it only takes a taste.

『 justin h. min. twenty eight. cis man. he / him. 』 oh heavens, is that JI-HOON ‘JIMMY’ SEO from MAIN STREET i see roaming around mapleview? minnie may’s always calling them -DISTRACTED & -OBSTINATE. i happen to think they’re not that bad! they’re a pretty cool SOUS CHEF AT LA BELLE VIE and every time i’ve seen them, they’ve always been +GRACIOUS & +INVENTIVE. i hope i see them around again!

“It looks really good, if that makes you feel any better. They say you eat with your eyes first, right?” Pax asks, accepting the plate with a smile. Picking up their fork, they take a bike, humming in approval after they swallow. “It’s good! Why are you unsure about it? I’m no pro or anything, but maybe I can help you talk it out.” He suggests, shrugging back at their friend. “I take it that’s a good thing? I see that little smile you’ve got going on, tell me more!”

          JIMMY WATCHES PAX as they try the new recipe. he grins widely when pax speaks their approval, clapping his hands together. “ i don’t know, to be honest. i just get nervous about new recipes like that, especially when it’s not normally something people would think to eat, ” he said. “ but i’m glad you like it ! there’s still a couple tweaks i want to make, but i really appreciate your feedback. ” at the other’s question, he stammers a bit. “ i, uh, well, i just... things between eden and i are good. like, really good. and i just want us to get back to the way they were, you know ? i just want us to be us again. ”

“don’t judge a book is such a soft way of thinking because sometimes books just look fucking shit and you’re like wow no thank you.” este contested with a snort before she raised her eyebrows at him. “i think it’s sweet that anyone can enjoy their own company and then pretend it’s a choice they’ve made.” she reached out and took his hand, shaking it firmly. she didn’t really understand why people were so formal. “estella. call me este. but yeah, when i end up going overboard, don’t cry to me…” 

eden had never attended a rodeo before, this was all new experience but she’d planned on meeting jimmy there, so she knew they’d be trying out the food. as soon as she saw him, a smile appeared on her lips, “hey handsome!” she looks down as to what he had in his hand, she was curious. “fried oreos?! now, that’s something i’ve never had before” she quirks a brow, “i’ll take your word for it, i guess today will be my cheat day” when she ever eat well anyway. 

“Even I’m a little intimidated by bull riding, I gotta admit. That’s like, a whole other level of scary to me.” Thea admits, shaking her head a bit. It was true she was an adrenaline junkie at heart, but she wouldn’t ever consider getting on a bull. She’d leave that to the true professionals. “When in Mapleview, go to the rodeo? I probably butchered that saying.” 

“I don’t have all the time in the world but I do really need those hooks so I’ll do whatever it takes.”

         “ ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT. i’ll try to be as quick as i can, i guess, ” he said, turning around to scan the shelves. grabbing something labeled as a hook bolt. “ what d’you need this for, anyway ? planning to HGTV someone’s apartment ? ”

         IT WASN’T OFTEN that the restaurant found itself understaffed, but tonight had been one of those nights. jimmy and the head chef had been rolling out orders all night, but for some reason or another, they needed jimmy to bring a tray out to a patron. unfortunately, that ended with him accidentally bumping a table and spilling half the table’s drinks. naturally, he went to indulge himself in a milkshake so he could sit in the embarrassment. “ i mean, luckily, they were super nice about the whole thing, but, like... it was mortifying. basically the entire staff just looked at me, both annoyed and amused at what i did. ” he sighed, taking a sip of his almost empty milkshake. “ honestly, this is why i was only a waiter for, like, three months. for some reason, the part of my brain controlling coordination just chooses to stop working when i’m dealing with a tray of food. ”

“Oh, sorry! No worries. I’ve been wandering around forever trying to find these hooks too. I’m about to just give up.” she chuckled.

          “ WELL, i can try to help, ” jimmy said. “ but i have to admit, my method was pretty time consuming because it requires looking at, like, every single item and reading practically every tag. ”

open starter   /   *  @mapleviewstarters​

Roman steps out of his office when he hears a noise at the shop, furrowing his eyebrows as he peeks around with suspicion since the Fix-It-All was actually closed. “Hey, uh, can I help you?” He wonders once he spots the person. “We’re actually closed right now. Are you lost or something?” Roman keeps his distance from the other for his own safety. 

