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Jeongguk’s a little ticked off, to say the least.
He’s been waiting in the coffee shop for close to half an hour now, and he knows, somewhere in the back of his mind, that Areum isn’t going to show up. She hasn’t texted to say she’s running late, and she was pretty hesitant in accepting him anyways, since she just got out of a relationship.
Mostly, he’s ticked off that she said yes, and then didn’t bother to show up. He could be at home working on his drawing for the exhibition next month or at the dance studio with Hoseok-hyung working on a new routine.
And he wasn’t even particularly excited to ask Areum out, but Jimin had called him scared so Jeongguk had asked her out before he had even considered that it wasn’t the nicest thing to ask someone out just because someone else had practically dared you to do it. So this is karma probably. And now he’s sitting alone in a coffee shop that’s getting served by a guy who looks like he got dressed in the dark this morning, or like he picked his clothes out of his grandfather’s closet – if the pinstripe pants are anything to go by.
The coffee shop is empty except for him, a lovey-dovey couple in the corner feeding each other and kissing each other between bites, and a girl basically plugged into her laptop with headphones clamped over her ears as she downs cup after cup of coffee and moves her fingers like lightning across the keyboard.
And the one barista. The one barista who’s acting out monologues behind the counter.
Jeongguk would probably be more amused if he wasn’t so horrified. Mostly it was from second-hand embarrassment. Jeongguk can feel himself blushing a little for the guy.
But the barista doesn’t seem to have any shame, continues some scene that Jeongguk thinks is supposed to take place in 13th century France, he’s not really sure, but Jeongguk can’t help but watch. Besides the fact that the barista’s really weird, he’s also really really cute.
Which is a little discomforting to Jeongguk, not because he finds the male barista hot, but because he finds the barista who has a Pikachu bandana tied around his forehead and is currently using the broom as a mic attractive. Somehow. Jeongguk’s still working out the logistics.
He thinks he should probably leave the coffee shop before he does anything embarrassing (like flirt with the barista), but when he grabs his bag, suddenly the barista’s at his side and setting a drink down on the table.
“Uh,” Jeongguk says, flicks his eyes from the mint green mug to the nametag that says V!!!!!!!!!! ^.^ and finally up to the barista’s face. “Uh?”
“I made you a drink!” V says excitedly, points enthusiastically down at the mug.
“I didn’t order this,” Jeongguk says slowly, because he thinks V might be the kind of person who’s a little bit sensitive when he does things for other people without being asked to, and then gets rejected.
“I know!” V apparently can’t keep this dumb grin off his face, wide and bright and rectangular, but Jeongguk also doesn’t really want to see his face without it. He kind of likes V’s smile a lot. “I made it to cheer you up. It’s a secret drink! Not even on the menu because I made it up myself.”
“Oh,” Jeongguk doesn’t know exactly what to say to this, because in any other context this could be flirting, but V also looks like the kind of person who’d do something like this in a genuine attempt to cheer someone up. “What’s in it?
“I call it ‘lean green fighting machine’,” V explains. “It’s like a green tea latte, but so. Much. Better. Look! Even the mug’s green!”
“I…see,” Jeongguk stares at him a little bit, and when V’s smile wanes a little, Jeongguk hurriedly picks up the mug and takes a sip. It was actually pretty good, it was like a green tea latte except something spicier was in it, like cinnamon.
“Is it good?” V asks, eyes bright and pleading, and leaving Jeongguk a little breathless.
“Uh, yeah it is, good job.”
V positively preens at this and then sets down a biscotti too. “It didn’t make you smile though.”
Jeongguk doesn’t know what to say to that.
“Oh well,” V straightens up and claps his hands loudly. “I guess I have to try harder. Don’t go anywhere!”
Jeongguk sits back, bemused.
He watches V work behind the counter, mouth moving but Jeongguk can’t hear anything, so he thinks V might be singing. He kind of wants to hear it because someone who smiles that bright can’t have anything less than a voice that would reach down into Jeongguk and spread out through his arms and legs and fingers and toes and fill him with so much warmth he would forget what it meant to be cold.
He moves up to the bar to drop off his empty mug and plate, and slides into a stool so he can watch V work.
“Aha!” V exclaims suddenly, pulls out a squeeze bottle filled with chocolate sauce, and Jeongguk watches as V’s brows furrow in complete concentration when V leans over to squeeze out a design.
“So what’s your name?” Jeongguk asks finally.
“V!” V quips cheerfully, not even looking up from the new drink.
“No, I mean, what’s your real name?” Jeongguk laughs a little.
V glances up at that, corners of his mouth lifting a little. “Kim Taehyung, 19 years old, majoring in English, and design artist extraordinaire!” He punctuates the last part by sliding the blue and white checkered mug towards Jeongguk.
Jeongguk tries not to laugh, he really does, but he can’t help it because the blob looks like a camel with three humps and wings.
