Missed Connections

I've got friends that will run through walls

I've got friends that will fly once called

When I've nowhere left to go

And I need my heroes

I've got friends that will run through walls

~

Jungkook POV

First day at work.

I got the feeling like I was back in high school when I reported for my first day at the new school. Don't get me wrong, I have always been confident in who I am and in my abilities but this was my first professional gig. I have never worked in and corporate environment and not knowing what to expect left my nerves frayed and on edge.

Would I meet the romanticized version of the corporate world that I saw often in American television dramas of would it be the complete opposite with building pressure and lack of personal time? I was used to working in a relaxed environment and with my dad as the boss, I had no pressure.

The guard stationed at the door of the building gave me a slight bow with a smile as I stepped into the building with my heart beating miles a minute. My mind was all over the place from the wee hours of the morning.

I had woken up at 4.30 a.m. and wasn't able to get myself to fall back asleep. So, I made myself a cup of hot chocolate and with a light blanket sat on the balcony and watched the city slowly wake up. A sleepy Tae found me in the living room nursing my second cup of chocolate and came snuggled next to me on the couch.

"Nervous?" he had asked sleepily.

"Mnhhh..." I hummed in response. I did not trust my voice to sound confident so I resorted to humming in response.

"You will do great! Trust in yourself," he had replied as he struggled to stay awake. His warmth against me helped to calm my nerves a little and I let him fall back to sleep. I envied him because he had two more days before he had to report to his work place.

"Now!" A now fully awake Tae clapped his hands together loudly as he stood up. "Let's make an impression!" he added with a mischievous grin. I looked at him funny, wondering wat he was talking about.

Reading my confusion he said, "There is no way I am going to let you look drab on your first day. Honey, you are going to make a statement!"

That said, he cupped my face with both his hands, blew me a kiss and disappeared into his room coming back with a massive box wrapped with a lavender coloured wrapping paper complete with a ribbon tied in a bow.

"This, is my gift to you!" He beamed.

"Congratulations on your new job!" he said dramatically. "You deserve the best and more."

"Really?" I said in disbelief coupled with excitement. I was short of words as I pulled him into a hug.

"Open it! Open it! Open it!" He said jumping up and down as he clapped his hand like an excited girl.

I reached out and gently tugged at the bow on top of the box then paused. He looked at me in confusion, "But I didn't get you anything," I said with a pout. "I c-can't take this. This is..." I started in protest but he put his finger on my lips to prevent me from speaking further.

"You can't say no. At least not yet... if you still don't like it... well... then I will just have to find a new mannequin," he shrugged.

I rushed to open the box excited to see what was inside. Nothing Tae ever made disappointed; every item was just as mesmerizing as the next.

"Aaahhhh!" I gasped in awe at the outfit. "This is the best one yet!" I said excited.

The two piece suit complete with a shirt and skinny tie was incredibly gorgeous and fit for the runway and not a first day at the office. The business suit was as crisp as a new banknote and the material it was made out of dyed to a uniform shade of bleak grey. The one button fit of the coat with unique pocket designs was made perfectly complete by the fine detailing of the fabric that was used to make the notch lapel. One would easily miss out the patterns that were curved in the fabric of the lapel unless they inspected it closely. The breast pocket had a polka dot black and white kerchief that gave it an extremely sophisticated look. All I needed were the perfect dress shoes to complete the look.

I guess being his mannequin long enough was finally paying off. He didn't have to measure me anymore or try to figure out what would look good on me. Hell! He could make me an outfit with his eyes closed.

I picked up the box and headed to my room to get ready for work. On my way, I stopped and looked back at him, "You are the best!" I said blowing him a kiss.

Tae was one of those friends that would run through walls for you. If you asked him to jump, he would ask "How high?" And I adored this gorgeous man. I ran back, pulled him into a hug and after thanking him one more time, I ran in to my room and excited to try the outfit. Two hours later, I was standing at the reception of The Hive (I don't remember giving the company a name).

"Hi and welcome Mr. Jeon," the lady behind the desk that read reception in big bold shiny silver colours welcomed me.

I smiled wondering how she knew my name. I guess she saw the unasked question on my face because she lifted a file with a picture of me. "I have a picture of you," she said with a smile.

"T-thank you!" I stuttered a response, embarrassed at how easy I was to read. "Please call me Jungkook. Mr. Jeon makes me feel aged," I continued in attempt of humour to calm my nerves.

She smiled politely at me as she reached out handing me what looked like a new hire starter kit. Rummaging through the kit, I found it had an access badge, a pen, a branded notebook, coffee mug and a pen holder. Wow! They did think of everything!

