SSS 2014: For static_abyss
For: static_abyss
From: Your Secret Santa
Title: This and Everything Else
Pairing: Onew/Jonghyun/Minho
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Authors’ Notes: I'm not sure this is at all what you were expecting but I enjoyed writing it a lot and I hope you'll enjoy reading it! I was so nervous after seeing who my recipient was, I really love your writing
Minho blinks. He stares at the shelf in front of him, the cartoonish face of a brightly colored rabbit smiling maniacally at him a dozen times over, a muddled look of confusion growing on his face. There is a clink to his right and he stares down the aisle to see Jonghyun restocking a shelf.
Minho clears his throat.
"What day is it?"
Jonghyun spares him a glance before he slides another box into place. "Monday."
"No, I mean, what day of the month is it?"
"The 24th."
Minho lets out a huff. "Of what month?"
"This month." He can hear the bluntness in Jonghyun's voice and it's irritating him a bit today for some reason.
"No, I - I'm going to look for Jinki."
Minho turns on his heel and searches for Jinki in all the places he likes to hide out to rest.
Jinki's nowhere to be found.
-
It was all Jinki's idea. Cart races around the store had sounded like a good idea at the time - brilliant even - but then Jonghyun had crashed his cart into the tortilla stand and Jinki had knocked over a fake dessert display and Minho had somehow managed to rip a hole in the knee of his pants. Not to mention, they still had to clean up the mess they'd made.
Minho isn't entirely sure that they were authorized to have cart races in the store after hours. In fact, he is entirely sure they weren't allowed and he also isn't sure it was even after hours. He's never managed to find a clock anywhere in the supermarket and his watch battery has apparently long since died. Nevertheless, no one is around but the three of them and they have quite an area to clean up.
About the time Jinki steps into a puddle of yogurt and slips, spattering an array of sweet smelling goop all over clothes, Jonghyun unanimously decides that it is time for a break.
He drops down next to Jinki who is futilely trying to wipe a yogurt-covered hand off on his yogurt-covered pants. Seeing as how Jonghyun seems unmindful of the mess they are sitting in, Minho gives a half-hearted shrug and sits down on Jinki's other side. (It is less dirty there but that's beside the point.)
"We should invent a robot," Jonghyun says, leaning back on his hands.
"A robot?" Minho asks.
"Yeah. One that could clean up messes."
"I think there's already -" Jinki starts.
"Or we could not make messes?" Minho suggests.
Jonghyun fixes him with a look that says that that is out of the question.
"There's not that much to clean up," Jinki says, patting Jonghyun's hand. The appendage is now coated with pink yogurt but neither boy seems to notice.
Jonghyun is not having that answer though and flops backwards with a groan, demonstrating just what he thinks of the
mess.
Minho stares at the blueberry mess now pooled around Jonghyun's bright blond hair with a little smile. It looks nice.
Jinki looks at Minho and catches his eye with a grin. Before Minho knows what is happening, Jinki has lifted his hand and is pressing Minho's nose lightly with a finger. Minho looks at Jinki until he catches sight of the blob of pink gathered at the tip of his nose. He can hear Jinki and Jonghyun laughing as his eyes cross.
With a grin of his own, Minho scoops his fingers through the yogurt and drags them across Jinki's cheeks. Jinki's face is bright as he laughs loudly, mouth wide open and head thrown back. Minho is struck momentarily with something powerful and fierce, tugging at something inside his chest as he watches Jinki laugh, but it is knocked out of place to somewhere in the back of his mind as Jonghyun flops over Minho's back in a gooey hug.
He can feel some of the yogurt from Jonghyun's hair dripping down the side of his face and he nudges at the older boy, not really trying to get him off. With Minho held safely in place, Jinki lays back against Minho's legs, messy hair fanned out over Minho's thighs. Jinki stares up at the two of them with a steady grin and Jonghyun's chin hooks over Minho's shoulder as he grins back down at Jinki.
Minho can feel the pressure of Jinki's head and the heat of Jonghyun's chest. The three of them are connected there, in that moment, both physically and from something else that Minho can feel but doesn't have the words to describe. A wide grin brakes out on his own face as he leans back against Jonghyun and cards a sticky hand through Jinki's hair.
The tugging comes back, distantly.
-
Minho turns around and is met with a boy with long brown hair. It falls around his face in gentle waves and Minho's sure he's never seen this boy because he's sure he would remember meeting an angel.
The boy sticks his hand out and with a large smile that makes his eyes turn into little crescents, he says, "hi, I'm Jinki. Today must be your first day right?"
And Minho nods even though he feels like maybe he's been here before once but he's definitely never seen this boy so it must be his first day.
Jinki shows him around the store and tells him how to do all the things Minho's sure he somehow already knows how to do. It's at the end of the makeshift tour that they meet another boy who enthusiastically introduces himself as Jonghyun and drags Minho over to his register to teach him how to use it. Minho doesn't tell Jonghyun that he's used a register before and that everything Jonghyun's saying is white noise because he already knows this stuff because Jonghyun's eyes light up when he's excited and it's honestly kind of really beautiful.
When they're done, Jonghyun brings out Minho's new apron and puts the strap of it over Minho's head. Minho's a little embarrassed so he tries to tie it but he's nervous for some reason and his fingers are fumbling and he can't tie the knot properly. Jinki steps behind him smoothly, taking the straps out of Minho's clammy fingers and helps him tie it as Jonghyun straightens the twisted strap around his neck.
