Posted originally on the Archive of Our Own at

http://download.archiveofourown.org/works/8580418.

Rating: General Audiences

Archive Warning: Choose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Category: M/M
Fandom: | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Relationship: Kim Taehyung | V/Park Jimin
Character: Kim Taehyung | V, Park Jimin (BTS), Kim Seokjin | Jin, Min Yoongi |
Suga
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Bakery,
Fluff, First Meetings, Meet-Cute, way too many puns, hell even the
title is a pun
Stats: Published: 2016-11-17 Words: 8458

two birds, one scone

by kadotas

Summary

Taehyung considers himself a pretty lucky person — right up to the moment when his
computer gets cranky and deletes his lab report. But at 2 am in a near deserted library,
who's he supposed to call?

(in which Jimin works at the campus technical support centre and Taehyung learns that not
all heroes wear capes.)

Notes

this was an au prompt sent to me and it supposed to be a drabble to ease me back into
writing but...whoops!

no puns were harmed in the process of writing this fic, enjoy!!

See the end of the work for more notes

There have been five mass extinctions in Earth’s history and honestly, the sixth one couldn’t come
sooner. For the third time in the past hour, Taehyung folds his arms across the library table and
buries his head in them. He groans loudly; the sound only slightly muffled by his thick sweater.
There’s the faint sound of someone hushing him in the distance, but at this time of the night he
really can’t bring himself to care.

He counts 3 seconds before lifting his head slowly and glancing at the document still open on his
computer screen. Taehyung lazily props an elbow on the table and rests a chin on his hand as he
idly scrolls through his unfinished report on the principles of groundwater flow. Being a science
student was notoriously tough but somehow being an environmental science student was an
entirely different ballgame.

Sure, in his second year he’s already assembled a litany of complaints: his lecturers go off on
climate change tangents way too often, half of his classmates are hellbent on proving that global
warming is a hoax and god, don’t get him started on the awful applied ecology field trips. Still,
nothing beats the actual hell that is lab reports and Taehyung sighs as he looks at the insufficient
word count at the bottom of the page. Really, if there was ever an opportune time for an incoming
asteroid to strike the planet and put him out of his misery, it was now.

Rubbing his eyes with one hand, he briefly peeks at the clock which reads 2 am. Great, just over
48 hours till he has to submit this paper and still 1000 words short. Resigning himself to the sad
fate of pulling an overnighter in the library, Taehyung taps his internet browser and scans the list
of hydrogeology research paper tabs left open.

Begrudgingly clicking on one, Taehyung yanks his coffee — the cold surface of the cup numbing
his fingers — and sulkily takes a sip. The caffeine floods his system, giving him a much needed
boost and resuscitates his diminishing will to finish the report. For the next few minutes, his eyes
scan the webpage; mind going into autopilot as he sifts through the information. When he realises
he can’t scroll down anymore, Taehyung is shaken out of his daze and he goes to click on the next
page.

He leans back as the page loads, but a giant pop-up ad suddenly fills up his entire screen. A tiny
box opens up in the middle of his screen, displaying two options and Taehyung curses lightly
under his breath. Brows furrowing in annoyance, Taehyung abruptly goes to close the tab. The
sudden shift in movement causes the beads of condensation on the outside of his cup to drop onto
his keyboard.

Taehyung tries to sweep the water off his keyboard frantically with clumsy hands, accidentally
smashing a few keys, but his attention is snatched away when the ad on his computer screen
shifts. With wide eyes, Taehyung can only stare on hopelessly as his tabs close one by one and his
unsaved lab report is forced shut.

“No, no, no,” Taehyung whispers, urgently pressing on his spacebar as a weak attempt to stop
whatever is happening. In the matter of seconds, his entire computer screen turns black and
Taehyung is left staring at his exhausted, despairing reflection.

What the fuck.

Taehyung tries to remain calm — despite the realisation that he’s going to have to restart his entire
lab report. He closes his eyes and breathes in deeply through his nose, holding his breath for 10
seconds. Exhaling miserably, Taehyung presses the power button of his computer and waits with
bated breath.

The computer switches on and Taehyung sighs in relief, rubbing his temples as he tries to fight the
oncoming headache. Seconds feel like minutes and he nervously waits as he computers starts up
again, silently hoping that somehow his document isn’t gone. But as he’s learned the hard way too
many times, life isn’t fucking fair — and you should always save your damn documents.

Taehyung glares at his half empty cup of coffee, resentful towards it for causing his inevitable
demise at the hands of his unforgiving professor. He opens up a blank document and clicks on his
internet browser once again. The icon bounces up and down on his dock of applications as it
opens and the action is almost therapeutic — Taehyung’s eyes following it up and down,
somewhat calming him down. The calm is short-lived as he reads the notice that pops up on his
screen.

Your web browser was closed unexpectedly and the tabs cannot be restored.

Well, fuck. Taehyung’s about to mourn the loss of 3 hours of long, arduous research and 21 tabs
on three dimensional saltwater intrusions when he stares at the page open on his browser. He
narrows his eyes, noticing the Yahoo search page open. Quizzically, Taehyung opens another tab
— which usually leads to Google — but the Yahoo domain stares back at him.

There’s something about the purple glare of the webpage that unnerves Taehyung and his eye
twitches in annoyance. Someone out there must be deliberately sabotaging him; some pathetic,
infuriating asshole who thinks it’s really fucking funny to set his default webpage to the world’s
second favourite search engine. He shouldn’t even be this annoyed but hell, he hasn’t slept in 2
days and his last meal was room temperature coffee — so fuck it.

Taehyung stands up and trudges to the library desk, leaning over the counter. “Hello, could I have
the number for campus tech support?” Taehyung asks politely, tone slightly clipped from the
vexation he’s trying to contain.

