The next Monday morning Baekhyun is a bit conflicted as he leaves his apartment. On one hand his plan to deal with the tall stranger is going smoothly, and after going to bed early last night he had gotten up on time and could take his morning shower. On the other hand he had to do some heavy work in the thrift shop. Someone though it would be a good idea to deliver a set of furniture just before closing time at Saturday, and he and Jongin had been given the task to rearrange the entire furniture section this morning.

He drags his feet a bit as he walk down the street, trying to come up with a plan to make Jongin do all the lifting while he directs him around. Although Jongin snorts every time Baekhyun brings up his artistic skill for interior, Baekhyun takes much pride in it.

Baekhyun, why on earth do you think it’s a good idea to put a chair on top of a table?

Jongin, listen to me, that piece of furniture is a masterpiece. The sowing on these cushion covers are not something you see every day. And look at that workmanship! This is true art Jongin!

Baekhyun spent the next few days reconsidering his decision because the chair stood out like a sore thumb, until a costumer had entered the shop exactly a week later. It turned out that the furniture was a rare piece and highly requested on the collector marked, and because of Baekhyuns talent the customer had spotted it from the other side of the shop when looking for a pair of shoes. Baekhyun had tried to keep his eating grin down as he cashed in the highest price in the thrift shops history.

Needless to say, Jongins jaw went slack as Baekhyun received his big bonus that month. He had wanted his own share because he had lifted the ancient garbage on the table, but Baekhyun had bought his dogs studded collars for his birthday to keep it fair. He had used all the money the same weekend anyway because Hey Soo I’ve got money. I’m paying your ticket for Lotte World. Baekhyun had ended up paying for than Kyungsoos ticket, but it was worth to see him smile. 

He was also sure that he would finally be employee of the month, but Sehun on the afternoon shift had beat him to it the last day by saving the shop from burning down. That’s another reason Baekhyun had asked for the morning shift. There are some really strange people who enter the shop during the midday.

Fortunately Baekhyun deals with nice people for the most part. He is better with costumer than Sehuns blank face anyway. His Kung Fu panda workmate is no better really. It’s not surprising that the regulars tend to come during Baekhyun and Jongins shift. Just thinking about it makes Baekhyuns steps a little lighter. He can’t wait to boss Jongin around.

A gush of the cold wind creeping down his neck takes Baekhyun back to reality. He shivers and stuffs his hands into his pockets. His left hand meets resistance, and he quickly pulls it out. A bundle of something white and blue falls to the ground, and he crouches down to pick it up. It’s a pair of fingerless mittens that he recalls he had put there after his walk around the block last evening. It was quite chilly then, and he had regretting not wearing them, so he though it had been a good idea to prepare for today. He puts on one of them quickly while standing up. He’s about to put on the other one when someone behind him taps his shoulder.

“Hey”

Baekhyun all but squeals at the deep sound, and his mitten goes flying. It crashes into a passerby who struggle a bit to keep it from falling to the ground. She gives it to the creep who’s conveniently standing closer with a laugh and a here before walking off. He smiles friendly back before turning to Baekhyun with a wider smile.

“Here you go.” He says, sounding too happy for Baekhyuns liking. “Sorry for scaring you.”

“Thanks,” Baekhyun says, and puts the mitten on and starts walking. The guy follows.  “and you didn’t really.”

 “They look good.” The guy says and points at Baekhyuns mittens. “Comfy and convenient. Especially for smartphone users.”

Baekhyun looks down at the fingerless mittens he had bought in the thrift shop last year. They were a donation from Granny Soonkyu, along with a dozen others, but Baekhyun had fallen for the blue patterns on these particular ones and bought them himself. 

The stranger stretches out his own arms so his hands pop out of the sleeves to study his bare fingers. His hands are a little rough with scars here and there. They look warm too. Baekhyun doesn’t want to look any longer, but the scars catch his interest. The guy hums and breaks Baekhyun out of his line of thoughts.

