TRAIN 247 • Park Jongseong

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝟶𝟸: 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞

She looked up to see the stranger from the store. Was he following her?

"Are you alright?" He asked as he carefully approached her.

"I'm fine." She attempted to sound natural yet distant, "Thank you for what happened back there." She was used to Yongsun's behaviour. She had endured it for a long time. But as life had it written, she has no choice but to work there.

"No problem," he smiled, slowly removing his mask and the cap as he ran a hand through his shiny black hair. He had distinct yet striking features which would leave anyone questioning a cold aura if it wasn't for his pleasant smile, "And uh... your cheeks." He added, pointing towards her face.

"Sorry?" She cupped her hand, caressing her cheek.

"They're... red," he continued, trying to contain a smile.

She embarrassedly turned away, unsure of whether it was due to Yongsun's harsh grip on her cheeks, or because of this stranger's presence that made her feel slightly self conscious.

"Hold on." He stopped her, reaching out into his plastic bag from the store. "Here. Take it." He handed her a bottle of cold coffee, "It might help."

"No, I'm good. It's alright." She couldn't accept any more help.

"No, take it." He insisted as he put the bottle in her cold hands.

"Thank you." She muttered.

"Don't thank me." He crossed his arms, "This is the least I can do."

She furrowed her eyebrows, taken aback by his sudden words.

"Sorry." He added, shaking his head at her unexpected response as the corners of his lips lifted. "I didn't mean it in a bad way." 

She returned a tentative smile, looking away. Checking her phone for the time- 1:24 am- she let out a heavy sigh. The second to last bus in this area was supposed to arrive at 1:20 am. She still held onto the bottle of cold coffee, occasionally shuffling it between her hands, that began to stiffen her fingers.

"I didn't catch your name, by the way." He continued after a short while of silence. "I'm Park Jongseong. Friends call me Jay." He extended his arm as an approach for a hand shake.

She held back with her reply as her eyes reluctantly scanned his action. She left him hanging for a moment before carefully shaking it, "I'm Y/N, and I don't have a second name." His hands were colder than hers.

At that moment, the bus tires screeched, arriving at the stop. "Well, it was nice meeting you, and thanks again for today."

"See you around, Y/N." He voiced as he put his mask back on.

• • •

And that was their first encounter.

After that night, he visited the store more often. At first, he only came in to buy groceries, but soon he began having short conversations with her. Their bonding only distanced Yongsun, which turned to be beneficial for her. He stopped troubling her, paid her on time, and never worked her overtime again.

However, Jay's concern for her grew into friendship, which soon became trust, love and respect. There was never a day they hadn't spent together. He was always there for her, as she was for him.

After long deliberation, they both decided to move in together. And as for any objection?

There was none, to begin with.

Losing families at a young age was one of the most things they both had in common. It was one of the reasons their bond was strong: shared trauma. The causes may have been different, but the feeling was the same.

His family, who once adored him, didn't understand his loss, so he moved out. Her family cherished her, but God was a little selfish and took them away. Both stories shared the emotion of losing their loved ones. One by choice and the other without.

Although Jay dropped his university scholarship and his future plans, he believed to have finally found peace and joy after meeting Y/N. He understood she was the reason that needed to keep him going. She motivated him to work and study harder to rebuild his future.

Since childhood, life may have been challenging for both of them, but after meeting each other, living for each other was all they had in mind. She was finally happy, and so was he.

But where did it all go wrong?

✧──────✧

𝙙𝙤𝙣'𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙫𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 • 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪!