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Taehyung is a man on a mission, and Taehyung has never been anything less than determined. A mission to make his next-door neighbor, Jeon Jeongguk, fall madly in love with him. He’s even armed with two fail safe plans to get his man to fall for him.
Surely, nothing could go wrong.
First, is his beautiful and adorable dog, Yeontan. Whenever Taehyung strategically times his daily walks with Yeontan, he always makes sure it’s at the same time Jeongguk is coming back from his daily jog. Mostly so he can appreciate Jeongguk with his t-shirt stuck to his lean form, blond hair stained a slightly darker shade from the sweat, sticking to his forehead in that way that makes him look like a total heartthrob. Partially, because Jeongguk seems to love dogs or maybe he just loves Yeontan. Face lighting up whenever he meets him, crouching down to shake his tiny paw and laughing when Yeontan jumps up on his lap to lick his face. Even more than his thirst, Taehyung appreciates the eye scrunching grin that Jeongguk so easily offers to Yeontan, his heart fluttering in his chest whenever he sees it. The fact that the sentiment is mutual, Yeontan loving Jeongguk as much as Jeongguk loves him, shows that Jeongguk has passed the vibe check.
He almost wishes he himself could be on the receiving end of those beautiful smiles, too. He shakes his head, snapping out of it, he isn’t so far gone as to get jealous of his own dog.
His second plan is to bake cookies for Jeongguk. Everyone likes a guy who can bake, right? Taehyung is in his thirties now, he’s a bit useless in the kitchen, but he’s willing to learn if it’s for Jeongguk’s sake.
While Taehyung walks Yeontan, a cool breeze of early spring hitting his cheeks, he thinks about why he likes Jeongguk as much as he does. It’s nothing too deep or profound, really.
Taehyung is thirty-six, works as an art teacher at the school three blocks down, and still very much single. He’s a bit whimsical, heart always hanging on the tip of his sleeve, always on the ready to give away his heart to anyone who’s the slightest bit nice to him. That’s how Taehyung found himself married to a woman who took too much advantage of his kindness, was disillusioned by Taehyung when she looked past his face and found that she was bored by the interior that lay underneath. Mari liked the idea of Taehyung, but Taehyung himself was another story, and that’s how he found himself divorced and heartbroken two years into marriage.
Truly, Taehyung swore to himself that he wouldn’t let anyone in so easily after Mari, that he’d hold his heart close to his chest. And he kept true to his promise for the most part, turning down dates with people he didn’t quite ‘vibe’ with as the kids say these days. Ghosting men and women who didn’t pass Yeontan’s vibe check, because ever since Mari and how Yeontan hated her, he’s learned to trust his faithful dog. Dogs can sniff out suspicious people from a mile away, can smell the true intent underneath. Which helps since Taehyung is the type to always try to see the good in people even if there sometimes isn’t any to be found. He set up ground rules, made sure he wasn’t too easy, kept his heart close. Some called it baggage, Taehyung called it being cautious.
Regardless of what people called it, none of Taehyung’s relationships lasted long after his marriage stint with Mari.
It worked for the most part, yes, until he met Jeongguk that is.
His next-door neighbor who moved in three months ago, who came into Taehyung’s life in a flurry of bright smiles and beautiful eyes that shined brighter than a sky full of stars. He remembers their first meeting as if it were yesterday, a fond smile tugging at his lips at the memory.
The door knocking on a Tuesday evening in January, Taehyung being confused as to who would possibly be because Jimin only ever visits on the weekends, opening to find a beautiful young man swathed in snow. His blond hair peaked out from underneath his beanie, nose red, and hands trembling just a little bit around the plate of cookies. Taehyung noted the tattoos that covered his one hand, tried so hard not to swoon, because he had always been weak for beautiful body art. He simply can’t help it, it’s the artist within him.
“Hello! I’m your new neighbor, Jeon Jeongguk!” he introduced himself, pointing to the blue house adjacent to Taehyung’s where the cranky Miss. Hanya once lived. He didn’t seem cranky at all like her, however, eyes scrunching as he smiled to reveal slightly large front teeth. Like a bunny almost. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Taehyung’s heart clenched, he put a hand over his chest, as if he were trying to make sure that it stayed put. Because the way his heart was racing was almost as if it wanted to jump out of his chest and into Jeongguk’s tattooed hands, to stay there, for safe keeping. He swallowed, he must keep his heart safe.
