a/n: kaisoo, au, fluff & humour, ~5000 words. for your reference: 10 000 krw ~ 8,6 usd, 575 000 krw ~ 495 usd and 295 000 krw ~ 254 usd

enjoy!

gif credit: visual-jongdae

*2016 edit/small warning: wow i just re-read this and there are a ridiculous amount of weird grammatical mistakes and awkward sentences in this, which makes me wonder if i even read it through before posting it (lol). i will still keep it the way it is because if i start to correct stuff it will mostly end up with me rewriting the entire thing, and atm i'm not really up for that. as there are (probably) people who liked it i will keep it online, like i usually do (besides, i still rather like the plot). but jsyk, i... i can write better than this. i guess. ;-;

 

It is a Saturday and Kyungsoo finally has some free time. He’d planned to finish writing an essay that’s due on Sunday, maybe study some more (his first year in uni is already getting to him), cook something nice, and perhaps catch up on that one drama he’s missed a couple of episodes of. Yet, he finds himself in a shopping mall with Baekhyun.

Life is tough.

Apparently, there is a clothes shop Baekhyun just has to visit, even though he was there a couple of days ago, and for some reason he wants Kyungsoo to tag along. It’s a pretty unusual situation, because even though Baekhyun enjoys shopping he isn’t really the type to care about clothes a lot. He’s the kind of person who dresses in simple dark jeans and a white t-shirt, and puts a lot more time and effort on his hair and face. So the clothes aren’t the reason to why Baekhyun drags Kyungsoo there, nope.

“The people working there are so attractive, you have to come. Especially the shop owner, oh my god. I need to speak to him again”, Baekhyun had said, and that was it. That shop owner had been pretty much the subject of all the conversations that Baekhyun initiated in the last couple of days, so Kyungsoo decided to humour him and tag along. It was okay, he probably needed some new additions to his wardrobe anyway.

 

“Ah, there it is!” Baekhyun points to a shop on their right side, and Kyungsoo eyes it before entering. It seems to sell clothes for men only, and both the garments and the interior of the shop are mostly dark in colour, to Kyungsoo’s relief. He’d feel totally out of place in a bright and colourful shop, he believes.

Baekhyun immediately sprints away to chat up the shop owner, who’s standing by the counter near the back. Kyungsoo realises he’s left on his own. Well, he didn’t really… think this through. It feels rather pointless for him to accompany Baekhyun if he’s gonna be the third wheel.

He decides to take his time browsing the items in the shop, looking at all the garments hanging from racks or on the wall. Kyungsoo realises that this isn’t the typical low-price shop with simple clothes for the average person, like the places where he usually does his shopping. It’s obvious that this is a more fashionable shop than that, every piece of clothing seems to have at least one detail to make it stand out from the others. This is no place for plain, single coloured sweaters or jeans nobody would look twice at. Kyungsoo notices that the other customers in the shop seem to be aware of that, dressing in a more fashionable manner.

Kyungsoo inspects a table with t-shirts laid out on it. They all have huge, obnoxious prints or something else that make them seem like, well, something Kyungsoo wouldn’t wear on a daily basis. He isn’t the kind of person who’d try to attract attention by wearing flashy clothes.

He lifts one of the t-shirts from the table to have a closer look. It has some weird kind of patchwork on it, Kyungsoo isn’t sure if he thinks it’s cool or just strange.

“Do you need any help?” comes a voice from behind him, and Kyungsoo drops the t-shirt in surprise, making it land in a sloppy pile on the otherwise orderly table. He turns around to face the person behind him, who (obviously) turns out to be a shop assistant.

“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you”, the shop assistant says, smiling sheepishly. Kyungsoo’s eyes widen as he takes in the man’s appearance, Baekhyun wasn’t lying when he said that the employees here were good-looking.

The man is tall, lean, and has gorgeous sun-kissed skin. His dark hair is a bit messy in an attractive manner, as if it was styled to be that way, and as he’s working in a fashion shop he’s obviously wearing some really nice clothes. The collared shirt he’s wearing is dark grey and has all these little details in leather, and the sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, revealing his lower arms. It’s combined with a pair of ripped jeans, and even Kyungsoo can tell that this man looks very fashionable and hot. He clears his throat.

