---

"I'm out," Jongdae mumbles as he brings his overflowing backpack to the counter and zips it shut after (sort of carelessly) slamming it down on top of the surface. "Make sure not to fall asleep like you did yesterday," he adds with a snicker, ignoring the way the coins inside the register rattle together like maracas. 

Jongin only watches Jongdae with a blank look on his face. If it wasn't for the fact that he's practically a living dead after P.E earlier, and that the short old man browsing the birthday card aisle is looking right at them, he'd give Jongdae a nice smack on the shoulder. "You try staying awake during the night shift, y'," he mutters under his breath whilst keeping his gaze focused on said man across the store. Now that Jongin thinks about it, the man has been looking at the cards for over fifteen minutes now, ever since his shift started. He contemplates walking over and asking if the man needs any help, but chooses to stay put behind the counter since his legs have been doing way too much walking for one day.

"You're lucky they didn't steal half the store," Jongdae says as he opens up the employee journal and proceeds to scribble his name on one of the pages. "Is it 6:28 or 6:30?" 

Eyes roaming around the store, and ultimately landing on one of the many wind chimes hanging from the ceiling, Jongin only grunts. "Always so disgustingly precise," he mutters before lazily looking at the bottom right corner of the monitor. "6:31."

Jongdae quickly scribbles something else before quite literally slamming the book shut and putting it back on the shelf behind them. "Good luck," he says, clearing trying (and failing) to stifle a snicker. "Don't forget to water the plants and replace the essences outside this time, 'kay? And Baekhyun forgot to refill the plushies and cards by the Valentine's section, so be a pal and do it if you please." He flashes his signature feline smirk, signalling that Jongin doesn't have a choice, before tightening his scarf.

"Fine," Jongin mumbles, turning his head just enough to make out a cardboard box with today's date written on it in permanent marker. Typical Baekhyun. He's barely able to block out Jongdae's call of 'Don't forget, you owe me pizza for copying my homework!' before the door opens and closes, and the tiny, yet cozy, store is filled with a comfortable silence.

Jongin honestly doesn't know if he should thank or slap Baekhyun for being so forgetful, since Jongin hates extra work in general (not that working at the tiniest store in Town requires your complete and undivided attention at all times, but still), but on the other hand, he figures if it's enough to help keep him awake until his shift ends in four hours, it's worth thanking Baekhyun for. 

With a hum, Jongin makes sure the old man still browsing the birthday cards isn't in need of any help (by avoiding eye contact at all costs, of course) before pulling out his phone, along with the charger, and plugging it in the outlet just below the register. His boss is going to have a fit if she walks in right now and catches him on his phone, but Jongin figures having to pull through four and a half hours of brain melting boredom at least entitles him to one luxury item.

In his reflection, as he opens up his Instagram, Jongin sighs internally when he notices how badly he needs a new dye job. But he ignores it and looks up, making sure he isn't needed before switching to the front camera. He pouts and scrolls through a series of filters before settling for a pink cat-looking one, snapping the photo and quickly adding it to his Story.

Jongin is barely able to put his phone down and look up when he sees the old man three feet away from his face, making him jump a little. With a low, barely audible apology, he hurries to scan the lone card sitting on the counter before blurting out the price he's already memorized at this point. A (sort of fake, but mostly tired) smile, a swipe, and a 'Have a good day' later, Jongin watches said man disappear through the door before it slams shut behind him. And it isn't until then that Jongin sinks down on the (awfully uncomfortable) stool behind the counter and exhales.

It's times like this that Jongin questions exactly why he even bothers - Jongdae's got enough free time to work full time despite only showing up once a week, and Baekhyun's become so popular with the customers that he's begun to receive gifts every now and then (mainly from guys, much to Jongin's envy). It's not that classes are overwhelmingly difficult or anything, it's just that he's tired of the same old, every day. Well, almost every day; occasionally customers will compliment his 'Lovely smile' or ask to touch his hair, and sometimes even drop him a few dollars simply for looking so 'Cute and friendly'; which Jongin definitely appreciates, it's just that it doesn't happen enough times for him to want to drag himself to work after seven hours worth of classes. Except when he's working the evening shift with Jongdae, which is usually only once a week. Nowadays, only two things keep him mentally occupied; staring at the jar of lollipops on the windowsill and thinking about the time Jongdae accidentally slipped on a patch of water after mopping the floors and headbutting a customer as a result. Jongin is lucky there are no customers at the moment, because the chuckle that leaves his lips subsequently would have made him the victim of a handful of questioning glares.

After checking his watch, and finishing counting the money in the register, Jongin runs a hand through his hair. He sure is lucky that the entire shop is well illuminated, both by bright lights and rainbow lava lamps in every corner, because had it been any darker he's at least 100% sure he'd fall asleep in an instant. For a second, his mind goes completely blank with boredom until he suddenly remembers needing to restock the stuffed animal aisle. So, with a bit of reluctance, Jongin stands up and trudges over to the box (which thankfully isn't that heavy) and carries it across the store, barely remembering to swipe a box cutter in the process.

One glance at the gaping section on the shelf tells him that yup, Baekhyun definitely forgot, and Jongin sighs as he easily slices open the lid to the box and retrieves a handful of soft, squishy teddy bears. Jongin eyes them, especially the big, red love hearts sewn to their bellies, before placing them side by side on the shelf. He keeps at it for a few minutes, his mind drifting in out of concentration, before he curses under his breath and stands up. Frankly, Jongin doesn't understand Jongdae's weird obsession with constantly needing to replace the million year-old jar of scented bamboo sticks on the porch, especially considering the fact that more customers have complained about the strong aroma than complimented it. But he stopped questioning it months ago, and he jogs over to the employee journal, lifts it up and retrieves a handful of green sticks from the box underneath it, as well as a lighter. 

Jongin shudders audibly the second he opens the door and is greeted by the freezing cold November air. It's so dark out that he can barely see his own hand in front of his face, but strangely enough, he can make out the jar right by his feet, and he bends down and quickly dumps the new sticks inside of it before proceeding to light them all. The sudden scent of green tea nearly makes him dizzy as he stands up, and Jongin is about to go back inside when he hears the sound of shoes scraping against gravel. He inwardly groans, because all he wants right now is a well deserved phone break, but he bites his lip before opening the door again. 

After blinking a few times to adjust to the light, Jongin heads right for the box and hurries to put the bears on the shelf so he can tend to his phone as soon as possible. Except he doesn't get very far, and he's two bears away from having emptied out the entire box when the familiar sound of the bell jinging above the door breaks the silence less than a minute later.

The first thing that courses through Jongin's body upon looking up is relief; not only because the customer seems to be quite young, maybe his age (which not always, but usually, means they're in and out in ten minutes), but he's got his eyes glued on his phone, so Jongin assumes a two hour long advice session is out the door. In fact, Jongin wonders if he'd be able to get away with simply sitting behind the counter on his phone, only speaking when spoken to. But once again, faith is proven not to be on his side when the stranger suddenly speaks up.

