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A bell chimes and the front door of the small coffee shop opens, letting in a gush of wind and a few rustling dead leaves alongside with a small man wearing a beanie.
Taehyung smiles despite the late hour. If there is someone he doesn’t mind coming in when he’s closing, it’s Jimin.
Park Jimin owns the flower shop on the other side of the street and has been the coffee shop’s most loyal customer since its opening a year ago. He always comes in the morning for his hot chocolate and comes back at lunchtime to buy his usual slice of carrot cake but for a few weeks he has also been visiting in the evening, just after closing his shop.
“Hi, Jimin-ssi,” Taehyung gives the customer a boxy smile.
“Hi, Taehyung-ssi,” Jimin answers in his singsong voice as he carefully puts his beanie in his pocket, leaving his blond hair cutely dishevelled. “Can I have a latte? With a heart, please.”
Taehyung nods but as he starts making the drink his gaze lingers on the blond man, suspicious.
See, there is a mystery surrounding Jimin’s new evening order. Well, at first it wasn’t much of a mystery. Jimin quickly admitted with blushing cheeks that he had got himself a boyfriend, thus the evening drinks and the heart he would ask Taehyung or Hobi to draw in the foam.
Cute, right?
But this is where it became tricky. It was the coffee shop’s policy to ask for a name to be put on the cup and Jimin had said Yoongi at first. Only to switch to Suga a few days later. Then it became Yoongi again and has just kept alternating since.
Which had led Taehyung to one unique and very startling conclusion: Park Jimin has two boyfriends.
Now, Taehyung doesn’t believe in stereotypes but he can’t help feeling bewildered each time he looks at Jimin and has to come to terms with this reality: this sweet, little angel of a man who helps the elders crossing the street and smiles at babies in the line is playing with two innocent men’s hearts.
He finishes his latte art and gives it a proud smile. Now comes the moment of truth. He turns to Jimin who is texting on his phone with a big smile plastered on his face. He looks so innocent, so in love, isn’t it crazy how you never know someone?
Taehyung clears his throat, his whole body tense with anticipation. “Uhm Jimin-ssi, what name should I write on the cup?”
“Oh,” Jimin gives him a startled look, putting his phone back into his pocket with pinkish cheeks as if he had been caught doing something indecent, “Suga, please.”
So, Suga it is today. Taehyung hums. He had the feeling Yoongi was his favorite but it has been Suga three days in a row, could it be that Jimin finally settled and chose between the two poor men?
Jimin pays and takes the cup, that same polite, innocent smile on his lips. Taehyung watches him exit the shop and answer a call as he crosses the street and he thinks again that you should never judge a book by its cover.
🍂 ☕ 🍂
“He could be polyamorous,” Hobi suggests a week later.
Taehyung snorts. “Jimin? Polyamorous? Let me remind you he said he’s seen The Notebook at least twenty times. That’s a monogamous man if I’ve seen one. A cheating one.”
He whispers the last part, glancing at the customers sitting at the tables to make sure they don’t overhear him. Despite his outrageous behavior, he still cares for the soft-looking florist and doesn’t want everybody to know about his messy love life. It might even be some kind of breach of professional confidentiality anyway, if he was to scream it out loud.
“Or maybe Suga is just a nickname,” Hobi shrugs. “You know, like sugar.”
A doubtful pout makes its way to Taehyung’s lips. Of course this sounds much less sensational than Park Jimin having two whole boyfriends but he can’t deny it’s plausible. He might have overreacted. Here he was, behind his counter, judging Jimin when the man was only using a nickname for his boyfriend.
Or…Jimin is in fact a cheater. Who knows? The world is crazy out there.
“We’ll see,” Hobi says quietly as they hear the bell chime again.
Jimin is standing in the entrance, carefully shaking the water off his yellow raincoat and putting his umbrella in the holder. His blue rubber boots and green beanie that looks like a frog make him look so adorable that Taehyung has no choice but to believe in Hobi’s nickname theory.
“Hi Taehyung-ssi, hi Hobi-ssi,” Jimin walks to them, rubbing his cold hands together. “Can I please get a pumpkin spice latte? With a heart on it.”
And the heart cost extra, Taehyung thinks as he helps Hobi make the order. A cheater would definitely not pay an extra charge. It’s almost a relief, to be honest, to finally feel certain that Jimin is a good person. Taehyung doesn’t even know why he doubted him in the first place.
“What name?” Hobi asks and for the first time in weeks Taehyung doesn’t dread the answer. How nice, how very n-
“Agust, please.”
Taehyung is glad he isn't the one holding the cup because he’s quite sure it would be on the floor by now. Agust? Who is that guy now?
“Agust,” Hobi repeats and even though he tries to make his voice sound casual, Taehyung can feel the tension in his words. “I guess it’s the name of that mysterious boyfriend of yours.”
A deep blush blossoms on Jimin’s cheeks as he nods.
“Is everything going alright between you two lovebirds?” Hobi asks, keeping the cup on his side of the counter like an hostage and Taehyung can only admire his courage. Finally, someone is asking all the right questions.
“Yes,” Jimin answers shyly. He takes his cup when Hobi finally releases it and the two baristas watch him leave, the coffee safely kept warm under his raincoat.
There is a long silence after that. Then Hobi speaks up. “I’ve never heard of Agust as a pet name."
Taehyung can’t believe Hobi is still trying to find Jimin excuses. For him, there is no doubt.
Park Jimin doesn’t have two boyfriends.
He now has three boyfriends and god only knows if he will ever be stopped.
