I am extremely sorry this was so late OTL. things were pretty hectic recently and so many things to do and i just... i'm sorry :( i hope some of you would still read this series and leave me comments okaes, despite my problem with updating :( i just need to write the hilarity of the supermarket fiasco that can happen with all of the threatening and wall banging and file throwing and desk kicking. i'm leaving some hints in this chapter for the enxt and also the previous okaes hohohohoho... evil laughter XD

Yoseob blinked repeatedly in confusion at the entrance of the huge supermarket. There were only very few customers inside the supermarket since it was too early in the morning, and he wondered if this was all part of his drowsy imaginations.

All of a sudden, everything seemed fast forwarded and they ended up in a blur of things happening around Yoseob – there were some cheers and claps and hoots and handfuls of confetti papers thrown towards him, some of the colourful bits even got stuck on Doojoon’s hair because he was standing next to the younger man. The staffs lined up into two neat rows and bowed politely at both sides of the entrance with huge toothy smiles on their faces as they continued clapping and cheering and hooting.

A man in his forties with a beer belly – who Yoseob recognized to be the store manager from his countless shopping trips to the supermarket – shuffled towards Yoseob and grinned nervously at him, while obviously trying not to wither under Doojoon’s intense stare. “Congratulations! You are our lucky winner!” The panicky store manager forced a happy grin and shook Yoseob’s hand roughly, congratulating him as the winner with no apparent reason – well, because there was nothing to win and because there wasn’t any competition to begin with.

Yoseob retracted his hand politely from the store manager’s firm grip and stepped back a little as he looked at the peculiar sight in front of him, “Excuse me, Sir, it’s not that I’m ungrateful or anything, erm… but what is going on?” He shook his head a little, trying to clear his mind and wake up if this was anything but a dream. He flashed the terrified store manager a weak smile, “I am terribly sorry if I sound rude or something, it’s just that this is so sudden and so confusing. I just… what did I win again?”

Yoseob looked expectantly at the beer-bellied store manager, waiting for an answer as the middle-aged man stammered and glanced at Doojoon, hoping in futility for him to help in producing a valid answer. “Uh, it was uh…” Doojoon glared at him and the store manager flinched in fear when the clan leader silently mouthed a threat directed to him. “Uh… uh… you won the credit card promotion. Yes, yes the credit card promotion – we had those promotions… stuffs… things… before and yeah, yeah you are the lucky winner. Congratulations!” The store manager forced a nervous grin out but cringed when Doojoon glared at him in dissatisfaction. What kind of a sorry- explanation was that, even some idiots would not buy any of that. Stupid .

“Oh, I see…” Yoseob nodded with a small smile, “… but I think you have the wrong winner because, you see, I do not own any credit card and never paid with it before, so this must be a mistake.” The younger man grinned sincerely, “Thank you for the confetti, they are pretty nice. I’m actually quite bummed I didn’t win,” Yoseob pouted cutely and Doojoon tightened his fists into balls because the younger man was anything but cute – , “but make sure to send my felicitation to the correct winner.” Yoseob bowed ninety degree towards the flabbergasted store manager before taking hold of Doojoon’s wrist and proceeded to enter the supermarket quietly, carefully not stepping over the messy confetti papers on the floor or attracting any unwanted attention towards them.

If looks could kill, the poor store manager would be dead fifty times over by now as Doojoon stared daggers at him.  Yoseob was blissfully oblivious to the profanities and dead threats silently mouthed by the clan leader – if Doojoon did not mean any of what he said, his expressions were actually a humour on its own – and the beads of sweat rolling down the manager’s face and neck, as he pulled out a shopping cart and entered the supermarket. The old man was a nervous wreck by then, he had been comprehensively informed by the vice president the importance of this mission and a certain man named Yoon Doojoon. He could not fail this or else they would all die a painful and slow death – Doojoon had mouthed that threat to him not five seconds ago, he had to do something real fast now.

Yoseob felt himself pulled back gently when his wrist was grabbed by the store manager. He was about to snap it free when he caught sight of a worried and terrified manager and he immediately stopped himself from struggling free. “Yes, can I help you?”

“You are the 100,000^th.”

“Excuse me?” Yoseob widened his eyes and blinked twice while Doojoon stayed unmoving from his spot beside the younger man.

“You are our 100,000^th customer who walked in since the first day we opened our doors for business.” The store manager spoke slowly, out of breath and out of his mind, Yoseob thought. 

Yoseob nodded dumbly, “Oh.” There was a gap in his sentence, “…okay.”

The smile on the store manager’s face was blinding, the twinkle of happiness in his widened eyes scared the out of Yoseob but it amused him to a great extent nonetheless. “Okay? Yes?” He excitedly asked for a confirmation and when Yoseob nodded his approval, the store manager smiled brightly as if he just struck a lottery and shouted to his horrified staffs who were still lining up neatly in two rows by the entrance, “He said yes! He said yes! He is the winner.” He looked at Doojoon, eyes sparkling with happiness and pure relief because now he could witness his children grow up, “He said yes, he is our winner!”

