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“This was your idea, let me remind you,” Hoseok said, leaning against the wall as Seokjin was currently using mouthwash after his shift.
Seokjin swished the mouthwash all around his mouth before spitting it out. “Yes, but I did not expect a full makeout session with a guy who doesn’t know how to clean his mouth,” Seokjin pointed out. “And he’s a creep! He only made out with me because of all the girls in line and he wanted to ‘indirectly make out with them plus more to come.’ Who does that?! I’m utterly disgusted, physically and mentally.”
Hoseok chuckled. “But on the bright side, the kissing booth is a success. At least you’re not at the clown booth. Poor guy has no one giving him the time of day.”
Seokjin raised a brow. “We have a clown booth?”
“No, but it might as well be. There’s a lemonade stand near the back of the carnival, but no one cares for lemonade. Who drinks lemonade when we have other things, like alcohol and boba?”
“Lemonade isn’t that bad though.”
“Again, when we have other and better things, yes it is.”
Seokjin hummed. “Wait, why is he at the back of the carnival instead of being with the rest of the food booths?”
Hoseok shrugged. “Beats me.” He glanced down at his watch. “Well, I have to get going. I’ll see you later.”
“Have fun dancing on stage.”
Hoseok chuckled. “Thanks. You have fun making out with old men.”
Seokjin rolled his eyes and smacked Hoseok, who laughed before rushing out of the restroom. Seokjin finished cleaning himself up before pocketing his little mouthwash into his jacket.
Seokjin had to refrain himself from screaming. He calmly said to himself, “Do it for the koalas. Do it for the koalas.” He then washed his hands and exited the restroom as well.
Thankfully, he was on his break and his friend, Taehyung, was currently at the kissing booth. The line was long when Seokjin was hosting it, but once the line was completely empty (miraculously), Taehyung took over and then more people (arguably more than when Seokjin was taking over) lined up.
As much as Seokjin didn’t like doing this kissing booth thing (despite it being, in fact, his idea), the booth was pretty successful. And they were doing this for charity reasons, so it was a plus. They already raised so much money within the first hour.
However, kissing so much and so many people, it was all exhausting for Seokjin. He really needed a break, and he was grateful that he was at least not the only one running the booth.
He decided to walk around the carnival during his break. He had a lot of time to kill. He and Taehyung were the only ones running the booth. (There was a third guy, but he flaked on them last minute. Seokjin knew now that he couldn’t trust that Jungkook guy.) He hadn’t eaten in a while, so he decided maybe he could check out the food booths.
Speaking of food booths, he wanted to visit this lemonade stand that Hoseok was talking about. He wasn’t going to get anything because he just cleaned his mouth, but he could at least visit to say hello, if the booth was basically a desert as Hoseok said.
Seokjin began his journey to visit this lemonade booth that was located somewhere in the back of the carnival. It was sad that the guy was put in the back—that was where all the mobile toilets were. It must stink to be there—literally.
As Seokjin made his way to the back, his eyes caught sight of a guy holding lemons and juggling them while people passed him by.
Seokjin tilted his head. Is this guy juggling lemons, because he was that bored? Maybe if his booth looked more like a booth rather than a random decoration in the back of the park, people would buy his lemonade.
Before Seokjin could reach him, some random person came up to him and said, “Hi! Would you like a rose for a special someone?”
“I don’t have a special someone,” Seokjin said, trying to step aside, but the guy only got in his way once again.
“That’s okay! You can give a rose for a friend or a family member!” He gestured to the flowers in his possession. “These are special!”
“A rose that I could find anywhere on the ground is special.”
The guy pouted, but he quickly put the smile back on his face. “I grew these roses myself! With lots of love and care. These aren’t just any roses you could find. When you give one of these roses to someone, they will forever become a part of your life. In some cases, that person just might be your soulmate.”
Seokjin honestly did not want a rose—or anything from this guy. He simply wasn’t buying his bull. But he just wanted this guy to leave. The rose guy seemed persistent and didn’t look like he was leaving any time soon. If he just took the rose, he’d be gone quicker.
“Just one rose then,” Seokjin said, taking the rose from the guy. “Now scram.”
“Thank you for your time!” said the guy happily, bowing before taking his leave.
Seokjin shook his head and walked over to the juggler. Before he could even say anything, the lemons the guy was juggling was flying all over the place.
