Work Text:
Bright lights, fluttering camera shutters, overlapping calls for attention.
Jackson should’ve been used to all of it with his line of work, yet he couldn’t help but feel a little bit nervous for today. He could almost feel the yogurt he had for breakfast clawing its way back up as he went through his planned speech over and over in his brain. A big part of him justified his nausea, though – this was an important day, and not just to himself. This could make or break everything, and that wasn’t an exaggeration.
Although, despite the gravity of his impending announcement, he felt unusually light. This was the easiest decision he’d ever made – as instinctive as the cherry blossoms blooming outside on this fine spring day, and as natural as the gray hairs sprouting on Jaebeom’s head. Resisting the urge to snicker on Jaebeom’s behalf, he inhaled sharply, preparing to deliver his meticulously-prepared speech.
Before he could utter a single word, a reporter from the crowd shouted out their question despite the silence in the room.
“Jackson-ssi, what inspired you to attempt something so different from Team Wang’s branding?”
He blinked, a little disgruntled, but quickly recovered enough to chuckle. He couldn’t fault the reporter for doing his job, really. It wouldn’t hurt to just jump right in and answer. Besides, everyone already knew what he held a press conference for, he could make do without the grand speech.
The whole thing sounded pretentious anyway.
“I finally found a taste of home here in Seoul.”
Never really, really ever felt so at home before
Never really ever felt this strange and beautiful
All us boys and all us girls
Turned to diamonds, turned to pearls
Jackson plopped down on his unnecessarily-fluffy bed with a grunt. Today was brutal; he couldn’t even get out of the hotel without someone shoving their phone cameras in front of his face. Just an hour ago, a hotel staff reported that someone tried to sneak into the laundry room to steal his used clothes. He couldn’t take it anymore.
“What the fuck would they do to my clothes, anyway? I’m not even an idol or celebrity or whatever, I’m a businessman for crying out loud!” He grumbled, taking a pillow and hoping that by squishing it to dear life, all his problems would disappear.
“I dunno, probably sell it for a million bucks,” Jaebeom replied, voice dripping with sarcasm.
Sometimes all Jackson wanted to do was strangle his best friend. Never mind that Jaebeom was one of his oldest friends, or that he was the Vice Chairman of Team Wang’s Board of Directors. Never mind that Jaebeom would be his first choice for Best Man at his hypothetical wedding. If he wanted to throw his heavy pillow at the man, he would. And he did.
“Why did I bring you to our Seoul business trip again?” Jackson whined as he glared at the other. Jaebeom just caught the pillow and grinned cheekily.
“It’s one or more of the following.
One, Henry’s wife just gave birth to your goddaughter so I’m technically your Acting Chairman.
Two, you’re madly in love with me so you can’t get enough and need me by your side.
Three, you know I missed being back home and brought me here to have time with my parents, and
four, you needed someone to babysit you or else you would miss all your meetings,” Jaebeom counted, holding up his fingers as he listed his so-called ‘reasons’.
“I’d pick the first option just because that’s the only one that translates to ‘I had no other choice’,” Jackson huffed.
“Nope, the correct answer was all of the above.”
Jackson jolted up, ready to chase Jaebeom around the room, but was halted by the sound of the door being opened by a keycard. He perked up at the sight of his secretary.
“Bam, punish your boyfriend! He’s being mean.”
Bambam’s chime-like laugh filled the room, and Jaebeom’s eyes softened as he turned to greet his boyfriend of three years. Jackson resisted the urge to fake-gag.
Whipped. Bam hasn’t even said or done anything.
“I leave you two unattended for an hour, and you’re back to bickering like children. What happened this time?” Bambam sighed as he placed a bunch of rolled-up posters on the coffee table. If Jackson had to guess, they were probably the newest Team Wang Design blueprints that Bambam helped Brandon with. How Bam found time between working on their endless meetings, oculars, and his own personal vlog channel was beyond comprehension. The kid never stops working, and as much as Jackson worried for Bambam’s health, he couldn’t deny how lucky he was that he had an amazing executive secretary and friend.
“Seunnie doesn’t wanna admit how much he loves me,” Jaebeom cooed while Jackson was distracted by his own thoughts. “Also, in all seriousness, his sasaeng-related problems have been getting worse.”
“We already released five official statements about them, but they didn’t do anything,” Jackson murmured as he rolled over and took another pillow to hug. “I just wanna give up and eat a bucketful of cheese toast.”
