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At first, Hoseok was not too fond of the idea of going to a farmers market instead of a normal grocery store. His roommate, Namjoon, had brought it up about a month ago with a long rant about the benefits of shopping at a farmers market. Hoseok didn’t really pay attention to the rant, only remembering Namjoon mentioning something about supporting small businesses and being organic. Hoseok wasn’t a fan of having to travel longer to get to the market and the fact that they couldn’t buy everything there was a pain. He would have to go to the grocery store anyway to get everything else so he thought it wasn’t really worth it. Even though he disliked the idea he agreed to it anyway. Hoseok had trouble saying no to people, especially his best friend.
After a month he's gotten used to the routine of going to the market every weekend to get their groceries for the week. He always goes Sunday since it's never as busy then and because he often talks to the vendors. Everyone is nice and he loves talking in general so he spends half an hour longer at the market then he normally would if he just shopped. Hoseok likes to go right when the market opens because it's busier during lunchtime and he works in the afternoon.
Hoseok is running late and he's not very happy about it. He had stayed up later than normal grading papers causing him to sleep in. He's trying to get to the market before the lunch rush hits. He arrives 20 minutes before the market normally starts to get packed so he’ll have to make his shopping quick. He walks around and gets his normal groceries, stopping only for short periods of time to say hi to each vendor. He’s almost done shopping, only needing to stop at the bakery to grab a treat and say hi to his favourite vendors. He quickly walks towards the bakery but he has to immediately stop in his tracks when he sees the most good looking man ever. Two vendors down from the bakery stands a man that makes Hoseok's mouth go dry. The man is so attractive and Hoseok doesn’t know what to do with himself. It’s like his brain has just shut off after laying eyes on that man.
Hoseok doesn’t even realize he had been walking towards the man until he's standing two feet in front of him. Seeing the man up close makes Hoseok's heart race. He is even more attractive up close and Hoseok has to remind himself to breathe before he passes out. The man luckily doesn’t notice Hoseok's embarrassing staring since he’s distracted by another customer. This gives Hoseok time to calm his heart down and prepare himself to speak to the man who he thinks might be an angel.
When the man turns to him Hoseok is ready to put up his best flirting game. When the man smiles at him confident Hoseok immediately disappears leaving behind gay panic Hoseok.
“Hello, How can I help you?” The man asks his voice just as attractive as his looks.
Hoseok means to reply but all he can do is stare in awe at the man in front of him. Now that the man is looking at him Hoseok is able to study his features more closely and he can’t seem to pull his gaze away from the man's plump lips.
“Sir? Would you like to buy any strawberries?” the man asks as his hand comes up and rubs the back of his neck.
Hoseok's eyes follow his hand causing him to notice how red his ears and neck are. Hoseok's eyes widen as he realizes he was probably just caught staring at the man's lips
“Ugh yes!” Hoseok quickly replies before grabbing two of the baskets right in front of him “These. I'll take these please.”
“That’ll be ten dollars please!” The man says before taking the money Hoseok immediately hands him.
The man hands Hoseok his change and he takes it and his two baskets of strawberries and walks away, almost in a trance-like he doesn’t know what just happened.
“Have a berry good day!” He hears the man shout as Hoseok walks away from the store.
Hoseok’s heart clenches at the cute pun and he walks towards the bakery with a dumb smile on his face. Though his smile falters when he looks down at the baskets of strawberries in his hands. An important fact that Hoseok had just seemed to forget about himself is that he hates strawberries. It’s one of his least favourite foods yet there he was standing with two whole baskets in his hands. He sighs before continuing over to the bakery. He’s sure Namjoon will eat them so he knows they will at least not go to waste. Next time, he promises himself, he’ll get a date and not strawberries.
When Hoseok arrives at the bakery he isn’t surprised to see the two vendors just staring at each other lovingly. Hoseok walks over to them and fake gags. He likes to act disgusted at the couple but on the inside, he thinks the two are adorable. Yoongi and Jimin, the vendors, look over at him and roll their eyes at his gaging. Hoseok has known them only for a month but they've become close friends since and Hoseok’s favourite stop when shopping is the Honey Fairy Bakery. He loves talking to the two and they sometimes give him free baked goods.
