"please, please, please." kyungsoo repeats to himself, praying that the minor delay on the victoria line didn’t cause him to miss the 08:09 southeastern train to dartford rail station. he hates london's unpredictable public transport at times. he could leave five minutes later than usual and arrive either ten minutes early or a half hour later. but alas, it's the only mode available to him; he's not sure if he'd survive cycling on the capital's busy roads.

he sprints up the escalators, muttering a brusque "excuse me" to the early morning commuter who should know better than to stand on the left hand side. he can feel the lactic acid building in his calf muscles, his legs in danger of cramping up any second now but he cannot afford to be late. not today, not on his first day of his brand new job.

kyungsoo weaves his small frame through the heavy crowd, making his way to platform seven. his body is crying out in pain and his lungs are screaming for oxygen but he doesn't give up, his feet keep pounding against the smooth hard surface of the ground, maintaining his rapid pace. with the platform finally in sight, he slows down slightly and reaches into his pocket to retrieve his debit card, preparing for a smooth entry through the ticket barriers. halting inches from the faregate, debit card clutched in his right hand, his heart plummets.

there’s no train, just an empty platform.

kyungsoo glances at his watch. 8:11. he's missed the train by a couple of minutes.

"no, no, no. this can't be happening."

his mind replays the morning's events, the series of unfortunate incidences that had cost him precious time. he sighs in frustration, and an impending anxiousness floods his mind when he realises that he might actually be late.

kyungsoo do has always prided himself in his punctuality and his meticulous planning. 'by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail' has always been his lifelong motto. how could he allow himself to cut it so close on such an important day?

he kicks the floor, a sharp pain shoots up his leg. "motherfu—" he cuts himself off when he catches a young girl with plaited pigtails staring at him with wide curious eyes. he relaxes his grimaced face and forces a smile, avoiding eye contact with the child's mother at all costs. he's pretty sure the lady is boring daggers into him for the almost-curse in front of her innocent daughter.

backing away with quick haste, kyungsoo makes his way to the live departure boards to find out when the next train will be leaving the station. he elicits a feeble whimper when he discovers the next train is scheduled for 08:39. he's going to have to leg it as soon as he arrives at his stop if he doesn't want to be too late.

with over half an hour to kill, kyungsoo resigns himself to a nearby bench. fifteen minutes pass when his stomach decides to strike a conversation with him, demanding to be fed. eyes darting around the congested station, kyungsoo looks for an eatery with the smallest queue. he looks behind him, burger king is unsurprisingly busy, a meandering line of hungry commuters await to be served an unhealthy breakfast. mcdonalds is also out of the question, though the thought of a sausage mcmuffin and hash brown drowning in ketchup causes a production of copious amounts of saliva, threatening to spill from kyungsoo's lips.

wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, kyungsoo tries to recall other restaurant chains and food vendors within the station. upper crust and west cornwall pasty co are b with customers, the pasty shop and wasabi are on the other side of the station, so he strikes those off the list. he doesn't want to stray too far from the platform, lest he misses his train again.

brows furrowing as he racks his brain, kyungsoo spots millie's cookies with a small queue consisting of only a handful of customers looking for a caffeine fix. he instantly perks up and practically dashes to the small vibrant coloured store front calling his name.






boarding the 08:39 train, kyungsoo settles into his seat opposite a smartly dressed man. he glances at his breakfast sitting on the table; a box of twelve cookies isn't exactly ideal but it should satisfy him until lunchtime. a wave of relief washes over him when the train begins to pull away from the platform, on time. he closes his eyes and hums softly to the ending song of 'bear in the big blue house', fingers tapping the table gently. kyungsoo hears someone clear their throat and his eyes jerk open, a flush of embarrassment creeps to his face when he makes eye contact with the handsome man sitting opposite him. kyungsoo shoots him a shy smile, hoping that he didn't recognise the melody kyungsoo was humming to. fortunately, the stranger appears more interested in the morning headlines than with kyungsoo's secret guilty pleasure of watching reruns of classic children's shows.

ten minutes pass before the train approaches the next station. a herd of people alight and board the train and kyungsoo thanks his lucky stars that he's managed to snatch a seat during london's notorious morning rush hour. he closes his eyes again, drowning out the chitter chatter filling the carriage.

"would you like to sit down?" kyungsoo hears someone ask. he peeks an eye open, an elderly woman stands in front of him, clutching onto the back of kyungsoo's headrest to keep her balance.

shoot, kyungsoo really ought have offered his seat to her first.