“I’ll work with the legal team, ge. We’ll be in Korea for four more months, but don’t worry about it for now,” Bambam said with a reassuring pat on his shoulder.
“Why don’t you de-stress, Seun-ah? Is there any way to order your favorite food, or something?” Jaebeom suggested, walking closer to back-hug Bambam and rest his chin on the youngest’s shoulder.
“No offense to all Korean chefs out there, but they can’t really get Cantonese food right. I’ve tried all of the Chinese restaurants in the area, and none of their food taste like what my mom used to make…” he grumbled, frustrated. “I don’t actively look for comfort food in other countries, you know. I’d rather just order some pizza like what we did yesterday.”
“I might actually be able to help with that, ge,” Bambam proposed, a grin slowly making its way across the secretary’s face – not a good sign, whatsoever, but Jackson was still willing to hear what he had to say with a side of caution.
“Now I’m suggesting this purely due to my caring disposition as a friend, and not because I want to have more content for my vlog,” Bambam paused for dramatic effect, earning an eye-roll from Jackson. “But, I recently read about this charming little diner on the wayside of Insadong. Their menu changes every day depending on their daily specials, but they say the chef takes requests from his customers as long as there are ingredients to make it! It’s in a random alleyway so I doubt people could find you there as long as you cover your face up, ge. Can we go? Pretty please?”
Part of Jackson felt dubious about this whole thing, especially since it’s a diner in a random part of the city – not to mention the looming concern of his ever-present stalkers. A bigger part of him though, was intrigued. It sounded too good to be true, frankly, but he missed food from home and it was what he needed to get his head out of the negative space it was in currently. He looked at Jaebeom, silently asking for permission, and Jaebeom just shrugged before nodding.
Neither of them could really deny Bambam’s request, it seemed.
“Call Yugyeom, let’s go visit this place you speak so highly of.”
–
It was uncharacteristically warm for it to be one-in-the-morning on a winter’s day. Jackson didn’t even have to wear an extra layer of clothing to walk around Insadong with. Jaebeom drove the four of them to the city, but had to park a long ways away from the diner, so they opted to walk the rest of the journey. Yugyeom, Jaebeom’s secretary and newest addition to their growing Team Wang family, excitedly recounted his visits to this famous diner. Apparently his high school sunbae was the chef’s younger brother and he often went to the establishment after school. The bright-eyed giant couldn’t stop smiling at him, and Jackson ruffled his hair in response.
When they got to the acclaimed eatery, Jackson’s eyes roved around to take in the scenery. The building could certainly use some more love; it looked dated, to say the least – with chipped paint on the walls, indiscernible stains splattered in random spots, and bits of posters that looked like they’ve become one with the wall because they’ve been stuck there for centuries. Above the door was a bright red neon sign that read Yeongwon Diner, the only element of the building that didn’t look like it was falling apart at the seams.
They walked inside, and the interior was in a lot better shape than the exterior. The establishment was clean, well-kept, and had a homey atmosphere – in no small part from the delicious smells coming from the counter. There were a few late-night customers scattered around the place, but it wasn’t difficult to find a table for them. As they sat, Jackson looked around the place again. There was only one person buzzing about behind the counter, and a medium-sized chalkboard was set on top of the surface, a list of available dishes written in dainty handwriting. It was quaint, and he could see himself staying here for an extended period of time. There was a charm to the diner that pulled him in, and it added to his anticipation.
Jackson was about to stand and check the food out when who he presumed was the chef looked up and noticed their table. The chef gasped audibly, and Jackson’s heart sank. Did he figure out who he was despite the mask? Was he going to ask them to leave the diner? Worse, was he about to rat them out to the press in the middle of the night? What was–
“Yugyeommie? Is that you?”
Jackson’s stomach did a somersault, either because he felt embarrassed to assume the worst of the chef or because the chef’s voice was so deep and silky and attractive. Or both.
Yeah, it was definitely both.
“Jinyoung hyung! How have you been?” Yugyeom leaped out of his seat to meet the chef halfway and engulfed the other man in a bear-hug. “It’s been too long. How’s Youngjae hyung?”
“He’s still awake, probably playing that game of his. I can never get him to sleep early nowadays, says he’s already in medical school so I shouldn’t worry about him too much,” the chef sighed. “Anyway, what brings you here? Would any of you like anything to drink?”
“Hello, I’ve heard so many good things about your diner! Would you mind if I filmed clips about it for my vlog?” Bambam piped in suddenly. It seemed like he held his excitement in for so long that he couldn’t take it anymore. The chef seemed to find this amusing, judging from the little chuckle he let out.
