Chapter Text
February 22, Wednesday - 2 AM, Konbini
The convenience store at 2 AM isn’t exactly lively. The occasional student stumbles in, groggy and sleep-deprived, grabbing caffeine or an instant meal before retreating back to whatever disaster they’re working on.
But him? He’s different.
He doesn’t look sleep-deprived. Doesn’t rush. He just walks in, goes straight to aisle four, and picks up the same protein bar—every single night.
And somehow, so does she.
At first, it was just coincidence. Then, it became a pattern. And now—
“You seriously eat that every day?” she asks, leaning against the shelf.
“Yes”
“No offense, but that’s depressing.”
“None taken” was his short answer.
She rolls her eyes, tossing a bag of caramel popcorn into her basket. He glances at it, unimpressed: “Too sweet.”
“That’s the point.” she responded, almost rolling her eyes.
“You’ll regret it after three bites.”
She scoffs. “ And yet, here I am, still making better snack choices than you.”
He doesn’t argue, but she catches it—the slightest twitch of amusement in his expression. That’s the thing about him. He never talks much. But when she suggests a better snack, he listens. When she takes too long deciding, he waits.
And when she doesn’t show up for two nights in a row—
He notices.
She knows because the moment she walks in, he’s already looking at her.
“You weren’t here.”
His voice is quiet, even. Like it’s just an observation. But something in the way he says it makes her pause.
“You noticed?”
“You’re hard to miss.” he confessed, looking in her eyes and making her blush.
Her stomach flips, and she hates that it does. She hates that she suddenly feels something for this boy she barely knows.
Or maybe—
She’s known him all along. Maybe it’s in the way they stand in aisle four at 2 AM, surrounded by shelves and fluorescent lights, stealing pieces of each other’s nights like it means nothing.
But maybe—just maybe—
It means something .