“Oh, thank you,” Taehyung mumbled. “Kim Taehyung. The pleasure is all mine.”
He wanted to ask him why he was covered in snow, if he wanted to come inside for a cup of hot chocolate. He wanted to wrap him up in a blanket, keep him warm, ask him to stay a little while so he could get to know more about him than just his name.
He didn’t, of course, of fear that he would look crazy.
“I – I got – made – you cookies,” Jeongguk said, thrusting the tray in Taehyung’s hands. “I hope you like them, they’re chocolate chip, and uh very sweet and soft.”
It had been a cold winter, snow falling around them every day, and Taehyung had been feeling just a little blue and grey lately. A little lost, a lot lonely, nothing he wasn’t too unused to and besides, he had Yeontan. But when his eyes met Jeongguk’s tentative smile, his fingers brushing against Jeongguk’s with a touch that made electricity jolt down his spine, he felt nothing but warmth.
The ice that encased his weary heart thawing, his blue and grey melting away.
“Oh, you didn’t have to,” Taehyung said, heart leaping to his throat. He had to remind himself that this wasn’t a special gesture, that he probably gave cookies to everyone on their street, but it was still getting to him. “You’re too kind.”
He was too kind, that was the problem. Taehyung was always so weak for seemingly kind people, always falling so easily for anyone who was just a little bit nice to him. He was a bit lonely, too, nobody had baked him cookies, did anything nice for him in any capacity, in a long time so this gesture was getting to him more than it should.
“I wanted to,” Jeongguk breathed. “Let me know if you like them?”
Would you like to come in and eat them with me? Taehyung wanted to ask so badly, but he refrained.
“Okay,” Taehyung nodded, smiling lightly. “I’m sure I will.”
Jeongguk nodded, waving as he turned to leave when Yeontan yipped from the inside. Taehyung jolted out of his Jeongguk-induced trance, ready to catch Yeontan before he bit his neighbor which he had done one too many times, but instead Yeontan simply nuzzled his nose against Jeongguk’s leg affectionately like he was an old friend. It was an action so affectionate that Taehyung found his mouth fall open, surprise coloring his features, because he never saw Yeontan act so affectionate with anyone except himself.
Giggling, Jeongguk got to the ground, petting Yeontan with ease. He grinned at him, and Taehyung felt his heart race again, watching as Jeongguk rubbed between Yeontan’s ears and under his chin. He kept on waiting for the other shoe to drop, for Yeontan to bark or growl, but he never did. He simply wagged his tail, leaning into the touch, clearly enjoying it.
Somehow, Jeongguk had passed Yeontan’s vibe check with flying colors.
“What’s this little guy’s name?” Jeongguk laughed, tone lighter and free from his prior awkwardness. “He’s so cute.”
“Yeontan,” Taehyung replied, feeling dumbfounded. “I – uh – I call him Tannie, too.”
“You’re a good little boy, aren’t you, Tannie?” Jeongguk smiled, scrunching his nose as he grinned at him.
It was such a bright smile, the kind that brightened up a whole room and thawed away the cold of winter, bringing in the warm brightness of spring.
Jeongguk had left shortly after that, and Taehyung was left shell shocked, petting Yeontan with one hand as he snacked on the cookies Jeongguk baked for him with the other. They tasted really good, he realized, sweet and decadent with the chocolate melting on his tongue. They were still warm too, and Taehyung had to wonder if Jeongguk ran to his house in the snow just to give him the batch while it was still fresh. A thought that made his heart melt the same way the chocolate did.
Taehyung told Jeongguk the following day that he loved his cookies, polished off the plate, and handed it back to him with a note of gratitude. The note was signed with a small chibi of a pink bunny, mostly because Jeongguk reminded him a bit of a bunny in his cuteness, and he was happy to find that Jeongguk loved it. His eyes shined as he looked at Taehyung, held the note close to his chest like it was something special, and that made Taehyung reconsider things.
It occurred to him, that maybe his grasp on his heart hadn’t been tight enough. That he had just given it away to a stranger he knew little more about than that he was beautiful and had kind smiles. Sold because of some cookies and the softness of his tone when he gave him a little drawing he made in under five minutes. But if Yeontan approved of him, he guessed it would be okay.
And okay it had been.