When Doojoon simply lifted an eyebrow at him, the poor store manager sighed in relief, the powerful man was finally not mouthing any obscene dead threats anymore and it was a beautiful day for him. He shouted in joy and clapped his hands, motioning for his absolutely terrified staffs to clap as well. It was an awkward ensemble of clapping sounds but to the middle-aged manager, it sounded more like songs from the angels above.

Yoseob laughed a little and was majorly amused. It was his usual too-early Sunday morning, and for once, he finally had some money to buy the groceries he needed (since he didn’t need to pay his tuition fees and the nice couple who owned his building apartment). He had promised Doojoon to buy anything the older man wanted, as long as it was within his financial capabilities. But this, Yoseob grinned, this was beyond his wildest imagination and he laughed a little seeing the beer-bellied store manager hilariously clapping in joy.

“Great! So where do I take the food container?” Yoseob’s chuckled a little and his voice was laced with amusement. The store manager looked at the young man like he had three heads, “I’m sorry, where to get what?”

“Food container.”

The store manager knitted his eyebrows in confusion, “Why do you get food container?”

Yoseob hesitated for a while because it was obvious why, “Because I am your 100,000^th customer? Don’t I get some sort of prize or something? You can’t just decide I am the winner and give me nothing, this is very un– “

“You don’t get food containers, you get free shopping for the rest of your life.”

Now it was Yoseob’s turn to look at the manager like he had three heads. Doojoon was still quiet, observing the whole scene from the side.

“I get a what?” It was almost a scream of disbelief, almost.

“Free shopping for the rest of your life in this supermarket.” The store manager reconfirmed.

“So,” the young man drawled hesitantly, “I get to take anything I want in this supermarket for free? For the rest of my life? Until I have kids and grandkids and great grandkids?” The store manager nodded excitedly and Yoseob had never seen a happier man before than the one standing before him at this moment.

The silence that followed was immensely uncomfortable as Yoseob tried to digest the whole thing and the store manager waited for the younger man to digest the whole thing. So Doojoon spoke for the first time that gleeful day in the supermarket, he turned to Yoseob, “Aren’t you happy? Shouldn’t you be jumping up and down and start hugging everybody here?” Yoseob stared at the clan leader and shook his head quietly. Doojoon raised his eyebrow, “No? None of the above? Fine, if you are not doing any of those, can we start shopping then? I thought earlier you said you would buy me anything I wanted and now I want a lot of things. We won’t be done shopping of we don’t start now. Shall we start then?”

Doojoon looked at Yoseob expectantly and the younger man nodded, quietly pushing the shopping cart.  When Yoseob was at a safe distance ahead, Doojoon walked over to the trembling store manager and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, “I believe Vice President-sshi told you about our arrangements. Payment details have been settled. Thank you for your cooperation and please tell him my sincerest gratitude.” Doojoon offered him a hand and the store manager shook it immediately, both men bowing politely to each other. Doojoon ran to catch up with Yoseob before the younger man noticed he was lagging behind.  

The shopping cart was almost full when Doojoon pushed it through the bathroom aisle and carelessly threw some tissue boxes inside the cart. He noticed that Yoseob was all too quiet as the younger man walked beside him, initially taking his silence as shock but this had gone for a while and Yoseob had changed from silent to forlorn. The younger man kept looking at the ground, replying with curt ohs and ahs when asked, and some nods here and there – there was no trace of the chirpy and energized man from this morning.

Doojoon stopped in front of the rack full of tissue papers, frowning as he turned to look at Yoseob. The aisle they were currently in was stationed at the far end of the supermarket – since it was full of bathroom necessities – it was quiet and somewhat secluded from the rest of the supermarket.

“What’s going on?”

Yoseob shook his head softly, eyes still looking at the ground, both fists clutching tightly onto the hem of his baggy and slightly faded tee shirt.

“What is happening, hmm?” Doojoon’s voice was firmer, more forceful, asking for an explanation.

The younger man did not answer, he stayed quiet. But instead of answering, he slowly walked towards Doojoon and leaned in, resting his cheek on the older man’s chest, hands clutching on the hem of Doojoon’s tee shirt instead of his own.

Doojoon stiffened for a moment, surprised by the sudden contact, but as Yoseob snuggled closer, he quickly adjusted his position to cater to Yoseob’s frame for a more comfortable position. Shopping cart forgotten at the side of the aisle.

Doojoon knew this was not the right time to, but he could not help but chuckled softly, finding the younger man’s action too adorable for his own good, “Yes, this is definitely adorable. Very adorable indeed, I am absolutely taken by this.” There was a weak punch on Doojoon’s side as Yoseob sulked a bit at the teasing.

Doojoon’s laugh reverberated in his chest where Yoseob’s cheek was currently resting. One of his hands moved to circle the small waist protectively while another hand went to the younger man’s chin, tipping his chin upwards so that Yoseob was looking at Doojoon straight in the eyes. His eyes were red and moist, but no trace of tears on his cheeks. Doojoon frowned, “Yoseobah, you are scaring me. What is going on?”

