Work Text:
Hoseok gently prodded his rice with his chopsticks. Glancing at his watch, he sighed dejectedly.
On a normal Monday through Friday, one would find Hoseok busy steaming lattes and rattling off customized orders. His comfort zone was behind the counter of Mikrokosmos, a cafe with a bustling clientele of businessmen and students. Well, part of his time anyway; his true comfort zone was dancing in a studio, smoothly running through new routines in front of wall-length mirrors, but that didn’t pay the bills. So Mikrokosmos it was.
It was bright and early on a Monday morning in the cafe when one such businessman caught his attention. His neatly-pressed suit brought out the golden hues in his eyes. Hoseok was immediately interested. He reminded Hoseok of a syncopated melody; deliberately off-beat, enough to keep him on his toes and anticipate the next moment.
Fortunately, the attraction seemed mutual. After flirting and smiling over the counter while making his mocha, they exchanged numbers and a few texts before he asked Hoseok to dinner that Friday. Hope and anticipation fluttered like a butterfly in Hoseok’s chest for the rest of the week.
This restaurant, Kim Chi, was a bit more upscale than his normal haunts. His normal haunts tended to be corner convenience shops, slurping up ramen and tteokbokki and watching the passerby from a table in the window. Actually sitting down and being waited on was luxurious. After being shown to his table a sharp-jawed waiter with soft-looking wavy black hair came over to fill his water glass.
“Hello, my name is Taehyung and I’ll be serving you tonight. If you have any questions about the menu please let me know!” his waiter introduced, beaming a boxy grin, and Hoseok couldn’t help but smile gratefully in return.
“Thank you very much Taehyung-ssi. My name is Hoseok. I’m waiting on another person but we’ll let you know when we’re ready to order.”
“Wonderful! Would you like anything to drink or an appetizer to start you off while you’re waiting?”
“Water and your house Kim Chi mandu would be wonderful, please.”
“Excellent; I’ll be back in a bit then, and I can go over the specials when our other guest arrives,” Taehyung declared and practically bounced off to put Hoseok’s order in. Hoseok giggled, appreciating his enthusiasm. Everything on the menu looked delicious and he couldn’t wait to enjoy the high-quality food that was just an order away.
--------------------
An hour later, Hoseok had a significantly different outlook. He checked his phone for the second time in thirty seconds. ‘I should have realized it was too good to be true…’ he lamented. It was obvious that something about his life’s rhythm and the businessman’s rhythm was too out of sync. He studiously avoided the worried glances from the waitstaff for the upteenth time. His appetite had waned as it became less and less likely that the businessman would show.
“Did you want to order another appetizer while you were waiting or…?” a cheerful deep voice interrupted his reverie.
Hoseok startled, not expecting his waiter to appear out of nowhere and give him a hopeful smile downturned at the corners. Taehyung grabbed his pen from behind his ear and made moves to gather his notebook.
“No, I… I should actually get going soon. Would you mind bringing me the check?”
Taehyung’s smile-frown started to look more like a frown-frown.
“Of course, I’ll be right back.”
The halfhearted smile Hoseok gave in return was clearly an attempt to be polite. He could feel his face fall as soon as Taehyung left the table. This was the first time someone had asked him out and hadn’t bothered to show their face. He hadn’t even texted to let Hoseok know he couldn’t make it. Hoseok pulled out his phone and immediately deleted the businessman’s number.
“I’m sorry to interrupt but are these seats taken?” Hoseok, for the second time in less than five minutes, startled and looked toward the source of the voice.
--------------------
A few hours earlier...
“Nonsense, hyung, we never get to go out and we are celebrating your promotion in style!” Namjoon declared while adding a bit more gel to his hair, artfully sweeping it off his forehead.
Yoongi met Namjoon’s eyes in the mirror. He honestly wouldn’t mind a quiet dinner in, just getting to hold Namjoon’s hand across their dining room table.
“Also, Seokjin said tonight was the only night this month he could reserve a table for us, so we’re going and that’s final,” Namjoon pouted, and Yoongi smiled fondly at him.
“Aigo, okay,” he put up a token protest. “But you’d better make it up to me later. I was comfortable in my blanket,” Yoongi pouted, standing up from their couch. Despite his protests, a night out would be good for them. He just needed to muster up the motivation to move; he knew Seokjin’s cuisine and the general atmosphere of his restaurant would be well worth it.
