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This was definitely not how Youngmin thought he would spend his evening. Since it was going to rain later and Woojin and he had agreed to cut their weekly walks in the park short, he had planned to work a bit on some music. Though these plans were crashed when the younger asked Youngmin what his birthday present for Daehwi was.
“Youngmin-hyung, what did you buy Daehwi for his birthday tomorrow?” Woojin looked at him curiously.
Youngmin stopped walking and looked at the other with horror in his eyes. “His what when now?”
“Hyung.” Woojin put a hand on Youngmin’s shoulder and squeezed it. “You’re in trouble.”
So that’s how Youngmin ended up walking around the city in the rain, desperately trying to find a store that sells something Daehwi might like. He didn’t mean to forget the younger’s birthday present, it just slipped his mind with how busy he had been the last weeks. To be honest, he felt kind of bad for the red haired boy, even though he’ll never know about how the eldest of their friend group almost forgot to buy him a gift.
The rain got heavier. Youngmin cursed under his breath and pulled his jacket closer around him. A few meters in front of him he could make out a store - Dam’s Calendars. In that moment, seeing the store that sold something that Daehwi liked felt like heaven to him. He had no interest in talking to the old lady that probably ran the shop, but it was better than nothing. He sprinted the distance and entered the store as quickly as possible.
Youngmin looked to the counter and spotted a bit of greyish or light blond hair - he couldn’t see it clearly because of the lightning - peeping out behind the counter. “Good evening, miss,” he greeted in a polite tone.
The person behind to counter straightened themselves and looked at him confused. The cashier looked nowhere near the sixty year old woman he expected. Quite the opposite. A few meters away from him was a pretty, blond haired man, possibly a few years younger than him. “I’m sorry, could you repeat what you said? I couldn’t hear you properly,” the employee asked. Youngmin exhaled loudly. Thank God he didn’t hear what he said.
“Uh nothing, nothing,” he rambled, his hands clutching the hem of his jacket. The employee just chuckled quietly. Youngmin could feel the tip of his ears getting warm, he was probably as red as a tomato right now. Great. He cleared his throat. “I’m looking for a birthday present for my friend.”
“Ah yes, do you know what your friend might like?” The cashier titled his head up to look at him properly. Only then Youngmin noticed how much shorter the other was. He was around as tall as Daehwi, he noticed, which was pretty short. About 172 centimeters, if he had to guess.
“A- A calendar,” Youngmin stuttered out.
He wanted to slap himself really, really hard in that moment. Right when he thought it could not get more embarrassing, he had to screw up. The cashier smiled the adorable smile he already smiled when he popped out from behind the counter, and Youngmin could swear his heart skipped a beat.
But before he could say something to embarrass himself even further, the other interrupted his train of thoughts. “Oh should I get you a towel? You look pretty drenched and I don’t want you to catch a cold.” The blond man looked at him with a worried look in his eyes. He must be a very caring person, Youngmin thought to himself, to even think about a stranger’s health.
Youngmin shook his head. “Don’t worry, I wo—” He interrupted himself with a sneeze. He sighed. That was kind of contradicting his point of him not going to catch a cold.
“Are you sure, sir?,” The other asked with a raised eyebrow, worry now prominent in his voice too. He didn’t know why, but his voice reminded him of something. Maybe they had stood in the same line in a grocery store before, who knows. He shouldn’t think too much about it.
It would probably take a bit for the cashier to find a towel here, and he didn’t want to cause any trouble or bother him. On the other hand, the other surely wouldn’t let him continue looking for a gift when he was dripping water everywhere. So he, eventually, reluctantly agreed.
“You can already look around to see if you find something your friend might like, but please don’t… make anything wet, you know?” He gesticulated towards the shelves. When Youngmin nodded, he smiled. “Great, I’ll be right back then.”
When the man disappeared behind a door at the back of the shop, Youngmin started walking around, careful to not damage anything. The store was rather small, still bigger than the flower shop he worked at part times, but whoever put up the shelves knew how to use the space well. In one corner he saw a section for calendars for children, something he could actually consider getting for Daehwi. Or not, Youngmin decided, the shorter boy would literally push him out of the apartment again.
