blush hours. / seulmin

I. l' averse.

it was summer 2018.

the sky was tinted in a bright piercing blue. an invitation to grab a pair of sandals and bask in the gleeful sunlight while maybe holding an ice cream or two.

summer is the season of memory. there's always something that happened in summer that mostly is a tragedy that won't be forgotten. summer was always more than just beaches and ice creams, but a cliche moment of sweet nothingness. summer was always more. and one of its scene takes part into a girl standing inside a telephone box with trembling hands.

she was holding a plastic full of instant ramens. with a hand that is currently shaking and her feet constantly tapped onto the ground. her pair of dull white converse made a loud thumping sound and cold sweats began to trickle down her temple.

outside, the once blue sky slowly shifted to a grey hue. and before she knows it, small droplets of water began to shower the telephone box she was in. why would the rain fall in a summer afternoon when it's supposed to be bright and happy?

she was stuck. got no umbrellas, no phone, and a house that is seven minutes away from where she stood. she cursed at herself for being such a careless person and chose to not bring her phone with her while she was going out for her afternoon cravings.

having no other choice than to stay put inside the red telephone box, she squats down inside her own 'shelter'. watching dainty droplets racing down the glass, since she got nothing else to do, for a good five minutes.

her hazel orbs was then startled by the sight of a tall man standing outside the telephone box. she didn't even notice when or how did the man came there and stood in front of the door. all she knew was that she is embarrassed. down to the point that her cheeks went as red as the color of the telephone box.

they stood in an awkward position for a while until the man finally knocked on the door. emitting a minor shudder from her body, which adds a higher dose of awkward into the situation, if that makes sense. clearing her throat, she stood and finally reach her hand out for the knob. the door opened silently, followed by an unsaid prayer from the girl. hoping that the lad had just arrived and wasn't standing in front of the telephone box five minutes ago when she was mumbling to herself about how stupid the day is for her while watching the droplets pouring down the glass. it surprises her that the man also doesn't bring an umbrella and he only covers his head with a mere newspaper. which is kind of stupid because the paper absorbs water.

the two was in an awkward silence. but the blaring of the thunder made both of them talk at the same time, resulting them spilling incoherent words.

she shuts her eyes in embarrassment and could've just died when she heard him chuckle.

"umm.. can i stay here with, uh.. you?" seulgi could've just bang her head at the glass. "because you see.. i uh, i also don't bring any umbrella and my house is quite far. so.. mind if you share the space?"

his charcoal hair was drenched in rainwater and though seulgi knows that he is shaking because of the cold shower of the rain, she was taken aback as the lad still throws a genuine smile. her head was all cloudy and his words doesn't seem to process inside her brain. so all seulgi could give was a nod. not even a 'yes' or any decent answer. she stepped back a little to let the boy squeeze his body inside the small space. they were less than a feet apart and ragged breaths was heard from the boy. seems he was running to find a shelter and this is the closest that he can find.

"i'm sorry.. i know this is awkward and uncomfortable but i'll make sure to walk you home after this, since it's almost six." the boy, again, tried to build a conversation with a stranger he just met by offering his politeness.

"it's- it's fine." seulgi could finally answer decently this time. "i'm sorry i didn't notice that you're waiting outside earlier." that was the longest sentence she ever said since she met the boy.

"yeah, it's fine. i should've just knocked. i'm afraid that i would scare you." truth is, he find himself gazing at the pure scene he saw earlier. and couldn't stop himself to not to, without he even realizes.

"it's great to have a companion here. at least i don't get to watch raindrops race each other all alone again." she tried to ease the tense between them. and it worked as soon as the boy emitted a soft giggle.

"park jimin. nice to meet you, and you're?"

"kang seulgi."

and the two smiled at each other while the blaring thunder in that summer afternoon became a bare witness of two disheveled strings unravel.

summer always held different stories.