Something about the foreign scene feels familiar and Minho tries to swallow around the lump in his throat. Jonghyun pats him on the shoulder and Jinki gives him as they make their way to their own registers.
-
When Minho walks into the staff room there's a boy sitting against the wall with a phone in his hands. This strikes Minho as odd for a number of reasons, but the only one that he can focus on is that he's pretty sure he doesn't know this boy. (Later, he'll think of the phone and for some reason it seems glaringly out of place but for the life of him he can't fathom why.)
The door closes behind Minho softly and the boy looks up at the sound. He's got sharp eyes and Minho takes a step back.
"Who are you?"
Minho hesitates, a little taken aback. "Minho. Who are you?"
The boy doesn't answer, instead briefly looking Minho up and down before he turns back to his phone. A light tapping noise fills the awkward silence in the room and instead of trying to get answers, Minho turns on his heel and walks back out the door. Jonghyun assigns him to restock the milk and Minho nearly forgets about the mysterious boy in the staff room completely until he hears a shout of "Kibum" from across the aisle.
He looks over to where Jonghyun and Jinki are standing, arms looped around each other's shoulders and waving excitedly at someone Minho can't see. For a flurrying second, Minho wonders if it's not the boy, but someone else instead - until the boy that Minho met steps into view with a soft wave and an even softer smile.
"When did you get here?" Minho hears Jinki ask, leaning his head against Jonghyun's shoulder.
Kibum shrugs, "just now."
Except he didn't get there just now because Minho remembers meeting him in the staff room...some time ago, and that had to have been a while ago, right? At least he thought it was a while ago; certainly more than a small bit of time had to have passed.
The voices of the three become louder as they approach and Minho shakes himself out of his head.
"Hey, Minho," Jonghyun says with a grin. "This is our friend, Kibum."
"Nice to meet you," Minho mutters. He's still confused.
"We've met," Kibum says.
Jonghyun and Jinki turn to look at him, surprised, but Kibum only gives a vague grin, like he's got a secret all to himself.
Time passes slowly, as it is wont to do, and Minho is entangled in his usual routine. He's not sure how there's always so much work to do in a store that never seems to have any customers, but somehow he always finds something to do. He catches only glimpses of Kibum here and there around the store - at Jonghyun's register, in the storeroom with Jinki, lounging in a fold out chair in the beach display near the back entrance - but mostly it's just another day.
And then, ten minutes before closing time, Kibum announces that he's going to leave. Minho looks up from his book with faint surprise, it's almost as if he forgot that Kibum was there, or that he was even going to leave at all. But then he remembers that it's usually just the three of them - him, Jinki, and Jonghyun - and feels like it was probably about time anyway. Kibum was interesting to have around, but he wasn't really meant to be here.
Jonghyun bids Kibum a long and elaborate goodbye that consists of no less than three hugs, all of which Kibum accepts with a laugh and, by the last one, a little shove. Jinki just gives him a short hug and wishes him a safe trip home and Kibum seems to fix Jinki with a secretive look that Minho's not sure anyone but him catches. His own goodbye with Kibum is a little lackluster in comparison, just a simple "goodbye, it was nice to meet you" and a handshake.
And then Kibum leaves. Minho watches him go, walking out the door until he's swallowed up by the fog. He thinks he can still hear Kibum's shoes hitting the asphalt but he's sure it's just his head playing tricks on him.
-
When Minho sees Jonghyun he thinks the older boy looks younger than he last remembers. His shoulders are slimmer and he's got a little more fat in his cheeks. Minho cocks his head and looks for Jinki and it's the same thing - he looks younger than...yesterday? Jinki walks up to Jonghyun's register and Minho can hear them talking. Their voices are a little higher, a little more carefree, and Minho stares down at himself. He looks the same. Or at least he thinks he does.
When Jinki calls out to Minho, asks him a question, Minho's voice is a slightly different when he replies. He jerks a little, slightly startled, but when Jonghyun asks him what's wrong, Minho's not really sure how to answer.
Jinki seems clumsier than he usually is, head in the clouds as he trips over discarded hand baskets and Minho stares at his rounded cheeks in amazement. When Jinki's eyes turn on him, Minho's cheeks color for reasons he doesn't understand and he grips the broom handle more tightly in his hands, head down as he sweeps furiously.
-
Jinki's hands are soft. Jonghyun's hands are calloused. Minho can feel the stark difference as they touch his face, grip at his arms, tug his hands down to slip their fingers in between his. It's almost overwhelming, this push and pull from them, because Jonghyun is hard where Jinki is soft and Jinki is daring where Jonghyun is cautious. A hand grips at the back of his neck and Minho can tell that it's Jonghyun's because of the way that the fingertips glide up the skin and tangle in his hair. But there's a gentle, sure hand cradling his jaw and Minho doesn't have to open his eyes to know that it's Jinki, holding him like a lifeline. Minho can feel their stares, can feel their hands, can feel their breath crashing in steady, warm waves against the sides of his face.
They're huddled in a dark corner in the storeroom and Minho's not entirely sure why they're hiding because he thinks he hasn't seen anyone in days but Jonghyun has tugged him all the way to the back and Jinki surreptitiously flicks off the light. It is cold, so cold back there, and with the fog rolling in from outside, sneaking in underneath the automatic doors and waiting heavy and thick outside the glass, it doesn't take long for Minho to start shivering.