He turned around and looked at some more calendars, when a purple calendar, decorated with comic-style cats, caught his eye. It was cute, Daehwi would probably like it a lot. In that moment the employee came back with a pink towel in his hands.
“I’m sorry, it’s the only towel I could find,” the blond man apologized.
“Oh no no it’s completely fine, thank you sir,” Youngmin thanked him, taking the towel and ruffling his hair with it in an attempt to dry it. The cashier stared at him for a second with his mouth slightly agape, before he blinked and put on his perfect smile again. Youngmin dried off his face, effectively covering up the blush that started to spread over his own cheeks.
“Did you find a calendar already?,” the other curiously asked Youngmin, who pointed at the purple calendar he had picked out earlier.
The cashier looked at him with wide eyes. “You like it? Really?” There was something about the way how happy he had sounded when he said it that made Youngmin’s heart jump. Was he really about to crush on a stranger for his voice? No, that would be ridiculous.
“Well, it’s for my friend,” Youngmin replied fast, trying to ignore the thoughts invading his mind, “not me, so it doesn’t really matter if I like it, does it?”
The blond’s shoulders slumped a bit. “Oh,” he said quietly, looking down.
“That doesn’t mean that I don’t like it! It isn’t… exactly my type, I would say, but I really like it. I’m convinced my friend will too,” Youngmin said panicked, not having meant to offend the other.
The employee’s eyes regained the shine they had before and he smiled at Youngmin happily. “I’m glad. I designed it myself and I was hoping that someone would like it,” he said while playing with his fingers.
“You designed it yourself? Wow, you’re talented.” He wasn’t lying, the calendar looked like it was made by a professional, and even though it wasn’t something he would put into his home, it was pretty to look at.
The cute man blushed. “Oh no, it’s not that good in comparison to the other calendars I sell here. I just wanted to try doing this myself since it’s my store and I wanted it to feel a bit more personal, if that makes sense.”
Youngmin titled his head. To be honest, it didn’t make a lot of sense to him, but he couldn’t just say that. Then, something else the man had said came to his mind again. His eyes widen in shock.
“Wait, you’re the shop owner?,” he exclaimed surprised. Looking at how much he had embarrassed himself already, he could never go back to this shop, especially when the blond was the owner and basically would be here all the time.
“Unexpected, huh?” The cashier let out a small laugh.
“Oh no no I just didn’t ex…pect…that,” Youngmin said, going slower at the end when he realized what he was saying. He, again, wanted to slap himself. Really, really hard. How more often did he want to embarrass himself like that? Didn’t he suffer enough already today?
“I mean…” He fidgeted with the hem of his jackets, trying to find the right words. In that moment the cashier interrupted his train of thoughts.
“I get what you mean, don’t worry,” he said smiling.
He most probably didn’t. The look in the employee’s eyes signalled confusion and… amusement? At least one of them was having fun.
They stood there for several moments, maybe a minute, an awkward silence between them. Then the man reached behind Youngmin to get the calendar he had picked and walks to the counter. Youngmin blinks, trying to get himself together before following the other man.
“How much is it?,” Youngmin asked. He fished his wallet out of his jacket and
“Hm?” the other hummed absently.
Youngmin blinked confused and repeated the question. “The calendar. How much does it cost?”
The other man let out a sound of understanding. “Ah. It’s 16.000 won”
16.000 won was a pretty low price for a calendar like that. In most stores the least would be 25.000 won, often even 30.000 to 35.000 won. It was a shame that he was selling it for so little, he could ask way more for it, Youngmin thought to himself. He took two 10.000 won bills out and handed them to the other.
“Keep the rest,” he said smiling.
“Oh no I can’t-“
“You can,” Youngmin interrupted the shop owner swiftly. “See it as a thank you for the towel.” He handed him the towel with a polite smile.
The owner of the shop smiled shyly, put the towel on the chair behind him and handed Youngmin the calendar. “Have a good day sir!,” he said cheerfully.
