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For Jimin, going back home to Busan has always been fun. He’s in university now and he knows nothing in Seoul could possibly make him as happy as the beaches of Busan do. The warm summer sun with the cool waves crashing against the shore, sunlight glinting on the surface of the water, it’s enough to exhilarate Jimin.
It’s been two years since he left Busan for Seoul, to study Molecular Biology at Seoul National, something that has better prospects in the capital after he finishes his degree. He misses his hometown just the same as the first day.
He tries to not get homesick and usually when he’s drowning in his workload, he does manage to forget about it but every morning when he opens the windows in his apartment, he is reminded of how much he misses the salty air back home.
Summer is a welcome time, he gets to have his mother’s home-cooked food and plump up for the semester while also meeting old friends, and visit the beach every day to etch the memory of the sea into his soul enough to last for the next few months for as long as he had to be in Seoul.
As summer vacation continued, the temperatures continued to rise, making Jimin switch from his afternoon walks on the beach to walks just around sunset. It was even warm enough for Jimin to wear shorts, short sleeved t-shirts and seek out the Baskin Robbins shop that was at the end of the corniche.
1st of August became a special date for him. After spending the last week of July sweating it out on the beach involuntarily, Jimin decided that from August he would cool himself down after the walk with an ice cream. Maybe a lolly, it didn’t matter as long as it was cold. Jimin just wanted to stop feeling drained after the walk which was meant to relax him.
Making his way down to the Baskin Robbins parlour he felt around in his pocket to make sure he had his wallet. The bell dinged above him as he pushed the door open to step into the air conditioned place smelling of the many sweet treats.
"Welcome to Baskin Robbins!"
Jeongguk called out to the new customer, popping up behind the counter when he stops short, smile fading off his face. Instead, he has to gulp. The customer who just entered is a boy slightly shorter than him, sporting sandy blonde hair with black roots. Wearing shorts that left his muscular thighs exposed, the boy is also wearing a loose white jersey which flutters in the ac to give Jeongguk a look at the large tattoo on his ribs.
The boy saunters up to the display case, where all the ice creams are and looks at Jeongguk, small hands splayed against the glass as he smiles disarmingly at him.
“Hi, I’d like a regular scoop of your favourite flavour and your number please,” the boy says, rendering Jeongguk speechless.
“I’m sorry?” he gulps, blinking in confusion.
“I’d like your number cutie, we could go for a walk down the beach, not too fancy,” Jimin urges, winking.
“I’m sorry, I don’t give my number out to strangers. I hope you like Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough because that’s my pick of the day,” Jeongguk forces a smile and turned his back on the guy.
“Cookie dough? That sounds great to me already,” Jimin hums, eyes still on the staff.
“Any toppings?” Jeongguk asks while scooping the ice cream.
Jimin squints at the name tag and smiles once he read it. “Sure, m&ms would be nice, Jeonggukie,” Jimin lilts. Jeongguk is taken by surprise, almost shutting the display on his hand but manages to catch himself at the last moment, proceeding to add the toppings like Jimin asked.
It’s not that he doesn’t find the new customer attractive. In fact, that was the problem. With beach shorts, wind tousled sandy blonde hair, a plaid shirt thrown over a loose white tee, and a walk that could rival models’, Jeongguk is a bit starstruck. He however is also aware that it’s not right to give his number to a complete stranger.
Jeongguk focuses on preparing the sweet treat and holds it out to Jimin once he’s done, Jimin watching him intently all the while. As Jimin takes it, there was a feather-like touch that causes a shiver to run through Jeongguk, even though Jeongguk tried his best to hold as little of the cup as possible without dropping it. Jimin has a dazzling smile on when Jeongguk looks at him, his own lips slightly parted.
“Thanks so much Jeonggukie,” Jimin says in that sweet voice of his, velvety and soft before Jeongguk can think too much.
“Would you at least accompany me while I have this?” Jimin continues when Jeongguk doesn’t make a sound, tilting his head to try and coax Jeongguk.
