Work Text:
Taehyung sighs, looking over his outfit once more in the library bathroom’s mirror. Every bit’s in place, he hopes. The staff dress code’s so particular sometimes, to Taehyung’s chagrin, and his manager’s especially picky when the library’s holding as prestigious of an event as today. (His manager, Yeri, doesn’t mind too much if some hair runs away from the standard slicked-back style; she knows it’s inevitable. But she’s not as forgiving with the suit.)
Adjusting his suit jacket a little more, he goes to push open the bathroom door, only to stumble when it moves away from his hand and starts to open on its own. Ghosts? Taehyung thinks. Nope, he notes. Just a tall man-boy opening the door from the other side. A cute boy. Okay, a very cute boy in a flannel that looks as soft as his (very, very fluffy) mousy brown hair. Who’s also making the cutest look of surprise as he watches Taehyung almost trip right into his chest.
Taehyung manages to catch himself before he touches the other boy, but his dignity… is not as intact as the rest of him. He gasps when he realizes how close he’s standing to Cute Boy; he can see the freckle right below Cute Boy’s bottom lip, and kind of feel the boy’s surprised breath on his chin. They both stand there for a long moment, wide-eyed, before Taehyung squeaks and scrambles backwards, right into the cold tile wall. His cheeks warm up alarmingly quickly, sure to be staining his face a bright cherry red.
Another beat passes before Cute Boy lets out a nervous chuckle. “Sorry about that, I’ll watch where I’m going next time,” he says sheepishly.
“Uh. Yeah,” Taehyung coughs. “My bad, should’ve been more careful with that door. See you around!” He quickly breezes past Cute Boy, who gives a little confused noise as he passes.
It doesn’t occur to Taehyung until he’s at his station in the gift shop that Cute Boy was dressed much too casually to be a guest at the ongoing event, a bi-monthly charity reception commissioned by the city council. The dress code always seems to be a strict business formal, and anyone who doesn’t adhere is often met with just lots of judgement and distaste. For a charity event, the environment is remarkably uncharitable, Taehyung thinks.
Cute Boy probably got lost, right? A visitor in the city who needed so badly to use the restroom that Yeri took pity on him and let him in the building, sparing him from further spiraling into desperation. That’s a viable explanation.
Taehyung’s distracted from his thoughts by an elderly couple that enter the gift shop, and he notices that he’s the only staff stationed in the shop at the moment. So…he’ll have to deal with the couple himself. Sighing internally, he approaches them with a forced smile and a well-rehearsed “Hello, how may I help you?”
An exhausting hour goes by, filled with his firm proclamations of “No, we don’t make custom pieces, ma’am” and “you’ll have to go to the jeweler down the street to find a more violet version of that brooch, sir.” He’s halfheartedly dusting a porcelain tea set when a fluffy head of hair makes itself seen in the corner of his eye. He looks up at the gift shop’s front window, and—lo and behold—he makes eye contact with Cute Boy. Still in that oh-so-soft-looking flannel, still with the cute chin-freckle Taehyung can somehow see even from his spot at the front counter.
When Taehyung realizes that he’s staring, he lets out a strangled noise and looks back down at his tea set, his cheeks burning again. Why is that guy still here? Is he just really lost? Did he find a way through the back door? Is he even allowed to be here?!
The door jingles and oh god no it’s not Cute Boy, is it? Here to laugh at Taehyung’s almost-fall from earlier? Ack, Taehyung doesn’t think he can handle any more awkwardness today.
A quick lift of Taehyung’s head lets him know that yes, Cute Boy is indeed coming over to him. With a mischievous grin on his face. Please, don’t let him talk to me, Taehyung prays. He can’t really talk to pretty people while not embarrassing himself completely.
Whatever spirits that watch over Taehyung betray him once more, Taehyung notes bitterly. Cute Boy’s sneakers make themselves visible at the edge of the counter, and Taehyung slowly looks up to see the boy leaning his elbow on the glass display case, looking straight at Taehyung.
“Hey, there-“ Cute Boy squints at Taehyung. “-Taehyung-ssi. How’re you doing?”
“How do you know my name,” Taehyung blurts out, utterly confused. His mind isn't really functional enough to remind his mouth that he’s at work, for heck’s sake, and he needs his polite staff voice on, not his usual dumbass-with-no-filter attitude. Cute Boy just looks at him with a frown, and Taehyung starts to panic, unsure of how to continue this conversation.
“Um-“ Cute Boy gestures down at Taehyung’s shirt, at the spot that he’d been squinting at earlier. “Your…name tag? That’s your name, right? You work here?”
