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Namjoon has always said that Hoseok is good for business.
“People come to me for apology flowers a lot after they come out of your shop,” he’s said before, and they both laughed.
It’s true, though. Hoseok has given a lot of people that have said, “My mom/dad/brother/sister/girlfriend/boyfriend/pet dog/etc is going to kill me when they’ve seen I’ve done this” the tattoo that they’ve asked for and then directions to Namjoon’s shop, which is right next door.
It’s a pretty good arrangement, Hoseok has to say. Namjoon keeps a pile of Hoseok’s business cards at his front register. Hoseok gets bouquets half off whenever he needs them for Children’s Day for his mother, or miscellaneous events for his significant other.
He would offer Namjoon a discount on any tattoo Namjoon wanted, and has told him as much. Namjoon always says, “Of course I want a tattoo,” but then, when pressed, never has anything concrete that he wants. He keeps saying he wants it to mean something, since it’s going to be a part of his skin forever, “even when I’m a grandfather and all wrinkly and no one would be able to read it anyway. I’d still know it was there.” Hoseok can respect that, though after his third tattoo he kind of stopped caring about the meaning and started just getting tattoos of things that he liked. He’s never told Namjoon, though, since he’d probably be scandalized by the very idea.
So yeah, from a business standpoint, their relationship works out pretty well. It’s mutually beneficial.
From a personal standpoint, too. They’re friends, after all. They have been ever since Namjoon came over to Hoseok’s shop to introduce himself, and somehow left with his shirt ripped and Hoseok with a headache.
All in all, Hoseok would say things between him and Namjoon are great. He’d give them five out of five stars on Yelp. Which is, of course, how and why everything happened.
When Hoseok walks into Namjoon’s shop with his coffee order, Namjoon’s on the phone.
“No, Mom, I won’t be going alone. I swear. I swear.” He grimaces when he sees that Hoseok has walked in, and mouths sorry. Hoseok just nods in response, and sips on his caramel frap. “Mom! I’m not going to die alone with only my dog who hates me! Rap Mon would not eat my face when no one has checked in on me after only two days without food anyway, and I’m offended that you’d even say that. He’s loyal.” A pause. “Mom! Do not set anything up for me!” Namjoon is silent for several more seconds before he finally goes, “Okay, Mom, I have to go. A customer just came in. I love you too. Bye. Bye!”
When Namjoon hangs up, he’s looking significantly harried. His hair’s messy in a way that shows he’s run his hair through it probably a hundred times. “Oh, thank God, I’m dying for caffeine,” he says. “This right here is the bright spot of my day.”
“You know me,” Hoseok says, leaning on Namjoon’s counter, “your daily dose of Vitamin D. Or your coffee supplier.”
“Both is good.”
“So what was that about? Is your dog really going to chew off your face?”
Namjoon huffs. “No, that was just my mom. She’s...” he trails off. “You know, I appreciate the fact that she cares so much about me, I do. I just wish she understood that I don’t need a boyfriend to be happy.”
“It’s sweet.” Hoseok’s mother hasn’t asked about his love life since he came out to her as bisexual. And all she’d said to that was, That makes sense and kept sweeping the kitchen.
“Most of the time, I’d agree with you.” Namjoon sighs again, “But lately she’s been particularly brutal. My cousin’s wedding is next week and I still don’t have a date. And according to my mother, there’s nothing worse than being single at a wedding.”
“I don’t know, I would think having my dog chew my face off would be up there.”
“Please, forget you ever heard that.” Hoseok can’t help but laugh at Namjoon’s expression. “I mean, it’s not like I want to go to the wedding all alone, it’s just that I honestly forgot about finding a date, because my cousin asked me to do the flowers at his wedding. And ever since my mom heard that I don’t have a date when wants to introduce me to this nice young boy from her law firm and not to be dramatic, but nothing seems worse than that right now.”
“I could go with you, if you want.” Namjoon looks about as surprised as Hoseok feels, having that come out of his mouth. “I mean, I know we’re not together or anything, but your mom’s right. Nothing’s worse than being alone at a wedding. Plus it would be fun! I like weddings.” More like, Hoseok likes open bars and open dance floors, but still.
“Well...I have to be there for a week. My cousin’s fiancee is having it at this inn that his family owns, and I said that I’d be there to help set up and to meet everyone. You wouldn’t have to come the whole week, obviously, but still.”
“No, I could do it.”
“Really?” Namjoon sounds surprised.
“Yeah. I could get Yoongi hyung to come help me keep the shop open while I’m away, and even if he couldn’t, I haven’t taken a vacation in years. I don’t have any big appointments next week, either, so yeah. I’m totally in.”
“You’d have to meet my family...” Namjoon trails off. “And you’ve just heard me talking to my mother.”
“Families love me,” Hoseok tells him. “I’m very friendly, and I like talking to old people.”
“Hmm.” Namjoon looks him over, focusing in particular on the tattoos on his arms. “Well, you definitely look scary enough to get my mom off my back.” And it’s true. Hoseok doesn’t think of himself as a particularly frightening person, but his tattoos tend to throw people off, especially older and more conservative people, who either give him lingering looks or start walking in the other direction when he approaches. Hoseok is used to that by now.
“I’m not sure whether or not I need to be offended by that, but I’m going to choose not to be so that I’m still in a good enough mood to still try to rearrange my life enough to go to your cousin’s wedding.”
“Seriously, you just saved my life,” Namjoon tells him, in a voice so solemn that Hoseok is sure that Namjoon isn’t joking. Hoseok laughs at him anyway.
“Okay,” Namjoon says, once they’ve gotten twenty minutes outside of Seoul. Hoseok offered to drive to the Inn that Jimin’s--Namjoon’s cousin’s fiancee--family owns, because the train would have been a bit of a hassle. The drive isn’t that long, either, so Hoseok doesn’t really mind. “So...there’s something that’s come up.”
“Is the wedding off?”
“What? No! Why would you even say that.”
“Well you look like someone’s just died, or something. Forgive me for jumping to conclusions.”
“You’re probably going to wish the wedding was off, after this, but no. Jimin and Taehyung are super in love, always have been, probably always will be. That’s what they’re like.”
“If that’s the case then...what is it.”
“Well, remember how I told you that my mom’s concerned about the fact that I’ve been single for a while?”
“Yes.”
Namjoon clears his throat. “So...I told her that you were coming with me to the wedding.”
“So far so good, because that is correct. I am.”
“And she assumed that we’re in a relationship.”
“That is...certainly less correct, because we’re not in a relationship, but I have a feeling that this isn’t where the story ends, so you can continue.”
“So she made this assumption without telling me directly that she had assumed this.”
“And you set her straight, right?”
“Well...” Namjoon’s voice trails off. If Hoseok didn’t have to keep both hands on the wheel, thanks to both common sense and driving regulations/laws, he would be running his hand down his face in frustration.
“Namjoon...”
“I didn’t realize that she thought we were in a relationship until she sent an e-mail blast to the whole family saying that I was coming with a plus one, and that the plus one was my boyfriend. And making her send another e-mail blast correcting herself will be really embarrassing so I just...let her have this one. Please don’t be mad at me.”
“What? I’m not mad! I mean, it is really weird that your whole family thinks that we’re dating, but it’s not the end of the world, right? I mean, it’s not like we’ll have to make out in front of them or anything. And we’re not the ones getting married.”
“We’re definitely not the ones that are going to get married, or anything like that. And we probably won’t have to get married. So...does this mean that you’re...okay with it?”
“I mean, it’s still really fucking weird, because who pretends that they’re in a relationship with someone? But no, I’m not mad at all.”
“I’m so glad, I really thought you were going to say that you couldn’t come after all.”
“No, I already told you I was coming, and got my shop covered. I have a whole week off and am staying in a mountain resort for free. I would come even if you told your whole family that we were engaged.”
“You’re a good friend.”
“You totally owe me, like, a year’s worth of free flowers now though.”
“Deal,” Namjoon says, and grins. His dimples pop out, it’s so deep, and Hoseok kind of wants to touch them. But he’s driving, so safety first.
