~~~

12:00 PM

Pacing back and forth outside the shop, Jongin bites his lip anxiously. The retro looking sign hanging above the cake shop he’s visited all too many times blows in the wind and he zips his jacket, cursing himself for leaving his backpack in his locker after storming out of school earlier. But then again, he’d much, much rather stand out in the cold and freeze his behind off than run back to school to fetch his (relatively empty) backpack and risk running into a certain redhead (in all honesty, Jongin can’t even bring himself to say his name) in the process.

The door to his right swings open and a mother exits the shop with her young son. At first, Jongin doesn’t pay them any attention and is about to shiver again when a cold gust of wind passes, but he snaps his head to the side to look at them when he notices the son has a mop of red hair on top of his head. It’s definitely not as bright and overly saturated as Baekhyun’s is, for sure, but despite that, Jongin can’t help the feeling of dread that nags at his brain at the sight, and he forces himself to look in the opposite direction.

Jongin listens (and watches) as the mother and son make their way towards the garage, to their car which is parked somewhere Jongin couldn’t care less about, before swallowing the lump in his throat and kicking a pebble lying by his shoe.

He most certainly doesn’t regret it. In fact, Jongin won’t deny that he felt, and still does, an enormous sense of relief when he confronted Baekhyun (come to think of it, Jongin doesn’t think he was harsh enough), and that, combined with the fact that Sehun admitted to not hiding anything from him yesterday, makes Jongin feel like a giant weight has been lifted off of his shoulders and he fights the urge to break out into a gigantic grin. Speaking of which, Jongin hopes he permanently damaged Baekhyun's hair and phone for good.

After three more more minutes of waiting, Jongin quickly grows impatient and pulls out his phone. It’s nearly completely out of charge despite the fact that he charged it all night, and he curses the guy at the repair shop for damaging his battery.

To: Sehunnie~

i’m here now!!! where are you???

Pressing ‘Send’, Jongin watches a few more people leave the shop before running a hand through his hair, and the urge to sink his teeth into a strawberry cake (or cupcake) grows even stronger when he inhales Jungah’s hairspray. Except the feeling is short lived, as it’s quickly replaced by a feeling of anguish when Jongin is suddenly reminded of what Baekhyun said about his hair earlier - the same exact remark Sehun gave him yesterday.

For some reason, the two thoughts clash and the next thing Jongin knows, he’s imagining a scenario in which Baekhyun is crying his eyes out to Sehun after what happened an hour earlier, to which Sehun replies by enveloping the redhead in a reassuring embrace. Jongin knows he’s overreacting, in fact, he knows the possibility of that ever happening is pretty much non existent, but he can’t squash the feeling of dread that coils in his stomach anyway. The idea of Sehun ditching him and choosing to stay behind and comfort Baekhyun instead is enough to make Jongin nauseous and he’s so deep in thought that he nearly gets run over by a cyclist.

Did I annoy him yesterday? Jongin thinks, eyebrows furrowed in thought. He pulls out his phone and bites his lip when he doesn’t see any new texts from Sehun. In fact, the latter hasn’t even read his recent message, which is all the brunet needs to unlock his phone and type out another text. Maybe I didn’t add enough hearts.

To: Sehunnie~

i could order you a cake if you want ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ :3 how does a strawberry one sound???

Putting his phone away, Jongin shoves the thought of whether or not the shop sells cupcakes away before brushing his hands together and walking towards the doors, and not because he needs a way to distract himself from the Sehun-Baekhyun thoughts plaguing his mind, but because he’s absolutely starving, his empty stomach is threatening to digest itself from the inside out and he hates standing out in the cold looking like an unoccupied loser. Or at least so he tries convincing himself.

~

A bell jingles above his head when he swings the door open all the way, and Jongin is immediately hit in the face with a blast of heat when the warmth from the shop engulfs him. It’s cozy, for sure, almost like the bubble tea shop, and he quickly s his jacket before he has a chance to die of heatstroke and he tucks it under his arm.

Looking up (and doing his best to block out the cheesy pop song that’s blaring through the speakers), he squints his eyes when he tries to make out the writing on the blackboard hanging above the counter. He’s never been able to properly make out what’s on the menu due to the pink letters and overly squiggly, girly handwriting, but he’s visited this place so many times that he doesn’t even need to spare the menu a glance anymore - he pretty much knows it like the back of his hand.

