aeterisks (ao3)
In Jeongguk's books, there are few things worse than having to buy a present for a close friend. But there, right at the top, is having to come up with a gift for his crush.
(Or, Jeongguk gets Taehyung for the Secret Santa he and his friend organize, and panic ensues.)
--
When the idea of organizing a Secret Santa among the seven members of their group of friends was suggested, Jeongguk thought it was a fun idea. He has never been the best at buying gifts, but with a strict budget and it being amongst his closest friends, he didn't really think he'd have much of a problem. Besides, it'd be a cute thing to do.
And even if Jeongguk isn't good at deciding on gifts, he must admit he enjoys opening them. The excitement of having someone give him a little something, as insignificant as it is, would make up for the time planning his own present.
That is, until he saw who he got.
At first, Jeongguk was excited when he saw Taehyung's name on the piece of paper. He even felt a wave of heat wash over him, because fuck yeah. But then he had the realization that oh, holy fuck, he had gotten Taehyung. Which means—he has to get, make, find a gift for Taehyung.
Which means he's fucked.
For someone like Jeongguk, who sucks at coming up with good and original gifts, there are few things worse than having to buy a present for a close friend. But there, right at the top, is having to come up with a gift for his crush.
Jeongguk's feeling of triumph slowly turns into panic as he realizes the implications behind having to get something for Taehyung. He needs to impress, which is almost impossible for a budget as low as they have. His goal is to show he's... thoughtful. And he is, really, but Jeongguk's thoughtfulness comes naturally. The moment he sits down and tries to think about what a good present might entail, all that sense of dedication to detail that he usually has seems to disappear.
He doesn't want to give Taehyung something that sucks, since that would probably lead to Taehyung hating him.
(Okay, maybe he's being a little dramatic. Even if he got Taehyung the worst gift in the world, he knows that Taehyung is anything but ungrateful. He would tease him a little, yes, but he'd still be thankful and manage to, somehow, find a silver lining to it. Still, he doesn't let himself think that way. The last thing he needs to do is to relax and not take it seriously enough.)
Jeongguk does have the knowledge about Taehyung that it should take to be able to get something nice for him. What he needs now is advice from someone that not only is good with gifts, but also knows Taehyung just as well as he himself does. And that could only be Park Jimin.
"You know this goes against the rules, right?" Jimin tells him as soon as Jeongguk comes to him for advice.
Jeongguk is aware of that, of course he is. He knows that the thrill of it is not knowing anything at all, and then trying to guess who got who after gifts are exchanged. But in all honesty, if he's doing this it's because this is an emergency. Or at least, it is in his books.
"I do," Jeongguk replies, crossing his arms over his chest, feeling almost scolded. "But I don't care. I need help or he's gonna hate me."
"Quite a rebel," Jimin replies, humored. Jeongguk fakes a pout. "He's not going to hate you."
With a sigh, Jeongguk replies, "I know, but I still want to get him something nice." Jimin nods, seemingly understanding. "Will you help me?"
"I will, yeah," Jimin tells him. The moment he hears the words leave his friend's mouth, a wide smile appears on Jeongguk's face. If there is someone who knows what the right thing to get Taehyung is, no matter the budget, that someone is Jimin. "Does your determination to get him a good present have anything to do with the fact that you're crushing on him?"
