The Good, the Evil, and the Heechul (2/?)
Title: The Good, the Evil, and the Heechul (2/?)
Author: sexy_pengwin
Pairing/Characters: Main!Sichul and Hanchul, Minor!Kangteuk, Kihae, Eunhae, Kyumin, HenryOC
Rating: Hmm... PG-13 still...
Genre: AU, romance, humor... supernatural?
Words: 3,648
Summary: In the first life, it hadn't worked out, but when Siwon is told to be Heechul's new Guardian Angel, he takes it as a second chance, even if Heechul can't see or hear him (So he thinks) let alone touch him. Not to mention a jealous old friend come to interfere...
FINALLY! Sorry about the messed up writing schedule (or lack of even that) But... yeah... This has been a work in progress for the last month. And I've been working out what's happening and the plot and stuff... Thankfully, I have most of it in my head, at least. But that's a good thing, right? And I have other things I'm working on...
Well, lucky you guys. This chapter isn't as much explanatory as just random humor/filler introducing people (not that you don't know them already, heh heh). But there are a few more things in here, more in the beginning...
----
You know, I still find this whole soul/Angel/Demon/whatever else kind of weird, right? Heechul typed. Siwon sighed behind him after reading what was written, "I know it's a lot to swallow, but you're just going to have to bare with me, alright?"
Oh, I know that. Heechul typed again, chuckling lightly to himself. He decided this was the best way to communicate as he sat in the book store's café for lunch break. It looked like he was just chatting with a friend... With a few glances back. But really, when your Guardian Angel was Siwon... It was hard not to want to look.
Siwon slipped into the booth beside his charge, "But knowing these things, you can really help me with my job."
What do you mean by that? I don't know what Shadows look like, or how to tell if there's one following me.
"Well, you'll learn soon enough. Your soul is still vulnerable from the gap between Angels. They will lay off a bit since I'm here, but... Shadows can get past Angels... It's happened."
Heechul opened his mouth to talk, but remembered quickly he didn't want to be known as the schizo (after the delivery man calling him that, he decided he didn't like it) and went to the computer. So... Guardian Angels aren't just there for show? I thought they'd be, like, a shield or something.
The Angel laughed heartily, "I wish it were like that! But unfortunately, as Guardian Angels, we actually have to do something. Imagine that." His voice took a sarcastic tone near the end.
"Who knew Angels had such a sense of humor?" Heechul retorted. Typing it out would have ruined it. Maybe someone would think he was commenting on something he was reading...
"What are you writing, hyung?"
Heechul leaped up with a surprised yelp, now standing on the booth seat. He looked down on Kibum, who only raised an eyebrow before looking back down at the laptop. Heechul slammed the computer closed, "What are you doing?!"
Kibum sighed, "I was coming to see if you'd like anything else." He smoothed out his waiter apron, "And to remind you that your shift is starting soon."
Siwon crossed his arms behind his head and relaxed, "Sometimes, I'm glad I'm not a human anymore..."
Heechul shot him a glance, but restrained himself from saying anything in front of Kibum. He pulled out his wallet and payed for his coffee before packing up his things and going to the employee locker room to put away his laptop, followed by Siwon.
"Why do you have to constantly follow me around, anyway?" Heechul asked, putting his bag in his locker. "I mean, you must have better things to do. Or more interesting things."
Siwon leaned against the locker beside him and shrugged, "Trust me, unless the Shadows are on a rampage, or we're in a place infested with ghosts, or whatever else, the life of a Guardian Angel doesn't really get much more interesting."
"Except annoying the human, right? It seems as though you guys enjoy that."
"No. Most of us can't talk to our charges."
"Wow." Heechul chuckled, "Being a Guardian Angel must be really boring."
Siwon shrugged, "It can be. But you'd be surprised how fast everything passes by when you're a soul. An hour can feel like a second, a day like a minute, a week like--"
"I get it." Heechul pushed one last time on his laptop and took the store shirt to put on over his clothes, "It goes by quickly. Do I ever wish it were the same for us... I would give anything for dentist appointments to go by in a flash."
Siwon sighed, shaking his head, "It's not like that, Heechul... It's because compared to the average human life, around 70-80 years, souls don't die. You're a soul in a way... But... It's different. We also don't have a choice but to stay with the people we're protecting."
Heechul closed his locker and turned to face the Angel, "Otherwise what? You fall?"
"No. Here on Earth... We need energy. We get our energy from our charges. Hence why when people are going through a lot, or there's stress, they're more tired. Because negative energies make you more vulnerable to everything else, which means we need to work harder to protect you. The farther we are from the person, the harder it is to get energy from them."
Heechul shook his head in disbelief, "Just when I think you've told me everything, there's more..."
