"Your skin, oh yeah, your skin and bones turn into something beautiful"
yellow

chapter one : first encounter
taehyung's perspective
° ☆.☽*: ° ☆ ☪︎

A startling crash sounded throughout the once-quiet bookshop sending my small frame jumping into the air in fright. My hand pressed against my chest as if it had the power to slow my racing heart down. My widened eyes looked over to where the sound originated from when the distressed voice of my boss cried, "Taehyung, help me!"

A sigh escaped my lips as I stood from my previous sitting position, abandoning the pile of books I still had to shelf so I could come to my ailing boss's aide. This was the third time this month alone that he had broken something. I swiftly made my way to the back of the store and slipped behind the counter, ducking behind the thin curtain that veiled the storage room from view and was met with a gruesome sight.

"Watch your step." I heard him say.

"Namjoon, what happened?" I asked in a voice laced with astonishment at the mess before me. Shards of glass littered the floor surrounding the form of my boss, who was sitting in the middle of it as if he was completely unfazed by it. A grimace formed as I stared at the guilty-looking male.

"Well, one of the lightbulbs in the bathroom went out so I thought I'd change it but the spares were on the top shelf so I pulled the step ladder out but when I grabbed the bulbs the ladder broke and, well..." Namjoon trailed off as he glanced at the debris.

Another sigh escaped my lips as frowned at the picture in front of me. My eyes drifted to the form of my boss and my eyes widened as I caught sight of the red puddle forming beneath his hand. "Oh, Namjoon! You hurt yourself," I exclaimed worriedly, my heart clenched in a panic because dear god, that was a lot of blood.

"Oh, I guess I did." He replied in a monotone voice, glancing down at his hand and picking it up to reveal the thick shard that was embedded. If I had a weak stomach I would have thrown up at the sight but luckily, blood didn't bother me in the slightest. Probably because I've spent so many years patching up Namjoon.

I grabbed the broom that hung on the wall to my right and started sweeping the glass out of the way so that I could reach my elder friend, who was still sitting down. Once a path was available I approached the male and knelt next to him, grabbing his uninjured hand and arm and slowly lifting him up. I guided him through the labyrinthine bookshelves until I reached the half wall that led to the connecting coffee shop. I spotted Seokjin at the cash register checking a customer out, smiling as he handed their change back and wished them a good day. Since Jin was busy I ushered Namjoon to sit on one of the unoccupied tables. We had plenty to choose from since the coffee shop was almost empty except for one girl in the corner typing away at her computer. This time of day wasn't the busiest so it was almost luck that this so happened to be the time that Joon decided to get hurt.

I grabbed a few napkins from the dispenser on the table and instructed the injured male to hold it around the shard to stem the flow of blood. One of the only other employees on duty, an energetic girl named Hana, who was also a close friend of mine, looked over at the two of us and raised one of her pierced eyebrows.

"Did he break something again?" She asked. I nodded and Namjoon grumbled something under his breath about how it wasn't his fault.

As soon as the bell to The Hideout, the coffeehouse, chimed and the customer left I hollered, "Can you get the first-aid-kit, Jin?"

"Yeah," The brown-haired man said. "Why?"

"Your husband managed to stab himself with a shard of a broken light bulb," I explained as Namjoom threw me a dirty look at being completely thrown under the bus.

"He did what now?" Jin wiped his hands on his apron and threw a concerned look over at his husband who in response huffed; Namjoon knew that yet another lecture about safety was coming. Seokjin shook his head as he disappeared into the back area of the coffeehouse and soon returned holding the much-used first-aid-kit in his hands. The brown-haired male made his way to sit across from his husband, gingerly taking his hand and examining it. "The good news is, you won't need stitches. The bad news is, this is so gonna scar."

The familiar chime of the bookshop rightly named Twice Sold Tales as it was a resale store, rang and I excused myself to go and man the store. Namjoon's grumbles and hisses of pain followed me out but I knew I left him in capable hands. At this point, Jin could probably be a registered nurse from all of the times he's had to patch up his husband. My hand mindlessly adjusted the glasses that rested on the bridge of my nose as I decided to return to my original position to finish shelving the books. I only had a stack left and I knew the storage room could wait.

As I started placing the books in their new homes something brushed against my leg but I didn't jump, already used to Namjoon's cat's antics. I lightly chuckled as I gently scratched between Susan's ears, knowing that's his favorite spot to be pet and soon enough he started purring loudly. I knew that his soft gray fur would probably end up on my jeans but I didn't really care.

