Don't @ Me • Luwoo

32

Yukhei could feel the blood in his veins run cold with his fingers twitching nervously as he gnawed on his bottom lip. No one in the van had spoken through the whole ride that day, and now finally they had met their destination.

The sound of the motor of the van being turned off echoed through the silent vechile. The van had stopped in a hiked up parking lot of a small town in it's tiny central. Taeil was in the passenger seat typing away on his phone, probably crossing off appointments and making new ones.

The chauffeur frowned at the driver's seat before he glanced up through the rear view mirror to meet the reflection of an obviously anxious model. Yukhei's right leg now had begun to bounce in his jeans. The air conditioning blew through the vents of the van making a shiver kiss Yukhei's spine before he let out a sigh as the cold ran up.

The model then glanced up, notcing the chauffeur's hidden concerned stare through the mirror. Yukhei gulped, the chauffeur looked away and out through his window to the blue sky that was setting into the near by sea.

They had stopped at a small town that was located on the outskirts of Hong Kong. The town neighbors with the gorgeous blue waves that belonged to the Pacific ocean. The town was reserved to the Sea side, calm and bland. If any of them were to leave their seats in the van and peek past the cement road on the mount that lead to civilization, they'd be met with a wide landscape of sand that bled into the crashing waves of salt water in front of them.

If you watched, ant like figures could be seen scampering along the shore. And if you listened closely you'd recognize those ants to be groups of small children. They ran and played along the bank, laughter was what they would sing. What Yukhei had sang when he was young at the same shore.

Only across the street from the parking lot they parked in was none other than the Thai restaurant Yukhei had grown up knowing. His Chinese father was happily married to his Thai mother. As far as he could remember they had always owned that small restaurant that was sandwiched in-between other small and old fashioned establishments. The waves crashed, it was loud enough to heard from such a distance.

Yukhei peered through his side of the car window and squinted his eyes, as if that would help him get a better look at the the restaurant. There were only a couple of customers from where Yukhei could see through the giant glass windows that gave you a whole view of the inside.

It was set up the same too, from when Yukhei had lived there so many years ago, tables and chairs hadn't moved. Yukhei swallowed and his leg bouncing had gotten faster. Taeil turned his head in the passenger seat to glance at the model's nervousness.

Yukhei breathed in and with that he halted the annoying bouncing of his thigh and bit the inside of his cheeks before abruptly turning to meet gazes with Taeil who found himself being caught staring. Taeil jolted only a little to the other's sudden actions. Yukhei brought his hands from his lap and pulled up the face mask that rested underneath his chin. It now covered the bottom half of his face.

"I'll be back in less than 30 minutes." Yukhei replied to Taeil's raised eye brow as he exited the car. He left the van with the door slammed shut. He stood in the parking lot underneath the sky's clouds that shaded him from the setting sun. Yukhei huffed in his dark joggers and gray hoodie, it's hood pulled up his head.

And in such attire, he strolled near the restaurant. In the past, Yukhei had been surprised by his father and his obsession with having his son exceed in track instead of wanting him to take over the restaurant. He had guessed his father planned to have his younger brother take over.

Yukhei looked both ways of the empty road and crossed it with a skip in his step. He was in a hurry. Once he made it to the other side he was met with the entrance of his family restaurant. The door was shut in front of him, it being only a feet disatnce from his reach.

The nostalgic and familiar neon sign hung from the inside and lit past the glass window in colorful rays of Mandarin characters. Yukhei wet his lips and slowly pulled out one of the hands that had been shoved in his pocket to reach for the metal handle. He had almost made it too.

"Yukhei?" A soft voice called abruptly. The model jumped back from the door, his shoulders up to neck in fear as he turned to his right to see his mother in an apron with a trash bag in her delicate hands as she emerged from the side of one of the other buildings.

She had been planning to take out the trash, obviously, she was going to toss in the dumpster that was on the left side of the other small store that had crowded the restaurant. His mother would have to walk in front of her own establishment to get there and that's how she had spotted Yukhei.

"Ma! Don't scare me like that!" Yukhei gave a sigh, his body sagging and his nervousness melted into nothing in the pit of his stomach. That was the power his mother had on him, he had never felt self conscious or afraid near his mother. Yukhei had his eyes trained on the older woman before he let concern grace his face as walked forward to his speechless mother. The striking woman just stared at her son as he neared with slightly wide eyes. Yukhei frowned at her blank expression and felt a tinge of discomfort knot in him.

Did she not want to see him too? Should've he not really bothered like his father had said? Of course those thoughts floated in his mind but were soon melted away when he watched his mother in front of him let the trash bag fall from her fingers. Her blank expression melted into a warm gaze as she darted towards the still Yukhei. Her feet scampered on the sidewalk until they reached her much taller son before she, without hesitation, embraced him with all she could. With her much smaller body could.

Yukhei's heart spread with warmth and he stood there frozen for a second. His mother on the tips of her toes to have his face at the side of her head as she breathed into the crook of his neck. His hood had now fallen and her fingers were lovingly threading themselves through the hairs at his nape. She breathed in deeply and tightened her grip.

Yukhei felt like he was thrown back in time. To the time he where was young, when he was 7, 8, 9. When he hadn't left to Korea yet. His mother would embrace him like this, with all her heart and soul.