“You too.” Youngmin smiled at him and turned around to leave the store. Only then he realized that it became dark outside. Like, dark dark, pitch black. Not only that, but it was still raining, even more than when he first entered the store. He sighed and turned to the other man again.
“Do you mind if I stay here for a bit longer? It is still raining heavily and I’m scared that the calendar won’t make it back home with me,” Youngmin explained shyly. He didn’t want to overstay his welcome, but he saw himself in a situation where he had no other choice but to ask to stay longer.
The blond man looked up from the counter and smiled at him. “I understand… the shop closes in a few minutes, though,” he added after a small moment of silence.
Youngmin’s shoulders slumped. He didn’t know what he expected. The clock showed that it was close to 9 pm, and even shop owners had to stop working at some point of the day.
“Ah don’t worry, I’ll stay here with you until it stops raining,” the man calmed him down.
Youngmin smiled at him thankfully. He couldn’t believe how nice the other was, staying longer at his store just so a calendar wouldn’t get wet. “Thank you…” His eyes travelled to the other’s chest, looking for a name tag that could inform him about the name of the man in front of him.
The blond noticed and pointed at his name tag. “Jeon Woong. And you?”
He had a pretty name, fitting his pretty face, Youngmin thought. He stuck his hand out to the not anymore nameless man. “Lim Youngmin. Nice to meet you… Jeon Woong.”
Jeon Woong took his hand and shook it, his (by now) usual smile gracing his lips. “Nice to meet you too. How old are you?”
“I’m 25, what about you?” Youngmin guessed that the other was younger than him, but maybe he also just looked really young for his age.
“Ah, I’m two years younger than you… Youngmin-ssi? Is that okay? I have the feeling that we will be here for a while so…” He gestured to the with raindrops wetted window. “Only if that’s okay with you though. No pressure.”
Youngmin nodded. Such a strong rain surely wouldn’t stop so fast, but if he was honest, he didn’t really mind. Woong seemed like an interesting person he would like to get to know better, not to mention how his smile made Youngmin feel light-headed.
“Yes, yes, it’s completely fine.”
They stood there a few more moments, both not knowing what they should say or do. It was awkward, sure, but not as much as before. It was as if they were already warming up to each other more.
Finally, Woong cleared his throat. “Do you want some tea? I have peppermint tea, green tea, fruit tea… anything, really,” he said while looking up at Youngmin, a cute expression on his face.
Youngmin blushed slightly, for what seemed the millionth time that evening. “I’ll have a green tea, please.”
Woong nodded and walked up to the door to turn the open sign to closed and locked the door. He then grabbed Youngmin by his sleeve and dragged him to the back of the store. Woong let go of the sleeve to unlock the door. “After you,” he said sweetly.
Woong nodded and walked up to the entrance to lock the door and turn the sign to closed. Then he grabbed Youngmin’s sleeve and dragged him to the back of the shop. In front of the door he let go of the sleeve and unlocked the door.
Curiously, Youngmin entered the area. He couldn’t see much, but he guessed there were some rooms down the hall, judging by how long it seemed. Directly across of him there was… a kitchen? He turned to Woong, who had quietly closed the door behind them and now stood next to him, confused. “You have a kitchen here? That’s cool.”
“Well, I spend a lot of time here after all,” Woong said, smiling shyly. Youngmin looked at him. The way he said it indicated that there was more to it than Woong said, but he didn’t want to be nosy. Especially since they didn’t know each other very well, and it would probably be an intrusion of privacy. “Green tea, right?,” Woong asked while motioning for Youngmin to sit down at the table.
Youngmin nodded. The table was fairly big, more fitting for a family than for a small kitchen at the back of a store. What did the other need so many chairs for? Deciding that the question of the number of chairs wouldn’t invade his privacy too much, he cleared his throat.
Woong turned around from the kettle and looked at him. “Yes?”