Taehyung continued to run into Jeongguk after that. On his jogs, Taehyung walking Yeontan through the park when he would run into Jeongguk, the only person crazy enough to work out in the outdoors in the prickly cold of winter. They would talk a bit while Jeongguk played with Yeontan, Jeongguk asking Taehyung about his day and his students, asking him to show him one of his art pieces sometime. At the café where Jeongguk worked part time as he worked on kicking off his music career, Taehyung equally keen to hear his pretty voice, knew it would be gorgeous if his normal speaking voice was anything to go by. Jeongguk had even taken it upon himself to stop by Taehyung’s place every now and then to offer him some of his leftovers because he felt like Taehyung didn’t eat well enough. All because of a passing comment Taehyung made about not being able to cook without burning the house down.
It was nice, so nice, and with each day that passed, Taehyung found himself giving more pieces of himself to Jeongguk. Silly, the logical part of his head would tell him, but he always turned it a deaf ear. Whenever he was around Jeongguk, he found himself wanting to listen to his heart instead, the heart he had given to Jeongguk for him to keep. He had a feeling he would good take care of it.
Taehyung considers all of this as he walks, an extra pep in his step, realizing he hasn’t felt so happy and light as he has since meeting Jeongguk. He wants to ask him out, wants to be his boyfriend, though he’s not quite sure what a young and beautiful man like Jeongguk who has his whole life ahead of him would want with someone like him. An old man with a lot of baggage, who’s been married and divorced, and would rather stay inside filling a canvas with color instead of going out for drinks at the club. He shouldn’t try to taint Jeongguk’s youth by tying him down to himself, be selfless instead of selfish.
But still, he wants him, Taehyung wants to love Jeongguk and be loved by him too.
So he stops by the supermarket, gets some ingredients that he read about online, and goes home with a smile. Time to enact step two of his fail proof mission.
“I’m telling you, Tae, you really don’t need to bake cookies for him to win his heart,” Jimin says over the phone as Taehyung preps the batter. He accidentally put an extra spoon of sugar in, but he figures it should be fine, extra sweetness for a sweet boy. “You will burn your house down.”
“Don’t be dramatic, Jiminie,” Taehyung rolls his eyes. “I’m not that incompetent.”
“You literally are. You forget that I’ve known you our whole lives,” Jimin scoffs. “If I wasn’t already hitched to Joonie, we would probably be married now.”
Taehyung rolls his eyes, fondly thinking back to the drunken marriage pact he made with Jimin when they were nineteen. To marry each other if they were both single by the time they were thirty. Jimin was engaged to Namjoon by then, however, and Taehyung didn’t begrudge him anything. He was happy that Jimin was happy, engaged and later marrying one of the nicest guys to walk this planet, and a guy who genuinely believes that the sun shines out of Jimin’s ass. Jimin calls it true love, Taehyung calls it bad eyesight. Namjoon always chooses not to see all the ways in which Jimin is a slytherin and only sees the selectively cute side that Jimin reserves just for him.
“Are you saying you would bake cookies for me if we were married?” Taehyung muses, throwing in the chocolate chips. “I’m touched.”
“Hell no. Why would I bake for you when I can just buy it from the store?” Jimin scoffs.
“It’s about the intention,” Taehyung chastises him. “When you make something for someone special, it has a little bit of your heart in it.”
“I didn’t know you were such a romantic,” Jimin deadpans. “Actually I did, never mind. I’m just saying you don’t have to use the kitchen at all. Why don’t you like, get him flowers? Or draw him something if you really wanna go wild? Why cookies?”
Because that’s what Jeongguk brought for him the first time they met and Taehyung wants to return the gesture that meant so much to him. He hopes Jeongguk will understand the subtext, that it’s Taehyung’s round about way of asking him out. Or at least to get Jeongguk smiling at him, swooning for him, just like how Jeongguk so effortlessly does to him.
“Because. I wanna try something new,” Taehyung says instead so Jimin doesn’t mock him. “Besides flowers are too cliché, gives off marry me vibes, and I don’t wanna freak him out. A drawing is a bit random and also a little weird.”
“True. But you honestly don’t have to do anything at all, you’ve got those intense dilf vibes anyway,” Jimin replies in amusement. “I’m sure this Jeongguk has the hots for you.”
Warmth climbs up the collar of Taehyung’s shirt, pooling on the tips of his ears, coloring them red.
“What’s a dilf?” Taehyung asks, resolutely ignoring the second part.
“You’re literally hopeless,” Jimin sighs. “Look it up on Naver, I’m literally not gonna have this conversation with you. Good luck with your cookies and please try not to burn your house down.”
