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It was a day like any other. Namjoon was working alongside Hoseok at his tattoo parlor. There never really is many customers, but Namjoon makes it work. At least he thought he did.
“Kim Namjoon! Come here!” Seokjin, the landlord yelled, storming into the parlor.
Namjoon looked up at him, “I’m working on a customer right now.”
After a subtle roll of the eyes, Seokjin walked up to Namjoon, “Do you know how long it’s been since you’ve paid rent?”
“3, 4 months?” Namjoon mentions, unbothered.
Seokjin crossed his arms in anger, “No, Namjoon. It’s been half a year since you’ve paid. I’ve let this slide much too many times.”
Still focusing on his customers’ tattoo more than the landlord, Namjoon answered, “I’ll get you the money.”
“Do you know how much you owe me? 6 months worth of rent is not easy to get, Namjoon,” Seokjin says, calmer than previously.
Hoseok walked over to Namjoon and Seokjin’s conversation, “Seokjin, c’mon, he said he’ll get the rent. Just give him some time.”
Seokjin sighed, “You have a week. If you don’t pay it by then, I’ll just give this building to Jimin.”
“Who’s Jimin?” Namjoon asked, still not very interested in this conversation.
“Jimin wants to turn this building into a flower shop. He is willing to pay rent every month for this place,” Seokjin answers.
Namjoon scoffed, “A flower shop? Are you serious?”
“Never been more serious,” Seokjin answers, starting to walk out of the parlor, “Get me the money and you won’t have to worry about it!”
Namjoon continued tattooing his customer when Hoseok decided to speak to him, “You really gotta get that money, Namjoon. No one wants this place to turn into a flower shop.”
“I’ll get the money. Just... go work on your customers now and stop bothering me,” Namjoon orders.
Hoseok sighed as he walked back to his customers.
-
Jimin is currently sitting in a café, in a booth with Jungkook and Taehyung.
“Have you found a place for your flower shop yet?” Taehyung asks with his mug in hand.
Jimin sighs, “Nope. I’ve talked to some people but most of them just said that the building isn’t open for sale.”
“You haven’t seen any empty buildings around town?” Jungkook asks, genuinely wanting to know.
“No. Do y’all know that tattoo parlor across from the bookstore?” Jimin brings up.
Jungkook and Taehyung think for a second, “Oh! Yeah, I know that place,” Taehyung says.
Jimin nods, “The owner of that building said that no one has been paying rent there. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but maybe I’ll be able to get that building.”
Jungkook sighs, “I hope so. You’ve been looking for a building for months.”
-
A couple days passed. Still, Namjoon has yet to find any money to give Seokjin.
Hoseok and Namjoon are currently at the parlor talking, for there are no customers at the moment.
“So... what are you gonna do if Seokjin ends up giving the building away?” Hoseok asks.
Namjoon sighs, “I have no idea. It took me ages to move into this place, I’m never gonna be able to find a new building to use for the parlor.”
“It’s okay, Namjoon. We’ll figure out something,” Hoseok exclaims.
“A fucking flower shop?” Namjoon thinks out loud.
Hoseok sighs, “You’re never gonna be able to get the money, I hope you know that.”
Namjoon slams his fist on the counter in front of him, “I fucking know that, Hoseok! Just go home.”
Hoseok flinched, “Okay, sorry, jeez.”
Namjoon rolled his eyes. Suddenly, a customer walked in.
“I got this customer. You just go home, okay?” Namjoon said, subsequently walking up to the customer.
“Hello, are you here for a tattoo or products?” Namjoon asked the customer.
The customer answered, “I’m actually not here for anything tattoo related. Seokjin told me I could look around the place.”
Namjoon widened his eyes, “Are you the flower shop guy?”
The customer smiled, “That’s me! Hello, I’m Jimin,” he stuck his arm out to Namjoon.
Namjoon didn’t shake his hand, “You want to take this building for a flower shop?”
Jimin furrowed his eyebrows, “Uhh... yeah? Seokjin told me that as long as I pay rent I can turn it into whatever I want.”
“Whatever. Look around all you want. I’m going home,” Namjoon directed his gaze to Hoseok, “Change of plans Hoseok, I’m the one going home, you’re staying.”
Hoseok walked up to Namjoon, “Okay? Do you want me to work on this customer?”
Namjoon rolled his eyes, “That, my friend, is not a customer. That is flower shop guy.”
“Ohh,” Hoseok looked over to Jimin, “You’re here to look around, I presume?”
Jimin nodded.
Namjoon just walked angrily out of the building.
“I take it he doesn’t want to give away his parlor?” Jimin asks Namjoon.
Hoseok sighs, “He’ll get over it. There’s no way we’re getting six months worth of rent in four days.”
“Six months?” Jimin asked, surprised.
Hoseok hummed in reassurance, “Let me just show you around real quick, okay?”
-
Once Jimin got back to his apartment, his roommates, Taehyung and Jungkook, were sitting on the couch playing video games.
Jungkook jumps up and runs to Jimin as soon as he sees him, “How was it? Is the building good?”
“The building is perfect. It’s not a 100% yes, but I think I have a good chance,” Jimin says, placing his coat on the coat rack.
Taehyung yells from the couch, “That’s great, Jimin! I’m glad you finally found a place!”
“The current owner is a prick, though, he didn’t even let me look around. I had to rely on his coworker to give me a tour,” Jimin says, plopping himself down on the couch beside Taehyung.
Taehyung sighs, “I get that, though. He’s about to lose the building.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Jimin answers.
“Wanna play video games with us?” Jungkook asks, grabbing the controller from the coffee table.
Jimin shakes his head, “Nah, I need sleep,” he starts removing himself off the couch, “I’ll see you guys tomorrow morning, okay?”
“Okay, Jimin. Good night!” Taehyung waves goodbye.
“Goodnight,” Jimin replied.
-
It’s now been a week since Seokjin last spoke to Namjoon.
Namjoon is working on a customer when suddenly, Seokjin storms into the building.
“Where’s the money, Namjoon? It’s been a week,” Seokjin says, walking up to the younger.
Namjoon whispers, “I don’t have it.”
“What did you say? Speak up,” Seokjin orders.
“I said, I don’t have the money yet!” Namjoon yells, making his customer flinch.
Seokjin scoffed, “I’ve given you enough chances. I want you out.”