“You can take your 15 Jeongguk!” Jeongguk’s colleague comes in, clapping him on the shoulder right when Jeongguk wanted to stay behind the counter. Now he has no valid excuse anymore. He chews on his lower lip, looking up at Jimin from behind his lashes. Jimin is already seated by now, eyes still on Jeongguk as he twirls the spoon in his grip.
Jeongguk lets his heart do the thinking, his feet carrying him out to Jimin while his hands busy themselves with taking off his cap, untying his apron and mussing his hair a bit to make sure they don’t lay flat on his head.
Jimin smiles when he sees Jeongguk come towards him, clearly intending to spend his break out here with Jimin. He straightens up in his seat a bit more as Jeongguk takes his seat across him. Jimin wasn’t wrong. This guy is really attractive. From soft black hair to large doe eyes which sparkled in the light to the slender hands which tapped nervously on the table.
“I got you a spoon,” Jimin says, extending an extra spoon to Jeongguk who doesn’t take it, shaking his head.
“What are you trying?” Jeongguk asks instead.
“I told you I wanted your number, and maybe you’d like to share your pick of the day?” Jimin teased, waving the spoon.
“But why me?”
“You’re cute, that’s why. Why else?”
Jeongguk was shocked. Nobody had ever called him cute before. At least not in a similar context.
“Here, I’ll make it easier for you. Hi, I’m Jimin. I’m back home in Busan for the summer and study molecular biology in Seoul,” Jimin introduced himself, holding his hand out.
Jeongguk stared at the hand for a good 20 seconds before acquiescing and shaking his hand.
“I’m Jeongguk. I just finished high school and am working here for the summer till my undergrad classes start,” Jeongguk said, bowing forward slightly.
“Oh! Call me hyung then,” Jimin smirked, dropping honorifics as he got comfortable with Jeongguk.
Jeongguk makes a sound in the back of his throat, inquisitive. Jimin huffs in laughter, scooping up a small spoonful of the ice cream and biting into it.
“I’m in college, third year now. And you just finished high school so obviously I’m the hyung here,” Jimin explained lightly. Jeongguk just nods along dumbly, too enraptured with the way Jimin’s lips form the words. The ice cream has melted slightly on his lips, making them glisten.
“Why don’t you share with me?” Jimin whines a bit later, tired of doing most of the talking himself. He can tell that Jeongguk is holding himself back and he can’t think of how to make him more comfortable so that he talks more.
“I don’t share ice creams with strangers,” Jeongguk says easily, leaning back in his chair as he pushes away some of the hair that fall on his eyes. That one action has him looking so good, Jimin can’t help but grin at it. Jeongguk is really effortlessly attractive.
“Then I guess we will just have to become friends then,” Jimin replies just as easily, leaning his cheek on one hand as he regards Jeongguk. Jeongguk breaks the silence.
“How will you do that? Are you gonna come everyday and try different flavours till you’re exhausted?” Jeongguk chuckles, rolling his eyes slightly at the stupid thought.
“Actually, that’s a good idea. Why not,” Jimin smiles around the spoon, making Jeongguk do a double take.
“I could come in here, see you, have this sweetness in my hand and drink in your sweetness with my eyes, a different flavour everyday. How long will it take?” Jimin asks, leaning forward in eagerness.
“I think we have 28 regular flavours for now and two specials,” Jeongguk says, not understanding where Jimin is going with this.
“Okay Jeonggukie, I will come in everyday from tomorrow onwards, have one scoop of a new flavour each day and by the time I’m done tasting them all, I will have charmed you into giving me your number,” Jimin challenges him, eyes narrowed in smug confidence.
Jeongguk just laughs, throwing his head back and shaking his head.
“Okay, sure, let’s keep it that way,” Jeongguk shrugs. They’ll have a regular customer for a while and it’ll be fun for the staff members to see Jimin try out new flavours everyday and gauge his reactions. It doesn’t sound too bad of a deal to Jeongguk. At the end of the day, he can always give Jimin a fake number if he doesn’t like it.
While Jeongguk is caught up in his thoughts, Jimin finishes his ice cream and licks the spoon clean.
