Chapter Text
“Hi, welcome to our lovely Museum. I’m Taehyung, your host for today, but you can call me Tae If you want.So to get started has anyone been here before?”
A few hands rose up.
“Okay,perfect! But for those who haven’t been here yet: This museum is unlike any other museum! You can try everything and touch everything, you can even smell some things! But very important” Tae paused for a dramatic effect, as he always does whenever he was doing the introductions for a school or kindergarten group. “The smelling rule does not apply to humans!” Some small giggles could be heard from the group. “Especially for you Sir!”
Taehyung was pointing at a man about his age so he probably was one of the Kindergarten teachers. He looked confused for a second until he chuckled.
“Why can’t my Uncle smell?” a small girl asked.
Everyone laughed, including Tae.
“Well how would you feel when someone came up to you and just smelled you?”
The little girl thought for a second and instead of answering his question she turned towards the other man and said: "You can smell me, Uncle Yoon.”
Once again, everyone started laughing and honestly, thats why Tae loved his job. Kids would say the funniest things and were completely serious about it. Plus the excitement about all the exhibition pieces they always had was so much positive energy he was given. Yes, he was drained at the end because 8+ hours on your feet plus Kids all day, is draining but at least He wasn't sad and drained like he probably would have been If he had taken that job at the Art Gallery.
“Thank you Jiwoo-ah." the man with bleached hair answered his niece.
Tae went on with his introductions and explained the Rest of the day. They started with one of his favorite exhibition pieces because he got the most laughs out of it. It was three big, black and white, optical illusion spinning wheels. One of those always got a reaction out of everyone especially when everyone truly focused and did it with a Partner.
“Okay so, what we’re gonna do, is focus on the white dot in the middle and as soon as I say ‘Mango’ You are going to turn towards your Partner and look right onto your Partners’ nose.Ready?" He was about to start spinning when the little girl from before, Jiwoo, put her hand up.
“Yes?”
“Can we blink?”
“Yes, you can and you should.”
“And what If we don’t have a Partner?”
“Well if anyone hasn’t a Partner, I could sit next to them and be their Partner. Do you want me to sit next to you?”
“Oh No, Bora, is my best friend and Partner right now but Uncle Yoon doesn’t have one.”
“Oh! I suppose I could sit next to your Uncle Yoon If he wants to”
Tae asked, even though he was kind of nervous sitting next to ‘Uncle Yoon’ cause sue him for being a panic, disaster bisexual. He was just trying to do his job today and sitting next to a beautiful man was not what he prepared for.
But said Uncle Yoon seemed also to be affected since he scratched his neck and chuckled lightly.
“Yah, Jiwoo-ah, I’m okay. I don’t have to do this.”
Jiwoo started to pout and it seemed like her Uncle was weak for it, since he immediately held his hands up in defeat which seemed to be the right move because Jiwoo immediately turned back again and focused on the white dot. So,Tae spun the wheel and sat down next to the other man. Tae was counting in his head til 20 and then yelled: “Mango!” Everyone turned their heads towards their neighbours and here came Taehyung’s favorite part. You could truly see the wheels of everyone’s brain turning, trying to recognise what was happening and then, came the laughter. Normally you would relish in those laughters but all he could focus on was the gummy wide smile in front of him. The other man just had the cutest smile and Tae was truly asking himself If one could find teeth attractive cause he was just staring at the others' teeth right now.
His thoughts were interrupted by a bunch of Kids yelling: “Omg your nose!” Tae jumped up and asked: Yes! What’s happening with your nose?”
“It’s sucked into the face”
“What?No way! Maybe let’s check and see If you’re nose is still there then.”
They all started touching their nose and laughing once again.
“Jiwoo-ah,is your nose still there?”
“Yes, it is.” The little girl giggled.
“Pew, okay. Happened once that someone couldn’t find their nose for 5 days!”
Jiwoo and the Rest of the kids kept giggling at Taes antics. He clapped into his hands to get everyone’s attention.
“Okay, now you all have some time to discover the rest of this room and I’m going to clap three Times when we’re going to the next room, okay?”
“Yes, Tae” The kids all answered. And so they all went into different directions. One Person, Jiwoo’s Uncle stayed back though.
“You’re amazing…with kids I mean. How do you have so much enthusiasm for it?” the man asked Taehyung.
“Oh, I’m not sure to be honest, I guess I just get so much positive energy from the kids and families and who wouldn’t thrive on that?”
“Mh, suppose you’re right. Kids do have an easy and interesting view on the World sometimes. My niece is one of those.”
“Oh she’s a special one. Can I ask: Are you also her Kindergarten teacher or?”
“Oh god, No! I’m an architect and just here instead of her mum who is a lawyer and couldn’t attend today. I don’t think I could handle so many kids on a daily Basis, that’s why you have my deepest respect for doing this, what, almost every day?”
“Pretty much, unless I’m attending uni classes.”
“Oh what are you studying? Sorry, I shouldn’t be asking, you’re at work right now.”
“Oh, it’s okay, it’s not like you're asking for my number or anything, and yes, before you ask, that has happened before.”