Namjoon raises his eyebrows, “And what if I don’t wanna leave?”
“Then I’ll call my lawyer. I’ll bet you don’t even have one,” Seokjin answers.
Namjoon throws his tattoo pen on the counter in front of him, running his hands through his hair afterwards, “This is bullshit.”
“The fact that you don’t pay me is bullshit. I want you out by tomorrow. If you leave anything of yours in this building, I’m throwing it out,” Seokjin says, fed up with Namjoon’s attitude.
“Fine. You’ll miss me, though,” Namjoon says.
Seokjin laughs, “I can almost guarantee I won’t.”
Hoseok walked over to the conversation, “We’re getting kicked out, aren’t we?”
“Yep. Pack up your stuff or else it’ll apparently be thrown out,” Namjoon mentions.
Seokjin sighs, “I didn’t want to have to do this, Namjoon. But you left me no choice.”
“Whatever, Seokjin. I promise you I’m gonna get this building back,” Namjoon claims.
“Whatever floats your boat, Namjoon,” Seokjin laughs, “I already bought you a moving truck, since you probably can’t afford that.”
Namjoon rolled his eyes, “Very funny.”
-
The next morning, Namjoon stands alone in the no-longer-parlor. It’s now empty, consisting of only a couple empty shelves.
Seokjin walks in, “Glad to see you’ve taken everything out of the building.”
Namjoon scoffs, “Not for long, though. I will get it back.”
“You don’t get to determine that, Namjoon,” Seokjin said, his voice echoing because of the lack of furniture in the building.
“I’ll just convince this Jimin kid to give it back to me,” Namjoon said.
Seokjin laughed, “You won’t be able to do that. Jimin told me he’s been looking for a building for months. He’s not gonna just give it up.”
“I don’t care, I’m still gonna get it back,” Namjoon confirmed confidently.
“Don’t do anything stupid, Namjoon,” Seokjin orders, “Jimin is nice. Don’t bother him to give you the building back.”
Namjoon shrugged, “You took it away from me. So it’s your fault if I be mean to Jimin.”
Seokjin scoffs, “I can just ban you from being able to come here. It’s that simple.”
Namjoon says nothing more, he just rolls his eyes and storms out of the building.
-
“I still can’t believe I got the building,” Jimin says, pulling into the building’s parking lot.
“I’m glad you finally found one. Now you can take all that flower shit out of my house,” Taehyung answered.
Jimin enthusiastically gasps, “Excuse you! Your house smelled like shit, anyway. You should be glad I stored my flowers at your place.”
Taehyung giggled, “Whatever.”
After removing themselves from the car, Jimin and Taehyung walked inside the building.
“It’s the perfect size for your flower shop,” Taehyung exclaims.
Jimin nodded in agreement. He looked around, in awe of the place.
“Kind of ironic this place is being turned into a flower shop when it was a literal tattoo shop previously,” Taehyung brings up.
Jimin turns to the younger, “I guess. The previous owner of this building probably hates me though.”
“Why?”
“Because I literally stole his building,” Jimin says quietly.
Taehyung giggles, “You shouldn’t feel bad about that, Jimin. If the guy actually paid what he needed to pay, he could’ve kept it. So it’s not your fault.”
“I guess,” Jimin agrees.
-
A couple days passed, and Jimin is finally about to open his new flower shop for customers.
It took a while to stock the store with all different kinds of flowers, but thanks to Taehyung and Jungkook’s help, Jimin got it done in under 48 hours.
Currently, Jimin was standing in the middle of the shop, along with Jungkook and Taehyung.
“I think we’re ready to open,” Taehyung said after directing his gaze to Jimin. Jungkook nodded in agreement.
Jimin smiled as he walked towards the locked door of the building, unlocking it.
“Do you think you’ll get any customers today, Jimin?” Jungkook asks from the other side of the shop.
Jimin turned towards Jungkook, “Maybe, maybe not. We’ll see.”
-
Hours passed. No customers yet.
“We’re never gonna get a profit if there’s no customers,” Taehyung abruptly said.
“I’m fully aware of that, Taehyung,” Jimin answered, annoyed, looking down at his hands while he fidgets with his own fingers.
Suddenly, they hear a bell chime at the front door of the shop, indicating someone was walking in. Jimin immediately looked up, but frowned when he saw who it was.
“Looks real busy in here, Park Jimin,” Namjoon says, sarcastically.
Taehyung furrowed his eyebrows, “Who the hell is he?”
“He’s the guy who was using this building as a tattoo parlor,” Jimin answers. He directs his gaze towards Namjoon, “If you’re not here to buy something, I suggest you leave.”
Namjoon laughed, “Don’t worry, Park. I’ll buy something.” He walked over to the orchids, “I’ll get one of these tulips.”
Jimin walked over to where Namjoon was standing, “Those aren’t tulips. They’re orchids.”
“Orchids. Sorry, did I insult your flower?” Namjoon asked.
“Are you always this bitchy or is this because I’m using this building?” Jimin asks.
Namjoon, still trying to figure out how to pick up the orchids, answered, “I’m not always a bitch. Just to you. Oh, and that old man across the street who wouldn’t speed the fuck up when he was walking in front of me.”
Jimin furrows his eyebrows at Namjoon, but before he could say anything back, Namjoon manages to drop the vase of orchids on the ground, and laughs afterwards.
“Fuck,” Jimin mumbles, squatting down to pick up the pieces of the vase, “This shit isn’t funny. You broke my damn vase.”
Jungkook and Taehyung both walked over to Jimin and Namjoon to help clean up the mess.
“Can you please leave? We don’t need your money,” Jungkook said to Namjoon.
Namjoon squinted his eyes, “You’re irrelevant. I don’t even know your name.”
Taehyung stood up and locked his gaze with Namjoon, “Get out, please. You’re ruining this experience for Jimin. He wants to remember his first day owning a flower shop to be a happy memory.”
“What’s the point? You’re not gonna get any customers anyway,” Namjoon points out.
Jimin stood up from where he was trying to clean up the vase, “Get out! Just get the hell out, please!”
Namjoon flinched at Jimin’s sudden yelling, “Sheesh. Sensitive much? Alright, alright, I’ll go. Good luck getting money with zero customers,” He says, before turning around and walking out of the shop.
Jungkook saw the sad expression on Jimin’s face, “Don’t listen to him, Jimin. This is gonna be a successful business, I just know it.”
“Yeah. Fuck him, he doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about,” Taehyung added on.
They proceeded to gather into a group hug, Jimin feeling better at the comfort of his two best friends.
-
By the end of the day, Jimin finally decided it was time to close the shop for the night. He ended up getting a couple customers, luckily, even though he would’ve wished for more.
“How much did we make today?” Taehyung asks, as he, Jungkook, and Jimin walk down the sidewalk.
Jimin sighed, “Not much.”
Jungkook smiled as he patted Jimin on his shoulder, “Don’t stress about it, Jimin. No one has a bunch of customers on their first day.”
Jimin nodded in agreement, continuing to walk alongside his best friends down the sidewalk.
Jungkook suddenly changed the topic, “That guy from earlier today... who was that? He was really mean to you.”
“That’s the guy that previously owned the building. A real douche, if you ask me,” Jimin answered.
“Is he gonna bother you like that all the time? I’ll throw hands,” Taehyung raised his eyebrows.
Jimin giggled, “It’s fine, Taehyung.”
-
The next day appears to be a bit better. Jimin got a couple customers more compared to yesterday.
The bell on the building’s door rung, indicating a new customer is walking in.
“Hello, how may I help—,” Jimin looked up at the customer, “Shit. What’re you doing here, Namjoon?”
Namjoon scoffed, walking up to Jimin, “Don’t lie. You’re happy to see me.”
Jimin rolled his eyes, “You’re not welcome here.”
“Denying service to an innocent customer? I can report you for that.”
“You’re not innocent. You broke a very expensive vase yesterday.
“Chill the fuck out. It’s not like you don’t have millions of other vases scattered around the place.”
Jimin exhaled in annoyance, “It’s a flower shop, what do you expect?”
Taehyung walks out of the back room of the shop, only to widen his eyes when he sees Namjoon. “You need to leave,” he points to Namjoon.
“The sign in the door says ‘welcome’. So I’m welcome here,” Namjoon argues.
“Who do you think you are? You can’t just come in here every time you want to harass my best friend,” Taehyung raises his voice.
Jimin pats Taehyung’s back, “Chill, Tae. I can handle him.”
The bell rings on the door, and a customer walks in.
“You better not do anything stupid, Namjoon. I have a customer,” Jimin whispered.
He then walked over to the new customer, “Hi! Welcome! How may I help you?”
The customer looked around, “Since when is this a damn flower shop? I want a tattoo.”
Jimin’s smile turned into a frown as he heard Namjoon’s laughter from behind him.
“The owner of the tattoo shop moved out,” Jimin stated, trying to hide his disappointment towards the fact that it wasn’t actually a customer.
The customer exhaled, “That’s bullshit. This was the only tattoo parlor around here that was in my budget.”
“I’m sorry for the inconvenience,” Jimin apologizes professionally.
After rolling his eyes, the customer storms out of the shop. Namjoon starts laughing even louder.
“Shut the hell up, Namjoon,” Jimin said calmy, trying to bottle his anger.
Namjoon grabbed his stomach while laughing, as if it was the funniest thing ever, “That was gold! You actually thought you’d end up getting a customer?”
Jimin sighs, trying to ignore Namjoon.
“Opening a flower shop is fucking pointless. Who in the world wants flowers?” Namjoon asked.
Jimin snapped. He slammed the clipboard he was holding down on the counter in front of him and started yelling, “You are so full of shit! What’s the point of you walking in my shop acting like you still own the place? I can do whatever the fuck I want to with the building! It’s not my fault your ass couldn’t pay the damn rent for months!”
Namjoon widened his eyes in shock. He didn’t think Jimin would actually start yelling at him like that.
Jimin continued, “What the fuck do you know about flowers, anyway? If you’d actually pull that stick out of your ass and learn a thing or two, you’d realize that this shit is actually pretty interesting! All you did was use this building as a shitty tattoo parlor that—according to reviews I found online—has fucked up artists who don’t even know how to draw! So what the fuck are you doing here? I’m not gonna give your building back, you dumb piece of shit!”
Namjoon scoffed, walking up to Jimin, a little too close for comfort, “You are the one who turned my tattoo parlor into a sappy flower shop. And don’t you dare come for me, when I actually could get customers. You’d be lucky if you get a mere five customers a day. And I am not a dumb piece of shit,” Namjoon put his face inches away from Jimin’s, “So don’t you fucking dare call me one.”
And with that, Namjoon turns around and storms out of the shop.
Jimin releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Taehyung walked over to him, “Literally fuck him. Don’t listen to him.”
“He’s right,” Jimin says quietly.
“What?”
“Namjoon’s right. I get barely any customers compared to the amount he had. Maybe people really are interested in tattoos more than flowers.”
Taehyung furrowed his eyebrows, “Namjoon is not right. That fucker is probably never right. The only reason we have only a few customers at the moment is because we literally just opened the shop.”
“But... Taehyung. Don’t you feel like I’m wasting this building? Maybe people in the area would rather being able to get tattoos. That one “customer” came in the shop today asking for a damn tattoo.”
“No, Jimin. You’ve been wanting to open your own flower shop since forever. You can’t just give up because some idiot tells you it’s not good enough.”
Jimin slightly smiled at his best friend’s kindness, “What did I do to deserve you as a best friend?”
Taehyung smiled back, immediately hugging the older, “You are amazing, Jimin. That’s what you did to deserve me.”
-
Namjoon continued to enter the shop every chance he could get. It’s now the next week, and Jimin’s shop has gotten much better customer-wise.
“Nice to see you again,” Namjoon said to Jimin, entering the shop.
Jimin exhaled, “When are you gonna give this up, Namjoon? I’m not giving you the building.”
“Then I’m not stopping coming in here every day,” Namjoon argued.
Jimin sighed. He’s really fed up with Namjoon. Who does this guy think he is?
“Namjoon. Please. I don’t want to have to deal with you today,” Jimin begs.
Namjoon answered, “Don’t worry, Jimin. I actually want to buy something.”
“Huh? You wanna buy something?”
“Yes. My mom’s favorite flower is lilacs.”
Jimin walks around the counter to get closer to Namjoon, “Really?”
“Yeah. My ass doesn’t know what lilacs look like and you’re the only person I know who gives a damn about flowers.”
