༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝ ˚ ｡⋆ The Following Day ⋆｡ ˚ ༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝
“So…is Yujin really back?”
(YN) blankly stared at the brown wooden table in front of him. In his hand was the stem of a rose and the other was a sharp pair of scissors. He carefully turned the flower around his hand until he found a thorn sticking out of its side.
He carefully placed the sharp thorn in between the blades of the scissors before he clamped down on his hand, cutting it off entirely.
With a heavy deep sigh, he placed the scissors down and placed the rose inside a basket filled with other red roses. He leaned back on his seat before glancing at Haein who sat to his side.
“I guess she is.” (YN) mumbled out a reply.
Haein looked at the expression in his face. In a way he looked blank, as if not a single thought was in his head but it was the complete opposite. He was sure that there was a storm going in his head, way stronger than any typhoon that could blow by town.
“She’s back in the town I swore she forgot.” (YN) continued with a bitter and venomous tone.
“You really hate her that much, huh?” Haein asked as (YN) nodded his head briefly. A small smile appeared on his face. Knowing him as long as Yujin did, that usually meant that he was feeling the opposite of hatred.
“Wait, if you’re here, did you leave Seowon alone at home?” Haein asked once more.
“Of course not. She had a playdate set with a friend today so I dropped her off at their house and made my way here. Gotta say, they really have a nice home.” (YN) chuckled.
Even if it was nothing but an empty let off of air, Haein was glad he still had some sense of what happiness was.
“Could you bring the roses out? I’ll go get the daisies.” (YN) stood up from his seat before walking towards the back of the small shop.
“Yes, sir.” Haein replied with a hint of sarcasm before picking up the basket of the red-petalled flower. He walked towards the door of the shop before pulling it open with a hand.
Haein was suddenly surrounded with a warm atmosphere. The sun was streaking through the streets with an extra flare today, lighting up even the darkest of corners in the street.
He took in a breath as he squinted his eyes and placed the basket next to the other sets of flowers on the rack. He looked at the different flowers and found that some of them had wilted and withered.
“That’s not a good look, is it?” He asked himself just as he decided to pick them out of their baskets to throw away.
He hummed out a soft tune.
He wasn’t expecting to look after his friend’s shop on his day off but here he is. After knowing what (YN) had seen last night, he felt that he needed to help and not only with taking care of the shop and its delicate flowers.
As he continued to pick up flowers, he could hear footsteps approaching.
“Look unnie, gerberas!”
Haein straightened his posture to find two girls walking together. One had shorter hair than the other yet, he could have still mistaken them as twins. The long haired girl looked at the flowers before she approached them.
“Good Morning~” Haein bowed his head at them to greet them.
“Good Morning, mister!”
“Good Morning.”
He heard them greet him back and he could tell that one of them had more energy than the other.
“Are you planning to get some flowers? These are the new batches, it’s best to get them while they’re fresh.” Haein told the pair, pointing an arm at the assortment of flowers on the rack.
“Actually, I was hoping to ask if you know the directions to the beach. We weren’t really planning on getting any flowers but maybe we could pick some up along the way.” The short-haired girl told the man.
“Ah, is that so? Let me see…” Haein turned his head down the street before finding the door opening and (YN) going out with a fresh set of daisies.
“Perfect, (YN) here knows the direction to any place like it’s on the back of his hand. It’s best to ask him.” Haein patted the back of his friend before he set down the basket in his hands.
“What’s going on?” The man asked, patting his gloved hands.
“They’re asking for directions to the beach. I was hoping you could tell them in clear detail, preferably.” Haein shrugged before letting his friend take the center stage.
“The beach? Well then, you could go down that path and then take a left. Walk further down the path and if you see a crossroad, take the one on the right. It leads to the beach while the other could be used to circle around back to the neighborhoods.” (YN) pointed his arm in front of them, mimicing the directions he was saying.
“That’s it? Alright, I got it. Thank you very much for the help. For the flowers, I was hoping you could bundle those up for her?” The short haired girl pointed back to the flower racks where her long haired companion had grabbed an assortment of colors from.
“Sure thing, just follow me inside.” (YN) flashed them a smile before guiding them inside the store with Haein following close behind.
Once (YN) reached the back of the table, he grabbed a piece of parchment paper and grabbed the roll of tape along with his trusty pair of scissors. He quickly bundled up the flowers in front of the group, all of them surprised that he could do that so quickly.
Grabbing pieces of decoration from a drawer under the table, he placed them all around the bouquet.
“Just one last piece of tape then…voila~” (YN) showed the girls the bouquet he had made in such a short span of time.
The long haired girl slowly took it into her hands while the short haired lady looked at it with a sense of familiarity, as if she had seen the same style of bouquet before.
“Wuah~ it looks so pretty~ I’m gonna brag this to Yujin unnie~” The long haired girl embraced the bouquet in her hands.
(YN) widened his eyes at the sound of her name. He glanced over to Haein who was already looking at him with the same shakened look in his eyes.
“This should be enough for it, right?”
