Wick | 민윤기

Six

6 November 2016

The autumn wind whistled hauntingly through the streets of Seoul. Victoria considered shutting down her shop since it was so late—nearly one in the morning—but a feeling she couldn't quite describe prevented her from doing so. She found herself staring at the open door for minutes upon minutes as if she expected someone to enter. The beads obstructed her view of the street slightly, but she could still see the hoards of people passing her store outside.

The crowds had dwindled as the night wore on and she figured that she couldn't just stare at the door for hours. So she grabbed the dinky stool from behind the counter and set it against the wall so she could stand on it and clean the tops of the shelves. Once she was standing on top, she recoiled at all the dust and cobwebs between the candles on the highest shelf she never even glanced at. She had set the candles there years ago and never changed them.

A small smile tugged at her lips as she gazed upon one of the scents. It was the first one she had ever created. Night Meadow. None of the scents on that shelf ever sold because they were too high up. Part of her was glad they never sold. They held too many memories. Night Meadow was the product of her messing around with scents after her parents had gone to bed one night. When her baby brother had woken up the entire house by screaming, her dad rushed out to find what was wrong. Victoria used the scent and her soothing voice to lull him back to sleep.

She sighed. Things were so different now.

"Reminiscing, are we?"

Victoria jumped and almost fell off the stool, but a pair of large hands steadied her legs. She swatted them away once she regained her balance. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't hear the beads swing as Yoongi entered the shop. She didn't even smell the cigarette smoke and she was very sensitive to smells.

"I was just cleaning," she mumbled before getting off the stool and landing clumsily beside him.

He only smirked down at her. "Sorry, Victoria, do I make you nervous?" His hair was now a pale shade of blue and she wondered if his scalp ever hurt from the amount of dyeing it went through.

"You're so cocky." She turned away, flustered by his comment.

What she didn't know was that while she wasn't looking, Yoongi couldn't help but let his eyes roam her entire body while he took his bottom lip between his teeth. "Thank you."

"It wasn't a compliment!" she shot back, whipping around to look at him. His eyes were now on hers, suddenly narrowed.

"Look, I'm sick of arguing with you so every time you push me we're gonna hold hands and stop fighting because friends try to understand each other."

Victoria only stared at him warily. "Since when are we friends?"

Before she could do anything, Yoongi reached his hand out to take a firm hold of hers. Her eyes widened and she tried to pull away, but he was adamant. He would not let go. "So, how was your day?" he asked casually, sitting on the stool she had been standing on moments ago.

Her face burned under his gaze while his warm and slightly calloused hand held her clammy one. Why was he holding her hand? To stop them from arguing? It made no sense to her. His question made even less sense. "What?"

"Did I stutter?"

She stared at him with slight doe-eyes that made him melt, but he would never let her know that. "You...you really wanna know how my day was?"

"That's why I asked."

"Oh..." She trailed off, averting her gaze. His eyes were just so cold and calculating. So intense. It made her nervous. Nobody had actually made her nervous before. "It was okay, I guess," she said quietly, breath hitching in her throat when he brushed his thumb over her skin a few times. "I—I made a few new scents."

Yoongi tilted his head as if he was thinking. "Do you spend all your time here?"

"That's a strange question..."

"I mean, like, don't you ever go anywhere?"

"That's a rude question," she said through gritted teeth.

He leaned forward slightly and searched her eyes, causing her heart to beat a million miles a minute. "Tell me honestly. Have you eaten today?"

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she burst and he sat back with a confused look. "Can't you just insult me, call me Candle Girl and say something perverted in passing before insulting me again and leave to go do God knows what to get big scary guys to hunt you down?"

Rejection swam in Yoongi's irises and he let go of her hand almost immediately. "I don't insult you that much," he muttered and stood.

Victoria winced at how quickly he pulled away. Maybe I was too mean, she thought. "Wait—don't leave." She grabbed his wrist before he could turn away.

Yoongi cocked an eyebrow and flashed a smirk. "Oh ho ho—does someone enjoy my company?"

"You don't have to be like that," she mumbled and let go of him.

"Like what?"

She gestured toward his face with a pout. "Like that. All...smirky."

He smiled widely, probably more than she'd ever seen of him. He nudged the bottom of her chin with his knuckles and turned around. "It was good seeing you, Candle Girl. I'll come back soon."

Victoria watched him walk out, a bit speechless. She touched the skin where his knuckles had just been. It was an affectionate gesture of fondness and she almost felt it radiate throughout her entire being when he smiled at her. When he touched her.

Then she realized how cold her hand felt when he wasn't holding it.

"No," she said out loud and shook her head vigorously. She stomped to the door and shut it tightly before locking it. There was no way she would fall for that loser.