It was a Monday afternoon when Johnny received the most adorable text message he'd ever seen in his life. 

yoo hi my name is mark lee!!! im a freshman at morrisville state and i heard you sell weed? haha um i kinda wanna buy some?? sorry im kinda new to this so idk how to do it or anything haha

sorry this is so awkward haha

Johnny smiled. School had just started up again a few weeks ago, which meant it was time for all of the incoming freshman who had always been restricted by living at their parents houses to try all of the things they couldn't before: binge drinking, casual ing, and of course, weed. Johnny didn't mind selling to freshman. It was rare that they had all that much experience with weed, so they wouldn't usually try to bargain for a lower price. Plus, Johnny liked being able to set them on a good path: for all its benefits weed was still a drug, after all, and he liked to make sure they knew what they were doing and didn't develop a dependency or addiction. He also found it fun to try and find the most fitting type for their needs.

Of course, he still screened everyone. Johnny could read texts like a book and if the person he was selling to seemed like an undercover cop or a frat boy, he wouldn't even bother to meet. Then there was the initial in person meeting to see if it was a good fit and a lot of the time, the freshman didn't pass: he could tell they wouldn't be able to use it healthily just yet. This wasn't the first of those texts this year, for sure, but something about it was so incredibly sincere, that Johnny already had a good feeling about this Mark Lee kid. 

dont worry dude, youre doing everything just right so far. dont feel weird. im happy to sell to you but i screen all my customers first, so whats a good time? we'll just be talking at a starbucks

So he and the freshman organized a good time and place to meet and discuss, just as Taeil came over and nuzzled his head in the crook of Johnny's shoulder. 

"What's up?" 

"Organizing a meet up with a potential new customer." 

"Ooh! What's he like?" 

"Here." Johnny just smiled and handed Taeil the phone.

"Aw!" Taeil cooed after he finished reading. "He's adorable!" 

"I know, right?" 

"We've got to keep him." 

"I have a good feeling but Taeil, we do still have to screen him, just in case..." 

"I know! I know. I just have a good feeling too. You have to tell me all about it once you guys have your meeting." 

"It's tomorrow." 

"Tomorrow? Well, tell me all about it then." 

"Will do baby."

The couple shared a quick peck on the lips before Taeil sighed. 

"Ugh! I don't wanna work on my thesis..." 

"Share a bowl with me after?" 

Taeil grinned. "Sounds like a plan." 

~~~~~~~~~~

Johnny was scrolling his phone at a table in the campus starbucks, sipping his iced americano when a high schooler with ruffled black hair, glasses, and a plain white t-shirt came up to him. 

"Um...excuse me, sorry, but, um, are you Johnny Suh?" 

"That would be me." 

"Oh! Well, um, I'm Mark Lee..." 

"Ooh." Johnny tried to hide his snort of laughter at thinking Mark was a high school student and stood up to shake his hand. Mark spent a moment awkwardly transfering his mocha frap, no whip from his right hand to his left before shaking the dealer's much larger hand. Johnny noticed his hand was cold from the drink, but also somehow still a bit sweaty. 

Mark looked away and slid into the seat across from Johnny, clutching his backpack and taking a sip from his drink. 

"So Mark. Tell me a bit about yourself."

Mark chuckled uncomfortably before starting. "Um...my name's Mark Lee...um, I'm from Fresno...I'm eighteen...I'm double majoring in accounting and english..." 

"Why'd you pick those majors?" 

"Well I really love reading and writing, actually...and accounting because my parents wanted me to at least pick some major that wouldn't be a waste of my time." 

"No major is a waste of your time if you enjoy it, I promise. Even if it doesn't seem like it goes right into a job." 

"You think so?" 

"I know so, dude." 

"Um...how about you? What's your major?" 

"I'm in business." 

Mark choked on his drink. "Um, no offense, but...you don't seem like the type." 

"Don't worry, I agree. I will say that I've got more experience that the entire rest of the department, though." 

"That's right. Because of your...yup." 

"Yeah. Got any hobbies, Mark?" 

"Well...back home I always sang in my church's choir." 

"Nice, nice. Now, I think it's time we got down to business. Why do you want to buy?" 

"Why? Um...so there's this guy." The way Mark smiled at the phrase 'this guy' almost made Johnny coo at him. "He's...he's my best friend at college, so far. Honestly I can't really see anyone else here being a better friend than him, but...yeah. So he's, like, really cool. We live on the same floor in our dorm and we hang out every day. Donghyuck's an art major- oh yeah, his name's Donghyuck...yeah, he's an art major, and he has really really cool taste in music- like not just stuff on the radio but he knows all kind of music, I mean, he even brought a record player here! And he always wears a really cool leather jacket and he collects pins to put on the jacket...he's really handsome too, he has a mullet but he pulls it off, like, so well...sorry, sorry. Anyways...Donghyuck smokes a lot of weed. Not, like, too much. But a lot. And he showed it to me and I actually really like it...so much stuff makes me so nervous for just, no reason, and it really helps with that. So we smoke a lot together. But I'm starting to feel bad, because, like, I know it's kind of expensive, and I just mooch all of his...so I want to get some of my own. So we can share it together and so I can use it when I get that weird nervous thing." 

"Ah...I see, I see." Johnny smiled; his gut feeling about Mark had been right. He was sweet and sincere and definitely a good fit, with his adorable little crush on his friend. "Where does Donghyuck get his?" 

"His hometown is pretty close by, and he's got a friend there that sells to him." 

"Oh...alright, alright. How did you here about me?" 

"As soon as I decided I wanted to get some of my own I started asking around at who was the best to buy from. People said you didn't sell to everyone but the people you did sell to loved it. You're nice and have good prices and good quality. So that sounded good to me." 

Johnny took a deep breath; he was sold. "Alright, Mark. I would love to sell to you; you seem like a good kid. But you've got to be careful. I've got people after me: other dealers, campus police, students who have issues with weed...so kinda keep this on the dl, alright?" 

"Like who?" 

"Ugh...well, Mr. Class President Qian Kun, for example." 

"He spoke at orientation...he did seem kinda uptight..." 

Johnny let out a sigh. "If that guy is anything, its uptight. Anyways...does that all sound good? Doable?" 

"Yes. That all sounds great." 

"Any last questions?" 

"Um...actually, yeah. Sorry if this is stupid but...how does this actually work?" 

"It's not stupid, Mark. Basically, how it works is if there's something specific you want me to pick up, like a tool or a type you'd like, just text me. Then you set up an appointment to come pick it up at my house. Or if you just want some but don't know what kind, you still set up an appointment. You tell me what your needs are and we can go over the different options, test them out a little, etcetera. Then you give me the money; I take cash but I prefer venmo. And don't worry about coming over. I know it seems suspicious, but you can talk to anyone else that's come to me before and they'll assure you it's fine. And I don't mind if you wanna bring a friend." 

Mark smiled at him. "That sounds totally good. You seem trustworthy." 

"Glad to hear it. Anything else?" 

"Nope!" 

"Alright then." Johnny stood up again to shake Mark's hand, and Mark shook it back, slightly less awkwardly this time. "Have a great day and see you soon!" 

"See ya!" With a smile Mark dashed out of the starbucks. Johnny chuckled at his back before turning to his phone, opening up messaging to text his boyfriend. 

just met mark. yes, we are going to keep him. his is somehow both my little brother and my son now

Taeil answered almost immediately. thank god