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sope-and-shine · 1 year

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Maybe We’re A Movie | Part 3

-> Pairing: Jin x Reader

-> fluff // minor angst

-> Word Count: 8k

-> Summary: Living in the city far away from home, you tend to miss out on family news. So, when you return home for the holiday’s, all you plan to do is spend time with family and catch up on everything you’ve missed since your last visit. You expected the jabs at living so far away and the poking at your barren love life, but you don’t expect to actually find love. Meeting the town’s newest resident and baker, you find yourself falling for his charm and good looks. Everything about him is just so magical…but there’s something strange going on with him and his shop that you can’t quite place. Is it just your hesitation to let him be a Christmas fling? Or is it something more?

-> Warning(s): Taegi side pairing, yoonji and hobi side pairing, mild language, lots of familial rough housing, teasing, constant poking and prodding about relationship status, typical ‘when are you going to settle down’ trope, talk about yoongi’s shaky coming out and love life, very Hallmark-esque

a/n: For anyone wondering, the last post will be on Christmas day

Part 1 || Part 2 || Part 4

You thought when you mentioned spending the next few days helping out Jin at BE, that Yoonji or your Mom - even Yoongi - would make some sort of comment about it. They all just seemed…dismissive when you mentioned it. Like they all just lost their excitement out of nowhere. It’s not like it really bothered you. It was weird, but not something that would really hold you back.

Both you and Jin have easily found a great system with each other. Just like your system the day you and Jeongguk came to help, you’ve found a way to divide your tasks and keep the store running smoothly. If he needs a present wrapped and you aren’t busy, then you’re on it. If he needs a present and some goodies, he handles the present and you take care of the goodies. It’s the perfect system, and it works even better with him communicating with you constantly.

He makes sure to tell you what he needs done or if he needs a break. And if you have downtime and he can help you in the kitchen, then he will. The two of you just connect so easily, and it barely even feels like you’re working when you’re with him. It’s only been a few days, but you feel like you’ve known him for weeks.

The door to the kitchen opens and you look up, Jin standing in the doorway holding the door open, “How are the brownies coming?” He asks.

“Pretty good! What do you think?” You put down your piping bag and pick up a brownie, careful not to ruin the Christmas Tree design you’re copying on each one.

“It looks great!” He drops the door to come and take a closer look. He reaches out with his hand and you think he’s going to take it from you, but instead he holds the back of your hand. You try to ignore the gesture while he inspects your work, part of you hoping he’d hurry up and say something while the other hopes he takes his time. He nods in approval, “Are you sure you have to go back to work? I can’t just keep you for my own personal agenda?”

You shake your head, “Unfortunately, you’ll have to fight my crazy, 5’9 work wife if you want me to stay here.”

“Oh! I don’t do crazy. I get enough of that from Jimin and Namjoon.” He jokes. He lets go of your hand and turns so he can lean against the counter, “But you would stay if it wasn’t up to your work wife?”

“That’s not exactly what I said…” You hadn’t meant to make it sound like you were enjoying yourself, but you really were. You’ve been doing something you’ve dreamt about doing since you were little and it’s actually working fairly well. It’s hard to not want it to keep going, “I mean, I definitely enjoy baking for most of my day and decorating. Plus, I get to listen to music back here, and I get some pretty nice views.”

“I know I’m handsome, but you don’t have to say anything~” He teases, earning himself an eye roll from you.

You playfully tap his arm with the back of your hand, “I was referring to Jimin, but I’ll let you think that.”

“You barely even see Jimin during the day!” He gasps, suddenly offended. You laugh and he scoffs, That’s so cold!”

You shrug, “Life is like that.”

The bell above the door rings and catches both your and Jin’s attention. He sighs, “Well, duty calls.”

He pushes himself off the counter and heads to the front while you get back to work decorating. It’s short lived when you hear who Jin greets, “Hello, Bora~ How are you today?”

You grab a towel to wipe your hands and use your shoulder to open the swinging door, seeing not only Bora, but a few members of your family as well. Bora stands right in front of her parents, bundled up in her winter coat. Yoongi and Taehyung are in front of the display looking at baked goods. Jeongguk is nowhere to be seen, but you’re sure he’s here somewhere.

“Well, if it isn’t my lovely sister~” Yoonji greets with a mischievous smile, Hoseok standing next to her with an arm over her shoulder. She looks between you and Jin, “Are you enjoying yourself?”

You decide to ignore her obvious meddling for the time being, “Yeah, I’m having fun.”

“Which ones did you do?” Yoongi asks from in front of the glass.

“Almost all of them!” Jin pipes up, a big smile on his face, “I helped with a couple here and there, but these are all her.”

Bora toddles over and takes a look herself. She tilts her head in confusion and points at something behind the glass, “What about that one? It’s face is messed up.”

Jin takes a look and doesn’t hesitate to shift blame, “Oh, that was definitely your Aunt (Y/n).”

You scoff, “Was not!”

“Do you have any proof?” He asks, smirking thinking that he’s got you.

You cross your arms and give it right back to him, “Do you?”

He frowns and puts his hands up in defeat, “Touché.”

“Ah, so you really are enjoying yourself~” Yoonji notes. She’s smiling, and you can tell in her mind she thinks she’s won.

You don’t let it bother you, “I am enjoying my time away from the house. Yes. What are all of you doing out of the house?”