“Hey Hyung! We were wondering if you were even coming today!” Jimin exclaims as he bounds over to Hoseok to give him a quick hug.
“I was up late grading my student's paper so I slept in.”
“You must be tired! Let me get you a treat!” Jimin smiles at him before he runs away to go look for a treat.
“Jiminie you can’t give away our baked goods every time someone has an even slightly bad day,” Yoongi sighs and walk’s over to where Hoseok is so he can lean on the counter beside him.
Yoongi complains whenever Jimin gives Hoseok free food but Hoseok knows the one that always adds extra of whatever Hoseok buys when he thinks nobody's looking. Jimin returns with a plate of cheesecake with strawberries placed on top. He hands the plate over to Hoseok before he turns to his husband and glares at him.
“I can and I will,” Jimin huffs
A gummy smile immediately appears on Yoongi's face and he reaches up to pinch Jimin's cheek. A pout forms on Jimin's mouth and he reaches up to try and pry Yoongi's hand away. He struggles for a second until Yoongi pulls his hand away just to replace it with a kiss on the cheek. Jimin's face turns red and he opens his mouth, most likely to whine about Yoongi, but he doesn’t get a chance to say something because Yoongi is turning around to face Hoseok.
“So how’s the cheesecake? You better like it since it's free,” Yoongi says to Hoseok “It's a new recipe.”
“The cheesecake is amazing thank you but I can't eat the strawberries since I really dislike them,” Hoseok replies.
“Oh, I thought you liked them since you are carrying two baskets full of them,” Jimin states as he gestures towards the baskets Hoseok has set down on the counter.
“Oh. They're for, for my friend,” Hoseok hesitated staring down at his plate and not looking up.
“Ah yes, your friend,” Yoongi says with a knowing smirk. “You got them at Jin’s new shop right?”
Hoseok looks up to see the two staring at him knowingly. Hoseok glances back over to the strawberries before sighing and nodding. He stares at the strawberries for a little before he realizes what Yoongi had said.
“Jin? Is that his name?” Hoseok asks as he whips his head back towards Yoongi and Jimin.
“Kim Seokjin is his name but he goes by Jin,” Jimin answers
“So you panicked so much you didn't get his name and you bought two baskets of strawberries,” Yoongi snickers obviously trying to hold back his smile.
“That’s sad, Hyung,” Jimin says, also trying his hardest not to laugh.
“He's so attractive I didn't know what to do! It’s like my brain shut off!”
Hoseok slams his head down on the counter in defeat. Jimin walks up behind him and pats him on the back.
“Let me get you some more treats. How about cookies?” Jimin says as he turns to leave.
Hoseok reaches out to stop him before saying “It’s okay Jimin I don’t need any pity cookies.”
“You sure Hoseok? I won’t complain about it this time,” Yoongi asks.
“I’m sure. Thank you though” Hoseok replies as he smiles at the couple.
“You always have next week Hyung!” Jimin exclaims “You can prepare all week and be ready to woo him by Sunday!”
“You’re right! Next week I'm gonna show him Hoseok’s charm” Hoseok says as he jumps up in excitement.
“That’s the spirit Hyung!” Jimin shouts.
“Okay calm down. We don’t need you two scaring all the customers away.” Yoongi chuckles as he walks up behind Jimin to pull him into a back hug.
Jimin leans back into Yoongi and looks up at him lovingly. They both stare at each other with smiles on their faces. Hoseok knows that this is his cue to leave the lovebirds alone. Hoseok quickly finishes off his cheesecake before he stands up and grabs all of his stuff.
“I’m gonna leave now. See you guys next week.” Hoseok says as he waves goodbye and leaves the bakery.
“Bye Hyung!” he hears Jimin yell as he walks away.
Hoseok pushes through the now crowded market until he can exit and make his way to his car. He puts his groceries in the backseat before he gets into the front and drives home. Throughout the car ride home all he can think about is the handsome man selling the strawberries.
