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junplusone · 18 days ago

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pieces of heaven ; kwon soonyoung

summary: soonyoung may be chaos personified himself, but he finds a little piece of comfort in the haven that turns out to be the cozy bookstore you work at.

pairing: kwon soonyoung x gn!reader

contains: comedy (i tried), tiger agenda, swearing, dk's allergies, booseoksoon as roomies shenanigans, reader and seungkwan are masters students, seungkwan being a key player, wonu cameo, CAT !!!

word count: 4.87k

a/n: here's a wholesome little piece before i go back to college ; also let it be known i know nothing about bookstores or being a masters student so let me know if i got anything wrong!

tags: @mochacoda @imujings (lmk if u want to be added to permanent taglist!)

Kwon Soonyoung, for all of his chaos and his tendency to skew the average decibel reading higher wherever he is, can be shockingly bashful at times.

Which is why when he follows Seungkwan into a rickety old building, and his eyes fall on you, all he does is silently appreciate how cute you look, with the glasses perched on your nose and the stack of books you’re holding as you converse with his friend. Seungkwan is only here to drop off some notes — he has a class with you, he mentioned — but he gets roped into an in depth conversation about some dude named Daws-toe-yef-ski.

Whatever, Soonyoung thinks. He’s not much of a reader, and hasn’t been for years.

Once you’ve safely put the notebook away, you glance over at him curiously.

“Anything for your friend?” you ask politely.

Friend? Oh, that’s me, Soonyoung realizes, but Seungkwan butts in before he can utter a single word.

“No way! I don’t even think he’s picked up a book since high school,” he jokes, eliciting a pretty laugh out of you. “You would never catch him dead in here unless I dragged him. I think he’s allergic to words.”

“Oh, dear,” you say, very amused.

Seungkwan should be awarded a trophy for being the Worst Wingman Ever (On Accident), Soonyoung thinks, now that you’ve possibly branded him as an illiterate idiot in your mind.

“Your friend probably thinks I’m stupid,” he whines as he follows Seungkwan out onto the street. “Why’d you have to do me like that?”

“Did I lie?”

“...No. But still!”

“Don’t sweat it, dude. Why are you so stressed? You’re probably never gonna see them again.”

But Seungkwan is quite smart, especially when it comes to his friends, so his head snaps back up to gawk at Soonyoung in surprise.

“You want to see them again,” he says slowly.

“Hopefully. Ideally.”

“This is either going to go really well, or it’ll end up being the worst fumble of your life.”

“I should have just stayed home with Seokmin,” Soonyoung says accusingly. “At least he has some level of faith in me.”

Seungkwan just sighs, pushing his glasses up with all the exhaustion a twenty-four year old could possibly muster.

“I suppose you can tag along next time,” he decides graciously. “Although I have no idea when ‘next time’ would even be, but —”

“Really? You’re the best,” Soonyoung beams. “I’ll do all the dishes for the next month, I swear.”

Seungkwan just smiles, internally grateful for the reprieve from spending so much time in the kitchen. Seokmin, for one, can’t go a day without accidentally breaking a glass or plate, so this is the next best option.

“Alright,” he says gleefully. “Suit yourself.”

The next time Soonyoung sees you, it’s purely by accident.

It’s a small restaurant in the neighborhood, one especially beloved by Seungkwan for its kalguksu, so he and Seokmin accompany him for lunch. Neither of them have much going on, anyways, and they haven’t been able to have a meal together for quite a while.

But when he holds the door open for the person behind him, it doesn’t really hit him at first that it’s you. Not until he hears you, at least, saying hello to the owner in that clear voice that he recognizes instantly.

Yet again, Seungkwan beats him to it, calling your name out excitedly. “What are you doing here?”

“Just getting some food before my next shift.” You look a little tired, even as you greet them all cordially. “Are these your roommates?”

“Right, this is Seokmin,” he points out, “and this is Soonyoung. You met him a few days ago at the store, remember?”

“I do remember,” you say with a faint smile. “The one who’s ‘allergic to reading’.”

Seokmin disguises the laugh that escapes him as a snort, and then a coughing fit. Soonyoung wants to strangle Seungkwan then and there, lunch be damned.

