His Cinderella | Choi Soobin

Fourteen ♚

|| HYEWON ||

"So, how do you liking the nursing home so far?"

I shrug my shoulders. "Honestly, people always complain about how boring volunteering here is but I like it," I say to Yeji, scrubbing another dirty plate in the sink. "It's very calm."

"I still don't know how you manage to be liked by all the seniors. I swear they all hate me, especially Mrs. Wu." I complain.

"I can't really blame you, Mrs. Wu is hard to get along with. Did you know that she's a widow? That's why she remains in such gloomy black outfits all the time." Yeji says.

My mouth keeps quiets. I started to feel bad at all the times I had questioned Mrs. Wu on her fashion choices. And it was kind of foolish of me to not realize it sooner.

"Hey, ladies!" Soobin says brightly, skipping into the room in his blue beret and matching outfit. He smiles at both of us, showing off his perfect dimples and eye smile. Yeji scoffs at him.

"Go away, Choi." She snarls at him, throwing a little bit of dishwashing soap at him which he dodged quickly. He giggles it off.

"Aww, is Hwang Yeji mad because she's stuck washing the dishes and I'm not?" Soobin pretends to fake empathize, making the girl roll her eyes at him. I only watched from the sidelines, shocked at how close they were together.

"Wow, it's because I'm a girl, isn't it?" She sarcastically remarks. Soobin turns the attention away from her and to me. "Hi, Hyewon. Y-You look good..." He says awkwardly, looking at me up and down.

Even I have to admit I had tried better on my outfit today. Unlike yesterday, I didn't show up wearing my school uniform. I wore a plaided dress that reached my thighs and a full sleeve beige blouse underneath. I usually don't dress up, but today I had a sudden urge to do so.

"Thanks." I turn around to face the dishes again, trying to hide my blush. Soobin clears his throat before speaking. "Well, I should leave now." He says awkwardly before walking out the door, leaving the both of us in silence.

After finishing the dishes, Yeji and I go back to the library where the rest of the residents were located. The elders here usually take this time to read and relax, which I sort of admire. I rarely ever see people that have an interest in reading these days.

I head towards the fairytale section, surprised to see Soobin already there. I shyly walk past him with my head down, hoping that he wouldn't speak to me. But he did. "Oh, Hyewon! I didn't know you liked fairytales."

"Y-Yeah, I do." I stutter. In his hands stood the original Rapunzel in his hands, a good few pages in. "It's nice to see that someone likes them. A lot of people consider them childish which is just stupid." He says.

I turn around, shocked by his words. "I know right? I mean, I always got belittled by my family for liking them even if I'm a high schooler. I've tried to walk away from the stories but I always find myself turning back towards them. They're my comfort books."

My mouth clasps over my mouth when I finished my little rant. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to talk so much." I apologize to him, my cheeks heating up.

"Are you serious? I'm happy that I've found someone else that likes classical fairytales as much as I do!" He exclaims brightly. My stomach turns warm on the inside as he shows his signature smile.

He pats the top of my head before returning to his book, pretending as if that never happened. My body felt as if it was in a paralysis state, unable to move. Eventually, my feet unglued themselves from the ground and I attempt to shift my attention back to the books.

On the top of the shelf, I see the book I wanted. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I prefer princess books over magical trippy shit like this one or the Wizard of Oz, but I still enjoy Alice in Wonderland. The movie totally misunderstood the plot, though. It's infuriating.

My hands reach toward the book but I suddenly realize that I wasn't tall enough to grab it. I struggle, jumping up and down but still remain unsuccessful. I hear someone snicker from beside me as I see Soobin standing there, holding in his laughter as he watches me. But he immediately stops and went back to reading his book after we made eye contact.

I turn my attention back to the book, that I was so close yet so far from grabbing. Suddenly, someone grabs me by the shoulders, making me yelp quietly. They flip me around and force me to meet their eyes with my back against the shelf.

It was Hwang Yeji who had trapped me in between her arms.

Our faces were inches apart. She manages to squeeze out a smile as I remain there, flustered by her sudden actions. She grabs the book that I was reaching for, pulling it down and placing it in my hands.

"Here ya' go, cutie." She winks, bopping my noise before walking away, leaving me confused and puzzled. I clench the book against the chest as I surprisingly smirk at the abrupt act. Gosh, she makes me feel some sort of way.

I suddenly hear a pair of feet stomp away from me. My eyes turn to see Soobin walking away, his book left on the shelf. I go back to the book and he didn't even save the page, he just left it there.

And the weirdest part was that his steps felt angry, almost agitated.