Jeongguk stares at the fluorescent green flyer taped to the telephone pole outside the gym as he finishes his post-workout shake.

GUITAR LESSONS

10+ YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

₩ 50,000 PER HOUR

TEXT 02-XXX-XXXX FOR INQUIRIES

There aren't any little tearaway pieces at the bottom of the paper, so Jeongguk pulls out his phone to take a picture. Yujin has mentioned a few times now that he's interested in the idea of learning to play the guitar, but has never made the effort to search for possible instructors.

So he shoots Yujin the picture.

As he’s waiting for a reply, Jeongguk eyes the little cartoon sketch of a stickman playing the guitar on the corner of the paper. The way the marker is smudged tells Jeongguk that it’s not a mass-produced flyer—as if the shitty design of it didn’t say as much already.

Yujin replies a couple of minutes later.

from: prodigal son

ooh looks sick

text them

Jeongguk raises an eyebrow as he unlocks his car, throwing his gym bag in the backseat.

to: prodigal son

Why do I have to text them?

You’re the one who wants to learn.

from: prodigal son

yeah but what if they’re some psycho freak

i don’t want them having my number

to: prodigal son

Oh so it’s completely fine for them to have my number, tho.

from: prodigal son

glad you understand, dad

also we’re out of lucky charms

Once Jeongguk has got the bran flakes amongst the other groceries from the store, he heads home. Yujin’s still at school and it’s Jeongguk’s rare day off, so he has the house to himself. He showers first and uses the relaxing time to decide on what to cook for dinner.

Roasted pork belly bossam, he decides once he’s dried and dressed.

Jeongguk gets to work chopping the spring onions, skinning the ginger, and crushing the garlic with the back of his chef’s knife. He feels the tension drain from his muscles even more so than it did at the gym. His hands work deftly at preparing the ingredients, adding everything to a heavy pot along with an eyeballed helping of doengjang paste. Finally, he adds the pork belly and leaves that to boil for the next couple of hours. It gives him time to prepare the glaze, mixing honey, grated ginger, gochujang, and doengjang together before allowing that to sit in the fridge.

Surfaces all cleaned and food prepped, he decides to study the picture of the flyer again while he waits. ₩50,000 per hour isn’t that steep, Jeongguk could probably do some budgeting and find the money to put aside for Yujin. He just doesn’t want this to be another dad, please can I do “insert expensive activity here,” I promise I’ll stick to it!

But he should cut Yujin some slack. He’s 16 now, he’s old enough to make smarter choices. Plus he has been mentioning learning to play guitar for a long time now, it’s not out of the blue. So with that in mind, he types the number into his phone and shoots a message.

to: 02-XXX-XXXX

Hi, I saw your flyer and wanted to check if lessons were still available.

Thanks.

Setting his phone down, Jeongguk doesn’t expect such an immediate reply. But he’s barely made it halfway towards the fridge before his phone chimes. He backsteps to the kitchen table.

from: 02-XXX-XXXX

this legit?

no fucking around?

Jeongguk frowns at his phone.

to: 02-XXX-XXXX

It is, yes.

from: 02-XXX-XXXX

u’d be surprised how many weird messages i’ve had

foot pics GALORE man

to each their own, but damn

Jeongguk snorts, about to reply his sympathies, but the tone of the messages quickly changes.

from: 02-XXX-XXXX

Anyway, let’s discuss business!

Are you interested in learning?

Backspacing his text, Jeongguk types a new message.

to: 02-XXX-XXXX

It’s my son who’s interested, actually.

from: 02-XXX-XXXX

Excellent! And does he have any prior experience?

to: 02-XXX-XXXX

No experience, no.

Will that be an issue?

from: 02-XXX-XXXX

Not at all! I just like to gauge what level they might be at.

That may increase the price.

to: 02-XXX-XXXX

Oh.

How much more?

from: 02-XXX-XXXX

₩100,000 per hour.

Jeongguk’s eyebrows pinch, lips rolling into a line. He’s not sure he can spare that. But he doesn’t want to let Yujin down now that he’s expecting him to come through for him.

to: 02-XXX-XXXX

That may be a little steep for me.

