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The downpour outside drowned out all but the quiet buzzing of the old-timey radio sitting on the store’s checkout counter, that, and the sound of—presumably—rats, scrambling through the dark halls.
Creak.
Business was slow—not that it was much even without the waterfall coming down around the store currently, but that was neither here nor there.
Still, two souls remained, clinging to the store even in this foul weather—Soleum, the clerk, and the mysterious man outside, drenched from head to toe. The former was, unfortunately, stuck here until his shift ended, but the latter-
Creak.
It was hard for Soleum to watch the man outside, silent in the torrents of heavy rain, without wincing.
He wondered if the man had just been dumped by his date or something, for him to be so uncaring for the environment around him.
‘......’
Soleum sighed.
If he were to stay here for—he checked the clock on the wall—3 more hours until his shift ended, he might as well invite the poor man outside in for a cup of instant coffee.
With that thought in mind, Soleum grabbed a nearby display umbrella and gently knocked on the glass door separating him from the man.
"Do you want to come inside? It's war..." Soleum's voice trailed off as the man's attention turned towards him.
Well.
The stranger had been taller than Soleum thought, and quite handsome too.
With a rugged, well-toned body, the man stood a head above Soleum, yet a contradictory sense of indescribable softness also emanated from him, like a warm fur coat in the winter.
In his hands, which had been hidden from Soleum's sight prior by the man's large build, was a walkie-talkie.
Briefly, Soleum wondered if he was going to die because of this one decision, scenes from crime dramas flashing through his head, what if this man was a kidnapper—
"...no need, thank you for the offer"
The man politely bowed before rejecting Soleum.
—or...not
If he were really a kidnapper or drug trafficker, he probably wouldn't deny the chance to get closer to his target, right?
Just then-
[...bzz..bz......Agent Bronze, is something happening on your side? Has the target moved?]
Oh.
Soleum's eyes widened as he subconsciously stepped back in surprise.
He seemed to have interrupted something important.
An uncomfortable silence filled the air before the man, Agent Bronze, as the speaker on the other side of the radio had called him, sighed, and responded.
"Nothing's wrong. The store clerk just came out to talk."
Soleum could feel his cheeks heating up.
[Oh~? Has our Jaekwan attracted someone at first sight once again?]
Certain that his ears were a bright red by this point, Soleum couldn't help but wish he could turn back time and pretend this whole interaction had never happened. He weakly glanced up to see if, at least, he could share in the embarrassing moment with the man, Jaekwan.
"Get focused, Choi." Instead, as if he hadn't heard anything at all, Jaekwan scolded the speaker on the other side.
—There was a strange sense of loss in Soleum’s heart at the man’s stoic reaction.
[Haha. Hey, cute little clerk on the other side, how 'bout inviting our dashing Jaekwan inside for a cup of coffee or two, huh?]
Soleum's pupils trembled. Why had he suddenly been dragged into this conversation!?
"Choi! Enough!"
[I'm quite serious, though. Take a break, Jaekwan, it's not like the suspect could run away when he's surrounded.]
"...I-
[Besides, the suspect will get suspicious if you were to stay out by yourself for so long]
It was only with that last sentence that Jaekwan finally relented and turned towards Soleum.
"...If it's not too much-
Soleum hurriedly waved his hands in a panic.
"No, no! It's fine! I was the one who interrupted!"
"...sorry."
Jaekwan covered his face and softly groaned—the first change in emotion Soleum had witnessed from the man.
[I'll leave you on your little date then~]
The radio beeped off before Jaekwan could get another word in.
Soleum awkwardly shuffled back into the store, allowing space for Jaekwan to enter behind him. Feeling none of the bravery needed to properly face the man after the embarrassing display that had just taken place, Soleum hurried over to the coffee machine, making sure to keep his back to Jaekwan, avoiding as much eye contact as possible.
"Would you like a cup of coffee...sir?"
With the aroma of bitter coffee filling the air and enveloping the store, Soleum regained his composure and asked, trying to lighten the atmosphere, before freezing up as he remembered what Choi had said through the radio.
"I-it’s not flirtin-!
Crash!
Soleum watched in horror as his sudden movement overturned the cup of boiling coffee—
"Careful!"
Before Soleum could even react, a large pair of calloused hands reached out and pulled him away, shielding his body from the water—becoming drenched in the process.
A short grunt of pain slipped from Jaekwan's lips.
"Jaekwan-ssi!”