“Why are there so many chairs? I didn’t think the shop would require so many people working at the same time…,” he asked. He then realized that implying that someone’s shop isn’t going very well, the very thing he just did, probably isn’t the best way to build a better relationship to someone. Well, now it was too late for that. “Oh I’m sorry if I offended you, I didn’t mean to…” Youngmin trailed off, not knowing how to deliver what he wanted to say properly.
Instead of being offended, Woong nodded understanding. “Don’t worry, Youngmin-ssi, you didn’t. The store really doesn’t require that many people, as you said. I’m the only person working here.”
“Really?”
Woong nodded again. “Well, the store doesn’t have a lot of customers, that’s something I have to admit. The revenue is too small as that I could hire someone, plus it would be unnecessary anyways. The chairs are for my friends, they visit me at work from time to time, sometimes even my brothers. When they have the time for it, that is. They’re pretty busy.”
“You have brothers?,” Youngmin asked, finally having found something they had in common.
Woong smiled. “Yes, two. Both are younger than me. I named the store after them. Midam and Yedam.”
“I have two brothers too. One of them is older though.” Youngmin smiled at the memory of them. He didn’t meet up with his siblings very often, but he truly enjoyed the time they spend together. Thankfully he had a break soon, so he had the chance to visit his family back in Busan again.
Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice how Woong placed a cup with tea in front of him and sat down on the chair opposite to him. He only looked up when the other tapped his shoulder. Woong was smiling at him. “Your tea is ready.”
“Why don’t they visit you at home?,” Youngmin blurted out.
“What?” Woong looked at him with big eyes, irritated.
“Your friends and brothers. You said they visit you at work, but why don’t they visit you at home instead?,” Youngmin tried to explain. He had already been wondering about that since Woong mentioned it, but he didn’t really have the guts to ask about it - until now that is.
“Oh…” Woong looked at the table, shying away from Youngmin’s gaze. “They… they do.”
Youngmin titled his head confused. If they did, then why did he look so… unsure?
“The store doesn’t bring in a lot of money, as you already said,” Woong continued, “so to spend less, I decided to move here. So… I live here. Kind of sad, huh?” He let out a small laugh.
“It isn’t. It looks very comfortable here, and it is nothing to be insecure about.”
Woong looked up from the table again, blushing slightly. “Do you really think so?” When Youngmin nodded, he smiled happily. Even though it hadn’t been away for long, Youngmin had really missed Woong’s smile.
They talked a lot. Family, friends, hobbies, their lives… pretty much anything. They had established for Woong to just call Youngmin hyung - "I still can't believe you were born in 1995!" Woong had exclaimed at some point. When they talked about their siblings, Woong had excitedly pulled out some photos to show to Youngmin. Turned out that Woong’s brother Yedam was the Bang Yedam, a well known trainee under an entertainment company. When asked about the different last names, Woong explained how Midam and him had different mothers but the same father and Woong got his father’s last name while Midam didn’t, and Yedam was from his mother’s marriage with yet another man.
At some point in the middle of their conversations - Youngmin was just complaining about one of his co-workers - Woong yawned. “What time is it… 1 am?,” he exclaimed shocked.
Youngmin turned around to look at the clock. Surely, it showed that it was about to hit 1. “Oh my god, I have to get up at 6, I should really go home now.” He grabbed his jacket from the chair and was about to stand up, when Woong placed his hand on Youngmin’s.“It is still raining. If you go now, the calendar will get wet.” Woong titled his head, seemingly thinking about what to say. “Or… you could go home without the calendar and I bring it to you in the morning? The shop opens at 8, I wouldn’t have a problem with-“
“No no,” Youngmin interrupted him abruptly. “You don’t have to! I’ll just try to get it home safely.”
Youngmin moves to stand up, brushing Woong’s hand off in the process. “Thank you for letting me stay for a while, Woong. I appreciate it a lot, really.” He smiled warmly.
Youngmin and Woong walked back to the main entrance of the store, where the key was still in the keyhole. Woong had probably left it there, knowing that Youngmin will leave again anyways, he figured. He swiftly unlocked it and turned around to Woong again. He reached for the other’s shoulder and squeezed it. “I’ll get going now. Again, thank you.”
