Night Shift // nomin

12:55am

The jingle of the small bell that hung from the door rang in my ears, the hooded boy entering the mart.

I reached over to grab my cup of coffee, the (now lukewarm) liquid running down my throat. My roommate, Chenle, was nice enough to grab me a cup before my night shift.

I tapped my foot lightly to the rhythm of the soft radio which echoed throughout the place, as I waited for the ice cream boy to come up and pay. Yes, I started referring to him as that, since he bought ice cream almost every night.

The boy removed his hood, revealing his dirty blond hair. He approached the counter, placing a pint of chocolate ice cream in front of me. He dug around in the pockets of his sweatpants, eventually finding a crumpled five dollar bill, which he handed to me.

"Buying ice cream again?" I asked, slipping the cash into the register.

He answered with a nod, his eyes locking themselves to the counter.

"I started calling you ice cream boy." I continued.

"Jaemin. That's my name." he spoke quietly.

I blinked, stunned that he actually spoke. I've attempted conversation with him before, making light comments here and there as he's been coming often for the past few weeks.

Though his voice was soft, I found it soothing. My eyes lifted to meet his dull gaze, the purple smears under his eyes contrasting with his pale skin.

"Alright Jaemin, enjoy your ice cream." A small smile tugged at my lips as I handed him the change.

"And yours?"

"Jeno."

"Thank you Jeno."

He grabbed the pint and slipped out of the door, disappearing into the cold night.