"When do you close?"

Jongin blinks. "Uh," he says lowly, scratching the back of his head, "in like...three and a half hours. So like...at nine?" 

The man nods and, instead of entering a full on ramble about God knows what, like Jongin initially thought, he simply goes back to focusing on the buckets of flower boquets in front of him. Even from this distance, Jongin can see the few snowflakes that are beginning to melt into his bleach blond hair, as well as his long, black coat. He looks like the type Baekhyun would not so discreetly gawk at whilst giving advice, and Jongin nearly snorts.

With a hum, Jongin bends down and picks up the two remaining bears in his hands. He stares at them for a while, mainly because with all the bears currently cluttering up the shelf they'd need to be placed on the floor, but he manages to squeeze one of them between two others. Picking up the empty box in his other hand, Jongin is about to carelessly place it somewhere when he hears the man's voice again.

"Could I ask you for help with something?"

Damn it. Jongin clears his throat before turning to face man. So much for alone, phone-time. "Sure, what is it?" he asks, making sure to put on his best and most convincing seller's face despite wanting to scream on the inside.

"Okay, so there's this pretty cute person," the man says, looking puzzled as ever. "And I kinda...yeah," he chuckles whilst gesturing at the shelves of love letters and heart shaped candies to his left.

Jongin nearly cries. Not because this is going to take way longer than ten hours, which it probably is, but because if there's anything he hates more, it's giving relationship slash romantic advice, because nine out of ten times the person he's trying to help simply chooses to blow him off and either leave the store or settle for something completely different. On the other hand, he figures (and hopes) that helping another man will be somewhat easier and less time consuming than a woman. He seriously doesn't need a repeat of last month when this one woman broke down in the middle of the store in an undecisive fit, which resulted in her threatening to sue both him and Jongdae before storming off and slamming the door so hard the bell above it fell to the floor and shattered in three pieces. Jongin figures he should have 911 on hold this time just in case.

"So you're wondering what to get them," Jongin says as a matter-of-factly, nodding when the man nods in return. "Uh...well, I mean, we have a wide selection of things for a significant other over here-" He gestures behind him. "-But it depends...what are they like? You know, as a person?" he asks, biting his lip because he thinks he just heard his phone buzz behind the counter.

The man is silent for a while and Jongin hopes he'll just change his mind and walk out. It doesn't happen. "Good question," is all he says, a hint of wonder in his tone. "Lemme take a look at this 'stuff' for a minute," he hums before slowly walking over to Jongin, the latter moving out of the way a second later. A whiff of green tea hits Jongin right in the face and he nearly coughs.

Trying not to tap his feet impatiently, Jongin watches as the blond man carefully looks over the box of heart shaped chocolates, chocolate roses wrapped in pink tinfoil, couple shirts and plushes as well as love letters, with a contemplative yet somewhat...absent look in his eyes, but Jongin can't put his finger on it and, quite frankly, he doesn't bother caring. Since the man seems to be confused as ever, Jongin briefly wonders if he should just lie about recommending a product just to be alone again. He's about to open his mouth to speak when the man suddenly turns around, making him flinch a little.

"That's the thing, I forgot to tell you," the man chuckles while scratching the back of his head. "I don't actually know what they're like as a person. It's weird, I know, buying gifts for someone you don't even know, but like...yeah." He clears his throat and chuckles again. It's a pleasant sound and Jongin almost thinks he likes it, but that's probably because it's different from Jongdae and Baekhyun's usual unattractive guffaws.

Jongin blinks before also clearing his throat. The man is standing so close he can smell his cologne, which, when mixed with green tea, does not make for an attractive scent. At all. "No, it's...it's fine," he mumbles, trying to think of what to say next, since he's never dealt with customers this clueless before. "So it's like...an internet date type thing?"

The man laughs again, and it's so hearty Jongin lets out a chuckle of his own. "No, no, well yeah, sort of? No actually, I wouldn't call it that, it's more of a...how do you put this." He furrows his perfectly groomed eyebrows, seemingly deep in thought, before shrugging. "Like a shot in the dark, I suppose."

Jongin doesn't know if he should nod or laugh out loud. Mainly because he didn't even think buying gifts for a crush you hardly know was a thing in the real world, but also because he has zero idea what to say. Now that he thinks about it, he isn't even sure what type of girls the man in front of him would be into. Probably the classy types, he thinks before clearing his throat. A hopeless romantic, just like him. "I see, that's cool," he says. In return, the man only smiles at him and he nods awkwardly when the shop goes silent. "Uh...I know this is difficult, but if you want me to help you I need to know at least a little bit about this person." He presses his lips together. Helping people along has never been his strong suite. "Like...think, like, what do you think they're like as a person? Like, guess."

The man's eyes seem to flash and Jongin only chuckles inwardly (a hopeless romantic, indeed). To the latter's surprise, he simply extracts his hand. "Since this could take a while, let me introduce myself," he says in a friendly tone. "I'm Sehun."

Sehun's hand is so cold, yet lowkey warm, that Jongin hopes he doesn't get hypothermia after letting go a minute later. "Uh. Okay." He clears his throat and tries not to scream because he really isn't in the mood to listen to this guy gripe for hours about this puppy crush of his, on a girl that probably, no, most definitely, doesn't fancy him back. He itches to say his own name in response but decides not to for obvious reasons. "So...yeah."

"So, where shall we start," Sehun hums to himself. "I think-- hey, what's that?" He cuts himself off and his eyes trail downwards. 

Jongin blinks, not having expected the sudden change in subject. "Uh." His gaze travels down automatically and he blinks in surprise when he realizes that he's still holding the stuffed bear in his hands. "Oh, this?" He holds it up and moves to place it on the shelf. "It's nothing, I was just--" He doesn't even have time to finish his sentence when he feels a hand on his own. Or more precisely, the bear.

"This is pretty," Sehun coos as he eyes the toy in Jongin's hand. 

"...You think they'd like it?" Jongin asks, eyes accidentally landing on what he assumes is a black tie hidden beneath Sehun's collar. He definitely likes classy women. "It's one of our best-selling items for couples," he adds even though he isn't even sure if it's true or not. His phone buzzes again and this time he doesn't even bother concealing his huff of impatience. 

Thankfully, Sehun doesn't seem to notice, and the latter seems more occupied with eyeing every single inch of the bear instead. "I think so," he says after a minute, like he's choosing his words with great caution. "I-"

Jongin nods casually. "Well, that's good."

"-also think-"

"It's actually my favorite thing in this entire store, so."

Sehun is silent for a second. "Really?"

