Work Text:
Taesan worked part-time at a convenience store.
It's— no pun intended— incredibly convenient for him because the store was directly between his university and the off-campus apartment he'd moved into this past semester. The pay was decent and mercifully they didn't have too many customers who caused trouble but there was one who always stuck out in Taesan's mind: Leehan.
It wasn't that he was rude or difficult in any way, it was the quite opposite in fact. Leehan was polite and considerate almost to the point of a fault. He constantly let other shoppers go ahead of him if they seemed to be in a rush, even if they were rude and cut ahead of him without asking. His coins were always carefully counted out to the exact total so that Taesan didn't have to waste time giving him unnecessary change. Taesan had once watched him give his umbrella to an older gentleman when it had started raining out of nowhere, not stopping to take no for an answer before running off into the downpour and getting immediately soaked himself.
The behavior was endearing, in an odd sort of way.
It didn't hurt that Leehan was stupidly gorgeous either.
The first time he'd come into the store, Taesan had done an uncharacteristic double take because holy shit. Everything about Leehan was just so pretty: dark eyes that glittered with a thousand stars, a strong but slim nose, sharp features that softened when his luscious pink lips curled up into a smile, wide and sweet. His curls were also insanely distracting, the silky red-brown strands bouncing around his face and brushing the nape of his slender neck in a way that made Taesan's fingers itch to reach out and touch.
They were about the same age, if Taesan had to guess, though he suspected Leehan to be a little younger. But maybe it was just those wide, shiny eyes of his or the sweet, restless energy that reminded Taesan of a bunny that made it seem so.
It had only been two months since Leehan had become a regular in the store— like a multiple times a week, almost every time Taesan had a shift kind of regular. Taesan wasn't usually the type who cared to notice details about strangers but Leehan… He was weird.
On the surface he just seemed to be an average university student swinging by on his way home from class to pick up some snacks. But seriously, what normal person came to a convenience store four times a week and literally only ever bought gummies?
Taesan had never even seen him buy so much as a drink to go with them.
It had given him a strange kind of insight into Leehan's habits though. He never bought the same thing two visits in a row but his favorites were undoubtedly the little sour lemon stars and rainbow gummy fish, he bought those two more than anything else. If they got in any new flavors, Leehan would immediately purchase one to try because, as he said, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained." Taesan would get a full report the next time they saw each other of if they were worth it or not. Spoiler: most of them weren't with the exception of the Sweettarts gummies they got in from the States by accident two weeks ago.
Leehan had loved the strawberry ones the most.
In addition to his candy preferences, Taesan had incidentally learned a lot of things about Leehan because it turned out, he liked to talk. A lot.
Leehan often spun tales about his friends— Riwoo and Woonhak, dance and music majors respectively, who by the sounds of it were as just excitable yet kind as Leehan was so it made sense why they got along so well. He recalled Leehan telling him about how it had taken some time to adjust to the city after moving to Seoul from Busan for university but that he didn't regret that choice, something Taesan could deeply relate to with his own experiences after leaving Gwangju.
They didn't go to the same school but Taesan knew all about what classes he took— mostly marine biology courses because it was his major but he also took random electives like pottery and dance just for fun. He'd learned more about various types of fish and other sea life in the last handful of weeks than he had in his entire life before Leehan had first struck up a random conversation about how Taesan reminded him of a blue tang, otherwise known as a surgeonfish.
He never disrupted Taesan's work but if the store was slow and he had nowhere to be Leehan would linger and follow Taesan around as he stocked shelves or faced items just chatting about everything and anything that came to mind.
When Taesan once offhandedly mentioned Dupal, Leehan had started gushing about his little Maltese named Koni who lived back at home with his parents even going as far as to eagerly show him the stickers he had decorating the back of his phone case. He also took a pointed interest in Taesan's music tastes one day when he'd noticed the vintage Nirvana t-shirt he was wearing under his uniform vest and had listened eagerly when Taesan rattled off recommendations to him. The next time Leehan had come to the store, he'd excitedly told Taesan that he'd spent the entire evening listening to all the songs he'd told him about and that he'd loved them all.
