jonghyun gasped. he had been jogging around the park for almost 30 minutes now. he thought he was gaining too much weight since the rejection. yes, he was rejected by that pretty boy he had a huge crush on. the boy was a freshman(jonghyun was already in his final year) and when jonghyun first saw him in the orientation, he just couldn't get over his beauty. what could he do? he just really had a thing for beautiful faces.

but the rejection happened over 6 months ago and he got over it easily. it was just that his guts was telling him something else so he stopped working out for a while and started eating his heart out. it was only a month ago when he realized his cheeks were so puffy. he thought he was fat, but he was actually just average.

he looked at the time. it was nearly 8. he knew the park would be filled with a lot of people so he decided to go home. the shops around the area were getting ready to open. but there was an unfamiliar store sign that caught his attention. gelato nostro. what does that even mean? it used to be a bakery shop, now he wasn't sure what it was exactly. he looked through the transparent window, there was a dim light inside and there was also natural light coming from the outside, from the sun. there was someone inside--a male around his age in a white polo shirt. he was pouring a white substance, a sort of cream, in a bowl. jonghyun didn't really see because his eyes were only focused on the man's face. he was smiling, a smile brighter than the sunrays striking his face, as if he was really enjoying whatever he was doing, he was beautiful.

the guy suddenly raised his head and looked at where jonghyun was standing. his smile widened, his white teeth showing and his eyes narrowing. jonghyun realized the man was looking at no other than him. he widened his eyes and ran off.

he stopped in front of his apartment building. he breathed as he clenched his black shirt. he could feel his heartbeat speeding up, partly because he had been running, of course, partly because he knew he just had a crush on that man with a pretty eye smile.

he hated himself for liking someone just for the looks, because ever since that day, after jogging, he would stop by the newly opened ice cream shop(he discovered gelato meant ice cream in italian when he googled it and he saw the sign had an ice cream logo). he would look at the cute ice cream boy in a way he wouldn't get noticed unlike the first day.

today he was wearing a sky blue polo, the sleeves folded to his elbows. he was holding a whisk and mixing the ingredients together. his face was full of wonder as he crinkled his nose, and jonghyun could only cover his mouth because he really wanted to shriek. the boy looked just terribly cute with whatever face he made.

the next day, he was wearing another similar long sleeved polo(jonghyun guessed he got a set of same clothes and he used them like his uniform.cute). he was leaning against the wall, a notebook in his left hand and a pencil in the other. he got his thinking face, his perfectly thick eyebrows almost meeting. he must be thinking of a new recipe. jonghyun could see his right chubby hand with his chubby fingers move as he wrote down something on his notebook.

the next, next day, wearing the same light purple polo shirt he wore the day before, he got out from the back kitchen with a huge bowl of strawberries in his hands. he put it on the side of his counter top and grabbed a strawberry. he dipped it in the ice cream mixture he probably made earlier. then he looked around, possibly making sure no one was around watching, before he hurriedly put it in his mouth. jonghyun silently chuckled. he watched him as his cheeks puffed as he chewed on the strawberry. and  jonghyun almost collapsed when he his lips.

jonghyun was falling hard. he couldn't stop thinking about that beautiful man. everything he did, every single action, was just stuck in his head and he kept replaying all of them(mostly the scene where he his lips). he didn't even know his name and he hadn't heard him speak yet. god, did he want to hear his voice because he was sure the man's voice was just as sweet as his ice creams, although he hadn't actually tasted the ice cream he made since he had no guts to buy one.

"just ask him out."
"and then what? I'll get rejected again?"
"well, you'll never know if you don't try."
"and what if he's straight?"
"and what if he's not?"

jonghyun watched him at his usual spot with his best friend kibum who had been rolling his eyes for a while now since they had been standing there for ten good minutes. he couldn't understand how jonghyun could just stare at the guy for too long. sure, he got a pretty smile, but doesn't he get tired of it? obviously not because when kibum looked at his friend, he was smiling like a total idiot as he continuosly stared at the ice cream dude as he entertained his kid customers.

"look at him. isn't he cute?"
"you're nuts. I'm leaving." kibum shook his head and started walking away. "hey, no. wait up!"

jonghyun finally made a decision. he finally decided to enter the ice cream parlor in the hours when there were fewer customers. he took a deep breath before he pressed his hands against the glass door and pushed it. he was inside. he wanted to step out again but his feet were already marching towards the counter. when he was a meter away, he saw him looking at him, his face beaming up. jonghyun could melt.

"welcome to gelato nostro!" jonghyun could feel his jaw hanging a little when he heard him speak. he just felt like he heard the angels singing.
"what can I get you?" he needed to stop talking or jonghyun could press his mouth against his to make him stop.
"uh, w-what can you recommend?" jonghyun couldn't look at him straight in the eye so he just looked at his name tag. jinki. he read his name in his head.
"well, our best seller is the nutella flavoured ice cream but," he was pointing with his hands at the container, "if I have to recommend one, i'd say my favorite gelato alla fragola. that's strawberry ice cream in italian. we use fresh and sweet strawberries to make it." jonghyun remembered that time he saw him eat a strawberry. jonghyun laughed a little, "I'll have the strawberry one."

