The convenience store that Minseok wanted to go was four blocks away from the dorms. It usually took around six to seven minutes for him to get there and it was nine seventeen on his phone right now. They closed the gates at ten sharp, an hour and half earlier than usual because it was the final seasons. 

Minseok had spent a good twenty minutes scourging in the kitchen of his floor and the pantry downstairs for a packet of Nongshim jjawang ramyun. He wasn't a picky eater by a long shot but if he was going to spend a good part of the night studying organic chemistry, he needed his favourite food to get him through this heavy ordeal. 

There weren't a lot of people on the street, Minseok wondered why. It was a fairly pleasant night and it wasn't even ten yet. It was chilly but not biting, the kind that made him pull his jacket a little tightly to contain the tiny, tingly shivers that warm his torso as they travel up his spine. 

It took him a while to realise that Jongin was walking right behind him, the sound of Jongin's worn out sneakers shuffling quietly at the back of him amidst the other street noises had taken a while to register in Minseok’s cluttered mind. 

He quickly reached back to grab Jongin's hand and intertwined his arm with his, pulling him forward in stride. Jongin was a lot taller and clumsy, his feet knocking Minseok’s smaller ones and his body on its own accord leaning a little too heavily on Minseok. It took them a couple of steps to find their balance. Minseok was quite sure Jongin was sporting his bashful smile but he doesn't bother looking. 

Entering the convenience store after sundown always feels different, Minseok can't tell why despite wondering about it each time he visits. 

The air conditioning is always here but he spends a good part of the day in air conditioned classrooms even if his dorm doesn't have the facility, so that's not it. The overhead fluorescent lighting is a bit brighter than the normal ones and sometimes feels heavy in a strange but not unpleasant way, like the air is charged with a type of matter he does not know about, like all the molecules in the air carry a certain extra amount of dust that they probably accumulated throughout the day from the other customers. It doesn't make much sense. 

Jongin stands leaning against the end of the billing counter, near the doorway scrolling away on his phone. There are two other customers in the store besides them, a woman near the cigarette section and a young boy near the large refrigerator. There is a child as well, sat in the trolley next to the woman near the cigarettes who has a hand on the handle of trolley. There is a small t-rex in the child’s hands but its not playing with it. 

Minseok doesn't bother picking up a basket since he only needs to buy the packet of ramyun. The instant noodles aisle is right in the middle of the store, it's a blind spot actually, there are no cameras anywhere near the aisle. 

There are five security cameras, one in each corner and one directed at the entrance, the door. Minseok would never do it but he could very easily shoplift a couple of instant noodles packets, nobody would be able to tell because of his jacket. It's only a silly thought really, he would never steal anything. 

There are three shelves of Nongshim jjawang with all the various flavours and Minseok grabs two of them, that should be enough till they restock the pantry this weekend. One of the customers leaves the store, Minseok can tell from the doorway bell ringing. It's a strange bell because he can swear the bell rings at the same decibel from any corner of the store. It's not a shrill sound, neither is it a heavy sound that hurts his chest, it's somewhere in between, perhaps something similar to a shrill bell ringing underwater. Why does a convenience store need a bell anyway when they have a security camera trained on the door twenty four hours a day. 

Maybe sound in general works differently in here, the radio playing in the overhead speakers was quite low, almost muffled but Minseok could hear it well enough. He was sure that even if the girl at the counter yelled or any of the customers started to scream at each other and cause commotion, he would still be able to hear the radio. They always play the radio in this store and always at the same volume. 

Minseok drops his three items on the billing counter, two packets of Nongshim jjawang ramyun and one snickers, its for Jongin. He fishes for his wallet in the pocket of the jacket, looking at the analog clock hanging on the wall behind the counter, its nine twenty five almost nine thirty, he still has half an hour before the gates are closed. 

Jongin is at his side now, he tries to take a peek at his phone but he can't really see anything. 

The girl at the counter tells him the amount in a low voice, but it startles him nevertheless. 

Jongin walks slowly on the way back, slowing Minseok down as well but he isn't bothered very much. He isn't really looking forward to studying chemistry tonight so its okay if he walks home slowly. Jongin's footsteps never seem steady when he has his arm wrapped around Minseok’s so he always has to make up for it, supporting a little weight of Jongin's as well on the way back home. 

The weather has gotten a little more colder in the five minutes they spent at the convenience store so Minseok welcomes the body heat that comes along with Jongin's weight. Its toasty and chilly at the same time. 

They stall a little at the gate of the dorms for no reason. Time seemed a little warped, like they had stepped out from the convenience store into a slightly alternate night of a different but familiar timeline. 

Minseok cooks the ramyun in the kitchen of his dorm floor while Jongin lounges nearby lazily munching on the chocolate he got him. There are two students sat at the small table discussing an integration problem under two dim tube lights. 

Minseok eats his ramyun in his room at his study table.

A/N: unedited. Thanks for reading.