“Nice to see you again,” he manages instead, face heating up in embarrassment. You look so good under the lighting that he can’t even maintain eye contact, and your gentle gaze isn’t really helping either.

“You should come sit with us,” Seungkwan offers, “I promise we’re better company than eating alone.”

“I also promise Soonie won’t say anything stupid,” Seokmin cuts in.

“I’m going to kill you both later,” Soonyoung mutters under his breath.

The friendly fire doesn’t seem to deter you at all; you accept the offer gladly and end up right across the table from him. At first, you don’t really say much — he knows, the three of them on their own are loud enough as is — but he senses you coming out of your shell a little bit more the longer the meal goes.

“Oh, by the way,” Seokmin starts, reaching for his water. “You go to school with Seungkwan, right?”

“Yeah,” you say. “I think the first time we met was in a marketing management class last year.”

“I’m so sorry for you.”

Seungkwan frowns at him. “Are you even my friend or not?”

“To be honest, I didn’t really speak to him that much,” you clarify. “It was a huge class. But we did our final presentation in the same group.”

“Are you also in school for an MBA?” Seokmin asks curiously.

“Yes, but I’m focusing more on business economics and public policy,” you explain. “While Seungkwan is on more of a finance track.”

Soonyoung doesn’t say anything at all. He’s a little starstruck, and he just can’t help but hang onto your every word. You are so well-spoken, so smart; he barely even knows you, but he’s so proud of the things he’s learning that you’ve accomplished in life.

And then, in the middle of a story Seokmin is telling from when they were in college together, you check the time.

“I’m so sorry to interrupt, but I really do have to go,” you apologize genuinely. “My shift starts soon, and I don’t want to be late.”

“Don’t be sorry! This was really nice,” Seungkwan says, also rising. “We should get together more often, since we’re in the same neighborhood a lot. Don’t be a stranger, okay?”

“For sure.” You smile at them warmly, and Soonyoung feels his heart skip a beat. “And feel free to drop by the store anytime, guys. You’re always welcome.”

All of you say your goodbyes at the door, and now he’s wishing he said something, anything earlier, because he’s not sure when he’s going to have the time to see you again. His unnatural silence definitely hasn’t gone unnoticed by his friends, and as always, they don’t cease their pestering until he spits it out.

“Did something happen?” Seokmin asks, genuinely concerned. “You promised you wouldn’t be mad if I told them about when you were drunk and actually thought you were a tiger!”

“No, no, it’s not that.”

“Kwannie, I think we broke him.”

“We didn’t break him,” Seungkwan corrects with a sly smile. “Someone else did.”

“Huh? Oh,” Seokmin’s mouth actually forms a capital O, his eyes going comically wide. “Oh, my god.”

“Okay, I know this is news to you, but I didn’t think it was that shocking,” Soonyoung grumbles.

“It’s just the first time in a while that you’ve been interested in somebody. Like, we all kind of assumed you weren’t trying to look for anything for a few years.”

Soonyoung knows the answer to that was just that there was never enough time — between graduating, the job hunt, and now trying to achieve a sane level of work-life balance, it was hard to make time, and he hadn’t quite met the right person.

But you pique his curiosity, and he wants to get to know you more. Slowly, but surely. Baby steps.

“Boo Seungkwan,” he says finally, voice determined, “you’re gonna have to wingman so hard your wings fall off!”

“… That one didn’t work at all.”

“Yep, sounded much better in my head.”

Days where you end up by yourself at work are your least favorite. It gets lonely in the small building, just you and the books lined up on shelves. Between assignments and the occasional customer, you do love to peruse the stories on the walls, but even that gets old sometimes.

You love talking to people. You love telling them stories, giving the recommendations when they ask, you love interacting with those who just drop by out of curiosity —

The little bell rings, and you turn eagerly to the door before stopping short with surprise. It’s Seungkwan’s friend, from the day he lent you his econ notes.

Right, you recall. Soonyoung.

“Hi,” he says nervously. He’s got a backpack slung over his shoulders, and he’s wearing a button down shirt with slacks, employee ID still around his neck. “Sorry, you must be wondering why someone like me is here.”