Is there any chance you could reduce it to ₩80,000 at least?

If not, I understand.

The grey text bubble pops up and disappears numerous times and Jeongguk resigns himself to the fact that it was probably a little too good to be true. He’ll have to tell Yujin the truth when he gets home and try to find a cheaper option.

to: 02-XXX-XXXX

₩50,000 IS GREAT

WORKS FOR ME

Jeongguk blinks down at his screen.

to: 02-XXX-XXXX

Are you sure?

from: 02-XXX-XXXX

yep yep, 50k is a deal

how old is ur son?

He has no idea what the fuck is happening, but he won’t question it if it keeps the price down. After exchanging some details and information regarding Yujin, they come to an agreement that they’ll start out a couple of times a week and take it from there. Wednesday and Friday evenings work the best for everyone involved.

from: 02-XXX-XXXX

name’s taehyung btw

here’s a link to me playing the guitar so u can see what ur paying for

lmk if anything changes or u have any questions

✌️

Clicking on the link opens up a YouTube video that’s only a couple of minutes long and shows a guy with an electric guitar propped on his lap, the camera angled low to show nothing but his hands on the guitar and the giant tears in his jeans. As soon as the guy— Taehyung plays the first few chords, Jeongguk knows it as Plug In Baby by Muse. The title confirms it, with the added (SHRED VERSION) attached to the end.

If this is the kind of music the guy plays, then he has no worries about how he’ll get on in this household. One of Jeongguk’s proudest moments as a father has been exposing Yujin to the holy sanctimony that is rock and getting him on board with it. A small flex, he supposes, but one he is proud of.

There’s good fucking music in this household and Jeongguk will die happy because of it.

Yujin returns home just as Jeongguk’s basting the pork belly with the glaze.

“No way,” Yujin mutters once Jeongguk gives him the good news. “I’m really having guitar lessons?”

“Yep,” Jeongguk confirms, feeling just a little bit like Superdad in that moment. “The first one is on Wednesday.”

“Holy shit!” Jeongguk can hear Yujin pacing around behind him. “We gotta go buy a guitar.”

Jeongguk pauses his basting. “What?”

“Yeah! How can I learn to play without a guitar?”

Shit. Fuck. Jeongguk hadn’t thought of that. “Leave that to me,” he says, stepping over to the sink to wash his hands. “I’ll take care of it.”

“Sweet. Thanks, dad. You’re the best.”

Once he hears Yujin retreat to his bedroom, door closing behind him, Jeongguk braces his arms on either side of the sink and sags. He wonders if he could get a guitar on loan from the school, or maybe from a local music shop. He could always ask Yoongi if he could borrow his, but then he knows for a fact Yoongi will insist on giving lessons to Yujin and that’s a headache no amount of Advil could help with.

Drying his hands, Jeongguk grabs his phone and opens up the last text thread. He quickly saves the contact.

to: taehyung (guitar lessons)

Hi, sorry to bother you.

I was just wondering how much guitars usually go for and if you know any places I could get one for a reasonable price?

Once again, he’s not left waiting long before he receives a reply.

from: taehyung (guitar lessons)

dw about that

i can just bring a spare

That immediately relieves some of the anxiety.

to: taehyung (guitar lessons)

Are you sure? I don’t want to put you out.

from: taehyung (guitar lessons)

doesn’t put me out at all man

no worries

ur kid might not like guitar, so i’d never suggest anyone go out and but one right off the bat

buy* not but lol

to: taehyung (guitar lessons)

Thank you. haha

See you Wednesday.

from: taehyung (guitar lessons)

c u then 👍

Jeongguk clocks out from the diner early on the coming Wednesday so he can be there when Taehyung arrives. While the guy seems nice enough, albeit strange through text, this still involves his son and his home, so in case this goes tits up, Jeongguk needs to be there.

“You didn’t have to finish work early for me, dad,” Yujin complains.

“You worried I might cramp your style?” Jeongguk jokes as he cracks open a beer and lets Yujin have the first sip, since he likes the foam.

