Just the Two of Us (8) | Kim Taehyung
In which two ambiverts who are conscientious, resourceful, firm, and slightly egoistic happen to realise, discover, and explore the possibility of being in love. It’s a dream-like almost magical romance focusing on what I love to call “the butterfly inducing effect”. So, get comfy, grab a tub of ice cream, maybe get a few tissues and be prepared to experience romance like no other and fall in love.
I fell in love with you, I don’t know why, I don’t know how, I just did.
Tags/Warnings :- An Office Au, Ceo!Taehyung, Secretary!Y/N A fairytale at an office. Cheesy. Highly Romantic. TaehyungxReader.
Written by Author L
Cross posted on Wattpad
Word count :- 3k Words
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“”“”“
Sticky Note
The often unheard and silenced buzzes of Y/N’s most detested possession echoed through her bedroom loudly and not to mention proudly this morning. However, to the alarm’s dismay, it wasn’t its constant blaring that woke Y/N up.
A pounding headache, an annoying sore throat and perpetual sneezes which refused to die down, forced Y/N to get out of bed. With great difficulty, she somehow managed to make her way to the restroom. She blows her nose, washes her face with some warm water and looks at her reflection on the mirror. Her nose was red, eyes sunken, and her pale face was slightly swollen. She walks back to her bed contemplating if she should call in for a sick day.
“Okay I feel like shit right now.”
“Should I really go to work?” She asks herself while running a hand through her hair.
“What if I get nauseous at work?”
“I might faint.”
“I have a splitting headache. Which means my mind will be foggy and unclear. I might end up doing something ridiculous.”
“However…” She begins as an unreasonable thought of something, or rather someone crosses her mind.
“…there’s quite a lot of unfinished, pending work that I cannot risk missing.”
“There’s also Mr Kim…” She says as her lips curl up the slightest bit and a glint in her eyes appears and vanishes as quickly as her dilemma.
“I…” She says in deep thought.
“…am going to work.” She finishes with a silly little smile across her face.
She went through careful consideration and rational thinking, only to choose a side that would later, disappoint her physical and mental state of well-being thoroughly. She reassured herself that she was going to work just for work. Or was she?
***
“Achoo!” Y/N sneezes for what may be the four millionth time that day. Her sneezes reverberate through the entire meeting room as the people in it gave her either concerned or uncomfortable looks. After muttering multiple excuse me-ies and sorry-ies, she thanks God for being capable of producing the most ungraceful and unignorably loud sneezes which had the potential to erupt volcanoes or create earthquakes.
A short while later, the meeting finally ends, and Y/N finds herself exiting the meeting room at the speed of light. She heads towards the restroom making sure she doesn’t make eye contact with anybody so that she doesn’t end up engaging herself in an unnecessary, oddly timed small talk while trying to suppress an obnoxious cough.
She successfully reaches the restroom, grabs fifteen tissues or so and blows out her nose. She pops a cough drop into her mouth before resting her palms on the sink’s counter and raises her head to look at herself in the mirror. She sighs and shakes her head.
‘I shouldn’t have come today.’
Aaand here we go, the infamous look of regret. If someone took a shot every time Y/N regretted coming to work today, they’d be knocked out by the end of it.
She leaves the restroom and reaches Taehyung’s office within no time. She was supposed to fax some documents which had his signatures. To her surprise and relief he wasn’t inside the office. She thought this was better because he wouldn’t have to see her in such a pathetic state. Although she knew it was unrealistic of her to expect that, since he's her boss and they see each other more often than an actual couple.
She finds the files on the coffee table and walks towards them. And as it was bound to happen, another sneeze makes its grand debut and Y/N stops to cover her nose. From the corner of her eye, she notices a hand extending out from behind her, holding a kerchief that was neatly ironed and folded.
“You alright there?” Taehyung asks and Y/N suddenly gets a tiny bit self-conscious.
She turns around, takes the kerchief, and thanks Taehyung. She wipes her nose with the light blue cotton cloth and wonders if her nose looked red or if her eyes looked drowsy.
‘I’m pretty sure there’s booger on my nose or something.’