The librarian raises her head and scrutinises him, frowning slightly as she takes in his dishevelled
appearance. Rolling her eyes, she wordlessly digs through her drawers until she finds a small
piece of paper and slides it across the counter to Taehyung. “Here,” she says gruffly, turning away
and going back to typing away noisily.

Making a face, Taehyung mutters an insincere thanks and trudges back to his seat. He scowls at
the bright purple Yahoo webpage taunting him and he slams his computer shut. He reads the card
and relief floods his system as he sees that the support is open till 3 am. Pulling out his phone,
Taehyung hurriedly dials the number — it picks up after the second ring.

“Campus technical support, how can I help you?” a bright voice chirps and Taehyung has to pull
his phone away from his ear to double check that it’s way past midnight.

“Hello?” Taehyung replies uncertainly after a beat of static silence.

“Yes sir, how can I help you?”

“Uh,” Taehyung says, mind blank as he processes the lively voice of the guy speaking to him. He
clears his throat, reminding himself to deal with the problem at hand. “There was a pop-up ad and
I think I accidentally pressed enter. Then my whole computer shut down and when I turned it
back on everything changed.”

“Everything changed?” the man inquires and Taehyung hears confusion in his tone.

“I don’t know,” Taehyung rants, the question unhinging the repressed anger. “It says I can’t
restore all my tabs and now my search engine is Yahoo. How the fuck did that happen? I use
fucking Chrome-“

“Calm down, sir.“

Taehyung didn’t even notice that his voice had raised in volume and he worriedly glances around
him. He sees the librarian glaring at him and Taehyung pulls the hood of his sweater over his head
and shrinks further in his seat. There’s something about the voice of the man speaking to him that
lulls Taehyung into a sense of security — a ‘trustworthy’ voice if voices could be labeled that
way.

“Sorry,” Taehyung apologises and he sighs. “It’s just that I didn’t save my lab report before my
computer crashed.”

“Sorry to hear that,” the man sympathises and Taehyung feels oddly comforted by this stranger.
“When’s the deadline?”

“In less than two days,” Taehyung replies and he hears a soft gasp on the other side of the line.

“That’s rough,” the man repeats and Taehyung finds himself softening despite the situation.

“Not to mention, I have this fucking purple webpage glaring at me,” Taehyung complains,
yanking his laptop open.

“Don’t blame Yahoo,” the guy chides and Taehyung’s lips quirk upwards at that. “It didn’t do
anything to you.”

“It’s the icing on top of a cake for what’s turning out to be the worst night ever,” Taehyung
responds drily and he hears a poorly concealed giggle on the other end. The sound is light and
airy, making Taehyung’s eyes flutter in response to hearing in — his heart accelerating out of
nowhere.

“Do you enjoy other peoples’ misery?” Taehyung whispers, partially curious about the other
person but tone still teasing.

“No!” the guy responds quickly. It comes out in a slight squeak and Taehyung smiles wider at this
in spite of the Yahoo webpage glaring back at him. “Sorry about that, sir. I think your computer
has been infected by a sort of Malware called Spigot which caused the default search engine
change, among other things.”

Taehyung frowns, mulling over the words in his head. “Sorry, Mal-what?” Taehyung asks in
bewilderment.

“Malware,” the guy replies confidently. “It stands for malicious software and it’s an umbrella term
used to define hostile software like viruses and Trojan horses-“

“I don’t suppose you mean the wooden statue used to invade Troy,” Taehyung mumbles quietly
but it’s loud enough to be heard over the phone, eliciting a small giggle from the other man.

“No, I don’t,” the guy confirms and Taehyung groans, mentally berating computers for being so
confusing.

“I’m honestly terrible at handling technology so, if you could just let me know how I can change it
back, that’d be great,” Taehyung says, fighting the flush heating up his cheeks from
embarrassment.

“Sure thing,” the guy replies cheerfully and Taehyung smiles a small smile to himself,
embarrassment lifted.

“First things first, do you have a virus detector?”

“Where do I find that?”

“There may be one in your applications folder.”

Taehyung closes his web browser and scans the dock of applications at the bottom of his
computer screen. His eyes flit over the various icons and chews on his bottom lip before he bites
the bullet and asks, “Um, what is it supposed to look like?”

There’s a silence that hangs over the conversation — too long to be anything but intentional —
and he hears a suppressed sigh from the other end as the guy exhales deeply. “Never mind, sir,”
the guy answers politely, albeit slightly strained. “Please go to your web browser, I’ll help you
change your default search engine.”

“Oh okay,” Taehyung replies lamely, feeling a strangely uneasy at the shift in the guy’s tone. He
really shouldn’t care that much; he doesn’t even know the guy.

“You’re using Chrome right?”

“Yup,” Taehyung confirms, popping the ‘p’ sound as it rolls off his tongue. Taehyung hears the
indistinct tapping on a keyboard on the other side of the line and scratches his neck to relieve
himself from the uncomfortable silence.

“Okay sir, please go to the settings of your web browser,” the guy directs kindly, tone back to
being pleasant.

Taehyung scans the top of the browser and he grimaces when he realises he can’t find it. “Hey,
uh, where is settings?” Taehyung asks quietly and the question induces a loud sigh from the guy.

“Sir, please look to the top right corner. There should be three dots next to the search bar,” he
answers wearily.

Taehyung spots the three dots and a soft ‘ah’ escapes him. He clicks on it and finally sees the
heading for settings and Taehyung sulks, pout forming quickly. Why did people have to make
everything so complicated?

“What’s next?” Taehyung asks.

“Do you see the ‘Search’ section? There should be a downwards arrow there. Please click it,” he
replies, his cheerful tone sounding a bit forced and really, Taehyung feels bad for the guy.
Taehyung wouldn’t want to be up after 2 am dealing with people like himself either. He really
wants to make the guy laugh at least once more though; maybe that would brighten his day.

Taehyung scrolls down the page and spots the arrow easily. He clicks it and stares at the small
rectangle that opens up. “Okay, now what?”

