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“D47,” Shen Yuan mumbled to himself as he double-checked the location displayed on the screen of his handheld device. Ugh, 47 would be one of the high ones. He turned into the D and E aisle and stood on his tiptoes, arm reaching upwards to the box labeled D47. “Just… gotta stretch a little more…”
“No need,” rumbled a smooth voice directly through his bones. Shen Yuan froze. Warmth radiated at his back, the slightest rustle of fabric sounding as a strong arm reached above his head towards D47. Shen Yuan turned around to meet dark eyes smiling down at him.
“B-binghe,” he breathed. He coughed to regain a more normal voice. “Um, thank you.”
The plastic bag passed from Luo Binghe’s hand to Shen Yuan’s. It contained a single bottle of protein powder.
“It’s my pleasure to help Yuan-gege,” Luo Binghe purred—said. He said.
Shen Yuan swallowed. Since when were high school students this tall? And… broad?? “Ahaha, you’re definitely my most helpful coworker!”
Hoping his hair covered his burning ears, Shen Yuan squeezed past Luo Binghe and hurried towards the door, scanning the bag as he went. The name of the order was “liu, qingge”, a name that was no stranger to the employees working in Drive-Up at the local Target store.
The cool winter wind blew Shen Yuan’s bangs back from his face as he pushed out of the door. “liu, qingge” was parked in Space 1 as usual, which Shen Yuan very much appreciated. (Screw assholes who parked in Space 12 when literally every other parking space was wide open!)
“Hi there,” Shen Yuan greeted cheerfully, giving his best customer service smile to the beautiful man sitting in the driver seat. “Do you have your code?”
“Uh—yes,” said “liu, qingge”. His cheeks looked a bit red from the cold; ah, hopefully he hadn’t been waiting too long with the window open. He grabbed his phone and held it up, displaying to Shen Yuan the 4-digit code needed to confirm the order delivery.
Some customers were unprepared to show their codes, resulting in Shen Yuan putting all his effort into maintaining a patient smile as they fumbled through their phone to get to the Target app. But “liu, qingge” was always very efficient. Well, of course he was; this wasn’t his first time ordering items for Drive-up. In fact, he’d been here just yesterday—and the day before, and the day before that, and…
“Zero, five, two, zero,” Shen Yuan read, typing the numbers into his device. He handed over the protein powder. “Alright, you’re all set.”
“Thanks,” said “liu, qingge” gruffly. His cheeks were still quite pink—ah, Shen Yuan should really get out of his hair so he can close the window and warm up a bit!
“Of course,” Shen Yuan chirped. “Have a great day!”
He went back into the store, sighing as the heated air washed over him. One more guest was on the way, so Shen Yuan prepped their order before leaning against the wall to check his phone like a normal, screen-addicted young adult. There was a new notification that a webtoon he followed had been updated—he’d have to read the chapter during break.
Just then, a strident voice sounded from out by the guest service desk. Shen Yuan stuffed his phone back into his pocket and went to check it out.
“So you can return all the other items, but not this one?” a guest was demanding, a glare twisting his face. There were two men in front of the desk; the one speaking was a pale, good-looking man perhaps in his late twenties, dressed in a green silk blouse and absolutely killer darkwash jeans. Not the usual Karen, but it took all sorts.
Shen Yuan casually began organizing the desk two registers down from Luo Binghe, arranging this and wiping down that as he watched the interaction from the corner of his eye.
“Unfortunately, returns for electronics are only allowed within 30 days,” Luo Binghe explained.
Green Silk Karen snatched up the receipt and shoved it in Luo Binghe’s face. “I bought these earbuds what, 31 days ago? Are you serious? It’s literally just one day over.”
“I know, but the system doesn’t allow it,” Luo Binghe answered with perfect patience. “There’s nothing I can do.”
The man accompanying Green Silk Karen was taller and broader and sported a pair of thick, expressive eyebrows. The hand he placed on that silk-covered shoulder was large and strong-knuckled, like a warrior’s.
“Xiao Jiu, it’s alright,” he placated, sending Luo Binghe an apologetic glance. “We can just keep it as a spare.”
Karen Jiu hissed, “Twenty-two dollars and sixty-nine cents for a spare!”
Eyeing Luo Binghe with concern, Shen Yuan wondered if he should jump in.
At that moment, Karen Jiu let out an irritated huff and uncrossed his arms. “Whatever, clearly you can’t help me. At least check out for us here.” He deposited two items on the counter.
Shen Yuan’s subtle surveillance allowed him to see the items that Karen Jiu threw down, and his eyebrows rose when he saw the chapstick and pack of condoms. Size extra large.
