the walk back home was dark. streets dimly illuminated the pavement, and few cars stationed along the road beside.
aeri walked along the path mindlessly, spacing out between footsteps. she didn't know how to feel about this whole situation, much less what to do now, in the sticky position that she was in now.
she walked up to the door, inserted and turned the keys, pushing the door open.
the house was dimly illuminated by the moonlight , stuff organised in a messy fashion. it wasn't dirty per se, just a little cluttered.
not even switching on the lights in the space, she tossed her keys to the top of the shoe cabinet at the entrance.
hanging her bag on one of the coat hangers and swapping out her shoes into slippers, she headed toward the small kitchen and heated up some leftover fried rice from the day before. her house dimly lit, illuminated by the moon that shone in from the large glass window.
aeri lived alone in her small, one room apartment. after moving to the city, she didn't really have anyone to rely on but herself. hanlim was a great school to enter, but it meant leaving her home to stay somewhere closer, much closer to school.
her parents did pay the rent and gave her pocket money, but it was never exactly enough, as they did underestimate living costs there. she still chose to pick up a job to earn some for herself, rather than to tell them directly. this also meant that she had to live on — somewhat of — a budget, because she did have to juggle work, school, and maintaining the state of her own apartment as well.
as her food heated up, she went to take a bath, coming out wearing a white oversized shirt and shorts that peeked slightly under her shirt.
she walked over to the counter, picking up her — now steaming hot food and heading to the couch. she switched on the television, watching a random scene of the latest spider man movie that aired.
she looked over at her phone beside her, pausing at the black screen she was faced with.
the text.
she promptly picks up the phone and opens her messages.
+82 (842) 273-1209
i've reached home how about you?
she sends the messages.
+82 (842) 273-1209 is now saved as " park sunghoon ".
the chat bubbles start appearing as he typed a message that followed.
park sunghoon
me too glad to hear you went home safely isn't it getting late?
yeah i'm just watching some tv
okay, don't sleep too late. seen
she continued eating her fried rice which was steaming warm at that point, when her phone — which had auto locked — buzzed.
the home screen lit up. she peered over to look at the notification, which read:
! park sunghoon: * 1 image attached *
curious, she opened her phone again. what could he have sent her?
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it was a selfie captioned " goodnight :) ". he'd changed out of his clothes already and was probably already heading to bed.
"what was the need for that?" aeri mumbling to herself, laughing at how extra he was. it was cute, but they really were just strangers.
she reminded herself that she was just making his regular afternoon lattes, and he was just a customer. she proceeded to finish the rest of her egg fried rice, bringing the plate to wash, then heading into her bedroom to complete the leftover homework she'd yet to finish.
— next day, at kreams
( aeri's pov )
"what, so now you're dating some random dude from pangok?" ryujin exclaimed, spilling over her mocha slightly.
"i guess so, but only when his weird stalker childhood friend's around. elsewhere we're just... strangers." i respond, taking a sip from my blended chocolate chip frappe.
the shop that day was considerably emptier, and there was surprisingly less people. not sure why, but that was never a bad thing for aeri and ryujin — it just meant that they'd have more time to relax and talk amongst themselves.
the doorbell chimed, and a familiar male figure walked in.
he walked up to the cashier and smiled. "hi aeri. i would like a regular hot latte, please."
"sure, may i get your name?" i teasingly reply.
"park hoonsung," he replies, laughing.
i almost burst into laughter before i tried composing myself, writing down his name on the cup.
"ah.. so this is the guy you were telling me about?" ryujin says, peeking from behind me.
"ah yeah, ryujin, this is sunghoon. sunghoon, this is ryujin," i introduce.
"ah, you must be aeri's best friend," he says, smiling as he reaches his hand out to shake ryujin's.
"pleasure to meet you." ryujin replies with a smile.
after breaking the handshake, ryujin awkwardly signals that she would start preparing his drink. sunghoon hands me his store benefit card, and i swipe it across the register as payment was made.
i return the card to him as i noticed his small finger stuck out from one of his sweater paws, making a hook sign that wiggled to signal that he wanted me to inch closer to him.
i do just that, and he lowers his body to talk to me.
"are you free after your shift tomorrow? i'll treat you to tiramisu, just as promised." he says, smiling. his fangs make another appearance, with a dimple on his cheek complimenting it.
"okay, i'll text you." i reply. he nods his head and stands up straight again as ryujin hands him his drink.
"i've gotta go now, gotta rush to work. see ya tomorrow!" he says, waving goodbye to the both of us as he puts on a mask, turning around and leaving the store.
i space out momentarily, staring into the distance. as his silhouette disappeared.
"looks like someone's actually in love," ryujin says, play written all over her eyes as she smirks at me.
"no, i'm better than that ryu," i reply. "i literally just make his lattes. i won't fall for him."
( 1005 words )
a/n : sorry for the hiatus! i've been so busy with school lately :,( hope you guys like this chapter ~ i will try to update more often !