Jonghyun had waited all of twenty seconds before burying himself in Minho's side, wiggling his hands into the pocket of Minho's hoodie. It is before opening and none of them have changed yet and Minho really thinks they should probably leave and get ready for work but Jinki lays - heavy, warm, safe - against him and Minho inhales deeply and relaxes.
They don't break the silence in the cold, empty room, lost in their own thoughts and breathing quietly, until Minho's breath hitches sharply as Jonghyun's cold nose edges against his neck. Minho sits stock still, eyes clenched shut against the darkness as Jonghyun's nose trails over his warm skin, pressing in lightly until he settles right behind the skin of Minho's ear. His nose is warmer now, and Minho fights the urge to shiver for no apparent reason.
They stay like that for some time, the three of them nestled closely together, and Minho feels Jinki sneak a hand into his pocket, hand wrapping around one of Jonghyun's. He can feel the weight of their hands against his stomach, a light, consistent pressure to remind him that they were real. And then Jinki's nose is buried against Minho's neck, an exact mirror of Jonghyun on the other side of his neck but Minho can feel just the slightest brush of lips against his skin. He feels a shock of electricity surge through his veins that leaves his fingertips tingling and he realizes his hands are just resting, dull and awkward at his sides.
Minho brings his hands up, letting them hover awkwardly above the ground as he tries to figure out what to do with them. His pocket is taken up with both Jonghyun's and Jinki's hands and he can't exactly just pull their hands away. He settles for resting his hands in the dip between his stomach and Jinki and Jonghyun's clasped hands. It feels intimate, somehow, and Minho represses a shudder he can feel making its way up his spine. His toes curl in his shoes anyway.
As if he could feel the movement that Minho tried so hard to hide, Jinki's lips press that much more insistently against his skin. Minho's Adam's apple bobs erratically as he swallows and then it's Jonghyun's lips over that very spot. He doesn't mean to do it, doesn't mean to fall into them, but Minho's head tips back and he can feel their warm breath against his skin.
They move - slowly, surely, carefully - and Minho knows who is who even though there's no way he should know such a thing without learning it first. But Jinki's hand is warm on his thigh and Jonghyun's is heavy in the center of his chest and he can feel their other hands sneaking in between the gap of the wall and his back to come together, knotted carefully at the base of his spine. He feels cocooned between them and hears rasping breathing filling the room. He can't bring himself to move, to cup at their cheeks or pull them to him, but he's clutching their hands tight to him and his head is tipped back against their lips.
They nestle into his shoulders, the top of Jonghyun's head bumping his jaw, Jinki's cheek soft against his. Minho's heart does a slow crawl back down, steadying into some semblance of normal as Jinki and Jonghyun's hearts pound in sync against his arms. He can't open his eyes, feeling his lids weighed down, heavy and sticky like honey. But he can feel. He can feel the weight of the two of them against him, their hair scratching lightly at his cheeks, their breath hitting warm and misty against his skin, and he feels loved.
-
One day a boy shows up. He's thin and a little sickly looking, with a dark mask covering the lower half of his face. Minho can see the dark circles from several rows away and he watches the boy drag his feet as he makes his way to the other side of the store. As the boy sluggishly zig zags through the lanes, Minho tries not to stare. Instead, he needlessly rearranges the dividers at his register and listens to Jinki hum two registers over.
It's another several long minutes before the boy shuffles out of the lanes, slender arms laden with a small stack of items. When he approaches the registers, the boy looks up and pauses as if realizing for the first time that he wasn't the only one in the store. His tired eyes dart to his left before he resumes his shuffling over towards Jonghyun's register. When he parts his arms and his items clatter on the conveyor belt, Jonghyun's head darts up quickly. Hadn't anyone in the store besides Minho noticed the boy when he first came in?
"Taemin!" Jonghyun cries excitedly.
Minho tries to surreptitiously lean around his own register to see the boy. He's partially blocked by Jonghyun, but Minho can see his eyes crinkle above his mask in happiness. The boy, Taemin, raises his arm weakly and gives Jonghyun a short wave.
"You haven't been by in forever," Jonghyun admonishes lightly as he begins ringing Taemin's things up. On the belt, there is a small assortment of brightly colored pop rock packets, a loaf of bread, two bars of soap, and a can of iced coffee. Minho stares in confusion at the items, wondering why any of these are important enough for Taemin to leave the house for when he so clearly is sick, before Taemin catches his eye. Minho ducks away in embarrassment and turns towards Jinki with a flaming face but the other boy has fallen asleep at his register with a book in his lap.
He can hear Jonghyun and Taemin making quiet conversation behind him and he rolls his neck. They don't get a lot of customers, it's normal to be curious right? Especially since Jonghyun knew the guy, and Minho had never heard Jinki or Jonghyun talk about anyone they knew outside of work...or about anyone else at all, really.
"So you got a new guy here?" Comes Taemin's scratchy voice.
Minho's back becomes rigid before he forces himself to relax. He tries to make himself look casual before he realizes he has no idea how to do that.
It doesn't matter though because Jonghyun continues, "yup. Another member of the family."