“Jeongguk and Bora wanted to come and see you.” Hoseok answers.

“Taehyung also wanted more of your cookies.” Yoongi adds.

“It’s true. Can I get a dozen?” Taehyung asks, looking up from the display. He looks back down and steps back so he can look further down at more options. He looks back up, “Maybe 2 dozen?”

You laugh, “Sure thing, Taehyung.” You reach down and grab one of the bigger boxes to fill his order.

Bora turns to Jin and grabs onto his apron, pulling at it, “Do you have any candy, Jinnie?”

“Any candy?” He pats his chest pocket, his lower apron pocket, and his pants pockets. A sad look takes over his face and he holds up his empty hands, “Oh no, Bora. I don’t think I have any candy on me today…”

“Oh...” It’s easy to tell she’s disappointed, but she tries to let it go, “Okay.”

Jin tries to hide his smile as he turns to his cash register. He reaches his arm over the counter and pretends to feel around, slowly conjuring something better than candy to give to one of his best customers. He pulls his arm back out and shows off a small, pink bunny stuffie, “But I have this!”

“A bunny!” Bora cheers, clapping her hands together, “It’s small and cute!”

“Just like you, shortie.” He hands it to her and she pulls it right into her chest, “That is all yours.”

She brings it up to her cheek and rubs it against her face, “Thanks, Jinnie.”

Suddenly, Yoonji claps her hands together, “Oh, that reminds me! We aren’t just here for the kids.”

“You aren’t?” You ask, pausing mid-grab for a brownie to look up at your sister.

“No!” Hoseok adds, suddenly remembering what they came for as well. His smile isn’t quite as telling as Yoonji’s, but you can tell the two of them plotted something together, “We’re actually here because Mom wants to invite Jin over for dinner?”

Jin places a hand over his heart, feigning disbelief, “Me? Experience Mrs. Min’s cooking? Yes please.”

Yoonji nods, “Her only request was that you bring anything that doesn’t get eaten from your display.”

“Oh, I can make that happen. I’ll have my best worker box them up.” He turns to you with a big smile and you try to ignore the heat rising in your cheeks, “(Y/n), could you ask Jimin to get a box for later?”

Your face drops. You shouldn’t be surprised that he’d pull something like this, “Oh, ha. Ha. You’re so funny.” You say sarcastically, glaring at your family as they snicker at you. You go back to helping Taehyung, “I will get right on that.”

‘Ass.’ You think to yourself.

“Isn’t she great?” Jin asks, very proud of himself.

“She sure is~” Yoonji agrees. She claps her hands again and moves to fix Bora’s hat, “Well, we have plenty of things to get done, so we wont keep you. Taehyung, did you get what you wanted?”

He waves his hand behind him, not making an effort to look away from the display, “Hold on, I’m deciding between 2 somethings…”

“You might get one later,” You remind him.

“But I might not!”

“I wouldn’t mess with him and his desserts,” Yoongi warns. He places a gentle hand on Taehyung’s back, “He’s pretty serious about them.”

“We need to collect Jeongguk anyway.” Hoseok steps away from his wife to find him, “JK! We’re getting ready to go!”

It didn’t take long for Taehyung to finish his selection and Hoseok to find Jeongguk. They left and you immediately got back to work, only it left you worrying about what the night had in store for you.

Of course, you know your family is a group of meddlers. It was suspicious that they stopped bugging you about settling down, but you pushed it away. You knew you should’ve questioned it more.

Now, you’re left walking home with Jin by your side. He’s carrying 2 large confectionary boxes where you carry 1 medium box, both of you carefully walking over the mostly cleared pathway. It’s a bit smaller than normal, and it has you occasionally bumping into the business owner next to you, Though, a part of you is sure he bumped into you at least twice on purpose.

You make it to your home and take the lead, walking alongside the cleared part of your driveway, “Watch your step.”

“So, is there anything I should know before we go inside?” Jin asks, following your lead and watching for ice.

You laugh, “Well, I should probably warn you that every night leading up to the New Year is family game night.”

He shrugs, unaware of the danger he’s actually in, “I like games.”

It’s unfortunate that he really only sees the good parts of your family, “Yes, but tonight is MMA night.”

This seems to stop him in his tracks, several feet before your front door, “What?”

“Yeah…I definitely suggest eating as much as you can and then pretending to be so sick you have to go home,” You joke, “If not, then you better hope whoever fights you goes easy on you.”

He looks between you, your front door, and the path back to the road and sighs, “Well, it might be a bit rude to dine and dash, so I guess I’ll just hope for the best.”

You open the door and step inside, moving out of the way just enough so Jin can squeeze past you with his boxes, “We’re here!”

“Auntie (Y/n)!” Bora yells. You can hear the padding of her feet leaving the kitchen.

Another set of footsteps come running from upstairs, Jeongguk sliding onto the hardwood floors from the staircase just after Bora, “Jin!”

Both kids swarm you, hugging your legs and bogging you down with questions. You see Taehyung come speed-walking from the kitchen and you think he’s going to come to your aid, but he immediately locks onto the two boxes in Jin’s hands, “I’ll take those.”

“Uh- Taehyung?” You call after him. He doesn’t stop, he only pauses to bump Yoongi with his hip when they pass each other on his way to the kitchen. You make eye contact with your brother and gesture downwards. He seems to get the message.