“Oh. I- yeah. Work. I work here.” Taehyung feels kind of stupid. And very glad that Yeri, or worse, another elderly pair, isn’t present in the gift shop at that moment, listening in on his blubbering attempt at conversation with (has he mentioned this yet?) the cutest boy he’s laid eyes on in a good while. Oh god, he has bunny teeth too. And huge doe eyes. Damn. “That’s- I forgot about that. My bad. Yep, Taehyung’s my name. And uh- can I help you with anything?”
“Yeah, definitely. How much is…that tea set up there?” Cute Boy points to a very sophisticated-looking tray of ceramics up on the highest shelf in the store. “Is it for sale?”
Taehyung checks his price list, glad to be given a task so he’s not just staring at the boy. “That one’s…wow, around 50 million won.” Taehyung briefly wonders whether the boy’s well-off enough to afford it. “It’s a pricey one.”
“Aw, man,” the boy pouts. Hold on—is it normal for Taehyung to want to squish Cute Boy’s cheeks this badly? Crap. “Can’t I get it for cheaper than that?” the boy continues. “For someone as cute as me?”
That brings a horrid blush to Taehyung’s face. Does the boy know that Taehyung thinks he’s adorable? Probably. He’s a mind-reader, Taehyung decides. There’s no other way. “Ah,” he forces out. “Nope. I’m sorry, sir,” he says awkwardly. “Our shop doesn’t work that way. You’ll have to pay full price or you won’t be able to take it home.”
“Oh.” The boy pouts even more. (How is that even possible?) “That’s disappointing. I’ll have to come back for it later, then. Can you put down a Jeon Jeongguk on a list somewhere? I’d like to place a hold on that tea set.”
“Yep, I can do that,” Taehyung says with a nervous smile, unsure of how to explain that the library doesn’t do holds on merchandise. Someone else could ask for the tea set and he’d have to hand it right over!
Ah, well. From Jeongguk’s tone of voice, it sounds like he’ll be back soon. Taehyung just hopes no one else is willing to drop 50 million on that tea set anytime soon. “Okay, I’ll just put your name down here—Jeon-Jeong-guk—and, can I have a phone number as well?”
“Wow,” Jeongguk’s lips curl into a surprised “o.” “I don’t usually have people asking for my number so soon.” A sly smile has the corners of his mouth shifting upwards again. He’s kind of a jerk, Taehyung concludes. A cute jerk, he concedes, but, wow, he’s really starting to be a pain.
“I. Uh. Yeah. I’d like it so we can contact you again,” Taehyung mutters, starting to sweat a little. (He’d for sure be fired if Yeri sees him now—nope, actually, she’d just laugh at him. But the thought still stands; there’s probably a big “NO FLIRTING WITH CUSTOMERS” note in the handbook somewhere.) “And…to make sure you come back again. To buy the tea set. Since you’re putting a hold on it and all.”
Jeongguk giggles, “Yeah, of course. I’ll see you soon.”
Jeongguk turns around to leave just as a pair of young women enter the shop. When they see Jeongguk at the counter, their eyes widen, then they look at each other and seem to make a silent agreement. They march over to Jeongguk, sickly sweet smiles plastered onto their faces.
“Jeongguk-ssi, we love your work! So ingenious, no one’s ever done it like you!” the first woman exclaims. Taehyung frowns a bit when he hears that. Jeongguk seems to be a lot more than he lets on.
“Yes, it’s absolutely amazing; we’d love to get a closer look at it!” the other woman gushes, batting her eyelashes at Jeongguk. “I bet it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience—imagine learning from one of the best minds in the field!”
Jeongguk looks increasingly uncomfortable with the ladies’ comments; he shies away and makes a quick beeline for the door. Taehyung, still back at the counter, watches the scene with concern and distaste. “Maybe some other time!” Jeongguk says. “Thanks for your appreciation, I have to go.”
The door jingles once more as Jeongguk rushes out, leaving two very giggly women for Taehyung to deal with. Taehyung forces another smile onto his face, and prepares to answer whatever complicated requests they’re sure to have.
~
Jeongguk comes in every day for the next week, always asking whether Taehyung would be interested in lowering some price for him, batting his eyelashes and pouting oh-so-preciously every once in a while. The boy definitely has a hand in making Taehyung blush for a solid half hour every day, and maybe sweating through a good third of his stuffy dress shirt too.