There's still a steady beep of the items being scanned and Minho really doesn't remember Taemin having that many things in his skinny little arms. He turns around to check but Jonghyun's just putting the loaf of bread into the bag. He hands it to Taemin and, instead of grabbing the weak, paper handles, Taemin cradles the bag against his chest. It makes him look even more slight - a thin, long sleeved shirt enveloping his frame, stick thin legs on display in his tight jeans. Taemin catches his eye again and Minho takes in the messy dark hair flopping over his pale face and into his eyes. Taemin's face shifts under his mask and his eyes crinkle just slightly once more before he's turning towards the door and shuffling out with a quiet, scratchy, "see you".
-
"Your turn to collect the carts, Minho," Jinki calls as he leaned over the conveyor belt at his register.
"Got it," Minho calls back. He's been here for...well he's been here for some time and he is pretty sure this is the first time he's ever been told he's supposed to collect the carts. Despite that, he knows where the cart retriever is. He shrugs and collects the retriever, making his way outside as Jonghyun waves merrily at him from where he's setting up a display of wine bottles.
It's foggy outside and it seems like it should be cold but Minho can hardly feel the air against his bare arms. The parking lot is deserted, as it always is, and it was almost eerie how quiet it is. Minho walks slowly, collecting the carts scattered around the large parking lot. No one ever comes to visit - why are there so many carts? He lets out a quiet sigh as he eyes the carts several feet out.
A wheel screeches noisily as he rolls the nestle of carts farther and farther out. The parking lot seems like it goes on for miles and Minho is acutely aware that he can't see anything besides the asphalt stretching deep into the fog. He can see a small cluster of carts out a long way away and, shrugging, decides it probably isn't his job. The wheel continues squeaking until Minho deposits the carts in the holder in front of the store.
As he turns around, the automatic doors open and Minho feels a blast of warm air rush toward him. He can suddenly feel goose bumps raise on his arms from the chilly air outside. Rubbing his arm, he hurries inside, hardly giving pause to the cookie display that had been wine bottles before he'd left. Jinki isn't at his register anymore so Minho takes his spot reluctantly. The store is so large, he isn't really up for a goose chase at the moment.
-
Minho wakes with a start to the touch of soft hands and a gentle shake. He blinks, dazed, up at Jinki. The lights seem brighter than normal and he has to squint because his eyes are too tired and his head is too muddled to take in all the sensory overload. He can smell cinnamon and pine and mint and it almost makes him feel like he's suffocating so he buries his face in Jinki's apron instead and takes in the familiar, comforting smell of hand lotion and fabric softener. Jinki lays a hand on top of his head and Minho can feel himself relaxing even further as Jinki's fingers dance lightly over his hair. He's about ready to take a deep breath and drift asleep once more when Jinki speaks up.
"Jonghyun's been looking for you."
Minho makes a small, questioning noise, still not entirely awake or cognizant.
"He has something he wants to show you."
So Minho lets Jinki haul him up and drag him over to some corner of the store. Minho's leaning on Jinki and Jinki's shorter than him but since he's the only one of them that's awake, his stride is longer and Minho's stumbling, feet tripping over each other in his hazy haste to keep up.
He doesn't even have his eyes open anymore, blindly trusting Jinki to lead them, when Jinki brings him to a slow stop and places a hand on Minho's arm. Minho shakes his head weakly to wake up, makes himself dizzy, and stops. His head is still spinning when he opens his eyes and the first thing he sees is white, lots and lots of white.
It seems to go on for miles but then his vision clears a little and he sees that, it's not miles, it's just piles of fake snow. There's snow falling from the ceiling, in mounds on ground, covering everything that he can see. And there's Jonghyun in the middle of all of it, white snow dusting his brown hair and Minho pretends he can even see flakes of it tangled in Jonghyun's eye lashes. He thinks that would be very pretty.
Jonghyun's smiling nervously, and it's nervous even though Jonghyun's putting on a confident act and Minho's not sure how he can tell, but he can. He stares at Jonghyun and then glances at Jinki, and Jinki smiles quietly and pats his arm again. It feels like permission and Minho turns back to Jonghyun and a smiles breaks out across his face. When he steps forward, fake snow crunching under his feet, Jonghyun's smile finally relaxes and slips into something genuine.
He stops in front of Jonghyun and looks around him once more.
"This is beautiful, Jonghyun," he says quietly, afraid to break whatever it was that Jonghyun had created here in his own little world.
"Glad you like it," Jonghyun replies sheepishly. And then Minho can hear snow crunching behind him as Jinki walks towards them and stands beside him in front of Jonghyun.
Everything is so quiet, an easy silence permeating the store and seeping into this little space, carefully tucked away from everything else. Minho's staring at the snow, watching the way it sits on Jonghyun's hair when Jinki wraps an arm around his waist and tuck him against his side. Minho's lips twitch and a laugh is about to escape him when Jonghyun steps forward and pulls them both to him. His arms are looped around both their shoulders and his face is buried in the space between theirs.
Minho feels warm. Jonghyun's breath is hitting his neck, and his cheek is warm against Minho's. Jinki is pressed up against his side, arm heavy and secure around Minho. Minho's arms reach out and he wraps them around each of the boys, buries his fingers in the fabric of their shirts and breathes deeply. He can smell them, each of them distinct and harmonious and it makes his bones quiver. He's scared and excited and safe.
Jinki is breathing next to him, steady and light and Jonghyun's heart is beating against his arm. It's quiet.
Minho closes his eyes and feels like he's in a dream he never wants to wake from.