Siwon grinned, "Trust me, Heechul, there's still a lot more I have yet to tell you. Since I can, I will teach you what I can as well, like how to ward off the Shadows fairly effectively if I were to... Not be around..."
"You mean," his eyes went wide, "I don't actually need a Guardian Angel?"
The Angel sighed, dropping his head into his hand, "Heechul... Most Living creatures don't know all this. Which is why we're here. And these methods are difficult. I'll tell you about them later."
Heechul grumbled, pulling his long hair back into a ponytail for work, "Are you even allowed telling me all this?"
"Who will believe you, Heechul?" Siwon asked, like the answer was obvious (Which it really was) "From last night, I get a feeling your friends already think you're insane. Tell them all this and you're on your way to the asylum."
"They probably already booked me a room." Heechul rolled his eyes.
"Hyung?" Of course someone had to walk in...
Heechul turned around with a forced smile, "Sungmin..."
The boy (Heechul could never call him a man. Not with the way he acted and looked) blinked twice before looking around the room, spotting Heechul's cellphone in his locker. He returned his gaze to Heechul, "Hyung... Who are you talking to?"
Heechul stared at the younger, "Uh..." He quickly grabbed his phone, "Sorry, it was on speaker." He flipped it open and laughed, "Sorry mother, it was just--"
"Uh, hyung?" Sungmin interrupted, pointing at the phone, "It's not even on."
Heechul hesitated, "Oh... I..." He lowered the phone and forced out another laugh, "I must have hit the wrong button. Hopefully mother doesn't get worried..." He threw the cellphone into his locker, not realizing someone had been standing in front of it.
"Ow!" Siwon yelped, putting a hand to his head.
Sungmin's eyes widened, "Is it just me or did it just, like... Hit nothing."
Heechul dove for the phone, sliding right through Siwon and hitting the lockers. "Ow."
Siwon sighed, "How am I supposed to protect you when you're so intent on killing yourself?"
"Shut up." Heechul shot up at the Angel, realizing a little too late they weren't alone.
Sungmin swallowed, "Uh... Heechul... Are you sure you're feeling better?"
Heechul pushed himself off the ground, "Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, I'm just..." he had yet to work out an excuse, "Um... I'm still sort of tired. Sorry." He glared at the Angel quickly, "Don't worry about me. It's just all the coffee taking effect."
Sungmin nodded, "Sure, hyung. Don't push yourself too much, okay?" He grabbed his blue sweater (Everyone had convinced him wearing pink wasn't the most 'professional') from his own locker before going back out.
Once he was certain they were alone, Heechul threw his phone at the Angel again, "You're going to ruin my life!"
Siwon caught the device with ease, "Careful, Heechul. You'll break it."
"I don't fucking care!" He dropped onto the bench, "I doubt they even have cellphone networks in mental hospitals. At this rate, there's no doubt that's where I'm headed."
The Angel ran a hand through his thick black hair, "Aish... Would it make you happy if I just stayed here while you work? I mean, I'll still be within a good range to help if--"
"Yes!" Heechul jumped up with a smile, "Just stay here, okay? Use my laptop if you want... Just whatever you do, don't come out to bother me!" And he ran out of the change room.
"Well... That was easy." Siwon mumbled, pulling the laptop bag from the locker. He opened it up and stared at it for a few seconds. This would be interesting. In all of his lives, he had never once used one of these.
Heechul came out into the store to see most of his co-workers all gathered by the manager's door, pushing and shoving each other out of the way to peek inside the boss's office. Was it a new guy? This is exactly what happened at Henry's interview. The boss ended up scolding them all for being so nosy. But boys never learn...
Sungmin spun around after his shoulder was poked, "Hyung?"
"What's with..." Heechul motioned at the pile up of people, "this."
"Oh." Sungmin backed away from the pack, laughing sheepishly, "Er... Well... There's a new guy in there..."
Heechul rolled his eyes, "Of course. You people are so predictable." He pushed Donghae out of the way, and then Yesung, and then Ryeowook... They just made it too easy. He looked in the small window.
It wasn't really his week was it?
"KIM HEECHUL!" the boss yelled as he opened the door, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Heechul gulped and looked back. Everyone had gone. No wonder it had been so easy to get them out of the way... He looked back at his boss and smiled, "Uh... I was just passing by and--"
"Zip it. I don't want any of your lame ass excuses. For the next week, you're showing our new employee the ropes. Have fun." He went back into his office, slamming the door. A man not much younger than Heechul himself stood in front of the door, confused.
"Well?" Heechul huffed, "You heard him. You're my slave now." He chuckled at the way the new guy's eyes (which were actually quite pretty...) widened. "I'm joking. But seriously, we might want to go somewhere else. The boss obviously isn't in a very good mood."
