All for a Man in a Waistcoat

Stranger

The sound of an old cuckoo clock carried its way around the small space, signifying the turn of the hour and scaring the life out of the ginger cashier who was slouching over the counter in front of him.

He let out an annoyed huff, his short nails aching as he picked at the loose wood chips on the surface under his palms. He was currently at work, sitting on a wobbly spinning stool in an old gas station with mathematics textbooks splayed across the counter, desperately trying to study for the exam he had in a couple hours. The boy had stopped focusing three hours ago, and as the little wooden bird returned to its clockwork home he scooped up his things in preparation for what came next: The train. It passed by the station every morning at two o'clock like a hurricane.

Donghyuck heard it in the distance, a soft growl crescendoing into a deafening roar as the locomotive reached the point in the tracks that was closest to the station. He could see it coming too, the walls of the building starting to shudder as it approached. The old fashioned cash register muffled the sound of it's jingling coins, snacks started to tremble off of their shelves, and Donghyuck could even hear the faint clinking of the drinks residing behind the cooler doors just out of his line of sight. Dust from the cheap ceiling tiles drizzled over him, landing in his fiery locks like fresh snow, drawing out a long sigh from the boy.

The train floored by, passing the station in two minutes, which was far too long in the ginger's opinion, and left destruction in its wake. As the lights stopped flickering above him, Donghyuck stood up and slid over the counter top to clean, muttering to himself about missing out on sleep for lung debris and minimum wage.

He could still hear the train in the distance, but the roar had faded enough for the sound of the bell on the door to reach his ears, a signal that someone had walked in. It was probably his roommate, who insisted on walking him home because of the rundown location. As Donghyuck finished picking up the fallen snacks, he heard his friend clear his throat.

"Only grab one bag today, my boss is getting suspicious." The ginger called, swinging over the counter once more in order to grab his things. "We both know I can't handle being fired right now."

Hearing his roommate clear his throat again, clearly trying to get his attention, Donghyuck shook his head and looked up. "Dude, just—"

Of course, it wasn't the eyes of his best friend that he met, but the eyes of a stranger. The eyes were wide, not from shock, but naturally, and the LED lights above him made his skin look sickly and his hollow cheeks even more hollow. He had incredibly wild hair, midnight black and piled on the crown of his head as if he had walked through a windstorm. It was spackled with red glitter, and there were small flowers tucked in between some strands. His thin lips were set in a tight line, full of tension, and his eyes were trained on the ginger's, one of his eyebrows raised in slight surprise. The strangest part about the male was his outfit, which was a maroon waistcoat over a black long-sleeved shirt, with matching black dress pants and shoes.

Donghyuck froze and cleared his throat, offering a stiff smile before snapping his attention back to his belongings. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the shadow of the stranger slowly walking away from the counter, retreating behind a rack of snacks.

Shit, he thought, risking a glance to try and gauge the stranger's thoughts. This is how it ends. My boss is going to kill me. He could only see the top of the stranger's head from where he was standing, but somehow it made him feel better that he wasn't trying to actually talk to him. Taking a deep breath, Donghyuck shook the dramatic thoughts from his head and slung his bag over his shoulder. His roommate should be here any minute.

As the seconds ticked by, the ginger felt a sort of apprehension spread through his chest. He felt as if he was being watched, yet every time he looked at the man in the waistcoat, he was staring anywhere but. And suddenly, almost impossible in how fast it happened, the glittery man seemed to appear in front of him, no footsteps to be heard, with a soda can in hand.