Work Text:
the late night shift at the supermarket is somehow the most peaceful but also the most nerve wracking job that donghyuck has ever taken up.
everything is quiet and eery around this time at night except for the occasional whir of the centuries old air-con machine and maybe a cricket. but in all honesty this is nowhere near the woodlands and there's not a patch of grass in sight because the city is a concrete jungle so crickets are a rarity, if at all.
donghyuck tries to busy himself, he really does, but he's too worried out of his ass to be chewing gum and blasting pop-rock jams in his headphones like all those teenagers who work night shifts in movies. he'd have called his friends over if it wasn't for their no companions at work rule.
a few years ago a bunch of delinquents had trashed the place, flooded the bathrooms and then wiped the footage from the cameras so yeah, donghyuck had those douchebags to thank for his solo situation.
a new text from jaemin reads im gonna be up the whole night, call me if anything happens and another from his mom to be safe sweety and while it was comforting to know he had somewhat of a backup, it also pushed the idea that something could go wrong.
donghyuck could feel himself starting to get anxious and opted for snacks and something sugary from the employees mini-fridge.
on one hand, not having to deal with raging customers, clogged toilets or aisle cleanups was something he was grateful for but a boy with his stature (and only pepper spray as a weapon) had every right to be worried. he wasn't much of a fighter, especially not if he was up against somebody with a gun or possibly prior experience in armed robbery.
upon discussing this with his manager (after much debate) he'd agreed to let donghyuck keep a taser (not exactly a great long distance weapon but good enough). donghyuck had even gone as far as to install one of those emergency button apps on his phone. call him paranoid but he was really not looking forward to death when college was just an arm's reach away.
he'd even taken the gap year after highschool and taken on multiple shifts specifically for college and he wasn't going to sit there and watch everything he worked for go to waste, and certainly not if his place of death was going to be at work. sure he liked to make jokes on the group chat about how deathly boring work was but he wasn't ready to manifest that into real life.
it's donghyuck's first taser accompanied shift so he gets a kick from zapping it around while the supermarket is empty. sometimes there would be another counter open, either jeno or a junior named chenle, someone to share his misery with, but today it was just him and his taser so he decided to make the most of his time alone.
he's so caught up in his antics that he doesn't notice a customer standing inside the store with an amused grin on his face.
donghyuck attempts to initiate a spin kick but ends up making eye contact with the customer instead, a loud gasp escaping him, dropping his hands so quickly that his taser slips out of his grasp and skids across the polished tiles, coming neatly to a halt at the customer's feet.
"you know, if I was actually trying to rob you, you'd be good as dead right now", he jokes and donghyuck feels his face heat up as the guy walks up to him with the taser in his hand, placing it on the cashier belt.
donghyuck manages to mumble out a thanks in spite of his extreme embarrassment, keeping his eyes as lowered to the ground as he can to cut-off eye contact. the supermarket lights betray him though, because they show exactly how red his face has gotten. he slips the taser into his backpack in absolute silence.
"don't worry about it though, happens to the best of us", the guy shrugs when donghyuck continues his stunnned silence and then heads to the back rows of the supermarket, where the frozen aisle and beverage refrigerators are.
he comes back with an unhealthy amount of cola cans and two boxes of frozen fish fingers. donghyuck wills himself to bite back a laugh at the selection but then he remembers that he was teased by this dude not too long ago, so he lets loose and teases back.
"looks like someone is feasting tonight", he nods, with a sly smile, while scanning the products and dropping them into plastic bags.
"i would also definitely call this a feast, your taste is impeccable", the boy replies, with a grin.
they make proper eye contact for the second time and laugh simultaneously.
"that'll be twenty five dollars".
donghyuck finishes putting the rest of the cola cans into the bags while mark digs into his back pocket for his wallet. he's dressed in blue checkered pyjama pants, a black hoodie, socks and slides.
cozy, donghyuck thinks, pulling at his own uncomfortable red polo collar that he's forced to wear as part of his work uniform.
he unbuttons the top button that's suffocating him but halts when the customer curses under his breath.
"you good man?"
"dude i forgot my fucking wallet", the guy looks directly at donghyuck and his round doe eyes are comically wide and donghyuck's first thought is he's probably trying to scam you. but on the other hand he does look like he just crawled out of bed.
donghyuck watches on for a few more seconds while the dude checks his pockets at least three times over as if that would make his wallet appear, a childish panick creeping onto his face, so much so that it looks like he might start bawling his eyes out. kind of like when a kid gets lost in the supermarket and can't locate their parent.
so as a sensible empath (read: a complete dumbass), donghyuck pulls out his own wallet and goes "dont worry about it" then fishes out his card and swipes.
"wha- dude you didn't have to do that". his eyes are still full blown and donghyuck thinks it's kinda cute how he's all flustered about it.
"don't worry about it", and then he hands him the bags with a warm smile, "happens to the best of us". the other boy looks taken aback for a moment, his own words used back at him, but then a smile spreads out on his face and he laughs a little.
"thanks man, i really owe you one".
donghyuck shrugs like it was nothing, despite a small part at the back of his brain shouting you're saving for college stop spending on cute boys.
the boy takes the bag from him and walks out of the store, leaving donghyuck back in his boring workspace, sans human interaction.
the door opens again and donghyuck straightens up from his sulking position, only to be met with the same round eyes and an awkward lopsided smile.
"i'm mark, by the way", he seems nervous for some reason, but in an adorable kind of way.
"good to know", donghyuck gives him a thumbs up and watches mark's eyebrows furrow in confusion and his face fall slightly.
"aren't you going to tell me your name?" mark asks, nearly pouting and donghyuck is almost tempted to stop his teasing for a minute. almost.
"i'll let you figure that one out, mark".
and since there's nothing left to say after that, mark leaves dejectedly, mostly confused and partly curious, the gears in his head probably turning to try and figure out what donghyuck's deal is.
donghyuck watches him back out of the parking lot and drive off into the dark and he finds himself thinking that maybe night shifts might not be the worst thing in the world. especially if boys like mark were going to be a regular.