I had found Susan back in the alleyway behind Namjoon and Seokjin's shared stores nearly starved to death and hardly bigger than a rat a little over a month after I'd started working at Twice Sold Tales. It had been raining all week and the poor thing was left in a box too big for him to crawl out of. I almost feared he was dead before he had started mewling at the sight of me. I immediately took him home and nursed him back to health. Unfortunately, my apartment complex didn't allow animals so after much begging from Namjoon and me, Seokjin allowed the ball of fur to stay with them on the one condition that we trained the kitten to stay out of his coffee shop. After many dedicated hours, and creative methods, I managed to train the kitten to keep out of The Hideout. Luckily, Susan was smart enough to figure out that if he crossed into the coffee shop Jin would go ballistic on him. So, the furball usually hung around the bookshop or wandered upstairs into Jin and Namjoon's apartment above the connected shops.

Susan eventually roamed away from me and I resumed putting the books back on the shelf while simultaneously keeping an eye on the counter, which I had a clear view of. Whoever had entered had yet to show their face but I wasn't too concerned considering the surprisingly large layout and the twisty bookshelves that made an almost maze of sorts. Besides, most locals knew where everything was anyways. I briefly wondered if it could have been Trixie, Hana's niece, but realized that she still had school this time of day. I straightened my stance and rose up, my almost silent footsteps leading me to the storage room. I grabbed the broom and finished what I started earlier, sweeping up all of the shards of broken light bulbs. I briefly wondered if any of these light bulbs contained mercury and if I would die from exposure but pushed that thought away; even if they did I couldn't do anything about it. The blood was a bit harder to clean, but I managed decently enough seeing how it wasn't my first time mopping up Namjoon's blood.

As I properly disposed of the shards a loud meowing came from Susan as he rubbed against my legs, giving me an expectant look that was downright murderous. His bushy tail slapped against me as his green eyes trained on me. I knew that he was hungry, Namjoon probably forgot to feed him this morning or he was just being a hungry little bugger. In either case, I opened up the counter and scooped some food for him, dumping it into his bowl. Susan instantly started scarfing down the food like he hadn't eaten in weeks when I knew for a fact that he had a full bowl when I closed last night. I mean, Susan's twenty pounds didn't come from nowhere.

Noticing that his water bowl was empty I grabbed a cup and popped into the back bathroom to fill it with water before making my way back to the feline. I dropped down and sat on my heels but soon gravity got ahold of me and I unsteadily wobbled, accidentally spilling water directly on my crotch before regaining my balance. I just heavily sighed, a habit I seemed to be forming, and poured the remaining water into his bowl before I rushed back into the bathroom and dried the area with paper towels as best I could.

"This is so embarrassing," I mumbled to myself as the prominent dark spot remained in the awkward place. Even though I knew that I didn't wet myself, I could still feel warmth rise to my cheeks in my embarrassment. I filled the cup halfway and returned to Susan, filling the rest of his water bowl up. The cat stopped eating and stared at me, as though my inconvenience was interrupting his food time.

"Excuse me?" A soft voice sounded from across the counter, scaring me into attempting to shoot up only to result in me hitting my head against the hardwood. I groaned and rubbed the sore spot before finally managing to sheepishly stand up properly. An attractive male stood on the other side of the counter, a smile that he was probably trying to conceal gracing his face as he took in my disheveled form. The man had black hair mostly covered by a cream colored beanie that matched the color of his sweater that he wore over a pair of plain blue jeans and a pair of brown Doc Martens. I felt dazed as our eyes met.

"Uhh..." I normally never got tongue-tied but this moment seemed to be the exception.

"Are you alright, miss?" He asked, his lips losing the smile as concern took the lead. "That seemed like it hurt."

"What? Oh, yeah. I'm alright. And-And I'm not a girl." I awkwardly replied back, cringing to myself. This wasn't the first time I'd been mistaken for a girl and I doubted that it'd be the last. My lavender hair, petite frame, higher voice, and feminine features always seemed to lead people to assume I was a girl. I didn't take any offense to it, seeing how I'd dealt with the mistakes almost my entire life. It was easier to smile and politely correct them then to make a big fuss over it.

"Oh, geez, I'm sorry." The man choked out, a hand rubbing the back of his neck nervously as his cheeks tinged a light pink.

"It's alright. You're not the first and I doubt you'll be the last." I bit my lip in anxiety as a few seconds of silence elapsed before I remembered that I was at work, this man was a customer, and he probably came up to the counter for a reason. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Oh, yes, " he said, the tension slowly easing out of both of us. "I was wondering if you had any documentary books on the ocean? I tried looking for it myself but this place is kind of a maze, so..." His voice trailed off as he glanced around the shop.