“It looks like a camel with three humps and wings,” he tells Taehyung, not bothering to cover his laughter.
Taehyung leans across the counter to look at the mug the same way as Jeongguk. “Does it really? I was trying really hard to make Pegasus though.” He pouts a little, but then smiles again. “At least it got you to smile, so I can count it as a winning design either way.” He pokes Jeongguk’s cheek as he says this.
“So what did you put in this?” Jeongguk asks, lifts the mug towards himself, trying not to blush too hard. He doesn’t like when people he doesn’t know get too close in his personal space – he doesn’t even really like it when people he does know get too close – but Taehyung’s different for some reason.
“This one is called ‘pb&j’, obviously named because it’s supposed to be peanut butter and jelly,” Taehyung explains.
“Obviously,” Jeongguk can’t help the small fond smile and hopes the mug is covering it from Taehyung’s view.
He takes a sip and – it’s not bad, but it takes a few sips to get used to it. It’s a latte that has some kind of nutty flavour to it, but there must be a shot of raspberry flavour in there too.
“Hmmm,” Jeongguk flicks his eyes up to Taehyung who’s bouncing up and down a little.
“So, so? What do you think?” Taehyung rocks forward and props his chin up on his hands.
“It’s really good,” Jeongguk says automatically, and he’s rewarded with Taehyung’s blinding smile again, so it was worth the little white lie.
He forces himself to finish it, and it’s doesn’t taste too bad so he can get it down without grimacing too much, but he sighs a little in relief when he finishes. Taehyung chatters away the whole time, talks about how he grew up in a rural area and lived on a farm, how his English teacher in high school really helped him get a scholarship to come to university in the city, how he wants to do the same thing and help other kids reach their dreams.
Jeongguk thinks Taehyung’s kind of sort of amazing.
(He’s also completely forgotten about his earlier vow to not embarrass himself by flirting with the barista because when Taehyung gets some whipped cream on his cheek, Jeongguk doesn’t even hesitate to lean forward a little and wipe it off.)
(Taehyung immediately stops talking and his cheeks go pink, and he lets out a giggle, and Jeongguk thinks it’s the cutest thing he’s ever heard.)
(Jeongguk’s never even really liked cute before, what the hell.)
“Wait, what do you want to draw?” Jeongguk asks, watches as Taehyung shakes the squeeze bottle filled with chocolate.
“A lion!” Taehyung shakes the bottle vigorously.
“Let me.” Jeongguk holds his hand out for the bottle, feels a little stupid but kind of giddy because he wants to show off to Taehyung and he’s done cake designs before so this can’t be too different.
“Oooo,” Taehyung breathes. “Really? Come around then!”
“Am I allowed?” Jeongguk asks doubtfully.
Taehyung shrugs. “Sure, besides, you’re the only one here.”
Jeongguk looks around and realizes it’s true. In the time of him flirting and being focused solely on Taehyung, everyone else had left the coffee shop. He walks around the corner of the counter and joins Taehyung, maybe stands a little closer than necessary.
“I don’t know your name,” Taehyung nudges him a little, not enough to move Jeongguk away. Taehyung laughs. “And I even let you behind the counter on our first date! That’s a lot of trust you know, and I don’t even know your name.”
“Jeon Jeongguk,” Jeongguk says dazedly, a little amazed at Taehyung who can say weighted words so lightly, who can act so familiarly with someone he’s only just met. Jeongguk wants to protect it somehow, protect this side of Taehyung who lets anyone in and whose smile is the reason the sun comes up every day, just so people could see it.
“Jeongguk,” Taehyung says seriously, presents him with the squeeze bottle. “I give you the chocolate sauce and I trust you to make the most majestic lion design. If you do this, you can get one reward from Kim Taehyung.”
“A reward, huh?” Jeongguk leans his hip on the side of the counter and takes the bottle from Taehyung, not even bothering to pretend that brushing Taehyung’s fingers was an accident.
“Yes,” Taehyung blushes a little again, prettily, and Jeongguk decides he’s going to make the best lion he’s ever made in his life for Taehyung.
It’s actually a lot harder than doing cake designs, partly because he’s never done this before but mostly because Taehyung hangs off his shoulder and makes amazed sounds every so often, right into Jeongguk’s ear.
He manages to finish though, and he thinks it’s pretty good. Taehyung thinks so too, apparently, because he makes his most excited sound yet (some kind of odd ‘PO’ noise) and wipes out his phone, takes a dozen pictures.
Jeongguk’s kind of amused and watches Taehyung ooo and aaa over his design, preens a little, like he’s just proven himself as some kind of worthy candidate to Taehyung or something.
“Jeonggukie!” Taehyung’s suddenly yelling into his ear as he flings an arm around Jeongguk’s shoulder and crowds into him. “Say ‘cheese’!”
Jeongguk blinks at Taehyung and then Taehyung’s phone snaps the picture, and Taehyung positively jumping up and down. “It’s cute, we’re really cute!”