From: Your Secret Santa
Title: This and Everything Else
Pairing: Onew/Jonghyun/Minho
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Authors’ Notes: I'm not sure this is at all what you were expecting but I enjoyed writing it a lot and I hope you'll enjoy reading it! I was so nervous after seeing who my recipient was, I really love your writing
Minho blinks. He stares at the shelf in front of him, the cartoonish face of a brightly colored rabbit smiling maniacally at him a dozen times over, a muddled look of confusion growing on his face. There is a clink to his right and he stares down the aisle to see Jonghyun restocking a shelf.
Minho clears his throat.
"What day is it?"
Jonghyun spares him a glance before he slides another box into place. "Monday."
"No, I mean, what day of the month is it?"
"The 24th."
Minho lets out a huff. "Of what month?"
"This month." He can hear the bluntness in Jonghyun's voice and it's irritating him a bit today for some reason.
"No, I - I'm going to look for Jinki."
Minho turns on his heel and searches for Jinki in all the places he likes to hide out to rest.
Jinki's nowhere to be found.
-
It was all Jinki's idea. Cart races around the store had sounded like a good idea at the time - brilliant even - but then Jonghyun had crashed his cart into the tortilla stand and Jinki had knocked over a fake dessert display and Minho had somehow managed to rip a hole in the knee of his pants. Not to mention, they still had to clean up the mess they'd made.
Minho isn't entirely sure that they were authorized to have cart races in the store after hours. In fact, he is entirely sure they weren't allowed and he also isn't sure it was even after hours. He's never managed to find a clock anywhere in the supermarket and his watch battery has apparently long since died. Nevertheless, no one is around but the three of them and they have quite an area to clean up.
About the time Jinki steps into a puddle of yogurt and slips, spattering an array of sweet smelling goop all over clothes, Jonghyun unanimously decides that it is time for a break.
He drops down next to Jinki who is futilely trying to wipe a yogurt-covered hand off on his yogurt-covered pants. Seeing as how Jonghyun seems unmindful of the mess they are sitting in, Minho gives a half-hearted shrug and sits down on Jinki's other side. (It is less dirty there but that's beside the point.)
"We should invent a robot," Jonghyun says, leaning back on his hands.
"A robot?" Minho asks.
"Yeah. One that could clean up messes."
"I think there's already -" Jinki starts.
"Or we could not make messes?" Minho suggests.
Jonghyun fixes him with a look that says that that is out of the question.
"There's not that much to clean up," Jinki says, patting Jonghyun's hand. The appendage is now coated with pink yogurt but neither boy seems to notice.
Jonghyun is not having that answer though and flops backwards with a groan, demonstrating just what he thinks of the
mess.
Minho stares at the blueberry mess now pooled around Jonghyun's bright blond hair with a little smile. It looks nice.
Jinki looks at Minho and catches his eye with a grin. Before Minho knows what is happening, Jinki has lifted his hand and is pressing Minho's nose lightly with a finger. Minho looks at Jinki until he catches sight of the blob of pink gathered at the tip of his nose. He can hear Jinki and Jonghyun laughing as his eyes cross.
With a grin of his own, Minho scoops his fingers through the yogurt and drags them across Jinki's cheeks. Jinki's face is bright as he laughs loudly, mouth wide open and head thrown back. Minho is struck momentarily with something powerful and fierce, tugging at something inside his chest as he watches Jinki laugh, but it is knocked out of place to somewhere in the back of his mind as Jonghyun flops over Minho's back in a gooey hug.
He can feel some of the yogurt from Jonghyun's hair dripping down the side of his face and he nudges at the older boy, not really trying to get him off. With Minho held safely in place, Jinki lays back against Minho's legs, messy hair fanned out over Minho's thighs. Jinki stares up at the two of them with a steady grin and Jonghyun's chin hooks over Minho's shoulder as he grins back down at Jinki.
Minho can feel the pressure of Jinki's head and the heat of Jonghyun's chest. The three of them are connected there, in that moment, both physically and from something else that Minho can feel but doesn't have the words to describe. A wide grin brakes out on his own face as he leans back against Jonghyun and cards a sticky hand through Jinki's hair.
The tugging comes back, distantly.
-
Minho turns around and is met with a boy with long brown hair. It falls around his face in gentle waves and Minho's sure he's never seen this boy because he's sure he would remember meeting an angel.
The boy sticks his hand out and with a large smile that makes his eyes turn into little crescents, he says, "hi, I'm Jinki. Today must be your first day right?"
And Minho nods even though he feels like maybe he's been here before once but he's definitely never seen this boy so it must be his first day.
Jinki shows him around the store and tells him how to do all the things Minho's sure he somehow already knows how to do. It's at the end of the makeshift tour that they meet another boy who enthusiastically introduces himself as Jonghyun and drags Minho over to his register to teach him how to use it. Minho doesn't tell Jonghyun that he's used a register before and that everything Jonghyun's saying is white noise because he already knows this stuff because Jonghyun's eyes light up when he's excited and it's honestly kind of really beautiful.
When they're done, Jonghyun brings out Minho's new apron and puts the strap of it over Minho's head. Minho's a little embarrassed so he tries to tie it but he's nervous for some reason and his fingers are fumbling and he can't tie the knot properly. Jinki steps behind him smoothly, taking the straps out of Minho's clammy fingers and helps him tie it as Jonghyun straightens the twisted strap around his neck.