Walking up to the counter, Jongin feels his lips curl upwards when he sees the girl behind the counter; Jessica, an old friend of his, whom he practically grew up with all throughout sixth, seventh and eighth grade until she had to leave for college in England three years ago, and to say he’s surprised to see her right here, right now, would be a huge understatement. She hasn’t changed a bit; long, blonde hair, the same bright eyed look on her face and upon closer inspection, Jongin notices she’s even grown a little bit taller. In fact, she’s nearly surpassed him height wise, and he doesn’t know how to feel about that. All in all, she’s just as pretty as she was all those years ago and Jongin sends her a nod when she looks up and finally spots him.

“Jongin!” she squeals, leaning over the counter to give him a hug. Her hugs haven’t changed at all and the brunet nearly chuckles. “How’ve you been?” she adds and once again, her voice hasn’t changed either, which Jongin is thankful for.

Smiling sheepishly, Jongin shrugs before looking behind him. No sign of Sehun, or anyone, for that matter, which makes him a little glad because that means he gets to talk to her a little while longer. “, it’s been a while,” he chuckles before shoving his hands in his pockets. “And I’m uh, I’m good. Took a test today which I definitely failed but other than that everything’s top notch.” He shoots her a bright smile to which she replies with an equally bright one. “You?”

“It has! And oh, I’m just dandy, thanks,” Jessica replies before grabbing a cake knife. “What can I get for you today?” she asks, gesturing to the many, many assortments of chocolate, cupcakes, cakes and cookies on display by Jongin’s feet.

Blinking at the change in subject, Jongin presses his lips together. “I’ll have a...uh,” he mumbles, eyes trailing over the hundreds of pastries before him. He finally spots an attractive, chocolate cake that reminds him of a miniature wedding cake. “That one.” He points to it and watches as she nods before bending down and easily scooping it up on a spatula-looking object he doesn’t know the name of.

“Here you go,” Jessica beams, placing the brown cake on a plate and putting it on the counter, sliding it towards him. She puts a hand in the air when Jongin proceeds to rummage through his pockets. “No, no, don’t be silly, this one’s on the house,” she adds and giggles when the brunet’s mouth falls wide open.

“What? But I-” Jongin clears his throat before running a hand through his hair. He can only mutter a ‘thanks’ as he grabs the plate. “But..I mean, your boss-”

“He’ll understand, I mean, what’s a little cake among friends, anyway?” Jessica asks before checking her phone. “And hey, I’m on break for half an hour and the place is rather dead as of right now, so how about we sit down and catch up?” She proceeds to remove her white, velvet mittens (in all honesty, Jongin doesn’t know what café forces their employees to wear fancy clothing) before gesturing to a table for two. She blinks when she sees the hesitant look on the brunet’s face. “What’s the problem?”

Clearing his throat, Jongin reaches for his phone. Nothing from Sehun, not even a call or a text, and it’s not until he looks behind his shoulder, only to see nobody of interest, that he mentally mutters a ‘ it’ before walking over to the table, Jessica following suit. He places the plate, which is surprisingly heavy for such a small cake, on the surface and sits down, and watches as she proceeds to slide into the seat across from him.

“So,” Jessica says, clapping and brushing her hands together. “How’s the hockey going? Any new wins, like usual? Or have you given up and moved on to basketball?”

Cutting himself a large slice, Jongin stuffs it into his mouth and is barely able to stifle the moan of pleasure that leaves his mouth when the sweet taste of cocoa tickles his tastebuds. “Uh, I quit, actually,” he says between chews. He’s surprisingly chirpy given that they’re discussing the sport, and he blames it on the cake.

Jessica’s mouth falls open in surprise. “Really? When?”

“A while ago,” Jongin says simply, crossing his legs under the table. He shoves another spoonful of cake in his mouth and takes a sip of water because holy , does this stuff make you thirsty.

“Why? I mean, no offense or anything, but like,” Jessica starts, resting her head on her hands. She’s staring at him with a doe-like expression on her face and it almost reminds Jongin of Jungah. “Last time I checked, you were all out there, winning trophy after trophy and medal after medal, it just...Jesus. Are you still friends with your teammates? I can’t remember their names.”

