Chapter Text
Baekhyun looked up at the sound of the door opening. It was just another group of bored teenagers who ambled inside so he returned back to the comic he was reading. They let the door swing shut and a gust of hot hair blew into the air-conditioned store and momentarily reminded him of the stifling heat outside.
At the height of summer holidays he often had teenagers meandering about in the store without actually buying anything. He wasn’t surprised at the slow business though. There was a shopping mall just around the corner with a video game shop three times the size of this one that was stocked with the latest games.
Baekhyun sighed. He thought his uncle was doing him a favour by hiring him for the summer but it seemed to be the other way around. He just wanted an excuse to go on a long holiday to China and leave Baekhyun to watch the shop. Baekhyun often wondered how it was still in business as he had only sold one game that week.
The store was tucked away in a side street that smelled a bit like fish from the neighbouring restaurant. The only indication of its existence was the 90’s era neon sign that flickered outside the door. It was absolutely tiny inside and as Baekhyun had never seen it full, he imagined that only ten people could fit inside without having to squash up against each other. The fact that the store opened at noon and closed in the early evening was another mystery to him but he had never gotten a solid answer out of his uncle. Sometimes his older cousin Junmyeon would drop in once in a while to chat and sort out the accounts and finances in the back room. But other than the occasional visit he hardly had human interaction in the shop.
He peered at the group over his round-framed glasses. There were four of them and they were all dressed in varying brand name items. Judging by the way that they carried themselves and their carefully-crafted shabbiness told him that they were certainly delinquents. They aimlessly flicked through the items on the shelves with expressions of sullen disinterest. Despite being high school students they were noticeably bigger than he was. Their mutters droned over the sound of the air-conditioner.
Baekhyun wasn’t scared of delinquents and he certainly wasn’t scared of teenagers. He knew that size was certainly no indication of strength. He kept a baseball bat under the counter in the unlikely event of a robbery. His uncle had taught him how to defend himself at a young age, much to the disapproval of his mother and the excitement of Junmyeon. It had been enough to keep safe from bullies in primary school.
But he wasn’t stupid enough to go around picking fights. Despite his confidence in his capabilities, he eyed the group and decided that there were too many of them for him to take on in the event of a scuffle. The one with the eyebrow piercing glanced up at him and he quickly averted his eyes.
At that moment the door opened again and two young men walked in. They were around Baekhyun’s age, but he was surprised to see such well-dressed people in the gritty shop with its flickering florescent lights. They wore colourful floral print shirts under dark suits despite the heat. They were both tall and attractive, but the taller one caught his eye as he moseyed over to the shelf in the corner that sported a few figurines for sale. He gave the impression that he could not control his long limbs as he slouched over the miniature plastic Iron Mans. His ears poked out from beneath his shaggy bright red hair, the black roots betraying his natural colour, and he reminded Baekhyun a bit of a dog. His companion was pale and slender with cropped black hair and a fixed expression of pure disdain as he stood with crossed arms.
Upon seeing the two obviously wealthy newcomers the teenagers quickly muttered amongst themselves with raised eyebrows. The one with the eyebrow piercing, Baekhyun assumed him to be their leader, nudged his blond companion in the ribs. The boy hesitated before edging towards the two tall men who had their backs to the group, oblivious to their existence as they had been standing in a dark corner. Baekhyun watched as the blond boy edged towards the red-haired man. He tried to nonchalantly lean against the wall as he slowly outstretched his hand for the iPhone sticking out of the man’s back pocket. Baekhyun frowned in distaste.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Baekhyun said loudly. His voice broke the monotonous drone of the air-conditioning and caused everyone to jump.
The red-haired man was even more surprised to see the blond teenager so close behind him and nearly knocked over the shelf he had been observing.
“He was trying to steal your phone,” Baekhyun said. His glanced up with wide eyes as if he had not seen Baekhyun behind the counter.
“Where’s you proof?” the leader of the group barked as he strode towards the counter. “You don't have any cameras in here.”
He was leaning over aggressively, his face a mere centimetres from Baekhyun’s. His eyes were narrowed dangerously.
Baekhyun was not scared. He could easily talk his way out of getting hit.
But he was unable to control his mouth.
“If you’re going to steal, then at least put in some effort,” he said before he could stop himself.
The boy’s hand jerked out and grabbed him by the front of his t-shirt and he yanked his head down onto the counter.
A brief moment of searing pain and the boy’s grip was suddenly released and Baekhyun lost his footing. He glanced up from the floor, clutching his bleeding forehead just in time to see the red-haired man knock the boy off his feet with a powerful punch. In his periphery he saw his companion make the slightest movement and the group gasped and scarpered from the shop.
“Don’t show yourselves here ever again,” the red-head said as he picked up the boy from the floor and threw him out the door.
Baekhyun had just gotten to his feet when the man rushed over to him with flailing arms.
“Are you okay?” he asked, bending slightly to be on eye-level with Baekhyun. His previous expression of fierce aggression had disappeared. His eyes were wide with concern. He also seemed to have no concept of personal space as he was close enough for Baekhyun to count his long eyelashes.
“’M fine,” Baekhyun said as he stepped back. “At least my glasses didn’t break.”
The man quickly produced a handkerchief from his pocket.
“Here,” he said. Baekhyun held it to his forehead and smiled in appreciation.