Ever since Hoseok returned home Namjoon has been staring at him like he has a third head. Hoseok tries to ignore him and just focus on putting the groceries away. He knows what Namjoon is going to say and Hoseok would rather not explain the embarrassing story. His ignoring doesn't deteriorate Namjoon though so the question is eventually asked.
“Don’t you hate strawberries?” Namjoon asks.
Hoseok sighs before putting away the last of the groceries. He stands up and turns around to face Namjoon. They stare at each other for a minute, Hoseok hoping he will get the hint that he doesn’t want to explain himself, but Namjoon doesn’t back down.
“Are you sick or something?” Namjoon asks as he leans back against the kitchen counter.
“You like strawberries. Maybe I just wanted to do something nice and get you some” Hoseok replies.
“Unrealistic,” Namjoon states.
Hoseok huffs before he crosses his arms and continues staring at Namjoon. He stays silent and they carry out another staring contest.
“I think I know what the more realistic answer is,” Namjoon smirks. “Every Time you do something uncharacteristic of you it’s always for one reason.”
“Yeah? Then what is that reason?”
“Gay panic,” Namjoon says.
A smile breaks across Namjoons face and he follows Hoseok who is now walking out of the kitchen and into the living room. Hoseok frowns and flops down onto their couch. His best friend knows him a little too well. Namjoon sits down beside him still smiling.
“So what happened?” Namjoon asks.
“There is a new vendor at the market. He sells strawberries.” Hoseok states.
“And he is the most attractive person you’ve seen,” Namjoon says already knowing what Hoseok was going to say since this isn’t the first time Hoseok has gay panicked like this before.
“He really was this time! All the other men I called the most attractive people don’t even come close to him! He is like a god or something. How can a man be that hot?!” Hoseok exclaims.
“So now you are gonna go buy strawberries every week in an attempt to woo him until you inevitably give up and then start the whole process again with the new most attractive guy you've ever seen,” Namjoon says as he stares blankly at Hoseok.
“No this time I will ask him out!” Hoseok declares, “I will ask him next week just watch.”
“Yeah sure tell me how that goes,” Namjoon says as he stands up from the couch and leaves to go to his room.
Hoseok sighs before he takes his hands and covers his face. Even though Namjoon doubts him Hoseok is going to woo the strawberry vendor. By the end of next week, he should have a date with the man. Hoseok drops his hands and smiles. Sunday. Sunday he will ask Kim Seokjin out.
Things do not go as planned. It’s Sunday and Hoseok is determined to ask the strawberry vendor out on a date. His determination is at conflict with his nervousness though and he feels like he might pass out. He watches the strawberry vendor at a distance for a while while he tries to calm his heart rate down.
Seokjin is busy with a customer. He has a big smile on his face and he animatedly talks as he points to his strawberries on display. When the customer grabs a basket and brings it to the cashier Seokjin's already big smile somehow gets even bigger. Hoseok smiles as he watches. He thinks the strawberry vendor looks really cute this excited. Even though it's strawberries he is excited about.
When the customer leaves Hoseok takes a deep breath and musters up the courage to go up to the vendor. He walks over and when he arrives Seokjin looks up and gives him the same big smile he gave the other customer. Hoseok forgot how good looking the man was up close. With one smile pointed at him all the time he spent calming himself down flys out the wind and his heart rate is racing even more than before.
“Hello again! I hope you enjoyed the strawberries you bought last week!” Seokjin exclaims.
“Oh, they were delicious!” Hoseok says even though he didn’t even try one.
“That's great, would you like some more?” Seokjin asks.
Hoseok just nods before immediately reaching out and grabbing the nearest two baskets and placing them beside the cash register.
“Another two? You must really like strawberries!” Seokjin exclaims excitedly as he enters the price onto the machine in front of him.
Hoseok just nodded and handed over the money silently. Seokjin takes it and gives back the change before he then picks up the two baskets and hands them back over two him. Hoseok takes them and just stands and stares at Seokjin.
“Well thank you for shopping here. I hope you enjoy the strawberries.” Seokjin says.