The new guy simply nodded and followed.
"So... You're not much of a talker, are you?" Heechul asked as they went into the back room.
"I'm still learning Korean." He replied, looking around curiously.
Heechul nodded. It made sense. Judging by the accent... "Chinese?"
The guy smiled, "Yes, actually."
Heechul nodded again, "What's your name?" He reached up on the shelf to get the box with all the employee shirts and other things.
"Hankyung." He replied quickly. "And you're Kim Heechul?"
Heechul laughed, "You picked up on that, eh?" He put the box on the ground and opened it up, grabbing one of the shirts from inside and checking the tag. "Medium... I'm going to take a guess you're a medium."
Hankyung smiled, "Yes." He caught the shirt thrown at him and tucked it into his pocket. He grabbed the bottom of the shirt he had on and pulled it up.
"WOAH! STOP!" Heechul yelled. "What are you doing?!"
The Chinese man stopped and stared at Heechul, confused. "I'm... I'm just changing my shirt... So I can get to work right away. Is something wrong with that?"
The older (and shorter) man shook his head, sighing. "Fine. It's okay now, but I really suggest you don't do that anymore. I'm not the only one working here that's gay, alright?" Although even he couldn't help but notice how nice Hankyung was in general. Nice attitude, nice looks... Nice abs... Nice body... Yeah, changing in front of many of the men working here wouldn't be such a great idea.
Hankyung laughed as soon as he had the black store shirt on, "Are you alright, hyung?"
Heechul snapped out of his 'daydream'. "Eh?" He blinked, then bushed, "Oh... Sorry..."
"It's okay, hyung." He looked around, "So... What are we going to do?"
"Can you do cash?"
Hankyung hesitated, "Well... I've never really done that before..."
Heechul nodded understandingly, "I see. I see. Alright, we'll do that later. Why don't we do some easy stuff right now, hmm? Get some boxes and let's restock the shelves. That's easy enough."
Hankyung nodded and followed Heechul as he pulled down two boxes, each heavy and full of books. "Alright," Heechul said once they were on the ground, "Now check the side. It says the genre." He watched as his new apprentice turned the box, then looked back up.
"Children." Hankyung stated.
Heechul smiled, "Good, good. Now you take the boxes and go put them away in the children's section. Fairly simple." He followed Hankyung out of the room, excusing himself just as they got started unpacking. "I just have to go do something quickly." He left Hankyung to begin stocking the shelves without him and wandered through the bookstore. He'd worked here for 3 years and he didn't even know where the religion section was... When you're an atheist, you don't care. When he finally found it, he made sure no one was looking before ducking down and heading in so no one would see him. He tiptoed along the bookshelf, looking for-- "Holy shit." He stopped. "How many copies of this thing are there?" He whispered to himself, reading along the hundreds of different books. They were all different versions of the Bible. Or just different covers. He wasn't going to read all of them to see which.
"I thought you said there was no way in hell you were ever going to buy a Bible."
Heechul jumped at the sound of the Angel's voice. "What the hell are you doing here?" He hissed, trying to keep his voice low. "I thought you were going to stay back there!"
Siwon smiled, trying for innocent, "I got bored."
Heechul turned away from the Angel. "Be bored somewhere else. But if you decide to stay here, just know I won't be talking to you." He faced the bookshelf again and just took the cheapest one.
"All the good stuff is in the Old Testament. That's only the new one. It's all about Jesus. It would be better if you got the one with both."
Heechul grimaced, "Can I just get the old one? I don't want to read about some God-wannabe..."
Siwon smirked, "You were going to read the whole thing?"
"N-No..." Heechul turned away to hide the rare flush, "I'll just, um, get the whole thing..." He grabbed the book and walked to the end of the aisle, looking out and checking to see if anyone he knew was watching and scurried out, going to the back of the store and picking up the phone that linked to the intercom. "Would Kim Yesung please go to the romance section. Kim Yesung to the romance section." He hung up the phone and watched as Yesung, the only one at the cash registers, excused himself and told the customers to hold while he went to go see what the problem was. With an accomplished smirk, Heechul continued to the cash registers to buy his book.
"Excuse me, sir... Are you just going to ignore us paying customers?" The woman at the front of the line snapped.
Heechul huffed, "I don't do cash usually. You're not my problem." He scanned the book and pulled out his wallet with both his credit card and employee discount card.
"EXCUSE ME, but you are an EMPLOYEE here! You're job is to take care of us CUSTOMERS!" She yelled.
Heechul simply ignored her. It was one of his many (only he thought he had that many) special skills. The next voice wasn't so hard to ignore.
