Thread by @wwitchbrew

signed & delivered
a #taekook magic au

When Taehyung leaves home to start his life as a witch, it's with less excitement and more anxiety. But when he takes a job at Seokjin's magical bakery, he might just find his dreams and future in a cute flower delivery boy named Jeongguk.

🌸 text au
✨ inspired by kiki's delivery service
🌸 romance, fluff, magic, humor
✨ quote don't reply etc etc etc
🌸 updates daily
✨ dm or ccat to chat!!

🌷pt. one - flora🌷 #taekook magic au

"Last stop, Flora Central Station."

The train whistle sings over the chugging of the engine and the gentle sway of the wheels on the tracks.

Slowly, the train's inhabitants begin to stir, some waking up from naps, others beginning to gather their bags in preparation for their departures.

Kim Taehyung sits pressed up against the window, grippingh his bags tightly in his hands as he watches the familiar comfort of rolling hills and endless green pastures begin to fade into neighborhoods and homes; parks and streets and storefronts.

Cows and horses and farmlands become motorcycles and cars and cobblestone streets. Trees and forests become buildings and homes and a clocktower in the distance.

And, on the horizon, peeking past city streets and crowds of people and train tracks, Taehyung can see the sea: a bright, cerulean blue sparkling underneath the midday summer sun.

Taehyung's been picturing this day for as long as he can remember. He used to dream about the moment he would leave home to finally start his life; about the day he'd finally become a fully-fledged witch.

He'd fantasize about the places he'd go, the people he'd meet, the business he would open up.
When he was younger, this was all he wanted.

Now, with his hometown and his grandmother behind him, and his future in front of him, he feels nothing but dread.

What should be the most exciting day of his life has become the most terrifying.

Taehyung's heart is slamming up against his throat as the train pulls into the station; as, one-by-one, the passengers around him get up, gather their things, and depart.

Next to him, Yeontan peeks up from where he's been taking a nap, his tongue lolling out of his mouth, eyes wide with an excitement Taehyng wishes he had.

"Well, that makes one of us," he says, as he slowly gets up and exits the train, Yeontan in tow.

Flora Central Station is crowded: a mass of bodies all interweaving with practiced grace as people head to their next destinations. Some of them have their faces in their phones, others their eyes in front of them as they march forward with determination.

But a few stop to stare Taehyung down, their eyes drawn to Yeontan trotting at his side without a collar or leash, or the broom tucked underneath his arm.

Maybe even the bags casually following behind him, hovering a foot or so off the ground.

But Taehyung doesn't pay them any mind, too wrapped up in reading sign after sign to find a way out of this labyrinthian nightmare.

(But honestly, have they never seen a witch before?)

After getting lost twice, Taehyung finally flags a stranger down to ask for directions. She tries her best to show Taehyung the way through the station as her young daughter crouches down and pets Yeontan behind the ears.

Taehyung tries to center himself as he listens to her explanation -- as he watches her gesture towards exits whose names he can't remember and talk of places he's never been -- but it's hard, especially when he can feel panic along the edge of all his thoughts.

Still, the kindness of strangers, even somewhere so far from home, is something. It makes Taehyung feel a little less frazzled; a little less overwhelmed.

Because this isn't the small country town where he grew up on his grandma's farm. This isn't the little village on the border of the forest that he'd fly to every day to pick up groceries or say hello to people in town.

It's Flora, the coastal city that's now his new "home."

A place where he has nowhere to work.

Nowhere to live.

Nothing to do.

As soon as Taehyung exits Flora Central, he mounts his broom, ignoring the blatant gaping of the strangers around him. And as soon as Yeontan hops up and settles onto his lap, Taehyung takes off.

From the sky, Flora looks a little bit less intimidating. The city streets and the cars and trains and people all look so small, so tiny, so much more welcoming.

A little less claustrophobic.

A little more manageable.

(Briefly, Taehyung thinks about how much he would love it here if the situation were different. How the taste of sea salt on his tongue would make him smile; how the people bustling around would excite him. How the sparkling waves of the sea would tempt him.)

Yeontan barks into the wind, his fur rustling in the warm sea breeze, his mouth open and tongue wagging. And Taehyung allows himself to smile for the first time since he left his grandma's house.

It could be worse, he supposes.

He flies around for a while, his eyes scanning the neighborhoods and homes until he finds the address he's looking for. And when he does, he touches back down onto the ground and dismounts his broom.

Yeontan hops down and immediately starts racing around in circles, all pent up energy and excitement from the long day. And normally Taehyung would be laughing and chasing him -- or taking videos with his phone --

-- but all he can do is stare down his destination, his grip on his broom handle as tight as his throat.

Kim's Bakery & Magic Shop.

He's seen this place in pictures; heard about it almost every day. But to see it in person feels so different, so surreal.

He'd dreamed about this day too. The day he finally visited the bakery he'd heard so much about. And now, he just wishes the circumstances were different.

The wooden sign in the window reads OPEN and Taehyung can see someone bustling around behind the counter.

Gripping his broom tight in his hands, Taehyung takes slow, deliberate steps towards the bakery as his heart continues to pound up against his throat.

His hands feel sweaty, his head light.

And he's scared.

Scared that he's come all this way for nothing.

Scared that he'll get turned down.

Scared that he'll get stuck.

But when he pushes the door to the bakery open to the chorus of bells, that fear is replaced by relief.

Kim Seokjin, his favorite cousin (his only cousin) stops sweeping the front of the shop and looks at Taehyung with wide eyes.

His lips part, his expression confused, before shock fades into pure warmth and excitement.

"Taehyung," Seokjin cries, dropping the broom to wrap Taehyung up in a warm, loving hug.

And Taehyung drops his bags and broom so he can hug Seokjin back, tight and desperate and happy.

When they part, Seokjin's smile is radiant. And, all at once, the questions start coming. "I can't believe you're here! Are you moving here too? Where do you think you'll set up shop? Do you have somewhere to live? Do you need anything to eat? Let me get you something to eat--"

But before Seokjin can scurry into the kitchen and start stuffing Taehyung's face full of warm pastries and baked goods, Taehyung grabs his wrist and holds it tight.

"Actually," Taehyung starts, pausing to gnaw at his lower lip, "I'm here for a job."

🌷

Taehyung's first day at work begins with several "fun" events. (Because no first day at a new job can't start without complete and utter chaos, right?)

First, Yeontan wakes him up by aggressively licking his face. Which is pretty standard for any day, until Taehyung rolls over to fall back asleep and Yeontan anger pees on his socks.

Then, after feeding Yeontan and letting him out to run around the backyard, Taehyung has to endure a freezing cold shower because Seokjin turned the hot water off. Apparently to "conserve water," but Taehyung thinks it was punishment for waking up late.

Which leads to Taehyung desperately pouring over his spellbook looking for a warming spell because he's almost definitely going to get hypothermia (even though it's the middle of summer).

And then, because all of that dragged his morning out by a good forty-five minutes, he gets scolded by Seokjin for oversleeping and being late.

Taehyung thinks asking a living, breathing human being to wake up at 4AM to bake bread should be a crime.

Seokjin thinks it's a good thing they're witches.

Kim's Bakery & Magic Shop is a quaint little store, situated at the top of a hill overlooking the sea. It always smells like cinnamon and freshly baked bread, the salt in the sea breeze a compliment to the scent of warm baked goods.

The storefront is cute, fresh baguettes and bread rolls decorating the wide windows, perfectly fluffy and tantalizing. There's a little perch in the window for Odeng, Seokjin's familiar, to sit in and watch the customers walk by.

And the sign out front swings over the door, KIM'S BAKERY & MAGIC SHOP written in big, bold letters, complete with the store's mascot: a fluffy white alpaca holding a bread roll and wearing a witch's hat.

It's homey. And as uninspired as Taehyung feels working in a bakery, he can't help but feel proud of everything his cousin's achieved since leaving home.

If only Taehyung were that accomplished.

In every witch's life, there comes a time when they have to leave home. And, unlike humans, who can live at home as long as they want -- who can go to local universities or move down the street or the next town over -- witches are required to leave home once they turn twenty.

It's an old tradition, dating back well before Taehyung's time, and one witches take very seriously. After all, how else is a witch supposed to make a name for themselves if they stay at home?

How are they supposed to help people if they don't spread their wings and see the world?

Seokjin left when he was twenty, and now it's Taehyung's turn.

Taehyung always had his life mapped out for himself -- a perfect, infallible plan laid out in careful steps. He spent most of his childhood dreaming of the day when he would strike out on his own and start his own business. Put his powers to good use; make something of himself.

He always considered himself lucky. When other (human) kids in Taehyung's classes were debating between becoming pop stars or astronauts, Taehyung always knew what he wanted to do: fortune telling.

He used to read palms and tarot cards during sleepovers and birthday parties. And sure, they were mostly cheap tricks because he was only just coming into his powers, but still. It brought him joy, laying someone's future out in front of them; showing them that everything --

-- would be okay in the end, no matter what their worries.

On Taehyung's 18th birthday, he learned that fortune telling wasn't in the cards for him.

It wasn't enough that his fortunes didn't come true, they also went terribly wrong.

And so Taehyung's entire life plan since he was 4 years old was dashed on the floor, leaving him without a goal; without a path forward.

He spent the past two years trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life; what he was good at. What he could make a career out of.

Taehyung isn't a bad witch, by any means. In fact, he's quite good at magic. And he loves being a witch more than anything. He can read palms and understands the basic movement of the planets and how they affect people and the world around them.

He can craft basic charms and brew simple potions. He can fly a broom and do spellwork.

But when it comes to his future -- to what makes him stand out -- he keeps coming up empty.

🌷

It's Taehyung's first day of work and, so far, nothing's going right. His first set of bread rolls exploded in the oven (how, Seokjin isn't sure), his cookie dough ended up being some kind of poisonous liquid --

-- and he's already dropped one sack of flour (luckily it was a small one).

At least Seokjin laughs when he sees Yeontan running around the shop, covered in flour like a tiny ghost.

Taehyung thinks it's cute too (and snaps about a thousand photos), until he remembers he'll be the one sweeping up and bathing him later.

"I'm so sorry, hyung," Taehyung says for what feels like the fiftieth time that morning.

But Seokjin waves him off, too patient for someone running a business dependent on smoother operations. "It's okay, it takes time to learn these things," he says.

Taehyung's determined to succeed. Because even if this isn't his specialty -- even if this isn't what he's supposed to be doing with his life -- he's going to do it right.

(He owes Seokjin too much not to.)

By noon, Taehyung's helped service what feels like hundreds of customers and has successfully baked one batch of Calming Cookies.

(It's Seokjin's easiest recipe, but still.)

Taehyung's exhausted. And Seokjin closes the shop down for an hour, just enough time for them to eat lunch -- ham and cheese sandwiches on Seokjin's famous Blemish-Be-Gone Bread Rolls (his secret to clear skin and a better you).

And though Taehyung's exhausted -- he's been awake for eight hours and it's only noon -- and frustrated, he can't help the deep sense of satisfaction that comes from a job well done.

Or well, a job done at least.

It's amazing just how many people visit Seokjin's shop. But Taehyung isn't exactly surprised. Back at home, his grandma was the local witch and she grew enchanted vegetables and sold them and their seeds at the farmer's market.

She was the only witch in the village and everyone knew her; everyone visited her.

Flora is a lot bigger than the village he and Seokjin grew up in. In fact, it's big enough for there to be three resident witches, instead of just one.

But even with competition on the other side of town -- some fortune teller named Suga or something -- Seokjin's store is almost always busy.

Seokjin always had a penchant for cooking. Even before he could mix potions with pastries, Seokjin was cooking dinner for Taehyung and his grandma. His chicken soup could cure any cold -- and once he learned how to mix magic with it, it was even more potent.

So when Seokjin found his specialty in magical cooking -- in imbuing potions with cooking -- Taehyung thought it made complete sense.

It makes even more sense that his shop is so successful.
In fact, some people travel from all over town just for the taste of his pastries, on top of the magical properties they possess.

Calming Cookies.

Blemish-Be-Gone Bread Rolls.

Marriage Mending Madeleines.

Seokjin has a pastry for any and every kind of problem. And if he doesn't? Well, he can certainly make it.

Meanwhile, all Taehyung can do is the basics.

Sighing around a mouthful of sandwich, Taehyung looks out the bakery window onto the coast below and ties not to sulk.

But when the flowers at the center of the table start to wilt, Seokjin smacks Taehyung's arm and scolds him, saying something about making the bread rolls collapse with his sulking or something.

And Taehyung busies himself by pouring over Seokjin's potion book and trying to learn the recipe for Productive Potato Pie.

🌷

All of Taehyung's best memories begin with a crash.

The first time he rode on the back of Seokjin's broom (they crashed into their grandma's barn, Taehyung lost a tooth); the first time he rode his very own broom (his 13th birthday gift, which he also crashed into the barn and then into a lake);

the first time he snuck out after dark and drove a human car (crashed that too, into a tree).

Taehyung thinks it's his curse: you can't have a good memory without someone breaking a bone.

Seokjin thinks he's just clumsy.

It's near the end of the day -- as Seokjin and Taehyung begin winding down at work, slowly closing down the shop -- that someone crashes into the lamp post right outside of the bakery.

Seokjin's inside the kitchen, making bread starters for the next morning. And Taehyung's in the front of the store, packaging up the remainder of the baked goods for the day (they store the ones they can still sell and donate the ones they can't).

Taehyung's standing behind the counter, wistfully watching people scurry by the front of the shop, heading home from work, when he sees a boy on a skateboard rolling by.

Their eyes connect for a brief moment and then he crashes into the lamp post.

Immediately, Taehyung rushes out the front door, the tinkling bell a clear contrast to the spinning of skateboard wheels and the moaning of a human being in pain.

Taehyung's not sure if this particular moment is going to go down in the history books as a good one, let alone a great one.

But then Taehyung sees the boy lying on the sidewalk -- with his ruffled brown hair and a dazed look on his face and his soft brown eyes and his cute tattoos -- and maybe, just maybe, he reconsiders.

The boy's smiling, for some reason, one hand gripping onto a bouquet of half-smashed lilies from Kim's Flowers (or so the crumbled plastic wrap around them says). And his skateboard is splintered in half from the force of the crash, turned onto its back and wheels spinning.

"Are you okay?" Taehyung asks, because the boy hasn't said anything in at least a minute and while he does know a few potions to help with broken bones, he can't cure a concussion. Or brain damage.