“No! Not at all,” you rush, closing your textbook. “Come in, please. I haven’t really had company all evening.”

Soonyoung smiles, understanding. “Slow day so far?”

“Yeah.”

He approaches your table carefully so he doesn’t knock over any of the stacks, setting his backpack on one of the stools. You emerge from behind your table, brushing some dust off of your jeans.

“Were you looking for something in particular?”

“Not really,” he says sheepishly, dark hair falling over his forehead. “I was kind of hoping you could, um, help me find something I’d enjoy reading.”

“Trying to get back into it?” you dare to tease, just slightly. You’re not sure if you’ve crossed a line, especially with someone you’ve only met twice, but Soonyoung just laughs with you, eyes forming happy crescents.

“I figured it wouldn’t hurt to have something to do after work to rewind,” he explains.

“Right, it is nice to relax. Well, unless you’ve picked up a thriller or something like that.” You beckon for him to follow you, and he does. It’s kind of cute, the way he stares at the tall shelves in awe. “What kinds of things do you like to watch? You know — shows, movies, stuff like that.”

“I’m not much of a thriller guy,” he admits, rolling his sleeves up amidst the cozy heat of the store. “I like when the main characters get their happy ending, it’s so wholesome.”

You throw an amused smile over your shoulder. “A hopeless romantic?”

“I can’t help it, okay? I love love!”

“Nothing wrong with that,” you remark, compartmentalizing how adorable you think he is and putting it away in some corner of your brain. Never mind that. You finally find the shelf you were looking for, and pull out the book you had in mind. “I think you should give this a try, for starters, and depending on how you like it, we can go from there.”

Soonyoung glances at the title, flipping the book to read the back cover. “Pride and Prejudice?”

“A classic,” you tell him, tapping the cover. “Perfect for a romantic like you. It’s quite comedic, too, if you really understand Austen’s sense of humor.”

“Austen?”

“The author. One of my favorites,” you muse. “You’ll understand, when you read it. She has a very interesting way of narrating things.”

He nods, listening to your every word. “I guess I’ll find out for myself soon enough.”

The bell rings again, faintly, before you can say anything else. Soonyoung just looks at you with those expressive eyes, waiting.

“I should probably go help,” you say, a bit awkwardly.

“Yeah, you should,” he agrees.

“Well, if you want to take it home, I’ll be at the counter,” you inform him, “but if you want to read for a bit, there’s a couple of bean bags at the back. We close at seven-thirty.”

“Okay,” he says simply, fingers tracing the title on the cover. He looks very intrigued, and you smile to yourself. This is what you love about working here.

It takes you a little longer than expected at the counter; you wish Wonwoo was here, at the rate customers start filing in one after another. However, you know he’s taken the day off to study for a major exam, so you handle the steady flow alone.

By the time you’ve sent them all on their way, it’s nearly seven o’clock, and it’s now completely dark outside. Rearranging your things on the small table, you decide to head to the back and check on Soonyoung, since you haven’t seen him in a minute.

“Soonyoung?” you call, making your way through the shelves, and dodging the occasional book on the floor. No answer. Huh. Your brows furrow — has he fallen asleep? — as you turn the last corner.

Soonyoung is not reading; in fact, the book you gave him has been abandoned in favor of the cat on his lap he’s currently showering with attention. You can’t hear what he’s saying, but he’s talking softly to her, and what is most surprising is she’s completely still, curled up on his thighs. In the many months you’ve worked here, you’ve never seen her willing to be in such close proximity with someone before.

“I see you’ve met Koala,” you say gently, crouching down beside them. He looks up at you, and you swear he looks like he’s about to cry.

“Her name is Koala?”

“Yeah.” You point to the gray splotches on her body as she tucks her paws in closer to herself. “I came up with it, and she seemed to like it, so it stuck.”

“That’s the cutest thing ever,” he says, almost tearing up as he reaches to scratch her under her chin. “Does she just come in whenever? Like, is she anyone’s, or?”

You shake your head, stroking her head softly. “Not officially, but she spends most of her time in here, so we leave food and water out for her when we can. She’s good company on days where nobody comes in.”

