Bruises took somewhere between five and seven days to fade. A fact that he found out when he finally woke up one morning and his throat was no longer a mess of swirling blues and purples, but those horrible greens and yellows. If anything, it honestly looked even worse, and were infinitely harder to hide. But at least he could rest securely in the knowledge that the remnants of his shame were almost gone.
And if he had taken pictures of them all then that was for him to know and absolutely no one else to ever find out.
...
He wasn't even supposed to be there.
It was Taehyung's shift but there was a party and that was as far as Seokjin had allowed him to get before agreeing. Saturdays were usually busy and the tips were usually phenomenal and he wasn't going to say no.
Despite how much he should have.
...
"Hey Jinnie, do you mind taking that table that just came in?" It wasn't in his section, but there was a party of nearly thirty taking up half the restaurant and he was honestly just glad he didn't have to deal with it.
"Sure thing." All he could see was a wild streak of white blond hair bobbing back and forth behind the menu, talking animatedly about something he couldn't quite hear yet. He figured that absolute worst that was about to happen was he'd be some intentional third wheel on that already awkward first date.
"I've heard the food is really good here." Obviously the blond was trying desperately to get the person they were with to engage, and he held back a chuckle at the non-committal hum the words got in response.
"Hello and welcome to Vero Gusto's, my name is Seokjin and I'll be your server this evening." He had said those exact words actual hundreds of times, until they were so burned into his memory he sometimes answered the phone with them. "Can I get you started with some drinks?"
"Do you have a wine list?" The blond was, in fact, very, very blond. White hair that had obviously been bleached within an inch of it's life and it was truly a miracle that it was holding on at all. Honestly the color suited the face it was meant to compliment. Narrow eyes and full lips with high cheek bones and he was instantly insanely jealous of his own customer.
"Of course." Pulling out a copy from the pocket of his apron, he handed it over, before standing back with his hands clasped behind him.
"Do you want to have a look Kookie?" The blond's companion still hadn't lowered the menu, and all that could be seen in the dim light was a shock of black hair.
"Not really." That voice was soft and gentle, despite how uninterested it sounded, and it sparked some kind of stirring memory to life within him. Like he was certain he had heard it before, but he had no idea where.
"Do you always have to be so difficult?" The blond spoke again, barely holding back a frustrated sigh as he lowered the wine list and handed it back over. "We'll have a bottle of Merlot, please."
"Certainly. Would you like to order now, or do you need some more time?"
"I don't know. Are you actually going to speak this time Jungkook?"
He had always heard of those moments where everything in the world stopped. Where it all just seemed to pause and started right back up again like nothing happened. Where you were frozen with your mind still active and alert, working a thousand miles per minute trying desperately to process the information you had just received.
But he had never believed they were real. Not until that exact moment when the menu was finally lowered and that face came into view. Only it looked far different than it had that night. Tired and annoyed, tongue pressing into a cheek and eyes rolling.
"I'm sorry for him." That voice was still just as soft, only it was like it had been that night. Soothing and comforting and he felt like he couldn't even breathe. "He gets like this around beautiful people. Really, I think he's just jealous."
"I'm right here." The blond spoke up again, and Seokjin literally had to shake himself in an attempt to get rid of the hazy fog that had settled over his mind. "Must you flirt with everyone right in front of me?"
"I'll have the steak. Medium please." Ignoring the other man all together, he flashes this strange little smile that made him perfectly resemble a bunny. Closing the menu, he handed it over, and Seokjin internally screamed as their fingers brushed.
"I'll have the chicken alfredo." The blond sounded irritated beyond belief, and suddenly Seokjin realized that he wasn't about to witness some awkward first date.
He was about to witness something so much better.
