Chapter Text
It was an early Monday morning when Renjun began to get himself ready for the day. His clock went off for 5 a.m, where he spent the first 10 minutes of his time scrolling through his social media and watching the morning news program. To no surprise, there was a shooting just a few blocks down from the apartment building Renjun stayed in. Living in a sketchy neighborhood is by no means ideal for Renjun, but it was all he could afford at the time. He had recently quit doing drugs about 5 months ago to hopefully restart his life. Back then, there was a cheap drug dealer in this area that drew Renjun's attention for all the wrong reasons. Some of his friends also stayed in this neighborhood, and encouraged him to move here when they found out he was looking for a new apartment. Needless to say, his friends weren't a good influence.
I guess one reason why Renjun never tried moving out was because of his last boyfriend. His ex. Dating a drug dealer is not a highlight Renjun enjoys telling about himself, but he was young, immature, stupid, and wanted to grow up too fast. He didn't find out until later that the guy was doing illegal stuff. However, he was super hot by Renjun's standards. For that reason, Renjun stayed with him. That's how he got so deep into drugs in the first place, because of him. To help promote his business, Renjun would help him sell all kinds of his drugs in sketchy meet-up spots. Weed, Marijuana, Cocaine, Meth, pills, you name it.
They would party almost everyday. Neglecting all their responsibilities and bad habits for the sake of being free. Free of being told what to do by higher-ups, adults, people in general. Just letting go. That's what Renjun and his ex did. They would go to clubs, drink, have sex and then go home to do more drugs. Occasionally, they would hang out with the gangs his boyfriend was affiliated with. They all liked Renjun. They though he was cute and had no problem inviting him to their group when his boyfriend introduced him to them. Some even tried to hook up with him. But his boyfriend was really possessive. He wouldn't let anyone touch Renjun but him. In a way, Renjun liked that sense of security. He felt at home. He felt secure with his boyfriend. Until things started to change.
Renjun got tired of his boyfriend's ways and threatened to break up with him if he didn't leave the streets alone and start focusing on their relationship. He got really heated that night, calling Renjun a slut and only being with him to milk off his money. The two argued aggressively while his ex started throwing furniture around the room, hollering resentfully, and even hitting Renjun across the face in heat of the moment. He apologised after the hit, but Renjun was tired. He was sick of everything. This lifestyle, his boyfriend, his living situation. It sucked. He wanted to leave it behind altogether and pretend it never happened.
All of this should've been a red flag from the beginning, but again, immaturity. Why not be young and have fun? Who's to stop him anyway?
Being unemployed for nearly a year and a half, Renjun fell into a low-point in his life after breaking up with his ex. He was possessive, mean, abusive, and just a jerk all together. Renjun wondered why they even got together in the first place. He fell into a depression and stoped hustling. He left drugs behind, but ended up becoming a heavy drinker to fill the void in his stomach. Afterall, he had nothing to lean on to. His friends sucked, he was betrayed, and financially, he was a mess. A whole fucking mess.
It was only about a week ago when Renjun looked around his apartment and questioned himself: why did he live like this? His carpeted floors had old liquor stains he never tried to get out. The air reeked of weed when some of his friend came over to have a "Smoke Party." And empty containers, along with food residue trash covered a corner of his living room. You could barely walk around the house without steeping on an old candy wrapper or take-out container. How does he live like this? He wondered. Renjun wanted to restart his life. The first step was quiting drugs. Now, he's been clean for 5 months. The next step is moving out of this shithole but since he had no source of income, Renjun started to look for him a Part-time job.
Finding a job was hard in Renjun's case. He needed something that paid decently so that he could pay his rent and at least try to save for a new place. But most of the requisites were out of Renjun's qualifications. He didn't go to college, and he had no experience in anything. So renjun found himself job hopping a lot. Mostly doing part-times because he liked that scedule better. He didn't feel like committing to full work hours. I guess that's one bad habit he still needs to break out of. Laziness.