Yoseob shook his head quietly and pulled his chin away from the gentle grasp, he rested his face back to Doojoon’s chest, rubbing his cheek slowly on the soft material of the older man’s tee shirt while both of Doojoon’s hands now encircled Yoseob’s small waist and pulled him snug into the embrace. There was only silence, but instead of awkward, the silence was comfortable, enveloping both men in their own little world where no words were necessary because actions spoke more volumes than all the words both of them could say.

“Isn’t this too good to be true?” It was a mere whisper, but with the lack of customers and noise in the supermarket, Doojoon could hear Yoseob loud and clear.

“What is?”

Yoseob pulled away slightly from the hug and looked up to Doojoon, “This. All of it. It’s like good things are suddenly happening to me, good things that I have never had the courage to even dream of. It’s like you are here and I finally have someone with me and suddenly everything is great and then I feel these fleeting feelings of something that I have concluded to be some sort of happiness, maybe,” there was a soft sniffle before he continued, “it has been a long time since I have felt happiness I kind of forget how it feels like but I think this is happiness and it scares me to feel happy. I don’t want to feel happy right now when in the end I will end up hurting again. Everything scares me now, Doojoonah.” There was a quiet voice that sounded too similar to sobbing, “I’m scared, I’m scared…”

Doojoon’s stomach churned as he cradled Yoseob’s head under his chin and pulled him even closer. “Don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. I’m right here, aren’t I? It’s okay, Yoseobah. Shh… It’s okay.” Doojoon continued to soothe and coo the shaking figure in his embrace.

“But what if you leave just like everybody else? You are my maneki-neko. What will happen when you leave me? What will happen to the happiness? I have nobody else, what if one day you decide that you’ve had enough of me and leave me too?” Yoseob started sobbing openly as questions poured out of his mouth.

Doojoon would forever hate himself for asking this question, but he had too, he knew it was really inappropriate for him to ask, but his tongue betrayed him and the question that had been waiting to come out slipped past his lips, “Where are your parents, Yoseobah?”

Yoseob visibly stiffened in the older man’s arms as shock jolted through his whole system. It was silent for a while before Yoseob answered, “They are gone.” It was curt and Doojoon cursed himself for hurting the already hurting boy in his arms, “What happened to them? Why are you alone?”

It had been a few months since Doojoon had moved in with Yoseob, and everything went pretty normal. No personal question asked, especially regarding parents and family backgrounds. Questions mostly covered preferences, likes and dislikes, allergies to food, and some basic information enough for them to go by each other every day. This was the first time parents were ever brought up into their conversation.

Yoseob stiffened even more as he tried to push Doojoon away, to hide and run, but the clan leader would have nothing of it, he tightened his hands around Yoseob’s waist and waited for an answer.

“They are gone. I have no parents. I’m an orphan.”

The answer gave nothing away but at that moment, Doojoon realized how difficult life had been on Yoseob, how betrayed he felt by everything around him, how he was hurting inside, how he was fighting the world alone, how lonely he was in this world. That was why he tried so hard to avoid showing any weakness in front of Doojoon because he needed to be strong for himself, he tried so hard to avoid happiness because he was afraid to feel anything else but, he cocooned himself inside the shell he had built all these years to protect his heart from being hurt, to prevent himself from being lonely.

But in the end, Doojoon completely understood that Yoseob was afraid of being lonely and alone once again. So he dropped the pressing question and focused on comforting the upset bundle in his arms.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Shh… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t even… I’m sorry, Yoseobah.” And upon hearing this, Yoseob completely relaxed against Doojoon’s body. The stiffness and tension quickly vanished, and once again the younger man rubbed his cheek on the soft material of Doojoon’s tee shirt.

“Listen to me carefully. I am not leaving you, okay. Not even when you kicked me out of your life, or even when you got married and have your own family and become grandfather. I am your maneki-neko, the cute one of course.” Yoseob chuckled softly on this and Doojoon continued with a big smile on his face, “I promise you will know nothing but happiness from now on. So stop being a cry baby. Big boys don’t cry, right?”

Yoseob laughed at this and nodded, the excitement back on his face as he wiped his tears away – Doojoon hoped he wiped Yoseob’s fears away as well – and smiled brightly at the older man. Doojoon cringed slightly in amusement when he saw the mess on Yoseob’s face.

“Ugh, you need to wipe your nose,” Doojoon commented off-handedly. He took a box of tissue from the rack and tore it open, handing a few sheets for Yoseob to wipe his nose with. There was an aghast look on the younger man’s face, “Oh my god, did you just open it without paying?” Doojoon shrugged nonchalantly, “We are shopping for free anyway, what’s the difference?” Yoseob laughed in disbelief as he blew his blocked nose onto the offered tissue papers.

Sometime later, as they walked through the aisles to buy some milk and cereal and ramyun – Yoseob was back to his chatty and bright self – realization dawned on Doojoon that he just promised happiness and forever to Yoseob. , he was screwed, because he really did mean every single word he said and swore to keep his promise to the younger man this time.

And to fulfill his long-overdue promise to Yodeobi.