Hoseok continues to stare at Seokjin. It’s like his brain has turned off and he has forgotten all human functions. He and Seokjin stare at each other for a while until the awkward smile on Seokjin's face knocks him back into reality. He can feel heat start to spread across his face and he awkwardly coughs.
“Thank you so much… bye.” Hoseok quickly says before turning around and rushing away.
He can’t believe he just stared at Seokjin like that. He even bought two more strawberry baskets even though he still has the ones from last week at home. Namjoon’s gonna get a kick out of this. He told him he would be able to ask Seokjin out this week but instead, he just made a fool out of himself. Next week he will have to come more prepared. Next week he will ask him out.
Yoongi and Jimin get a kick out of what happened. When he sat down at the bakery and told them Jimin laughed so hard that he toppled out of the stool he was sitting on. Yoongi just smirked at him. They give him some cookies to make him feel better though. Their reactions are nothing in comparison to Namjoon's though. When Hoseok returns home and enters their apartment with a sullen face and two strawberry baskets in his hands, Namjoon immediately bursts into laughter.
“Shut up” Hoseok mumbles.
He pushes past Namjoon and tries to ignore his laughter. He walks over to the counter and sets down the two baskets beside the ones from last week. He stares blankly at the now four baskets of strawberries on his counter.
The next few weeks go by and Hoseok makes no progress. Each week he only gets a few words in with Seokjin before he starts to panic and leaves. His friends keep telling him to just ask him out but he can hardly hold a conversation let alone ask him on a date. The strawberry buying has also become a problem. After his fridge was filled with strawberries Namjoon forbade Hoseok to bring any more home. Instead, Hoseok started to give strawberries as gifts to friends. Yoongi and Jimin being the main victims of his strawberry gifting. The amount of strawberry baked goods they sell has increased greatly.
Finally, after 6 weeks Hoseok holds a conversation with Seokjin that lasts more than 3 sentences. Hoseok had gone to the market like normal and he bought his strawberries like normal with the normal pleasantries of ‘hi’ and ‘how have you been?’. When he would have normally said bye and Jin stops him.
“So are you gay or just a vegan?”
“What?” Hoseok asks.
“Well, normally people who shop at farmers' markets are vegan, gay, or both. So what one are you?” Jin asks with a sly smile.
“I’m bi. Definitely not a vegan since I don’t think I could live without meat.” Hoseok says while he gives Seokjin a small smile.
“That’s good. I knew I didn’t get straight vibes from you.”
Hoseok can feel himself start to blush at the implication of what his ‘that’s good’ means and Hoseok does what Hoseok does best. Gay panics and runs away. He says a quick bye before he speed walks away. He can hear Seokjin laugh as he flees and he just knows his face is as red as a tomato.
In the next few weeks, Hoseok actually manages to hold some decent conversations with Hoseok. He learns that Seokjin dropped out of law school to take over his uncle's strawberry plantation, much to his parents' chagrin. He talks a lot about his job as a teacher. He gushes about his favourite students and complains about the piles of tests he still needs to mark. Seokjin is an attentive listener and Hoseok finds him extremely easy to talk to. At least until Seokjin tries to flirt and Hoseok gay panics and runs away yet again.
After officially ten weeks of Hoseok buying strawberries from Seokjin, he finally dares to try and ask him out again. He spends all of Saturday hyping himself up. On Sunday he leaves the house telling Namjoon he will return with a date and not with strawberries this time. Namjoon doesn’t believe him.
When Hoseok arrives at the market he takes his time shopping at other places as he prepares himself to face Seokjin. Eventually, he has visited every shop but Seokjins meaning he can’t put it off any longer. He takes a deep breath in then out before he marches over to the strawberry vendor. Seokjin smiles at him and speaks before Hoseok has a chance to say anything.
“Hey, do you want to have dinner with me tonight?”
Hoseok stares at him shocked. After all this time he still doesn’t get to ask Seokjin out because he beat him to it.
“But I was gonna ask you out,” Hoseok mumbles
“I know you were but I was waiting for weeks for you to finally ask and I got impatient.”