And Jeongguk groans because he didn’t get a chance to stop looking at Taehyung, so picture-Jeongguk is staring at Taehyung with a grossly fond look as picture-Taehyung smiles big and bright up at them.
“Can I drink this?” Jeongguk asks quickly, before Taehyung can say anything else about the picture. He grabs the drink in the red mug with the lion design on it.
“Yep!” Taehyung pops his ‘p’. “It’s my favourite drink and I put it in a mug with your favourite colour.”
“How’d you know?” Jeongguk asks, lifting the mug to take a sip. It’s really, really good, some kind of spicy hot chocolate.
Taehyung points at his red Obey sweater and red laces on his shoes, and Jeongguk also realises his hair is red right now.
“Oh.”
It gets a little quiet after that, Jeongguk watching Taehyung as he clears up the dishes, and when Taehyung leans over to load the dishwasher, Jeongguk kind of wishes he could press Taehyung against the counter and kiss him, maybe leave a mark on Taehyung’s neck too.
“It’s closing time soon,” Taehyung says suddenly, regretfully, and Jeongguk feels it too, wishes it wouldn’t end and he could spend even more time with Taehyung.
“I, um-” Jeongguk stumbles over the words a little. “Can I walk you home? Y’know, cos, it’s late and all.”
Taehyung looks a little surprised, like Jeongguk would’ve taken his words to mean it’s alright to leave, but leaving is the last thing Jeongguk wants to do.
“Yeah,” he says finally, lips curling into a soft smile. “I’d really like that.”
Jeongguk helps Taehyung clean up, bumps him once or twice to get little giggles from Taehyung that leave Jeongguk more than a little breathless, and then Taehyung’s locking up and hurrying over to Jeongguk.
Taehyung chatters away again, like he forgot ten different things he wanted to tell Jeongguk in the time it took him to step away from Jeongguk to lock the door and then come back. Jeongguk lets him talk, commits Taehyung’s voice to memory, the things Taehyung gets excited about, the things he likes to talk about, the things that make him happy.
It’s still too soon when they make it to Taehyung’s apartment, and then suddenly Taehyung’s turning worried eyes to him, asks, “Wait, your place isn’t too far, is it?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Jeongguk says, but Taehyung’s still biting his lip, so Jeongguk gathers a bit of courage and says, “I thought this was our first date? Don’t worry about it.”
Taehyung’s face clears at that and he gets that soft smile again, steps a little closer to Jeongguk. “I guess we really did do a lot of first date-y things!”
“Mmm,” Jeongguk agrees. “But there’s one more thing.”
“What?” Taehyung asks confusedly, like he might’ve forgotten to do something.
“I want to collect my reward now,” Jeongguk says, and then he’s gripping Taehyung’s hips and goes for it, prays he’s read everything right and Taehyung won’t punch him for this, and kisses Taehyung.
Taehyung gasps in surprise and then positively melts into Jeongguk, hands coming up to grip at Jeongguk’s sweater. Jeongguk’s not new to any of this, but the way Taehyung makes these little noises in the back of his throat makes Jeongguk feel like a beginner, like everything’s new and it’s the first time he’s ever kissed someone with this much intimacy and trust behind it, and Jeongguk feels dizzy from that alone.
He pulls away a little regretfully, out of breath, and watches as Taehyung chases him a little, letting out a little whine.
“I’m so glad I was stood up tonight,” Jeongguk murmurs, brushes his fingertips over Taehyung’s cheekbone and Taehyung laughs at that.
“Me too.”
A week later, Jeongguk (officially) asks Taehyung to be his boyfriend by squeezing ‘B MINE?’ out in chocolate when he’s behind the counter with Taehyung again.
(Taehyung’s set the picture he took of their ‘first date’ as the background on his phone.)
A month later Seokjin-hyung threatens to ban Jeongguk from his coffee shop if Jeongguk won’t stop going behind the counter, so Jeongguk starts bringing Namjoon-hyung with him.
Seokjin’s effectively distracted by Namjoon breaking three mugs in 10 minutes and Jeongguk sneaks behind the counter when he sees Seokjin’s blushing face and Namjoon’s amazed one.
Two months later Areum runs into him after class and apologizes for not showing up. She asks if they can make up the date, but before Jeongguk can answer, Taehyung’s calling to him at the bottom of the steps.
“Sorry,” Jeongguk says to Areum, frowns because it’s -10 out and Taehyung’s not wearing a scarf. He hurries down the steps and wraps his own scarf three times around Taehyung’s neck. Taehyung lets him and smiles up at Jeongguk, something fond and tender in his eyes. Jeongguk rolls his eyes and presses a kiss to Taehyung’s cold pink cheeks.
“Don’t be stupid,” Jeongguk says.
“You love me,” Taehyung laughs.
“Yeah,” Jeongguk breathes. “Yeah, I do.”