"promise" YOONKOOK

+chapter seven+

NOW PRESENTING + 8:02 PM, JANUARY 7, cont.

The dark-haired man glances around the open room, clearly overwhelmed by the many different choices. His confused face seems familiar to Yoongi, but he can't remember where he knows him from. "Got an idea of what you want?" Yoongi rasps, leaning against the counter with his elbow against the hard wood. He rests his cheek against the palm of his hand.

"Not really, actually," their customer admits with a sheepish smile, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I want to get a decent upright piano for my mother. Her birthday is in April, but I figured I should probably start looking sooner than later."

"Is she an experienced pianist?" Jimin questions.

"She has about five years under her belt," the man replies. "She's been using my old keyboard from when I was little and was taking lessons. I have to admit, my mom is a much better pianist than I turned out to be."

Yoongi's eyes scan the selection of upright's until they land on one of his favorites. "See that one in the back, next to the big grand?" he asks, pointing lazily at the instrument. "The price is pretty low 'cuz it's two decades old and was used a little bit in an old bar downtown, but that baby can play smoothly. It's good quality. I think she'd really like it, with the polished wood and everything."

"You might be right," he replies, taking a few moments to silently examine the piano in the lighting of the lamp in the corner.

"If you're interested, we can hold it for you," Jimin tells the man, peering at him through his glasses. "Her birthday is in April, you said? There's plenty of time to look around other places to see if there's a better piano for her."

The man nods. "That would be great, actually."

"I'm gonna need your phone number to put down on the holding list," Yoongi tells him, pulling up the list on the computer. "And a name."

He blinks when the man walks up to the front desk with a sly grin on his face. Once again, he looks so familiar. "You know, if you wanted my number, you could have just asked for it in the first place." Yoongi rolls his eyes as the man slides a piece of paper toward him across the surface of the desk. "My name is Jungkook, but don't hesitate to call me baby. Sounded good when you said it earlier."

Yoongi sends a sharp look to the man. "I won't hesitate to slap your ass all the way to Mars," he growls, typing the phone number into the log. Then he freezes and looks up at the man. He just seems so familiar. "Jungkook, you said?"

"The one and only." He grins, and Yoongi takes a step backwards He would recognize that smile anywhere.

"Do you..." Jungkook watches him in confusion as he tries to gather his thoughts. "Do you... Your last name. What's your last name?" Yoongi braces himself for disappointment. There is no way that the ten-year-old kid he'd met in Busan could be standing in front of him. He's way to tall and handsome to be Jeon Jungkook.

But sure enough, the name, "Jeon," leaves the man's lips, and all Yoongi can do is gape.

"Hyung, just put his name on the list," Jimin says, twirling the keyring on his pointer finger. "You'll miss your bus if you don't hurry."

Yoongi nods quickly, clearing his throat and typing in the man's name with shaky hands. He can't bring himself to meet Jungkook's eyes. This must be a different Jeon Jungkook. Yoongi tries to think logically. Surely there are lots of other handsome men named Jeon Jungkook out there in the world, and just because he looks familiar doesn't mean that he's that kid from Busan.

But he has to make sure.

"And you're how old?" he asks softly, tugging at the silver bracelet on his wrist.

"At this point, I'm pretty sure you're into me," Jungkook says, and Yoongi's head shoots up in disbelief to see him smirking. "Why would you need to know my age? And why did you freak out so much when I told you my name? You got a name kink or something?"

"Shut your face," Yoongi growls. "You just look a little young and I wanna make sure we're not selling a piano to a horny teenager who stole his parent's credit card."

Jimin furrows his eyebrows, knowing full well that Yoongi doesn't need to note the man's age on the list, but he keeps quiet. He's never seen the older male so shocked before, much less show any emotion that doesn't fall under the categories of boredom, annoyance, or anger. "I'm twenty. How old are you, sweetcheeks? You look pretty young yourself."

"This is gonna sound a little crazy," Yoongi says, finally holding eye contact with the man. "I'm pretty sure I knew you when you were ten years old. In Busan? My name is Min Yoongi. You probably don't recognize me and I sound like a weirdo but—"

"Holy shit," Jungkook whispers, leaning forward to get a better look at Yoongi's face.

"Let's not make out in my store, please," Jimin pipes up, but his words are ignored.

"Yoongi... Yoongi-hyung. I remember you!" the man exclaims, smiling once again. Yoongi finds himself offering up a smile of his own. "You got even prettier! Wow, you moved away... must have been ten years ago. You didn't even say goodbye to me. Tae-hyung came over bawling and told me about it. Why would you just leave?"

It's Jungkook. It's really Jungkook. He still pouts like a little brat. "It's a really long story. But I have your number," Yoongi says hesitantly, tugging harder on his bracelet. "Can we meet up sometime? Talk about it?"

"That'd be great. And, um, sorry for trying to flirt with you, hyung," Jungkook replies, shoving his hands in his pockets again. It must be a nervous habit. "I grew up to be super gay for cute guys."

Yoongi snorts, saving Jungkook's information in the list and turning off the computer. "I can tell, kid. I grew up to be super gay for tall guys, so don't worry about it."

last week, my school
had two snow days.
this week, we've had
two snow days. today
is a snow day, so i'll
just stay in my room
and listen to music.