🌹OBSESSED 🌹 (Parfume the series)

❄️01. The Attraction❄️

It's been several days, yet I still can't shake the thought of that makeup artist. Since that day, I've been asking the previous makeup artist-who had taken leave-about her, trying to find out who she was. But no one seems to know. It's like she was just a freelancer, filling in temporarily, coming and going without a trace.

If attraction is truly a force that the universe uses to bring people together, I should have found her again by now. Unless, of course, it's just one of those fancy lines you'd see on a book cover.

Right now, I'm wandering around the mall with two close friends, old schoolmates I haven't seen in ages. We decided to meet up and catch up. It's a good distraction since being alone has only made me more restless, constantly thinking about her. Meeting my friends has helped me forget, if only for a little while.

"I have a boyfriend now," 

Rungtiwa announced, her voice brimming with pride. She said it as if it were a huge accomplishment.

She used to be the modest girl in high school who always wore thick glasses, but after getting LASIK in university, she returned looking so stunning that I almost didn't recognize her. All of us, myself included, reacted with excitement-it was hard to believe that the studious, nerdy girl we knew had found herself in a romance.

"Where did you meet him?" 

"We met through a game."

"That's so nerdy!" teased Bow, a friend with a bit of a tomboyish vibe. Letting go of her initial excitement, she added, 

"I thought he might've approached you, or maybe a friend introduced you."

"It doesn't matter how we met. The important thing is that we did, right?" 

"Have you met him in person yet?"

"We've known each other for two days. He's really nice in person, and we get along well."

"I bet most of your conversations are about in-game items, right?" 

"How did you guess?"

"What else would a nerd like you talk about? You even met in a game!" 

Bow teased, then turned to me with a grin. 

"So, Run, what about you? Do you have someone special in your life?"

As soon as the attention shifted to me, all eyes were on me. I shook my head with exaggerated drama and spreading my hands, imitating the voice of a celebrity's son.

"No, I don't have anyone."

"Why is it that pretty girls like you never have boyfriends?" 

Bow nudged me playfully with her elbow. 

"Are you just too picky?"

I shrugged, shoving my hands into my jeans pockets and glancing around nonchalantly.

"You've got to be picky, right? Besides, I haven't met anyone I like-" 

I trailed off, realizing the words weren't entirely true. The sudden pause in my sentence didn't go unnoticed by my two observant friends, who immediately narrowed their eyes at me.

"Stopping mid-sentence like that. What does that mean?"

"It doesn't mean anything. Just making things up in my own head," 

I avoided their eyes because I didn't feel like explaining anything yet. Besides, I probably wouldn't see that person again, and I was too lazy to elaborate.

"Come on, you're not telling us anything! Keep us updated, Miss Model. You've found someone you like, haven't you?" 

Rungtiwa chimed in.