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The weather is unexpectedly chilly but Seokmin checked off jacket on his checklist, as always. The ring of the bell over the shop door has become such a comforting sound as well as the smell of warm pastries that greets his nose.
He slides into his usual booth and gets his little notebook from his back pocket and mechanical pencil. As he looks around the bakery and sighs contently. Everything is in its usual spot, as it should be…Except there’s a new cashier now?
“Brown shady hair, rosy cheeks, pink lips and smiling eyes to match. This is not a usual wednesday anymore (￣_￣)・・・,” he writes in his notebook. He taps the pencil against his chin. He’s never actually ordered anything from this bakery, now that he thinks about it.
Who is this new cashier? He must know this person who has disrupted his Wednesday.
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Oh what should he even order? Usually when you go up to the counter, you’re supposed to have an idea of what to order. Usually, but nothing is usual about this Wednesday.
“Hello there! Welcome to Pastry Paradise, how can I help you?”
A smooth voice. He is a Wednesday anomaly and his voice is as smooth as butter. Something is really off.
“…Hello sir?”
“Ah, sorry. I’ll get the um…Chocolate chip muffin with a side of hot chocolate, please.” Seokmin rushes to get this wallet out.
The name…ah nametag, Joshua, nods,”Tap or swipe and your food will be ready in a few minutes!”
So, now Seokmin has a muffin, a hot drink, and a name. So…unpredictable….He doesn’t hate it.
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Routines can easily change, Seokmin is adaptable enough. But forgetfulness is not what Wednesdays usually consist of.
Seokmin ran down the checklist:
notebook
mechanical pencil
keys
wallet
face mask
wallet.
Now, a muffin and hot chocolate
Pastries have been added to the list. Taking up space on the slot..where a light jacket should’ve been. Which wasn’t noticeable until he was firmly planted into his favorite booth. But he rather not have his jacket then be left staring at the menu, only to order the same thing as last time. He wants to memorize it; it takes up less space that way….he thinks?
Rain is not a usual part of Wednesdays, he blames Joshua. He sighs and runs his hand through his hair as people start to filter out of the shop. At least the rain is pretty to look at. Not as pretty as the person sliding into the seat across from him though.
“Pretty weather we’re having, hm?”
Seokmin sighs, “Yeah, pretty. It’s as pretty as it is inconvenient. I should’ve checked the weather today.” ‘Or went down the checklist again,’ he thinks. “Sorry for staying so late, I forgot my jacket.”
“Oh I don’t mind, do you want something as you wait for the weather to settle?” Joshua smiles.
Seokmin doesn’t know how to explain it, but he looks like a flower when he smiles. Butterflies would settle on his eyelashes, such pretty petals.
“Ah yeah, same price?”
Joshua playfully swats at him, “On the house, it’s raining.”
Seokmin tilts his head at the lack of connection in that sentence.
They both enjoy a chocolate chip muffin.
“So you know my name, I assume,” Joshua pulls at his name tag, “What about you?”
Seokmin finishes a bite before answering, “Seokmin. Though my friends call me Dokyeom or Dk.”
“Okay, Dokyeom.”
His chest feels like hot chocolate, but the last time he had it was hours ago.
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Y’know Seokmin could order something other than a chocolate chip muffin and hot chocolate. He only ordered it because he did a quick skim of the large menu sitting above the counter.
He always says he’s going to switch it up, but never does.
As much as Seokmin likes to keep things the same, Joshua has been calling Seokmin a new nickname everyday.
“Hey Mimi! Do you want the usual?” Joshua yells as soon as he sees the familiar face coming through the door. Seokmin shyly nods at his volume and pulls his card out to pay, as usual. He slides into the booth, as usual.
“Mimi is the new nickname for today (=^_^=). So far, he’s the only different thing about the shop. The menu stays the same year round, the amount of customers is constant, and the interior never changes.” he tapped the pencil against his chin.”A flower that doesn’t tilt towards the sun, but stays refreshed.” he finishes writing.
He stays late, a new usual. Joshua slides into the booth, also a new usual.
“Do you ever want anything different from the menu?” Joshua asks, chin resting on the back of his hand.
Seokmin pauses to think, then shakes his head, “Not really, I’ve always liked chocolate.”
Joshua tilts his head quizzically.
Seokmin sighs, “Y’know the question of ‘what’s one food you could eat for the rest of your life and never get bored of?’ I make sure all the foods I eat, I could eat forever, it gives me one less thing to worry about.”