“No it’s—” he pauses to slurp the froth before handing the bottle back, “—you know it’s not like that. I just don’t want you losing out on hours at work because of me.”

Jeongguk’s face softens at that, studying his son. It worries him sometimes how keen of an eye Yujin has. It’s not that he keeps things from Yujin, it’s not a secret that they’re not completely comfortable with money—Jeongguk has two jobs, that says it all. But he never openly expresses his money worries to him, that’s not the type of stress a kid should carry on their shoulders.

“Don’t worry about that, alright? Plus, psycho freak, remember?” Jeongguk takes a big sip of beer, thinking about how well it would go with some fried chicken.

“I’m so ready for this,” Yujin says confidently. “I’m gonna play the shit out of that guitar. I’ll be the one giving him lessons.”

Soon it reaches 5PM and there’s a knock at the door.

“I can’t do this. I’m gonna throw up,” Yujin breathes, dramatic. “Catch me, dad. I’m passing out.”

Jeongguk walks past him to go answer the door and there’s a clatter of a chair behind him.

Pulling the door open, a young guy stands there with his back turned to Jeongguk as he waves to a car pulling away from the house. There’s one guitar on his back and one in his hand. He’s dressed similarly to how he looked in the video he sent him, a tattered plaid shirt and jeans with more rips in them than denim.

He turns to face Jeongguk and oh.

Not the face he was expecting, honestly.

“Hey,” the guy greets. “I’m Taehyung.”

“Yeah. Hello,” Jeongguk returns, eloquent. “Come on in, make yourself at home. Yujin,” he calls, despite knowing his son is probably listening intently. He can’t embarrass him in front of a new person, there is some type of dad-code.

Yujin, despite the nervous wreck he was moments prior, waltzes out, cool as a cucumber. “Sup,” he nods and Jeongguk shakes his head to himself as he closes the door behind Taehyung.

“Nice to meet you, man,” Taehyung says back, glancing around the place. “I like the digs.” He looks between Jeongguk and Yujin. “Is your dad around?”

Yujin rolls his eyes. “God, don’t feed his ego,” he groans.

Jeongguk’s chest puffs out, more than pleased. His ego has definitely been fed.

“What?” Taehyung looks back at Jeongguk, looking him over. His eyes go wide. “Shut up. You’re the dad?”

“I am.”

Taehyung’s eyes turn back to Yujin. “Dude, I’m sorry,” he says, sounding beyond sincere. “School must suck for you when your dad looks like that .”

“You don’t know the half of it,” Yujin sighs.

“Like what?” Jeongguk goads, enjoying this far too much. “How do I look, Yujin?”

“Like an ass,” Yujin returns, giving him a sharp look before he turns his attention to Taehyung. “Can we play in the living room?”

But Taehyung’s once again staring at Jeongguk and if Jeongguk didn’t know any better, he’d say the guy was checking him out. “Yeah, sure,” he finally answers, kicking off his shoes.

“We didn’t really discuss payment,” Jeongguk says as he trails after the pair. The place isn’t big, everything open plan. The house in itself is only one story, something that Jeongguk could afford after his separation, but he’s worked his ass off to make it a nice place to live. So he appreciates Taehyung’s compliment on it.

“We can talk money after,” Taehyung assures, handing one guitar to Yujin while he takes the other from his back. “Don’t wanna shortchange you if you think I suck.”

Jeongguk appreciates that. “Can I get you anything to drink?”

“Yeah, couple of beers would be good,” Yujin answers and Taehyung laughs.

“You’re already over your limit for the night, I’m cutting you off,” Jeongguk returns. “Taehyung?”

Taehyung turns to look at him. “What?”

“Beer?”

He blinks over at Jeongguk. “For real?”

“Unless you’re underage,” Jeongguk questions. “How old are you?”

“23.”

“And you’re not driving, right?”

“No.”

Jeongguk nods. “So did you want one?”

“Uh, sure,” Taehyung agrees. “If that’s cool.”

“And for you?” Jeongguk nods to Yujin. “A juicebox?”

Yujin gives him the middle finger as Jeongguk heads into the kitchen.

“That’s seriously your dad?” he hears Taehyung ask as he digs through the fridge.