"I'm glad you finally entered the shop," jinki spoke up as he scooped some ice cream, but jonghyun wasn't sure if he was talking to him or not. jinki looked up at him and jonghyun swore his heart almost dropped.
"I see you passing by outside all the time."

jonghyun didn't know what to tell him, he didn't know what excuse he could make up. he was panicking inside, his hands were starting to shake.

"I, uh, was just really curious of your shop. it's new and I didn't know whether to try some of your ice cream or not." he thought that it was convincing excuse. he just hoped jinki believed him.
"here's your gelato." jinki flashed a smile as he stretched out his arm to hand him the cone.

"uh, how muc-"
"this one's on me. since you're a new customer and," jinki tilted his head a little his smile still on his face, "since I think you're really cute."
"oh, okay, thank you very much." jonghyun walked away from the counter and out of the shop. his eyes suddenly opened widely when everything that jinki said finally sank in. he looked back at where jinki was standing. he was looking back at him. jonghyun ran off when jinki waved his hand.

jonghyun walked back home biting on his gelato. he loved how jinki said gelato. it sounded so foreign yet familiar at the same time. familiar because he could recall the beautiful sound of jinki's voice like he was singing the word every time he said it.

did he just call me cute? jonghyun thought. he didn't know how he could almost miss that. for a second he couldn't really hear him talking, well, actually, it felt like jinki was just whispering and everything he said were unclear and jonghyun was just too focused on the way his mouth moved.does that mean he likes me? of course, he ended with that conclusion. he shook his head. he thought he shouldn't make himself expect or he'd be disappointed again.

oh, no. he sighed when he finished the strawberry flavored ice cream, even the light brown cone. all he had left was the white napkin with the shop's logo that wrapped the cone earlier. it looked like he would regain the weight he had just lost since he'd surely be having tons of ice cream.

he stared at the napkin. he didn't know whether to throw it away or keep it. in the end he just put it in his pocket. when he got home, kibum was already there waiting for him to tell what just happened. he was the one who pushed him to do it so he deserved to know.

"well, I got this."
"oh, god, you got his number?!"
"what?"
"his number! he gave you his number, idiot!" kibum grabbed the napkin from jonghyun's hand and shoved it to jonghyun's face to show him the other side of it. he blinked for a few times and wiped his eyes with his fingers. he hit his forehead. he was only looking at the part where the logo was and he never dared turn the napkin around. he was really stupid.

"I was gonna say you were amazing for getting his number on the first day, but looks like you were unaware of having it." kibum burst out into a huge laughter. his friend wasn't like that before. he wasn't the timid type. he used to be really bubbly and straightforward. if he had feelings for someone, he'd immediately tell even if he knew how some of the confessions would end. he once had a crush on kibum, he once confessed his feelings for him and he once got rejected by him. but it ended well because now they were great friends. that last rejection really changed him. that ice cream maker wasn't even as pretty as the last guy, not even as pretty as kibum himself. and with that thought in mind, kibum knew jinki was different.

"call him."
"why?"
"because he's obviously interested."
"how did you know?"
"he ing gave you his ing number!"
"oh,"

jonghyun didn't call jinki. he just stared at his name and his number on the napkin all night. he could hear kibum's bickering in his head. he couldn't even understand why he was being a scaredy cat when there was nothing to be scared about in the first place.

he always passed by the ice cream parlor on his way to and from uni so it was hard to avoid him. he just had his headphones on and walked past the shop with his eyes looking ahead, if not ahead, he was looking at his feet only hoping he wouldn't trip.

"hey, uhm," jinki suddenly appeared in front of him that made him jump a little. he pointed at jonghyun's headphones that only meant he wanted to talk. jonghyun laid them on his shoulders. he was shaking. jinki was a ball of sunshine. it was already dark but his face lit the whole street up. his face was milky white, like the creamy vanilla ice cream he made kibum buy for him the day before.
"I was waiting for your call, but I guess you didn't see my number on that napkin." jinki was rubbing the back of his neck as he bit his lower lip. jonghyun wanted to say I saw it but he was too distracted by every single movement jinki was making.
"I really thought you'd keep the napkin but... nevermind," he shyly chuckled and jonghyun thought his ears just shuttered with that sweet sound.

"well, uh, can I get your number so I can call you?"
"you don't even know my name."
"huh?"
"my name, you don't know it yet."

jonghyun's mind was flying everywhere and that was the only thing he could say to him that moment. jinki laughed. he was making everything worse for jonghyun that he couldn't look at him anymore. he was yet again staring at his name tag. now he just regretted bringing up the name topic.

"okay," he started that made jonghyun glanced up at his face. "hi, my name is jinki. what's yours?" jonghyun lightly chuckled covering his mouth with a hand. jinki lowered his head a little and furrowed his forehead. he let out a tiny laughter as well.

"sorry, that didn't sound ri-"
"no, no. that was... that was perfect."

jonghyun took jinki's phone in his hand and started typing his number on it. "jonghyun. my name is jonghyun." he handed back the phone with a shy grin. their fingers graced against each other and he shivered, like he was electrified. "nice meeting you, jonghyun." he felt goosebumps when jinki mentioned his name.