“Thanks, by the way. I didn’t think they’d be so aggressive,” he said as he sat down on the stool.
“They had knives,” the companion said. The red-head grunted in disapproval.
“Hmpf. We should have taught them a lesson,” he muttered with folded arms.
“I think you put the fear of God into them, to be honest,” Baekhyun said. Then he quickly remembered the man’s interest in the shelf. “Do you still want to buy something?”
The man’s eyes lit up as a broad smile crossed his face as if he were at an amusement park rather than having just gotten into a fight.
“Actually, I’m looking for this limited edition figurine,” he said as he showed Baekhyun a picture on his phone. It was an expensive and intricately designed Iron Man figurine.
“Oh, no we don’t have it,” Baekhyun said. “We only have basic ones. But the store at the mall will probably have.”
“I told you,” the pale man said. Baekhyun wondered if he had been dragged around all day looking for the figurine.
“Ah, Sehun, you’re always so grumpy when it’s hot,” the man said with a smile and a shake of his head as if he were not on the receiving end of a strong glare. “Anyways, get yourself cleaned up, that wound’s bleeding a lot.”
Baekhyun didn’t know he was being addressed as he was rather focused on staring at the stranger’s face. It was nicely proportioned and his eyes were a shaped like very large almonds.
Baekhyun burst out laughing when he slid a green note over the counter.
The man had to be joking. Who just hands out money?
Apparently, this man did just hand out money, as his face had returned to a serious expression. It was such a sudden change that it hid any visages of previous cheer.
“I can’t take your money,” Baekhyun said, his mouth still curled in an astonished smile.
“Please accept it.”
“But I can’t.”
“I insist.”
“You’re being ridiculous.”
“You look ridiculous with that bleeding forehead.”
“Hey –"
The man named Sehun strode forward, picked up the note and shoved it down the collar of Baekhyun’s t-shirt.
“Can we go now?”
Baekhyun and the other man gaped for a moment and then burst out laughing. He slapped his friend’s shoulder as a way of expressing his laughter and the sight made Baekhyun laugh even more. He nearly toppled off his stool.
“Thanks anyway! Stay safe!” the red-head said loudly as his friend shoved him out the door.
“Thanks,” Baekhyun said with a smile still etched onto his face. Clutching the note in one hand and the bloodied handkerchief in the other he hurried to peer out the glass door just in time to see the two climb into an expensive black car. He recognised the Mercedes logo. The windows were tinted, which Baekhyun thought was slightly odd but cool nonetheless. As the car rolled out the side street he looked at the handkerchief.
The name Park Chanyeol was neatly embroidered into the corner.
The next day was hotter than the previous. It was uneventful until six o’clock rolled around and Baekhyun was busy locking up.
He had just locked the door behind him when the screeching of tyres made him jump and a sleek black car skidded down the street and stopped in front of him. Park Chanyeol climbed out the back and bounded towards him. He wore a smart suit with a crisp shirt and tie and Baekhyun wondered how he was not sweating in the heat.
“Hey, I wanted to check up on you!” Chanyeol said with a grin. Baekhyun could not help but smile at his bright expression.
“I’m alright. It wasn’t a deep cut,” he said as he brushed back his fringe to reveal the plaster on his forehead. He suddenly felt very self-conscious as Chanyeol scrutinised his face.
“That’s good,” he said with a firm nod. “I also wanted to ask for your name,” he said.
“Byun Baekhyun,” he replied. “I’m assuming you’re Park Chanyeol? It said so on your handkerchief.”
For a second an expression, whether one of dread or shock Baekhyun could not tell, crossed Chanyeol’s face but it was quickly replaced with a smile and a nod. Baekhyun thought he might have imagined it as a trick of the early evening light.
“I also wanted to ask about any racing games you have in stock,” he said.
Baekhyun chuckled. He sounded like a child citing his Christmas list.
“You have a lot to ask, clearly,” he said. “I can show you now.”
A grin spread across Chanyeol’s face so wide that it nearly reached his ears.
Baekhyun spent two hours with Chanyeol in the shop and it was the most entertaining two hours of the entire summer so far. Not only did they share an interest in gaming and general popular culture, but Baekhyun found that they shared the same sense of humour.
Chanyeol’s laugh was actually the most entertaining for him. He would either hit the closest thing beside him or his own face when taken over by a bout of laughter.
Baekhyun knew that he was funny and that quick wit was a talent of his, but he felt a different type of contentment when making Chanyeol laugh than what he felt with his friends or acquaintances.
They were in the midst of a laughing fit, sitting on the floor with the entire Gran Turismo series littered around them, when a sudden tapping on the glass door made them jump. The disgruntled face of an older man peered through the glass.
“Oh, I think I should get going,” Chanyeol said as he recovered from his laughter.
“Is that your dad?” Baekhyun said as they got to their feet.
“My driver. But I’ll get in trouble if I stay any longer,” Chanyeol said with a regretful look at the expensive watch on his wrist. Baekhyun tried to ignore the fact that he had a driver.
Chanyeol placed a wad of money on the counter and piled the games into his arms.
“Hey, your change,” Baekhyun said in alarm as the man turned to leave the store.
“It’s a tip for working over-time,” he said with a grin as he opened the door with his foot. “Bye, Baekhyun!”