ice cream [discnt]

04

04 ; week two, day two

jaebum

i wondered if cha minyeon was an addict. addicted to the cocaine-like drug: sugar. how could someone keep up a routine like buying a cup of strawberry ice cream every night? minyeon did... not that i'm complaining.

maybe she was actually addicted to the real stuff, the hard drugs.

when she first came in she had the cleanest appearance. her hair was neat and trimmed, her skin was clear and sporting a healthy glowing tan, her eyes never sparkled but they still held light, and she kept her shoulders straight.

progressively, her hair had become wild. her skin was pale with red splotches. her eyes were lined with dark circles. even her shoulders slumped forward.

i hope i'm wrong.

do i have a crush on a meth head? how can she still make my heart flutter when she looks like she just escaped from the psych ward of a hospital?

"uh.. jaebum," a small whisper woke me from my daze. "strawberry ice cream, please."

"minyeon!" i must've shocked her because her eyes widened considerably. "sorry, it's just really good to see you."

the corners of her mouth lifted weakly and she nodded.

"you shouldn't speak so formally to me when i'm probably younger than you," she said quietly. "we're friends, right?"

the ice cream scooper fell from my grip and i stuttered out a 'yes'.

"how old are you then?" i asked.

"twenty four. i'm twenty four."

finally, scooping the ice cream into the cup, i smiled lightly at her.

"ah, i should be speaking formally, noona."

her fingertips brushed mine when she handed me three dollars for the ice cream.

"no dinner again? what an unhealthy habit," she commented when she felt my trembling hands.

she slipped her regular two dollar tip into the tip jar and grinned. "how does black bean noodles sound?"

i stuttered, my heart beating wildly out of my chest. "n—no, noona. you shouldn't." i protested meekly, a blush heating my cheeks.

"i would wait to eat it with you but i have to get this ice cream to my brother. it's the only thing he likes," she explained.

my stomach flipped when she waved goodbye. so she wasn't addicted to sugar? the ice cream was never even for her! that's probably why she looked like a corpse. being a slave to her own brother must be stressful. who sends there sister out to get them food at this time of night?

i hit myself in the head repeatedly. stupid, stupid, stupid. why was i busying myself with theories and assumptions about her all along? how superficial of me. she must hate me!

but she implied that she would have dinner with me.

my stomach did one million backflips and my heart fluttered uncontrollably.

in no time, my shift ended and i found myself sat alone in the dark outside of the shop after digging into the black bean noodles minyeon had left for me.