“I’ll see you tomorrow then Jeonggukie. I hope you work the same hours everyday,” Jimin gets off the bar stool they were seated atop.
Jimin is almost out the door when Jeongguk reaches out and grabs one of the lapels of the shirt, letting go as soon as Jimin turns around.
“I work from 4pm to 9pm everyday till the 1st of September,” Jeongguk says, unsure of what made him act so rashly.
“See you tomorrow at 4 then,” Jimin winks at him, turning around with a flourish before leaving the shop leaving behind a ghost of a smile on Jeongguk’s lips.
Jimin disappearing down the street allowed Jeongguk to finally breathe easy. He pats his chest a few times before turning to grab his apron and get back behind the counter.
“Seemed like you were having fun,” his co-worker teases, wiggling his eyebrows at Jeongguk but he doesn’t notice. He’s too preoccupied with the thought of a pair of plush lips along with the small smile dimple that he noticed earlier.
The rest of Jeongguk’s night is spent the same way, though he luckily doesn’t mess up any of the orders. He almost doesn’t get any sleep that night either, thinking of which flavour to give Jimin tomorrow. He thinks he’d like to see Jimin bite through a Rocky Road next. It’s one of the more popular ones and he thinks in a few days he could probably perfect the way Jimin likes his ice creams.
Next day, Jeongguk is buzzing with energy, excited to see the pretty boy at work again. He hadn’t expected to see someone so pretty and just his type when he first started off at Baskin Robbins for the 3 months of summer he had before he would leave to Seoul for his degree in journalism and photography.
When he passes by his camera before leaving for his shift, he itches to take it with him but shakes his head. It’s too early, he tells himself. He steels himself and makes his way out of his house to the shop on his bicycle, his nerves and excitement getting him there roughly half an hour before his shift actually starts.
He puts on his apron, his nametag, and his cap quickly. His co-workers from the shift before him give him strange looks but he clocks in, letting the person he is supposed to switch with go home early, even if by just half an hour.
He flitted around, giving all his customers wide smiles, making their experience just a tad sweeter. His co-worker also was grateful because Jeongguk was taking care of most of the work around the shop which meant they could laze around instead, sitting in the backroom.
Every time the bell above the door tinkled, Jeongguk cheerfully faces the door, welcoming their customers with vigour his customers have never seen him with. For the past month, they’ve painted an image of him as a shy guy, someone who likes to keep to himself and have only seen him smile politely at customers so today was quite a surprise.
Even though there is a steady flurry of people wanting to get their sweet fix, Jeongguk feels like time is passing too slow and it was almost 5pm when the bell dings to signify the arrival of the one person Jeongguk had been looking forward to seeing.
Jeongguk really has to swallow the lump in his throat that lodged itself there once he saw Jimin walk in. Jimin’s outfit has been changed from his jersey and beach shorts in favour of a white cotton tee tucked into a pair of skinny jeans which reveal to Jeongguk just how thick Jimin’s thighs are.
Jeongguk puts on his customary smile, no longer the bright one he had been sporting for the past hour and a half.
“Welcome to Baskin Robbins, what would you like to have?”
“A regular scoop of whatever your pick of the day is and your number please, thank you,” Jimin replies in an airy tone. If it was yesterday’s Jeongguk, he would have stumbled on air but today Jeongguk is different.
He chuckles and says, “one regular scoop of Rocky Road coming right up,” and gets to preparing the ice cream for him just as he had pictured in his head earlier today, handing it to Jimin soon after.
“I added cookie dough bits,” he says as he presents the cup to Jimin who just gives him a brilliant smile and a soft thanks before he makes his way to the table they sat at yesterday. It was clear that he was expecting Jeongguk to join him like he did yesterday.
Jeongguk complies easily, taking off his apron and cap behind the counter before taking his seat across Jimin. They only spoke for about 15 minutes yesterday but Jimin had had enough of an impression on Jeongguk for him to relax around him a bit more, be a bit bolder. He puts another cup of ice cream on the table.
“I didn’t order that,” Jimin says, looking up at Jeongguk putting his phone to the side.