Not enjoying the fact that Taehyung can see this vulnerable side of her, she grabs the files from the coffee table and turns towards the door.
“I only came to take these files sir. I have to fax them.” She announces in the air and starts walking.
“Wait.”
Taehyung rushes toward Y/N and stands before her.
“You didn’t answer my question yet. Are you alright?”
Y/N’s cheeks turn a light shade of red.
“Uh yes sir, I’m alright.” She assures him with a smile and a nod.
Taehyung doesn’t say anything. In fact, a small frown appears on his face. He stares at her for a few moments, observing her face.
‘There’s definitely booger on my nose, isn’t there?’
Without a disclaimer he brings his hand up and rests the back of his palm on Y/N’s forehead to check for temperature.
The colour on Y/N’s cheeks deepens as she processes what just happened. Her eyes widen slightly, and her pupils dilate. She was glad they were inside his office and the blinds on the large glass panes were closed because oh boy, if someone saw this, the hot topic for the employees’ next gossip session would undoubtedly be her.
“Oh God you’re burning up!” Taehyung exclaims in shock as he moves his hand away from her face.
“Uh- well, I feel okay sir, don’t worry.”
“What do you mean okay? Y/N you have a high fever. Why did you come to work?”
“I…” Y/N clears her throat and continues. “…took some medication in the morning sir, I’m alright now.”
Truth to be told, she was not alright. Her state was the same as before, if not it was worse. A train of thought occupied entirely with regret, stops by at her platform of peace. Disappointed with her poor choice of actions and unrealistic expectations of avoiding her boss at work, Y/N curses herself silently.
“I’m totally okay sir!” Y/N says in pretentious cheer as she lifts her hand to form a thumbs up. She swiftly exits the room before Taehyung could say a word.
***
“Why don’t we take a small break?”
Completely bothered by Y/N’s incessant sneezes, Taehyung abruptly suggests a break during the course of a meeting. He looks at Y/N who sat beside him with concern, as the employees who were scattered around the room, left one by one to have something at the cafeteria.
He gets up from his chair and walks out towards a small kitchen counter where he finds a kettle and fills it with water. After some time, he pours it into a glass, walks back to the conference room and places it on the table for Y/N.
Taehyung had eventually come to terms with the idea of deceiving Y/N, because unfortunately marriage was the only thing stopping him from living his life as the CEO of Kim Enterprises. Taehyung tried his best to be the ‘ideal dating material’ as coined by Jin and hence decided to execute any and every sweet gesture that may seem appealing to Y/N. Whether or not it was working, he had know clue.
However, the smile that appears on Y/N’s face after she noticed the glass of water might actually mean that it's working.
Pre-occupied by her sickness which had impeccable timing, she hastily mutters a 'thank you’ before, you guessed it, sneezing a few more times and sipping on the hot water.
As the water flows down her throat, she feels her sinuses clear, leaving her with a not-so-runny nose. The hot water melts the irritation in her throat away and momentarily brings her a great sense of comfort. Something which seemed impossible to attain today.
“Y/N you should take a half day.”
Y/N looks at Taehyung with a frown. When he says nothing else, she realises that he’s talking about her sickness.
“Oh sir, it’s totally alright! I’m fine.” She says with a convincing smile and dismisses his offer with a wave of her hand.
Taehyung says nothing and stares back at her.
“Besides there’s so much I have to get done. I have to go to S. A. Marketing and schedule your interview appointments, there's a training meeting later in the day, I have to proofread Minho’s correspondence and figure out Ms Rachel’s deadlines and plan accordingly for the next quarter. Oh! You also have another meeting, with Legal Corp Solutions, meaning I have to draft four reports by the end of the day.” Y/N reasoned nervously.
Taehyung closes his eyes and sighs.
“Y/N, I want you to do something more important for me. This is absolutely necessary and should be your utmost priority.”
Y/N knew what he was going to say next.
‘Go back home and rest.’
Yep, he would definitely say that. Because why wouldn’t he? A typical boss in every rom-com, who displays incongruent affection and care towards his secretary whom he barely knows. She obviously expected Taehyung to say some cliché sentences out of concern after startling her by checking her temperature earlier. She watched way too many K-dramas to predict what would happen next.