          JIMMY GLANCES AROUND, nodding slowly. “ right. ” he gives the other a sheepish grin. “ sorry. i don’t know why i thought you’d be open this late, but, um i was heading home from work and my car just started making a weird, like, rattling noise ? but it’s okay, i can bring it back another time. ”

Carter was in a hardware store looking for some supplies for a house she was working on. She looked down at her list and she was still missing one item. She could have sworn she had been all over the store but couldn’t find them. “Excuse me, do you know where I can find hook bolts?” She asked the person who she though worked there. 

          JIMMY JUST STARED BACK AT HER, mouth agape. “ i-... i’m gonna be honest. i have, like, no clue what that is, ” he said. “ not really the most handy guy, sorry. ” he held up the pack of nails, chuckling. “ took me like 20 minutes just to find these. ”

“at the risk of sounding like a total damsel in distress, could you give me a lift?”  rina crossed their arms and leaned against the hood of their broken down toyota. “my car just stopped working and unless you wanna leave me here stranded on the side of the road or know how to fix an engine on its last leg, i could really use your help getting home.” @mapleviewstarters​

“Excuse me, sir, but I believe you could go to jail for that–it’s basically inciting a riot,” Duncan said sternly, though he was only playing around. He tossed the bag into Jimmy’s cart, then another into his, and the two began to walk down the aisle together. It really had been awhile since they’d seen each other; he began to wonder where the other had been hiding. If anything, he was grateful for it because it meant for a moment, Duncan could step away from the mess he’d made with the Levis and Ellisons. “I’ve been trying to lay low, focus on work and stuff,” he said as they turned their carts. “If you’re not busy, we can go back to my place and hang out. Catch up and play some video games or something? I’ve got snacks.” Duncan smiled, thinking Jimmy’s presence might help him from spiraling into another sour night. 

          JIMMY CHUCKLED when duncan tossed a bag of doritos into his cart. “ ah, work. how’s that going ? getting ready to win the next pulitzer ? ” he teased. he followed duncan down the aisle. “ yeah, sure, ” he replied. “ i’m not doing anything tonight. i was just stocking up in case things get too busy at the restaurant again. waking up to a fridge with nothing but a half carton of eggs and a basically empty carton of milk after a long night is not fun. ” he sighed. “ but as long as we’re not playing any sports games, i’m down. ”

it felt like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, she felt at peace with herself now, she’d said what she needed to say. “oh, you’re not? i thought you’d be a man about town” a teasing chuckle fell from her lips, eden couldn’t say much, she’d only hooked up with laurie, once to try and get jimmy out of her head, that failed miserably. a look of shock comes across her face, she wasn’t expecting him to say that, she tries to keep her cool and hide it, but on the inside, she was freaking out like a giggly teenage girl, “mhm, yeah i know how you feel, i’ve been going through a similar thing myself”. eden couldn’t even remember why they broke up last year, it was over something petty and small, seemed stupid now, “well you’re in luck, ‘cause i don’t think i can. i guess, i just felt like i’d messed things up with you, so i had to try and accept the fact that we were going to be just friends, it’s been hard. you are never going to loose me, EVER” he places his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze and her heart started to pound loudly against her chest, “you know, you’re adorable right?! you should’ve said something…” she pauses for a second, taking him in, “you know i felt the same. i thought you might’ve cottoned on, ‘cause of all of the cooking that i needed “help” with”. eden gives him a soft smile, “i’d LOVE that too”. 

eden: oh shit, is he alright? how did that happen?

eden: that's good, fingers crossed everything comes back good.

eden: makes sense yeah. do you need some help? i can fly out asap, if you need a hand.

eden: that's good, you shouldn't have 2 deal with it on your own tho.

eden: send my love to your parents though, i'll send some flowers up ❤️

jimmy: um well mom said he tripped over a curb on the way to the store or something like that

jimmy: yeah my sis think he's fine now but obviously we all want the scans just to make sure

jimmy: no no you don't have to do that. i'll be okay, don't worry.