“You didn’t but I didn’t wanna drool watching you eat yours so I got myself one,” Jeongguk clarifies with a bit of a nervous smile but Jimin’s eyes don’t stop sparkling with mischief and something else he can’t recognise.
“Oh, then ring up both of them for me please,” Jimin calls out to the other staff at the counter, laughing at Jeongguk’s shocked face.
“Did you think I wouldn’t treat you if you said that?” Jimin right out giggles now and Jeongguk is sure his face is splotched red by now.
“You look a bit like Howl in this outfit,” Jeongguk says in the middle of their conversation, distracted by the glint of the slender silver chain sitting between Jimin’s collarbones.
Jimin smirks.
“Want to be my Sophie?” he winks across at him but Jeongguk is not going to back down.
“And be your cleaning lady while all you do is whine? No thanks,” Jeongguk smiles sarcastically before rolling his eyes teasingly earning himself a harrumph from Jimin.
Their conversation continues till it’s time for Jeongguk to go back to work. Jimin comes to the counter to flirt a bit more and pays for both of their ice creams before leaving with a promise of coming in the next day to try a new flavour again.
Jeongguk wonders if Jimin will really continue to come in and have a new flavour everyday because Baskin Robbins isn’t the cheapest and for college students, being broke was a very real issue.
But whatever doubts he has are proven wrong as Jimin continues to come in day after day, week after week, just to try a new flavour and have a 15 minute conversation with Jeongguk at the table they now regularly sit at.
Towards the later days of the 31 days, Jeongguk found out Jimin had some flavours he didn’t like at all, like the ones with peanut butter. On those days, Jeongguk switched his ice cream with Jimin’s, wanting to wipe away the grimace on Jimin’s face that appeared when he tasted it.
Today is the 31st day and Jimin is gonna try the last flavour today, Gold Medal Ribbon. It’s one of Jeongguk’s favourites and he reckons Jimin will enjoy it too, considering his sweet tooth. Along with that, Jeongguk thinks it’s time that he gives Jimin his number. Without fail, he’s asked for Jeongguk’s number every single day and he’s been brushed aside every time.
Jeongguk also feels attracted to the older, from the way he walks to the way he laughs by throwing his head back to the dimple that shows up when he smiles to his lilting voice, all of it. It’s his birthday tomorrow and he wants Jimin by his side. He ponders if it’s possible, to go out on a date with an angel as a birthday present. There’s only one way to find out.
He gets to work and today he’s just a bundle of nerves, hands shaking slightly but enough for him to mess up a few times. He curses in his mind, shoulders slumping as he’s shooed away from serving duty. He sits on a stool on one end of the counter, by the cash register.
He is in full pouting mode when the bell jingles, announcing Jimin’s arrival but Jeongguk is too busy to notice. There’re chubby fingers adorned by rings that tap impatiently on the slab in front of him. That’s what makes him look up sharply, his sulking trance broken. Jimin’s eyes flash with mirth.
Jeongguk thinks after all this time, he’s gotten better at reading Jimin’s eyes. It’s tougher when Jimin is laughing and his eyes are barely visible from how much his cheeks bunch up (no, Jeongguk doesn’t think of sinking his teeth into them, not at all) but he’s gotten quite good at it. He will admit, Jimin’s eyes definitely do things to his heart. But there are very few things about the other that doesn’t rile Jeongguk up, in a good way.
Jeongguk smiles tentatively up at Jimin.
“Come on, give me my gold medal ribbon, sweet boy, and don’t forget your number while you’re at it,” Jimin urges him, snapping his fingers at Jeongguk.
It manages to pull a chuckle from Jeongguk as he stands and nods, busying himself with preparing two cups of waffle bowls with a cup of ice cream in each. In one, he puts gold medal ribbons topped with some hot fudge and in the other he puts in a scoop of chocolate chip cookie dough, topped with m&ms.
He rids himself of his apron and cap before carrying both the cups over to Jimin who sits at their table, scrolling through his phone. He grants Jeongguk his undivided attention once he senses his presence, eyes getting wider as he sees the two flavours. He reaches out to take the one that’s obviously his but can’t help but look at the other one Jeongguk has chosen for himself.
