When Jinyoung’s favorite laundromat closed down, he felt like for days. It’s not like he was attached to it or something, but the place was everything he needed it to be. It was just down the road from his apartment, open 24/7 and the employees don’t talk to him.

Park Jinyoung doesn’t really like it when his schedule gets broken. However, it’s not like he could stop the family who owned the laundromat from moving across the country to their hometown. He just has to deal with it, it seems.

“I heard you needed a new laundry service?” Jaebum asked the next time he saw him. The boy was the closest thing that Jinyoung could call a friend, seeing as he usually kept acquaintances rather than friends. Im Jaebum was another story, however.

 Jinyoung raised an eyebrow. “How did you know?” He doesn’t really broadcast his life issues to anyone, not even in the Internet unlike his roommate Bambam who goes we don’t have food!!! sobs i am going to dieeeee save me #sadface the moment their supply of instant ramen runs out.

 Jaebum shrugged, “I saw the closed sign this morning when I passed by it. So, new laundromat?”

 “I’m going to look through the directory later for something close to my--” Jinyoung was stopped by a flyer to his face. “King’s Closet? Who would name their laundromat like this?”

 “Them, obviously. But the name doesn’t matter, it’s just on the other side of your street and it’s cheap.” Jaebum assured him, knowing exactly what Jinyoung wanted to hear. His greatest weakness--accessible and cheap.

 Jinyoung carefully folded the flyer, keeping the edges in line, and placed it in the pocket of his bag. “I’ll check it out later.”

King’s Closet is, as Jaebum assured him, accessible with just a few steps away from his old laundromat. Not to mention that it was a whole 2,000 won cheaper. He could already see all the odeng he could buy from the extra money.

The owner was a very pretty lady, obviously married because of the ring on her finger. She doesn’t bother Jinyoung much, just greets him awelcome whenever he comes in. No one bothers him when he takes a seat and brings out a book to read while waiting for his clothes to be done.

 So, yes, Jinyoung decided that adding King’s Closet to his fixed schedule wouldn’t be too bad.

At least, until Jinyoung met Jackson Wang.

It was the time of the month that Jinyoung would strip all of his bed’s blankets and pillows to wash them. He folded them neatly and placed them on a bag, grabbed the money he needed to pay for them and a new book he just bought the other day.

The sun was beating down hard when he got outside, the prickling summer air hitting his skin. Nonetheless, he took the short walk towards King’s Closet with practiced ease. The cold blast of air when he opened the door made him shiver, but it wasn’t unwelcome.

“Welcome to King’s Closet where customers are our kings! Or queens, if you’re a girl!” A different voice spoke from the counter and Jinyoung was slightly worried when he turned to look at a boy, dressed in all black with a snapback on. The boy was grinning widely at him, as if expecting something.

So Jinyoung bowed shortly before hurrying towards the machines, hoping that his terse greeting would appease the boy. He didn’t like this, not at all. He doesn’t like a change in schedule and he was already a few seconds late than what he had originally planned. He immediately started on his task, ignoring the prickling feeling of someone watching over him.

A few minutes later, Jinyoung was almost done and he could finally start reading his book. He was about to place the last sheet inside when he felt someone standing behind him.

“I know a great way to get rid of the wrinkles out of those sheets.”

Jinyoung wasn’t supposed to look back, but he ended up doing so. His head turned and saw the boy standing there so innocently, but with a glint on his eye. Did he just hear him right?

“Excuse me?” Jinyoung voiced out, hand still holding onto his sheets.

“You may pass.” The boy winked and Jinyoung wanted to wipe that smile off of his face. That wouldn’t be polite, however. ”Need a hand?”

“No.” Jinyoung answered immediately, turning back to his washing. He placed the last sheet inside and started the machine. When he heard the familiar humming of the machine, he felt himself relax a little.

“Hey,” Jinyoung was snapped out of his washing machine humming appreciation when he felt the boy’s hand at the back of his shirt.

“What are you--” Jinyoung wanted to curse, he really really does.

“Where’s the tag that says Made in Heaven ?”

Jinyoung had to close his fist to stop himself from punching the boy. Violence would not look good on his resume. He only pulled away abruptly and tried to put as much space between them as possible.