Jongin nods again. "Sure," he hums, smoothing out the creases on one of the shirts. "I think they're one of the cutest things I've ever seen," he adds for emphasis, thinking back to the time he contemplated stealing one of them for himself to sleep with at night. "I actually came this close to swiping a leftover one we had for myself last week." Well, .

Sehun simply stares at Jongin with an unreadable expression and the latter is about to break out into an apology when he speaks. "Could I just, uh...hold on to this for now?" he simply asks.

Jongin blinks in surprise, mainly because Sehun isn't laughing at him for being weird, but also because he's surprised at how fast his words worked. Normally, he didn't believe Jongdae when the latter told him all about the whole 'Pretend-it's-your-favorite-and-they'll-buy-it' thing, but now he's beginning to reconsider that. "Uh...sure, okay, yeah," he says lowly before handing over the bear. It fits snug in Sehun's palm and he feels the latter's cold, slim fingers graze against his own in the process. "Feel...free to ask me anything if you're uh...confused, okay?"

After Sehun nods politely, Jongin finds himself glued to the floor for an embarrassingly long amount of time before picking up the box in his hand. Even though the cold, snow filled air is slapping against the window panes, he still feels incredibly hot, and Jongin makes a mental note to turn down the thermostat after dumping the box in the back room. However, before he gets a chance to do so, he notices an empty envelope on the floor and he bends down to pick it up. The second he puts it back in its respective slot, he nearly jumps out of his own skin.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Sehun chuckles, even though he doesn't sound all that apologetic in Jongin's opinion. "Anyway, what do you say?" He raises an eyebrow whilst continuing to browse the gift wrapping section, even though Jongin could argue that he doesn't look all that interested.

Jongin coughs into his fist, trying to recover from his mini heart attack he nearly suffered thanks to Sehun. He clutches his chest for a minute before deeming it safe to return to the real world, although he's so occupied with trying to calm himself down that he can only clear his throat. "What? What did you-"

"So cute," Sehun chuckles to himself, but it's so quiet Jongin doesn't quite catch it. Not entirely, anyway. "Anyway, I asked if it ever gets lonely around here," he repeats in a casual tone whilst inspecting some baby blue, snowman gift wrapping. 

Scratching his head, Jongin follows Sehun with his eyes. He wonders why the taller hasn't simply paid for the bear and left already, seeing as he must be keeping his girl waiting. "Uh...sorta, yeah, I mean no, I mean...wait, why are you-"

"Don't get me wrong," Sehun interrupts, looking up at the chandelier, which is decorated with Christmas tree ornaments, "it's a cozy place and all, but it's just...nevermind, sorry." He sends Jongin a smile before resuming his neverending inspection.

Jongin nods awkwardly and stands up. He eyes the box by his feet, and even though his entire body itches to walk over to the counter and text Jongdae until nine, there's something he can't exactly pinpoint that makes him want to stay back and, well, converse. Now, he's had his fair share of chatty customers, but at least 99% of them were overly chatty; to the point that he couldn't even breathe, so Jongin is quite thankful to have landed a customer who knows when to speak. "It does sometimes, I guess," he says quietly. "Why?"

Sehun shrugs, but it isn't in a dismissive way, at least according to Jongin. "Just wondering," he hums. "Although I see why you wouldn't be lonely in a place like this," he adds while poking a stuffed snowman decoration with his finger and eyeing a life size Rudolph the reindeer statue. 

Clearing his throat, Jongin lifts up the box and quickly carries it over to the counter and to the back room. He dumps it on the floor along with the countless other empty boxes (that Baekhyun just so happened to also forget to throw away) before brushing his hands together. "I usually work with my best friends, but they mainly hang out with their boyfriends after work," he mutters, mainly to himself for reasons unknown. He checks his watch, only to blink in surprise upon realizing his shift ends in a little less than an hour. He already misses his bed and he sort of wishes the customer, or, Sehun, would hurry up and come to a desicion so he can close the shop earlier and go home. In fact, Jongin proceeds to walk over to the door and he's just about to tell Sehun if he's made a desicion yet when he comes to an abrupt halt.

Because Sehun is staring right at him.

Well, perhaps not right at him, so to speak, but it's the only way Jongin has it in him to describe it right now as he swallows and clears his throat. The shininess of the floor (which Baekhyun claimed to have polished but probably didn't) suddenly becomes the biggest topic of interest and Jongin feels the words on his tongue fall back down his throat as Sehun continues to stare at him. After a few seconds, Jongin looks up, only to nearly collapse in relief when he notices Sehun inspecting the teddy bear in his hands. All Jongin can think of right now is how thankful he is that he doesn't blush easily.

Sehun seems to eye the heart on the bear for a while before looking up again. "So you'd give this to someone you liked?" he asks absentmindedly and it's not until he leans against one of the shelves that Jongin notices how broad his shoulders are. In fact, they're so broad he's absolutely certain you could land a plane on them without issue.

Jongin clears his throat. A lock of Sehun's clearly dyed hair falls in the latter's face and he can't help but stare. "Uh...yes? I guess?" he mutters, suddenly realizing that he has never given somebody a gift in real life. Somebody he liked, that is. "Although I think I'd rather prefer receiving it," he adds and when Sehun goes silent, he clears his throat again with the intent of saying 'But I think she'll love it, stop worrying so much', but he doesn't. "So you're just gonna give that away and hope for the best?" he chuckles.

Sehun is silent for a while longer before a small smile creeps up his lips. "Yeah, I think I might, actually," he says quietly, so quietly Jongin barely catches it.

Jongin hopes he doesn't accidentally laugh, because all he can think of right now is one of Baekhyun's infamous Tinder dates that went so horribly wrong that Jongin almost regrets choosing not to come along to witness it unfold. On the other hand, Sehun seems far more pulled together than Baekhyun, by a mile, so Jongin has a little more hope for the former, to say the least. "Cool." He chuckles a little. "What else are you gonna do?" he asks for reasons he seriously doesn't want to know.

With a cough, Sehun the bear's head. "Say I like them and hope they don't kick me out," he says with a chuckle but somewhere along the lines, Jongin picks up a hint of sincerity in his voice. At least so he thinks. 

Jongin blinks in both confusion and amusement. Honestly, he's never ever heard of a date that ended with the guy getting booted out of the girl's house. In fact, he isn't even sure if girls are even that cruel to begin with, but, considering he hasn't really done more than appreciate women from afar, he figures he doesn't have a say in that. "They won't, don't worry, unless they're mean as hell," he titters. As much as the thought of Sehun getting kicked out of his own date by some girl he just met is rather amusing, he won't deny that something about it makes his heart ache just the slightest bit. "But I don't think they are."

Sehun chuckles a little. "Me neither," he hums. "Definitely." He remains in his usual place by the shelf until he regains his balance and walks over to the counter, and he's about to open his mouth to speak when Jongin beats him to it.