Seems to.

“I’ll take this one.” He says, completely ignoring his niece attached to your leg and grabbing the single box in your hands. He turns to leave for the kitchen, but not before calling over his shoulder, “(Y/n)‘ll show you where the extra slippers are.”

“I got it!” Bora yells. She rushes over to the shoe rack your Mom keeps at the front door and digs through it, dropping a shoe here and there just to pull out - not only - a pair for Jin, but for you as well. She places each pair right in front of the both of you as you work towards kicking off your shoes, “Here!”

“Oh, thank you, Bora! You’re such a big helper.” Jin says, stepping into the slippers she got for him and moving his shoes to the shoe rack.

Your Dad comes rushing out of the kitchen, “Dinner is gonna be done in 10 minutes!” He makes a turn at the stairs and rushes up, probably going to grab something for game night before he forgets.

Jin chuckles, “I guess we made it just in time.”

“Yeah, but we already started some of the games, so you 2 are at a tactical disadvantage.” Jeongguk says, very nonchalant.

“You started without us?” You ask, making sure you heard him correctly.

“Yeah, but you’ll get them back!” You’re about to say something, but your Dad calls for Jeongguk from upstairs. He takes off as soon as he hears him call, “Coming!”

You decide to let it go and return your focus to Jin, but it would seem Bora’s already beat you to it. She’s taken one of his hands into her tiny one, and she’s pulling him towards the living room, “Jinnie! Come look at our tree!”

“To the tree I go.” He announces, giving you an amused grin and following after the queen herself. You follow, watching as Bora shows Jin every ornament on the tree. It’s cute the way he pretends to be excited after every one, even asking her questions about what she likes about them or doesn’t like. He entertains her right up until dinner is called.

Everyone shuffles into the kitchen and around the dinner table, and you grab a serving dish on your way to help out. You reach over Jeongguk - who’s already seated - and place it in the center of everyone before you move around to claim your own seat

You go to sit next to Bora, but she throws her little arms in front of it before you can pull it out. You want to ask her what she’s doing, but she looks right at Jin with a beaming smile, “You can sit by me, Jin! Auntie (Y/n) can sit next to you!”

He gasps - a bit over-dramatically, “That sounds like a great suggestion!” He comes around to take his seat and you move into the seat next to him, pushing yourself in.

Your Mom brings over the last dish from the counter and sets it right in front of your Dad. She smiles when it’s in its place, and you notice your Dad watching her with a proud smile of his own, “It looks delicious, honey. Thank you~”

She sits down next to him and sighs, “You’re very welcome~” She leans in and your Dad gives her a quick peck, Bora squealing at the scene and making them laugh.

“It’s okay, Bora~” Hoseok coos, smoothing his daughter's hair in the back, “Grandma and Grandpa can do that because they’re married, but you can’t do that with anyone or else you’ll get cooties. You don’t want cooties, right?”

She shakes her head, “Cooties are gross!”

“That’s right.”

“Good luck with that, Hoseok. I told my girls that, and one of them ended up with her brother’s best friend!” Your Dad jokes, reaching out to start filling his plate.

“Yeah, but that’s different.” He says. He turns to Bora, “It’s very different, Bora.”

“What’s the difference?” She asks, big brown eyes staring back up at her father.

Hoseok blinks a couple times, very unsure of how to answer and you laugh, “Yeah, what’s the difference?”

“You know what? The difference is so big that Daddy can’t explain it all right now. All you need to know is that boys are icky and you don’t need them!” He explains. He meets eyes with Taehyung and thinks for a minute before adding, “Girls are icky too.”

“How about instead of cooties, we focus on the yummy dinner grandma made?!” Yoonji interrupts, reaching around Hoseok for Bora’s plate to fill it.

“Yeah!”

Everyone fills their plates, getting whatever they want as they make small talk. Of course, they ask about your day with Jin. You try to remain neutral about it, but Jin feeds right into their hands. It’s not like he doesn’t know what they’re doing. He’s absolutely adding fuel to their fire because he knows it bugs you. You just try to eat your food in peace and answer when you need to.

“So, (Y/n) tells me that tonight is MMA night?” He brings up towards the end of dinner, “I just have to ask that you don’t go for the face.”

Your Mom shakes her head, covering her mouth until she’s swallowed her food, “Well, we thought about it and we figured that MMA night might be a bit much for your first dinner with us.”

“Now we’re playing Twister!” Jeongguk cheers.

However, the announcement takes you by surprise, “Twister? I thought Twister was rightfully banned after Yoongi broke his arm?”

“Yes, but that was years ago!” Yoonji adds in, waving her hand like it’s nothing, “It’s never too late to try something again.”

They all seem so nonchalant about a game that was literally almost thrown away because of how competitive your family gets. You try not to think about it too much, but it’s hard when you know they’re up to something. The only thing you can do now is hope that whatever it is they do doesn’t completely embarrass you or put you in the hospital.

Everyone helps to clean up after dinner, those that don’t fit in the kitchen helping to set up the living room for the rest of game night. You help Taehyung transfer the goodies you brought home to a serving tray, having to tap his hand every now and then when he tries to shove another in his mouth.

“We need some for the games, Taehyung!” You scold, trying to hold in your laughter after he shoves an entire brownie into his mouth.

His cheeks are puffed out like a chipmunk, and he sounds completely muffled when he answers you, “ ‘m jus’ e’t’ng.”

