Chapter Text
Prologue
Yunho was sure the little store off Main Street closed around dinner time. Sure of it. The sign out front with the gas company’s logo and the black-on-white “GROCER & CAFE” underneath was turned off, and the lights through the large glass windows were only half-on, like they were set for just security.
But several cars still sat outside, and he could swear he saw someone ducking around the grocery shelves before they disappeared behind the taller shelves toward the cafe side of the room.
The downpour became deafening, and he thought he felt the lightning in the air around him before it struck, somewhere close enough that the thunder followed only a couple of seconds later.
Well, if they’re closed, at least it’s a roof, he thought, as he sprinted across the way, toward the glass doors. They were old enough that they had no automatic open sensors, so he grabbed the handle of the right-side door and yanked it outward. And, to his surprise, it swung open freely. Maybe they are open later than I thought? he questioned, but ducked inside as another thunderclap sounded all around him.
The doorbell above him jingled. How quaint. A real, physical bell instead of just a speaker, Yunho thought. Looking around, he saw no one in plain sight.
“Hello?” he said, a little more loudly than he’d intended. It was so quiet in here after the roar of rain and thunder he’d been running through. Clearing his throat, he followed with, “I’m not sure if you’re open, but I was out for a run and didn’t see the storm coming. Just hoping to stay out of it until it calms down.” He thought he heard a stirring, or a whisper, but no clear answer came quickly enough for him. He quickly added, “And maybe buy some food to eat while I wait.” Maybe if I buy something they won’t care if I stand here.
The moment of silence that followed seemed like it took forever.
“Is anyone there?” he asked. His back was still to the door. This store had seemed comfortable enough when he’d come during the daylight, but apparently this town was something totally different after dark, full of creepy places and the feeling of being watched, no matter where he went.
“San, I swear to God. You didn’t lock the door?” he heard, a whisper squealed out from somewhere toward the back corner of the cafe side.
“Why would I be the one to lock it?” an amused voice responded, not bothering to whisper.
“Because I asked you to?” the squealer responded.
“You know how passive aggressive Seonghwa gets when we lock him out! Just go check this guy out and let’s get back to our meeting.” This voice was different, calmer, and not bothering to whisper either. More loudly, this same third voice announced, “The store is closed, but the storm is kind of crazy. Go ahead and grab what you’re wanting to buy, and Wooyoung will come check you out.
A little scuffle sounded, and Yunho considered just backing out of the door and chancing getting lightning-struck on his way home, unsure what was happening here. Then, coming around one of the vertical aisles, he saw a small man in a loose button-up and a waist apron over jeans and boots appear. His hair was raven black across the top, with an underside of bleached yellow-blond. The hair was unique, and tipped Yunho off that he had seen this man behind the cafe counter on some of his past visits.
“Sorry about that, we usually lock the door after closing, but we’re expecting someone else to come by for our… uh, game. You grab what you need?” The man was the squealer from before, but his voice had hit an even keel rather than a screech. The man stood beside the checkout counter now with his shoulders back, looking relaxed. If Yunho hadn’t heard the prior exchange, he wouldn’t have guessed that this man was even surprised.
“Uh,” Yunho hesitated for a moment, realizing he was still backed up against the door with his hand on the handle. “Not- not yet. I wasn’t even sure you were open or I wouldn’t have come in if it wasn’t raining. I guess the cafe’s closed-” he cut himself off and began racing through what he could eat in the rain without having to go back into that godforsaken house until he was exhausted enough that he was ready for sleep. He wondered if he would sleep at all tonight, as wired as the lightning and this weird interaction was making him.
He started to move toward the aisles, thinking he would get a couple of sealed cracker sandwiches and a cola, and just stand somewhere under an awning on Main Street to eat it before walking home in the downpour.
“Yeah, it’s been closed for a bit,” the man responded with a shrug. Wooyoung, he thought the other voice had said. The man turned to look out at the rain and a grimace filled his face. Yunho was a little surprised at just how expressive his face was, even in the half light of the security fluorescents.
Yunho was picking the first crackers he saw off of the shelf when the man startled him a bit further. “That weather looks pretty nasty, I have to admit, and it looks like the thunder spooked you. If you, uh,” he hesitated for a moment, looking toward the corner he had come from, and clicked his tongue. “If you want to wait it out here for a little while, you can. Some friends and I were hanging out on the cafe side if you’d like to sit down. I don’t mind making a hot meal either, if you’re not picky—we may be here awhile.” Another boom of thunder cracked outside, as if to prove the man’s point.
A saving grace, Yunho thought. A light from the heavens. Anywhere to be on this stormy, terrible evening in this scary little town, other than that haunted fucking shack. A hand held out to a drowning man. He took it.
“Yeah, that would be amazing, thank you.”
Wooyoung seemed to size Yunho up, running his eyes up and down. “You’re soaked, dude.”
“Yeah,” was all Yunho could reply.
Another shrug from the small man. “Well, follow me. I hope you’re good with names, because you’re about to meet half the town.”
Yunho set the crackers back down into the box he’d pulled them from and followed Wooyoung, not really knowing what to expect. Certainly not knowing that his future lay around the corner of the grocery aisle ahead of him.