Jongin chuckles. She’s just as talkative as she’s always been, and even though he’s known her for quite a while, he decides not to tell her about the real reason he quit. Not to mention he figures she wouldn’t really understand, anyway. “Got kinda tired of it, I mean I had played for four years in a row, so,” he says between loud chews and covers his mouth with a chuckle when Jessica makes a disgusted face. “Sorry.” He swallows. “And I kind of distanced myself from Minseok and Yixing as soon as I left.”

Rolling her eyes, Jessica takes a sip of Jongin’s water, ignoring the latter’s squawk of surprise. “What? You always stole my fries when we had lunch together,” she says simply before brushing her hands together. “Anyway, that , you really seemed to love it. Hey, did you ever get to mastering that weird, advanced shot thingy?” she adds, adjusting her apron.

“You mean a slapshot?” Jongin laughs, downing the remainder of his water before she has a chance to. “And yeah, I mean, even after I quit I sort of kept at it, thanks to YouTube and stuff,” he mumbles, picking up his spoon. “When’d you start working here, anyway?”

“Last month, this place has really gone downhill ever since they decided to take that rainbow cake thing off their menu last year, for them,” Jessica says unapologetically before reaching out and ruffling Jongin’s hair. “Your hair’s so coarse, man, you been rolling around in a sandbox lately?”

Jongin squawks. “My sister helped me dye it earlier this week,” he says. “She’s not the best barber, but yeah, I was a blond last week, it was goddamn awful,” he adds with a chuckle. “How’s England, by the way?”

“You as a blond?” Jessica gapes before bursting into laughter. “Damn it, that’s a sight I’d like to see.” She puts her hands in her lap. “And it’s pretty cool, coming back to work was a good idea, if I do say so myself. College got a little tiring after a while, but hey, at least English men are something,” she adds. “I'm seeing this English guy at the moment, he's pretty cool, you should meet him sometime!” She cackles when Jongin blinks. "You’re good too, don’t worry."

“Gee, thanks,” Jongin mumbles sarcastically before shovelling a huge piece of cake in his mouth. He hasn’t felt his phone buzz in ages and he swallows the chocolate-y goodness, along with the lump in his throat.

“Speaking of men,” Jessica says, leaning in. “It’s kinda weird not seeing you with Baekhyun or Jongdae attached to your hip, just saying.” She leans back in her seat and stretches a little. “I mean, we rarely saw each other at school but when we did, you always had them hot on your heel. In fact, I had to do a double take and assure myself it was you when you first came in since I couldn’t see those two rascals anywhere,” she adds with a laugh.

“They’re both at school right now,” Jongin mumbles. At the mention of the redhead’s name, he instantly feels his gut churn hotly and his brain is screaming at him to change the subject completely. “Anyway.”

Jessica nods a little before her eyes light up. “Hey, does the name Kim Junmyeon ring a bell to you?” she asks, crossing her legs under the table.

Blinking in surprise, Jongin nods, maybe a little too ecstatically. “Yeah?”

“I don’t know if you know anything about your school’s football team,” Jessica starts, pulling out her phone, and Jongin nearly laughs right in her face, “but I follow Junmyeon on Instagram and he posted this at like three in the morning.” She waits for her Instagram app to load before practically shoving her phone in Jongin’s face.

  kimmjunmyeon12345678

Liked by chanyeollieeeeee and 235 others

NATIONALS NEXT MONTH!!!!!!! YEAH WE DID IT 🎉🎉 #thatlosers #👏👏👏👏 #stardiumwerethebest

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chanyeollieeeeee were the best woooooooooooooo yas 

kimmjunmyeon12345678 @chanyeollieeeeee dude wtf

Dear God, that username. “Why does he caption his pictures like a fifth grader,” Jongin mumbles before chuckling a little. “And Nationals? Holy , that’s so ing cool, must be a dream come true for them,” he adds and feels his chest swell with proudness because he very, very vaguely remembers overhearing from some random person three years ago that going to Nationals is Sehun’s number one goal. He figures he should text Sehun and tell him, but he figures Sehun already knows. “Why do you follow Junmyeon anyway?”