Thankfully, you have plenty of treats for game night, and there’s plenty of room or everyone even with an added player. You set them on the coffee table that was moved closer to the Christmas tree, checking how close it is to the Twister board before deciding it’s in anokay place.

“Alright, so since we have an even number, we’ll just keep mostly the same teams. Jeongguk and Bora can be on a team-” Yoonji turns away from the kiddos to you and Jin, “-and (Y/n) and Jin can be on a team!”

You roll your eyes, ‘So this is what they were planning…’ You think to yourself.

Jeongguk shrugs, “Sounds good to me!”

“Me too.” Jin nods.

All eyes turn to you, and you just smile and nod, “Yeah, that’s fine.”

Everyone splits into their pairs and the games starts, going easy with Jeongguk and Bora first. Of course, Bora’s balance isn’t the best and she ends up falling. Thankfully, Jeongguk being the best uncle pretends to lose his balance too and falls down beside her. Your parents aren’t quite as spritely as they used to be. They both get a bit farther than Bora and Jeongguk, but your Dad ends up getting a cramp in his leg and needing to take a minute.

Taehyung and Yoongi are where it starts getting interesting. You thought that Taehyung of all people would be the best sport at the game, but as soon as the game starts he’s trash talking Yoongi like there’s no tomorrow.

“Oh, you’re going for that one? That’s a bit too easy for my taste.” He comments when Yoongi chooses a new green dot.

“Tired, Yoongi?” He teases when Yoongi is struggling to keep himself up. He laughs, “Not me. I’m not tired at all.”

But despite his big talk, he ends up slipping anyway.

Yoongi shakes his head, smiling at his lover’s loss, “Taehyung, you’re not supposed to choose all of the dots.”

Yoonji and Hoseok are somehow even worse. Even when you were still allowed to play the game when you were younger, the two of them were terribly competitive. They were the reason Yoongi broke his arm in the first place. Shoving each other, blowing air in the other’s face, licking an elbow or a hand as a last ditch effort to win. The only difference is now they have an impressionable young child.

“Bora! Did you see what your Mommy just did?!” Hoseok shouts after Yoonji tried to elbow his knee out of place, “She’s cheating! Don’t do that.”

“Don’t listen to him, Bora!” Yoonji retaliates, “All is fair in love and war!”

It gets to point that Yoongi himself has to bend down and talk to her one-on-one, “Your Mommy and Daddy are crazy, Bora. Don’t be like either of them.”

They both end up knocking each other over, Hoseok winning by default because Yoonji hit the ground first.

Then it’s you and Jin.

“Ready to be humiliated?” Jin asks you when you get up to the mat.

“That’s funny, I was gonna ask you the same thing.” You retort.

“Right foot blue!” Jeongguk calls out.

Jin does as he’s told and laughs, “We’ll just let the game do the talking.”

And the game really does do the talking. It had started off easy enough, the both of you getting colors that didn’t really intersect each other. And then slowly, one by one your arms started to cross, and then your legs, and soon enough you found yourself in a similar position to Yoonji and Hoseok. It’s awkward enough being pretzeled face-to-face with someone who is technically your boss, but it’s even worse when it’s in front of your family and you aren’t even dating.

“Can you just slip already?” Jin complains after having to move his leg over yours just so he can change colors.

“I don’t know if you remember, but we’re both in the very last spots for the night and the loser does dishes. I am not giving in so easily.” You respond, unwilling to let yourself lose.

“Yeah, yeah. Fine.” He huffs. He waits for you to move your arm to it’s new color, when he feels an itch in his nose, “Would now be a bad time to mention that I have to sneeze.”

You turn your head and glare at him, “Don’t you dare.”

He shakes his head, “I really have to.”

“Then forfeit, but don’t sneeze on me.”

“I’m not forfeiting!”

“Jin, if you sneeze on me-!”

“I’m gonna sneeze!”

“Don’t-”

“I’m-Achoo!” He sneezes, unable to resist the urge. He tries to cover it with his arm, but he ends up knocking into you. As soon as you slip, the leg - that was helping to balance him - disappearing sends him tumbling down on top of you.

“Oh-!” You grunt when his weight falls on top of you, his forehead knocking into your ear.

“Ah~” He pushes himself up just enough to rub his forehead, feeling a slight pain from where he knocked it against you. He looks at you and moves the hair out of your face, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah…I’m good.” You assure him, “You?”

“Nothing broken.” He gets up on his knees, grabbing onto your hands and pulling you up as well. He checks you over one more time just to make sure you’re alright, chuckling to himself, “I guess now I’m falling for you too.”

His face is so close to yours when he says it, and you’re just looking into his eyes. He’s not even looking at you, he’s looking over you to make sure he didn’t hurt you, and you’re just sitting there like an idiot overthinking a pick-up line he’d reused from when you first met. All the while, you’re both still sitting in your family room surrounded by the members of your family.

“Well-” You clear your throat and smooth your hair down yourself, effectively removing his hands from you. You shuffle out from under him and turn to your Mom - the keeper of the games, “-What’s next, Mom?”

Neither of you end up winning at the end of the night, and in the end the both of you are left cleaning up the dishes from dinner. It isn’t that many, but the sting of losing is still there. At least you have plenty of practice from working at the bakery.

