Work Text:
It’s summer and I need the money, Jake reminds himself. I need the money!
He’s tired and questioning himself why he took this late-evening shift at the cinema, only one of the biggest anticipated films premiering today with as close as packed as you can get with COVID-19 restrictions. Jake sighs as he imagines how much popcorn he’ll have to be sweeping between the aisles, and what’s worse is that because it’s a Marvel movie everyone stays for the damn post-credits scene.
Don’t get Jake wrong, he’s as much of a fan as the next moviegoer, or well he was forced by his friends Jay and Sunghoon to watch the entire MCU (over 3000 minutes he’ll never get back) but right now all he wants is to be in his bed, not surrounded by the stench of stale popcorn and sticky spilled drinks. And if all these bitches customers could leave as soon as possible so he could get his work done as soon as possible so he can close up and leave as soon as possible that would be great.
Jake sighs again, adjusts his apron, and leans on his broom.
He watches the crowd, listens to the gasps as the post-credits scene finally plays and certain characters appear on screen, the murmurs of people to their friends probably to explain references they don’t get. And finally, the screen goes to black, a couple of people cheer and clap but it's almost fucking midnight and I’m on closing can you all leave already--
His internal monologue is cut short by customers leaving and thanking him, so Jake has to put on his customer service smile that he knows makes people swoon. A couple of nods are given here and there to the nice enough customers who bring their own rubbish down and throw it in the bin he’s got dragged beside him, and eyeing the people who leave their damn rubbish at their seat and refraining himself from glaring.
There are a few stragglers but it’s not enough to prevent him from starting his job already, so he drags his cleaning cart to the seats, pops his earphones in and puts on his favourite playlist, and begins to sweep down the aisles and between the seats.
It’s a slow process, slower than usual when Heeseung is there to disinfect the seats right after he sweeps under him, but his beloved coworker who's usually on this shift with him needs to speed write an essay for his course due tomorrow.
Jake is nice. He said he could handle the closing shift by himself, but didn't expect an almost full house when people could literally just buy premier access on Disney+.
Another exasperated sigh.
I should complain less.
Jake supposes he’s finished over three-quarters of the screening room when he hears soft sniffling through the music in his earphones.
He pauses the song and slowly turns, hoping it's not a ghost, or worse, a straggler customer.
But alas, it's the latter.
On the bright side, he’s kind of cute? Even if he has snot hanging out of his nose.
Jake observes it's a boy maybe around the same age as him, sobbing into the sleeves of his pretty, oversized cardigan. His eyes tinged red, trying to conceal his hyperventilating from crying. Jake wants to approach him and offer him some tissues but he spots popcorn all over his lap.
Jake curses. Maybe he deserves to ruin his nice cardigan with his tears and snot.
But Jake is nice. He checks his phone and deduces this boy needs to leave and get home before the serial killers come out of hiding and stab him on his way home.
Jake hopes he’s got a ride home, he’s kind of too pretty to die…
The crying boy spots him before his kind-of-morbid thoughts continue any further, and starts rambling.
“Oh my god- I’m so sorry! I really,” The boy hiccups, ”should get out of your hair --Oh my god! I’ve made such a mess--” the boy further sobs, “It’s so late too, can I help? Oh my god, I must look haggard--”
Jake grimaces, he feels bad for the boy feeling sorry for him and trying to apologise through his gasping and tears.
“Are you okay?” He fishes out some tissues and hands them to the boy, making eye contact with those slightly swollen and tinged red eyes. Cute.
“Yeah-well it’s just…” the boy blows his nose into the tissues, carefully glancing at the movie worker.
Jake only smiles and nods in encouragement to continue.
“Natasha was my favourite character!” the boy wails, “She deserved so much more! Honestly I thought I would be able to handle this after Endgame - and believe me I was much worse than this,” he hiccups again, “but her spy family! They only just reunited and then she’s off to go save those dumb avengers - I’m team Iron Man by the way - and don’t get me started on Yelena and the gravestone--” the boy only sobs harder, about to wipe his tears with his cardigan again before Jake shoves more tissues in front of him.
Jake scratches his head, unsure, the desperate need to finish cleaning and go home forgotten. His voice sounds cute though.
