A/N: Prompt was Yugyeom is a frequent customer at a records shop Jinyoung works at.

~~

Yugyeom took a deep breath, the couple of loose dollars in his pocket as he tried to muster all the courage, confidence, and charisma he possessed.

You can do this. You’re going to do this. You can do this.

Taking one last deep breath, he pushed open the door, stepping inside the small shop. A bell chimed, signaling the entrance of a new customer.

“Yugyeom! I was wondering when you were going to show up!” The boy at the cash register greeted him immediately with a smile, eyes crinkling into those familiar crescents that made Yugyeom’s heart do somersaults.

“Jinyoung-hyung! Sorry I’m late today, I uh, I had practice…” Yugyeom trailed off vaguely, trying not to become flustered; it wasn’t a lie, per say. He did have dance practice earlier in the morning, but that wasn’t at all the reason why he was behind schedule. But he couldn’t exactly say he’d been delayed due to having spent a good hour agonizing over what he’d finally resolved to do this day.

“Why are you apologizing, it’s not like you’re obligated stop by every week,” Jinyoung laughed and Yugyeom’s heart flip-flopped again. Yugyeom wasn’t usually affected this badly, he wasn’t that pathetic.

But usually, he wasn’t about to attempt to confess and therefore wasn’t so nervous that he’d be on the verge of having a nervous breakdown.

Yes, confess.

God, Yugyeom seriously felt like he was about to die.

It had all started three months ago, on a stormy afternoon when Yugyeom had forgotten to bring his umbrella. The downpour had started on his walk home, and unwilling to drench his brand new Nikes, he’d reluctanctantly ducked into the nearest shop.

He’d only meant to stay until the rain lessened, but somehow ended up walking out three hours later with a bag full of CDs and a wide grin despite his now empty wallet, heart beating much faster than normal. His mind had been completely occupied by the image of the friendly, handsome store associate who’d spent the entire afternoon chatting away with him, the store devoid of other customers due to the storm that had stranded Yugyeom in the first place

That entire following week, he hadn’t been able to get the other boy out of his head. Be it his gentle smile, soft voice, or laugh eye-wrinkles, Yugyeom was undeniably infatuated. It wasn’t love at first sight - Yugyeom was naive but he wasn’t that naive- but it was definitely something.

He went back the following weekend, and then the weekend after, and after…

Needless to say, his attraction to the other hadn’t lessened by the slightest bit over time. Rather, it’d only strengthened, turning from superficial attraction into a deeper, much more genuine affection.

Jinyoung wasn’t just nice to look at, or a dutiful employee that excelled at small talk. Over the weeks, Yugyeom had come to recognize the genuine passion for music that the other boy possessed, the sly mischievousness that made appearances at the most unexpected moments, but most importantly, a warmth and caringness that managed to wash away all of Yugyeom’s worries whenever he was in his presence.

Yugyeom, you can do this.

“Um…” Yugyeom cleared his throat, shuffling his feet as he tried to keep his heart from beating out of chest.

“Are you looking for something specific today?” Jinyoung didn’t seem to notice how Yugyeom had begun to flush at the tip of his ears, his nerves starting to get the best of him. “If you’re looking for something for your dad again, we just got in a bunch of older vinyls you might want to take a look at. Or, if you’re looking for dance music again….”

At this point, Jinyoung had made his way around from behind the counter, standing in front of Yugyeom with his head tilted slightly, questioning. Yugyeom swallowed, trying to get his voice to work properly.

“Uh, yeah, but I...I actually…”

Jinyoung had seemed ready to lead him back towards a particular aisle of music, but turned around to face Yugyeom again at his jumbled mess of a response. Yugyeom clenched his fists, fingernails digging into the flesh of his palms as he tried to get a grip.

“I actually, um, I…”

Jinyoung’s brow furrowed slightly, but he didn’t interrupt, waiting for Yugyeom to finally spit out whatever he was trying to say.

“I… I… actually yeah that sounds great I’d love to check that out.” The words tumbled out in a rush and Yugyeom felt his face flaming up afterwards, his stomach twisting because goddammit .

Jinyoung was giving him a slightly odd look now, expression turning slightly concerned.

“Are you sure? Is there something else?”

Yugyeom fought with himself internally for a few moments, struggling to muster enough courage, but one more look at Jinyoung’s sincere and worried eyes fixed so intently on his own had all the resolve evaporating at once.

“Y-Yeah, I’m sure hyung.”

“Okay, we did some moving around so all our newest stuff is on the right side now…” Jinyoung gave Yugyeom one last concerned look before turning around to lead him to the right aisle. Trailing slightly behind, Yugyeom exhaled slowly, a mixture of disappointment and relief swirling within him.

“Here we are!” Jinyoung stopped at the correct display, pointing out a couple of their newest stocks. “Anything you’re looking for in particular?”

“Not really, thanks hyung,” Yugyeom said gratefully. At this point, he was pretty much resigned to the fact that he just didn’t quite have it in him to go through with it yet, and with that decision made, he finally began to relax. “What have you been up to?”