But then, by the luck of God, Renjun found a job that met all of his needs. It was a part-time job at an airport. Specifically, as a ramp agent. Loading and unloading heavy luggage and servicing aircrafts for a day was not the best job Renjun had in mind, but he was desperate for anything. Being unemployed is all fun and games until the money runs out and you can't eat or pay rent. The landlady was banging on his door yesterday for his monthly payment he's postponed for the 2nd time this week. For all Renjun cares, he would rather be evicted. All of this crap is useless anyway. He should still pay his rent, though. Maybe he'll give it to her today, or maybe tomorrow. Who fucking knows. It's still not a week overdue, so he has time.
That's why Renjun is up bright an early on this rather cloudy Monday morning. Today will be his first day of his Part-time job as an airport ramp agent. He took the early shift so that he could enjoy the rest of the evening and night to himself. Plus, he didn't want to be tugging luggage in the middle of the night when he could be partying or even better, finding a cute guy in a club or something.
After being single for about a year now, Renjun felt he was ready to accept someone new in his life. But this time, he has much higher standards. He will never stoop so low in his life ever again. As a result, he's recently been going to clubs and bars every so often to find someone. A guy, more specifically. Renjun has had his fair share of female relationships. But those were far and few, and Renjun didn't find them as inciting as he would've liked. As a result, he discovered that he liked guys much more. He liked having a more dominant partner who would take care of him. Since, obviously, he can barely take care of himself in this monstrosity of a home. He liked having security, protection, comfort. But he didn't like possession or someone thinking they "owned" him. That was a line Renjun thought was too far to be cross based off his last relationship.
So his search for love was open to the public. Maybe he'll run into someone today. Maybe on his first day, he'll bump into a sexy CEO who offers him dinner at a fancy restaurant. To which later, he confesses how attracted he is to Renjun and brings the two of them inside his extravagant million dollar home where they make out and have sex. Maybe...right?
The idea sounded all too good to be true. Perhaps he's been reading too many romance novels he found in the public library. Or maybe he's been in the house for too long with his own thoughts and fantasies. Who's to tell.
After a long shower fantasizing about the matter, Renjun steps out the hot shower and takes his towel to dry his hair. Taking the time to also shake the shameless thoughts out of his mind. He needed to focus on setting a good impression on his first day. Taking a left out of the bathroom and into his cramped bedroom filled with more floor trash & large packaging boxes, Renjun rummages through the clutter to access his closet in the corner of the room. The people told him to just dress casual, since he'll be outside for most of his work. Renjun was more than glad. If his job required him to wear anything more formal than a slightly wrinkled dress shirt and black jeans, he would've cried. He could barely afford to buy the lame cheap clothes he has now. Much less a suit or any form of business attire.
So that's what Renjun did. He wore a simple pair of black stone washed jeans, with a slightly oversized grey sweater and matching baseball cap to fend off the cool weather today. He certainly didn't want to get sick seeing as he had to work outside for most of his shift. Lastly, he slips on his trusty run-down but comfortable pair of black and white sneakers he bought at a clearance sale. The shoes were nearly half the price of what they originally were, how could he not accept that bargain? He's worn these shoes everyday since then. He probably needs some new ones, but for now, they'll do just fine.
The day was just getting started as the time hits 6:30 a.m. Renjun exits his apartment, not daring to look back and check its condition before he closes the door to lock it. He walks out to take to the stairs because the elevator has been down for about 2 weeks now. The tenants have complained about the fix, including Renjun, for the inconvenience. Luckily, Renjun only stays on the 4th floor, but he feels bad for elders or people who live on higher floors. He hopes they fix it soon.
If Renjun hasn't accomplished anything else in his life, at least he learned how to drive. His car was an old Sedan his aunt passed down to him when he was getting his license. The millage was high and and it was probably time for some new tires, but there's too many problems Renjun need to fix about his life. He'll worry about it when it happens. He starts up the car and types the adresss of the airport into his phone's navigation app. Renjun doesn't travel much, so he isn't familiar with driving all they way out to the airport. He'll have to get used to the drive, though, if he's going to be working there for a while. Thank god for navigation. What would Renjun ever do without it.
Within a few moment's time, Renjun beings his journey to what would soon be one hell of a first day.