And still, Taehyung’s left wondering why those ladies from that first day were fawning over Jeongguk and his “work”. Jeongguk himself never gives anything away when he’s talking to Taehyung, even when Taehyung tries to pry a little. “I just want some library merch,” Jeongguk says a couple times. “And the atmosphere in here is nice, too,” he adds.
Taehyung’s been talking to his colleague Jimin about Jeongguk as well (except the part about, well, how attractive Jeongguk is). Jimin’s in the gift shop today, and Taehyung watches him rearrange the jewel-imbued bookmarks as he glances at the clock. It’s around 5’o’clock, the time Jeongguk usually shows up.
“It’s crazy, Jimin. This dude’s been coming at almost the exact same time every day, always wanting to get something for cheap. And what can I say? I just keep telling him that that’s not our policy, we can’t just lower prices on a whim.” Taehyung sighs and straightens a glass teapot on the counter. “He’s, like, borderline flirting with me sometimes, too. Why does he have to do that?”
“It sounds like this guy really has some time on his hands,” Jimin laughs, leaning closer to the shelf to examine his rows of tea. “If he’s making you uncomfortable, file a report to HR or something.”
“No, no, he’s always respectful. He’s a pretty cool dude. I’ve kind of been looking forward to him coming in every day too.” Taehyung frowns. “It’s nice to talk to him—dude knows lots about computers. I was telling him how I was thinking about getting a new laptop recently—mine dies every other time I turn it on—and he gave me this whole talk about choosing a good level of CPU power and core count or whatever.” Taehyung grins sheepishly. “I don’t remember much from it, but it was pretty fun listening to him get all excited about it.”
“Wait,” Jimin’s hands freeze on the bookmarks and he looks over at Taehyung. “So you guys have been talking -talking? Not just regular customer-cashier talking? Like friendly talking?” Jimin raises an eyebrow at him from across the shop.
“Well…yeah. I guess,” Taehyung shrugs. “Like I said, he’s a nice dude. Enjoyable presence in here every day.”
Jimin looks at him suspiciously, then gives a shrug too. “Well, do you have any idea why he wants lower prices on everything? Does he just not have the money?”
“No, I think he does,” Taehyung says. “He was here at that charity event, remember? And didn’t get kicked out for being in, like, a flannel and some ripped jeans.”
Jimin rolls his eyes playfully. “Okay, fine, maybe he has super rich parents that let him into the event, but. Maybe they aren’t giving him any allowance money so he has to flirt with some random cashiers to accommodate his expensive taste?”
“Okay…yeah, that’s plausible,” Taehyung admits grudgingly. “Kind of a stretch, though. And there were these ladies that were tittering about him when he was leaving-”
“Heh, tittering. Funny word.”
“Stop it, it’s a nice word! Describes what I mean and all.” Taehyung gives Jimin a mock-stern stare, which Jimin just laughs at again. “Anyways! Those women were so eager to get close to him or whatever. Maybe he’s famous?” Taehyung gives his chin a stroke, thinking how much of a shame it is that he doesn’t have a Santa Claus-esque beard for this very purpose.
“Please, Taehyung, don’t get your hopes up. Just search him up if you think that’s possible.”
“Alrighty, searching up it is then! Opening up Naver, entering this guy’s name-”
At that moment, the door jingles, and Taehyung shoves his phone back into his pocket, scared of being caught slacking at his station. He’s kind of relieved when he just sees Jeongguk, in cargo pants and a dark hoodie today, but starts to worry again when Jeongguk asks, “Who were you searching up, Taehyung-ssi? Must be a real interesting guy.”
“No one!” Taehyung yelps. “I mean- yeah. No one important.” His glances over Jeongguk’s shoulder at Jimin, wide-eyed, but Jimin looks like he’s just trying not to laugh. “How can I help you today?”
Jeongguk looks kind of puzzled, and minorly amused. “Okay. Well-” He reaches across the counter and picks up a canister of tea, taking care not to knock over any others. “Can I get this one?” Jeongguk places the tea in front of Taehyung and places his chin into his hands with his elbows on the counter, a sparkle in his eye. “I’ll pay for it with my supremely good looks.”
“Jeongguk-ssi, please! We don’t operate like that.” Taehyung takes a look at the tea’s price tag. “And this tea’s over a million won! How do you expect us to cope with the loss?”
Jeongguk pouts again. (Dear god, what is it with this guy and the pouts?! Taehyung’s too tired for this.) “Taehyuuuung-ssi,” Jeongguk whines, a hint of a smile on his lips. “Wouldn’t you say I’m handsome enough to pay for this?! I just want my tea…”
“I- uhm.” Taehyung panics. Man, he can feel his face growing warm again . Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Jimin leaving slowly through the front door. “Yes! I mean, no, you can’t just take the tea, Jeongguk-ssi. You’re plenty handsome, but sadly, our society doesn’t operate like that!” Taehyung sputters. What is he saying? Is there a section in the handbook for situations like this?