His eyes flew to Karen Jiu. No way… Then to the taller companion. Or maybe…?
Then his gaze caught on Luo Binghe’s, the two employees exchanging a look, and Shen Yuan realized that he’d been caught eavesdropping. Luo Binghe looked a bit upset. Oops? Sorry, this senior is just trying to watch over you!
“Surely, at least you can do that?” Karen Jiu snapped.
“Of course,” Luo Binghe replied, looking back to him with a smile.
“Hmph.” Karen Jiu strode haughtily away, leaving his taller companion to chuckle sheepishly as Luo Binghe processed the transaction.
“Sorry for the trouble,” he said to Luo Binghe. “He… is in a bit of a poor mood.”
“No trouble at all,” Luo Binghe lied. “I’m sorry I couldn’t help you two with that return. Your total is $13.79.”
Shen Yuan silently applauded his customer service technique.
“No, no.” The man waved off Luo Binghe’s apology, pulling out his wallet and tapping his card. “Thank you for your hard work.”
“You’re welcome,” Luo Binghe responded warmly. “Have a good day.”
The moment the man turned his back, Luo Binghe’s polite smile dropped.
Shen Yuan hurried over. “Binghe, are you okay? That customer was so rude to you! How could anyone behave like that towards you of all people, really—”
Luo Binghe beamed down at Shen Yuan, this smile much more genuine than the previous. “Thanks to Yuan-gege for looking after me, but I’m just fine. One annoying guest won’t end me. And besides, I had gege’s support the whole time.”
“What support?” Shen Yuan muttered, ears heating. “I was just cleaning the desk…”
Finally, it was time for his scheduled lunch! Shen Yuan discarded his neon Drive-up vest and threw his device into some dusty corner where he’d probably be able to find it again. His enthusiasm was somewhat dampened when he remembered that the meal he’d packed was nothing more than a microwaveable pack of frozen noodles.
“Ai, it’s better than starving,” he sighed to himself as he walked to the break room. He pulled open the door—and ran straight into a hard chest. “Binghe!”
“Yuan-ge.” Luo Binghe tilted his head. “You looked a little down just now.”
“Ahaha, it’s nothing,” Shen Yuan chuckled, scratching the back of his head and in the process dislodging Luo Binghe’s steadying hands from his elbows. “Just thinking about my sad frozen noodles. Not exactly the most appetizing lunch.”
“Ah, is that so?” Luo Binghe smiled. “Well, that’s perfect. I just had my lunch, but I accidentally packed two portions. I’ll give the extra portion to you.”
“Oh no, I couldn’t just take your food!” Shen Yuan exclaimed.
“You should,” Luo Binghe insisted. “It’ll go to waste otherwise.”
“But—”
“I’ll go grab it,” Luo Binghe said. Ignoring Shen Yuan’s protests, he went and took out a tupperware from the fridge. “There you go. It’s a new recipe, let me know what you think!”
“A—ah,” Shen Yuan agreed dazedly, holding the tupperware. “Thank you, Binghe.”
Luo Binghe smiled. “It’s always my pleasure to help Yuan-gege.”
After Luo Binghe left, Shen Yuan microwaved the tupperware and sat down, unpeeling the cling wrap. Hot steam billowed up from the dish. Shen Yuan scooped up some rice and vegetables with a plastic spoon, blowing carefully on it before opening his mouth. He took the bite.
And nearly ascended to heaven right then and there.
The flavor! The texture! The perfectly cooked rice! A sublime mixture of sensations exploded on Shen Yuan’s tongue, each aspect of the flavor amazing in its own right yet none overpowering the others, instead blending into the perfect cocktail of spice and savor that was entirely too delectable to have been microwaved in a plastic tupperware.
Shen Yuan reeled. Luo Binghe’s bright face spun in his mind’s eye. How… how was an eighteen-year-old high schooler Target employee such a god at cooking??!?
“You shouldn’t go out there.”
“???” Shen Yuan was just going to check on the desk since Drive-up was slow, but he was abruptly stopped. He gave Luo Binghe a confused look.
“Stay back here,” Luo Binghe reiterated, standing right in front of Shen Yuan like a solid barricade.
“Why, what’s going on?” Shen Yuan pushed past Luo Binghe and poked his head around the corner. His eyes went wide.
There in Checklane 2, Mobei Jun from AP was hauling an unfamiliar middle-aged man off of Front-of-Store TL Shang Qinghua. Mobei Jun then shoved the middle-aged man to the ground and pinned him down. Shang Qinghua groaned and rolled over, clutching his face. Blood trickled from his nose.