“I want you… to organise all the books and documents in my office in alphabetical order, category- wise making sure to re-arrange the files of all international deals separately, by placing them in boxes. Catalog all information from the past year and there's also a book on my desk, which I would like you to read, after which you must provide me with a detailed review of the book consisting of appropriate criticism and judgement.” He pauses to take a deep breath.
“I suggest you use my office for the entire day. Begin with the book.” He finishes with a small sly smile that Y/N failed to notice, for she was utterly nonplussed by the list of things Taehyung asked her to do.
Taehyung knew he wouldn't be able to send Y/N home. She was often adamant on her stand. However, Taehyung wasn’t going to back down just like that. He couldn’t let her do all that jazz she mentioned earlier. Which is why he assigned minimal and not to mention, useless work to keep her occupied. That way her condition wouldn't get worse than it already was. It would be boring, yes, but not as tiring. She only has to sit in his office and ‘work’. He knew it would take her all day to just finish the book.
Y/N thinks it’s some kind of a joke in the beginning and stares at Taehyung hoping that he might laugh and say “Don’t worry! I'm kidding.” However, Taehyung stares back at her with a ‘Well, what are you waiting for?’ look, after which she nods awkwardly and leaves the meeting room.
***
Y/N sits in a rubble of mess desperately trying to figure out how she would ‘catalog all the information’ from the past YEAR. She didn’t even know what kind of information she has to gather!
‘Should’ve taken a day off.’
She gave up on the book after reading four pages of it. In her dizzy and groggy state of mind she struggled just to read the introduction, let alone write a detailed review.
Channelling her inner Marie Kondo, she began segregating all the reports based on valuation, sales, investments, and finance. She works on this for a few hours making sure to carefully showcase her perfectionism despite her debilitating cold. Because that's just who she was. The kind of person to prioritize work over her deteriorating health.
Y/N flinches in fear at the sound of something other than the occasional shuffling of papers and thuds of boxes. And not to forget, her earth-shattering sneezes. She realises that the sound came from the door being unlocked and notices Taehyung walking into the office room with an IPad in his hand.
Taehyung finds her on the floor of his office, near the shelves, with papers, files, binders and what not littered on the floor. At the centre of it all, sat Y/N looking more dishevelled than ever. He mentally facepalms himself at the sight of her working tirelessly on the most useless job in the world. He expected her to get tired after arranging a few boxes and fall asleep or maybe just give up and rest. However, Y/N was oblivious to Taehyung’s foolproof plan and was determined on being the most productive person at work today.
“Oh well, hello sir.” Y/N says as she smiles with a hint of pride.
“I’m almost done…” She begins as she stands up.
“…just have to discard a few-“
“Fantastic! Job well done.” Taehyung says quickly with a meaningless smile and places his hands on his hips.
“You can go back to your desk Y/N.” He nods and gestures towards the door.
“I haven’t read the book yet sir and-“
“Aw that’s unfortunate. How about this? You can take the book, finish it today and return it tomorrow? Yes, that sounds perfect!” He finishes in one breath, grabs the book from his table hastily and urges Y/N to take it.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you, sir.” Y/N’s face falls flat. As she walks out of the room towards her desk, all she could feel was…disappointment. What was she expecting? A bone-crushing hug from her boss for cleaning his entire office for absolutely no purpose? She couldn't help but wonder why Taehyung rushed her out of his office. Or why he was so distant since the moment he heard her sneeze.
'No, he's not like that.’
The instant she finds her desk, she drops the book on it, plops herself into a chair and sighs in pain and relief. She stretches her arms out, leans back on her chair, and closes her eyes, before opening them again to look at something that caught her eye. She leans toward the desk as her forehead scrunches up in confusion. On her white wood desk, was a large coffee cup, filled to the brim with piping hot coffee. And the on the coffee cup was a bright yellow sticky note upon which a message was lettered in a familiar, pretty handwriting.
She picks up the cup to examine it closely.
Drink the coffee when it’s hot. Would help with the cold.