Seokjin watched as the guy’s eyes widened as he desperately tried to catch all the lemons, only to fail as two fell to the ground and the third landed on top of another box.
Seokjin had a good look at his face while all this was happening, and he saw the panic in his eyes as he tried to gather his lemons. Seokjin really couldn’t help the soft smile and laugh that left him.
This lemon guy was adorable.
Seokjin didn’t have anything on him to give the lemon guy, but then he looked down at the rose in his hold. This was the least he could offer.
With that, Seokjin handed the rose to the guy. The guy saw the rose, took it, picked up a lemon, and handed it to Seokjin.
The guy gave him a lemon. A lemon, for crying out loud. And it was a fake lemon.
God, he was so cute, Seokjin just had to smile fondly.
“Ah!” the guy suddenly exclaimed, slightly surprising Seokjin. “I don’t know why I gave you a lemon. I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay!” Seokjin assured. “It was amusing. So, how’s your lemonade thing working out for you?”
“Oh, I don’t sell lemonade. I juggle.” Namjoon tucked the rose into the pocket of his black blazer and proceeded to attempt juggling the lemons once more, only for two to fall miserably to the ground while the other one hit the top of his head. He shyly smiled. “Well, sort of.”
Seokjin just smiled back at the guy. He was so cute. “So, you just have a booth with a box of lemons that you juggle?”
“This isn’t my booth. I’m just here juggling these lemons. They’re fake, so they won’t get bruised or anything. I promise no lemons were harmed during my act.”
Seokjin laughed once more. “You just go around juggling random objects you see?”
“Actually, my friend works at this booth. He let me juggle these lemons to draw in customers.” The guy looked around. “It’s not working very well. My friend basically abandoned his booth to go watch the dance competition with another friend. The lemonade booth was super last minute, so he didn’t get a very good spot, thus why we’re back here.”
“I see. Well, that explains the lemonade business here.”
The guy hung his head low. “I’m not very good at attracting customers.”
Seokjin took a step closer to the guy and raised his eyebrows suggestively. “I am certainly attracted to you.”
The guy looked at Seokjin with a shocked expression. He cleared his throat and averted his gaze. “Th-Thank you, but I didn’t do a very good job at juggling.”
“It’s okay. Your act was cute.”
The guy raised an eyebrow. “You thought the act was cute? Well, that’s not something I hear every day. I appreciate it.”
Seokjin set the lemon back on the box it was initially on. He examined the guy’s face—especially the dimples that appeared when he smiled. He was really cute. If this cutie were standing in line at the kissing booth, Seokjin would gladly make out with him. He’d take this guy over anyone (especially that creepy guy) any day.
“How’s your carnival experience so far?” the guy asked.
Seokjin shrugged. “I’ve just been working at my booth, but it’s for a good cause.” He tugged at his bottom lip. “Do you want to check it out?”
“Okay.” The guy set the lemons down and began walking with Seokjin back to the kissing booth. “By the way, I’m Namjoon.”
Wow. Even his name sounded sexy. Or maybe it was because Seokjin was drawn to Namjoon. “What a dashing name,” he complimented.
“Thanks. Got it for my birthday from my parents.”
Seokjin laughed. This guy was funny. “I’m Seokjin. Also got it for my birthday from my parents.”
“What’s your booth?”
“You’ll see.” Seokjin winked and then strutted ahead of Namjoon.
They arrived at the booth, and Seokjin saw that the line was still decently long. Taehyung was in the middle of kissing a girl, not even noticing Seokjin’s presence. He folded his arms over his chest and looked over at Namjoon, whose eyes widened as he slowly approached the booth and stood beside Seokjin.
“O-Oh.” Namjoon brought a hand up to his face, his cheeks reddening. “It’s, a—a kissing booth.”
“Bingo,” Seokjin said with a wink. He turned to face Namjoon. “Would you like to try it? We’re raising money for a charity dedicated to helping out Australia. The more money donated, the more interesting the kiss gets.”
“I, um—can I—can I just donate? I don’t want to take part in this kissing thing...”
Seokjin was truly disappointed, but he couldn’t pressure Namjoon to do anything. If he didn’t want to kiss, then he didn’t have to. At least he was willing to donate money.
“Of course you can just donate,” Seokjin said with a fake smile, pushing the disappointment to the back of his mind.
Namjoon pulled out his wallet and handed whatever money he had to Seokjin before excusing himself to return to the failing lemonade booth. He thanked Seokjin for his time and then walked off.