“I am so sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“It shouldn’t be though, you’re at work and can’t really act rude towards customers. Before I got my current job I worked Part time as a bartender. And drunk people literally have no boundaries.”
“That sounds rough.”
“It was.” A quiet Pause.
“But to answer your question, I’m studying Art and History. This is one of the few museums where I can work without having a ton of experience beforehand.”
“Oh yeah, I remember those job requirements. Fresh Out of Uni but already 10+ years experience.”
“Haha yeah. So If you don’t mind me asking, how long have you been an architect?”
“For almost two years now, yeah. I finished my masters degree when I was 26 and immediately started working right afterwards. I got really lucky with my job. One of my old professors recommended me to my current boss.”
“Woah, Nepotism.”
“What? That is not what was happening.”
“I’m just teasing Yoon-ssi.”said Taehyung while smirking.
“Yoon-ssi?”
“Is that not your Name? Your niece was calling you that beforehand and I just assumed…” Tae felt awkward.
“Oh, yeah!" The other man chuckled. “I think I've been Uncle Yoon ever since Jiwoo could speak. Apparently Yoongi is too long. Her words not mine.”
“Well it's nice to meet you Yoongi-ssi.”
“Excuse me Mr.Tae?”
Theur moment was interrupted by a child asking for Tae’s help. And just like that the 2 hour tour through the museum passed quickly.. It always ended quickly but maybe this time Tae had wished for time to pass slower just so he could talk a moment with Yoongi again. He was intrigued by the other man and wanted to know more about him. They barely had time to talk again since there were so many kids that wanted to know more about all the exhibition pieces. The only time they did get to talk was when Tae asked him if he knew the names of all the children and Yoongi handed him a list with all names on it. Now there was only one thing left to do: The great Goodbye. This is where Tae's love for dramatics came into play.
“Alright. Now this is where we come to an end with our tour.Did you guys have fun?”
“Yes.”
“That didn’t sound convincing. Did you guys have fun?”
The kids answered with another yes although you barely could hear it from the way they were all screaming it.
“Wonderful!Then it is my greatest pleasure to announce that all of you are officially an Explorer and are allowed to build your own museum at home.So as a Starter Package you’ll all get a little Museum Bag with a bunch of experiments that you can recreate at home.”
He gave all kids one certificate and one Museum bag and they all started to loose their focus so once again, Tae amped up his theatrics by throwing his hands in the air and yelling: “BUT!”,everyone froze even the adults, “there's one thing left to decide: You have the option of choosing another surprise. I have two boxes, do you want to look into the smaller one OR the big one? You now have 1 Minute to decide what you’re choosing.Time starts now!"
The kids grouped together and seemed to get into a heated discussion. You could hear words like Sally,Anpanman and Shooky all small characters but Tae couldn’t tell if it was for or against the smaller Box. He was hoping they'd choose the small Box cause this was always a funnier reaction than anything else.
“If you don’t mind me asking” Taes thought process was disrupted by someone,Yoongi as it turns out, asking “What exactly is the last surprise?”
“I guess you have to wait and see” Tae teased. He stared at his watch for a few more seconds until the one Minute was up.
“Dear council of wise children, what is your decision?”
It was Jiwoo who answered:
“ We want to look in the small Box. Uncle Yoon is small and he still is very cool so maybe the small Box is also very cool.”
Tae had to suppress laughter and so did every other adult as well. Except of course the man mentioned. Yoongi was gaping at his niece as if she had just said the most outrageous thing he ever heard. He seemed to be at a loss for words though,since all he did was shaking his head in disbelieve which made Tae laugh after all.
“That is a very good reason. Well then, I have the greatest honor to gift you a staple in Korean cuisine. Your surprise has existed for centuries and is also a Symbol for Wisdom. Wisdom is a big word. A word with many layers just like….The onion. Congratulations, everyone! Each one of you won an onion.”
Total silence then abrupt laughter. The adults seemed to enjoy the onion more than the kids. Especially Yoongi,who was grinning from ear to ear and once again Tae was questioning his love for teeth.
“Tae, what If we don’t need the onion?” Jiwoo was asking.
“What do you mean? Who wouldn’t want layers of wisdom?”
“But I’m already very clever…and I’m allergic to onion.”
Tae thought he made a mistake by giving her the onion and causing a possible allergic reaction but he could hear Yoongi chuckle and mutter something along the lines of “Shittalking definitely is in the genes.”
So what Tae did instead of calling Jiwoo out he made a Deal with her. If she would win Rock, Paper, Scissors against him they all could choose a sweet treat from the other box. Jiwoo agreed and they played an intense game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. They played Rock vs Paper, however Tae could have sworn that Jiwoo played Scissors instead of Paper.
Yoongi argued: “She made a Paper immediately, I guess you’ve just blinked strangely.”
Tae stared at him and whispered just so Yoongi was the only one who could hear him say: "Look who’s shittalking now.”
Yoongi just shrugged and whispered “What are you going to do?”
Tae flushed red and instead of flirting back, Tae wasn’t even sure if that was considered flirting, He went around to give the children their sweet treat. And just like that, one by one, the group was leaving and all that was left behind was Tae with a crush on someone who he might never see again. Scratch that, He was left behind with a crush on someone he will definitely never see again.