Scenes from a Hat

Pt. 1: Jimmy and Lucky

In the grand scheme of things, a bad day was not so much insignificant as it was irrelevant. It could feel like it was a stain on your life, and things would never quite recover, but that was all internal. That was all the exaggerated feelings of the moment. A negative mindset would say the same thing for good days. They didn't last. They didn't carry over. Even with the clouds gathering overhead, Jimin Yun was not someone who wore a badge of pessimism. Pessimism, like optimism, was a luxury he did not budget. He could afford it, but he stuck to a strict budget. He was not so bored to be pessimistic, and he was not so inexperienced as to be optimistic.

Maybe that is unfair... Lucky is optimistic all the time. That doesn't mean he is inexperienced... except he is. Well, experienced in some things. I cannot say he has had an easy life, but... he is still inexperienced. The naive optimistic. The golden retriever of boyfriends. If he is one... if he is mine... wow, Jimin. Get a grip.

He checked his phone before exiting his expensive electronic vehicle in the grocery store parking lot.

Are you free tonight for a call? I... made a mistake at work and someone was hurt. Can we call?

They had spoken on the phone for about forty minutes, with minimal explanation from the medical student. He was clearly upset, but he put on a brave face. He didn't tell Jimin much of anything. He made a mistake on his internship, not in his classes, and someone was hurt.

How genuinely terrible.

It was so much worse. Lucky was advanced and given more freedom. Which meant he was given more responsibility. Which meant he could hurt more people at a young age. He could make mistakes and end lives. A boy could groan about a girl standing him up on a date while Lucky could wince at ending a life. Jimin held no smile as he pulled ingredients into his cart. Flour. Powdered sugar. Eggs. And others.

He passed by store brand chocolate mousse. It made him think of Lucky all the more. Lucky wouldn't buy that though. He would see it, think of Jimin, and go about making some from scratch. He was always good like that. Silly Jimin, letting him know once his favorite desert, and it always came up in snack context. Finally, he cracked a smile on his way to the checkout.

"Daddy, what are you making?" Aislinn asked, peering around her father's side. Her hair a shade lighter than her father's dark chestnut. She wore it down to her shoulders. Her eyes, while also brown, matched her mother. Her sense of style, wearing a pink dress with pinwheel patterns on it, was unsurprisingly also similar to her mother. More like her mother's personality place onto a dress. Light, carefree, happy to get along. Not everyone was so lucky. One out of two baby mama's being sane was acceptable.

"Cookies." Clearly.

"Ooooh, can I have one? Can I have five? Can I lick the bowl? Can I help?"

"Aislinn, I will save... four. Two for you, two for your brother." He heard the air blow out of her puffed cheeks. She was probably smiling, but he kept his eyes on the batter as he used a spatula to push the powder down into the wet mixture.

"Who are they for?"

"Hm... is your bed made?"

Jimin imagined the way her eyes moved when she was processing something. The question of why? She gave up and asked. "... Why?"

"If it is, I'll give you the answer."

"Ooh!" she faked sounding mad. "You tell me when I get back!" He assumed that she was going to fix the bed making situation. "Even though I know its for Lucky!" Assuming wasn't the same as knowing. He pulled out a pan, gave it a quick wipe down with Crisco, and began assembling and placing his cookies.

The cookies were tucked safe in the oven well before Aislinn conquered her least favorite bedroom task and received her confirmation, but she was no less pleased to be correct.

If there was one person in Jimin's life that he would write down as "the baker" or "the chef," or "the one who will make you dessert to show affection and consideration" it was definitely Lucky. Jimin could envision him when he picked up the small white box from the pastry shop.

"Making something yourself?" the woman behind the cash register asked, smiling at the inedible purchase from a place permeated with freshly baked goods and sugary toppings. Jimin gave her a polite nod.

"Well don't forget to come back here when you want a professional job," the man placing cookies on shelves nearby joked.

"Oh, hush. I think its lovely when people receive homemade treats. Have a nice day."

Jimin received his change back and left the building. The cold New York air lightly stung against exposed skin on his face. His ears and face were used to it, and the rest of him, from his coat to his leather gloves, were protected. The sun was barely in the sky, but his schedule would not allow for dawdling.

Children were dropped off at school, drycleaning collected and hung carefully in the back of the car. A package was dropped off at a non-descript warehouse, an envelope handed to a silent man in a suit in another borough. Groceries were hand selected from an organic shop between New York City and White Haven. Jimin stopped only once to pinch the bridge of his nose and assess the schedule. He could not be in two places at once. A thirty second conversation allowed him a half hour from returning to finalize lunch. That would be acceptable.

Jimin arrive at the airport thirty minutes before it was set to land and utilized his downtime to further tighten his schedule and respond to an email. Once the plane landed Jimin was already standing to receive the guest. While he might have looked tired, or even have just woken up from his twelve-hour flight, Lucky was wide eyed and awake as soon as Jimin spotted him. The smiling blond closed the space with incredibly efficiency and gave Jimin a quick hug.

They made it back to Jimin's employer's house through a fog of small talk and random personalize details. Jimin suspected this was primarily to keep Lucky awake and mentally distracted. He parked the vehicle and carried one of Lucky's two bags, as the younger male insisted on participating. When they made it to the guest bedroom assigned to Lucky, Jimin got the door and followed Lucky inside. Jimin's eyes promptly focused on the white box, making sure it was where he had left it. A white box with a tan bow, and not a normal fixture of the room.

Lucky spotted it before he put his bag down, immediately asking "What is this?" His smile brought out one in Jimin as well. Jimin took a seat on the bed beside Lucky, making sure he knew the exact time so he could handle lunch after Lucky was settled.

Inside the box, as Jimin was well aware, were about two dozen homemade cookies. Hardly professional or impressive to him, but they tasted good. Aislinn and Arrow told him as much, in their own ways. He kept smiling his modest, closed mouth smile, as Lucky lit up. A big toothy grin as he pulled one out.

"Did you make these for me?" He was munching on one before Jimin could answer. Jimin chuckled.

"Yes.... I know if I was having a bad day... you would probably try to make me something tasty to cheer me up. So..." my way of saying, "I hope you're feeling better." He leaned over, an arm around Lucky, before giving him a light kiss on the forehead. The gesture already having its desired effect.