“Oh.”
“So do you want to have dinner or not?”
“Yes!” Hoseok says a smile spreading onto his face.
The two exchange numbers and plan to have dinner next Saturday night. Hoseok leaves the market with another basket of strawberries and a huge smile plastered on his face.
As the week goes by and Saturday gets closer and closer, Hoseok's excitement turns into nervousness. Somehow he's ten times as nervous as he was when trying to ask Seokjin out. He hasn’t been on a date in over a year so he doesn’t even really remember how he's supposed to act on a date. Namjoon tries reassuring him by saying everything will be fine once the date starts and he's nervous should vanish but Hoseok thinks he'll probably be a nervous wreck the whole time. Jimin and Yoongi try to help by giving him an assortment of baked goods to take with him on the date since Seokjin said he wanted to have a picnic. Hoseok is very grateful but it doesn’t help calm him at all.
When Saturday arrives Hoseok wakes up and starts getting way too early for a date that's not until 5 pm. While he waits until it's time for the date he finishes marking some student tests then he changes his clothing. The outfit he wore before wasn't good enough. He tries to distract himself with some tv but his eyes keep drifting to the clock and by the time an episode has finished he realizes he can't remember anything that happened in that show. He busies himself with cleaning and then he changes his outfit again. When the time to leave for his date came along he had changed his outfit 5 times until he was satisfied.
Hoseok takes the baked goods and heads for the market. They decided to meet there and then go since Seokjin would be leaving from work at the market.
When he arrives Seokjin is already waiting outside. Hoseok walks up to him and Seokjin smiles at him, taking his breath away. Hoseok has only seen him in his work attire so seeing him in normal clothes is shocking. Seokjin is extremely handsome and Hoseok can’t help but stare.
“Hi Hoseok, you look nice today,” Seokjin says as he walks up to him
“You look hot,” Hoseok blurts.
“Haha, thanks.”
It takes him a second to realize he just blurted that out loud and when he does his face turns crimson. He looks away embarrassed not knowing what to say.
“Come on let's go,” Seokjin giggles as he grabs Hoseok's hand and leads him away.
The two walk-in silence until they reach a park. Seokjin lays out a blanket and then starts taking out a plethora of food from a basket he brought.
“Wow, you brought so much food. Did you make all of this?”
“Yes, I love to cook so I probably made way too much food,” Seokjin says as he looks up at Hoseok and gestures for him to sit, “I made a bunch of different dishes with strawberries since you seem to like them so much.”
“Oh… thanks.”
Hoseok tries to hide his disappointment but he doesn’t think he did a good job since Seokjin looks at him weirdly. He doesn’t say anything about it and instead they move on to talking about themselves as they eat. They talk about their friends, jobs, family, and what they enjoy. It's easy to talk to Seokjin and his nervousness from before disappears quickly. They talk until the sun begins to set. When it does they look at it set together in silence. Hoseok can’t wipe the smile off his face as he watches the oranges and yellows mix together in the sky.
“You don’t actually like strawberries do you?” Seokjin says interrupting the silence.
Hoseok whips his head around and looks at him in shock. He thought he did a good job at hiding it but somehow Seokjin figured it out.
“When I mention strawberries you always grimace, you avoid eating all the dishes with them in it, and when you did have some you looked like you wanted to throw up.”
“I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to deceive you. I just wanted to talk to you because you were cute but I couldn’t get the courage to so I just started buying a bunch of strawberries and now I have way too many strawberries at home,” Hoseok begins to ramble.
Seokjin leans forward and shuts him up with a kiss on the cheek.
“It’s okay. I don’t care that you don’t like strawberries. Next time I can just make you something you do like.”
“Next time?”
“Well don’t you want to go on another date. I promise not to bring any strawberries.”
Hoseok nods his head and in a moment of courage, he leans forward and kisses Seokjin on the lips. His lips are soft and taste a little bit like strawberries but Hoseok finds that he doesn’t mind the taste of strawberries when it’s on Seokjin’s lips.