"no, it's quite alright. i'm getting off at the next stop," the senior replies with a kind smile. the gentleman sitting opposite kyungsoo nods and returns his attention back to the newspaper.

kyungsoo catches eyes with the old lady and shoots her an apologetic smile. the warmth she'd exhibited a few seconds earlier is replaced with an icy demeanor. ashamed, kyungsoo looks away, averting his gaze to the window to avoid any further awkwardness. he doesn't miss the look of pity emanating from the stranger sitting opposite him in his peripheral.

as the train arrives at the next station, kyungsoo breathes a sigh of relief when the elderly woman joins the crowd disembarking from the carriage. as the train doors beep, signalling their imminent closure, kyungsoo hears the rustling of a box opening. he turns his head and faces the man sitting opposite him. no longer clutching a newspaper, the man is now holding a cookie in his hand.

wait, a cookie?

kyungsoo straightens up and looks down at his treatbox of cookies. his eyes widen in horror when he finds the cardboard package open with one cookie missing.

the man is eating his cookie. his cookie.

kyungsoo's bites his lower lip, uncertain of how he should react. how does one respond to this situation? the scenario is completely unprecedented, kyungsoo never would've thought that someone would be so brazen as to dive right into a complete stranger's box of cookies. no apprehension, no hesitation, nothing.

clearing his throat, kyungsoo reaches into the pack and grabs a cookie. raising the freshly baked yummy treat to his mouth, kyungsoo takes a large bite, smacking his lips loudly as he chews.

right, that should do it.

kyungsoo freezes when he catches a hand approaching his side of the table and into the box of cookies.

he's taking another one?!

kyungsoo is flabbergasted by the man's actions.

how dare he just steal my food in broad daylight? who does that? it's not exactly grand theft but there are certain rules of etiquette one should abide by. and that includes keeping grubby mitts out of someone else's food!

slamming his left palm on the table, he swiftly snatches another cookie and shoves the entire thing into his mouth in one bite. chewing furiously, he sticks his hand into the box and pulls out two more. kyungsoo reckons this is more than enough to assert his ownership and prompt the other to back down.

checkmate.

when the hand appears again, kyungsoo can only watch in disbelief. unable to utter a sound, he remains silent as another cookie is stolen from him yet again. feeling the rage boiling from within, kyungsoo balls up his fist and hammers down onto the box, smashing the last remaining five cookies into a pile of smushed mess.

kyungsoo's not particular sure why he's just attacked an innocent box of cookies. he immediately regrets his petty and juvenile behaviour but there's nothing he can do about it now. staring at the flattened carton, kyungsoo sneaks a peek at the stranger. unsurprisingly, the man has a stunned expression plastered across his face.

"...please remember to take all your personal belongings with you when leaving the train." kyungsoo hears the train's announcement as they arrive at the next stop. the cookie thief stands up abruptly, startling kyungsoo. the man brushes off any crumbs that may have fallen onto his neatly pressed suit and prepares to depart the carriage. as the train slows down to a halt, the stranger doesn't spare kyungsoo or the box of cookies another glance as he makes steps down onto the station's platform.

kyungsoo hears the door whir shut and he closes his eyes, trying to forget the morning's events. softly humming to himself once more, kyungsoo feels the tension leave his body, returning to a state of peace and relaxation.

"this train is for dartford, the next station is blackheath."

blackheath?!

kyungsoo heart races as he looks out of the window and catches the blurry "lewisham" sign.

he's just missed his stop.

"no, no, no." kyungsoo pushes back his shirt cuff to reveal his watch. 9:04. he's officially late. cursing his bad luck, he pats himself down to search for his phone. he frowns when his pockets come up empty. remembering he slipped his phone into his bag just before he left the house, he s his backpack to retrieve the device.

upon the opening of his bag, kyungsoo discovers an untouched box of twelve cookies.

he slams his face onto the table.






"hey, what's up, headmaster kim? you look like you're in a bit of a daze." sehun, junmyeon kim's secretary, pulls out a chair and gestures for junmyeon to take a seat.

"i think i just got robbed?" junmyeon collapses onto the chair and shakes his head.

"are you okay? what happened? wait, what do you mean you think?!" sehun asks, helping his boss to remove his jacket. sehun arches an eyebrow as he waits for junmyeon to elaborate.

junmyeon takes a deep inhale before retelling the events that had transpired. "you know how on mondays, i always bring in a box of millie's cookies into the office for all of us to share?"

sehun nods. "usually two short, but yes."

"do you see anything missing?" junmyeon waves his hands frantically for emphasis.

sehun gasps. "they stole the cookies?! i've been looking forward to the salted caramel one all weekend. nooooo, how could they?"

"there i was, nibbling away at my oatmeal and raisin cookie when this small angry looking man just takes one of my cookies without so much as a peep," junmyeon continues recounting the story, "and you know how i'm not one for confrontation, so i just keep mum, hoping it was just the one cookie. so then i go for my second one when he aggressively steals another one and before i even have a chance to protest, he takes two more! but wait, then the raving lunatic smashes my precious cookies out of nowhere, no provocation, nothing."

