Aoey and I had been living together for two months. Time flew quickly.
The calendar on the wall reminded me of the time. Aoey's book was now in
the process of being rewritten and should be on a shelf within the next two
months. Aoey told me that she would receive payment 4 months after the
book was already in the store. But I couldn't wait that long. I asked my
mom to transfer the money ahead of her because I wanted her to quit her
part-time job at a convenience store. She should be at school at that time.
That day, it was the first day in her life to have 6-digit money in her bank
account. She looked at her phone in disbelief, as if she were now in a
surreal world.
"My first payment is 6 figures, Gen."
"I'm happy for you. You earned it yourself. I couldn't do it by myself."
I looked at my friend who now couldn't stop smiling. So, I told her right
away.
"You should enroll in school now. You don't need to work anymore."
"How can I stop working? This doesn't mean you can earn it that much
again."
"You can write another story."
"It may not be as good as this."
"I'll read it first if you care that much."
"Do you also read a novel?"
"Yes, I even read your published story. The one about the hero being a
prince and he was in love with the heroine who was born to a thief. Aoey
looked at me in surprise and covered her now pink face in shyness.
"You really read it. I am so embarrassed."
"Because?"
"There was a love scene there. You might think I have a dirty mind."
I smiled and looked at her adoringly. It was so funny because she posted it
on the Internet for a thousand people to read, but she was embarrassed
when I read it. I was just a reader in the publication.
"It's a beautiful scene. I wonder what you were thinking when you wrote
that."
Aoey covered her face and shook her head.
"Do not make fun of me."
"I'm paying you a compliment."
"I don't know why when it's you I feel uncomfortable."
"Okay, I won't bother you anymore."
We both looked into each other's eyes in silence. But an alert sound from
Aoey's phone broke the silence. Soft eyes diverted her attention to her shitty
old phone. She frowned when she read it.
"Everything is alright?"
I asked curiously.
"Yes."
Aoey turned her phone face down.
"I just need to be more serious about quitting my part-time job. What
should I do when I quit?"
"Write a novel?"
"I'll think about it."
Aoey did not agree with my proposal. She left her phone in the same place
when she entered the bathroom. Curious, I grabbed her phone to see what it
was about. But her phone was so old that deserved to be in a museum. It
had to be a free phone.... My curiosity got the better of the old phone. I
managed to get it working. The last message on the screen was not open..
[SKYFALL: I miss you. Please come to work. I'm waiting for you.]
It bothered me to read that, but I realized the message didn't make her
happy. She wanted to quit her job. It was his colleague. But why did I
bother? Since I saw the message, I haven't spoken to Aoey again. I looked
at her dressed in the uniform angrily.
"Are you going to be calm today?"
I realized that my tone was too sarcastic. She looked at me confused and
asked me what was wrong.
"I'm not sure."
"Resign today."
"Because?"
"Because I said so."
I looked deeply into her eyes.
"Why do I have to follow your order?"
"Do what I told you."
"You're being irrational. I don't want to hear that. I will make my own
decisions."
Aoey packed her things and left the room. I was left alone and upset. No
one had ever bothered me like that before. But she didn't care. I let her stay
there and published her book. Asking her to quit her job wasn't too much to
ask. I walked anxiously. I decided to finally follow her. I needed to know
which branch of the convenience store she worked at. I was surprised to
learn that the place where she worked on hershift was so close to the condo.
I didn't go into the store because my family took care of everything. They
bought all the things I needed and shipped them.
I watched her working inside the store. I felt upset when I noticed that many
of the customers were looking at her when they left, especially the men. She
was more beautiful than when we were young.... She had lice growing up.
Her face was smooth but shiny skin. She didn't wear makeup, how come
she looked so good? Being beautiful could be dangerous. She should do
something to make her look uglier. Maybe when she fell asleep, she should
draw her face. It could be washed anyway.
I imagined so many things as I looked inside the store. I could see her near
the counter when people came and went.