--------------------
After arriving at the restaurant, Yoongi and Namjoon were shown to their table shortly. Seokjin managed to get their seats in his cousin--and their dongsaeng--Taehyung’s section. Taehyung had brought over their menus and left to request some of their favorite appetizers.
Namjoon, meanwhile, had been musing over their dinner choices and which wine would pair best with their entrees. Yoongi couldn’t help his heart fluttering at how Namjoon wanted to make the night perfect. His eyes flickered around the room to stop himself from staring lovesick at his partner, when he noticed Taehyung waiting on another table.The other guest’s heart-shaped grin toward Taehyung was bright and cheery; it could almost rival the sun in its intensity. Yoongi couldn’t help but be dazzled.
However, over time and once Taehyung left, the light of his bright smile started to dim. Yoongi noticed the mostly-empty glass of water in front of him, with condensation collected on the outside. His plate had soy sauce puddles remaining and he seemed to be attempting to balance a single grain of rice vertically on top of the pile of rice.
“Joon-ah, how committed to this table are you?” Yoongi cast a significant glance over to the extremely attractive man that was showing all the signs of being stood up for a date. He watched Namjoon’s eyes follow his gaze quizzically. As soon as he took in the scene, they widened in surprise and intrigue. Yoongi and Namjoon weren’t strangers to inviting others into their beds on the rare occasion. But something told Yoongi this would be more significant than just one night.
“Not at all. I think I would enjoy a table over there more,” Namjoon grinned conspiratorially. Yoongi leaned over and brushed his lips against Namjoon’s cheek.
“And this is why I love you,” he murmured. After he picked up his jacket he turned to see Namjoon waiting for him, holding his hand out. He grinned and took his hand, following him to the man with the sunshine smile’s table.
--------------------
When Hoseok looked up to see the origin of the slightly raspy voice, he blinked in surprise. In front of him had to be the most gorgeous couple he had ever seen in his life.
The man on the left looked tall and broad and had silver hair artfully styled off his forehead. His dimples stood out from a self-deprecating smile. He wore boxy eyeglasses and managed to pull off the chic professor look flawlessly. Hoseok could imagine his melody as comforting lyrics over a mellow beat.
The man on the right had eye-catching bleach blond hair, which contrasted nicely with his all-black outfit. Hoseok saw an interesting dichotomy of softness in his face and sharpness in his eyes. He brought to mind a fast-paced song with a thrumming beat.
Hoseok’s fingers started tapping a rhythm on the table and his leg began bouncing. These men made him feel a good kind of nervous. It was the same exhilaration he felt before he performed; these men made him want to dance.
Throughout his appraisal they quietly stood, holding hands and looking hopeful.
“N-no, no one is sitting here,” Hoseok squeaked in response.
“Great! I’m Namjoon and this is Yoongi,” the silver-haired man spoke, pulling out the chair for the shorter man before taking a seat himself.
“Hoseok, I’m ‘94.”
“Me too! Yoongi is ‘93,” Namjoon provided, smiling warmly.
“We noticed that you seemed to be waiting on someone?” the blond man prompted, scooting his chair closer to Namjoon.
“Clearly no one of importance,” Hoseok rolled his eyes. At this point he was past the point of hurt and onto frustration and sarcasm.
“I think this ‘no one’ doesn’t know one thing about appreciating true beauty,” Namjoon added smoothly and Hoseok could feel his face flush red. Yoongi couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Hoseok. He was beginning to feel self-conscious.
“A-anyway, what brings you to the restaurant tonight?” Hoseok not-so-subtly changed the subject. Namjoon immediately brightened.
“Oh, Suga-hyung here is now a fancy producer at a new label, so we’re celebrating his promotion!” Namjoon teased and Yoongi smiled slightly.
“Suga-hyung? The Suga?” Hoseok gaped, eyes gone wide.
Yoongi blushed and looked down, looking quietly pleased. He nodded.
“From your reaction, it seems you’ve heard of him?” Namjoon stated proudly.
“I’ve been following your SoundCloud for years, your work is brilliant! Agust D is so good and so raw,” Hoseok gushed excitedly. It was hard to believe that the fierce rapper and producer sat in front of him, looking shy and frankly adorable.
“That’s me,” Yoongi said gruffly and Hoseok could tell that he was a bit uncomfortable with the attention. He decided to delicately change the subject.
