"why can't i stay at the cash register, again?"

"because you have nothing particular to do, so you can put products on the shelves."

"which means that you do have something to do."

"i do."

"look, i don't call texting jisung 'something to do', hmm."

the younger chinese male flushed bright red as he realised that he had been busted by his dear chinese friend.

"i-i'm n-not t-texting h-him!" chenle stuttered, nervousness and embarrassment more than obvious on his features.

"yeah, and i'm not in love with jeno." renjun rolled his eyes as he bent down to grab the big box in which was stacked a few items that waited to be ordered on the right shelves. "i'll put them on the shelves. stay at the cash register and text jisung."

chenle hummed, his face still as red as before as he thanked his chinese friend who was already heading towards the first alley in which he would start his mission.

and as predicted by renjun, chenle pulled out his phone a second later, opening his and jisung's chat instantly to text the boy that had been running on his mind ever since. and it seemed like his heart beat so loudly that he couldn't even hear his surroundings and realise that he hadn't greeted the customer that had just walked in.

renjun shook his head at the sight of his chinese friend whose smile reached behind his ears because of how wide it was. he was happy for him, at least chenle was starting to find interest in someone. he just hoped that this jisung guy wasn't some asshole and that he wouldn't hurt chenle. renjun had grown so attached to the younger chinese male that he wouldn't forgive himself if he failed to protect him from something.

"you look tall, can you help me grab the maxi jar of pickles, please? i can't reach it..."

renjun placed his box full of products down in the condiment alley, chuckling at the question asked by the young girl a few meters away from him.

he diverted his attention from them as he noticed the tall boy helping her, and he got back to arranging the ketchup bottles on the shelf, making sure that the label was perfectly visible and that all bottles were aligned.

unintentionally, his eyes diverted again to the interaction the little girl and the tall boy were having, his lips curving up in a smile as he realised that the world they lived in wasn't so shitty in the end. young people still had manners, and some beings were still very nice and helpful to others.

he sometimes needed those reminders, because most of the time he felt like the society they lived in was pure shit. thank god he had found his jeno, the most perfect boyfriend he could ever find, and he was so glad they had crossed paths, because he seemed like the only nice being left in this rotten world – but well, this tall boy just there had shown him that there was still a slight hope for him to cross paths with other nice beings.

"oh!" renjun gasped, his eyes widening slightly when he noticed the maxi jar of pickles slipping off the shelf and landing right on his nose before bouncing away.

he was already imagining the mess that the jar of pickles would cause if it landed on the floor and exploded. he could already picture the hundreds of glass pieces shattered everywhere in the alley, mixed with the vinegar contained in the jar to preserve the pickles – which would also be scattered around like worms on a square of grass.

but to his surprise, the crash never came, and the jar landed right in the hands of the young girl who smiled so brightly at the tall boy after getting what she had asked for.

"woah, thank you so much!" she said before hopping away to another alley.

renjun let out a sigh after witnessing the scene, going back to his ketchup bottles and wondering what him and jeno could cook for dinner.

"n-no... problem..."

the chinese male got alarmed by the words from the taller male which didn't sound as confident and loud as they should have been. plus, his answer to the little girl was coming a bit late considering that she had left the alley long seconds ago.

renjun messily placed the three ketchup bottles he had in his hands on the shelf, not caring much about their placement, before he stood up and took a step towards the tall boy whose body was swaying left and right in an abnormal way.

"hey, everything alright?" he asked, approaching him. there was no answer form the boy who kept swaying weirdly, his back facing renjun.

as renjun got closer, he noticed the boy looking at his hand and gasped himself when he saw a red liquid contrasting with the paleness of his skin.

the tall boy lost his balance, falling backwards but managing to stay on his two feet for a few more seconds, allowing renjun to see his face. and now, renjun gasped for real.

the boy's eyes seemed lost in time, his face had paled so much he looked like he was about to pass out, and blood was oozing out of his nose and from a cut right beneath his eyebrows, on his nose bone.

"fuck." renjun breathed out, realising that this had probably been caused by the maxi jar of pickles when it had bounced on his nose. this shit had to weight at least 1kg! and the jar was made of glass! the impact that the boy had received on his small nose must have hurt like hell.

an nth gasp slipped past his lips as he noticed the boy's eyes rolling to the back of his head before his muscles gave up and his limp body was overpowered by gravity, threatening him to hurt himself even more in his fall to the floor.

wanting to avoid any catastrophe, renjun rushed behing him, opening his arms wide for the tall boy to land against his chest so that he could accompany him until a lying position without him hurting himself.

"chenle!!" renjun exclaimed, getting on his knees and helping the boy to lie down on the floor, placing his head on his lap so that it didn't rest on the hard and dirty floor of the convenience store. "chenle!! come here!!"

renjun groaned, digging his hand in the pocket of his uniform in hope to find a tissue or anything that could allow him to wipe the unconscious boy's bloody nose. and of course, his pockets were completely empty...

the chinese male looked around exasperated, his eyes brightening immediately when he noticed a pack of bugs bunny napkins messily thrown in the middle of the mustard shelf, right next to him. he usually hated customers who left their items anywhere when they realised they didn't need them anymore while grocery shopping, but for some reason, he was very thankful to this customer for leaving these napkins here. 

he tore open the bag on napkins open, not bothering to check the price as he told himself he'll simply deduce their cost to his pay, and pulled one out, wiping the blood that was pooling under the unconscious boy's nostrils and threatening to stain his clothes if it flowed further against his skin and to his neck.

