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Hoseok had been looking for a good place to buy some new candles for a while now. It wasn’t that he was picky; it was just that he didn’t have a whole lot of free time, and he needed a place he could go to quickly, that wasn’t too far from where he lived.
Which is what brought him to where he was at that moment.
In front of him was a quaint little shop, a tiny thing tucked in between a thrift store and a perfumery. Plants hung down from the windows, matching the vines covering the front of the apartment it was located under. Inside the store, Hoseok could see dark wooden shelves covered in books, vials and small plants, and a small brown tabby cat, sleeping on top of a pillow that was just big enough for it.
Pulling the door open, the tinkling of a bell accompanying the movement, Hoseok was immediately met with the smell of old books lingering in the air. At that time of day, there weren’t a lot of people in the store. There were two girls in the corner, one of them holding a book up for them to read, and someone Hoseok assumed to be the shopkeeper dusting the shelves behind the small counter.
At the sound of the bell, the shopkeeper turned around, greeting Hoseok with a warm smile. “Hi, welcome. Is there anything I can help you with?”
Hoseok blinked once, twice, before the words registered in his mind. “Oh, yeah. Um. I’m looking for some bamboo candles.”
“Bamboo?” the shopkeeper repeated, raising his eyebrows. “That’s an unusual request.”
Feeling a little sheepish, Hoseok just shrugged. “I need them for, uh, a project.”
“Well, no one usually buys them, so we have a whole bunch,” the shopkeeper assured him, stepping out from around the counter and gesturing for Hoseok to follow him.
He led them near the back of the shop, opposite where the two girls were standing, and gestured to a display of candles. “Bamboo should be at the back of this shelf…” he explained as he reached behind the various colours of candles before picking one up. It wasn’t tall but it was wide, in a thick glass jar. “This is the only kind we have, unfortunately. I hope that’s alright.”
Hoseok nodded, gaze moving from the candle to the shopkeeper, who still had a small smile on his face. From what he could tell, the other man had dimples, but they weren’t on display, not just yet. “This works perfectly. Thank you.” He took the candle from him, surprised at how heavy it was, making the shopkeeper chuckle.
“Be careful, it’s heavier than it looks.”
“I see that now,” Hoseok laughed along.
“Do you need anything else?”
He shook his head. “No, just this for today.”
“Alright, I can ring you up now if you’d like, or you can look around some more.”
Hoseok peered around the store, interested but knowing it wasn’t the time. “Could you ring me up? I’m on a bit of a tight schedule.”
“Of course!”
He followed the man back up to the front counter, taking in everything he could, but when they got to the register, Hoseok couldn’t look away from him. He was enthralled already, and couldn’t help but be enthusiastic as he wished the man a good day and insisted that he’d be back.
It was only once that he was down the street that he realised he hadn’t gotten his name.
Hoseok didn’t want to come across as eager or creepy, so he waited a week and a half before he decided to go back. This time, he had a proper list of things he needed to get and a wider window of time.
This time, when he entered the store, the shopkeeper was not alone. He was talking to a shorter man clad in a big hoodie despite the warmth of the shop and black hair flopping into his eyes. The two of them looked over at the source of the noise and the shopkeeper smiled again, wider than an average ‘customer service’ smile. “Hey there, you actually came back.”
“Of course I did. I said I would, didn’t I?” Hoseok shrugged, rivalling the smile and trying to ward off the butterflies.
His smile widened, giving Hoseok a full view of deep dimples running along either one of his cheeks. “Well, is there anything I can help you with? More bamboo candles?”
Hoseok laughed, shook his head. “Not this time. I’m going to look around a bit, if that’s okay?”
“Of course!” the man nodded. “Take your time.”
With a nod, Hoseok turned away from the man, giving him a chance to return to his conversation and giving himself the opportunity to lower his heart rate before he died.
This time, when he peered around the store, he took into account every detail. The cat from the other day was still there, except this time it was standing at the very top of set of wooden shelves, peering down at the store as though it was supervising. Hoseok had a fleeting feeling that it was.
Hoseok made his way to the back again, reading the names on the spines of the books. Some he recognised, others were completely new to him. He immediately thought of Kihyun, his friend who loved to read all these witchcraft books and potion manuals even though he didn’t have any abilities himself. Hoseok had tried to teach him, but some people just didn’t have the gift, and that was okay too.
Despite this, he picked up a book he thought Kihyun would enjoy - something about the history of witchcraft in their city - and tucked it under his arm as he went about the store. He looked at all the vials, in varying shapes and sizes, but what he was really here for were the plants. He needed another tomato plant - his was not doing well, no matter what he did - and some more pots for his herbs that were growing out of control. He really needed to tweak his spells.
Making his way slowly to the plants by the window, he noticed another cat, almost identical to the first one, pawing at a toy hanging from one of the shelves. With a smile, Hoseok crouched down in front of it and when he reached his hand out, the cat’s head perked up and slowly, it approached Hoseok. It bumped its head against Hoseok’s hand gently and Hoseok moved his hands to scratch the back of its ears.