"Your supervisor will be here to accompany you shortly," she said to me as she clicked away on her computer. "Please take a seat and I will let him know you are here," she said with a bright smile as she picked up the phone to dial.

I was in awe of everything. From the efficiency to the structure and organisation in this place. Is this what a corporate environment looked like?

The halls were made of beautiful white marble and lighted by the overhead lights and natural light let in by the floor to ceiling windows. There were green sofas arranged in a cubicle with a scattering of potted plants for guests and the blown up eco-friendly posters hang on one side of the walls showed a company committed to conserving the environment.

Well-dressed men and women passed by me with folders in hand chattering away about their weekends and upcoming projects. I was in awe.

"Mr. Jeon?" a tall man in glasses called me as my eyes roamed around. I stood up and extended my hand to say hello and bowed respectfully. "We have been expecting you," he continued, sounding a bit relieved. They must be short on staff. "It's good to finally meet you. I can't wait to introduce you to the team," he concluded as he led me to the elevators and punched the button to the sixth floor.

We got off the sixth floor and walked through sliding doors after he swiped his access card. It was an open plan kind of office with desks arranged in cubicles and I assumed that it was meant to show the demarcation of separate teams. We occasionally came across glass rooms that served as meeting rooms. There were cabinets for storage along the corridors adorned with beautiful potted plants.

The checked blue and grey carpets with smatterings of red perfectly complemented the white walls and provided a great contrast to the brown desks. The floor was bathed in natural light that was let in by the massive windows and the chatter all around spoke of a busy office environment.

"It seems like it's a busy time," I commented as we proceeded further.

"Yes," he confirmed. "You have come at a time when we are nearing a major product launch. Fortunately or unfortunately, you have jumped into the deep end of the pool," he joked nervously. "I hope you can stay afloat."

"I will try to hold my own," I replied a little less confidently.

A few... well a lot of people stopped talking and working long enough to take notice of the freshest meat in town. Moi!

Some of the ladies were particularly enthusiastic, I got cheeky smiles sent my way and I smiled politely in return with a slight dip of the head. Papa didn't raise no disrespectful bastard.

Not to brag but, I was good looking in my own right and I have my father to thank for that. I always stood out because of ridiculously good looks, amazing height and well-toned body. I kept a clean diet and loved to work out. At the end of the day, health is wealth. My personal health was a great priority and I took pride in looking after this body that carried my soul. After all, you only get to live once. So it wasn't particularly surprising that I turned a few heads and got a few stares here and there.

We made our way towards the office at the end of the long corridor and passed by a meeting room and that is when I saw it again.

That insanely gorgeous and oddly familiar side profile.

I could never forget it even if I wanted to and would never mistake it for another.

He sat at the head of the table, legs crossed under the table leaning back into the chair. The black suit jacket he wore over the satin blue shirt and black pencil pants made him a sight to behold. One could tell how well toned his thighs were through the trousers. To complete the look, he wore tiny hoop earrings and a choker with black dress shoes. Rings adorned his tiny fingers.

He was perfection.

Wait! Back up! Why am I thinking about his thighs? I had never found any other male as attractive as I found him or taken notice of the minute details about them.

He was listening intently to the presentation, nodding along. He leaned forward, resting his elbows in the edge of the table. Raising his hand slightly to stop the presenter for a bit, he asked a question. I could tell by the way the people around the room turned their bodies to fully face him paying attention that he was well respected. How could such a tiny little bean as him have such presence?

"Tiny bean? What is my life even?" I admonished myself.

He threw his head back, laughing at what someone said as his eyes disappeared into beautiful crescents. I wondered if he could see when he laughed. He brought his hand to his face as if to hide from embarrassment.

Cute.

Wait! What??! I was surprised at my thoughts. What was it about him that made me think this way?

The overall atmosphere in the room seemed fun and upbeat and I could tell that everyone was having fun. He raised his hand and high fived the man seating next to him, then put them together to clap. Everyone around the room seemed to be hyping the other up with a high five. This had to be the most wholesome interaction I had ever seen.

Despite not getting a full view of his face, I got a sense of relief when I realized that I finally got to see him again and that I didn't' have to keep wondering if I would ever see him again.

"I could not find you when I turned around," the tall man in glasses brought me out of my trance.

"Oh! I am sorry," I apologised profusely as I bowed, embarrassment flowing threw me as my cheeks heated up. "It's just that I was drawn to the concept being presented," I said as I pointed at the meeting room in an effort to cover my embarrassment.