“So, Namjoon-hyung, what do you do to occupy your days while Yoongi-hyung is busy producing?”
“A little of this and that. I mainly write for a local paper, but I also take care of a few bonsai--”
“--’a few’, he says. We have adopted more bonsai children than songs I have produced. The trees are decorating most surfaces of the apartment,” Yoongi finished, smirking at a bashful Namjoon.
“And we love them all equally,” Yoongi clarified, causing Namjoon to squeeze his hand tighter. Hoseok couldn’t help how his heart fluttered at the easy affection between the two.
--------------------
Taehyung had been prepared to tell Namjoon and Yoongi that Seokjin had a break in a second. His cousin wanted to stop by their table to say hi and bring a few specially-cooked treats. When he approached their table, though, he noticed they were no longer there. Looking around the restaurant confusedly, he realized that there seemed to be a few more guests at another one of his tables.
Heading over to Hoseok’s table he couldn’t contain his grin. He had been planning to comp Hoseok’s mandu since he had been kind toward Taehyung and his night seemed to be going awfully. Instead, Taehyung noted the addition of the couple and was excited. Hoseok could sample some of the best dishes from Seokjin’s kitchen and enjoy his hyungs’ company. They were talking animatedly and Hoseok couldn’t seem to keep his heart-shaped grin off his face. His eyes even looked considerably more starry. Taehyung brought out his notepad with the relief that Hoseok wasn’t leaving with a bad experience.
“Ah, Hoseok-ssi, I see you’ve met Namjoon and Yoongi-hyung. I wanted to let you know that Jin-hyung is planning on stopping by soon, but while you’re waiting, do you know what you would like for your meal tonight?” Taehyung’s grin could barely be contained on his face.
“We’ll have the beef and pasta specials, and…” Namjoon prompted Hoseok.
“The pork belly dish, please,” Hoseok added, smiling.
“Oh, and please bring us a bottle of Merlot,” Namjoon added.
“Great choices. I’ll go put those orders in and grab you all some more water,” Taehyung left the table, hiding his boxy grin when the trio resumed talking in warm tones. He was excited for his hyungs and couldn’t wait to tell Jimin and Jungkook the events of the night.
--------------------
“I hope you gentlemen are having a good night?” a man who looked like he could be equally as comfortable on the cover of a magazine as waiting tables approached the trio. He brought plates of appetizers--hobak jeon, fried chicken, goguma mattang, and gimbap--which he set down on the table.
“Compliments of the chef,” he added with a wink. It took a minute or so for Hoseok to realize he was in an all-white chef’s outfit.
“Thank you, Seokjin-hyung,” Yoongi immediately slid the sweet goguma mattang closer, ready to pounce. Namjoon looked on affectionately and Hoseok couldn’t help giggling at his enthusiasm. Hoseok sampled a bit of the hobak jeon; the sauce served alongside the fried zucchini complimented it perfectly.
“Ah, thank you hyung! Yes! Seokjin-hyung, this is Hoseok,” Namjoon cheerily introduced them, sneaking a bite of gimbap, and Hoseok ducked his head politely.
“Nice to meet you!”
“Seokjin-hyung is the head chef and owner of this restaurant,” Yoongi added belatedly and Hoseok’s eyes went as wide as saucers.
“Ah, v-very nice to meet you, Seokjin-ssi! Your food is excellent!” Hoseok rushed to add, and Seokjin guffawed.
“Aish, a friend of Namjoon-ah and Yoongi-yah is a friend of mine; please call me hyung. I’m glad you’re enjoying your meal.”
“Yes, thank you! It’s delicious!”
“Hoseok-ah, you said that already,” Yoongi teased and Hoseok blushed a brighter red.
“Be polite, Yoongi, or I won’t give you your special celebratory dessert after your meal,” Seokjin chided.
“Dessert?” Yoongi perked up, before registering the rest of Seokjin’s sentence. “No, hyung, that’s not fair!”
“Really, I’m not offended!” Hoseok was quick to pipe up, and Yoongi turned his gummy smile toward Seokjin.
“See? Hoseok-ah’s feelings weren’t hurt. And if they were they would be easily cured by one of your fabulous desserts. Plus, like you said, it’s my celebration! And celebrations aren’t true celebrations without dessert.”
