Chapter Text
Chapter 10: The Date
There are times when Namjoon hated some aspect of himself, like how he flushes under sudden attention, how he’s clumsy enough to break pots at least five times a month, or how his heart is sometimes too big for his brain to function logically when he really needed to use that 148 IQ he had.
Well, tonight was one of those times as he absolutely hated how transparent his face was at showing the conflict in his mind, especially when Wonshik sighed and put down his utensils when Namjoon had zoned out on him again.
“Dude, I know that something is bothering you. It’s so clear on your face.” Namjoon blushed at those words as he looked away from Wonshik’s worried gaze. “Did I do something wrong? Is the food okay? Or is it the restaurant-“
“No no no, it’s none of that, dude.” Namjoon interjected, shaking his head with a nervous chuckle. He sighed for a moment as he scratched the back of his head, a bit pressured by Wonshik paying him attention with that worried look on his face. “It’s just… I don’t know, I just have something in my head regarding tonight and all.”
“Does any of that concern our date?” The other asked worryingly, and Namjoon couldn’t help but nod because he seriously can’t lie to someone as nice and sweet as Wonshik. Especially that it also concerns his date, because his thoughts were not too invested in the man in front of him as much as they should be. Instead, he was still thinking of how it felt wrong to be there, in the context of a date with a man not part of the six people that had captured his heart since the beginning.
“I… just don’t think we are compatible partners anymore.” Namjoon said sheepishly, scared of whatever reaction Wonshik would give. “I don’t think we should date and stay friends instead.”
Wonshik stared at him for a few seconds with an unreadable expression before chuckling, making Namjoon look at him confused and embarrassed while chuckling nervously with him. Wonshik the shook his head and sighed before smiling kindly at the florist. “That’s alright, Namjoon. To be honest, I was thinking of the same thing. It’s a relief that it wasn’t just me, then.”
Namjoon looked at him with wide eyes but ended up smiling wide while slumping down on his seat, shaking his head in relief. “Thank gods, I really felt bad that I asked you out and this happened… I’m really sorry that I wasted your time like this.” It was Wonshik’s turn to shake his head with that mischievous smile on his face. “You can make up for that if you agree to hang out again sometime, but with beer and video games, preferably.”
That’s when the night did truly feel nice because the pressure of labeling their outing together as a ‘date’ was now gone, and they were now only two bros eating in a restaurant, two feet apart ‘cause they’re gay, just not for each other.
“So how did you conclude that you didn’t want this to be a date anymore?” Wonshik ask as they were enjoying their dessert, and Namjoon almost choked on his crème brûlée at the sudden question. It took him a few moments of composing himself and glaring at a laughing Wonshik before he decided to just let some parts of the truth out just to see if someone like Wonshik can help him in his rather complicated situation.
“Did you remember the six friends that I talked to you about last week? The ones I had been teaching in my flower shop for a few weeks now?”
“Yeah, the ones that you described to be so beautiful and ethereal that you felt like you were cheating on your flowers every time you looked at them?” Namjoon glared while he blushed at the smirk on the other’s face before nodding his head. He sighed as he looked away, not really knowing how to describe his situation because he himself is still so confused on what to do.
“Yeah, it’s them.” Namjoon replied after a small pause before sighing again, leaning back on his chair. “I unconsciously fell in love with them.”
“Well… that’s what love really is, though.” Wonshik replied after taking a bite of his food. “But… ‘them?’ As in, plural?” Namjoon nodded, and Wonshik softly whistled.
“How many? Two? Three of them?” Namjoon looked away at that question because it really should’ve been a lot easier if his heart did long for a few of them.
“It’s, uh… it’s all of them, actually.” The florist whispered shamefully. Wonshik stared at him wide eyed before putting down his utensils slowly, probably due to shock. But the expression on his face was something Namjoon couldn’t decipher, something between realization and confidence. It’s weird, but the only thing that mattered to him at the moment was if Wonshik wasn’t disgusted of him.
“That’s really… my gods, that is some shitty situation you’re in, Joon.” Wonshik chuckled out, but his eyes were kind. “Are they at least all single? Are some dating one another or dating other people?”