“Type in your preferred search engine into the space provided and press enter. Once you’ve done
that, hover your mouse over it and click to set it as your default,” the man answers, but Taehyung
barely comprehends his answer, focusing instead on the voice directing him. God, that guy
sounded good. His voice was smooth, velvety and rich — almost like melted chocolate, if you
could describe a voice like that.

The static buzzing of the silent phone line jolts Taehyung out of his thoughts and he stares blankly
at the webpage in front of him. “Sorry, I didn’t get that,” Taehyung honestly replies, guilt absent
from his tone.

“Type in your preferred search engine,” the guy responds tersely and if he had sounded tired
before, he sounded overwhelmingly exhausted now. “Click it and that will be your default.”

Taehyung winces at the support guy’s tone. Wow, there wasn’t a morsel of amicability left.
Taehyung quickly types in the link to Google but before he clicks enter, an idea pops into his
mind. He jabs the delete key and quickly types in another link, smiling smugly at it. Taehyung
clears his throat loudly and puts on his best faux innocent tone.

“Shit, I have a problem.”

“What is it?” the guy asks worriedly and Taehyung silently claps himself on the back for his
convincing acting skills even through the phone.

“I changed the search engine to Bing.”

A lengthy sigh follows before the support guy deadpans, “You changed the search engine to
Bing.”

Taehyung grins to himself before declaring loudly, “Bing-o. Pun intended.” Taehyung waits
eagerly for the addictive sound of laughter to flood the phone line but it never comes. He’s only
met with long, static silence and indecipherable muttering on the other guy’s end.

“Sir,” the support guy asks calmly, but his voice shakes with what sounds like thinly veiled
annoyance. “Did you change your search engine just for the sake of that pun?”

“Yeah,” Taehyung replies smugly and he’s about to say more when suddenly the phone line goes
dead. Taehyung’s eyes widen in shock as he hears the steady beeping of the line. As he stares at
his phone screen in awe that the tech guy hung up on him, a smile creeps up on his face. Maybe,
the night wasn’t so bad after all.

Taehyung wakes up with a jolt when he hears a loud, cracking sound accompanied by a throbbing
pain in his head. He whips around jerkily while blinking slowly, trying to regain his bearings, and
his stomach sinks at the horrible realisation that he’s still in the library. Taehyung sighs, rubbing
his eyes almost violently as he tries to stave off the temptation of sleep.

The last thing he remembers doing was trying to digest the incredibly dry information from a
dissertation on groundwater flow from 1994. Taehyung yawns and massages the spot on his
forehead that hit the library desk as he taps on his keyboard to reawaken his computer. The screen
remains pitch black and he frowns, tapping harder. Grumbling lowly to himself, he presses the
power button a few times before sighing and rummaging in his bag for his charger.

Taehyung snorts indelicately at his luck when his search comes up empty and he leans back,
indignant at the whole situation. Really, only he would remember to bring 3 neon green
highlighters but leave his charger back in his dorm. He reaches into his pocket for his phone and
checks the time.

Taehyung stands up and stretches, wincing at the soreness in his legs as he goes to pack up his
belongings. It’s just past 8 am and Taehyung stumbles out of the library, bag slung over one
shoulder, feet automatically finding their own way to his favourite breakfast haunt — the cosy
campus bakery.
The bakery is his refuge and safe space especially when college work bogs him down. Taehyung
had discovered the hole in the wall place in his first year when he’d gotten lost in the sprawling
campus and the pastry chef, Seokjin, had comforted him with a scone. He’s not even ashamed of
the fact that he probably frequents the bakery more often than he goes back home to his dorm to
sleep.

The trait he loved most about the place was how small it was — Seokjin ran it by himself and was
constantly looking for a part-timer to help out. Taehyung would have offered himself for the
position but his mountain of lab reports begged to differ. Taehyung yawns loudly as he pushes the
door open and his senses are immediately invaded by sweet, consoling smell of melted butter.

Taehyung rubs his eyes and trudges to the counter, eyes still closed as he shuffles past the pastry
display. “Hyung,” Taehyung calls out loudly, almost whining as he goes to lean his forehead
against the counter, allowing the cold surface to harshly wake him up.

“Um, sorry-“

Taehyung whips his head off the counter and stares at the man standing in front of him. His throat
goes dry as he realises it’s not Seokjin, but a student, probably around his age, smiling pitifully
down at him. “Oh,” Taehyung wonders out loud, “you’re not Seokjin hyung.”

The guy smiles, eyes disappearing into small crescent as he hides a giggle behind his hand. “Yeah,
I’m not. Seokjin hired me to help out here. He’s in the back right now but I could call him out if
you want?” he offers kindly, beaming at Taehyung. Taehyung stands up properly and takes in the
sight of the boy in front of him — he was adorable. With cherub cheeks, pouty lips and doe eyes
staring back at him, Taehyung has to quickly fight the flush that creeps up on his cheeks.

“No it’s fine,” Taehyung replies. “Could I get a latte to go? And one scone please.”

The guy behind the counter shuffles about quickly, grabbing a takeaway cup with one hand and
efficiently tapping on the register with the other. He nods briefly and looks up at Taehyung. “Is
that all?” he asks brightly and Taehyung’s taken aback. God, this guy was clearly a morning
person. Were those people even real?

“Yeah that’s all,” Taehyung confirms and stares at the name tag on the guy’s apron. It reads
‘Jimin’ with a small smiley face next to it and Taehyung grins inadvertently. Taehyung pays the
bill and patiently waits as Jimin counts the change; the chubbiness of Jimin’s fingers doesn’t
escape him and Taehyung has a hard time focusing on anything else. Jimin grabs a marker and
looks up at Taehyung, eyes widening by a fraction as he sees Taehyung studying him closely.

“Could I get your name?” Jimin asks and somewhere in the back of Taehyung’s mind, he registers
the fact that this guy sounds extremely familiar.

