day 1
06:15
life was a routine. it was a cycle of a continuation full of repetition. the sun rose, the birds chirped, and jin had to get up for work.
the smell of the bakery was a scent he enjoyed quite a lot. fresh bread and sweet pastries wafted throughout the shop all day long. after a while of working here, one would expect to grow tired of it, but jin looked forward to it everyday.
he tied the deep green apron at his back and slipped in to some comfortable shoes. rather than being on of the bakers, jin worked the counter and the register along with a coworker he's grown to be good friends with.
today was the day he and that coworker had separate shifts. unfortunately, he'd have to work alone for the day.
he rode his bicycle to his job every morning, and rode it back to his apartment after every shift. some days, work ended in the afternoon, and others it ended in the evening.
it wasn't like his life consisted of much anyway, so the commute never got in the way of anything.
the sun was showing signs of rising. it spotted the sky in dusty pinks and water color oranges. the purples and blues of the previous night were beginning to fade away behind the fluffy, dull blue colored, clouds.
the bike he cherished was sleek and light blue. it had a brass bell on the handle that he'd ring in a friendly manner whenever passing a familiar face.
jin inhaled deeply, taking in the refreshing air of early morning. there were days he wasn't too fond of waking up early, but having a job that required it made the fact seem less horrible.
eventually, it got the point where it was normal for him to be up at six fifteen, fixing a bowl of cereal and flipping through early morning cartoons.
the earbuds that comfortable sat in his ears were silent. he'd decided to just enjoy nature's music for the fifteen minute ride to his job.
an amused, but unnoticeable, smile creeped onto his face when he heard a lawnmower from up ahead. he thought it was way too early to be mowing the lawn, and when he saw who the sound belonged to, he snickered.
he came to a stop in front of the yard and waved to the culprit. "jinyoung is going to strangle you," jin shouted to the familiar boy who was walking his lawn mower up and down his yard.
"he isn't allowed sleep after the embarrassment he's put me through." the tool yugyeom had died down when he turned it off to speak to jin.
"you're so petty." jin shook his head, feigning dejection. the younger boy agreed without hesitation as he started up the mower again.
when jin saw the front door to the house beside yugyeom's flying open on it's hinges, revealing a sleep deprived jinyoung, he chuckled and resumed peddling down the sidewalk.
⚣
his boss was a sweet, older woman who was rarely in the shop. jin wish he had the luxury to come and go as he pleased, but he was an employee and she was the owner.
he had no one to greet but the empty booths—or so he thought.
a crash came from the kitchen. startled, his hand flew to his chest to instinctively calm down the erratic beating that was having a rock concert in between his ribcages.
"shit," he heard the chef swear from behind the holed window. it sounded like something tin of metallic clattered onto the floor.
"damnit, jaejoon, you made ribs one through seven almost protrude from my chest."
the chef, jaejoon, gave him an apologetic look before narrowing his eyes in confusion.
"because my heart began to beat so fast it almost made my ribs a door; it was about to leave my body." jin explained.
"what a weird thing to say," jaejoon mused, "are you studying to be a doctor? how do you know where your heart is located behind your ribs?" he put his elbows the bottom of the window opening and rested his chin on his folded arms.
"i just guessed. i'm probably wrong." jin mumbles as he goes to turn the power on throughout the rest of the bakery.
the soft lights inside the glass panes holding the pastries turned on and illuminated the abundance of frosting and toppings on the treats.
seeing as no other coworker had showed up yet, jin decided he'd help jaejoon get the fresh bread onto the wooden shelves against the wall beside the pastry case. each loaf made him feel like he was gaining swole muscles; he definitely needed to exercise more.
one of his close friends, jungkook, was always attempting to get jin to go out on a jog or even to the gym with him. there were a few times he'd go along with another friend named jimin, but he hadn't gone in a few months.
either way, as long as he looked in shape, he didn't feel the need to put too much effort into working out.
jaejoon finished putting the rest of the breads on the shelf while jin began to put vases of sunflowers and delphiniums on the booths and tables.
at some point, a fellow coworker arrived, smiling brightly. he was always as cheerful as the sunflowers jin put out every morning. "good morning seokjin," he'd greet with a bow. "hi hoseok." jin waved back in return.
hoseok always came into the shop a while after jin showed. eventually, the two became pretty good friends.
as always, the first thing hoseok did was put on some music. the music he played was very different to what lulled in the bakery when they opened at eight.
whereas in the bakery they played soft, mellow music, hoseok pressed play on asap rocky.
jaejoon cheered somewhere from in the kitchen when hoseok turned up the volume. the two began to rap along to the song as jin wore a wide grin. being that hoseok played this song often, he couldn't help but also rap to some of the lines he knew—even if they were in english.