“What has Hawkeye done? He literally became an assassin when his family dusted, Natasha literally saved so many innocent girls and you’re telling me SHE had to die on Vormir instead of that dumb old man!” The boy sniffs, a little bit more composed than a couple of seconds ago but Jake assumes it's the anger. “The misogyny! I swear--”
“Do you want ice cream?” Jake interrupted, smiling awkwardly, “you sound like you need it.”
The boy pauses, eyeing Jake carefully before slowly nodding, hesitant.
“I’d like that, thank you…” The boy smiles for the first time as he eyes the worker’s metal name tag. “Jake.”
Jake’s brain almost short circuits, internally screaming, the smile, and the way he says his name !!!
“Aha… no worries…” Jake said bashfully, he’s sure his ears are red but thankful the screening room is probably still dark enough so that the cute boy won’t see.
“Oh, I’m Sunoo by the way! Kim Sunoo,” the boy grins.
God, even his name is cute.
Jake is almost speechless from Sunoo’s dazzling smile but is brought back to reality when he spots all the popcorn spilled around the boy’s seat. Jake supposes Sunoo notices his expression and intent, jumping up and hurriedly scooping as much fallen popcorn as his cute hands can hold, throwing them in the big black bin bag Jake dragged with him.
“Sorry about the mess, let me help,” Sunoo blushes, because who manages to spill an entire large popcorn and stay long enough to see the workers try to clean up after him?
Jake chuckles and jokes, “If you want, you can consider that your payment for the ice cream then.”
Sunoo laughs cutely in response, smiling at Jake.
“Only if you join me with the ice cream.”
Did Sunoo just wink at him? The boy turns away from Jake to go collect any remaining rubbish, which is lucky for Jake that he can’t see him because he’s standing there jaw on the floor .
Jake thinks he’s in love. Maybe only a little infatuated.
Maybe doing this late evening shift alone was more of a blessing than a curse.
That's what Jake tells himself when they finish cleaning, and Jake is behind the counter scooping mint chocolate ice cream (pretty people have flaws too okay?) into a tub, listening to a chattering Sunoo talk about the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Black Widow and probably spoiling the entire thing for Jake.
He doesn’t mind though if it means he can hear Sunoo’s cute voice, Sunoo doesn't have to know that he was planning to see it with his friends Jay and Sunghoon next weekend.
And when it’s nearing 1 am, all the lights are finally switched off, the building locked, when Jake finds out Sunoo doesn’t have a ride home.
“It’s fine, I live nearby at the uni dorms!” Sunoo quips.
“No, I insist,” Jake responds, reminded of his thoughts of Sunoo being too pretty to die, especially after getting to know him. “I’ll drive you, don’t want to hear about a local university student brutally murdered on their way home from the cinema.”
Sunoo giggles… giggles! “How can I be sure you won’t murder me Jake-ssi? ‘Local university student brutally murdered by a cinema worker’ sounds more like it,” the boy smiles, “I wouldn’t blame you, to be honest, the state you found me in!”
“It’s fine, it was cute,” Jake said bashfully, “let me take you home, promise I won’t murder you.”
Sunoo blushes under the orange lamp posts, and Jake hopes Sunoo falls a little bit in love with him too.
And when Jake drives up to the entrance of Sunoo’s dorm, Sunoo stares at the driver before leaning in to peck him on the cheek, handing him a napkin and almost bolting out of the car.
“I hope I read the signs right,” Sunoo says, blushing, just before he closes the car door. “I’d be really happy if you gave me a call - or text - sometime, Jake.”
Jake realises the napkin he was handed had a number on it, which he assumes is Sunoo’s for obvious reasons, he looks back at the boy, now no longer sobbing with red-tinged eyes, only the faint car lights and lighting fixtures from outside Sunoo’s dorm illuminating the boy.
Jake thinks he's so adorably cute.
“I’d like that too, Sunoo.”
Of course Jake texts Sunoo as soon as he gets home, despite it being almost 2 am, but he reasoned with himself that it was so that Sunoo had his number too.
And fast forward a couple of months, Jake and Sunoo are a disgustingly cute couple. Heeseung convinces Jake that him ditching that late evening shift was fate, Jay and Sunghoon claim that Jake owes his entire relationship to them and should be thankful for them forcing Jake to watch the entire MCU, and Sunoo’s friends Jungwon and Niki never fail to make fun of the fact that Sunoo met his boyfriend by ugly sobbing in the cinema.