“I don’t really mind, as long as you don’t film me or anything.”
Bambam pouted. He was probably planning to interview the chef or get his personal commentary, but those plans flew out the window.
Yugyeom and the chef walked toward the table, and Jackson got a closer look at the man of the hour. He almost gaped right then and there. For some reason, the chef he pictured in his brain was a middle-aged, kindly Korean man, and the person standing before him was the complete opposite. He looked no older than Jackson was, with soft eyes and a chiseled jaw. Jackson found himself thinking that the chef was hot. No, not just hot, this man looked striking, stunning, out of this world.
He was so distracted that he almost missed the question directed at him. Clearing his throat, he asked the chef – Jinyoung, his mind supplied – if he could repeat the question. Bambam snickered in the background, and Jackson kicked his shin under the table in retaliation.
“Your friends have made their orders, sir. Is there anything you’d want to eat?”
“Ngow Jaap Mien and Cheese Toast,” He blurted, belatedly realizing that he didn’t even explain what the dish was nor did he check if the ingredients were available.
Great first impression, Jackson.
“U-Uh, I mean–”
“You’re in luck!” Jinyoung grinned, a small dimple peeping on his cheek. “I just got a fresh batch of tripe from Mr. Jang’s butchery a few hours ago. Will be right back with your orders. Feel free to pick a bottle of anything from the fridge in the corner, on the house.”
Did I just die and wake up in heaven?
Jaebeom cleared his throat, and Jackson whipped to face his friend.
“You were about to drool, Jack. I don’t think Jinyoung-ssi would appreciate that,” Jaebeom teased, patting Jackson’s back chidingly.
Jackson blinked in a daze, before shaking it off with a huff and elbowing his asshole of a best friend’s side.
–
The first thought that invaded his mind when the food arrived was that it smelled like home.
One whiff of the steam rising from his meal transported Jackson back to their old Hong Kong apartment; back to the days when he’d come home and kiss his mom’s cheek, when he’d sit on top of the kitchen island with dangling legs eagerly waiting for dinner, when he and his family would gather around the cramped dining table.
He hadn’t felt like this in so long. Come to think of it, he never felt this way about anyone’s cooking other than his mother’s. He stared at the large bowl of beef entrail noodles in front of him, and for once, he was excited to try it.
He remembered to thank Jinyoung for the meal quickly before he carefully dipped his spoon to grab some soup, blew on it twice, and took a tentative sip. His eyes widened, and a split second later, he couldn’t stop himself from wolfing down the entire bowl’s contents. It didn’t matter how he looked while eating, nor how ridiculously fast he was scarfing down his noodles. If Jackson choked from the sheer speed of slurping, then so be it – he would accept that fate if it meant he’d die being blessed by this bowl of perfection. He finally found Cantonese food that tasted like it was made back home.
“Slow down, Jackson. You’ll choke at this rate,” Jaebeom warned, but Jacskon ignored him. He wouldn’t listen to a lecture from someone whose cheeks were currently stuffed with four kimbap pieces at once.
“Ah–!” Jackson abruptly exclaimed. His friends looked at him, alarmed. Bambam looked like he was ready to call 119.
“I forgot to dip the cheese toast in the soup…” he whined, mourning his empty bowl. The rest of the table groaned in exasperation, but he heard a soft chuckle behind him. Jackson froze, slowly realizing that the sweet-sounding chuckle belonged to Jinyoung. Had he been standing there this whole time, watching him make a fool out of himself and gobble down the food like a starved wolf? He must’ve looked like such a big idi–
“I still have some of the soup left, would you like another serving?” Jinyoung asked in between fits of giggles.
“I- Uh… Please?” he stammered, feeling his cheeks suddenly turn warm. Jinyoung smiled at him in response before walking toward the kitchen.
“Ge, I take it you like it here?” Bambam asked as he nudged Jackson’s side. “Can we come back here some time?”
Jackson nodded, still reeling from the embarrassing show he performed a while ago.
Something tells him they’d be coming back here all the time.
And I said, "I wanna feel like this forever"
Even if forever's just for now
We're on fire, let us burn
As the outside world, it turns
It didn’t take much for Jackson to become a regular at Yeongwon Diner. For the past few months, Jackson had been visiting the diner thrice a week and ordering his customary Ngow Jaap Mien and Cheese Toast. Jinyoung always stocked up on the ingredients for him, and that made him feel warm inside – it made him feel special. The diner became his safe haven after countless stressful meetings and brainstorming sessions. Whenever he needed respite from work, people, and the world, he would ask Jaebeom to drive him to Insadong.
