Jinki stood outside the convenient store, uncertainty and nervousness sketched onto his usually cheerful features. His mouth was set into a grim line as he watched the sliding doors continuously open and close when someone stepped close enough to it. Shoppers exiting the building walked passed him, sometimes taking a second glance at the frozen male standing in the middle of the entrance. He clutched onto his nearly fading messenger bag hoping the some of the nerves he felt would magically transfer into the materialistic object. To no avail, he probably felt even more nervous, more on the edge than when he first laid his eyes on the store. Drawing in a big breath, he decided to just go in and get it over with - hoping, praying, that he would get out of there alive. for He pulled his red hat down at an angle so that his face would be partially hidden, and walked into the store.

Once he was inside, he observed his surroundings. The store itself was quite small - there were 3 rows of shelves filled with products, while the back wall contained cold beverages. There were only a couple people strolling the aisles, being that it was almost midnight. He too would have been tucked away in bed at this time, but due to some unjustly circumstances, he was forced to be awake, fully dressed in a graphic tee, pale gray skinny jeans, and his only pair of black and blue high tops, and in a convenient store 15 minutes away from where he resided. He turned his head slightly towards the check out station near the entrance, noting that whoever was in charge of running the store was no where in sight.

He shuffled into an empty aisle, glancing left and right at the items that were stacked neatly on the wooden shelves. When he saw some of the things that he was asked to retrieve, he quickly looked around him to see if anyone was watching before he slipped the it into his bag. He automatically did this with other several items, making sure the coast was clear before he shoved them into his bag. When his mental list was near it’s complete, he snuck into the back near the liquor, scanning through them before grasping the right bottle.

“I hope you’re paying for those,” came a voice from behind him.

 He froze, the bottle hanging midair, as he drew in a short breath. He couldn’t, wouldn’t, turn around in fear of being exposed to who he guessed was the shop‘s owner. His body shook as he tried to think of a possible excuse, a plan, to get out of the sticky situation that he was in. With no other choice, he sprinted down the aisle and towards the exit. His bag full of stolen items flew wildly at his side, some of them falling carelessly onto the floor. Just as he was nearing it, he noticed that bright red lights that once spelled ‘OPEN’ was switched off and that his only door to the cold Autumn air remained shut.

In his hurry, he ran into the clear doors, desperately hitting the palms of his hands on anything that could serve as a manual release.

“Come on,” he muttered under his breath.

After a while of searching and hitting, he gave up and rested his forehead against the glass, his hot, uneven breaths creating a fog-like effect.

“Look,” came the voice again. He recognized that it belonged to a male, which only served to make him more anxious and terrified.

I’m trapped! What do I do?

What if he beats me up?

Worse, what if he calls the police?

Questions upon questions bombarded his mind, giving him a slight headache, until it was interrupted by the other.

“I won’t call the police.”

Jinki’s ears perked up as he raised his head from the glass, waiting to hear what else the other had to say. To his surprise, the other said nothing else and the room was then filled with a rather awkward silence.

“I don’t trust you,” he said, allowing the other to speak to him from behind.

“Don’t get me wrong, but I don’t trust you either. Not after you ran with some stolen items,” the other countered as he took a tentative step towards the shoplifter. When he was only a foot away, he placed his hand on the taller male’s shoulder. He felt a slight jump from his touch as he spun the other around to face him.

Jinki kept his head down, his hat keeping his guilty eyes well hidden. He shifted his feet, uncertain of what to do in this kind of situation. This was the first time he’d ever done something this bad, this illegal. For the first time in his life Jinki shoplifted. He grew up in a poor family, sure, but his poverty never resulted him to do something as low as this.

But here he was caught in the middle of his act of crime.

‘It’s his fault…it’s because of his stupid threats that I had follow his stupid order. If only I ignored his phone call tonight then maybe I wouldn’t be having this problem…but then again,’ Jinki though internally, unaware of the few tears that slipped down his cheeks and onto the white tiles below him.