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"Hey! That batch is supposed to go on flight-237! Stop chit-chatting and start loading them into the back of the plane. We only have and hour before the plane boards for take-off."
"Sorry, boss. We'll get to it."
When Renjun arrives at the corresponding location he was told to report to, he hears endless bickering and yelling from one individual to what seems like his subordinates. Is that the boss? Renjun hopes he isn't rude or strict. He had to quit his last part-time job because of bitchy bosses. It's one thing to tell him how the job should be done, but being rude and stiff about it is something Renjun can't tolerate.
"Remember to load them by sizes, guys. Last time, the president criticized us for incorrectly organizing the bags onto the plane. I don't want to hear his mouth again!"
"Then why don't you come and do it hyuck? Instead of sitting there like a princess."
Renjun walks out to the open area where he hears the voices. The first thing that struck him was: the planes. They were huge! Hes only ever seen them in the sky, but this is his first time admiring their beauty up close. How could such a ginormous aircraft be carried into the air? He knows it has to do with aerodynamics, or whatever it's called. Renjun couldn't help but stay planted in awe. Apparently, he stood stagnant for too long, because one of the workers spotted him lurking.
"Hey. Who are you? You're not supposed to be down here. Are you lost?" One guy approaches him with a rather intimidating impression. He seemed like the guy you don't wanna mess with on the wrong day. Renjun was startled by the approach and takes a cautious step back from the male. He's only been here for 5 minutes and he's already being kicked out. What a dissapointing turn of events.
"Woah, woah. Kun. Calm down. I think he's one of the new part-timers here."
The chatty guy from earlier hears the commotion and succeeds in calming the guy down. This new guy, Renjun observes, is slightly taller than him with beautifully tanned skin. His facial features are almost bear-like. He looks like a nice guy. He wore what seemed to be some denim overals, covered in slight dirt stains and a red hoodie underneath it. I guess Renjun dressed in the right attire. Based on the expansion and receeding of his chest, accompanied by visible sweat streaks on his forehead, Renjun could hell he was just recovering from being out of breath and doing hard work. Just what type of labour is he getting himself into?
"Sorry about that. We rarely get newcomers. Trust, me he's a really friendly guy once you get to know him." The guy outstretched his hand to accept a friendly handshake. Renjun returns the gesture and assures him he's okay. The tanned guy sighs in relief, "that's great. Didn't wanna scare off the new guy on the first day. You must be Renjun, right? My name is Donghyuck. But you can just call me hyuck. And this right here is Kun." He introduces the other.
Kun raises his hand to shake with Renjun's and apologies for the misconception with a look of embarrassment. "Hi. I'm Kun. Again, sorry if I intimidated you. Like hyuck said, we haven't gotten a new worker in months. I thought you were a guy trying to steal the luggage. I hope we can start over on good terms." Kun smiles in earnest empathy. Maybe hyuck was right. He looks much softer and nicer when he smiles. He'll ignore the accusation of being a thief for now and pretend he wasn't concerned about how often luggage gets stolen here. He didn't want to seem intrusive for nitpicking.
"It's fine. We're all good. Nice to meet you Kun. I'm Huang Renjun."
"Great. Alright, I'm gonna get back to work now. Donghyuck will help get you settled. I look forward to working with you, Renjun." Kun walks off to join a small bunch of workers loading luggage unto the plane. The sound of jet engines, transporters, and commotion were starting to fill Renjun's ears. It was noisy, to say the least. All this noise isn't unfamiliar to him, though. In his neighborhood, he hears commotion all day and night outside his 4th floor apartment. He's also pretty close to the city, so residual working traffic and loud public conversations was a new found peace to him.
"Well, the others are handling the loading of this flight for now, and it's about to be my break, so how about we just relax and chat for bit while I take you on a tour? We have another flight to load in about an hour and a half from now. No need to rush things." Hyuck suggests.
"Oh. Uhm, I don't want to tie up your break, though. I can stay and help the others until you get back." Renjun felt bad. He didn't want to take up this guy's break simply because of his underqualified skills before starting this job. Renjun is a fast learner, he can get to work right away if someone shows him how to do it the first time.
