Chapter Text
Namjoon Kim was an enigma, Seokjin decided as he chopped carrots for dinner. He was a walking contradiction. First when Seokjin had opened the door, he'd immediately noticed that Namjoon was objectively the most attractive alpha he'd ever seen. Perfect body proportions, not too much muscle, very nice-looking face, and his scent was strong--almost overpowering--and full of what Seokjin assumed would have been a high ranked alpha back in the ancient times when packs were still the norm. Then Namjoon had come inside the house and was very timid, awkward even, as he greeted Taehyung and met Jihoon for the first time.
But now, as Namjoon sat in the living room with Taehyung, their parents, Jungkook, and Jiwoo--who was entertaining herself with some farm animal figurines--all of that shyness was nowhere to be seen. "So how long have you and Jungkook known each other?" Seokjin's mother asked, her eyes shining the way they only did when she found someone charming or endearing.
"Pretty much since Jungkook was born." Namjoon answered. "Our families have always been close, they go to the same church, so it was kind of inevitable for us to become friends."
"I thought you didn't have a religion." Taehyung mused with furrowed eyebrows.
"I don't." Namjoon said simply but didn't offer any elaboration.
Seokjin focused on his cooking as the conversation continued until the baby monitor came to life with the sound of Jihoon waking up. "Oh, let's go see the puppy!" His mother squealed, following Jungkook to the bedroom to see Jihoon. His father was close behind while Taehyung stayed in the living room to play with Jiwoo.
Namjoon, however, sat a bit awkwardly on the couch as if he didn't know what to do with himself before finally standing up and heading over to where Seokjin was working. "So is it common for you to get pushed off to the side to cook while everyone else talks?"
"I wouldn't say I'm being pushed off to the side." Seokjin said as pushed the diced carrots to the side to begin mincing some garlic. "Normally Jungkook and Taehyung sit at the table to keep me company, as you can see it's not big enough to accommodate a group this large."
The alpha glanced at the tiny four-seater table before turning back to Seokjin. "Would you like some help?"
Seokjin looked up in surprise. "You want to help?" Namjoon just nodded sincerely. "Uh…okay. You can chop this onion." He got out another cutting board and knife for the alpha and set them in front of him before passing the onion. However, the second Namjoon picked up the knife to begin the task, Seokjin swore he was having a heart attack. He let out a yelp and reached out to grab the alpha's wrist, stopping him.
"What?" Namjoon asked innocently.
"Why would you ever hold a knife like that?" Seokjin asked.
Embarrassment filled Namjoon's features and he looked down at his feet. "No one's ever taught me."
Well now Seokjin felt a bit bad for how harsh his tone had probably come out. "Here," Seokjin showed him how to safely hold the knife and even guided him through the first few cuts before leaving him to dice the onion on his own. "So no one's taught you how to cook?" Seokjin asked as he began sauteing the somewhat diced onions.
Namjoon shook his head, still lingering around the kitchen. "My grandparents are very conservative and think it's the omega's job to do the bulk of the cooking, and basic stuff they expected me to just know how to do."
"In that case, fuck your grandparents." Seokjin said before quickly adding. "I mean if that's also what you were thinking." Namjoon's chuckle assured Seokjin that he hadn't overstepped. "So you eat a lot of takeout, I'm assuming?"
"Pretty much since Jungkook's been staying here." Namjoon confirmed.
"How rich are you that you can afford that?" Seokjin asked, earning another chuckle from the alpha--a sound he was very quickly learning he enjoyed immensely. "What do you do?"
"I'm a medical assistant at a dermatology clinic." Namjoon answered. "They pay decently, but if I didn't share an apartment with Jungkook I would probably be starving at this point. Plus, I do have a DashPass so I don't have to deal with delivery fees, and I tend to order stuff I can put in the fridge and eat the next day too."
"Smart." Seokjin mused. "Have you ever thought about learning to cook though?"
Namjoon sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I've been considering it since it's very likely that Jungkook may move out when our lease runs out in August…but I also have a very demanding job so it's not often that I have enough energy to do something like that."