"If you're trying to stay discreet, I''ll have you know there 's someone coming." Siwon said, seemingly having popped up out of nowhere.
"I thought you couldn't just materialize out of the blue." Heechul smirked, swiping his card quickly.
The woman at the front of the line narrowed her eyes, "I'VE BEEN HERE THE ENTIRE TIME!"
Heechul twitched as he tried to keep himself from exploding at her. "I wasn't talking to you, miss."
"I'm not stupid, boy. I'm the only one here!"
"Heechul!"
He froze. He was out of time. He looked up and pulled a nervous smile as Henry's girlfriend approached (My friend begged) "Oh... Uh... hey, Lana..."
Lana smiled sweetly at the lady, "Is everything going alright?"
The woman was fuming at this point. "Not at all! HE," she jabbed a finger in Heechul's direction, "Refuses to serve me!"
Lana turned to Heechul, glaring, "Heechul... What are you doing here anyway?"
He felt a wave of relief wash over him as the receipt finished printing. He grabbed it and the book. "Nothing at all. Sorry to keep you waiting, miss." He dashed for the locker room, leaning against the wall once he was in. "So close..."
"I really don't see the what the problem you have with them seeing you buy a book is." Siwon sighed, entering the locker room.
Heechul looked over at the Angel, "I'm atheist, Siwon. I don't read the Bible. If they see me with one, they'll think 'Oh, maybe we can take him to church!' or 'Now that Heechul likes God, we can start preaching to him!' Of course, most of them will just think I've truly gone insane."
Siwon chuckled, "But you have."
"Shut up." He went to hide the thick (why did there have to be so much in the Bible, anyway?) book in his locker before pushing open the door again. "I have to go check on the new guy. Stay here."
Siwon nodded, ignoring the way Heechul sounded like he was talking to either a little kid or a dog, and sat back down beside the laptop he had left on the bench.
Heechul glanced back one last time before leaving and hurrying to the children's section where Hankyung was finishing putting the books away.
"Wow. You're good at this." Heechul breathed, watching the Chinese man bend down and get another armful of books.
Hankyung looked up and smiled. "Hyung, you're back!"
"So I am..." He walked over and opened the second box. It was already empty, the last books in the other box being in Hankyung's arms. "I don't see why the boss is making me show you the ropes. You seem to know how to do everything already."
"Thank you, hyung, but there isn't a lot to putting books away on a shelf."
"Very true." Heechul looked down on his watch and smiled. The day was almost over. Thank Go-- Thank Karma. "Why don't we go check in with the boss, hm?"
Hankyung didn't have much of a choice but to follow him to the manager's office. Heechul opened the door and poked his head inside, "Oi. Boss-man. When's the new guy's shift over?"
The manager looked up from his papers, "Same time as you." He looked around, "What time is it?"
"4:50. 10 minutes and I'm off. Thought I might tell you he did well today." Heechul said monotonously. Talking with the manager was never something he enjoyed.
The boss looked back down at his papers, "Yes, yes. Just go now. I have things to do."
Heechul smirked and closed the door. Hankyung raised an eyebrow behind him, "What did he say?"
Heechul turned around, "I'm leaving ten minutes early." He stretched and yawned, "I want to get home, anyway..." He patted Hankyung's shoulder, "Have fun." And left for the change room.
Siwon looked up from the laptop as his charge entered, "Are you done?"
"Yeah." Heechul took off his store shirt, throwing it in the locker and taking out his own, "Found anything interesting?"
The Angel shrugged, "Sure. I guess you could say so..." He perked up, "I.. I think someone's coming."
Heechul rolled his eyes before taking the laptop and putting it down on the bench closer to him. He smiled innocently as Kyuhyun, Sungmin's boyfriend for almost a year and a half, walked in. Cho Kyuhyun was such a geek. Not to mention one of those snarky geeks that liked to think they were superior to everyone. At least, that was what Heechul thought.
"Hyung," The younger man nodded towards him, "Leaving already?"
"Yeah. Long day." He pulled on his shirt.
Kyuhyun looked at the open laptop, raising an eyebrow, "Hyung... Is this what you do as you get ready to leave?"
"Eh? Yeah, I guess..." Heechul turned to see what Kyuhyun was looking at, his eye widening when he realized what was displayed on the screen.
Kyuhyun simply shrugged. "Never figured you were the kind to watch porn. See ya."
Heechul waited for the young man to leave before glaring at the Angel trying to look innocent in the corner. "You're so lucky I can't touch you."
-----
I wish my friends (the ones I actually see every day =_=) had LJ so I could give them spots, but... Oh well...
HOPE YOU ENJOYED! My Hanchul story should be updated soon, and I have yet another Helping Henry in the works... So...
