Malevolent Accidents |KTH|✓

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The lights set everything within the convenience store ablaze; hues of green mint rubbing off on the damp pavement outside as well as illuminating the quiet boy behind the register, who stood with his chin propped up in hand and a sticky cherry lolly between his lips, staring with bored eyes at the reflective spherical dome stuck to the peeling ceiling tiles. It warped the view of the store, stretching the green like a panoramic photo. The store was small and musty and few people came in during such an ungodly hour of the night. Taehyung often occupied himself with all the snacks on the shelves, playing a little game with himself to see just how many bags of chips or cookies he could count before he lost interest. He usually got to a number around seven because by then he somehow became more bored than before.

The bell above the door tinkled when it was pulled open, the scent of minty cigarette smoke filling the little convenience store, and Taehyung looked up from the coin he was twisting in his hands out of curiosity. A small figure, clad in an all black ensemble besides a white baseball cap that had dirt clinging to its edges, with long, silky black hair flowing out from beneath it. The figure quickly disappeared down the rear aisle and if Taehyung really cared enough to look at the security screen to his left to watch them, he would—but, here's the thing, he just does not care. Like, ever.

While waiting, he turned around and plucked a pack of Camel Menthol Silver—the grey box—off the shelf, smirking to himself. He heared a shuffle behind him and turned back around to face the register. The customer was just walking up, placing a bag of Takis on the counter.

"Can I get a pack of-—"

"Sure thing," Taehyung said, scanning the box of cancer sticks already in his hand before sliding them across the counter. He watched the customer's lips pull downward in a frown of confusion and she slowly looked up, allowing him a peek at her slim emerald eyes. Taehyung gave his best employee smile and scanned her bag of Takis, ringing up the total. He figured she wouldn't want a bag but he found amusement in provoking her even more so he asked anyways—and because, well, it was protocol. "Can I interest you in one of our revolutionary environmental pollution bags?"

"You're a psycho and a smartass, you know that?" She scoffed, snatching her bag of chips and pack of cigarettes. Taehyung chuckled at the irony and shrugged. She had a British accent and he found it slightly intriguing, but only because accents sounded weird to everybody.

"That'll be 8589.52 won, please," Taehyung said. The girl slapped a stack of cash on the counter while glaring at him and that's when he realized how tired she looked. Deep bags laid under her eyes, making her look as if she had gotten in a really bad fight with somebody who knew how to give two symmetrical swings to the cheeks. Taehyung wondered why they were there but he didn't feel guilty for being cocky with her. He didn't have the energy himself for that, nor the mental willpower.

"Keep the change." She sighed. Taehyung nodded.

"And your receipt?"

"Keep that too," she said, pushing open the door, and then she was gone and the store was back to its lonely quiet. Taehyung's eye twitched in reaction to the flickering lights and he groaned, watching the second hand of the clock tick by in tantalizing increments.

⇌

Taehyung closed up ten minutes early despite his boss telling him not to do that exact thing. Nobody else was coming and he didn't want to stand at the dumb counter for ten minutes of his life when he could be home sleeping instead.

The orange streetlamps lit up the sidewalk as Taehyung headed home, the key to the convenience store stuffed deep in his pocket after he locked it up. It was dark, and sometimes the thought of something unfortunate happening to him would cross his mind, but hey, he had enough thrilling things going on in his life, right? Bullshit, Taehyung thought to himself. If he were to get kidnapped the criminals would throw him back out on the streets. Nobody wanted to deal with him, not even himself.

Taehyung watched the small insects buzz around the light of the streetlamps that passed over his head as he walked. Why did they like it so much? Did they not know that the temperature of such a hot bulb could char their frail little exteriors? Was it because it was pretty or did they just really want to become like that one tater tot Taehyung found in the bottom of his oven that had gone through a series of sad cooking sessions?

While in his state of ponder he nearly tripped over an uneven slab of sidewalk and his heart naturally raced quicker at the idea of bashing his head against the cement and getting a mouthful of mangled tongue and metallic blood. He cursed and stepped on a tiny dandelion that was sprouting within the crack, squishing it into a colorful pile of mustard yellow, out of pure spite. Damn sidewalk.

"What did that flower ever do to you?" A familiar voice said. Taehyung recognized it. After all, he heard it only an hour ago.

"Nearly crippled me, that's what," he grumbled. He heard a soft chuckle and looked to his right, seeing the female customer from earlier sitting on the steps of a rather dilapidated apartment complex. "What're you doing there, Taki girl?"

"I live here," she said.

"In that fucking place?" He scoffed, raising a brow.

"It's got charm to it." She shrugged, placing another Taki in her mouth. Her lips were red from the hot powder as well as her finger tips, and now that the bag was nearly empty she rolled the crinkly thing up and brought her fingers to her mouth, sucking the dust off her skin. It left a red stain and she shrugged, whipping her hand on her pants before standing up. "Wanna come in and see?" She asked, tilting her head towards the door. Maybe she asked because it was cold outside and the chill gave her goosebumps, or because she was lonely and he didn't seem like bad company, leading her to fly out on a desperate limb, already planning a mean comeback in her head to fight the rejection he was sure to recieve. But the reason didn't matter, nor the comeback, because:

"Sure," Taehyung said. Because he was lonely and desperate too. Desperate to breathe the same air as another for more than the time it took to ring up their snacks. Lonely and ready to just be in the same vicinity as somebody who wasn't a complete stranger. She stared up at him in only slight disbelief. Was he that much of an idiot to go inside a strangers home? Then again, was she any better for inviting one in?

"What's your name?" He asked, leaning onto the side of the building as she jammed the key into the keyhole and turned the handle.

"Seraphine," she said. Taehyung hummed.

"That's a pretty name. I'm Taehyung."

"Well come on in, Taehyung," she said, pulling the door open wider. He slipped in and she shut it, leading him up a flight of stairs with a soft smile.