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Black Friday shopping was an annual tradition for you and your best friend. However, a few months ago, your best friend had moved across the country. You’d have to do your Black Friday shopping on your own this year. That thought alone had you cringing. Tackling Black Friday shopping with a second person always made things a bit easier. You could divide and conquer when it came to items at opposite ends of the store. It also helped to have someone else to keep you motivated and to keep from getting frustrated at the sheer amount of people standing between you and this year’s “must have” items.
As you stood in line, alone, waiting for the doors of your local Target to open, you glanced at your phone. You had just over three minutes and people were already starting to shove towards the door. The line began to move like the waves of the ocean, pushing forward, then back. The sheer force of it making your stomach turn, a sense of sea-sickness washing over you. As the line pushed and pulled, the woman behind you lurched forward, knocking you down. On the way to the ground, your hands stretched forward, hoping to grab anything to prevent you from face-planting on the concrete. Just as your knees crashed to the ground, your fingers tightened around the muscular thigh of a man in front of you. You let out a cry of pain from the fall, and the man in front of you yelped in confusion as he felt strange hands wrap around his upper thigh. The man in front of you turned to see who was clutching him as the woman behind you leaned forward to help you up.
“I’m so sorry! The line pushed forward and I lost my footing. Are you hurt, Dear?” The woman apologized as you began to stand up.
“I’m okay. It happens.” You said with a grimace.
Your brand new leggings were torn at the knee, but it didn’t look like you were bleeding. That’s when you noticed the man in front of you, still watching you. He had a look of mild fear and pity. You studied his face for a second. He had bright red hair, dark eyes and the loveliest pair of lips you’d ever seen on a man. They were currently turned down cutely in a pout. That’s when you realized you were staring.
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to grab ahold of you like that.” You apologized, looking anywhere but those lips.
His eyes softened, the pout replaced with a look of concern.
“Are you sure you’re okay? You took quit a fall there. Let me look.” He bent down, brushing away the small pebbles that were imbedded in your knee.
Your heart leapt as his cold fingers grazed your skin. His face turned up, studying you for signs of pain. You were feeling several things at once, but none of them was pain. Just as you were going to respond, you heard everyone in line begin counting down from ten. The man noticed as well, standing up with a blinding smile and resuming his place in line. As the doors opened, the line shot forward. You rushed through the doors and into pure chaos. You fought your way to the shopping carts, pulling one and rushing towards the electronics section.
You whipped around the corner of the aisle, nearly taking out a display of just released dvds. Your eyes made quick work of scanning the aisle, looking for the video games. You came to the section you needed, noticing that the Overwatch games were nearly gone. There was just one left. Just as your hand reached forward to grab it, you saw another hand reach for it. You lurched towards the game, praying to get it before the other person. Your fingers found their destination, closing around the very edge of the game box. However, before you could fully secure it, the game was pulled from your grasp. Your head spun to see the person who had taken the game from you. It was none other than the good-looking man you had met in line.
“Sorry, but one of my friends is dying for this game.” He said, sunshine smile hitting you like a ton of bricks.
“No. You don’t understand. My teenage nephew said this is the only thing he wants this year. I’m the cool aunt. I can not show up without this game. He’ll be heartbroken.” You countered.
“Looks like you’ll be making a trip to GameStop later.” He said, tossing the game into his basket and walking away.
“This isn’t over!” You hollered at his back.
He tossed his hand in the air with a casual wave as he turned the corner.
The rest of your Target trip went somewhat smoothly. Your knee was still hurting a bit, but you pushed through the pain to get the items on your list. You got a few toys for your younger nieces and nephews, slippers and a couple of t-shirts for your dad and a DVD for the White Elephant exchange at work. You exited the store, placing your bags safely in the trunk of your car before heading towards the Pandora store next door.
You walked in, heading straight to the counter for help. As the clerk began to explain the different charms to you, a man walked up to the counter, looking at the case next to you. The saleswoman behind the counter pulled out a charm for you to have a closer look when the man next to you let out a loud chirp of excitement.