“What are you doing ?” Jinyoung asked, although he has an idea of what exactly the boy wanted. On why him, of all people, that he doesn’t know the answer of.

The boy tilted his head then grinned again. “Hi my name is Jackson Wang! Nice to meet you, man!” The boy’s voice was loud, something Jinyoung did not appreciate, but it wasn’t horrible to the ears like how Bambam sounds when he screeches.

Actually, now that he’s got a good look at Jackson , he doesn’t look bad. In fact, he looks quite… attractive . With his black shirt, black jeans, black snapback and silver earrings, the boy has this slightly bad boy look going on. Sadly, bad boys are something Jinyoung is determined to avoid and Jackson Wang with his pick-up lines is obviously one.

“Did you need anything?” Jinyoung snapped, losing patience.

Jackson looked crestfallen for a second before he suddenly waved his phone in front of Jinyoung’s face. “Your phone number? Please?” he asked, eyes an imitation of that character he likes from Shrek. Who was it again?

“ Why ?”

Puss… something.

“Because I want to talk to you?”

Oh. Puss in Boots!

“Err? Hello? Are you still here?”

Jinyoung looked at Jackson and stared hard. This attention seemed to please Jackson as he did a small twirl, posing when he finished as he removed and flattened his hair before putting back his snapback.

“You look good on those clothes.” Jackson grinned when Jinyoung raised an eyebrow at him, he was just wearing blue sweater and shorts. “But I bet those clothes would look better on my bedroom floor.”

Jinyoung wasn’t exactly fuming when he got home. Well, he is a bit miffed. He couldn’t believe he had to spend an hour listening to Jacksonspouting off pick-up lines at him left and right. It was disconcerting and he didn’t even get to start on his book.

“I need a new laundromat.” Jinyoung decided as he unloaded the sheets on his bed.

Easier said than done, however.

A week later, Jinyoung was grudgingly walking back to King’s Closet. He tried 4 different laundromat in one week and none of them pleased him the way King’s Closet does. He just has to make do with the Jackson kid for now.

Jackson wasn’t the one who greeted him when he came in, it was the same lady from before. Her warm smile has Jinyoung breathing freely, maybe Jackson was a one-time employee. Or maybe he got fired from spouting off inappropriate pick-up lines at customers. It doesn’t matter anyway.

Jinyoung brought a book, a Korean translated version of Keigo Higashino’s The Devotion of Suspect X. It was highly recommended by his friend and he was excited to go through it. Sitting down while waiting for his laundry to finish seemed like the best time.

In the middle of Jinyoung trying to analyze the trick used--he was close , he just need to check for a few more clues--someone arrived inside the store loudly . Jinyoung ended up looking because he couldn’t resist things like this. So he did and...

“ Woah .” Jinyoung whispered, surprised.

It was Jackson, Annoying Pick-Up Line Spouting Jackson, standing in front of the King’s Closet owner. He looked quite different from the last time Jinyoung saw him with his newly dyed blonde hair. Yes, no kidding, he has blonde hair??

“Mommy! How are you? Your son is home!” Jackson greeted with the same cheerfulness he greeted Jinyoung before, except with more enthusiasm and kisses. “Did you miss me?”

The woman in front, presumably Jackson’s mom, kissed her son’s cheek and engulfed him in a hug. “Aw, how was school son? Did you do well? How was your practice match today?” she asked, patting the blonde tuffs of hair in place.

Jackson made to cuddle closer. “I won, mommy. Coach said I have a chance at winning this year’s championship as long as I keep in shape and not get into any accidents.”

“Then stop trying to learn gymnastics with that poor boy, Mark.” she scolded, but pressed another kiss to Jackson’s forehead. “What do you want for dinner? Stay here and I’ll cook, okay?”

Jackson immediately nodded his head enthusiastically. “Dimsum, mommy!”

She smiled and left the seat, letting Jackson take over. “Be nice, okay? Don’t cause trouble?”

“I love you, mommy.” Jackson reminded her as she replied with a, “I love you too, son.”

Jinyoung blinked at the display he just noticed. It was highly confusing to see bad boy Jackson with black clothes and silver earrings giving his mom kisses and hugs and saying I love you . Yet, that’s exactly what he saw. Not to mention, Jackson sitting cross-legged on the chair with a notebook on hand was not meeting Jinyoung’s definition of bad boys .