“Yeah, he’s chill.”

Jeongguk smiles to himself, bringing out a beer and a soda and setting them down on the coffee table between the two couches. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you need anything.”

“Thank you, sir,” Taehyung replies and Jeongguk feels his balls shrivel.

“Jeongguk is fine,” he reassures and Yujin mocks a gasp.

“Wait, you’re telling me your first name isn’t dad?”

Jeongguk mocks back a laugh and leaves the pair alone, staying close by just in case. He gets to work on making dinner, preparing the mix of egg and seasoned flour for the fried chicken.

From a young age, Jeongguk’s always found cooking to be therapeutic. While he’s had hobbies, nothing has ever felt as right as the way cooking does. It’s his dream one day to open up his own place; nothing big or flashy, just somewhere he can cook comfort food for a reasonable price. Which isn’t always the easiest feat in Seoul.

He’s making his way towards it, though. He likes what he does now, being the head cook at Aera’s Diner. He gets to make great food for (usually) great customers. But one day, he hopes to be able to have a place of his own and design a menu of his own. For now, he works as a line cook and a building labourer. The second job he’s not too fond of, but the pay is decent and he’s made some good contacts through it, so he can’t complain.

But this .

Listening to the oil start to fizzle as he heats up the skillet, the smell of herbs in the air as the battered chicken dries out on a wire rack—because the trick to the best fried chicken is letting it dry out before you fry it. This is what he loves to do. To cook.

As he works on dinner, sipping his lukewarm beer, Jeongguk can hear the pluck of guitar strings coming from the living room. It’s been about forty minutes into the first lesson and it sounds like Yujin is picking up on the basic chords already.

Jeongguk is finishing up with some dipping sauces when the pair enter the kitchen.

“Holy shit, it smells like pure heaven in here,” Taehyung exclaims, sniffing the air.

“Dad’s a chef,” Yujin informs and while Jeongguk isn’t technically a qualified chef, never even went to culinary school, he loves when Yujin tells people that he is.

“You guys all wrapped up?” Jeongguk asks over his shoulder.

“Yep.”

“How did it go?”

“Really good,” Taehyung says, making his way on over to watch what Jeongguk’s doing in a very bold move. “He’s gonna be an easy student, I can tell.” He nods to the yellow sauce. “What’s that?”

“Honey mustard,” Jeongguk answers, scraping the large bowl clean and into a smaller serving dish. He glances at Taehyung, watching him eye the chicken. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”

Taehyung looks up at him. “Absolutely,” he answers, no hesitance.

Jeongguk chuckles, finding the straightforwardness admirable. “Pull up a chair, I’m just plating up.” He’s never one to turn someone away from a home-cooked meal.

“Oh my god,” Taehyung says around a mouthful of food a couple of minutes later, sagging back against the chair. He looks at Yujin. “Oh my god .”

“I know, right?” Yujin says with a shake of his head. “Fast food fried chicken never hits the same.”

“How come you’re not the size of a house if you eat this good?” Taehyung demands.

Yujin wipes his mouth on a napkin. “I run track. Not because I like it, because I need it.”

After dinner, both Taehyung and Yujin wilted in their chairs, Jeongguk cleans up the mess. “Hope you boys enjoyed that.”

“I think that was the best meal I’ve ever had in my life,” Taehyung says quietly, making Jeongguk snort.

“Did you want the leftovers?” he offers. Jeongguk usually makes enough to pack in his lunch for work at the construction site, but he’s happy to give Taehyung some after all the ego-stroking and hype he’s given Jeongguk tonight.

“If it’s not an inconvenience,” Taehyung says. “Then yeah, absolutely.”

Food packed up, Yujin goes to collapse on the couch. “Bye, hyung,” he muffles into a cushion. “See you on Friday.”

“Later, dude,” Taehyung calls back as Jeongguk walks him to the front door.

“Hyung already, huh?” Jeongguk points out, amused. “Must have made quite the impression.”

Taehyung tugs on a battered pair of checkered slip-ons. “Yujin’s cool,” he nods, untucking the folded fabric behind his heel. “You’ve got a good kid.”

