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11 | late nights

jinyoung headed to the mart that night to grab a few packets of instant noodles. it was late, and the sky was dark, and the streets glowed with dim streetlamps, and jinyoung's stomach rumbled. he was always hungry at the most inconvenient times. 

ping!

new message from mark

mark:
omgfuck my mom just caught
me making popcorn at 1am
wHAT DO I DO JINYOUNG

jinyoung chuckled to himself. his parents were away for their anniversary that weekend, so going out after midnight wasn't exactly a problem. and besides, it was friday. he had plenty of time to catch up on sleep before monday came. 

jinyoung stepped into the mini mart, glad to be out of the cold, and started to hunt for the ramyeon aisle. he'd scooped up a few packets and was making his way to the checkout when he heard a familiar voice...

"i... it's fine. i'll leave this."

the customer in front of jinyoung left a packet of ramyeon at the checkout, not having enough to pay for it. jinyoung watched as the guy picked up several bottles of soju he'd paid for, before leaving the store. jinyoung only caught a glimpse of his face, but he knew exactly who that was. 

im jaebum. 

jinyoung hated coincidences. 

"are you gonna pay for those, sir?"

jinyoung's gaze snapped back to the sleepy store worker. "sorry, yeah, thank you," he said, handing his ramyeon packets over to be scanned. 

he left the store quickly, jogging a little further up the road. and jaebum was walking a few paces ahead, busy downing half a bottle of soju.

"im jaebum!" jinyoung called before he could stop himself. 

jaebum turned to look at him. his eyes were dark beneath a hat, and his face was gaunt. the gaze he gave jinyoung was no longer the seductive, sultry gaze it usually was, but an empty feeling of pain. 

before jaebum could even reply, jinyoung worked up the nerve to scoop a packet of ramyeon out of his bag, and slam it into jaebum's chest as he pushed past him up the street. jinyoung never thought he'd be doing charity for such a jerk, but he couldn't help himself. and anyway, he reasoned, if jaebum was going to drink all of that soju, he shouldn't do it on an empty stomach. 

"fuck, i hate him," jinyoung murmured under his breath as he took the shortcut back to his house. 

ping!

new messages from mark

mark:
jiNYOUNG THIS IS SRS

mark:
U WILL NOT BELIEVE THIS
SHE LEGIT LET ME OFF BUT
TOLD ME TO UP MY GRADES
OR IM GROUNDED FOR LIFE

jinyoung was about to reply, but he froze at the sound of footsteps echoing up the street behind him. it was dark, and it was cold, and the feeling of someone following him sent shivers up his spine. youngjae always used to warn him and mark about going out alone at night. jinyoung used to think only girls had to worry about that. 

turns out he was wrong.

and jinyoung was suddenly very, very scared. 

jinyoung sped up slightly, heart racing in his chest, and panic filling his mind. his stalker was awfully close now, almost close enough for jinyoung to hear the tall male's breaths on the back of his neck. jinyoung fumbled in his pocket for his phone, but he knew it was hopeless.