Love at first touch

Margot was late. The kind of late that makes you flustered as you rush, heat flushing your cheeks, vulnerable to mistakes. Which is how she dropped her bag on the ground in the street, stooping to quickly try and gather everything up so she wouldn't be any later. She reached for as many items as she could, shoving them into her bag, briefly wondering how she had failed to close it up this morning. She looked for the last few things when another hand reached for them too, gathering the items for her and passing them across. As he did, there was the slightest of touches, really nothing more than a graze of fingers on the palm of her hand as her lip balm and keys were placed there but it was the zing that radiated from the touch that caused her to look up, shocked at the sensation.

The man who was crouched in front of her was wearing a mask so all she could see were his eyes. But they were beautiful, a brown that made her think of hot chocolate on a cold day or being outside surrounded by nature. And they were so, so kind.

"Are you OK," he offered as she stood up and he stood too, watching as she tucked all the items into her bag.

"Yes, thank you so much, I've got to keep going," she managed, knowing she would be cutting it fine to get there on time. Today of all days to get a flat tyre and have to catch a bus instead of biking.

"Take care," he said as she bowed and thanked him again, hurrying off but she looked over her shoulder as she did, seeing him walk away with his head ducked low, friends closely at his side.

"He was so nice," Margot thought as she continued to rush, praying she'd not miss her appointment.

What she didn't see was the way his hand opened and closed as he felt the residual effect of their hands touching, clenching in the sensation to hold onto it for a little longer. The shake of his head as the romantic notion of love at first sight become love at first touch. The way he glanced back and saw her retreating back, noticing the way a few curls fell loosely from the clip holding her hair off her neck. She was too focused on her destination to realise a metaphorical door had opened, one she was about to walk through.

Thankfully Margot arrived in time, albeit with only a few minutes to spare and looking more dishevelled than she would've liked for such an important interview. Giving her name at the front desk, she was lead through a security area where they checked herself and her bag carefully before pointing Margot to the elevator which would take her to the correct floor. Thanking them, she went inside and pushed the button that took her to the second from top floor.

"Are you here for the social media interview," they'd asked once the doors to the elevator had opened and she'd walked into the waiting area. The lady behind the desk was pretty and polite, indicating where she should sit while she waited. It gave Margot a few moments to gather her thoughts and take some deep breaths so she wasn't as flustered when it was time to go in. She was very good at her job, increasing the traffic on social media to a point where the formula came easy to her and she was ready for a new challenge. Here at HYBE, she would have a huge scope to develop their social media marketing to a whole new level and she knew she could do it and do it well. She just had to convince them of that fact today and get the job.

As she waited for her name to be called, she walked through her notes again, the words on her phone keeping her calm. She'd practised a lot so this was just so it was all fresh in her mind and the distraction was such that she didn't notice the woman behind the desk stand and bow or even look up until she heard a voice that sounded somewhat familiar.

"Is Bang PD-nim available this afternoon," he asked and the lady shook her head.

"He's out of town at the moment Namjoon-ssi and won't be back until later tonight. Did you want me to set up a meeting for you?"

The clothes, the hair, the voice. Margot knew right away that it was the man who had stopped to help her, Namjoon. And she knew exactly who that was now that she'd seen him without the mask on.

"No, that's fine. I can message him myself, I was just walking past. Thank you though," and he bowed as he walked back towards the elevator, pausing mid-stride as he noticed Margot.

"Oh, it's you," he said, stopping in front of her and she stood up abruptly, bowing quickly to him as she did.

"Yes, thank you for earlier. I was running a little behind unfortunately."

"Are you here for a meeting," Namjoon continued, instantly feeling the memory of the touch from earlier, sticking his hand in his pocket so she wouldn't notice his fingers were twitching at the thought. That could be embarrassing.

"An interview. They have a social media position going and that's what I currently do," she answered, still a little in disbelief but at ease as his voice lulled her into a calmer state than she thought she could feel given the circumstances.

"And I'm sure you're good at your job."

"I am. But now I'm ready for more of a challenge," she answered, blinking a little as she fought to maintain eye contact and not look away. He wasn't intimidating. In fact the softness in his eyes from earlier was still there. It's just that she knew so much about him and that felt a little awkward. "I'm Margot by the way Namjoon-ssi," she added, making sure to use his name so he'd know she knew who he was.

"Well Margot, it's nice to meet you. I hope you're successful then and that we can work together in the future. I think I'd enjoy that," he said, turning on his heel and walking away even as her mouth dropped open.

"Margot l/n," a woman said as they approached her and she reached out to shake their hand with a bow as she followed them out of the waiting room and into her interview. What she didn't know is that the moment Namjoon got into the lift, he rang HR and recommended Margot as someone very well equipped for the job. Owning shares in the company sometimes brought you some extra rights over being just an artist. He barely ever used those rights but he wanted to today. He was sure she could get the job on her own and he doesn't even know how he knows that since they'd barely said 100 words to each other, he just does. But since he only managed to get her first name, he doesn't want to risk her leaving and not seeing her again so he was going to do his best to make sure all the angles were covered just in case.