“Don’t I know it.” Jeongguk grabs his wallet from his back pocket. “So 50k we settled on, right?”

Taehyung rubs the back of his neck and Jeongguk feels a pit lodge in his stomach. “I don’t know…”

Jeongguk only took out the exact money from the ATM. “Oh, uh—”

“I feel like I should be paying you after that dinner,” Taehyung cuts in. “50 Gs might be too much, sir.”

Jeongguk cringes. “Enough with the sir, you’re undoing all the work you did when you thought I was Yujin’s brother,” he jokes, offering out the money. “Take it. He loses interest in these things quickly, but I have a good feeling about this one, so. Worth every penny.”

“You sure?” Taehyung looks hesitant to take the cash, so Jeongguk tucks it into the front pocket of his shirt.

“I’m sure.” The sound of an engine pulling up out front has Jeongguk peering around Taehyung’s shoulder to see who it is. It’s a flashy looking car, a Mercedes model. It looks like the same car that dropped Taehyung off. “Your ride?”

“Yep,” Taehyung answers, glancing over his shoulder too. He takes a step backward onto the porch. “Thanks again for the food, Jeongguk .”

Jeongguk nods, hand on the edge of the door. “Anytime. See you next week.” Just as he’s about to close the door, Taehyung speaks up again, still walking backward down the drive.

“You’re really Yujin’s dad? No bullshit?”

Jeongguk cracks a smile. “No bullshit.”

“Damn,” Taehyung hums, and this time he is definitely checking Jeongguk out. “Didn’t realise dads were allowed to be that hot.”

With that, Taehyung turns and ducks into the waiting car, shoving his guitars into the backseat as it pulls away. Jeongguk’s left to stand there, processing what was just said.

He closes the door slowly, blinking down at his hand on the handle.

Huh.

“Learning the chords is important, sure, but it gets boring. So!” Taehyung presents Yujin with a piece of paper. “I thought we could try learning a basic song.”

On Friday, the pair chooses to sit in the kitchen instead since the living room is too hot. At least in the kitchen they’ve got the backdoor open, bringing in a nice breeze.

“What do you think, dad?” Yujin asks as Jeongguk’s scoring some small Vienna sausages.

Looking over his shoulder, Jeongguk squints at the list, needing to step closer to see the choices. “Ooh, Fast Car by Tracy Chapman is a good one,” he supplies. “Beautiful guitar on it.”

“That’s true,” Taehyung agrees.

“Okay, let’s do that one, then.”

Jeongguk smiles, ruffling a hand over Yujin’s hair before he gets back to cooking. But it’s not long before he’s distracted by Taehyung playing the opening of Fast Car , the familiar twang of the guitar strings making the hair on Jeongguk’s arms prickle. He cranes his neck to watch, eyes on Taehyung’s fingers on the strings.

They’re long and slender, a couple of rings sitting above his knuckles. He takes note of the chipped black nail polish, minus the pinkie finger which is painted white. They move deftly along the strings and Jeongguk finds it hard to look away until Taehyung stops playing.

“Alright, let’s just work on the basic chords first. They’re pretty consistent through the song,” Taehyung explains to Yujin and Jeongguk turns his attention back to preparing the stir fry.

By the time the hour is up, Yujin has got a good grip of the hook of the song, fingers a little slow but even to the untrained ear, it’s obvious what song he’s playing.

“Awesome work, man,” Taehyung praises as he packs up the music sheets, leaving Yujin with Fast Car to practice. When Yujin offers him the guitar, he shakes his head. “You wanna keep the guitar for me until Wednesday?”

“Really?” Yujin asks, eyebrows raised. “You’re cool with that?”

“Yeah,” Taehyung chuckles. “Wouldn’t have offered otherwise. It gives you a chance to practice.”

Yujin settles the guitar back on his lap. “Wow. Thanks, hyung.”

“Do you want to stay for dinner tonight, Taehyung?” Jeongguk offers.

“Man, I really wish I could,” Taehyung sighs. “But I’ve got a gig tonight.”

“A gig,” Jeongguk repeats. “Are you in a band?”

