Author's Note: Hello, long time no see! I've been hugely busy the past few weeks and have had negative time to write, but I finally(!) and miraculously whipped this up over the past couple days. I'm hoping it's not too much of a mess! Enjoy (?) ♡

The next few weeks were busy to say the least. Taemin leaving his old job was very bittersweet, but he did offer Jongin as a replacement – and upon meeting him, his old boss was immediately interested in hiring the younger. They trusted Taemin, and Jongin was so handsome that they were sure he would do just fine. Taemin didn’t exactly know how that made sense, but considering it worked out well for everyone, he didn’t really mind.

Working with Jonghyun’s family was admittedly a lot more fun. He liked getting to make wagashi, and he didn’t have to talk with customers since he spent most of his time back in the kitchen working on doing so. Being pretty shy, this suited him well. Even better than this though were Jonghyun’s sister and mother, who were both friendly and funny and kept things lively all the time. Even hardly knowing Taemin, they made sure to help him feel like he fit in and was welcome in their family. All in all, he couldn’t deny that working there was a huge upgrade from his old place.

That said, Taemin initially felt a little sorry for Jongin. Not that his old job had been bad, but he felt guilty leaving it to Jongin – especially when Jongin had only gotten the job to stop his mother from nagging him in the first place. Jongin didn’t complain too much though – he wasn’t stoked to be working but he was inclined to do well – so Taemin tried not to worry over it much either.

It took a while to get adjusted to all the changes, not to mention the routine and roles of his new work as well as Jongin’s new schedule. But a month after they had started in their new positions, Taemin finally decided to drop by and visit the old place while Jongin was there.

His classes had ended for the day, and Taemin knew Jongin would still be working for another two hours. The time apart was making him miss his boyfriend more – when had they become adults, with so many responsibilities? Taemin longed to go back to the days where they could just play together, or laze around and do nothing after school every day. Life was so simple once… But the best he could do in their current life was visit Jongin on the job and pester him a bit while he worked. The restaurant was never that busy anyway, so Taemin knew it wouldn’t be too big of an issue.

As he walked along the familiar old way to the restaurant, Taemin thought about what he might say to Jongin. Maybe pretend to be a regular customer and act like he didn’t know Jongin. That would be cute… But as he was contemplating this idea, he turned the corner onto the little side street the place was on and noticed – a line? Outside the restaurant?

Taemin glanced around, checking he was in the right place and hadn’t taken a wrong turn. Maybe a new place had opened up beside it, he thought. But as he approached the restaurant, he found the line waiting outside of his old work alone. What..? He checked the time on his phone. It was dinnertime, but considering they were a bit tucked away, it had never been that popular of a joint…

Frowning, Taemin passed the queue and headed in the door, shocked to find all the tables full. More than this, he noticed that there were extra tables and chairs squished in to fill the place that hadn’t been there before, making it that much busier. And then, as he looked around, he started to notice… Most of the customers were teens and girls in their twenties – a huge shift from the middle-aged and older audience that had been there when he’d worked there. What on earth had happened for things to change so much?

As he stood there, someone came out of the kitchen carrying a tray of food and drinks. Taemin’s eyes moved to them automatically, but he noticed the way several others fell quiet and snuck glances while the server brought things to the table in the back corner. And he also noticed the way one of the girls at that table reached up to touch the server’s arm, a flirtatious look in her eyes that was impossible to miss, but more so because it wasn’t just a server. It was his boyfriend.

The hairs on Taemin’s arms stood up on end, jealousy shooting through his spine. Jealousy? What was he jealous of? Like he couldn’t – and didn’t – touch Jongin so much more than that. But something about seeing someone else trying to flirt with Jongin got under his skin. Before he could react though, Jongin was shaking her off and turning away, a frown briefly furrowing his features as he spotted Taemin in the doorway.