Naturally, the time he spent in the diner gave him the privilege of getting to know Jinyoung and his circle of friends.
On his second visit, he had a run-in with Jinyoung’s best friend Mark, who barged into the diner at eight in the evening (Jackson learned to go to the diner right after the dinner rush – he had more time to talk to Jinyoung that way), only to dump a huge styrofoam box on the counter. Jinyoung looked like his eyes were about to bulge out of their sockets then because in the box was a huge heap of king crabs, kept fresh by crystal-clear chunks of ice. Mark was grinning, even as Jinyoung whacked the back of his head and lectured him to not spend that much money on him ever again.
Mark must have noticed Jackson chuckling by himself at their antics, because the guy clapped him on the shoulder and whispered “Can’t he just say ‘thank you’ like a normal human being?”
That made Jackson’s low chuckle turn into a full-blown giggle, and Mark joined him right after, filling the room with a high-pitched snicker. Jinyoung decided to ignore them for the rest of the night, but it was a good trade off in the end – he got to see Jinyoung’s pout after all.
–
After that, Jackson met Jinyoung’s brother, Youngjae, on the same day he met two of Jinyoung’s childhood friends. It was a few days after Christmas, and Jackson went with Yugyeom this time because Jaebeom and Bambam took the Christmas Week off to visit Jeju island. Jackson was actually surprised that Yugyeom opted not to visit his parents for longer – the youngest just spent a total of three days with his family and went back to his hotel room right after. Jackson didn’t say it out loud, but he was grateful that Yugyeom was there with him. His presence made Jackson a little less lonely and homesick.
Well, it was his homesickness that led to this day, really. The week prior, Jinyoung noticed that his appetite wasn’t the best. He’d been picking through his food, and would nibble on his toast at best.
He had asked Jinyoung to help wrap his unfinished meals so he could take it to the studio to-go, but Jinyoung frowned disapprovingly, pulled a chair beside him, and leveled him with a serious look. Jinyoung didn’t utter a single word, but his eyebrows were stitched together, bright doe-like eyes staring at him so intently. Jinyoung gently wrapped his fingers around Jackson’s wrist in a silent request to tell him what was wrong.
Jackson, predictably, couldn’t find it in himself to brush Jinyoung off, so he admitted that the closer it got to Christmas, the more he missed his parents. He didn’t know if the chef was acting out of pity or because he thought they were becoming really good friends and he wanted Jackson’s company, but Jinyoung suddenly extended an invitation to their small Post-Christmas gathering. He politely declined at first, saying he would just be a bother, but Jinyoung squinted his eyes in a glare and insisted.
Which brought him to the gathering in question. Tempted as he was to call in sick, the thought at the back of his mind was that Jinyoung wanted him to be there, so ditching was out of the question. That didn’t assuage the fear, though – a huge part of him wanted Jinyoung’s friends to like him for some reason. He knew it was virtually impossible for everyone in the world to be his friend, but Jinyoung had quickly become a permanent fixture in his life, and he hoped to be the same to the chef.
He was having an animated conversation with Mark about bread when three people arrived at the diner together a few minutes late – Jackson learned later that Jinyoung’s friends picked Youngjae up from medical school, and the traffic was awful.
The moment Jinyoung’s brother stepped through the swinging doors, Yugyeom jumped up from his seat. Yugyeom and Youngjae had a really noisy reunion, complete with hollering and bouncing on tippy toes out of excitement; it made Jackson smile. It was always nice to see the youngest having fun; sometimes he thought that work drained a lot out of Yugyeom, and seeing the other light up like that made him feel like a proud dad.
Their impromptu high school reunion distracted him enough that when Jinyoung and Mark suddenly dragged him to meet Jinyoung’s childhood friends, Jackson froze in response. In front of him stood two intimidating figures – one whose muscles were threatening to bulge out of his tight forest-green shirt, and the other with a calculating stare that seemed to pierce right through Jackson.
“Seun-ah, meet my childhood friends – Taecyeon hyung and Wooyoung hyung,” Jinyoung announced with a bright smile. Jinyoung only recently started calling Jackson by that nickname, but it made Jackson feel accomplished for some reason; like there was solid proof that they were friends now.
“Well, Jinyoung says childhood friends, but they’re actually his sugar daddies–”
Jinyoung whacked the back of Mark’s head again and Jackson choked down a laugh. The other two just sighed as if they were so used to Mark’s quips that they couldn’t even bother.