But the boy just offers Taehyung a loopy smile as he looks up at him dreamily. And shit, he's cute. "I am now," he says.

And Taehyung doesn't know whether he should blush or kick him.

Until he notices the scrapes on the boys hands, blood pooling under the cuts. Jumping up, Taehyung scrambles inside and grabs the first aid kit, which to witches is a bag of herbs and ointments, along with one of Seokjin's Boo Boo Be-Gone Beignets (terrible name, but amazing).

When he plops down next to the boy again, Taehyung helps him sit up and shoves the beignet in his hand. "Eat this," he says, and the boy starts chewing without much complaint.

And as Taehyung rubs herbal ointment over the cuts on the boy's hands, he tries not to think about how warm and soft they are. Because that would be a stupid thing to think about.

He also tries not to think about how cute this boy is, with his hair hanging in front of his eyes and the tips of his ears. Or the cute flower tattoos weaving their way up both of his arms.

Or the ten different piercings he has on his ears. Or the goofy smile he's wearing on his face. Because that would be a stupid thing to think about too.

Taehyung's not going to be here long, after all. There's no point in making friends or developing pointless crushes on stupidly cute boys with skateboards and flower tattoos.

"You must be new," the boy says around a mouthful of beignet. "Are you Jin's apprentice or something?"

"Something like that," Taehyung says with a wry smile. He wishes it were that simple. But apprentice sounds better than "failure of a cousin who can't get their shit together," so he'll go with that.

"Did you just move here?" the boy asks, taking another bite of beignet. Slowly, the wounds on his hands begin scabbing over and closing. "Because I would've definitely remembered seeing you around."

And Taehyung almost chokes. "Yeah I did," he says, turning to busy himself with more salve. Because cute skateboard flower tattoo boy is staring at him a little too intensely and Taehyung's not sure if that's normal around here or if it's his concussion.

"I'm Jeongguk," the boy says. "I, uh, delivery flowers."

And Taehyung turns towards cute boy -- Jeongguk -- before reaching up to brush his hair away from his forehead so he can rub more herbal salve on the bump right above his eyebrow. No sense in letting that scar over --

"Taehyung," Taehyung says, trying to ignore the heat in his cheeks as Jeongguk smiles at him, bright and brilliant and a little too blinding. Definitely the concussion. "I bake. Kind of."

And Jeongguk laughs -- a stupidly beautiful laugh, with the sweetest voice Taehyung's ever heard -- like Taehyung just told the funniest joke. Instead of, you know, a terrible one.

It doesn't make Taehyung blush.

(It does.)

When Taehyung finishes patching up Jeongguk's wounds, he makes quick work of fixing his skateboard too. And he ignores the way in which Jeongguk treats a simple repair spell like it's the coolest thing he's ever seen.

How he holds his skateboard in his hands and marvels at it like he's never seen magic before in his life.

Doesn't this town have two witches already? Stuff like this should be old news.

(But Taehyung gets flustered nonetheless.)

"Oh, um, hold on!" Taehyung says, dipping back into the shop to grab a bag of Calming Cookies from behind the register -- the only successful batch he'd produced that day.

They weren't planning on selling them anyway. And there's no guarantee that they actually calm anyone like they're supposed to. But at least they're edible, Taehyung hopes.

"Here," he says, chewing on his lower lip as he hands them over to Jeongguk. "Since you, y'know, crashed into our lamp post."

And Jeongguk takes the bag of cookies gingerly in his hands, like they're a national treasure, eyes wide, cheeks pink.

"I made them," Taehyung explains. "I'm just learning how to bake, so they're probably not good, but--"

Taehyung expects Jeongguk to slide them into his backpack and take off on whatever business he was clearly doing before he ran into the lamp post outside the bakery.

But instead, he tears the bag open and stuffs one of the cookies into his mouth.

And Taehyung watches with wide eyes as Jeongguk chews and swallows the cookie. And then he's flashing Taehyung the happiest grin as he hugs the bag of cookies closer. "Delicious," he says.

Taehyung can't help the relieved smile that spreads across his face; the warmth that settles into his chest. Maybe he had a knack for Seokjin's line of work after all.

Maybe he isn't a complete failure.

Before Jeongguk takes off on his delivery route, he seems to remember the crumpled bouquet still gripped in his hands. "Oh, right! This is for you," he says, handing them to Taehyung.

And Taehyung just takes the bouquet, confused if not a little flustered. Because a cute boy is handing him a bouquet of ruined flowers and they'd only just met. "Really?" he asks.

And Jeongguk looks sheepish. "Well, no, they're actually for Jin, but uh -- can you sign for them?"

Jeongguk holds out a little notebook, his grin nervous, if not a little shy.

"They're ruined," Taehyung says with a small smile. But he signs for them anyway.

"Jin can fix them," Jeongguk says, stepping on his skateboard with a cheeky grin. "I'll see you around, Taehyung!"

And then he winks -- like actually, genuinely winks -- at Taehyung before skating down the street.

And Taehyung can only watch, ruined bouquet clutched tightly to his chest.

Normally, first days at a new job are stressful. A lot of new information to take in; a lot to do. They can be fun and horrifying and productive and intense, of course. Taehyung expected that when he woke up that morning; when he asked for the job in the first place.

But this first day -- full of exploding flour sacks and mushy, liquid cookies and cute boys with flower tattoos -- Taehyung thinks this is probably a good start to a job he never wanted, but he's certainly lucky to have.

And briefly -- for the first time -- he wonders what tomorrow will bring.

🌷end of pt. one🌷

🌷pt. two - special delivery🌷

Normally, the first thing Jeongguk does when he gets home is throw himself on the couch in the living room face first and lay there for a good fifteen minutes.

Mostly because it's late, he's hungry, and his legs hurt from skateboarding up hills all day delivering bouquets.

After fifteen minutes of rest, he usually rolls off of the couch, makes something quick and easy to eat, and then heads to his second job or writes music out on the balcony, overlooking the streets below and the sea in the distance.

That day, Jeongguk skips through the front door. Like, actually skips.

And when he kicks his shoes off and throws himself on the couch face up, Hoseok -- his best friend and roommate -- looks scared.

"I heard you smashed your head into a wall today," Hoseok says.

News travels fast, apparently.

"Is this a concussion thing, or...?"

Jeongguk laughs. "What, I can't be happy?"

"Not after a six hour shift, no," Hoseok teases, flopping down next to Jeongguk so he can poke at his head. "Did you really hit a wall?"

"It was a lamp post," Jeongguk corrects.

"Somehow, that's worse," Hoseok says, moving Jeongguk's hair away from his forehead to inspect his face. "You look fine though."

"That's because a literal angel patched me up," Jeongguk says with a sigh, his smile stretching at the corners of his lips as his heart thumps up against his chest.

Taehyung, Seokjin's new apprentice. The most beautiful person Jeongguk's ever seen.

Beautiful enough for him to lose focus and run into a lamp post, apparently.

(And anyone who knows Jeongguk would say he never loses focus.)

"Okay, it sounds like you're hallucinating," Hoseok says with a teasing grin. "We should probably get you to a hospital."

"I'm not hallucinating," Jeongguk says, swatting at Hoseok's hand.

"Literal angels, Guk?"

"Okay, fine -- he was a witch," Jeongguk says.

Hoseok's head perks up. "Is there a new witch in town?" he asks. And Jeongguk nods.

"Taehyung," he says, breathing his name like a prayer. He purposefully ignores the exasperated look Hoseok is currently giving him in favor of remembering how soft and warm Taehyung's hands were in his; how Taehyung's hand felt on his face.

How shyly Taehyung smiled.

Sitting up, Jeongguk snatches his backpack off the ground. "He made me cookies," he says, pulling the bag out and showing it to Hoseok.

Okay, technically Taehyung didn't specifically make Jeongguk cookies, but still. He made cookies and gave them to Jeongguk, so there was some truth in there somewhere.

But before Jeongguk can react, Hoseok snatches the bag from Jeongguk's hands. "Nice," he says, pulling a cookie out and taking a big bite out of it.

Before promptly spitting it up.

Onto the floor.

"Holy shit, what the hell Guk?" Hoseok chokes out between wheezes and gasps. "These aren't cookies, they're poison!"

Jeongguk snatches the bag back from Hoseok, clutching it to his chest protectively. "They're not that bad," he says, but that's an outright lie. They're terrible.

Jeongguk's pretty sure he can still feel the cookie he ate in front of Taehyung slowly burning its way through his stomach.
But still. They were a gift. From the most beautiful man in the world.

It's just too bad the most beautiful man in the world is working at a bakery and can't bake.

Hoseok continues to choke out the bits of cookie he'd half-chewed, throwing dirty glances at Jeongguk.

If Jeongguk were a lesser man, he would snatch the half-eaten cookie out of Hoseok's hand and put it back in the bag.

Luckily he's not that far gone.

(Yet.)

"Please don't eat those," Hoseok says.

"I won't," Jeongguk says with a roll of his eyes. He's just gonna hold onto them. Possibly forever. We'll see.

🌷

After tucking Taehyung's cookies away in a safe corner in his bedroom, Jeongguk grabs his notebook and pen and slips out the living room window to get comfortable on the balcony.

It's a fire escape, really -- one they're not technically supposed to be using for anything other than escaping fires -- but Hoseok, Jimin, and Jeongguk have turned it into a cozy little nook. A place where the three of them like to sit and eat take out and talk about their days.

Where Jeongguk likes to write music.

Getting comfortable on the little cushions they snuck out there, Jeongguk pulls his knees close to his chest and opens his notebook.

Page after page of half-finished lyrics stare back up at him and he sighs, scratching at his head with the back of his pen.
It's been months since Jeongguk's been able to write something.

Months.

And it's slowly eating away at him.

But every day, he still comes out to the balcony to write, even if every day he doesn't.

Some days, he's lucky enough to get a line or two of a song. Sometimes even half of one. But he's not satisfied with them at all.

They all feel so uninspired.

Jeongguk lets out a deep, heavy sigh as Hoseok crawls out the window to join him on the balcony. Jeongguk shifts to make room and Hoseok curls up next to him, leaning his head against the top of Jeongguk's so he can look down at his notebook.

"Any luck today?" Hoseok asks.

"Nah," Jeongguk says, tapping the tip of his pen against the song he started writing yesterday. It's barely been 24 hours and he hates it already.

"You'll get something eventually."

"Will I?" Jeongguk asks, leaning against Hoseok and looking out onto the city streets below them.

People are scurrying down the sidewalk below, likely making their way home from work; perhaps going to find dinner or returning to loved ones or starting late night shifts.

And just beyond that -- just beyond the bustling crowds and cars and bikes crowding the sidewalks and streets -- Jeongguk can see the sea; how it hugs the borders of the town, the waves crashing upon the shore.

And he can hear the distant cry of gulls underneath the honking of horns and tires on pavement.

This sight used to relax Jeongguk -- used to inspire him -- but lately, the wall he's hitting has only made the familiar, comforting sights into ones of anxiety and frustration.

"What do you do when you get stuck?" Jeongguk asks, looking over at Hoseok.

And Hoseok hums, draping an arm over Jeongguk's shoulder to pull him close in a half-hug. It brings Jeongguk a little bit of comfort, if anything. "It depends," he says.

"With dancing, with music -- hitting walls is normal. Sometimes I take time off and rest, sometimes I just push through."

"I keep trying to push through," Jeongguk says, nodding towards the garbage lyrics staring back up at him. "But it's all crap."

And Hoseok laughs. "Sometimes you have to write a lot of crap before you get something good. And sometimes there's something good in all the crap."

Jeongguk hums, thumbing through the pages.

"You'll get there, Guk. Don't lose hope," Hoseok says.

And Jeongguk nods, determined. He won't, as much as his heart wants to give up, he won't.

He's just gotta push through.

🌷

The next day, Jeongguk passes by Kim's Bakery on his way to deliver three bouquets to this retired opera singer who has too many admirers to count.

Her house is out of the way, but she's good business, so Jeongguk doesn't mind skating the extra mile with a backpack full of flowers.

Sometimes she gives him butterscotch candy for his troubles.

Once, she tried to give him a kiss, but Jeongguk skated away before she could.

When Jeongguk passes the bakery, he immediately peeks in, spotting Taehyung standing behind the counter, handing a box of baked goods to two giggling high school girls.

Taehyung's smiling and one of the girls is crouched down and petting a small ball of fluff (possibly a giant ball of cotton or a dog, Jeongguk's too far away to be sure).

And Jeongguk wants to go inside and order something too -- because he's hungry from a long day of skateboarding, of course, and not because he wants to see Taehyung face-to-face -- but the clock is ticking on his current delivery, so he doesn't.

The retired opera singer -- Mrs. Something-or-other -- calls Jeongguk handsome and tries to tip him with a kiss again.

Jeongguk asks for a butterscotch instead and she laughs like he's joking.

And before one of her ten dogs can pin him down and slobber all over him, he's skating back towards Kim's Flowers.

🌷

The day after that, Jeongguk passes by Kim's Bakery again, this time with a massive bouquet -- like, ten times bigger than anything Jeongguk has ever delivered -- for a teacher who's going on maternity leave.

Apparently her entire class pitched in to buy the flowers, determined to send their favorite teacher off with a nice gift.

Namjoon thought it was sweet and added a few extra touches to the bouquet to make it even more beautiful.

And Jeongguk may have teared up a little bit.

That day, Jeongguk spots Taehyung sweeping flour off the bakery floor. He looks stressed and tired -- not that Jeongguk knows Taehyung well enough to be able to discern his emotions -- and the flour doesn't seem to want to unstick from the ground, even with the help of magic.

And, of course, the little fluff ball is rolling around on the floor, coating itself until it resembles literal cotton.

On closer inspection, Jeongguk thinks it might be a dog.

Or possibly a really fluffy squirrel?

Further examination is needed.

But, as much as Jeongguk wants to stop inside -- to get food, of course, and figure out what kind of creature is currently making Taehyung's job harder -- he can't. Because the students who ordered the flowers want them delivered at 14:00 on the dot.

So Jeongguk kicks his foot on the pavement and skates faster toward his destination.

And when the students pass off the bouquet to their teacher and she cries, well -- maybe Jeongguk cries too.

🌷

The day after that, Jeongguk passes by Kim's Bakery on the way back from a delivery. Some super-apologetic wife who was determined to win her husband back by sending him two hundred red roses, one for every day they've been married.