The drive up to the inn is beautiful, all scenic mountain views. It’s absolutely stunning, and Hoseok can’t even be that upset that he and Namjoon confused the GPS three times and they definitely got lost in a way that shouldn’t be possible.
The inn is absolutely beautiful, a building that seems to almost blend into the scenery like it belongs there. Hoseok is kind of marvelling at the magic of it, because seriously this place is nice, when Namjoon goes “Oh, God,” and kind of bends down in the front seat.
“What? What is it?”
“My mother.” Namjoon groans, like he’s in pain. “I didn’t realize that she’d be here already.”
Hoseok looks at the front door to see a woman with short black hair waving furiously at them. He waves back, more than amused.
“Joonie,” Namjoon’s mother says, and gets on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “You look so well, I’m so glad you’re here. Everyone is so excited to see you!” She turns to Hoseok, and looks him over once. Her eyes widen at his tattoos--he wore a short sleeved shirt--but she hides it well when she realizes that he noticed. Her smile, when directed at him, is genuinely warm. She has dimples too. “And you must be Hoseok. It’s so nice to meet you. I would say that Namjoon has told me so much about you, but he really hasn’t.”
“Mom...”
“What, that’s not his fault, it’s yours. Hoseok is completely fine. I’m going to have a very good time getting to know this young man, aren’t I?” She winks at Hoseok when Namjoon puts his head in his hands, like she knows that she’s being purposefully embarrassing and wants Hoseok in on the joke too. Hoseok can’t help smiling back at her.
He likes her already.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Hoseok tells her.
“Well, you don’t want to spend all this time out here with an old lady. The young people are waiting for you two in the ballroom.”
“The young people?” Hoseok asks Namjoon, once they’ve given their luggage to the front desk--Namjoon’s mother promises that everything will be taken care of as she shoos them off--and head towards the ballroom.
“My cousins,” Namjoon tells him. “I apologize for them in advance.”
Hoseok wonders what that’s supposed to mean when a flash of black hair immediately attacks Namjoon as they walk into the ballroom with all the young people. “Oppa! Finally! You took forever to get here. You totally got lost getting up here, didn’t you? So did we, it’s the forest magic, I swear.”
“Hoseok, this is my cousin Jisoo.”
“Hello, cousin Jisso.”
“Hello, boyfriend Hoseok-ssi. Is it alright if I call you oppa?”
“Sure.”
Jisoo beams at him. “Come on, boyfriend Hoseok oppa, we have to introduce you to everyone else. The e-mail blast auntie sent just didn’t do you justice. For instance, it didn’t mention how cool your tattoos are.”
“What did the e-mail that my mom sent say, exactly?” Namjoon asks.
“Well, just that Hoseok was your age, and that he was cute, and that you apparently really like him. Your mom also said that you didn’t say this explicitly, but she could tell from the way you talked about him.”
“Great,” Namjoon mutters. “Anything else completely embarrassing?”
“No, I think that just about does it. In that e-mail, at least.”
Before Namjoon can say anything else, he’s attacked a second time, but a blur that is much taller than Jisoo. Apparently, Namjoon’s family is really, really into forceful hugs. “Namjoonie hyung!” the blur says. “It’s so great to see you again.”
“Hoseok, this is Taehyung, the groom. Well, one of them.”
One of them? Interesting. Hoseok had heard the name Jimin and had assumed that there was a bride, shame on him. “I really like your tattoos,” Taehyung tells him. “Especially that one, the strawberry with legs? It’s cute, and strawberries are the best fruit in the world, probably.”
Hoseok looks down at the tattoo in question. It’s been a while since he’s thought about it. Yoongi did it when they were in college, probably, though it might have been somebody else. “I agree, probably, though I haven’t tried every fruit in the world.”
“Me neither, but I’m sure going to try.”
Another man and woman, around the same age as them, come up to them at a much slower speed than Jisoo or Taehyung had. “Hi,” the man says. “I’m Jimin, the other groom.”
“And I’m Lalisa, Jisoo’s wife,” the woman introduces herself.
Jisoo sighs suddenly. “I love being the gay cousin.”
“...we’re all the gay cousin,” Namjoon says. “There’s not one single straight person in this circle right now.”
“That’s true,” Jisoo replies. “But I’m married, which makes me gayer.”
“Well I’m about to be married,” Taehyung chimes in. “So will that make me gayer? Or equally as gay as you?”
“And they’re off,” Jimin says, laughing a little as the three cousins get started in some kind of weird gay debate. He’s looking at Taehyung, who’s gesturing wildly with his hands, with such obvious fondness in his gaze that Hoseok can’t decide if he wants to cry or throw up a little. Maybe both. “Sorry about them.”
“You get used to it, mostly,” Lalisa says, “They’re always like this when they’re all together. Which is why we formed the In-Laws Club. We have to stick together.”
“It’s great, and you have temporary membership just for this weekend. Which will extend to any other family events that you decide to come to. If you agree to come to any ever again, of course.”
For a moment, Hoseok’s almost sad that his membership will probably be terminated after this weekend after all. “I’m in,” he tells them, and means it.
They don’t get to their room until after dinner, which is a big event in the fancy dining room of the inn. All of Jimin’s family, and all the members of Taehyung’s that were able to get an entire week off, are in one place for the meal. Hoseok is seated with Namjoon on one side, and one of Jimin’s aunts on the other, and he has a really good time trying to keep up with everybody.
Everyone thinks that they’re dating, but they don’t seem to be watching Namjoon and Hoseok especially closely, which is a relief. Namjoon gives Hoseok some meat off his plate, but that’s as far as anything goes, other than Namjoon and Hoseok just sticking by each other the whole night. This would have happened even if they weren’t pretending to date, Hoseok thinks, because Namjoon is the only person that he really knows here.
As good a time as Hoseok has, he is grateful when they can finally retreat and head off to their own room to sleep. Their room, singular, which has only one bed. Singular.
“I feel like I should have expected this,” Namjoon says, when they stand in the doorway together just looking at it, “but I really didn’t.”
“Well, I don’t mind if you don’t mind,” Hoseok says, immediately flopping onto the bed face first. It feels like heaven, and clouds, and the softest cashmere in the world all mixed together and baked into one fantastic mattress. “No, okay, we’re totally sharing the bed. Making you sleep on the floor would be criminal after feeling this.”
Namjoon looks skeptical, but he comes to sit anyway. “I can never sleep on another bed again, after feeling this,” he says, bouncing a little just to feel the way that the mattress ripples. It somehow just makes everything feel more awesome. Hoseok sinks further down into the bed, and completely doesn’t mind the fact that it might just eat him whole at some point.
“Right? We’re totally sharing.”
“If you really don’t mind, then...yeah, this is my bed now too.”
“I totally don’t mind,” Hoseok tells him. Then, something occurs to him. “Wait...if the bed is this awesome then we totally have to check out the bathroom. I bet it’s just as nice.”
He forces himself to get up to check it out, Namjoon right behind him. As it turns out, he was right.
Hoseok calls Yoongi to check in on the shop the next morning. Because Yoongi is also his best friend, he also tells him everything that happened the day before. Including the part about Namjoon’s mom’s e-mail blast.
Yoongi, predictably, thinks that this is hilarious.
“Wait, so his entire family thinks you are dating Namjoon?” Yoongi asks, for the third time. He’s getting better at hiding his amusement every time he asks. He had outright laughed the first time.
“Yes!” Hoseok says, “I already told you that.”
“Sorry, I’m just having a really hard time dealing with that. Though, you know I don’t blame his mom for coming to that conclusion.”
“How?” Hoseok demands. “She didn’t even know me when she came up with that!”
“Well, if she had met you, or seen you and Namjoon in action, I’m sure she would have assumed the same thing.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Yoongi sighs, heavily put upon. “You two do kind of act like you’re dating, sometimes?”
Hoseok can’t keep from sputtering. “What? How could you-? Are you saying that-? What? That’s ridiculous.”
“How am I ridiculous? You’re the ridiculous one, Hobi.”