Seokjin watched him leave longingly, sighing heavily before sadly putting the money into the container holding all the donations he and Taehyung earned from the booth.
“I see you, Kim Seokjin,” Taehyung said, Seokjin looking at him as Taehyung kept his eyes on him all the while accepting money from the next person who was to kiss him.
“You don’t see anything,” Seokjin said, rolling his eyes as he stood up and looked back to where Namjoon had disappeared off to.
Taehyung said nothing more as he put his attention to the next person in line. Seokjin bit at his bottom lip before shaking his head.
Screw it. He was going to be straightforward with Namjoon.
He told Taehyung (who was in the middle of a kiss) that he was going to go somewhere real quick before he rushed back to the lemonade booth. By the time he got there, he saw Namjoon once again juggling the fake lemons without a fail. This time he had an audience of two people—
“Jungkook?!” Seokjin called out, the audience member turning his head to look at Seokjin before his face paled.
Then Jungkook started running with his friend in tow.
“Hey! Jungkook!” He ran after him, but stopped as Jungkook disappeared into the crowd. “You brat! How dare you abandon us at the kissing booth!”
It was useless to try to catch Jungkook now, so he just let out an annoyed sigh. He looked over to Namjoon, whom he conveniently happened to stand before after giving up on chasing after Jungkook.
“So, I guess you know Jungkook?” Namjoon said.
“You know him, too?” Seokjin asked.
“He’s a friend of mine and my other friend, Yoongi, who runs the lemonade booth. Well, who ran the lemonade booth.”
Seokjin nodded, but then decided to drop the topic. He didn’t come here for small talk.
Seokjin tugged at his lower lip. “I want to get to know you.”
“Oh,” Namjoon simply said, at first looking surprised before he just smiled. “Sure! Let’s keep in touch. It’s always great to make new friends.” Namjoon grabbed his phone from his pocket and handed it to Seokjin. “What’s your number?”
Seokjin took the phone from Namjoon, but instead of entering his information, he stuffed the phone in the back pocket of his pants, and stepped closer to the taller man, trapping Namjoon between him and the lemonade booth.
“I want to get to know so much more of you,” Seokjin said in a low voice.
Namjoon visibly gulped. “A-Am I missing something here...?”
“Let’s just say I’d like to juggle your balls anyday.”
Namjoon laughed nervously, cheeks turning pink. “W-Wow, u-um, kind of suggestive there... Are you—are you flirting with me or am I crazy?”
Seokjin drew his face closer to Namjoon’s. “What if I am?”
Namjoon brought a hand up to his face to cover his mouth. He glanced around before lightly pushing Seokjin away, grabbing his hand and leading him behind the lemonade stand.
“Sorry, I’m just—” Namjoon began before he let out a puff of air. “Oh, my God. Is this real life?”
Seokjin at that moment dropped his flirty persona and tilted his head curiously. He watched as Namjoon covered his entire face in his hands.
Namjoon finally showed his face, which was definitely flushed red.
Seokjin nearly cooed aloud at the sight of him blushing so hard.
Did he ever mention that he thought Namjoon was cute? Because he was. Namjoon was really cute. Too cute.
God, Seokjin really wanted to kiss the hell out of him.
“It’s just,” Namjoon began explaining, his fingers fidgeting with one another, “at first sight when I saw you, I was honestly attracted to you, but it’s just... I don’t want this to be a one-time thing. I just didn’t think you’d be interested in me at all, so kissing you felt kind of wrong to me. Sorry, I’m really awkward, and I... I dropped all the lemons just by looking at you.”
Seokjin smiled in amusement. “You dropped your lemons because of me?”
Namjoon hung his head bashfully. “You’re really pretty...”
Seokjin giggled. He brought his hands up to Namjoon’s face and cupped his cheeks. “If it makes you feel any better, I think you’re cute.”
Namjoon’s face felt so warm in Seokjin’s hands. “R-Really?” he asked.
Seokjin nodded and once again brought his face to Namjoon’s, their lips only centimeters apart. “Kiss me and I’m yours.”
Namjoon nearly choked. “W-Wow. Someone so hot is attracted to me. I’m... am I dreaming?”
Seokjin went ahead and closed his eyes before he kissed Namjoon right on the lips, the two remaining there for a good few seconds.
