Author's note: Their relationship here is purely platonic.

 

 

A yawn escaped from Johnny's mouth for the fifteenth time. His eyes are getting droopy as he struggles to stay awake and not getting caught sleeping on his job by the surveillance cameras. The night was silent. The only sound being the tick tock of the clock on the wall which by the way read 3 a.m.

 

'5 more hours',he silently encouraged himself. Why did he ever thought taking the 7-Eleven night shift was a good idea? He sighs, rubbing his already tired eyes.

 

 The things he would do for money.

 

Just as he was starting to doze off, the door bell rang, signalling a new customer.Johnny quickly adjusted his uniform and stretched his lips to form a smile but it probably looked more like a grimace.

 

Fortunately, the customer hadn't noticed Johnny's attempt to smile. Instead,the customer,a young boy, headed straight to the coolers. He was wearing branded clothing from head to toe, the kind that Johnny couldn't afford even if he saved up six months worth of salary. But what caught Johnny's attention was that the boy took a can of coke and quickly smuggled it in his leather jacket, probably thinking that Johnny hadn't noticed. He then took another one and headed to the counter.

 

'This kid really thought I wouldn't noticed?' ,he thought as he scanned the coke.Looking at the screen, the boy wordlessly handed him the cash,took the coke and went straight for the door.

 

"Aren't you gonna pay for that?", Johnny called out to him. His loud voice causing the boy to freeze in his tracks,one hand still on the door. The boy didn't moved an inch when Johnny neared him. It was only when the man's hand landed on his shoulder did the boy slowly turned his head to look at him, "I don't know what you're talking about,mister"

 

Johnny kept a stern look on his face, "Oh,I think you do",and it over"

 

For a minute,the two of them seem to be having a staring contest until the boy said something that caught Johnny off guard, "Why don't you call the cops?"

 

"What?"

 

"I mean if you caught someone shoplifting, wouldn't the obvious thing to do is to call the cops?", the boy asked with such a blank tone it made Johnny think that maybe the boy was doing this on purpose.

 

"You don't... actually want that,do you?",he asked,confused.

 

The kid shrugged his shoulders but something about that action made him seem...sad and helpless. "Why not? They never cared what I do anyways"

 

"Who?"

 

"My parents'"

 

There's definitely more to his story than stealing a can of coke just for fun.Well, Johnny still has 4 hours and 30 minutes left on his shift anyways. Gently so as to not scare the kid away,he led them towards a small table behind the counter set up for employees to rest. When they were both seated, Johnny took it upon himself to start the introduction, "I'm Johnny Suh"

 

The boy perked up, "Johnny? You're American?",he asked to which Johnny replied to him that he lived there during his childhood. 

 

"Oh,my name is Lee Donghyuck"

 

A small smile grew on Johnny's face, "So now that that's out of the way,will you tell me why you decided to steal a can of coke? I won't tell anyone, just curious",he said, using his most gentlest voice.

 

The boy heaved a long sigh, "It's just...they expect so much from me,you know.It drives me crazy sometimes.They even want me to get into business like them. That's not what I want but they don't know that cause they never bothered to ask, it's like my opinions don't matter"

 

"And you think rebelling and getting into trouble is gonna make them listen to what you have to say?", Johnny questioned to which Donghyuck shrugged his shoulders, "It's worth the try"

 

It was Johnny's turn to sigh.The boy reminded Johnny of himself when he was younger and still living with his parents.His younger self which had meddled with the wrong group of friends and gotten into trouble too many times to count.At that time,he didn't really care what he was doing, his parents were always too busy to know what he was up to. It was only a matter of time before he and his so called friends found themselves caught and sent to the police station for shoplifting. At that point of time, while waiting for his dad to pick him up from the police station,he made an oath to change. Cut ties with his clique and just be better. Of course, starting anew wasn't easy if you have an arrest record on you. Thankfully,a distant friend of his named Jaehyun managed to get him a job in 7-Eleven. It was a night shift and low paying job but Johnny was still grateful, it was still better than nothing.

 

Nevertheless,he doesn't want Donghyuck to end up making the same mistake as him. "What if you get arrested, Donghyuck? Would it still be worth it then?"

 

Donghyuck looked up at him confusingly, "What do you mean?"

 

"I was once a little bit like you but worse. I got into a lot of trouble all the time. Shoplifting,vandalism... those type of stuff. It wasn't until I saw how disappointed my dad was that I realised what I've been doing was wrong. So, I started anew and long story short, I'm here",he said gesturing towards his surroundings.

 

Donghyuck scrunched his nose which Johnny thought made the younger looked adorable. The boy seemed to be thinking, "So you're saying I'm going to end up working at a convenience store in the middle of the night?"