It travels into other parts of his life too. Same movies, same hairstyle, same clothes, he knows what he likes.
“If you know you like something, why change?”
Joshua hums, speculative, “Do you know of that supplies store a block over?”
Seokmin shakes his head, Wednesdays are only for one thing and he’d have to plan ahead to schedule in a sightseeing trip.
Joshua continues,” Sometimes I walk to a random aisle and pick the most weirdest thing I can find, then I go home and try to incorporate it in my art.”
“You paint?”
“Here and there,” Joshua shrugs, “The point is to see how different we are.”
…Seokmin looks to his left….he looks to his right
“…What does that have to do with anything?”
Joshua cheeks rise as he smiles….muffin
“I just wanted to find a way to ask you to come with me.”
Again….Seokmin looks to his left….he looks to his right.
“Go where?”
“To the supplies store!” Joshua giggles as grabs both of Seokmin's hands, “Come with me, pick something out that you don’t understand and find something to do with it.”
Seokmin hesitantly nods,” O-Okay?”
“Good.” Joshua lets Seokmin’s hands go and slides out of the booth, “Save me a slot in your schedule for next Wednesday at 7.” Joshua then walks to the back of the store.
Seokmin quickly takes out his notebook, “Weird muffin. I now have something else to do on Wednesday Σ(ﾟロﾟ).”
The rain has finally stopped.
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Is it a crime to romanticize?
Even if this isn’t a date…can Seokmin not dress nice? Joshua is a nice friend and curse Seokmin for wanting to impress him.
He doesn’t forget his light jacket today and even packs a scarf. He settles in his booth; it’s his now, officially. He's seen Joshua redirect customers away from the booth through the store window. He didn’t need to have hot chocolate that day, he felt warm enough.
“The date is tonight and my stomach is at my feet….is that how the saying goes? I dunno. Joshua said he buys art supplies there but I don’t even paint ╥﹏╥. Now that I see him more up close, he looks like a muffin. When he smiles hard, his cheek rises and his eyes close. Total muffin.” He taps his chin with the mechanical pencil, anything else to add?
“Whatcha writing?”
Seokmin jumps and closes his notebook quickly.
“Ya! Don’t scare me like that!” He holds his chest to calm down.
Joshua chuckles and slides into the booth, “I see you pull that notebook out every time you come in here, what do you write, Dokyeomie?”
Seokmin nervously chuckles and chips away at the notebook cover, “Just..my thoughts and…sometimes poetry.” his voice gets smaller as the sentence continues.
“Whaa, poetry? That’s super cool. Always wanted to get into writing but I was never good.”
Seokmin tilts his head, ‘Never that good’? Writing is just writing, especially when it comes to poetry. Just write what you feel, even if you don’t know it.”
“Even if you don’t know it?”
Seokmin licks his lips and puts his elbows on the table with passion in his eyes,” When you first start writing poetry you write what you know, of course, but you can’t know everything. Even if you research or google it, you can’t experience everything, especially all at once. Sometimes you have to go outside your body to write. The imagination is vast. Sometimes I even imagine I’m a different person to get a better perspective.”
Seokmin realizes his physical position and sudden vigor, and takes his elbows off the table, “Ah sorry.” he says dejectedly.
“No, it’s alright…It’s alright.” Joshua replies, as leaned in as Seokmin was with his chin laying on the palms of his hands.
“Talk more, Seokminie. Talk more for me, okay?”
Seokmin shyly nods.
“Can you wait another hour for me? The shop’s about to close.”
Seokmin nods and Joshua glides out of the booth to go back behind the counter.
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“…Dokyeomie~….Dokyeomie~……Dokyeom!”
Seokmin startles awake and rubs his eyes.
“I just closed up shop, ready to go?”
Seokmin nods and stands up to stretch. Joshua pulls Seokmin’s shirt down around his waist and zips up Seokmin’s jacket, “It’s cold outside.”
Seokmin holds up his jacket zipper past his nose to hide his blush at such a simple action. Joshua chuckles and grabs his hand to head outside.
Seokmin has held hands with people before; friends and family, of course. This feels different from those encounters. The walk to the supplies store is silent but warm, contrasting the chilly weather.
“If you want me to let go of your hand, tell me and I will without hesitation.”
The rest of the walk is quiet.
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Firstly, the lights are too bright for such a quaint little store. Do people really need to read every word and look at every graphic to pick what they wanted to purchase?
Joshua turns to Seokmin as they mindlessly walk around, still hand in hand, “Okay Kyeomie, pick a number 1 through—“ he takes a quick look down the aisles, “10, 1 through 10.”