It was comfortable, conversation flowing easily in a way that Taesan didn't often experience with most people. They fell into a sort of rhythm without even really trying. Taesan had come to look forward to hearing his name called out in Leehan's sugar-sweet voice and the long, rambling chatter that would inevitably follow.
So yeah, the "problem" with Leehan was the fact that he'd become disruptive to Taesan's life in that he couldn't seem to stop thinking about him even outside of work. By all rights, he shouldn't like him. Leehan was bright, eager and borderline obnoxious in all the ways that Taesan would hate on anyone else. But on Leehan… It was all just cute.
Somehow acknowledging that felt more dangerous than anything else so, for now, Taesan resolved to keep those thoughts to himself.
⁺⟡ ݁₊ .
It was a day just like any other.
The sun was shining, birds were chirping and Taesan had the most amusing view that he was trying very hard not to laugh out loud at: Leehan standing in an aisle staring straight ahead of him, eyebrows furrowed as he glared at the shelves like they'd personally offended him.
He'd entered the shop with his usual jaunty wave and a warm greeting to both Taesan and Sungho who was straightening up the magazine rack by the door. Taesan had been cashing out another customer at the time so he'd only been able to respond with a short nod that probably would've looked dismissive to anyone else but made Leehan beam happily as he'd made his way to the candy section.
That customer had left almost five minutes ago but Taesan had remained behind the register, just watching Leehan glare at the colorful packages that he usually so adored.
Curiosity finally getting the better of him, Taesan took a quick look around to make sure there were no other customers. Sungho had snuck off into the back room with his eyes glued to his phone so he wasn't worried about having an audience for what he was about to do. Taesan slipped out from behind the counter and walked up behind Leehan. He leaned over the shorter man's shoulder to see what he was looking at that would've caused such an expression on Leehan's usually sunshiny face.
Just as Taesan leaned in, Leehan tilted his head back to look at him.
Soft wisps of hair brushed against the edge of Taesan's jaw as the warm weight landed on his collarbone. Taesan swallowed hard and hoped that Leehan wouldn't notice how nervous he'd suddenly become at their proximity, even though he'd been the one to initiate it. His worries turned out to be unfounded because Leehan fixed him with a petulant look, lips pouting as his cheeks puffed out in obvious displeasure.
Fuck, he was adorable.
Taesan held back a fond chuckle. "What's that look for, Donghyun-ah?"
"You don't have any strawberry jellies." Leehan's shoulders heaved with a sigh and brushed against Taesan's chest, the contact spreading tingles through his body like he'd just been shocked. "I was really craving them too."
It was such a childish complaint and this time Taesan didn't bother trying to smother the laugh that burst out of him. He reached around Leehan and grabbed a familiar pastel blue bag, "They're on back order right now so just get the rainbow fish for today. They're your favorite, right?"
There wasn't any response.
Taesan risked a glance down and felt his eyebrows shoot up when he saw that Leehan was looking up at him like he was seeing him for the first time, wide-eyed and blushing but also pleased. Realization of what he'd just said set in and it took every ounce of self-control he had left not to jump away from Leehan and start babbling like some kind of lovesick idiot.
"How did you know they're my favorite?"
Leehan's soft voice was filled with awe. Taesan had to fight down his own blush but felt his ears grow hot the longer Leehan stared up at him.
Taesan flicked his gaze off to the side and shrugged in a way that he hoped looked casual, "You buy them and the sour lemon stars more than you do anything else. It wasn't that hard to put together."
He felt Leehan gingerly take the package from his fingers and watched out of the corner of his eye as the younger hugged the candy close to his chest like it was a precious treasure. His heart was thundering in his chest so loudly that Taesan started to worry that Leehan would be able to hear it. They'd moved apart a little bit when Leehan had turned to look at him but they were still close enough that Taesan's senses were filled with the scent of his amber-vanilla perfume.
"You paid attention."