“I’m Taecyeon,” the beefcake of a man started, giving Jackson a once-over (Was Jackson scared? Yes. Did Jackson pee a little in fear? Maybe). It seemed like he was about to say more, but Wooyoung interrupted him.
“I don’t exactly know what intentions you have with Jinyoung, knowing how prolific you are, Mr. Wang, but if you so much as–”
Jackson held his breath. These people recognized who he was from a glance. Even if he already told Jinyoung what he did for a living and why he was so desperate to escape to the diner, it still felt different to be scrutinized by people he just met, all because of who he was. He mentally prepared to defend himself and promise that he wasn’t a bad person, but Jinyoung beat him to it.
“Cut it out. You guys are always like this! Stop scaring every new friend I make, hyung. Jackson may be a CEO or celebrity or whatever, but more than that, he’s a diner regular, and a friend. Apologize to Jackson, right now!”
In an instant, their intimidating expressions vanished and were replaced by cheeky grins.
“Sorry to scare you, Jackson-ssi. It’s a force of habit!” Wooyoung exclaimed, and Jackson let out a sigh of relief. He gripped Jinyoung’s sleeve to anchor himself from the whiplash he just felt. “We aren’t mad, or anything, we just wanted to see your reaction. I think Taec had a hard time pretending, though; he’s a big fan.”
“S-Shut up!” Taecyeon spurted, punching Wooyoung in the arm. He coughed and smiled politely at Jackson, making Jackson forget that this guy almost made Jackson curl up in a ball in fear.
“It’s true! The guy owns five Team Wang jackets,” Wooyoung supplied, making Taecyeon grab him in a head-lock this time.
Jackson laughed unabashedly for the first time that day, and promised to give them the new Team Wang Design lineup as Christmas gifts.
As Wooyoung and Jinyoung tried to resuscitate an unresponsive Taecyeon, who was probably still trying to process news that he’d be gifted TWD clothes, Mark leaned close and whispered something that stayed in Jackson’s mind for the rest of the night.
“Jinyoung never defended anyone in front of Taecyeon and Wooyoung like that, Jack – not even me. You’re the first.”
–
Jackson didn’t realize why Mark’s words lingered in his thoughts until months later. His brain warmed up to awareness slowly, like a dollop of honey trickling gently down a spoon.
At first, he thought it was because he appreciated Jinyoung’s caring nature. He definitely felt thankful every time Jinyoung would place an extra plate of dumplings whenever Jackson walked into the diner with only a hoodie and joggers instead of his usual after-meeting business attire – an indication that the day didn’t go as smoothly as he had hoped. He sometimes craved Jinyoung's attention at times like these, just wanting to escape from all of his responsibilities and snuggle beside Jinyoung for warmth.
Jackson sometimes thought the chef was caring to a fault, even. He only ever saw Jinyoung worry about other people; never for himself.
Jinyoung would work everyday, preparing food for the whole day without rest. He would always call Youngjae to check in on his brother and ask if he was eating properly, and would never let Taecyeon or Wooyoung take over even if he was feeling light-headed from stress.
“Don’t you ever think you need more rest?” Jackson asked Jinyoung one night, when the diner wasn’t so busy that Jinyoung found time to sit at Jackson’s booth and share dumplings with him.
“Rest?” Jinyoung muttered, sounding like it was such a foreign concept.
“Yeah, have you ever taken a day for yourself? To relax?”
“I don’t think I can afford to relax, Seun-ah.”
“Of course you can. C’mon, let’s go take a walk right now.”
“Wha– No, Jackson the diner–!”
“Taecyeon hyung is here to take care of it. Do you trust us?”
All Jinyoung could do was nod before Jackson had him take his apron off for once, step out of the diner and into the crisp early spring air.
–
Taecyeon pulled Jackson aside once the two of them returned from their short walk around the neighborhood.
“Hey Jack, I just wanted to say thanks,” Taecyeon mumbled, gripping Jackson’s shoulder. “We’ve been worried about him.”
Jackson’s eyes shifted toward the subject of Taecyeon’s worry. Jinyoung definitely looked refreshed after their walk. His shoulders were less slumped, and his eyebrows smoothed out in a relaxed expression. Jackson hoped the intervention was a good thing for his friend.
“It’s nothing, hyung,” Jackson replied, giving Taecyeon a reassuring smile. “It’s the least I could do.”