“Here-” You hand Jin another plate and he takes it from you, using his drying rag to finish it off. He’s humming to the Christmas song your parents have playing in the living room, “I hope this experience hasn’t ruined my family for you.”

“I actually had a great time tonight,” He answers, “Do you think your family would trade you for me?”

“Oh, in a heartbeat!” You assure him. You both laugh.

In the corner of your eye, you notice Taehyung and Yoongi in the living room. They’re dancing just behind the couch, hands intertwined and foreheads resting together. You can hear what sounds like Taehyung quietly singing, and your heart melts for your brother. He’s not the kind of person to show this side of himself with others, and with Taehyung he does it so easily. You’re just so happy that he’s found someone he can be himself with.

Just behind them, you can see Hoseok gently swaying back and forth. He holds Bora tightly in his arms, his chin resting on her shoulder. From what you can see, it looks like she’s already asleep, but knowing Hoseok he just wants to enjoy a few more minutes with her before he takes her upstairs. Between him and Yoonji, he’s definitely way more sentimental than she is. If he could figure out how to keep Bora as a little girl forever, then he’d sign her up yesterday.

“You’re not getting distracted on me, are you?” Jin asks, breaking you out of your trance.

You turn back to the sink, finding that all the dishes are gone anyway. You huff, “We’re all done. I’m just taking a break.”

“You didn’t even drain the water.” He laughs.

You shrug, eyes wandering back to the living room, “I guess I’m a little distracted…” Jin takes notice of the way you look at your brother and Taehyung, a faint yearning in your eyes. Even if you denied it for the rest of your life, you can’t hide what you secretly want more than anything. And if you wouldn’t tell him outright, then he’d take care of it himself.

He sets his towel down and grabs your right hand with his left, turning you to face him and placing his other hand on your waist. You look shocked when he pulls you into him, but he just goes with it. He interlocks your fingers together and smiles, “So, are you going to let me lead, or are you doing it?”

You can’t help the small smile that forms on your lips as well. You’re not sure how he knew, but you push it away and shake your head, “Lead the way.”

Gently, you both sway back and forth, starting out slow and in time with the music. Once you get a rhythm, that’s when Jin’s swaying becomes a bit more erratic and playful, making you giggle with every pull in a different direction.

“Why are you laughing? We’re dancing!” He asks, turning the both of you 3 times the speed of the music. He does a 180 and spins the both of you the other way, “I don’t get what’s funny.” This continues on, even long after Hoseok has taken Bora to bed and Jeongguk has been sent upstairs to take a shower.

“Having fun?” Your Father asks after a while.

Jin turns the both of you fast again, a huge smile on his face while you try to repress your laughter, “Oh! We’re having a great time!”

“I’m glad, I’m glad.” He nods, “Unfortunately it is getting late, so I’m afraid you’ll have to dance it over to the door.”

You’re glad Jin is facing your Father, because you’re absolutely certain your face shows the disappointment you feel. The night has been going so well, and you’re not ready for it to end yet. Thankfully, neither is Jin, and he takes your Father’s suggestion seriously.

“Whatever you say, Mr. Min.” He nods. He turns your joined hands towards the front door and starts to lead you in that direction. He does a circle around Taehyung and Yoongi - who are also still dancing together - greeting them with ‘gentlemen’ and saying goodbye as well. He spins you in circles to the door, and just when you think he’s done, he surprises you again with a dip for a grand finale. When he brings you back up and steps back, still holding one hand, “I trust you enjoyed your dance for the night?”

“It was surprisingly wonderful.” You laugh.

“Good,” He rubs his thumb over the back of your hand before finally letting it go, “I guess I will get out of your hair now, then.”

“We can give you a ride if you’d like,” Your Mom offers, “It’s pretty late.”

“Thank you for the offer, Mrs. Min, but I don’t mind walking,” He assures her. He takes a peek out the window and smiles, “Tonight’s pretty nice out, don’t you think? I don’t mind the fresh air.”

“Alright, well, let me grab some food for you to take home with you.” She pats his shoulders and he thanks her, your Mom rushing back to the kitchen to get something for him.

“You now-“ Jin starts, slipping off his slippers to change into his shoes, “-I haven’t been to an actual family event in a couple years, so this was really nice.” He struggles with the back of his left shoe before finally slipping it on. He stands up and looks back to where some of your family are still - pretending to - doing their own thing, and turning back to you, “I honestly had a great time.”

“Good. I’m glad.” You nod. You’re unsure how you should end a conversation that you don’t want to end in the first place. Tonight’s been so great, and you just want to hold onto it a bit longer, “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“The store won’t open without me.” He jokes, shoving his hands into his pockets

You try to fight back the embarrassment, “Right.”

“Here you are, Seokjin~” Your Mom comes back with a bag full of food.

“Thank you!” He takes it from her with both hands, bowing his head in appreciation, “And thank you for inviting me.”

“It’s not a problem!” She assures him, “Please, come back anytime.”

“I will keep your offer in mind.” He steps towards the door and you open it for him. You’re rigid, and you don’t mean to be. You hope he doesn’t notice. And if he does notice, then you hope he doesn’t say anything. And to his credit, he doesn’t. He just offers you a smile and turns back one last time to bid goodnight to your family, “Goodnight, everyone!”

They all chorus their own goodbyes to him, you adding your own just as he steps through the door and into the cold, “Goodnight, Jin.”

