Hyunjin and Jeongin have been in a relationship for almost two years. Hyunjin is a top for Jeongin. Jeongin is a bottom with no intent of topping. Hyunjin is secretly a switch but doesn't tell Jeongin at first. Bangchan is a single man with a lotta...
Another day another closing shift. Only this time it wasn't me and Seungmin up front. Today was his day off. It was someone else. Someone much louder.
"Wow would you look at all the customers in here today! Kyungsoo will be super happy when he sees all the money in the register!" Park Chanyeol. Friend of the deli owner. Extremely well known in the surrounding community. Has no idea how to speak softer than yelling.
Chanyeol was a fellow full-timer that mostly worked mornings, but tonight he came in and took up residence at the payment counter. I was stuck on service case for the time being.
"Hello and welcome in! Please have a look at our menu and bring any questions you have to me. I'm sure I can answer them fairly quickly hahaha!" Chanyeol always greeted customers by opening his arms like he was going to hug you and bouncing on his feet. All while sporting his signature ear-to-ear smile.
As hyper and obnoxious as he was, tonight his loud personality was a welcomed distraction. It was fairly packed tonight, something about a local concert was among the few things I could pick out from the dull roar of conversations. When there weren't any customers immediately in front of me I would run and wipe down tables that were left a mess. Chanyeol of course would either talk to people he knew or would strike up conversation with people sitting down at tables. Somehow this prevented us from having full on rushes, as everyone had no choice but to listen to what this giant, noisy man had to say.
I quickly finished wiping down another coffee table and stool before darting back behind the case and assisting a customer that walked up. "Hello sir! How can I help you tonight?" I greeted the man on the other side of the case. He had on a black ball cap and black face mask. Slowly removing his mask from one ear, he gave me a dimpled smile. He looked familiar but I couldn't place where.
I was about to speak again until Chanyeol exclaimed loudly. "Oh my God! Jongdae look who it is!" Chanyeol ran behind me and around the counter to wrap the man into a bone-crushing hug. "Dude what are you yelling about now?" Jongdae, also a friend of Kyungsoo, worked in the back in the kitchen. Him and one other person were our dedicated deli cooks; without them, we wouldn't have any bread. Chanyeol actually called him in when he saw how much people there were.
Jongdae came down the hallway with a hairnet on and flour on his apron and pants. He took off his gloves and dusted his hands off, causing powder to lightly cloud around him. He started to walk up front while taking his apron off before he stopped. "Yixing is that you!? Wow it really is you!" Apron half off, he also ran around the payment counter and wrapped both men into a hug.
But who was Yixing?
I absentmindedly paced the floor while wiping the back countertops clean as the three of them started talking with each other. He looked so familiar but that name rang no bells to me. I finished wiping down the counters, giving one last glance making sure there were no customer at the counter before taking my gloves off and walking towards the office in the back. They could handle it without me. Besides it was already too loud with them up front.
I stepped into the office and looked around the walls. Various posters showing workers rights, proper working conditions, and safety tips were among the many items hanging up. But I focused in on the two smaller framed photos hanging close to the desk side by side. The one on the left showed twelve men from a time long ago. The photo itself had a few tears on its edges and appeared faded.
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