"Wait, so you're really doing this?" Jongin asks, mouth slightly agape in surprise and awe. They're so close he can make out the black roots in Sehun's hair but he doesn't comment on it, knowing how strange his own roots look. 

Sehun blinks. "Doing what?" he asks, eyebrows furrowing a little. His eyes look a lot softer when he isn't standing under the ten billion harsh lights placed around the store and instead standing just beneath the soft glow of the light bulb hanging above the cash register. Jongin has to focus on the three zeroes on the monitor to stop himself from gawking and scaring the taller away.

"You know--" Jongin gestures wildly with his hands. "Getting someone you barely know a gift-- I mean, don't get me wrong, it's totally cool, like, I've never heard of anyone doing this, it's super brave, I wish I was that bold, jeez, you're crazy, but like, in a good way! You're the good kind of crazy." He beams up at Sehun before he has a chance to stop himself. "I mean, you still know nothing about this person so that's pretty gutsy of you!" 

For a few seconds, Sehun only chuckles to himself. "Well, you're right, but I guess I could list a few things I predict this person's gonna be like if you want me to," he says before looking up and smiling at the shorter. "Since you're an expert on this, perhaps I could take another shot at trying to narrow things down for you?" He his head to the side and Jongin nearly squeals because he looks like a baby bunny. With a tie, that is.

"Sure!" Jongin blurts out embarrassingly loud. "I mean, personality is what matters most so even if they end up hating the freaking thing I'm sure they'd be just fine with you," he adds before he can stop himself, and he barely even notices the old lady entering the shop just behind Sehun subsequently.

"Well," Sehun starts before clearing his throat. "I could be wrong, so don't take my word for it, but--" He clears his throat again and sends Jongin a contemplative look. "I think they're the shy type when you first meet them, but are quick to open up once you get to know them, you know?"

Jongin only nods enthusiastically. "Go on!"

"I also think they're the type to joke around a lot," Sehun chuckles. "Which is good since I love joking around with others," he adds for emphasis. The lady behind him steps in front of a harsh light, dimming it and bathing his hair in a soft yellow glow. It sort of reminds Jongin of a halo. 

"Me too," Jongin chuckles. "I mean, I can't tell jokes since my friends say I at it but they say I at them in a good way, you know?" He grins, thinking back to the time when Baekhyun quite literally choked on a glass of milk after Jongin cracked one of his jokes during a sleepover at Jongdae's.

"Now, don't take my word for it," Sehun says, putting his hands up in defense, "but I just can't help but feel that they're awfully good at cuddling, as well. You know, they're the type of person you just wanna hug for hours as soon as you see them and never let go?" He bites his lip. "You know, like...you just get this feeling as soon as you see them that they're just...the one, you know? It's hard to explain, sorry." With a low chuckle, he runs a hand through his hair and giving it a bit more volume, which only strengthens Jongin's thought of it looking like a halo.

"Well, that's a good thing," Jongin giggles, suddenly missing his big, baby blue blanket and the feeling of being wrapped in it. Well, that and his fifty something stuffed animals. A sense of longing briefly washes over him but he's quick to dismiss it. "Who doesn't like cuddles?" 

Sehun laughs. "Good question," is all he says before he closes his mouth, only to open it a second later. "Now, I could be wrong, but I can't help but think that they're a major dog lover." He only smiles when Jongin's eyes light up significantly. "You know, the type to squeal and pull on your hand every time they see a dog, any dog, on the streets?" He can't help the small laugh that leaves his lips when Jongin practically bounces up and down in excitement. "And I don't think I'd be wrong if I were to assume that they already own like, two or three dogs of their own."

"Poodles, right?" Jongin practically yells, earning him a dirty look from the old lady, who is busy browsing the flower pots. "Poodles, right? Tell me they're poodles!" He doesn't know what's making him more ecstatic; the fact that they're talking about poodles (or dogs in general), or the fact that Sehun seems to have found the ultimate woman on the face of the entire planet. In fact, Jongin would even go as far as to say that he might set aside his love for men (as Baekhyun loves to call it) to be with this woman of Sehun's forever. "Right?!"

Sehun seems to contemplate his answer for a while, clearly trying not to chuckle when Jongin only grows antsier. "Definitely poodles," he says after a minute's worth of thinking, the bear's head as Jongin squeals in happiness. 

It takes Jongin an embarrassingly long time to come down from his dog high (as Jongdae likes to call it, to Jongin's dislike) and, when he does, he reaches across and practically grabs Sehun's sleeve and rustles it slightly. "It's perfect! It's the perfect gift! You should get this! She'll love it!" He doesn't even have time to think before grabbing the stuffed bear, nearly ripping the heart off its belly, before scanning it into the monitor. "I don't know who she is, but she's lucky, and I like her, she's awesome, come back and tell me how it went later, okay?" He practically slaps Sehun's hand away when the latter reaches for his wallet. "You can't waste more time! You'll miss your date!"

Sehun only stares at Jongin for what feels like forever before he emits a string of amused chuckles. "...They're also way too crazy about dogs and seriously can't tell when they're being flirted with," he mutters, chuckling into his fist. "You're clueless as ever, kid, but it's cute, I like it," he adds when Jongin only blinks.

Jongin blinks again. "But...your date," he mumbles, scratching the back of his head. The old lady, after realizing there's no way she'll be getting his attention anytime soon, slams the door shut and all he wants to do is sit down and close his eyes. "I thought you were gonna ask them, who knows, maybe they left by now? In that case, don't blame me." He chuckles lightly before clearing his throat. Sehun getting rejected is a sight he most certainly doesn't want to live to see.

Now it's Sehun's turn to blink. "I doubt that," he says, turning around and glancing at the marble clock on the wall. Its ticking has been so silent for the past couple hours that Jongin forgot it was even there. 

"Females are persistent beings," Jongin interjects, but it's so quiet Sehun doesn't catch it. 

Sehun nods slowly, seemingly zoning out for a brief moment before his eyes seem to light up. "You know what, I think I will," he says with a sly smirk in Jongin's direction, as he holds up the teddy bear. 

Jongin's ears perk up and he grins impossibly wide. "You'll do it? You're gonna ask?" he exclaims eagerly, making a mental note not to tell any of this to Jongdae and Baekhyun, because he really isn't in the mood for yet another reminder of his non-existent love life from the two. In the commotion, he accidentally bangs his knee on the underside of the counter. 

"Yup," Sehun says boldly, with a small nod. He blinks before nodding at the bear. "You, uh...you sure you don't--"

"No," Jongin practically yells, shaking his head back and forth. "No time, she's waiting, you know how women are when you make them wait for too long," he adds for emphasis, gesturing wildly with his hands. However, he suddenly goes silent. "On the other hand, my boss will kill me if he finds out I gave one of those out for free, so maybe you could come back another day and...you know." He scratches the back of his head.