There was a playful sparkle in Leehan's eyes now. Taesan grinned lopsidedly in response, "You've come here at least three times a week for the past two months. How could I possibly not have noticed a few things by now?"
Leehan looked at him expectantly, "Oh yeah? What kinds of things?"
"Besides your obvious obsession with gummies? That you bounce when you get excited," he said with a chuckle, jerking his chin down to indicate where Leehan was currently rocking back and forth on his heels, "And that you can't handle spicy stuff. You always walk by the ramyeon to get to the candy and every time you give the packets of Buldak the side-eye like they're a personal threat to you."
"They are! Any more than one bite and I'm toast, I'm serious." Leehan's smile turned softer but no less eager, "Anything else?"
Taesan hummed like he had to take some time to consider what he'd say next when he already had the answer at the tip of his tongue. "You're kinder than I think you should be. I literally watched you hold the door for everyone coming in for almost five minutes last week even though you'd told me you were already running late to meet up with a friend. Let's not forget about the day you ran after Mr. Yun because he forgot his wallet, even though I know you had an important lecture you had to get to."
He grinned suddenly, another thought coming to him that he wanted to tease Leehan about a little, "And you either love keychains or you're just a terrible impulse buyer because every time I see you, I swear there's a new one on either your bag or your belt loop."
Leehan giggled, "Why can't it be both?" The cherry charm dangling at his hip jingled merrily as if in agreement.
Taesan felt his smile soften and decided to mention something he'd noticed a few days before but hadn't had the courage to speak up about at the time. "You don't like to let people know when you've been having a bad day. Last week you came in with your headphones on and went straight to the rainbow gummy fish without evening looking over at me. When you came up to cash out your smile was stiffer than usual and didn't reach your eyes. You didn't even stick around to talk like you normally do."
He watched Leehan's jaw go slack, a look of shock replacing the warmth in his eyes. For a second he worried that he'd overstepped but then Leehan grabbed his hand and held on tightly like he needed something to ground him.
"You… You noticed that?" His eyes were shining again, this time with something careful and clouded like he didn't want Taesan to see what he was thinking. "My biology professor docked points off of my last exam for no reason and wouldn't tell me why when I approached him about it afterwards. And there was a guy in my theory lecture who wouldn't stop trying to ask me out, even though I've told him I'm not interested. Plus I had a headache that wouldn't go away the entire day and it was all just… Too much. I didn't think I was being that obvious about it though."
"Maybe to anyone else it wouldn't have been," Taesan mused, squeezing Leehan's hand gently, "But I think I've proven that I find it kind of hard to not pay attention to you. Good, bad and everything in between."
It was a confession of sorts and Taesan refused to feel embarrassed about the underlying admissions that he knew Leehan would hear along with it. How could he, when Leehan was looking at him like that? Like Taesan was something amazing and wonderful that he was having trouble believing was real.
"Ilikeyou!"
Leehan rushed the words like he couldn't say them fast enough— or maybe he worried that he'd lose the nerve to get them out if he took too long— but once he did it was like some invisible weight was lifted off his shoulders and he started bouncing on his toes again. Taesan couldn't help the answering smile that bloomed across his face, the excitement contagious.
"Yeah, I noticed that too."
Leehan used their connected hands to shake his arm insistently. "And?"
Taesan rolled his eyes but released his grip so that he could hug Leehan around the waist to tug him closer. "I'm sure you already know my response, Donghyun-ah."
Leehan brought his hands up to play with the strands of hair on the nape of Taesan's neck, touch light and comfortable. "I do but I still want to hear you say it anyways."
"I like you, Kim Donghyun. Gummy obsession, bad days and all."
Leehan leaned up a little to make up for their height difference, a pleading look in his eyes when he glanced down almost helplessly at Taesan's lips. Taesan took the hint and closed the gap between them to slot their mouths together in a kiss that tasted faintly of mentos— another of Leehan's staple purchases — and the Americano Taesan had been nursing since Sungho had brought it back for him from the café down the street. It was sweet, a little messy thanks to how eager both of them were and everything Taesan had hoped it would be.