So, what else was he supposed to do but to go over there and ask?

“Hey.” Jinyoung coughed, waiting for Jackson to look up and take notice of him. When the boy did, there was a flash of recognition before Jackson gave him a bright smile. “So... “ Actually, what was Jinyoung supposed to ask anyway?

Hey, man, I saw you with your mom. What are you up to now that she isn’t looking? Drugs?

As if.

Jackson looked hopefully at him, tipping the notebook to Jinyoung’s direction enough for him to see the boy was… working on Math homework? It looks like Calculus, but Jinyoung wasn’t sure because of the half-solved solution the boy was in the middle of.

“...Oops! I’m not done with homework yet!” Jackson immediately grabbed the notebook when he saw Jinyoung looking. “So? What’s up?”

Jinyoung raised an eyebrow, unbelieving at what he just saw. “Was that… Calculus? Or has my eyes deceived me?” he asked, uncertain.

Jackson’s eyes suddenly lit up at the mention of Calculus. “Yes, it is! I’m trying to work on the problem my professor gave me for practice! Do you take Calculus too?” he asked, looking eagerly.

“Sorry, man. I’m a huge Geometry fan.” Jinyoung watched how Jackson’s huge smile turned into a pout. “What? Are you one of those kids who thinks Geometry is just a bunch of shapes? If you are, then fight me.”

Jackson ended up laughing instead of getting offended, hands on his stomach as his face scrunched up in a boisterous laughter. Jinyoung decided right there and then that he liked this Jackson much better than the one who keeps spouting off inappropriate pick-up jokes.

“Hey, don’t worry your pretty little face over it, Geom Boy! I was just asking!” Jackson winked at him, showing the notebook with the half-finished solution. “So? What do you think?”

Jinyoung eyed the equation and snorted. “I don’t know, Calcu Loser . Why don’t you find a triangle to solve first?” he smirked when Jackson ended up in another round of loud laughter.

“So, Math geek?” Jackson asked conversationally, a small smile on his face.

“Geometry wiz.” Jinyoung corrected him, because it was the truth. “Calculus and Statistics aren’t really my thing. Too complicated.”

Jackson nodded slowly, “I’m pretty good with Calculus, which is why I’m taking and Advanced Class for it. How about Trigonometry?”

For some reason, Jinyoung could see that Jackson was actually interested. Not making fun of him interested but genuinely interested in the conversation. He has no idea if he was interested because of Jinyoung or because of Math .

“I’m pretty good at Trigonometry and Algebra because we use them in Geometry. I mean, we use most principles in all branches of Math, but I think Trig and Algebra are the closest to Geom,” Jinyoung paused, “Or maybe that’s just my excuse because I at Calculus and Stat.”

“It’s okay, man. You can’t force yourself to be a wiz in all things Math. Me and shapes, we never go together.” Jackson ran a hand through his hair, messing the strands up. “I’m better with just equations, for some reason.”

This had Jinyoung smiling because he wasn’t expecting anyone to understand. “Yeah, I guess so.”

There was a pause and Jinyoung wonders if maybe he should return to his place since the conversation was done. He confirmed that Jackson wasn’t totally a bad boy and if he was, he was a bad boy who likes Calculus and adores his Mom. That was enough, right? That was totally what he came here for…

“Are you a 30-degree triangle? Because you’re acute-y.”

Jinyoung looked up with a snap and saw Jackson with another grin, eyebrows up in amusement.

“I would really like to bisect your angle.”

Jinyoung was thoroughly confused. “ What? ”

“Are you a 90 degree angle? Because you’re perfect. ”

“What the--” Jinyoung had no idea what was happening.

“Can I plug my solution in your equation?”

Jinyoung could feel himself blushing now as he felt a little too hot on his collar. He has no idea on what the hell was happening and why he was reacting this way.

“Your hotness is the only reason we can’t reach absolute zero.”

Jinyoung wanted to hit someone, maybe scream a little. So the only thing he could was, “Jackson Wang, stop it!”

Jackson seemed taken aback at the use of his whole name, but he was obviously pleased that Jinyoung remembered it. This has Jinyoung wondering why even decided to use it.

With a wink, Jackson asked, “Why don't you be the numerator and I be the denominator and both of us reduce to simplest form?”