COMMENTS ARE LIKE COOKIES! I liek cookies.
Author: sexy_pengwin
Pairing/Characters: Main!Sichul and Hanchul, Minor!Kangteuk, Kihae, Eunhae, Kyumin, HenryOC
Rating: Hmm... PG-13 still...
Genre: AU, romance, humor... supernatural?
Words: 3,648
Summary: In the first life, it hadn't worked out, but when Siwon is told to be Heechul's new Guardian Angel, he takes it as a second chance, even if Heechul can't see or hear him (So he thinks) let alone touch him. Not to mention a jealous old friend come to interfere...
FINALLY! Sorry about the messed up writing schedule (or lack of even that) But... yeah... This has been a work in progress for the last month. And I've been working out what's happening and the plot and stuff... Thankfully, I have most of it in my head, at least. But that's a good thing, right? And I have other things I'm working on...
Well, lucky you guys. This chapter isn't as much explanatory as just random humor/filler introducing people (not that you don't know them already, heh heh). But there are a few more things in here, more in the beginning...
----
You know, I still find this whole soul/Angel/Demon/whatever else kind of weird, right? Heechul typed. Siwon sighed behind him after reading what was written, "I know it's a lot to swallow, but you're just going to have to bare with me, alright?"
Oh, I know that. Heechul typed again, chuckling lightly to himself. He decided this was the best way to communicate as he sat in the book store's café for lunch break. It looked like he was just chatting with a friend... With a few glances back. But really, when your Guardian Angel was Siwon... It was hard not to want to look.
Siwon slipped into the booth beside his charge, "But knowing these things, you can really help me with my job."
What do you mean by that? I don't know what Shadows look like, or how to tell if there's one following me.
"Well, you'll learn soon enough. Your soul is still vulnerable from the gap between Angels. They will lay off a bit since I'm here, but... Shadows can get past Angels... It's happened."
Heechul opened his mouth to talk, but remembered quickly he didn't want to be known as the schizo (after the delivery man calling him that, he decided he didn't like it) and went to the computer. So... Guardian Angels aren't just there for show? I thought they'd be, like, a shield or something.
The Angel laughed heartily, "I wish it were like that! But unfortunately, as Guardian Angels, we actually have to do something. Imagine that." His voice took a sarcastic tone near the end.
"Who knew Angels had such a sense of humor?" Heechul retorted. Typing it out would have ruined it. Maybe someone would think he was commenting on something he was reading...
"What are you writing, hyung?"
Heechul leaped up with a surprised yelp, now standing on the booth seat. He looked down on Kibum, who only raised an eyebrow before looking back down at the laptop. Heechul slammed the computer closed, "What are you doing?!"
Kibum sighed, "I was coming to see if you'd like anything else." He smoothed out his waiter apron, "And to remind you that your shift is starting soon."
Siwon crossed his arms behind his head and relaxed, "Sometimes, I'm glad I'm not a human anymore..."
Heechul shot him a glance, but restrained himself from saying anything in front of Kibum. He pulled out his wallet and payed for his coffee before packing up his things and going to the employee locker room to put away his laptop, followed by Siwon.
"Why do you have to constantly follow me around, anyway?" Heechul asked, putting his bag in his locker. "I mean, you must have better things to do. Or more interesting things."
Siwon leaned against the locker beside him and shrugged, "Trust me, unless the Shadows are on a rampage, or we're in a place infested with ghosts, or whatever else, the life of a Guardian Angel doesn't really get much more interesting."
"Except annoying the human, right? It seems as though you guys enjoy that."
"No. Most of us can't talk to our charges."
"Wow." Heechul chuckled, "Being a Guardian Angel must be really boring."
Siwon shrugged, "It can be. But you'd be surprised how fast everything passes by when you're a soul. An hour can feel like a second, a day like a minute, a week like--"
"I get it." Heechul pushed one last time on his laptop and took the store shirt to put on over his clothes, "It goes by quickly. Do I ever wish it were the same for us... I would give anything for dentist appointments to go by in a flash."
Siwon sighed, shaking his head, "It's not like that, Heechul... It's because compared to the average human life, around 70-80 years, souls don't die. You're a soul in a way... But... It's different. We also don't have a choice but to stay with the people we're protecting."
Heechul closed his locker and turned to face the Angel, "Otherwise what? You fall?"
"No. Here on Earth... We need energy. We get our energy from our charges. Hence why when people are going through a lot, or there's stress, they're more tired. Because negative energies make you more vulnerable to everything else, which means we need to work harder to protect you. The farther we are from the person, the harder it is to get energy from them."
Heechul shook his head in disbelief, "Just when I think you've told me everything, there's more..."