“Wh—what happened?” Shen Yuan gasped, pressing a hand to his mouth.
“That man came in and started yelling at Shang Qinghua for no reason, then started hitting him,” Luo Binghe explained grimly. “It was only a few seconds until Mobei Jun got to them, but…”
Shen Yuan shook his head. “Do people have nothing better to do than to harass Target employees?? Seriously!”
“I couldn’t agree more,” said Luo Binghe. “I called the police, so they should be here soon. For now, you should still stay back here.”
“Shang Qinghua!” Shen Yuan called, heedlessly sidestepping Luo Binghe again to hurry over. He glanced awkwardly at Mobei Jun, who was ruthlessly keeping the attacker facedown on the floor. “Er, Shang Qinghua, are you alright?”
“Ugh…” Shang Qinghua took Shen Yuan’s outstretched hands and let him haul him to his feet. “I don’t know about ‘alright’, but at least I still have all my teeth.”
Soon after, the police arrived. Mobei Jun released the attacker into their custody and strode over silently to hand Shang Qinghua an ice pack that had mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. Luo Binghe was just in the process of disinfecting Shang Qinghua’s injuries while Shen Yuan hovered nervously around them, useless.
“Ice!” Shang Qinghua cried in exaggerated joy, grabbing the pack from Mobei Jun’s hands—and elbowing Luo Binghe by accident in the process. “Oops, my bad. Mobei Jun ah, you’re my savior! My king!”
“Shut up,” said Mobei Jun. “Your lip is bleeding.”
After the police left, the front-of-store team members and their bandaged-up TL returned to the heavy, insurmountable monotony of capitalistic drudgery.
“Shouldn’t you, like, go home?” Shen Yuan asked Shang Qinghua with concern. “You were literally just assaulted.”
“Some of us have bills to pay,” Shang Qinghua groused. His lip had swelled up, and the tired glare he directed to the Target store at large was delivered by a colorfully bruised soon-to-be black eye. “Fuck. I hate my job.”
As a Team Lead, was he allowed to say that? Oh well. Not Shen Yuan’s problem.
“I couldn’t agree more,” he said to Shang Qinghua. “Fuck Target.”
“Fuck Target,” Shang Qinghua repeated with feeling. “Fuck corporate especially.”
Okay, TLs were definitely not allowed to say that. But, “Fuck corporate,” Shen Yuan agreed. “The messes we have to deal with because they make policies without knowing shit about actually working in store…”
“Not to mention the $300K they make for attending like two meetings a day and drinking the coffee some poor intern brought them,” Shang Qinghua added.
The two of them sighed and shook their heads. Fuck corporate indeed.
Having jobs to do, they couldn’t stop to commiserate for long. But Shen Yuan was still cursing the entire Target Corporation in his head ten minutes later, as he struggled to lift a box of salvage without straining any part of his chronically fucked-up body. Fuck the Target CEO, fuck the CFO, fuck the COO…
The weight of the box disappeared. Taking it from Shen Yuan, Luo Binghe easily carried the box over to the flat and set it down. He dusted his hands off as he turned back towards Shen Yuan.
“Don’t worry, Yuan-gege,” Luo Binghe crooned—SAID. He said. “Someday I’ll take over and kill of all the filth in Target corporate.”
“Um… Ahaha, what a threatening way to say you’d fire them all!” Shen Yuan exclaimed.
Luo Binghe stepped closer. Wow, yes, he was very tall. And his voice was excruciatingly smooth and deep as he murmured, “Who said I meant firing?”
“AHAHAHA,” Shen Yuan laughed, slapping his hands over his ears. “I—I have to go prep this Drive-up order! Sorry! Ahahaha!”
He fled.
Counting down the last thirty minutes of his workday, Shen Yuan leaned on the guest service desk and scrolled listlessly through his phone as he usually did during the evening lull.
Luo Binghe’s shift ended half an hour before Shen Yuan’s did. A few minutes after he’d gone to clock out, Luo Binghe returned to the desk with a shopping basket in hand.
“Yuan-gege, could I trouble you to check me out before I leave?”
Shen Yuan jumped and dropped his phone—thankfully onto the service desk and not the floor. “Of course, Binghe!”
“Thank you,” Luo Binghe said with a luminous smile, setting his basket on the counter.
Shen Yuan reached in to start scanning the items… and froze. His ears turned bright red.
Why? Because amongst the pack of pencils (so studious!), phone charger, and a few small spice jars inside the basket, there was also a bright blue, boldly-lettered box of condoms—size extra extra large!