In that moment, Woong grabbed the hem of his sleeve, like he did earlier when he led Youngmin to the back of the store. “Or…” Woong bit his lip, causing Youngmin’s gaze to unconsciously shift from his eyes to his lips. “You could also sleep here. It would be easier, don’t you think, hyung?”
Youngmin blushed at the offer. To his defence, who wouldn’t when a cute man whom you only knew for a few hours invited you to sleep over at his small apartment? “Are you sure? I don’t wanna bother you or anything,” he said hesitantly. He really didn’t want to be a nuisance, he already felt bad enough for keeping Woong up this late.
“You’re not a bother, Youngmin-hyung.” Woong looked up at him and smiled sweetly. “There’s enough space for both of us. Plus, I’d feel bad if I sent you back home in that weather.”
The black haired man sighed. “Okay, but only if you’re sure that it really isn’t a problem.” Woong nodded enthusiastically. “But I don’t have any sleeping clothes or toiletries.”
“I can lend you something from me. Got some oversized clothes that should fit you.” Woong looked Youngmin up and down and nodded to himself. “Just follow me, I’ll give you everything you need.”
A few minutes later, Youngmin finds himself in a small bathroom with a pair of sweatpants, a shirt and some toiletries. The pants were a bit small on him, but the shirt… Youngmin stared at himself in the mirror. It was loose fitting, even on him, so it must be even bigger on Woong. How the other must look in it? Youngmin shook his head. He shouldn’t be thinking like this about someone he doesn’t know very well.
After getting ready, they met again in the living room. Youngmin stopped putting his stuff on the couch when Woong entered. “So, I’ll take the couch and you the bed, I will show you where the bedroom is,” Woong said.
“No, you should sleep on your bed. I will sleep on the couch.” Like I thought I would, Youngmin added in his thoughts.
Woong simply shook his head and grabbed Youngmin’s arm. “Hyung, please, you’re the guest so you get to sleep on the bed.” He started walking, dragging Youngmin along to his bedroom. “Here you go, I’ll make sure to wake you up at 6 tomorrow.”
“Woong, I can’t just take the bed while you sleep on that rather uncomfortable looking couch,” Youngmin complained.
“Yes you can,” Woong countered stubbornly.
“No.” Youngmin moved to the bedroom door to walk back to the living room, but Woong just pushed him back until he hit the bed and fell onto it. And that is how Youngmin found himself laying under Woong who pressed him into the mattress, hands on Youngmin’s shoulders.
“I am so sorry for this, but I won’t let you sleep on that thing from hell. I can’t have you have back pain on your friend’s birthday.”
“But you can’t sleep there either,” Youngmin argued. He looked around, trying to finding a solution. Concentrating was, regarding the situation he was in, rather difficult though, but you really couldn’t judge him for that. Finally, he got an idea. “Just sleep here too.”
Woong looked down at him shocked. “What?”
“The bed is big enough for both of us, and you already have an extra pillow and blanket,” Youngmin explained quietly. “You don’t have to, of course, but I thought it would kind of benefit us both since no one has to wake up with back pain.”
“I can’t I… if it’s okay with you, Youngmin-hyung?” Woong looked at him hesitantly.
Youngmin nodded. “Of course, I wouldn’t have suggested it otherwise.” He tapped Woong’s shoulder, silently asking him to get off of him.
“Oh, oh yeah, right… sorry.” Woong blushed and climbed off of Youngmin.
When they settled for a position to sleep in - Woong on one side with his back to Youngmin and Youngmin on the other side, laying on his back - Woong asked if he had already set an alarm for tomorrow.
“Yes, 6 am sharp. I hope it doesn’t bother you.”
Youngmin heard a noise he could only interpret as Woong trying to shake his head while it’s pressed into his pillow. “It doesn’t, I usually get up around that time as well. To get everything ready and stuff, you know?”
Quietly humming in agreement, Youngmin closed his eyes. “Good night, Woong-ah.”
“Good night, hyung.”