Encounter

Word count: 2,086

4 months later

Jongin blinked at the rapidly setting sun, body aching. Twenty more minutes until closing time, until his back could hit his soft mattress. There was nothing he looked forward to more after a ten hours shift; he mentally calculated his tips and decided today was a good day.

When it was closing time, Jongin swept the floor as fast as his tired limbs would let him. His body felt sluggish, like he was trying to move in water; and his legs weren’t as stable as they were at the start of his shift. There were too many things to think about: unfinished homework assignments, bills due dates, what to do for his next meal…etc. He was mentally and physically exhausted.

“Watch where you’re going,” Joonmyun, his manager extraordinaire, complained when Jongin dragged the mop over his clean shiny black shoes.

Jongin grinned, “Just helping you out, boss.”

“Get out of here,” The older boy rolled his eyes, “Before you pass out on my floor.”

Joonmyun wasn’t that much older – but whereas Jongin was erratic with his job performance – his manager was constant: he was on time, always neat, always friendly. The difference also showed on their paychecks; Joonmyun raking it in on his manager salary whilst Jongin barely made payment due dates from being a host.

He would’ve been more envious, Jongin decided, had he not seen all the stress his manager had to endure. Sehun, another waiter, for example, greeted their customers with an air of indifference that had Joonmyun banging his head on the tables and apologizing to all who was unfortunate enough to have Sehun as their waiter for the night.

“Go,” Joonmyun said one last time, head lowered to calculate the day’s income.

Jongin shrugged, “Alright. I’m out of here. See you bright and early tomorrow.”

He shrugged on a black jacket that had seen better days, and stuffed his hands as far into his pockets as he could. The walk from the restaurant to the bus stop was a familiar path; there were a few street lights dotting the way, but otherwise, Jongin relied on the light from the stars above. He loved the night, loved the blanket of darkness that draped over the city, loved the quiet as the world slept.

The bus came to a stop with a shriek, and Jongin winced. He could feel a headache building at the back of his head. But he had tests coming up, which meant he should probably study a bit when he gets back home.

“Hello,” He mumbled his greeting to a bus driver who probably didn’t care.

Suddenly Jongin was reminded of Sehun’s stupid joke: “Who closes the door after the bus driver gets off?”

“The driver?” Jongin had answered; Sehun’s face had fallen slightly before the other boy returned to his customers.

The bus jerked to a stop – again with a screech – and Jongin sighed before gathering himself together. The trek up to his apartment wasn’t far, but his legs felt like solid lead by now.

His apartment door was opened.

Jongin’s inner voice told him to be careful, but he was too tired to care.

“Hello?” He called out, throwing his keys on a nearby table. “I don’t have anything worth stealing.”

“I’d say,” A voice replied from the living room.

“Chanyeol? What’re you doing here?”

“Baekhyun is going crazy,” His friend told him with a sheepish smile. “Can I crash here?”

“Uh,” Jongin looked around the room. “Sure? If you don’t mind sleeping on the couch.”

Chanyeol grinned at him, his eyes mismatched, “Thanks. By the way you’re invited.”

“What?”

Jongin started taking off his work shirt as he contemplated what to do about food. Maybe he should have eaten at work, and would it be rude to not offer Chanyeol any? He probably didn’t have enough food left to feed two. Then again, he didn’t know his friend would break into his apartment in his absence. Maybe “break in” was a bit harsh since he did leave an extra key with Baekhyun and Chanyeol in case of emergencies.

“Why did you leave my door open?” Jongin asked, tugging his inside shirt over his head.

“Oh, it was hot in your apartment,” Chanyeol shrugged.

Jongin figured there was nothing for his friend to worry about since Chanyeol towered over most of the Korean population.

“Wait,” Jongin contemplated whether it would be weird to just walk around in his boxers before he realized he didn’t really care. So he shimmied out of his pants and folded all of his clothes to hang on at the back of the couch. “You said I’m invited to something?”

“Oh yeah,” Chanyeol’s laughed – his baritone voice filled the apartment. “We have a new girl that just moved into our building. I think Baek says she’s from Australia? Anyways, we are throwing her a welcome party – or Baekhyun is, and he is going crazy over the details with Kyungsoo right now. So, I sort of ran away. But yeah, you’re invited.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re my friend. And Baek’s. And it’s our party.”

“I really, really can’t. I have a lot going on right now.”

Chanyeol frowned. “Jongin, come over. Let us feed you. When was the last time you had a decent meal? Don’t you work at a restaurant?”

“Yes,” Jongin combed his fingers through his hair, “Well, I do eat a work sometimes.”

“It’ll be nice.”

“Fine, fine,” He sighed. It was impossible to say no to Chanyeol anyways. “I’ll go. When is it?”

“Tomorrow night. I know you work on Sunday’s, but try not to be late.”

-

Sunday’s were a bit more relaxed, so Jongin took his books with him to study when he had no waiting customers to be seated. Kris, his other manager, only rolled his eyes at Jongin’s pain but otherwise didn’t comment. Joonmyun gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

“I got it,” Sehun said, walking pass him. “What color are the mirrors?”

“They reflect light, Sehun.”

His co-worker glared at him, “Jongin. These are rhetorical. You’re supposed to think, not give a rational answer.”

“I didn’t hire you to be a philosopher,” Kris commented. “Get back to work, Sehun. And please, smile.”

Sehun put on his usual face and walked off. Kris face palmed himself as Jongin grinned.

“Why haven’t you fired him yet?”

“Because he’ll just give me more trouble if I do,” Kris sighed.

