Chapter Text
Soonyoung's childhood was filled with so many things he never questioned as a boy.
His mother's green thumb wasn't impressive, it was just the kind of gardener she was. Even if neighboring farms struggled a particular season, his mother never seemed to have issues. Soonyoung didn't even find it odd that their friends' farms always thrived too, while sometimes the less than friendly folk around Namyangju would suffer some particular droughts (especially that mean old witch of a lady who tore off young Soonyoung's head when he accidentally flew off his bike and into her rows of sweet potatoes.)
Soonyoung never thought much of his father's handiness either, how no matter what electrical trouble they had, his father was always able to fix it in no time at all. Everything from burnt-out lightbulbs to blown fuse boxes; his father always seemed to have the magic touch.
It wasn't until he was a bit older that he realized there was something a bit more to his parents' exceptional skills. And not just his parents', but his grandparents' and for generations reaching back as far as their familial stories seemed to reach. It wasn’t just innate talent or practiced competence. Every person in his bloodline possessed some sort of gift, some power they could wield over an element.
His mother's extraordinary gardening abilities were partially thanks to her own ability. Her touch and whispers could cause plants to grow and thrive. And no, she had clarified to Soonyoung many times, she never "cursed" that mean witch down the road or her crops; she just simply didn't share her gifts with her as she had with their friends. Soonyoung didn't know if it was possible to love his mother any more than he did at that moment.
And his father's adept abilities with home repairs and his own handiwork business were especially enhanced by his own gifts when it came to working with electricity. Over twenty years in the field and he's never been electrocuted, let alone shocked. Not once!
His uncle has an impressive set of skills himself: he can adjust and affect the weather. Evidently it was a very draining gift to possess though, which is why he never abused his power (unless he wanted to pass out for days on end).
But Soonyoung's cousin, Jihoon, had the best ability in his opinion: he could manipulate and control fire.
There had been a lot of hesitancy in the family regarding his gift; fire could be not only dangerous but also disastrous to their livelihood with their farms. But to everyone's relief, Jihoon never showed much interest in stretching his ability legs; he spent most of his time cooped up in his room, in front of his computer, the expertise of conjuring fire with only his hands and mind seeming to almost bore him.
Soonyoung has always been terribly jealous of Jihoon's gift. He has his own skill, of course, but it was nothing like the awesomeness of being able to summon or control flames on command.
Soonyoung's "gift" (if one could even call it that, he argued time and time again) was all about the useless ability to manipulate ice.
Ice. It served no real purpose at all in his daily life, aside from stupid little things like keeping the things in the fridge cold after it broke down one time and Soonyoung's dad was hours away down in Daegu, so he couldn't fix the appliance right away.
His mother claims that they've saved loads on bills thanks to him too, but Soonyoung hardly considers that a life-fulfilling accomplishment.
There was a long stretch of time where Soonyoung wanted to use his seemingly pointless gift for good. It took some time for him to think of something but when he finally did, his confident teenaged self had proudly told his parents he'd use his abilities to help save the melting ice caps.
Needless to say, that dream had been short-lived. Not only was it infeasible for a single teenager to save the world but with the less than stellar grades Soonyoung was pulling, getting anywhere near a position that would grant him access to spearheading climate change prevention was a pipedream.
So, as many dreamers have to do, he had to settle for something a bit more realistic.
Running an ice cream shop may have seemed like a fun job to kid Soonyoung but at twenty-five, it's quite far from giving him a sense of accomplishment.
Sure, there was some joy to be found in seeing the way a child’s face lit up when presented with a cone towering with scoops of ice cream he himself created, but it was by far what one might call a small happiness. A very simple, fleeting pleasure.
But what was he to do at this point? Ice is pretty much limited to very few specific uses, so Soonyoung clings to those tidbits of joy, however brief the flicker of satisfaction might be.
He’s just had one of those moments, watching from behind the counter as a young couple and their toddler daughter share a cup of his personal favorite creation: strawberries and milk. It had been the first flavor he had ever experimented with.
(It was back when he was a teen and his parents didn’t have the extra cash to splurge on a pint of ice cream that he so desperately wanted during that summer’s excruciating heatwave. But they had bottles of fresh milk from their neighbor down the road and his mother had frozen some strawberries from earlier in the season... It was the first time Soonyoung had felt some semblance of pride regarding his gift; he was able to help sate his entire family’s overheating with the sweet taste of milk ice cream swirled with strawberry juice and fresh, hearty chunks of the fruit. His destiny from that point had been, unfortunately, very clear: ice cream. Stupid yet delicious ice cream.)
Soonyoung is so caught up in watching the precious display of the cooing father wiping pink streaks from the little girl’s cheek that he doesn’t even register the little bell on the store’s door jingling, the sound getting lost in the acoustic strummings of some oldies cover he has pumping through the speakers. The customer is quiet, only shuffling feet and heaving far too many soft sighs. So many that it finally does pull Soonyoung’s attention.