“Okay. Follow me,” Jimin starts walking towards the lilacs as Namjoon follows.
Once they arrive, Jimin starts describing them, “These lilacs are much more purple than lilacs you’d see regularly. But that makes them just that much more special.”
Namjoon smiles, “Okay. I’ll get those. My mom likes purple.”
Jimin nods, picking up the lilacs from the counter and bringing them to his personal counter.
While calculating the price, Jimin asks a question, “Why are you getting your mom flowers?”
Namjoon looks up at Jimin.
This is new.
Namjoon’s expression... it’s soft. Sad.
“Oh. Sorry I asked. You don’t have to answer that,” Jimin whispers, handing the lilacs to Namjoon.
Namjoon takes the lilacs and walks out of the shop, without a word.
Jungkook walks up to Jimin, “That was weird.”
Jimin just lingers his gaze towards the door Namjoon just walked out of.
-
Namjoon walks slowly along the sidewalk, lilacs in hand.
Once he finally arrived at the destination he was headed, he walked down the path.
He walked down the path until he spotted his mother’s grave.
Once he saw it, he walked towards it. He sat on the grass in front of it.
“Hi, mom.”
“I’m sorry failed you. I tried all I could, I really did. But I don’t think I’m getting the building back.”
A tear falls down Namjoon’s cheek, “I miss you. So much. I don’t know how I’m surviving right now. You were my rock. You still are.”
“I know you really liked the building. It was like a second home to you. I couldn’t pay the damn rent. I failed you, I failed you and I’m so... so sorry.”
Namjoon sniffled, placing the lilacs upon his mother’s grave.
“I know lilacs are your favorite. Apparently the ones that are purple are special. You deserve special. You deserve everything, mom.”
“I love you.”
-
The next day, Sunday, Jimin and Taehyung are talking in the café, since the shop is closed on Sundays.
“Hey, Jimin. Don’t you think the way Namjoon acted yesterday was a bit... different?” Taehyung asked after taking a small sip out of his cup.
Jimin sighed, “I don’t speak of him. He is irrelevant.”
Taehyung shrugged, “I was just wondering.”
Honestly, Jimin was kind of wondering too. But he’d never admit that.
“Speak of the devil,” Taehyung unexpectedly says.
Jimin raises his eyebrows and turns to where Taehyung was looking.
And much to Jimin’s surprise, there’s Namjoon, with an apron on, wiping a table.
“Oh, my god. Namjoon in an apron. Never thought I’d see the day,” Taehyung says, giggling.
Jimin immediately gets up from the booth he and Taehyung were sitting in and walks towards Namjoon.
“What are you doing here? And why are you wiping tables?” Jimin asked.
Namjoon looked up from the table he was wiping, “I work here. I need a job since you stole my building.”
“Seokjin’s building,” Jimin corrects.
“Whatever.”
Jimin crosses his arms, “I’ll order something.”
“You already have a waiter. Why did you come over here just to aggravate me?”
“Cause I like aggravating you,” Jimin smiles.
Namjoon rolls his eyes, “Fine. What do you want?”
“I’ll take a sweet tea. But I don’t want it too sweet. And I want ice, but not too much ice. But make sure it has a decent amount of ice,” Just when Namjoon thought he was done, Jimin continued, “And I want a straw. But not one of those straight ones. I want a straw that bends so I can easily sip from it. And give me some sugar packets just in case you make it too unsweet.”
“You really are a bitch,” Namjoon claims.
Jimin smiles, “I’ll be expecting my order very soon, Kim Namjoon.”
Namjoon laughs and walks away, probably to go prepare the order.
Jimin stands there for a second, smiling. After a couple more seconds, he directs himself back to him and Taehyung’s booth.
“Um... what the hell was that?” Taehyung asked.
Jimin furrowed his eyebrows, “What the hell was what?”
“It looked like you two were... flirting or something,” Taehyung answered.
Jimin widened his eyes and laughed, “Flirting? Are you fucking serious?”
“I’m serious, Jimin. Are you into him?” Taehyung said, smiling weirdly.
“No! I’m not into Namjoon. He’s a bitch and he thinks he can waltz in my shop whenever he pleases,” Jimin answered.
“Okay, okay. But you two would make a cute couple.”
“Never in a million years,” Jimin says.
After a couple minutes, Namjoon walks up to their booth, “Here’s your sweet-but-not-too-sweet-ice-but-not-too-much-ice-straw-but-not-straight-straw tea.”
Taehyung furrows his eyebrows.
“Oh! And we can’t forget the extra sugar packet,” Namjoon adds, tossing the packet towards Jimin.
After Namjoon walks away, Taehyung looks towards Jimin, “What the hell, Jimin?”
Jimin giggled, “What?”
“Why’d you make the order so... specific?” Taehyung asked.
Jimin shrugged his shoulder, “Just because.”
“Probably because you want to get Namjoon’s attention,” Tashyung smirks.
Jimin sighs, “No, Taehyung. It’s simply because I wanted to aggravate him. Nothing more and nothing less.”
“Whatever you say, Jimin,” Taehyung says, checking the notification he just received on his phone, “Oh shit, my brother needs me.”
“Why does Yoongi need you?” Jimin asks.
Taehyung started gathering his stuff, “Honestly... probably for money. But just in case, I’m gonna go.”
“Okay, Tae. See you tomorrow at work, I guess.”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow,” Taehyung said, before walking out of the café.
Jimin stays in the café, wanting to finish his tea before he leaves.
Suddenly, Jimin notices Namjoon walking towards his table. Then he notices Namjoon sitting across from him.
“What do you want?” Jimin asks.
Namjoon put his elbow on the table, putting his chin on his hand, “How’s the tea?”
Jimin looks down at his tea, then back at Namjoon, “It’s okay. You gave me too much ice.”
Namjoon smiled, “Of course I did.”
Jimin took another sip of his tea.
“You seem to like it, though,” Namjoon expresses.
“It’s drinkable,” Jimin says back.
“Drinkable? I worked on your drink for 8 minutes! It should be exceptional!” Namjoon smiles.
Jimin smiles back, “It’s nowhere near exceptional. You should work on your tea-making skills.”
“Noted,” Namjoon pauses for a moment, “You seem to be good friends with Taehyung.”
Jimin nods, “Best friends since first grade.”
“Really? I can’t keep friendships for that long,” Namjoon admits.