Kris was a softie, Jongin knew. Despite his usual menacing glare and thick, angry eyebrows, Kris was fair and had a soft spot for all of his employees. He just didn’t worry and nagged over them like Joonmyun.

“What’re you doing?” Luhan popped his head out of the kitchen’s door. His doe eyes blinked rapidly, lashes fluttered in a way that often misled people into thinking he was a child – or worse, innocent.

“Luhan, you’re blocking the kitchen door. What’s the number one rule?” Kris lamented.

Luhan rolled his eyes, “I’m not fat, Kris. They can walk around me.”

“Is it boring in the kitchen?” Jongin asked, highlighting paragraphs in his book for later reviews.

“Yes,” Luhan sighed, “No one ordered dessert today! What am I supposed to do?”

“Luhan, you’re also a sous-chef. Help Minseok with something.”

“I don’t want Luhan’s help,” Their main chef yelled from somewhere in the kitchen. “He puts sugar in everything!”

Joonmyun chose to stop by that moment to give them all his bright-beaming-megawatt smile, “Luhan, I have an order for a birthday cake to be picked up later today.”

Kris silently mouthed “Thank you, God.”

Luhan poked his head back into the kitchen with a tiny wave. Jongin went back to highlighting his notes and the passages of his book with a neon orange highlighter.

“Do you need me to schedule you in for less hours?” Kris asked, packing up his papers and shoving them into a leather binder.

“No, I’m fine.”

Kris studied him a bit too long for Jongin’s liking, but didn’t say anything.

When he was left alone again, Jongin’s focus shifted from the words on his page to the stars he saw last night. They were so bright yesterday, like diamonds twinkling against ebony satin. He didn’t know why he was suddenly thinking about stars and diamonds, maybe he was getting a bit nostalgic lately.

 

-

 

The party was in full swing when Jongin stopped by, freshly dressed and showered. Baekhyun greeted him by shoving a tray full of little refreshment food at him.

“I’m off the clock,” Jongin said, lips tilting up in a small smile.

Baekhyun punched him in the arm, “I’m not asking you to serve them. Try one of these. They’re so food.”

“I’m fine, Baek.”

“No, you’re all skeleton and lean muscles,” Baekhyun retorted.

Jongin guessed he looked a bit ragged; he felt ragged. His hair had been growing out lately – and due to the lack of time – maybe it also had gotten a bit shaggy. His muscles barely stretched over bones, his face was a bit hollowed out. He was constantly tired, his eyes were heavy lidded and dull as a result. Maybe after his exams, he should take a few days off.

“Well,” Baekhyun said, forcing a smile back on his face, “Your horrible condition aside, I’d really like you to meet our new neighbor. Her name is Lucy.”

Lucy in the sky, Jongin thought fleetingly, thinking back to his stars.

Baekhyun led him through a crowd of people, all listening to Chanyeol’s ridiculous stories. His friend had a way with attracting people – his face and actions were always so animated. Jongin didn’t understand how they got along so well, they were total opposites. Whereas he was subdued, moving at a languid pace; Chanyeol was the epitome of the energizer bunny.

“Our sink broke recently,” Baekhyun explained with a chuckle. “Chanyeol slipped and almost broke his head open.”

When they were on the other side of the room, Baekhyun stopped in front of a girl with brown hair, smiling at her, “Are you having fun?”

“Yeah,” Her eyes flickered over to Jongin’s before grinning back at Baekhyun, “Thank you for this. You didn’t have to go through all this trouble.”

“Anything for a new neighbor,” Baekhyun replied. “By the way, this is Jongin.”

Lucy extended a hand, “Nice to meet you.”

Jongin bowed awkwardly.

“Oh! I’m sorry,” She returned his bow with an airy laugh.

Jongin didn’t bother keeping up with the small conversation. Lucy seemed nice enough, brown hair and dark chocolate eyes. They twinkled like she had some kind of secret she wasn’t willing to share. Her nose had a slight bump on the ridge, which added character to her face. Her skin had a slight glow, like it had been kissed by the sun. Jongin thought it was interesting since Baekhyun had such milky skin by comparison.

“Right, Jongin?”

He startled, “What?”

“I’m sorry,” Baekhyun apologized to Lucy instead of elaborating for Jongin, “He just got off work. I dragged him here, so he’s probably really tired.”

“No it’s fine,” Lucy answered, slightly flustered. “Please, uh, don’t feel like you have to stay.”

“It’s fine,” Jongin stretched, tight muscles loosening. There was no way to explain how he had been too busy staring at her face to listen to what she was saying, so he simply said, “I just need some air. You want to go for a walk?”

“Uh. Sure?”

“He’s harmless, I promise,” Baekhyun said when he sensed Lucy’s hesitation.

They slipped out the backdoor. As Jongin closed the door behind him, he could hear Chanyeol’s boisterous laugh.

“Your friends are really nice,” Lucy began.

“The best,” Jongin nodded. “They are my best friends.”

“Baekhyun told me a lot about you,” She chuckled. “He’s worried that you aren’t getting enough sleep.”

“I do,” He stopped to look over the railing, “I think I just always look tired.”

“Hm.”

“I love stars,” Jongin said to fill the void of silence. “They always have this air of mystery around them; but they are quite simple. Just giant gas balls in the sky.”

Lucy looked at the sky, arms stretching to grasp the glittering lights, “They make everything that is the universe. We are all star dust.”

Jongin thought she looked more beautiful out here in the dark than under Baekhyun’s fluorescent lighting. There was something to her, maybe a sense of restlessness that resonated with him. Something like they were both striving for something out of reach.