Jimin looks between the ice creams and Jeongguk but holds back whatever thought is going through his mind in response to what he sees. Instead he just points at the other ice cream, looks at Jeongguk and tilts his head in question.
Jeongguk clears his throat and readjusts himself on the seat before speaking up.
“Congratulations on finishing the 31 days to try all the 31 flavours here. In celebration, both the ice creams are on the house,” Jeongguk tries to speak convincingly but the way Jimin’s eyes narrow tells him that he didn’t do a very good job.
“You bought them both, didn’t you,” he squints at Jeongguk across the table who nods sheepishly.
Jimin sighs but doesn’t push further. It’s like he knows and honestly, Jeongguk wouldn’t be surprised if he did.
They’re both enjoying their ice cream in relative silence when Jimin speaks, breaking the spell.
“What about your number, Jeonggukie?” Jimin asks, licking the spoon delicately. The action enraptures till Jimin’s lips clamp shut and he can no longer see the spoon. That’s when he looks up to see an amused reaction on Jimin.
“Before that, I have something to ask you hyung,” Jeongguk finds himself saying.
“Of course Jeonggukie, anything for you,” Jimin assures him and Jeongguk trusts his words.
“Well then, would you like to spend tomorrow with me to celebrate my birthday? Just the two of us?” Jeongguk rushes out, fist clenched on the table and heartbeat erratically pounding in his ears, his eyes screwed shut.
He jerks when he feels warmth enveloping his fist to see Jimin’s hand covering his. He uncurls his fist so that Jimin’s hand lays on top of his now. Looking up from their hands, he sees Jimin is smiling softly, a different glow on his face from what Jeongguk has grown used to seeing.
“Are you asking me out on a date, Jeonggukie? On your birthday?” Jimin teases only half-heartedly. He’s actually elated at the idea that he asked Jimin to spend his birthday with him when he’s only knows him for a month.
“Yes,” Jeongguk breathes, swallowing nervously. His eyes flit all over Jimin’s face, to shy to meet his eyes but he can see the smile getting wider. Before Jimin can speak again, Jeongguk interrupts them again.
“And maybe even ask you to be my boyfriend. I’m moving to Seoul National in September so we won’t even be too far away from each other.”
The smile on Jimin’s face disappears, replaced with an open jaw.
“You’re… going to join Seoul National?” Jimin asks.
“That’s all you got from that?” Jeongguk straight up whines but eventually nods.
“I didn’t tell you because I wasn’t 100% sure and I didn’t want to get either of our hopes and dreams up before making sure everything is confirmed and it was declared the day before that Jeongguk would most definitely go for school in Seoul, at the same university as Jimin.
Before he has too much time to think, Jimin bounds up in his chair, circling the table with two steps and pulls Jeongguk into a tight hug.
“Thank you for giving me a chance, Jeonggukie, I will try my best,” Jimin is overwhelmed so you can’t blame him when he sobs a bit, looking Jeongguk up and down.
“Your best is more than I could ask for hyung,” Jeongguk laughs, patting Jimin’s back as they hug.
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“Oh by the way, here’s the number,” Jeongguk winks at Jimin as he leaves, a white paper snug in Jimin's palm with scribbled numbers on it.
After this, if Jimin and Jeongguk meet again at Seoul National University and continue dating as boyfriends, it’s nobody else’s business.
It’s nobody’s business knowing how well Jeongguk treats Jimin and Jimin treats Jeongguk.
It’s nobody’s business to know how Jimin and Jeongguk take long walks on the beach during summers because it was where they had their first date.
If Jimin goes down on one knee almost 7 years later as the sun hides beneath the horizon, painting the sky a pretty purple colour, it’s nobody’s business.
It’s definitely isn’t anyone’s business that Jeongguk chokes on a sob and falls to the sand in front of Jimin and hugs him while nodding fervently because he can’t trust his voice to form the right words fitting this moment.
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They make sure they have Baskin Robbins as part of the menu for the reception the husbands hold, giving everyone a taste of how they met.