Candy Shop [YoonSeok]

I. It's Habit

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In the middle of a well-known market strip sits a small candy shop whose name always rings a bell: Wonhae Manhi Candy. It's one of the most successful candy stores in Daegu, South Korea. It's most promising employee just might be the key to the store's success, at least that's what the manager thinks. This employee comes to work with an attention-grabbing smile and an aura that oozes positivity. Every good employee displays a good attitude, though. What makes this one special, though, is his way with words.

Min Yoongi. 25 years old. King of corny pickup lines and cringe-worthy puns.
He absolutely hates having time to just think. As long as he doesn't think, he won't remember what happened to Jungkook—correction: what he did to Jungkook. Therefore, Yoongi keeps busy. He purposely spends extra time on every task by obsessing over details. He's not employee of the month every month because he loves his job, but because he strives for perfection in the workplace. Perfection equals distraction in his books.

Yoongi swept powdered sugar spilled by some snotty kid into a dustpan while he hummed along to a hip-hop song that's been stuck in his head all day. He was so focused on sweeping that it took over 2 minutes for it to register that somebody had walked into the store. The employee quickly straightened his posture and said the greeting he came up with when he first started working. "Welcome to Wonhae Manhi Candy where the employee is sweeter than the sweets!"

It's hard not to acknowledge the man's presence with a greeting like that. Every customer and every candy-browser responds to Yoongi's greeting in some way, shape, form or fashion. Never does anyone ignore him. Well, except for one recurring customer that always seems too out of it to make any decisions for himself.

Jung Hoseok. 24 years old. Identifiable by his lack of words.
It's nearly impossible for him to focus on anything but what's going on inside his head. The world around him might as well be nonexistent. The one thing he does manage to focus on—or at least try to focus on—is his daily routine to buy candy and deliver it to his boyfriend during his lunch break. Hoseok's not sure when or why this even started. One of the Voices in his head probably told him to do it.

From behind the check-out counter, Yoongi observed the customer for any signs of distress on his face after he finally turned around after about five minutes of staring at who-knows-what. Yoongi already knew that this guy would wind up needing help—he always does. Only when he tilts his head to the side will Yoongi intervene.

Much to Yoongi's surprise, Hoseok actually made a choice by himself...well, kind of. Hoseok approached the infamous employee and asked for a container; speech slurred as usual. Yoongi smiled and handed over one of the cheap plastic boxes. After mumbling a 'thanks,' Jung Hoseok turned around and took a single step towards the candy display, only to feel overwhelmed and freeze up.

50 glass boxes, each filled with a different treat, hung in rows of three across the cherry walls. Every container was equipped with a metal scoop; the handle poked out of a small hole in the lid. That's 50 different types of candy that Hoseok has to choose from; which is 50 too many. He begrudgingly turned around and returned the box to Yoongi.