“Well you did a lot, believe me,” Taecyeon huffed with a frown. “He thinks he doesn’t deserve to take a break. Those brothers, they– life hasn’t been kind to either of them. We’ve been doing our best to help them all this time, but Jinyoung definitely feels the burden to put Youngjae through medical school. Ever since their parents died, all he could ever think about was his brother. He thinks he has to work non-stop for both of them. If he keeps this up, he’ll fizz out.”
Jackson frowned, but wasn’t sure if he had the right to pry.
A few weeks later, Jackson found everything out from Jinyoung himself, albeit drunk off two shots of soju.
“Jinyoung-ah, c’mon let’s get you home,” Jackson half-grunted as he struggled to keep Jinyoung’s arm from slipping off his shoulder. He let out an audible ‘oof’ when he pulled Jinyoung and the taller and broader man slumped against his side with full force. “C-C’mon, Youngjae’s probably worried about you.”
“Youngjaeeee!!!!! My beloved dongsaeng! My adorable dongsaeng…! He–” Jinyoung all but yelled, smiling goofily at Jackson before his expression suddenly switched to a somber one with breakneck speed. “He’s - hic- He’s all I have…. My precious dongsaeng… Don’t want to lose… him…”
Confused, Jackson stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and let Jinyoung sit on a nearby ledge to help calm him down. He tugged the sleeves of his hoodie to wipe the tears cascading down Jinyoung’s cheeks.
“Jinyoungie, everything’s okay. You’re okay. Youngjae’s okay. You won’t lose him,” Jackson tried his best to sound reassuring, lowering his voice to a soft murmur and patting Jinyoung’s head in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. “Why would you lose him?”
“They’ll take him… They’ll bring him far away from me if I– If I don’t pay back our -hic- debt. Need to… Keep working! The diner should be open - hic- at this time–”
He was strong enough to keep Jinyoung seated until he calmed down, but on the inside, Jackson was devastated. How could these good, kind people suffer this much? They definitely didn’t deserve it.
Ever since that day, all Jackson wanted to do was figure out how to help them.
–
Jackson was buzzing in his seat. He was jittery for the whole meeting, because he asked Jaebeom to stay in the meeting room so he could finally pitch the idea brewing in his head for the past weeks.
“So what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?” Jaebeom asked once the rest of the meeting participants exited the room.
“I was thinking about the Park brothers’ situation. I want to help them, ge. I talked to Bambam already, and he’s totally on board,” Jackson preambled, wanting to ease the idea toward Jaebeom. He valued Jaebeom’s opinion, and needed him to understand how much this meant to him – to Jinyoung.
“We want to expand Team Wang to include a food franchise business. I think the best way to go global with the company is to capitalize on cuisine. It’s an easy way into different types of markets – introducing Cantonese fusion recipes to the world.”
Jackson started picking on his nail as he finished his initial pitch, waiting anxiously for Jaebeom’s response. Worry pulsed through his veins as he saw Jaebeom knit his eyebrows together and started to speak.
“Have you really thought about this? This is such a big turn for the company, are you really willing to take such a huge risk?”
“Jinyoung needs the help. Shouldn’t that be enough reason?” Jackson frowned, not appreciating Jaebeom’s tone. His excitement morphed into indignance as soon as he heard Jaebeom sigh.
“Thousands of people need the help, Jackson. Jinyoung isn’t some charity. Why do you have to try so hard for one person? I don’t think that’s enough to justify such a chancy decision,” Jaebeom argued, crossing his arms.
“Why are you so against this? This is Jinyoung we’re talking about! He’s precious to me and I–”
Jackson stopped short, voice choked back, breath stuck in his lungs, brain struggling to keep up with the emotion rising up his chest.
The dollop of honey finally dropped from the spoon and into the waiting cup of oolong tea, creating ripples on the surface.
He liked him. He loved him, even. Jackson was dizzy just thinking about it.
“I think he’s enough.”
Jackson’s new discovery must have been written all over his face, because Jaebeom just smiled knowingly before nodding. Was his best friend just trying to rile him up to put a stop to his own ignorance?
What a total bastard, this guy.
“Then that’s good enough for me. Count me in.”
–
“What’s your favorite dish, Jinyoungie?”
When Jackson finally got an apartment in Seoul, the first person he invited over was Jinyoung. Jackson expected a normal movie night with popcorn, the first Iron Man movie, and a great time. He didn’t expect the other to arrive with two enormous bags of fresh produce. Jackson felt his own jaw drop, and Jinyoung let out a cute laugh before explaining that one bag contained ingredients for something he planned to cook for them, and the other contained various things Youngjae and Mark shoved in to stock Jackson’s fridge.