“That one! That’s the charm I’ve been looking for!” He yelled triumphantly.
You turned to look at the man, shocked to see the bright red hair and dark, mischievous eyes of the man from before. He turned to you, eyes going wide in realization. Just before you could speak, the clerk interjected.
“Unfortunately, sir, this is the only one we have left in stock. It’s been a big seller today, since it’s limited edition. This woman was inquiring about it first, so it will go to her if she chooses to purchase it.” She said, an uncomfortable look on her face.
You broke into a wide grin. It’s true you had been looking at the charm, but upon further inspection, you didn’t think it was the one your mom wanted this year. However, the man in front of you didn’t need to know that.
“It’s quit pretty, don’t you think?” You spoke to the clerk.
“It’s lovely. You said it would be a gift for your mother?” She replied.
“Yes. She just loves these things. It’s too bad this is the last one.” You breathed out, eyes knowingly watching the man next to you.
“But….my mom has been texting me pictures of this exact charm for months! I always buy her charms for Christmas. She has her own bracelet just of charms I’ve bought her. It’s like, our thing.” He said, dejectedly.
“If you’d like, I can call the other local stores and see if any of them have this charm still available. Like I said, it’s limited edition, so most stores only got a few. But I can check for you.” She offered.
“Could you? If they do, can they put it in the back so it doesn’t get sold before I get there?” He asked hopefully.
“I’ll ask. Please excuse me for one second.” She said, walking towards the back room.
“So, your mom only wants that one, huh?” You smirked at the man.
“How did this happen?” He questioned, looking towards the ceiling for an answer.
“Karma, probably.” You replied.
“Unfortunately, sir, the other local stores are sold out of this particular charm. Would you be interested in looking at any others?” The clerk returned with a forlorn look on her face.
“You can’t be serious.” He said.
“Looks like you’re in a predicament.” You sing-songed.
“What will it take for you to let me have the charm?” He asked, desperate.
“Overwatch.” You replied coolly.
The man looked pained. You gave him a few seconds to make his decision.
“Deal. It’s in my car.” His shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Great. I’ll take the blue charm in this case over here and he can have the limited edition charm.” You told the clerk.
She nodded in relief and began ringing up your purchase. As you finished, you waited patiently on the man to pay for his item. You followed him to his car and he dug through his bags to find the game. He handed it over and you opened your wallet, pulling at several bills to cover the cost.
“Thanks.” You said, eyeing him expectantly.
“Hoseok…My name is Hoseok. And I sincerely hope I don’t see you in any other stores today.” He laughed, before turning and walking back towards the open-air shopping center.
You quickly ran to your car, putting the latest purchase and the game into the trunk of your car. Heading towards the Victoria’s Secret store, you glanced around wondering if you’d see Hoseok in the lingerie store. You weren’t sure why, but the thought of him buying someone else something from Victoria’s Secret made your stomach turn.
After purchasing a gift card for your best friend and a new bra and perfume for yourself, you exited the store and walked towards your car once again. Just as you unlocked the trunk, you heard a familiar voice behind you.
“Tell me you aren’t getting lingerie for your mother.” Hoseok said with a chuckle.
“I was getting a gift card for my best friend, for your information.” You replied, tossing the bag inside the trunk and shutting the lid.
“That wasn’t the gift card bag. That was the lingerie bag.” He smirked.
“I got a gift card for my friend and then saw something I wanted for myself. I’m just glad I didn’t have to negotiate with you for the last one.” You countered.
“There wouldn’t have been a negotiation, I would have just bought it for you myself.” Hoseok replied more to himself than you.
The second the words left his mouth, his face contorted into a look of pure terror.
“I did not mean to say that out loud!” He panicked.
You couldn’t help but laugh at how cute he was when he panicked. It was good to know that the attraction was mutual.