“Love you too, Jiminie,” Taehyung croons, hanging up.
He moves around the kitchen, Yeontan dancing around his feet as he hums a Frank Sinatra tune, getting a pan to put the cookie batter on. The kitchen is a total mess, flour everywhere including Taehyung’s own hair and his green vest since he doesn’t own an apron, but it’s nothing a good cleaning can’t fix. He’s followed the recipe quite well too, if he may say so himself, gives himself a pat on the back as a reward. Jeongguk will definitely swoon when he gives him these cookies, he thinks, putting the first two pans in the oven.
Sitting down on the couch in his living room, Taehyung tells himself not to forget the cookies which should only be in the oven for seven minutes, when he decides to kill time on his phone about three minutes in. He scrolls through it, considers Jeongguk’s phone number under the name ‘Jeonggukkie’ as Jeongguk put it in himself, but hasn’t had the guts to text as of yet. His thumb hovers over the number, but refrains, ultimately doesn’t know what he’d say. He’s not good at texting, never knows what to say, and Jimin has told him more than once that he’s a very dry texter. Likening him to someone who is either annoyed so their tone is clipped, or more accurately, an old man who just figured out the messenger app and is still figuring out how to text.
He doesn’t want Jeongguk to think he’s a boring old man or get annoyed that Taehyung fumbles a bit over the letters on his phone, making him respond slowly. There are just too many letters on the phone screen and Taehyung’s thumbs are too big. He almost misses the days of flip phones when the keyboards were manual, touch phones just mess him up too much.
Sighing, Taehyung flips to Naver, slowly typing in D-I-L-F like Jimin told him to. His eyes widen, warmth bursting on his cheeks as he surveys the search results, reading the definition. ‘Daddy I’d like to fuck’. He quickly scrolls past that, seeing how it’s a word people often use to describe older men within their thirties to fifties who are very attractive, usually with kids. Taehyung puts his phone down, cupping his cheeks, feeling all too shy all of a sudden.
A dilf, him?
Previous partners have called him attractive, he thinks he looks okay enough when he looks in the mirror himself. Tall, lean, shaggy black hair. He’s a bit lazy about his looks, often not bothering to properly brush his hair and his stomach is a bit too soft to the touch. The only thing he does like to pay attention to regarding his appearance would be his clothes, likes to wear nice vests and slacks, buying snazzy ties with fun patterns and designs to match them. He’s got a whole drawer of ties now, Jimin always indulging him by getting him a new one as well for every occasion, and Taehyung has always loved them. Does liking ties make Taehyung a dilf? He just thought that was ‘old man’ of him.
He doesn’t have any kids either, but in many ways, Taehyung considers Yeontan his child. His Pomeranian who has been with him through thick and thin, always looking out for Taehyung because his heart is simply too big and trusting, felt everything so deeply and loved too easily.
Taehyung shakes his head, Jimin is just being his usual vulgar self. There’s no way, even if he likes ties and has Yeontan, that he’d be considered a dilf. Being considered a dilf means that Jeongguk would want to fuck him, which is a line of thought that Taehyung refuses to entertain. He’s wholesome, he doesn’t like Jeongguk for any of those reasons, and Jeongguk probably only sees him as the nice guy next door with a cute dog.
Ahh, he’s really psyching himself out of asking Jeongguk out now.
Speaking of, Taehyung has been smelling a distinct smell of smoke for a while now, which is rather peculiar. It’s not like he was cooking anything –
Oh.
The cookies. It’s been forty-five minutes since he put in the cookies. Fudge.
Oh.
Taehyung scrambles to the kitchen, sees smoke coming out of the oven, panics as he turns it off and moves to rescue what can be salvaged. Grabbing a cloth, he opens the oven, choking slightly as he’s bombarded with smoke, the cookies are charred, and a few of them have even caught fire. The cookies he spent hours working on are now charred black, hard to the touch, and are evidently inedible at this point. Taehyung mumbles a quiet ‘fudge’ under his breath, taking them out, hissing in pain as the pans manage to singe his hands through the flimsy kitchen cloth.
“This is just great,” Taehyung mumbles, sticking his hand under cold water. Tears prick at his eyes. “That was an epic fail.”
The only reply he gets is Yeontan yipping at his feet mournfully.
“Yeah, this is probably an omen,” Taehyung sighs. Sliding down to lean against the wall, chest tight strictly because of the smoke and not his own crushing disappointment. “I should just give up on Jeongguk, he was always way out of my league anyway.”