After sorting all the food out, Jackson ended up sitting at the kitchen island while Jinyoung busied himself with grating what looked like turnips. Jinyoung wanted to keep the menu for the night a surprise so Jackson patiently waited, taking this time to discreetly stare at the chef while he expertly julienned the ingredients in front of him. Jinyoung’s eyelashes looked so delicate, like most of his facial features. Sometimes Jackson imagined how it would feel to brush his fingers along Jinyoung’s face; would he feel as soft as he looked? Jackson desperately wanted to know, but he pushed that craving down; he didn’t want the other to think he was being creepy.
“My favorite food?” Jinyoung responded as he pulled a container of pre-made kimchi from the bag. “I kinda want to make you guess.”
“Me? Guess a literal chef’s favorite food? How could a pleb like me guess something as high-profile as that?” Jackson protested with a pout.
“Fine, you get to ask me two questions to help you out,” Jinyoung conceded as he diced up a handful of kimchi, some onions, mushrooms, and what looked like a Chinese sausage. “Ask away.”
“Why is it your favorite? What’s the story behind it?” Jackson asked after a long beat of silence.
“Why do you assume there’s a story behind it?”
“Everyone has a story behind their favorite food!”
The sound of Jinyoung’s pretty laugh reverberated through the kitchen and straight to Jackson’s heart.
“You make a fair point, Mr. Wang,” Jinyoung admitted as he turned to the stove. “Do you have a wok?”
“Lower right cabinet,” Jackson supplied, pointing Jinyoung in the right direction.
“My father never failed to cook for our family every Sunday. Sometimes we’d switch cooking duty on the other days of the week, but appa insisted on cooking for us on Sundays no matter what. That was the day he’d experiment on recipes. We were his guinea pigs for the diner, basically,” the chef began, a wistful look in his eyes. He continued as he started to sauté the turnips in the wok. “He loved fusing Cantonese and Korean flavors. Appa always said that we should always honor our roots when making food. I feel like he especially made Canto-Korean food for my mother, though. He always says their fusion was as perfect as how the food on the table tasted. My favorite food was one of the things he’d serve on those days.”
“That’s sweet,” Jackson hummed, taking in the delicious smell wafting in the air. Jinyoung set the turnip aside in a bowl and tossed the rest of the ingredients in the wok to fry. Jackson couldn’t, for the life of him, guess what Jinyoung was cooking but it smelled divine.
“It definitely was. My parents were always head over heels for each other. Appa would always serve his favorite food on their anniversary, though. He taught me that the best way to express love is to serve the food you love the most to the person you love the most. I think that’s cheesy of him, but I can’t help but agree,” Jinyoung smiled as he poured some flour into the bowl where the turnip was sitting. After stirring the mixture, he took the fried ingredients off the stove and placed them into the bowl too. He mixed the concoction again, gradually adding water until he seemed satisfied with the consistency and poured everything into a small, deep dish from his bag. After evening out the surface, he started to mill about in the kitchen busying himself with things beyond Jackson’s comprehension.
“I don’t have a single clue what your favorite food is!” Jackson whined, slumping forward onto the kitchen island. “Just tell me, please?”
“Hmm, I’ll tell you after the movie,” Jinyoung said cheekily. “Go put it on, dinner has to steam for a while.”
Jackson huffed but complied anyway, going through the standard preparations for a movie night. He still couldn’t believe Jinyoung had never watched the Iron Man series before. It was a crime, really.
They settled into the couch and Jackson pressed play. He didn’t think he would ever get tired of watching Tony Stark being unapologetically badass, but this time, he found himself stealing glances at Jinyoung to see his reaction to the movie a lot more than the movie itself. If Jaebeom were here right now, he’d roll his eyes and tell Jackson he was down bad – and he wouldn’t be wrong. He couldn’t help it, it was Jinyoung’s first time, and Jackson wanted him to like his favorite film too. Jackson eventually felt giddy that Jinyoung didn’t even notice his blatant staring because the chef was so engrossed in the story.
By the time the credits rolled, Jinyoung was on the edge of the seat. Jackson grinned, finding Jinyoung adorable.
“So when are we watching Iron Man II?”
“Oh? You want to keep watching? We can binge-watch until the third movie in one sitting if you’d like,” Jackson suggested, secretly hoping Jinyoung would say yes, just so that the chef could stay longer.
“We should eat some dinner first. I don’t think your stomach would survive on just popcorn, Seun-ah.”