“Taehyung,” he replies, giving Jimin a brief smile as he does so. “Do you study here?”

Jimin’s tongue pokes out the side of his lips as he concentrates on scribbling the name onto the
coffee cup and Taehyung smiles, oddly endeared by the sight. Jimin nods slightly, tilting his head
to the side as he answers. “Yeah, I’m a computer science major. You?”

Taehyung eyebrows shoot up in surprise at that, not expecting that from the guy standing across
him. “Enviromental science,” Taehyung replies and he whistles lowly before he adds, “but
computer science? You must be swamped with work.”

“It’s not too bad aside from the nightly lab sessions,” Jimin says, shrugging slightly.

“I kind of had you pegged as an arts student though,” Taehyung teases. Jimin playfully rolls his
eyes at that, choosing to remain silent.

“What? It’s true. You don’t look like anyone I’ve seen around my building and I definitely
would’ve remembered,” Taehyung tries to explain, waving his hands around vaguely and Jimin
shoots him an amused look.

“Are you trying to compliment me?” Jimin asks, one eyebrow arching slightly and Taehyung
shakes his head insistently.

“I swear I phrased that better in my head,” Taehyung mumbles and Jimin laughs out loud, tipping
his head back slightly as his robust laughter fills the bakery. “As you can tell, I’m fantastic at first
impressions.”

Jimin only laughs harder at that and Taehyung finds himself smiling too. “It’s fine,” Jimin insists,
“I get the art student thing a lot. Maybe it’s the haircut.”

Taehyung stares at Jimin’s butterscotch blonde hair which is styled perfectly; neatly swept to the
side with no loose strands in sight. He hums in agreement before replying, “Sure, blame it on the
hair.”

Jimin grins at that before glancing at the large clock on the wall. “The second batch of scones is
coming out fresh in 10 minutes, would you like to wait for one of those or do you want one of
these ones?” Jimin informs, gesturing at the pastry display.

Taehyung hesitates, weighing both options before he nods towards the kitchen. “I’ll wait,”
Taehyung decides and smiles widely before settling down at one of the tables. Taehyung sneaks a
glance at Jimin who’s preparing his coffee. Jimin flits up and down the coffee station with a slight
bounce in his step and Taehyung’s lips quirk upwards at the sight of someone so full of energy in
the morning.

Before long, the door to the kitchen bursts open and Seokjin enters the space, juggling a few large
tray of pastries in both hands. He notices Taehyung in the corner and sets the trays down, lightly
jogging over to him. “Taehyung!” Seokjin greets enthusiastically, thumping him once on the
shoulder with an oven mitten-clad hand. “I’ve never seen you here before 1 pm.”

“That’s because I’m usually not awake before then,” Taehyung replies, grinning widely at
Seokjin. He gets a nudge in response before Seokjin’s back at the counter, busily directing Jimin
to put the fresh pastries in their places. Taehyung stands up, slowly walking to the counter to
retrieve his breakfast.

Jimin slides over his cup of coffee and hands him a box with his scone inside. “I gave you some
jam with that,” Seokjin notes, smiling fondly at Taehyung. Taehyung makes a delighted noise of
approval and sniffs the box, mouth watering at the comforting scent.

“You’re the best, hyung,” Taehyung remarks, throwing him a cheeky grin before he adds, “even
though you only love me for my money.”

Seokjin rolls his eyes and turns around. “Don’t die on me. I need my regulars alive,” Seokjin
comments while walking back to the kitchen and Taehyung laughs lightly at that.

Taehyung smiles at Seokjin until his back disappears past the door before turning his attention to
Jimin. He grabs his coffee off the counter and flashes a smile across the counter. “Bye, Jimin.”

Jimin is startled at that, face contorting into one of confusion as he stammers, “How’d you know-“

“Name tag,” Taehyung says, nodding at Jimin’s apron and he enjoys the pink tinge adorning
Jimin’s cheeks. Jimin smiles back at that, waving at Taehyung cutely. Taehyung pushes the door
and exits the bakery, breakfast in hand, feeling rejuvenated and thinks to himself that he should be
more disconcerted — what with having to tackle the rest of his impending lab report doom. Still,
Jimin’s smile is infectious and Taehyung finds himself grinning all the way back to his apartment.

The happiness doesn’t last long; it disappears the second he realises that he’s still 800 words short
on his lab report and has 5 more hours till the deadline. Taehyung groans, sliding himself further
down his chair and he kicks his desk in frustration. He’s been holed up inside his room for hours,
furiously trying to make up for lost time, and with no end in sight, Taehyung’s exhausted. His 5
minute break rule between each segment backfired after his introduction took 2 hours.

He was two-thirds of the way through his report, with only measurements and his conclusion left
to write but still that seems like an insurmountable hurdle to overcome. Taehyung runs a hand
through his unkempt hair and sighs loudly. Reaching for his phone, he scrolls through his contacts
mindlessly, trying to find someone to bother at this time of the night and ease his mind off work.

As he checks his call logs, Taehyung stills when his eyes scan past a familiar number. Smiling
broadly, Taehyung taps on the number and raises his phone to his ear.

“Campus technical support, how may I help you?”

The bubbly voice is all-too-familiar and Taehyung smiles to himself. “Hey, it’s me again.”

There’s a moment of hesitation before the support guy responds. “‘Me’?”

“It’s Taehyung.”

The long stretch of silence reminds Taehyung that he’d never introduced himself and he mentally
slaps himself for the slip-up. “I mean, it’s Bing guy.”

“Ah,” the guy says knowingly. “Sorry, what did you say your name was again?”

“Taehyung,” he confirms, frowning slightly at the cautious tone he hears over the line.

Taehyung hears a loud, sharp intake of breath followed by a noisy exhale before the guy speaks
again. “How may I help you today?”