“WILL YOU STOP IT BEFORE I HIT YOU??” Jinyoung hated the fact that his cheeks felt warm and his hands are cold. He hates that he’s reacting like a teenager in front of his crush. He hates that someone, practically a stranger, has this kind of effect on him.

Jackson pouted, putting up both hands under his chin to stare brightly at Jinyoung. “How can I know so many hundreds of digits of pi and not the digits of your phone number?” Then he took out his phone and waved it in front of Jinyoung.

“What is with you and pick-up lines?” Jinyoung was honestly wondering why he just hasn’t walked away or even turned his back the moment Jackson started with his pick-up lines again.

Tapping on his phone, Jackson faced the screen to Jinyoung. “Because I really want to get to know you, man? Take you out on a date? Drink coffee while solving Math puzzles with you on a Sunday morning?” he grinned, “And maybe I also enjoy how flustered you get?”

Narrowing his eyes, Jinyoung replied, “Shut it. I am not going on a date with you.”

“Really?” There’s the Puss in Boots imitation again and Jinyoung hates how it makes him a little bit weak on the knees, “Then I’ll just continue with my Math pick-up lines unless you agree to go out with me.”

“What--”

“Baby you're like a student and I am like a math book, you solve all my problems.” Jackson had that infuriating smirk on his face.

“Shut--”

"You must be the square root of -1 because you can't be real." Of course Jackson wouldn’t listen and cut him off.

“That’s it--” Jinyoung should really just grab his things, throw all his laundry in the basket and leave .

“If four plus four equals eight… then me plus you equals fate.”

“I’m leaving, you can’t stop me--” Jinyoung made to turn around and leave.

There was an evil glint in Jackson eyes that Jinyoung missed because his back was turned, “I wish I was your calculus homework, because then I'd be hard and you'd be doing me on--hmph!”

Jinyoung immediately has his hands on Jackson’s mouth, cutting off the boy’s declaration that is not meant for a public setting. He could feel the boy’s smile behind his palms and wanted nothing more than to wipe it off.

“Will you shut it?” Jinyoung hissed, slowly removing his cover.

But the moment Jackson was let go, he wasn’t done, “How about you come to my place tonight--”

“FINE I’LL GO OUT WITH YOU.” Jinyoung felt his patience snap in that second. He was breathing heavily, glaring at Jackson’s pleased expression. “Now shut it. Okay?”

Jackson nodded enthusiastically, shoving his phone to Jinyoung’s hands. He watched carefully as Jinyoung inserted his number in, even calling it to check that it really was working (Jinyoung now wonders why he didn’t even try to give a wrong number).

“I’ll call you later, okay?” Jackson says brightly that Jinyoung couldn’t even dampen it with his negativity. “Now kiss my cheek, future boyfriend!”

Surprised, Jinyoung just blinked confusedly at Jackson. Did he hear it wrong? Did Jackson just ask for a kiss ?

“Fine, since you don’t want to kiss me.” Jackson leaned over the counter and pressed a kiss on Jinyoung’s cheeks. “See you soon, Geom Boy.”

At this, even though the kiss was a surprise, Jinyoung snorted then sighed as if exasperated. “ If I have to, Calcu Loser.”

Jinyoung was still in a daze when he walked through the halls of his dorm. The basket of laundry was perched on his waist, but his mind was still wondering on what the hell just happened.

In his distracted state, he almost ran over Jaebum who was reading something on his phone.

“Oh, sorry.” Jinyoung tilted his head to the side as an apology.

Jaebum raised an eyebrow at him. “You look distracted. Are you alright? Are you coming down with something?” He tried to feel Jinyoung’s forehead but was slapped away.

“I think…” Jinyoung remembered the way Jackson’s lips felt on his cheeks and he wanted to simultaneously kiss the boy back and/or claw at his cheeks to remove the feeling. “I think I just bagged a date.”

Jaebum’s eyes widened. “What? With whom? Who was brave enough to approach the sleeping dragon?”

“A boy from the laundromat you recommended me to.” Jinyoung didn’t even answer to Jaebum’s teasing as he walked away, still in a daze or still thinking deeply.

Jaebum frowned. “Damn, I should visit a laundromat soon, too.” He mused.