day 3
10:10
namjoon was in the bakery, once again, for the third day in a row. the fact was anything jin found himself complaining about, though. in all reality, he had begged the heavens the night before that namjoon would walk through the doors of his job.
god had delivered.
the purple haired male had a bandana shoving his slight fringe away from his face. jin desperately tried not to stare so obviously at the customer who rattled off his order.
"yoongi hyung will be joining me again today, so could you please add a slice of coffee cake to my strawberry shortcake order?" namjoon's voice was smooth and controlled.
jin couldn't stop the word vomit that began to spew from his mouth, "that short boy is your hyung?" and in embarrassment, he clamped his lips against each other tightly.
"yes, hyung, that short boy is indeed my hyung." seokjin only then realized that namjoon was younger than he was.
in the bakery, the employees never used formality nor honorifics with one another. they were all equals here just looking for some money to pay their bills and then some.
"you-you don't have to call me hyung, sir," jin looked down at his hand that was nervously picking at the chipped wood of the counter. "jin is fine." he offered a small smile before excusing himself to grab a coffee cake from the kitchen.
once out of namjoon's sight, jin flung his back against the door and dramatically held his palm to his racing heart. he had no idea why it began to beat so sporadically, and he willed himself to calm down with his eyes shut tight.
jaejoon hadn't paid him any mind as he began to arrange a platter with pretty pastries perfectly assorted on the glass. hoseok was also in this kitchen, but was sat atop a counter swaying his legs back and forth.
he'd previously been chatting to the chef before jimin's sudden arrival. hoseok was on his shift, but being that the other employees actually decided to show up today, he planned to let them do most of the work.
"i take it your state of being means that purple haired daddy is here again?" hoseok guessed correctly when jin scowled at him. he swiped a discarded towel at the younger boy, whipping the clutch against his arm.
"is the cute small boy with him?" hoseok questioned, completely brushing over the stinging in his arm. "yoongi? apparently he's coming by a little later." seokjin answered before asking jaejoon if there was any fresh coffee cake.
as the chef went to get the batch he made earlier this morning, hoseok continued talking, "so i guess this means they're both staying a while, huh?" jin shrugged in response.
he felt so stricken by the younger customer and couldn't place exactly why his stomach swarmed with anticipation and giddiness while his heart simultaneously beat on the brink of implosion.
jaejoon quickly returned before hoseok could say anything else. the cake was drizzled in an icing that jin found smelled particularly nice. oftentimes, it was difficult for him to be surrounded by such delectable looking foods and not indulge in it all. he was quite the foodie and was unabashedly proud of it—he even had a segment he'd show on streaming apps where he'd eat in front of the camera.
at first he found it weird that his viewers enjoyed it so much, but he just deemed it as them being avid food appreciators.
jin hadn't even realized hoseok slipped out of the kitchen, but when he went to bring namjoon's food out, there hoseok was—with namjoon and his friend.
"there he is," namjoon directed to yoongi, but kept his focus placed on jin. "i told you i bought you a coffee cake. now stop being so grumpy and appreciate me." namjoon jokingly pinched yoongi's arm, finally turning away from the flushed red jin.
it was childish, but the older boy's heart paused when he realized he had namjoon's attention even without being present. he felt as if he didn't even exist in the other's mind, but this small occurrence proved otherwise.
but as he cut a slice off the cake for yoongi, he began to chastise himself internally. of course he wasn't on namjoon's mind for the same reason he was on jin's. the only reason the male had mentioned him was to console his grandpa looking friend that he, indeed, got a cake for him.
as expected, a strawberry shortcake was in front of namjoon with bites already missing. it seemed he couldn't wait for yoongi to get his treat before beginning to eat.
"would either of you like any drinks to go along with that?" jin asked, sliding the plate towards yoongi. he desperately tried to hold namjoon's deep gaze as their eyes caught.
jin couldn't believe how someone could look so exquisite. he also didn't understand why someone who looked as cool as namjoon did could be seen cheerfully eating a strawberry shortcake.
"if that drink is you, then i'll take a grande." namjoon winked.
seokjin thought he heard wrong—
he didn't, and he almost fainted on the spot.
⚣
it was creeping on eleven when hoseok decided to play rap again.
this time, jin didn't bother to object. once he saw the smile that stretched across namjoon's face, he instantly found his favorite genre of music.
all seokjin could see were dimples. dimples and utter perfection. he was so taken with the presence of namjoon, he didn't realize he was openly staring.
namjoon, on the other hand, was very aware, but found it cute, so he let it slide. he'd steal glances at the employee every so often when looking up from his notebook full of doodles and lyrics.
hoseok had pulled up a stool on his side of the counter. he sat with his elbows placed on the hardwood top, eagerly conversing with the trio on music.
when jin wasn't busy assisting new coming customers, he'd stand beside hoseok and enjoy the vibe of the two other boys. granted, he didn't pay much attention to what was being said, but he made sure it looked like he did.
at one point, when there were only a few people who didn't need any help in the shop, seokjin decided to actually listen in on the topic.
"wait," he interjected with surprise, "you're rappers?"