“Hi, sorry we’re- oh! Hey…”

As quick as it had appeared, Jongin’s frown faded when he approached, a smile soon replacing it and tension visibly leaving his body. Having this affect on him made Taemin’s heart flutter, especially as he realized Jongin wasn’t exactly thrilled about the attention he was receiving. Whatever frustrations were in him seemed to float off along with Jongin’s.

“Busy?” Taemin prompted, glancing around. “Is there some sort of special or something?”

“Just regular dinner,” Jongin said, shaking his head a little. “I don’t remember it being like this before. It always seemed much… calmer when I’d visit you. I guess it feels different when you’re the one working.”

If Taemin could have, he would have taken Jongin’s hand and given it a comforting squeeze, or his cheek or something. Working is hard, he wanted to say. You’re doing a great job. Given the audience though, he held off from showing any affection. He also elected not to mention how Taemin had never had to serve this many people at once in his life, not wanting to think about it.

“Well I was gonna come say hi, but-” As he spoke, the owner called for Jongin from the kitchen. “Let me not take up your time. I’ll see you later…”

“I’m glad I got to see you, even if it’s just for a second,” Jongin told him, and Taemin could feel Jongin’s own fondness radiating from his eyes. Unable to do anything more, Taemin just gave an awkward wave, and Jongin returned it with a slightly sad smile. “See you in a few hours.”

Taemin didn’t want to leave, but there was no time or place for him to fit in. So he headed out, feeling eyes lingering on him as he went. Several of the tables had been watching, eavesdropping, remaining frozen in position and not even chewing so they might catch what was being said. No one was interested in him, though, he quickly found out as the girl at the front of the line outside stopped him.

“Are you friends with him?” she asked, and Taemin didn’t even have to ask who she meant. Who else? He just gave a single nod. “Could you give me his number? I’m sure he’s interested in me, but he won’t give it to me since it’s not professional.”

“What makes you so sure?” Taemin snapped, the comment getting on his nerves and immediately bringing his annoyance back in full swing. Then he shook his head. No need to be so bothered by this, you’re just supposed to be a friend. “No, I won’t give you his number,” he said firmly before walking away, not letting her get another word in.

Thoughts of all those girls plagued Taemin the rest of the way home. Was this a regular occurrence? Were people trying to talk to him, flirt with him, feel him up every time he went to work? How often did they ask for his number? Why did some girl Taemin had never even seen before feel so confident that Jongin was interested in her?

She had been pretty, from what Taemin remembered (though he’d been too annoyed to look closely enough). He was sure there were lots of pretty girls going there, and it had Taemin’s insecurities bristling. It wasn’t hard to be prettier than him, in his mind. And if Jongin had that many interested potential options, what if he started to realize how much better he could get? Surely he would know he was settling for Taemin and could find a more suitable partner…

By the time Jongin came home, Taemin had worried himself into a ball. An extra-buttery popcorn-eating, movie-watching, silently sulking ball, which Jongin walked in on.

“Couldn’t wait for me, huh?” Jongin joked as he flopped onto the bed and stole a piece of popcorn. When Taemin didn’t respond, Jongin glanced up at him with a frown. “You okay?”

“Mm…”

Taemin wasn’t feeling inclined to share his thoughts with Jongin, not wanting to sound as pathetic as he felt. They were already in a relationship, there was no reason for him to be so insecure. But Taemin was insecure, and that was the simple truth. He still didn’t know what made Jongin like him so much, and seeing all those girls made him wonder if he was really good enough to make Jongin stay.

“That sounds like a no,” Jongin responded, moving to snake his arms around Taemin’s waist. “What’s wrong?”

Taemin sighed, leaning into Jongin. The smell of food lingered on him, the smoke from the meat dishes blending with Jongin’s faint cologne. For once, neither of these things appealed to Taemin, the reminder of the restaurant making his stomach churn. And what did he need to have cologne for anyway? Who did he need to smell good for? He was already attracting enough attention to himself with his face alone…

“Nothing,” Taemin mumbled, a lie they were both familiar with. “Just… it was never that busy when I worked there.”

