❝Food serves as the symbol of love when words are inadequate❞
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Kim Seokjin mentally thanked the gods in the sky up above that he was able to make it to the supermarket a hour, before it closes, just in time to grab the missing ingredients needed for his dinner.
He bowed to his friend, Jung Hoseok, who just so happened to be working the late shift, as he sprinted down an aisle. Seokjin scanned the shelves for some basic home seasonings. How could he have forgotten to go to the store before deciding to start cooking? Sometimes, he just couldn't think.
Like now, as he stared at a seasoning that didn't have a Korean lable, much like the other items in the store. He scrunched his eyebrows in a look of confusion, trying to decipher the words on the lable.
"P-par....icha..?"
"Paprika."
Seokjin turned to his head to locate the voice of the man talking. His face almost came in contact with another and Seokjin nearly yelped. Spinning around, he finally made eye contact with the man that startled him.
The top of his dirty blonde hair was covered with a hat that stated some American phrase, sharp yet welcoming eyes tinted by the feather like lashes above and below him. Jin absent mindedly studied the way his jawline shaped perfectly, a smile prominent on the man's lips as dimples formed on each side of his face.
From his neck down; the man wore a casual loose white T-shirt, a dark jeans jacket hugging his masculine shape perfectly as Seokjin's eyes soon found themselves traveling even lower. The man had his pants fastened with a black and gold belt that looked to be Gucci, the black jeans also hugging the shape of his legs that seemed to be muscly, like his arms and broad chest.
Stop gaydreaming Seokjin...
"W-what?" He sputters out his first word to the man in from of him that seemingly caught his attention.
"Paprika," he repeated. "It's a seasoning made from the dried and ground fruits of certain varieties of peppers. Like bell peppers, Serrano, probably habanero, I don't exactly remember." He rubbed his neck before looking back at the shelves of seasonings.
One in particular caught his eye. "Ah! I know for sure cinnamon comes from a plant called Sri Lanka, which is a tree grown in the Carribeans, Brazil, and even parts of Asia like Vietnam and China." A hubristic smile made way on his face as he added the sugar seasoning to his basket.
Wow. This guys is a nerd.
Despite his seemingly know-it-all personality, Seokjin finds himself asking a question to the nameless handsome man. Of course, not as handsome as himself.
"Could I use Pap...richa.. as a seasoning for chilli?"
Jin took notice of the laugh the other let out, finding it as attractive as his features and the way he dressed. Of course, Seokjin didn't think anything of it. The guy just happened to be attractive. That's all.
"Sure! My mom usually used to use it when she'd want a more sweeter flavor and it always tasted amazing." The man rubbed his stomach at the memory of devouring his mother's delicious chilli.
Jin laughed and soon after, introduced himself. "I'm Seokjin." He held out a hand. "Namjoon," the other smiled, taking his hand firmly. "It's rare to see a man so dedicated to cooking."
"Got a girl you're trying to impress?" Namjoon mused and Jin laughed him off, adding some more ingredients into his shopping basket.
"If that girl is my mom, then yeah." He joked, heading towards the self checkout, Namjoon following behind him.
"A mama's boy, hm?"
"Why do I have to be labeled as a man attached to their mother in order to cook for her?" To be truthful, Seokjin was offended.
"Slow your role tadpole," he held up his hands in mock retreat. "I didn't mean to offend you. I was joking around. I too get quite offended when someone talks about my mom."
He watched as Jin scanned his groceries before bagging them, Namjoon doing so as well. He thought it was quite weird for the boy to go shopping in the middle of the night. But then again, Namjoon was also out in the middle of the night, shopping for cinnamon, fruit snacks, and paperclips.
So who was weird here?
As they both made their way to the doors, Jin stopped to bid his friend good bye. Namjoon wondered who that man was to Seokjin but thought nothing of it as the two laughed and the conversation ended and they continued their journey out the door.
That is until Jin spoke up, slightly hesitant. "It was nice meeting you Namjoon," he offered another handshake which Namjoon happily took, offering a smile like he did with every handshake.
He barely got those.
"You too, hopefully we'll meet again."
They shook hands once again and Jin started to walk away, the cold of the Seoul night abusing his thin windbreaker jacket. He didn't mind it much, since he was used to walking as transportation.
"Wait, you don't have a car?" He turned around at the sound of Namjoon's voice, seeing the man already at his own car with a confused expression. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I always walk around at night so it'll be no difference." Jin assured, adjusting his grocery bags in his hands.
"Really? That's a little dangerous, don't you think? The crime rate in this part of town is pretty high," Namjoon placed his bags in his car and walked back to Jin.
"I'll be fine. I've done this so many times before, so it isn't like it's my first time. Why are you so worried anyway?" Seokjin felt like he had to ask. "We literally met just a few minutes ago."
Namjoon shifted his weight from one foot to another. "Well, I'd hate to hear if something bad happened to you. You seem like a good person." Namjoon himself was shocked with his upmost honesty. Seokjin sighed and looked around at the night scenery. "I don't have a bus pass."
"You don't need one. Ride with me."
"I can't pay you back. At least not until next week and I don't like being in debt to people I don't know." The older of the two shrugged before attempting to walk away again.
Namjoon smirked, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets. "I heard you're making chilli with paprika seasoning," and Jin stopped walking.
"Pay me in food."
Seokjin turned around with a frown, "Do you really expect me to let a stranger inside my house just to cook for them?"
"I have to let a stranger inside of my brand new car, and anyone who knows me wouldn't expect me to do that." Namjoon defended himself, finding it quite amusing that Jin had started growing an attitude for some reason. He didn't know someone who seemed nice could be so sassy.
He liked it.
"I'll take you home, you'll cook me food, and we'll never have to see each other again, deal?"
Jin doesn't reply as he huffs and follows Namjoon to his car, frowning as he slid in the front and buckled his seat belt.
"If you plan to kidnap me, I suggest you stop now. I have my lawyer on speed dial and I know Taekwondo." Seokjin warned, straightening out his jacket as he turned to look at Namjoon.
"Don't worry, I'm not into those kind of things. A little pain inflicting, yes. Bondage? Not so much." He started his car and turned the radio on low. Seokjin scoffed lightly as he crossed his arms.
"You're pathetic."
"It takes a pathetic person to know a pathetic person."