"No, no. You'll only get in their way. The job isn't complicated, but we do have a system we follow to do things efficiently. Wouldn't want you getting yelled at again because you aren't properly trained. I'll help you learn the ropes when the next flight arrives."
Renjun twiddled with his fingers in deliberation before he finally gives in. It would be rude to reject the offer, anyway. The guy is only trying to be nice to a new co-worker of theirs. "Sure. That's fine."
Donghyuck does a little leap in excitement for what's to come. "Yay! I have so much to show you about this place. Have you ever been to this airport before?"
"No..."
"Really? Hmm. That's fine. We can work around that. Knowing the airport layout will help you a lot when transporting baggage to different boarding sections. But I guess I'll only start with the need-to-know locations for today. We'll take it slow. This place is huge, afterall."
He was right. This airport was huge. Almost scary in some cases. Renjun will probably need Hyuck to get him around this place, or else he'll get lost quickly. But he appreciates Hyuck for being patient with him and taking the initiative to go slow. It made Renjun feel included and welcomed into the work environment.
"First, let's stop by a restaurant. I'm starving." Says Hyuck. Needless to say, Renjun was getting a little starved himself. He hasn't eaten anything since this morning.
"Let's go then."
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For Donghyuck's break, the two of them went inside one of the Cafe's located inside the airport. There was a few of them, actually, but Hyuck favored one in particular because...
"Hey Markk~ Can you get me the usual?" He cooed. His voice also grew a pitch when he called out the barista's name. This new found behavior caught Renjun off-guard for a moment. He didn't think too much about it, though. Assuming they were just good friends.
"Sure thing. Who is that next to you?" Mark leaned slightly over the counter to get a better visual of the young male. "He looks adorable."
"Oh, this is one of our new part-timers. His name is Renjun. I'm taking care of him for the day." Hyuck turns towards Renjun, prompting him to speak. But he can't help but feel a little nervous. Why is he nervous? Because of this barista guy who is hot as hell and keeps looking at him in weird ways? Is he secretly hitting on him? I mean, he did call him adorable, and he could tell he wasn't korean because of his occational fluent speech in English which Renjun found alluring. Should he say something? Fuck it.
"U-uhm....hi. I'm Huang Renjun. Nice to uhm. M-meet- ah shit. Sorry. I didn't mean to curse. I think I'm just kinda shy." Renjun's words stumbled out more shaky and uncertain that he planned to. In terms of first impressions, he's not making his best case.
The Barista looks at Renjun with concern. "There's no need to be nervous. We're all cool here. Isn't that right, babe?"
Wait.
Babe?
Hyuck slams his hands on the counter with unintentional force, "Mark, what did I say about calling me nicknames in public. It's embarrassing. Especially in front of the new guy!" He whisper yells. Hyucks cheeks start to blush in embarrassment as he scopes around the Cafe, hoping no one else heard the call-out. Unfortunately for him, Renjun heard it loud and clear.
"Babe..? Wait. Are you two dating or something?" The smaller male interrogates.
Hyuck slightly curses under his breath before releasing a soft sigh through his nostrils. "Yeah. Mark and I are boyfriends. I would've told you in a better circumstance than this, though." he shoots a side eye towards Mark, to which he gets the hint and deters the conversation.
Renjun's chest found itself sinking for some reason. The handsome barista guy was taken.
Mark clears his throat before beginning his next statement, "Ahem. Uh...so, what would you like to order Renjun?"
"Just give me a sweet tea." Renjun says nonchalantly.
Hyuck suddenly looks to face Renjun with an expression of doubt plastered on his face. "That's all you want? Don't worry, this meal is on me. Plus, Mark always give me boyfriend discounts. You can get more if you want."
He was right. Renjun was hungry. And he would be lying if he said he wasn't checking those high ass prices on that menu. They're in an airport, afterall. Airport food is always ridiculously high. But if Hyuck is offering to pay, I guess ordering something else wouldn't hurt. He'll be sure to pay him back later.