“I-it’s fine”, Kyungsoo mutters, “and I’m just looking around.”

“Alright then”, the man smiles, “just tell me if you need help with anything!”

With that, the shop assistant leaves Kyungsoo alone, and the latter feels himself relax a bit. It felt somewhat embarrassing to stand in front of that gorgeous guy when he himself looks like a fashion disaster. Okay, it’s not that bad, but Kyungsoo is wearing a pair of black trousers he’s owned for a couple of years now, and a long sleeved plain black shirt that he bought for about 10 000 won at the local low-price market. Kyungsoo wishes the guy could’ve at least seen him in one of his more fashionable states. But alright, he supposes it’s his own fault for dressing up this way. He didn’t think it through, he just picked some clean clothes from his wardrobe, like he always does. It’s not like he owns a wide selection of garments like the ones from this shop.

Kyungsoo glances over to the counter, Baekhyun is still there talking to that tall, intimidating shop owner. He wants to leave, he feels very out of place, but he can’t just walk away and leave Baekhyun. And he doesn’t want to walk up to Baekhyun and tell him where he’s heading as if he was a five year old and Baekhyun his parent. Kyungsoo sighs. Why did he even agree to this?

He wanders around the shop a bit more. From time to time he sneakily catches a glance of that gorgeous shop assistant. One time he’s speaking to a customer, another time he’s busy arranging some trousers on a table, and once he takes care of the register since the shop owner is all too busy talking to Kyungsoo’s beloved friend.

Kyungsoo kinda wants to talk to him. Not Baekhyun of course, but the shop assistant. He has no idea what to say, though. He’s not like Baekhyun, he can’t simply walk up to people and start talking about whatever. That’d just be weird. Well, he could pretend he needs help with something…

An idea then hits him. He could definitely try to find a new jacket, a thicker one, at this place. He needs one, since autumn’s turning into winter and all he owns is a one-layered grey thing he’s used all year. It’s time to buy a new one.

“Um, excuse me?” Kyungsoo mutters when he’s reached the shop assistant, and the latter turns to him with a smile on his handsome face.

“Yes?”

“Uh, I was… looking for a jacket or coat or something. To keep me warm”, Kyungsoo says, and feels a bit like an idiot for adding the last part, he’s just stating the obvious. The shop assistant doesn’t seem to mind, though.

“Ah, yes, it’s getting a bit cold after all. If you follow me”, he says and leads Kyungsoo through rows of clothes racks, to a corner of the store.

“We have a selection of jackets here”, the man motions to some hangers and a shelf, “there aren’t a lot but hopefully you’ll find something to your liking. What kind of jacket did you have in mind?”

“Well, uh…” Kyungsoo’s brain kind of stops functioning properly whenever that guy’s looking at him, so it takes him a couple of seconds to find his words. “A… warm one.”

Kyungsoo feels like face-palming himself before the shop assistant does it for him, but luckily the latter just chuckles.

“Yeah, well, I was thinking more of what kind of design you want to go for. What style you prefer”, he says with a big grin, and Kyungsoo feels his face heat up. Way to go, this guy’s probably going to tell his co-workers all about that stupid customer he had to help today.

“I don’t know, I, um… I like dark colours?” Kyungsoo says the last part as if it was a suggestion. The shop assistant eyes him.

“I can see that”, he says with a smile, and Kyungsoo really should’ve left before. He can’t take any more of this.

“Is something like this your style? It’s made from one hundred percent real leather and I really like it myself”, the guy says, holding up a black, shiny leather jacket, “It’s very durable. You could probably have it for years.”

“Uh…”

The leather jacket isn’t really Kyungsoo’s style (he kind of wonders if the designer of these clothes has a thing for leather or something, since he’s seen a lot of leather garments at this place). He doesn’t want to insult the shop, though, so he can’t bring himself to say it. Instead he asks,

“I’m not sure, what does it cost?”

“It normally costs 750 000 won, but we have a big sale on all leather products so now it’s 575 000 won! That’s why I’m really suggesting this one”, the shop assistant smiles and points to a sign on one of the shelves, but Kyungsoo’s too busy getting his saliva caught in his own throat to pay attention.

