Enigma Stigma (ONC 2023 Entry)

7.

Constance had been told continually that she had a hard time staying focused on tasks that were given to her to complete. She always seemed to have a hard time with evaluating priorities and normally traded out what she deemed boring and tedious for something more interesting. Her parents had hoped that she would grow out of it, but that was unfortunately not the case.

Constance knew that her bank account was starting to run on the lower end and that finding and securing a new job ought to be her top priority. She knew that the job interview she had the other day may not pan out. She also knew that she couldn't just sit back to wait and see how it turned out. It was clear what the adulting task was that she was supposed to do, but instead she found herself typing Beom's name into her internet search engine to try to find out more about the mysterious not ghost man she kept running into on the bus.

Constance stared at the results that came up when she typed in the name, which weren't much surprisingly. She scrolled past a few results that came up with actors that had a similar name before seeing a link towards the bottom of the screen. It was a web link to a news article regarding a missing man. Just as Constance was about to click on the link, the unthinkable happened.

The Wi-Fi went out.

"Unbelievable!" shouted Constance as she threw her hands up into the air. Of course, that had to be her luck.

Standing up from the table, she moved into her bedroom where the Wi-Fi router was housed. The lights were still blinking as if it were working – but even after resetting the router – it still didn't work. Constance dug out her cell phone as she plopped her exasperated self onto the couch, waiting for her internet provider to pick up. After having to sit through several robotic machine transitions, she found out that she had accidentally forgotten to pay her Wi-Fi bill. She supposed that's what she got for not having her priorities in the right order.

After getting ready, Constance left her apartment to catch the bus in the hopes she would be able to get to her internet provider's office before they closed. The moment she boarded the bus, she saw that Beom was sitting in his usual spot. He was staring out the window like he normally did, not paying her any sort of mind as she moved to walk down the aisle. She half debated sitting down beside him, but was worried that doing so would set any sort of progress they had made back. She also felt guilty about trying to be an internet detective with a past he obviously wasn't yet wanting to share. Both of those factors combined resulted in Constance sitting in a seat across the aisle from him. The bus soon lurched into motion and moved down the street.

The bus was in motion for a couple of minutes before Beom – looking away from the window – turned to look over at Constance. Last time he had seen her, she was pestering him for a name and now she seemed all distracted.

"You're awfully quiet today," remarked Beom, snapping Constance out of her thoughts and making a blush spread across her cheeks like wildfire as she turned to look at him.

"I would apologize, but I'm sure you are happy about it."

A small smirk spread across his lips, fading just as quickly as it had appeared. Beom continued to look at her for a moment before turning to look back out the window. Constance watched him turn away but didn't say anything. As the bus rolled to a stop, she moved to stand up from where she sat. Beom looked away from the window again to watch her move down the aisle. Before he realized what he was doing, he moved to get up and follow her off.

Constance didn't realize that Beom was tailing her as she made her way down the sidewalk towards the internet provider's office. She was too busy trying to do mental calculations in her head, hoping that her bank account wasn't so depleted that she wouldn't have enough to kick the service back on. Beom came to a stop outside the office as Constance slipped inside; his eyes catching sight of the logo on the outside of the building.

Constance was inside the building for roughly an hour before she emerged again, tired and irritable. She had, had to wait for what felt like an eternity to be waited on. When she had finally been called up to the front for assistance, they had explained that it would be a couple of days until she had access to her Wi-Fi back; that they had to make sure her payment went through at the bank before they could switch it on. While the mystery of Beom might be able to wait, applying for a job could not. Constance was lost to her worries as she walked outside, nearly jumping out of her skin when Beom stood in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she placed a hand over her chest to try to slow her rapidly beating heart.

Beom didn't say anything as he looked past her and at the building she had just emerged from.

"I decided to take a walk in a different part of town for the day."

Constance looked at him, noticing how his eyes failed to break eye contact with the name of the company emblazoned to the outside of the building. She had a feeling that what he had just said was a lie but didn't want to call him out on it. She didn't have enough energy for that right now.

"Well, whatever. Enjoy the rest of your day. I need to get going. I need to find a place with free Wi-Fi."

Beom broke his gaze with the front of the building to look at her.

"I know somewhere," he said, surprising her with his answer.

'Why is he being helpful?' thought Constance as she arched a brow at him.

"And where might that be?"

"Follow me," he said simply as he turned to start walking off.

She watched his receding back as he walked down the sidewalk. He wasn't even looking back to see if she was following, more than likely knowing she would. She huffed a sigh and predictably moved to follow after him before he disappeared from view.