Yeontan barks at him, and Taehyung turns to him, startles at the almost angry expression on his cute face.
“Hey, you’re just biased,” Taehyung says, brushing a hand through his fur. “I know you like Jeonggukkie more than your old man.”
Yeontan wags his tail and Taehyung laughs, scratching between his ears.
“Hey, at least try to pretend you’re loyal,” Taehyung chides. “I’m the one always taking care of you, bud.”
He doesn’t have enough time to wait for an answer when the door rings, Taehyung sighing as he moves to get up, breath hitching in his chest when he finds Jeongguk at his doorstep. He looks frazzled, eyes wide, wringing his tattooed hands fretfully as he scans Taehyung’s face. He can tell he came in a hurry too, dressed in his pajamas with little iron man figures decorating them, and his blond hair tied up in a small ponytail.
Jeongguk looks nowhere near as polished and put together as Taehyung has always known him, but he can’t help but think he looks beautiful all the same.
“Is everything okay?” Jeongguk fires at him. His brows knit in concern. “I was getting ready for bed when I smelled smoke coming from next door.”
Taehyung swallows, shoving his heart that climbed up to his throat back where it belongs in his chest, nodding. Is this the world’s way of telling him that the burnt cookies weren’t an omen? That he still has a chance with Jeongguk?
“I – yeah. Everything is fine,” Taehyung nods profusely. An awkward laugh falls from his lips, brushing a hand through his unruly curls. “I just – I was trying to make something in the kitchen and I, well it was an epic failure. Should have probably listened to Jimin.”
“Oh, okay then. Did you like, light your kitchen on fire?” Jeongguk asks skeptically. “Because your whole house smells like smoke.”
“No, no I didn’t,” Taehyung smiles. “Though I should probably aerate the house a bit.”
He keeps the door wide open, sitting on the doorstep, taking in a deep breath of the fresh night air outside. The pungent scent of ash and smoke is lighter outside, but Taehyung still feels like he can’t quite catch his breath anyway, dubs it as the Jeongguk effect. Always stealing his breath away whenever he’s in his vicinity.
How troublesome. Isn’t it enough that Jeongguk already took his heart?
To his surprise, Jeongguk sits down next to him instead of bidding him a polite goodbye and leaving, shoulders touching. There isn’t much room on Taehyung’s doorstep after all, so their bodies touch, but it still makes Taehyung wired. Jeongguk’s hot warmth pooling over to him, filling Taehyung up with heat, feels like a small inferno has been lit ablaze within him. He closes his eyes, basking in the warmth, in Jeongguk’s touch.
“I know you said you were bad at cooking, but this is a whole new level,” Jeongguk teases.
Yeontan comes out at this moment, jumping between them, barking cheerfully as he trotted around the backyard. Jeongguk waves at him, but goes ignored this time, because Yeontan is just excited to be outside. He has a pile of toys by the tiny doghouse Taehyung built for him, watches fondly as he curls up, chewing on the pink chew toy absently in contentment.
“Why should I need to cook when I have a nice neighbor who does the cooking for me?” Taehyung replies after a few beats, a small smile splaying across his face.
“Oh, I see, I’ve spoiled you with those leftovers, didn’t I?” Jeongguk muses. “I’ve created a monster.”
“That you did,” Taehyung replies seriously. He turns to Jeongguk, pulling one of his poker faces, the one that intimidates his students into paying attention during class. “Do I scare you, Jeonggukkie?”
The name falls from his lips naturally, even though it’s the first time Taehyung has called Jeongguk that to his face. He instantly regrets it though, when Jeongguk stalls, teasing smile dropping marginally. He breaks eye contact with Taehyung, brushing a hand over the nape of his neck, exposed with his hair up. A small mole at the crook of his neck catches Taehyung’s attention, finds it fascinating.
“Uh, no, not scary,” Jeongguk laughs, sounding forced.
“You sure? You sound pretty scared,” Taehyung hums.
“Very,” Jeongguk swallows.
Cute. Endearing. Taehyung’s heart melts. He pats Jeongguk’s head, ruffling his blond hair just a little bit.
“Well, you have no need to worry,” Taehyung says. “I don’t bite. That’s just Tannie.”
“Yeontan has never bitten me,” Jeongguk says boldly.
“That’s because you’re special.”