“She’s so adorable,” he whispers in awe. “I would have adopted a cat a while ago, but Seokmin is very allergic, and we still live together, so…”

You hum in agreement, just watching the two of them coexist peacefully. Koala is fully loafing in his lap, eyes drooping closed and purring ever so softly.

“She likes you,” you observe. Soonyoung just laughs quietly, petting her back gingerly.

“Maybe I just have a way with animals,” he muses. “One time, I was walking back to my car after work and a sparrow just randomly perched on my shoulder. I didn’t even realize until I got in and started hearing chirping. I thought I was going crazy!”

“So Disney prince -esque,” you giggle.

“Ah, you flatter me too much.”

The moment feels like a little bubble, and you are so encased in the warmth of it that you almost forget to check the time.

“Shit,” you mutter, glancing at your watch and standing back up. “I’m so sorry to cut your time short, but I should probably get to closing up right now.”

“Don’t apologize, I’ve probably overstayed my welcome, anyways,” Soonyoung says, a little abashed. He carefully picks Koala up and plops her down again, and she scampers away the moment her paws hit the floor. “Here, I’ll help you clean up.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay,” you tell him, heat rising to your cheeks. “There’s not much to do, anyways —”

“I insist,” he says simply, giving you that adorable, contagious smile. It’s hard to say no to a smile like that. “It’s the least I can do after I sat here for an hour playing with your cat instead of actually reading the book you took the time to pick out for me.”

You purse your lips stubbornly. “Fine, but you’re only in charge of the stuff at the counter and nothing else.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

And honestly, time seems to go by a lot faster when it’s not just you cleaning up and preparing for tomorrow. You sweep the floors while Soonyoung re-shelves the books left on the table up front, and you listen to his anecdotes as you get the work done.

He likes talking, and you like listening, you realize. But even more nuanced than that, is the fact that you like listening to him.

He approaches you again when you’re at the counter going through the signed receipts you told him to leave alone so you could organize them accordingly, book in hand.

“Sorry I didn’t get through much of it today,” he apologizes, passing you the copy of Pride and Prejudice. “But I’d like to take it home to read. I did enjoy the part of it that I got through, so you really hit the nail on the head with that one.”

“Really? That’s good to hear, I’m really glad,” you say, scanning the barcode and logging the ISBN number before you hand it back to him. “This one’s on the house. Think of it as a little gift to start your reading journey.”

“What? No, you don’t need —”

“Soonyoung,” you interrupt gently, “Please. I insist.”

He doesn’t refute that, face morphing into a shy smile as he accepts your gesture. “Thank you.”

At the end of the day, when all is said and done, you slip your books back into your bag, grabbing your jacket off of its hook. Soonyoung just waits patiently as you get ready to lock up, absentmindedly toying with his lanyard as he stands by the door.

“I’m sorry that took a while,” you tell him. It’s nearly half past eight now, and you feel a little guilty for letting him stay. “I know you dropped by after a work day, too, it must have been tiring.”

“Not at all. I had fun, and I’m really glad I got to meet Koala.” His hair is a little tousled now. You find it cute.

“Still,” you say, “thanks for sticking around until closing. You really didn’t have to.”

He just beams back at you. “I wanted to.”

Those honest words put butterflies in your stomach. You don’t know where to look, so your eyes fall everywhere, anywhere but him.

Quietly, you follow him out the doors, shivering slightly as you turn to lock them. It’s a little windy out, and the breeze sends a chill through your whole body, but Soonyoung seems to exude some type of warmth, the kind that makes you feel at peace and safe.

The two of you follow the same sidewalk for a few minutes, but your street arrives a little faster than you would have liked.

“I live down this way,” you break the calm silence, gesturing vaguely to the road.

“It’s not too far, right? It’s really dark out,” Soonyoung asks, his tone laced with concern.

“It’s not too long of a walk. I’ll be alright.” You pull your jacket tighter around yourself, like a shield from the cold and all of the thoughts you shouldn’t be having for a man you’ve only met a couple of times.

“I’ll see you around,” you add, but it comes out sounding more like a hopeful question.

Soonyoung just smiles. “Yeah,” he says in that honeyed voice of his.

(It sounds more like an answer than anything else.)

“See you around.”

