off limits ✧ zb1 applyfic

✧ sixty

Errands were never particularly fun. Jaewook liked to go out, sure, but lingering in stores for hours as the sun would go down was hardly her idea of leisure. Grocery stores were without a doubt the worst, especially when cranky old people who could have come here during any week day insisted on coming on a Saturday evening, and felt entitled to passing people in queues because, what, they had less time left on this dumb planet? Just thinking about it made Jaewook's blood boil. Thankfully, Yeonjun had long taken over the duty of refilling Poison's fridge because apparently this guy was a real granny charmer. Today, Jaewook was running an errand in a music store, which should have been a little better, but could still get annoying.

Matthew's presence had made the experience miles better though. He'd sent her a text in the middle of the day, asking if she had anything planned, and when she'd told him about her errands, he'd offered to accompany her. Jaewook couldn’t imagine any of her ex-boyfriends ever doing that for her. If there was nothing in it for them, they preferred spending their time elsewhere. Matthew wasn’t even her boyfriend yet he seemed to care about her ten times more than any of the guys that had supposedly loved her.

"Really?" he exclaimed a bit too loud, a wide grin on his face. "You'll let me choose a guitar pick for you?"

Jaewook couldn’t help but chuckle at his over-excitement. "Yep, whichever you want. My old one is two songs away from grinding into dust."

"Alright, I'll pick the best one ever!"

She watched as he looked all around him, snooped through the aisles like he was searching for treasure. Only, this aisle was for guitar straps, not picks. His focused face suddenly turned to confusion as he craned his neck around in an attempt to find the right aisle, to no avail. Laughter escaped her lips, and she shook her head. If he kept hanging out with her, one day he would master the layout of this store.

Not willing to spend another hour in this shop, Jaewook grabbed Matthew's hand. "Come on, I'll show you the aisle."

She pulled him through the store like an owner walking its dog, unable to bite back a smile. His hand was so warm in hers, and she couldn’t be sure whether it was as a result of the contact, or if he was just a human radiator. For a second, her mind wandered to the next winter, and how it would certainly be good to cuddle up to him in colder weather... She quickly brushed that thought off, feeling her own body growing warmer.

When they finally reached the aisle where a bunch of guitar picks had been thrown into a basket, ready to be rummaged through, Matthew got right back to his searching mode. She stood a few steps behind and watched his back, hunched over the basket, digging through mountains of picks like a dog in a backyard. It hit her then, that no one had ever put this much effort in for her. She could still remember the time she'd asked her ex to attend her band's first show, and he'd replied he would be too busy going to a bar with his friends. It'd broken her heart, and she’d never once spoken about her band again. Matthew was treating this search for a guitar pick like the most important quest of his life. Where had a man like him been, when she needed him most?

"Ah! This one!" Matthew triumphantly turned to her with a pick between his thumb and index finger.

She took a step closer to inspect his choice, and her eyes immediately went wide. Printed on this small triangle, was the image of a puppy of a breed she couldn’t name, with a bow wrapped around its head. In gaudy pink letters was written "LOVE". It looked more like a Facebook post a woman over fifty would make, than something one would find on a guitar pick.

"Really?" she deadpanned, looking up at him. "This is a little..."

"You said whichever one I want!"

Hmm, she had said that. "Alright, alright, puppy guitar pick it is then. Clashes a bit with my intimidating image, but oh well."