Taehyung looks at the sky, admiring how it’s a clear night tonight. The moon is full, a smattering of stars decorating it, a beautiful night. He’s always liked looking at the stars, was sure it was the right decision to move out of Seoul and back to Daegu, living somewhere he could actually see them. A place where he could take a breath of air, smell the scent of spring instead of the gas exhaust from countless cars cluttering up the streets with their pollution and loud noise.
He’s happy here in Daegu, happier sitting by Jeongguk’s side, feels content. Whole.
“Oh?” Jeongguk implores.
“Yeah, he told me himself,” Taehyung says, resting a hand on his cheek. “He likes you.”
“And you?” Jeongguk asks, looking at him beneath his lashes.
Taehyung loves the stars, but how could he pay them any attention when the constellations reflected in Jeongguk’s eyes are infinitely more mesmerizing to look at?
“I think you’re special too,” Taehyung whispers.
Jeongguk nods once, a soft smile forming across his features. It isn’t the same eye scrunching grin he often offers Yeontan, more subdued, but it still manages to take Taehyung’s breath away.
“What were you trying to cook even?” Jeongguk asks, changing the subject much to Taehyung’s disappointment. “I always give you some leftovers, you shouldn’t need to be in the kitchen.”
“Cookies. Chocolate chip,” Taehyung replies.
“Yeah?” Jeongguk questions. “You could have just told me, would have happily made you a batch.”
Taehyung’s heart jackhammers in his chest, wonders absently if this is his chance. To bring his infatuation to light, turn his embarrassing crush on Jeongguk into a reality. He could get rejected, sure, but Jeongguk is kind too. He thinks even if Jeongguk turns him down, they could still be friends, because that’s just how Jeongguk is.
“Well, I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Taehyung says carefully. “Because I was making them for you.”
They’re both adults at any rate, regardless of how things turn out tonight, he’s sure that they can deal with it maturely.
“Really?” Jeongguk says.
“Yeah, wanted to pay you back for the first night when you made me some,” Taehyung says, cheeks warm despite the cool night air. “I really liked them.”
“I – you didn’t have to,” Jeongguk mumbles.
“I know that,” Taehyung nods. “I wanted to, though.”
Jeongguk licks his lips. “Why?”
Because Taehyung’s heart isn’t his own anymore. Because he’s somehow made a home for himself in Taehyung’s heart, in Yeontan’s too, who is already so attached to Jeongguk despite the short time he’s known him. Because Taehyung has only known warmth since he’s met Jeongguk all those months ago. Because Jeongguk so effortlessly managed to melt away his blue and grey, made his life burst with color again, like the most vibrant canvas he’s ever painted.
Because Jeongguk is beautiful, he’s kind, and he deserves nothing less than some shoddy cookies Taehyung can bake.
“Because I like you,” Taehyung replies, the words falling loosely from his lips. They fail to encapsulate the depth of what he feels for Jeongguk, but he was never a wordsmith, after all. Maybe someday, he can show him with his art instead. “A lot.”
“Oh,” Jeongguk says.
Taehyung nods, resolutely avoiding Jeongguk’s eyes, afraid of what he’ll find when he looks at him. He can already feel the embarrassment crash down over his head, but he’s still on enough of an adrenaline high to keep going.
“Romantically,” Taehyung continues. “In a ‘I’d like to date you if you’ll have this old man’ kind of way.”
“Oh,” Jeongguk breathes.
“It’s okay, I get it if you don’t want to,” Taehyung says, fumbling over his words. “I know I’m quite a bit older than you so it’s weird –”
Jeongguk tilts his face towards him, silencing him when he feels his lips brushing against his, so gentle and chaste. Fleeting. Over before Taehyung could process that he was just kissed, before he could latch onto it, pull Jeongguk closer and feel his lips against his. Jeongguk is already pulling away, face a deep shade of scarlet that contrasts against his blond hair, his tattooed hand covering his lips.
“I like you too, Taehyung,” Jeongguk says, leaning his forehead against Taehyung’s. “A lot. In a ‘I’d like to date you too if you’ll have this smitten young man’ kind of way.”
Taehyung is swooning, he’s very much in love, and might already be planning their wedding in his head as they speak. He thinks Jeongguk would look absolutely stunning in a white suit if he may so himself, but he doesn’t want to get ahead of himself just yet.
“Yes, yes,” Taehyung nods vigorously. “Can I kiss you again? Properly this time?”
