091: BTS: Risible: Gen
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vocab_drabblesTitle: Risible
Fandom: BTS
Prompt: risible
Length: 1000
Pairing: Namjoon/Jungkook
Notes: Library AU, Librarian!Namjoon, Meet-Cute, Inspired by the 'Blind Date with a Book' display at my own public library.
Warning: Mention of suicide & murder
Summary: Librarian Namjoon tries to get the attention of a patron crush (Jungkook) in a round-about way with surprising results.
“Well done, Joonie, well done!” exclaimed Namjoon in a slightly breathless tone after the door had closed behind him.
The break room was empty.
“What happened?”
The break room was not empty.
“ARGH!”
Namjoon’s large, solid body knocked into the equally large solid water cooler, causing the other to wobble precariously on its perch. Namjoon quickly grabbed the glass tank in a bear hug, narrowly averting disaster.
“Yoongi, what are you doing on the floor?” he asked still a little breathless but now for a different reason.
“Reading.” Yoongi sat up and got to his feet and moved to a chair at the table. “Why are you congratulating yourself. What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Someone checked out a book.”
Just then, the door behind Namjoon opened.
“Hello, bookworms!” chirruped Hoseok. “What are you still doing here, Yoongi? I thought your shift ended at five.”
“Just wanted to finish this chapter,” grumbled Yoongi, nodding at the book in his hands.
“How many chapters ago was that?” teased Hoseok.
“No comment.”
“Occupational hazard,” said Hoseok. “What’s got you flustered, Joonie?”
Before Namjoon could reply, Yoongi spoke, “He says someone checked out a book. Good thing we work at a library. If we worked at a bookstore, it would be theft.”
“Har, har,” said Namjoon dryly.
“Oh, did your crush check out your ‘Blind Date with a Book’ book?” asked Hoseok as he danced toward the refrigerator and opened the door and scanned the interior.
“What this?!” exclaimed Yoongi.
“Thanks a lot, Hoseok,” mumbled Namjoon.
“I didn’t know it was a secret!” whined Hoseok. He danced toward the microwave with a plastic container in hand.
“That’s how you flirt, Kim Namjoon?” accused Yoongi with a snort of derision. “You wrap up a book—”
“A book he might like,” amended Namjoon. “A visual history of tattoos and tattoo methods. He says he’s not much of a reader, or a traditional reader, but he is interested tattoos. After all it’s his livelihood as well as a key element in his mode of self-expression.”
“—wrap up a book in pink paper and red ribbon,” continued Yoongi, undeterred, “and put on a display of identically wrapped books labeled with vague summary of contents in the vague hopes that one specific person will pass by the display and select that one specific book and…and what?”
“He will see the interior bookmark labeled ‘Selected by Namjoon,” said Namjoon with a tiny smile.
“…and fall madly in love with you,” said Yoongi, “sweep you up in his arms—”
“He might just manage it. Have you seen his arms? Yum,” interjected Hoseok, doing a little gig as the microwave did its work.
“—and throw you on the back of his motorcycle and ride off with you into the sunset?!” Yoongi snorted again. “Your methods of seduction are so indirect as to be risible, Namjoon.”
“Don’t be mean, Yoongi,” chastised Hobi who gave a hop of delight when the microwave dinged. “But he does have a tiny bit of a point, Joonie. Why not just approach this guy directly and ask him out?” He stirred the contents of the container and popped it back in the microwave. “None of this round about stuff.”
“Like you’re any better, Hob-ah!” cried Namjoon, pointing an accusatory finger. “You who deliberately played the soundtrack of The Notebook when Park Jimin hosted his after-school tutoring sessions in meeting room B last week! Did you really think I wouldn’t notice you jumping the queue when my “Symphony of Tree Frogs” next in the playlist?!”
Hoseok looked genuinely blank. “That wasn’t me!”
“Of course it was! The only other person with the skill to do it is…”
Hoseok and Namjoon turned to look at Yoongi, whose cheeks turned scarlet.
“My shift ended an hour ago,” Yoongi muttered, adding, “See you losers tomorrow,” before racing out the door.