Most of his customers are families, occasionally some elderly couples out together for “a day downtown” (if the two-block strip of stores and buildings could even be called a proper downtown) or some bored local high schoolers looking to kill time.
He’s not used to greeting customers like this guy, tall and young and stupidly handsome, all alone and looking what Soonyoung can only label as dejected. Ice cream shops are supposed to be happy places! It’s the one good thing about Soonyoung’s job! The pure, unadulterated happiness!
“Hi there,” he says finally. The guy doesn’t pull his sad eyes away from the ice cream display case. “What can I get for you?”
There’s no response as the guy continues to scan the glass case separating the two of them. Soonyoung only has eight flavors out (there isn’t a need for much more when he has such limited business and traffic anyway), so he’s not sure why it’s such a difficult decision for him to choose one.
“You don’t have mint choco?” he finally asks, slowly dragging his eyes up to look at Soonyoung properly.
He really does look depressed, his expression not doing anything to hide it. Soonyoung feels a twinge of empathy in his chest. He would normally inquire what’s wrong but he doesn’t recognize this person and he’s pretty sure he knows everyone in the entire community, given its size and sense of tightness. Is it really his place to inquire about the mental state of a stranger? Sure, people out here are generally more open and approachable, but this guy reeks of Seoul and Soonyoung doesn’t know how well an attractive, probably cool guy from the big city will take his country hospitality.
“No,” Soonyoung finally replies, breaking out of his reverie. “I can’t stand mint choco so can’t say I’ve ever tried my hand at making it.” It’s true; just the thought of chocolate mixed with the minty taste of toothpaste… bleh.
“Oh. It’s my favorite,” the other replies with a small, humorless laugh. “What do you recommend then?”
“All of them. I made them all so they’re all good, I can promise that,” Soonyoung says honestly with a shrug. He evaluates the guy again, tilting his head in thought. “But for someone like you, hmm… maybe classic chocolate would be a good choice.”
“Someone like me?”
“Yeah, you know…” Soonyoung trails off, opting to act out his thoughts rather than put them into words. He circles his finger around his face, forcing a frown. It’s good for breaking the tension in his experience. Sometimes. “Chocolate is a good pick-me-up.”
His attempts must be successful because the guy smiles at him (it’s small and short-lived, but definitely a smile of some kind!)
“Okay. Can I get a half-gallon of chocolate then?”
Oh, a half-gallon. Maybe the guy isn’t as devastated as Soonyoung anticipated and he’s just sulky about being the one having to run the errand of picking up ice cream on this gross, humid day.
“You got it!”
Soonyoung packs the container to the rim, as full as it can get. He grins at the customer as he’s given a credit card for payment and Soonyoung can’t help his curiosity when he glances at the name on it.
Kim Mingyu. He doesn’t know of any Mingyus around here but he knows the Kim family on the edge of town and there’s also old Mrs. Kim who runs the biggest herb farm around these parts. Maybe he’s related to one of them. He can’t see why some young guy like him would come all the way out here unless he had a good enough reason to.
Soonyoung is about to place the ice cream in a paper bag but Mingyu waves him off.
“No, no. It’s okay, I don’t need a bag.”
Soonyoung shrugs and pushes the container towards him. “Suit yourself. Hope you enjoy it and come back around here again.”
Mingyu gives him one of those faint smiles again, holding the container easily in one hand. Soonyoung watches him head for the door--
Except he doesn’t go to the door. He slides into an empty booth in the corner of the tiny shop and pops off the lid. Mingyu stares at the ice cream and then, almost sheepishly, slides back out of his seat and straight towards Soonyoung.
“Um, sorry, I didn’t get a spoon.”
Soonyoung blinks at him, slightly confused. But he silently grabs a long metal spoon from the holder and hands it to the guy.
“Thanks.”
It’s remarkable, really. In the four years or so Soonyoung has run this place, he’s never seen a single person sit down and go to town on that much ice cream right in front of him. If Soonyoung didn’t have a feeling before that something was wrong with him, this sure sealed the deal.
The family with the young daughter leaves and after he cleans up their dishes and wipes down their table, he slowly saunters his way over to Mingyu, his face practically smashed into the almost half-eaten tub of ice cream.
“How’s it taste?” he asks, trying to mask his curiosity under the guise of the concerned owner when really, more than wanting to know if the guy likes it, he wants to know why he’s shoveling so much of it into his face.
Mingyu’s eyes flicker up at him, smudges of chocolate caught in the corner of his lips. Soonyoung has half a thought to reach out with a crumpled napkin from the table and wipe at the (it’s the kind of thing they do around here), but he snaps out of that pretty quickly.
“Listen, I don’t wanna overstep or anything but I’m really bad at holding back things so… is everything alright?” he finally allows himself to ask, pulling out a chair at a neighboring table so he’s not completely up in the stranger’s space.