"Oh, of course. You can follow me." I made my way around the counter and watched as the man glanced over me, his eyes slightly widening as he focused on the dark spot on my jeans. My cheeks flamed red once again as I remembered that my crotch area was still wet. "I swear I didn't pee myself!" I squeaked out in a panic, regretting saying anything as his cheeks turned red as well.

"Oh, uh, yeah. Sorry for staring."

"It's okay, I would have stared too. But I swear I just spilled some water." If I had thought that my cheeks couldn't possibly be any redder, I was wrong. With shame as my fuel, I darted past the guy and started winding around the shelves, knowing the placement of every book in this place by heart; I had shelved most of these books so it wasn't a huge surprise. I didn't check to see if the guy was following me but I could hear his heavy footfall's behind me so I assumed he was. After a few more turns I came to an abrupt stop. A solid surface collided with my back and I would have been sent sailing through the air if not for the strong hands that gripped my biceps. Flushed, I turned around and made eye contact with the customer who immediately dropped my arms. I felt my glasses slide down my nose a bit.

"Geez, I'm sorry. I couldn't stop my momentum in time. Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine, " I cleared my throat and made a motion towards the shelves of books in an attempt to distract from the humiliation while I adjusted my glasses back to their original position. "Here's all of the documental books that we have. I hope you find what you're looking for."

I was about to turn and dash out of there when the man replied, "Thanks for the help, Taehyung," I paused in confusion and tilted my head towards the customer.

"How do you know my name? Have we met before?" I asked, bewildered.

"Your name tag?" The stranger replied in a tone as equally confused as my own. My humiliation doubled.

"Oh, that's right. Enjoy the books." I flitted around the male and waited until I was out of sight before I full on sprinted back to the counter, sinking down behind it and letting out a low groan as I covered my face with my hands. I almost couldn't believe how much of an idiot I just made myself out to be.

Wanting some sort of distraction I dragged myself back into the storage room and plopped myself on the ground, my nimble hands snatching the broken ladder. After a few seconds of examination, I found that the hinges had somehow broken off. I couldn't see any apparent cause but knew that Namjoon was cause enough. How my friend managed to do this, I would probably never know. The man seemingly had a penchant for breaking things. I lugged the toolbox off of the shelf and worked on attaching the hinges back. After working here for five years, I knew how to fix just about everything. Every time Joon broke something I was always the one who had to fix it. I imagined that if I didn't fix everything, the whole store would become a junkyard instead. I started humming a mindless tune to fill the silent air as I worked, my teeth worrying on my bottom lip as I concentrated. Just as I finally finished attaching the second hinge back on I felt the curtain shift, alerting me that someone had entered the storage room.

"Thanks for fixing the ladder, Tae," Namjoon said as he gave me a dimpled smile.

"No problem, " I told him, "Just try to keep from breaking it again. This is the third time this month, Joon. And we just got this one after the last one was completely demolished!"

"It's not my fault," Namjoon grumbled.

My eyes rolled as I placed the ladder in its designated spot and turned to face my boss. My eyes drifted to his neatly bandaged hand and I couldn't help but smile knowing that even though Jin chewed him out, he would have peppered the wound with kisses before sending his husband back to work.

"Hey, Tae, did you see that hot writer sitting out there?" Namjoon unexpectedly asked as he turned to peek out of the curtain. Curiosity filling me, I moved to join the elder man and peeked out of the curtain only to met with the sight of the customer from earlier. He was now seated on one of the various armchairs littering the shop, a stack of books on his lap as he balanced a laptop on his knees, his left hand occupied with a cup of coffee he occasionally took a sip of. I recognized the mug from The Hideout.

"Oh, yeah, him? I kind of met him earlier, I guess you could say. I helped him find a book." I paused as I looked back at the customer and felt my cheeks flame as his eyes drifted up to meet mine. He tentatively smiled at me and I sheepishly returned it. The beanie clad male turned back to whatever he was doing and I looked back to Namjoon. "What makes you think he's a writer? He could be doing anything on that laptop." I pointed out.

"It's just because I'm good at reading people. I can just tell." I gave Namjoon a disbelieving look.

"Joon, you've never, ever, been good at reading people. You are probably the most oblivious person on this planet. It took you years to realize you had a crush on Seokjin and it took you even longer, even after he made out with you in the school bathroom, to realize he liked you too. So how do you really know?"

"Okay, those are valid points, but just look at him! Doesn't he just scream, 'Look at me, I'm a writer!'?"