Something about the foreign scene feels familiar and Minho tries to swallow around the lump in his throat. Jonghyun pats him on the shoulder and Jinki gives him as they make their way to their own registers.
-
When Minho walks into the staff room there's a boy sitting against the wall with a phone in his hands. This strikes Minho as odd for a number of reasons, but the only one that he can focus on is that he's pretty sure he doesn't know this boy. (Later, he'll think of the phone and for some reason it seems glaringly out of place but for the life of him he can't fathom why.)
The door closes behind Minho softly and the boy looks up at the sound. He's got sharp eyes and Minho takes a step back.
"Who are you?"
Minho hesitates, a little taken aback. "Minho. Who are you?"
The boy doesn't answer, instead briefly looking Minho up and down before he turns back to his phone. A light tapping noise fills the awkward silence in the room and instead of trying to get answers, Minho turns on his heel and walks back out the door. Jonghyun assigns him to restock the milk and Minho nearly forgets about the mysterious boy in the staff room completely until he hears a shout of "Kibum" from across the aisle.
He looks over to where Jonghyun and Jinki are standing, arms looped around each other's shoulders and waving excitedly at someone Minho can't see. For a flurrying second, Minho wonders if it's not the boy, but someone else instead - until the boy that Minho met steps into view with a soft wave and an even softer smile.
"When did you get here?" Minho hears Jinki ask, leaning his head against Jonghyun's shoulder.
Kibum shrugs, "just now."
Except he didn't get there just now because Minho remembers meeting him in the staff room...some time ago, and that had to have been a while ago, right? At least he thought it was a while ago; certainly more than a small bit of time had to have passed.
The voices of the three become louder as they approach and Minho shakes himself out of his head.
"Hey, Minho," Jonghyun says with a grin. "This is our friend, Kibum."
"Nice to meet you," Minho mutters. He's still confused.
"We've met," Kibum says.
Jonghyun and Jinki turn to look at him, surprised, but Kibum only gives a vague grin, like he's got a secret all to himself.
Time passes slowly, as it is wont to do, and Minho is entangled in his usual routine. He's not sure how there's always so much work to do in a store that never seems to have any customers, but somehow he always finds something to do. He catches only glimpses of Kibum here and there around the store - at Jonghyun's register, in the storeroom with Jinki, lounging in a fold out chair in the beach display near the back entrance - but mostly it's just another day.
And then, ten minutes before closing time, Kibum announces that he's going to leave. Minho looks up from his book with faint surprise, it's almost as if he forgot that Kibum was there, or that he was even going to leave at all. But then he remembers that it's usually just the three of them - him, Jinki, and Jonghyun - and feels like it was probably about time anyway. Kibum was interesting to have around, but he wasn't really meant to be here.
Jonghyun bids Kibum a long and elaborate goodbye that consists of no less than three hugs, all of which Kibum accepts with a laugh and, by the last one, a little shove. Jinki just gives him a short hug and wishes him a safe trip home and Kibum seems to fix Jinki with a secretive look that Minho's not sure anyone but him catches. His own goodbye with Kibum is a little lackluster in comparison, just a simple "goodbye, it was nice to meet you" and a handshake.
And then Kibum leaves. Minho watches him go, walking out the door until he's swallowed up by the fog. He thinks he can still hear Kibum's shoes hitting the asphalt but he's sure it's just his head playing tricks on him.
-
When Minho sees Jonghyun he thinks the older boy looks younger than he last remembers. His shoulders are slimmer and he's got a little more fat in his cheeks. Minho cocks his head and looks for Jinki and it's the same thing - he looks younger than...yesterday? Jinki walks up to Jonghyun's register and Minho can hear them talking. Their voices are a little higher, a little more carefree, and Minho stares down at himself. He looks the same. Or at least he thinks he does.
When Jinki calls out to Minho, asks him a question, Minho's voice is a slightly different when he replies. He jerks a little, slightly startled, but when Jonghyun asks him what's wrong, Minho's not really sure how to answer.
Jinki seems clumsier than he usually is, head in the clouds as he trips over discarded hand baskets and Minho stares at his rounded cheeks in amazement. When Jinki's eyes turn on him, Minho's cheeks color for reasons he doesn't understand and he grips the broom handle more tightly in his hands, head down as he sweeps furiously.
-
Jinki's hands are soft. Jonghyun's hands are calloused. Minho can feel the stark difference as they touch his face, grip at his arms, tug his hands down to slip their fingers in between his. It's almost overwhelming, this push and pull from them, because Jonghyun is hard where Jinki is soft and Jinki is daring where Jonghyun is cautious. A hand grips at the back of his neck and Minho can tell that it's Jonghyun's because of the way that the fingertips glide up the skin and tangle in his hair. But there's a gentle, sure hand cradling his jaw and Minho doesn't have to open his eyes to know that it's Jinki, holding him like a lifeline. Minho can feel their stares, can feel their hands, can feel their breath crashing in steady, warm waves against the sides of his face.
They're huddled in a dark corner in the storeroom and Minho's not entirely sure why they're hiding because he thinks he hasn't seen anyone in days but Jonghyun has tugged him all the way to the back and Jinki surreptitiously flicks off the light. It is cold, so cold back there, and with the fog rolling in from outside, sneaking in underneath the automatic doors and waiting heavy and thick outside the glass, it doesn't take long for Minho to start shivering.
