A/N: Reminder to read the text before looking at the pic for the best reading experience :) Enjoy ch 2!

- KJI - Young Dumb & Broke -

“Guys, I need to get a job.” It’s a harsh reality that Jongin needs to face.

They’re on the couch playing poker while Jongin eats pizza for a fourth meal in a row. “I thought your parents were against you getting a job while you’re in school because they want you to focus on your studies.” Sehun lays down a full house, besting Jongin’s pathetic pair of 8’s. “Yehet!” He throws his arms in the air in victory and swipes the last slice of pizza off Jongin’s plate.

“Yeah, well. I need more money.” Hush money for the girl next door, more cash to woo Kyungsoo. (Ah, just thinking of his name gives Jongin's heart a case of the flutters.)

- Oh so charming -

“My cousin was looking for someone to fill in at his workplace this weekend. Tried to rope me in, but I’m busy,” Chanyeol offers.

“What’s the job? Am I qualified?”

Yeol laughs. “Yeah, even an unskilled idiot like you can do this job.”

“Shut up, Dobby.”

"OW! Get off, dickwad, they're the source of my charms and they're SENSITIVE!"

- Slow day at the pizza parlor -

Kyungsoo drags himself into the parlor and sees Jongdae and Baekhyun sitting on the floor behind the counter, playing paper football with parmesan cheese packets and an empty pizza box with goal posts drawn on it. Not bothering to ask questions, he yanks off his cap and plops down with a sigh.

Dae elbows him. “You look sulky.”

“He always looks sulky.” Baek flicks the cheese packet and whoops as he nails a goal.

- Gotta find some way to pass the time -

“We haven’t had an order since 2pm. Hence our rousing game of football here. You want in?” He offers Kyungsoo a few cheese packets to flick.

“No." He turns one of the packets over in his palm, fidgeting. This is a sad way to spend a Saturday. "The lunch ‘rush’ was a bust. The tips . I barely made $20.” His favorite customer, Charitable Hottie, is the only one who treats him well, and he hasn’t ordered today. (Yet, at least. Kyungsoo’s holding out hope for dinnertime.)

- With friends like these... -

“I have an idea,” Dae says while lining up his flick. He nods toward Kyungsoo’s brown sedan outside. “Maybe go wash that turd of yours you call a car so it doesn’t look so pathetic. Give off a more polished feel.”

“Don’t make fun of my car.”

“We’d never, we love Poo-on-Wheels.”

“Aghhhh, at least I ~have~ a car, Baek!”

- Baek always has advice -

"Seriously, you've got at least half an hour before you'll have any more deliveries. Go to the car wash down the street."

"Isn’t it like $15??"

"Hey, you sometimes you gotta spend money to make money," Baekhyun says wisely. "Did my first piece of advice work, to focus on smiling more at your regulars?"

Kyungsoo recalls how this advice did lead to his favorite customer chatting more with him, not to mention a 30% tip. Slapping his cap back on, he gets up. "Ugh, fine, I’ll get a car wash."

- Working at the car wash -

Kyungsoo drives into the car wash lot and gets waved over by a worker. The guy points to an open spot on the right. “Pull all the way in and the gentleman over there will be right with you!”

He drives forward and nearly crashes into a tree when he sees the guy about to service him. Ho boy.

- Soo is slippin' up -

“Kyungsoo? Is that you?” The guy leans down on the open driver's side window, clearly surprised to see him. He's so close, Kyungsoo can't help but feel flustered.

“H-hi, Jongin.” Oh heaven help him, he looks like he’s gonna take off his shirt. Kyungsoo stares straight ahead instead of at his gorgeous pecs.

“Wait. You know my name?” Jongin asks, cutely tilting his head to the side.

Fff, he meant to forget it. Credit card holder's names print out on the parlor receipts, and Kyungsoo normally pays them no attention but this one just... stuck. Kyungsoo ~swears~ he isn’t trying to creep on the guy. That’s why he even mentally refers to him as Charitable Hottie. But some small, adoring part of his brain refuses to forget 'Jongin.'

“Uhhh, the guy at the front said a Jongin would be washing my car, so I figured…” he lies, blushing and continuing to avoid eye contact.

- Take your top off -

“Ah, ok."

In his periphery, Soo sees him jitter side to side awkwardly. God, why is he so cute ~and~ hot at the same time? He chances a glance to see if maybe Jongin's needing him to pay first or-- , he really did take off his shirt. Kyungsoo gulps and forces himself to meet the boy's eyes rather than stare at his toned abs.

"You're on your route?" Jongin asks, pointing to the light-up pizza sign affixed to the top of his car right now.