Jeongguk thinks it might have worked if she hadn't asked Namjoon to write "sorry for cheating on you" on the card.

That day, Taehyung is standing behind the counter, rearranging the baked goods still remaining in the display. The probably-a-dog-maybe-a-squirrel-but-basically-just-a-puffball is sleeping next to the till, right in a nice warm spot in the sun (so maybe a cat?).

That day, Jeongguk doesn't have any deliveries to keep him from going inside. (Just a boss waiting for him back at the store, probably with more bouquets to deliver.)

So he decides it's finally time to make his grand, suave entrance. And possibly finally order a pastry.

Maybe get a cute guy's phone number, who knows.
But when Jeongguk passes the window on his skateboard, Taehyung looks up and notices him. And the way Taehyung's face lights up when he recognizes him has Jeongguk's heart leaping up into his throat.

Taehyung smiles and waves.

And Jeongguk almost crashes into the lamp post. Again.

"Is this normal?" Taehyung asks, poking his head out of the bakery door with a laugh and brilliant smile. "You crashing into things?"

And Jeongguk's dusting dirt off his butt and kicking his skateboard into his hand. "No," he says. (Only when you're involved.)

Taehyung steps further outside and he looks so cute in his little baker's outfit with his little apron and a cute blue bandana wrapped around his neck. And then he's regarding the lamp post thoughtfully, his hand on his chin.

"Maybe I should charm this. So you don't run into it again," Taehyung says with a cute little smile.

"Haven't you charmed me enough?" Jeongguk asks, his grin more confident than he actually feels.

Jeongguk can't tell if Taehyung's cheeks look pink or if that's just his imagination playing tricks on him. But Taehyung's mouth does open and close a few times before he stammers out, "But I haven't'--"

And then Taehyung's perking up, running back inside the cafe.
And Jeongguk thinks that maybe he scared Taehyung away. That maybe the flirting was just a bit too much.

It wasn't that bad of a line, right?

But a quick glance inside the store shows Taehyung bustling around as if looking for something, and Jeongguk smiles and waits patiently for Taehyung to return.

This time, when Taehyung comes back out, his little puff ball follows after him. And, on closer inspection, Jeongguk can see that it's a dog. A little Pomeranian, to be exact. And shit, it's cute (just like its owner).

Taehyung smiles and hands Jeongguk a bag. "I made some more cookies! Since you seemed to like them so much," he says, scratching at his cheek shyly.

And Jeongguk's heart twists in his chest.

One, because he feels bad about lying to Taehyung about his cookies.

And two, because shit, Taehyung's so cute.

"Thanks," he says, opening the bag to grab a cookie. And it feels like time is dragging as he lifts the cookie to his lips and then stuffs it into his mouth.

For a second, he prays that maybe Taehyung's baking skills have improved; that maybe the last batch of cookies were a fluke.

But when he chews and then swallows, those hopes are dashed.

It tastes terrible.

In fact, it's somehow worse than the last batch.

But Taehyung looks so hopeful -- so cute and sweet -- that Jeongguk swallows the chocolate-y sludge with a smile, hugging the bag close to his chest.

"Delicious," he says.

And Taehyung looks so ecstatic that it makes Jeongguk feel guilty and elated at the exact same time.

Maybe he should send Taehyung an apology bouquet.

A hundred roses for every cookie he's lied about enjoying.

He'll send a better card though. With a note like "I don't love your cookies but I do love you."

🌷

That night, as Jeongguk curls up on the fire escape, his notebook in his lap and his pen between his lips, he watches the sun set over the horizon.

Watches the way the warm light reflects across the ocean stretching into infinity, painting the bobbing waves in hues of pink, red, and orange.

And he watches the red tail lights on the cars disappear into the distance. The people scurrying about, desperate to get home.

He watches the busy city life unfold below him.

And, on his pad of paper, he writes nothing.

Nothing except a title: your cookies are terrible, but I love you anyway.

When Jimin crawls out onto the balcony, Jeongguk regards him with the most pathetic look he can muster. And it makes Jimin laugh in that cute way where he scrunches his nose as he sidles up against Jeongguk's side.

"Nothing today?" Jimin asks.

Jeongguk sighs and shakes his head, showing Jimin the nearly empty piece of paper.

"Well, that's certainly a title," Jimin says with a snort. "I tried to eat one of those cookies, by the way. But Hoseok threw himself over the bag like it was a live grenade."

Jeongguk rolls his eyes, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Because they were a gift."

"Because they're terrible," Jimin corrects. "But apparently you love him anyway."

And Jeongguk smiles despite himself as he remembers the way Taehyung's face lit up; how excited he looked at the prospect of his baked goods being good enough to eat.

"How about this," Jeongguk says. "You're sweeter than pie, your smile rots my teeth. But your cookies taste terrible and they're poisoning me."

"Needs some work," Jimin says, ruffling Jeongguk's hair.

For a second, Jeongguk thinks about chucking his notebook off the fire escape, but he doesn't. Because then he'd have to rush down to pick it back up again.

"I'm tired of being stuck. It's been months and everything I write is trash," Jeongguk says, slamming the notebook shut.

"What should I do?"

Jimin hums. "Have you tried taking a break?" he asks. "Whenever I get stuck with ballet, I always wanna push through. But sometimes just stepping away does more good than throwing myself at it over and over again."

Jeongguk sighs, looking back out at the ocean and the setting sun. Truthfully, he's tried that too. He took an entire week off, hoping that he just needed some time away from writing lyrics and songs before he could come up with something good.
But that didn't work either.

"Maybe you just need a muse," Jimin says.

And Jeongguk thinks about Taehyung and his puffball pomeranian and his terrible, magical cookies, and laughs.

Yeah, maybe he needs a muse.

🌷

The next day, Jeongguk slips into Kim's Flowers with a little bit of a skip in his step. Because today feels like a good day.

To start, he had a great dream, one where he was rocking out in front of thousands of people at a concert. It was awesome.

Then he woke up before his alarm, giving him an extra ten minutes to thumb through his phone in bed (always a plus).

And then he managed to skate to work without hitting any red lights. Which is like a little miracle in itself.

So he's ready to take on the day. In fact, he's gonna conquer the shit out of it. (Something he hopes extends to song lyric writing later on.)

"Morning, Guk," Namjoon says from the back of the shop, where he's arranging a bunch of peonies into a beautiful bouquet.

"Morning, boss," Jeongguk says with a cheeky grin. "Any deliveries today?"

Namjoon adjusts his glasses before nodding toward another bouquet sitting pretty in a bucket of water. "Yeah, that one's going to Mrs. Choi."

"Who?"

"The opera singer."

Jeongguk's smile slips. Great. Another day of avoiding dog kisses.

Picking the bouquet up from the bucket, Jeongguk shakes some of the water off before slipping it into his backpack. "Got it. I'll deliver it now," he says, and Namjoon hums in affirmation as he continues working on his current bouquet.

"Hey boss?" Jeongguk calls.

"Yeah?" Namjoon asks, clearly distracted.

"We don't happen to, uh, have any deliveries for Jin today, do we?" Jeongguk asks, hoping he sounds as nonchalant as he's pretending to be.

He'd lean up against the wall and inspect the dirt underneath his fingernails if Namjoon were looking at him.

If Namjoon notices though, he doesn't say anything. He only holds up the half-finished bouquet of pink and white peonies.

"Yeah, this is for him," he says. "Got an order this morning. They wanted to send him lilies, but I suggested peonies. Seokjin likes those more."

Jeongguk swallows hard to avoid the laugh that bubbles up through his throat. But that amusement at his boss' expense is quickly replaced by a tangible excitement.

Today, he's going to see Taehyung.

And today, he's going to do everything he can to make sure he doesn't make a fool out of himself.

"Sounds good," he says. "See you later!"

And then Jeongguk takes off on his skateboard to make his first delivery of the day. And that skip in his step has multiplied tenfold.

🌷

That morning, Mrs. Something-or-other (Jeongguk already forgot) tries just a little bit harder to give Jeongguk that tip in the form of a kiss.

One of her ten dogs manages to grab onto the back of his pant leg in an attempt to pin him down, but he skates away before she can get her lips on any part of him.

Jeongguk just smiles and waves to her as he skates down her driveway, her dogs chasing after him.

🌷

It's around lunchtime when Jeongguk finally gets his hands on Seokjin's bouquet. He tries not to yank it too hard out of the bucket and instead gingerly places it into his backpack with the utmost care.

Sure, Seokjin could easily wave his hand and fix whatever imperfections Jeongguk accidentally inflicted on the bouquet, but the last one he delivered was a little worse for wear and Jeongguk's determined to impress Taehyung.

After all, the only two interactions he's had with Taehyung involved him running into or almost running into a pole, so.

"Later, boss!" Jeongguk calls as he dashes out the back door and hops on his skateboard.

Kim's Bakery & Magic Shop is only a five minute skate from Kim's Flowers and downhill as well. So Jeongguk coasts most of the way there, the wind whipping through his hair as he weaves in and out of the lunchtime crowd.

When Jeongguk sees Taehyung through the window to Kim's Bakery, he's prepared. This time, he stops his skateboard before the lamp post, kicking it into his hand and entering the shop like an absolute professional.

Already off to a great start.

Taehyung's behind the counter, boxing up cupcakes and handing them to a mother and her daughter as they wait patiently. When he hands them off, he notices Jeongguk and his smile multiplies tenfold. He even manages a little wave, which Jeongguk returns.

All while his heart does backflips in his chest.

"Have a magical day," Taehyung says as he slips the little girl a cookie with the most brilliant, boxiest smile Jeongguk has ever seen.

Ugh, he's so cute.

The bell on the door jingles as the family leaves, and Jeongguk steps up to the counter with a smile. "I have a delivery," he says, pulling the peony bouquet out of his backpack and handing it off to Taehyung.

Taehyung takes the bouquet with a small smile, holding it in his hands as if it would break. "It's beautiful," he says, turning it over to admire the flowers.

"Yeah," Jeongguk says dreamily.

And it is. Namjoon has a knack for flower arrangement, always finding the perfect mix of flowers to pair together to create the most beautiful bouquet.

But it's not as beautiful as the witch holding it, that's for sure.

"I'm assuming these are for Seokjin?" Taehyung says with a small smile.

"Yeah, but he gets so many of them I bet he wouldn't notice if you kept it," Jeongguk says with a grin.

Taehyung laughs. "No, they're his," he says. "I couldn't do that. What if they're from someone important?"

"He has a lot of admirers," Jeongguk says.

But then he thinks about all of the work that Namjoon put into the bouquet to make it just right -- just what Seokjin would love -- and while they might not be from someone Seokjin knows or cares about, they were certainly made by someone who cares.

Looking around, Jeongguk notices the lack of Seokjin's presence, but he certainly hears him toiling away in the kitchen, probably working on whipping up some new batch of something or other.

Even Seokjin's familiar is nowhere to be seen, missing from his usual perch near the bread rolls in the window.

Taehyung's puffball dog is asleep near the door, his little paws stretched out in front of him, eyes closed as he absorbs the sun like the happy cat he isn't.

Smiling, Jeongguk leans over the counter just enough to lower his voice. "Lemme see it," he says, holding his hand out for the bouquet.

Taehyung looks confused, his eyebrows screwing together as he tentatively hands the bouquet back over to Jeongguk.

Jeongguk tries to be quiet as he peels back a few layers of plastic and paper, until the sides of the bouquet are fully exposed. And he hums to himself as he finds a light pink peony at the edge of the bouquet. His fingers grip the stem before he tugs it free.

And as he folds the paper and plastic back together, it's almost as if it was never missing in the first place.

Placing the bouquet on the counter, Jeongguk smiles at Taehyung, who's watching him curiously. And Jeongguk wets his lips nervously as he leans over the counter, brushing some of Taehyung's hair away from his face so he can place the flower behind his ear.

The tips of his fingers feel electric from where they brush up against Taehyung's skin. And he knows the tips of his ears are burning bright red as his heart rams up against his throat.

His palms are probably sweating too, and Jeongguk hopes Taehyung doesn't notice.

And as Jeongguk leans back, he can't help but smile. Because the picture that the flower creates -- beautiful Taehyung with a big, blooming flower tucked behind his ear -- is breathtaking.

"There," Jeongguk says. "Now the bouquet has competition."

Jeongguk isn't sure if he's hallucinating or not when he sees a blush color the apples of Taehyung's cheeks and the tips of his ears. And it only makes his smile widen, his heart thumping awkwardly against his chest.

Taehyung scrambles to grab his phone so he can check his reflection. And he does, turning his head from side to side as he admires the flower currently sitting behind his ear.

Slowly, he reaches up to touch it, his fingers lightly grazing the pink petals of the peony.

And then his face erupts in the biggest smile Jeongguk's seen on him yet -- all boxy and big and toothy and warm -- and Jeongguk's pretty sure his heart's stopped in his chest.

After Taehyung signs for the bouquet, he moves it into the back. And Jeongguk lingers by the register, his feet stilled by a polite request from Taehyung asking him to stay.

Jeongguk shouldn't be surprised when Taehyung returns from the back with a bag.

A bag that smells suspiciously like cookies. (Specifically like Taehyung's cookies.)

And Jeongguk's heart leaps up in his throat while his stomach shifts in nervous anticipation.

"I made you some more," Taehyung says, handing the bag over to Jeongguk with the same wide, beautiful grin. "Since you like them."

Jeongguk wishes he liked them.

He'd give his left big toe to like the taste of Taehyung's cookies.
But when Taehyung hands the bag over, Jeongguk reaches in and stuffs one in his mouth, smiling with wide cheeks.

His throat constricts, determined not to let him swallow the cookie.

But Jeongguk forces it down anyway.

"Thank you," Jeongguk says, slipping the rest of the cookies into his backpack. And Taehyung looks so genuinely happy and grateful that it makes the burning sensation in the pit of his stomach worth it.

One hundred percent.

🌷

That night, when Jeongguk comes home with a third bag of Taehyung's terrible cookies, both Hoseok and Jimin stare him down from where they're curled up on the couch watching dance videos.

"Please tell me you didn't eat one," Hoseok says with a laugh.

"Too late," Jeongguk says, storing them with the rest of the cookies he's trying to preserve until the end of time.

"I can't tell if he's into you or wants you dead," Jimin says with a cheeky grin.

Jeongguk hopes it's the former.

But if he ends up dying, it'll have been a hundred percent worth it.

🌷end of pt. two🌷

🌷pt. 3 - this one's for you🌷

Taehyung's first week at Kim's Bakery & Magic Shop comes to a close without much fanfare.