“You’re ridiculous because Namjoon and I aren’t even dating!”
“Sure, I know that. But think about you two from the outside for a second.”
“I don’t-” Hoseok tries, but Yoongi interrupts him before he can get anywhere with that.
“You guys hang out whenever you have the free time-”
“Because we’re friends, just like you and I are friends, hyung.”
“You get him coffee pretty much every day, or he gets you your expensive frappuccinos-”
“We both need it to survive! Running your own business alone is very stressful, okay. And our shops are literally right next door to each other, am I just supposed to ignore him when I go get something? Of course I’m not going to do that. We pay each other back by getting each other coffee all the time anyway-”
“And you haven’t been on any dates since you met him.”
That one shuts Hoseok up. “That’s because I haven’t had time,” he says, but it sounds lame, even to his own ears.
Yoongi snorts. Hoseok can hear it clearly through the phone. “Sure. That’s it.”
“Namjoon and I aren’t dating,” Hoseok says again, because apparently it bears repeating.
And sure, he and Namjoon do hang out a lot. And sure, Hoseok does go out of his way for him sometimes. And he likes to see him every day. But they’re friends, and friends can do that sort of stuff too. Especially when they’re in such close proximity to each other.
Though Hoseok has certainly never gone out drinking with Yoongi and thought about how soft his lips might be, or wanted to touch his smile, or taken a week off work just to spend time with him. Though, maybe he might. Maybe.
If he liked Yoongi as more than a friend.
Hoseok is kind of sort of screwed here.
“I know,” Yoongi says. “But you could be.”
But they aren’t, and Hoseok makes sure to tell Yoongi that just one more time.
In the afternoon Namjoon needs to go to the flower shop of the nearest town to negotiate the flowers in person with the owner there. Hoseok decides to go with him, not really knowing what else to do, or wanting to be alone.
“Jimin and Taehyung are already in town?” Hoseok asks as he backs out of the parking lot.
“Yeah, but they don’t really want to be. I already did most of the flower arrangements ages ago, because they said that they don’t really care. They’re just down there to sign the last of the contracts.”
“That’s so weird. If this was my wedding I’d totally want to be on top of everything.”
“Me too, but that’s Taehyung and Jimin for you. Mostly Taehyung, really. Neither of them have been super hands on with the wedding stuff, because they’ve been busy. I mean, they’re paying for everything that they can, but they said they wanted to let the family get involved, since this is a big deal for everyone.”
“What do you mean?” Hoseok asks.
“Well...me and my cousins are actually the only cousins from this side of the family, so all of us getting married is a really big deal. Add that to the fact that we’re all gay, a lot of the family were worried that we would never get married at all, so. It’s special. And Taehyung and Jimin understand that. Since this might be the only wedding everyone gets to go to, they wanted to make it a big deal.”
“But Jisoo’s married, isn’t she?” Hoseok swears that he heard Namjoon call Lalisa Jisoo’s wife.
“She is, but since she and Lalisa are living here in Korea, they decided to get married in Thailand with all of Lalisa’s family. And since not everyone could go there, obviously, it was a really big missed opportunity for everyone. Taehyung wants to make up for that. That’s why there’s this weeklong gathering and the really big fancy wedding up here in the mountains. The wedding is more for us than for Taehyung and Jimin, who probably would rather have just gotten married with only a witness as their audience.”
“Huh, okay,” Hoseok says. “I guess I kind of get it now. But what about you? You could get married some day, right?”
Namjoon stiffens up at that, before he lets out a big breath. “I mean, yeah, of course I could. I guess Taehyung just beat me to it. Plus, you know, I’m just really not sure if it’s in the cards for me, really.”
“I’m sure it is,” Hoseok tells him, and he means it honestly.
Namjoon just looks at him, a tiny smile on his face, but all he says is, “Yeah, maybe.”
Jimin and Taehyung are waiting for them at the flower shop in town. Looking around, Hoseok can tell instantly that Namjoon’s shop has more inventory, even though their space is larger. It’s nice enough, though, and Hoseok knows that Namjoon has done a lot of the planning through them just so he can have the freshest flowers available for the wedding.
Jimin and Taehyung are talking to who Hoseok guesses is the owner, a strikingly lovely woman whose nametag says Yoona in black lettering, and they turn when Namjoon and Hoseok come in.
“Ah, he’s here!” Taehyung tells her, smiling cheerfully. “This is my cousin, Namjoon, who’s doing the flowers for our wedding. You really want to talk to him about the final details, because we just picked out the flowers and that’s all.”
“Thank you, Taehyung-ssi,” Yoona says, beaming at him, because that seems to be the kind of reaction Taehyung gets out of people. She turns to Namjoon and shows him her clipboard before leading him to the back, leaving everyone else to the front.
“So,” Hoseok says, to keep Jimin and Taehyung from staring at him, “how did you two meet? Namjoon told me to ask you last night, said that you two tell the story better.”
“I mean, it’s not really that interesting,” Jimin says with a laugh. “We’ve just known each other forever. Since we were born, really.”
“Jimin was born three months before me, so he was all alone that whole time,” Taehyung tells him, with an odd sort of zeal. “But then I came into the world and everything was better for him. I’m lucky, because I’ve never had to exist without Jiminie at all.”
“Tae, you’re gross,” Jimin says, but then he laughs and kisses Taehyung’s cheek. He turns back to Hoseok to say, “Basically we’ve known each other our whole lives, and been in love about that long? Yeah, about that long, I’ll say.”
“Not true!” Taehyung exclaims. “You haven’t been in love with me this whole time.”
“Oh wait, you’re right, yeah. I was in love with Namjoon hyung once.”
“What?” Hoseok can’t help but say, more shocked than anything else.
“Yeah. It was big stuff. I was ten, and hyung was eleven. He was visiting Taehyung for the summer, and had been there for a whole week. He gave me his Melona once, because I had gotten the mango flavor and he knew I hated it, so I fell in love. But it didn’t work out.”
“Obviously,” Hoseok says, because it’s not like he’s here for Jimin and Namjoon’s wedding.
“No,” Jimin says with a little sigh, but he’s smiling too, obviously putting on a show for Taehyung’s benefit. Taehyung is listening to his every word like he’s never heard this story before, though Hoseok is pretty sure that he lived it, so he doesn’t exactly understand the rapt attention. But then again, maybe that’s just Taehyung towards Jimin at all times. “When I told Namjoon hyung that I loved him, he looked at me very seriously and he held my hand. And then he said, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t like you back, because Tae likes you and I wouldn’t want to hurt his feelings like that.’ He was eleven, it was ridiculous. And he broke my heart. We had shared Melona, so I couldn’t understand how he did that, but he did. My biggest heartbreak.”
“Well I’m glad he broke your heart,” Taehyung tells him, “how else would it have become mine then.”
Jimin wrinkles his nose at Taehyung, who kisses the tip of it, making Jimin laugh.
“Wow,” Hoseok tells them, unsure of what else to say. “That’s...quite a story.”
“Oh, God,” Namjoon’s voice comes up behind him. “Please don’t tell me that you just heard The Time Jimin Was in Love With Namjoon.”
“He did,” Jimin says, grinning at Namjoon’s expression. “He needed to hear it. He needed to know.”
“He really, really didn’t, but thank you Taehyung and Jimin, for making sure that he did.”
“I never would have taken you for a cruel and thoughtless heartbreaker, Joon-ah,” Hoseok says, just to make Namjoon make that face again.
“I’m pretty sure Jimin is fine now, don’t worry,” Namjoon tells him.
Jimin just giggles in response. “You can say that,” he says, slipping his hand into Taehyung’s. “Is everything set for the wedding now?”
“You can say that,” Namjoon tells him. “We just need to make sure that the flowers get here, but they’re scheduled to, so I don’t see any bumps happening. It should run smoothly, so everything is good to go as soon as you two sign.”
“Thank you so much for doing this for us, hyung,” Taehyung says. “I wouldn’t trust anyone as much as I trust you to do the flowers for our wedding.”