Soon after, I saw a man with dyed blonde hair. He looked ugly rather than
pretty. He gave her a big, crooked-toothed smile. He obviously flirted with
her. I wanted to throw my shoe from outside. But I could only observe from
afar. However, Aoey seemed uncomfortable. That was him SKYFALL...the
chat boy. I had to take some action, so that this guy would leave her alone.
I surprised myself, knowing that I was wasting my time hanging out at the
convenience store where Aoey worked. And I had to hide it from her too.
However, she had something else to do....she was there to...Wait... Almost
two hours later, when the SKYFALL boy went out to smoke a cigarette. I
took a deep breath and composed myself before walking in with a big smile
towards him.
"Sorry."
The man who was now holding a cigarette looked at me in surprise. I gave
him a flirtatious smile that made him choke on his cigarette.
"Yeah?"
"I wanted to ask you something."
"Yeah?"
He dropped the cigarette on the floor and stepped on it to put out the fire.
He wiped her hand on her shirt over and over again as if he were very dirty.
"Do you have a girlfriend?"
My direct question made him super uncomfortable. I flirted with him like a
pro.
"N...No"
"Do you have someone in mind?"
His bulging eyes looked into the store and shook his head like a liar.
"No."
"That's good."
I stood up and looked at the boy who was shorter than me, about 3
centimeters.
"If I knew you were trying with Aoey, I would hurt you."
I had the ability to threaten people. My voice and cold eyes cursed people
and froze them if I was angry. The man in front of me changed from
surprise to not giving a shit when he realized I was threatening him.
"What do you think you can do to me if I go after Aoey?"
He went from being nervous to openly challenging me. I greeted my father's
boy whom I called earlier to wait. A big guy appeared next to the blonde
boy while I was standing on the other side.
"I think I can. You have the option of leaving it or not going to work or
study for two months."
That was the end. SKYFALL promised that he would leave Aoey. Now that
I was bored waiting for Aoey, I returned to my condo and took a nap. I
woke up with a surprise to see the soft eyes sitting next to me on the bed,
looking at me..
"You scared me. What time did you come back?"
Aoey pressed my chest and told me to continue napping.
"A while ago, I watched you while you were sleeping.."
"Oh."
"I don't feel good fighting with you. I'm sorry."
She said with a sad expression. I had forgotten about that because I had paid
more attention to the blonde boy. I nodded in agreement.
"You don't have to apologize. I was being selfish. I was wrong too. Don't
worry about that."
"I quit."
"Oh good. Now you have time to study or write a novel. Whatever you
want to do, I support you."
I smiled and gently touched her cheek with the back of my hand. The soft
eyes took my hand and looked into my eyes.
"I will spend my time writing a novel. Now I have an idea for a new plot."
"Which is it?"
"I'll let you read it. I'll write it just for you.."
"Ok, I'll look forward to it."
"Wait until I'm brave enough, I'll let you read it. I promise."
"What kind of novel needed bravery? But anyway, I'll wait."
"Oh... Gen."
"Yeah?"
Aoey now stood up and showed me her back when she said that..
"Next time you visit me, please come in. It's too hot outside."
I jumped when I heard that. She turned around and gave me a smile. My
face turned red because I had been caught red-handed "You saw me?"
"Yeah."
"Why didn't you say something?"
The soft eyes looked at me and smiled so beautifully.
"I wanted to know how you planned to reconcile with me."
"No, I wasn't there to make peace with you."
I was there to see the guy who tried to hit on her and I never did anything
wrong. I never had to reconcile with anyone.
"What you did makes me so excited."
She turned around and gave me a beautiful smile under those thick glasses.
"I love you, Gen,"
She said it as casually as if it were a normal statement. I froze at this
statement and responded with a controlled casual voice.
"Yes, because I am a lovely person. It's hard to resist."
"What about me? Am I adorable to you?"
I nodded.
"Yes you are..."
"Do you love me then?"
-I'm proven. I need to sleep."
I collapsed back into bed and turned around with my back toher. My heart
was beating so fast and I felt the pressure of her words. I had just stopped
outside a convenience store, why did she ask me if he loved her? Did she
want me to confess my love? That was crazy
