Jonghyun hated his job. Actually, no. Hated is the wrong word. Jonghyun despised his job. Loathed it, even. He wasn’t quite sure why he didn’t quit. There had to be tons of other places willing to hire someone with his skills, right?

“Stupid manager, making me stand out here in this stupid suit in this ridiculous heat…” he muttered to himself as he adjusted the huge chicken beak he was wearing. His life was so insanely difficult sometimes.

He saw someone coming up the street, and he prepared to hand them a flier to the fast-food restaurant he detested working at. Goodness, did he dislike his job. He held out the flier as the stranger drew closer, opening his mouth to give the standard message about getting a free drink if you ordered chicken strips and large curly fries and was promptly cut off by a gruff ‘no, thanks’ as the stranger walked by.

Jonghyun dropped his arm with a huff. He honestly didn’t know why people couldn’t take the stupid fliers They didn’t have to keep them. He didn’t care what they did with them, as long as they took them. He had to give out a certain amount everyday, or he’d get in trouble. And getting in trouble over something so trivial as handing out fliers is not something he wanted.

He looked around, searching for someone else he could hand a flier to. The streets were practically deserted. It was too hot to be outside. Especially in a ridiculously stuffy chicken suit. It didn’t help him any that the restaurant was on a side street that was often overlooked if you didn’t already know that it was there. Jonghyun had never felt as pathetic as he did at that moment. Even that time when he got hit in the face with a basketball in the middle of a game he wasn’t even participating in didn’t compare to this.

“Why isn‘t it my lunch break yet?” Jonghyun mumbled, wiping the sweat from his forehead. He was not looking forward to explaining to his thickheaded manager why he didn’t meet his quota for the day. Who was going to leave the comfort of their air conditioning in this heat, unless they had somewhere else to be?

Jonghyun sighed and walked up the block a little to the corner of the main street, looking for somewhere he could dump the fliers where they wouldn’t be discovered.

“Nice suit. Are those real feathers?” came a voice from his left, making Jonghyun nearly jump out of his skin. He hadn’t noticed anyone else on the street.

“Um…no?” he replied after a few seconds. He couldn’t fathom why anyone would take interest in his hideous suit.

“Oh…” the stranger replied, still appraising him. “Well, I still like it. Where’d you get it?”

Jonghyun gaped at the man for a second. “Um…I work at that restaurant down the block.”

“Oh, sweet. Are they hiring? Would I get a suit, too, if I worked there?”

“Probably not…” Jonghyun cocked an eyebrow. This…person…he wanted to wear a chicken suit? Was he on something?

“Aw, that . I’m Lee Jinki, by the way,” the stranger said, holding his hand out, and offering Jonghyun a warm smile.

Jonghyun eyed the man warily before shaking his hand. “Kim Jonghyun.”

“Awesome. Well, I’ll leave you to your work, then. Nice meeting you, Jonghyun-ssi.” The man smiled again and walked down the block, whistling. Jonghyun gaped a him for a moment as he walked away.

‘What a strange guy,’ he thought, shaking his head. He sighed and looked at his watch. His eyes widened when he realized he missed half of his lunch break. He scrambled back to the restaurant with a huff.



Beep, beep, beep.

Jonghyun groaned, rolling over to shut off his alarm. He hated working the breakfast shift. It meant he had to wake up at the crack of dawn - or what felt like it, at least - and drag himself down to the restaurant. The one he couldn’t stand working at. If it weren’t for the fact that he had to pay rent now that his parents had all but cut him off for choosing to go to some expensive performing arts school, he wouldn’t be working at all. He wasn’t poor. In fact, his family was pretty well off. But because he chose to become a musician - rather than a doctor, as his parents had hoped - they decided that he could either have his own apartment and go to the school they wanted him to attend while they paid for everything, or he could go where he wanted and pay his own rent. It was days like these that made him regret his choice.

Jonghyun forced himself out of bed, going through his morning routine on autopilot. It was only when he had already left, and was halfway to the subway, that he realized that he forgot his wallet. Groaning in frustration, and sparing a glance at his watch, he turned back toward his apartment complex. At this rate, he was going to be late to work. And that meant having to wear the chicken suit again. For the tenth time this month. Jonghyun shuddered mentally, and quickened his pace. Like hell he was going to stand out there in that suit like an idiot again.

By the time Jonghyun got to work, he was already ten minutes late. He slipped in quietly, hoping his boss wouldn’t notice.

“Look who finally decided to show up!” a voice behind him said, loudly. Jonghyun turned and glared. Kibum smirked at him from the doorway. He hated this kid. Almost as much as he hated his job. Kibum did everything he could to make Jonghyun’s life hell.

“I didn’t know my life had a narrator now. Thank you for making me feel oh, so important,” he said, still glaring at Kibum.

“You’re so very welcome, Jonghyun-ah. I’ll go be telling the manager that you’re ten minutes late, now.”

Jonghyun groaned. “Can’t you spare me just this once, Kibum?”