575 000 won, on sale? There’s no way in hell he can afford to pay that much for a jacket, unless he wants to drastically and dangerously lose weight the following month by not eating a single thing that costs money. Well, he didn’t even want that one anyway. After coughing a couple of times to empty his throat, Kyungsoo speaks up.

“Um, do you have any jacket that’s uh… less pricey?”

He’s afraid the guy will judge him but he only flashes Kyungsoo a pleasant smile, hanging the leather jacket back on the rack.

“Of course. Do you want to something else with leather, or…?” he then asks, browsing the rack for something similar but hopefully less expensive. Kyungsoo swallows.

“Let’s… skip the leather for now.”

“Alright! How do you feel about this one?”

The man is now holding up a jacket made from some kind of fabric, thankfully. It’s thicker than the one Kyungsoo owns too, and it’s dark in colour. The only thing that irks Kyungsoo is the small details of a flowery pattern on the sleeves and around the collar. It’s not too noticeable, the pattern seems to depict roses in shades of dark blue and purple, but it’s still there. The jacket is a lot better than the previous one, though.

“This one’s only 295 000 won”, the shop assistant says, smiling. Does that man ever get tired of looking so happy? Well, Kyungsoo supposes it’s his duty to be nice to the customers, but he seems so genuine. Kyungsoo’s not complaining though. The man’s smile is really beautiful and Kyungsoo feels privileged for experiencing it so many times today. It’s a look of pure sunshine and Kyungsoo can’t help but feel happy too just by looking at it.

Then, Kyungsoo realises he still hasn’t said anything to the other in a long time because he was lost in the man’s eyes and clears his throat awkwardly. 295 000 won is still very much and he isn’t that fond of this jacket either.

“I’m… well-” he starts but suddenly feels someone grab his shoulder.

“Kyungsoo”, Baekhyun says, “are you done soon? I’m gonna leave now, just so you know.”
With that, Baekhyun starts walking towards the exit of the store and Kyungsoo watches him, then turns to the shop assistant who’s still holding up that jacket, and then back to Baekhyun’s leaving figure. Then he turns to the shop assistant again.

“I’m sorry, I have to go”, he mumbles, “but I’ll… come back and, uh, check out some of the other jackets. Yeah.”

“Oh, it’s alright. Please do come back”, the man smiles at him again and Kyungsoo feels so rude for wasting his time when he wasn’t going to buy anything anyway.

“Uh… then, what’s your name?” Kyungsoo utters before he can stop himself. He wants to at least get something out of his visit, but perhaps not in an embarrassing way like this.

Kyungsoo’s surprised the shop assistant seems totally fine with a stranger just asking for his name like that. The mentioned man points to his chest where, oh god, there’s a name tag. Kyungsoo feels extremely stupid for not having noticed that. If he had, he wouldn’t have to awkwardly ask the guy for his name.

“Kim Jongin”, Kyungsoo reads silently to himself, then bids the newly named shop assistant goodbye and rushes after Baekhyun.

 

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo walks all the way home, and during their journey Kyungsoo gets it explained to him several times why Baekhyun suddenly wanted to leave.

“He offhandedly told me about his partner in a conversation, as if he didn’t at all notice the way I was trying to flirt with him!” Baekhyun rants. “I wish he could’ve said it sooner, so that I didn’t have to waste my time on someone who’s already taken… God, what an !”

Baekhyun is silent for a moment, before wailing,

“…a nice though. Why did he have to be taken!?”

Kyungsoo kind of tunes Baekhyun out after a while. It’s not that hard when his mind is occupied with thoughts of Kim Jongin, the ridiculously handsome shop assistant. Kyungsoo thinks about his smile the most, the way his eyes crinkled up in such a cute way, forming crescent moons of joy, and how his whole Charismatic Fashionable Handsome Guy image just switched into the Cutest, Happiest Guy on the Block Who Could Probably Make Even the Grumpiest of Neighbours Happy. Yeah, that sounds like an appropriate description. He can understand why the shop owner hired Kim Jongin.

“- Soo, are you even listening to me?” Baekhyun pokes a slender finger into Kyungsoo’s cheek and the latter snaps out of his thoughts, a little reluctantly.

“I…”

“Yeah, okay, I get it, I was talking too much and you’re too occupied with thinking of that cute shop assistant you just met”, Baekhyun sighs.

