p o i n t - g u a r d

SEVENTEEN

"If there is nothing more painful than a painful love, then go back before even more painful memories remain"

As I grew older, I started finding supermarket visits more and more therapeutic. There was just something so satisfying about how nicely themed and stacked the display goods were. It was like a melodramatic reminder of how orderly my life can never be. Usually, I returned from my supermarket trips empty-handed, mostly because I was a poor peasant, but that day was a little different. I was finally blessed with my sweet brother's lovely credit card which I was so going to max out.

In all cheer and happiness, I dumped yet another packet of gummy bears into my already brimming basket. Did I need it? Nah, most probably not. But was I going to get it? Absolutely.
I re-checked the grocery list my mother sent me, mentally crossing away what I already taken.

Right. I was done for the day, and so was my brother's credit card.

"Mr Dong's friend!" a familiar man said from a little behind me, pushing his own shopping cart forward to cover our distance, "Fancy seeing you here."

I blinked at him blankly. Who even says 'fancy seeing you here' in this day and age we live in? Well other than a single most peculiar Park Jimin, that is.

"Do you not recognize me?" he tilted his pale head, frowning a little, "After all the hard work I put in so your bleached hair could look pretty?"

"Ah," my mouth went into an 'o' shape as i pointed at him, "You're my hairdresser. The spunky one with a black tattoo and interesting fashion tastes. Enjoys fighting with the man at front desk."

He looked a little offended at my description, but he quickly composed himself, "That's right. The name's Baekhyun."

"Soyeon," I grinned, offering out my free hand which he grasped. 

"Is Mr Dong courting you?" he inquired oddly, taking longer strides forward.

I internally thanked my literature teacher for imprinting some dinosaur vocabulary into my memory.

"No, no, no. You're doing him so dirty," I chuckled, speeding up to catch up with him, "That man has better taste."

"Is self-degradation the trend of these days?" Baekhyun asked, a whiny undertone edging it's way into his expression, "Popular kids not admitting to their popularity, talented kids not exploiting their talents and pretty people not accepting compliments? Is arrogance and overconfidence even an issue these days? How absurd."

I licked my lips slowly, barely processing half of his rant as we proceeded to the fruits section. He halted in front of the array of oranges, humming an old TVXQ song under his breath.

"Talking about Mr Dong, I always felt kind of bad for him," the older boy paused, picking at the pitiful oranges on display, "Poor boy attracts danger and attention no matter where he goes. Things are even worst now that everyone knows Winwin's back in town."