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Yeonjun loves estate sales. And yes, he knows it’s a little morbid digging through some dead, old person’s dusty clothes, but he loves all things vintage, and he always finds his favorite pieces at these sales, so sue him. This particular sale however, he was striking out. He wasn’t finding anything that he himself would wear, through he did find a few items that could catch a pretty penny at his store.
See, Yeonjun owns a small vintage store, which is another reason why you can find the 24-year-old frequenting estate sales, even though he’s always the only person younger than 70 there. Yeonjun always has an eye for finding clothes that would otherwise be overlooked and underappreciated. Sometimes the clothes are a little worse for wear, so he will take his time fixing up any holes with his sewing machine. He has quite the gentle hand when it comes to sewing the delicate old fabrics, and they always turn out good as new.
This sale day, Yeonjun was hoping to find the perfect piece to place in his front window display, maybe a beautiful dress or blouse, which is why he was digging intensely in a trunk full of clothes at the estate sale he had highlighted in the newspaper that morning. He was so focused on the task at hand, entire upper body shoved into the trunk as he dug, that he didn’t register the footsteps behind him.
“Find anything good?” a deep voice rang out, startling Yeonjun, causing him to jolt upright and consequently slam the back of his head on the lid of the trunk.
“Ow, fuck!” Yeonjun hissed, cradling his scalp where the sharp pain was already beginning to pulse under his mop of black hair.
“Shit, sorry! Didn’t mean to scare you. You were just super deep in that box, I figured you must’ve struck gold,” Yeonjun turned to face the owner of the deep voice that was now full of giggles caused by Yeonjun’s clumsiness. Said owner was, in fact, a tall drink of water, which just tripled the amount of embarrassment Yeonjun was feeling at the moment. He rose to his feet from the goblin-like digging position he had been holding, rubbing at the pained spot on his head.
“Yeah sorry, I didn’t hear you walk up. I get a little intense at these things,” Yeonjun sheepishly smiled up (up!) at the handsome boy in front of him. He was looking back at Yeonjun with the most precious bunny smile falling on his lips, accompanied by dimples deep enough to swim in. Yeonjun, being the weak, weak man he is, couldn’t stop himself from looking the stranger up and down. He took in the boy’s deep red hair, the color rivaling the blush on Yeonjun’s own cheeks, and then, of course being a clothing fanatic, moved on to observe his pristine outfit. The stranger was adorned with a fitted black turtleneck, layered under an olive-green patterned button up, with a pair of straight legged black leather pants and sleek black boots (so basically sexy as hell). Yeonjun was in the presence of a god.
The sexy stranger giggled again as he spoke, clearly aware of Yeonjun checking him out, but politely not mentioning it, “yeah I kinda noticed your determination with the way you were demolishing that trunk. It’s funny, I’m usually the one halfway inside a box of clothes at these sales. Actually, I’m kind of shocked to see someone around my age at one of these things, I’m typically the only one.”
Yeonjun smiled, feeling a bit shy under the gaze of the other male, “same actually. I come to estate sales whenever I have the time. I own a vintage store downtown, and this is one of the best way to fill my shelves.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Yeonjun’s mouth parted in surprise, at a loss for words from the weird confession. The other was quick to explain after seeing Yeonjun’s shock, “I shop at your store a lot.”
Yeonjun instantly felt slightly stupid for not thinking of that in the first place, and sex-on-legs continued on speaking, “I usually check out with one of your employees, the loud one with the longish black hair? But I always hoped you would be the one checking me out.” A flirty smile played on the taller’s lips, telling Yeonjun that his word choice was very intentional.
A sudden surge of confidence shot through Yeonjun, “oh I definitely think that can be arranged in the future. I’m Choi Yeonjun.” He shot a(n attempted) wink to the boy who turned ever so slightly pink.
“Choi Soobin,” he said with a hand extended in front of him.
The pair shook hands, holding on slightly longer than necessary, till Yeonjun broke the silence, “well Choi Soobin, since you know the type of stuff I usually sell in my store, what do you say to helping me find some treasure in this place?”
“Gladly.”
* * * *
As it turned out, Soobin had a knack for finding hidden gems in the strangest places. The pair of them had scoured the entire house, Soobin pulling new finds seemingly out of thin air, until they found themselves standing in the attic, Yeonjun’s pile of clothes so tall he could barley se over it, and Soobin’s pile looking similar.
