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"Kim Jiyeon!"
The said girl spun around in the direction of the voice that called for her-black hair that fell just below her shoulders whipped in the air as her head turned, hands clutching two carton boxes filled with fresh fruits to the very rim, almost too heavy for her to stabilize herself while wending her way out of the supermarket.
"Mr. Yeo, I'm here!" Jiyeon announced to gain the elder male's attention as she placed the boxes by the doorway and arranged them on the wooden table for display.
"Jiyeon-ah, the delivery boy is going to be late, so I need you to fill in for him today." Mr. Yeo instructed, calling in another part-time worker to proceed with the fruit display arrangement.
"The items to be delivered are already loaded on the bike. Figure it out." The male pointed at the parked cargo bike, which consisted of a few groceries packed in a cover, and handed the keys over to her.
"Me? I'm new to this area, sir. It's hard to navigate my way around-"
"Get to work quickly if you don't wish to work overtime." With that said, the manager walked away and she let slip a loud sigh, glancing at the old, poorly maintained bike that screamed for repair ever since she had begun working as a part-time employee at the store.
"What a pain." Jiyeon mumbled while her eyes bored into the manager's back until his figure had disappeared into the supermarket.
"I guess the breaks don't work sometimes. Please ride safely, Jiyeon." Minju, her co-worker who was busily segregating fruits, uttered with a hint of worry, glancing at the bike and back at the girl in pity.
"Pray for me, thanks." Jiyeon wryly remarked as she hopped on the cargo bike, stuffed the airpods in her ear to beat the boredom with some music, and had her phone on clear display with the roadmap to reach her destination.
"See ya, Minju." Jiyeon said and soon revved the engine, heading down the unfamiliar roads.
Kim Jiyeon is a twenty-year-old, university-going student with decent grades and a close-knit friend group. She lived with her grandmother in the suburbs until the elder compelled her to move in with her relatives who resided in the city so as to shorten the enervating travel from home to university.
Though her uncle, Kim Chanwoo, warmly welcomed her to their home and was elated to accept her request to stay with them, her aunt, Han Eunji, seemed rather displeased with her. Jiyeon never once had the opportunity to converse with her aunt, always being met with awful comments sent in her way by the female.
In consequence, Jiyeon set out to find herself a part-time job that offered her some financial assistance as well as time away from her-now-home.
Jiyeon manoeuvred down the street and into the side road where the hustling crowd largely minimized, the sound of cars honking drowning in the background as she drove forward.
"Grandma calling"
The automated voice rang in her airpods as the music cut off, and the incoming call took her by surprise, causing her focus to shift from the road to elsewhere for a mere second, but when she snapped back to reality, her eyes widened upon realizing that she was advancing towards a person who was crossing the road.
"Holy shit!" Jiyeon let out at the unforeseen presence in the middle of the alley, and her wrist swiftly flicked the handles to the right, the tyres screeching against the asphalt at the abrupt swerve, and she heartfully prayed the breaks would not fail her.
Much to her luck, the vehicle halted mere inches away from the man, and she exhaled a sigh of relief before looking over at the male, who did not seem to move a muscle- his feet stayed rooted to the ground, hands resting in the pockets of his jeans and black hair swaying to the wind and back turned on her.
"Excuse me, are you alright?" She asked, almost out of breath at the nerve-racking incident that sent her heart racing erratically as her hands hastily tugged the airpods out.
Jiyeon glanced up, tilting her head slightly in bafflement at his composed stature despite nearly being hit by a bike.
Odd. She thought.
"Excuse me. Is everything fine?" Jiyeon repeated herself loudly, wondering if her question went unheard the first time and the man spun on his heel to face her.
Her eyes quickly scanned his body for any signs of injury and the absence of any such indications eased her mind. She thanked the heavens for saving her from turning the ride into her last one.
"You seem fine, sir. I apologize for not noticing you there." Jiyeon bowed in apology, and when she straightened her back, the male bent forward to stand at her eye level, the distance between them reduced to inches.
Jiyeon instinctively jerked her head back, and a gush of wind swarmed past them, moving the strewn strands of his raven hair away from his face, allowing her to meet his eyes for the first time, and she froze.
His eyes glowed a shade of deep red; surreal, almost inhumane.
The corner of his lips tugged lightly, amusedly, as his gaze pierced into hers, leaving words to get stuck at the base of her throat.
"Can you see me?"
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