Sehun chuckles before nodding in understanding. "You have my word," he says, carefully stuffing the stuffed bear in his coat pocket before shoving a hand in the empty pocket. "Uh...this is kinda weird, but--" He clears his throat and looks at the floor. "How do you think I should do it?"

Jongin blinks. He instinctively looks down, keeping his gaze focused on the baby blue color of his sweater. Not only because he isn't any good at this type of advice, but mainly because he's never asked out a woman before. But he doesn't want to let Sehun down, so he inwardly decides to tell his words from his own point of view whilst hoping Sehun doesn't notice. "Uh. Since you don't know each other that well...perhaps ask her out on a movie date? I'm not sure what girls like to watch, but you could do...that...I guess." He mentally facepalms. 

With an interested nod, Sehun sends Jongin an encouraging smile. "Go on."

"Uh. Okay," Jongin says lamely, pressing his lips together. He sort of hopes the door will open and a customer will walk in right this moment, because he clearly wasn't born to give relationship advice. "Say you're sorry you're late and-- Wait no, that's weird--" He scratches the back of his head. "Say that even though it's early and that you don't know each other that well yet, you still wanted to give her that--" He gestures at the bear hidden in Sehun's pocket. "Because...well. She's cute and deserves it?" At this point, he's given up on trying to sound philosophical. In fact, he thinks it's a mystery that Sehun's still listening and, even weirder, still sticking around. 

Sehun is silent for a minute and Jongin internally panics, but he soon nods in satisfaction. "I trust you that it'll work," he says with a small wink in Jongin's direction, and it's not until the smell of green tea appears out of nowhere that Jongin notices he's leaning in a little closer than a few minutes ago. But he dismisses it as his mind playing tricks on him.

"Why wouldn't it?" Jongin asks dumbly, seriously wondering what girl would be stupid enough to reject an offer like that. Next to him, on the counter, his phone buzzes with a text from Jongdae, and it's not until he sees it that he realizes that he's supposed to close the shop in fifteen minutes. Not only that, but that he's supposed to go out and water the roses on the porch, as well, which Jongdae will beat him up for forgetting. "Uh...sorry, but...we're kinda closing now and I've got uh, stuff I need to do before that, so..." He mentally slaps himself. 

Sehun blinks before he nods and leans away, from the counter (Jongin has to squash the strange feeling that settles in his gut when he does), before adjusting his collar and turning it up. He watches as Jongin runs off to the back room to fetch a watering can before turning around and heading for the door. "Sure, of course."

With a hum, whilst keeping his eyes glued to the floor, Jongin follows Sehun to the door, and mumbles a meek thanks when the latter holds it open for him on their way out. For some reason, the cold doesn't seem as biting anymore when he steps out into the darkness, but Jongin persumes he's got the general warmth of the shop to blame. He bends down and easily locates the muddy flower pot, dousing them a few times before standing up again. The entire time, he swears he feels Sehun's eyes on him (although this time, Jongin doesn't blame him, since he's known for going out in the freezing cold without a coat) but he brushes it off before standing up. Watering can in hand, Jongin is about to reach for the door when he hears Sehun's voice.

"Thanks for your help, it meant a lot," Sehun says softly, and even in the darkness Jongin can just barely make out the white-ish strands on his head.  A gust of cold wind passes and he turns his collar up even more, chuckling a bit when Jongin visibly shivers. "Most people tend to wear a coat, but not you, I guess. Special, I see."

Jongin shrugs, and for the first time in God knows how long, he's pretty sure he feels his cheeks heating up. Now that he thinks about it, he isn't even sure how close he and Sehun are standing, given the darkness and all. He wants to believe there's at least a six foot distance between them, but the scent of green tea and men's cologne that hits him seconds later leads him to believe otherwise. He clears his throat instinctively. "I...uh, gotta go, but--" He averts his gaze even though he can't see a thing. "--Good luck with your...date, I guess. Oh, and don't forget to stop by one day and pay me back." He chuckles lightly.

"Like I said, you have my word," Sehun says. Without the constant sound of the wind chimes and surround sound from the shop nearly drowning his voice, his words sound so clear that Jongin nearly flinches. When it becomes clear that Jongin probably won't make it another ten seconds out in the cold before freezing to death, he shoves his hands in his pockets again. "Take care."

Jongin nods dumbly. "Yeah, you...too," he says way, way too quietly as he hears Sehun descend the few steps leading to the store. He stands frozen on the porch for what feels like centuries as he listens, and waits, for Sehun's footsteps to disappear completely, before grabbing the jar of essence sticks and hurrying back inside.

Once inside, Jongin thanks his lucky stars he hasn't frozen to death before jogging to the back room and putting down the jar and now empty watering can. He walks up to the cashier, counts the money in the register but quickly stops after realizing the amount is exactly the same as it was a few hours ago, as well as wiping the counter clean with a towel. When he finishes five minutes later, he picks up his phone, only to groan when he sees nothing but a few snapchats from Jongdae. Jongin doesn't even need to open any of them to know that it's all photos and videos of Jongdae and Junmyeon frolicking like always, so he sighs before stuffing his phone in his back pocket. Normally, he'd open them without responding, but this time, he can't even bring himself to open them at all.

With five minutes until closing time, Jongin walks around the store, making sure everything is plugged in to their respective outlets (he doesn't need to, so to say, but after Baekhyun missed an inaccurately plugged in lamp two months ago, which nearly resulted in the whole place burning down, Jongin isn't taking any chances) before proceeding to turn everything off. One by one, he walks around the store, making sure not to burn himself on the overly saturated lava lamps as he turns them off. He jogs to the back room and turns off the music, too. And, quite frankly, he's been so caught up for the past couple of hours that he admits he never even realized it was playing in the first place. Thankfully, he doesn't need to sweep or mop the floors, which Jongin is grateful for, because at this point he's so exhausted he probably wouldn't be able to bring himself to do it, anyway.

At some point during his closing session, Jongin's eyes land on the shelf which is stocked to the brim with teddy bears, and he briefly wonders if he should simply fess up and tell his boss he "sold" one of them for free, since she'll notice after coming in tomorrow morning. He'll probably end up getting sacked, which is sort of fine with him, since that would mean his grades going up, but he doesn't get another second to think about it when he walks past the counter and catches a whiff of men's cologne mixed with green tea. Now, scents don't normally stay inside the store for long, and Jongin is aware that it's due to the lack of customers on this particular day, but he can't help but remain glued to the spot for a little longer than necessary.