Namjoon’s expression suddenly turns bashful, in a way that Hoseok has never seen before. It’s a cute look. “It’s no problem, really,” Namjoon says, looking away.
“Now that this is done,” Jimin says, “Taehyung and I are going to take a long hike back up to the inn on a secluded path, so that we can make out in nature. See you both at dinner?”
“Ugh, see you,” Namjoon tells them, while Hoseok can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of their proclamation.
“Are they always like that?” Hoseok asks, watching them go.
“Are you kidding? They were toning it down for you?”
“Seriously?” Taehyung turns and watches them go. “Wow. They are...”
“Grossly in love? Perfect for each other? Completely ridiculously and unfairly happy? Yeah. They’ve always been like that too.”
“I’ve never seen any couple like that before. Especially not ones that have known each other their whole lives.”
“Just wait. Jisoo and Lalisa are almost as bad as they are,” Namjoon tells him. “They’ve only known each other since college, though, so they aren’t nearly as overt, but, yeah. It’s kind of sickening to be around, honestly. But I’m glad they’re happy.”
Namjoon really, and honestly, looks like he is.
That night after dinner Namjoon goes to talk to Jisoo and Lalisa alone, which leads to Hoseok being cornered by one of Namjoon’s uncles. This wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, because Hoseok has an easy way with people, if the man wasn’t so preoccupied by his tattoos and the fact that Hoseok chose to wear a short sleeved shirt today.
“So...” Namjoon’s uncle starts. “Do you do those to yourself?” He gestures towards Hoseok’s arms.
“No,” Hoseok says, trying to make sure that his voice sounds bright. “It would hurt too much! And I’m only right handed, so. My friend did most of them, actually, when we were both apprentices, for practice.”
“I see.” The man’s eyes narrow. “So you are doing this,” he waves to Hoseok’s arms, “legally, correct?”
“That’s right,” Hoseok tells him, smiling pleasantly, even though he can feel the strain of it. What he wouldn’t give to be able to just walk away from this conversation. Life would be so good if he didn’t have to be polite. Unfortunately, he has to stay here for three more days, and would prefer not to ruffle any feathers. “I’m a certified acupuncturist. And chiropractor.”
“So you could be a doctor but you choose to be a tattoo artist?”
The strain is real, now. Hoseok keeps smiling. “Yes,” he says. “Because I love it. I enjoy my job. Do you love your job?”
Before Namjoon’s uncle can say anything else, Namjoon’s mom swoops in. “Now Changmin oppa,” she says, “I know you’re not bothering Namjoonie’s boyfriend, now are you?”
“I was just asking him some questions,” Changmin says, but before he can continue Namjoon’s mom whisks Hoseok away.
“Sorry about that,” Namjoon’s mom says, “he’s just protective. And still somehow conservative, even after all this.” She waves her arms, as if Hoseok is supposed to know what she means, so Hoseok just nods. “Taehyung’s dad,” she clarifies, and Hoseok gets it then.
“Ah,” he says.
“It was hard on everyone when all the kids came out,” Namjoon’s mom tells him. “I’m sure Namjoon’s told you a bit about that. Of course, no one was disowned, or hurt, or anything like that. Us parents really tried our best with everything, but it was certainly a surprise. But mostly we just want our kids to be happy, and that’s that most important thing. Nothing else really matters.”
“Of course,” Hoseok says, wondering why she’s telling him all of this. This wedding seems to be really significant for everyone, in ways that he couldn’t have imagined when he accepted Namjoon’s invitation. “I completely understand.”
“That’s why I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”
“With me?”
“Of course,” Namjoon’s mom says, “You’re dating Namjoon! And it’s because of that, that I completely understand if you don’t want to answer this. I know I have no right to really ask it, but Namjoon lives so far away from us now, and just don’t share like he used to. So I just want to know. Is Namjoon happy?” Do you make him happy? seems to be part of what she’s really asking, but not all of it. Namjoon’s mom seems genuinely concerned about him.
“I do my best to make sure that he’s happy,” Hoseok says, and it’s not even a lie. Hoseok cares about Namjoon, he does, and he cares about seeing him smile. Maybe the real reason that Hoseok brings Namjoon coffee day is the way that he smiles when Hoseok walks through the door, how he looks so grateful about something so small.
Hoseok makes people happy when he gives them tattoos, most of the time. It’s part, though not all, of the reason that he got into this business in the first place. People smile whenever they see the results, and thank him, basically every day. Then they give him money, and he gets to know that he put something that gives someone joy on their skin for basically the rest of their lives. And still, none of that comes close to being as satisfying as seeing that from Namjoon every day.
“But for everything else...you’d have to ask him. I couldn’t tell you that.”
“Thank you,” Namjoon’s mom says finally. “I’m glad that Namjoon has you, at least.”
It’s like Namjoon has a sensor about his mom speaking to Hoseok, because before they could continue their conversation, Namjoon comes over. He looks between the two of them. “...is something happening, over here? Can I get either of you anything? Are you both...okay?” Namjoon bites his lip.
“We’re fine,” Namjoon’s mother tells him. “We’re just talking. About you, of course.”
“Mom-” Namjoon starts.
“Don’t worry, I haven’t showed him any of those pictures of you crying, or something like that.”
“You don’t even carry those around.” Namjoon stops. “Maybe you should, though, because I look cute in all of them.”
Hoseok laughs at that. “I’d like to see those, some day,” he tells Namjoon’s mom.
“I hope you will, some day. Soon, maybe?” she replies, before patting his arm and walking off.
Namjoon turns to Hoseok as soon as she’s out of earshot. “She didn’t...tell you anything weird, did she? Or say anything...?”
“What? No, she was perfectly lovely. Your mom is great, Namjoon. She just wants you to be happy. That’s awesome.”
“Yeah,” Namjoon says, and he looks over in her direction fondly. “I love her a lot. Even if she’s really, super embarrassing.”
“I should go ask her for stories about you,” Hoseok says, stepping towards her.
“Please don’t,” Namjoon says, over and over again, even as he follows Hoseok to his mom’s side. Only when his mom starts telling the story about how Namjoon fell off the monkey bars and lost his first tooth, he doesn’t really seem to mind.
Much of their trip is spent being outside in the mountain woods, and it’s nice. Namjoon and Hoseok don’t really get a lot of free time to hang out together outside of work--Namjoon works mostly during the day, and Hoseok works nights on the weekends just in case someone wants to drunkenly get a tattoo, so it’s hard for them to get their schedules to overlap--and they have entire days to spend with each other.
Of course, usually Namjoon’s cousins come along for it too, but it’s not so bad. Hoseok finds himself really, really liking Taehyung and Jisoo, and whenever the three Kims get to be a bit much he can always find solace in Lalisa and Jimin.
They have lunch together almost every day, mostly outside picnic style. This is when they’re forced to act the most coupley, mostly because of how Namjoon’s cousins act. More often than not Jimin has his head in Taehyung’s lap, Taehyung’s fingers running through his hair. Taehyung also feeds Jimin small pieces of fruit or meat, which never fails to make Jimin giggle. Lalisa and Jisoo sit close enough that their hands brush as they reach for food, but they always smile at each other, and it never seems to inconvenience or annoy them, except for when Jisoo playfully pushes Lalisa out of the way for a piece of food that she wants.
Without expressly deciding anything, Hoseok and Namjoon end up sitting closer together than Hoseok thinks that they would otherwise. Hoseok doesn’t feel the need to feed Namjoon his extras or anything, but he’s more than comfortable sitting next to Hoseok with their thighs flush together. Namjoon turns to smile at him sometimes too, and there’s something about Namjoon’s face being so close that makes Hoseok simultaneously excited and nervous. He’s never had an excuse to be this close to Namjoon before, but it’s nice.
Luckily, his cousins never comment on it. After the first day, Hoseok stopped being scared that they’d call them out as liars, just because being with Namjoon like this is so easy. And lunch is easily the best part of their day, just talking to everyone, because otherwise they’re all busy with the wedding or doing their own thing.