Putting her phone down, Jessica shrugs. “I had like, the tiniest crush on him in high school,” she says with a chuckle before waving her hands in the air. “Not anymore, obviously, since he gives me jock vibes whenever I see a picture of him, but yeah.” She drums her fingers on the table. “And yeah, not to mention I think he’s trying way, way too hard to hide the fact that he’s gay, but that’s just me. ”

Nearly choking on the piece of cake in his mouth, Jongin blinks. “Really? How so?”

“I dunno, it’s just that, y’know, for some reason, nowadays football tends to be synonymous for ‘not gay in the very slightest’, and I think people like Junmyeon take that a little too much to heart,” Jessica says before she snorts. “Speaking of which, I think that dude, his friend, what’s his name again? , I forgot.” She knits her eyebrows together in irritation. "Been so long since I last saw them all."

Jongin blinks, avoiding her eyes. “Park Chanyeol?”

Jessica snaps her head up. “Yeah!” She shakes her head in amusement. “I think it’s the same thing with him. As in, he’s obviously gay, but I’ve heard he definitely doesn’t try as hard to hide it as Junmyeon does,” she adds with a laugh. “It’s sad, really. I follow Chanyeol, too, by the way, for some reason, and Sehun doesn't have Instagram anymore from what I've heard, so."

Gripping his glass, Jongin bites his lip. He’s pretty sure he looks calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside, his emotions and senses are going haywire and he hopes Jessica doesn’t notice. Despite that, he sits up straighter in his chair and clears his throat. “What about that other guy?” he asks casually, running a hand through his hair.

“'That other guy'?” Jessica mimics in Jongin’s voice, laughing a little. “As blunt as you were in seventh grade, my friend.”

“I forgot his name,” Jongin lies, gripping the glass even tighter. “Se...Se-something.” He looks up and blinks when Jessica raises an eyebrow. “You should know this!”

“Why me?” Jessica retorts. “I had a crush on Junmyeon, not Chanyeol and his friends,” she tuts before closing her eyes, apparently deep in thought. She suddenly opens them, a newfound glint in her eyes. “You mean Oh Sehun?”

Ignoring the way his heart skips a beat, Jongin nods casually. “Yeah. D’you know anything about him?” he asks, deliberately avoiding her eyes.

“I mean, I was mainly invested in Junmyeon, but, I mean, I guess,” Jessica says. “Why?”

“No reason,” Jongin blurts out and mentally slaps himself in the face. “Just curious.”

Jessica tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. “I mean, I never saw him but Jesus, the way girls would talk about him, it was practically unavoidable,” she giggles. “This may be a little too much, but one time I went to the bathroom and I you not, I heard a female voice Sehun’s name over and over.” She pauses to let out a loud cackle when Jongin’s eyes fly open in shock. “I know right? God, I high-tailed it right outta there, to say the least. He’s popular with the ladies, that’s for sure,” she adds and blinks when she sees the horrified expression on Jongin’s face. “You , he wasn’t in there with her, obviously!”

Snapping out of his trance, Jongin clears his throat. “Yeah, I know that,” he says, bringing the glass to his lips even though he knows it’s empty. He seriously wishes Jessica hadn’t told him that about Sehun because he can feel every nerve in his entire body crawl with uneasiness and disgust. But he reminds himself to keep it cool on the outside, anyway, and puts the glass back down. “Since you think Junmyeon and Chanyeol are gay, do you think he is, too?”

Jessica raises an eyebrow. “Sehun? Gay?” she asks and stares at Jongin like he’s grown a second head. “Definitely not. Why do you ask?”

Swallowing, Jongin shrugs. “...Nothing.”

“I mean I don’t know, dude,” Jessica says defensively. “I barely even saw Sehun anywhere, I kinda wish I did, though, since he seemed really cool, but yeah, like I said, I was mainly invested in getting Junmyeon to notice me, which never really worked for obvious reasons,” she adds with a laugh. “I mean, Junmyeon seemed a lot cooler than Sehun since, well...yeah.”

Fully invested, Jongin leans in and rests his head on his hand, even though he’d much rather stand up and run away. “Why?”