“Maybe I should get my own pair, it’s getting colder you know?” He continues and wiggles his fingers a bit before looking at Baekhyun with smiling eyes. “Where did you get yours?”

“Oh I bought them at the…” Baekhyun is honestly a bad liar, and he’s about to spill the truth because his mind is still distracted by the possible histories behind the scars, but he catches himself just in time. “Uh, I mean I bought the yarn for my Grandma so she could make them for me. She gave me a purple sweater when I asked for a blue one once. I don’t really like purple. I think she might be going blind. Or at least her vision is turning black and white. Old people you know. Maybe she’s turning deaf too. Anyone could mistake blue and purple.” He rambles, finishing with an awkward laugh. He doesn’t dare to look up at the guy, because if his lie wasn’t bad enough his face would definitely give him away.  

The truth is that Baekhyun never really knew his grandparents. All were dead except his grandfather when he was born, but he died when Baekhyun was two. Kyungsoo says this is the only reason why Baekhyun actually likes being friendly to old people; because he never really experienced having a grandparent as a kid. You’re just fascinated. And they think you’re just a naïve sixteen year old school dropout so they give you free stuff when you’re really just playing the innocent card like a five year old brat.

Baekhyun knows he isn’t just dumb, but knows how to play dumber. Sookyus dumplings are worth it though, and honestly he likes listening to them talk about the time when they were his age (sixteen as they believe). 

His rambling is met with a deep chuckle, and Baekhyun realizes that this isn’t good. They are getting too friendly.

“I guess I have to ask my own grandma for a pair then.” The stranger says and stuffs his hands in the pockets of his parka. “She’s into knitting, so I guess she would be more than happy to make something of my request.”

“Yeah you should.” Baekhyun answers simply, trying to be nonchalant. He can’t believe he is having a conversation with the creep that is going to kill him. This needs to end right now.

He turns towards the guy to say goodbye, but a big oof escapes past his lips and he crashes face first in a dark blue parka.

Someone had roughly bumped into him from behind in their hurry, and now Baekhyun was clinging onto the creep so he wouldn’t fall.

He pushes himself away as fast as possible before the guy gets a proper grip to steady him. He turns away and continues to walk while furiously speaking.

“Oh my god! What the is wrong with people!”

His voice cracks at the end, but he doesn’t care. He hears the creep catching up to him before the body presses close to his side to squeeze through the crowd. This is not okay.

Baekhyun can feel two eyes boring holes at the side of his head, but he tries to ignore it and keeps walking. It gets more and more annoying by the second, and it doesn’t help that the guy is starting to bend to meet his eyes either.

In the end Baekhyun has had enough. He abruptly stops in his track, stomps his right feet, clenches his fists, and hisses trough gritted teeth. 

“Do you have a problem?”

The guy stops too, looking taken aback by the reaction like he wasn’t at fault.

“Uh no,” The guy looks confused, and his eyes dart everywhere but on Baekhyun, before they settle on his eyes as he asks, “More like you do?” 

Baekhyun frowns so hard he’s surprised he didn’t pull a muscle.

“What? Why?”

“Because you missed your turn for work.” The stranger says and points a thumb behind him towards the corner Baekhyun had turned left last week to shake the guy off.

Oh I forgot.

“Uh I’m… I’m meeting a friend first.” Baekhyun says while he starts walking again. He’ll just pretend that he needs to turn by the next corner instead. It’s not exactly a lie. He has to see Kyungsoo tomorrow.

“Ahh, I see.” The creep says and nods a little.

Baekhyun subtly pats his pockets to find his phone so he can pretend that he needs to run, but it doesn’t seem to be anywhere.  It’s only a few steps left, but now he’s almost more worried about where his phone might be than getting away.

“Okay, I’ll be going. Bye.” He says shorty before around the corner.

“Yeah, I’ll see you around. Bye!”

Baekhyun doesn’t let the I’m sure you will slip from his tongue.

1646 words

We're meeting Kyungsoo in the next chapter!