Chapter Text
As planned, Yeonjun joined Taehyung’s in the next destination, also to act as a tour guide since he had definitely visited this country more times than Taehyung had left Seoul. His tight schedule only allowed Taehyung to spend one day in the beautifully scenic Amsterdam, that he was ready to capture as many photos as he possibly could. The Van Gogh museum was a must-see. And because they had so little time on hand, they gave the city canal cruise a try and walked around Old Centre, until Taehyung had to bid Yeonjun goodbye to catch the night train to Berlin.
It was on the train to Amsterdam that Taehyung found out a little more about Seokjin, at least from Yeonjun’s perspective. First was about how they met. Seokjin was in fact, one of Yeonjun’s first customers who visited the boutique and made a decent purchase. Yeonjun still found it ironic that Seokjin - who just left Korea to go to England for the first time, chose to shop at a newly opened Korean shop. Of course, Yeonjun was proud that his boutique was a bit closer on the high-end fashion than the casual and affordable end of the spectrum, since they were well designed and even offered custom made options, but it didn’t mean there was no such thing in Korea. The items in his boutique were greatly inspired by Korean fashion, so why would a Korean go to England and indulge in Korean fashion anyway?
Taehyung also learnt that Seokjin’s parents are now working in London and their sons are both in Korea. Yeonjun wasn’t too sure what they do for a living, since Jin never brought it up, but it seemed to Taehyung that he’s from a high economic background, similarly to Yeonjun. That should be a given, since it’s not easy to step into the fashion industry when you’re struggling to pay bills.
Taehyung hid the fact that he had met Seokjin before and the surprising emotional impact that the male had on him. Even now, Seokjin still left the same impression in Taehyung – a confident and good-looking man that just radiated positive energy. Thinking that way actually made Taehyung feel a little disheartened. Although they had unexpectedly met again, the chance of that happening one more time would be extremely unlikely.
A questionable thought indeed.
Taehyung’s schedule in Berlin was just as packed as in the previous two cities’. Since he had been told that people in Germany don’t speak English that well, he carefully booked a tour with a Korean guide instead, saving himself some troubles. Only in the evening that he took some long walks through the neighbourhood on his own and explore the city’s night life. Yeonjun had yet again, secured him a ticket to another fashion show on the last day, but this time because the designer wasn’t his friend, he wasn’t coming. It was another spring collection from an aspiring half Korean/ half Germany designer. Although the fashion show Taehyung was accompanied by Yeonjun was a slightly larger scale than this one, being by himself this time made it a little more nerve-wracking. Taehyung wasn’t lacking in confidence though, so his anxiety level was well under control.
Just when he was waiting for his lunch order, Taehyung got a message from Jungkook. A 30-minute audio even. Seemed like he had sent Taehyung a recording of his newly composed song again. Honestly, this boy was just too talented.
‘I haven’t even got tired of listening to your last song keke. Preparing for your comeback?’
‘Sure am kkkk. It’s just a demo so let me know what you think. How’s Amsterdam by the way?’
‘I’ll listen to it and let you know tonight, the restaurant is a bit noisy. And I left for Berlin 2 days ago. It was sooo beautiful though. So is Berlin. You’ve gotta come here one day it’s amazing.’ Taehyung forgot that the last time they chatted for a bit was when he was in Amsterdam. It was fortunate enough that they could stay in contact. He knew some idols didn’t even have access to a mobile phone.
‘Kkkk I would love to!! Eh you only stayed in Amsterdam for a day? Must have visited the Van Gogh museum, right?’
‘Of course I have. I’ll send you photos.’
‘Yess show me cutie Taetae.’
‘Stop calling me Taetae, Googi.’
Taehyung laughed as he hit send. It’s always been their inside jokes from high school. Taehyung then softly complained about going to the fashion show tonight all by himself.
‘Oh you said you’re in Berlin? I think my brother is there too. Wanna grab him and go together?’
‘Eh it’s fine. I’ve never even met your brother it’s gonna be weird… And I don’t think it’s possible to get tickets now.’
‘Oh you’ve never met him? You came to my house once though??’
‘Once. And you invited us over and borrowed his room because he was on a trip to Jeju island with his friends remember?’
‘Oh… That’s a waste. I think my brother would like you though. He’s also by himself too and I bet you he’s forgotten half of the German stuff we learnt in high school.’
‘Kkkk it’s all good. We can meet when when’re back to Korea! That’s if you even have any free time to meet me kkk’
‘I can make time to see you definitely kkk. Gotta practise now ttyl! Enjoy the show!’
Taehyung smiled warmly. Jungkook had always been so excited to help Taehyung. He was reminded of their high school time when this guy willingly spent extra time after class 3 days a week teaching Taehyung basketball on top of his dancing and vocal classes, simply because Taehyung once said Jungkook looked so cool playing it that it made him want to play too.
Since he didn’t know anyone to even get introduced to like last time, Taehyung arrived at the show venue just half an hour earlier than the show time, just enough to allow himself to navigate around. The show quickly began and as expected, Taehyung soaked in the atmosphere while observing the very details of the garments as the models strode along.
He was fascinated by many items in this collection, but something grabbed his attention even more. One model looked particularly similar to Seokjin. Taehyung rubbed his eyes, reminding himself that Seokjin was a medical student. And he was in London. There’s no way he would be a model in a fashion show in Berlin. Impossible.
But that person who so elegantly walked on the runway in front of him looked so much like Jin. Dressed in patterned pastel-pink tank top, black tight-fitted trousers and a black denim jacket, that person made Taehyung unsure whether he should be focusing more on the clothing items or his appearance. The male had some make up on, a choker necklace and a slick hairstyle that Taehyung couldn’t see the colour very clearly. Most likely black. Hair colour was the easiest thing to change and yet at that moment, to not get his hopes up, Taehyung convinced himself that the person couldn’t be Seokjin because his hair was black, since when they last met Seokjin’s hair was ash grey. Shaking his head, Taehyung successfully refused to believe that it was Seokjin on the runway and continued focusing on the fashion items again.
20 minutes went by in a flash. It was already 8pm and his growling stomach was now clearly demanding food. Luckily the show was held in a huge meeting room on the 5th floor of a shopping mall, so Taehyung could just take the lift to the underground food court to grab dinner. Although he had started craving Korean food, right now even just a simple burger would be an appropriate meal.
Taehyung finished his burger combo even quicker than the fashion show. It wasn’t his habit to grab a dessert after meals, but today he just really wanted one, an ice cream to be more specific. Taehyung started browsing for ice cream, and quickly found out that dessert shops were on the level above. While waiting for the lift, he glanced at the salad shop not far from him. Didn’t want to make eye contact with other people, Taehyung only briefly looked at their food options. They were mostly poke bowls or garden salad, except the person sitting the closest to where Taehyung seemed to have a noodle salad. Yum.
Just when Taehyung looked away after hearing a ‘ting’ sound the lift made, the customer looked up, directly facing Taehyung. His body reactively froze, while his eyebrows immediately frowned. Was he that desperate to see Seokjin that everyone looked like Seokjin today?
Taehyung turned away after the short pause, secretly pinching the skin on his hand as if to wake himself up. The lift door closed in front of him when he was trying to grab a hold of himself. Just as he was about to frantically push the button to get in, a clear soothing voice called out to him.
‘Taehyung-ssi?’
Taehyung turned back at the speed of light. It was unmistakably Seokjin’s voice. He wasn’t just a blind desperate fool.
‘Seokjin-ssi?’