The Bucket List | Doyoung/Taeyong

Chapter 2: List Item One: Doyoung Raids Costco

For some reason, the Costco one is making Doyoung the most nervous. He kind of regrets putting it first, but it's the easiest one to do alone, safely and without feeling like a loser. Besides, it's familiar. He used to run around the store collecting all the samples he could find when he was younger. The only difference now is that he doesn't have the excuse of being a cute kid. Now, if someone catches on, he's just a jerk.

But he also knows it'll be kind of fun, so he goes in one afternoon. It's a weekday, so it's not too busy, but a lot of moms are out, stocking up for their families. He chose this time window on purpose—not so crowded he wouldn't be able to walk, but not so empty that he could easily become the center of attention.

It's kind of peaceful, strolling the aisles to see what kind of insane shit Costco is trying to sell to the average American household. He sees random kitchen gadgets marketed towards rich housewives, sets of new pots and pans that he knows any recent college graduate would probably go crazy for, and toys that kids wouldn't stop chanting about until their parents gave in and bought them.

Doyoung tests crackers, little grilled sausages, chip dip. It isn't until he's on his fourth or fifth station when he realizes there's another guy around his age who seems to be doing the exact same thing as him. There's a certain strategy to it—you have to look like you're actually shopping; you can't just make a beeline from station to station to station, and you should occasionally grab one of the items you've sampled, even if you're planning on putting it back. This other guy really has his technique down. He's asking questions about the products, eyes wide and earnest as he takes little bites of whatever concoction he's holding in the tiny sample cup. Doyoung suppresses laughter. He wonders if the Costco employees ever catch onto this behavior, and just let it go because of all the effort behind it, or simply never notice.

He wanders away, down an aisle of mostly cooking sauces and oils. He's rather engrossed in reading one of the labels (it's a pretty pale blue, in his defense), and nearly jumps out of his skin when the guy he saw is suddenly right beside him.

"Hey," the guy says. "Are you sampling literally everything you can?" He nods to the crumpled sample cup in the child seat of Doyoung's cart.

Doyoung, despite himself, flushes. "Are you?" he shoots back.

He kind of expects the guy to pull an I-asked-first or something, but instead he just giggles, eyes crinkling in amusement and delight. "Shh," he says conspiratorially. "I am. C'mon, let's go together. We can pretend we're shopping for our moms. It's more fun when you have someone else to make up the stories with."

Doyoung stares at him. "I don't even know your name."

The guy laughs again, that same sweet giggle. "I'm Taeyong," he says.

Doyoung blinks. "I'm Doyoung," he says, a beat too late.

But Taeyong ignores it. "Hi Doyoung," he says. "Now we know each other's names. So? Wanna join me?"

Doyoung glances him over, then relents. "Sure," he says. "Why not?"

They cover the rest of the store together, doing a little actual shopping as they continue along the sample stalls. Taeyong offers his sample cup to "clink" against Doyoung's, like they're shots instead. It pulls a laugh out of Doyoung. By the time they reach the checkouts, Doyoung's almost forgotten about the list entirely.

Once they're through the checkout, Taeyong drags him to the food court. "It always just makes me want to actually eat something," he says, "so I guess they're getting their money's worth from me, after all."

A few minutes later, they're sharing a chocolate-vanilla-swirl frozen yogurt at a small table, surrounded by noise and the smell of a bunch of other food.