“Okay, last place in the house,” Soobin pipes up, “I say we divide and conquer, and then show each other what we find!” His enthusiasm was, quite frankly, the cutest thing Yeonjun had ever experienced, and realizes then and there that he would probably do anything this boy suggested. Agreeing to Soobin’s idea, he sets his clothes down on a bench wrapped in plastic meant to preserve the cushion, and then gets down to business.
The boys talked and got to know each other across the attic as they searched through boxes, much like how they did throughout the rest of the house. They got along flawlessly, their senses of humor molding nicely as they bounced witty remarks back and forth, and Yeonjun realized that he had never found himself so at ease talking to someone he just met.
Yeonjun couldn’t help but think what a shame it was that he hadn’t met Soobin before. How close they had always been to crossing paths at his store, but never quite getting there. If any sort of timing had been slightly different, maybe Yeonjun would have been at the register when Soobin was buying his clothes, and they would have hit it off like they had at this sale. Then they could’ve already spent months with each other, perhaps even gone to this sale together rather than separately. But Yeonjun pried himself out of that idealistic mindset and decided to be excited that he had met Soobin when fate had intended. Now that they had finally met, Yeonjun was not willing to part with him, as he found himself already attached to the giggly giant.
After a few more minutes of hyping himself up, Yeonjun was getting ready to make his move and, as coolly and un-desperately as possible, ask for Soobin’s number, when the latter let out a gasp and summoned Yeonjun to his side.
“Yeonjun-ssi! This necklace is beautiful!” Soobin held out the necklace for Yeonjun to look at, and boy was Soobin correct. The necklace was a delicate gold thing, the chain barely thicker than a strand of hair, with a singular pink jewel in the center, no bigger than a typical over-the-counter ibuprofen. “You have to keep this Jun! This would look so pretty on you!”
The nickname doesn’t go unnoticed by ‘Jun’, though it slipped from Soobin’s mouth as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him to say. Yeonjun reached out a hand to lightly brush along the chain in Soobin’s palm, his fingertips burning from the contact of the other’s soft hand. His eyes flicked up to Soobin’s, and a shy smile was shared between them in acknowledgement that they were both aware of what the touch meant. That they both felt the chemistry. Yeonjun took the opportunity to be a little bold, removed his hand from Soobin’s, and turned so his back was facing him.
He looked over his shoulder, into Soobin’s eyes and asked, barely louder than a whisper, “put it on me?”
The attic was quiet enough for the sharp inhale of breath Soobin took to be heard like he screamed it as he lifted his arms up and around Yeonjun. Slowly, gently he draped the tiny necklace around Yeonjun. The gem rested in the hollow of his neck as Soobin took his time fastening the clasp, letting his fingers drag against Yeonjun’s nape.
With the necklace secured, Soobin didn’t withdraw, but instead let his hands trace the soft skin beneath Yeonjun’s hair. Jun couldn’t stop himself from leaning into the touch, angling his head to display more of his neck. An invitation, which Soobin gladly took. He bent forward and lightly pressed his lips to where the chain was now resting against Yeonjun’s skin. His right hand circled around the base of Yeonjun’s neck, a gentle, steady grip just above the collarbone, index finger tracing the column of Yeonjun’s throat.
His left hand slid down Yeonjun’s side to wrap around his waist and pull him flush against his own body. At the sound of Yeonjun’s encouraging, blissed out sighs, Soobin began placing open mouthed kisses down the side of his neck. The moment the red head lightly scraped his teeth against Yeonjun’s skin to lift the chain of the necklace from its resting place, Yeonjun broke. He whirled around in Soobin’s embrace, and threw his arms around the taller’s neck, finally finally sealing their lips together in a fiery kiss.
Soobin responded with matched passion, his right hand sliding up from Yeonjun’s throat to grab a fistful of his dark hair, his left arm still securely fastened around Yeonjun’s slim waist. The two of them reveled in each other’s tastes, lips molding together like clay forming the greatest works of art. And in that moment, that is what they became. A work of art, the brightest and boldest colors coming together, highlighting the most beautiful sides of each other to create something magnificent.
