riki.nishimura → twelve weeks

8

We started to walk towards the neighbourhood, a little away from the main beach and shore, on our way there, a bunch of grandmas in wetsuits and buoys started to walk down.

They stopped, grinning at the guy beside me. I gave a timid smile, followed by a small bow.

"Ah, Niki! Who is this beautiful lady you're bothering?" One of them asked with a bright smile. Oh, so his name was Niki.

"I'm bothering? More like she's bothering me." He responded with a cute laugh, I turned my head slowly, staring at him after his comment.

He looked at me and simply shrugged.

"Nice to meet you! What is your name?" Another one of them asked me, all eyes were on me now.

"Cha Yeojin, I'm twenty three years old, from Seoul." I grinned awkwardly as they all began to 'aww' and 'ooh'.

"Seoul? Seoul, interesting! How come you decided to move from such a great city to this place?" Another asked me, and I gave a resentful scoff, if only she knew.

"Ah, I just wanted a break I guess." I explained vaguely as Niki simply stared at me.

"Alright alright guys, she has places to be. I'll see you around!!" Niki waved them goodbye, continuing to walk as I bowed slightly.

"Were those the haenyeos?" I inquired, very eager and excited that I actually saw something here that was advertised.

He gave a nod, enjoying the fresh air and the crispness of the temperature. The sunlight beamed off his radiant, clear skin. This man had no blemishes, no imperfections, everything about him was so model-like.

"Yup, exactly that. You should stop by a restaurant and taste the seafood they sell. Matter of fact, I'll take you to one as repayment for the bracelet." Niki stared at me, a bright and honest smile appearing on his face.

"Pshh, you don't have to." I fixed my hair, a meek grin printing on my face.

"Okay then." Niki's words suddenly cut my smile right off, and I looked at him swiftly.

"What?" I gently furrowed my brows, in disbelief that he didn't even like, offer again.

"What? You said I didn't have to." He shrugged, leading me to a house.

"Woah, no, I thought you'd be chivalrous and insist. But nevermind, I expect the restaurant meal, so don't forget." I took my words back, ensuring he knows that I expect a meal from him as repayment.

Niki gave a laugh, his smile was so cute. As he grinned, his eyes disappeared, giving him a really youthful and heavenly look, this man was like a portrait.

Why the hell was he wasting his time in Jeju when he had such potential in a city like Seoul?

I paused, watching as he knocked on the door. I then scurried to him, standing next to him as we waited for the door to open.

To my surprise, I expected an old woman to open it, but instead, a young woman, probably near the same age as me, opened the door. She looked at Niki, beaming a bright smile, and then at me, beaming a smile with a hint of confusion.

"Hey Saeron! You have a spare room right?" Niki asked, leaning against the frame of her door. She stood, staring at him mesmerised with a smile on her face.

She solely focused on Niki, which made me wonder if they were acquainted by any chance. By the looks of it, yes, but how close? I wasn't sure.

"Yeah! Why? What's up." She then flashed me a glance, proceeding to look back at Niki with another smile.

"I was wondering if Yeojin could rent out the room." Niki then looked at me, observing my face for a split second before speaking, "You have rent money right?"

He probably should've asked that earlier.

"Huh? Oh yeah, yes, I do have rent money." I nodded my head enthusiastically as she observed me from head to toe, then looked at Niki and did the exact same thing.

"Why are you both so wet?" She suddenly inquired, and I pressed my lips together as Niki glanced at me, letting out a smirk and a scoff.

"Let's just say a misunderstanding happened." Niki vaguely described, and I just glared at him, snarling and rolling my eyes. He looked at my face, then gave a short laugh.

"Come in, come in before you get sick." Saeron seemed to direct this solely at Niki, and obviously I understood, it's not everyday a random stranger appears at your front door with a suitcase and dripping wet.

Regardless, I entered, following closely behind Niki, since he was the only one I really knew the most here at the moment.

She handed the two of us a towel, I rubbed my hair and skin dry, there was no point of even trying to dry my clothes.

"So, you want to rent a room?" Saeron looked at me, I gave her a nod.