“In case you couldn’t tell, hyung has a bit of a sweet tooth,” Namjoon stage-whispered to Hoseok. Hoseok snickered.
“You raise valid points, Yoongi-yah. If you stay on your best behavior I’ll send out the dessert after your meal. I don’t have much time now; I should be returning to the madhouse in the back. But I wanted to drop off these appetizers and say hi to some of my favorite dongsaengs. Congratulations on your promotion, Yoongichii!” Seokjin sing-songed, before waving and heading back through the swinging doors and into the kitchen.
Taehyung soon arrived with their main dishes and they ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the presentation and savored the flavors. As they were finishing up the main entrees, Hoseok realized his night had taken such a drastic and welcomed turn. Initially in response to being stood up he was planning on heading home. Drowning his sorrows with ice cream, his couch, and the first mindless movie he could find seemed to be a solid plan. Instead, he had gotten to meet not only one of his favorite producers but also the owner of the restaurant, who had prepared delicious food and brought them extra.
And, most importantly, he reveled in the presence of two incredibly kind, incredibly good-looking men. Things like this didn’t happen in real life. Everything seemed to be sinking in rapidly and he suddenly felt very overwhelmed. He needed to distance himself for a second to catch his breath.
“I’m going to go… powder my nose? But I’ll be back,” Hoseok weakly supplied, laughing at his own joke before actually excusing himself to retreat to the restroom. Yoongi and Namjoon looked at each other, a little concerned.
“I hope he’s doing okay. I guess we’ll see when he returns?” Namjoon questioned once he was out of earshot. Yoongi nodded.
“I really like him, Joon.”
“Me too, hyung.”
“We can ask if he’s interested... but I think only one of us should?” Yoongi suggested.
“Let me, you can go ask Jin-hyung why our dessert hasn’t arrived yet,” Namjoon offered, smiling indulgently when Yoongi puffed up like an angry cat.
“That’s right! He did promise me dessert!” Yoongi pouted, crossing his arms indignantly before heading toward the kitchen area.
“Hyung, I don’t think you can go back--” Namjoon started at his retreating back, before huffing out a laugh at his partner’s determination. He supposed he just had to play the waiting game now, with the prizes being a delicious dessert and hopefully the company of not just one, but two beautiful men.
--------------------
“Yoongi went to ask Jin-hyung about dessert,” Namjoon offered once Hoseok had returned from the restroom. Hoseok chuckled.
“I’m sure he isn’t pleased that we haven’t received it yet.”
“That would be a bit of an understatement,” Namjoon laughed. “While he was gone though we wanted to ask, would you like to do something after dinner?”
“I… I don’t want this night to end, but I am also exhausted after everything that happened,” Hoseok confessed, biting his lip. He couldn’t help his bone-deep tiredness after the emotional rollercoaster he had been put through this night. His minor freak-out in the bathroom luckily passed quickly, but it left him feeling more drained than expected.
“We of course need to talk more if we decide to take it further than tonight, but would you like to come back to ours? We could have a few drinks and maybe watch a movie?”
Hoseok looked hesitant at the offer. He didn’t want to intrude any more on the couple’s date night, but he wasn’t quite prepared to say goodbye... and Namjoon made it sound like Hoseok was welcome...
“Yoongi also makes the best snacks, if you want any after this theoretical dessert,” Namjoon cajoled, trying to sweeten the deal.
“I don’t think I could eat much else after Seokjin-hyung’s delicious cooking, but a relaxing end to the night does sound great,” Hoseok offered cautiously and Namjoon grinned widely in response.
“Fantastic!” Namjoon tried to contain his enthusiasm so as not to overwhelm Hoseok.
Yoongi, with the best timing, came back to their table at that moment. He was grinning widely and brandishing what looked like a small mountain. Namjoon took one look at it and laughed.
“I have returned with Jin-hyung’s molten chocolate cake!” Yoongi proudly placed the cake down on the table as if it were a precious trophy.
“Hyung, that is incredible. I’m impressed he managed to make that much cake without it collapsing in on itself!” Hoseok marveled. He couldn’t wait to taste the chocolatey concoction.
“Jin-hyung has always manifested miracles when it comes to food,” Yoongi stated sagely.
“As excited as I am to try this cake, I have to use the restroom. I’ll be back shortly!” Namjoon stated, catching Yoongi’s eye meaningfully. Hoseok missed the exchange completely, he was so engrossed in admiring Seokjin’s creation. He bit his lip as Namjoon walked away, trying to think of the best way to approach eating this, and Yoongi offered him one of his three spoons.