Jinyoung didn’t answer right away, eyes thoughtful as he appraised Yugyeom. It was obvious he’d noticed something had been off with his behavior, though now he seemed to back to normal.

“Same old, really,” Jinyoung finally answered, seemingly satisfied that whatever had been up with Yugyeom didn’t yet warrant a direct address. “It hasn’t been really busy, so I’ve been restocking some of the shelves, moving stuff around, you know how it goes.”

“Restocking? Do you need any help again? Any top shelves you can’t reach?” Yugyeom couldn’t help but jab, earning a slap on the arm in response.

“Hey, that was once! Just because you’re a giant doesn’t mean others are short, you brat. We have stools for a reason! I’m considered above average, you know,” Jinyoung retorted, indignant, while Yugyeom only grinned.

“Sureee hyung. I’ll just pretend I don’t know you wear insoles then.”

“I don’t!”

~~

By the end of their usual banter, Yugyeom was feeling much better. He’d even managed to forget his earlier failed attempt at a confession. That is, before he realized it was time to go and he finally remembered his initial intent.

“So, just this one for your dad then?” Jinyoung confirmed as he totalled up the purchase on the cash register, sliding the record into a plastic bag.

“Yeah,” Yugyeom nodded, handing over his couple of crumpled bills. His heart sank; he’d been spending way too much money here, and his allowance for the month was already completely spent. That was part of the reason why he’d resolved to confess today, but alas.

“Receipt in the bag, as usual?” Jinyoung asked while already sliding the receipt inside. Yugyeom only laughed weakly, mood slipping lower and lower with each passing second. He reached for his bag, about to say a final thanks and goodbye, when Jinyoung suddenly pulled the bag back.

“Wait, hold on.” Jinyoung bent over, reaching under the counter, rummaging for a few seconds. Yugyeom only stood on in confusion as Jinyoung dropped the plastic bag down underneath as well, out of view.

“Hyung, what are you doing?”

“You’ll see,” Jinyoung replied, finally standing up with a sly grin on his face. He tied the plastic bag shut, something he’d never done before, and finally handed it over.

“Don’t look inside until you get home, kay?”

Yugyeom looked at Jinyoung suspiciously, one hand already moving towards the knot on the bag to untie it.

“Why?”

“Because I said so, you brat!” Jinyoung immediately reached over to slap Yugyeom’s offending hand away, shooting him a glare. “Listen to your hyung!”

“But what’s the difference between here and later?” Yugyeom shot back reflexively.

“Just listen for once, okay?” Jinyoung was starting to get a bit flustered now, and Yugyeom almost couldn’t believe the light blush of embarrassment that now dusted Jinyoung’s cheeks. “Now shoo! Go!”

With that, Yugyeom reluctantly let himself be pushed out of the store, the door shutting with that familiar tinkling bell.

~~

In the end, he did choose to heed Jinyoung’s instructions, waiting until he reached home before looking inside the bag. It didn’t mean it was easy, though; the entire way back he had fought the urge to slide open the bag to take a peek, just a teeny tiny peek, but had somehow managed to resist. Once indoors, he’d practically sprinted up the stairs, nearly shaking with anticipation.

In his anxiousness to open the bag, he nearly ripped the poor thing apart, cursing the knot that Jinyoung had tied. When it finally slid open, Yugyeom proceeded to dump the contents out on his bed, breath held unconsciously in anticipation.

The larger item was familiar, the vinyl record he just bought for his dad. But another, smaller object also tumbled out, and Yugyeom’s heart skipped a beat at the familiar album cover.

It was Chris Brown’s first album, self-titled Chris Brown. Not only that, it was also signed, in bold black marker on the back. Yugyeom’s jaw dropped and he almost forgot how to breathe, his fingers tracing the black ink decorating the plastic.

It took all of Yugyeom’s self-control to muffle the squeal of excitement that threatened to escape, because holy crap Jinyoung had gotten him a signed copy of his favorite artist’s first album. Jinyoung had gone to the trouble to get it, spent who knew how much money, just for him. Jinyoung had freaking gotten him a present.

Yugyeom’s fingers were fumbling when he opened the case, eyes coming to rest on a piece of paper that had been neatly tucked inside.

For how much he gushed over Chris Brown on a regular basis for being his idol, it was almost pathetic how quickly Yugyeom dropped the album, attention now solely focused on that flimsy scrap of paper.

Yugyeom-ah~

Hope you like this! ^^ Hyung knows how much you like Chris Brown, and I’m really thankful for how you’ve become such a loyal customer hehe. However, this was actually a gigantic pain in the to get, so I think you owe me at least lunch, hmm? I’ll be waiting~

-Jinyoung-hyung

Flipping the note over, Yugyeom couldn’t hold in the squeals any longer as he took in the messily scrawled phone number, along with “don’t keep me waiting too long, you brat” underneath.

Chris Brown album long forgotten, Yugyeom made a dive for his phone, clumsy fingers messing up his passcode three times before he finally managed to unlock the stupid thing.

~~

Hyung!! It’s Yugyeom! How about tomorrow? :3

And for the record, I am not a brat :P