For a brief moment, he thinks about Sehun and how the latter must be doing on his date right now. Jongin chuckles at the thought of the taller showing up just a smidge later than planned with a teddy bear in his pocket to surprise his date with. And, even better, if he ended up taking Jongin's advice, took her to the cinema. It's been a long, long while since the shop had a customer that actually ended up making an impression on Jongin, save for two days ago when he managed to prevent a theft, but apart from that, he can't remember the last time he met a customer that he actually felt eager to talk to instead of hiding from. For the first time in a while, a feeling of longing spreads through Jongin's entire body, and he makes a mental note to ask Baekhyun to work with him tomorrow, because sticking around for hours on end by yourself in a place like this isn't healthy. 

A lock of brown hair falls in Jongin's face and he hurries to remove it before checking his watch and skipping over to the counter. He scribbles his name in the employee journal before disappearing into the back room to fetch his coat and scarf. He'll probably fall asleep on the bus, but he figures he'll have to live with it as he grabs the door keys from inside the register. As he holds them in his hand, he presses his lips together. He doesn't know what it is, but the shop has had a ton of irritating, nitpicky customers throughout its many years, so Jongin figures it's really no surprise why he can't stop thinking about that one blond customer he just met. There wasn't anything particularily special about him, so to say (other than that the woman he's currently with is probably the luckiest woman alive right now), but Jongin finds himself sighing to himself, anyway. Maybe I should've talked to him a bit more.

However, Jongin's train of thought is instantly broken when he glances up at the clock, only to realize that his bus leaves in two minutes. He practically tears the keys off their chain as he grabs them and hurries over to the door, nearly forgetting to turn off the main lights in the process.

Once outside, Jongin is careful not to accidentally kick over the flower pot before closing the door and fiddling with the keys in search of the right one. However, he soon hears footsteps, that seem to be approaching the shop, and Jongin inwardly screams because yes, he is aware of the fact that he's locking the doors two minutes earlier than he's supposed to, but he's honestly exhausted and not in the mood to get undressed and give even more advice. So, without even turning around, he simply says something along the lines of 'Sorry, we're closed'. He hopes the customer will take the hint (and, even worse, not break out into aggression like some do) and leave. Inevitably, they don't, and Jongin can't help but huff in irritation. "We're closed! Please come back tomorrow!"

"I could, but I'm pretty sure your boss would kill you."

Jongin nearly drops the keys in his hand in surprise. "Whatthe-"

"I figured it wouldn't be all that grateful of me," Sehun chuckles, amusement prominent in his voice. In the dark, Jongin can tell he's standing on the first step, so he isn't close enough to trigger the light above the door. The smell of green tea soon fills the space between them, despite the sticks being gone.

While his brain tries to wrap itself around the situation, Jongin grasps the keys in his hands. "Sehun?" He blinks in surprise, trying not to smile too widely (Sehun wouldn't see it, but still). "What are you-- What--"

Sehun shrugs before taking a step forward, and Jongin hisses embarrassingly loud when the bright light suddenly turns on. He soon forgets about it, though, because all he can think about right now is how angellic Sehun looks under the otherwise harsh and downright annoying light. Jongin wonders how Sehun even manages, because he knows for a fact that Baekhyun and Jongdae both look like ogres that just got out of bed when standing under said light, but he doesn't bother questioning it.

"I just wanted to give you something," Sehun says casually before he takes another step forward, so they're face to face, but Jongin doesn't even bother backing up against the door this time. "Well, scratch that; two things, actually," he adds after a while before rummaging through his pocket. "Give me your hand."

Jongin blames it on his confused self not having processed the situation properly, but he finds himself extracting his hand anyway for reasons unknown. He's sort of thankful, because doing so means he has an excuse not to look at Sehun, because he's at least 100% sure that's a blush creeping up his neck and cheeks right now. The same, familiar feeling spreads through his arm when his and Sehun's fingers touch once again, and he's sort of really surprised when he looks down and sees a five dollar bill snug in his palm. 

At first, Jongin feels immense relief, because this means getting fired tomorrow morning is out of the way. On the other hand, he furrows his eyebrows because he would be lying if he said he was expecting the payback to happen so soon. Either way, he mutters a quick thanks before stuffing the bill in his pocket, making a mental note to drop it in the register first thing when his shift begins tomorrow. He's about to walk down the steps when he realizes that Sehun said he had two things to give him, so he stays put. Suddenly, Jongin feels Sehun's scent getting stronger, but he barely gets a chance to react when he feels something fuzzy in his hands. He doesn't even need to look down in order to know what it is, and his confusion only grows.

"Wait, what--" Jongin blinks before caressing the bear's soft fur. "You changed your mind?? You don't want it anymore??" He blinks again. He's always known his (relationship) advice wasn't exactly top notch, so to say, but he never knew it was this useless. When he looks up, he sees the cloud of smoke that quickly disappears into the night sky when Sehun exhales. "What-- You'll miss your-- Nevermind. This is weird--"

Sehun watches Jongin for a minute, his expression unreadable before he smiles slightly. "Even though it's early and we don't know each other that well yet," he says softly and Jongin swears he's standing even closer than he did half a minute ago. "I still wanted to give you this." He cuts himself off to pat the bear's head, cupping his hand over Jongin's in the process, and he makes sure the latter is silent before continuing. "Because you're cute and you deserve it." With a look in Jongin's direction, he chuckles lightly.

Jongin only blinks. Is he really that nervous??? he thinks, fighting the urge to scratch the back of his head. "...You don't need to practice on me, you know," he mumbles. The weight in his hand reminds him that Sehun is still holding his hand (well, not exactly, but Jongin figures he might as well be), and he keeps his eyes locked on their shoes; his own worn out sneakers and Sehun's polished black loafers.

Sehun only chuckles, as if he'd been expecting that answer. "I know, I know," he says in false exasperation. He tightens his grip on the bear, and thus Jongin's hand. "But I wanted to, anyway." 

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Jongin presses his lips together. "She's probably pissed at you for ditching her," he mumbles, his eyes suddenly landing on Sehun's tie. He doesn't know if he's dreaming or not, but he swears that one of the buttons to Sehun's shirt is ed. I probably missed it earlier. "Could you-- What are you--"

"You're so clueless, it's hilarious," Sehun coos as he reaches across and ruffles Jongin's hair, emitting yet another pleasant sounding chuckle when the latter pouts. He carefully presses the bear against Jongin's chest with a smile. "But I like it. It suits you, Mr. Clueless-as-ever." 

Jongin clears his throat. There's probably a million thoughts crossing his mind right now, but he honestly can't distinguish them given how hard his heart is pounding. He wants to look up, but his brain feels like it's being weighed down by cement, so he opts to keep his gaze fixated on Sehun's shoes. "Thanks."

