“quick! minseok hyung, i see him coming!” sehun hisses at his colleague, kim minseok, a.k.a. his partner in crime. sehun ducks behind the counter and beckons for the other to join him. scrambling for cover, minseok weaves his small (but lean) frame across the shop floor and slides behind the cashier’s desk,coming to rest by sehun’s side.

“wait, why are we hiding?” minseok asks in confusion, one perfectly groomed eyebrow arched.

ignoring his colleague’s question, sehun checks his watch. “ten o’clock. right on time.”

the man in question, do kyungsoo (as stated on his debit card), is a frequent customer to the apparel store in which sehun works. kyungsoo would visit the shop every saturday, precisely half an hour after doors open, like clockwork. and week in, week out, he would buy a single black dress shirt. the exact same style in the exact same size, no variation, no additional items. and, despite the repurchase of the same shirt time and time again, sehun has yet to witness kyungsoo wearing said garment.

sehun recalls their encounter the week prior. he had made an offhand comment that they sold the shirt in other colours besides black. “you know, if i wanted your opinion, i would’ve asked for it,” kyungsoo had snarked back, not sparing another look at sehun as he’d snatched the carrier bag and swiftly exited the store.

sehun had been pleasantly surprised by the small man’s unexpected bite. not one to usually pay attention to the countless number of customers he served on a daily basis, kyungsoo had somehow managed to penetrate the barrier and reside in sehun’s thoughts. even days after the incident, sehun found himself grinning like he’d stuffed a clothes hanger into his mouth. he may also have been giggling every so often, but if anyone asked, he had a tickle in his throat he was merely trying to dislodge.

sehun isn’t sure if it’s kyungsoo’s choice in clothing or if it’s the silent and stoic aura he exudes, but there’s something about the man that piques sehun’s interest. do kyungsoo, the enigma. do kyungsoo, fond of the colour black. do kyungsoo, oh sehun’s crush.

and it’s that curiosity that drives sehun to formulate a plan to disrupt do kyungsoo’s customary routine. sehun had also managed to rope minseok into assisting him with his devious scheme, and all it took was a cup of coffee.

“you want to hide all the black shirts from that small weird dude who comes in every saturday?” minseok had asked, snatching the hot beverage from sehun’s mitts before he had the chance to hand it over. taking a sip, minseok closed his eyes in pleasure.

“you know by drinking that, you have tacitly agreed to take part in the plan?”

“yeah, yeah. just tell me when,” minseok had replied with a wave of a hand, too distracted with getting the liquid caffeine into his system to really pay attention to what exactly he was signing up to.

sehun has been jittery with anticipation since he rose from his slumber in the morning. he didn’t even require his usual minimum of four snoozes to crawl out of bed. practically skipping as he commuted to work, he could barely contain his excitement as he wondered how kyungsoo would react to his usual shirt nowhere in sight.

“seriously though, why are we hiding?” minseok repeats the question, jabbing sehun in his ribcage and snapping him out of his thoughts. “aren’t we making it obvious? shouldn’t we like, act nonchalant or something?”

sehun frowns. “why would we act like ?”

“what?”

“you said we should act nonchalant? but i should be extra chalantous and show him what a gentleman i am. chalantry isn’t dead and all that,” sehun elaborates in a hushed tone, careful to not speak to loudly.

“what are you even talking about?!” minseok asks, incredulous.

“you’re the one who brought it up, hyung!” sehun gestures for minseok to lower his voice.

minseok takes a deep breath and pinches his nose. “i think you’re getting confused with ’chivalry’.”

“i don’t think so, hyung. i’m pretty sure it’s ’chalantry’.”

“that’s not even a word.”

“oh, and i supposed ‘chivalry’ is? let’s just--”

“hello? is anyone there? i need a little assistance.” sehun is cut off by kyungsoo’s deep voice resonating across the shop floor.

rising to his feet, sehun rushes over to aid the man. “hello, there. how may i be of assistance?”

“i was wondering if you had a particular shirt in stock? the one hundred percent cotton slim fit long sleeve shirt, product code: 120804?” kyungsoo continues to scan the room, his wide eyes surveying the store on the off chance he missed the item in question. “and in the colour 'jet black', size 'small'?” he adds.

“ah, yes. that’s out of stock, unfortunately. but we do have that exact same shirt in an array of other colours if you’re be interested?” sehun lies, knowing full well that he and minseok had transported the shirt in question to the stockroom five minutes prior. he directs his hand to the rail in front of them, showcasing the variety of other shades.

kyungsoo chews on his lower lip, clearly not pleased with the news. “hmm. maybe i’ll look for a different style.”

sehun nods his head and takes a few steps back. “i’ll be here if you require any further assistance.”

kyungsoo bows his head, quietly thanking him as he marches off.

following kyungsoo from a safe distance, sehun stifles a snigger as he watches the man peruse the different aisles and stacks of clothes displayed on the shelves. inspecting each section of the store meticulously, and coming up empty, kyungsoo calls out for the sales assistant once more, “hello?”

