THE GRIM

THE GRIM 02.

THE GRIM —
HAPPY HOUR!

DAY 398.

the cool fall wind blew silently as jeongguk stumbled into the nearest diner to his new home. he's been doing nothing but discreetly getting comfortable in the new area, so he hasn't had many opportunities to go out and explore. he's spent his time searching for means of employment and blending into his new environment. as a child (and as the 23 year old adult he is), he'd always taken a likeness to playing a variety of video games until he perfected the game itself — and had a habit of playing until his fingers damn near fell off, so the gamestop near his apartment seemed like a liable place of employment for the time being.

that, and his second job at a local owned auto repair shop. he knew his way around cars and liked fixing them, so a kind man named frank gladly hired him to help out; the grease and the overbearing scent of rust and metal be damned.

it was almost midnight now. the moon shined brightly and full in a dark sky, and the diner before him held a sign with the lights assigned to illuminate the name flickering with no comprehensible pattern. once inside, he noted that the diner is practically vacant, a few people here and there, but no overwhelming attendance, which was both expected and pleasing to jeongguk. he sat at an empty booth, smoothly sliding in on the seat's leather. and since there wasn't many people in the diner, jeongguk is noticed almost immediately by a waitress.

"gimme a second doll, i'll be right with you!" and she was. not even a full two minutes after she announced where she would be, there she was, leaning on the table with a notepad between her fingers. her curly hair was in a high ponytail, and she smelled of sweet alcohol. her eyes were warm as she looked down at him, and her skin was smooth and bronzed like a shiny penny. she smiled sweetly, "i'm yvonne," his eyes flicker to her nametag, "i'll be takin' care of you tonight." she slides a laminated menu towards him.

it was a name he's never heard before. he nodded, opening the menu while noting that her voice has the twang of a southern belle; deep and song-like. her manner depicted the description as well, with her arm lazily resting on the booth opposite of where jeongguk sat and her curves making quite the show in her jeans.

she'll do just fine.

she waits patiently, allowing him to decide on a meal for the night, listening to his left foot repeatedly tap the tiled floors, the tap tapping distracting her some before her customer snaps the menu shut, declaring that he would like the diner's classic bacon lover's burger; with no onions, extra pickles, and fries. she promptly takes his menu and begins to leave, before he quietly calls her back, "wait," he chuckles, "i forgot to order a drink." and she forgot to ask.

yvonne curses at herself, but eventually blames her lack of professionalism on her tiredness. "oh, you're right. since it's after midnight, we've got a bit of a happy hour goin on, if you're interested in that." she takes her pad back out, "all alcohol is under three dollars."

he seems as if he's considering it for a moment before he asks, "everything?" she nods. "well, i'd like a beer then. jack daniels, if you have it." yvonne writes it down, all while wondering who the hell doesn't have jack daniels.

as jeongguk waits, he ponders over the resources he'd have while he's here. one of his closest friends was a sheriff in this very town, and that had to be valuable. he'd have to take his earnings a little slower this time around; surely people have listened into the tragedies occurring in a state very near to them.

the waitress returns with his drink first, telling him that his food should be out shortly. he uses this moment as an opportunity to get some information out of her about the town, curiously asking her how she liked living in the area. she perked up with interest, exclaiming, "oh you're new!" laughing, she says, "that explains a lot."

jeongguk doesn't know what she means by that, but smiles and nods anyway.

"well personally," she smiled cheekily and leaned against the table with her hand clutching the side, "i've lived here my whole life, so i might come off a little biased here, but paradise is really holding up to it's name, you know? i feel really safe here, the people are super friendly — you'll find a friend anywhere you turn, i swear it! oh, we also have this little annual halloween carnival coming up, with a haunted house and hayride and all that good stuff, if you're interested."

he hums, looking into her eyes, "i'll have to look into it then."

"you should, it's super fun," she says. "where are you comin from?" she asks, curious.

"oh, uh, kalamazoo."

"kalamazoo? all the way up there? huh." she pouts, thinking that paradise was an odd place to move to if you once lived in a place like that. but she can't blame him, paradise was great.

after their short conversation, yvonne leaves to retrieve his food, and tells him rather enthusiastically to enjoy, and disappears into the back, occasionally popping back out to wipe tables and do whatever else until he finished and she came to leave his check: a whopping $13.89.

"take your time, no rush," she says, but the underlining tone in her voice and the nearing closing time told jeongguk otherwise. an idea sparks in his mind, and he quickly pats himself down, looking for a pen, smirking triumphantly when he succeeds in finding one.

jeongguk pays his fee when yvonne returns, collecting his receipt and then politely bidding her goodbye. "hope you like it here!" she says as he leaves.

when she looks down to collect her last tip of the night, near the $5 and change he placed on the table was a napkin with writing scribbled on the corner.

you're cute. show me around or something?
if not that's fine too.
248-509-2733
— jeongguk :)

—
a / n: yvonne's voice (if you wanted a reference) is kind of like beyoncé's to me? like the deep, southern-ish voice she has. that's what i was thinking of when i wrote her parts so i just wanted to let u know. wuv u 💞