“They’re all dating one another.” Namjoon sighed out, propping his head up on his arm on the table. He knew that he should shut up now, but there was just something about having someone know of his situation and him wanting to rant out because his feelings are a bit too much to handle at the moment. “And they’ve been dating one another for years, and I just…” He paused again as he felt his throat constrict for a moment there. “I just don’t see myself ever fitting in that perfect circle, you know?”
“But you do.” Wonshik replied, and Namjoon looked at him curiously. “I think you do see yourself being with them, because if you weren’t then you wouldn’t be running away from them like this and have a date with me.” Namjoon blushed at those blunt words, but he couldn’t help but sigh in agreement. In the end, no matter how much he’s going to twist and turn his words to justify him asking Wonshik out, the truth will always point back to the six men currently taking care of his beloved koala back home.
“Do you think they would be interested in you?” Wonshik asked and immediately got an answer with a firm shake of his head. “They’re practically unreachable to me. They’re all handsome, have qualities that just make them fit with each other, and they’re just... dude, no matter how much I try I just can’t let myself think to be a part of a perfect relationship.” Namjoon continued on and sighed at the end, his chest feeling a little down as the reality was ever bringing his dangerous hopes down with it.
Wonshik worriedly looked at him for a moment before he smirked as he sat up straight. Not that Namjoon noticed, because he was too far into his head to notice anything around him.
“If you really believe that they’re so high up for your standards then how about we bring you up to theirs?” The other said with a small smirk on his face, his voice a little mischievous. Namjoon suddenly had a weird yet strong feeling that the other was secretly excited about this.
“But that’s impossible-“
“Not when you’re Kim Namjoon.” Wonshik interrupted, chuckling at the blush that dusted over Namjoon’s face. “You have to at least admit that you’re good looking. You have considerable height, you have a good job and you take care of little Koya well. At this point, giving you a little confidence boost would be enough to try and seduce them a little bit.”
Namjoon, feeling scandalous and embarrassed, proceeded to have a little debate about those things Wonshik labeled him as, because he certainly doesn’t think he can even be near equal to the beauty of the princes, or be good to them enough like the way they were good for one another. After a few minutes of heated debate Namjoon sighed out as he felt defeated after Wonshik made him tell him about how some of his customers had given their numbers to him and that one incident in high school where two friends fought one another just to have a dance with Namjoon at prom. Wonshik smirked over him, crossing his arms with that smug aura coming out of him.
“Yeah yeah, so what if other people did like me before? It doesn’t equate them to the six pri- to my six friends!” Namjoon said, looking away after he realized his almost-slip up. “And why are you really keen on helping me? Especially after wasting your time by coming here and all…”
“I just like helping my friends, dude.” Wonshik shrugged, smiling softly at him. “I was at a situation like that once, with my ex-girlfriend and ex-boyfriend. You reminded me of myself back then, and now I just want to help you like how I was helped before.” Namjoon smiled softly at that, his heart melting at how nice the other really was. “Now that I think about it, I should contact them. It’s been months since the breakup but I still do miss their cuddles.”
“I think you should too, dude. By the way you’re talking about them I can see that you really miss them.” Namjoon replied with a small smile before hailing a waiter to get their bill.
Wonshik stared at him for a moment before smirking again, and that weird feeling of confidence coming from the other immediately made Namjoon squint at his smirk.
“You know, I think I have an idea that can help us both.” Wonshik said, voice practically dripping with a mischief and confidence while his eyes felt like they were looking for something fun to do.
Namjoon should be scared by that look, but he couldn’t help but lean in with a curious look, oddly excited to whatever idea Wonshik came up with.
“Thank you so much for putting up with me the whole night.” Namjoon said as they stepped out of Wonshik’s car, the soft, purple glow of the MAGIC SHOP sign illuminating them and the snowy background. “Especially since you didn’t let me pay, asshole.”
“Namjoon, I swear to all the fucking gods if you complain about not paying dinner when I was the one who took you to that restaurant I’m going to make sure the next batch of cupcakes you get would be filled with fairy glitter.” Wonshik replied with a little sigh but chuckled at the end. “If I knew their crème would be that expensive I wouldn’t bring you there to pay for it.”