“Understandable.”
Namjoon laughs, “Hey! Not nice.”
“You’re not nice, either. I don’t know why you’re trying to make friends with me right now,” Jimin says, getting serious.
“Who said I was trying to make friends with you?”
Jimin looked down at the table, “Oh. I just thought—“
Namjoon interrupted, “I don’t want to be friends with you, Park Jimin. I was just simply asking you how your tea was. That’s it.”
“Okay, I get it. Jeez,” Jimin takes a sip out of his tea.
“I gotta continue my shift now, Jimin. See you tomorrow at your shop,” Namjoon says, getting up from the table and walking away.
Jimin rolled his eyes.
Namjoon’s not as bad as he thought.
Still bad, though.
-
As the next day approaches, Jimin isn’t even surprised when he sees Namjoon walking into the shop.
“Aish. Why must you come in here everyday?” Jimin asked as Namjoon was walking towards him.
“Because. You’re using my building,” Namjoon answers.
Jimin rolls his eyes, “Not your building.”
Namjoon changes the subject after looking around, “Looks like you actually get customers now.”
Jimin nods, “Yeah. Much more than I was getting the first day I opened the shop.”
“Why the hell are you so interested in flowers, anyway?” Namjoon asked.
Jimin sighs, “A lot of reasons.”
“I have time,” Namjoon mentioned.
“Well, for one, my grandfather loved flowers. He had a whole garden is his backyard. Well... he’d never water them, so they’d all die, but still.”
Namjoon nodded, “I’m assuming he passed? Since your talking about him in past tense?”
Jimin looked down, “Yeah. He died a couple years ago.”
“Oh. Sorry to hear that.”
“Nah, don’t worry about it. He was old. It was his time,” Jimin shrugged, “I also like flowers because of their smell. They smell amazing.”
“Okay. But... I like the smell of gas. Does that mean I’m gonna make a gas shop? No,” Namjoon said.
Jimin laughed, “That analogy sucks! It’s not the same thing. I have a passion for flowers. Do you have a passion for gas?”
Namjoon nodded, “Gas fills my car. It’s useful.”
“Whatever, Namjoon. Anyway, another reason I like flowers is the fact that they’re super pretty,” Jimin points out.
“You shouldn’t like something just because it’s pretty. I think you’re pretty, but I don’t like you,” Namjoon said, looking like he regretted saying that right after.
Jimin raised his eyebrows, “You just called me pretty.”
“No I didn’t.”
“Yes. Yes, you did.”
“You’re hearing things.”
“Awwwe, Namjoon. A lot of people think I’m pretty. You shouldn’t feel embarrassed,” Jimin smiled.
Namjoon furrowed his eyebrows, “I never said you were pretty.”
“Whatever, Namjoon,” Jimin paused for a moment, “And for what it’s worth, I think you’re really handsome.”
Namjoon scoffed, “I’m leaving.”
“What? Can’t handle one compliment from me?” Jimin giggled.
“No. I just can’t handle you in general,” Namjoon said.
Jimin shrugged his shoulders, “A lot of people say they can’t handle me. But that’s only in bed.”
Namjoon widened his eyes, “What? No! Ew, Jimin! I don’t want to know about your sex life!”
“Just saying.”
Namjoon immediately walked out of the shop afterwards.
Jimin had a smile on his face, even after Namjoon left.
Jungkook walked up to him, “Jimin. You’re not supposed to be into the enemy.”
“I’m not into Namjoon. Why do people keep saying that?”
Jungkook scoffed, “You’re blushing. Like... excessively. And you can’t stop smiling.”
“I’m smiling because life is good. Not because of Namjoon,” Jimin excuses.
Jungkook laughed at his excuse, “But seriously, Jimin? If you like him, just ask him out.”
Jimin softly pushed Jungkook’s shoulder, “What the hell are you talking about? I don’t like Namjoon. I don’t want to ask him out. Just drop it.”
“Defensive much?”
“I swear I will lower your salary if you don’t get back to work,” Jimin says.
Jungkook widened his eyes, “Yes, sir. I will get back to work, sir.”
Jimin laughed, turning back to his counter where he was counting coins.
-
“Hi, mom.”
“How’ve you been?”
Namjoon is sitting beside his mom’s grave again.
“Sorry I didn’t bring you flowers again. I meant to buy them, but I got distracted while I was in the flower shop.”
“I think I might like someone, mom. I mean, I don’t know for sure, but I think I do.”
“He hates me, though. And aggravates me every. single. time. he gets the chance to. But... i don’t know... I just find myself in random times of the day thinking of him.”
“Like... there was this one time where I was in the grocery store buying milk and I suddenly started thinking about him. For no reason.”
Namjoon smiled, “I’m supposed to hate him. He’s the guy who stole the building from me. Well... not really... but he’s the guy who owns it now, so I’m supposed to hate him.”
“But I don’t. I really... I just don’t.”
-
Namjoon, unsurprisingly, walked back into the flower shop the next day.
“Hey, Namjoon. Surprised to see you here,” Jimin says sarcastically.
Namjoon smiled, “I know, right? It’s almost like I never come here,” he answers, returning the sarcasm.
Jimin laughs, “Buying anything today? Or are you just here to annoy me?”
“I don’t know. I’ll look around and see if I find any of these boring flowers interesting,” Namjoon says, starting to walk around.
After a couple minutes, Jimin hears yelling from behind him. He turns around, only to find Namjoon arguing with another customer.
“But I was gonna buy those flowers! It’s the last carnations there are!” The customer complained.
“I don’t care! I like these flowers. They’re pretty. So I’m gonna buy them,” Namjoon answers.
Jimin walks up to the argument, “Hey, stop arguing, please,” He turns to Namjoon, “Please give her the flowers. I might have more in the back room.”
Namjoon rolled his eyes, “Fine,” he hands the customer the flowers and crosses his arms.
“Stop complaining, Namjoon. I’ll be right back,” Jimin starts walking towards the back room, probably to get some carnations.
Jimin, seconds later, comes out of the back room with the same kind of flower in his hands.
Namjoon smiled, “Yay!”
Jimin giggled, “Why do you want these flowers? I thought you hated flowers.”
“They’re pretty,” Namjoon answers, taking them from Jimin’s hands.
“So you admit that flowers are pretty?” Jimin asks.