Renjun takes another look at the menu fixuated above the counter and chooses a simple food item. "Fine. Just give me your ham & and egg sandwich." He tells Mark. A couple seconds later, Mark types the order into the register. "Ok. Your total is 53 thousand won." Jeez, fifty three? Renjun knows his tea and sandwich was only about 17 thousand won. Which means Hyucks meal alone was like 26. But I guess even Hyuck was surprised when he stood up to the counter in front of the sexy barista.
"53 thousand won? You forgot to add the discount, sweetheart"
"I know, but...my manager found out the last time when I gave you a discount. If she catches me again I'll get in trouble. I'm sorry Donghyuckie. I'll make it up later." Mark gives Donghyuck a sweet look of remorse and small air kisses which the tanned male falls deep into. Usually, it's Donghyuck who's acting cute. But this behavior has hyuck nearly falling to his knees. How could he be upset with his boyfriend? It's not like he had any control of the situation, anyway. Hyuck drops it, for now.
"Alright. I'll pay the normal price for today. You better make it up later, though." He shoots a wink. Mark catches the gesture and smiles before turning behind the counter to make orders. Renjun catches a glimpse of the whole thing. What a bunch of lovebirds.
As they wait for their orders, Renjun and Donghyuck takes a seat at one of the empty tables in the Cafe. Renjun sits in his seat quietly as he looks around the airport to see people walking around with their bags and rushing to their designated flights. Even though it's a Monday, it's busy as always. Renjun turns his attention back to Hyuck who seemed to be doing the same thing.
"How long have you two been together?" Referring to Mark and Doghyuck. Thinking to initiate some conversation to break the silence.
"About 2 years now. I met him at a club somewhat near this airport. He was hot, so I decided to hit on him. Turns out, he was interested in me, too. We've been dating ever since." Hyuck gives a smile only a guy who's truly in love can give.
"You guys must be a perfect match, hm?" He mumbles slightly under his breath. Renjun starts to get jealous. Then instantly regrets it because...well... he just met this guy. Who's he to judge their relationship? He stops himself from saying the wrong thing and decides to draw his attention back towards the commuting crowd around them.
Hyuck observes his behavior and gets curious to ask, "How about you? You seem to have your eyes open."
Renjun abruptly cuts off his wandering eyes and shoots his attention back to Donghyuck. It seems his mind was wandering again. He missed the last part of his question.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?"
"Yeah. I said you seem to be on body patrol today."
Renjun nearly choked at the comment when it was referred to him as such. "The hell does that mean?"
"I know that look. You're obviously checking out people. So tell me, who's caught your eye?"
Renjun felt dissapointed to tell Hyuck that he didn't really see anyone in particular. In fact, he wasn't really looking, persay. Just gazing at what's around him. But now that he mentioned it, maybe he should be body searching. If that's the right term for it.
"No one, yet. I'm in the process of finding a partner."
Donghyuck's eyes began to light up like fireworks. "For real?! What type of relationship are you looking for?" He leans his elbows on the table in profound interest.
"Well, my last relationship didn't work out too well. I was mistreated and didn't feel loved anymore. I just want someone who can take care of me and actually cares about our relationship without taking it to far." Renjun explains to Donghyuck.
"Aw. You poor thing. I'm glad you got out of that relationship. You definetly deserve better. Who would hurt a cutie like you? Hey, if you ever find that guy, I'll kill him for you." Hyuck offers, to which Renjun actually finds quite admirable.
"Thanks. And it's fine, you don't have to do that. We both live our own separate lives now. That's all in the past. I just want to move on and start off fresh again."
"I see. Well, an airport might have a lot of people coming in and out of it everyday, but for the most part, people here aren't looking for a partner." Hyuck begins.
Renjun crooks his head to the side in confusion. Not quite understanding the point he's trying to make. "What do you mean?"
"You have to go to a place where people are actively searching for a date or relationship."
Off the bat, Renjun starts to think of places Donghyuck might be referring to. "You mean like, clubs and stuff?"
Hyuck makes a weird sound that basically gives the impression of a "kinda yes, but not really" response. To which Renjun slumps back in his chair and folds his arms in curiosity. "Okay. Then, what else?" There's a quick moment of silence before Hyuck responds.
"Online dating."