“H-Hey,” the person before him said with confusion, “I already said I wouldn’t call the police, why are you crying?”

“B-Because,” he started, trying to suppress the rest of his tears that lurked at the brims of his eyes, “I’m a weak person.”

“How so?” The other questioned, curious as to what he meant by that.

“I c-can’t even say n-no to a couple of jerks,” he replied, wiping at his eyes with the hand that wasn’t holding the alcohol bottle.

The shorter male thought for a minute, before responding with not so comforting words.

“I agree.”

Jinki finally raised his head to look at the mysterious voice and was greeted by a rather handsome man. He was a few inches shorter than him, his tri-colored blonde hair spiked up high in what he assumed was an attempt to cover his short stature. His eyes were a deep brown and his lips curved into a knowing smirk. To put it easily, he kind of looked like a mixed breed of a dinosaur and a puppy -- a ‘puppysaurus’ he presumed. Jinki watched as the male took in Jinki’s confused, and almost distraught expression before laughing out loud, arms wrapped arms tightly around his stomach. He frowned at the puppysaurs’ sudden outburst.

“S-sorry,” he tried to control his laughing fit before addressing him, “but you should’ve seen the look on your face. It was priceless.”

Jinki looked down again, not from guilt, but from pure embarrassment. He could feel his face warm up as blood traveled to his cheeks, painting it with a nice pink shade.

“I can help you, if you want.” The puppysaur offered, causing Jinki to look back at him quizzically.

“Help me,” Jinki started out slowly, trying to interpret what he could have possibly meant, “with what exactly?”

“Let me change you. I’ll release that wild hidden nature of yours and show the world how much of a dangerous beast you really are. Those jerks won’t lay a finger on you after I‘m done with you” He stated mater-of-factly, leaving Jinki mouth agape and eyes wide with shock.

“W-what…what are you…I’m n-not,…why?” Jinki stuttered, his words coming out as a jumbling mess.

The puppysaur let out another laugh as he offered Jinki his hand to shake.

“Now to get serious. Since you did commit a crime, and I have no intention of charging it against you, how about I give you an offer…umm…” He trailed on, waiting for Jinki to complete the sentence.

“Jinki” Jinki stated, taking the other’s hand in his and gave it a good shake.

“Jinki,” he repeated, giving him a friendly smile before he continued, “I’ll let you work here to pay for whatever you took and in return you let me help you. I’m really curious to see how my little experiment would turn it in the end.”

Before Jinki had anytime to think or protest, the puppysaur walked around him to unlocked the door. The obstacle that caused Jinki’s little arrangement with the shop owner slid open easily, allowing the cold air to wrap around his thin physique.

“Be here tomorrow, 9 am sharp. Any later then the stated time and I’ll just have to reconsider my offer.”

Jinki nodded obediently and made his way out of the shop.

“Jonghyun.”

“What?”  Jinki asked, turning around to face the other for the nth time that night.

“Call me Jonghyun,” the puppysaur declared before locking up the doors. He gave Jinki one last smile before shutting off the main lights and disappearing into the darkness.

Jinki stood in front of the store for the second time that night until his fingers turned numb from the cold weather. He walked in the direction of his home thinking of Jonghyun’s job offer. He weighed his options - it was either go to jail or become some kind of lab rat for a strange man’s experiment. Choosing the latter of the two, he sighed telling himself that he had nothing left to lose.

[A/N]: Wow, 15 subscribers and I only posted the description. o.o; You guys are nuts awesome! Thank you for those who have already subscribed and commented!

Anyways, yay! First chapter! I guess this is more like a prologue? I hope it didn't disappoint anyone that much. ^^ Uhmm, not sure what else to say so please comment and subscribe! Also, if you have any ideas/suggestions to add to this story please do suggest them! I'll be updating again soon! ^^

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http://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/198954/two-different-tears-angst-jonghyun-jongtae-onew-shinee-taemin

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