“No. I admit that this specific flower is pretty,” Namjoon explains, pointing to the flowers in his hand.
“They’re called carnations,” Jimin informs.
“Carnations? Isn’t that a bird?”
Jimin furrows his eyebrow, “I think you’re thinking about a cardinal. A cardinal is a bird. A carnation is a flower.”
“Oh.”
-
“I know lilacs are your favorite flower, but I got you carnations today. I hope it’s okay,” Namjoon said, placing the carnations on his mother’s grave.
“I talked to the person I like again today. Jimin. His name’s Jimin.”
Namjoon gulped, “He’s so precious.”
“I mean... he’s a bitch most of the time. But there’s times he ends up slipping and becomes the most precious human being.”
“I miss you, mom.”
-
Jimin’s in the café agin. This time, with Jungkook.
“What may I get for y’all?” Namjoon asked, Jimin shooting his head up after hearing his voice.
“Oh! Namjoon!” Jimin smiled.
Namjoon looked into Jimin’s eyes, “I swear to God, Jimin, if you give me some long and insane order again, I will—“
“Nope. No long and insane order. I just want a water,” Jimin interrupts.
Namjoon raises his eyebrows, “No specific straw?”
“I don’t care which straw. As long as there’s a straw.”
“Um... okay? And what about you?” Namjoon asks, turning to Jungkook.
“Can I have four bagels? And a couple blueberry muffins. Oh! And I’d also like a steak. And a side of fries.”
Namjoon furrowed his eyebrows, “Okay...”
After Namjoon walked away, Jimin started talking to Jungkook, “How the hell do you eat so much and still manage to have a body like that?”
Jungkook shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know, man. Even I’m surprised I’m not obese.”
Jimin laughs, directing his gaze to Namjoon, who’s across the café talking to the chef.
Jungkook looks over to where Jimin is looking, “You soo like him.”
Jimin immediately looks back at Jungkook, “What? Who? No I don’t.”
“Yes, you do,” Jungkook argues.
Jimin furrows his eyebrows, “Stop telling me I like Namjoon. I don’t like him. In fact, I hate him.”
Jungkook scoffs, “You like him. C’mon, Jimin. You’re looking at him like he puts the stars in your sky or some shit.”
“I don’t... I really don’t like him,” Jimin says.
Jungkook sighs, “Just admit it. It’s not the end of the world if you like Namjoon. He’s hot.”
“Looks aren’t everything, Jungkook. He’s a bitch.”
“We both know he’s not really a bitch. If you get to know him, he’s a soft little teddy bear.”
Jimin looks up at Namjoon, then back at Jungkook, “Okay, fine. Maybe I like him. A tiny bit.”
Jungkook smiles, “I knew it!” He yells excessively loud.
Jimin immediately puts his hand over Jungkook’s mouth, “Shut the hell up, Jungkook,” He whispers.
And before they knew it, Namjoon was back at their table with a bunch of food in his hands.
“Here’s your water, Jimin,” He sets the water in front of Jimin.
“And here’s your bagels, muffins, steak, and fries,” Namjoon said, setting the plates out in front of Jungkook one-by-one.
“You’re really gonna eat all that?” Namjoon asks Jungkook.
Jungkook looks up to Namjoon, “Don’t underestimate me.”
Namjoon starts walking away, but Jungkook yells back at him, “Wait! Namjoon! Come back!”
After hearing Jungkook, Namjoon returns to their table, “What?”
“Do you have dinner plans tonight?” Jungkook asks.
Namjoon furrows his eyebrows, “No...?”
Jungkook smiles, “What a coincidence! Neither does Jimin!”
Jimin widens his eyes, “Jungkook, I really don’t think—“
“I’m down,” Namjoon unexpectedly says.
Jimin widens his eyes even more, “Oh... okay.”
Jungkook looked back at Namjoon, “Okay. You can go now.”
Namjoon furrowed his eyebrows, “Okay, jeez.”
After Namjoon left, Jungkook looked back at Jimin, “Who’s Jungkook? I only know Matchmakerkook.”
“Horrible joke, Jungkook,” Jimin admits.
“You’re welcome,” Jungkook says.
Jimin furrows his eyebrows, “What do I need to thank you for? Getting me to spend dinner with Namjoon? It’s not even a date, it’s gonna be super awkward.”
“Maybe Namjoon wants it to be a date.”
“I highly doubt it,” Jimin sighs.
Jungkook blinked a couple times, “What makes you think that?”
“He hates me. Cause I—quote on quote—“stole” his building. Which, by the way, is not my fault, whatsoever,” Jimin answers.
“Maybe he doesn’t hate you. Maybe he’s just pretending to hate you.”
“Yeah, and maybe you’re just pretending to be aggravating.”
Namjoon ends up back at Jimin and Jungkook’s table again.
“Sorry. One more thing,” Namjoon says, facing Jimin.
“Hm?”
“Can I have your number?” Namjoon asks.
Jimin raises his eyebrows, “My number?”
“Yeah. We’re going out for dinner together later, right? I need to be able to get ahold of you.”
Jimin sighed, “Oh, okay.”
Namjoon gave his phone to Jimin, Jimin enters his number, then gives it back to Namjoon.
After making sure Jimin put his number in his phone, Namjoon smiled, “Thanks.”
“He totally thinks it’s a date,” Jungkook says, as soon as Namjoon left.
“No he doesn’t,” Jimin replies.
“He wouldn’t have cared to get your number if it was any other way,” Jungkook explains.
Jimin squints his eyes, “I’m going home, you delusional fuck. Have fun with your 2,000-calorie lunch.”
“Let me know how your date goes.”
Jimin stood up, “Fuck you, Jungkook. Literally fuck you,” and walks out of the café.
-
After texting Jimin to find the details as to where they were meeting, Namjoon starts getting dressed.
Is this a date?
Or is it another attempt at Jimin trying to annoy me every chance he gets?
After arriving at the place they’ve agreed to eat at, Namjoon waits outside of the restaurant for Jimin.
When Jimin arrives, Namjoon can’t help but admire the view.
He looks pretty pretty.
“Hey,” Jimin greeted as he approached Namjoon.
Namjoon raised his eyebrows, “Why so dressed up? You in love with me or something?”
Jimin giggled, “No, dumbass. Let’s just get this dinner over with.”
-
Once the two sat themselves down at the table, Namjoon starts reading the menu.