“Hell yeah,” Taehyung says proudly, a grin stretching his cheeks wide. “You guys should come to see us sometime.”

“That would be sick,” Yujin agrees enthusiastically. “Can we, dad?”

“Don’t see why not. Do you want some food for the road?”

Taehyung shakes his head. “Can’t perform on a full stomach. I would be pissed if I puked and wasted your food.”

Jeongguk laughs, appreciating the sentiment.

The next time he sees Taehyung is outside of Yujin’s lesson time. It’s on the following Sunday when Jeongguk is working at the diner and they’re understaffed. One of the waitresses called in with a stomach bug and they’re unable to reach anyone else to cover for her shift. They’re a waitress down and Koko isn’t in any mood to pick up the slack. Not that he blames her, she’s Aera’s niece who’s being forced to work here to pay back a loan from what he’s heard. But that doesn’t mean she’s not a pain in his ass.

“Order up,” Jeongguk announces from behind the line, sliding the two plates of eggs and pancakes across the serving hatch. Sweat drips down his temple as he stares at the teenager leaning against the register. “Koko!”

“I’m on break,” she answers back, shooting Jeongguk a look as she files the edge of her thumbnail.

“Can we get some more coffee, please?” a couple calls from the end of the counter and just as Koko opens her mouth to inevitably tell them Ross Gellar style that she’s on a break , Jeongguk beats her to it.

“Absolutely,” Jeongguk answers through the window, flipping the dishtowel over his shoulder. “Cover for me,” he instructs Seokjin as he wipes the sweat from his forehead on his shoulder.

Seokjin squeezes more oil onto the griddle. “Already on it.”

Pushing through the swinging door separating the kitchen and diner, the cool air is a welcome relief against Jeongguk’s skin. He doesn’t look the best, an apron around his hips and wife beater greasy, but it’s still service with a smile.

Grabbing the coffee pot, Jeongguk makes a round across the diner, chatting with the locals and a few fresh faces before he has to brew some more coffee, since Koko didn’t set up the second pot. As he’s brewing, Jeongguk serves the plates beginning to pile up on the serving hatch, praying that Aera fires Koko and brings in someone actually useful. He doesn’t know how much more he can put up with.

There’s a jingle at the door, indicating new customers. “Koko. Can you seat them?”

“I’m on—”

“Do it or you’re fired,” Jeongguk warns, lowering his voice so the other customers don’t overhear. “I don’t give a fuck if you’re family or not.”

Smacking the gum in her mouth, Koko rolls her eyes but slides the glass file in the front of her apron and goes to take care of the new customers as Jeongguk buses the table too. And of course, Koko chooses the very table he’s cleaning to seat the customers.

“Sorry about this, guys,” Jeongguk apologises, finishing wiping down the table, bucket of dirty plates, and tupperware in his other hand. “Busy morning.”

“Jeongguk?”

Looking up, Jeongguk’s eyebrows raise when he sees Taehyung, standing there with four other guys and sunglasses perched on the end of his nose. “Hey,” he greets, surprised. “Fancy running into you.”

Taehyung grins at Jeongguk while his party slides into the booth. He pushes his sunglasses up into his hair. “Yeah, I’ve been here a few times. Good hangover spot. Food is bomb.”

It’s Jeongguk's turn to grin. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You’re the cook here?” Taehyung questions, eyeing the bucket in Jeongguk’s hands.

“Oh. Yeah,” Jeongguk laughs, following Taehyung’s gaze. He tosses the dirty cloth in with the plates. “When I’m not bussing tables, yeah. I cook here.”

“That explains why the food is so good, then.” Taehyung points, eyes a little low. “You’ve got tattoos.”

“I do.”

As Taehyung lowers himself into the booth, he keeps staring at Jeongguk. “I like them.”

“Thank you, pretty keen on them myself.”

Taehyung tucks his hand under his chin and smiles up at Jeongguk. His eyes definitely drag over his chest.

“So,” Jeongguk says after a moment of silence and strange tension. He looks to Koko and gives her a nod. “You got them covered?”

