||Koi No Yokan|| Park Seonghwa

||Chapter 3||

A couple of days had passed from that dream. As much as Carys tried to shake it off, she couldn't stop the weird feeling she had gotten from that dream. It was so vivid, she could almost feel the sea breeze again. She could almost see the handsome boy again if she concentrated enough.

The memories of the past night kept her company as she made her way to her job at the bookstore her father owned. Books kept her occupied for a while until it was almost lunchtime. Sure time flies when you have about a hundred things to think of, she thought, as an old man handed her the money for a series of books he had bought. She politely smiled at him as he left the shop with his books on the Secrets and tricks of gardening.

"I have to go grocery shopping for dinner tonight and then home, could you stay here and take care of the books, darling?"  her father asked. She suddenly remembered the dinner invite from her parents, who lived only ten minutes away from her house.

"Sure dad, it's not like they're going anywhere" she replied, taking a box full of books that needed to be put in place on the empty shelves behind her. 

"Great, then I'll see you tonight! I love you!"

"Love ya dad!"

Her father laughed, as he took the car's key and stormed off the shop, not before turning the "Closed" sign on the door. And like, that, she was alone.

Monday mornings were never busy, and since the old man looked like the last client until afternoon, she thought she would have a little time for herself. Of course, she couldn't leave the shop, but she knew exactly how to spend time.

She started wandering through the shelves with her eyes closed. It was a little game she played when she was little: she closed her eyes, picked random books and started reading them. Her father seemed to play that game too, judging by some of the questionable books she found in his office.

Soon she was sitting in the reading area: a small balcony upstairs, decorated with comfy chairs and a coffee table. The irony of all ironies, the first book she had picked was "The fable of Amor and Psyche" by Apuleius.

"Well, looks like I have no choice," she said to herself, opening the book.

She was a few pages in when she noticed it was raining again. The rain got more and more abundant, to the point it was actually pouring outside. Carys kept reading until she heard the familiar sound of the door being opened.

Dad must've forgotten something, she thought, so she didn't bother taking her eyes off the book. That is until she heard an unfamiliar voice downstairs.

"Hello? Is anyone in here?"

"Oh uhm...Yes, but we're closed right now!"

She put down the book and brought herself to the balcony.

And was she shocked to find the boy of her dreams (literally) downstairs?

Actually no, he didn't quite look like him. He had black hair and his skin didn't look like it was made of literal silk. But there was a resemblance so strong she ended up staring at him for maybe a little too much time.

"Do you... do you need anything?" she managed to say, trying to look as normal as possible. Her mouth had gone suddenly dry, and her hands were shaking.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but it was pouring outside and this was the closest place I could find... is it okay if I stay here, at least until it rains out?"

She glanced at the umbrella he had left next to the door, then to the window, which was so drenched in rain, it was almost impossible to see anything outside.