"chenle!!" renjun tried again, pulling the boy back on his lap and using a second napkin to reduce the flow of blood.

thankfully, after this third call, renjun's younger chinese friend appeared at the end of the alley, his smile immediately dropping when he saw renjun holding an unconscious and bleeding male.

"oh, my god! what happened?!" chenle asked, his worry causing his voice to sound more like a dolphin.

"a jar slipped form his hands and landed on his nose." renjun explained, still wiping the boy's blood away. "i guess the shock caused him to faint. the jar was pretty big and heavy."

"do we need to call an ambulance?" chenle asked. "he's loosing a lot of blood..."

"yeah... can you please do it?" renjun sighed. "i'll bring him to the break room in the meantime. he'll be more comfortable on the couch than on the floor. and at least, other customers won't see him."

"you're right." chenle nodded. "let's do that."

the ambulance was there in a matter of minutes, entering the convenience store and the break room where renjun was still by an unconscious jaemin's side.

"can we have a description of what happened?" the paramedic asked, looking at the pale boy to make a first diagnosis.

renjun was quick to explain everything that happened in detail, from the boy's interaction with the little girl to the fall of the maxi jar of pickles, and finally the way his body swayed left and right before he fainted in renjun's arms. the paramedic listened carefully to each and every of renjun's words, checking the unconscious boy's pulse and nose at the same time.

minutes later, it was decided that the boy would be brought to the hospital, and that he would need to be accompanied by someone. renjun didn't have to think twice before he told them that he would be the one accompanying him since he had witnessed everything.

and so, this is how renjun ended his workday early, spending the hours he should have been organising shelves in an ambulance and then in an hospital, worrying for a stranger.

⊗

"where the hell is he...?"

"fuck..."

"he should be here..."

"he left hours ago..."

"where else can he be...?"

"why the hell did,'t i- "

"oh, hi jeno!"

the korean male immediately turned around, facing his boyfriend's dearest friend.

"hello, chenle." he waved at the bow cutely, his eyes turning into crescents as he smiled.

"you're looking for someone, i suppose." chenle wiggled his brows at the taller male. he had seen jeno entering the convenience store with a worried look, and he was very aware of jeno's wanderings around each and every alley of the store, as if he was looking for something that he couldn't seem to find.

"yeah, i am." jeno nodded, worry taking over him once again when he realised that he still hadn't found the hybrid male that he had left here hours ago. "haven't you seen j- "

"your boyfriend isn't there, sorry." chenle cut jeno's words and that's when the korean male realised the mistake that he had almost made. he was just about to expose himself and barge into renjun's working place asking about jaemin. how stupid of him?

"o-oh..." jeno stuttered, mentally scolding himself. "do you have an idea where he could be?" he added, knowing that anyone would expect him to be worried for his boyfriend at that point.

"a boy fainted in the grocery store, so we called an ambulance and renjun accompanied him to the hospital. i suppose he's still there with him."

jeno's eyes widened at this new piece of information.

a boy had apparently fainted in the shop. there was still no sign of jaemin anywhere. and jeno had told him hours ago that he would be waiting for him in the café that was across the street.

could it be that jaemin was the boy that had fainted?

"w-who is that boy that fainted?" jeno asked, a lump forming in his throat as he hoped chenle's answer wouldn't worry him further.

"huh... i don't know, i've only seen him unconscious." chenle replied. "but he was quite tall, and i saw some pieces of brown hair under his beanie, so i'm assuming he was a brunet, but i can't really tell more."

jeno bit the inside of his cheek, his mind going crazy after what chenle told him. quite tall, brown hair, beanie... it had to be jaemin.

"o-okay..." jeno nodded. "i'll go directly to the hospital to find renjun, then..."

"sure." chenle smiled at his friend's boyfriend. "it was nice seeing you, jen!"

"same!" jeno replied, putting on his brightest smile before he walked out of the convenience store, pulling his phone out to find the quickest way to get to the hospital.

he could barely think because of the hundreds of questions that resonated through his mind.

what could have happened to jaemin?

why was he in the hospital with renjun?

would renjun discover about his secret?

what would jeno explain to renjun when he'll get to the hospital?

what could jeno do to help jaemin?

what would he say when renjun realises that nana isn't at home anymore?

and what if all of that was just a plan made by jaemin to get closer to renjun, just as jeno had asked him?

all of these questions were messing with jeno's mind, and the boy couldn't help getting more and more worried with each second passing.

at that point, he knew that he owuldn't get a simple answer to any of those questions. all he had to do was to wait and see what was happening. and most importantly, he had to hope that nothing too bad had happened.