45 minutes of interview later, Margot was standing in front of the building, staring up at the sky with a huge grin on her face when Namjoon happened to look out of the window and pause mid sentence. And his breath caught. And he swallowed. The claw clip holding her hair in place was released and she shook her hair out, confidently running her fingers through the mane of hair that fell around her shoulders.

"Namjoon-ssi? Hyung?" A voice was asking him a question but he zoned them out, watching, trying to glean any info he could about her.

"Just a moment," he replied, continuing to stare as Margot took off her blazer, draping it over her arm. There's a demeanour about her, a happiness that radiates that he can feel from here. Is it because she got the job or is that just how she naturally is? Namjoon is a deep thinker, a seeker of knowledge, reading constantly to grow his mind and as part of that, he is usually good at reading people too. And so he trusted his judgement and took a risk. Opening the window, he called out her name, hearing it fade into the wind as it flew out of the 7th storey.

"Margot!"

And despite the fact he was so far up, the breeze carried his voice out, spinning it around and then, surprisingly, she looked up, almost as if she actually heard him call to her. He didn't know if she could see him properly or hear him at all but he called again, using his hands to indicate for her to stop.

"Wait!" And he pulled the window closed. "I'll be right back," he called to the six other people in the room who stared at each other with raised eyebrows as Namjoon attempted to open the door, banging his elbow in the process as he fled the room. And they scrambled as one, pushing and shoving each other as windows were flung back open in the room so they could all look out onto the street.

Margot hadn't in fact heard Namjoon calling to her but she'd turned her head at just the right time as she smiled at the clouds scattering the sky, catching a glimpse of clothes and hair she recognised, pulse escalating, perplexed as he gestured to her to stay. If he was coming to see her, it probably wasn't a good idea to wait on the street so she walked into the foyer again, milling around until she saw him striding towards her only a few minutes later.

"Hey," he said as he appeared in front of her, glancing left and right to see how many people were around. He had on a baseball cap, pulled down over his eyes to cover his face a little but his height, the way he stood and what building they were in made it obvious who he was if people were looking.

"Hey," she answered, more than happy to see him again, the day much better than when they'd met this morning in a rush of dropped makeup and flustered emotions. And a touch. She hadn't forgotten the touch.

"So, it's a bit exposed here but I'd love to talk to you about your interview. Are you free?"

"Now? Am I free now," she asked, surprised probably registering on her face.

"Yes, we could have a drink upstairs? There is an artists cafe. If you want to that is?"

"Are you free though? I know you're a busy person."

He wasn't free. In fact, he was meant to be in a meeting right now with all his other members but they could wait for him for a change. He was always waiting for them. They could give him half an hour. He wanted half an hour. "I can be free," he answered.

"OK, shall we get out of here, people are looking," she said, seeing the way security was watching them.

"Oh, they're always watching, I forget because I'm so used to it. You'll get used to seeing them around here, when you get the job," he said as they walked back to the elevator.

"If I get the job," she replied, as he pushed the button to take the elevator up to the cafe floor.

"I'm pretty sure you will," he said, confidently.

"I hope so, the position seems really interesting to me."

The doors had closed, sealing them in as it ascended and there was silence for a moment as Namjoon ran his hand through his hair, dropping it next to him as it bumped into hers. And there was that zing as they touched again.

"Honestly, what's that about," Margot said, staring down at their hands where they hung side by side.

"Oh, sorry, sorry," he said, pulling away.

"No, that's not what I meant," she quickly hurried to explain. "I meant, why does it feel like that?"

"Oh," he replied with a small smile, cheeks colouring a little, dimples exposed. "Yeah, I wondered the same."

"This is weird right," she asked and he nodded.

"Weird but also not at the same time," he replied, sounding confused at his own answer.

"I feel like we're talking round in circles. Let's start again. I'm Margot. Thank you for helping me this morning and for inviting me for a coffee. Hopefully we'll be working together at some stage soon." She stuck out her hand for him to shake and he took it as he spoke.

"Namjoon but I guess you already knew that. We definitely will be working together very soon and I'm also very happy you said yes to a coffee." But he didn't let go, looking at her, holding her gaze even though she wanted to look away. His eyes were too pretty, drawing her in and she already felt a little lost in them. And then there was his hand, the touch of it warm and firm as it held hers, weirdly comforting and safe.

"Namjoon-ssi," she said, just before they reached their floor, "what is happening here?"

"Something very good I think," Namjoon replied as he finally let go of her hand, guiding her out the door with his hand placed lightly on the small of her back, not wanting to stop touching her now that he knew that the first fluttery feelings of contact hadn't been a one off thing. Almost like it could be love at first touch.