“I’m surprised. I didn’t think you could read,” Jimin jokes, smiling.
Namjoon looks up from his menu, “Not funny,” he said, but he was still smiling.
“I think I’m pretty funny,” Jimin shrugged.
Namjoon blinked, “I disagree.”
Jimin squinted his eyes, “You always laugh at my jokes.”
“That’s just ‘cause I pity you.”
Jimin sighs, “You don’t pity me.”
Namjoon looks back at his menu, “This is really expensive, Jimin.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m paying.”
“No, you’re not. That’s not fair to you,” Namjoon explains.
Jimin shrugged, “So? We all know I’m the more fortunate one. I have no problem paying for the both of us.”
“Won’t argue with that.”
After ordering the food they wanted, Jimin scoffed, “Of course you’d buy one of the most expensive meals on the menu.”
“I mean... you said you would pay for my food. I had to make the most of it.”
Jimin laughed, “I hate you so much.”
“I hate you too,” Namjoon said, looking into Jimin’s eyes, smiling.
There. There’s the moment. There’s the moment Jimin knew his feelings for sure.
-
The dinner consisted of a bunch of small talk and teasing. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as awkward as Jimin thought it would be.
“Tell me about your mom. The only thing I know about her is the fact that she likes lilacs,” Jimin insisted.
Namjoon’s expression immediately altered, “Okay... um... her favorite color is purple. And her favorite dessert is carrot cake.”
“No way, really? Whenever I tell people that my favorite dessert is carrot cake people always give me a disgusted look,” Jimin smiles.
Namjoon nods, “She was a tattoo artist. Like me.”
“Oh? What does she do now?” Jimin asked after sipping some of his water.
Namjoon looked down at the table, “She’s not around anymore.”
Jimin widened his eyes, “Oh, my god. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
“Wait... then why’d you buy lilacs for her the other day?”
“I go to her grave to talk to her. A lot.”
Jimin keeps staring at Namjoon, “Namjoon, I’m really, really sorry. I had no idea.”
“Really, Jimin. It’s fine,” Namjoon answered.
“If there’s anything I can do...” Jimin trails off.
“You don’t need to pity me. I don’t need special treatment just because my mom died,” Namjoon explained, looking back up at Jimin.
Jimin furrowed his eyebrows, “Who said I was pitying you?”
“You’re never this nice to me.”
“Maybe I just feel like being nice today.”
Namjoon laughed.
After a couple moments of silence, Namjoon disrupts it, “Is this a date?”
Jimin’s eyes directed right towards Namjoon’s, “What?”
“I don’t know. When Jungkook told me that you were free tonight, I didn’t know if he was implying that you’d like to go out with me or...” Namjoon says, surprisingly shy.
Jimin raises his eyebrows, “Do you want this to be a date?”
“Do you?”
“I asked you first,” Jimin argued.
“Well technically, if you think about it, I actually asked you first.”
“You’re so dumb.”
“You’re dumber.”
“You’re dumbest.”
“You’re dumbester.”
Jimin furrowed his eyebrows, “That’s not even a word.”
Namjoon smiled, “You look really good tonight, Jimin.”
Jimin flinched at the sudden chance of conversation, “Oh... uh... thanks?”
“And to answer your question... yes. I was hoping this was a date,” Namjoon adds.
Jimin clears his throat, “Really?”
Namjoon nods.
Jimin smiles, “I hoped that too.”
Namjoon smiles even bigger, “Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay,” Namjoon laughs, blushing.
“You’re blushing.”
“What? No I’m not.”
“It’s cute.”
“You’re cute,” Namjoon suddenly answers.
Jimin smiles.
“Now look who’s blushing.”
“Shut up,” Jimin points to Namjoon’s plate, “Eat your food.”
“No, I wanna watch you eat.”
“That’s creepy.”
Namjoon giggled, “What? I thought saying that would be cute.”
“Nope. Just creepy.”
-
It’s been a couple weeks, and Namjoon and Jimin are still going strong.
Namjoon walks into the shop, something he’d do everyday to “annoy” Jimin. But he actually just ended up going there everyday because he wants to see him.
“Hi, Joon,” Jimin greets, smiling.
Namjoon smiles back, “As much as I love seeing you, I’m actually here to buy something.”
“Oh? What do you wanna buy?”
“Lilacs.”
“Lilacs?”
“Yeah,” Namjoon assures.
Jimin hesitantly goes and picks out some lilacs for Namjoon. After coming back to the counter, he looks up at Namjoon, “Are these for your mom?”
Namjoon nodded, “Yeah.”
“Oh.”
Namjoon stared at Jimin for a moment in contemplation, “Come with me.”
Jimin looked up, “What?”
“Come visit my mom with me.”
Jimin looked around, “I have customers.”
“Taehyung and Jungkook’s here. They can handle the shop for a couple hours.”
Jimin parted his lips while staring at Namjoon, “Okay. Okay, I’ll come.”
Namjoon smiled.
-
“It’s just down here,” Namjoon said, Jimin’s hand in his, walking down the path towards his mother’s grave.
“Are you sure you want me to come?” Jimin asks.
Namjoon stops walking, “Jimin. I’m glad you’re coming.”
Jimin smiled, “Okay.”
After arriving at his mother’s grave, Namjoon sit’s himself and Jimin down in front of it.
“Hi, mom,” Namjoon says, placing the lilacs on her grave, “I brought someone with me today.”
Jimin looked at Namjoon before looking back at the grave, “Hi. I’m Jimin.”
“He’s the guy I talk to you about a lot.”
Jimin smiled, “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Kim.”
“I know I lost the building, mom. But I got Jimin. And I really like him.”
Jimin looked towards Namjoon, “Wait what? Your mom wanted the building?”
“My mom used the building as a tattoo parlor for fourteen years. It was special to her,” Namjoon explained, not taking his eyes off the grave in front of him.
Jimin looked down. He didn’t say anything for a moment.
“I’ll give you back the building.”
Namjoon looked over to Jimin, “What the hell are you talking about, Jimin?”
“I’ll give you the building, Namjoon. I can find a new building.”
“No! What the fuck?”
Jimin shifts his whole body towards Namjoon, “You and your mom deserve it back. I shouldn’t have taken it in the first place.”
“You’re not giving me the building back, Jimin! It’s yours,” Namjoon argued.