They were interrupted by the chime that indicated someone had entered the store. For a second they stared each other in stunned silence, both of their lips red and a little swollen from the kiss. Leehan broke first, muffling his giggles into the shoulder of Taesan's hoodie that he echoed with a few chuckles of his own. Taesan pulled back to lean out of the aisle to greet the new customer but ducked back in just as quickly to steal another kiss that left Leehan flushed and smiling, the candy still clutched tightly in his hands as Taesan made his way back behind the counter.
Taesan had schooled his expression into something that would hopefully pass as normal by the time Sungho finally returned from the back room, phone now tucked safely away in his back pocket. He nodded at the older when he passed by but felt the mask crack into what was undoubtedly a stupid grin when he caught Leehan's eye again. As he waited for him to come up to the register Taesan pulled some blank paper from the receipt roll and jotted a message that said "Call me" with his cell number underneath it. He drew a little cat and a heart next to the digits at the last second, just because he thought Leehan might like it.
He slid it across the counter when Leehan came up, winking when he tilted his head in confusion but took the folded up paper anyways. He scanned the candy— he may have done it extra slowly on purpose, just so that he could watch Leehan's reaction as he opened the note— and rattled off the total in a nonchalant tone even though it felt like he was about to burst at the seams from happiness as Leehan's face turned pink again.
Taesan watched him go, covering an affectionate grin with his hand as he watched Leehan stumble over his feet when he turned around to wave goodbye with just a bit too much enthusiasm.
Oh man, he was so whipped for him already.
⁺⟡ ݁₊ .
"Bye Taesanie!" Leehan called sweetly on his way out, soda-flavored gummies in hand, "I'll see you later."
They had a date tonight, their fifth one since Taesan had first given Leehan his number two weeks ago.
The younger said goodbye to Sungho when he passed by him, the soft sounds of his footsteps fading completely when the automatic doors slid shut behind him. The older watched Leehan go with considering eyes before he turned the look on Taesan. Taesan just raised an eyebrow back at him.
Sungho leaned his elbows on the counter across from him and rested his chin in his hands, "I think he likes you Taesan-ah, you should ask him out."
He said it with a sage tone that suggested he thought he was imparting some life changing advice upon Taesan and that the younger should thank him for it. There was a part of Taesan that wanted to tell Sungho that he already had but the mischievous part of him couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease the older man.
"I wasn't aware that Dr. Park the Love Guru was holding a seminar today." He leaned his own arms on his side of the counter so that they were eye-to-eye, "Tell me hyung, whatever happened to that guy you were seeing? I think you said he was a dancer or something. The way you were talking, it sounded like things were getting pretty serious between you two."
Taesan waggled his eyebrows as Sungho looked around frantically to see if they had an audience. Once he realized the coast was clear he grabbed Taesan by the arm and dragged him down a random aisle, like he thought this guy was going to appear out of nowhere.
"He's been busy with classes!" Sungho cried out once they were halfway down the drinks section, cheeks flaming, "And so have I. We've just had to reschedule a few dates lately, is all."
"Or…" A wicked smirk stretched Taesan's mouth, "You're still hung up on Myung Jaehyun from my study group. Don't think I didn't notice how you 'coincidently' ended up swinging by my apartment last week at the exact time when you knew I was hosting the group and that he would be there."
"I—! That's not…"
Taesan was thoroughly amused, watching his friend fumble for a response.
"And this is exactly why I refuse to take love advice from you. You can barely keep your own love life under control!"
"But Taesan-ah, I like them both so much!" Sungho cried dramatically, "They're so handsome and sweet and talented. I mean, have you seen Jaehyun's smile? And don't even get me started on how hot Riwoo looks when he dances! How am I supposed to choose?"
Taesan rolled his eyes and shook his head but quietly noted the name 'Riwoo' in the back of his mind to ask Leehan later if his Riwoo and Sungho's were one and the same. It would make for good ammunition for teasing his friend in the future if they were. And maybe, if he was feeling generous, he could help smooth this whole thing over if things went south.