“hello, sir. how may i be of assistance, again?”

“er, i was wondering if you had this shirt, but in the colour black?” kyungsoo points to a plain dress shirt, akin to the one he would usually purchase.

“i’m afraid we’re out of stock in the colour black,” sehun politely informs him.

“oh, okay. how about this shirt?” kyungsoo asks, pointing to another very similar style.

“i’m afraid that’s also out of stock.” sehun replies with a straight face. he presses his lips together and takes a deep inhale to keep his composure.

“do you have anything in the colour black? i’ve been around the entire store and there doesn’t appear to be a single item?”

“there’s this?” sehun grabs a shirt from the rail and presents it to kyungsoo.

“it’s neon pink.” kyungsoo replies, his tone curt, clearly not amused by sehun’s suggestion.

sehun, on the other hand, is having far too much fun with the other’s reaction and has to summon all the strength in his body to suppress the laughter that’s threatening to spill from his lips. “pink is very on trend this season, and it brings out the colour of your lips,” sehun attempts to sell the flamboyantly coloured article of clothing.

kyungsoo’s face contorts into a look of distaste. “it’s just… very pink.”

“but it has black buttons?” sehun points out with a bright smile, and motions for kyungsoo to inspect the shirt further.

kyungsoo takes another look at the shirt, feeling the material between his fingers, before shaking his head. “i was hoping for something a little less loud? do you know when the first shirt i asked you about will be restocked?”

“i’m not quite sure. i can ring the stockists and ask when the next delivery will be?”

“no, that’s okay. it’s strange though, i did check online and it said it was still in stock.” kyungsoo stares intensely at sehun, making the latter feel slightly uncomfortable.

“we did have them in stock, but a customer came in before you, you see,” sehun explains, hoping the slight cracking of his voice doesn’t give him away.

“and bought all of them?” kyungsoo asks incredulously, his voice far more shrill than usual.

“yup, my colleague was the one who served him. isn’t that right, minseok hyung?” sehun turns to face his colleague who has a stack of clothes hangers atop his head.

“what’s that, now?” minseok asks, carefully balancing another hanger onto the pile.

“you served that guy who came in first thing and bought all the black shirts.” he winks at minseok, making sure to conceal his antics from kyungsoo.

minseok nods his head affirmatively, the hangers tumbling to floor with a loud clatter. minseok has always been a trusty and reliable friend. sehun makes a note to reward him with another cup of coffee in the morning.

turning his attention back to kyungsoo, sehun asks, “how about we try a white dress shirt? it’s simple and classic. and maybe we can try on a couple of other different shirts? you never know, you might surprise yourself and take a liking to something that’s not black.” he ushers kyungsoo into the changing room before kyungsoo has the opportunity to protest.

once they both enter the small fitting room, kyungsoo makes no effort to escape. interpreting this as a sign of surrender, sehun hands kyungsoo the garment, their fingers grazing ever so slightly when kyungsoo accepts the white shirt.

“well, what are you waiting for?” sehun asks after an awkward moment of silence.

“i’m waiting for you to leave,” kyungsoo responds flatly.

sehun feels the heat rushing to his face. what an idiot, why on earth did he think that kyungsoo would strip and change in front of him, a complete strange? “oh, right. of course, i do apologise. i’ll leave you to it. do let me know if you require any assistance with doing up the buttons or whatever.”

“i’m sure i’ll be fine, thanks.”

sehun exits the small cubicle and dashes to grab a bright shirt from a nearby rack and a vibrant coloured sweater from one of the shelves. he skips back to the changing room and knocks gently on the door.

“yes?” sehun hears kyungsoo call out from inside.

“i have a couple other things that i think would suit you,” sehun tells him. he hears the door creaking slightly ajar and a hand reaching out. he hands off the two garments and waits patiently outside the changing room.

less than a minute later, sehun hears the door open again and sees kyungsoo emerging from the room. “that was quick,” sehun says, surprised by the short amount of time it had taken for kyungsoo to try on the clothes.

“yeah, i didn’t try them on,” kyungsoo reveals, followed by a shrug of the shoulders.

“why not?” sehun asks, trying his best to conceal the feelings of hurt and rejection.

“well, one of them was a putrid green colour. it reminded me of puke. that, and i don’t want to look like shrek.”

“yeah, but shrek was like tall and you’re like really shor…” sehun trails off when he catches kyungsoo’s eyebrows furrowing slightly. “okay, fine. the green is not your thing. but what about the turtleneck? the red really suits your skin tone and the neckline is black.”

kyungsoo shrugs again. “i’m just not really a sweater kind of guy, i guess. i prefer shirts.”

“but i haven’t seen you wear a shirt, not once,” sehun blurts out without thinking.