The two only separated when they felt themselves growing lightheaded from lack of oxygen. They pressed their foreheads together, eyes closed and still wrapped in each other’s arms. Once their breathing evened out, Yeonjun slowly opened his eyes, only to find Soobin already looking back, eyes glossed over but full of light. Smiles took over both of their faces and soft, disbelieving giggles filled the attic.
“I can’t believe I just made out with a stranger at an estate sale, in the attic of some dead, old person,” Yeonjun couldn’t suppress his laughter. “This almost feels as bad as when Hazel Grace and Augustus macked on each other in the middle of the Anne Frank Museum in The Fault in Our Stars.”
Soobin’s laughter filled Yeonjun’s ears, and it was like music, “well would it make it better if we stopped being strangers, and I gave you my phone number? I’d like to see you again. Possibly marry you.”
Yeonjun’s smile got even wider if that was possible, and he quickly fished his phone out of his back pocket. Soobin never released Yeonjun’s waist from his hold as he entered his phone number into the messaging app, shooting himself a quick text that Yeonjun couldn’t quite catch a glimpse of, before he cheekily slid the phone to its spot in the back pocket of Jun’s jeans. Soobin’s hand found a resting spot dangerously close to Yeonjun’s ass, sending bolts of lighting up Yeonjun’s spine that left him tingling all over.
“There. Now we aren’t strangers, you’ve texted me and everything. Much better than macking on each other in the Anne Frank House,” Soobin teased with the cutest grin that caused his eyes to turn into crescent moons, and Yeonjun couldn’t stop himself from rising up on his toes and slotting their lips back together. Soobin instantly reciprocated the kiss, grip tightening on Yeonjun’s body, as Yeonjun’s hands traced up Soobin’s (deliciously toned) abdomen find purchase against his chest.
After the pair spent a little while longer memorizing each other’s lips, they reluctantly separated, awareness of their surroundings seeping in. “I guess we should go pay for our items?” Yeonjun asked, scooping up his pile of clothes before turning back to Soobin.
When their eyes met, Soobin had a look behind his that Yeonjun couldn’t quite place. Pained almost. He nearly threw all his clothes on the ground to rush to the taller boy and find out what was on his mind, but the look was gone almost as quickly as it had arrived. Soobin gave him a blinding smiling that could cast out any worry, and Yeonjun decided that he must’ve just been overthinking.
Soobin gathered up his own pile of clothes, and the two boys headed toward the stairs. “Hey Jun? Can you promise me something?” Soobin asked, looking down into Yeonjun’s eyes. Yeonjun nodded, not wanting to speak in case he ruined whatever moment this was. “Promise me you won’t sell that necklace at your store. I want you to keep it for yourself. I was right, it truly does look so pretty on you,” Soobin said with an almost wistful smile.
“I promise Soobin-ah. I won’t even take it off,” Yeonjun whispered, causing Soobin’s smile to grow into something far happier. He leaned over and pressed a soft, lingering kiss to Yeonjun’s lips before turning to continue down the stairs.
Once they got to the first level of the house, Soobin placed his pile of clothing on a chair and said, “Junnie, you go ahead and pay while I hit the restroom. Then I’m taking you out on a coffee date.” Yeonjun flushed bright pink and nodded, and Soobin beamed at him again. He quickly pressed a sweet kiss to Yeonjun’s cheek and gently rubbed their noses together before he disappeared down the hallway. Yeonjun’s brain was so foggy with affection for this boy he had so quickly and easily fallen for, and was so excited about the idea of spending more time with Soobin outside of an old, dead person’s home that he didn’t even think to ask how Soobin knew where the bathroom was.
Yeonjun found the couple that was running the estate sale in the kitchen, and approached them with his amazing finds, “hi there! I’m ready to pay for everything!”
As the couple looked through the items, figuring out the pricing, Yeonjun’s hand absentmindedly traced the necklace around his neck, head in the clouds as he thought about how badly he wanted to get his lips back on Soobin’s as soon as possible.
“That necklace...” Yeonjun was ripped from his thoughts when he heard the voice of the woman.
“Oh yes! I also wanted to purchase this, sorry I forgot I put it on!” Yeonjun said hurriedly, worried the woman thought he was trying to steal it. Only once he stopped speaking did he notice how pale the couple in front of him had gotten.
“It can’t be the same one. It’s impossible,” the husband whispered breathily, a look of horror in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, I can put it back! I didn’t mean to pick out something that meant so much to you,” Yeonjun said, already reaching to remove the necklace.