There are meds in the brown bag. Get some rest for now.
I’ll drop you home tonight.
Y/N’s face goes pale. And it was definitely not because of the high fever. She reads it again to make sure she read it right. A red hue appears on her face as quickly as it had faded earlier once she recognises the handwriting. Realisation dawns upon her and she understands why Taehyung rushed her to her desk. She scans the note multiple times while a grin finds its way to her face. For the first time, she didn't regret coming to work that day. She glances at the brown bag near the keyboard and takes a sip of the coffee. The hot liquid glides through her throat as she closes her eyes, sinks in her seat and groans in relief. Wanting to feel the warmth of the coffee more, she drinks the whole thing at once. Almost like a toddler who drinks milk quickly to beat their sibling at a silly little competition. She removes the sticky note from the cup and stares at it for a while, before placing it safely inside her drawer. All with a cheeky grin on her face.
She rests both her arms on the desk and lays her head on them. She thinks of how weirdly cute today was. She knew why Taehyung gave her absurd and silly tasks to keep her ‘busy’. Y/N put up with it and played along because she knew Taehyung was right. She should've taken some rest. A smile forms on her face again, when she thinks of how considerate he had suddenly become. Was it only with her? She likes to think it was. The smile only grows wider when she thinks about the sticky note. She never thought a small piece of paper with some scribbles from her boss would make her so giddy. She didn't even know if she's supposed to react that way.
Amidst contemplation, tiredness gets the best of her, and her eyes begin to feel heavier, giving in to the comforting idea of sleep. Even the substantial amount of caffeine she had a few minutes ago, doesn’t prevent her from falling into a deep slumber.
***
The warm sunlit sky starts blending into the darkness of the night. Resting against the railings of a river stood a tall man with a charming smile. The sapphire blue eyes gazed at Y/N as he extended his hand out for her to hold. She takes a step closer and places her palm in his before smiling shyly.
“Y/N.” He says in a smooth, calming tone and Y/N looks at him with anticipation.
“Wake up.”
She frowns and the man’s silhouette starts to fade. She struggles to focus on his blurring face as another, familiar person’s face sharpens. Y/N stirs in her sleep and squints her eyes to find her boss calling out her name trying to wake her up.
“Y/N, wake up.”
Upon realisation she gasps and sits up instantly.
“Good evening, sir.” She blurts out.
He chuckles and shakes his head.
“It’s way beyond evening Y/N. In fact, it’s almost ten o’clock. Come on, let me drop you home.” He says and walks towards the exit.
“Oh” Is all she manages to say as her mind tries to process all the sleep, sickness, embarrassment, and annoyance. The annoyance was due to the fact that she was almost about to have her swoon worthy romance with Brad fricking Pitt until she was woken up.
“Ugh, the onetime Brad Pitt decides to show up in my dream.” She whisper-yells in frustration while grabbing her bag and following Taehyung out of the office.
The car ride was, unsurprisingly quiet. Y/N’s unremitting sneezes finally gave up, thanks to the three-hour nap and Brad Pitt’s charming blue eyes. Both of them sat in silence and thought of how the other’s day must have gone. They barely got to see each other today.
Taehyung was relieved to see Y/N finally taking a nap after his desperate attempts to get her to rest.
Y/N was confused, to say the least. Perhaps the foggiest her mind had ever felt. Totally unprofessional and uncool was the way she’d put it. It was not the way she wanted to present herself around Taehyung.
‘NEVER go to work when sick.’ She told herself.
However, the sticky note was pleasantly surprising. The thought of the note formed a smile on her face which went unnoticed by Taehyung. Before her mind wandered off to her ‘maybe' theory, Taehyung announces abruptly.
“We’re here.”
“Oh, good night, sir.” She says and closes the door to his car.
Taehyung watches her as she crosses the road and walks into her apartment. He starts the engine, but before he drives away, something on the dashboard catches his eye.
Thank you for the coffee and medicine, sir:)
A small sentence was inscribed on a pastel pink sticky note in Y/N’s neat handwriting. A smile makes its way up to Taehyung’s face as he finds himself saving the note in his pocket before driving off in a jolly spirit.