Unspoken | park sunghoon ✓

𝟐𝟕. (the one with free strawberry milk.)

☂︎

SARIM STEPPED into the small convenience store, the cold rainwater dripping from her jacket as she pushed the door open. The familiar chime of the store echoed through the empty space. She wiped her damp hair away from her face, looking around. It was late, and the place was mostly empty except for a figure slouched over the counter.

She recognized him immediately. Seokjin, his head resting on his folded arms, was sound asleep. Sarim paused for a moment, considering whether she should wake him or just quietly grab what she needed and leave. But seeing him like this -relaxed, it seemed wrong to just leave him there.

With a soft exhale, Sarim made her way toward the counter. Her footsteps barely made a sound on the polished tile as she approached him. "Seokjin", she called gently, her voice low, not wanting to startle him too much.

There was no response.

She stepped closer, glancing over her shoulder toward the door, then tried again, a little louder this time. "Seokjin-ssi?"

This time, his eyelids fluttered open slowly. He groggily looked up, his eyes squinting at the sudden light. His jet black messy hair fell in front of his face, and he took a second to wipe it out of his eyes. "Oh, hey," he mumbled, rubbing his neck. "S-Sorry, I must've dozed off."

Sarim felt a small knot form in her stomach. She wasn't sure why, but it felt odd to see him so... unguarded. "It's okay," she replied softly. "I-I didn't want you to get in trouble."

"Ah, don't worry about it. I'm always like this when I'm tired," he said with a slight smile, his voice still thick with sleep. He sat up a little straighter in his chair, stretching his arms above his head.

The clock caught sarims eyes. half past eleven.

"I didn't realize it was that late," Sarim muttered, glancing outside through the store's windows. The rain was coming down in sheets, and she had forgotten her umbrella.

"Don't worry. I don't mind," Seokjin said casually as he shuffled over to the register. "What can I get you?"

Sarim thought for a second before reaching for a sandwich from the shelf and a strawberry milk. She placed both on the counter, her fingers brushing against the cold plastic of the sandwich wrapper.

Seokjin scanned them, his eyes briefly flicking up to hers. "That'll be 6,000 won," he said, his voice more awake now. He rang up the items, his fingers moving automatically over the buttons.

Sarim nodded, reaching for her wallet. She opened it and froze.

She had only enough for the sandwich and not the milk. Her stomach sank as she counted her change, her mind racing. The last thing she wanted was to embarrass herself in front of Seokjin, especially since he had already been kind enough to wake up for her.

"I'm sorry," Sarim said quickly, her cheeks turning pink. "I am short.. on money." She was embarrassed. "I'll just take the sandwich." She moved to pick it back up.

Seokjin looked at her for a moment before smiling. "It's fine. Don't worry about it," he said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a few coins. He placed them on the counter, adding the extra amount to cover her milk.

"No, you can't—" Sarim started, but Seokjin shook his head.

"It's okay," he said with a small smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Think of it as a... regular customer discount."

Sarim's face flushed. "I- I'll pay you back next time," she promised, her voice a little more embarrassed than she intended. "T- Thank you
Seokjin, though."