“Sure do,” she answers, seeming more interested now that she’s serving a group of young guys.

“Enjoy your breakfast, guys,” Jeongguk says to the group before he heads back to the kitchen to dump the plates and cutlery into the industrial sink. Thankfully it’s starting to thin down a bit as it usually does at this time, but Jeongguk knows it won’t last for long until a new wave of people arrive for lunch.

Taehyung’s table orders burgers and fries, two servings of them loaded. It’s not even 11AM yet, but Jeongguk knows from experience that nothing helps a hangover like a greasy burger.

As he’s cooking the burgers on the griddle, Jeongguk idly wonders what Taehyung thinks seeing him here. Yujin told Taehyung he was a chef, maybe he assumed he’d work at some fine dining restaurant, not an American-themed diner. Not that Jeongguk’s ashamed of where he works, he loves being a line cook. He’s had his opportunities to work in more established restaurants across Seoul, but they’ve never felt comfortable for him.

Jeongguk serves up the burgers just as Seokjin sets the basket of fries on the side, the pair of them in sync. That’s another thing he couldn’t do without at a fine dining restaurant. Seokjin. Their chemistry is great in the kitchen and if he ever gets his own place, he hopes his hyung will join him, but he’d understand if he doesn’t want to.

When Koko takes the order from the serving hatch, Jeongguk sticks a toothpick between his teeth and gnaws at the end as he watches her serve Taehyung and his buddies. He already knows Taehyung likes his cooking, but he still watches closely as he takes the first big bite of his burger.

“You know them?” Seokjin asks with a nod to Taehyung’s table, eating some of the leftover fries from a batch he made.

“Yeah, one of them is teaching Yujin guitar.”

Even from across the diner, he can see Taehyung melt, staring down at the burger between his hands with a look Jeongguk never fails to enjoy seeing on a customer’s face.

Smiling around the toothpick, Jeongguk uses his break to start washing up the dishes while Seokjin gets to work on preparing for the lunch rush.

“The guy from table 5 wants you,” Koko comes to tell Jeongguk a little while later when he and Seokjin are standing out back, away from the heat of the kitchen lamps. To be fair, outside isn’t much cooler, but the air doesn’t smell like grease, at least.

“Table 5?” Heading back in, Jeongguk spots Taehyung sitting at the counter while his friends stand outside.

Taehyung smiles at him as he approaches. “Chef,” he greets with a little nod of his head.

“Rockstar,” Jeongguk shoots back, making Taehyung laugh. “Everything okay with the food?”

“Yeah, it was amazing. Best burger I’ve ever had.”

“Ah, you’re so good at stroking my ego,” Jeongguk sighs, grinning when it gets another laugh from Taehyung. He braces his hands on the edge of the counter. “Want some pie?”

“I’d be crazy to say no. Can I take it to go?”

“You got it.” Jeongguk serves up a thick slice of Seokjin’s famous caramel apple pie in a to-go box. “Tastes best with vanilla ice cream, but damn good on its own too.”

“How much do I owe you?”

“On the house.”

Taehyung’s eyebrows raise. “You sure?”

“Yeah. A small thank you for what you’re doing for Yujin,” Jeongguk says, genuine. “He’s been practicing his ass off since Friday and it’s nice to see him so dedicated to something.” He smiles at Taehyung. “You’re a great teacher.”

Taehyung’s head tips down with a quiet laugh through his nose and it could be the lights, but Jeongguk’s pretty certain he sees a blush on Taehyung’s cheeks. “Thanks, Jeongguk. You’re a great dad.”

“Let’s not get into a pissing contest, ace,” Jeongguk smirks. “Take your pie and I’ll see you on Wednesday.”

Grinning, Taehyung stands, pie in hand. “Yes, sir .”

Jeongguk narrows his eyes, following Taehyung out with his eyes.

“Is he single?”

He startles at the voice, glancing at Koko who is suddenly right next to him, staring at Taehyung and his friends as they pass. “I don’t know.”

“Can you ask?”

Jeongguk blinks down at her. “I’m on break,” he returns, monotone, and gives her a smile with no teeth as he walks away, feeling her glare on the back of his neck.