"so what did you do?" sehun asks, fiddling with his tie. he's always hated wearing the darn thing but junmyeon insisted that they dressed in smart attire, to set an example to the students and whatnot.

"well, it's not like i could really do anything. i didn't want to cause a scene on the train, and draw attention to the situation. for what, a few measly cookies? so i just put my head down and carried on as if nothing was happening." junmyeon stands up and begins to pace back and forth, hands on his hips. "and the worst thing about this man was, he didn't even offer his chair to the elderly. and he was sitting in the priority seat."

"the nerve of some people today. no respect for their elders." sehun clucks his tongue and shakes his head in disapproval.

in an attempt to stifle his laughter, junmyeon snorts rather unattractively. "sehun, please."

"hey! i resent that. i am super respectu—"

sehun is cut off by the door hitting the filing cabinet as it's flung open, the loud thud resonating through the room. a short man, wheezing for air, bursts into the room. with eyes glued to the floor, the new arrival apologises for his tardiness. "sorry, i'm late. there was a slight mishap with the trains this morning, it won't happen again."

sehun and junmyeon both exchange quizzical looks and an awkward silence ensues.

"er, who are you exactly?" sehun enquires after an uncomfortable minute passes.

"oh, perhaps i should introduce myself. yes, that would help. i'm kyungsoo do, the new english teacher. i've been liaising with a mr. park who told me that i should report to a mr. kim when i was to arrive this morning?" the man slowly raises his head and meets junmyeon's eyes.

"you!" they both cry out in unison.

"er, do you two know each other?" sehun asks, taking a seat behind his desk. he pulls out a lollipop from the second drawer and offers it to kyungsoo who declines with a shake of his head.

"so, mr. do, how are you acquainted with our headmaster kim here?" he asks again, popping the sweet into his mouth. intrigued by the man's identity, sehun his head and examines kyungsoo more closely. he's certain they've never met before and ponders the connection between kyungsoo and his boss. sehun is familiar with all of junmyeon's associates, it is his job after all. but wait, what if they know each other through extracurricular activities? the question sparks sehun to be even more curious about the nature of the two's relationship.

completely ignoring sehun's question, kyungsoo slips off his backpack and throws it to the ground. junmyeon takes a step back and adopts a defensive stance, bracing for a potential attack. kyungsoo's hands disappear into the bag and junmyeon quickly sidesteps towards his secretary, his ally, his human shield. clutching onto the back of sehun's shirt for dear life, junmyeon wonders why he's never installed an emergency panic button underneath sehun's desk. he makes a mental note to have sehun research how much it would cost and if they can allocate funds from the school's already tight budget.

if they survive, that is.

with bated breath, a terrified junmyeon watches on as kyungsoo pulls out...

...a box of cookies.

junmyeon's jaw hangs agape. he's fully aware that there are no millie's cookies branches near lewisham so he arrives to the only conclusion he can deduce; that kyungsoo had bought the cookies back at victoria station. which, in turn, means that kyungsoo had stolen his when he had his very own stash!

"i'm so sorry, mr. kim, sir. i didn't realise they were your cookies, i thought they were mine but then i found these in my bag and well, it's only right that you should have them." the man offers the baked treats with two hands and a lowered head.

in the midst of processing the overwhelming information, junmyeon is unable to formulate a sentence and opts to remain silent lest he babbles on like a bumbling buffoon.

sehun, on the other hand, lights up as soon as he recognises the goodies in kyungsoo's hands and has no trouble in articulating his thoughts. "oooh, cookies. thank you, mr. do, i like you already."

junmyeon prevents sehun from accepting the box, wrapping his fingers around sehun's wrist and yanking him backwards with all of his might. the lollipop falls from sehun's mouth, gravity pulling the candy to the floor and shattering upon impact.

"what the hell, junmyeon! what do you think you're do—"

"it's him! the cookie thief!" junmyeon cuts sehun off, hissing into his ear.

"but he brought replacement cookies which should cancel it all out, no?"

junmyeon cowers behind sehun's broad back, his gaze never straying from kyungsoo's form. "what if it's poisoned?" he whispers quietly, taking extra care to not be heard by the man standing across the room from them.

observing junmyeon's rigid posture, kyungsoo bows his head again. "i sincerely apologise again for my actions, headmaster kim, sir. i don't know what came over me. it's not a true reflection of my character, i've just been having a bad day and i know that's no excuse—"

"mr. do, is it?" sehun speaks, interrupting kyungsoo's apology.

the man nods.

sehun claps his hands together. "right. our policy here is everything is forgiven should you bring an offering of food. so as far as we're concerned, what happened is all swept under the rug. now, let's move on and—oomphh!"

"sehun oh!"

