SOULMATES | DISCONTINUED

III

"Thank you for visiting! Please come again." The cashier said, bowing at the two best friends with the other staff member.

"Oh, we will come back again. Am I right, Nari?" Hana jokingly said as she played a wink on Nari, making the older blush and smacked the arm of the other as she laughed and opened the glass door for them, heading out from the café.

"What the fudge, Hana? That was embarrassing! Of all people, you just have to tease me in front of them." Nari complained to Hana when they are both outside as she felt her cheeks turning red due to the humiliation feeling, making the younger laugh even more.

"Nah, that's nothing~ Let's just go!" Hana beamed and took her grumpy best friend to the mall that is a few blocks away from where they were.

Cre.Ker Mall - 11:11 AM

The place was filled with people's laughter, chatter, overall; noises, a good one. Hana and Nari roamed around the mall, looking at the variety of shops and cafes. The two best friends talked about random topics like school, places to visit, the far future when they grow old while walking around the mall. They passed by an instrument shop, which made Hana turned her head when she noticed an acoustic guitar that was displayed upfront in the shop, it was eye-catching and Hana stopped her tracks, admiring the carvings on the guitar and making her best friend left puzzled. Nari then noticed Hana's gaze on the guitar displayed and thought maybe they could take a better look at the guitar inside.

"Wanna go in?" Nari asked, making Hana turn to her.

"Can I?" Nari gave that 'are-you-kidding-me-right-now?' look when she thought Hana asked a ridiculous question in a situation like this.

"You're gonna go in there by yourself? Where's the 'we' in that question?" Nari pretended to feel betrayed and Hana took her wrist and lead her inside the shop as she giggled at her best friend's reaction.

When they entered, a ringing bell was heard, notifying an employee in the shop that someone has entered the shop. The shop was quiet but there was soft music playing through the ceiling speakers, making the atmosphere comfortable. Hana and Nari parted ways to different aisles of instruments. They looked around the area that is filled with different varieties of wooden and electric mechanism, the design on each apparatus was elegant, and both the girls badly want to buy their desired instrument.

Hana took upon to see an acoustic guitar next to the counter, tracing her slender fingers on one of the strings. She slightly strummed on the string and the instrument created a soft tone, the pitch sounded aesthetically pleasing to Hana's ear.

"Wahh..." Nari eyed the instrument in awe, wanting to play a tune.

"Hello, how may I help you with something?" Hana flinched a bit as a sweet voice startled her, making her turn her attention to a man that was next to her. She almost knocked herself towards the rest of the guitars that were hanging next to each other.

"Oh- sorry, have I frightened you?" The man asked as he saw that Hana was appalled by his sudden existence.

"Ah, it's alright. I get surprised easily so it's okay." Hana noted, reassuring the man and he let out a relieved sigh.

"Ah okay. How may I help you? Were you about to buy this guitar?"

"Umm... I'm sorry, no. I'm just here with my friend to look around the shop." Nari apologized and took a glance at the man's name tag that was displayed on his working attire.

"Jacob..."

"Ah, I see. It's okay, I'll be by the cymbals aisle, in case if you change your mind." Jacob smiled sweetly that almost made Hana fall for him just by the sight of his smile as he left the scene.