“excuse me? how do you know that i don’t wear shirts?” kyungsoo’s eyes widen in surprise. he takes a couple of steps back, as if preparing to flee from sehun.

sehun snatches the items from kyungsoo’s grasp and quickly hangs them on the nearby rail. “say, why don’t you leave your number with my colleague at the cashier’s desk and when that shirt you enquired about is back in stock, we’ll give you a ring?” sehun quickly changes the subject to avoid coming across like a stalker.

kyungsoo’s face lights up instantly and he nods with fervour. “that would be great, thanks!”

sehun watches as kyungsoo strides over to his colleague, leaving his contact details on the provided notebook. sehun knows by the way his heart is pounding that kyungsoo is more than a customer whom he wants to play a practical joke on. as kyungsoo exits the store, he stops and turns to sehun. he offers a small wave goodbye, accompanied by a radiant smile.

experiencing a rush of emotions, sehun zooms over to minseok. reaching for the customer notebook, sehun through the pages, trying to locates kyungsoo’s phone number.

“so the plan kinda failed, huh?” minseok asks, trying to build a small tower with the security tags.

“well, it depends on whether or not he left his number.” bingo. retrieving his personal mobile phone from his back pocket, sehun dials the sequence of digits and raises the device to his ear.

“hello?” sehun hears the familiar voice on the other end of the line.

“hi, is this mr. do kyungsoo? this is sehun, from the store ‘transformer.’ i’m pleased inform you that the shirt you were looking for is now back in stock. oh, and i would also like to let you know that i, too, am available.”







“small weird guy is back.”

sehun head turns to the entrance and his lips pull upwards to a smile. “you really need to stop calling my boyfriend that. besides, you’re not exactly that tall yourself, minseok hyung.”

dodging minseok’s retaliatory attack, sehun waves a hand in the air to capture kyungsoo’s attention. noticing sehun’s gestures, kyungsoo begins to make his way toward them. sehun feels his heart racing and his stomach doing somersaults and backflips as kyungsoo approaches. it’s been a month since the two of them had started dating, and yet the fluttering feeling has yet to dissipate.

“wait, what is he wearing?” minseok asks in disbelief, almost giving himself whiplash when he does a double take.

after constantly pleas, bribery and displays of aegyo, sehun had somehow managed to convince his boyfriend to incorporate colour into his wardrobe. and not only that, kyungsoo is actually wearing the shirt that sehun had bought for him. a colour so far out of kyungsoo’s usual comfort zone, it’s a testament to how far kyungsoo is willing to go to make sehun happy. a warm fuzzy feeling begins to course through sehun’s veins. “don’t you think pink suits him?”

arriving in front of them, kyungsoo corrects sehun, “it’s ‘soft salmon’, actually.”

now, sehun may be a little biased but he thinks kyungsoo looks breathtaking, absolutely stunning. he doesn’t think anyone else would be able to pull off a pink soft salmon coloured dress shirt paired with dark washed, form fitting denim jeans and black suspenders as well as kyungsoo could. rendered speechless, sehun remains frozen, transfixed and unable to take his eyes off his boyfriend.

“take a picture, it’ll last longer,” kyungsoo teases sehun affectionately.

“i don’t need to, because you’re mine and i can stare at you all day long.” sehun chuckles and gives kyungsoo a quick peck on the lips.

kyungsoo shakes his head in disapproval. “if you do that, you might get fired.”

“then i’ll have the time to follow you around everywhere.”

“then i’ll get fired.”

sehun reaches out for kyungsoo’s hand to hold and gazes deeply into his boyfriend’s eyes. “which would mean that we’d have all the time in the world to just stare at each other. no distractions, it’d be perfect.”

sehun hears minseok starting to retch, clearly disgusted by sehun’s overly lovey dovey couple talk. “you should stop being a , minseok hyung. be more chalantous, like i am.”

minseok face palms and clucks his tongue. “what on earth do you see in him?” he asks kyungsoo.

“he lets me use his employee's discount.”

“hey!” sehun protests, letting go of kyungsoo’s hands and clutches his chest in mock hurt.

“and he’s an amazing kisser.” kyungsoo softly pulls sehun closer by his collar. sehun smiles when he feels kyungsoo's nose brushing against his own. sehun leans forward, seeking kyungsoo's lips. he sighs contently as kyungsoo deepens their kiss, his hands curling around the back of sehun’s neck.

sehun hears minseok clear his throat loudly several times and pulls away from kyungsoo, breaking their kiss. "hey, soo hyung. perhaps it's time i gave you a tour of our stock room." he smirks with a mischievous expression, as he leads kyungsoo to the back of the shop, their fingers intertwined.

"hey!"

both sehun and kyungsoo ignore minseok's outcry, lost in each other’s presence.

“don’t forget our store policy: you on it, you buy it!”






a/n: massive thank you to g for being my last minute beta. my life saviour, my lightsaber.

oh, and it was pointed out that i didn't address why kyungsoo purchases all the black shirts. i have no idea why tbh. eep. i hope to figure it out sometime soon and add to the fic so there are no lingering questions. sorry.