(a/n) I had never expected probably any more than ten people to read this even though i published it two years ago and began writing it over three!!! i am very thankful to everybody who's added it to their library, read it, commented, favorited, etc,etc. although this story is categorized in my opinion as not that high quality, re-reading some chapters, the story isn' that bad. i also think it might be a fun experience for you, as readers, to experience how my writing style has changed/improved (yikes) over the years. as i have mentioned somewhere earlier, i did think of an ending, so this isn't just improv, only a different person behind the words if that makes sense. without further ado, let's finish this!!!
not after long, the sun had left, along with the children, and junhui still couldn't get the altercation out of his head. even then, the way soonyoung acted since he came back from the convenience store last night seemed suspicious. perhaps... he should go back there. no, no, the poor kid might call the cops this time. turning off all the lights, locking the doors, junhui let out a deep sigh. he still had to take the bus home. it wasn't long, but he'd rather be home now. usually, he's the only one on the bus since he usually stays later for private training, but he made sure to tell all the parents he's closing down shop early today. as soon as he sat down, he knew, unfortunately, this is where he would find sleep. within minutes he was out cold and hardly noticed the other passenger get on. they rode on opposite ends of the bus for a good amount of time, before it started getting worrying. this sleeping man is going to miss his stop, or maybe he has already.
'excuse me, sir,' it wasn't enough to wake him up.
'sir,' the passenger attempted to shake him a bit to make him come to his senses.
'oh, sorry, it seems i've dozed off.' junhui tried to cover up his embarrassment. the passenger shook it off and went back to minding his business. luckily, he hadn't missed his stop yet, but he'd never seen someone else on the bus at this hour for a while. it wasn't worth asking, he probably did some overtime at work or something, none of junhui's business. in fact, he looked like a businessman. besides his suit, he had quite a serious face and attentive eyes, yet it all seemed to balance out with his soft features and short stature. at this point, junhui had been looking too long, and decided to avert his attention to his phone. three missed calls from soonyoung? what could he possibly want?
'pleeeeeeeeease bring soju on your way home? please! for me!' junhui groaned instinctively. it seems the supply at home hadn't been enough. just his luck. the closest convenience store had been the only one he was avoiding.
to be frank, minghao hated being at home. there was something grotesquely mundane about it, he could never feel quite comfortable. the whole day was spent compulsively cleaning until his shift. minghao's place was small, and there wasn't much to clean, so he had to think of better ways to pass time. mingyu might be able to help.
mh: is your shift over yet?????
no reply. guess not.
nothing on netflix seemed to interest him, he didn't have any new books to read, he already made ramyun three times, he was bored out of his fucking mind. fine. he'll just take a nap. he lied down on his futon and began to clear his mind. thinking of what he's done today, how his week has gone, interesting things that happened, the feeling of arms wrapped around his shoulders... wait! that's gay! well, minghao is gay, but, like, to have feelings for some crackhead customer? he should be above that by now, he's not some horny high schooler, there are plenty of men interested in him, right? okay, well, not currently, since he's not much of a socialite, but he could get a boyfriend if he wanted, right? whatever, he'll just go into work early.
you know what? what's there to be afraid of? the people who work at the convenience store don't even know his name, probably don't remember what he looks like, and even then, he looks different enough in his work clothes that they might not think anything of him. all he has to do is get the soju, pay, and go. plus, what are the chances the same worker is there? there are probably plenty of other people that could take this shift. all these thoughts went through junhui's mind, but it didn't seem like enough to calm his trembling heart. as he approached the corner store, he took a deep breath and feigned confidence as he walked through the doors and payed no mind to the bell. 'welcome' murmured someone behind the counter, but it didn't matter to junhui, he just needed to get out of there. he headed to the back of the store for the alcohol. now that he thought of it, perhaps he should get some beer, oh, and they have a new flavor, maybe soonyoung and he can enjoy some grapefruit soju. see, this isn't so scary, even though junhui's hands were still shaking. he reached for a bottle, but it seemed stuck, so he yanked in a manner that had, quite to his dismay, caused his hand to lose grip, therefore, leading the bottle to fall on the floor and shatter. oh, now he's fucked.
'are you okay?' came from the direction of the counter, though the voice was quickly moving towards him. what's he supposed to do? he can't escape. junhui tried to think of every way he might be able to disappear at this exact moment, but it was too late. across from the wet, emerald, glass shards, stood the same rosy-headed boy from days prior.
'i'm sorry for causing so much trouble, i'll pay for it, don't worry.' in his heart of hearts, junhui wanted the boy to smile at him and assure him there was not issue, but that's not quite what he was met with.
'do you even know how to not cause trouble? are you like this everywhere you go?' spat the younger boy as he walked off to grab a broom and a mop. junhui had to diffuse the situation, he couldn't bear this embarrassment, 'no, really ill take care of it!' with that, he snatched the broom out of the boy's hands and began nervously swiping the floor. the worker had been in awe to say the least.
'i'm... not sure if i can allow you to do that, it's kind of an employee's responsibility'
'it shoud be fine, right? i've worked a job like this before, you probably won't get yelled at'
minghao began to lose his temper, but he really couldn't be mad, the guy was just trying to help. although, objectively, this is where he should be asked to leave, and another write-up didn't sound too good. the cctv in the convenience store definitely covered this area, but minghao found it hard to say no to this customer. even as he cracked a nervous grin while taking the mop too, minghao could only stand in disbelief. disbelief that he appeared again, disbelief that he caused another commotion, disbelief that he thought this was the logical solution, and disbelief that perhaps this guy is a total psycho. in that case, it would be better to just stay calm and try to be agreeable towards this man, who knows what he may pull if he gets angry.
'is there anything i can ring up for you right now, or are you still looking?' did... he really just ask junhui that? it wasn't out of the ordinary, or at least it wouldn't be with anyone else, but is this kid really trying to be nice to junhui?
'just... one bottle of soju... please.' of course, one bottle wouldn't be nearly enough, but still, he chuckled a bit, since grabbing the soju is what put him in this trouble. as the worker knelt down to pick a bottle, he looked up at junhui and with a cheeky grin and a playful glint in his eye, he remarked 'grapefruit, i'm guessing' oh no. this was bad news. junhui had been rhythmically wiping the floor in a swaying motion to calm himself, but he suddenly froze. this... pang in his heart, what was it? no time to ponder, all the worker needed from junhui was a quick nod and he was back at the register.
'$2.80 is your total.' junhui reached for his wallet to take out a five and laid it on the counter.
'it's not wet this time at least.' junhui added in an attempt to brighten the situation, and the man in front of him actually, if he's not mistaken, smiled a bit. at this point, he wanted to dash out like last time and let the boy keep the 2.20, but maybe if he acted normal this time, the cashier wouldn't think he was so odd. the change was carefully dispensed into his hand and junhui made it out the doors as casually as possible.
well, if one thing's for sure, he's definitely not telling soonyoung.