There are a lot of notifications Kwon Soonyoung receives on his phone — the work group chat, his roommates, his family — but his favorite ones are the texts from you.

He loves it when you send him pictures of Koala while he’s at work, or the occasional update on how your assignments are going, but most of all, he loves when you start talking about your favorite stories and how much they mean to you.

Over the past couple weeks, he’s dropped by the store at least a couple of times every week, always making sure to help you close up before leaving. Sometimes you joke that you’ll need to hire him as a part-timer, and honestly, if he wasn’t already employed he doesn’t think he’d mind it. It’s become a safe haven for him; he likes how cozy the atmosphere is in there, and he likes getting to spend time with you.

You are so smart, and you never think any less of him, even when he cringes a little bit after a particularly dumb question leaves his mouth. But you never mind it, always explaining it to him with ease. Always so patient, always willing to hear his silly thoughts out.

Being with you is like being bathed in the first ray of sunlight after winter. He thinks he could relive that feeling forever.

“I think you should just ask them out,” Seungkwan always says. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“They could ghost me forever and never speak to me again?”

“Oh, that’d be bad,” Seungkwan muses, “but I don’t think they’d do that. Honestly, Soonie, they seem as into you as you are into them. I don’t think you have a lot to worry about.”

Soonyoung looks up, in the middle of typing up a response to you, and pauses.

“I don’t even know if they’re looking for something right now,” he says slowly. “What if they’re not ready for a relationship?”

“How do you know that?” Seungkwan asks, mildly irritated at just how dense his friend is being. “Isn’t that a question you should ask them before you jump to conclusions?”

“Yeah, you are leaping,” Seokmin adds, not looking up from the video game he’s playing. “With a long jump medal on the horizon.”

Soonyoung purses his lips, sinking back into the couch. They’re both right, he knows that, but his current situation is so precarious it feels like a step in any direction will lead to unintentional self sabotage. At the same time, even the slight chance that you’ll look at him the same way makes him want to take the risk.

“Okay,” he mumbles, very aware of Seungkwan’s sharp eyes on him while his own are glued to his phone screen. “We’ll see.”

Except nobody does see, because all the courage in Soonyoung’s body immediately evaporates at the sight of your bright smile, asking if he’s had a good day while Koala tries crawling up your shoulder. How is he supposed to ask you something so important when he can barely manage a hello?

He doesn’t know how he’s supposed to formulate thoughts when you’re looking at him like this. He thinks he could get lost in the warmth of your gaze.

“Soonyoung, are you okay?”

“Huh?” He blinks, brain rebooting. “Sorry, uh — where was I?”

“You were telling me about Seokmin’s dog,” you say patiently, though the amused grin on your face doesn’t go unnoticed. Not by him, and certainly not by Wonwoo, who just barely conceals a laugh at the entire situation.

“Oh, right,” Soonyoung nods, embarrassed. God, get a grip, dude. “Coco. Yes. We all really love Coco.”

Wonwoo doesn’t manage to hide the snort that escapes him this time. You level a glare at him and he quiets down.

“I’m sure you do,” is all you say, and Soonyoung sends a prayer up to whatever higher power exists that you aren’t calling him out on how awkward he’s being right now. He hasn’t really been able to function normally since he walked in, anyways. “Doesn’t Seungkwan’s family have a dog, too? I feel like he mentioned it at some point.”

“Right, yeah, they do.”

You sigh, hands on your hips. “They’ve got a couple of parakeets, right?” you ask, testing him with a lie.

“Mhm.”

“And a horse in their backyard?”

“Yeah, for sure.”

“Soonyoung.”

The sharpness of your voice and the sound of his name jolt him back to his senses. Your expression is firm now, and Wonwoo is nowhere to be seen, leaving the two of you alone under the dim light. He scrambles for something, anything, to say in response.

“Sorry, what were you saying?”

“Is something up?” You frown, folding your arms. “You’ve been weird since you walked in, and you won’t tell me what’s going on either.”

A caption this: of his face right now would read ‘Deer in Headlights’. “What? I’m not being weird!”

“Soon—”

“Go out with me?”

His mouth immediately drops open at listening to himself blurt out the words he’d been thinking for some time now. He hears a stack of books drop at the back and internally kicks himself, realizing Wonwoo was likely eavesdropping.