"junmyeoooooonnie! what was that for? that actually really hurt!" sehun whines, nursing his side from junmyeon's jab with his sharp pointy elbow. sehun shoots junmyeon a scowl and barges past him, knocking junmyeon several feet back.

treading towards kyungsoo with a spring in his step, sehun welcomes him to the faculty, "let's start again, shall we? this little fellow is junmyeon kim and i'm mr. oh, but you can call me sehun. i'm also the greatest secretary in the world, just fyi. always here if you have any questions or require any assistance settling in."

sehun extends an open palm for a handshake, one which kyungsoo happily obliges. they both turn their head to look at junmyeon, waiting for him to follow suit. instead, they are presented with the headmaster rubbing the nape of his neck muttering to himself. "little?! i'm not little. maybe i'm a little compact, streamlined, or even—"

"fun-sized?" sehun quips, snapping junmyeon out of his bubble. junmyeon looks up at the two and doesn't miss kyungsoo's teeth clamping down on his lower lip to suppress a giggle.

"aren't you going to greet mr. do or were your manners stolen on the train as well?" sehun asks with a cocked brow.

"ah yes, indeed. welcome to the team, mr. do. we're happy to have you. about what happened this morning, sehun's right, let's start off with a clean slate." junmyeon clears his throat and offers a fist bump in an effort to appear cool and 'down with the kids'. he glares at a snickering sehun.

"thank you, sir. i promise to remain professional at all times, regardless of where i am. i will represent our school and make sure to not sully its name and reputation." kyungsoo bows once again, his chin practically touching his knees.

junmyeon loses control of the muscles in his face and finds his lips curving into a wide grin. he experiences an ineffable feeling of warm affection towards the man, despite knowing next to nothing about him. junmyeon chooses to conveniently ignore the whole cookie stealing and smashing fiasco, we all have our rough mornings, after all. besides, everyone deserves a second chance, don't they? and what kind of role model would junmyeon be if he didn't accept the cute man's earnest apology? he's always taught his students to not bear grudges and to forgive and forget; it's time for him to practise what he preaches.

"okay, how about i give you a tour of the school?" junmyeon asks, guiding kyungsoo out of the room with his hand planted firmly on kyungsoo's back. he feels the warmth seeping into his palm and tries to quell the fire stirring below.

"wait, isn't that my job, junmye—" sehun closes his mouth when he notices junmyeon's hand on kyungsoo's waist. "never mind," he adds, picking up a stack of paperwork resting on his desk, humming marvin gaye's 'ual healing'.

"erm, mr. oh?" junmyeon stops in his tracks, turning around to face his secretary. he makes sure that kyungsoo is unable to see the death glare he's shooting at sehun.

"yes, mr. kim?" sehun responds with a playful lilt in his voice.

"what's with the humming?"

"oh, am i bothering you? i thought it wouldn't be disturbing anyone seeing as i'll have the room all to myself once you two leave," sehun replies with a mischievous smirk adorning his face.

"well, we haven't left yet." junmyeon hopes sehun can decipher the strings of profanity he's silently spewing at him via his facial expressions.

"aye, aye." sehun stands up straight and salutes junmyeon who's practically blowing steam from his ears.

"actually, junmyeon..." kyungsoo trails off, chewing his lip with a pensive expression cast on his face. "speaking of humming, i don't suppose you heard me on the train this morning?"

"hmm?" junmyeon asks, prompting for the other to explain further.

"never mind, it's nothing. so where are we heading to first?" kyungsoo asks instead, his pearly whites beaming and big doe eyes sparkling.

junmyeon feels his heart racing and butterflies fluttering in his stomach. he could get used to the sight of the cookie thief, kyungsoo do's smile. or kyungsoo do in any shape or form. with excitement coursing through his veins, junmyeon anticipates getting to know the new staff member better, and hopes the sentiment is reciprocated.

truth be told, junmyeon did hear kyungsoo humming this morning and he found it rather endearing. that was until kyungsoo smashed his cookies into smithereens for no apparent reason and thereby labeled as another one of the city's countless fruit loops. junmyeon debates on whether or not he should reveal that he had heard kyungsoo, for fear of making the other man uncomfortable. he decides to go for it, "first things first, let me officially welcome you to the big blue house, i mean, prendergast vale."






a/n:
my first sudo fic, woop woop.
i've been struggling to write and what was initially intended to be a drabble, turned into this.
nonetheless, i hope you enjoyed reading.
also, i did a lot of research for this fic so all information is (mostly) accurate. this includes stations, train times, platform number*, restaurant locations, etc.

*so after writing and posting the fic, i found out that the train actually departs from platform eight but my memory told me it was seven. oop. platform eight is located elsewhere and would be too far from millie's cookies so i'm leaving it as platform seven. (sidenote: finding out platform numbers when trains aren't currently running is like an impossible feat.)