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".. Why're you staring at your phone like that?"
Beomseok paused mid-bite of his breakfast to side-eye his roommate, Jinu.. who was glaring at his phone like it'd disrespected him.
"Waiting for something." The other man replied, not breaking eye contact with the device for a single moment.
Beomseok chewed slowly, leaning against the counter. Jinu didn't say anything.
Silence.
".. What'cha waiting for?"
"..."
".. JINU."
The dark-haired man finally snapped out of it, jumping a little, "Ah- UH- Huh?" He sputtered, looking dumbfounded as Beomseok gave him a slightly concerned look.
"Dude, are you okay?"
A bit embarrassed, Jinu avoided his roommate's gaze, clearing his throat. "Y-Yeah, sorry, I'm just.. I'm waiting to hear back from customer service."
"Customer service? What's so serious that you can't take your eyes off your phone for a moment?"
"It's-" Jinu hesitated, pushing his glasses up his nose. "A gift."
Beomseok's eyebrows rose with interest. "Ohhh? For who?"
"Nobody."
".. It's a gift for yourself?"
"No."
Beomseok stared at Jinu silently, and the other squirmed. The pink-haired man didn't even have to say anything; his blank-yet-slightly-unsettling stare was enough to crack his roommate's resolve.
"You-.. FINE!! It's for Rumi, okay?!" Jinu finally relented, folding his arms. "We were out a few days ago and she saw a limited edition Miffy she really liked, so I'm calling the store to see if they still have it in stock."
The moment the words left his mouth, Beomseok grinned like a madman. "Oh my god, that's ADORABLE!!" He squealed happily as he grabbed his own phone. "I knew you two had something going on- Daeun owes me fifty bucks, let's GO-"
"w-WHAT?!" Jinu looked bewildered as he quickly shook his head. "No it's not like that- I-I'm just trying to do something nice for her! That's all there is to-.. Did you guys bet on us??"
Beomseok gave him a look. "Of course we did."
"Why?"
"Because you and Rumi are both oblivious to how much the other likes you."
Jinu paused.
".. Rumi likes me?"
"DUH. Zoey and Mira have figured it out on her end too. You two are literally the only ones who don't know."
"Oh."
"Oh?"
".. Oh."
Jinu stared straight forward, phone still on-hold with customer service as he stood there, looking dazed. Thoughts were tumbling around in his head, over-analyzations of pretty much every single interaction he and Rumi had ever had, combined with internal panic and overwhelming joy. It was mostly joy, but he was also freaking out because RUMI LIKED HIM BAAAAAACK!!
"Jinu, are you okay?"
"I'm gonna pass out."
later that week.
Jinu stood on the sidewalk, pushing his glasses back as he glared at the bright red TINYSO sign above the doors. Passersby glanced at him out the corner of their eyes, most likely wondering why he was staring at this store like it owed him something.
Because it did. Well, not exactly him, but it owed Rumi something, and he was going to get it if it was the last thing he ever dud.
He looked at the window and locked in on his target, a large poster with a colorful graphic for the Limited-Edition, One-time ONLY, ULTRA RARE Collectible Winter Fun Miffy. The 14-inch plushie was wearing the most adorable cobalt blue puffer coat and cream-colored beanie, and it came with not one, not two, but three alternate coats and beanies you could switch out.
Jinu's eyes landed on the smaller text on the bottom of the poster: LEAVING SOON.
Every single one of his senses were immediately overwhelmed when he walked into the store, and he winced slightly. There were so many colors and graphics it was almost dizzying, not to mention it was ridiculously crowded, people rushing around with cute keychains and blind boxes and makeup and plushies. Jinu had to take off his glasses for a moment, rubbing his eyes as he re-steadied himself.
He took a deep breath, then walked right up to the counter.
"Hi, ahem-" he said, clearing his throat as the employee looked up at him expectantly.
"How can I help you?"
"Do you guys have the uh- Winter Fun Miffy?" Jinu asked awkwardly, pointing at the poster on the other side of the glass. "The one on the poster outside."
"The Limited Edition Miffy?" The employee said, pushing her thick-framed glasses back on her nose. "They've been going fast, but last I checked we haaaave.. a few left? Center table in the back of the store."
"Thank you." Jinu said quickly, and the employee nodded as he turned and briskly walked deeper into the store, dodging other customers left and right. The moment he crossed the threshold into the back of the store, plushies on every wall.. he saw it.
The very pleasant and helpful employee had told him they had a few left.
There was one. Only one, sitting majestically on top of the empty display in the middle of the room.
And Jinu wasn't the only person looking at it.
There was a girl, no older than twelve or thirteen, who was also staring at the single plushie that remained on the shelf. Jinu noticed her first, then she noticed him, giving him the most severe death stare he'd ever seen in his entire life.
Jinu's first thought was wondering why this was kid walking around the store unattended. He second thought was.. '.. I have to get to it first.'
The girl must've read his mind, and they both LUNGED for the display at the same time. He successfully grabbed the plushie, yanking it into his arms by the tag and letting out a triumphant laugh.
"HAHAH- AUGH!" He made a stunned sound as she fully tore it from his grasp.
"IT'S MINE!!" She exclaimed, clutching it to her chest, and Jinu glared at her.
"I grabbed it first!" He insisted. "You can't just yank stuff out of people's hands, it's rude!!"
"Sucks to suck! You snooze you lose! Na-na na na naa!!" The girl taunted him and stuck out her tongue.
Jinu rolled his eyes so far back into his head it hurt. "Come on- I need that for my girlfrie- I- my friend! I'll buy you whatever else you want, just give me the Miffy!"
The little girl shrugged and began tossing the Miffy in the air over and over. "Guess your girlfriend's gonna have to cry about it, I won, you lost, deal with- HEY!!"
Jinu snatched the plushie in mid-air when she threw it, and she SCREECHED before lunging at him, grabbing it by the ears and pulling. Jinu grabbed onto its feet, and the two of him were locked in an unnecessarily serious tug-of-war as onlookers gawked.
Jinu was starting to get the upper hand in the tugging match, grinning like a madman as he pulled the plushie closer to himself. The little girl suddenly came bounding forward and pounced on him, which made him stumble back into the display as she savagely ripped the plushie from his hands, landing on her feet like a gymnast.
The display crashed onto the floor in a loud clatter of wood and plastic, and before he could even comprehend what was happening, Jinu was sitting on the ground, surrounded by the broken pieces, everything blurry since his glasses had flown off his face.. and no plushie.
"WHAT'S GOING ON BACK HERE?!" An angry voice came into the back of the store, presumably the manager.
"I GRABBED IT FIRST-" He protested, pointing blindly in what he thought was the girl's direction.
"HE TOOK A PLUSHIE FROM A LITTLE GIRL!!"
"YOU STARTED IT!!"
"NUH UH!!"
"YUH HUH-"
Jinu got kicked out of the store.
He was thrown out onto the street, and the manager didn't say it, but it was pretty safe to assume he wasn't allowed back in. Here he was, plushie-less, and incredibly ashamed of himself for getting into a fight with a child.
He made his way home as FAST as humanly possible, and Beomseok looked up from the couch as he walked into the apartment.
"Hey! You-.. Where's the plushie?"
"I don't wanna talk about it."