“It happened like this,” Jisoo starts saying one day while they’re eating. Lalisa’s head is on her shoulder, “I came out first, because the boys are babies. So by the time Taehyung and Namjoon oppa came out, the shock wasn’t quite as bad.”
“It was still pretty bad,” Namjoon says. “I mean...all of the cousins being gay? I think grandma had a heart attack and just didn’t tell anyone about it.”
“It’s not like we set out to hurt anyone,” Taehyung says, “it was just how that happened. It’s how we are! Our family understood that in the end, I think.”
“Besides, Jisoo definitely had it the worse twice over,” Namjoon says.
“What do you mean?” Hoseok can’t help but ask. Not with something being so cryptic like that.
“Well,” Namjoon says, while Jisoo sits up a little straighter and starts preening, making Jimin and Lalisa laugh. “The family accepted that Jisoo was gay as easily as they could, and would have been fine if she would have fallen for a nice Korean girl. Instead she falls for this exchange student that lived very far away, technically-”
“No one’s going to tell me who to love,” Jisoo announces loudly, and leans over to kiss Lalisa so softly that Hoseok feels like looking away. “I am sorry for any second heart attacks I gave grandma though.”
“Lalisa fits right in, though, don’t worry,” Jimin says. “Once everyone met her they fell in love just as easily as you did.”
Lalisa pokes him with the toe of her shoe, “Easy for you to say, Mr. Everyone’s Known Me Since Birth I Might As Well Be Family Anyway.”
Jimin just laughs. “True. I mean, I really thought that Taehyung’s dad was never going to fully accept me, but over time it did. Really, that’s what helped with all of us. Time and the fact that our families love us.”
“Well, I’m glad,” Hoseok says. “This is awesome, actually. You’re all very lucky.”
“We know,” Namjoon says, and the two of them watch as Taehyung and Jimin start having a tickle fight and Lalisa and Jisoo start bickering over something on their shared plate.
“So how did the two of you get together?” Taehyung asks, looking earnest. “We’ve told you a lot about us, but neither of you have said anything about how you started dating!”
“Yeah,” Jisoo says. “I didn’t even think about that. Spill, spill, spill.”
“Hoseok brings me coffee,” Namjoon blurts out. Everyone just stares at him.
“Um,” Jimin says. “What?”
“Well, I do bring him coffee,” Hoseok says. “Almost every day. But, uh, we got together because I brought him coffee one day when he was wearing these jeans and this shirt that’s white with pink stripes.” Namjoon does actually own an outfit like this, Hoseok has seen him wear it more than once. Namjoon must realize this too, because he looks at Hoseok, but Hoseok keeps going.
“Anyway, I handed him his coffee and our fingers brush, you know how they do in movies, and the sun’s coming through the windows of Namjoon’s shop and there are all those flowers and I just wanted to kiss him, so I did.” Hoseok shrugs. “That’s it, really.”
There have been times where scenarios just like the ones Hoseok described have happened. Namjoon’s shop has huge windows that let in plenty of natural light, and it always smells faintly of flowers. Hoseok likes how Namjoon seems to blend in there, sometimes, like he was born from them or something. Like he belongs.
As for the kissing, well, it’s not like Namjoon isn’t a very kissable person. Anyone would want to kiss him as much as Hoseok has before, and maybe even a little now. Namjoon’s eyes are wide and his mouth is hanging open, a little bit, and it would be so, so easy to lean over and kiss him.
So Hoseok does. Namjoon’s mouth is just as soft as Hoseok imagined it would be. His eyes flutter shut, but not before he sees Namjoon’s doing the same. The kiss is nothing particularly special, just lips on lips, but Hoseok kind of wants it to go on forever.
As it is, though, Hoseok pulls away because he knows that they’re in front of people, and more to the point, they’re not actually dating. Hoseok shouldn’t have kissed Namjoon, technically, but at least Namjoon didn’t push him away.
“See?” Namjoon says to no one in particular, once he’s pushed himself out of the daze that Hoseok knows that he was just in. He knows, because he was in the same daze.
“We see,” Taehyung says, and smiles, like he’s genuinely happy for them both. Hoseok wishes, suddenly, that any part of that had been genuine.
The afternoon of the rehearsal dinner is a particularly busy one. Namjoon has a lot of work to do with the flowers of the wedding, that are coming in that night after the dinner so everything can be set up, so he’s gone almost all day. Jimin and Taehyung have to greet everyone that’s coming up to see them, saying hello to all the relatives that had to work during the week and can finally make it to Jimin’s family’s inn. Lalisa and Jisoo are put to work by various mothers, and Hoseok goes to help them, just for something to do.
By the end of the day Hoseok is tired, but in a good way. He goes out to take a shower, finding himself a little sweaty, and comes back out into his and Namjoon’s room in nothing but a towel to find Namjoon sitting on their bed buttoning up his shirt.
“Oh,” Hoseok says. “Hi.”
Namjoon blinks once, before clearing his throat and glancing away. “Hi.”
“Were you busy today?” Hoseok asks, trying to make it seem like he’s not uncomfortable, even though he is for some reason. The air between them has suddenly become really tense, and Hoseok’s not sure how to make it relaxed again.
They hadn’t talked about the kiss at all. Hoseok wasn’t sure what to say about it. He figured he could have apologized, or something, but he didn’t know where to begin. Namjoon, for his part, just continued forward like nothing had happened. And maybe, for him, nothing did. Maybe it hadn’t made butterflies sprout in his stomach, the way it had Hoseok. That was the worst part, the not knowing.
“Oh, yeah, but it should be fine. I don’t know.” Namjoon clears his throat again. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen all of your tattoos, actually.”
“Really?” The air, if anything, gets even tenser, a little bit heavier. Hoseok feels a little lightheaded when he hears himself say, “You can look closer, if you want.”
Not saying anything else, Namjoon walks closer. Hoseok can feel the weight of his gaze and feels like he can’t breathe under the pressure of it. He can’t hold back his gasp when Namjoon touches his shoulder, his fingertip tracing the lines of ink there.
“What’s this supposed to be?” Namjoon asks. Hoseok can feel his fingernail faintly tracing the lines as well, and shivers a little. “Does it mean anything?”
“It can mean whatever the person looking at it wants it to mean,” Hoseok says, his voice lower than he wants it to be. Namjoon hasn’t lifted his hands away. The pressure of his fingers is still there, and Hoseok feels them like a brand. He finds himself suddenly hoping that Namjoon won’t pull away, ever. He turns to look at Namjoon, sees the way that Namjoon’s eyes are burning too. Their faces are so close. “Isn’t that the point of art?” Hoseok asks.
Namjoon comes even closer. “I guess,” Namjoon whispers, like he can feel the tension in the air too, like Hoseok isn’t the only one that’s felt the shift in their relationship after spending all this time together, just the two of them. Hoseok is so, so grateful for that. He doesn’t know what he’d do if he was the only one that felt this way.
Before either of them could move again, though, there’s a pounding at the door. “Hoseok oppa? Namjoon oppa? Lalisa and I are walking down to dinner, if you two want to come with us.”
“Yeah, we’re coming,” Namjoon calls back. He starts buttoning up his shirt again. Hoseok grabs his clothes that are laying on the bed and goes into the bathroom to finish getting ready. The moment, the tension that was between them, has bled slowly out of the room and away from the two of them.
“Finally,” Jisoo says when they walk out. Hoseok’s hair is still damp, but he doesn’t think that anyone will notice. “You two took forever.”
“Sorry,” Namjoon says. He looks at Hoseok, and then away again.
The caterer that’s serving at the reception is also doing the rehearsal dinner. Hoseok has to say that Jimin and Taehyung chose well--the food is very good. For the first time the inn’s dining hall is absolutely filled to the brim with people.
Namjoon and Hoseok end up sticking with Lalisa and Jisoo for the majority of the meal. Taehyung and Jimin are at the head of the dining hall, still greeting people, and being excellent hosts while the rest of them just mess around, helping out if one of the mothers say that they need help.
Eventually, Taehyung and Jimin make their way over, both of them looking tired.