⚣
the bakery, that was boringly named Bakery, had been open for a few hours now.
it was nearing on ten thirty when jin's feet began to ache from beneath him. sometimes he'd pull up a small barstools from the counter beside the pastry case, but he figured he'd just endure through the pain and treat himself to a nice massage after work.
hoseok was beside him brewing a pot of coffee for a customer. they chatted quietly, exchanging laughs and small, playful punches every once in a while.
jin kept telling jokes that were so awful, hoseok was laughing at the secondhand embarrassment.
"seokjin," he started, "i'd use the customer's coffee order as an excuse to leave, but i just want you to know, even if i was free at the moment, i'd walk away from your god awful humor." hoseok was still chuckling by the time he finished pouring the macchiato.
jaejoon snickered from the kitchen where he heard the conversation between the two. jin turned his head to jokingly yell at the chef, telling him to respect his elders.
"excuse me," a deep voice spoke from the front of the counter.
jin turned forwards to be met with a clenching pain in his chest.
his mouth almost dropped from the visual that stood in front of him. he was lucky there was a counter departing the two, because his knees almost buckled from beneath him and he had to grab onto the countertop for support.
"hello," jin spoke slowly to ensure he wouldn't stutter, "welcome to our bakery." he greeted. he sounded so unsure of himself that the welcome sounded like a question.
the boy in front of him chuckled. his laugh was low and rumbled in his chest, making jin's grip on the countertop tighten.
the man in front of him was an eyesight full of wonder and beauty. he didn't have much time to ogle over his looks though, as the customer was already ordering.
"can i have a coffee?" he asked, fishing around in his pockets for his wallet. "of course," jin couldn't bring himself to look at the man anymore, "what kind?" he asked.
"just a black coffee, please."
shit, he even has manners, jin quickly thought as he punched his order into the tablet screen.
he was lucky the device was touchscreen and not a computer, or else he'd mess up too many times from his shaking hands.
"anything else?" he asked hastily. he made the mistake of looking up once again. the man's eyes were boring into his own. a weight similar to that of lead filled him upwards from his feet; he was entranced.
"a strawberry shortcake." the male pointed to one of the miniature cakes sitting in the glass case between them. a smile threatened to twitch at jin's lips when he heard the order. he nodded, smiling anyways, as a way of affirmation.
"i have to take a call, can i just give you my name for when my food is ready?" the man questioned. the most he's said since arriving. jin could listen to him talk about nothing for hours.
feeling as though his threat constricted and his tongue knotted around itself, jin nodded again rather than speaking. he hoped the beautiful man wouldn't deem him rude.
"kim namjoon." he gave his name, and before jin could let out a word, namjoon was walking towards the entrance of the bakery.
⚣
"who was that daddy?" hoseok asked once coming back behind the counter. jin had just finished brewing namjoon's coffee, who was still on the phone outside.
"stop being inappropriate, hoseok," jin scolded briefly, "his name is namjoon, not daddy." jin said still eyeing the man outside.
his hair was an interesting shade of purple that kind of reminded him of grape medicine. he hated grape medicine. namjoon's hair could change that though.
"did he order that?" hoseok asked, pointing at the cake jin had wrapped in a delicate, lace, baby pink and white doily. he blushed, not understanding why, and answered his coworker with a a quiet 'yes'.
"i wouldn't have suspected it." hoseok laughed loudly, but not in a judging matter. truthfully, hoseok laughed at everything no matter the situation.
sometimes his laughter was taken out of context, so jin always had to prevent a future fight in the midst of breaking out.
"shut up, he's coming back in." jin quickly pushed the boy to his side of the counter as namjoon walked closer.
he wore a deep v-neck shirt that seemed almost scandalous. jin's eyes frequently dropped to the eyeful of collarbones the other was showing off like an art piece.
namjoon was also sporting a leather jacket with a few chains. he looked kind of bored, or maybe tired. jin couldn't exactly place it.
once namjoon was directly across from him. jin set his order on the counter and recited the cost.
"would you like a receipt?" he asked, feeling self conscious from namjoon's heavy gaze. the boy in question shook his head, and jin began ringing up his change.
"well, thank you for coming," he gave a full toothed smile, "here's your change." he outstretched his arm over the counter, planning on dropping the fistful of money in namjoon's hand.
"it's alright, seokjin," he said softly. he wrapped his artful fingers around jin's fist, pushing it back, "keep it." he gathered his items and turned to leave.
"have a nice day." he called over his shoulder.
jin was stunned frozen in the position namjoon had left him in. momentarily, his existence hit a harsh pause when namjoon said his name and touched him.
his hands were warm and jin's name coming out of his mouth was like music.
he blessed the name tag he wore and cradled the hand namjoon held to his chest like a fangirl.
from this day foreword, seokjin was a fan of the boy with purple hair.
***
i don't think the chapters will be as long as this one! but yes! since grim will be ending soon, this is my new story <3
i hope you like it!
also, as usual, a bitch ain't proofread shit