Siwon grinned, "Trust me, Heechul, there's still a lot more I have yet to tell you. Since I can, I will teach you what I can as well, like how to ward off the Shadows fairly effectively if I were to... Not be around..."
"You mean," his eyes went wide, "I don't actually need a Guardian Angel?"
The Angel sighed, dropping his head into his hand, "Heechul... Most Living creatures don't know all this. Which is why we're here. And these methods are difficult. I'll tell you about them later."
Heechul grumbled, pulling his long hair back into a ponytail for work, "Are you even allowed telling me all this?"
"Who will believe you, Heechul?" Siwon asked, like the answer was obvious (Which it really was) "From last night, I get a feeling your friends already think you're insane. Tell them all this and you're on your way to the asylum."
"They probably already booked me a room." Heechul rolled his eyes.
"Hyung?" Of course someone had to walk in...
Heechul turned around with a forced smile, "Sungmin..."
The boy (Heechul could never call him a man. Not with the way he acted and looked) blinked twice before looking around the room, spotting Heechul's cellphone in his locker. He returned his gaze to Heechul, "Hyung... Who are you talking to?"
Heechul stared at the younger, "Uh..." He quickly grabbed his phone, "Sorry, it was on speaker." He flipped it open and laughed, "Sorry mother, it was just--"
"Uh, hyung?" Sungmin interrupted, pointing at the phone, "It's not even on."
Heechul hesitated, "Oh... I..." He lowered the phone and forced out another laugh, "I must have hit the wrong button. Hopefully mother doesn't get worried..." He threw the cellphone into his locker, not realizing someone had been standing in front of it.
"Ow!" Siwon yelped, putting a hand to his head.
Sungmin's eyes widened, "Is it just me or did it just, like... Hit nothing."
Heechul dove for the phone, sliding right through Siwon and hitting the lockers. "Ow."
Siwon sighed, "How am I supposed to protect you when you're so intent on killing yourself?"
"Shut up." Heechul shot up at the Angel, realizing a little too late they weren't alone.
Sungmin swallowed, "Uh... Heechul... Are you sure you're feeling better?"
Heechul pushed himself off the ground, "Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, I'm just..." he had yet to work out an excuse, "Um... I'm still sort of tired. Sorry." He glared at the Angel quickly, "Don't worry about me. It's just all the coffee taking effect."
Sungmin nodded, "Sure, hyung. Don't push yourself too much, okay?" He grabbed his blue sweater (Everyone had convinced him wearing pink wasn't the most 'professional') from his own locker before going back out.
Once he was certain they were alone, Heechul threw his phone at the Angel again, "You're going to ruin my life!"
Siwon caught the device with ease, "Careful, Heechul. You'll break it."
"I don't fucking care!" He dropped onto the bench, "I doubt they even have cellphone networks in mental hospitals. At this rate, there's no doubt that's where I'm headed."
The Angel ran a hand through his thick black hair, "Aish... Would it make you happy if I just stayed here while you work? I mean, I'll still be within a good range to help if--"
"Yes!" Heechul jumped up with a smile, "Just stay here, okay? Use my laptop if you want... Just whatever you do, don't come out to bother me!" And he ran out of the change room.
"Well... That was easy." Siwon mumbled, pulling the laptop bag from the locker. He opened it up and stared at it for a few seconds. This would be interesting. In all of his lives, he had never once used one of these.
Heechul came out into the store to see most of his co-workers all gathered by the manager's door, pushing and shoving each other out of the way to peek inside the boss's office. Was it a new guy? This is exactly what happened at Henry's interview. The boss ended up scolding them all for being so nosy. But boys never learn...
Sungmin spun around after his shoulder was poked, "Hyung?"
"What's with..." Heechul motioned at the pile up of people, "this."
"Oh." Sungmin backed away from the pack, laughing sheepishly, "Er... Well... There's a new guy in there..."
Heechul rolled his eyes, "Of course. You people are so predictable." He pushed Donghae out of the way, and then Yesung, and then Ryeowook... They just made it too easy. He looked in the small window.
It wasn't really his week was it?
"KIM HEECHUL!" the boss yelled as he opened the door, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"
Heechul gulped and looked back. Everyone had gone. No wonder it had been so easy to get them out of the way... He looked back at his boss and smiled, "Uh... I was just passing by and--"
"Zip it. I don't want any of your lame ass excuses. For the next week, you're showing our new employee the ropes. Have fun." He went back into his office, slamming the door. A man not much younger than Heechul himself stood in front of the door, confused.
"Well?" Heechul huffed, "You heard him. You're my slave now." He chuckled at the way the new guy's eyes (which were actually quite pretty...) widened. "I'm joking. But seriously, we might want to go somewhere else. The boss obviously isn't in a very good mood."