 

"Is that all you got from all that?",he asked exasperated. At this, Donghyuck laughed,one that sounded so melodic and contagious,it made Johnny laughed along until they were both laughing at the same time in an empty convenience store during the wee hours of the morning. 

 

"I'm just kidding. But yeah, I get what you're trying to say", Donghyuck said amidst small giggles.

 

"Promise you won't try stealing stuff again?" Johnny asked him hopefully. He stared straight into Donghyuck's eyes to make sure the boy knows not to take this lightly. It's strange, he thinks. He barely knew this kid but he could feel the urge to protect him growing inside him. Maybe it's the boy's twinkling doe eyes starring innocently at him or maybe that the boy reminded Johnny of himself when he was younger. He doesn't know which one but he knows that he definitely doesn't want Donghyuck to end up like him. 

 

The tanned boy smiled reassuringly at him, "I promise. Don't worry hyung"

 

Just hearing that lifted some weight off of Johnny's chest. He opened his mouth, about to say something but stopped when Donghyuck let out a yawn and rubbed his eyes,an action Johnny couldn't help smiling at how cute it looked. "You should go home now,kid. You seem tired"

 

Donghyuck frowned, "That's because I had to hear father rant for the tenth time about how proud he would be when his only son becomes a businessman and inherit the family company one day"

 

"But is that what you want?", the older asked even though it became obvious to him that Donghyuck doesn't want anything to do with it. 

 

"God,no",he said with clear detest, "But father doesn't know that. And I never told him that my real dream is to be a singer"

 

"Why not?"

 

The younger frowned deeper, "I don't really know. Maybe I'm just scared of what he would say"

 

Johnny sighed, "Donghyuck, he's your family. I'm sure he'll understand". At this, the boy hang his head low, his eyes staring down at the table. He turned silent after hearing Johnny's words. The older's heart clenched at the sight. He couldn't bare to watch Donghyuck like this. The boy doesn't want to hurt his family's feelings but at the same time he doesn't want to follow up to their expectations. 

 

"Talk to them"

 

Donghyuck looked at him, "what?"

 

"Talk to him", Johnny repeated, "tell him about your dream. He's your family,he would understand. But if he doesn't,call me. I'll go over and talk to him myself",he ended with a wide grin.

 

Donghyuck giggled and nodded in understanding. He reached for something in his jacket pocket and fished out the can of coke he had attempted to steal. "Sorry about this",guilt laced his voice as he placed it on the table.

 

"It's okay. I know you meant no harm", the older said.

 

Since it was getting so late and the younger looked like he was struggling to keep his eyes open, they both decided it was time to part ways. Johnny glanced at the dark and empty street nervously. Something about Donghyuck walking alone in the dark streets doesn't sit well with him but Donghyuck reassured him that he will be fine and that his house isn't that far.

 

"Are you sure you don't want me to give you a ride?", Johnny asked for the fifth time.

 

"I told you, I'll be fine. Besides,I can't let you do that. You're on your job.", Donghyuck reassured him again.

 

Although reluctant to let Donghyuck have his way, the older didn't have a choice. He pursed his lips and watched as Donghyuck mounted on his bike that was parked beside the door. The younger took one last look at him and flashed a bright smile, "Bye, Johnny hyung"

 

His lips formed a smile on his own as he waved at the boy, "Good bye kid. Don't stop anywhere and just go straight home,got it?"

 

The boy nodded before pedalling his bike and rode down the road until the dark swallowed him and Johnny couldn't see him anymore.

 

The night became quiet once again and Johnny  now was alone again with his thoughts,all of which were concerns of the young boy's safety.

 

.........

 

It was quiet as usual in Johnny's workplace. So quiet that you could hear a pin drop. It was empty too,a bit lonely if you asked Johnny. With nothing to entertain himself,he thought of making himself useful by moping the floors.He was almost finished with the task when he heard the sound of the door being flung open and an excited "Hyung! Hyung! Hyung!" breaking the peaceful silence. He turned towards the direction of the voice and was met with a bouncy and excited looking Donghyuck. It's usually weird seeing someone behave like that at freaking four o'clock in the morning. However, Johnny found the sight in front of him amusing. He chuckled, the tan boy look like he could be living in a Twice music video.

 

"Calm down,kid",he said amusingly, "You seem happy

 

"Your advice worked,hyung", the boy said cheerfully. He was practically jumping excitedly, his soft brown hair bouncing cutely.

 

"It did?", the older said in disbelief.

 

It turns out that Donghyuck's happiness was contagious, Johnny could feel the boy's bright smile making his own heart swell. He mirrored his smile, "I take it your dad took it well?"