“My lab report is killing me,” Taehyung replies honestly, leaning back in his chair to stare at the
blank ceiling. “Mark my words, coastal aquifers will be the literal death of me.”

“I’m sorry-“

“Nah, it’s not your fault salt water intrusion happens and is a complete bitch,” Taehyung
continues, feeling comforted by the reassuring presence of the support guy on the line. “Don’t
even get me started on-“

“Sir, I'm sorry but,” the stern voice cuts through brusquely, effectively shutting Taehyung up, “this
isn’t a hotline. Do you or do you not have a legitimate technical problem?”

“Technically, my imminent existential crisis induced by my unfinished lab report is a problem,”

Taehyung replies and he hears indistinct muttering on the other end.

“I’m hanging up,” the support guy says, evidently exhausted from the conversation.

“No, wait!” Taehyung blurts out, “I have a question.” Taehyung smiles triumphantly when he
hears the support guy sigh on the other end.

“Yes, how may I help you?”

“Hey, why doesn’t Google say ‘you’re welcome’ when I type in thank you?” Taehyung asks
cheekily, biting his lip as a poor attempt to conceal his laughter. The only response he gets is in the
form of short, static beeps indicating that the call has ended which only makes Taehyung laugh
harder.

The air all around him somehow seems less tense and Taehyung rolls his neck around, alleviating
some of the built up tension. Taehyung cracks his knuckles and goes back to typing up his lab
report, only pausing after he’s finished with the measurements segment an hour later. Taehyung
leans back in his chair and twirls the pen in his fingers absentmindedly as he takes his 5 minute
break.

He counts down 60 seconds in his head before he drops the pen he’s holding and reaches for his
phone. Dialling a number again, Taehyung hums a song that’s stuck in his head while waiting for
the call to connect.

“Campus technical support, how may I help you?” a voice chirps through and Taehyung grins,
spinning around once in his chair.

“Hey,” he enthuses, not able to keep the amusement out of his voice. “So I need a professional
opinion, should I download Star Trek tonight or that new Marvel movie? Star Trek’s a classic
honestly, I could rewatch it everyday. On the other hand, Doctor Strange looks pretty good and
Benedict Cumberbatch is incredibly handsome plus he has superpowers so that may sway me —
but I digress. What do you think?”

Taehyung hears a groan and smiles to himself, glad that he’s already been well-acquainted with
the support guy. “Neither,” he responds compliantly. “It’s illegal, just wait for the Blu-ray to be
released.”

“But where’s the fun in that?” Taehyung retorts, pouting slightly. “You’re a killjoy.”

“And you’re an irritant,” the guy responds gruffly causing Taehyung to grin widely.

“You’re fond of me,” Taehyung coos, swirling around in his chair once more.

“I take it you don’t really have any technical problems this time either?” he asks tiredly.

“I don’t,” Taehyung confirms, picking up his pen in his other hand to spin it abstractedly. “How
was your day?”

“I’m hanging up,” the guy announces and Taehyung tsks loudly. The support guy’s exasperation
was addictive and Taehyung felt compelled to keep the conversation going.

“I asked you a question,” Taehyung says sulkily, “the least you can do is answer it.”

The line is silent for a while and Taehyung presses his ear closer to the phone, listening for every
sound he can pick up. “It was fine,” the support guy finally answers and Taehyung’s lips quirk
upwards at the response.
“Fine fine? Or ‘I won the lottery’ kind of fine?” Taehyung presses — the conversation assuaging
his stress from coursework.

“‘I’m trying to wrap up my shift and go to sleep but some guy keeps calling with non-existent
problems’ kind of fine,” he replies and Taehyung laughs.

“Sounds like a great day if you ask me,” Taehyung quips.

“Fantastic,” the support guy replies drily and Taehyung senses the oozing sarcasm dripping from
his tone. Taehyung pulls his phone away from his ear to check the time briefly. He sighs
apologetically, feeling sympathetic at the poor guy’s situation - who even worked at 2 am?

“Anyways, my 5 minute break is up so I have to go conclude my lab report,” Taehyung notes

before adding, “you can sleep now.”

“Sure,” he replies. Taehyung opens his mouth to speak but he’s interrupted by the support guy’s
soothing voice pouring through the phone line.

“Good luck.”

The two words are said so sweetly, with such sincerity that Taehyung’s heart stutters in his chest.
That reaction throws Taehyung into a confusion — he shouldn’t be feeling this way, he doesn’t
even know the guy. For all he knew, the tech support guy could be downright nasty; completely
unkind and opposite to what he sounded like (which was reminiscent of whatever angels probably
sounded like).

Taehyung deliberates his response carefully, quietly playing back the guy’s reply over and over in
his head. “Goodnight,” Taehyung says, patiently waiting for the support guy to respond.

“Goodnight,” comes the reply and Taehyung smiles, listening for the telltale sound of the line
being cut off. He puts his phone down and feels warmth spreading throughout him from the
conversation. Taehyung clicks his document open once more and begins typing his conclusion;
smile unknowingly plastered on his face as his fingers tap away diligently, late into the night.

It’s the first time in days that Taehyung’s woken up normally; finally able to listen to the demands
of his body, shrieking at him to recover his sleep debt. He shifts under the layer of blankets,
moaning quietly at the stretch. Taehyung sticks his arm out and aimlessly gropes around his
bedside table, shivering as the cold air invades his secure blanket cocoon.

He feels around for his phone before grabbing it and checking the time. Taehyung groggily sits up
in his bed, pulling the blankets off himself slightly. Taehyung yawns, not bothering to stifle it and
he reaches under his shirt to scratch his back. After submitting his lab report the night before, the
last thing Taehyung remembers before completely passing out from exhaustion was tucking
himself into bed.