“What? You mean my work?” Jongin frowned, sneaking another bite of popcorn, which Taemin didn’t care enough to comment on. “Yeah, it’s gotten busier since I started. Probably just the summer rush.”

Taemin doubted this. “It was never like that last year. Not even once…” There had been occasions where all the tables were filled, but even that had been rare. Never anything like a whole line outside waiting to be seated.

“Is that what you’re upset about?” Jongin prodded, turning to kiss the corner of Taemin’s jaw. “Are you thinking you didn’t do well enough or something? You were always a great worker. I’ve heard tons of stories about how wonderful you were there…”

This made Taemin smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Thanks…”

What good would it do to let Jongin in on his worries? Jongin was just going to reassure him that there wouldn’t be a problem, or pity him for being so concerned – or both. Instead, he just rested his head on Jongin’s shoulder and let him his hair comfortingly.

“They’re gonna be renovating the place a bit next month, so I’ll have a week or so off,” Jongin piped up again after a moment. This time, Taemin smiled more sincerely, liking the idea of Jongin having more time for him. Then Jongin added quietly, “I want you to take that time off too, okay?”

“Oh- I… I can ask,” Taemin nodded. He wasn’t sure if his new work would like him taking so much time away so soon after starting, but he supposed he would find out. “When?”

“From the eighteenth,” Jongin replied. “Until – maybe the twenty-eighth.”

“That’s more than a week,” Taemin noted, frowning a little. Not to mention – the eighteenth? That was his birthday. He wondered if Jongin remembered, though it seemed unlikely he would forget, seeing as he’d remembered every year so far. Did Jongin have a plan for him? The thought made his heart patter away, curious as to how far in advance Jongin thought about these things.

“Just ask, okay?” Jongin said, boldly taking a whole handful of popcorn this time. Finally, Taemin reacted, squinting as he watched the younger shovel the kernels into his mouth. In turn, Jongin peeked at him out of the corner of his eye, then gave a less-than-innocent smile with his cheeks puffed full of popcorn.

“Make your own!” Taemin whined, snatching his bowl away and hiding it on his opposite side from Jongin. “This is my emotional support popcorn…”

Jongin snorted, letting Taemin go and getting up. “Is that why it’s more butter than popcorn?” he wondered as he headed off to get some for himself. When he came back a few minutes later, he scooped out a handful and poured it into Taemin’s bowl. “There…”

After that they switched on a new movie, watching it and eventually falling asleep cuddled up to each other, popcorn littered around them. As for Taemin’s insecurities, they faded to the back of his mind when Jongin started holding him and leaving kisses all over his neck and jaw.

There may have been prettier girls, but none of them were getting Jongin’s love. That was reserved just for him.

*

Taemin wasn’t sure where time went, but June passed in a haze and then he woke up one day and they were already halfway through July. Before he knew it, he was working the final shift before his birthday.

Not long after their conversation, Jongin had gone into his work with him to ask the family to give Taemin the vacation time, telling them about how he had special plans for them. As Jonghyun happened to be there, he immediately took Jongin’s side, but his mother and sister didn’t need that much convincing anyway. By the time Taemin came back in his uniform, Jongin had secured everything without Taemin having to say a word.

Taemin didn’t know what the plans were. It was after that that Taemin even learned there were plans, and Jongin remained tight-lipped about it for days. Days of whining, begging, and trying to win Jongin over with favours, Taemin was finally able to bribe Jongin with a .

“Wait- you’d actually do that to find out?” Jongin had asked him as he lie on the bed, Taemin pouting beside him but giving a firm nod. “You’re really determined…”

“I don’t know how else to make you tell me…”

Jongin had chuckled, pulling Taemin into his lap. “Well I’d love to take the offer, but I don’t want you doing those kinds of things just for the sake of getting information from me.”