The new guy simply nodded and followed.
"So... You're not much of a talker, are you?" Heechul asked as they went into the back room.
"I'm still learning Korean." He replied, looking around curiously.
Heechul nodded. It made sense. Judging by the accent... "Chinese?"
The guy smiled, "Yes, actually."
Heechul nodded again, "What's your name?" He reached up on the shelf to get the box with all the employee shirts and other things.
"Hankyung." He replied quickly. "And you're Kim Heechul?"
Heechul laughed, "You picked up on that, eh?" He put the box on the ground and opened it up, grabbing one of the shirts from inside and checking the tag. "Medium... I'm going to take a guess you're a medium."
Hankyung smiled, "Yes." He caught the shirt thrown at him and tucked it into his pocket. He grabbed the bottom of the shirt he had on and pulled it up.
"WOAH! STOP!" Heechul yelled. "What are you doing?!"
The Chinese man stopped and stared at Heechul, confused. "I'm... I'm just changing my shirt... So I can get to work right away. Is something wrong with that?"
The older (and shorter) man shook his head, sighing. "Fine. It's okay now, but I really suggest you don't do that anymore. I'm not the only one working here that's gay, alright?" Although even he couldn't help but notice how nice Hankyung was in general. Nice attitude, nice looks... Nice abs... Nice body... Yeah, changing in front of many of the men working here wouldn't be such a great idea.
Hankyung laughed as soon as he had the black store shirt on, "Are you alright, hyung?"
Heechul snapped out of his 'daydream'. "Eh?" He blinked, then bushed, "Oh... Sorry..."
"It's okay, hyung." He looked around, "So... What are we going to do?"
"Can you do cash?"
Hankyung hesitated, "Well... I've never really done that before..."
Heechul nodded understandingly, "I see. I see. Alright, we'll do that later. Why don't we do some easy stuff right now, hmm? Get some boxes and let's restock the shelves. That's easy enough."
Hankyung nodded and followed Heechul as he pulled down two boxes, each heavy and full of books. "Alright," Heechul said once they were on the ground, "Now check the side. It says the genre." He watched as his new apprentice turned the box, then looked back up.
"Children." Hankyung stated.
Heechul smiled, "Good, good. Now you take the boxes and go put them away in the children's section. Fairly simple." He followed Hankyung out of the room, excusing himself just as they got started unpacking. "I just have to go do something quickly." He left Hankyung to begin stocking the shelves without him and wandered through the bookstore. He'd worked here for 3 years and he didn't even know where the religion section was... When you're an atheist, you don't care. When he finally found it, he made sure no one was looking before ducking down and heading in so no one would see him. He tiptoed along the bookshelf, looking for-- "Holy shit." He stopped. "How many copies of this thing are there?" He whispered to himself, reading along the hundreds of different books. They were all different versions of the Bible. Or just different covers. He wasn't going to read all of them to see which.
"I thought you said there was no way in hell you were ever going to buy a Bible."
Heechul jumped at the sound of the Angel's voice. "What the hell are you doing here?" He hissed, trying to keep his voice low. "I thought you were going to stay back there!"
Siwon smiled, trying for innocent, "I got bored."
Heechul turned away from the Angel. "Be bored somewhere else. But if you decide to stay here, just know I won't be talking to you." He faced the bookshelf again and just took the cheapest one.
"All the good stuff is in the Old Testament. That's only the new one. It's all about Jesus. It would be better if you got the one with both."
Heechul grimaced, "Can I just get the old one? I don't want to read about some God-wannabe..."
Siwon smirked, "You were going to read the whole thing?"
"N-No..." Heechul turned away to hide the rare flush, "I'll just, um, get the whole thing..." He grabbed the book and walked to the end of the aisle, looking out and checking to see if anyone he knew was watching and scurried out, going to the back of the store and picking up the phone that linked to the intercom. "Would Kim Yesung please go to the romance section. Kim Yesung to the romance section." He hung up the phone and watched as Yesung, the only one at the cash registers, excused himself and told the customers to hold while he went to go see what the problem was. With an accomplished smirk, Heechul continued to the cash registers to buy his book.
"Excuse me, sir... Are you just going to ignore us paying customers?" The woman at the front of the line snapped.
Heechul huffed, "I don't do cash usually. You're not my problem." He scanned the book and pulled out his wallet with both his credit card and employee discount card.
"EXCUSE ME, but you are an EMPLOYEE here! You're job is to take care of us CUSTOMERS!" She yelled.
Heechul simply ignored her. It was one of his many (only he thought he had that many) special skills. The next voice wasn't so hard to ignore.
"If you're trying to stay discreet, I''ll have you know there 's someone coming." Siwon said, seemingly having popped up out of nowhere.