“Yoongi?!” asked Namjoon when the door had shut again.
“It is interesting,” agreed Hoseok, stirring his food thoughtfully. “But back to you, Joonie. I like Jungkook. It isn’t everyone his age who will come to a library to help their grandmother set up a profile on a dating app. That book was a very thoughtful choice.”
“We’ll have something to talk about,” said Namjoon with undisguised hope. “If I see him again, that is.”
“Good luck. You’re closing by yourself tonight?”
“Yep.”
“Valentine’s Day.”
“Doesn’t mean much.”
“No, it doesn’t, does it?”
---
“Oh, fuck! It’s closed. Of course, it is.”
“Jungkook?!”
“Namjoon! I need to talk to you. I know the library’s closed but…”
Namjoon unlocked the door and opened it.
Jungkook entered, then pulled a book from under his jacket.
“Did you like it?” asked Namjoon eagerly.
“Yeah,” said Jungkook. “You picked it out, right?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see…this?” Jungkook opened the book, revealing a folded piece of paper.
Namjoon unfolded it and read.
My name is Kim Taehyung. If you’re reading this, I’m dead. But it wasn’t a suicide! Even as a boy I was fascinated by messages in bottles thrown into the sea. I don’t have the sea near at hand so I am putting this message in a book in the hopes that someone will find it and avenge my murder and get justice for me. Librarians are, as a group, very intelligent and predisposed to be helpful. This will require wits and willingness…
“You didn’t put it in there?” asked Jungkook.
“No, of course not.”
“Is it real? A joke?”
“Maybe a creative writing exercise?” Namjoon was still reading, shaking his head. “I didn’t know about this, I swear, I was just trying to…”
“Flirt? Yeah, it’s adorable. I’ve been crushing since I first saw you.”
“I’m curious about this,” admitted Namjoon. He looked at Jungkook’s face, which lit up. "What, what?
“Excellent! I’ve been trying to figure out a way to impress a brainy boy like you. Let’s figure it out together and then…” He gave a quick nod and a smirk. “…do something else together.”
Namjoon almost swooned.
Well done, Joonie, indeed.
Fandom: BTS
Prompt: risible
Length: 1000
Pairing: Namjoon/Jungkook
Notes: Library AU, Librarian!Namjoon, Meet-Cute, Inspired by the 'Blind Date with a Book' display at my own public library.
Warning: Mention of suicide & murder
Summary: Librarian Namjoon tries to get the attention of a patron crush (Jungkook) in a round-about way with surprising results.
“Well done, Joonie, well done!” exclaimed Namjoon in a slightly breathless tone after the door had closed behind him.
The break room was empty.
“What happened?”
The break room was not empty.
“ARGH!”
Namjoon’s large, solid body knocked into the equally large solid water cooler, causing the other to wobble precariously on its perch. Namjoon quickly grabbed the glass tank in a bear hug, narrowly averting disaster.
“Yoongi, what are you doing on the floor?” he asked still a little breathless but now for a different reason.
“Reading.” Yoongi sat up and got to his feet and moved to a chair at the table. “Why are you congratulating yourself. What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Someone checked out a book.”
Just then, the door behind Namjoon opened.
“Hello, bookworms!” chirruped Hoseok. “What are you still doing here, Yoongi? I thought your shift ended at five.”
“Just wanted to finish this chapter,” grumbled Yoongi, nodding at the book in his hands.
“How many chapters ago was that?” teased Hoseok.
“No comment.”
“Occupational hazard,” said Hoseok. “What’s got you flustered, Joonie?”
Before Namjoon could reply, Yoongi spoke, “He says someone checked out a book. Good thing we work at a library. If we worked at a bookstore, it would be theft.”
“Har, har,” said Namjoon dryly.
“Oh, did your crush check out your ‘Blind Date with a Book’ book?” asked Hoseok as he danced toward the refrigerator and opened the door and scanned the interior.
“What this?!” exclaimed Yoongi.
“Thanks a lot, Hoseok,” mumbled Namjoon.
“I didn’t know it was a secret!” whined Hoseok. He danced toward the microwave with a plastic container in hand.