"well that has been what we were discussing over the past twenty minutes." yoongi bluntly let out with a stoic expression. it wasn't that jin annoyed him, he actually thought jin was nice for as much as he knew him, but the question was pretty dumb. he took it that the older boy hadn't been paying attention at all.
namjoon snickered from beside him, but his eyes stayed glued to his sheet music while his pencil made indentations in certain spots.
"i'm also a rapper," hoseok proudly announced. he'd been telling the two other underground rappers that he's been practicing in the genre and even found a liking towards it after a friend made a suggestion a few months ago.
jin was a bit jealous that hoseok was so talented. he hadn't heard him rap solo yet, but when he did rhyme perfectly in time with songs he'd play, seokjin wished he could to that too. instead, he'd just get tongue tied and would awkwardly babble whenever it happened.
not only was hoseok a good rapper, but he was an even better dancer. jin was all shoulders and flailing, jerky body movements.
"you should rap something for them hobi." jin smiled smugly when hoseok narrowed his eyes. he knew the younger boy was attempting at impressing yoongi. the reason was completely innocent, though. it was clear that in the short amount of time they've known each other, hosoek found the sluggish boy admirable.
but hoseok's eyes then lit up as he found the perfect track to rap over. "alright," he was still scrolling through his phone, "i'm only doing this since all our customers have left. i was messing around a few weeks ago with our friend taehyung, and—well, i'll just show you."
when he heard his name, taehyung's attention was caught. he hadn't been interested in the group's conversation, so he wasn't paying attention. but as he was squatting at the floor, putting away menus he couldn't help but become intrigued once his name was mentioned.
the familiar tune began to bump in the speakers and a wide smile erupted across taehyung and hoseok's features.
taehyung settled his urges to rap alongside the older boy, but mouthed along to the words and danced maniacally in the corner.
by the end, the two customers looked pleased, and even impressed. "what was that called?" namjoon asked first. "1verse." hoseok stood in triumph as he listened to the applause of the two customers and the surrounding employees.
"you call yourself j-hope, then?" it wasn't mocking, but yoongi was amused at the nickname. "it's because i'm everyone's hope." hoseok laughed, bringing his arms to his side and flapping his hands up and down to mimic the fluttering of wings.
⚣
by the time it was neering on twelve in the afternoon namjoon had let out his fiftieth sigh of frustration.
"okay, buddy, it's nice that you're trying to had that good ol' CO2 to the environment for the plants and shit, but it you sigh one more time i'm about to provide your body as a nice gift to the decomposers." taehyung pointedly stared at namjoon.
jin's hand instinctively went to smack the boy on the back of his head. his reasonings were that the employees weren't allowed to be rude to customers, but there was a deeper meaning as well; no one could talk to his namjoon that way.
"ow," taehyung pouted and rubbed the sore spot on his head. namjoon didn't seem to be effected by the statement though, as he began to explain himself.
"i'm doing this project which requires me to find a vocalist and i've yet to actually find someone who suits what i've written." his voice was gruff in annoyance and his eyebrows were knitted in a tight frown.
"fun fact," taehyung spoke up with a mischievous smile, "i happen to know a vocalist." jin didn't pay any mind to this, as he knew taehyung sang, and was an amazing singer at that. in truth, most of his friends were gifted musically. there was also jimin and jungkook, the workout bros, who had beautiful voices as well.
jin nodded in agreement at taehyung's statement. "tae is a great singer. i'm sure he'll fit your style." jin absentmindedly swept the floor behind namjoon and around the rest of the bar.
the day had been going agonizingly slow, but lucky for him, it wasn't terrible since namjoon was present. "can you sing something for me then?" namjoon asked tae, who's face fell a bit.
he wasn't talking about himself when he brought up the fact to namjoon. he actually was hinting at jin. but regardless, he sang for namjoon at his request. "you have an amazing voice." namjoon complimented with an applause to go along with it.
he was about to say more, but taehyung beat him to it, "seokjin also is a talented singer."
the broom dropped from jin's hands and clattered to the floor noisily as wood bounced against tile. "what's got you so shook, pumpkin? i didn't know you sang." namjoon whirled around in his seat to get a good glimpse at the older male.
they were close enough to wear namjoon's leather clad knees just barely brushed against jin's dark wash, and worn, jeans. he kind of looked like a mom.
"you didn't ask." the employee was looking everywhere but namjoon's face. for some reason, the younger boy had been really flirty today. but he wasn't complaining.
"sing something for him, jin." taehyung's happy voice brought jin back to his senses. "you know that song you wrote a while ago? awake? sing that!" the younger suggested with a clap of his hands.
jin gave in eventually, deciding to only sing a portion of the song.
namjoon was struck into silence of awe and wonderment. "that was so beautiful, seokjin." the compliment was so genuine, that when the older boy went to thank him, his theist constricted with the beginning of a sob.
it wasn't like compliments were rare, but they always seemed to be more out of politeness than sincerity.
seokjin resisted the urge to hug namjoon in a bone crushing embrace. he settled on a smile and laugh instead.
***
the real question is why i'm uploading this.
grim isn't finished.
it's almost eleven thirty where i live.