"I meant that as a compliment, you know," Sehun chuckles in false hurt, lightly jabbing Jongin's shoulder. He's silent for another minute, watching in amusement as Jongin continues trying (and failing miserably) not to blush, before speaking again. "Now, if you're not too mad at me, do you think you'd have it in you to allow me to take you to the movies?" he asks after another minute of silence, his voice dropping two octaves. A plastic bag blows down the road and makesa rustling sound in the distance.

With yet another awkward clearing of his throat, Jongin tries, and fails, to swallow the lump in his throat (which seems to have doubled in size). Now, he would answer, but Sehun is, like he just noticed, standing less than a foot away from him, which is awfully distracting as he attempts to rack his brain for the appropriate reply. In fact, he can smell the mint on Sehun's breath every time the latter exhales which only makes Jongin pray that he doesn't pull some klutzy move and end up dropping the bear into the soil below. He figures you can't come back from something like that.

"Movies," Jongin (accidentally) says out loud, mainly to himself, and it comes out sounding more like a question than anything. "Wait, like--" He coughs into his fist (thankfully not Sehun's face, at least) when he chokes on his own spit. Now, he isn't sure, but he's pretty sure that he's growing hot underneath his coat for...reasons. "Like--"

Sehun shrugs, clearly trying not to laugh. "Yeah, you know, like--" He cuts himself off when he reaches out and removes a leaf from Jongin's hair. "Popcorn, candy, 3D glasses-" A small smile spreads across his face. "What do you say?"

Jongin blinks. His thoughts are all flying through his head and he's given up trying to control them. But at some point during the mental commotion, he finds himself smiling back, ever so shyly. "That sounds fun," he says quietly. Actually, he has no idea why he sounds so careful, since he's gone to the movies plenty of times with Baekhyun and Jongdae (and thus Chanyeol and Junmyeon). But he assumes this will be different. Either because for once, he isn't going to be the fifth wheel, or because of something he isn't able to think of right now (but what he does know is that it certainly has to do with the fact that he can practically feel Sehun's eyes burning holes in his head).

"Great," Sehun chirps, eyes lighting up significantly. A small smirk soon spreads across his lips, though. "If it's not too much trouble, could I ask you for one more thing?"

With a half-assed reply of 'Sure', Jongin nods his head, even though he's practically nodding at Sehun's shoes at this point. "M hmm."

Sehun chuckles low in his throat as he tries cocking his head to meet Jongin's eyes. "Your name," he says after a few more attempts to get Jongin to look at him, and he can't help but chuckle again when the shorter instinctively turns away with an embarrassed hum. 

At some point during his neverending battle of trying not to drop the bear (which shouldn't be an issue given that he's quite literally squeezing it for dear life), Jongin somehow manages to process Sehun's request. "Jongin," he says after a while, but he worries that it's so quiet Sehun doesn't catch it, so he decides to speak up louder just in case. "Jongin. I'm Jongin."

"I'd introduce myself, but you already know my name," Sehun laughs. "Nice name, really. It suits you." A few raindrops start to fall, one of which lands right on his head. "Guess we'd better hurry, I doubt they'd appreciate drenched guests," he says dryly as he runs a hand through his hair.

"How tall are you?" Jongin blurts out before he has a chance to stop himself, and the look that Sehun gives him subsequently is enough to make him want to run clear through the door and hide in the back room for the rest of his life. "Wait-- -- Nevermind, sorry-- That was-- Damn it--"

Sehun seems to find Jongin's inconsistent babbling highly amusing, much to the latter's dismay, but he shrugs nonchalantly. "6'1," he replies, leaning against the stair railing ever so slightly. "And you?" he asks, sending Jongin a sly smirk.

Jongin blinks. "Me?" he says dumbly and mentally slaps himself. "Five, uh...six feet, I...think," he mumbles, scratching his neck. Honestly, he has no idea how tall he is, but he knows he's at least 2 inches taller than Jongdae's 5'9 inch self. But it's not like he cares or anything. "Yeah. Sorry, I don't know why I-"

"Adorable and clueless as ever? My, I must've hit the jackpot," Sehun hums to himself as he watches Jongin turn up his collar to (somehow) shield himself from the rain. "Do you work tomorrow, too?" he asks casually, apparently not even fazed by the fact that they've both been standing on the front porch for fifteen whole minutes now. 

"Uh. Yeah," Jongin replies, shivering when a gust of ice cold wind passes. He figures he'll be owing Jongdae another pizza for needing to copy his homework tonight, as well. "Do you? Uh, you know, work?" he asks dumbly and he's pretty sure he's sporting tons of bruises from all the times he's mentally slapped himself. "Sorry-"

"Yup," Sehun says with a nod, running his hand through his hair again when a couple more raindrops fall. He suddenly notices Jongin's staring and follows the latter's eyes, only to chuckle in amusement. "I guess that goes without saying," he laughs before reaching up and adjusting his tie. "It's killing me, though,  I'm seriously dying to take it off." A clap of thunder cuts him off and he jumps slightly and looks up at the sky. He's lucky, really, because he does so just in time to miss the way Jongin turns away in embarrassment.

They stand there on the porch for another two minutes in thick, yet comfortable silence. As much as he tries restraining himself, Jongin finds himself occasionally glancing upwards at Sehun's sculpted face (more precisely, his cheekbones), his tie and, especially, his hair, which has been reduced to a white-ish, damp and frizzy mess atop of his head thanks to the rain. Jongin figures he can't be blamed, though, since just about anybody would do the same thing if somebody was standing less than a foot away from their face. Or so he hopes.

After a while, however, the silence almost becomes unbearable and slightly awkward, so Jongin clears his throat. "Uh. Yeah," he says dumbly, turning around and pretending to make sure the door is locked to take his mind off of things for a second. "You can...take it off during the movie, I...guess--"

"Did you happen to bring an umbrella?" Sehun asks suddenly, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small, black umbrella. "Shame," he chuckles slyly after opening it up and staring at Jongin after the latter shakes his head. The umbrella casts a dark shadow across his face. Yet he still manages to look so incredibly good, at least according to Jongin (like a blond Sherlock Holmes).

Jongin curses under his breath. He'd completely forgotten all about bringing an umbrella before leaving for school this morning, despite having checked the weather forecast. Now, despite what Jongdae and Baekhyun might say about him taking every chance to get close to a guy, Jongin isn't, in fact, all that eager to stand under some guy he just met's umbrella, especially if said guy smelled like green tea. Despite that, Jongin finds himself standing three inches away from Sehun as they both attempt to fit underneath the latter's umbrella. Either because the rain is really starting to come down hard now or because of reasons Jongin can't bring himself to explain right now. 

It's not until this very moment that Jongin realizes either just how big he is, or just how tiny an umbrella can feel when two grown men are busy trying to fit underneath it. In fear or possibly shoving Sehun out and getting the latter wet, Jongin decides to sacrifice one half of himself and tries not to shiver as he feels the cold rain seep through his coat. He's quick to stuff the, or, his, bear, in his pocket before it can get drenched. Sehun doesn't smell like tea anymore, thank God, and he's quick to step aside and give Jongin some space despite the latter's protests.