You close the door after him, feeling light. Like that cliche of floating on air, except it feels more like it’s filling you up.

Yoonji puts her book down - the one you know she definitely wasn’t reading, “So, no opinion, huh?”

If you weren’t high on serotonin, you’d probably bite back at her. But even your family’s commentary can’t diminish your good mood.

You bring your hand up to your ear, “Do you hear that? I think it’s my bed calling my name, I think I’m just-” You slowly inch towards the stairs, sprinting up as soon as you’re close enough, “Goodnight!”

You race all the way to your room, closing your door behind you. You can finally breathe again. Not that you couldn’t breathe before, but before it felt like one wrong move would burst the perfect little bubble you’d somehow been trapped in.

You hear a yell from outside. Not one of pain, but out of excitement. Your curiosity gets the best of you, and you take a look outside of your window. You’re surprised to see Jin just out of your driveway, jumping up and down. You watch him skip into the street, spinning and jumping and dancing on his own. You have to stifle a laugh when he trips over his feet and almost drops the food your Mom sent him out with. He pulls the bag up to his chest in a panic, looking back towards your house. He doesn’t see you from your room, and you watch him continue his walk home with a little bounce in his step.

Who knew first impressions could be so wrong? The arrogant, very self-confident baker is actually a sweet, funny, care-free guy. He’s serious, but he barely takes himself seriously. He’s caring, ensuring everyone around him is safe and happy. He thinks of others, and tries to put smiles on their faces. Your whole family loves him.

And you’re starting to think that maybe you love him too.

——

“I’m going to grab more ribbon.” You announce, walking behind Jin to get in front of the counter.

“Okay! Get a couple rolls.” He responds, checking out a customer that thankfully doesn’t need anything wrapped.

You thought after last night that things might be a bit more awkward, but you’re actually glad to be wrong for once. All morning, you’ve found yourself working closer to Jin, sharing accidental touches and working off of each other. It helps that the store has been fairly busy to not only keep you busy, but also keep your conversation new and fresh. Who knew you’d actually enjoy working on your time off at Christmas, but-

He just makes it better.

It’s unfortunate that there’s only a few more days until Christmas. You are really going to miss working in his shop.

Working with Jimin.

Working with him.

If only you could bottle up a moment and keep it locked away forever.

You make it upstairs to the supply closet by the bathroom and pull it open, searching the several labeled bins to find the ribbon you need. You don’t notice the creaking of the door behind you, nor do you see it swing open. At least, not until you turn around and see it for yourself.

“Oh! Did someone go upstairs?” You wonder aloud. You look around the second floor, but you don’t see Jimin or Jin anywhere. There are only a few customers looking through candles and scanning through books.

You peek around the corner of the door and look upstairs, noticing a lone toy knocked over on the middle step. You can hear something upstairs, and you assume Jimin must be working up there.

“Hey, Jimin-?” You call up. You don’t get a response, so you assume he doesn’t hear you. You enter the stairwell and pull the door closed behind you to keep any customers from wandering up. You make your ascent and call again, “Jimin!”

You stop on the step just before the toy and pick it up, checking it over for any damage. It looks fine, so you look back up to call to Jimin again, “Jimin, are yo-“

You stop mid-sentence, just now seeing what lies ahead of you. You’ve never seen anything like it.

A long work desk is set up only a few feet from the top, packaged toys piled on top of it and on carts next to it. Rolls of wrapping paper are spread out at the other end with bows and ribbon hanging just above it for what you assume is easy access. Just beyond that is an expanse of room that you don’t think is even possible for the square footage of the building, the ceiling much taller than you could have imagined.

Along the walls are machines that you’ve never seen before, each one similar to that of a conveyor with colorful lights blinking over top of them. Baskets full of toys sit at the end of each conveyor, and you’re unsure where the materials for everything is even coming from.

Above your head a miniature train whistles, running along the walls at full speed. You’re not sure if it’s for decoration or if it even has a purpose, but you’re entranced by the intricate cars it carries behind it. One a regular coal car and another a miniature, functioning Ferris wheel. You didn’t know they even made toy trains like that anymore.

It disappears into a tunnel, and you take notice of what looks to be an office at the other nod of the room. The lights are off inside, but colorful string lights decorate the large windows. It’s beautiful, and it blows your mind that this has been up here this whole time.

You turn and look at the wall behind you, taking note of the collage of photos hung with candy striped tape. Upon closer inspection, you see it’s photos of Jin, Jimin, and Namjoon. Some of them in the store, around town, and even a few with packed bags. But there are quite a few in a place you don’t recognize, with a man and a woman dressed in red, green, and golds.

You look at one photo in particular, one of a younger Jin with the man, and they’re both dressed in matching red suits. The older man looks joyful, but Jin just looks polished.

“What are you doing in here?!” You jump, turning to see Jin at the top of the steps with a half wrapped present in his hand. His eyes are narrowed and his brows are pulled in tight, “You were supposed to be getting ribbon. Not sneaking up here to snoop around.”

“The door was left open and I saw that a new toy-“ You hold up the undamaged toy in your hand, “-fell down the stairs. I was coming to bring it back up here, but-” You trail off, eyes wandering around the magnificent room again. There’s just no way this place is even real, “What is this?”

