These Little Games

The Lunchbreak (Part 2 of 2)

Written by EdnaMode101

Warning: Intended for readers over 18 years old. Tag: eventual smut.

July 31, 2019, 11.58 am, 7/11,
World Cup Buk-ro 58-gil

Never let it be said that the 64-year-old Choi Min-seo was out of touch.

She shared memes on her seniors' group chat, made TikTok videos, kept up with the latest music and followed BTS on Twitter. Stan accounts, her granddaughter called them. Min-seo's bias was, of course, the charming Park Ji-min. He seems like such a nice boy.

The shop was still empty before the lunch rush. She savoured moments like this and often spent the time behind the counter listening to BTS on her headphones while scrolling through Twitter.

She was a BTS ahjumma and proud of it.

"I have waited longer," she quietly sang, shuffling to the choreography with practiced ease. "For a boy with, for a boy with love." She was really feeling the music now, shimmying her shoulders from side to side.

Just as she was about to launch into Suga's rap verse, she looked up to find a tall, broad-chested man in a white T-shirt, dark sunglasses and a baseball hat standing in front of her.

"I'm sorry, what?" she asked, removing her headphones, sensing that he had said something.

He mouthed something in a very quiet, low voice.

She frowned. "You're going to have to speak up, child."

It was during moments like this that Hyun Bin was glad he was wearing the impromptu disguise in his glove compartment: L.A. Dodgers cap and sunglasses.

He repeated himself, a little louder.

She gave him a quizzical look then realized he'd been whispering.

"Oh, wait!" she said. "Let me just... what was that again?"

Just as she finally found the switch on her hearing aid --

"Condoms!" he practically bellowed.

"Aigoo," she said, looking startled and adjusting her hearing aid to a lower setting. "There's no need to shout."

Hyun Bin turned pink. He felt like a total pervert. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Aye, cut it out," came a tetchy male voice behind him. An older man carrying a large box of noodles approached them.

"Stop giving the poor boy grief and use the damn hearing aid I got you, woman," he said, irritably. "At least he's being responsible, eh?" he asked, nodding towards him.

Hyun Bin could only stare.

The woman behind the counter flapped her hand at her husband, signalling for him to go away. In a bored voice, she started reading out the options.

"So, dear, we have the Invisible, the Multiclimax, the Tropical, the Real Feel, which is actually the more popular one. Had to restock twice last week, didn't we, love?" she called out to her husband.

"Yes, we did," he said in a muffled voice as he struggled to open the box of Shin ramyun. "Tropical's quite popular, too, especially the pineapple."

"That's right," came his wife's response. "'A surprisingly refreshing flavour'," she said, squinting through thick eyeglasses as she read the box.

Is this real life? Hyun Bin thought to himself, feeling the blood rush to his face.

"The, uh, the gold box, please," he said.