“It’s so weird, being the center of attention for the wedding,” Taehyung says to them, once he and Jimin manage to extract themselves from the fawning relatives and make their way over.
“Well, it’s your wedding,” Namjoon says. “What did you two think was going to happen, everyone was going to ignore you?”
“No, but I kind of hoped...” Taehyung trails off.
Jimin just laughs. “It’s just kind of overwhelming, even though it really is nice, is all.”
Jisoo nods. “I remember that,” she says. “It was worse when Lalisa and I got married because I don’t speak any Thai, but she helped me get through it.”
“Of course,” Lalisa says. “And somehow, you managed to charm my entire family anyway.”
“All I can say is thank goodness, because I was a wreck the entire time. Luckily you two don’t need to deal with that,” Jisoo says. “You’re wedding is going to be pretty much picture perfect.”
“I really hope you’re right,” Jimin sighs.
Before he can say anything else, Taehyung’s eyes suddenly go wide. “What? I didn’t think he was going to be able to make it. Oh, Seokjinnie hyung!” he cries, and runs off.
Jisoo whips her head around suddenly. “What? Oppa!” and then she’s off too. She and Taehyung both head straight to a tall man at the edge of the door, who’s looking tentatively into the room. When he sees Jisoo and Taehyung, he smiles, open and wide and pretty.
Namjoon doesn’t look nearly as surprised as Jisoo and Taehyung did. He seems more resigned than anything else. “Well,” he says to Hoseok and Lalisa and Jimin, “I’d better go say hi to hyung.” He sets off at a much more sedate pace than his cousins.
Apparently, the majority of his family has the same idea, because they go up to greet the man as well. Namjoon’s mother is at the head of the pack, Hoseok can’t help but note.
“Who’s that?” Hoseok asks Lalisa and Jimin.
“That’s Seokjin hyung,” Jimin tells him. “Namjoon’s ex.”
“His ex?” Hoseok can’t help but feel like there’s probably more to the story than Jimin is letting on. This is confirmed when Lalisa and Jimin exchange a look.
“They were really serious,” Lalisa says. “Like...we thought that this would be Namjoon and Seokjin oppa’s wedding instead of Taehyung and Jimin’s, kind of serious. They were completely and totally in love. Like a fairy tale.”
“Seokjin hyung basically founded the In-Laws Club,” says Jimin. “Then one day he just stopped being a member and we found out only at the next Chuseok that he and Namjoon hyung had broken up.”
“...why did they break up?” Hoseok can’t help but ask, even though he knows that Lalisa and Jimin are the wrong people to answer this question.
“No one really knows,” Jimin tells him. “Namjoon hyung’s never told anyone.”
“It was really hard on Jisoo unnie when they broke up,” Lalisa says. “She was really sad about it, she and Seokjin oppa were really close. They’re friends again now, but it was really awkward for a while. The whole family really loved Seokjin. We really all thought that they would get married.”
“Before Seokjin hyung, everyone thought that Namjoon just wasn’t interested in dating. No one even knew that he was gay until he started dating Seokjin, but then one day Seokjin hyung came to a family dinner and all at once the whole family knew that Namjoon hyung was gay and was dating someone really seriously. It was a shock, because Jisoo and Taehyung had already come out, but Namjoon hyung hadn’t, but he did for Seokjin hyung.” Jimin and Lalisa exchange another look. “Did Namjoon hyung really not tell you any of this?”
“No,” Hoseok says, and his mouth is dry. He feels like there’s something stuck in his throat. “No, he didn’t.”
When Hoseok calls Yoongi that night, which he does after the rehersal dinner as to not seem room but during the time when everyone is milling around still talking, he doesn’t even pretend like it’s because he’s checking in on the shop. “Namjoon’s amazing, wonderful, completely lovely ex boyfriend was at the rehersal dinner tonight.” Hoseok lets it all out in a rush, feeling just the slightest bit better now that he’s exploded. It’s felt really, really weird to keep everything bottled up this entire time, and he doesn’t like it. It doesn’t feel right anymore, keeping things from Namjoon’s family. It doesn’t help that this entire situation has been the hardest to deal with thus far. For some reason, all of this feels way more personal.
“That fucking sucks? And is kind of weird that the ex was invited to a family event, but maybe they were close.”
“Apparently they were super in love,” Hoseok says, and he sounds completely bitter. Maybe he is a little bit bitter. He still doesn’t mean to sound like he is, mostly because he knows that it’s totally irrational. “Namjoon didn’t even tell me that he was coming!”
“...you know, this might be a bigger deal and slash or problem for you if you and Namjoon were actually dating. But the two of you aren’t actually dating, remember?”
Of course Hoseok remembers that. Of course he does. It’s just...well maybe, after everything that had happened earlier, he had forgotten a little bit. It had been easy to. “I know we’re not,” Hoseok says, “it’s just. It was really inconsiderate, I think. Namjoon didn’t even look surprised when he saw him, so he had to have known!”
“I think you need to talk to Namjoon about this,” Yoongi tells him. “I’m really not close enough to the situation to be able to give you any advice other than that. But this sounds like this is really, really bothering you, and there’s probably a reason for that. Just...think about that, okay?”
Hoseok takes a deep breath. Lets it out slowly. “You’re right, hyung,” Hoseok tells Yoongi. “Thanks.”
“No problem,” Yoongi says. “Just go ask Namjoon about it. Seriously. Don’t let this thing implode just because you didn’t have the courage to ask.”
Hoseok goes back into the dining room feeling not quite so much like he doesn’t fit inside of his skin anymore. Everyone is still gathered around Seokjin, and the guest that he brought with him, who Hoseok didn’t really get a chance to look at before. Now Hoseok can see clearly that he’s cute, with wide and sparkling eyes.
“Hoseok,” Namjoon says, sounding stiff, “I don’t think I got to introduce you before. This is Seokjin hyung, my ex, and his boyfriend Jeongguk.”
“Hi,” Seokjin says, smiling warmly at Hoseok. Hoseok can’t help but smile back automatically, even though he doesn’t really mean to. Seokjin just seems to have that kind of affect on people. It’s not fair. “Namjoon’s told me absolutely nothing about you.”
“You can’t blame him,” Jisoo says. “It’s not like you told him anything about Jeongguk.”
“Well-”
“This is so weird and awkward,” Taehyung announces suddenly. He’s not wrong, though Hoseok just didn’t think that he would be tackling the elephant in the room like this. “But I’m really, really glad you came, hyung. It means a lot to me that you did.”
Seokjin glances at Namjoon, who isn’t looking back at him, before turning back to Taehyung. “I’m glad I was invited,” Seokjin tells him, and it sounds honest. “I wasn’t sure I would be able to see all of you in one place again.”
“Don’t let me keep you away,” Namjoon says, his voice and face soft. He’s finally looking at Seokjin, but he doesn’t really seem all the uncomfortable anymore. “Everyone always liked you better anyway.”
“Well, that’s true,” Jisoo says with a smile, and the weird mood dies.
“Unnie!” Lalisa says, but everyone laughs.
After that, everyone seems a lot more comfortable, especially Jeongguk, who looked like he was at gunpoint the entire time they were talking before. Hoseok was right, Seokjin is completely lovely. He tells Hoseok to call him hyung and says things like “when we were in Paris” because of course he’s the kind of person that travels internationally, and has them all laughing with his stories. Even Namjoon. Jeongguk, while he doesn’t talk much, is perfectly pleasant as well. Hoseok can’t help but feel charmed, though once it hits ten and they all need to disperse the feeling goes away, some. It’s Jimin who starts yawning, and Taehyung who announces that they all need to go to bed in preparation for tomorrow, when all the finishing touches are to be done on the inn right before the wedding.
Hoseok and Namjoon don’t talk the entire way to their room. Sure, Hoseok isn’t as upset as he was, but he’s definitely not completely okay. He wishes he was, but something is still bothering him. The way that Namjoon didn’t even seem surprised to see Seokjin walking through that door, not in the way that Jisoo and Taehyung, and even Jimin and Lalisa, had been.