“You haven’t heard?” Jessica asks, eyes wide in astonishment. “Sehun’s like, a loner. To the max. I know, it sounds hard as hell to believe since he’s surrounded by girls and his team 24/7 but yeah, based on what I’ve heard, he has like, zero friends. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s never had a girlfriend since I’m pretty sure he’s the insecure type, but then again, I know next to nothing about him. He’s graduating this year, isn’t he? You’ve seen him around, I suppose?”

Jongin blinks. He knows Sehun has never dated in his life, save for him, but Sehun??? A loner??? He absolutely refuses to believe it, although he can’t quite bring himself to explain why. “That’s...weird. And uh, yeah, I have,” is all he says before stabbing at his plate with his spoon, and it takes him an embarrassingly long time to realize his plate is empty. “Oh.”

Chuckling, Jessica shakes her head. “That boy cares way too much about his sport, unlike Junmyeon and Chanyeol. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they all love football but Sehun, he’s a special snowflake,” she says before gesturing to Jongin’s plate. “Want another one? Free of charge, of course.”

Jongin shakes his head. He’d much rather not eat another cake, because he’s feeling rather sick for whatever reason. “What do you mean by 'special'?” he asks, trying to sound casual, although he wouldn’t be surprised if he sounds rather desperate.

“As in, he literally prioritizes football over anything else, even his ‘friends’,” Jessica says, making quotation marks with her fingers at the last word. “Since y’know, he’s really not that close with Junmyeon and Chanyeol from what I’ve heard, I think they just stick together because they're the three best players on the team. Anyway, I actually heard he asked this girl out in ninth grade only for her to dump him like, a month later because he’d spend all day training at the stadium instead of spending time with her. ty, huh?” She shakes her head in disbelief. “I hate those types of people, don’t you?”

Jongin clears his throat. “I...guess?”

“I mean, I’m not calling him a douchebag or anything, it’s just that, well yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s why he’s never had a real girlfriend before, but then again, I left that place two years ago and I have no idea how much things have changed,” Jessica says before chuckling a little. “But yeah, he’s pretty darn lonely, which honestly isn’t a surprise to me. But hey, maybe he’s dating at the moment, who knows?” she adds with a shrug.

Fighting the urge to scream, Jongin nods slowly. His phone hasn’t buzzed in what feels like years and he shrugs. “Who knows.”

“In that case, he better have changed and moved on from who he was last year, at least,” Jessica says before brushing some dust off her apron. “I hope he mans up and learns to prioritize love over his sport, otherwise that boy’s gonna be lonely for the rest of his life. Hey, by the way, since it’s been so long since I last visited the school, what do they look like?” She leans in, closer to Jongin, an interested glint in her bright blue eyes.

Leaning away a little, Jongin blinks. “Uh, Junmyeon had reddish hair last year but he looks roughly the same as he did in the picture, and uh, Chanyeol hasn’t changed a bit, I mean, I never really saw him until this year, and Sehun...he looks...the same, I guess? I mean-” He cuts himself off when he sees how Jessica is staring not at him, but past his shoulder, and he fights the urge to turn around. “Uh.”

Looking back at Jongin, Jessica shakes her head. “Sorry, go on.”

“What is it?” Jongin asks, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Nothing, it’s just...there’s this weird kid over by the door who looks pissed off as hell,” Jessica says before rolling her eyes. “I freaking hate rude people,” she adds before smiling at Jongin. “Anyway, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sehun looks the same, he seems like the type to despise change.”

Jongin blinks. “Really?”

“It’s just a feeling I get based off of what I’ve heard people say about him. Don’t take my word for it,” Jessica mumbles. “And God damn it, I miss that place now, I should visit soon!” she squeals, rubbing Jongin’s shoulder, before she averts her gaze and bites his lip in irritation. “That darn kid, won’t stop staring.”

Chuckling, Jongin shakes his head because Jessica has always had a certain dislike towards children. He doesn’t dare turn around, though, in fear of its Mother noticing them both gawking at her child. That’d be awkward. “You really should visit someday, it’s rather empty without you,” he says before reaching out and untangling her long, pearl earring from her silky smooth hair. “And quit staring, staring back at ‘em will only make kids gawk even more,” he adds with a small laugh.