"Jeez, you're soaking wet," Sehun says when he turns his head and sees the darkening patch on the right side of Jongin's torso. He steps aside again and chuckles when Jongin only blinks. "C'mon, don't be shy." He reaches out and grabs Jongin's waist, gently pulling the latter closer. "You'll catch a cold, silly."

"No, it's fine, you don't have to--" Jongin quickly closes his mouth and tries not think about the buzzing sensation spreading through his entire body. He figures protesting would be stupid, anyway, since he greatly appreciates not getting peltered by the ice cold rain anymore. If Jongdae asks him why he came home late tomorrow, Jongin figures he'll just say 'Reasons' and change the subject.

They walk in comfortable silence down the steps with the rain pouring down hard all around them. At some point, both Sehun and Jongin managed to find a space in which they both equally fit without getting wet, at least as much as the tiny space underneath the umbrella would let them. Besides that, Jongin also realizes he left his mittens in the back room but he can't bring himself to stuff his hands in his pockets since that would mean bumping his elbow into Sehun's side. He's in the middle of contemplating whether or not frozen hands can fall clean off when he suddenly hears Sehun's voice, which nearly makes him jump out of his own skin.

"Are your hands cold?" Sehun asks whilst briefly tearing his eyes off the street before them. He sends Jongin a smile and the latter momentarily fights the urge to say that he's no longer freezing.

Jongin wants to shake his head, but at this point he's (already) so cold that he nods. "A little, yeah," he says nonchalantly before raising his hands to rub them together. "But it's--" He nearly chokes on his words when Sehun's free hand suddenly reach out and grasps his own. He's pretty sure he flinched so hard he might have frightened the elderly couple walking past them and he mutters a low apology. "What---"

"It's not much, but it's something," Sehun chuckles before dipping down and blowing warm air right into Jongin's palm. "My Mom always did that to me when I was younger and felt cold, it kinda stuck with me," he adds and slowly lets go of Jongin's hand. "Better?"

Jongin clears his throat. "Yeah, thanks," he mutters and mentally slaps himself again because boy, did that sound sarcastic. Because he really isn't being sarcastic. In fact, his hand actually feels like it's been lit on fire (which he doesn't know if it's a good thing or not), but he doesn't say anything. After two minutes of walking, it suddenly hits him that he has no idea which movie they're seeing. Not that it's an issue or anything, but he decides to keep quiet for, well, reasons.

"I'm not sure either," Sehun hums, quickly checking both sides before stepping onto the crosswalk. Despite being nearly the same height as Jongin, the latter finds himself jogging to catch up with his long strides. "Any suggestions?"

Ignoring the fact that they're currently dismissing the red light in front of them, Jongin hurries to get under the umbrella again. Two seconds later, it hits him. "How did you--"

"How about 'The Boss Baby'?" Sehun asks with a hint of amusement in his voice. 

Jongin closes his mouth. "I-- What?" He blinks in awe. He hasn't seen said movie; the only reasons he's heard of it is thanks to Jongdae. More specifically, when the latter watched it for fun with Junmyeon only to fall asleep halfway during the film. He leaves that part out, though. "I-"

"Lemme guess, you want a horror film, huh?" Sehun chuckles and shakes his head in amusement when Jongin proceeds to open and close his mouth like a goldfish. "Why don't we go for that new one, what's it called? 'IT'?" He sends Jongin a smile, which is soon replaced with a surprised squawk when he accidentally trips on a rock lying in the middle of the path. To say he's lucky that he didn't end up splitting his face open against the concrete would be an understatement.

As much as he's trying to keep a neutral expression, Jongin can't help but let a small giggle slip past his lips. "Good to know that you'd sacrifice your life for my pretty face," he blurts out, but he's too busy giggling to himself (and trying to recover from his mini heart attack) to feel ashamed about it.

This time, it's Sehun's turn to blush. "Real funny, kid," he grumbles, but there's no bite in his voice. "Real funny." Next to him, Jongin is still tittering (less than discreetly) and Sehun quickly pokes Jongin in the waist, a sly smirk spreading across his face when the latter jumps five feet in the air with a less than manly yelp. 

Grabbing his now sore side (and making sure to keep a ten foot distance from Sehun even if it means stepping out of the safety zone of the umbrella), Jongin eyes Sehun suspiciously. In any other circumstance (for instance, if he was with Jongdae and or Baekhyun), he'd be quick to turn around and leave, which he's surprised he hasn't done at this point, but he finds himself doing the exact opposite. "You can't do that!"

"Sorry," Sehun chuckles rather shamelessly, "it kinda just happened." He's about to turn the corner when the umbrella is practically yanked out of his hand. "Hey! What the-- Gimme that--!" A drop of water travels down the small of his back and he yelps. "Jongin, get back here-!"

"Say you're sorry," Jongin says and tries not to laugh at the way Sehun's stumbling around like he's drunk to avoid getting all too wet. To screw with Sehun even more, he makes sure to hold the umbrella as far away from Sehun as he possibly can whilst simultaneously protecting himself. As cruel as he currently feels, Jongin figures Sehun should learn the number one rule, which is no tickling. However, he doesn't get to bask in his glory for very long, because as soon as he knows it, Sehun has grabbed the umbrella back and is now holding it over both their heads.

"Jesus," Sehun mutters under his breath. His fluffy hair has been reduced to a wet, dripping matted mess atop of his head and there's droplets of water running down the sides of his face (that Jongin finds himself staring at for a little longer than necessary). Despite that, there's still a small smile etched onto his face and Jongin can't help but giggle. "You're feisty."

Jongin only pouts. "Yeah, well, you started it," he mutters and suddenly feels his entire face grow hot. "Neverm-"

"Watch it or I'll take back my money," Sehun laughs, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to get it to dry quicker. It (sort of) doesn't work, much to Jongin's amusement.

"You gave it back to me," Jongin squawks embarrassingly loud, instinctively reaching into his pocket and cupping his hand around the bear. It's bone dry, thank goodness. "You can't just-- I mean--"

"It's fine," Sehun says, patting Jongin's head. "I'd still want you to have it," he adds before exhaling into his free hand. After walking a few more feet, he spots the large, red building up ahead. "We're almost there, thank God. If this movie ends up I'm blaming you, just so you know."

Jongin emits an unattractive squawk. "Why?? I mean-- Why go see it in the first place if you don't have high hopes for it in the first pla-"

"Duh, because you're so cute I couldn't resist going," Sehun replies with a sly smirk, nearly whacking Jongin upside the head when the latter proceeds to steal the umbrella a second time (and, this time, run all the way to the cinema building with it).

---