Once they’re in their room, and the door closed, Hoseok turns on Namjoon to ask. “Did you just bring me here because you knew that Seokjin hyung was bringing Jeongguk and you wanted to, I don’t know, upstage him or something?”
“What?” Namjoon looks genuinely shocked. “No, of course not.”
“Sorry,” Hoseok says, feeling stupid. Of course Namjoon didn’t. He’s not a shitty person. “I just...had to ask, I guess.”
“Seokjin hyung asked me a couple of days ago if it would be okay if he came to the wedding, and if he brought Jeongguk with him. I had asked you to come, and my mother had sent out that e-mail way before he called me, I promise.”
“That makes me feel better,” Hoseok admits. “Thanks.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you feel like I was using you, or anything. I really wasn’t. Seokjin and I...” Namjoon lets out a deep breath. “We’re...over. I’m really over him, and even though just saying that kind of hurts to say, it’s true.”
“Lalisa and Jimin told me some of what happened between you two,” Hoseok admits. “They just kind of assumed that you had already told me, since they think we’re dating and everything, so please don’t be mad at them.”
“I’m not. I just should have figured that it would come up, eventually.” He’s quiet for a minute, looking at Hoseok, before he finally says, “There was a time when everyone thought that Seokjin hyung would be family. I even thought that, really. I thought we were true love, and maybe we were, but. When hyung asked me to marry him, for real, I was right in the middle of building the business. We were both at different places in our lives, and I didn’t want to make him wait. So I was horrible, and selfish, and I chose my business over him. I broke up with him, and it was really, really bad and it really, really hurt to do, but we’re both better now, I think. And I know we didn’t really get to see much of them together, but he and Jeongguk seem happy, don’t they?”
“Yeah, they do.”
“Then I made the right choice, no matter how much it hurt. All I really wanted was for him to be happy.” Namjoon smiles, and it’s small and a little wobbly, but it’s real. “You didn’t think that you’d end up having to deal with all this old drama about me when you came here, did you?”
“I really thought the most that I’d get out of this were some scenic hikes and a free dinner,” Hoseok admits, and Namjoon laughs.
“I’m glad I brought you though.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. You always manage to make me feel better about things. I don’t know why, you just do. So thanks, really, for everything.”
“Don’t thank me until you get the bill for my services,” Hoseok says, winking just to make Namjoon laugh again. He does, and the warmth in Hoseok’s chest spreads all over.
By midnight Namjoon starts pacing in their room. Hoseok watches him go forward and back again a few times before he finally asks, “Namjoon, what’s wrong?”
“The shipment of flowers isn’t here yet,” he says, “It should’ve been here two hours ago, after dinner was cleared out, but it wasn’t, and they haven’t called me or Yoona noona.”
“So, what needs to happen?”
“I-” Namjoon starts, but before he can finish his phone rings. “Hello? Yes, this is he. Yes. Yes. Yes.” Something dark suddenly comes over Namjoon’s face. “Okay, yes. I understand. Thank you very much.” Namjoon hangs up, before forcing himself to take a calming breath.
“What is it?” Hoseok asks.
“So most of the flowers were returned back to Seoul, because of the charming inn magic, they couldn’t find this place and the driver decided to go back. And the flowers that are coming should be here soon, but it’s less than half.”
“That is...a lot,” Hoseok says finally. “But you can make it work, I know you can.”
“I’ll do my best,” Namjoon says, but it sounds dubious. “I’m going to go wait for the other flowers now.”
The truck full of flowers comes within the hour, Hoseok going out with Namjoon to greet it and help put the boxes into the dining hall where Taehyung and Jimin will be married. They’re cold to the touch, to help keep the flowers fresh, which Namjoon says is a good thing.
It’s only when they’re opened does Namjoon realize how bad things truly are. “They were supposed to be...” he trails off. “The flowers were supposed to be arranged already, by the flower dispensary that I ordered from, to make everything easier,” he says, looking into a box full of loose roses and gardenias and baby’s breath. Namjoon opens another box to find it full of loose green ribbons and that’s all.
“So what does it mean if they weren’t already arranged?” Hoseok asks. “What do we do with that?”
“It means that we, that I, have to make eight hundred flower arrangements by hand. Which is one hundred more than I ordered, but now that’s a good thing because it means the other flowers won’t be missed. But it’s still a bad thing because that’s eight hundred flower arrangements to make before noon tonight, and that we have to fit into the fridge.” Namjoon looks down at all the boxes in despair. “God dammit. Dammit!”
“It’s fine,” Hoseok says, trying to calm him down. “We’ll do it. It’s fine, okay. Let’s just start now. I’ll help. And I’ll call Lalisa and Jisoo, who will want to help too, okay?”
Namjoon takes a deep breath. “I’ll call them,” he says, and Hoseok is impressed by how calm his voice is when he calls Jisoo. While they wait for the girls, Namjoon teaches Hoseok how to arrange the flowers. Take a rose and a gardenia and baby’s breath and wrap the green ribbon around the stems, and pin it with a pearl headed pen. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but it’s fiddly work, and will definitely take time to do. Namjoon’s arrangements are definitely Hoseok is beyond grateful that Lalisa and Jisoo are coming.
When Jisoo and Lalisa finally come in, Taehyung and Jimin are trailing behind them.
“What are they doing here?” Namjoon asks.
“They caught us on our way here, and said they wanted to come help. What was I supposed to do, tell them no?” Jisoo asks, crossing her arms over her chest.
“Yes!”
“We don’t mind, hyung,” Taehyung says. “Really, it’s fine. You guys need help, and we’re more than willing.”
“It’s your wedding, you shouldn’t be worried about anything, least of all the fucking flowers,” Namjoon tells them. “That’s my job.”
“Look, they’re here, Namjoon. Just let them help,” Hoseok says. “It’s not like you two are leaving, are you?”
“Absolutely not,” Jimin says.
“See, there you go. Now show them all how to do this, so that we can finish these at a decent time.”
So Namjoon shows them what to do, exactly as he showed Hoseok. Taehyung picks it up quickly, even though they don’t look anything like Namjoon’s, but everyone else seems to be struggling. Hoseok is secretly glad for this, even though the finished project looks fine, technically. And that’s what counts. The illusion of things looking fine. Especially at weddings.
“Ow,” Lalisa says, after the fifth time she’s pricked her finger within the last hour. Around them there are still more loose flowers than there are the tiny arrangements that Namjoon is having them all make. Hoseok swears they multiply every time he’s not looking directly at them.
“What is it?” Jisoo looks over.
“I’m bleeding, but it’s fine,” Lalisa says, showing Jisoo her finger. Jisoo leans over and kisses the tiny pinprick, before turning to Taehyung and Jimin. “She’s bleeding for you two. Be thankful.”
“We are, don’t worry,” Taehyung says. “We’re thankful for all of you.”
“Here, Lalisa, will you go get one of the rolling trays from the kitchen so you can put the arrangements that are done into the big industrial sized fridge? That way you won’t bleed anymore and we can move the things that we have done somewhere so they don’t wilt as quickly.”
“Sure, oppa,” Lalisa says, getting up and seemingly cheerful.
Namjoon gets up and starts counting. “That’s...one hundred and thirty-six done,” he announces. “Only...six hundred and sixty-four...left to go...” his words get slower as they go on. “And it’s one am.”
“Don’t worry, hyung, we’ve got this,” Taehyung says cheerfully.
“Well, mostly,” Jimin says as he’s forced to restart the arrangement that he’s working on, causing the ribbon to appear more wrinkled than any of them would really like. “It’s going to get done, and that’s what counts.”
Jisoo shakes her head, throwing her arrangement to the floor. “I hate this,” she says, before starting up on it again.
Lalisa comes into the room and gathers up the finished arrangements and pushes them into the kitchen. Namjoon starts looking harried as he attempts to wrap flowers at a much faster pace. They still look good, but he’s clearly becoming more and more stressed as he goes on, his face turning red.
Hoseok is afraid that Namjoon is going to explode when Seokjin and Jeongguk walk into the room.