“Would you like to share? Hyung was just expecting Namjoon and I tonight, so he only made one dessert. If you don’t want to share, I can ask him to make another!”
“Oh, no, I don’t mind, and Seokjin-hyung has done so much for us already!”
They dug in, marveling over the spongy cake and enjoying the warm, gooey center. Hoseok was a little startled when he looked up from his bite to see Yoongi holding out a piece of cake on his spoon hopefully. Hoseok slowly leaned forward to take the offered bite, looking up at Yoongi through his bangs. Yoongi’s breath seemed to catch as he withdrew the spoon from Hoseok’s mouth. He cleared his throat.
“Did Namjoon tell you that we’re both interested in seeing where the night goes?” Yoongi’s voice came out a little deeper than usual. Hoseok smiled, nodding.
“Yes! I don’t have a lot of energy after everything that happened today, but Namjoon offered me over for a movie and some of your famous movie snacks?”
Yoongi chuckled. “Of course, I’d be happy to make some snacks if we still have room in our stomachs when we arrive home.”
They somehow managed not to eat the entire cake before Namjoon returned. Happily, they finished the rest; all three feeding each other little bites of chocolate heaven. When they asked for the check Taehyung looked at them oddly.
“As if you’d have to pay for a celebratory meal here. Jin-hyung told me it’s on the house!” Taehyung stated in a tone that suggested he was offended they even tried to ask. In retaliation, the trio all pitched in to tip the estimated cost of the meal, before grabbing a taxi and heading back to Namjoon and Yoongi’s apartment.
--------------------
Hoseok ended up falling asleep halfway through the movie. Namjoon had picked Your Name, a movie they had all stated they had seen before, with the full knowledge that Hoseok would likely not make it to the credits. Yoongi, as promised, made delicious hotteok after they arrived home; they each could only eat one pancake though, still very full from dinner. They had the foresight to pause the movie after food to wash up for bed. Yoongi had laid out a soft, oversized hoodie, a fluffy towel, and a bright green toothbrush for Hoseok, saying he thought Hoseok would appreciate the color.
“I love it hyung,” Hoseok mumbled, smiling tiredly but gratefully.
He couldn’t remember much of returning to the couch and movie after washing up. He was brought back into wakefulness by two hushed voices and the credit music rolling.
“Ah, Hoseok-ah, we were planning on bringing a blanket here; we didn’t want to wake you,” Namjoon apologetically stated. Hoseok could see the plush, neatly-folded plaid blanket he was holding, and made grabby hands toward it. Namjoon laughed and passed him the blanket and he immediately bundled up tightly.
“The couch is horribly uncomfortable to sleep on, though. I’ve fallen asleep too many times while writing and mixing,” Yoongi added.
“If you’d like to save your back from the couch, you’re welcome to sleep with us. I promise, no funny business, just sleep. There’s plenty of room.”
“Mmm, normally I wouldn’t impose but right now that sounds wonderful,” Hoseok sleepily said, blinking slowly and barely remembering not to rub at his eyes in exhaustion. “I love cuddling,” he added under his breath, his verbal filter erased by fatigue. It was quiet enough in the apartment that Yoongi and Namjoon managed to hear the murmuring and they shared a smile.
“We can make that happen.”
Hoseok stood up and started walking in the general direction of the other rooms, forgetting for a moment that he didn’t know where their bedroom was. Namjoon and Yoongi were privileged enough to see a sleepy Hoseok, bundled in a blanket, waddle down the hallway.
“Second door to your right,“ Yoongi added helpfully after the adorable sight, before giving Namjoon a smiling kiss on the lips and following.
They both entered the room to see that Hoseok had managed to curl up even more, tucked in tightly with his blanket toward the edge of the bed. They gently prodded him until he rolled to the center of the bed and scooted under the covers on either side of him. After double-checking that Hoseok didn’t mind his personal space being invaded, they cuddled in close.
As Hoseok fell asleep he couldn’t help but be grateful that his evening had taken a turn for the better. Namjoon and Yoongi were two harmonies that complimented the melody of his life perfectly. He knew they would change it for the better. Warm and content between them in their frankly ginormous bed, he couldn’t think of anywhere else he’d rather be.