“Then what can I do?” Taemin had sulked, pouting more when Jongin cupped and squished his face fondly.

“I’ll just tell you, silly.” He let Taemin’s face go, hands moving to the older’s waist instead before shooting him a smile. “We’re going to Jeju.”

Jeju? For a whole week? Taemin’s mind whizzed with thoughts. How much had Jongin planned out? What about the expenses? Oh, it would probably be a lot of money. The plane tickets alone…

“Oh… Jongin, I- I don’t know if I can afford that…”

This made Jongin scoff, shaking his head. “Did you think I was gonna charge you for it? I’m paying, Taemin…”

And though there had been a bit of back and forth over this – because Taemin couldn’t possibly let Jongin pay for all that, but Jongin wouldn’t except any money, saying it was his birthday present – eventually they had concluded that they would be going to Jeju at the end of July.

Now it was the seventeenth, and Taemin had about an hour left before he’d be heading home and getting ready for their flight that evening. The day had flown by, Taemin so excited about the idea of a holiday, just him and Jongin on a beautiful island for ten days, that he barely even noticed he was almost done.

Before the end of his shift though, he had an unexpected guest.

Taemin was passing a box off to Jonghyun’s mother for a customer when the bell chimed over the front door, someone coming inside. Judging by the dampness of their hoodie and the way the hood was pulled up over their head, it must have started raining. Assuming it was just another customer, Taemin was about to slip back inside the kitchen area when they pulled back their hood and he caught sight of their face – one he knew all too well, and one that had him freezing in place, eyes widening.

“Hello, I heard there was a birthday boy here,” he greeted Jonghyun’s sister, eyes flicking to Taemin and shooting him a grin.

“What on earth- what are you doing here?!” Taemin exclaimed, feet moving automatically to come around the counter and towards the man.

The other held out his arms as Taemin neared. “I came to see my little brother,” he said, enveloping Taemin in a brief hug before pulling back and holding up a gift bag. Taesun’s grin widened, ruffling Taemin’s hair. “You really look like a city kid now.”

It was the first time they’d seen each other since Taemin had dyed his hair and pierced his ears, the comment making him chuckle. “You sound like Dad…” Even though it had been ages, he immediately felt at home. Things all clicked together then, too – Taesun had asked him weeks earlier what Taemin’s birthday plans had been, and what he’d be doing the day before since he’d be off in Jeju then. Taemin had suspected his brother planned to send something, but he hadn’t imagined Taesun coming here.

“And look at you, all grown up and working,” Taesun went on, glancing around the store. “Who would’ve thought…” When Taemin’s lower lip jutted out, Taesun laughed and pushed his arm. “I’m only teasing. Anyway, happy birthday. I brought this for you from Mom and Dad,” he added, holding up the gift bag again and rustling it a little.

Taemin reached out for it eagerly, always excited to receive any form of a gift. But now wasn’t the time to open it as he was still on the clock, so for the time being he took it to the back room. His brother followed after him, wondering when he would be done, to which Taemin assured it was just an hour more and he was welcome to wait around if he was able.

“You can try some of the wagashi I made!”

“And get food poisoning? No thanks.”

“Hey!”

Despite the time that had passed, nothing had changed between them apparently. They started to catch up as Taemin finished his final set for the day, using the extra he would normally make for Jongin to give to his brother (in spite of his teasing). And then, in what felt like minutes, Jonghyun’s mother was peeking her head in to tell him he had a visitor – code for Jongin’s here to come get you. Asking Taesun to wait, Taemin hurried out, trying (and failing) to contain his smile as he left.

Jongin was dressed casually – all black, comfortable pants and a t-shirt, umbrella in hand. His work had been closed since Sunday, and school had let out for summer vacation too, so he had been free every day the past week. This resulted in him coming to get Taemin after work every day too (making Taemin feel pretty special, honestly).

