NEIGHBOR [ SUNKI ]

[ 2 ]

    it was possibly the worst morning ni—ki had ever experienced. from not being able to resume sleeping, to the sheer fact that he was moodier than usual and that was a dangerous combo.
swinging legs over the side of his bed with an annoyed hiss, ni—ki padded over to his bedroom window and pulled open the curtain. the sun hung high in the sky in all its bright glory which only seemed to piss ni—ki off even more. it somehow reminded him of sunoo's face and a scowl deeply embedded itself on the young lad's features. "what the actual fuck—" a growl rumbled in his throat, unable to comprehend why sunoo of all people was still occupying space in his mind. shaking his head, ni—ki forced him out of his thoughts and begrudgingly started getting ready for the day.
   another lousy shift at his lousy convenient store job; a small one located in the corner of a quiet street about a block away from the local university. ni—ki unfortunately came in contact with many students his age who came by during breaks and lunch hours usually, disrupting the quiet that otherwise existed during their class hours.
   sighing, he straightened his posture as he finished tying his shoes and picked up his backpack before exiting the comfort of the apartment, making sure the lock the door behind him. much to ni-ki's annoyance however, sunoo seemed to be heading out for the day himself and had exited his own apartment the same time ni-ki had.
   'great ..' ni—ki mumbled under his breath, pretending to not have seen him and turned his back towards the other boy before hastily walking away, aiming for the stairs that would lead him to the first floor. damn him for living in an old apartment building that didn't have an elevator.
    unfortunately ...
   "oh hey! heading out too?" sunoo's face brightened up at the sight of ni—ki, jogging to catch up to him before keeping pace beside the taller male.
ni—ki clenched his teeth tightly. "shouldn't you be unpacking still?" he asked sunoo tersely.
sunoo grinned, seemingly not taking notice of ni—ki's barely restrained hostility. "i got a good chunk done! my stomach decided it was hungry though and i still have a couple hours before my refrigerator is delivered and i can go grocery shopping."
ni—ki grunted, unsure what to respond to that. his new neighbor's obliviousness was painful to watch.
"so what about you? where are you headed?"
it took ni—ki a moment to realize sunoo was talking to him again. adjusting the straps on his backpack, he mumbled, "heading to work."
sunoo tilted his head, looking kind of like a cute kid genuinely curious about what ni—ki was saying. wait — what the fuck? did he really think this guy was cute? annoyed at where his thoughts were taking him, ni—ki ran the rest of the way to the stairs without a word, taking them two at a time and leaving behind a confused sunoo.
"h-hey—!" sunoo shouted after him, but he soon lost sight of ni—ki as the taller boy ran down the sidewalk and around a corner. sunoo slowed his steps, wondering if he had said or done anything wrong during their conversation or even ever since they first met a few hours ago. unfortunately, he wasn't able to pinpoint anything in particular and just shrugged. maybe ni—ki was just shy. that had to be it. content with this conclusion, sunoo resumed his journey. he'll just have to work harder to befriend ni—ki from now on.

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   ni—ki didn't know for how long he was running, but the next thing he knows is that he's outside of his workplace, kneeled over by the entrance trying to catch his breath. he knows he's attracted a lot of attention, a few people turning their heads to look at him as they passed, but ni—ki didn't care. eventually, he was able to straighten his posture and run the back of his arm across the length of his forehead, ridding it of any sweat that may have been acquired during his escape. realizing thoughts of sunoo were threatening to return, ni—ki roughly shook his head and entered the store, setting off the little bell at the top.
   "you're late," was how he was greeted by the owner of the convenient store; an old woman coming out from behind the front counter, hands on her hips.
   "huh—?! what are you talking about, grandma? i'm right on time. you're the one who's early." ni—ki shot back at her, removing his backpack with one hand and running the other through his hair.
   "are you talking back to me, you little brat?" the old woman hissed, walking towards ni—ki with a fist raised.
   "woah, woah, woah! calm down, grandma!" ni—ki scrambled away from her, holding up his backpack as if to deflect a possible blow.
   "stop calling me that. my grandkids are much more well behaved and mannered than you are, you ungrateful little boy."
   "man, you're lucky i even came to work today."
   "and you're lucky you still even have this job. now get to work, you brat!" the woman would disappear somewhere in the back of the store.
   ni—ki lowered his backpack with a heavy sigh and walked behind the counter, setting it in the empty cubby beneath the register. what the hell did he do to deserve a bad start to his day like this?

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while ni—ki was lamenting his bad luck, sunoo had managed to make it to the local shopping district, which was conveniently a comfortable walk from his apartment building and also only about a few blocks from the university he would be attending. this part of the city was busy — the shops open and ready to welcome customers in for the day; a few shop owners already calling out their wares and sales. it made sunoo smile. he was far from america now.
   "where should i even start?" of course, the boy made sure to research everything about south korea and the city he would be living in before coming here and thankfully he already knew the language due to his parents speaking korean at home ever since he was born. it was as if he was a local and not an outsider seeking a better life.
   wandering down the street, hoping to find a place where he can relax with some food, sunoo thought of his parents back home, who had done everything they could to convince him not to come here, to korea. "i'll show them," he said to himself, stopping in front of a small restaurant where the owner was a gentle woman, smiling and beckoning him to enter. "i'll show them all."