.

Every single face in this room right now is drained of color, eyes dropping low or pretending to be fixated at some inconspicuous point in the room to avoid being called on by the man sitting at the head of the table.

And Jeongguk, who’s really only ever here to listen and take notes, actually feels his heart drop to his feet for once. Hoseok from Creative Branding clears his throat. “About the brand ambassadorship, we’ve reached out to Shin Hyungwon’s team and they’ve expressed interest—”

“You mean that idol that got into a bullying scandal and drove under the influence in the same year?” Taehyung cuts him off. It’s at moments like these Jeongguk remembers why Taehyung has the reputation that everyone knows him for.

Jeongguk wouldn’t call him terrifying like his co-worker do, but there’s just something so unwavering about him. One mere glance at his no nonsense and intimidating gaze is enough to have someone shitting their pants.

He could click his tongue, quirk a single eyebrow, or let out one disapproving sigh and a whole room of people would cower in fear. Jeongguk admits that he used to feel that way once, back when he just started working for the man,

but he quickly understood that Taehyung is just really serious about his job. The weight of the whole company sits on his shoulders. It’s a lot of pressure. “I might not be up to date with celebrity gossip but I did my homework.