“No please. Take it. We don’t want that in our house,” the woman practically sobbed, eyes pooling with tears. She turned and rushed from the room. Yeonjun looked at her husband in shock.
“I’m sorry, you’ll have to forgive her,” he said to Yeonjun, voice pained. “It’s just that… That necklace belonged to our son. We gave it to him after he came out to us as a way to show him how much we love him and show our support. He never took it off. Not even after he died.” Yeonjun’s blood ran cold at that last sentence. “That’s why she’s so shocked and upset. We buried Soobin in that necklace.”
Yeonjun felt sick. “Soobin?”
“Yes. Our son, Soobin. His death is why we are having this sale. We just can’t bare to live here without him, so we are selling everything and moving to try to start healing. Seeing that necklace is very… shocking. But please. Keep it. He would want someone to wear it,” the man finished speaking, tears streaming down his face.
“I’m- I. I have to go, I’m sorry,” Yeonjun could barely keep the vomit from rising. He turned to rush out of the house, all the while thinking, “it has to be a coincidence. It’s obviously not the same Soobin. It’s not my Soobin.” But all of his grappling at threads ceased when he turned the corner and came face to face with a family portrait.
There he was. His Soobin. Pictured between his parents, his beautiful smile on his lips, showing off his dimples that Yeonjun hadn’t even gotten to kiss yet. Around his neck laid the necklace. The same one around Yeonjun’s neck that very moment.
He turned away from the picture mocking him and ran till he got outside, throwing himself onto the grass, the bile finally breaching onto the ground in front of him. Yeonjun panted, trying desperately to understand. His Soobin was just in the bathroom. Please let him just be in the bathroom. Yeonjun tried to push away all the evidence that had just been given to tell himself that at any moment, Soobin would walk out of the house, holding both of their piles of clothes, confused as fuck as to why Yeonjun was retching on the lawn.
Yeonjun clawed into his back pocket to find his phone and call the boy he had just shared the best few hours of his life with. He pulled up the text Soobin has sent to himself and Yeonjun’s heart sank, the tears finally springing into his eyes as reality set in. That he found someone who he could see a future with, and lost him the same day. Because he never actually had him.
New Number
Today 5:53 PM
I’m so sorry we didn’t meet sooner
Sent 5:53 PM
ERROR INVALID NUMBER.
We’re sorry, the number you are trying to reach had been disconnected. Please contact the server if you think this is a mistake.
Epilogue
Some would think that a day long, whirlwind romance wouldn’t fuck someone up that badly.
Yeonjun certainly wouldn’t have before Soobin. But some days Yeonjun can still feel his soft touches, hear his beautiful laugh, taste his lips. And he misses him.
He has often slipped into the broken mindset of “what if”. What if I had seen him shopping at my store? What if he had approached me like he had always wanted to while shopping?
What if I had never gone to that fucking estate sale?
But that last one he always regrets thinking as soon as the thought enters his brain, because despite how empty he feels without him, Yeonjun is glad he briefly got the honor of loving Soobin.
He has thought about returning to the house numerous times to see if he would find Soobin like on that day, but what would that mean? What even was he? What could they be?
And Yeonjun eventually had to move on. It’s only natural, it was such a short moment, even if it deeply affected him.
He’s married now. He’s happy. He never would’ve thought to open his heart to his own employee, if it weren’t for Soobin mentioning him on that day. But Yeonjun had replayed every moment in that house on repeat to the point of memorization, so of course he had to ask Beomgyu if he remembered a beautiful, tall, dimpled customer by the name of Soobin.
Beomgyu didn’t. But that’s okay, because Yeonjun will remember him, and he even got to tell Beomgyu about him. Of course it hurt the younger’s heart, knowing he missed out on getting to know such a kind soul, but watching Yeonjun talk about Soobin was magical. And Beomgyu fell in love with the magic.
Yeonjun found that Beomgyu was easy to fall in love with. He is kind and funny and brings out the best in Yeonjun. They are wonderful for each other. And it is another thing to be grateful to Soobin for.
Yeonjun knows he will always think of that day and how much it changed him. And he will never forget Soobin, or his beautiful words and kisses that flipped his whole world upside down.
And Yeonjun has kept his promise. He has yet to ever take the necklace off. And he never will.