He shakes his head and stomps his way over, “Nothing for you to worry about.” He takes the toy out of your hands, practically ripping from you and making you drop the ribbon you’d grabbed. Jin takes notice and pinches the bridge of his nose, “I already told you that this room was for employees only.”

You scoff, “And I work here as a temporary employee, so I technically have the right to be in here as well!”

You bend down to grab what you dropped, but he beats you to it and pulls you back up by your arm, “Well, I’m saying you don’t. Now out!”

You pull your arm out of his grasp and step back, “Aren’t you at least going to explain what all of this is?!” You ask, taken aback by his sudden behavior.

He just shakes his head, refusing to answer your question, “I never should have let you help. I knew this would be one giant mistake!”

He’s talking to himself, but it doesn’t make his comment hurt any less, “Then fire me! Go ahead! But tell me what this is.”

“No. You need to leave. Now.” He demands. He shifts the products in his arms to one side and reaches out to grab you again.

“Jin-!“ You protest.

Instead of grabbing you by the arm, he places a hand on your back and pushes you towards the stairs, “I said now!”

You take his light push as a sign that he’s not messing around. You head for the stairs, but you still want answers, “I didn’t mean to step on your toes, I was just trying to help!”

“Well, you’ve helped enough.”

“Can we just take a minute to talk this over?” You come to a stop at the bottom of the steps, seeing Jimin in the doorway looking a bit nervous.

“No, because there’s nothing to say.” He answers. He ushers you out of the stairwell completely and slams the door behind the two of you, “There’s nothing you need to know and there’s nothing to see behind this door.”

“Don’t do that to me.” You state, “Don’t try to pretend that I didn’t just see what was up there!”

“You didn’t. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” He lies with a fake smile, attempting to move the conversation along. He holds out his open hand, “Apron.”

You look at him in disbelief, “Jin-“

“Apron.” He demands once again, not even allowing you to talk to him. He’s acting ridiculous and completely out of line. If he’s mad about you going upstairs, then he should have specified that you were not an employee enough to stay out. Even though you were just trying to help.

But if he wants to blame it all on you, then fine. It’d all be your fault.

“You’re being ridiculous, I hope you know.” You relent, untying the back of your apron and pulling it over your head, “You could just tell me the truth, but instead you’re kicking me out.”

“I’ve already told you the truth.” He insists, knowing damn well it’s a lie.

“No, you’re just being vague and deceptive!” You argue. You honestly can’t believe he’s acting like this. Where’s the nice, sweet, and caring Jin that you’ve been talking to? You didn’t even know he could act like such an asshole. “You know I thought you were conceited and arrogant when we first met, but I thought I was wrong. I guess I’m not.”

Your comment hurts, but he doesn’t let it show. He just shrugs, “I’m sorry you feel that way.” He accepts your apron from you and gestures to the lower stairway, “Please, leave my store before I call the authorities.”

“Ridiculous.” You shake your head. You’re not even sure how you got here. 20 minutes ago everything was fine and now, all of a sudden he’s kicking you out? “Just when I thought we were really becoming friends you’re going to push me away. I thought you were different, I can’t believe I-“ You cut yourself off. You can’t just admit your feelings now, not when he’s acting like the biggest asshole you’ve ever met. He doesn’t deserve to know.

He continues to keep his composure, “Just go back to your family and don’t come back.”

You shake your head, “Don’t you worry about me, Kim Seokjin. I will never come back to your store, because I never want to see you ever again!”

You turn right around, brushing past Jimin to the stairwell. You go downstairs as fast as you can without tripping, barely remembering to grab your coat before you leave. You don’t even have it wrapped around you when you disappear into the cold, winter air. You feel the stares of those that pass by you as you struggle to pull your coat on, struggling with the arms and trying not to slip. Though it doesn’t help, because you do fall on a patch of ice. You land right on your arm, but you don’t even flinch. You get right up and brush off anyone that tries to offer you any help.

“Hey, you’re home early.” Hoseok notes from the living room, sitting in a children’s chair dressed in beads and a tiara.

Taehyung - who also sits in a children’s chair - takes note of your arm as soon as your coat comes off, “Are you okay?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” You grumble, kicking off your shoes and abandoning your slippers to just escape to your room.

“(Y/n)-“ Yoongi steps in front of you, grabbing you by the shoulders so he can look at your arm. He grabs it, pulling on it and noting that it’s still moving correctly. Thankfully it’s just bruised, but it still doesn’t look pretty. He looks you in the eyes, “Did something happen with Jin?”

Yoonji comes around the corner at the mention of jin with a snide smirk on her face, “Trouble in paradise?”

Any other day, it wouldn’t have bothered you. But today is not the day to be making jokes, not after the fiasco that you just went through.

“I love you, Yoonji, but knock it off!” You yell, taking her - and everyone else - by surprise, “I’ve put up with your meddling the whole time I’ve been home and I’m done with it! Just drop it! My love life isn’t your - or anyone else’s - business!”

You pull away from Yoongi and he tries to follow, only stopping when you turn and try to push him away, “I fell on the sidewalk, Yoongi. I’m fine. The embarrassment of everyone seeing me do so was enough.”

With that, you make your way upstairs, slamming your bedroom door behind you. You ignore any request for someone to come in, yelling at everyone to go away from the safety of your bed. You just lay on your bed with your face down, ignoring the ache in your arm from your fall. Tears that you didn’t even know you had roll down your cheeks and soak the sheet below you, seeming to only make you cry harder from the realization of everything that happened in such a short amount of time. Who knew that the domino effect could be this lengthy.

