𝗦𝗪𝗘𝗘𝗧 𝗦𝗢𝗥𝗥𝗢𝗪 𝗢𝗙 𝗠𝗢𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗥 ☆ 𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗭

one

☆ 𝗖𝗛𝗢𝗜 𝗝𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗛𝗢 ☆

the early morning air was thin and crisp, the streets black and barren. the tranquil scene of strictland's largest commercial city before the sun comes up. it was almost laughable how silent and, dare he say, serene the atmosphere currently was for someone so used to elbowing his way through a mob to get a loaf of bread.

jongho rolled up the garage door that exposed the makeshift auto shop he established with his crew mate as a surface tether to this city. as he stepped over the threshold, he pulled a small lever to the right of him, switching on the bright green neon sign above the door.

it was nearly selling time, and though his eyes sagged with exhaustion, he had to put on his character. the dark-haired rebel rolled up the sleeves of his blue overalls, finding a rag to wipe down his workstation.

a soft but audible snoring could be heard from where jongho stood, and it made him sigh, thrusting him deeper into his sour morning mood.

of course yunho slept on the desk. the giant idiot would do anything at long as it wasn't relaxing, but fortunately, nature caught up to him with a slap on the back, and he landed on a rickety birch slab.

with the fair dimness of dawn, he turned to see the taller man right cheek down with a little drool pooling below his lips. jongho was a little disappointed he'd remembered to switch off the lamp, sort of hoping for an excuse to bitch around.

"yah, yunho!" jongho whisper-yelled, tapping his partner's shoulder in a less than gentle manner, "selling time. get up."

yunho was still blinking the fatigue from his eyes and unfurling his limbs when they heard the whir of an engine in rapid motion. initially, instict led them to assume it was seonghwa coming for his bike maintenance, as he announced he would. but then, how would he show up at the literal asscrack of dawn?

the literal asscrack of dawn, however, could only be connected to their uppity pain-in-the-ass regular customer who drives through hell to come down here every weekend. most times, she parks outside with a cigarette hanging from her lips, waiting for them to open up shop like she was someone important.

steady, smooth, and fucking swift. that was what her engine sounded like.

the whirring reduced to a low hum, and then to quiet as he watched her park her vehicle just outside the threshold. the motorcycle had a quite confusing build, thick but sleek and awfully aerodynamic. large, strong tires with a neat dash connecting them. terrifyingly, it also had no mirrors and he could barely see the handlebars. it was clearly custom built, he doubted the bike was licensed. maybe that was why she came in when no one was around.

dark brown hair in natural waves swaying as she touched level ground. not an ounce of fatigue in her step, instead, she was putting off an aura of something aggressive, but not necessarily violent. like a determination. a readiness.

"good day, choi." she walked past him with a curt nod, "jeong. thank you for having me."

jongho rolled his eyes at her starchy accent, "morning. thanks for coming."

he saw yunho wave lethargically, and heard her hum with acknowledgement while she found the clipboard on the wall to sign in.

this woman, her baronial energy and odd motorcycle was a question mark jongho wished he cared enough to turn over. but alas, she always arrived before he had his caffeine fix. nobody could blame him if he outright ignored her most times.

besides, she seemed to know what she was doing, her wrist winding gracefully even with a rusty wrench and a threadbare rag. the black oil stains on her arms and face weren't those of a novice. it made jongho wonder why she came here anyway if she never let them touch her vehicle.

judging from the wet sand caked on her tires, he deduced she must be coming from the south side. it tells on her, too. the dull olive tan to her skin, the waves in her hair, the brightness to her eyes - her features were strikingly southern.

why did she travel several miles over bad roads in this poor weather, and at odd hours if she was only going to use their tools and get overcharged? were there no hardware stores in her town?

"i need the good sponge," she swung her head up at the two men, holding the small hose with a concerning grip, "if i may make use of it?"

now, jongho had an excuse to charge an extra 450 bits.

mumbling a groggy 'of course', yunho disappeared into the back closet to find it.

while jongho continued to prep for business, he heard his neighbour roll up his store shutters, too. that meant it was nearly breakfast hour.

wiping off his hands, he made his way next door.
"morning, wonho. let me help you set up."

the tiny giggle that startlingly contrasted his appearance, that was the thing that broke jongho's grumpiness on most days. it worked just as good on this day.

"you don't have to pretend to care, hmm? i'll still give you a free sandwich." wonho's smile was contagious, and soon, jongho was fighting off a chuckle. the two men did the routine set up before wonho's staff came in.

and finally, the dark-haired man was rewarded with a fresh americano. he stared at it like it was a bar of gold.
"thank you." those were the first genuine words he spoke that day. yunho's coffee order came next, and then two complimentary sandwiches they totally didn't deserve. wonho was a darling - a big beefy sweetheart.

the minute jongho slipped back into outlaw customs, customers began spotting at wonho's cafe. little by little, as the sun rose higher in the sky, it became a swarm of hungry commuters. there had never been a more strategic spot to run a cafe than in the middle of the service street - the centre of durska.

by then, their special customer had clocked out, signing off with only her initials as per usual.

jongho had always wondered what h.h. stood for.

he knew yunho assumed her name to be hermoine hernandez, but what were the odds of that?
slim to none, actually.

jongho thought anyone named hermoine would be more talkative, even if it would mostly be nagging. that genre of uppity would never leave their scarf behind at an auto shop in a city like this one.