“I guess that’s one way to put it,” Jessica grumbles before rolling her eyes. “Anyway, heck yeah, I think I’ll visit sometime during the Summer, how about that? Then you can show me how much the football team has changed over the years and hey, maybe you’ll have rejoined the hockey team, who knows.” She sends him a small wink to which Jongin replies with a low chuckle.

“Yeah, maybe,” Jongin says absentmindedly and reaches out, lightly tapping the side of Jessica’s face when she averts her gaze again. “Hey, I know you hate children but just stop staring and they’ll eventually get bored and go back to their own business.” He shakes his head in amusement and he’s suddenly reminded why he and Jessica clicked from the very start. Same old Jessica.

Jessica raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t actually mean it was a-”

“What do you even remember?” Jongin asks and he watches as Jessica reaches across the table before picking up some leftover icing on his plate with his spoon. He doesn’t feel nearly as sick as he’d felt earlier, for some reason, and he kind of craves a second cake but he doesn’t want to bother her by asking for another one so he stays silent. Not to mention he’ll spoil his appetite and his Father will throw a fit if he comes home with a full stomach.

Shoving the spoon into , Jessica shrugs before putting it back down on the plate. “Not much. Of the football team, I persume you mean,” she says, brushing her hands together and checking her watch. “My break ends in two minutes, so I’ll make it quick. All I remember is-”

“Of Sehun, that is,” Jongin blurts out before he can stop himself. “Sorry. That was weird, sorry-”

“No, it’s fine, I remember how often you’d blurt out the answer during lessons back then,” Jessica giggles. “The wrong answer, that is,” she adds and lets out a laugh when Jongin squawks. “Anyway, I don’t remember much of good ol’ Sehun, except that he was awfully tall. And you’ll smudge my lipstick, cut it out,” she groans when Jongin reaches across the table and proceeds to wipe away some chocolate frosting in the corner of .

“You can’t go back to taking orders with icing all over your face, you nitwit,” Jongin says but there’s no bite in his voice. “And tall? That’s it?” he asks in confusion, sitting back down and rubbing his thumb on his sleeve.

Jessica shrugs. “Well yeah, you can’t blame me, I never saw his face. Probably because I was too busy ogling Junmyeon but yeah, whatever,” she says with an eyeroll, carefully tapping her lips to make sure her makeup hasn’t smeared. “And holy , that kid over there keeps staring at me, I’m beginning to think he’s blind or something,” she adds lowly, biting her lip in anger, and Jongin hopes to God she doesn’t stand up and walk over and strangle said kid because the last thing he wants is for his friend to be arrested for child murder.

“He probably thinks you’re cute,” Jongin laughs, tracing invisible patterns into the tablecloth. “If only I had some cake left, I’d give him some to make him quit staring,” he adds with a chuckle. “Hey, by the way-”

“I most certainly hope he doesn’t, he definitely isn’t my type,” Jessica says in a grossed out tone, turning her attention back to Jongin, who laughs a little. “His eyebrows look way too girly,” she huffs before nodding. “What were you gonna say?”

“That’s no way to talk about a child,” Jongin tuts before letting out a loud laugh. “He might suffer from low self esteem when he grows up,” he adds, uncrossing his legs under the table and muttering a low ‘sorry’ when his leg accidentally rubs against her bare one.

“No problem, you’ve always been clumsy as hell,” Jessica sniggers before checking the time on her phone one last time and moving to stand up. She quickly sits back down and grabs Jongin’s wrist, a sort of panicked look in her eyes. “Jesus Jongin, can you go tell him to get lost, he’s honestly scaring me.”

Jongin raises an eyebrow in amusement. “You’re not honestly letting yourself be spooked by him, are you? His Mother must be around here somewhere, don’t worry, Jesus,” he chuckles, placing a reassuring hand on top of hers. “Doesn’t your shift start like, now?” he adds, moving to stand up himself, but he quickly fails when he realizes both of his legs have fallen asleep. Damn everything. "Jess, help me up,” he says dramatically, reaching out to her.

