locker gifts || yoonkook

six

yoongi anxiously bit the inside of his mouth, a habit he'd had since he was just a kid. it was saturday the following week, and his first day working at the library and his first time ever reading to the kids. he'd been talked to about what he'd need to do, how he'd need to talk and the right pace he should read at to allow the kids to keep up with him. they were all aged from around two to six, so he didn't need to read fast.

yoongi watched as the kids poured in and took their seats in each cushion which were layed out in neat rows on the carpet. he held back laughter as one kid tried to sit on her brother, making the brother push her off. to yoongi's surprise, the kid didn't start crying, but just obeyed her mother and sat next to him when she interfered. he didn't expect to enjoy it as much as he was so far. he was just scared for the reading part, even though he had an extra member of staff to make sure he was doing okay.

as more kids filled the room, so did parents, standing around the edges of the children's reading area. every kid had to book in and there were a total of 30 spaces. today only 23 children booked in, which eased yoongi's nerves a little about reading. a total of 22 had arrived so far, and they were waiting on one last one.

"come on, mina, it's just reading, it'll be super fun!" he heard a weirdly familiar voice. he couldn't quite pinpoint it, but he knew he'd heard it before. yoongi tried to keep his focus on the fact he was about to read, and on making sure he smiled constantly despite his discomfort in doing so.

yoongi looked up over the sea of children, only to see jungkook dressed in black tracksuit bottoms and a white vest shirt, with his coat over the top. he carried two bags; what seemed to be a gym bag, and a bag for the little girl. yoongi had to admit, it was a little amusing seeing jungkook carrying around a red, circular ladybug bag with a ridiculous amount of keychain plushies on it.

yoongi panicked when he made eye contact with jungkook, who had sat down at the back of the room with the shy little girl between his legs. jungkook held eye contact with him while he unzipped the ladybug bag, taking out a worn out looking bunny teddy and handing it to the little girl. yoongi's cheeks turned red as he knew jungkook was there now, but he tried to remain composed as he saw the time had struck nine thirty in the morning and it was time for him to start reading.

"good morning, everyone! I'm yoongi, can you say hello yoongi?" introduced yoongi, enthusiastically waving to everyone around the room as they all greeted him how he'd asked. he hesitantly smiled, as he really hated his smile... especially in front of jungkook.

how could he when jungkook was right there?

"now, can anyone guess what book we're going to be reading?" yoongi asked in an overly cheerful voice, "put your hands up"

yoongi smiled as he saw multiple hands going up, however he chose the one at the back, of the little girl who sat in jungkook's lap.

"you at the back" he told with a smile.

"tiger who came to tea!" she answered excitedly, making yoongi's face brighten at the sweet voice. jungkook was smiling too, at yoongi and the girl.

"awhh, very very close but not quite! we're gonna be reading, we're going on a bear hunt" yoongi forced himself to smile, showing the book to the children. a choir of "oooo"s and "ahhh"s filled the room, making yoongi giggle a little at their excitement over a simple book.

after showing them the book, yoongi opened it up to the page he had slipped his finger between so he wouldn't take too long to find the page he needed. after looking up at the staff for reassurance and recieving a thumbs up, yoongi proceeded to read.

he read slowly and clearly, making sure his pace was alright by occasionally looking up to see if there were any lost faces. every face in the room was interested, even jungkook's at the back who was listening to the reading just as eagerly as the children.

"can you all chant after me? we're going on a bear hunt!" yoongi smiled again, pointing to the children to show it was their turn to repeat it. "I've got my binoculars, I've got my binocular" he said, pointing to himself and then the children again.

his smile was only half forced now that he was enjoying himself so much, that he was actually forgetting a bit about his biggest insecurity.

"we're gonna catch a big one!" he said, doing the same each time. "I'm not scared, I'm not scared!" he ended with a smile, before continuing to read on.

yoongi found the scene endearing. the kids were so excited to be there and the parents were so happy to leave their kids to some entertainment for a good half an hour, giving them a break.

the end of the half hour came quicker than yoongi had expected, and as he waved goodbye to the kids and parents, he reached behind him to grab his water. he noticed jungkook and the little girl not leaving yet, and yoongi began to wonder why.

"is everything alright, sir?" yoongi called, watching jungkook's cheeks turn a little red as yoongi called him sir. the little girl held jungkook's index finger and stared up at yoongi with a nervous expression.

"oh, yeah.. she just really enjoyed the book. is it available for me to take it out?" questioned jungkook with a hopeful expression and a big smile.

"ah, I'm sure it is. I only joined here today, so I wouldn't be too sure.. but you can ask momo, she's over there" yoongi pointed, and jungkook's eyes followed to where a lady with pigtails and glasses stood in the fantasy section, organising books.

"thank you, nice reading by the way.. carrot sticks" jungkook winked, saying the nickname in a whisper. yoongi felt his cheeks heat up and he begged for the redness to go away. yoongi wasn't looking at jungkook anymore, but he could feel his smirk as he turned around and made his way over to momo.

if they weren't in such a professional environment and there wasn't his manager watching over him, yoongi was certain he'd have squealed.

"that was great, yoongi! one of the most engaged audiences I've seen, and a few people even left tips for you" he smiled, patring yoongi on the back as he handed him £11 in the form of a ton of one and two pound coins.

yoongi parted his lips in surprise, not expecting any tips at all, or praise from his boss. he felt his ears heat up, feeling proud of himself.

"thank you, sir, wow.. I also really enjoyed the reading" he smiled awkwardly, anxiously rubbing the back of his neck as he pocketed the tips and grabbed his water bottle from behind the seat he sat on to read.

"no need, you'll be here doing the reading until four today, right? and same hours tomorrow? your memory goes a bit rusty once you hit my age, I could do with a reminder" he chuckled.

yoongi laughed along with him and nodded. "yes, same hours" he confirmed.

"good man. anyway, I'll leave you to it. you got on perfectly with that group, I wish you luck" his managed beamed, patting him on the shoulder reaaauringly before walking back to where yoongi could only assume was his office.

he felt a giddy feeling bubble inside of him as he watched jungkook leave the library and now started his wait of his ten minute rest interval between performances, which allowed people to leave and others to arrive.

this group was a lot bigger, hitting the maximum capacity at 30 children, and yoongi was just about shitting bricks.

but when he remembered the excited expressions, and the fact he was getting paid £13 per performance, he forgot his nervousness.