ZB1/ZeroBaseOne Oneshots

The curse | ZB1

- A Halloween special -
[Ships included: Taerae x Gyuvin | Matthew x Gunwook | Jiwoong x Ricky | Hao x Hanbin | Yujin's also here]

There is nothing on earth more repetitive than stacking shelves. The tick of the clock, and the occasional swoosh of the automatic doors, created a melodic rhythm, that the worker followed each time he placed a can of beans onto the shelf. Taerae felt indifferent about it all. Sure it was Halloween, and he'd like to say he would have planned something less depressing than working for minimum wage, but realistically, he probably would have stayed home and binged that family size packet of candy sitting on his coffee table. So, he really wasn't missing out on much. 

The crate was full, he still had around 100 more cans to put away. With only an hour left of his shift, he didn't rush the task; he wasn't paid enough for that. Instead, he took his time, since his body had started to ache from all the work he'd done today. People were crazy on Halloween. Buying last minute costumes and candy, they were running down the isles, bumping into each other with their shopping carts, fighting over marshmallows. At least it had gotten late enough, that everyone was busy celebrating the holiday, and Taerae didn't have to deal with the rush of customers anymore. 

Placing another can onto the shelf, Taerae flinches upon hearing the clacking sound of something hitting the floor. He glances down the isle, only to see a can of tinned tomatoes lying on the tiles, dented from the fall. Taerae doesn't think much of it, casually walking to the item, and picking up, but once he goes to put it back, he nearly jumps out of his skin.

"Holy fuck Gyuvin!" He screams, clutching his hand over his racing heart. His friend and co-worker, Gyuvin, was standing on the other side of the shelves, wearing a scary clown mask. "Can you stop doing that?!" This was the third time he'd pranked him tonight, utilizing what was left of the Halloween costumes.

The boy rips off the mask with a chuckle. "You have the best reactions though." Discarding the mask on a random shelf, Gyuvin hurries around to Taerae's side of the isle. He walks up to the older with a smirk. "You're extra jumpy tonight, do you perhaps think the curse is real?"

"No, of course not...but let's not talk about it."

Gyuvin's smile widens. "Oh my god, you're actually freaking out about it!" He says excitedly, and Taerae can feel his cheeks heating up.

Everyone knew about the curse, it was a huge part of their town's history. Treated more as folklore than anything serious, it's stated that every hundred years a portal will open on Halloween, and the town will be terrorized by monsters. That hundred year mark had hit this year, so it was all anyone was talking about, and though Taerae didn't believe the curse was real, it was still scary to imagine.

"Well aren't you? Any second now a zombie could waltz in here and rip you limb from limb." Taerae speaks as he heads down the isle. He picks up two cans, and starts stocking the shelves again. Gyuvin casually leans on the shelf beside him, which annoys Taerae, as he definitely had work he could be doing. 

"At least it'd be a memorable way to go." Gyuvin laughs. "Apparently, my great great great great great great Grandfather got swallowed whole by this 10 foot tall Yeti looking thing."

"And you believe that?" Taerae scoffs. Stories like that one were the reason he doubted the curse so much. 

"I don't know," Gyuvin shrugs. "Crazier things have happened."

Taerae shakes his head in disbelief, this had to be more of Gyuvin's teasing. Using both arms, he swipes up a bunch of cans all at once, and swiftly shoves them into Gyuvin's arms. "That's enough stories and pranks, how about you make yourself useful?"