UGLY | T.KOOK

二番目

“care to tell me why you’re not eating anything?”

jeongguk’s hands fiddle conspicuously
with the material of his apron, his eyes going everywhere except on the smiling man standing in front of him. his heart beats erratically against his ribs as he tries to avoid the subject.

“sir, i don’t know what you’re talking about.” he lies, his eyes meeting his comic book again as the stranger leans against the front counter.

all of a sudden, the man starts laughing out of nowhere and jeongguk recoils, startled from the immediate outburst. he pinches jeongguk’s cheeks, as if to admire him and smiles widely, “you’re adorable, you know that?”

jeongguk flushes, “what?”

“but a terrible liar,” he continues all-too knowingly, “i mean, you and i both know that’s a lie.”

“it isn’t,” jeongguk persists, flustered by his close proximity; he’s sure they’re at least five centimeters away from kissing and he wonders just how much this guy is into skinship, “sir, i just wasn’t hungry earlier, honestly.”

an awkward silence filters between the two of them and jeongguk mentally thanks the heavens that there are no other customers and that seokjin is in the break room eating and rehearsing his everyday dad jokes.

“okay,” the man scrutinizes jeongguk, unconvinced, but then smiles again, “i believe you, then.”

“wait, really?”

jeongguk figured that he was joking or at least playing some outlandish mind game with him at the moment; he was very well smart enough to know that was way too easy.

“yep,” the man grins a toothy grin, popping the last consonant, “if you say you weren’t hungry earlier, then you just weren’t hungry, right?”

he collects his ramen and fixes his bangs, giving jeongguk the impression that he’s about to leave the store as he turns around and starts walking in the direction of the exit.

almost instantly, jeongguk relaxes and plugs his earphones back into his ears because he thinks he’s safe and he’s about one-hundred and ten percent sure that he’d gotten away with it; it actually worked.

一for five seconds.

he’s only a half a beat into the next song on his playlist when he’s rudely yanked by the arm from behind the front counter by the same man; so much for finishing his comic.

“eat with me.” he insists as he lugs him towards the eat-in section of the store, jeongguk feeling his hands become slick with perspiration at the smell of hot ramen.

“huh?”

“you said you weren’t hungry earlier,” the man clarifies as he sits down at one side of the table, “it’s later now, so you should be hungry.”

he taps the other chair as if to beckon jeongguk, but he just stares at him with incredulous eyes, “sir, i should really get back to the一”

“call me taehyung,” he butts in, “and i’m sure jin wouldn’t mind, no one’s here but me.”

jeongguk blinks, surprised, but he does as he’s told and sits with him in hopes that he’d leave soon. since taehyung apparently knew jin, jeongguk simply couldn’t risk getting fired for something as petty as not eating with one of his friends.

taehyung grins and peels off the lid of beef ramen before he begins eating and jeongguk instantly regrets it. as soon as the smell reaches his nose, his head begins spinning and he feels sick to his stomach.

the elder’s lips are moving and he hears bits and pieces of each word, but it doesn’t matter because he can’t focus with him being in the current dizzy state he’s in at the moment.

“hey, did you hear me?” taehyung asks, cheeks adorably chubby.

“sorry, what?”

“i said you haven’t touched your food.” taehyung makes a gesture towards his untouched cup of steaming hot ramen and jeongguk feels how his stomach begins to squeeze in on itself.

“no, no, i’m fine.”

“as if! no exceptions!” he exclaims, shoving the fork of ramen in front of jeongguk’s mouth to serve as a kind rejection, but it’s a huge mistake.

jeongguk’s face recoils in disgust and he begins gagging and retching, his stomach rejecting just the smell alone. he’s nearly vomiting by the time taehyung pulls away and jeongguk’s eyes widen because he knows it’s too late for an explanation.

“i’m一”

“anorexic,” taehyung breathes.