Bubblegum Candy | Jikook | Completed

One

Hi, I'm glad you came here today!

This is a book Nevertrue and I plotted in December 2019 (I believe the original idea sparked way back in 2017 (kinda)), but I never felt inspired to actually write it. Until now. It took me only about a week. Procrastination truly is my worst vice.

The original idea was just a oneshot, but as I wrote, I got more and more ideas along the way so here we are again with another short story.

Little Jungkook was staring with his mouth open. The three-year-old boy was hiding behind a shelf, carefully peeking at another boy who was sitting by the counter with a small bag of candy in his hands. Jungkook watched how the boy munched on the blue candies, growing to feel envious that his mommy probably wouldn't buy him any. After all, they were in the candy store to buy some sweets for Jungkook's grandmother's birthday party.

The other boy then turned to look at him, making Jungkook squeak and crouch to hide. He closed his eyes in hopes of not getting caught. When he didn't hear anything, the young child opened his eyes, only to see a pair of feet standing in front of him. He looked up and gasped when the boy was smiling down at him.

"Want a bubblegum candy?"

Little Jungkook already loved his new friend. When he nodded, the slightly taller boy took his hand and dragged him across the shop and behind the counter, all the way to the kitchen where a woman was making a fresh batch of candy.

"Momma, can we taste?" the boy asked. Jungkook was standing next to him with shy eyes as he fiddled with his small fingers.

"Ah, who's your friend?" the lady asked, bending down to smile at both boys. "I'm making candies with a bubblegum flavor, do you want one? It's my secret recipe." She giggled when the children nodded eagerly.

"They're the best!" the other boy exclaimed, eyes disappearing when he smiled. "You're gonna love it!" He turned toward the shorter boy.

"Y-yeah," Jungkook said shyly.

The boy's mother smiled and picked up two pieces from the ready batch. "Here you are, dearies. Just one, though."

Every summer, Jungkook and his family would travel from Seoul to Busan to visit his grandmother, but ever since meeting that boy from the shop, seeing him had become the highlight of his summer. Almost every day for a week, his mother would drop him off at the candy shop. He spent those days playing with him, the son of the owners who was a year older than him.

The two of them had become the bestest of friends. And of course, most importantly, Jungkook got to taste the fresh candy the boy's mom made. Their shop was one of the last hand-made candy stores in Busan, and the small business took pride in their high-quality products. The bubblegum flavored chewy candy was both Jungkook and the other boy's favorite.

They would hang out by the cash register and greet all the customers while they sometimes got pieces of candy as a thank you for helping. And of course, they also played at the back, away from the customers. Jungkook loved the shop, the scents there, the candies, and his friend. He had so much fun with the older boy.

But after three years, when Jungkook was six, his grandmother passed away. Their last visit to Busan had been her funeral. He didn't get to say goodbye to the boy, he hadn't even known their yearly visits would end. He never stopped thinking about his best friend, or the bubblegum flavored candies he wished to eat once again. As years had gone by, he had forgotten the boy's name but hoped he would get to meet him again one day.