“What? Just a couple weeks ago you’d complain to me every day about how you wanted it back!” Jimin points out.
Namjoon raises his eyebrows, “You’ve been trying to find a building for your flower shop for months. You can’t give the building back to me.”
“What if I want to?”
“I won’t take it.”
“Namjoon...”
Namjoon furrowed his eyebrows, “No! End of discussion, Jimin!”
Jimin looks down, “I just wanted to help...”
“I don’t need your help, Jimin! Just go home,” Namjoon told him, looking back at the grave.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—“
“Go!” Namjoon yelled.
Jimin gulped as he stood from the ground, and left without saying anything else.
-
Jimin sat on his couch, thinking about what happened earlier that day. Once he got a phone call from Namjoon, he immediately answered.
“Namjoon? I’m so so sorry for earlier, I just—“
“No. Stop, Jimin. I was being unreasonable. I know you just wanted to help.”
“Yeah. I just wanted to help.”
“Besides, I don’t think I want to open another tattoo shop.”
“What? Why not?”
Jimin could hear Namjoon sigh through the phone, “It was my mom’s dream. Not mine. Believe it or not, I want to be a journalist.”
“A journalist? Really?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s amazing, Namjoon.”
“Wanna go on another date tomorrow?”
Jimin smiled, “You’re paying.”
“If I’m paying, then we’re going to McDonalds.”
“I don’t care. As long as I’m with you.”
Namjoon laughed, “Ew. Cringey.”
“Yeah. I regretted it as soon as I said it.”
-
“Thank me. I just paid for your whole meal,” Namjoon insisted after chewing a fry.
“Yes, Namjoon. Thank you for paying for my three dollar meal,” Jimin answered.
“Oh, you’re very welcome,” Namjoon answered.
They are currently at McDonalds, eating the food Namjoon just paid for.
Jimin looked up at Namjoon, “So... why do you want to be a journalist? Out of all things?”
Namjoon shrugged, “You find your passion in your flowers. I find my passion in my writing.”
“What do you write?” Jimin asked.
Namjoon answered, “Everything.”
“Have you ever written about me?”
“What? No.”
Jimin smiled, “Oh, you totally have.”
“No I have not.”
“I know when you’re lying, Joonie. You’re not the best at hiding it.”
Namjoon gasped, “I lie very well.”
“You just admitted you lied.”
“Shit.”
Jimin laughed, “You’ll have to show me what you’ve written about me sometime.”
“Never.”
“I will make you.”
“You can’t make me do anything.”
Jimin pointed at Namjoon’s face, “Apparently I can make you blush, no problem.”
“Shush.”
-
Jimin, Taehyung, and Jungkook are all sitting in a café booth.
“You’re really happy lately. I’m scared,” Taehyung says.
“Who, me?” Jimin asked.
“Yes, you,” Taehyung confirmed, “Any reason?”
Namjoon walks up to their table, “What can I get y’all?”
“I’ll get a coffee please,” Taehyung says.
“Alright. And you, Jungkook?” Namjoon asked.
“Two muffins and a sweet tea,” Jungkook answers.
Namjoon raises his eyebrows, “Nothing else?”
“Nope. Yoongi says I eat too much so I’m trying to cut down my food consumption.”
Taehyung scoffs, “Although everyone knows this ‘diet’ of Jungkook’s won’t last.”
Namjoon laughs as he turns to Jimin, “What about you, Jiminie?”
After blushing at the nickname, Jimin answers, “I’ll have a muffin. And a sweet tea.”
“Any specific things you want me to do with your sweet tea?” Namjoon asks, remembering the first time Jimin asked him for sweet tea.
Jimin laughed, “No, Joon. Just regular sweet tea.”
“Coming right up,” Namjoon smiles before turning around to prepare their orders.
“Ohhhhh. I get it now,” Taehyung says.
“Hm?” Jimin’s confused.
Taehyung speaks again, “You’re happiness. It’s because of Kim Namjoon, correct?”
“Correct!” Jungkook answered for Jimin, giving Taehyung a high five.
“Can you guys shut up? Namjoon is gonna tease me every fucking chance he gets if he finds out he makes me ‘much happier’,” Jimin whisper-yelled.
Jungkook laughed, “Sheesh. Sorry.”
Namjoon returns with their orders a couple minutes later.
“Yay! Food!” Jungkook immediately yelled.
After giving out everyone’s orders, Namjoon sat in the booth next to Jimin.
“Aren’t you on your shift?” Jimin asks him.
Namjoon shrugged, “Eh. Who cares? I’m working on being a journalist at the moment. It doesn’t really matter if I get fired.”
“You wanna be a journalist?” Jungkook asked, butting into their conversation.
Namjoon nodded, “Mhm. I love to write.”
“Don’t only smart people like to write? To be honest I thought you were kinda dumb,” Taehyung admitted.
Namjoon squinted his eyes at Taehyung, “For your information, I am actually smart. You have an awfully big mouth, Taehyung.”
“So I’ve been told,” Taehyung answers.
-
Jimin and Namjoon are walking along the sidewalk, late at night.
It’s been a couple months, and now, they’ve been on many dates.
“These last few months have been so amazing,” Jimin admits.
Namjoon smiled, “I know. You blush like crazy around me.”
Jimin playfully shoves the older, “I really dislike you sometimes, Joon.”
“You love me.”
Jimin stops walking and looks up at Namjoon. Namjoon turns around to look at Jimin once he realized what he said.
“Sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” Namjoon said, massaging his temple in embarrassment.
Jimin just walks up to Namjoon and hugs him, and Namjoon hears a few sniffles coming from the younger.
“Jimin? Are you okay?” Namjoon asked, hugging Jimin back.
Jimin pulled away from the hug, and grabbed Namjoon’s face, embracing it.
“I do love you. So much,” Jimin says.”
Namjoon widened his eyes, “You do?”
“Yes, you idiot.”
“I love you too, Jimin.”
“I love you more.”
“I love you most.”
Jimin smiled, “I love you mostest.”
A tear fell from Namjoon’s eye, “That’s not even a word.”
“I don’t care,” Jimin says, pulling Namjoon in for a kiss.
Turns out, losing something could mean gaining something much more. That’s what happened to Namjoon when he lost his tattoo parlor and gained Jimin.
That’s what happened to Namjoon when he found the love of his life.