“Isn’t your shift over? I thought you’d be ready to go,” Jongin mused, looking Taemin over and taking in his uniform. Wiping his hands on his apron, Taemin shot him an apologetic smile. “We have a flight to catch tonight.”

“I know. Sorry…” His brother’s unexpected arrival had completely thrown him off, and being reminded of their plans made him feel a little sad. They couldn’t even have dinner together or anything…

Unaware of Taemin’s thoughts, Jongin leaned in over the counter, breaking through anything else on Taemin’s mind. When Taemin inhaled, his nose was filled with the pretty, soft scent of Jongin mixed in with his body wash. It was almost hypnotic, drawing him in automatically, though his cheeks instantly flushed pink at being remotely close to Jongin in public. (Though it was just Jonghyun’s family in the store at the moment, and they all knew anyway.)

“You can make it up to me,” Jongin said softly. And was Taemin imagining it, or was there a hint of seduction in his voice? Losing his own voice as he got caught up in Jongin’s pretty eyes, Taemin just stared wordlessly, pink as a blossom as he waited for the other to elaborate.  “Where’s my freebie?”

Huh? Taemin’s mind was a little fuzzy, not in the right place to comprehend the question right away. After a moment though, he understood. “Oh- um-”

Jongin made a frown, pulling back slightly. “Don’t tell me you ate it.”

Not me… But nonetheless. “I made one for you, but- it was eaten,” Taemin confessed, looking down at the counter and playing with his fingers. Before he was able to elaborate, Jongin’s hand was slipping under his chin and tilting his head up to make their eyes meet again. Jongin was closer now, making Taemin’s heart thump loudly in his ears. Sometimes Jongin really liked to risk things…

“You’re really cute,” Jongin breathed, Taemin able to feel his words ghosting over his own lips from their current proximity. Everything around them was starting to feel hazy, the way it always did when Jongin drew him into their little world. But that was dangerous right now, because they were in public, and also-

Just as Taemin opened his mouth to stop him, Jongin spoke again. “You can make it up to me another way,” he murmured, starting to lean in. And it was too late to stop him, Taemin frozen and too under his spell to remember how to move his body.

Somehow though, before their mouths connected, his body did move. One second he was up on his cloud, and the next he felt himself jolting into awareness as he was jerked backwards by the scruff of his shirt.

“What are you doing?!”

There was a crash, a sound Taemin realized after was himself being shoved into the wall by Taesun. His head smacked against the wall, briefly knocking the sense out of him, but a long few seconds later Taemin found himself staring at his older brother. Who was glaring down at him. Furiously.

“What the Hell did I just witness?!” Taesun shouted, Taemin’s eyes widening as he processed what his brother had just caught him about to do. And he was mad – if it wasn’t obvious from everything else; Taemin almost never heard his brother swear, except in a couple rare occasions where he’d been properly enraged. Grabbing the front of his shirt, Taesun pulled him forward before ramming him back against the wall. “What were you just doing?!”

Taemin’s vision went a little blurry, and he wasn’t sure if it was from hitting his head again or because of the tears forming in his eyes. Maybe a combination of both. There wasn’t time to think about it, because in another second he was hearing Jongin’s voice and then Taesun was moving away quickly – too quickly, as though he had been dragged, as though-

“Get the hell away from me!” Taesun was yelling as Taemin’s eyes finally focused. The first thing he saw was Jongin, looking just as mad as his brother and not remotely listening to what he said.

And then he saw Taesun swing.

Author's Note: Okay I'm pretty sure "enjoy" was not the right expression. I feel like this chapter was all over the map (sorry for this) - Jealous Taemin and Popular Jongin, and then Happy Taemin in his cute little work, getting to see his brother after ages... Except 😶 we might have a problem now 🙈 
Pray for Taemin! Pray for Jongin! And also, pray for me! I'm at the end of my busy-ness but next weekend will be the last really busy time for me, so I might not post next weekend - but if I don't, it'll be back to normal from the week after for sure! I'm sorry and thank you all for waiting! ♡