“5?”
“Perfect!” Joshua gently drags the both of them to the fifth aisle. “Ah…” The storage aisle…
“Okay wait right here, Kyeomie.” Joshua, sadly, lets go of his hand, which Seokmin takes the time to wipe on his pants, to take a peek at the aisles of four and six. Just as Seokmin was about to start missing the weight in his hand (it’s been five seconds) a familiar hand slips back into his.
“Okay, we’re gonna pretend you said aisle six, okay?”
“I won’t tell if you won’t.” They both giggle and they walk to the next aisle over.
Okay canvas, they can work with better than storage buckets.
Seokmin expectedly looks at Joshua.
“What?”
“I dunno, isn’t this your thing? I dunno anything about supplies stores, I buy my pencils and notebooks from corner stores.” Seokmin shrugs.
“You see anything weird?”
“Everything in this aisle looks weird to me.”
“Really look around.”
Seokmin widens his eyes and robotically looks around the aisles until a hand gently brushes over his face, with a chuckle.
“Not like that, silly, look for weird but interesting.”
“Joshua, how weird can canvas get?” Seokmin playfully asked, but the only reaction he’s met
with is silence and a frown, once he turns to him.
“Oh I didn’t mean to insult your craft—“ Seokmin hurriedly said, taking his hand out of Joshua’s to fully bow, but before he could, Joshua grips his hand back.
“How come you still call me Joshua?” his frown turning into a childish pout.
‘….Ahhh’ Seokmin needs to make a notebook in his head for moments like this.
Seokmin tilts his head, “What else am I supposed to call you?”
“Y’know like a nickname or something! I call you all kinds of nicknames! When you only say my name, it sounds cold, like you’re saying my full name. I mean, we’re close, aren’t we?” Joshua swings their intertwined hands.
Seokmin wasn’t aware they were close, he didn’t wanna assume.
Seokmin nods,” We are, I’m sorry.” Joshua makes a brushing off gesture, “It’s no big deal, I just wanna feel closer to you.” Seokmin needs to wipe his hands on his pants again.
They start to walk down the aisle.
“Okay, I forfeit, nothing’s weird gonna happen,” Joshua sighs, “Let’s just get normal canvas.”
Seokmin pats Joshua’s shoulder, “There there Shua, you tried. You really tried.”
Joshua smiles like he did the second time Seokmin talked to him (his first time was having his order taken). Cheeks puffy and risen, eyes completely closed with his lashes laying on his cheeks.
‘Oh, who's the biggest flower? You are! (=^_^=)” Seokmin writes in his mind notebook.
“Shua, huh?”
“Well it was the first thing I came up with.” Seokmin says shyly.
“I like it.”
They end up buying two canvases.
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The walk back to the shop is even chillier.
They walk, or shuffle more like, closely together.
As they reach the bakery, they finally split apart.
“This was nice, Shua. I liked it. I still don’t know what I’ll do with a canvas, but I liked it.”
Joshua playfully bows in a princely manner, “At your service for all craft store dates.”
Seokmin clears his throat and straightens his posture, “Well thank you, your highness, it has been an absolutely dashing evening. Do send your dove more often for invitations.”
They laugh as Joshua takes a canvas out of the bag and gives the bag to Seokmin, “Here, you get to keep the bag.”
Seokmin nods.
On today’s checklist, Seokmin brought a scarf with his light jacket. It was purposeful, weather wise and other wise.
Seokmin hesitates, but takes off the scarf around his neck. Joshua’s eyes trail his hands as Seokmin wraps the scarf around his neck.
When he’s done, Joshua holds the end of the scarf, “I know it’s chilly, but what’s this for?”
Seokmin challenges himself, “Give it back to me on our next date. Okay?”
Joshua’s eyes widen for a flicker of a moment, but a smile overtakes his face soon after; cheeks more puffy from the pressure of the scarf now.
Joshua nods,”On our next date.”
Seokmin quickly hugs Joshua then hightails it towards his apartment, not staying around to see Joshua’s reaction. He challenged himself earlier, he’s done enough.
“I should’ve packed another scarf.” He mumbles, hugging his body as he speed walks.
Checklist:
notebook
mechanical pencil
keys
wallet
face mask
wallet.
a muffin and hot chocolate
scarf (new!)
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Bonus
“This scarf is warm”
Joshua thinks as he makes his trek home.
“Seokmin looks like a croissant."
Joshua also thinks as he makes his trek home.