In fact, it feels almost ordinary. The way they close the shop on Monday to finally get some rest; the way they both sleep in before heading to the market to buy farm fresh ingredients in bulk or get groceries for the house.

It's been one week and Taehyung already feels just a little bit more settled.

His work at the bakery has been all over the place. He's done a little bit of baking here and there, helping Seokjin mix bread starters or throwing ingredients into the stand mixers while --

-- Seokjin stands behind him and watches. But, for the most part, Taehyung helps Seokjin handle everything else in the bakery so he can focus on the actual baking.

From talking to customers over the phone to taking and preparing orders to handling money and inventory.

Even picking up lunch orders or coffee from the cafes or restaurants down the street whenever they're hungry.

Every day gets a little bit easier. And every day gets a little bit more fun, as Seokjin shows Taehyung how he adds magic and potions into baked goods without compromising taste, or how to use the various instruments strewn throughout the kitchen.

As Yeontan continuously ends up covered in flour. Or dirt.

As cute flower tattoo boys wave at him in passing through the window or stick flowers behind his ear.

But that doesn't erase the slowly growing frustration, especially as Taehyung watches Seokjin work. Whenever Seokjin's prepping or baking, he looks so confident; so in his element. And every little pastry he pulls out of the oven looks and smells so perfect.

Watching customers leave with smiles as they take bites out of cookies or cupcakes or banana bread feels like a job well done -- feels like something productive -- but all it is is a reminder that Taehyung's still far from ever achieving his dreams.

Whatever those are.

Sighing, Taehyung casts a cleaning spell on the display case as he works on rearranging the late afternoon's remaining pastries. There's only an hour left to go until closing and he's already excited for it.

He's been up for almost twelve hours and he's ready to faceplant into bed and then take Yeontan out for a walk.

Hopefully in that order.

But then, as Taehyung shuffles around the Purple Hair Pralines, he notices the cleaning spell he cast didn't actually do its job.
Furrowing his brow, Taehyung rubs at the inside of the display case, frowning as the fingerprints and grime come off with ease.

"That's weird," he mumbles to himself, recasting the spell.

When it works, Tae's caught between satisfaction and a biting disappointment.

Because of course he can't even cast a simple cleaning spell right.

(But didn't he? He's cast that spell so many times, he could do it in his sleep--)

When the door opens and the bell jingles, Taehyung glances up to see a young man walk through the door, all smiles on his beautifully round face. He has blond, windswept hair, styled perfectly despite the fact that he's sweating and carrying a gym bag over his shoulder.

"Hey," the man says. "You're not Jinnie, so you must be Taehyung, right?"

And Taehyung gapes. He knows the witch community is small in this town, but does word really travel that fast?

The young man must sense Taehyung's confusion because he's laughing. "Sorry! I'm Jeongguk's roommate, Jimin," he says.

And Taehyung's mouth snaps shut, his lips forming into a smile.
Okay, Jeongguk's roommate. That makes more sense --

Wait.

Does it?

"I've heard a lot about you," Jimin says, his smile coy. "It's nice to finally put a name to the face."

And Taehyung's back to gaping. Why is Jeongguk talking about him? They've only spoken a couple times.

Is it because of his cookies or something? Maybe Jimin wants some.

"I hope only good things," Taehyung finally manages to say.

And Jimin's coy smile is unreadable.

"I'm actually here for a Break-a-Leg Baguette," Jimin says, nodding toward the basket of baguettes behind the counter.

"Okay," Taehyung says, grabbing it and bagging it up for Jimin. "Do you have a performance coming up?"

Jimin's smile is wide and warm as he takes the baguette from Taehyung, stuffing it into his tote. "Yeah," he says. "I'm attending the local dance conservatory. We're performing tomorrow. I always get a baguette before I perform."

Wow, Jimin's a dancer? Taehyung's never met someone who dances at more than just social gatherings before. "I'm sure you don't need it," he says.

"It never hurts," Jimin says, his laughter ringing like a bell.

Taehyung rings Jimin up at the register. "So you dance? What's it like?" he asks.

"Grueling, but fun," Jimin says. "I dunno how to describe it. I mean, using your entire body to convey emotion is so satisfying."

Taehyung thinks he understands. There's something like that in spell work; in magic in general.

"That's so cool," Taehyung says, his smile warm.

"Not as cool as being a witch," Jimin says with a grin. "I know the other witch in town, Yoongi, and I've been coming here since Jinnie opened shop. But it's nice to have another witch here."

"Thanks," Taehyung says. If only he can get his shit together and figure out what he wants to do with himself.

He can't run the till at Seokjin's shop forever.

"Is that your familiar?" Jimin asks, nodding over at Yeontan, who's currently chasing his tail, just as bored as Taehyung is.

"Yeah," Taehyung says with a smile. "His name's Yeontan."

And Jimin's squatting down to pet him. Yeontan immediately takes to Jimin, running between his legs and wiggling around him as Jimin rubs him behind the ears.

"He's so cute!" Jimin says. "Yoongi's familiar is also a dog. Ugh, I just wanna eat him up."

Taehyung laughs, his heart squeezing in his chest at the sight, all thoughts of cleaning spells and bakeries dissipating with the width of his smile.

🌷

Taehyung takes to Jimin almost as quickly as Yeontan does, their easy conversation turning into five minutes, then fifteen, then thirty. And, just like that, the last of the work day slips by in a flurry of laughter and smiles.

Seokjin wanders in and out of the storefront, mostly focused on getting things ready for the next day. And Seokjin and Jimin talk too, catching up like old friends.

It's nice, Taehyung thinks. He's always been fine on his own -- in fact, he's been on his own for most of his life, especially after Seokjin left home -- and while he loves Seokjin's company, it's nice having someone else to talk to.

Taehyung knows he doesn't have time to make friends -- that he should be focused on finding out what he can do with his life so he can finally leave -- but, with Jimin, it's so easy.

So when Jimin asks Taehyung for his number, Taehyung only hesitates for a moment before handing it over.

And then Jimin's out the door, waving good-bye with a bright, cheerful smile on his face. "I'll tell Guk you said hi," he says.

And all thoughts of the frugality of friendships are lost as his heart twists in his chest and his lips pull up into a smile.

🌷

On Tuesday, Jeongguk stops by the bakery again carrying not one but three bouquets, all of which are for Seokjin.

Seokjin's in the storefront that day, piping frosting onto freshly cooled Courage Cupcakes as he hums along to some song playing quietly on the radio.

When Taehyung sees Jeongguk struggle to get through the front door, giant bouquets gripped tight in his arms and preventing him from being able to see, Taehyung rushes to help him.

All the while Seokjin cackles and shakes sprinkles over his cupcakes.

"Namjoon did a good job with these," Seokjin says as he signs for the flowers. "Tell him thank you for me."

"I will," Jeongguk says with a smile.

Taehyung puts the flowers into fresh vases, admiring how beautiful they all are. There's another peony bouquet -- the biggest and most beautiful of them all -- and a bouquet of red roses and one of sunflowers.

"I like this one the best," Taehyung says, holding up the sunflower bouquet with a smile. "I love sunflowers."

"Really?" Jeongguk asks, his eyes wide and curious.

"Yeah, don't you?" Taehyung asks. "They're so big and beautiful and bright."

And when he smiles at Jeongguk, Jeongguk smiles back -- his smile stretching his cheeks and lighting up his face.

Cute.

"Maybe I should make my next tattoo a sunflower," Jeongguk says, holding up his arm to point out a naked patch of skin, surrounded on all sides by beautiful, bright flowers.

"You should," Taehyung says, his laughter as light as his heart.
When Taehyung turns to move the vases to the store window, where they can get the most sun, his eyes catch Seokjin's. And Taehyung doesn't miss the way Seokjin's eyes sparkle and the way he smirks.

Like he knows something Taehyung doesn't.

Taehyung would know that look anywhere; he's seen it thousands of times during their childhood, especially when Seokjin was a few seconds away from getting them both in trouble.

"I'll be in the back," Seokjin says suddenly, getting up and moving to the kitchen. Probably to take the new batch of cupcakes out of the oven or something.

Taehyung just watches him go before looking over at Jeongguk, who's still standing in the store despite the fact that he's long-since finished his flower delivery.

When their eyes connect, Jeongguk's smile is shy and Taehyung smiles back.

Inside his chest, his heart beats hard and steady.

"Oh, right!" Taehyung says, turning around to shuffle around behind the counter before pulling out a freshly baked batch of Calming Cookies.

They're wrapped up in a plastic bag, the top twisted and sealed with a big, red bow. And the bag is decorated with red tissue paper and stickers and a little, hand drawn cat face.

And Jeongguk's eyes widen before his face breaks out into the cutest smile. "You don't have to keep giving me cookies every time I visit," he says sheepishly.

Taehyung laughs. "I want to," he says. "I've been working on the recipe. You're the only one who's actually eaten them, so."

And in an instant, Jeongguk's swiped the bag from Taehyung's hands. He takes a second to admire the packaging before he's chewing and swallowing a cookie.

"So good," Jeongguk says, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. And Taehyung's heart leaps up into his throat as his face breaks out in a smile so wide it makes his cheeks hurt.

When Jeongguk leaves, Taehyung watches him go with a small smile. There are butterflies in his stomach, flapping around and causing a ruckus. So much so that he doesn't notice when Seokjin walks up behind him.

"Did Jeongguk leave?" he asks.

And Taehyung nods, busying himself behind the register with a small smile on his lips. "Yeah," he says. "But I gave him some cookies for the road."

"Your cookies?" Seokjin asks, eyebrows drawn together.

"Yeah, he likes them," Taehyung says, unable to hide the way his stomach flips itself inside out.

Seokjin smiles before swiping one of the extras from the rack. And then he pops it into his mouth.

Chews.

And then starts coughing.

"Holy shit, Taehyung, what did you put in these?" Seokjin asks, grabbing a glass of water from the back to wash the cookie down.

And Taehyung stutters to a halt, his lips parting and eyebrows drawing together as he watches Seokjin choking down water to wash the taste of cookie from his mouth. "I followed the recipe," he says quietly.

Seokjin sighs. "I'm gonna watch you next time," he says. "I'm sorry Tae, but these aren't good."

And Taehyung nods numbly as he stares at the rack of leftover cookies.

Jeongguk likes them though, right? He's eaten one every time, smiling as he swallowed them.

Taehyung doesn't know Jeongguk that well, but he wouldn't lie, right?

Maybe they're an acquired taste. A taste Jeongguk likes?

But then Taehyung takes a bite out of a cookie. And instead of the pleasant, nutty flavor they should have, a sour taste wraps itself around his tongue and infiltrates his mouth instead.

In an instant, the butterflies in his stomach burn to a crisp.

And he can't help the heavy sigh that leaves his lips as he stares down at the half-eaten cookie in his hand.

🌷

Taehyung busies himself with cleaning and organizing and helping customers. But the taste of the cookie lingers on his tongue longer than he'd like, Seokjin's words bouncing around his head for the rest of the day.

After they've finally closed shop, Taehyung looks down at his phone before texting Jimin.

Taehyung rolls his lower lip between his teeth and grips his phone in his hand. Well, if Jeongguk keeps accepting his cookies, he must be doing something right. Right?

But if they truly are the worst cookies ever -- if Jeongguk is choking them down for no other reason than to make Taehyung feel better -- then Taehyung's determined to make better cookies. The best cookies.

Just so Jeongguk can enjoy them.

(Just so he can see the smile on Jeongguk's face when he tastes them.)

🌷

On Monday, Kim's Bakery & Magic Shop closes and Seokjin and Taehyung head to the market to restock on ingredients for the next week. It takes most of the morning --

-- half because Seokjin's particular about ingredients and half because he knows every single vendor and makes conversation with them all -- and it's around noon when they finally lug armfuls of fresh ingredients in through the back of the bakery.

Taehyung sighs as he sets a crate of fresh strawberries down on the prep table, reaching up to wipe at the sweat on his forehead with the back of his hand.

They'd flown there and back, Seokjin enchanting their crates to levitate behind them. But lugging them around the market and then back into the bakery was hell, especially as the early morning summer sun beat down on them from above.

The cool sea breeze did little to help aside from making Taehyung want to spend his day off traveling down to the coast to dunk himself right into the sea.

Seokjin hums to himself as he starts putting ingredients away, Odeng perched on his shoulder and curled up against his neck. Yeontan slips out the doggy door to go run around the backyard, the only one among them to fully enjoy the warm, beautiful weather.

"Anything else you need?" Taehyung asks, wiping the last of his sweat off on the hem of his shirt.

And Seokjin just smiles. "Nah, go enjoy your day off."

Taehyung's not sure what he wants to do with all this free time. Heading down to the sea sounds like a great idea -- maybe he'll take a book or his sketchbook and draw or something.

Honestly, Taehyung knows he'll be happy doing anything that doesn't smell like bread and butter. (A delicious scent he's slowly starting to get sick of. It now makes sense why Seokjin doesn't eat most of what he bakes.)

But when Taehyung gets upstairs and strips down to take a quick, cold shower, a text comes through on his phone.

Technically, Taehyung just finished a couple hours of shopping and he's all shopped out, but the thought of hanging out with Jimin for the first time since they met makes his heart leap up into his throat.

Taehyung decides against taking his broom to meet up with Jimin. Even though it's faster and flashier, he doesn't want to carry it around any more than he has that day. So he takes the train for the first time since he moved to Flora.

It's exciting, taking such a pedestrian mode of transportation. Especially since he's been using his broom since he could fly.

Humans really do take their own inventions for granted, don't they? There's something exciting about walking places, taking human cars, and using public transit.

Maybe because it's such a novel concept (his hometown being too small); maybe because there's something fun about watching people go about their daily lives, busying themselves from place to place.

The novelty, however, wears off quickly. Taehyung gets lost twice and misses his transfer. But eventually, by the grace of a few strangers and a friendly station manager, he makes it to the downtown station and to Jimin.

"Tae!" Jimin greets happily, waving at him with his whole entire body.

And Taehyung can't help the smile that tugs at his lips or the warmth that settles into his heart.

🌷

Taehyung's lived in Flora for a few weeks now, but he hasn't seen much of it.

He got a good glimpse of the surrounding scenery as he took the cross-country train.

And he knows Seokjin's neighborhood like the back of his hand, with the amount of times he's had to take Yeontan out on a walk during the day.

But he hasn't really had a chance to explore.

