Chapter 1: Blinded by your pearly whites

Min Yoongi had overdone himself this morning, a struggling music producer who stressed over the littlest of disturbances in his mixes, obsessive over wanting perfection always.

It had been true that he often came up with pieces of perfection. Sounds that flowed into your ears and relaxed your soul effortlessly. However, he could only explain how much physical- and mental- effort it took him to perfect a piece.

Sometimes he would produce a beautiful piece in the span of mere hours, but other times, he would sit in-front of his music programming system, staring at the screen of his laptop for hours- maybe even days- until he finally gave up.

He would sit on his desk, watching the sun rise and helplessly be seated all day until he watched the sun set in the evening. A whole day spent just sat in front of his laptop, without anything produced, without any work done.

Today had been one of those days, the ones where he would struggle for hours, trying too damn hard but not achieving the final outcome that he deserved.

On those days, the Min would escape the suffocating walls of his apartment to clear his mind, and there was one place- one person- that managed to do that for him.

— —

“Good afternoon! How may I help you?” The boy greeted, flashy smile knocking the breath out of Min Yoongi’s lungs.

Park Jimin... the boy who left Min Yoongi speechless by just smiling at him. Almond eyes turned up to little crescent moons as he beamed at the older, lips stretched into the widest, most genuine smile Yoongi had ever seen.

“H-hey..” Yoongi stuttered for a moment, taken aback by the beauty of the boy even when he’d seen him one too many times. “I’d like an.. iced americano?” The boy decided, “no sugar, please..”

Truth be told, Min Yoongi hated coffee... the bitter, dark concoction left a disgustingly acidic flavour on his tongue each time, and the man would almost crave for the sweetness of a hot tea each time he took a sip.

Why did he buy coffee then, you ask? Simply because, coffee was all this café had to offer, and whilst the idea of the tea station across the street was extremely tempting to Yoongi, he would have to make do with the bitter iced Americano because Jimin wouldn’t be the one to serve him at the tea station.

Jimin looked up at the older again, after punching in the order. “any thing else?” he asked, and Yoongi contemplated, he still had time to change the drink and order a milkshake or something els-

“No.” The man blurted, “No thank you..”

“Well, that would be 4300 won! Would that be in a to-go cup?”

“Yes please,” the man whispered, passing over the money to the boy behind the counter.

“Okay, one iced americano coming right up! Please have a seat, I’ll bring your drink to you shortly.” Jimin smiled brightly, a warm feeling seeping into Mins chest.

“Thank you..” the older boy muttered, turning around before the younger could see the warm tinge spreading across his cheeks and the tip of his nose and ears.

The man sat himself on a table for 2 at the corner of the café, next to the window so that the warm cast of the daylight would shine over him on this chilly winter day.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, pretending to look occupied as he stole glances at the boy behind the counter.

Sometimes, Yoongi Really wished he had the courage to speak up to the boy and tell him he’d like to take him out, but bold as he may seem, he knows he would probably freeze up just holding a meaningless conversation with Jimin.

The small boy who would always keep smiling, bouncy cotton-candy pink hair reflecting the sunlight, framing his round face beautifully. Yoongi watched as the boy pulled his plump bottom lip between his teeth, eyebrows furrowing in concentration as he tried to cover the to-go cup with its lid, the cutest expression on his face.

As the lid finally got capped on, the boy smiled, dusting his hands on his maroon apron and turning around to grab a straw for the drink. The boy worked with so much concentration and effort, always smiling. Yoongi was convinced that the pink haired boy loved his job, he never lost his smile.

 When Jimin looked up from the tray he had organised for Yoongi, the older Turned his head away towards his phone, looking occupied as he scrolled through the home pages.

“Iced Americano..” the boy announced as he came up to Yoongi’s table. “Enjoy your drink.” He smiled, and waited as Yoongi muttered a faint thank you, before turning away and walking back to the counter.

Yoongi smiled absentmindedly, sipping at the drink with the straw but instead of the moan of delight that should’ve escaped Yoongi’s mouth, a grimace made its way to his face.

The sharp acidic and bitter liquid swooshed around Yoongi’s mouth as he swallowed it, a dull aftertaste left on his tongue.

Yoongi looked up from his drink, grimace never leaving his face, as he took in the features of bright Jimin talking to another customer. Yoongi’s grimace faded as a soft smile made its way to his face.

Yoongi hated drinking coffee. But at least the boy behind the counter made it bearable.

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