Their lips moved together, Seokjin feeling Namjoon wrap his arms around his waist, pulling him closer until their bodies were pressed to one another. They tilted their heads to the side to deepen the kiss, and Seokjin felt so many butterflies in his stomach as his heart pounded hard in his chest.
Namjoon was an amazing kisser, despite his self-proclaimed awkwardness. Seokjin could just kiss him forever and ever.
Seokjin felt Namjoon’s hand grab his bottom and he gasped into the kiss when Namjoon squeezed harder.
He pulled away from the kiss, panting heavily. “Gettin’ bold there, aren’t you, lemon boy?” Seokjin said breathlessly.
Namjoon blushed. “S-Sorry. I got caught up in the moment.” He quickly moved his hand back up to Seokjin’s lower back, but Seokjin caught it and lowered it once more.
“Don’t worry, love.” Seokjin leaned in towards his ear. “I like it.” He gave the underside of Namjoon’s ear a little kiss, sensing Namjoon shivering at the intimate action.
Namjoon, with his hand not on Seokjin’s rear, gently held Seokjin’s face and brought him in for yet another kiss. Seokjin sighed into it. He loved this so much.
After a minute straight of a pure makeout session, the two pulled away, just gazing into each other’s eyes lustfully yet lovingly. Namjoon leaned in once more and gave Seokjin a small kiss this time.
“Can I just pay you to kiss me?” Namjoon said against Seokjin’s lips.
Seokjin pulled away with a raised brow. “Then wouldn’t that make me a prostitute?”
Namjoon realized what he had just said, his eyes widening. “W-Wait, I didn’t mean it like that. I just—I really like kissing you and you work at the kissing booth and I was just alluding to that and—”
Seokjin gave Namjoon a quick peck to silence him. “I’m just teasing you. You’re really cute.”
From the way Namjoon shifted, it was clear that Namjoon was flustered once again from Seokjin calling him cute, trying so desperately to hide his smile but failing.
Seokjin loved how nervous Namjoon got all because of him. He loved that he had that effect on Namjoon. It made him feel special.
“Y-Yeah? Well, y-you’re beautiful,” Namjoon shot back, nodding as if he had just won.
Seokjin only found this endearing and giggled. “Thank you.”
Namjoon pouted. “Why don’t you get embarrassed when I call you beautiful?”
“I dub it my job to make you nervous every chance I get,” Seokjin said, bumping his nose gently against Namjoon’s. “Don’t steal my job. Just kiss me, cutie.”
Namjoon smiled. “Gladly.”
And with that, they were back to kissing.
It was strange. The two barely knew each other for one day, yet it felt like Seokjin had known Namjoon forever. It was like they were destined to be together—fate brought them together. However, Seokjin wouldn’t trade this for the world.
He loved where he was at. He loved that his life led up to this moment.
Seokjin decided that he was going to spend the rest of the day (or even the rest of his life) with Namjoon, so the two left their little makeout spot to enjoy the rest of their time at the carnival.
Seokjin was going to get yelled at by Taehyung later for not returning to the booth for his shift, but Seokjin didn’t care. He knew that Taehyung could successfully handle the booth on his own. Besides, he drew in way more people than Seokjin did (arguably, but this time, Seokjin would gladly accept defeat, if it meant he could spend more time with Namjoon).
He was going to have the time of his life with his cute lemon juggler of a boyfriend.
Meanwhile a certain someone holding a bouquet of roses watched the couple from afar with a victorious smile on his face.
“Hey, Jimin,” spoke a voice, the rose guy turning to see his friend approach him. “What’s up?”
“Love,” Jimin said.
Hoseok looked down at the flowers. He snorted. “Are you playing cupid with those roses again?”
“Okay, hear me out: I gave one of my roses to a guy telling him about how the rose binds people for life or even brings soulmates together. He gave it to another guy that he didn’t even know, and now they’re spending their time together at the carnival like two boyfriends. I really think they’re soulmates.”
“You don’t actually believe that stuff works, do you?”
Jimin held out the rose to Hoseok. “Is there someone you have in mind that you would like to try this out on? I swear, my flowers bring love.”
Hoseok left without another word and not even bothering to take a rose.
It didn’t matter to Jimin if no one else believed it.
Just seeing those two guys who didn’t even know each other before, looking at one another as if they were the most important person in the world, was enough for Jimin to believe that his roses were without a doubt a guide for soulmates to find one another in this world.
He truly believed that his roses gave people love.