He made Sungho take the next customer that came in and went into the back to open some of the stock the night shift had been neglecting over the past few days. A small, fond smile automatically quirked the corners of his lips when he opened up the first box and saw Leehan's precious strawberry jellies sitting right at the top. Taesan reminded himself to buy one at the end of his shift so that he could present them to his boyfriend later, already imagining the expression of delight Leehan would have upon seeing them.
Looking back at Sungho out of the corner of his eye, he heaved a sigh at the despondent look still clouding the older's face. The soft part of Taesan's heart that had Leehan's name written all over it urged him to take action so he decided to have a little mercy on his friend.
He bumped against his side to get his attention, "You might not have to choose, hyung. You never know, they might be okay with you dating both of them. All of you are adults, just tell them the truth and see how it goes."
For a second there was a glimmer of hope in Sungho's eye before something snuffed it out again, "But what if they're not okay with it and neither of them want to see me anymore after?"
Taesan patted his shoulder sympathetically, "Well that's just a risk you're going to have to take. If you keep bouncing back and forth between the two of them like this, none of you are ever going to be truly happy. It's not fair to them, hyung, and it's not fair to you either."
"I guess you're right. Wait…" Taesan turned in time to watch Sungho's expression scrunch in a frown, "How the hell did this become you giving me relationship advice when it started with me telling you to ask out Leehan?!"
Taesan laughed right in Sungho's face. It was ridiculous.
A second later, Sungho's laughter joined his and in the next he and Taesan were leaning shoulder to shoulder in the middle of the aisle clutching their stomachs. Eventually the amusement petered off and Sungho schooled his expression into something resembling normal as he got to his feet. He nudged Taesan's shoulder with his knee, a quiet gesture of gratitude.
Taesan reached out to pinch him before he could walk too far away. The action earned a loud squawk from the older as he covered his backside with both hands and rounded on Taesan with a flustered glare that made him snicker.
"Yah! I told you to stop doing that!!"
They went about the rest of their shift as normal before they traded off with Gaon and Jooyeon, the evening shift guys who were in a band together. Taesan waited until he'd finished changing and had already thrown his jacket on before he called back to Sungho, who had just finished shrugging on his own shirt.
"By the way hyung, your advice from earlier wasn't exactly needed as much as I appreciated it."
Sungho looked up with a confused frown, "What do you mean?"
"Donghyun and I have been dating since the start of the month. In fact, I'm taking him out again tonight. We're going to the Lotte Aquarium."
Taesan picked up his backpack and made his way towards the exit leading to the back alley leaving Sungho behind staring after him in bewilderment, his uniform shirt hanging limply from his hands. He'd just shouldered the door open when Sungho's voice filled the air, loud and flabbergasted.
"You— you're what? Han Taesan, you've had a boyfriend for two weeks and you didn't even tell me?!"
The sound of socked feet sliding on linoleum tiles and muffled curses followed Taesan into the night as he let the door swing shut on Sungho's outraged cries of betrayal. His phone buzzed in his pocket and Taesan pulled it out to check his messages.
There were two unread ones waiting for him, the first from Sungho sent not even ten seconds ago while the other was from Leehan that had come in while Taesan had been putting on his jeans.
˚⟡ ᴘᴀʀᴋ ᴘᴜᴍᴘᴋɪɴ ⟡˖°
You're literally the worst, telling me that while I don't even have shoes on and then running away. Congratulations tho~ I expect full details on your date tomorrow!
𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙝𝙮𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙚 ₊‧♡ ֹ٠
I'm walking to the bus stop now! See you soon ૮( ˊ ᗜ ˋ )ა♡ ̆̈
Taesan felt his heart melt at the cute emoji his boyfriend tagged on at the end of his message. Two weeks ago, he would've scoffed at the idea of being so stupidly gone for a person that he smiled like an idiot at just looking at a message. But he was stupidly gone and totally head over heels for Leehan and Leehan only.
And it was all thanks to their wonderfully convenient convenience store.