Flora is the largest place Taehyung's ever lived, his hometown being nothing more than a rural farming community. And as much as he loves (and misses) his hometown, there's something new and exciting about living in the city.

In fact, this is kind of the life he'd always dreamed of having.

(Minus working for Seokjin, but still.)

At first, Taehyung wanted very little to do with the world outside Seokjin's bakery. But as the bitterness over his situation ebbs just a little bit, he finds himself excited to get to know the place that's become his new home.

Maybe when he finally figures everything out -- when he finally has a purpose and a dream -- he can set up shop here too. Somewhere on a cliff overlooking the sea, where he can walk Yeontan every morning and watch cute flower boys skateboarding around.

The shopping downtown is intense. There are so many stores it's almost daunting, and Taehyung has no idea where to begin. Lucky for him, Jimin seems to know exactly where he wants to go.

"Have you bought any new clothes since you moved here?" Jimin asks, slipping his arm through Taehyung's and dragging him into some cute boutique off the main road. "Does Jinnie pay you at all? Because some of these places are a little bougie."

Taehyung's head spins as he looks around, his eyes flitting from expensive rayon blouses to cashmere sweaters and sunglasses five times the price of his current pair.\

"Seokjin pays me," Taehyung says, reaching out to pluck a beret off a mannequin and fit it over his head.

"Good," Jimin says, leading Taehyung toward a mirror, his lips pulling up into a smile. "Cute. You should get it."

Taehyung smiles as he adjusts the beret on top of his head. It does look cute. He likes the way it flatters his face; the way his hair sticks out underneath the hat just right.

So he buys it and wears it out of the store, smiling the entire time.

🌷

Jimin drags Taehyung to five more stores before they finally stop at a cafe for a mid-afternoon snack. Jimin's carrying three huge bags of clothes -- which Taehyung has no idea how can afford --

-- while Taehyung only has his beret and a small bag with a few new shirts in them (courtesy of Jimin's enabling).
When they sit down at the cafe, they both orders drinks and decide to split a slice of cake.

"So, how are you liking Flora?" Jimin asks as he sips at his iced coffee, his sunglasses perched on the top of his head.

Taehyung mixes gum syrup in with his iced tea, stirring it around until it mixes in. After a moment, he shrugs. "It's nice," he says.

"Just nice?" Jimin asks, his smile almost too knowing.

"Well, it's not where I thought I'd end up," Taehyung admits openly. And while that's something he's only ever really admitted to Seokjin, he finds it relaxing how easily he feels like he can trust Jimin.

How well they get along.

"Where'd you think you'd end up?" Jimin asks, sinking his fork into their slice of strawberry shortcake.

"I mean, if I weren't a witch, I'd still be on my grandma's farm," Taehyung says honestly. He really loved it there: the feeling of dirt between his fingers, watching his grandma infuse magic with soil and seeds to make perfect vegetables, traveling with her to the market.

He loved the people who lived there. He loved the smell of juniper trees in the air and the quiet of the forest that surrounded their little home.

He loved his grandma's cooking and staying up late with Seokjin building blanket forts in Taehyung's bedroom.

But, witch or not, he couldn't stay there forever.

(He's always dreamed big and aimed high.)

"But I always imagined myself at the capital, you know? Opening a cafe and reading peoples' tea leaves and palms."

Jimin smiles, small and wistful. "That sounds nice," he says. "You can do that here too."

Not really, Taehyung thinks. But he only smiles, taking a sip of his iced tea and wincing when it's a little too sweet.

🌷

When they finish their drinks and cake, Jimin slips his arm under Taehyung's and leads him out of the cafe and toward the river that cuts through the center of downtown.

"Where are we headed next?" Taehyung asks. The thought of watching Jimin try on five thousand more outfits does sound fun, but he's definitely shopped out for the day, even after the break.

"To see a friend," is all Jimin says, throwing a wink in Taehyung's direction.

And Taehyung nods. What kind of friend, he wants to ask, but he doesn't.

He briefly wonders if it's Jeongguk. They're roommates, right?

But he wipes that idea from his mind as soon as it arrives.

The river is beautiful; the water a sparkling, clear blue, reflecting the late afternoon sun in a way that makes it glitter. Taehyung can see all the way to the bottom; can see the fish swimming, the ducks paddling around and dipping under when they find something to eat.

Walkways lines both sides, restaurants and shops and cafes behind them. People sit outside under shade and umbrellas to watch the river between bites of food and sips of coffee and pleasant conversation.

It's relaxing.

Taehyung takes a deep breath in, the salt of the sea invading his lungs, and smiles.

There's something about the sight and sound of running water that feels grounding. And he knows it's the witch in him -- the affiliation to the elements -- but still.

He can't deny the way the sound of the river rushing by wiggles in through his ears and wraps around his heart.

Taehyung and Jimin walk along the river together, talking about everything from Taehyung's job to Jimin's roommate "Hobi." And Taehyung feels at ease in the way that most people do when they just had a day well spent.

As they get further down the river, Taehyung's ears pick up the distinct sound of guitar. And he feels a smile tugging at his lips as the sound gets louder and louder.

Beautiful, he thinks, his eyes fluttering closed as Jimin leads him down the river path. It's acoustic, the sound so raw and beautiful, each note plucked in quick succession, floating down the river until it reaches Taehyung's ears.

But soon, the sound of guitar is drowned out by a voice.
The most beautiful voice Taehyung's ever heard.

So melodic and pure, the words leaving lips so gently and quietly and yet so powerful. And Taehyung can hear the raw emotion in every word; hear the way the song comes to life when each lyric is breathed into the microphone.

"Wow," Taehyung says, the word leaving his lips as his mind is distracted by the voice -- the lyrics, the words, the guitar -- becoming louder and louder with every step.

And Taehyung swears he can hear Jimin laugh -- breathy and quiet -- underneath the sound of the music.

When Jimin finally comes to a stop, they're right in front of the musician. Taehyung hums contentedly and lets his eyes flutter open, curious to know who could possess such raw talent; such a beautiful voice.

And Taehyung's eyes finally find him, sitting on a stack of milk crates, guitar rested over his thigh as he plucks the strings and sings into a microphone.

A small crowd has gathered around him, all entranced by the beautiful sound of his voice. Some of them have their phones out, recording him, others are standing there and swaying to the music. Some even stop to drop some money into his guitar case before moving on.

And then the crowd finally parts and Taehyung sees his face.

His heart stops as his eyes rest on none other than Jeon Jeongguk. And Taehyung feels the air practically leave his lungs as his heart freezes in his chest.

Jeongguk plays guitar? Jeongguk sings? With a voice like that, Jeongguk should be selling out stadiums and touring the world, not delivering flowers on the back of a skateboard.

But Taehyung can't let himself think about other peoples' dreams and goals, especially when he doesn't have either of those. So instead, he lets a smile tug itself onto his lips as Jeongguk's voice settles in the deepest, darkest corners of his heart.

"He's amazing," Taehyung whispers, his arm squeezing Jimin's. And Jimin smiles, nudging into Taehyung with an almost teasing smile.

"Isn't he?" Jimin asks.

But Taehyung doesn't answer, hoping the sigh that leaves his lips is enough of one. Instead, he turns his attention fully on Jeongguk, whose singing and strumming his guitar without a care in the world.

His eyes are closed, his face relaxed. A cute pair of round glasses are perched on his nose, making his face look fuller and younger, but not cutting into the handsomeness of his features at all.

One hand is gripping the neck of his guitar, his fingers flying up and down as his other hand strums at the strings. And Taehyung loves the way his hands move -- how each movement makes his tattoos look as if they're swaying in the calm sea breeze that's ruffling his hair.

When the song finally ends, the crowd claps and cheers. Phones finish their recordings and the crowd slowly thins. A few people stop to drop money in his guitar case before going on with their day; a few people linger for the next song in the set.

It's then that Taehyung notices a little sign board propped up in Jeongguk's guitar case: "JK, FOLLOW ME @ jk97music"

"Thank you so much," Jeongguk says into the microphone, giving each and every person who drops money into his guitar case the cutest smile Taehyung's ever seen.

"Yeah, Jeonggukie!" Jimin cheers, and Jeongguk's head snaps up to throw a cute, wide smile in Jimin's direction too.

Before his eyes finally land on Taehyung.

Jeongguk's eyes widen, his lips parting in surprise. And Taehyung's heart freezes in his chest again before he raises his hand to give Jeongguk a little wave and a small smile.

And then Jeongguk's smile widens, pulling at the corners of his cheeks. It's a smile so wide Taehyung's surprised it hasn't split his face in half. But the pure, unadulterated joy in Jeongguk's expression makes Taehyung's heart beat hard and loud against his throat.

Correction: that's the cutest smile Taehyung's ever seen.

(And it's all for him.)

"Hi Taehyung," Jeongguk says into the microphone, and Jimin laughs, elbowing Taehyung repeatedly in the side.

"Hi," Taehyung says back, just loud enough to be heard. His ears are burning and, briefly, he thinks about pulling the beret down enough to cover them.

Clearing his throat, Jeongguk strums idly at his guitar before wetting his lips.

"This next song's for the cute witch in the audience," he says, his smile shy as he looks down at his guitar.

And Taehyung's heart drops into the pit of his stomach. Cute witch? Is that -- Suga or Yoongi or whatever his name is?

He attempts to be subtle as he looks around, trying to spot a witch he's never seen nor met before, but his search is interrupted when Jeongguk laughs into the microphone, loud and pure and happy.

"The cute witch with the beret," Jeongguk corrects.

And if Taehyung's ears were burning before, now they're on fire. In fact, his entire face is burning up like the sun, his heart leaping back up into his throat and pounding up against it, hard and steady.

Is he hallucinating this moment? Because it certainly feels like he's dreaming. Especially when Jeongguk's smile is dialed up to max, his eyes shining behind the lenses of his glasses, his cheeks and ears a healthy shade of red.

Next to him, Jimin is laughing. "So smooth," he says, and it's Taehyung's turn to elbow him in the side.

Taehyung tries not to think too much into it when Jeongguk starts playing the next song.

He tries not to think too much into it when Jeongguk sings into the microphone, his eyes never leaving Taehyung's as each word leaves his lips, filling Taehyung's ears until his heart is full.

He tries not to think too much into it when Jeongguk smiles into the microphone as the song ends.

And he tries not to think too much into it when his heart twists awkwardly and happily in his chest, fluttering there uselessly like the annoying thing it is.

Next to him, Jimin is smiling in that smug way that probably means he's inwardly laughing at Taehyung's internal screaming.

So Taehyung chooses to ignore him. Just like he ignores the way his heart dances to the beat of Jeongguk's music long after it's over.

🌷

When Jeongguk's set is finished, he immediately starts packing up his guitar and amp as the crowd slowly dissipates. And Taehyung just stands there, watching him, his lips parted and his cheeks flushed.

Next to him, Jimin rolls his eyes and slides his arm under Taehyung's so he can lead him over to the front.

"Great set," Jimin says, parking Taehyung right in front of Jeongguk before plopping down on the now empty stack of milk crates.

"Yeah, you're amazing," Taehyung says.

And Jeongguk's head snaps up to look at Taehyung before his lips twist up in an almost shy smile. "Thanks."

Clearing his throat, Taehyung slides his hands into his pockets in some failed attempt at looking calm and not like his heart is trying to beat its way out of his chest.

(Maybe he needs some of Seokjin's Calming Cookies. Or just a new heart altogether, this one clearly doesn't listen.)

"Do you play here often?" Taehyung asks, peering down at Jeongguk. A small smile is tugging at the corners of his lips too, especially when Jeongguk stands up and slips his guitar case over his shoulder.

"Yeah, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday," Jeongguk says. "You should come, uh, listen to me to play on Wednesday."

Taehyung wets his lips before biting down on his bottom lip. His smile widens, his cheeks a deep, burning red. "Maybe I will."

Taehyung swears he sees Jimin cover up a laugh with a cough out of the corner of his eye. But Taehyung pointedly ignores him.

Shifting from foot to foot, Taehyung chews on his lower lip as he watches Jeongguk grab his amp, his eyes never once leaving Taehyung's.

"You, uh -- you sing really well," Taehyung says. "I mean, you have a really beautiful voice."

And Jeongguk coughs as Jimin laughs in the background.
"Oh, really? Thanks," Jeongguk says, his smile shy but his eyes glittering underneath heavy eyelashes.

And Taehyung feels his heart explode out of his chest.
Stupid heart.

Stupid cute flower tattoo boys who ride skateboards and can play guitar and sing.

Stupid Jimin, leading him into this trap.

But Taehyung just smiles, letting it consume his entire face, which is still burning with enough power to cook a rack of Seokjin's best cookies.

"You too," Jeongguk supplies, his voice practically croaking as he forces the words from his throat. "I mean, uh -- shit."

And Taehyung laughs -- a full-bodied, happy laugh.
Maybe moving here -- maybe taking a job at Seokjin's bakery until he finds out what he wants to do with his life -- wasn't the worst decision he's ever made.

Especially when he's already feeling more at home here every day.

🌷end of pt. three🌷

🌷pt. four - reversed🌷 #taekook magic au

It's Tuesday evening and Jeongguk's at his usual spot on the fire escape, his notebook open on his lap and his gaze on the horizon as his pen taps aggressively against the empty page.

He's gotten a few words out, but his brain feels like it's overloaded; short-circuited. Like a stalled car, smoke pouring out from under the hood.

Briefly, Jeongguk wonders that, if he were a witch, would smoke literally be pouring out of his ears? Or would his pen explode in his hands? He's heard that happens sometimes.

In fact, he's seen it happen to Yoongi once or twice.

Briefly, Jeongguk thinks of Taehyung's face, all flushed and smiling, in the audience on the sidewalk watching him play. Jeongguk thinks of how, when he tried to dedicate a song to Taehyung --

-- how he looked around as if he weren't one of the three witches in the whole entire city; as if Jeongguk would dedicate a song like that to anyone else.

And a smile tugs at the corners of his lips, threatening to consume his face whole.

So cute.

Wetting his lips, Jeongguk looks down at the empty page and scribbles a few words:

the words take shape
in the corners of my mind
consuming my every thought
but i wonder
are you thinking of me too?

Next to him, Jimin has his phone practically pressed up against his face, a small smile tugging at his lips as his thumbs fly over the keyboard.

Jimin's phone buzzes and he barks out a loud laugh, jostling Jeongguk from his thoughts.