“How did you-” Kyungsoo starts, obviously feeling very surprised, “No, I mean-”

“Kyungsoo, you’ve been in a daze ever since you left the store. And I saw you talking to that guy, you looked even more awkward than you usually do. And that’s a lot.”

“Gee, thanks”, Kyungsoo mutters sarcastically. “And I did listen to you at first, and I’m sorry that shop owner dude was taken, okay?”

“I’m sure you are. Well, I forgive you. I guess I could concentrate a bit on your issues, too.”

“What issues?” Kyungsoo asks confusedly.

“How you’re gonna go back there and charm the pants off of that one guy, of course!” Baekhyun exclaims as if it was obvious.

“Charm the- what?” Kyungsoo repeats, face turning into a lovely shade of poppy.

“Yeah. I may be a bit disappointed, but I’m not gonna let that stop me from helping you finally get a date”, Baekhyun continues, patting Kyungsoo on the shoulder.

“Well, but, I don’t know if I’m-”

“Shh, you know what,” Baekhyun interrupts, “it’s gonna be easy. Just go back there sometime and talk to him. Compliment him, start a conversation, ask about his interests, get to know him better.”

Kyungsoo sighs.

“That might be easy to you but it’s not to me. I can’t even talk to people, I made a fool out of myself when I talked to him today”, he complains, putting his face in his hands.

“If you just follow my advise it’s gonna be fine”, Baekhyun persists, “I have this list of pick-up lines here that you can use as an inspiration.”

He starts doing something on his phone, and soon Kyungsoo’s pocket vibrates, indicating that Baekhyun sent him a message. It’s a link, and when Kyungsoo opens it it turns out to be a website dedicated to pick-up lines. He wonders if it’s really a good idea to use these, some of them are just downright creepy, but since Baekhyun suggested him to… He could at least try.

 

A week later Kyungsoo finds himself in the mall again, this time on his own. He’s dressed up for the occasion, wearing some of his most fashionable clothes. Or, rather, his least boring ones. He’s here to impress, after all. What he’s about to do feels incredibly nerve-racking, but he’s determined. He’s going to try.

Kyungsoo enters the shop and starts looking around, trying to find Kim Jongin. When he spots him, the shop assistant is unfortunately helping someone else, so Kyungsoo has to wait.

“Are you looking for something?” comes a lightly accented voice from behind him (is it a rule for all the employees in this shop to startle the hell out of their customers?) and Kyungsoo quickly turns around. He’s face to face - or rather, face to chest - with the tall shop owner. Looking at his name tag, it says Z.Tao in English, Kyungsoo remembers Baekhyun calling him Tao. He takes a step back.

“No, not really, I’m fine”, Kyungsoo says, and Tao smiles down at him.

“Alright, just tell me if you want help with anything”, he says, and Kyungsoo just nods. The shop owner then busies himself with arranging a shelf with different types of hats, and Kyungsoo starts walking away from him, feeling somewhat relieved. He then glances at Kim Jongin’s direction, and luckily the latter seems to be free.

“Oh, it’s you”, Kim Jongin utters when he spots Kyungsoo coming closer. Kyungsoo feels kind of happy over the shop assistant remembering him, but then he realises that it’s probably because he gave a really strange first impression last time they met.

“Are you still looking for a jacket? Do you need help with that?” Kim Jongin asks with a smile.

“Well, I don’t want to bother you but, uh, yeah”, Kyungsoo says, and Kim Jongin shakes his head.

“You’re not bothering me, this is what I’m here for after all”, he says, “and there’s a new collection I’d like to show you.”

He leads Kyungsoo to a display shelf with garments Kyungsoo can’t remember seeing last time.

“This is the new collection by our main designer, Wu Yifan”, Kim Jongin says and gestures to the items on the shelf, “the Galaxy Collection.”

Kyungsoo nods and the shop assistant grabs something from one of the hangers.

“Look at this”, he utters and holds up a jacket for Kyungsoo to see, “it’s mostly in black, but as you can see there are stars printed on the lower part of the sleeves, and here”, he motions to the back of the jacket, “it’s really a nice design. If you like stars, that is.”

Kyungsoo does think that the jacket is kind of pretty, but when the shop assistant started speaking about stars he immediately realised that this would be a perfect opportunity to use one of those cheesy pick-up lines. So, he takes a deep breath and tries to ignore how sweaty his palms suddenly feel.

