scented

nine

when a shy person smiles, it's like the
sun is coming out ; anita diament

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popping a mint in his mouth, mark spun around on the swivel chair, bored. he had recovered from his illness the day before and he had chosen to take up the shift that afternoon to make up for the days he had been absent from work. he stopped spinning once he heard the bell ring and his eyes shot towards the door.

immediately, a smile made its way onto his face when he caught sight of who it was. park jinyoung, a boy who'd grown on him in the few weeks that they had known each other. jinyoung was particularly smiley that day as he had just paid the library a visit and in his arms were three books, all of which were thick paperbacks. mark took in the boy's appearance, smiling even wider when he realised that the latter had on his round, black-rimmed spectacles and thick denim jacket which he wore over a white turtle neck.

"hi jinyoung", mark tried not to let his excitement at seeing the boy seep through for fear of getting a weird look sent his way.

"hi mark!" unlike mark, jinyoung clearly did not care about what mark thought, for he greeted him enthusiastically.

"you seem really happy today", mark pointed out and jinyoung smiled widely at mark.

"yeah, i am! i went to the library today, and when i realised i had enough time to come to se-", jinyoung scrambled to save himself from letting his honest words slip, covering it up with a cough before continuing, "the store, i was even happier."

mark could not help, but be curious about what jinyoung was about to say before he corrected himself. however, he brushed it off and brought his eyes back to the boy, asking, "so, i'm guessing you came in to buy a candle, and by the looks of what you have in your arms, do you want to check out our bookish-candles shelf?"

"no, i came in because i wanted to see you." jinyoung wanted to say, but he stopped himself in time, replying with a quick "yeah, that's fine with me" before heading towards the shelf with his newly borrowed books placed carefully on the counter mark was leaning against.

mark watched as jinyoung stood by the shelf, taking in a sharp breath when his eyes locked onto jinyoung's face, hungrily drinking in the beauty of the boy.

"i can feel you staring at me," jinyoung spoke without turning his head as he fought the blush that threatened to bloom across his cheeks, "why don't you take a picture? it lasts longer."

mark did not even bother to fight his own blush, simply turning away and hurrying behind the counter, sitting down and hiding his flushed cheeks in his hands.

"aw, is markiepooh getting shy now?" jinyoung teased, laughing lightly when mark let out a soft whine, burying his head in his arms. turning his attention back to the shelf, jinyoung grinned. he'd found the perfect candle for reading. the candle was a pretty shade of yellow, perfectly matching the book he loved the most, nick and norah's infinite playlist. he took it off the shelf carefully, making sure not to damage in any way before he even paid for it. his light footsteps took him back to the counter, where mark had fallen asleep, soft snores breaking the silence gracefully. jinyoung got to work himself, scanning the candle, placing the money in the cashier, and packaging it. just like he had seen mark do.

jinyoung put down the brown paper bag holding the candle next to his stack of books, before padding over to mark softly, being careful not to scare the latter awake. he watched mark sleep, small creases appearing at the corners of his eyes as his eye smile appeared, relishing in the ethereal beauty of the boy who smelt of fresh laundry and strawberry soap. jinyoung snapped out of his daze moments later, scolding himself internally when he realised intense staring was not socially acceptable, especially if the person he was staring at was asleep, and that he had a task to fulfil.

he reached out towards mark's sleeping figure, shaking mark gently as he whispered in his ear, "mark...wake up...".

mark stirred, raising his head as he sleepily slurred, "i'm awake, i'm awake!"

jinyoung let out a chuckle, to which mark, who was still slightly dazed, thought was beautiful, just like jinyoung. jinyoung cleared his throat then, looking mark dead in the eyes.

"go on a date with me?"

a light blush painted mark's cheeks and turned his ears into a dark shade of pink as he lowered his head shyly, nodding. jinyoung didn't miss the equally shy smile curling the corners of mark's lips.

"okay."