“Why on earth would I miss the chance to see you looking like an idiot?” Kibum laughed, walking away.

Jonghyun sighed and turned back to the small locker room. Might as well put the suit on before he’s told, right?

“I hate my life,” he muttered under his breath.



Jonghyun leaned against the window. The lunch rush was dwindling, and he was anticipating the end of his shift. All he wanted to do was go home and go back to bed. He couldn’t even muster the energy to hate his job. Not that he didn’t anymore. He’d always hate his job. But at that moment, he was too tired to even care anymore.

“Oh, hey! Jonghyun-ssi, right?” Jonghyun slowly turned his head toward the voice and saw Jinki grinning at him. Maybe it was a good thing he couldn’t even be assed to roll his eyes.

“Uh, yeah. You’re…Jinki?” Jinki smiled wider and nodded his head. Jonghyun nodded and turned away again. He was surprised he remembered this guy’s name. It’s not like he expected to ever see him again. When Jinki didn’t say anything else, he turned toward him again. Jinki was still smiling, looking at Jonghyun expectantly. Jonghyun stared at him for a second, eventually returning an awkward smile.

“Do you wear this suit everyday, or…” Jinki finally said. 

“No. Only the person who’s the last to arrive for their shift has to wear it.”

“You mean the one who’s late.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Jonghyun huffed. Jinki laughed, bringing his hand up to cover his mouth. Jonghyun rolled his eyes in annoyance, deciding to ignore him.

“Well, lucky for me, you were late two days in a row. I would have been disappointed if I didn’t see you,” Jinki said when he finally stopped laughing. “Anyway, I should be going. Hopefully, I’ll see you again tomorrow. Bye!”

Jonghyun watched Jinki walk away, his head tilted slightly in confusion. He wondered why someone he just met the day before would be disappointed not to see him. It’s not like he said or did anything that had any impact on this guy’s life whatsoever. He shrugged and looked at his watch. Only five minutes until his shift was over. He smiled and turned inside, thoughts of collapsing in bed for a nap filling his head.



“So, who’s the cute guy?” Kibum sidled up to Jonghyun in the locker room.

“Oh, my. You think I’m cute, Kibum? I’m flattered.” Jonghyun grinned cheekily, turning to Kibum.

“No, stupid. Why the hell would I think you’re cute? I meant the guy you were talking to just before you came inside.”

“Jinki? He’s just some random guy. Why do you care?”

“Oh my God, even his name is cute. Jinki, Jinki, Jinki. I like it.” Jonghyun rolled his eyes and brushed past Kibum on his way to the door.

“I’ll be sure to introduce you if he comes around again,” he said as he walked through the door. Kibum followed him.

“No, I don’t trust you. You might tell him I or something.”

“You mean I might tell him the truth?”

Kibum hit him. “Shut up. I’ll come outside and introduce myself.”

“Who says I’m going to be the one in the chicken suit tomorrow?” Jonghyun hit Kibum back.

“Your attendance record for the majority of this month. You’ve been late nearly everyday so far. It‘s only the fifteenth.”

“Yeah, well. I’m going to be here half an hour early tomorrow. Go away now.” Jonghyun pushed through the entrance to the restaurant and headed off to the subway.



Jonghyun groaned, glancing at his watch as he exited the subway the next morning. He was late again, of course. He walked toward the restaurant, not even bothering to rush. He was already late, what was a few more minutes, right? He wasn’t exactly looking forward to Kibum harassing him for being late yet again, anyway.

Kibum snickered as soon as Jonghyun walked into the restaurant. Jonghyun rolled his eyes and made his way to the locker room. Might as well just put the suit on without being asked to do it.

“If you ask me, it looks like you’re being late on purpose,” Kibum said in a sing-song voice as he followed Jonghyun to the locker room. “You want to talk to Jinki the cute guy, don’t you?”

“Um, no. Not really. He’s weird and he’s only interested in the chicken suit.” Kibum laughed, slapping a hand on Jonghyun’s shoulder.

“Sounds like you do, Jonghyun-ssi,” he said in the same sing-song voice.

“How about you shut up and go do your job, Kibum-ah,” Jonghyun said, mocking Kibum’s tone. Kibum left the locker room, his laughter echoing after him. Jonghyun growled under his breath and finished changing.



It was nearly closing time, and Jonghyun was still standing outside. He only had to hand out a few more fliers and he was free to go. He sighed looking up and down the street. It was dark out already, so he doubted anyone would actually pass by.

“Jonghyun-ssi!” he heard just as he was turning to go back into the restaurant. He turned and saw Jinki grinning at him. “I was afraid I’d miss you today. I wasn’t able to pass by earlier.”

“How did you know I’d even be out here?”

“I didn’t, but it would have been worth passing by, even if you weren’t. I would have gone inside to say hi,” Jinki replied, easily.

“But why? The only reason you talk to me is because of the chicken suit, right? I wouldn’t be wearing it inside,” Jonghyun said. Jinki laughed and shook his head with a smile. Jonghyun looked at him like he had three heads.