Jeongguk nods shyly, and Taehyung takes that as all the invitation he needs to cup his hands around the nape of his neck, their noses brushing against each other. He notices as Jeongguk’s eyes flutter closed that he has another mole, under his bottom lip, and can’t resist the urge to pepper a small kiss right against it. Then a proper one, lips melding together, Taehyung’s lips licking the taste of cherry lip balm off Jeongguk’s soft lips.
So soft, so decadent, so hypnotizing. A taste Taehyung knows he could get addicted to.
They break apart, Jeongguk gasping for breath against Taehyung’s lips, breathing the same air as Taehyung. Taehyung gently caresses Jeongguk’s cheeks with the pad of his thumb, revels in the hot warmth blooming under his touch.
“So you’ll have me even if I’m useless in the kitchen?” Taehyung breathes.
“Yes,” Jeongguk kisses him lightly. “I’ll do the cooking, you can help me.”
“And you won’t mind that I have an embarrassing tie collection?” Taehyung asks, flustered when Jeongguk presses more kisses against his lips. Frantic, as if he’s wanted this for a long time too.
“I’ll buy you a tie to add to your collection,” Jeongguk smiles, interlacing his hand with Taehyung’s.
Taehyung’s eyes sting. How could Jeongguk be so perfect?
“Sounds too good to be true,” Taehyung mumbles.
“Then will you believe me that I saw you coming home from a walk with Yeontan while I was moving in, so I made you a batch of cookies to impress you?” Jeongguk asks. He buries his face in the crook of Taehyung’s shoulder. “I saw you smiling, talking to Tannie like he’s your friend, and I already felt myself falling.”
Taehyung remembers Jeongguk standing on his doorstep, snow in his hair and a blush high on his cheeks. Wonders how much of that was from the cold and how much of it was from shyness.
“Okay,” Taehyung breathes, wrapping his arms around Jeongguk. “I have a lot of baggage, but I hope you’re willing to be patient with me. Even when I’m difficult.”
“We all do, it’s okay,” Jeongguk replies, pressing a kiss to the crook of Taehyung’s throat that makes him sigh in content. “I like you anyway.”
“Does this mean we’re dating?” Taehyung asks tentatively.
He brushes a hand through Jeongguk’s hair. He unties his hair from the small ponytail its in, lets his fingers roam freely through the strands, soft to the touch, shimmering gently in the moonlight. Jeongguk looks so beautiful like this, almost glows, and he’s his for Taehyung to touch. So very real under his touch, could never be a dream or a figment of his wild and hopeless imagination.
“Yes,” Jeongguk says, leaning back to press a kiss to the tip of Taehyung’s nose. Right over his own mole that lies there. “I would love that.”
“Good,” Taehyung sighs, pressing another kiss to Jeongguk’s lips.
He could kiss him all night without ever tiring, he thinks. How did he last so long without knowing the taste of Jeongguk’s lips against his own? How did he last all these years without a Jeongguk in his life?
“Can I ask you a question though?” Jeongguk asks, squeezing Taehyung’s hand.
“Anything,” Taehyung breathes.
“So…since you’re basically a hot dilf and all…” Jeongguk says, looking at Taehyung under his lashes. “Does that mean I can call you Daddy?”
Did he just hear that correctly?
Jeongguk wants to call him daddy?
Taehyung thinks back to those articles he read on Naver, about dilfs, and Jeongguk vocalizing those words to him so openly. He feels his brain short circuit, the word ending his entire existence, somehow throwing him for a loop more than this whole conversation did.
“I – if that’s what you really want, I won’t say no,” Taehyung swallows, a drop of sweat scaling down the length of his neck. “I’ll support you.”
Jeongguk throws his head back and laughs, a tinkering laugh that carries in the night air, clapping his hands in amusement. Taehyung watches him, bewildered, doesn’t quite understand what’s happening.
“I was just joking, but you took that so seriously,” Jeongguk grins, wiping a tear from his eye. There’s that smile that Taehyung is so smitten with, directed only at him, feels his breath hitch as a result. “You’re so cute, I like you so much, Taehyungie.”
Taehyung smiles, shaking his head, wondering if he’s just like Namjoon. Jeongguk is more of a tease than he is kind, apparently, but Taehyung doesn’t mind that. He likes it, likes Jeongguk, maybe even loves him just a little bit even if he won’t tell him that yet.
He holds Jeongguk’s hand in his, giving him the key to his heart, confident that Jeongguk will keep it safe.