ɱყ รƭαℓҡε૨| L.K

C19: Proposal

Lisa's POV

Entering the retail shop, the 90s vibe enveloped us. Every time I inhaled the snow looking dust intruded inside my mouth, making me cough up a storm. The orange small rays of the sun penetrated through the thin gaps of the blinds, giving the store a pleasant glow, revealing the dust particles that were swaying in the air.

I was in awe of the authenticity of the store. The stuff that was practically lost and forgotten in time had found their solace in this shop; catching the eyes of the older generation who are longing to go back in time. Looking forward, I could see a small old man sitting behind the counter, wearing a copper colored beanie, reading the daily newspaper as his reading glasses were slowly gliding down his high bridge nose. Licking the tip of his index finger, he calmly turns over the page.

It felt like I just entered a whole new magical game world. With me as the new player and the old man being the magician guide, the person who will change my faith, the person who has the answer for all my problems. At least that's what I'm hoping for.

Chae nudged my side with her elbow. "So, are you going to tell me why we had to enter this dusty old shop? What can you possibly find in here?" She said waving the dust away from her face; sniffling and tearing up.

The old man glanced over the newspaper, casting his eyes on us, furrowing his gray eyebrows and grunting at Chae's remarks over the shop.

I gave a wobbly smile, rubbing the palm of my hands together in an apologetic matter. "I'm sorry for my friend, it's not really her day."

He grunted in response, focusing back on his newspaper.

"Um.." I called out carefully, his pale grey eyes focused back on me. "Are there any prepaid phones?"

He grunts and pointed with his thumb to the left. "They are where the cassette tape recorders are." He said in a gruff voice.

I nodded and pulled Chae on the arm. "Does that man only know how to grunt." She grumbled under her breath, stealing some annoyed stealth glances at the old man.

I rolled my eyes, smiling. "Oh, hush and behave."

Just like the old man said, the prepaid phones were easy to spot the moment you found the cassette recorder.

"I think that I have been behaving really well." She said, pulling her arm away from my hold. "You have been acting super weird ever since the first murder took place, you've been agitated like your walking on thin ice and now I'm following you in to an unusual shop just to see you buy a prepaid phone when you have a freaking android phone that's working perfectly! Even so," she huffed, catching her breath. "... still my questions will not be answered, will they?" She questioned, crossing her arms in front of her chest, one of her eyebrows raised.

I grabbed a box where the prepaid phone was hidden. With a weak smile, I stared at my best friend, who was really losing her patience with me. She deserves answers, answers that I have no way of giving right now.

I held up the box, shaking it a bit, making the rattling sound of the device known. "I wanted a prepaid phone because you can easily discard them."

This prepaid phone may really come in handy one day.

Chae glowered at me, raking her slim fingers through her dark chocolate brown hair. Her beach wavy hair, which was now in utter chaos from all the scratching, ruffling and raking that she had inflicted on her head today, laid gently on her back until bra strap length.

"So why do you need a phone that's easily discard of?" She groaned.

"In case my other phone breaks down?" I said in a meek voice, feeling myself shrinking away under my friend's deadly glare.