An hour goes by before the next knock on your door, but you’re still not in any mood to talk, “I don’t want to see anyone right now.”

You can hear the door open, and you fight the urge to turn around and throw a pillow at whoever it was that decided to enter.

“Well, you can’t see me with your head in your mattress, now can you?” Yoongi asks. You hear the sound of ice rustling before it’s placed on your arm, making you hiss in pain, “You should’ve iced it as soon as you got home instead of causing a fuss.”

You groan, “That’s not the point.”

“You’ve been up here for an hour.” He points out, as if you didn’t already know. He takes a seat on the bed next to you.

You look up for the first time in an hour, resting the side of your head on your mattress, “There’s no time limit to your feelings. You of all people should know that.”

“I do know. That’s why I came up here to make sure you’re okay.” He explains. You look away from him, finding something on your desk to move your attention to. But Yoongi doesn’t mind, he’s been in your position too many times to count. Though, he hasn’t seen you like this since you were in middle school.

He’s never been good at comforting other people - or at least he doesn’t seem to think so. He just does what Taehyung does for him when he’s upset. He pushes the stray hairs away from your face, “You haven’t been bothered much by their teasing before.”

He’s right. It never did before. But that’s probably because you’ve never actually liked someone the way you’ve grown to like Jin before, “That’s because I didn’t actually have an interest in anyone before. I actually like Jin.”

“So, you still like him?” He asks.

You shrug, “An argument doesn’t just change that. It’s not like I can blame him for me running down an icy sidewalk.”

“What was the argument about?”

“I was trying to help put something where it belonged, and in doing so I went to an area that was restricted to me.” It sounds stupid even as you recount the events to your brother, “I didn’t know it was restricted, I was just trying to help! He got mad at me and told me to leave.”

Yoongi nods, taking in the information, “It sounds like he overreacted.”

“I know, but I also understand why he’s upset. I just-“ You can’t even say you’re mad about the workshop anymore. If you’re honest, you’re just upset about how he acted and how you retaliated. “He pushed me out and told me to leave and I told him I never wanted to see him again.”

“It sounds like he was frustrated and took that out on you. And because he did that to you and hurt you, you wanted to hurt him back.” He says, saying it aloud for you. He sighs, “We do that a lot…but it’s not the best way to handle a situation.”

You can agree to that. You just wish it could be different.

You turn yourself over and sit up, moving your ice pack to the side and resting your chin on Yoongi’s shoulder, “Why is this so hard?”

“What?” He asks.

“Love…”

He laughs. “If love were easy, then we’d all be perfect. Then we wouldn’t be human anymore.” Honestly, if he knew the real answer for why love was hard, he’d tell everyone in a heartbeat. It’d make the world so much easier, but love isn’t just cut and dry like that, “We all make mistakes, and it sounds like you both made one.”

Mistakes is right. You didn’t mean to do something you weren’t supposed to, but you’re sure Jin didn’t mean to go over the edge either. You invaded a space he didn’t want you going to to, you broke a boundary. You assumed it would be okay, and you were wrong. Did he react correctly? Absolutely not. You have half a mind to whack him over the head with a shoe, but you know that won’t actually fix anything.

“I don’t even know what to do!” You whine, throwing yourself back onto your mattress, “Christmas is in 3 days and I don’t want to leave without talking to him, but I’m still so angry with him.”

“Well, then you need to decide what’s more important to you. Your anger and your pride or him?”

He has a point. Is your ability to be right in this situation really more important than him? If it is, then do you really care about him? Or just being in the right? You don’t know.

That’s why Yoongi is the big brother and not you.

You pout, “Can’t you just big brother this one for me?”

“I can toss him around, but I don’t think you want me to kiss and make up with him. I don’t think Taehyung would like that much either…” He comments, chuckling to himself. He sets a hand on your calf and pats it, “You know, Taehyung took that breaking legs thing seriously. He and Hoseok were ready to march down to BE when they saw you were hurt and crying.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but they’re both still stuck in the kid chairs downstairs and Mom is debating whether or not she should call the fire department again this year.” He pulls his phone out of his hoodie pocket and pulls up the picture, showing Hobi laying on the floor with Jeongguk trying to pull at the chair legs, “I don’t think Jin would take them seriously with their butts stuck in a couple of princess chairs.”

“No, probably not…” You agree, giggling.

“Just do what feels right. That’s all you can do.” He finally says, “And if he’s not the one, then don’t stress over it. No person that can’t communicate their problems with you is worth any of your tears. Okay?”

You nod, “Okay.”

“Now, why don’t I sneak downstairs and grab something for us to snack on and we can watch mind rotting TV until dinner?” He suggests.

“I’d like that.”

He gets up from your bed and heads for the door, stopping when you call out to him, “Hey, Yoongi!”

“Yeah?” He asks, standing in your doorway.

You sit up, taking a pillow with you to cuddle, “I think you’d be a great dad to 5 kids…Just a thought.”

“Yeah?” He asks, you nodding in response. He looks down, smiling to himself before he takes one last look at you, “Well, I’m trying to negotiate for 3, so don’t blow my cover. Now, ice your arm.”

~Next Part: Coming Soon~

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