"Who are you texting?" Jeongguk asks, leaning into Jimin to glance over his shoulder. "Yoongi?"

But Jimin presses his phone to his chest with a coy laugh. "Nope," he says, looking every bit like the cat that caught the canary.

Which only makes Jeongguk more curious. "Hobi?" he tries, eyebrows drawing together.

But Jimin just shakes his head, turning his phone away from Jeongguk to text whoever's caught his attention.
Jeongguk's lips purse, his tongue poking at his cheek.

"C'mon, tell me," he says, reaching for Jimin's phone.

But Jimin snatches it away, holding it high over his head as he practically cackles. "What's it to you, Jeonggukie?" he asks. "You jealous?"

Jeongguk scoffs, but makes no move to stop trying to grab for Jimin's phone. "Why would I be jealous?" he asks.

"I dunno," Jimin sings, keeping his phone at bay with those stupid dancer reflexes. "Because it might be a certain crush of yours."

And, all at once, Jeongguk freezes, his heart leaping up in his throat. "Taehyung?" he asks. "You have Taehyung's number?"

He wants Taehyung's number.

How did Jimin get Taehyung's number?

"Yep," Jimin says, his smile smug, eyebrows waggling.

Jeongguk knows he's being obvious. In fact, he's probably rambled to Jimin about a dozen times just over the mole right underneath Taehyung's eye, which is probably an embarrassing thing to gush over to your best friends/roommates, but Jeongguk doesn't care.

He's practically handing Jimin the keys to tease him for the rest of eternity. In fact, he'll probably use all this material on his speech at Jeongguk and Taehyung's wedding or something. But, right now, Jeongguk doesn't care.

All shame goes right out the window.

No regrets.

"How'd you get his number?" Jeongguk asks -- practically whines, but whatever, details.

And Jimin's stupidly smug smile only widens. "I asked for it," he says.

Jeongguk's mouth drops open, his eyebrows screwing together. Jimin just asked for it?? Just straight up asked for the love of his life's number?

How?

Why?

"You can't just ask for Taehyung's number!" Jeongguk huffs, leaning his weight on Jimin as he laughs.

"Why not?" Jimin asks.

And Jeongguk feels his face burn at the question. "Because -- because --"

Humming, Jimin shoves Jeongguk back before waving his phone in his face. Just so Jeongguk can see how many cute messages Taehyung sends. And how often he uses cute emojis.

Shit. Of course Taehyung uses cute emojis. Because he's literally perfect.

"I could give it to you," Jimin sings, wiggling his phone.

And it's tempting. Of course it's tempting. Jeongguk wants to be on the receiving end of Taehyung's pictures and emojis and sweet little messages.

He wants to take their flirting to the next level and send Taehyung cute little messages or pictures of dogs he sees whenever he's skating around town.

But that feels like cheating. So he snaps his notebook shut and holds it to his chest. "No," he says. "I want to earn it."

And Jimin looks surprised, as if he fully expected Jeongguk to cave. Jeongguk's almost positive that, if he had said yes, Jimin would've just taunted him with it instead. Finally, Jimin snorts and then doubles over in laughter. "Holy shit," he says. "You're so whipped."

Jeongguk can't deny it. He's had his fair share of short-lived crushes, but Taehyung's captivated him body and soul. He's absolutely whipped and he'll scream it into the wind if it means being able to spend more time with Taehyung.

Like on dates.

And then as boyfriends.

"Just ask him for it," Jimin says, tucking his phone into his pocket and petting the top of Jeongguk's head.

And Jeongguk huffs, brushing Jimin's hand away. "Fine, maybe I will," he says. Because he's determined now.

Briefly, he remembers the way Taehyung blushed while watching him perform the song Jeongguk dedicated to him. He remembers Taehyung's beautiful smile when he complimented Jeongguk's singing; when Jeongguk embarrassed himself by answering, "You too."

And he thinks that maybe he has a chance of actually scoring that number.

So he's determined.

Within the week, he'll have Kim Taehyung's phone number on his phone. So he can text him cute pictures of dogs and good morning messages with a thousand heart emojis.

🌷

On Thursday, Jeongguk gets a delivery for Kim's Bakery & Magic Shop.

He practically cries as he snatches the bouquet (gently) from the bucket and tucks it into his backpack. And he doesn't miss the way Namjoon gives him an almost knowing look.

He could tease Jeongguk -- he probably should tease Jeongguk -- but he doesn't.

Probably because he knows Jeongguk will shoot back with the fact that the bouquet for Seokjin is twice the size it was probably billed at. How the pink peonies are placed with even more care.

Instead, they just share knowing looks before Jeongguk's skating down the street to make the delivery.

When he gets to Kim's Bakery, Taehyung is in his usual spot: right behind the till, counting bills in between petting his dog (Yeontan, Jeongguk's recently learned) and adjusting his glasses.

When Jeongguk enters to the sound of a tinkling bell, he immediately notices the song playing from the bluetooth speaker Seokjin has behind the counter.

And it's the same song Jeongguk dedicated to Taehyung on Monday.

And Taehyung's humming along with it, his head swaying from side-to-side as the bills continue to magically short themselves into neat little piles.

Inside his chest, Jeongguk's heart skips a beat. And a smile tugs at the corners of his lips. His fingers tingle happily and he grips the bouquet tighter in his hands.

"I got a delivery," Jeongguk says, and Taehyung's head snaps up from where he's writing down numbers and petting Yeontan.

All at once, the bills stop sorting themselves and Yeontan looks up too, looking slightly annoyed that he's no longer receiving scratches behind his ears.

"Oh, hi!" Taehyung stammers out. "Right, um --"

Jeongguk's heart squeezes in his chest and he feels a laugh bubbling up from his throat. Slowly, he approaches the till and places the bouquet on the register.

"Seokjin again?" Taehyung asks, taking the bouquet and admiring it openly. Jeongguk thinks Taehyung looks beautiful holding flowers. How Taehyung deserves all the bouquets in the world too.

Maybe one day he'll have just as many admirers as Seokjin.

Honestly, he's surprised Taehyung doesn't already. Especially when he's so sweet and beautiful --

"Yeah," Jeongguk says. "I think his fans pay half our rent."

And Taehyung laughs, his face buried in the peonies as he smells them.

Slowly, he moves to put the flowers in a vase, filling it with water. When he returns to the counter, he places the bouquet right next to the register, his smile shy and beautiful.

Jeongguk's heart does kickflips in his chest.

"Sign?" he asks, and Taehyung nods, taking the little book from Jeongguk's hand so he can sign it.

Humming, Jeongguk makes a show of looking around the shop as if he hasn't seen it a thousand times. His hands move to his pockets and he's tonguing his cheek. "So, uh," he starts, taking the book from Taehyung after he's finished signing it, "I didn't see you. On Wednesday."

Taehyung's eyes widen, his lips immediately parting, before his cheeks flush. "Oh, I'm so sorry!" he says, and Jeongguk can't help but smile.

Sure, he was disappointed when he looked out into the audience and didn't see Taehyung. But it's worth it if he gets to see his cute, flustered expression the next day. Right?

"I was fully planning on going! But then we got this last minute wedding cake order for this morning and we were up late making it," Taehyung says, wringing his hands and looking so apologetic. "I'm so sorry, Jeonggukie."

And Jeongguk practically chokes at the cute nickname.

Holy shit, Taehyung's so cute. He's so cute and Jeongguk wants to reach across the counter and kiss the hell out of him.

Instead, Jeongguk grins and waves his hand in front of his face. "It's okay," he says. "Maybe I'll see you tomorrow?"

And Taehyung looks relieved; in fact, the relief is so palpable Jeongguk can almost taste it. "Of course," he says, all cute smiles and genuine affection.

Ugh, Jeongguk's heart feels like it's dying in his chest. How can one person be so cute? So perfect?

Wetting his lips, Jeongguk leans just a little bit closer to Taehyung, a wide smile stretching across his face as he locks eyes with Taehyung.

"Good, because there weren't any cute witches to dedicate songs to yesterday," he says.

Taehyung's eyes widen and his face and ears flush.

Overhead, the light starts flickering wildly.

And Jeongguk just laughs. On the outside, he's all playful smirks and twinkling eyes, but on the inside he's an absolute mess of affection and embarrassment and yeah, he's definitely whipped.

If Jimin were here, he would be doubled over cackling.

"So I'll see you tomorrow then?" Jeongguk asks, all confident smiles as he tucks his sign book into his backpack.
And Taehyung just nods dumbly.

Is it a victory of Jeongguk leaves Taehyung speechless?

But just for added effect, he reaches into his backpack and pulls out a single red carnation that he swiped from the store (or, well, Namjoon let him have it, but stealing just sounds so much more bad boy, right?).

And he pokes his tongue past his lips as he leans in to tuck it behind Taehyung's ear.

"Cute," Jeongguk says.

And Taehyung's flush deepens, his eyes wide as a small smile tugs at the corners of his lips.

This would be the moment where Jeongguk asks for Taehyung's number. Or where he makes his casual, suave exit from the shop, leaving Taehyung flushed and speechless. But his getaway plans are ruined by a quiet explosion and Seokjin yelling from the kitchen.

Followed by him storming into the front of the shop, holding a dish in his alpaca mitt-covered hands. "Taehyung," he says, shoving the dish underneath his nose. It's then that Jeongguk sees is a mush of some kind of half-exploded pastry.

"Stop ruining my souffles!" Seokjin snaps, though there's little venom too it and more annoyance.

But Taehyung only sputters, his eyes flicking between the exploded soufflé, Seokjin, and Jeongguk. "I, uh --" he stammers, his face a bright red.

Underneath his breath, Seokjin is muttering, "Just because Jeongguk is flirting with you. Every damn time--"

And while Jeongguk would love to watch this family drama play out -- would love to see Taehyung get more flustered and stammer-y (and would love to find out what Seokjin means by exploding souffles and cute boys) -- he needs to get back to work.

So he shoulders his backpack and slides his hands into the pockets of his pants. "See you tomorrow, Tae," he says, waving with the cutest smile he can muster.

And Taehyung just stammers some more.

Behind him, a sack of flour explodes and Jeongguk laughs while Seokjin's scolding multiplies tenfold.

So cute.

🌷

On Friday, as promised, Taehyung shows up at the river to watch Jeongguk play. And, as promised, Jeongguk dedicates another song to the "cute witch with the cotton ball dog."

He loves the way Taehyung's face flushes when Jeongguk calls him out; relishes in the way Taehyung's smile is so wide it could split his face in half.

Taehyung's so cute. And Jeongguk hopes that Taehyung showing up to watch him play -- Taehyung smiling and watching Jeongguk like a hawk as he sings -- is a good sign.

After Jeongguk's set, he gathers his stuff while Yeontan sniffs every piece of equipment.

And when Taehyung tells Jeongguk just how much he loves his singing, Jeongguk tries very hard not to respond with "you too" again.

Or respond with, "Not as much as I love you." (That would probably be too much, right? Even if it's true.)

Instead, he gives Taehyung the widest smile he can and asks Taehyung if they want to walk home together.

Unfortunately, Jeongguk's cute plans are foiled by Taehyung's broom and an urgent text from Hoseok telling him that dinner's getting cold.

Next time.

🌷

On Sunday afternoon, Jeongguk skates past Kim's Bakery & Magic Shop on the way back from a delivery. Another bouquet of apology flowers, this time from a guy to his fiancé. A bouquet of red roses, with a card that reads "I'm sorry I faked last night's orgasm. :( :( :("

Jeongguk thinks roses are a little overplayed in romance. Red carnations would've been more original. But he respects the creativity of the apology card.

(At least it's better than "sorry for cheating on you" -- his previous personal favorite.)

When Jeongguk passes by the bakery, he fully intends on waving to Taehyung before skating back to the flower shop. But it's actually the presence of someone else that gets him to stop (and nearly has him running into the stupid lamp post again, maybe Taehyung should charm it).

Of course, Jeongguk recognizes that familiar shock of mint hair: Min Yoongi. Resident fortune telling witch and Jimin's long-time boyfriend. (And talented underground rapper/producer.)

Wetting his lips, Jeongguk kicks his skateboard into his hand and enters the shop.

The tinkling bell has both Taehyung and Yoongi looking up from whatever conversation they were engrossed in before Jeongguk arrived. And Jeongguk smiles as he waves.

"Hey Yoongi," he says. Before he turns his most flirtatious smile on Taehyung. "Hi Tae."

"Hey Guk," Yoongi says.

Taehyung chokes before he turns to Yoongi. "You two know each other?" he asks, before smacking his forehead. "Right, you're dating Jimin."

Yoongi snorts. "Yeah, we go way back," he says. "In fact, once I read Guk's fortune at a party, and he cri--"

Jeongguk's heart drops into his chest and he practically rushes to the counter to interrupt Yoongi with a booming laugh. "That's enough of that," he says, before making a show of looking into the display case. "Could I get, like, three dozen Confidence Cupcakes? Thanks."

But Taehyung is smiling, sweet and innocent and almost coy. "But I want to hear the story," he says.

And if Jeongguk were any more whipped, he would absolutely let Taehyung hear all of his embarrassing stories.

But, lucky for him, Yoongi just snorts again. "Next time," he says, ruffling Jeongguk's hair and making him pout.

Though Jeongguk nudges Yoongi in the side as a subtle thanks for not totally embarrassing him in front of the love of his life with the story about how he cried --

-- when Yoongi told him he had no future as a professional skateboarder.

Not his most shining moment, for sure. (But it could be worse. Yoongi has too many embarrassing stories to tell even without the ability to see into the future.)

"So, your business," Taehyung says, and Jeongguk's even more grateful for the subject change, "How's it been?"

Yoongi hums, leaning against the display case. It's then that Jeongguk notices a bag of baguettes -- the ones Jimin likes -- tucked underneath his arm. Cute.

"Pretty well," he says. "But my online reviews are shit."

Jeongguk snorts. "I mean, all your fortunes sound like diss tracks," he says.

"Not my fault they can't handle the truth."

Taehyung is smiling, though when Jeongguk looks just hard enough there's something off about it. Like the smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. "That's so cool that your specialty is fortune telling," he says. "I really wanted to tell fortunes too."

Yoongi shrugs. "It's not all its cracked up to be, but I don't mind the work," he says. "We can't all be stupidly successful bakers like Seokjin."

As if on cue, Seokjin appears from kitchen, carrying a tray of Blemish-Be-Gone Bread Rolls. "We can't all be this stupidly handsome either," he says, his grin wide as he starts restocking the bread rolls.

