She looks like she's dressed up for a date, with her strappy Valentino sandals and her coral-colored Armani dress and her brown hair in ringlets around her neck.
He realizes, in some faraway corner of his mind, that this was the first time he's seen her in the light of day.
It was just past noon and the day was bright and sunny and close to approaching 95 degrees Fahrenheit.
He didn't know why he wandered out that afternoon when usually he slept till evening like a cat, but he did and he idly walked around town, drawing strange looks from his bandages and hair which he blatantly ignored.
Jeno sees her in an outdoor café with a little blue-haired girl that he vaguely thought he's seen somewhere before and a fierce taller woman that he knows he's met before.
They fought once when they were both toddlers and their biggest concerns were who gets to the swing set first or who claims the sandbox so only they and their friends can play in it.
They never spoke again and he's never forgotten his very first,very humiliating loss.
He doesn't know how Nari sees him, but she does and for some reason, her entire face lights up and she eagerly waves him over and he reluctantly crosses the street to stand under the white and green umbrella by her table.
"Jeno!"
She says, beaming widely and her eyes shining and her voice just a little bit breathless.
"Hi,"
he says tonelessly. The other girls were examining him closely and the taller— Saeron, he remembers— was eyeing him like he was a dangerous delinquent. Which, in all fairness, he probably is.
"This are my best friends, Yeseul—"
The short-haired girl who looked at him with fascination and recognition.
"—and Park Saeron."
Saeron's eyes narrowed slightly as she watched him, elegantly sipping her tea, and he wasn't sure if she recognized him or not.
"Guys, this is Lee Jeno, the guy I was telling you about."
"It's nice to meet you,"
Yeseul said, extending a hand. He awkwardly shakes it once to be polite and his hand hurriedly retreats back to his pockets immediately after.
"I've seen you before, you know."
"Really?" His eyes narrow as he tries to remember where.
Yeseul nods, large brown eyes looking at him in a too innocent way.
"Oh yes, that… time… with Donghyuck, remember?"
Oh. So it was that.
Jeno bobs his head in a somewhat distracted nod, remembering the metal-studded man quite distinctively.
"I remember."
He ignores the confused looks Nari and Saeron were giving them.
"I haven't seen him since that day. How's he doing?"
"He opened up his own game cafe,"
Yeseul said brightly.
"You should go visit him sometime."
She rattles off an address on the other side of town and he vaguely nods, knowing he probably will never visit that place in his life.
"That is, if you can handle teenagers and ear blasting shouting"
"I'll drop by if I need him,"
he says, just to appease her, and Yeseul looks pleased.
"Good, Donghyuck needs some business. Pass it on to some of your friends, will you?"
Saeron clears her throat lightly to gain his attention.
"So, Jeno, what do you do?"
He blinks at her in confusion, not comprehending for a moment and thinking of something else entirely.
"What?"
"Your job,"
she stresses impatiently and Jeno lets out a short laugh, more of a burst of air than anything, when he understands.
"I don't work often but I do earn some money sometimes as a bouncer in a bar a friend of mine owns."
He notices Nari watching him closely, scrutinizing him with eyes like cognac diamonds.
"I see."
Saeron doesn't ask what bar and he's slightly relieved.
"You've never told me where you worked,"
Nari said, leaning forward on her elbows.
Jeno shrugs. "You never asked. Well, you guys look busy and I got stuff to do. See you."
He gives an offhanded wave and leaves but she asks, like she almost always asks when he's about to go.
"Will I see you again?"
He shrugs again without stopping.
"I don't know." But he feels somewhere that she should've known by now.
They've seen each other so many times in the last two and a half months, after all. He isn't exactly calling her stupid, but she should've at least gotten a hint that they're most likely going to meet again.
Damn girl was so persistent, and—
Ah, that was close. He almost said it.
He doesn't notice the slightly disappointed look on her face.
If he does, he only stares straight ahead and leaves as quickly as he can.
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