“That’s how you flirt, Kim Namjoon?” accused Yoongi with a snort of derision. “You wrap up a book—”
“A book he might like,” amended Namjoon. “A visual history of tattoos and tattoo methods. He says he’s not much of a reader, or a traditional reader, but he is interested tattoos. After all it’s his livelihood as well as a key element in his mode of self-expression.”
“—wrap up a book in pink paper and red ribbon,” continued Yoongi, undeterred, “and put on a display of identically wrapped books labeled with vague summary of contents in the vague hopes that one specific person will pass by the display and select that one specific book and…and what?”
“He will see the interior bookmark labeled ‘Selected by Namjoon,” said Namjoon with a tiny smile.
“…and fall madly in love with you,” said Yoongi, “sweep you up in his arms—”
“He might just manage it. Have you seen his arms? Yum,” interjected Hoseok, doing a little gig as the microwave did its work.
“—and throw you on the back of his motorcycle and ride off with you into the sunset?!” Yoongi snorted again. “Your methods of seduction are so indirect as to be risible, Namjoon.”
“Don’t be mean, Yoongi,” chastised Hobi who gave a hop of delight when the microwave dinged. “But he does have a tiny bit of a point, Joonie. Why not just approach this guy directly and ask him out?” He stirred the contents of the container and popped it back in the microwave. “None of this round about stuff.”
“Like you’re any better, Hob-ah!” cried Namjoon, pointing an accusatory finger. “You who deliberately played the soundtrack of The Notebook when Park Jimin hosted his after-school tutoring sessions in meeting room B last week! Did you really think I wouldn’t notice you jumping the queue when my “Symphony of Tree Frogs” next in the playlist?!”
Hoseok looked genuinely blank. “That wasn’t me!”
“Of course it was! The only other person with the skill to do it is…”
Hoseok and Namjoon turned to look at Yoongi, whose cheeks turned scarlet.
“My shift ended an hour ago,” Yoongi muttered, adding, “See you losers tomorrow,” before racing out the door.
“Yoongi?!” asked Namjoon when the door had shut again.
“It is interesting,” agreed Hoseok, stirring his food thoughtfully. “But back to you, Joonie. I like Jungkook. It isn’t everyone his age who will come to a library to help their grandmother set up a profile on a dating app. That book was a very thoughtful choice.”
“We’ll have something to talk about,” said Namjoon with undisguised hope. “If I see him again, that is.”
“Good luck. You’re closing by yourself tonight?”
“Yep.”
“Valentine’s Day.”
“Doesn’t mean much.”
“No, it doesn’t, does it?”
---
“Oh, fuck! It’s closed. Of course, it is.”
“Jungkook?!”
“Namjoon! I need to talk to you. I know the library’s closed but…”
Namjoon unlocked the door and opened it.
Jungkook entered, then pulled a book from under his jacket.
“Did you like it?” asked Namjoon eagerly.
“Yeah,” said Jungkook. “You picked it out, right?”
“Yes.”
“Did you see…this?” Jungkook opened the book, revealing a folded piece of paper.
Namjoon unfolded it and read.
My name is Kim Taehyung. If you’re reading this, I’m dead. But it wasn’t a suicide! Even as a boy I was fascinated by messages in bottles thrown into the sea. I don’t have the sea near at hand so I am putting this message in a book in the hopes that someone will find it and avenge my murder and get justice for me. Librarians are, as a group, very intelligent and predisposed to be helpful. This will require wits and willingness…
“You didn’t put it in there?” asked Jungkook.
“No, of course not.”
“Is it real? A joke?”
“Maybe a creative writing exercise?” Namjoon was still reading, shaking his head. “I didn’t know about this, I swear, I was just trying to…”
“Flirt? Yeah, it’s adorable. I’ve been crushing since I first saw you.”
“I’m curious about this,” admitted Namjoon. He looked at Jungkook’s face, which lit up. "What, what?
“Excellent! I’ve been trying to figure out a way to impress a brainy boy like you. Let’s figure it out together and then…” He gave a quick nod and a smirk. “…do something else together.”
Namjoon almost swooned.
Well done, Joonie, indeed.