Yoongi laughs, his smile stretching into a genuine grin.

"You should tell Tae's fortune, Yoongi," Seokjin says with a coy smile.

And Jeongguk sees Taehyung freeze, the smile gone from his face but replaced in an instant -- a shadow of its former self. "Oh, I dunno," he starts.

And Yoongi shrugs. "I don't mind. I've got time to kill," he says. "But it'll cost you. I don't work for free."

Seokjin elbows Taehyung in the side before throwing his arm over his shoulder and hugging him close.

"How about we comp the baguettes and throw in a dozen Creativity Croissants?"

Yoongi seems to consider the offer for a bit before he nods. "Deal."

But Jeongguk can't forget the way that Taehyung's smile slips from his face; can't seem to ignore the way in which Taehyung looks genuinely uncomfortable with the idea of having his future laid out for him. So, he speaks up, "Tae, do you even want your future told?"

And Taehyung looks genuinely surprised, his eyes widening as his head snaps toward Jeongguk. But amidst the surprise and apprehension, Jeongguk thinks he can see a hint of relief.

And when Taehyung smiles, it looks a little more genuine. "Yeah, I want to see how Yoongi's powers work," he says. "I've never met a real fortune telling witch before."

🌷

They close the shop as Yoongi sets up at the kitchen table in the back of the shop. Taehyung sits across from him, his eyes trained on the tarot deck placed directly on the center of the table, the backs of the cards black with a gold, embossed designs and lettering .

"So, you use tarot?" Taehyung asks.

And Yoongi nods. "Yeah. I can do palms for small stuff, tea leaves for divination and dream reading or whatever. But tarot's my most precise."

And Jeongguk shifts in his seat. "His readings are scary accurate, but they can be kind of mean," he says, fighting the urge to place his hand on top of Taehyung's. It's just resting there on the table, looking so warm and inviting.
But that would probably be crossing a line.

Yoongi rolls his eyes. "They're not mean, they're just honest."

And Taehyung smiles, all tight-lipped and nervous. "I'll keep that in mind."

When Seokjin joins them, Yoongi finally slides his tarot deck over Taehyung. "Give it a good shuffle. Take as long as you want. You'll know when you're done."

And Taehyung takes a deep breath as he touches the back of the tarot deck. It seems to zap his fingers -- probably with magical energy or something -- but he presses forward.

Slowly, Taehyung shuffles up the cards, thumbing them together before breaking them apart again. The room is deathly silent except for the sound of the cards slapping and sliding together.

And when Taehyung's satisfied, he places the tarot deck right in the middle of the table.

Adjusting his glasses, Yoongi looks down at the deck. It stares back up at him and he rubs the tip of his tongue against his teeth in thought.

Finally, he holds out his hand and Taehyung takes it. And Yoongi stares directly into Taehyung's eyes.

The energy of the room is heavy and charged and Jeongguk feels his gut turn.

Seokjin seems to sense it too, because he laughs. "Want me to beatbox?" he asks. "To set the mood?"

Yoongi rolls his eyes. "Hell no," he says. "Your beatboxing is terrible, Jin."

And just like that, the seriousness is cut by the laughter around the table. Even Taehyung seems to relax just a little bit more.

And then Yoongi takes a deep breath and draws the first card.

The Cariot, reversed.

And the words start slipping from his lips like water, rhythm in every word as he literally raps Taehyung's future.

"You think you're the only one without dreams? A future? Without hope?

"You trying to walk before you can crawl.

"How the fuck are you gonna cope,

"With the reality that you'll lose it all?"

He draws the next card: Judgment, reversed. And he doesn't even look at it, the card sitting on the surface of the table but Yoongi's eyes boring into Taehyung's.

Jeongguk can't look away.

"You need to suture your future back together,

"From the pieces of your dreams.

"You're obsessed with success in a world without neither but whether

"You make it or not isn't quite what it seems."

Another card: the Empress, reversed.

"You need a team to take your dreams from schemes to success,

"And if it seems like you're going to scream then do it, let it out--"

The Seven of Wands, reversed.

"Because you're holding yourself back with all your stress.

"Your own prison from which you'll never breakout."

Death, upright.

"But if you think you're trapped by the crap keeping you pinned in this mousetrap,

"Your next mishap will leave you unwrapped."

Temperance, upright.

"And from the scraps of your failure you'll find your next road map,

"Gift-wrapped in the tears you'll spill when you snap."

The Tower, upright.

"Obsession with success in this chess game called life,

"If I could guess this distress is causing nothing but strife,

"Pointless, exhausting, draining, but a necessity to grow--"

The World, upright.

"So close your eyes, let it happen, and you'll find the answer, y'know?"

And then Yoongi slaps the last card onto the table. The Lovers, upright.

"This might not offset the cold sweat from these threats, I'll bet,

"But by the next moon, you're definitely gonna get your dick wet."

And just like that, Yoongi lets go of Taehyung's hand, his breath coming out in heavy pants. And the room is silent, all eyes on Yoongi, the atmosphere heavy with anticipation, confusion, awe.

Jeongguk is the first to speak. "What."

What.

What the fuck?

Jeongguk isn't even sure where to start. And it's then that he realizes he and Seokjin shouldn't have been in the room. Because everything Yoongi talked about -- Taehyung's anxiety about his own future, his self-doubt, his fear of failure -- seems too personal for an audience.

But Jeongguk can't exactly focus on all of that when the last two lines ring in his ears.

Because someone's going to hook up with Taehyung?

Is it him?

It has to be him?

What if it isn't him?

All of Yoongi's fortunes come true and what if it isn't him?

Taehyung, meanwhile, looks dazed. His expression is almost unreadable, lips parted in shock as he likely processes everything.

But Jeongguk can see a wetness in his eyes; can see the way he swallows hard, wets his lips, and then looks down at the spread of cards before him.

"Wow," is all Taehyung can say. He swallows again, wets his lips, looks back up at Yoongi. "That was--"

"Yeah," Yoongi finishes. And he's looking down at the cards too.

Seokjin clears his throat. "That's probably the most optimistic reading I've ever seen Yoongi give," he says, resting his hand on Taehyung's shoulder to give it a firm squeeze. "You'll definitely find your answer, Tae."

What answer, Jeongguk wants to ask, but from the way Taehyung's throat bobs when he swallows, the way he nods as if distracted, tells him that maybe he shouldn't.

Maybe one day. When they're closer. Or dating.

Because there's no way in hell someone else is going to make a move on Taehyung before he does.

Fate can suck it.

Fate's never met Jeon Jeongguk.

🌷

That night, Jeongguk comes home from work to find Yoongi in his kitchen, stirring a big, heaping pot of stew over the stove. Jimin is sitting on the counter, leaning against the cupboards and watching his boyfriend with the most sickeningly fond smile Jeongguk's ever seen.

"Hey Guk," Yoongi says, adding more seasoning into the pot before holding the spoon out for Jimin to taste it.
When Jimin hums contentedly, Yoongi goes back to stirring.

"I didn't know you were coming over," Jeongguk says, dropping his backpack near the door and toeing off his shoes.

"Yeah, after I heard Hoseok's been feeding Jimin nothing but ramen--"

From the living room, Jeongguk hears an indignant snort. "Jiminie's the one who keeps buying it!"

"Anyway, I'm here to feed your sorry asses," Yoongi finishes.

Jeongguk inhales the heavy scent of stew, relishing in the way it enters his lungs and fills his belly. And when his mouth starts to water, he realizes he hasn't eaten anything since lunch, which was basically just cup noodles hastily scarfed down in the backroom at work.

"Thanks," he says, heading toward his bedroom to get changed into his house clothes (an oversized t-shirt and a pair of sweats).

Normally, he'd head out onto the balcony with his notebook and pen and try to crank out some lyrics. But they have company that night and Yoongi's technically trapped in the kitchen until he finishes cooking.

Which gives Jeongguk the perfect chance to interrogate him about Taehyung's earlier reading.

More specifically, the part about getting his dick wet.

(Yeah, Jeongguk's shameless. But can you blame him?)

So, of course, he slides into the kitchen, his hands in the pockets of his sweats, trying to look as innocent and unbothered as humanly possible.

"No," Yoongi says as soon as Jeongguk leans against the counter next to him; as soon as he opens his mouth.

And Jeongguk scoffs, trying to look as affronted as possible. "What?" he asks.

"I know what you're gonna ask, and the answer is no," Yoongi says.

Stupid fortune teller. Always knowing the future.

Next to him, Jimin perks up. "What's he gonna ask?" he asks.

"About Taehyung's fortune," Yoongi says, holding the spoon up for Jimin to taste.

Jimin swallows the sip with a happy sigh. "You read Taehyung's fortune?" he asks. "How was it?"

"Optimistic," Yoongi says. "He has a bright future ahead of him, but he's holding himself back."

Jeongguk huffs. "Stop telling other people about Taehyung's personal business."

Jimin laughs, all smug smiles and twinkling eyes. "Wow, such a knight in shining armor."

Jeongguk slaps Jimin's leg. "Shut up."

"Anyway, what does Jeonggukie want to know about that?" Jimin asks.

"Cards said Taehyung's gonna get laid soon," Yoongi says as he rifles through the cupboards looking for another ingredient for the stew.

And Jimin bursts out laughing. Like literally doubles over himself, nearly falling off the counters, laughing. There are tears in his eyes.

"Oh my god," Jimin practically wheezes. "Oh my god, Jeonggukie, are you jealous?"

"No," Jeongguk says. "Maybe. Yes." And then he rounds on Yoongi. "Is it me?"

Yoongi shrugs.

"Did the cards show you who it was?"

Yoongi shakes his head. "Nope."

And Jeongguk stares directly into Yoongi's eyes, trying to read him for any sign of deception. But he can't see anything, not that he's particularly amazing at intuiting peoples' emotions.

Especially Yoongi's.

Damn poker-faced bastard.

Jimin's wiping tears from his face but he can't stop laughing. He's blindly grasping for his phone, which is next to him on the counter. "Oh my god I should text this to Tae," he says.

And Jeongguk feels his heart freeze in his chest. "No, don't!"

But that only makes Jimin laugh even harder -- even louder. "Jeonggukie, you don't even have his phone number," he teases. "How are you even gonna kiss him if you don't make a move?"

And Jeongguk's face flushes a brilliant, hot red as he runs his hands through his hair. "I will," he says. "Fuck fate."

And as he storms out of the kitchen, he hears Jimin laughing again. "Go get your man!"

🌷

After a delicious dinner, Yoongi, Hoseok, and Jimin curl up on the couch to watch a movie. And while Jeongguk would usually join them, he excuses himself to sit out on the balcony, watching the nighttime city lights sparkling towards the horizon, his notebook open on his lap.

His page, like always, is blank, as is his mind. But he lets himself get lost in the sights and smells of the city around them instead, watching car tail lights disappear into the distance;

watching the warm lights of windows turn on and off as people come home or leave or go to sleep.

Somewhere in the distance, he hears a dog bark, which sets off a chain reaction around their neighborhood.

When the window opens, Jeongguk sighs and looks down at his notebook, scribbling the only words he could think in the moments he spent watching, listening.

am i brave or a fool?
jumping headfirst into the unknown?
is it bravery if i'm scared to take the first step?
if my heart stutters before i start?
perfection, flawless, glittering like gold.
is it the real deal, or just a layer of paint?

was i born with this shine or did i wrap myself in it?
i'm scared.
too afraid to let people see the real me.
too afraid to let people see that i'm
stalling, stuck.
dull, half-baked, terrified.
a coward, gilded and glittering.
fool's gold.

The window closes again as Yoongi plops down next to Jeongguk, making himself comfortable. "Hey," he says.

And Jeongguk grunts. "Hey," he says.

"Are you still pouting because I won't tell you who's gonna suck Taehyung's dick?"

Jeongguk's head snaps up. "I thought you said you didn't know."

And Yoongi only laughs.

Groaning, Jeongguk elbows him in the side. "You're the worst."

They're silent for a while, both of them staring out onto the horizon, where the city skyline meets the sea. There are little lights from the boats coming toward the harbor and, in the distance, a lighthouse, its beacon light and shining, twinkling like a bright, beautiful star.

"How're your songs?" Yoongi asks.

And Jeongguk sighs. "I've had writer's blocks before. But I can't get out of this one," he says. "No matter what I try to do."

Yoongi hums, glancing down at Jeongguk's notebook. And Jeongguk turns it toward him, so he can see what he wrote.

"It's not bad," he says.

"It's rough."

"I mean, aren't all songs rough in the beginning?" Yoongi asks. "Sometimes, I'll be in my studio for weeks and all I've written is shit."

"Yeah?" Jeongguk asks, sitting up and looking over at Yoongi. His heart beats heavy and hard up against his ribs, hopeful.

Because even the great Min Yoongi gets stuck, when every rap and song he's ever written is amazing?

"Yeah," Yoongi says. "When I was younger, I'd just throw all that shit out. Because it was garbage, right? You can't polish garbage."

Jeongguk hums.

"But as I got older I realized it's not garbage, it's just the beginning. A first draft. The ideas are there, even if the execution isn't. You know?"

Again, Jeongguk hums. "I think so."

"In its unpolished state, a first draft has a lot of gems. Even if they're small ones. You just gotta dig deep to find them."

Yoongi takes the notebook from Jeongguk's lap, holding it close to his face so he can see the lyrics in the dim light coming from the living room.

"Like this. It's just a couple lines, right? Just the start of something. But there's a gem here. The main idea, that the world only sees the lie that you're spinning, that you don't feel as if you're being truthful to yourself.

"There's something there -- something raw, powerful. And that's something only you can write. So don't give up on it."

And Jeongguk takes the notebook back, looking down at the lyrics staring back up at him. And in his heart, he feels just a little ray of hope.

And he smiles.

"Any other sage advice?" Jeongguk asks, his smile turning cheeky.

Yoongi rolls his eyes, elbowing Jeongguk in the side. "Don't be afraid to step away. Sometimes doing other shit -- napping, watching movies, going for walks -- can get the creativity flowing even better than bashing your head up against it."

Jeongguk laughs, leaning up against Yoongi's side. "Thanks."

Yoongi rests his head on top of Jeongguk's. And Jeongguk feels so warm and so full in that moment, despite the evening chill seeping in through the heavy fabric of his shirt and sweats.

"No problem, Guk."