The alpha's tone was similar to the time Jungkook was explaining the spoons theory to him and Taehyung to describe what he and other autistic people meant when they said that they didn't have the energy to do stuff, so he nodded in understanding before pointing to the other end of the island where the diced carrots and cauliflower rice were sitting. "Do you mind adding this to the pot for me? I don't want the onion to burn from not moving it around."
Namjoon continued to linger in the kitchen and watch Seokjin cook their dinner until it was finally finished. Then he helped the omega serve portions of the soup and carry the bowls and spoons over to the living room where everyone ate around the coffee table while Jihoon rested in his rocker chair while mouthing at the pink bunny toy Jungkook had gifted him after his birth from his own puphood. It was when everyone was close to being done that Namjoon got a text, cursing under his breath as he read it. "What's up?" Jungkook asked.
"Jackson has a family emergency and can't pick me up to take me back to Conway." Namjoon sighed.
"I'll drive you." Jungkook offered, but the bags under his eyes from being a father to a toddler and a newborn showed that it probably wasn't the best idea for him to do a nearly hour and a half round trip drive.
"No, I'll do it." Seokjin blurted out, making everyone look at him in a mixture of confusion in surprise. "Well if the options are two sleep deprived parents, two elderly people exhausted from their flight, and me, then I think it's obvious who should drive him."
Seokjin's mother playfully swatted at his arm. "How dare you call us elderly!"
And that's how Seokjin found himself exiting onto I-40 headed to Conway after cleaning up from dinner--with Namjoon's help since the alpha had insisted. "No, I don't plan on learning how to drive." Namjoon blurted out, breaking the silence they'd been in since pulling out of the driveway.
"Okay." Seokjin said, blinking a bit in confusion. "I wasn't going to ask."
"I thought you would since you asked about cooking." Namjoon said sheepishly. "And people tend to hound me about it."
"Honestly I just assumed your car was in the shop or something, not that you don't drive." Seokjin admitted. "Do you mind me asking why?"
Namjoon shrugged. "I had a panic attack when I was 16 while practicing driving, then it took until I was 25 to be able to even consider sitting in the driver's seat again, and that was only because I felt bad about Jungkook having to work his daily schedule around taking me to work and picking me up. By the time I was ready to take the test, covid had shut down everything so I couldn't. Then Jungkook and I moved to Conway together, and since I can bike everywhere there--or use Uber if it's raining--and don't often leave the city, I figured there was no need anymore. I don't like doing stuff that gets my anxiety up."
Seokjin hummed thoughtfully. "If I didn't have to transport a lot of stuff for work, I would probably bike too."
"What do you do?" Namjoon inquired.
"I'm an event planner." Seokjin answered. "I dabble in all kinds of events depending on need, but I try to focus on weddings."
"Why?" Namjoon then asked, his tone full of curiosity.
"I'm not sure." Seokjin said honestly. "I guess…I guess I just like what weddings are supposed to represent. A celebration of the promise to spend the rest of your life with one person." He sighed then. "If only more people took them that seriously."
Namjoon made a small noise of agreement. "That's why if I do ever get married, I'd rather not have a huge ceremony. To put that much effort into something that is just as likely to end as it is to last."
"Actually, Arkansas divorce rate is only 18%." Seokjin pointed out, earning a look from Namjoon.
"Still one of the highest divorce rates in the country."
"Touché."
The rest of the drive went by in silence, Seokjin pondering over just who Namjoon was and why he was so intriguing. Then as he pulled into the parking lot of Namjoon and Jungkook's apartment, an idea that would help him get to know Namjoon better and answer those questions in his mind popped into his head. "Does cooking get your anxiety up?"
"Only when people yell at me for not already knowing stuff." Namjoon deadpanned.
Seokjin instantly felt his ears heat up. "I'm sorry about that." He said sincerely, Namjoon waving his apology off. "Do you…would you like me to teach you how?" Namjoon looked at Seokjin in surprise. "I mean, if you want, you could get my number from Jungkook and whenever you have the energy to cook something, you could text me and I'll come teach you something simple."
Namjoon was quiet for a moment before nodding. "I'll think about it." He climbed out of the car and thanked Seokjin for the ride before heading into his apartment.