Jonghyun had waited all of twenty seconds before burying himself in Minho's side, wiggling his hands into the pocket of Minho's hoodie. It is before opening and none of them have changed yet and Minho really thinks they should probably leave and get ready for work but Jinki lays - heavy, warm, safe - against him and Minho inhales deeply and relaxes.
They don't break the silence in the cold, empty room, lost in their own thoughts and breathing quietly, until Minho's breath hitches sharply as Jonghyun's cold nose edges against his neck. Minho sits stock still, eyes clenched shut against the darkness as Jonghyun's nose trails over his warm skin, pressing in lightly until he settles right behind the skin of Minho's ear. His nose is warmer now, and Minho fights the urge to shiver for no apparent reason.
They stay like that for some time, the three of them nestled closely together, and Minho feels Jinki sneak a hand into his pocket, hand wrapping around one of Jonghyun's. He can feel the weight of their hands against his stomach, a light, consistent pressure to remind him that they were real. And then Jinki's nose is buried against Minho's neck, an exact mirror of Jonghyun on the other side of his neck but Minho can feel just the slightest brush of lips against his skin. He feels a shock of electricity surge through his veins that leaves his fingertips tingling and he realizes his hands are just resting, dull and awkward at his sides.
Minho brings his hands up, letting them hover awkwardly above the ground as he tries to figure out what to do with them. His pocket is taken up with both Jonghyun's and Jinki's hands and he can't exactly just pull their hands away. He settles for resting his hands in the dip between his stomach and Jinki and Jonghyun's clasped hands. It feels intimate, somehow, and Minho represses a shudder he can feel making its way up his spine. His toes curl in his shoes anyway.
As if he could feel the movement that Minho tried so hard to hide, Jinki's lips press that much more insistently against his skin. Minho's Adam's apple bobs erratically as he swallows and then it's Jonghyun's lips over that very spot. He doesn't mean to do it, doesn't mean to fall into them, but Minho's head tips back and he can feel their warm breath against his skin.
They move - slowly, surely, carefully - and Minho knows who is who even though there's no way he should know such a thing without learning it first. But Jinki's hand is warm on his thigh and Jonghyun's is heavy in the center of his chest and he can feel their other hands sneaking in between the gap of the wall and his back to come together, knotted carefully at the base of his spine. He feels cocooned between them and hears rasping breathing filling the room. He can't bring himself to move, to cup at their cheeks or pull them to him, but he's clutching their hands tight to him and his head is tipped back against their lips.
They nestle into his shoulders, the top of Jonghyun's head bumping his jaw, Jinki's cheek soft against his. Minho's heart does a slow crawl back down, steadying into some semblance of normal as Jinki and Jonghyun's hearts pound in sync against his arms. He can't open his eyes, feeling his lids weighed down, heavy and sticky like honey. But he can feel. He can feel the weight of the two of them against him, their hair scratching lightly at his cheeks, their breath hitting warm and misty against his skin, and he feels loved.
-
One day a boy shows up. He's thin and a little sickly looking, with a dark mask covering the lower half of his face. Minho can see the dark circles from several rows away and he watches the boy drag his feet as he makes his way to the other side of the store. As the boy sluggishly zig zags through the lanes, Minho tries not to stare. Instead, he needlessly rearranges the dividers at his register and listens to Jinki hum two registers over.
It's another several long minutes before the boy shuffles out of the lanes, slender arms laden with a small stack of items. When he approaches the registers, the boy looks up and pauses as if realizing for the first time that he wasn't the only one in the store. His tired eyes dart to his left before he resumes his shuffling over towards Jonghyun's register. When he parts his arms and his items clatter on the conveyor belt, Jonghyun's head darts up quickly. Hadn't anyone in the store besides Minho noticed the boy when he first came in?
"Taemin!" Jonghyun cries excitedly.
Minho tries to surreptitiously lean around his own register to see the boy. He's partially blocked by Jonghyun, but Minho can see his eyes crinkle above his mask in happiness. The boy, Taemin, raises his arm weakly and gives Jonghyun a short wave.
"You haven't been by in forever," Jonghyun admonishes lightly as he begins ringing Taemin's things up. On the belt, there is a small assortment of brightly colored pop rock packets, a loaf of bread, two bars of soap, and a can of iced coffee. Minho stares in confusion at the items, wondering why any of these are important enough for Taemin to leave the house for when he so clearly is sick, before Taemin catches his eye. Minho ducks away in embarrassment and turns towards Jinki with a flaming face but the other boy has fallen asleep at his register with a book in his lap.
He can hear Jonghyun and Taemin making quiet conversation behind him and he rolls his neck. They don't get a lot of customers, it's normal to be curious right? Especially since Jonghyun knew the guy, and Minho had never heard Jinki or Jonghyun talk about anyone they knew outside of work...or about anyone else at all, really.
"So you got a new guy here?" Comes Taemin's scratchy voice.
Minho's back becomes rigid before he forces himself to relax. He tries to make himself look casual before he realizes he has no idea how to do that.
It doesn't matter though because Jonghyun continues, "yup. Another member of the family."