Still, he’s managed 10 hours of sleep and in college, that was pretty much as big an achievement
as maintaining a 4.0 GPA. With his sleep-addled mind rendering his thought process practically
useless, Taehyung’s feet instinctively drag him to the bathroom. After a long shower (in which
he’s pretty sure he dozed off twice), Taehyung slips his worn-out sneakers on and heads to the
bakery.

It’s his first day off in a while and to say that he’s excited is an understatement. It’s not often that
he’s free from the rapacious, insatiable hands of coursework; the hefty load of assignments
constantly demanding that he foregoes sleep to focus on them instead. Taehyung can’t conceal the
smile on his face, giddily contemplating what he should spend his day doing.

Taehyung tugs his messenger bag over his shoulder as he walks in the direction of the bakery. The
sun is out, warmly bearing down on him in contrast to the chilly autumn air. When the bakery
comes into sight, Taehyung smiles wider, adjusting the collar of his shirt peeking out from
underneath the burgundy sweater he threw over.

Jimin’s at the counter, back facing Taehyung as he busily prepares another customer’s drink.
Taehyung steps in line, rocking up and down on the balls of his feet as he patiently waits for his
turn. After a few minutes, Taehyung slides right in front of the counter, grin firmly in place.

“Hey,” he greets, ignoring his heart thumping wildly in anticipation for Jimin to turn around. Jimin
whirls around and Taehyung’s startled as he takes in Jimin’s appearance. The eyebags sag lower
under his eyes, resembling faint bruises with their deep purple colour. Jimin’s hair is tousled
wildly as though he’d just woken up and sleepwalked to the bakery.

“Woah,” Taehyung half-yells, brows furrowing in concern as he gives Jimin another look
through. “Are you okay?”

Jimin’s sunny disposition from the day before seems to have disappeared as he stares blankly at
Taehyung. “I’m great,” he responds, tone forced and plasters a small smile on his face. “What can
I get for you today?”

“You sure?” Taehyung asks, lowering the volume of his voice to a gentle whisper. “You look like
you’ve had a rough night and not in a good way.” Taehyung notices Jimin ball his hands into fists,
clenching them by his sides and it just confuses him more. Why was Jimin being like this? It’s hard
for Taehyung not to care, especially with how he interacted with Jimin just the day before.

The air all around them had been electric, making Taehyung feel like there was something
between the two of them — that he couldn’t escape the magnetic pull. He was drawn to him. But
now, Taehyung stares slightly in horror as Jimin weakly glares at him, rubbing his eyes as he does
so.

“Your order?” Jimin asks wearily and he looks at Taehyung, searching his eyes for something
Taehyung doesn’t know.

“A scone,” Taehyung responds lightly, testing the tense situation before continuing, “and a hot
chocolate.”

Jimin wordlessly taps quickly on the register, eyes devoid of any emotion. At that exact moment,
Taehyung’s stomach squeezes from hunger pangs. “Actually, make it two scones,” Taehyung
adds.

Jimin’s finger stills over the register and he looks up at Taehyung. Taehyung has to mentally
applaud himself for not disintegrating on the spot from the withering heat of Jimin’s glare. Now he
knows he’s not imagining it and Taehyung racks his brain, trying to find any incident in which he
may have possibly offended the cute guy across the counter.

He comes up with a big, fat zero and sighs, leaning across the counter to look Jimin in the eye.
“Hey, did I do something to piss you off?” Taehyung asks, genuinely curious and Jimin blinks
slowly, turning his attention back to the register to finish logging the order in.

“Hot chocolate, was it?” Jimin says instead, ignoring his question and Taehyung nods in response.

“Was it something I said?” Taehyung presses before gasping. “Did you find my Facebook profile?
I swear those were not my fishnet stockings for that Halloween-“

Something in Jimin’s expression changes and he freezes, slowly lifting his head up. “We’re out of
scones,” he whispers and Taehyung blinks once, twice in confusion.

“What?”

“We’re out of scones,” Jimin repeats, folding his arms across his chest and Taehyung would
marvel at how cute he looked (like an angry puppy) if not for the swirling bewilderment
surrounding this entire situation.

“How can you be out of scones? I can literally see them right there,” Taehyung exclaims
incredulously, pointing at the pastry display behind Jimin. Jimin only frowns, pouting as he says
insists a smaller, petulant voice.

“You’re imagining it.”

Taehyung laughs in disbelief and he grips the counter tightly as he leans forward. “You’re being
ridiculous-“

“I’m being ridiculous?” Jimin blurts out loudly, voice taking on a squeaky high pitch as he visibly
seethes. If he were in a cartoon, Taehyung imagines there’d be smoke coming out of his ears. “I’m
the one who’s ridiculous?”

Taehyung takes a step backward at that, alarmed by Jimin’s sudden outburst. He looks around him
to see that the other customers are now watching the two of them. “Am I missing something
here?”

“I don’t know, Taehyung,” Jimin drawls, enunciating the syllables in Taehyung’s name. “But I’m
not giving out fresh scones to someone who calls me up at 1 am to ask about what movie he
should download.”

Taehyung’s mind races as he pieces everything together and the realisation comes in the form of a
soft ‘click’ in his mind — not his finest Eureka moment, if he must admit. Taehyung gapes, mouth
hanging open as he points at Jimin. “You’re the support guy!” he shouts, grin forming on his face
amidst all the shock.

Jimin’s shoulders sag as he nods, tiredly looking on at Taehyung who can barely hide his glee.
Taehyung’s mind races, skimming through their conversations and he mutters a soft ‘ah’ upon
realisation that Jimin’s voice was indeed familiar. “I can’t believe it,” Taehyung babbles excitedly.

“You and me both,” Jimin says resignedly, giving Taehyung a weak smile before turning around
to pack Taehyung’s scones. Taehyung feels the elation buzzing throughout him and he can barely
keep still as he watches Jimin hurry about behind the counter. He was sure this wasn’t a
coincidence; that their meeting was special, that he hadn’t imagined the magnetic attraction
between them.