“So, is there a reason you were waiting for me in the parking lot?” You asked, hoping to fluster him more.
“I wasn’t waiting for you. I’m not a creeper. I just happened to see you and I had an idea.” He responded.
“An idea that involved Victoria Secret?” You countered.
“Oh my God. I’m never going to live that comment down, am I?” He sighed.
“Probably not. So, what was your idea?”
“Well, it seems that both of us are shopping alone. And we keep running into each other. So, I was thinking, what if we finish shopping as a team? It’s so much easier when you have a second person. We could look at each other’s lists and divide it up by where it is in the store. What do you say?” He looked at you, hopeful.
“Actually, that sounds like a great idea! Black Friday shopping alone sucks. This is exhausting!” You replied.
“Great! So, I need to head to Bass Pro. My best friend, Namjoon, has been reading “Into the Wild.” He’s got it in his head that he wants to go to the wilderness and find himself or something. I’m going to get him a sleeping bag, so he doesn’t freeze to death the first night.” Hoseok said, leading you towards the sporting goods store.
“Has he had wilderness or survival training before?” You cautioned.
“Nope.” Hoseok said gravely.
“Tell me he’s not going to Alaska.” Your eyes were wide in fear.
“I squashed that idea immediately. He’s going to start out with the camp grounds 15 minutes from our apartment. He’ll literally be sleeping about thirty feet from a bunch of other people. So, hopefully he’ll be fine.” Hoseok laughed.
“Well, I’m glad you needed to come here, I have to get my little brother this fancy water bottle that all the hikers rave about. He’s big into nature and all that. Actually, maybe I should pass his info on to your friend. He could probably help him survive camping.” You replied, thoughtfully.
“That would be great!” Hoseok said as you entered the store.
After the sporting goods store, you and Hoseok headed to the toy store. Hoseok had mentioned his friends wanted to start having a weekly board game night and you wanted to pick up a few toys to donate to a local charity that helps needy families.
To say the toy store was a mess would be an understatement. The place looked like a nuclear bomb had gone off in the store. It was complete bedlam. Parents were arguing with other parents over who saw the toy first, children were climbing on displays, couples were fighting over which toy to get their kids, the staff of mostly teens and young adults were doing their best to control the situation.
Hoseok swiftly guided you to the doll section so you could pick out a few baby dolls to purchase. As you looked at the dolls, comparing outfits and accessories, a woman pushed in front of you to look at the dolls. She didn’t acknowledge that she had cut in front of you. No apologies, no “excuse me.” Nothing. What’s worse, she was just standing there in front of you as though you didn’t exist. It was one thing to jump in and grab something off the shelf and be on her way. It was another to directly block someone else from shopping while she texted someone.
“Excuse me? Ma’am?” Hoseok offered politely.
The woman glanced up after a second, only then realizing she was being addressed.
“What?!” She snapped.
Hoseok’s nose flared and you could see the veins in his temple straining to stay below the surface. In all your interactions with him, he had remained calm, almost playful. He had been polite as other shoppers had bumped into him or got in his way. But it occurred to you that his patience could only last so long before something got to him. It seemed that now was the moment.
“My wife was looking at these dolls and you came up and stood in front of her to text.” Hoseok said, his face turning red in his annoyance.
“And?” She deadpanned.
“And?! And?! You are currently blocking my wife from shopping. If you want to text, find a different place to do it!” Hoseok all but yelled.
“I can’t find another place to text. I need to know which of these dolls my daughter wants. So, maybe you should take your wife to a different aisle before I get annoyed.” She said before turning back to her phone.
“Hoseok, it’s alright. I can come back later-“You started.
“It is not alright! We were here first and she’s being rude!” Hoseok was barely keeping it together at this point.
“I’ll just get this one.” You said, reaching forward to pick a doll from the shelf.
“NO! That’s the one my daughter wants!” The woman snatched the doll from your hands and tossed it into her basket.