“I mean… yeah, I guess they were a bit overpriced.” Namjoon replied with a shake of his head, making the falling snow get out of his hair. He then patted the box of cupcakes in his hands, dusting the snow that fell on it. “Thanks for this again. I’m sure Koya would try to at least tolerate you with this offering.”
“I never thought I would make eucalyptus-based cupcakes until now.” Wonshik shrugged, smiling softly. “If he likes it then I’ll try to market familiar-specific cupcakes. Do you think he would like me more if I have him as my tester for every new cupcake recipe that I do?”
“I think he would leave me for you, to be honest.” Namjoon chuckled out, knowing how Koya would fight off his sleep whenever there are cupcakes around. That big, purple nose can smell cupcakes even from 25 meters away. He was sure that as soon as he opened the box his familiar would instantly perk up and smell them.
They just looked at one another for a moment, Namjoon’s gaze drifting to the black van parked in front of his shop and sighed at the reminder of who were waiting for him in his house. He just hoped that Sejin wasn’t too pissed off, otherwise Namjoon is going to be a subject of his bad mood. And a manager in a bad mood is never a nice experience.
“I think I should head in. It’s getting a little chilly.” He said, ruffling the snow that fell on him. “Yeah, I think you should. It’s getting a little late too, so I have to get going if I don’t want to be caught in the snow.” Wonshik replied as he walked back to the driver’s side of the car. Before he went in he looked back at Namjoon with a small smile on his face.
“I’ll consider what you said earlier. Thank you for helping me figure things out on my own relationship as well.” He started before smirking, which immediately made Namjoon blush. “Remember the plan, alright?”
“Yeah yeah, I’ll text you if there’s a chance. Just go.” Namjoon replied, hoping that the purple lighting hid the flush in his cheeks as he stepped below the shelter of the over-hanging roof at the front of his shop. After a few moments of them talking to one another with the underlying tone of their words being ‘go fuck yourself,’ Namjoon watched him speed up into the night, praying that he would make it safely back home.
He was about to enter the shop when he noticed a low, droning sound coming from the top of the shop. Namjoon moved back to the snowy road to look what was it or where it was coming from, and was confused when he saw VAN floating by the sign, looking at the road where he and Wonshik were just talking.
“VAN?” Namjoon asked, hoping that the robot would notice him. It took a few more calls and having one of his arms flail around to get its attention, beckoning it over when he saw those X and O look at him. “What are you doing here? Wouldn’t you be cold?” He asked worryingly before making a face as he reviewed what he just said. “I mean, you’re a robot, you’re made of metal and is probably cold most of the time… but it’s not nice seeing a familiar just out here, with snow falling and stuff.” He added before opening the door for it to go inside. “Let’s get inside first.”
After turning off the lights of the shop and making sure that there were enough glowing flowers around to provide some sort of light Namjoon and VAN got out to the back door. It was fascinating to see Van walk on the snow, even if he did feel bad for it and had initially wanted to carry it just for it to be not cold. He gathered himself for a moment in front of the door to his house, listening in to the sounds of laughter and muffled conversation of the men that had occupied his mind the whole night, unconsciously clutching the cupcake box. When he noticed that VAN was looking up at him he quietly apologized before knocking and opening the door.
As soon as Namjoon saw them he felt like he made the right decision to talk about them with Wonshik. ‘I think you do see yourself being with them, because if you weren’t then you wouldn’t be running away from them like this and have a date with me.’ His words echoed in his mind, and as he gave them all a big smile he thought that maybe, just maybe, if the goddess of luck would spare him her grace he could see himself being held in their arms and be graced by their love.
Namjoon really hoped that Wonshik was right about this.
Just then a black crystal butterfly flew and sat by a nearby bush, as if a piece of black snow that fell against with the white layer of snow on the bush. It looked at the man listening in his own house, intrigued at this development.
It was a cold, winter night. The butterfly is tempted to make a blizzard right then and there.
But before it could fly again it saw the robot familiar turn to look at it, its X and O eyes glowing green as it stared at the butterfly. It then nodded in respect before it turned to look up at the man, as if telling him that there was something else watching them.
The butterfly didn’t stay for long, only keeping still until the man and the familiar robot has disappeared into the house. As it flapped its wings, it begins to wonder if the upcoming month would be the man’s or the six princes’ downfall.