kicks ✓ || namgi || k.th

007: groceries

chapter 7: groceries
location: koreatown, los angeles, california

Namjoon glanced down at his list. "Okay, let's go over this one more time. Dangmyeon?"

Yoongi checked the cart. "Got it."

"Wheat noodles and buckwheat noodles?"

"Got both of those."

"Instant ramyun?"

"Namjoonie, how many packages of noodles can we buy in one H Mart?"

After visiting the Alamo, the supercharged purple bus had taken the seven boys to Los Angeles. Naturally, they could not stay in a place this expensive right away. And with the high Korean population, there was a much bigger risk that they would be caught. So Namjoon had parked the van, grabbed Yoongi, and went to the local Korean mart to pick up nonperishable food.

"Moon pies?"

"Dude, we got so many moon pies. And Pepero. Can't forget Pepero."

"And how many jars of kimchi did we get?"

"At least five. Hobi and Taehyung will blow through that in no time flat."

Namjoon ran through the math in his head. "This should be enough for now. We can put these in the back, behind your seat --" He found himself talking to thin air. "Yoongi!"

He pushed the cart through the busy grocery, dodging other people, hoping that nobody would recognize him under the mask he wore. He had told Yoongi to stay close, but so much for that plan. It's not like Yoongi listened to him on a daily basis, anyway --

Yoongi was right where Namjoon thought he would be: staring at the meat counter. "We need to go," he said, taking his hyung by the shoulder.

"But they're having a sale on beef. I miss Korean beef." Yoongi looked up at Namjoon with sad eyes that peeked out from over his face mask. "Can I please?"

Damn it. He would do anything for those eyes.

But he swallowed the feeling. "The answer is no. Do you want to get caught? Let's go."

"But --"

Namjoon took Yoongi's hand and pulled him away from the counter, pushing the cart with his other hand. Even though Namjoon was smack dab in the middle, age-wise, he had been designated family leader a long time ago. Maybe it was because of his chaebol status. Or maybe it was because he just had more patience than anybody else.

Corralling six college boys was a bit like herding cats. You were inevitably going to lose one or two along the way. Namjoon thought he would have eliminated that by just taking Yoongi to H Mart, but so much for that plan.

"Can I trust you to stay close?"

"...yeah, sure."

Namjoon swallowed again, keeping his eyes forward and putting both hands on the cart. Thank goodness Yoongi stayed close this time. They checked out, got back to the van, and Namjoon pushed the button. Los Angeles disappeared behind them, replaced with a vast desert, sand and sky as far as the eye could see.

The boys slept in the back as Namjoon drove on. No matter how far he drove, he would not be able to escape his father's voice in his mind. He had been furious when he had found out Namjoon had kissed another guy in high school. Ever since then, Namjoon had stuck to kissing girls.

Even though he really wanted to kiss Yoongi.

--

Asterhythm: Checking in with my readers! I hope everybody's liking the story so far!

I wanted to make a quick note on the Namgi you're going to see in the story. As you can kind of tell, it's a plot on the side, so it's way more subtle if you're not into that kind of thing. This is not a story where the romance is the primary focus.

What I am looking forward to is some honest character development, not just between Namjoon and Yoongi, but all seven of the boys. Namjoon and Yoongi have been friends and brothers for at least three years in this fic, and we'll see if that develops into anything more than that. I mean, it will...but it will be sweet and fluffy and kind of like your first high school romance.

I want to find a way to fit some straight pairings into this story as well, it's just...obviously hard when everybody's on a road trip, LOL!

Oh, and I can promise that this won't be a mature story. If enough people request that kind of content, I'll definitely write it, but it'll be a side story. I want this story to be the light and fluffy escape that we need.

So I invite you to continue reading, and we'll see where this goes. And if you don't want to read anymore, that's fair, too. I'm glad you've come this far with me.

Oh, and ONE MORE THING. A few chapters from now I want to have a Q and A session! So if there are questions you have about 'kicks,' or me or my writing process, feel free to ask them! I want to talk about it a little, but I don't want to tell you something you don't want to hear. So I look forward to your questions!

OK, that's it for now. I purple you like the supercharged van the boys are riding in! - Aster