drift away | j.p. + y.m. (yoonmin)

deux

"Hey! You can't sit there unless you buy something!"

As Yoongi fumbled across the sand toward the ice cream stall - which was kept cosily tucked into the furthest corner of the beach - he heard the echo of a familiar voice. It seemed to babble with such enthusiasm and force that the entire beach could hear, and he very quickly recalled who such an expressive voice might have belonged to. He continued walking.

Soon reaching the stand, he took a step back in disbelief; it hadn't changed a bit, not in even six years. The peeling walls that looked as though they had seen better days were still coated in the same shoddy pastel paint job, and the slightly obnoxious sign which practically screamed "Grandpa's ice-cream" still had a bare space in which a g was meant to be. The only thing that did seem to have changed, however, was the person behind the counter.

Mr Kim - the frail, silver haired ice-cream man who would often give Yoongi an extra shaky handful of sprinkles - was no where to be seen. In his place, stood a broad-shouldered and far younger looking figure. He had barely any identifiable features apart from the wisps of bleached hair that cascaded across his forehead in feathers and sat atop a pair of wide framed glasses. Despite the heat, he was wearing all black, however Yoongi didn't wonder why; he noticed a matching apron tied around his waist, clarifying that he was wearing some sort of uniform. Perhaps, he thought, Mr Kim had hired some staff to help him with the workload - after all, he wasn't getting any younger, and that was six years ago. The worker scrubbed the glass surface so vigorously that it was almost unbelievable that he had any energy left, soon looking up to wipe a trickling bead of sweat from his forehead as a result of his hard work. Noticing Yoongi's presence, he instantly gasped into a wide, kind smile - one which Yoongi recognised in a heartbeat. Of course, how could he have forgotten?

"Wah, no way! Min Yoongi!" He exclaimed, slamming one hand down on the counter in excitement.

"Hey, Seokjin-hyung." Yoongi chuckled, leaning over the counter to greet his old friend with a warm hug. Just as he remembered - the hug was so tight that for a moment he didn't know whether or not he was breathing.

"I had no idea you were back! What have you been up to here in Busan? How are things?" Slowly pulling out of the hug, he asked question after question, and promptly gestured for Yoongi to take a seat. Yoongi politely accepted, nodding in response as he pulled over a stool.

During the summer that Yoongi trained, Seokjin would often try to escape from his grandfather's stall to pester him in amazement of his skills. While it was annoying at first, and Yoongi never understood why Seokjin was so mesmerised by his CPR practice, the two soon became good friends. This was partly because Seokjin would offer him free ice-cream at the end of the week, but mostly because he was good company, and kept him happy throughout his stay. They were an unlikely pair, but  they complimented each other well.

"Things have been good, actually. I got here a few days back and Hoseok is showing me the ropes. He's pretty nice I guess." Yoongi replied, deep in thought.

"Ahh, our Hobi! Him and Taehyung just make the cutest couple!" Seokjin swooned melodramatically, placing his hand on his heart as he looked longingly into the distance. This made Yoongi chuckle; it wasn't just that ice-cream stall that hadn't changed a bit.

"Yeah, if they weren't so damn thirsty for each other all the time, that is." The low rumble of a new voice suddenly sounded out, almost making Yoongi stumble out of his chair in surprise.

He watched intently as a boy, who couldn't have been much younger or older than himself, smoothly slid into the seat next to him. He must have been around the same height as Seokjin when he was standing up, but as he crouched over the counter to get closer to him, he appeared much shorter. As he brushed a hand through his cropped blonde hair - that was scruffily stuffed beneath a baseball cap - it quickly became obvious to Yoongi that he was trying to look cool in front of Seokjin. However, this facade faded away as soon as the two locked eyes; the boy instantly lost the tiniest amount of composure he had left and melted into nothingness with a long, blissful sigh.

"Hey, who are you to talk?" Seokjin playfully slapped the boy on the arm, heaving him out of his trance. The boy giggled nervously in response, half biting his lip, half grinning.

"Yoongi, meet Namjoon, the biggest pain in my ass." He retorted, flinging the now dirty dish cloth over his shoulder.

"Hey! You know you love me really." Namjoon teased, only to be greeted with a scowl.

"Nice to meet you. Any friend of my Jin's is a friend of mine!" He Proudly declared. He reached out a hand for Yoongi to shake, but kept his gazed fixed on a very flustered looking Seokjin.

"What are you saying? I am not yours! And-and...you should be using honourifics, thank you very much!" He flapped, whipping Namjoon with the cloth clutched in his hand in between each breath. For a moment, they were so enthralled with each other that Yoongi wondered if they remembered he was even there.

To his surprise, Namjoon soon interjected, suavely spinning around in his seat to face him. "Anyways, as you were saying, Yoongi-hyung?"

"Yeah, actually I met that guy Taehyung yesterday...and his friend... I think his name was..." Yoongi began, losing his train of thought as he attempted to recall just who the handsome face he came across belonged to.

"Park Jimin?" Seokjin questioned, beginning again to wipe down the surface, which was now sparkling clean due to of his excessive elbow grease.

"Yeah, that's the one." Yoongi agreed, subconsciously tapping his fingers in his lap, "So um, what's he like?"

The pair beside him exchanged suggestive glances, both raising a mischievous eyebrow toward him before replying.

"Oh we see what's happening here. You have the hots for him already! Wait till I tell Tae-" Seokjin squealed, nudging Namjoon with delight. It was a wonder that Namjoon looked so unfazed; he had been hit harshly numerous times already.

"I do not! I was just wondering!"

"Ha ha ha...how ironic that you, a lifeguard, would like Jimin, who-" Namjoon began to speak, but was quickly interrupted yet again.

"Aish, Joonie! What he means to say is that he's had a bit of trouble around here before."

-

wowowow I'm really sorry this is so late! I had a bit of a meltdown yesterday because I accidentally deleted about 1,000 words from this chapter, (only I could do that seriously lmao), but hopefully this is okay!! I'm not really used to writing so much dialogue like Nikita does so well so I'm sorry if this is a bit weird! I apologise if there are any mistakes!

Also, I couldn't not attach this absolute bop in a chapter about an ice-cream stall. Red Velvet slay me on a daily basis tbh

See you soon!!
-Sophie