"I'll call you later," jinki put his phone back to his pocket. "so maybe you can come over and we can make ice cream together. I live upstairs." jinki pointed with his finger, pouting his peach plump lips. jonghyun was going to fly to the moon. he was already screaming inside. jinki was initiating everything and he didn't have to do anything but nod his head without even thinking. he really just nodded because his body was also doing all the work for him since his mind wasn't functioning right either,

"well, I need to go back to work. see you later, jonghyun." jinki his lips and bit the lower one again. he really needed to stop doing that because jonghyun could die any moment. "it's my turn to run, okay?" he waved his hand and ran back into the shop.

did he just tease me? he asked himself but he didn't really care. he was too happy. he even skipped his way back home forgetting about everything else and was only anticipating for jinki's call later that night, he couldn't wait to go out with him, if that was really called going out since they were probably staying in. then he started worrying that easily transformed into panicking when he began thinking that things might turn awkward or that it might not work out well between them or that jinki might not even like him after knowing him.

kibum hit the back of his head. he was overreacting. he was acting as if he had not gone out with anyone before jinki. he rubbed his head. it was a little painful.

"worry about that later, idiot!"
"stop calling me idiot!"
"but you are an idiot!"

jinki called him around ten, just after kibum left his apartment. his voice was like honey. it was husky but very sweet and gentle and jonghyun could just listen to it all night. he was usually the type who talks a lot but that moment, jinki was doing all the talking because he really didn't want to interrupt his ice cream boy. he was telling jonghyun to come the next morning after his jogging so he could help him think of new ice cream flavours. and jonghyun was still surprised because, apparently, jinki had always noticed him passing by even if he tried not to be noticed. who was he kidding? he was acting like a huge stalker but jinki seemed to not mind.

he didn't go jogging that morning. he figured jinki was just teasing him again when he mentioned jogging because he'd get all sweaty and stinky and that wouldn't be okay on their first date. so he just wore his lucky shirt, his black and blue checked polo, and a pair of ripped up jeans. was he presentable enough? he didn't really think about that because he didn't want to be late.

he leaned his hands on the glass door and moved his face close to it to have a better view of the inside. jinki was already at the counter in his cute baby pink polo shirt. he gestured for jonghyun to come in. jonghyun thought he looked extra cute today. jinki's dark brown hair was wavy and messed up but it was making him look even better. to add was his bright smile that immediately made jonghyun's day.

"good morning, jonghyun." he greeted him.
"'morning," jonghyun still couldn't mention his name aloud. he was too embarrassed to do so.

jonghyun walked slowly toward jinki who had just picked up his notebook and pencil. jinki looked at him as he settled approximately a meter away from him. "how can you help me from that distance?" jinki grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and pulled him close. jonghyun didn't expect jinki to be that forward but he actually liked it. for once he could act all innocent and shy even if he was the complete opposite. jinki didn't have to know about that, at least, for now.

jonghyun looked at jinki's notebook. he was writing notes on his strawberry ice cream. he was thinking of flavors to combine to it. "what's your favorite flavor?" he gazed at jonghyun. "chocolate." "ah, chocolate and strawberry are the perfect match, don't you think?" jonghyun agreed with a tiny nod.

"come with me." jinki  put down the notebook, held jonghyun's forearm and pulled him to what he believed was the backyard, he didn't know there was a backyard. his eyes became round. it wasn't just a simple backyard. it was a strawberry garden. jinki picked two huge red strawberries and washed it at the tap then he handed one to jonghyun. he put it in his mouth and now he understood why jinki couldn't resist of tasting the strawberry while making ice cream. it was really sweet. he couldn't say anything because it was just that delicious.

"are you always this quiet?" jinki asked as soon as he swallowed the strawberry and concentrated his eyes on jonghyun. "no." jonghyun gulped and shook his head. "then why are you so quiet around me?" jinki inquired curiously. jonghyun wasn't sure if he should tell him the truth. jonghyun slowly glanced up at him and looked him in the eye. "you make me nervous." he sounded so cheesy and lame but it was the truth.

"I may look calm on the outside, but I'm going crazy on the inside," jinki confessed. jonghyun couldn't help but smile, "you make me nervous too." jinki shortly added as he put a hand on jonghyun's back and pulled him till their bodies were attached. and before he knew it, jinki had already pressed his lips on jonghyun's, both could still taste the strawberry in their mouths. but the kiss they were sharing was sweeter.

when they both ran out of air, they pulled away and both had wide smiles on their faces.

they picked a basket of strawberries and made ice cream together with them all morning. jonghyun had classes but he didn't attend any of them because he just wanted to be with jinki all day and watch him work and eat all his gelato. jonghyun was really in love and he knew it. he was in love with the ice cream man who probably liked strawberries more than him but he wasn't complaining. he could turn things around in the future. but for now, he just really wanted to admire the most beautiful human being he had ever seen in his life.

"I'm dating jinki~" jonghyun singsonged.
"I don't care~" kibum imitated his tone.

i really hope you enjoyed reading this

thank you!!! <3

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