“He’s staring at me like he’s about to walk over here and murder me,” Jessica mumbles, an alert glint in her eyes, before quickly standing up and grabbing Jongin’s hand, easily pulling him to his feet. She places a steady hand on his waist so he doesn’t topple over. “You okay?”

Jongin nods and stands in the same place for a few seconds, not really wanting to leave. “Uh, you have my number, right? We should keep in touch,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck.

With a bright smile, Jessica mumbles something along the lines of ‘probably, lemme check’ before pulling out her phone and scrolling through her contacts list. “You haven’t changed your number, have you?” she asks when Jongin, who momentarily shakes his head, leans in closer to get a better view of the screen. “Aha, here you are,” she says, stopping and pointing to the first contact under the letter ‘J’. “That’s you, right?”

“How many other ‘Kim Jongin’s do you know?” Jongin asks teasingly and yelps when Jessica smacks him in the arm. “I’m just kidding, Jess,” he chuckles, shoving his hands in his pockets. “As sensitive as always,” he jokingly mutters and yelps again when Jessica smacks him a second time. “Hey, can’t you take a joke?!”

Jessica rolls her eyes. “No,” she says simply before the sound of the bell above the door jingling fills the air and she sighs, pressing her lips together. “Customers are starting to trickle in, I gotta get back to work,” she huffs before shooting the brunet a bright grin. “It was so nice talking to you, though, you haven’t changed at all, and I mean that in a good way.” She chuckles when Jongin blinks.

“You too,” Jongin says with a grin before leaning in and embracing her. “Thanks for the free cake, by the way, I owe you.” She smells like coconut and he absolutely loves the scent. He furrows his eyebrows when she tenses under his touch. “...What is it?”

“Jongin, seriously, can you do something about him, he’s been standing over there for ages and hasn’t moved an inch,” Jessica whispers in Jongin’s ear so nobody else will hear, and huffs in annoyance when Jongin only chuckles. “Seriously, he looks like he’s about to murder me any second, I'm about to go crazy! He’ll scare away the customers.”

Unable to believe that Jessica is seriously letting herself be freaked out by a child, Jongin shakes his head in amusement. “You need to get over this strange fear of yours, it’s sorta weird,” he mumbles against her hair, which also smells like coconut. It’s silky smooth under his touch, almost like velvet. Upon closer inspection, he notices she’s got some pink icing stuck to one of the strands and he carefully removes it.

“At least tell him to stop staring at me,” Jessica whisper-yells into Jongin’s ear before the latter slowly lets go. “I’m not asking you to fist fight him, just...make him go away or at least look somewhere else because he’s been staring right at me for the past fifteen minutes,” she adds, eyes roaming around in obvious discomfort while gripping Jongin’s sleeve tightly.

Is she for real. “Fine, fine,” Jongin chuckles after realizing she is, indeed, serious, and he bends down to pick up the empty plate. “Just let me-” He jumps a little when Jessica whacks him in the arm. “What?”

“Nevermind that, I’ll do it later, just-” Jessica starts, running a hand through her hair in distress. “Do something about him already, he’s creeping me the out, damn it.”

Jongin puts his hands up in defeat. “Fine, but isn’t it a little embarrassing for a grown- man to walk up to a kid and tell him to stop staring? I mean, children stare all the time, it doesn’t necessarily have to mean they wanna murder you,” he says, staring at her in both confusion and amusement when she continues to avert her gaze. “What if his Mother spots me chewing him out, she’ll kill me,” he adds only half jokingly.

Jessica raises an eyebrow in confusion. “What? It’s not actually a ki-”

“Hell, I’ll even hold your hand if it makes you feel better,” Jongin chuckles before grabbing Jessica’s hand and misses the way she blinks in confusion. “Just so you know, if we get caught by his Mother, you’re doing the talking for me,” he adds before turning on his heel.

He’s more than ready to “confront” said child, and thus scar him for life in front of his Mother, but he furrows his eyebrows in confusion when he sees the shop is relatively empty. Now that Jongin thinks about it, there isn’t a single child in sight. The heck.

Jongin is halfway through questioning Jessica’s sanity when he, for some reason, averts his gaze so he’s looking at the small area right across from them, the cozy reading area with the bookshelves, and nearly collapses in surprise.

~~~