“I see she likes you,” said a voice somewhere above Hoseok and he looked up to see the shopkeeper, who then also crouched down beside him. “She usually takes a while to warm up to people.”
“Well, I have a few cats, maybe that’s it.” Hoseok shrugged, laughing slightly when the cat curled herself around his back, circling him.
The shopkeeper shook his head. “Nah. I think she likes you. You must be quite special.”
Hoseok’s eyes widened and he stumbled over his words as he thanked the other man, who just shook his head and stuck a hand out for Hoseok to shake.
“I’m Jooheon,” he said.
Hoseok looked at the hand for a second before shifting the book around and freeing up a hand so he could shake it. “I’m Hoseok.”
“Nice to meet you.” Jooheon smiled and Hoseok swore up and down that he had a butterfly infestation in his gut at this point.
The two of them looked away from each other when the cat started meowing, sitting down and looking up at Hoseok.
“I think she wants you to carry her,” Jooheon said with a laugh. “What an attention seeker.”
“I love her already.” Hoseok’s smile was so wide as he picked up the cat and stood up, he felt like his cheeks were burning. “What’s her name?”
“Gucci.”
Hoseok blinked, but when Jooheon’s expression didn’t change, he burst out laughing. “That’s amazing.”
“Thank you.” Jooheon joined in on the laughter. “Yoshi’s up there. He likes watching over the store.”
Hoseok followed Jooheon’s finger to see the cat from earlier, still perched on the shelf. “Not a guard dog, but a guard cat.”
Jooheon laughed again. “I guess so.”
Someone cleared their throat from behind the two, and Hoseok turned around to see the man in the hoodie from earlier, looking at Jooheon with raised eyebrows. “So, should I just go set up?” he asked, an amused lilt to his voice.
“Just go, Changkyun,” Jooheon groaned, but Hoseok could tell there was no bite to his words. “You’re a big boy, you know what to do.”
“Sir yes sir,” he joked, shooting Hoseok a smile - did everyone here have dimples? - before turning around and disappearing through a doorway he hadn’t even noticed.
“So,” Jooheon said, turning back to Hoseok. “Is there anything I can help you with?”
“I’m just looking for some plant pots.” Hoseok shrugged. He was still patting the cat who looked so tiny within his muscled arms. “And a tomato plant.”
“I don’t know if I have any tomato plants right now,” Jooheon apologised. He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck as he tried to think. “I could put in an order for one, though. Unless you need it urgently, then there’s a greenhouse I know that I really recommend. It’s a 15 minute subway ride away, though.”
“That’s okay, I don’t need it that bad,” Hoseok reassured him. “If you’re willing to put in an order, I’m willing to wait.”
Jooheon smiled and was about to open his mouth to answer when someone - Hoseok assumed it was Changkyun - yelled “Honey!” from the back room. He drew out the last syllable, making Hoseok laugh while his heart felt like it was dropping.
“Don’t let me keep you from your boyfriend,” Hoseok laughed again, trying to not give away the disappointment he was feeling. Not wanting to see Jooheon’s expression, he shifted his gaze away from the smiling man to the cat that had fallen asleep in his arms.
Surprisingly, though, when he looked up, Jooheon was shaking his head, his eyes wide. “No, he’s just my bro. Honey is my nickname.”
“Quite a deceitful nickname,” he answered.
“Well, when you’re single you gotta find someone to call you cute nicknames, right?” Jooheon joked, a shrug accompanying his words.
Hoseok ignored the way his stomach flipped upon learning that Jooheon was single. “I… Guess so?” He internally shuddered at the thought of Kihyun calling him honey. “Either way, don’t you have to go?”
“No, he’ll figure out whatever he needs. Let’s get you those pots.”
“Hold on.” Hoseok spotted the pillow in the bookshelf and walked over to it before placing the sleeping cat gently onto it. She stirred a little but didn’t wake up, and Hoseok scratched the top of her head before turning back to Jooheon. “Okay, I’m good.”
“You can come back and see her any time, you know,” Jooheon told him as he picked up a pot. “This size good?”
“Thanks,” Hoseok laughed. He took the pot from Jooheon and examined it before nodding. “Perfect. I’ll get two of these, and maybe one slightly smaller.”
They quickly sorted out what Hoseok was looking for, and while Jooheon was ringing him up, Hoseok couldn’t help but stare at the cat who had woken up and was watching him lazily.
“She really loves you,” Jooheon commented when he noticed.
“Maybe I should come back tomorrow.”
“I wouldn’t be against it.”
Hoseok raised his eyebrows, meeting Jooheon’s gaze. When he realised Jooheon wasn’t going to elaborate or cover up his words, he smirked. “Is that so?”
“Mhm.” Jooheon shrugged. “A friend of Gucci’s is a friend of mine.”
“So does that mean I can call you Honey, too?”
Jooheon’s eyes widened for a second, and Hoseok was about to backtrack when he burst out laughing. “I wouldn’t be against that, either.”