“Sorry,” he rushes to say, anxious. “That — Shit, I wasn’t supposed to say that, I’m so sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Your previously stunned face falls a little bit. “You weren’t?”

“What — you’re not mad?”

“No?” You’re staring at him in disbelief. “Should I be?”

Soonyoung feels a little tug at the bottom of his jeans, followed by a dainty meow, and he reaches down to scoop Koala up and let her get comfortable on his lap.

“I’m glad you’re not,” he says, scratching her chin gently, “but I really thought you would be.”

“Oh.” You don’t know what to say next, fingers tracing and retracing the embossed letters on one of the hard copies on your desk. “So…”

It’s now or never, Soonyoung thinks, and he’s already gone too far for him to backtrack and choose never.

“I like you,” he starts, a bit awkwardly. Eye contact is suddenly the hardest thing ever. “I know you always feel bad, but I like staying until closing and helping you clean up. I like listening to you talk about books I’ve never heard of before, and I like letting you practice your presentations on me when nobody comes in some days, even if you think they’re really boring.”

“Econ is pretty boring,” you point out, ignoring the heat that creeps up in your cheeks.

“Not if it’s you,” he insists. “I could sit through an entire lecture if you were teaching it, and you know I can’t sit still at all.”

This draws a laugh out of you. “That is true,” you concede.

“You’re so smart, so hardworking,” Soonyoung takes a tentative step towards you, heart absolutely pounding in his ears, “and I’d really like to take you out. A proper date, somewhere nice.” He pauses, clearing his throat. “Only if you want to, of course.”

“If I tell you that I like you back, I think you’ll get even redder, and I don’t know if that’s physically possible,” you tease, before saying gently, “Of course I want to, Soonyoung. A date with you sounds lovely.”

From her cozy spot on his lap, Koala stretches her head up and lets out a loud meow.

“See, she agrees too,” you laugh, reaching over to pat her head. Soonyoung, though, is still stuck in a moment from a couple of seconds ago.

“You like me back?”

“I thought we already established that when I said I wasn’t mad!”

“Just feels kind of unreal now that you’ve said it,” he mumbles in disbelief. “I didn’t anticipate this going so well, honestly, but… I knew I’d regret it forever if I never asked.”

“I’m glad you did, though. I was too scared to say anything,” you admit.

Wonwoo chooses to emerge from the stacks once again, before Soonyoung can say anything. He glances between the two of you, the grin on his face giving his eavesdropping away.

“Am I allowed to say I told you so?” he asks proudly, then, “Okay, okay, please don’t fire me,” as he backs away, wincing at the stern look you give him.

“Do you have to be so harsh on him?”

“We’ll never hear the end of it from him if I’m not,” you say, eyes narrowed. “One time, I almost fell off of one of the stools and he called me vertically challenged for a week.”

Stifling a laugh, Soonyoung points out, “You know Seungkwan won’t let us live this down for ages, right? I think he and Seokmin are tired of hearing me worry about this for the past few weeks.”

“I took care of Wonwoo, so those two are your domain,” you chuckle, “but I have a feeling you’re going to get the short end of the stick with them rather than me.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Dusk falls after your part-timer clocks out for the day, leaving just you and Soonyoung in the store. There’s an unspoken tension in the air, but the good kind, that blankets you like a cloak on a winter’s day. It feels cozy, like it was always meant to be that way. It just feels right.

“Do you want to close up with me?” you ask shyly, watching Koala scurry away. It’s almost time to go home, but you want to end your day with him by your side.

Soonyoung just beams back at you warmly. “I thought you’d never ask.”

And no matter what Seungkwan’s teasing words might be later, this feels like everything he’s wanted. This moment couldn’t be more perfect, he thinks as he gazes out the window.

The stars shine like well-wishers from the sky, the moon like a blessing, and you are next to him, head just barely leaning on his shoulder. Little pieces of heaven, existing on earth as memories.

Soonyoung’s heart is full, and his hand is in yours. Life is good.

thank u sm for reading! feedback always appreciated :) and, stay tuned for a drabble following this couple coming soon! much love, ashi xx

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