“The chicken suit gave me a reason to talk to you, yes, but that’s not what I’m interested in.”

“W-what? It’s not?” Jonghyun blinked in surprise.

“Well, I’ve got to go. I’ll be back tomorrow, Jonghyun-ssi. Try not to be late, you might get fired.” Jonghyun stared dumbly as Jinki walked away whistling. Was Jinki hinting that he liked him? Jonghyun shook his head, dismissing that thought, just as Kibum burst through the door.

“Damn, missed him,” Kibum said, snapping his fingers. Jonghyun rolled his eyes.

“How the hell do you manage to have the same shift as me every single day?”

“Oh. Well, it’s my goal to make your life miserable, and I can’t do that if we’re working different shifts, right? And I won’t get to see Jinki the cute guy if I’m not around when you are. So, I changed my schedule to match yours.” Kibum grinned at Jonghyun in a way that made him want to punch Kibum in the face. Not that he would, but the thought definitely crossed his mind.

“I kind of hate you, Kibum.”

“Aw, but Jonghyun, I like you so much!” Kibum gave Jonghyun an exaggerated pout. Jonghyun rolled his eyes and headed inside.



Jonghyun managed to be on time for his shift the next day. He stood leaning against the counter, staring at the ceiling. There was a lull in customers, and he was bored. Kibum stood next to him, fiddling with his clothing. He sighed and turned toward the entrance of the restaurant to look through the window. His eyes widened when he saw Jinki talking to the poor soul who was stuck wearing the chicken suit that day. He watched as Jinki nodded and opened the door. Kibum immediately looked up as the bells on the door chimed and smiled.

“Oh, good. I get to meet him, finally,” Kibum said, fixing his hair a little. Jinki made his way up to the counter and smiled.

“Hello, Jonghyun-ssi!” he said, cheerfully. Jonghyun stared at him for a second, gaping.

“Um, hi,” he managed. Kibum rolled his eyes and pushed Jonghyun out of the way.

“Hi, I'm Kibum,” he said, holding his hand out to Jinki. Jinki blinked at him for a second and shook his hand.

“I'm Jinki. Nice to meet you, Kibum.”

Kibum smiled. “How can I help you?”

“I just came to talk to Jonghyun,” Jinki said, smiling. Kibum's smile immediately dropped.

“Oh,” he said with a huff. “Have fun, then.” Jonghyun laughed as Kibum walked away with his arms crossed.

“So, um. Jonghyun-ssi,” Jinki said, once Jonghyun composed himself. “I was kind of wondering if, um...you would like to go out sometime?”

“W-what?” Jonghyun gawked. He hadn't been expecting that at all.

“On a date,” Jinki elaborated.

“Date?”

“Never mind. I'll see you another time, Jonghyun-ssi.” Jinki turned and hurried out of the restaurant. Jonghyun stared after him, blinking in surprise.

“Nice going, .” Kibum said from the other end of the counter. He had been leaning against the wall, watching the entire time. “I wouldn't be surprised if he never came back. You're really dumb sometimes.”

“Wait, what? How was I supposed to know he'd ask me out?”

Kibum scoffed. “Think about it. Would you come every single day because you were interested in a stupid chicken suit?”

“No. But I don't know what goes on in his head.”

“Idiot.”



Jonghyun replayed what happened in his mind over the next few days. He was mildly disappointed every time the door opened and it wasn't Jinki. He didn't bother to look up when the door chimed anymore. Two weeks passed before he saw Jinki again. It was another slow day when Jinki came around again.

“Um, hi.” Jonghyun immediately looked up when he heard Jinki's voice.

“Hi. Long time no see,” Jonghyun said. Jinki looked down at his hands.

“Yeah, sorry,” he said, without looking up. “I wa--”

“I thought about your question,” Jonghyun said, cutting Jinki off. “And, yes. I would like to go out sometime.”

Jinki looked up with wide eyes. “R-really?”

“Yeah. But, what did you mean when you said that the suit only gave you a reason to talk to me?”

Jinki smiled. “We go to the same school, Jonghyun. I noticed you months ago.”

“Oh,” Jonghyun said, his eyes wide in surprise. “Sorry, I never noticed you. I never really noticed anyone.”

Jinki laughed and shook his head. “It's okay. I'm glad you've noticed at all.”

Jonghyun smiled. He reached over, grabbed a napkin, and wrote his phone number on it. He looked up and handed it to Jinki.

“So we can set up our date and stuff,” he said. Jinki nodded and put the napkin in his pocket.

“Well, I should be going. I'll call you.” Jinki said. Jonghyun nodded and watched as Jinki walked out of the restaurant.

“Ooh! Jonghyun has a boyfriend!” Kibum immediately shouted from the back where he was washing off trays. Jonghyun laughed.

“Yup. Looks like I do," he said with a smile. Maybe he didn't hate his job as much as he thought he did after all.