"I guess," I mumbled as I focused on the guy for a few moments, my eyes lingering over his chest and arms which nicely filled the sweater he was wearing. I subconsciously played with the end of the white sweater I was wearing, wishing I had the mass to fill it out. Although I preferred my clothes loose, most of the time I didn't have a say in it. Most clothes, even normal sized ones, were baggy on me.

"You should totally ask him out. You guys would look adorable together." Namjoon practically squealed.

"Shh!" I clamped my hand over his mouth to prevent any more noises from coming out. "This guy is literally a stranger. And besides, you know I don't ask people out. That's nerve-wracking."

"Oh, come on. That's what dating is for, to get to know people. Here, I'll tell you a bit about him. His name is Jungkook, he used to live here, was born here actually. He was friends with Jimin for years apparently before he went overseas for college and then moved to LA. He's twenty-six, a professional writer, and he just graduated from college a few months ago. He moved back here a month ago and is currently working on what will be his second published book. Oh, and he's bisexual, single, and hot."

"Do I even want to ask why you have all this information on the guy?" I asked, my nose scrunched.

"Jimin might have come in while Jin was bandaging my hand. He was chatting with us when Jungkook came into the coffeehouse and after a bit of talking Jungkook mentioned meeting you and then one thing led to another and so when Jungkook went back into the bookshop Jimin told us everything."

A soft groan left my lips as I thought about what Jungkook could have mentioned about me. Who knew what terrible impression I had left. Then there's the fact that now, whether I liked it or not, Jin asking meant that he was once again going to try and play matchmaker with me. I loved Jin with all of my heart but as history could tell, him getting involved in my lack of a love life only ended in misery on my behalf.

"Could you please, please, please tell your husband not to meddle this time," I begged Joon.

"I can try, Tae, but I'll go ahead and say that Jimin, Jin, and Hana were all talking about you two when I left."

"I'm screwed," I whined.

"Excuse me? I'd like to buy this book..." My head snapped up and I saw that once again the man was at the counter.

"Sure! Tae would be more than willing to check you out!" Namjoon cheerily said to the customer then leaned in to whisper, "in more ways than one," in my ear.

I internally groaned and tried to fight the blush that threatened to take over my cheeks once more. I plastered a smile on my face as I went up to the counter and scanned the book he had placed, quickly ringing it up. I noticed that he now had a leather computer bag slung across his shoulders so I guessed that he was on his way out.

"That will be three dollars even. Did you want it bagged?" I asked softly.

"No, thank you," Jungkook replied as he pulled out his wallet and dug around until he found what he was looking for, a five dollar bill, and handed it to me. I rung it up and quickly gave him his change back.

"Have a great day," I told him as he collected his book and stuffed his wallet back into his pocket. He nodded in acknowledgment as he turned and walked out of the store. My eyes trailed after him until he disappeared behind a shelf and soon after the chime to the door sounded. I groaned and leaned my head against the glass surface of the counter. Feeling like something was wrong, I looked around before realizing that I'd never heard the door close.

I skirted around the counter and made my way to the door, which was cracked open. It wasn't that unusual, sometimes the door wouldn't shut completely if there wasn't enough force. It was a real problem during the winter because there were times when I didn't notice and we lost a lot of our precious heat. My hand gripped the knob, ready to shut it when something bright reflected in my eyes. I instantly moved to block whatever was accosting my retinas, my hands acting as a shield. I opened the door and stepped out, the pointed glare finally out of my eyes. I searched for whatever had been reflecting the sun and my eyes landed on the leather wallet lying on the ground, gold initials being what must have been reflecting.

I bent down and picked the wallet up, feeling the smooth texture of what I supposed was real leather. On the front were the initials 'JJK', plates in a shiny gold. That's what had blinded me.

I looked around in search of whoever the owner could be, although a sinking suspicion had already been set as to who the owner was, no one was around to claim it though. I flipped the wallet open and found the license, my previous suspicion proved correct as I saw the customer, Jungkook's, drivers license. With nothing else to do, I returned back into the shop figuring I could probably give it to Jimin to give back to Jungkook. I wondered if Jungkook would come back here once he noticed it was gone but my thoughts were interrupted as another customer came in, distracting me from any further thoughts about the raven-haired guy.

ello loves! your one and only author here. i hope you enjoyed the first chapter of paper sails because i know i had fun writing it. the second chapter should be posted soon but, i wanted to ask you guys a question;

yoonmin

or

yoonseok

i love both ships pretty equally, and i know that there's a lack of yoonseok in fanfics but i wanted to know your thoughts about it before i get any further in this book. so, yeah.

this chapter is dedicated to SILVERKOOK because her book, Flower Boy, is what launched my inspiration to start this book.