“Wait,” Taehyung calls out confused, “don’t you work here? Why do you work at the campus
tech support centre?” Jimin neatly tucks the lid into the box and slides it on the counter over to
Taehyung. Jimin quickly fills up a cup with hot chocolate and passes that to Taehyung as well,
turning to look at the clock as he does so.
Exhaling loudly, Jimin squeezes Taehyung’s hand as he hands the hot chocolate over. “Do you
have a bit of time? My shift ends in 15 minutes so I can explain everything then.”

Taehyung shoots him a reassuring smile, softening as he thinks about how tired Jimin must be.
“I’ll be over there,” he says, nodding towards an empty table in the corner. Taehyung waits
patiently, sipping on his hot chocolate and watching students pass by. It’s one of his oddly
satisfying hobbies — to people watch — and he’s observing a couple, swinging their hands
together across the road when Jimin plops down on the chair across him.

Jimin folds his arms across the table and buries his head in them, groaning loudly. Taehyung
chuckles, turning his attention back to staring out of the window. “Look,” Taehyung notes and
Jimin sits up, following his line of vision. “See that couple across the road?”

Jimin nods and Taehyung continues, “Okay, so the guy looks like his name would be Greg. He’s
uh- hmm, he looks like an architecture student, look at that greasy smile he has.”

Jimin snorts loudly and Taehyung sees the small smile on his face in his peripheral vision. “You’re
awful at guessing,” Jimin says and Taehyung turns to him, pressing a hand to his chest to mimic
being offended.

“That’s the fun of people watching,” Taehyung insists and Jimin cracks a wider smile at that.

“Fine, go on.”

“Okay so greasy smile, what else,” Taehyung mumbles, squinting to look at the guy as he walks
further away. “He’s wearing loafers so Greg’s a little lazy. The watch on his hand and the lensless
glasses he’s wearing indicates that our Greg is a little bit of a pretentious hipster. He has a white
shirt on so we can safely assume he did his laundry yesterday-“

“Or he just has an abundance of white shirts in his closet. I know a guy who has 51,” Jimin adds
thoughtfully and Taehyung laughs.

“You’re no fun, Jimin,” Taehyung teases, sipping on his hot chocolate before turning his attention
fully to the guy sitting across him. He smiles fondly, opening up the box of scones before saying
quietly, “How are you?”

Jimin slowly turns his gaze back to Taehyung, eyelashes fluttering as he looks at him. “Fine,”
Jimin answers pleasantly, cheeks rosy from the warmth of Taehyung’s gaze.

Taehyung grins before cheekily responding. “Fine fine? Or-“ He receives a harsh kick under the
table for that and Jimin rolls his eyes playfully. Taehyung laughs, biting into a scone and closing
his eyes momentarily, savouring the feel of the pastry melting in his mouth.

“Exhausted,” Jimin corrects, resting his chin on the palm of his hand as he sighs. “I think I got like
3 hours of sleep.”

“Why’re you working two jobs?” Taehyung asks, munching on his scone. “Plus they’re almost
back-to-back, which by the way, sounds suicidal. You really should quit one.”

Jimin groans in dissent, pouting slightly and Taehyung finds himself drawn to the sight of Jimin’s
plump, rosy lips. “I have to help out at the campus technical support centre as part of my
coursework,” Jimin explains. “It takes up 30% of my grade. Every second year student in my
course has to do it for an entire semester and help out the staff since they’re swamped. I took the
night shift because all my classes are in the late evening.”
Taehyung nods at him to continue and Jimin smiles, grateful that Taehyung’s listening earnestly.
“The shift ends at 3 am and you won’t believe the kinds of calls we get,” Jimin complains,
shutting up when Taehyung breaks off a piece of his scone and feeds it to him.

“I can imagine,” Taehyung says with mirth. Jimin laughs, eyes forming crescents and Taehyung’s
heart stammers in his chest at the sight. He was never able to really, fully take in Jimin’s
appearance but up close, Taehyung observes Jimin — watches as his smile grows impossibly
wide and his dimples are displayed. God, he was just so, so pretty. How had they never met
before?

“Trust me, you’re far from the worst caller,” Jimin informs him, causing Taehyung to raise an
eyebrow.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Jimin confirms, waving his hand in dismissal. “There was this one guy whose computer
wouldn’t turn on and he started yelling at me halfway through my instructions. Turns out he just
turned the brightness all the way down.”

“Brutal,” Taehyung replies sympathetically, hiding a smile behind his cup of hot chocolate before
adding, “I sound like a great catch then.”

“Don’t push it.”

“So, why take the job here?” Taehyung asks, tearing off another chunk of his scone to feed Jimin.
He feels a peculiar sense of satisfaction seeing Jimin eating the pastry, his cheeks puffing out
slightly as he chews thoughtfully on it.

“An unlimited supply of caffeine whenever I want,” Jimin answers simply and Taehyung nods in
understanding.

“The only plausible reason, really,” Taehyung agrees and smiles broadly. He sees Jimin look
away shyly, reaching up to rub his nose. Adorable, he thinks and he watches as a a pretty flush
blooms on Jimin’s cheeks. Jimin turns to look at him, eyes widening ever so slightly and
Taehyung’s throat dries up suddenly.

“Did I say that out loud?”

Jimin only nods in response, smiling diffidently as Taehyung nervously scratches the back of his
head. Taehyung laughs awkwardly — a little too loud and a little too forced — before he
mumbles a quiet, “It’s true though.”

Jimin covers his face behind his small hands, unable to find a response to that. Taehyung clears his
throat, chiding himself for acting like his unabashed 15 year-old self. “I can’t believe this,” Jimin
squeaks out, lowering his hands down to his lap.