The florist took the payment out of the short haired girl’s hands before navigating his hands through the register. With the right amount of change needed, he handed it back to the girl.
“Thank you again for the directions.”
“Thank you, flower man!”
The two men bowed their heads at the girls as they made their way out of the front door. Once they were out of sight, (YN) once again sighed heavily.
“Call me crazy but aren’t those Yujins’ groupmates? I swear I’ve seen them somewhere before.” Haein mumbled.
“They are. Mentioning her name was just the cherry on top. The long haired one was Leeseo and the other was Gaeul.” (YN) explained, trying his best to act unfazed.
“Wow, spoken like a true fanboy, you still recognized them through their facemasks.” Haein replied jokingly, making him scoff.
(YN) shook his head before taking off the apron he had. He pulled it over his neck before putting it over the table.
“But what are they doing in town?” Haein asked.
“Beats me. Anyways, I trust you enough to look after everything while I head out and report to the office.” (YN) reached for his coat hung on the wall behind him.
“Just make it quick, I’m trying to get home quickly.” His friend laid his head down on the table, trying to take a quick nap.
“I’ll try to, no promises.” (YN) replied, passing by him.
“Make sure you don’t bump into her again!” Haein shouted, lifting his head to see him walk outside the door after a small salute towards him.
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(YN) walked down the route that led to the center of town where most of the action happened during the day, crossing out the fishing docks.
He was feeling alright overall or maybe that was what he told himself to lull his head back down to earth.
Yujin was back and so what? It wasn’t like he was going to see her everyday. He could just have his usual day without seeing and maybe even lending some space in his mind for her.
If anything, she could be just thinking the same. In no way could they possibly find themselves face to face again. It was best to live his life regularly and not let any of his emotions get ahead of his jobs.
“A rf! Arf! Arf!”
Turning his head down, he found a small dog staring back up at him. Its fluffy and snow colored fur made it look like he was covered in thick bubbles of soap.
The canine looked up at him before getting on its hind legs and standing next to the man’s leg. It sticks its tongue out excitedly before scratching his paws against the man’s leg.
It could have been anyone’s pet but he exactly knew who owned such a dog. It was Yujin’s. The leash that followed the dog around its neck was absent from anyone that could hold it still. He looked around, making sure that its owner wasn’t around.
“Azzo? What are you doing here?”
(YN) leaned down and picked up his leash off the ground. His hand guided itself over the canine’s head before giving it a gentle pat which the small dog enjoyed.
“How is it my fault? It’s your fault for not holding onto him properly!”
“Look, he’s over there!”
Two voices grew louder and louder as they approached from a distance. Looking up, (YN) found himself staring up at two girls whose hair colors, black and a light shade of blonde that contrasted with one another.
They had face masks just like the two he met earlier but he could still tell that they weren’t from around the town.
“Thank god you found him, mister!”
“Right, I’m sure Yujin unnie would be furious if he ran all across town.”
There it was again, the same gut wrenching feeling of hearing someone utter her name. He forced out a chuckle as he stood up. He handed the leash over the blonde headed girl before the other girl next to her snatched it right out of her hands.
“This time, I’m going to hold his leash!”
“Fine. Wait mister, do you know where the park is? We were supposed to go there for a walk.” The blonde girl took a step closer to the man, making him distance himself away.
“T-the park? Well…” (YN) looked to the path behind him before he raised a hand that pointed down the road. “Just follow the path down and it should be the first thing you see if you go right and then take a left.”
“A right and then a left…got it! Thanks, mister!” The two girls bowed before walking past the man with the dog that stopped him in his tracks.
He shook his head after another interaction with her group before going back onto his own way.
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*VWOOOSH!*
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The scent of the waves mixed in with the strong smell of seafood littered the air all around the market that sat near the docks. The loud and bustling atmosphere was the complete opposite of the ones in the neighborhoods.
It thrived with life all around with people trying to sell their goods at their stalls and the people that ran around with buckets and barrels of more items they could sell.
Lim (YN) was in the middle of this thriving scene, making his way through to get to the news station just after it.
He looked around the market as he walked, maybe he could find a good deal while he was there. Instead of any charming and tempting sales and half-off prices, he found something that caught his eye.
Through the crowd of people, he spotted a girl that stood out like a sore thumb with her black top and denim jeans. It surely didn’t help that she looked to be haggling with one of the sellers.
Thinking not much of it, he went off. on his way. He had hoped that things had become calmer in his eventful morning but it only ended up as just one of his false hopes after hearing a shout through the noise.
“(YN)-ah! Come here!”
The man stopped dead in his tracks before he turned back around to see an older lady calling him over. With a sigh, he walked over to where she and a younger girl were arguing from what he could assume were about the fish in front.
“Yes Mrs.Hong? What could I help you with?” He asked out loud, putting his hands into his pockets.
“She’s trying to cut down my prices even when they’re the lowest in town! She doesn’t deserve to be in this market if all she’ll do is just haggle people unfairly!” The old lady shouted, pointing a finger at the girl.
