To his credit, Hyukjae was a very diligent worker. Okay, maybe working in a movie theatre picking up after the patrons leave isn’t exactly how he pictured himself spending his college years. He wasn’t about to let that get to him. The smell of popcorn embraced him each time he clocked in and would follow him home each night. Hyukjae didn’t hate his job but he wasn’t exactly fond of it either. The only perk that kept him from quitting was the free movies.

Hyukjae usually only worked during the week, but on this particular Saturday, he had managed to snag an extra shift. He was planning on saving up enough extra cash in order to pre-order his favorite band’s Reunion album. He was in the middle of getting dressed when his puppy Choco began to whine. Hyukjae let out a small laugh and knelt down to pet her. “I know, I know. This is usually our date night, but hey! I can’t just make money out of paper and hope that will be enough for to get g.o.d’s album.”  

~~~~~~

The hours passed by slowly, but eventually the theatre started to empty. There were always a few people who stayed behind. Whether it was a solo patron who accidentally fell asleep or a young couple who accidentally found each other’s lips, Hyukjae was always there to remind them that it was time to go home. He sighed and stretched before finally making his way to the last auditorium. It had been a really long day and he was more than ready to join Choco for a nice, relaxing walk.

To his relief, the auditorium seemed to be empty. All he had to do now was clean up the trash and he would be allowed to go home. Hyukjae started to hum his favorite song and bent over to pick up an abandoned popcorn bin. It was then that he heard someone sniffling. He stood straight up and looked around. “Hello?” No one answered him but the rolling credits. “I’m sorry, sir or ma’am, but the theatre is closing now.”

Hyukjae began to inspect all the rows, when he saw a man hugging his knees and sobbing. “Uhm… sir? It’s time to go home.” It was as if a fire hydrant had exploded on the man’s face because he began to bawl even louder. “MARLEY DIDN’T GET A CHANCE TO GO –hic- HOOOOOOME.” Hyukjae awkwardly shuffled his feet around. “Marley…?” He asked, seeing if he could manage to coax the man to leave. “THE DOG!” The man cried out, as he gestured to the screen. “Those heartless people just PUT HIM TO SLEEP and went on their merry way!” He pulled his knees in closer and sobbed inconsolably.  Hyukjae blinked rapidly. ‘Great…’ He thought to himself, ‘I am so close to going home but instead I get some nutcase crying over the death of a dog onscreen.’

Hyukjae cleared his throat “Sir? If you’re really concerned with helping a dog out, would you mind going home? I have a puppy who is probably on the verge of peeing all over the house.” The man looked up at him and nodded. “You’re right…” He sniffled and wiped his eyes with the sleeves of his shirt, “It’s silly of me to be sitting here crying over a movie.” Hyukjae gave him a small sympathetic smile. “Here, I’ll walk you out.”

Once outside the auditorium, the man laughed. Hyukjae gave him a confused look and he laughed again. “It’s just that… I went to the movies to get over an ex and now here I am, making your job more complicated by weeping like a little girl.” Hyukjae gave him a nod of understanding. “It’s alright. Sometimes, you just have a bad day and movies are supposed to be a great distraction!” The man returned the nod and smiled up at Hyukjae. “Thanks for walking me out. I guess I better get going.” He gave a small wave and began to walk away. Hyukjae turned to go and finish cleaning up when the man called out, “Oh, and by the way?” He turned to face him. “My name’s Donghae. I’ll see you around!” The man left before Hyukjae could register the name. He furrowed his eyebrows and watched the man’s retreating back.

“What a weirdo.”

a/n: this is my first time writing a fic ever and i am not sure how to feel about this laaaaaaaa please continue to give me good criticism!! I know this is a really short first chapter but I do hope you guys like it ㅠㅠ  -Naty