You jerked your hand back as though you’d been burned. Seeing you look upset, Hoseok snapped. Before you knew what was happening, Hoseok had reached into the woman’s basket and pulled the doll out. He handed you the doll before wrapping an arm protectively around your shoulders.
“Hey! You can’t just take that out of my basket!” The woman yelled as she leaned forward trying to grab the doll back from your hands.
You clung tightly to the doll as Hoseok stepped in front of you and spoke.
“Touch the doll or my wife and I will have you arrested for assault.” Hoseok said, deadly calm.
The woman’s eyes widened in shock, but she backed away from you. Without another word, she stormed off. You could immediately feel the tension leave Hoseok’s body. He turned to you, smile bright as he spoke.
“Were there any other dolls you wanted to get?” He asked softly.
“Hoseok, um…What just happened?” You asked, clinging the doll to your chest.
“Two things: First, I am getting hangry. We may need to stop and get some lunch after this. Two, no one disrespects the women in my life. There are three women in my life that I would do anything to protect: My mother, my sister and my wife.” Hoseok said like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“Hoseok, I’m not your wife. We met four hours ago.” You deadpanned.
“I know that. And you know that. But she didn’t know that.” Hoseok said, wicked grin on his face.
“Come on. Let’s get your board games!” You said, laughing and pulling him towards the game section.
An hour later, you and Hoseok exited the store. You had purchased a baby doll, a toy truck and a couple of Lego sets. Hoseok had purchased six different board games. By the time you were done at the toy store, Hoseok was beyond hungry. You had actually begun to bicker like an old married company. It wasn’t until you snapped at Hoseok when he asked which Monopoly game was more fun to play, that you realized you might be getting a bit hungry as well. With all the items crossed off both of your lists, it would have been easy to go your separate ways, never to see one another again. But faced with the thought of Hoseok walking out of your life, you knew you had to do something.
“Well, it’s been…interesting spending the day with you. Have a good life.” Hoseok said, turning to walk away.
“Wait!” You all but barked out.
Before you could figure out a plan of how to get Hoseok to stay in your life, he turned to you, grin on his face.
“I’m just kidding. You’re stuck with me now. Let’s grab some lunch and maybe after that we can have a present-wrapping party together.” Hoseok said, pulling you towards his car.
By the time Christmas Eve rolled around, you and Hoseok were dating exclusively. As you sat, curled up on Hoseok’s lap in his apartment, he handed you a small gift to open.
“Hoseok! You didn’t need to get me anything!” You said, tearing into the wrapping paper like a hyena tearing into a dead carcass.
“Yeah yeah yeah. We both knew I was going to get you something. It’s our first Christmas together!” Hoseok said, watching you open the gift.
The cardboard box was taped shut with no clues as to what it contained. Hoseok had hand written a note on the outside of the box.
To my fake wife on our first Christmas together!
Love Hoseok!
You tore into the box to find a small baby doll, the same one you had purchased for the children’s charity. Below the doll was a gift card to Victoria’s Secret. The inside of the card held a set of plain couple rings as well as instructions.
“You get the gift card, but I get to pick out what you use it on! Ha ha!” You read out loud.
“Really, Hoseok?” You said, laughing.
“Um. Yes. I can’t have you spending that on perfume or pajamas, unless they’re the sexy kind!” Hoseok laughed again as he put on his couple ring and motioned for you to do the same.
“Fine. I guess it’s time for your gift!” You said, unfurling yourself from his lap and crawling under the Christmas tree to retrieve his gift.
You pulled out a small box and handed it to him. He looked at the tag and read it out loud.
To the best fake husband I’ve ever had!
Xoxoxo
He gave you a happy grin before tearing into the box. Inside, you had neatly organized a travel sized Monopoly game, a framed picture of the two of you sharing a Starbucks coffee and a gift card to Victoria’s Secret.
“It’s scary how much we think alike.” Hoseok said, leaning in to place a soft kiss on your lips.
“It really is.” You said, kissing him back