There's still a steady beep of the items being scanned and Minho really doesn't remember Taemin having that many things in his skinny little arms. He turns around to check but Jonghyun's just putting the loaf of bread into the bag. He hands it to Taemin and, instead of grabbing the weak, paper handles, Taemin cradles the bag against his chest. It makes him look even more slight - a thin, long sleeved shirt enveloping his frame, stick thin legs on display in his tight jeans. Taemin catches his eye again and Minho takes in the messy dark hair flopping over his pale face and into his eyes. Taemin's face shifts under his mask and his eyes crinkle just slightly once more before he's turning towards the door and shuffling out with a quiet, scratchy, "see you".
-
"Your turn to collect the carts, Minho," Jinki calls as he leaned over the conveyor belt at his register.
"Got it," Minho calls back. He's been here for...well he's been here for some time and he is pretty sure this is the first time he's ever been told he's supposed to collect the carts. Despite that, he knows where the cart retriever is. He shrugs and collects the retriever, making his way outside as Jonghyun waves merrily at him from where he's setting up a display of wine bottles.
It's foggy outside and it seems like it should be cold but Minho can hardly feel the air against his bare arms. The parking lot is deserted, as it always is, and it was almost eerie how quiet it is. Minho walks slowly, collecting the carts scattered around the large parking lot. No one ever comes to visit - why are there so many carts? He lets out a quiet sigh as he eyes the carts several feet out.
A wheel screeches noisily as he rolls the nestle of carts farther and farther out. The parking lot seems like it goes on for miles and Minho is acutely aware that he can't see anything besides the asphalt stretching deep into the fog. He can see a small cluster of carts out a long way away and, shrugging, decides it probably isn't his job. The wheel continues squeaking until Minho deposits the carts in the holder in front of the store.
As he turns around, the automatic doors open and Minho feels a blast of warm air rush toward him. He can suddenly feel goose bumps raise on his arms from the chilly air outside. Rubbing his arm, he hurries inside, hardly giving pause to the cookie display that had been wine bottles before he'd left. Jinki isn't at his register anymore so Minho takes his spot reluctantly. The store is so large, he isn't really up for a goose chase at the moment.
-
Minho wakes with a start to the touch of soft hands and a gentle shake. He blinks, dazed, up at Jinki. The lights seem brighter than normal and he has to squint because his eyes are too tired and his head is too muddled to take in all the sensory overload. He can smell cinnamon and pine and mint and it almost makes him feel like he's suffocating so he buries his face in Jinki's apron instead and takes in the familiar, comforting smell of hand lotion and fabric softener. Jinki lays a hand on top of his head and Minho can feel himself relaxing even further as Jinki's fingers dance lightly over his hair. He's about ready to take a deep breath and drift asleep once more when Jinki speaks up.
"Jonghyun's been looking for you."
Minho makes a small, questioning noise, still not entirely awake or cognizant.
"He has something he wants to show you."
So Minho lets Jinki haul him up and drag him over to some corner of the store. Minho's leaning on Jinki and Jinki's shorter than him but since he's the only one of them that's awake, his stride is longer and Minho's stumbling, feet tripping over each other in his hazy haste to keep up.
He doesn't even have his eyes open anymore, blindly trusting Jinki to lead them, when Jinki brings him to a slow stop and places a hand on Minho's arm. Minho shakes his head weakly to wake up, makes himself dizzy, and stops. His head is still spinning when he opens his eyes and the first thing he sees is white, lots and lots of white.
It seems to go on for miles but then his vision clears a little and he sees that, it's not miles, it's just piles of fake snow. There's snow falling from the ceiling, in mounds on ground, covering everything that he can see. And there's Jonghyun in the middle of all of it, white snow dusting his brown hair and Minho pretends he can even see flakes of it tangled in Jonghyun's eye lashes. He thinks that would be very pretty.
Jonghyun's smiling nervously, and it's nervous even though Jonghyun's putting on a confident act and Minho's not sure how he can tell, but he can. He stares at Jonghyun and then glances at Jinki, and Jinki smiles quietly and pats his arm again. It feels like permission and Minho turns back to Jonghyun and a smiles breaks out across his face. When he steps forward, fake snow crunching under his feet, Jonghyun's smile finally relaxes and slips into something genuine.
He stops in front of Jonghyun and looks around him once more.
"This is beautiful, Jonghyun," he says quietly, afraid to break whatever it was that Jonghyun had created here in his own little world.
"Glad you like it," Jonghyun replies sheepishly. And then Minho can hear snow crunching behind him as Jinki walks towards them and stands beside him in front of Jonghyun.
Everything is so quiet, an easy silence permeating the store and seeping into this little space, carefully tucked away from everything else. Minho's staring at the snow, watching the way it sits on Jonghyun's hair when Jinki wraps an arm around his waist and tuck him against his side. Minho's lips twitch and a laugh is about to escape him when Jonghyun steps forward and pulls them both to him. His arms are looped around both their shoulders and his face is buried in the space between theirs.
Minho feels warm. Jonghyun's breath is hitting his neck, and his cheek is warm against Minho's. Jinki is pressed up against his side, arm heavy and secure around Minho. Minho's arms reach out and he wraps them around each of the boys, buries his fingers in the fabric of their shirts and breathes deeply. He can smell them, each of them distinct and harmonious and it makes his bones quiver. He's scared and excited and safe.
Jinki is breathing next to him, steady and light and Jonghyun's heart is beating against his arm. It's quiet.
Minho closes his eyes and feels like he's in a dream he never wants to wake from.