Jeongguk looks kind of surprised himself. “Oh! Well, you’re…pretty handsome yourself, Taehyung-ssi,” he says, tilting his head with a grin appearing on his face again.
Taehyung's surpised too, but at Jeongguk's sudden compliment instead. “Oh. Thanks. You don’t have to flatter me, just pay for the tea-”
“I mean it, come on.” Jeongguk’s pout is back, and he leans forward on the counter again. “You’re handsome. You are!” he insists.
“Oh, come on, stop pushing it so hard-”
“I’ve been coming back here every day just to talk to you!” Jeongguk exclaims, stunning Taehyung into silence. Jeongguk seems to have scared even himself with his confession; he rubs the back of his neck his neck a bit sheepishly. “I don’t care about the godddamn tea,” he mutters, embarrassed now.
“Oh,” Taehyung says dumbly. Hold on , his mind screams at him. Cute Boy thinks you’re handsome! Do something! Ask him out! Demand his hand in marriage!! Love him forever!!! Nope, definitely not those last two quite yet. He’s only just met the poor guy a week ago, for heck’s sake. But before he can do anything, Jeongguk starts to speak again.
“Sorry! That was kinda…forward.” Jeongguk laughs a little bit, scrunches up his nose. “You’re just a really beautiful dude and I’d really like to take you out on a date but I realize that I didn’t make that clear in the best way,” he rambles. “I- um-”
“No, it’s okay,” Taehyung cuts in. “I. Think you’re kinda cute too? Very cute, maybe?” He looks down, kind of scared of Jeongguk’s reaction. “And. I’d. Say yes if you asked me on a date? Maybe?”
Turns out Taehyung doesn’t really have anything to be afraid of, as Jeongguk’s face lights up when Taehyung looks back up at him again. Jeongguk starts, “Really? I mean, like.” He makes a few nonsensical gestures, pointing at Taehyung then back at himself. “Will you go on a date with me, Taehyung-ssi?”
“Yeah, actually,” Taehyung says, hopeful. “That would be great.” He sees a gentle grin growing on Jeongguk’s face, and he finds himself mirroring it on his own face. They stay like that for a moment, then both start to giggle when they realize how long the silence is stretching.
Jeongguk’s opening his mouth to say something when the door jingles yet again. Taehyung sighs in impatience, but he looks over and realizes it’s just Jimin. Jeongguk whips his head around to look at Jimin, too, a bit confused at his sudden entrance.
Jimin, realizing that the two other men are staring at him, widens his eyes and asks, puzzled, “Sorry, were you in the middle of something?”
Taehyung groans while Jeongguk laughs, his eyes crinkling up at the edges. Taehyung snaps his attention back to Jimin as he gives a little “Hey, what’s going on? Really!”
Jeongguk looks back at Taehyung, his hair bouncing a little from the movement. “I have to go soon, Taehyung-ssi-”
“Wait! I’ll-” Taehyung grabs a little stack of Post-It notes from the register and jots down his number, ripping off the top sheet. He reaches across the counter to stick it onto Jeongguk’s chest, and pats it a couple times to make sure it sticks. “That’s my number! And I, well, have yours,” Taehyung gestures to his notebook, where Jeongguk’s name and number are on an impromptu “holds” list. “Text me! Or, I’ll text you!”
Jeongguk looks down at the Post-It note with intrigue. “Alright! See you soon, Taehyung-ssi. Look forward to talking more with you!” He gives a little wave to Taehyung, grin wide as the Han River. He turns and practically skips out of the store, passing a still-confused Jimin on his way. The door closes behind him with a final jingle.
Jimin seems to take Jeongguk’s exit as a go-ahead for him to start grilling Taehyung. “What was that?!” Jimin demands. “That looked very suspiciously romantic.” His eyes start to narrow as he marches up to the counter.
“He, well. May or may not have asked me out on a date,” Taehyung laughs giddily, realizing that that really happened.
“Taehyung,” Jimin says seriously. Taehyung can’t tell if he’s joking or not. “That’s against what the staff handbook says.”
“Jimin! I know you don’t care that much about that stupid handbook. What? Stop giving me that stink-eye! Why are you hitting me?!”