🍂 ☕ 🍂
Yoongi, Suga, Agust, the names blend together in Taehyung’s head and each day it is harder to stay quiet. He once had to make Jimin’s order all over again because he had written Yoongi on the cup before asking Jimin. Of course, that day Jimin wanted it to be Agust.
This whole thing is pure torture because if Taehyung is anything it’s curious and he cannot ask, cannot say anything without coming off as utterly unprofessional.
On the other hand, Jimin looks more and more radiant each day. He has opened up a bit about his boyfriend -Taehyung really cannot understand why he keeps insisting there is only one of them- and now spends his time here gushing over how happy he is and how he thinks he has finally found his soulmate.
You mean, you’ve found three of them, Taehyung thinks every time but he keeps his mouth shut. He wasn’t aware soulmates were falling from the sky all the time.
Hobi has given up on the issue or at least he pretends he has because Taehyung does see him listen carefully each time Jimin comes in and babbles about his boyfriend. At this point even Taehyung’s friends who have never seen Jimin in their life are invested in the mystery.
Today, though, Taehyung is less busy thinking about the florist’s love life and more focused on the two hours that are keeping him apart from his well-deserved time off. He’ll finally be able to visit his parents in Daegu, sleep until noon and hopefully forget about the terrible truth regarding angelic cuties who entertain three men at the same time.
“Sorry, can I order?”
The deep, raspy voice has Taehyung snapping his head away from the clock on the wall. He hasn’t noticed the customer entering the shop which only confirms just how much he needs this vacation.
“Of course, tell me,” he straightens his back, smiling at the customer.
The man hesitates, his sharp eyes skipping through the menu on the wall. He is handsome. Not tall but broad with delicate features and healthy black hair falling on his forehead. He is smartly dressed too, in all black with a tight turtleneck and glasses as if he just stepped out of some important meeting.
“An iced americano,” he finally decides on, “and a hot chocolate please. I’ve heard that you-” His eyes settle on the little sign standing on the counter where the extras are listed. “Right, latte art. Is it possible to have some on the hot chocolate? Like a heart?”
“Of course,” Taehyung says and he can’t help having a feeling of déjà vu. Not that many customers order latte art and not that many customers order hot chocolate but it just happens that Jimin regularly orders both.
Could it be? He looks at the customer who is now lazily looking outside, right at the flower shop. What if? What if he is one of them?
“What name should I write on the hot chocolate?” he asks, barely controlling the thrills running through his body. Today might be the day he solves the great mystery of Park Jimin’s love life.
“Jimin,” the man says and Taehyung almost cheers out loud.
It has to be one of them but which? Does he look more like a Yoongi or a Suga?
“And on the iced americano?” he continues innocently.
It is now. It is the moment of truth.
“Agust D,” the man says, his eyes still lingering on the shop window. Then he looks back at Taehyung and blinks. “Uhm no, sorry, Suga. I mean, no, Yoongi, yeah, Yoongi please.” He rubs the back of his neck, looking embarrassed. “Sorry, I’m really tired.”
Taehyung realizes he is gaping but he can’t help. Were they all one man? What with the names?
“Do you have three names or something?” he scoffs, not caring anymore if he comes off as rude or unprofessional.
“Kind of,” Yoongi-Suga-Agust laughs. “I’m an artist so I’ve a few stage names. I don’t usually get them mixed up but I just got out of a long meeting and I guess my brain is fried, sorry”
Taehyung doesn’t know why Yoongi -he guesses that’s his real name- is apologizing. He should be the one begging for mercy because he has been assuming his lovely boyfriend was a serial cheater for months now.
So that is the big solution to the Jimin mystery. He is just in love with an artist.
How anticlimactic.
“Hyung!” Jimin’s voice is the only warning they get before the florist is throwing himself into Yoongi’s arms but his boyfriend barely flinches, likely used to it by now. “You’ve met my favorite barista,” Jimin says, giving Taehyung one of his most blinding smiles.
Taehyung tries to turn his choking into a soft laugh. “It’s a pleasure finally meeting the mysterious boyfriend,” is all he can get out before he has to go bury his embarrassment in the coffee machine.
Still, he can hear the two lovebirds quietly chatting and it’s like he is being haunted for assuming the worst about the adorable man next door.
“I’ve ordered you a hot chocolate.”
“Thank you, hyung. You look handsome.”
“Always less than you do, love.” A sound Taehyung could swear is a kiss. “I love that color on you. Do you want to stay here or go home?”
“Let’s go to my place. I’ve bought some decorations for Halloween.”
“Can’t wait to see them. I’ll cook us something good. Do you want my gloves? You look cold, love.”
And sure enough, Taehyung turns around to see Yoongi gently putting some black gloves on the hands of a giggling Jimin. Fuck, they look adorable. Jimin is blushing as always but he doesn’t look nervous at all, just happy as they share a long loving gaze.
“A hot chocolate and an americano,” Taehyung interrupts, his voice quiet as if afraid of shattering the bubble in which the two lovers have lost themselves.
“Thank you, Taehyung-ssi,” Jimin takes the drinks. “See you after your leave. Have a nice vacation with your parents.”
Taehyung can only smile and wave them goodbye. He hears Jimin grumbling about Yoongi’s order and how he will get sick drinking something cold in this weather until the door closes behind them.
He sighs.
Here goes the great Jimin mystery.
It isn’t some groundbreaking affair, nor some scandalous case. It’s just a heart in the foam. Just scribbled names on a cup. Just a playful lover and an artist working late hours. Just quiet evenings and Halloween decorations.
A mystery still, perhaps.
Because when love isn’t one?