“It’s nice, but now when we’re on the subject stars… your eyes, uh, stars, um… I mean, your dad-” Kyungsoo puts his hands to his face, “I can’t do it.”

“Uh, excuse me?” Kim Jongin asks politely and Kyungsoo’s glad he can’t see the other’s expression at the moment.

“Oh, forget that”, he replies, feeling like he just ruined his best chance to use one of Baekhyun’s lines. How is he even gonna do this if he can’t even say them? They’re so embarrassing… But they should work, since Baekhyun has managed to get people to date him several times…

“Er… are you alright?” Kyungsoo hears Kim Jongin’s voice again, and this time it’s closer, and suddenly he feels a hand on his shoulder. Wait, what-

Kyungsoo removes his hands from his face and spots Kim Jongin standing really close, looking at him with a concerned gaze. Kyungsoo feels his face heat up and tries not to do something dumb, like running away to hide behind a clothes rack or something equally stupid.

“I’m… I’m fine, sorry”, Kyungsoo says and shrugs, and Kim Jongin (unfortunately) lets go of his shoulder.

“Oh, that’s good then”, he smiles, and directs his gaze back to the jacket he’s still holding.

“So did you like it? I’m afraid it’s also a bit pricey, but…”

Kyungsoo eyes the price tag, yep, it’s definitely too pricey. He kinda gives up trying to find a jacket at this place, all of them are ridiculously expensive and not really his style either. However, he should still finish what he came here to do.

“I don’t know about that one, sorry”, he says, and when Kim Jongin returns the jacket to its original place on the hanger Kyungsoo mentally prepares himself for what he’s about to do.

“Hey, Kim Jongin”, he says, and the mentioned man turns around.

“Hm?”

“How… how come you are here and not working the runway, or having a photoshoot?”

Kim Jongin looks at him strangely.

“Wha-”

“Because I thought that’s where models belonged”, Kyungsoo continues and tried not to make it too apparent how embarrassed he’s feeling.

“Wh-what are you talking about, I’m not a model”, Kim Jongin says, “where’d you get that from?”

Kyungsoo internally sighs, Kim Jongin didn’t seem to get it was meant as a compliment.

“I mean you look like you’d be a model”, he states straightforwardly and Kim Jongin finally reacts.

“Oh. Um, thank you, I guess”, he says with a hesitant smile. Kyungsoo isn’t finished, though.

“So… This must be a museum, then.”

“What are you even-”

“Because you are truly a work of art.”

“I- What? I-is that a compliment, or how do you mean?” Kim Jongin stammers and Kyungsoo thinks it’s quite adorable even though he is currently kind of humiliating himself.

“Yeah.”

“Thank you, uh, you’re… not so bad yourself?” Kim Jongin says, blush apparent on his cheeks. It suits him pretty well.

“So how many guys do I have to wait behind?”

“Wait behind? There’s no queue, I mean, I’m currently helping you? What are you talking about?” Kim Jongin says obliviously and Kyungsoo feels his own face redden after saying all that. Does he dare answer him? What if Kim Jongin thinks he’s creepy? What if he doesn’t like guys? What if he tells the shop owner; that guy looks kinda strong. Definitely like someone who could punch him so hard he’d fly out of the entire mall and land on the parking lot, face first.

On the other hand, Kim Jongin hasn’t reacted negatively yet. He’s mostly become a bit embarrassed. And Baekhyun said these pick-up lines would work, so…

“Never mind.”

“Okay, but… um, do you want to check out some of the other jackets, or…?”

Kyungsoo doesn’t answer, instead he’s eyeing the outfit Kim Jongin is wearing today. It’s a bit simpler than last time. A red and white striped t-shirt made from a thick material, and a pair of black grunge-y trousers. A really tight pair. Kyungsoo swallows.

“Are… Are those space trousers?” he asks, and Kim Jongin looks at him questioningly.

“What, you mean from the Galaxy collection? Then, no-”

“Because-” Kyungsoo cuts himself off to mumble “god, I can’t do this” under his breath, this is too humiliating, he’ll be banned from entering this shop-

“Because your legs look out of this world”, he finally says. Kim Jongin looks at him with wide eyes.