(YN) glanced at the girl who clearly had an annoyed look on her eyes. The rest of her face was covered by a facemask but he was sure it shared the same expression.
“You got anything to say for yourself?” He calmly asked the girl who turned her eyes over towards him.
“What else is there to say? I just told her that her prices were too high, even by the standards in Seoul. I’m just asking to cut down the price a little, what’s wrong with that?” The girl replied, with (YN) nodding along with her words.
“I see. How about you cut her some slack, Halmeoni? It’s the perfect season for racks on racks of fish to come in so there’s nothing wrong with that.” (YN) leaned down at the older lady so she could hear.
“And why should I? I won’t gain anything if I cut my prices down!” The lady fought back.
“Is that so? If I remember correctly, the fishermen are also cutting their prices down so a thirty percent discount won’t be that bad when you could buy the same amount or even more of fish you’re selling now.” (YN) eloquently spoke.
“Twenty percent!” The old lady shouted.
“I feel like twenty-five should meet both of what we said and it doesn’t sound half bad either.” (YN) extended his hand out towards the lady, trying to finalize a deal.
As they shook hands, the girl watched on silently. She heard the man’s name and if she wasn’t mistaken, this would make a nice story for her unnie.
“So…what were you trying to buy?” (YN) turned his head at her before she went back to reality.
“Oh! I’ll take these…”
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Lim (YN) was finally back on his way to the news station. Now he hoped he didn’t bump into any more distractions but he sensed that there was still something he could be of use for.
Glancing over his shoulder, he sees the girl from earlier following him. She was trying to match his pace, speeding and slowing down when he did so.
Once he decided to stop in his tracks, he turned around quickly to meet her startled eyes.
“Could I help you with something?” He asked with the same friendly smile he showed everyone.
“N-nothing. I was just hoping to say thank you earlier. (YN), was it?” The girl bowed her head before asking.
“Mhm, that’s right. So…need help with anything else?”
“Actually…I do need help. I was hoping you could guide me around. I still need a couple things from this list and maybe you could help me strike a deal.” The girl then looked towards her purse where she pulled out a list written on a sticky note.
Looking briefly, he saw that she needed to buy your regular everyday foods to feed a household. As much as he would like to stay and help the girl out, he had somewhere to be so he told her to come close.
“These are really easy items to find. For the meat products, you just need to go around the back of these stalls and you could find the fruits and vegetables near them too.” He stretched his arm out, pointing her to the direction.
“Ah~ I think I got it.” The girl mumbled.
“That’s good. I should get going now, I have somewhere to go. And don’t worry about it earlier, it was my pleasure to help you out.” The man nodded his head at her before taking a step back.
“Thanks again for the directions, (YN). You could call me Wony, in case we meet again.” The girl was polite when she stretched her arm out.
(YN) somehow found himself face to face with a member of Yujin’s group which made him realize that all of them were in town. Sooner or later, he would have to see her again at this rate.
He shook her hand, to not leave her hanging. They soon separated into their own ways but as (YN) walked further away, he turned back to see the girl walking down the wrong path he told her.
He wondered if he should run back and show her the right way but then again, she could guide herself to where she needed to be…at least he hoped to.
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Walking to the office space of the local news station, he walked towards the room that he was very familiar with already, the chief’s room. He was once again called in for a special assignment, one that he didn’t know what it was about.
It piqued his interest, thinking that he could be once again traveling around the province for information so he hastily opened the door to his boss’ room.
“Chief Hong, you called for me?” (YN) started off, closing the door behind him to meet the man behind the table.
“(YN), just the man I was looking for.” Hearing the chief, he sounded happy, a bit too happy for his taste.
“Yes, sir? What could I help you with?”
“I assume you’ve been listening to celebrity news recently.” The chief assumed.
(YN)’s eyes grew wide. He had a massive idea about what the older man was pertaining to, especially with the morning he was having.
“Yes, sir. I’ve heard some stories here and there.” The young reporter replied.
“Well, I had information come in from Seoul that a certain group called IVE is in town and it isn’t for some festival. I also see that their group is in some deep trouble from their company. I know you’re diligent enough to look for the information out there so I was hoping you could do this assignment.”
With the chief not finished informing him about the special task, (YN) already wanted to decline.
“How would you know if the tip you got was accurate, sir? For all we know it’s just some fake email.” The young man replied.
“I wouldn’t see how it’s fake when it came from Dispatch themselves but I was really hoping you could look into that. Even the smallest amount of information would do. Everyone is working to keep this place running and with a massive scoop such as that one, I bet the turnout could even cover your holiday bonus.” The chief said, turning over papers on his desk.
An anxious feeling welled up in his chest. He looked down at the floor, thinking of what he could do. On one hand, he could help out the station massively knowing where they were, hell he could even go after them if they were still out but on the other, he had to face her once again and if he published the article, it would confirm their whereabouts.
With all the contradicting thoughts in his head, he could only give a short response.
“I’ll do it, sir.”
༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝
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