The florescent lights that hummed too loudly, the seemingly-endless beeping of items being scanned for purchase, the bustling of high-end people; it was all boring for Taehyung.

Working in retail sucked. But working a retail position in a shop that catered to the wealthy was its own kind of 'suck fest,' as Taehyung liked to call it. He hated the pretentious men and women who came into this store to prey on the staff while they shopped, seducing them for discounts on things they could easily afford at full price. He supposed it was just a game for them, toying with the staff who can't afford the things that surround them.

There was only one man who shopped here regularly who Taehyung didn't despise. He was a gentleman, never asking for discounts or treating the staff poorly. He smiled with such charm and warmth that Taehyung found himself getting captivated every time. But there was something about this man that Taehyung didn't understand.

This man would never interact with Taehyung. He would pass him to interact with other members of the staff whenever he needed assistance with any purchase or inquiry. But why? Taehyung was just as capable of this job as anyone else who worked here.

Today was no different at first. Taehyung was helping the pretentious patrons, even as he entered the store.

There he was. Jung Hoseok, in all his charm, seemed to bring life wherever he went. At least, Taehyung thought so. He was enamoured. Who wouldn't be?

So as Hoseok passed him by, Taehyung abandoned the rack of silk shirts he'd been organizing and stepped over to the register at the check-out counter. It wasn't hard to convince the cashier to switch positions with him, knowing his coworker would love the chance to walk about a bit after standing still for so long.

Now in this position, Taehyung knew Hoseok would have to interact with him. And it didn't take long for that moment to come.

Hoseok approached the check-out counter with a single satin blouse. This was normal for him; Hoseok wasn't the type to shop a huge haul.

It was quiet as Taehyung scanned the barcode on the blouse's tag. He simply read out the total cost and accepted the wealthy man's credit card. He was annoyed to hear no response from Hoseok. Why did Hoseok seem to avoid interacting with him?

Once Hoseok accepted back his credit card when the payment was complete, he grabbed the blouse, only to be stopped by the staff member's voice.

"I can do this job as well as anyone else here, you know."

Looking at Taehyung with that charming smile, Hoseok finally spoke to him."I know you can."

"Then why do you avoid me?" Taehyung knew this was inappropriate behavior. He shouldn't be questioning a patron, but this had been bothering him for quite some time.

"Because flirting with you in your place of employment would be wrong." Hoseok decided to be straightforward. He wasn't the type to beat around the bush when asked for an answer.

"What?" Taehyung was dumbfounded."What do you mean by that?" He felt like his brain could not function after those words.

"You need further explanation?" That seemed to amuse Hoseok.

Taehyung glanced around at other patrons to make sure no one else was close enough to them."Pretend I'm stupid."

Chuckling at those words, Hoseok felt more sure of himself."The only thing in this store that interests me for long-term is your heart, but I will not flirt with you here because that would be taking advantage of the fact that you have to be nice to patrons."

"But if you see me while I'm off work...that won't be an issue, right?" Taehyung gulped as he was fully aware that this was real and not a dream. His escalating heartbeat made that clear.

"That's right. However, you are working now, so I'll take my leave." Hoseok didn't want to take up any more of Taehyung's time and disrupt his work. But just as he turned away, he couldn't resist smiling whole-heartedly at what was said to him next.

"My shift ends at nine."

Hoseok would definitely be back.