 

 

"Yeah,at first he disapproved but I convinced him some more and just like that, he said okay. A bit reluctantly but I think he will slowly accept it", Donghyuck said while thinking back to the suspenseful talk he and his father had.

 

The younger was gifted with a proud smile from Johnny and a ruffling of his hair. "That's great! I'm proud of you,kid",he exclaimed. A giggle escaped the younger's lips as Johnny's fingers carved through his hair. It was truly a precious sight for someone who never had a younger sibling to look after, therefore Johnny made sure to treasure it.

 

However, that wasn't the last interactions they had. Apparently, the younger had developed a habit of sneaking out in the middle of the night to meet up with Johnny at his workplace every night. It became a routine, Johnny would wait for his favourite dongsaeng and said favourite dongsaeng would arrive with all his loud and boisterous energy and then they would talk about their daily lives or laugh at jokes tirelessly until the break of dawn.

 

At one point,Johnny started to become worried that Donghyuck might be losing sleep because of this. No matter how many times Donghyuck brushed him off saying he could always sleep during daytime, Johnny couldn't help but be concerned whenever he saw the dark circles under his eyes.

 

But thankfully, Johnny wasn't the only one who addressed the problem. Mark Lee, Donghyuck's best friend from Canada,was also worried about Donghyuck's lack of sleep. They met when Mark and Donghyuck were holding one of their annual sleepovers where, instead of sleeping, the younger had drag his best friend out to meet Johnny at his workplace in 7Eleven. Long story short,they hit it off. Probably because the two of them were both avid English speakers. 

 

Anyways,Mark had tried multiple times to make sure Donghyuck gets enough sleep. Unfortunately, he was no match against the younger's stubbornness for the results would always end with a pillow being slammed to his face or being dragged to 7-Eleven at three a.m. by force. Eventually, the boy gave up and accepted his fate that he will never be able to win against Lee Donghyuck.

 

Johnny still cracks up hearing the poor Canadian boy's story. It's pitying, but also funny.

 

"John?"

 

"Johnny? Earth to Johnny?" 

 

The man in question blinked his eyes multiple times. He hadn't noticed that he was so deep in thought to the point where he didn't realize two people were trying to get his attention. He looked at the two best friends apologetically, "Sorry? What did you say?"

 

Donghyuck huffed, "I said I need to go to the bathroom. Can I use your bathroom?"

 

 "Sure bud, it's in the back room"

 

Donghyuck smiled ,"Thanks hyung. Don't start the conversation without me " he said before going into the back room.

 

When he was out of earshot, Mark smiled, "He looks up to you,hyung"

 

"Why though? I'm a high school dropout with a criminal record"

 

Mark stared at the door Donghyuck had gone into, "You may think that but Donghyuck sees you differently,hyung. Since his parents were almost never home,you were the best parental figure he could ever have"

 

"I wouldn't say I'm a parental figure",he said with clear uncertainty.

 

Mark chuckled, "Hyung, he admires you. You have no idea how much he talks about you with our friends"

 

This got Johnny's attention. He stared at the younger with wide eyes, "wait,he does? Why?"

 

Mark smiled at him amusingly, "He sees you as a big brother figure and I don't know if you know this but he acts more like a baby around you"

 

Johnny thought back to the time he was around Donghyuck and realised that the younger does a lot of skinship with him, mostly arm clings and sudden hugs. Johnny always dismissed it to the fact that the boy loves affectionate gestures but now he realised that maybe the boy was just overly comfortable with Johnny's presence. The thought leaves a warm feeling in his stomach, his lips unconsciously tugged into a smile.

 

But before he could dwell more on it, the back door opened and Donghyuck appeared out of it. The younger looked at Johnny and Mark with narrowed eyes, "Were you guys talking about something?"

 

It was Mark who answered, "Nope,just waiting for you"

 

A bright smile made its way onto the tanned boy's face, "Good,cause I need to tell Johnny about that time you embarrassed yourself in history class"

 

Johnny laughed , "Ooh, something embarrassing happened to Mark? Spare no detail"

 

"Wasn't gonna",he said before taking a seat beside Johnny and clunged to his arm like it was the most natural thing to do.For Donghyuck,it is. 

 

A groan from Mark was left ignored.

 

As they got together and hear one of Mark's embarrassing stories told from Donghyuck's view, Johnny felt as if the empty void in his heart had became full. The boy clinging on his arm brought a protective nature within Johnny and he was grateful for him.

 

Suddenly, Johnny's dull world that was grey and empty was now bright and sunny,all thanks to Lee Donghyuck, his favourite dongsaeng.