They sit like that for a while, watching the boats go in and out of the harbor; watching the lighthouse twinkling in the distance. And it feels relaxing, freeing -- inspiring even, if only a little bit.

"Is it that asshole Minho?" Jeongguk asks. "It is, isn't it?"

And Yoongi barks out an incredulous laugh. "Have you ever seen him at Seokjin's bakery?"

"I dunno," Jeongguk says. "I bet he's there all the time."

And Yoongi just laughs harder.

"I gotta keep him away," Jeongguk says, resolved.

"Holy shit, Guk, just get Taehyung's number. Please."

🌷

On Sunday, Jeongguk rolls into work with a bounce in his step. Because today he's determined to get Taehyung's phone number.

Today, he's definitely going to muster up the courage to ask for Taehyung's phone number. Even if it means taking his entire lunch break just to go to Kim's Bakery & Magic Shop.

It's going to happen.

Screw fate.

Screw Yoongi's cards.

He'll be damned if he lets anyone else make a move on Taehyung before he does.

(Not that he thinks Taehyung owes him a date or anything. Because if Taehyung is interested in someone else, then Jeongguk will definitely back off, even if he'll end up heartbroken.

But he's determined not to let the opportunity pass without at least trying, because he'll never live it down if he doesn't at least try, right?)

Still, the doubt is there, nestled in between his ribs, as Yoongi's fortune makes itself at home in the back of his mind.

When he gets to the back of the flower shop, Namjoon's finishing up on a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers. Which, of course, immediately makes Jeongguk think of Taehyung.

"Where am I taking those?" Jeongguk asks.

"Kim's Bakery," Namjoon says.

And Jeongguk practically leaps for joy. "Seokjin?" he asks, trying not to sound too hopeful. Not that he'd deliberately lose the flowers if they were for Taehyung or anything.

Of course not.

He's a professional.

"Yeah," Namjoon says. "Here's the thing though. The call came from Kim's Bakery. His new apprentice. Taehyung, I think?"

Jeongguk blinks. "Really?" he asks.

Namjoon hums. "Yeah. I think he was trying to pretend he was one of Seokjin's admirers, but he kept asking who was delivering today and only made the purchase after he heard it was you."

Jeongguk's heart freezes in his chest. Taehyung was asking about him? Taehyung was ordering flowers so he could deliver them?

Jeongguk doesn't want to read too much into it. But it's hard not to, especially when he knows how expensive Namjoon's flowers are.

Especially when Kim Taehyung is specifically asking for Jeongguk to deliver the flowers. To Seokjin.

Meaning he'll have to stop by the shop.

Meaning they'll see each other.

"Thanks, boss," Jeongguk says, taking the bouquet once Namjoon puts the finishing touches on it. "I'll deliver it right away."

And Namjoon's smile is knowing. "Of course."

Jeongguk packs the bouquet away in his backpack before he's off on his skateboard.

And his heart is beating up against his throat, hard and heavy.

He's resolved to get Kim Taehyung's phone number today.

For sure.

Jeongguk's practically wheezing by the time he makes it to Kim's Bakery & Magic Shop. What's normally a short ride, Jeongguk makes in a couple minutes by sheer force of will and determination.

Despite the fact that he has no other deliveries to make that day and essentially all the time in the world once the flowers are signed for.

He really, really wants to see Taehyung.

(And that feeling might be mutual, judging by the bouquet he currently has gripped tightly against his chest.)

Peeking in through the window display, past the baguettes and bread loaves and Odeng sleeping in his little hammock, Jeongguk sees Taehyung staring up at the clock (one of those cat-shaped ones with the swinging eyes and tail) as he absentmindedly packs beignets into a bag --

-- for the customer currently talking his ear off at the counter.

Jeongguk's eyes narrow as he takes in just how handsome said customer is. With his quaft dark hair and slender frame and expensive clothing.

Shit.

Taking a deep breath, Jeongguk wets his lips before pushing through the front door to the bakery. The bell over the door rings happily and Taehyung's head shoots up from the clock and toward the sound.

When Taehyung's eyes connect with Jeongguk's, he feels his heart leap up into his throat.

The customer is still chatting -- going on and on about his job saving kittens or whatever -- but Taehyung's eyes are on Jeongguk, the corners of his lips twitching up in a subdued smile.

Jeongguk's heart is pounding, his hands sweating as the plastic wrap crinkles underneath the tightness of his grip.

"Delivery," Jeongguk says a little too loudly over the relentless chatter of Taehyung's customer. He tries not to smirk when said man shuts up and turns to look.

Taehyung swallows a laugh before setting the bag of beignets on the counter. "Hi Jeonggukie," he says, his voice as warm and honey-coated as his expression.

Before he turns back towards the customer he was previously helping. "Will that be all?" he asks.

The man looks between Taehyung, Jeongguk, and the bag of beignets. "Yeah," he says, dropping his money on the counter and leaving.

"Come back soon," Taehyung calls towards the door, though his eyes are still on Jeongguk.

Jeongguk barely resists the urge to stick his tongue out at the guy's back as he leaves. Good riddance.

Instead, he approaches the counter, his heart pounding against his throat, warm and heavy. "Hey Tae," he says.

Taehyung wets his lips as he wipes his hands off on his apron. "Another delivery for Seokjin?" he asks. "You weren't kidding about his admirers paying your rent."

Jeongguk swallows a laugh at Taehyung's feigned innocence. "Yeah, he's popular," he says, handing the bouquet off to Taehyung. (The bouquet Taehyung ordered. He silently thanks Namjoon for selling Taehyung out. Normally snitches get stitches, but he'll make an exception.)

Taehyung takes the bouquet and brings the flowers to his nose, taking a deep breath. And then he smiles a smile brighter than the sun as he hugs the flowers close to his chest, despite the fact that they're not for him.

Jeongguk feels his heart grow warm at the sight. To him, Taehyung is practically glowing, his lips pulled up into a bright, boxy smile, his eyes crinkling with the intensity of his happiness.

And, in his arms, Jeongguk notices the flowers start to bloom. Half-closed petals slowly part, flowers shifting to open towards Jeongguk as if he were the sun.

Jeongguk feels his throat grow dry, his heart squeezing tight in his chest.

Wetting his lips nervously, Jeongguk pulls his notebook from his pocket as Taehyung sets the flowers in an empty, water-filled vase he'd already had set out. (So cute.)

"I'm sure Jin will love them," Taehyung says, his smile still as bright and warm as he scribbles his signature in Jeongguk's book.

"I'm sure he will," Jeongguk says, hoping his smile isn't too knowing.

Taehyung laughs, biting at his lower lip as he bustles around behind the counter. After grabbing a few things, he produces a plain brown bag (no stickers or drawings) and hands it over to Jeongguk. "For you," he says.

Jeongguk's heart thuds against his chest as he takes the bag and peeks inside. He expects to see another batch of Taehyung's (terrible) cookies, but he sees a couple scones there instead.

"No cookies today?" Jeongguk asks, looking up at Taehyung. Maybe this is a new recipe --

But Taehyung just shakes his head, reaching up to scratch at his cheek. "No, these are Jin's Second Wind Scones," he says. "For when you get tired skating around all day."

Jeongguk hugs the bag close to him. It's sweet, really, but he can't help but be -- disappointed. He loves Seokjin's baking, of course -- and he's had plenty of it -- but Taehyung didn't make these.

"Oh," Jeongguk says as his heart sinks further in his chest. Taking a deep breath, he pulls his expression back together as fast as he can, his lips pulling up in a smile. "Thank you! I miss your cookies though."

(It's not technically a lie.)

"I'm, um -- perfecting the recipe," Taehyung says, his smile a little too tight for Jeongguk's liking.

(Briefly he wonders if Jimin sold him out. But he knows Jimin likes Taehyung too much to do something that cruel.)

"Next time then," Jeongguk says, tucking the bag of scones away in his backpack for safekeeping.

Pulling his personal notebook out from the confines of his backpack, Jeongguk tears a piece of paper out from the back, careful not to accidentally rip out any of the lyrics he's written (when inspiration strikes on the go).

Taehyung watches as Jeongguk writes something down on the page, his head tilted curiously.

"I have something for you too," Jeongguk says, his smile confident while his heartbeat thunders in his chest.

Briefly, he hopes that his hands aren't sweating enough to soak the page.

"You do?" Taehyung asks, just as Seokjin bustles into the shop from the back, carrying a tray of mini souffles.

"Yeah, my number," Jeongguk says, sliding the paper across the counter towards Taehyung. "Text me."

A few things happen all at once: first, Taehyung's eyes go wide and his ears immediately turn red. Then Seokjin starts to laugh under his breath just as the tray of mini souffles begins to rumble. And then, one by one, they all start to explode. All over Seokjin.

Taehyung's entire face is engulfed in a beautiful shade of red, his hands gripping the piece of paper with Jeongguk's phone number on it tight.

And Jeongguk's ears are bright red as well, burning hot as his heart rams up against his throat.

Seokjin, on the other hand, is covered in soufflé.

"Taehyung!" Seokjin shouts, causing Taehyung to jump. Waving his hand, the soufflé immediately begins to clean itself off of Seokjin's face and clothes. "Get a hold of yourself! How many souffles are you going to destroy before I have to ban Jeongguk from the shop?"

Jeongguk bites his lower lip to keep from laughing. Inside his chest, his heart is squeezing, thumping, pounding. And he can't help the smile that stretches across his face as he watches Taehyung get more and more flustered.

Walking backwards through the shop, Jeongguk decides that now is probably the best time to make his grand exit. While Seokjin is yelling and Taehyung is gripping his phone number tight in his hand.

"Bye Tae," Jeongguk calls, waving as he opens the door.

"Bye Jeonggukie," Taehyung manages to get out as Seokjin continues to ramble on and on about how long it takes to make souffles; about how much ingredients cost.

🌷

Jeongguk smiles the entire ride back to the flower shop. And for the rest of the day as well.

In fact, he's pretty sure he'll be smiling this wide for the rest of his life.

Especially once the first text from Taehyung comes after the bakery's closed.

And if Jeongguk saves Taehyung's contact information as "Taetae" or "future husband" or "love of my life" in his phone followed by a thousand heart emojis, well -- that's his business.

🌷end of pt. four🌷

🌷pt. five - thinking of you🌷 #taekook magic au

(two)

(three)

🌷

"Wow, you're both so obvious," Jimin says, his chin resting on Taehyung's shoulder and his eyes glued to Taehyung's phone. Which is, of course, currently open on his last chat with Jeongguk.

Taehyung chokes, feeling the tips of his ears heating up as his heart jumps up in his chest.

"Obvious about what?" Taehyung mumbles, sending Jeongguk a cute sticker or five.

The look Jimin gives him is unamused.

The blush spreads from Taehyung's ears to his cheeks.

He's been texting Jeongguk nonstop since they exchanged numbers last week. Or, well, since Jeongguk casually and smoothly gave Taehyung his number, causing Taehyung to get so flustered he blew up an entire tray of mini souffles.

(Seokjin still hasn't let him live that down.)

Texting Jeongguk is fun. He's cute and chatty, sending Taehyung little pictures of his deliveries or the dogs he finds while skating around town.

And Taehyung reciprocates in kind, sending Jeongguk pictures of Seokjin's newest creations or whatever nonsense Yeontan and Odeng get into throughout the day.

(His life is a little bland, isn't it? He needs to get out more.)

Today, he's at the beach with Jimin, the two of them seated outside a cafe sipping drinks and relaxing in the shade of an umbrella.

They have a perfect view of the sea, the waters sparkling under the afternoon summer sun. People are dotting the beach, laid out on towels and soaking up the warmth of the sun or frolicking in the waves.

Eventually, Taehyung and Jimin will join them, both of them eager to get their tan on and enjoy their rare day off together.

But right now, Jimin is determined to tease the hell out of Taehyung's embarrassingly obvious crush on one Jeon Jeongguk.

"You're just as bad as he is," Jimin teases, elbowing Taehyung in the side. But as Taehyung chokes and sputters indignantly, Jimin taps at his chin with his finger. "No wait, he's definitely worse."

"How?" Taehyung manages to choke out.

But the smile Jimin gives him is secretive and teasing.
Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Jimin snaps a photo of Taehyung before he has time to react. And he huffs as he looks at the photo, flashing it at Taehyung.

Taehyung thinks it's one of his least attractive photos: he has his sunglasses hanging off the back of his head, his hair is ruffled from the breeze coming off the sea, his nose is already a little sunburnt, and there's a smudge of chocolate on the corner of his lips.

But apparently, Jimin thinks otherwise. "How do you always look so good," he mumbles, fiddling around with his phone.
When Taehyung hears the telltale sound of a message being sent, his heart freezes in his chest.

"What're you doing--" Taehyung starts, but he's interrupted by a constant stream of dings and beeps as Jimin's phone starts blowing up.

And Jimin just laughs, hard.

"See?" Jimin says, flashing his screen at Taehyung to show an impressive string of texts from none other than Jeon Jeongguk.

Swiping at Taehyung's phone, Jimin opens the front camera and smiles. "Let's take a picture!" he says, his grin a little too cheery. (A look that Taehyung's quickly starting to recognize as coy and scheming.)

So what else can Taehyung do but pose in the most ridiculous way possible. Flipping his glasses back onto his face, he makes the silliest expression he can. Because who the hell's gonna see this picture, right?

Apparently Jeongguk.

Because as soon as the photo's been taken, Jimin sends it off.

On Taehyung's phone.

Jimin is cackling as Jeongguk floods Taehyung's inbox with messages. Messages that Taehyung wants to believe are about him. Or so his awkwardly beating heart and burning cheeks tell him.

When Jimin's phone starts buzzing again, Taehyung catches a quick glance at his home screen just in time to see a message pop up from Jeongguk.

And he can't help the laugh that bubbles up his throat. Or the way his heart beats awkwardly against his chest.

Or the way he can't stop smiling for the rest of the day.

🌷

When Jimin and Taehyung make themselves comfortable on the beach, Taehyung snaps yet another picture. One of him shirtless, freshly coated in sunscreen in his attempt at getting just a little bit more tan now that he lives so close to the sea.

It's a nice picture, he thinks.

So he sends it to Jeongguk too.

(Just because.)

And Taehyung swallows his laugh as he pointedly ignores the look Jimin's giving him.

And instead focuses on the way his heart hammers up against his throat; the way his fingertips tingle and his smile grows.

(to be deleted) short update today!! let the text flirting begin.......

let me know what you think!!

curiouscat.me/wwitchbrew