broken infinity ➳ yeonji

Two

——————————
┊┊┊┊ ➶ ❁۪ ｡˚ ✧
┊┊┊✧ ⁺ ⁺ 　°
┊┊❁ཻུ۪۪♡ ͎. ｡˚ 　　°
┊┊.
┊ ➶ ｡˚ 　　°
*. * ·

Yeji slurped the ramen with a happy heart as the boy sat in front of her.

"Do you like it?" He was hesitant. Yeji nodded her head as she hummed in satisfaction, "Yes, thank you. It's delicious."

The boy smiled at this, "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

Yeji glared at him, "To a stranger? Whom I don't even know who to address?"

The boy laughed, "I'm Choi Yeonjun. But you can just call me Yeonjun."

Yeji raised her eyebrows but didn't say a word. Instead, she continued to eat her noodles. Yeonjun laughed, "Come on! You owe me one, I just gave you free ramen out of my pay, you know."

Yeji's face flushed, there's no way she was going to tell Yeonjun (a random guy she just met) that the real reason why she ended out eating free ramen at a convenience store in the middle of the night is because of a dead rat.

"Promise you won't laugh...?" Yeji asked with her head down to cover her flushed cheeks. Yeonjun nodded, "Of course!"

"A random rat decided to die in my bathroom so I freaked out and ran away!" She exclaimed quickly as if reciting a tongue twister. Yeonjun snorted which made Yeji blush even redder, "Liar! you promise you wouldn't laugh!" She stammered.

"I'm sorry, it's just...that's an interesting way of looking at things."

Yeji glared daggers at Yeonjun, who raised his hands in defense, "Okay, so what happened to Mr. Rat?"

Yeji's blush reddened, "I freaked out, ran away, got robbed, and here I am," she rambled, taking a slurp of her ramen to hide her embarrassment.

Yeonjun laughed, "So, what are you planning to do?"

"I don't know," Yeji muttered sarcastically. Yeonjun could almost notice her eye roll despite her having her head down. "I ran away, remember?"

"Right," Yeonjun grinned, "why don't you stay over for the night? I have a spare room."

Yeji raised her eyebrows in amusement, "You're inviting me; a total stranger, to stay over at your house?"

Yeonjun shrugged, "What? Are you going to murder me or something?"

Yeji sighed as she shook her head. He was right, she wasn't going to murder him.

"Just because I wouldn't murder you doesn't mean that you wouldn't murder me," Yeji remarked nonchalantly. Yeonjun gasped dramatically, grasping his chest in a theatrical manner, "Do I look like a serial killer to you?

"Yes, actually. Why would you invite a total stranger to your place? This is super suspicious!"

Yeonjun laughed, "God, no! I'm not that kind of person. Besides, if I had murderous intentions, I could've poisoned your ramen!"

Yeji rolled her eyes, "Who knows? Maybe you're just trying to get me to trust you or something."

Yeonjun laughed again, "Well, I'm not forcing you," he said nonchalantly. "It's all up to you, take it or leave it."

Yeji cried internally; she was definitely a goner. Whichever option she is to pick has a dangerous twist to it. Get murdered by this strangely nice man, or get murdered by a random guy on her way home. Plus, she doesn't even know where home is. Seeing as she got nothing to lose, Yeji sighed, contemplating on whether or not she was about to make the worst decision of her life.

"Fine," Yeji muttered. "I'll take it."

"Great! I'm going to close up first. Don't worry, my house is near here!" Yeonjun exclaimed before getting up, going somewhere behind the counter and pulling out some sort of key that Yeji assumed was the key to the convenience store.

When he opened the door, a light came on, illuminating the outside of the convenience store. It was the middle of the night, so the streets were deserted. And then the two found themselves outside, Yeonjun completely changed up to casual clothes from his work attire.

As the two walked across the empty streets, Yeji asked, "Are you really okay with me staying? You've just met me."

Yeonjun smiled, "Of course! You looked like you needed help," he said with a big smile on his face. Yeji couldn't help but wonder why the man's always smiling, but reached a conclusion that unlike her, he probably lived a happy and comforting life. 

When the pair reached Yeonjun's house, he opened the door for her, and said, "Welcome to my humble abode!"

Yeji nodded softly as she admired the small apartment unit. It was not big, but it was cozy. With a small fireplace across the living room, it was at least a few degrees warmer than the cold night outside. It had a bathroom just beside the kitchen, and two bedrooms with small matrasses.

"Please, make yourself at home!" Yeonjun smiled as he waved his hand around the place, "here's your bedroom. It was my grandma's... before she passed," he smiled, pointing to one of the bedroom doors.

Yeji had thought that the house was quite antique for the 21st century, and now she understood why. The furniture was ornate, but in well-maintained condition.

"My grandma loved her stuff and for as long as I could remember, lived in the 20th century," he joked. But Yeji knew he was being serious due to the outdated furniture in the house. She didn't mind it, though. It was cozy.

"My grandma was the only family I ever had. After her passing due to cancer about five years ago, I promised to treasure this place forever."

Yeji raised her eyebrows. Perhaps she was wrong about him living a fully happy life. From the looks of it, he, too, lived alone now. Just like her. And yet, he still manages to smile so brightly that it rivals the sun. Yeji was quite startled at this, not by the fact that a complete stranger just told her his entire life story, but by the fact that he, too, doesn't have anybody.

But in fact, Yeji wonders what it's like to actually have somebody. Until five years ago, Yeonjun still had somebody; his grandma. But her, she doesn't even remember what her mother looked like.

"I'm... I'm alone, too. I don't have anyone else, too," Yeji blurted out. Realizing that she did, she covered her mouth in shock. Yeji didn't know the specific reason as to why she just confessed this fact to a random stranger, but for some reason, she felt the need to do so.

"We're on the same boat then!" Yeonjun smiled yet again. But perhaps Yeji knew better than anyone that behind that smile was a broken heart.

"Yeah, I guess we are."

Yeji could feel her throat get dry. She didn't know what to say after that. And from the looks of it, neither did Yeonjun. The two stared at each other in silence, both not knowing what to say. After what felt like ages, Yeonjun broke the silence, "I'm quite tired. I'm heading to bed now, but you can sleep whenever you'd like!"

Yeonjun waved her goodbye as he closed his door. Yeji followed suit and shut her door.

As Yeji laid in the unfamiliar matrass that day, she realized that she'd never told Yeonjun her name. And yet he trusts her so easily. Maybe it's all the smiling. Maybe the man is just naturally good-natured. She doesn't know. All she knows was that she felt comfortable around him. But that night, Yeji decided that she was going to introduce herself formally the next day.

— chap end