Late Nights | Meanie

1

Night shift.

Mingyu hates it.

Nobody ever comes to the convenience store at night. What's the point in keeping it open?

He walks to the store, hands in his pockets, glaring at the neon lights blaring the name of the store, LEVEL. He enters the store, and with a resigned sigh and a half-hearted smile at Jeonghan, the long haired boy working the shift before his, Mingyu steps behind the counter and pulls up a stool to sit on while he waits. For no one. For his shift to be over.

He's startled a bit later when he hears a faint jingle from the front of the store, and he looks up over the shelves to see the door opening. He glimpses the top of a head of tousled black hair that disappears for a second as he hears the sound of plastic gently hitting plastic, and sees the person start to walk around.

Mingyu returns back to his book, idly twirling his bookmark in his fingers. He glances up again as he sees a shadow dart across the third aisle, now a little curious to see the customer's face. Mingyu curls his fingers around the edge of the collar of his sweater and itches at a spot on his neck, his eyes still glued onto the page. He hears shuffling footsteps coming towards him, and then a shadow looming over him. He quickly stands up to greet the customer.

The male standing in front of Mingyu is  a little shorter than him- as are most people- and he has a pale face, with a defined nose, somewhat thin lips, and sharp eyes. His black hair covers most of his forehead and is swept slightly to the side. The boy's eyes are what attract Mingyu the most. They're dark, piercing, and he feels as though the male can see straight through him. It's a bit off-putting, but still, somehow, attractive.

He's handsome, Mingyu thinks vaguely.

After Mingyu bags the male's items, his face feeling a little warm from how intently the pale boy had been staring at him, he hands the lavender bag to him, the plastic rustling, and watches the male leave wordlessly.

With a sudden jolt, just as the male steps out the door, Mingyu realizes that they had both been wearing the same outfit- from the thick patterned sweater to the dark jeans to the black lace-up boots with the shiny silver studs. It's strange, yes, but Mingyu just brushes it off as an uncanny coincidence.

☾

The next night, as Mingyu is trying to kill the time by doing some sudoku with a thick black marker, the faint jingle of the bells and the creak of the door opening is heard again, and he looks up. He notices a head of black hair bobbing up and down again as soft footsteps shuffle along the linoleum floor. The person comes into view now, the tinted lights reflecting off of pale skin, small eyes darting along rows of snacks before meeting Mingyu's gaze. He knows those eyes, those slanted eyes. But they're not as dark, this time, but blue.

Colored contacts, just like Mingyu's.

The male looks away, adjusting the collar of his dark jacket before picking up a box of cheese balls and placing it into his shopping basket. Mingyu peels off his own jacket, aware that it is, in fact, completely identical to the one that the boy is wearing, and places it gently on a pile of boxes next to him. The male comes into view a minute later, his gaze skimming over an aisle when he seems to notice something and bends down. He's tying his shoe.

Heart pounding, Mingyu looks down- would you look at that, his shoe (identical to the other boy's, if one might add) is untied as well. He hastily ties his shoe and straightens back up just as the pale boy approaches the counter, unzipping his jacket as the silver ring on his finger reflects the light. Mingyu scans the items, swallowing as he glances at the same ring on his finger, and places them in the bag, sliding it across the counter. They're wearing the same shirt, too, Mingyu realizes. Although the two shirts are inversely colored, it's the same design, and from the same company. He watches the boy leave as the lavender bag swings from his hand.

Is he being stalked?

☾

The third night, Mingyu is wearing a fuzzy yellow sweater- one that he's lovingly dubbed as his tennis ball sweater- as he flips the sign on the door so it reads "Closed" to the outside. Rolling up his sleeves and adjusting his watch, he begrudgingly takes a rag and a spray bottle in his hand and begins wiping down the windows, a task that only he has to do once a week, as he's the last shift of the night.

His gaze flickers to the small parking lot in front of the store when he sees a blur of movement. His eyes dart around and finally settle on a familiar figure with the exact same fuzzy yellow sweater as him. Pale hands grip the rubber covered handles of a bicycle- the same bicycle he has, Mingyu realizes, his heart jumping up to his throat. A long, denim-clad leg leaves the pedal of the bike and rests on the asphalt to balance the boy up. The familiar pale boy stares at Mingyu through the windows, and the two lock gazed for several long moments before the other boy turns and pedals away, his watch- the same one as Mingyu's- catches the light and momentarily blinds him. A SpongeBob-cased phone sticks out dangerously from the boy's pocket, and Mingyu's eyes widen as he recognizes it.

It just so happens to be the same one on his own phone.

☾

Late Nights: 1/2