- Jongin's working hard ;) -

"Yeah, oops," Kyungsoo goes to remove the sign so it's not in the way, but Jongin's one step ahead of him. He hands it to him with a sweet smile, and Kyungsoo's mind is so focused on these Forearms-From-Heaven that he nearly drops it.

"Well just sit back and relax, and I’ll get you taken care of in no time!” Jongin says in friendly fashion. "Be sure to close your window so you don’t get wet.”

‘Too late,’ Kyungsoo thinks, squeezing his legs together as he rolls up the window and enjoys the front row show of Jongin scrubbing down the hood of his car in nothing but shorts.

- Teenage dream -

True to his word to get him back to his route swiftly, Jongin does an efficient job scrubbing his car. (Maybe too efficient. Kyungsoo wouldn’t have minded staying all afternoon having him hose him down.)

When Jongin’s finished, he knocks on the driver side window, soaked and slightly out of breath.

He's a literal wet dream.

- Boy deserves all the tips -

“How much do I owe you?” Kyungsoo manages to ask without drooling (much).

“It’s $15.”

Kyungsoo digs through his wallet and pulls out two tens and a five.

Jongin’s eyes bug out. “You can’t tip me $10.”

It catches Kyungsoo off guard. “What? Why not?”

Jongin actually whines, looking around uncomfortably like he can’t quite say what he wants to. “Because… because you just can’t.” He tries to hand the $10 bill back to Kyungsoo.

“Yes, I can.” Instead of taking the bill from Jongin’s outstretched hand, he curls Jongin’s fingers around it more tightly. “You’ve worked hard.”

- Onlookers at this car wash be like O_O -

“But I only tipped you $5 last time,” Jongin blurts out.

"And I only brought a box up to your doorstep. You had to put much more effort in,” Kyungsoo argues back.

They’ve been engaged in a playful push and pull with the ten dollar bill in question, hands locked together. They're both biting back smiles now as they try to outmaneuver each other.

Chuckling, Jongin uses his strength to push his hand into Kyungsoo’s car and drops the bill so it falls on his lap, but Kyungsoo keeps a grip on his wrist to prevent him from retreating and slaps the money directly onto Jongin’s chest. It sticks, due to the wet sheen on his skin, and Kyungsoo quickly rolls up his window while Jongin looks a bit shellshocked, staring back & forth between Kyungsoo and where his hand made contact with his bare pecs.

- (car emoji) (dash emoji) -

“Uh, thank you!” Kyungsoo yells through his closed window. Flustered, he hastily throws his car in reverse and peels out of the car wash lot. He’s blushing furiously, not sure what came over him. Everything was going fine, they were getting along great. And then he had to go and PAW AT HIS CHEST. What was he thinking, touching Jongin like that? Oh God, he’s so embarrassing. How’s he ever going to face him again?

He barges back into the pizza parlor, where his friends are back to work fixing orders.

“How was the car wash?” Baekhyun asks.

Without explanation, Kyungsoo walks up and whops him. “No more advice from you!”

- Soon… -

Jongin finishes the shift at the car wash and jogs home as fast as his legs can carry him. He’s got an envelope of cash from his earnings and one special bill held separately in his pocket. A quick trip next door to pay the middle-schooler for five more potpourri bags as promised, and then he’s hurrying to the shower.

“What’s the rush? Got a hot date?” Chanyeol asks when he sees Jongin rushing around the apartment.

“No. Not yet.” But hopefully soon.

- Pulling out all the stops -

He gets dolled up nicer than usual and does his hair, all before grabbing his phone so there’s no rush to look his best. “I’m ordering pizza,” he lets his roommates know.

“Again? Come on, that can’t be good for your abs, bro,” Sehun tsks.

“He’s hoping it’ll be good for his ,” Yeol interjects.

“Oh… the delivery boy? Still hung up on him?”

“Get your sweaty- basketball shorts in the washing machine,” Jongin scolds, avoiding the question as he tosses his own dirty clothes into the machine. “I’ll do them with my load.” He opens up the fresh potpourri and dumps it into a bowl to start working its magic.

“You’re offering to do my laundry?” Sehun asks incredulously. “Wtf is going on here…” he wonders, getting up to take advantage of the once-in-a-lifetime offer.

With determination, Jongin dials in another order for a meat lovers pizza and waits.

- Through the peep hole -

*Ding dong*

Jongin checks the peephole first this time before opening the door. Omg, Kyungsoo’s on the porch stop and fingercombing through his hair, resettling his cap back on his head, almost like he’s… grooming nervously before seeing him.

Jongin’s heartrate skyrockets, giddy. This is it, this is it. He opens the door with a big smile.

“Hey, Kyungsoo.”

- Nervous tics -

“Jongin.” He replies, cute smile and cheeks dusted pink.

Halp, he’s lost all command of the English language. Uhh…. “Fancy seeing you here again.”