“I know,” Taehyung says, but he looks across the table into Jimin’s eyes. He stares deep into
them, stares into the dark abyss, willing it to swallow him up whole. They’ve known each other
for just over a day but it’s like they’ve known each other for ages — like they’ve known each
other for lifetimes. “I don’t believe in coincidences, Jimin. The universe is-“

“-rarely so lazy,” Jimin finishes, grinning slightly as he sees Taehyung’s shocked face. “What?
You think you’re the only one who watches Sherlock? Check yourself, Taehyung.”

Taehyung’s still in shock, eyes open comically wide as he watches Jimin laugh across him. Jimin
shakes in silent laughter, trying but failing to hide his giggles behind a hand. Really, it should be
disconcerting how perfectly Jimin fit in his life already, how someone he’d just met made him feel
more alive that he ever had before. But Taehyung knows it’s something; something that feels like
love but it’s all too early to say things like that.

“Do you-“

“Would you-“

They both stop short and blink slowly at each other before dissolving into a hysterical fit of
laughter. Taehyung’s cheeks hurt so much from laughing and he opens his eyes to watch Jimin,
twisting and turning his body as he laughs, convulsing with the force of it. There’s just something
and Taehyung would bet every dollar he had that Jimin felt it too.

It was gravitational. Like Taehyung was ultimately drawn to Jimin — like how the Earth is drawn
to the Sun. And hell, Taehyung had never felt anything like it, never felt like his breath had been
stolen right from him. “Do you want to grab a cup of coffee?” he asks, slightly breathless from the
laughing (or maybe just from the way Jimin looks at him).

A beautiful mirth flickers in Jimin’s eyes as he looks at Taehyung’s now empty cup. “I work in a
bakery and you’re asking me if I want to get a cup of coffee.”

Taehyung realises the absurd question and smiles, leaning forward as he asks, “Can I tempt you
with greasy pizza and a terrible B-grade movie?”

Jimin glances at the clock before slowly standing up. “Maybe,” Jimin replies, smiling
apologetically. “But I have class in a couple of hours and I need to take a power nap now before I
crash.”

Taehyung gives Jimin a small smile before waving him off. “Sure, see you soon,” Taehyung
responds, slightly wistful as he watches Jimin walk out of the door. Jimin turns around to wave
one more time and Taehyung grins, observing him from the window. Jimin grips the straps of his
backpack tight and strolls in the opposite direction of the bakery and Taehyung chuckles, noting
that the bounce is back in his step.

Taehyung flops onto his blankets, laptop in one hand as he places it on the far end of the bed. He
scoots backwards until he hits the headboard and settles in comfortably. Tapping the spacebar
with his foot, Taehyung lies down and watches the opening credits roll for the movie. He sighs
absentmindedly, glancing at his phone set on his desk.

Loud music blares from his computer, shifting his attention momentarily and Taehyung watches
excitedly as the Marvel introduction flashes on his screen (legality be damned). 20 minutes pass
and Taehyung finds himself fidgeting; fingers itching for his phone. No matter how hard he tries
to pay attention to the movie, his mind is preoccupied.

Taehyung gives in finally, pausing the movie to shuffle to his desk and retrieve his phone. He
drops onto his bed, flat on his belly, and props himself up on his elbows. Scrolling through his
contacts, Taehyung dials a number and exhales, calming himself down. His mind flutters through
possible excuses but is stopped short when the call goes through.

“Campus technical support,” a blunt, gruff voice responds and Taehyung’s startled out of his
 thoughts.

“Hello?” Taehyung asks, tone cautious because he's unsure of who’s on the line.

“Yes,” the voice answers impatiently.

“Who’s this?”

“Campus technical support,” the guy replies, sighing in annoyance as he adds, “who the fuck else
would you expect?”

Taehyung sits up properly, brows furrowing in confusion and he pulls his phone away from his
ear briefly before checking the time. It was midnight which meant the night shift was definitely on.
This has to be some kind of mistake. “Is this Jimin?” Taehyung checks, silently hoping that it is in
fact Jimin playing some kind of prank and that his sweet, syrupy voice will be what Taehyung
hears next.

“No it’s not,” the voice drawls, “it’s Min Yoongi.”

Taehyung frowns, not knowing what the significance of knowing that is but he clears his throat,
determined. “Could you pass the phone to Jimin,” Taehyung asks politely and quickly adds,
“please?”

“Who do you think I am?” Yoongi complains and his voice goes an octave lower as he mutters.
“Assholes. They think that just because the line is always open they can make calls for no good
reason. To think that I give up sleep for this bullshit job. Humanity is dead, kindness is dead —
I’m half fucking dead.”

Taehyung stays silent, listening to the guy’s impassioned rant out of respect and he honestly feels
for the guy. Computer science majors really had it rough. He makes a mental note to applaud
Jimin for even making it through this course. “I’m sorry?” Taehyung tries and he hears muffled
cursing and a shuffling movement on the other side of the line. He presses his ear closer to his
phone, struggling to hear what’s going on.

“Jimin-ah, switch with me,” Taehyung hears Yoongi yell in the distance. Taehyung waits, slightly
tense before he hears the clicking sound of the telephone being picked up.

“Campus technical support, how may I help you?” Jimin’s bright voice floods through his ears,
washing a wave of comfort over Taehyung and squeezing his heart reassuringly.

“Hey,” Taehyung whispers, trying not to let the fondness he feels seep into his voice too much.
He feels a little stupid like this, smiling at his wall, gripping the phone close to his ear — it’s
absurd, really.

A giggle breaks through the static silence and Taehyung fiddles with his blanket vaguely, too
absorbed in the sound of Jimin’s laughter; the euphonious sound literally being music to his ears
especially at this time of the night. Suddenly, it doesn’t seem as absurd anymore.

“Hey.”

End Notes
 that’s it folks [stares at title of this fic] yeah…i definitely have an unhealthy love for puns
(if you don’t get it, please fight urvi

thank you for reading!!!

dig me out of my existential crisis and chat with me <3

Please drop by the archive and comment to let the author know if you enjoyed their work!