"Looks like you found your team," he said. "I was about to mention that your team was in a strategic meeting and you would meet them later."

"Meeting?" I inquired further not wanting to ask openly if I would be working with him.

"Yes, we are collaborating with the marketing and design (M&D) team on a product launch and we will be meeting regularly over the next couple of weeks, until the product launch," he politely replied. "But before we delve into that, let us get the administrative things out of the way, shall we?" he asked as he nudged me into his office.

I took one longing gaze in the direction of the gorgeous silver haired Adonis and walked into his office.

I wanted to gaze at that all day.

***

Jimin POV

"I can't be late!" I thought to myself running out of the house and jumped into my car.

I had woken up thirty minutes after snoozing my alarm. Twice! Now I was at the risk of running late and on a Monday! I hated being late on Mondays because they set the pace for the entire week.

I hadn't realized how exhausting - in a good way - the weekend had been until I slept through my alarm.

After meeting my mom, and bouncing ideas off of her, I had fresh ideas that I couldn't wait to incorporate in what I already had. What's more, we were moving into the last phase of the project and we needed to collaborate with a Product Design team in the IT department. I took a mental note to have to have a one to one with them. This launch had to be perfect. Why? It was my major project since my promotion and I had to make an impression plus, perfection was literally my middle name.

Despite being in a position that gave me the power to delegate duties and boss people around, I was a hands on kind of person. If I needed things to be done well, I had to be involved just as much.

In no time, I was pulling into the company's parking lot and reaching out to pick my messenger bag from the back seat. I checked me out one more time in the rear view mirror and I headed out blessing my mother for my ridiculously good looks.

I made quick work of settling in, logging into my computer and familiarizing myself with the schedule of the day.

The first meeting went great. I felt that the M&D and Product design team had great synergy and if we maintained the pace, we would do well and that the product launch would be a great success. I left the meeting with a stride in my step and I headed back to my floor bowing politely to the hellos along the way and smiling back.

Amidst the regular he is so hot compliments I got as I walked through, there seemed to be another subject of discussion.

"Did you see the new guy?" I heard one lady comment in a hushed tone.

"Yum! He has got legs for days..." another added.

"Did you see how snag he looked in that suit?"

"So damn hot!"

"I call dibs!"

I couldn't help but smile. "There must be fresh meat in town," I thought to myself as I made my way to the elevator.

I had been part of the corporate environment for a while and I can tell you that it wasn't so different from high school. The only difference was the work part, even then, it was just as hectic. Any new person in drew a lot of buzz and excitement and for a while, he would be the toy until the novelty wore off or the next toy walked in. It was like a den of hungry lions.

I felt sorry for the poor soul and prayed he survived every Mary, Tom and Dick wanting a piece of him.

A smile crossed my face as I swiped my access card on the panel and went through the secure sliding doors to take the lift to my floor. I didn't envy him. If anything I wished I could save him. As I waited for the lift, I turned around momentarily and I caught a glimpse of a vaguely familiar back disappearing into an office.

My heart stuttered.

I turned around again to take a good look but it had already disappeared.

"Why did that back look so familiar?" I asked no one in particular as I walked into my awaiting lift. "Maybe I was imagining things. That is what it is," I said as I shook the thought out of my head.

***

Third person POV

The day was uneventful but full of activity busy. Jungkook was thrown right into the middle of the project but being skilled and swift, it didn't take him long to get the hang of it. His creative mind came in handy and put him at an advantage with his team mates. He was the fresh perspective that the team desperately needed.

There was a team lunch and over the course of the day he was introduced to more people. It was exhausting but he sailed through. Not to mention, he was famous with the ladies and gentlemen alike. Tae's creation certainly drew attention and it left him wondering how he was going to top this look the next day. It also in a way earned Tae new corporate clients, which was a win-win. He couldn't wait for the end of the day to just sit back and take it all in.

Jimin on the other hand moved from one meeting to the other meeting all morning. It was only in the afternoon that he got some semblance of a break to quickly grab a bite and go over other issues. While the project takes precedence, he was careful not to neglect the other areas. Brainstorming sessions, approving ideas, calls with the international team... just a typical day in his work.

Home...

His bathtub calling. He couldn't wait to have a soak, relax and wash away the Monday stress.

Jimin was at that point in his life where "me time" was close to his heart. He had just learnt how to be a little bit selfish with his time and spend it doing the things that he liked. Things that brought him joy and contentment.

1700 hours.

Shutdown.