“Hi,” Seokjin says, smilingly calmly. He looks perfect, even at a quarter to two in the morning. Behind him Jeongguk blinks, clearly still sleepy. “I’m here to help. I was told I could?”
“Who called him?” Namjoon asks, looking over his cousins.
Taehyung raises both his hands innocently, but Jisoo looks Namjoon head on. “We need hands if we want to get any sleep before the actual ceremony. They have hands! That’s four hands right there.”
Namjoon presses his lips into a thin line. “We don’t need to bother the guests with this sort of thing.”
“It’s not like I asked Aunt Eunji for help! This is Seokjin oppa! He was almost family, it’s not the same thing and you know it. Just let them help.”
Namjoon glares at Jisoo. Jisoo glares back. Taehyung looks like he wants to dive in the middle of them. “Okay, hyung, you and Jeongguk can help. Thank you very much.” It sounds like it hurts him to say, but he’s gracious enough.
“I’m happy too, and Jeongguk is too, right?” Seokjin elbows Jeongguk, who straightens up and instantly looks more awake.
“Yeah, of course, happy to help.”
“See?” Jisoo says. Her voice is definitely getting harder, more annoyed. “This is going to be fine, and we’re going to be finished. You were always going to need more people than just your boyfriend to fix this kind of disaster anyway.”
Namjoon mumbles something. “What?” Jisoo asks.
“Hoseok isn’t my boyfriend,” Namjoon finally lets out. Everyone in the room stops working on flowers to stare at him. “He’s not my boyfriend so just...don’t...right now, okay?”
“Oppa,” Jisoo starts, “I-”
“I’m going to go check on the flowers in the fridge, make sure they’re okay,” Namjoon says suddenly, standing up. “I’ll be back soon.”
Everyone watches him go, before turning to Hoseok. They aren’t as accusing as Hoseok figures that they have every right to be, but it’s still not comfortable being under that much scrutiny. Even Lalisa, the most gentle among them, looks like she’s judging them. “I’m just gonna go check on him,” Hoseok says. “Yeah, so, that’s-” and then he bolts.
He does find Namjoon in the industrial size fridge. The light in the kitchen is on, but the fridge is dark, the door slightly ajar. Namjoon doesn’t even seem to notice the cold that Hoseok feels immediately, once he steps in.
“Are you okay?” Hoseok asks, knowing that it’s a stupid question. There are goosebumps running up and down Namjoon’s arm. Hoseok reaches out to rub his arm in an attempt to warm him up, but he doesn’t think that it’s working very well.
“I’m fine,” Namjoon tells him, sounding absolutely not fine. Hoseok just gives him a look that he must catch, seeing how he sighs. “I’m not fine, but it’s just. Seeing Seokjin hyung is still weird and this whole wedding thing is killing me. I wanted everything to go fine, to show my family that I’m not the only one that doesn’t have his life together, but clearly that just went out the window. You dating me, and me doing the flowers beautifully was my one shot at proving that I’m not a complete mess, and now they’re both ruined.”
“I’m sure your family doesn’t think you’re a complete mess,” Hoseok says, not really that convinced of this. “And even if they do think that, who cares? As long as they love you, what else matters? And besides, your mom is proud of you, and that’s what matters the most, right?”
“...I guess,” Namjoon sighs. “I just always feel like I have...I don’t know. Something to prove, after all these years, you know?”
“Well you don’t. As long as you’re doing well, which you are, by the way, I know your business is doing well, then you’re okay.”
Namjoon takes a deep breath. “You’re right. Sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Hoseok says. “Now we have to go back out there. You have to face your family and keep doing the flower arrangements, because no one else does them as well or as fast as you.”
“You’re right, again.” Namjoon takes another deep breath, before looking at Hoseok. “Stop being right all the time.”
“I can’t, sorry. This is just how I am.”
“And I’m sorry that I just told everyone we weren’t dating like that. I’m sure it puts you in a really awkward situation.”
“I’ve been in worse, thanks to you, trust me. This is nothing.”
Namjoon makes a face at him, before walking out of the freezer. Hoseok finally feels like it’s appropriate to laugh, glad that Namjoon’s calmed down again
When they get back out to the dining hall, it’s nice to see that everyone has been productive in their absence, and there are more completed flower arrangements. “Wow,” Namjoon says, pointing to a pile of them to the far left, “these look really great.”
“Those are Jeongguk’s,” Lalisa pipes up, “he’s really good at them, actually.”
“I’m glad you’re here, then,” Namjoon says, and everyone seems to let out an exhale at this.
Jeongguk just smiles, shy but still wide, with bunny teeth. “Thanks...hyung,” he adds, as if he’s not sure about the familiarity, but Namjoon just smiles at him. They all get to work then, with limited talking.
“You two definitely owe us an explanation at some point,” Jisoo says at one point during the night, “but for now, we just need to finish this.”
Behind her, Taehyung, Lalisa, and Jimin nod. “Don’t worry,” Namjoon says, “you’ll get one. As soon as I figure out.”
He looks at Hoseok and it’s soft and calm, and Hoseok can feel that look making feeling spread throughout his chest. They’ll figure it out.
As soon as they’re done dealing with all these fucking flowers.
Taehyung and Jimin’s wedding ends up being absolutely beautiful, in no small part to the flowers. Around three Namjoon told everyone to go to bed, and left the rest of the flowers loose to arrange artfully throughout the tables and at the pulpit in a way that made an arc over Taehyung and Jimin’s heads as they stood at the end of the aisle and held hands and pledged their lives to each other.
After the ceremony, Taehyung and Jimin come up to Namjoon, still crying, and thank him for everything before moving on to everyone else. Namjoon looks bewildered at their tears, but just as happy as everyone else for them.
At the reception, watching Taehyung and Jimin have their first dance as a married couple, Lalisa comes up to him. “You’re still a part of the In-Laws club,” she says.
“How?” Hoseok says. “Namjoon and I aren’t dating. Everyone knows that now.”
“No, but you will be, if the way you two look at each other is anything to go by.”
Before Hoseok asks what she means by that, or to explain anything at all, Jisoo wraps her arm around Lalisa’s shoulders. “I’m going to take my beautiful wife onto the dance floor,” she announces. “You should do the same to Namjoon, by the way. He’s a horrible dancer, but it’s still a wedding, after all. And maybe you two will be next.”
She whirls Lalisa away before Hoseok can say anything else. And so he does as they say, and goes to find Namjoon, who’s standing by the punch bowl. Namjoon looks surprised when he sees Hoseok standing in front of him. “Want to dance?” Hoseok asks, extending his hand. Namjoon raises his eyebrows.
“I’m pretty sure you don’t-”
“No, I do,” Hoseok says, and wraps his fingers around Namjoon’s hand when he places his in Hoseok’s. “You deserve to enjoy this, after the night you’ve had. We all do.”
And so, they do.
*
Hoseok walks into Namjoon’s flower shop, Namjoon’s caramel macchiato in his hand. Namjoon looks up when he hears the bell ring, and smiles when he sees that it’s Hoseok. It seems like Hoseok won’t ever stop being affected by that, by the easy way Namjoon’s smiles are directed at him now.
“So, this time when your mom sent out an e-mail blast that we’re dating--for real this time--I was included? I got that e-mail too? I’m not sure what that’s supposed to mean.”
“It means that you’re part of the family, and should be preparing for more e-mails like that to come your way.”
Namjoon’s mom hadn’t been entirely surprised when Namjoon had told her after the wedding that he and Hoseok weren’t actually dating. It seemed as though the entire Kim family knew they would be soon anyway, and they had all been right. Namjoon had asked Hoseok out--for coffee, at an actual coffee shop, not just delivery--two weeks later.
Hoseok leans over the counter to kiss Namjoon’s cheek. Namjoon blushes, and smiles, wide as anything. “Well,” he says, “if that’s all.”
After they finish their coffee, Hoseok tells Namjoon to get back to work, and goes back to his own shop, after telling Namjoon to come over so they can order take away and eat it together tonight. Say what you will about the fact that they’re dating now, but Hoseok is still good for business.