This seems to catch Mingyu off-guard, making him suddenly sit up straight and avert his eyes. Despite the speed at which he’s been scooping freezing ice cream into his mouth, his face appears to heat up, radiating a bright, warm pink color.
“Wow, this is embarrassing,” he says with a small laugh. Soonyoung frowns.
“I didn’t mean to embarrass you, I’m sorry. I was just concerned--”
“I understand,” Mingyu cuts him off. “My grandma always insisted people around here were the kindest you could ever meet. Guess I’m just not used to it.”
“Your grandmother? Are you Mrs. Kim’s grandson?” Soonyoung asks, without thinking. It seems to catch Mingyu by surprise and it’s only then he realizes that was probably a somewhat creepy thing to reveal he had figured out. Stupid big-mouthed Soonyoung, he thinks to himself.
“Yeah. Do you know her?” Soonyoung is relieved that Mingyu doesn’t seem to make the connection that it’s odd how he knew who he could be.
“Of course,” Soonyoung says, clearing his throat and trying to swallow down his embarrassment. “Everyone knows everyone here.”
“Ah, right,” Mingyu nods, poking at the remaining ice cream with his spoon. “I know I must look really pathetic right now.”
“Naw, I’ve seen much worse.” Soonyoung really has, when it comes to food. Nobody would believe how much food Jihoon could pack away given his size, but he could easily out-eat four people. He’s not big on ice cream but if he was, Soonyoung is positive he could down that half-gallon of it in a matter of ten minutes, brain freezes and all.
“I just thought ice cream would make me feel better and if I took it home, I knew my grandma would probably worry, so…”
Soonyoung nods, not wanting to pry but being painfully curious as to what has Mingyu so torn up.
“Well, feel free to gorge away here whenever you like. That’s what I’m here for.”
“Thanks. Um, I didn’t catch your name?” Mingyu’s voice, raising at the end like it’s a question. There’s still chocolate stuck around his lips and it’s killing Soonyoung to just simply stare at.
“Oh, sorry. How rude of me… I’m Kwon Soonyoung. I live just down the way from your grandma.”
“Oh, the Kwons! She has talked about your family quite a bit. I’m Mingyu.”
That has Soonyoung smiling. His mom helps out Mrs. Kim (and Mr. Kim, before he passed) regularly, especially during tough crop years. His dad even helps her out with some chores around the farm, free of charge. Soonyoung can’t say his powers have ever been needed to help her out before, but he always liked the woman. She’d always sneak him extra servings of food at town festivals and gatherings, patting his cheeks and commenting on his handsomeness. Truthfully, she seemed like a near perfect grandmother.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mingyu-ssi. Are you staying with your grandma?”
Mingyu nods, seeming to reluctantly press the lid back onto his ice cream container. “Just for a little while. I wanted to get away from Seoul for a bit, so I offered to help her out and she’s letting me stay with her.”
Soonyoung hums, again not pushing but knowing he’s inching ever-so-close to soothing his curiosity in regards to just what is wrong with this Mingyu guy.
“I see. I’ll admit it’s not too exciting around here but it can be nice and relaxing, perhaps a good place to clear your head and recharge.”
Mingyu nods and smiles; it’s the most genuine one Soonyoung has seen from him since he entered the shop. “Thanks. It seems nice here. Um, do you think I could bother you for a bag now?”
“Oh. Sure,” Soonyoung says, annoyed at the disappointment evident in his voice. A bag means Mingyu is leaving and truthfully, he’s been the most interesting thing Soonyoung has encountered in some time.
But being the good business owner he is, he grabs a bag and packs up the ice cream for Mingyu, who is finally wiping his face clean with a napkin, all traces of chocolate gone.
“Hopefully we’ll run into each other sometime,” Soonyoung tells him, in earnest.
“Thanks, Soonyoung-ssi. I hope so too.”
Soonyoung watches as the other heads out the door, leaving him alone in his shop. It’s only then that he realizes his playlist has stopped playing and there’s no music, just the hum of the aircon on the wall and the buzz of the freezers.
Soonyoung takes his time cleaning up and gets to work on a new batch of chocolate ice cream, given Mingyu almost single-handedly emptied him out of the flavor. It’s only Friday afternoon and there’s bound to be a nighttime rush (or what their town could call “a rush”) given the weather.
He has his hands hovering over the chocolatey mixture, using only a fraction of his energy to gradually freeze the sweet liquid, his mind stupidly replaying the way Mingyu’s eyes were brimming with sadness, his hunched over posture as he practically shoved his face into the ice cream, the bits of chocolate clung to the tanned skin of his pretty face.
Soonyoung was really honest about one thing: if such an occurrence as a new face coming into his shop got him so worked up, his hometown really wasn’t that exciting.