Jackson nodded eagerly, following Jinyoung back to the kitchen where he took the dish from the steamer and turned it over the chopping board, slicing the big chunk into rectangular pieces. Jinyoung took a frying pan from the same cabinet as earlier, poured some sesame oil into it, and placed the pieces carefully on the hot surface.
The delicious smell assailed Jackson’s senses, making his stomach growl. It was familiar yet different, like the appetizing scent that lingered along the alleyways he’d pass when he walked home from school, mixed with something else. It reminded him of the rare days when he didn’t have fencing training and he’d drag Henry and Jaebeom out to eat at their favorite street food stall. And then it clicked; he knew what they were having for dinner.
“Lo Bak Go?” Jackson blurted, feeling excitement race through him. He hadn’t eaten turnip cakes in years.
“I realized that I kind of picked up my appa’s antics as I grew older,” Jinyoung hummed as he set a plate of food on the dining table and gestured for Jackson to take a seat.
“Antics?” Jackson had the decency to ask as he sat down. If he had no self-control left, the plate would’ve been swept clean of any crumbs in three seconds.
“Serving my favorite food to people I love,” Jinyoung answered, somehow sounding shy. The chef rested his elbow on the table to lean on his hand and pushed the plate toward Jackson, as if giving Jackson free reign to dig in.
Jackson snatched his chopsticks off the table and eagerly took a bite. Overwhelming flavor seeped through his tongue, tickling his taste buds. It tasted like what was served at the street food stalls all those years ago, but different – better. Intermingled with the unmistakable flavor of nostalgia was the taste of wonder.
“It is Lo Bak Go!” Jackson gushed, happily munching on the turnip cake. “But it tastes different? Is that because of the kimchi you added?”
“Yup. Canto-Korean fusion, just like my dad would make,” Jinyoung preened, looking pleased that Jackson couldn’t get enough of his cooking.
“Kimchi Lo Bak Go. My favorite food.”
Jackson smiled brightly, happy that Jinyoung shared something this precious to him.
“No wonder this is your favorite. This tastes ama–”
Wait.
Jinyoung shared his favorite food.
Jinyoung shared his favorite food. With Jackson.
Suddenly, fragments of their conversations from earlier rushed through Jackson’s mind.
“He taught me that the best way to express love is to serve the food you love the most to the person you love the most.”
“I realized that I kind of picked up my appa’s antics as I grew older”
“Serving my favorite food to people I love,”
“Kimchi Lo Bak Go. My favorite food.”
“T-This is your favorite food,” Jackson mumbled. He looked up, and their eyes met. Jinyoung was looking at him with the softest expression he’d seen on the other, cheeks tinged with a light pink.
Jinyoung nodded, as if he were afraid to speak, waiting for Jackson to realize the weight of his actions instead.
“You served your favorite food. To me,” Jackson felt his face heat up instantly, having to set the chopsticks down lest he poke his own eyes in disbelief. “To me?”
“Yes. To you,” Jinyoung whispered, but it rang loudly in Jackson’s ears, echoing through the chambers and straight to his heart. “I understand that you most likely don’t feel the same way, but I needed to tell you, to show you. I… I was actually scared to admit how much I liked you, Seun-ah. I mean, I’m a nobody. You’re Jackson Wang, and I’m–”
“Perfect. You’re perfect, Jinyoung. You don’t have to be anyone. You just have to be here. With me, with people you love. Doing what you love,” Jackson stated seriously after recovering from his initial shock.
“So you like… the Lo Bak Go?” Jinyoung stammered, clearly too flustered to finish his initial thought.
“I like you,” Jackson answered, grinning. Jinyoung just shoved a turnip cake into his mouth out of embarrassment.
I never really, really ever felt so adored before
Never really ever felt this type of vulnerable
Don't have to hide, don't have to fear
All you have to be is here
“I finally found a taste of home here in Seoul.”
“Can you tell us more about the person you appointed to be the Head Chef for your venture? What role will they be playing in all of this?” another reporter piped up from the crowd. “Rumor has it that he was picked out of nowhere. Hundreds of qualified food professionals were shocked that you didn’t even give them a chance.”
“I’m sure all of them have the credentials to back them up, but they’ve already made names for themselves. My business exists to bring out people’s potential. I’ve always rooted for the underdogs in the industry, and this time is no different.” Jackson announced with confidence.
“Besides, not everyone can make food like Chef Park Jinyoung does. You’ll just have to visit our restaurant to see for yourself.”
We are here and alive
In our corner of time
Forevermore