~
That evening, Taehyung’s at home watching an old rom-com when his phone buzzes with a new message. When he looks over at it, his heart skips a beat when he realizes it’s Jeongguk.
xxxxx
hi
taehyung-ssi?
this is jeongguk!! ^w^
Wow, cute emojis already. Jeongguk’s really getting cuter by the second, Taehyung thinks with a groan.
me
hi!!!
pls drop the -ssi T.T just taehyung is fine!!
unless you want to call me hyung :3 i’m older than you right??
jeongguk ♥.♥
i can call you hyung!! (i’m turning 20 in a few months :~D)
me
i’m 21! just a little bit older hehe
jeongguk ♥.♥
okay, hyung it is! :3
They text back and forth a little more, and manage to schedule an afternoon date at a cute dessert cafe down the street from the library. Taehyung’s surprised that he’s genuinely looking forward to this date, to seeing a practical stranger again. Jeongguk’s really very nice to be around.
Before they both check out for the night, Taehyung remembers one more thing he wants to ask, and hurriedly types it out before he forgets.
me
wait, what exactly do you do? like, what’s your job?
~
jimin (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
wait, jeongguk works where???
me
a tech startup ?
what’s so shocking about that
jimin (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
intelligence is attractive
me
hey EYE have a date w him in like ten mins, back off
jimin (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧
ok b tell me if it doesn’t work out :3
me
go AWAY thirsty demon boy
Taehyung gives a little laugh as he fidgets in a booth in the cafe. He’d come early, of course. He doesn’t want to risk leaving Jeongguk hanging at all. But he only finds himself growing more and more nervous as their scheduled time approaches, and the minutes seems to pass slower and slower and slower.
The forming ball of anxiety inside his chest relaxes as Jeongguk pushes open the cafe door, right on time. Taehyung waves at him, a kind of timid little movement, and Jeongguk breaks out into a grin when he sees him at the booth. He comes over and slides into the bench across from him. “Hello! Taehyung-hyung? Tae-hyung? Tae-”
“Ack, please, just Taehyung is fine,” Taehyung laughs. "Nice to see you, Jeongguk!”
They order some food; Taehyung a cute wobbling stack of mango souffle pancakes, and Jeongguk a mini blueberry cheesecake. Jeongguk shakes Taehyung’s plate violently when his pancakes arrive, intent on seeing just how jiggly the little cakes can be. Taehyung nabs a corner of Jeongguk’s cheesecake while he’s transfixed with the pancakes, and he doesn’t think Jeongguk notices at all.
The whole time, Taehyung doesn’t feel an inkling of awkwardness, which is also surprising to him. He finds that they have a really nice kind of chemistry where the conversation never slows down, where they tease each other just enough to have a laugh but not too much to hurt each other’s feelings.
“Are we dating?” Taehyung wonders outloud, after a little more than half an hour. “Does this mean we’re officially going out? Bestest partners?”
Jeongguk pokes at the remains of his cake crust. “I’d like to be officially dating. That sounds nice,” he giggles. “I’d love to do this again sometime.” He looks up at Taehyung hopefully.
“Wow, me too.” Taehyung smiles warmly, relieved that Jeongguk feels the same way. “This was really fun! Got to enjoy this cute-ass dessert shop.” He winks. “With one cute-ass boy.”
Jeongguk laughs, bunny teeth showing up to accompany the joy on his face. “You’re not so bad yourself, Taehyung- ssi .”
“Don’t call me that,” Taehyung groans. “Or I’ll go back to Jeongguk-ssi. You want that, Jeongguk-ssi? Huh? Jeongguk-ssi?”
“Nope,” he says, popping the ‘p’. “Think I’ve gotta go soon, Taehyung! We’ll do this again sometime soon?”
“Yeah, definitely! I’ll text you.” Taehyung waves his phone a little bit. “Don’t wanna slack on your work, Mr. Tech Startup Guy. Go ask your boss for more stock shares in case you make it big.”
“Wait.” Jeongguk blinks at him. “I didn’t tell you?”
Taehyung looks back at him, puzzled. “Tell me what?”
“I don’t have a boss,” Jeongguk says slowly. “I don’t just work at a tech startup.” Taehyung frowns a bit, thoroughly confused. Jeongguk says simply, “I’m the CEO.”
And all Taehyung can do is blink right back at him.
(“How did you ‘forget’ to say that you’re in charge of the whole damn company?!”
“It slipped my mind! I just thought maybe you knew already so I didn’t mention it.”
“...okay. Be my sugar daddy.”
“I’m gonna cancel our next date…"
“Wait! I was kidding!”)