“Oh my god. Are you flirting with me?” he finally seems to realise with a face as red as Baekhyun’s newly dyed tomato hair.

“Well,” Kyungsoo looks down, feeling his own face turn into a colour similar to Kim Jongin’s, “…yeah.”

The shop assistant just stares at him with rosy cheeks, and Kyungsoo doesn’t know what to do. What even is the appropriate thing to do in this situation? Kim Jongin seems kind of shocked after all. Kyungsoo decides to try another shot at those lines.
He loudly clears his throat,

“Well, I know it’s not leather, but do you know what this is made of?” Kyungsoo points to his shirt, and Kim Jongin shakes his head slowly.

“Cotton?”

“No. Or, well, it might be but”, Kyungsoo stutters, feeling incredibly unsmooth, “the answer is boyfriend material.”

It is quiet for a second and Kyungsoo deeply regrets opening his mouth, but then Kim Jongin breaks out in laughter.

“I-I’m sorry but”, he says between loud chuckles, trying to keep his tone steady, “b-but you’re so, pfft, so cute.”

“I…” Kyungsoo starts but doesn’t really know what to say. Is it a compliment, or what?

“Haven’t you ever had someone flirt with you before?”

“Well, yeah, but… This is by far the most unique attempt”, Kim Jongin replies, body still shaking with laughter. “Did you even need a jacket or was it all something you came up with to get to talk to me?”

“Uh. It was… I do kind of need a jacket, but… I didn’t really plan to buy one here”, Kyungsoo says truthfully, “So, yes, the second option.”

Kim Jongin smiles widely.

“You’re so blunt. That is really cute”, he says, and Kyungsoo takes it in now, holy , this hot shop assistant called him cute.

“You think?”

“Yeah.”

“Well I think you’re kinda cute.”

“Evidently”, Kim Jongin says, smiling.

“So, um… You know I’d like to invite you over to my place, but I’m afraid you’re so hot that you’ll skyrocket my air-conditioning bill.”

“Oh my god. Haven’t heard that one before”, Kim Jongin says before giggling some more, yes, actually giggling.

“But I’ll have you know that I’ve lost my phone number, so I’ll gladly have yours”, Kyungsoo continues, he can’t stop using these pick-up lines now for some reason, they just keep flowing. He’s not even feeling as embarrassed anymore. Kim Jongin seemed to like it, after all.

“Okay, so that one I’ve heard before”, the shop assistant says, “but, uh, you are really cute and… I can imagine you put so much effort into this today and… yeah. Just… give me your phone.”

Kyungsoo almost smiles, success, he actually succeeded even though he was being so greasy, and reaches for his phone to hand to Kim Jongin.

When he’s done creating a contact for himself, Kim Jongin hands Kyungsoo’s phone back to him with a smile on his face.

“I have to say, I thought you were really… cute the first time you were here”, he says, “but it didn’t seem like you to use all of these cheesy pick-up lines.”

Kyungsoo feels himself relax.

“It’s, uh, it’s not really me, no. My friend told me to use them”, he says with a smile, a genuine smile.

“Well, you don’t have to use them. Being yourself should be enough. And, I think… that’s the first time I’ve seen you smile,” Kim Jongin says, “It’s really nice.”

Kyungsoo automatically brings his hand to his mouth. His face is already overheating, maybe he should leave before he explodes, or something.

“T-thank you, uh, I have to go-”

“Text me sometime”, Kim Jongin utters with a smile, and Kyungsoo turns around to walk away, but stops when he hears Kim Jongin’s voice again.

“Wait, one last thing,” he says. “Those trousers look nice on you. But they’d look even better at the end of my bed… after we’ve developed a long, meaningful, mutually satisfying relationship. Of course.”

Kyungsoo almost trips over his own feet.

 

(Later, when Kyungsoo tells Baekhyun about what happened at the shop Baekhyun looks at him, wide-eyed. “I didn’t mean for you to actually use those stupid pick-up lines!! They were just meant to be a source of inspiration! Oh my god, I can’t believe you actually did it-”)

 

a/n: i stole some of these terrible pick up lines from some random sites i found while googling. also, the first pick up line that kyungsoo can't bring himself to say is of course the classic "is your father a thief? because he must have stolen all the stars from the sky and put them in your eyes". hope you liked this!!