"I thought you couldn't just materialize out of the blue." Heechul smirked, swiping his card quickly.
The woman at the front of the line narrowed her eyes, "I'VE BEEN HERE THE ENTIRE TIME!"
Heechul twitched as he tried to keep himself from exploding at her. "I wasn't talking to you, miss."
"I'm not stupid, boy. I'm the only one here!"
"Heechul!"
He froze. He was out of time. He looked up and pulled a nervous smile as Henry's girlfriend approached (My friend begged) "Oh... Uh... hey, Lana..."
Lana smiled sweetly at the lady, "Is everything going alright?"
The woman was fuming at this point. "Not at all! HE," she jabbed a finger in Heechul's direction, "Refuses to serve me!"
Lana turned to Heechul, glaring, "Heechul... What are you doing here anyway?"
He felt a wave of relief wash over him as the receipt finished printing. He grabbed it and the book. "Nothing at all. Sorry to keep you waiting, miss." He dashed for the locker room, leaning against the wall once he was in. "So close..."
"I really don't see the what the problem you have with them seeing you buy a book is." Siwon sighed, entering the locker room.
Heechul looked over at the Angel, "I'm atheist, Siwon. I don't read the Bible. If they see me with one, they'll think 'Oh, maybe we can take him to church!' or 'Now that Heechul likes God, we can start preaching to him!' Of course, most of them will just think I've truly gone insane."
Siwon chuckled, "But you have."
"Shut up." He went to hide the thick (why did there have to be so much in the Bible, anyway?) book in his locker before pushing open the door again. "I have to go check on the new guy. Stay here."
Siwon nodded, ignoring the way Heechul sounded like he was talking to either a little kid or a dog, and sat back down beside the laptop he had left on the bench.
Heechul glanced back one last time before leaving and hurrying to the children's section where Hankyung was finishing putting the books away.
"Wow. You're good at this." Heechul breathed, watching the Chinese man bend down and get another armful of books.
Hankyung looked up and smiled. "Hyung, you're back!"
"So I am..." He walked over and opened the second box. It was already empty, the last books in the other box being in Hankyung's arms. "I don't see why the boss is making me show you the ropes. You seem to know how to do everything already."
"Thank you, hyung, but there isn't a lot to putting books away on a shelf."
"Very true." Heechul looked down on his watch and smiled. The day was almost over. Thank Go-- Thank Karma. "Why don't we go check in with the boss, hm?"
Hankyung didn't have much of a choice but to follow him to the manager's office. Heechul opened the door and poked his head inside, "Oi. Boss-man. When's the new guy's shift over?"
The manager looked up from his papers, "Same time as you." He looked around, "What time is it?"
"4:50. 10 minutes and I'm off. Thought I might tell you he did well today." Heechul said monotonously. Talking with the manager was never something he enjoyed.
The boss looked back down at his papers, "Yes, yes. Just go now. I have things to do."
Heechul smirked and closed the door. Hankyung raised an eyebrow behind him, "What did he say?"
Heechul turned around, "I'm leaving ten minutes early." He stretched and yawned, "I want to get home, anyway..." He patted Hankyung's shoulder, "Have fun." And left for the change room.
Siwon looked up from the laptop as his charge entered, "Are you done?"
"Yeah." Heechul took off his store shirt, throwing it in the locker and taking out his own, "Found anything interesting?"
The Angel shrugged, "Sure. I guess you could say so..." He perked up, "I.. I think someone's coming."
Heechul rolled his eyes before taking the laptop and putting it down on the bench closer to him. He smiled innocently as Kyuhyun, Sungmin's boyfriend for almost a year and a half, walked in. Cho Kyuhyun was such a geek. Not to mention one of those snarky geeks that liked to think they were superior to everyone. At least, that was what Heechul thought.
"Hyung," The younger man nodded towards him, "Leaving already?"
"Yeah. Long day." He pulled on his shirt.
Kyuhyun looked at the open laptop, raising an eyebrow, "Hyung... Is this what you do as you get ready to leave?"
"Eh? Yeah, I guess..." Heechul turned to see what Kyuhyun was looking at, his eye widening when he realized what was displayed on the screen.
Kyuhyun simply shrugged. "Never figured you were the kind to watch porn. See ya."
Heechul waited for the young man to leave before glaring at the Angel trying to look innocent in the corner. "You're so lucky I can't touch you."
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I wish my friends (the ones I actually see every day =_=) had LJ so I could give them spots, but... Oh well...
HOPE YOU ENJOYED! My Hanchul story should be updated soon, and I have yet another Helping Henry in the works... So...
COMMENTS ARE LIKE COOKIES! I liek cookies.