Soleum reached out and grabbed onto Jaekwan's tensed arms. His fingers trembled as they hovered over the flushed skin, ever so careful not to directly touch it.
"You’re hurt!"
Jaekwan shook his head and gently pushed Soleum away from him.
"The coffee’s still hot, be careful you don't get burned."
A knot formed in Soleum’s throat.
What was this man doing, helping someone when his own body had become a ruined mess? Really—
“Can’t you just take care of yourself a bit more, you idiot!”
Jaekwan’s movement froze.
“I-
Creak.
Presumably disturbed by the chaos, the scurrying rats—
Soleum paused.
—Aren’t usually this loud?
Before he could process it, Jaekwan’s arms had already wrapped around his waist, pulling him behind, to the exit right behind them.
‘…!’
Within an inch of where Soleum had just been, there was now a strange man wielding a knife.
It didn’t take Soleum too long to match this man with the one Jaekwan had been tracking until now. And, though he had no idea what the man had done, this was obviously not something that could be resolved with a polite conversation.
His eyes darted over to the display cases in the back, scanning…
“Choi, backup! The suspects’s in the store!”
Jaekwan yelled into the walkie-talkie.
“IT’S YOUR FAULT! IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!”
With bloodstained eyes, the man charged towards the unarmed Jaekwan, the knife in his hands glinting as it was swung repeatedly-
Once.
“Damn it. Choi! Hurry!
Twice.
[Hang on!]
Thri-
Bang!
Jaekwan jerked to a stop in his tracks as the man fell forward.
“Hah…fuck that hurts-haaah.”
Behind the man’s unconscious body was Soleum, a dented cutting board in hand.
“……”
Soleum looked up and made eye contact with Jaekwan, attempting a laugh that came out more like the cry of some ghastly creature.
“…I’m so going to get fired, aren’t I?”
Reinforcement arrived 5 minutes later to see the suspect tied up into a bundle as the two “victims” sat around him—the civilian, with a chopping board in hand.
“Yo, Jaekwan, did the guy scare your sweetheart so much that you had to beat him like this~?”
Choi walked with a cheerful jaunt, whistling as he noticed the deep bruising on the back of the suspect’s head.
“……”
Soleum covered his face.
“I’m sorry.”
Choi’s steps came to a halt. His head turned between the two, as if he'd been watching an intense tennis match. Finally—
“Wow! Have you ever considered switching jobs, Mr. Clerk?”
Soleum couldn’t even deny that by this point. After the owner hears about the fiasco tonight…
“Stop it, Choi. The victim needs to rest.”
Jaekwan shielded Soleum from Choi’s sight with his broad back and arms.
“Oh, ho? Somebody’s jealous~”
Unimpeded, Choi continued his taunt.
Soleum wanted to hit his head against something and promptly pass out. He couldn't bear to look up at Jaekwan anymore, in fear of what expression he'd see on the man’s face…still, just as curiosity killed the cat, Soleum couldn't help it—
Red.
Jaekwan’s face was flushed a bright, crimson red.
Soleum’s face warmed and flushed in response.
What does it mean? Was he just exhausted from subduing the assailant??? What if it's the other reason?
“Agh!”
He buried his face in his palms and groaned.
When Soleum finally felt calm enough to move his hand again, he came face to face with Jaekwan, 5 cm away.
“…!”
Soleum jerked back, his heartbeat rising like crazy as he recalled the warm, lightly coffee-aroma-ed breath that he felt on Jaekwan’s breath just prior.
Crazy!
“Wh-what, why?!”
Soleum’s words came out in a rushed mess.
“…your face was red. I was trying to check if you had a fever.”
“Pff-
Soleum shot a glare at Choi, who hadn't been able to stop laughing since the beginning.
“Jae-jaekwan, pfft- I think your lover’s gonna kill me if you don- haha, stop!”
“What?”
“……”
“...!”
Finally, Jaekwan realized what he did.
“Sorry!”
He bowed, a straight, 90-degree bow.
“……”
“It's…fine.”
“……”
An awkward silence filled the space between the two.
“……”
“I-
“This-
“!”
““You go first.””
Soleum wanted nothing more than to transform into an ostrich right about now and bury his head in the sand. Still…
“For your apology…how does a cup of coffee sound? I know a good store…near..nearby”
His voice gave out at the end, but it no longer mattered; his intent had been conveyed, as evidenced—Jaekwan’s face had become a bright red once again. Soleum was sure his own wasn't any better.
“……”
“…If you'd have me.”
Jaekwan’s reply was barely above a whisper.