Royals

Chapter 73 - Flutters

"Hi?" Yeonjun sounds a little unsure of himself.

"Hi" I smile inspite of fighting it. I don't know why my mind is happy to see him but apparently, it is.

"I - uh - I got you icecream" he holds up a bag with Hive printed on it.

"You bought icecream from the place I work? You know that I could have gotten that for free right?" I ask and his face turns a very light shade of pink.

Is Yeonjun blushing?

Is he embarrassed?

Wow! I have seen all the wonders in the world tonight.

"How did you know I would be here?" I ask out of curiosity.

I mean there is not a lot of places that I go but I don't work here everyday so how did he know I would be here tonight?

He looks down at the road and kicks at the small pebbles, shrugging his shoulder.

"Lucky guess? I have always found you here after school so I figured you'll be here tonight as well" he shrugged, his voice low whisper against the breeze of the night.

"Why did you want to find me?" I take a step closer to him, still maintaining enough distance that my head is functioning properly but close enough that I don't have to strain to hear his voice.

He looks up at me, his dark eyes boring into mine.

There is a long stretch of silence between us and I don't if I will get an answer from him. I am not sure I want to hear it.

"I-I don't know" he shakes his head, as if he is not sure the reason he came here himself.

"I just had one of the worst possible days ever since I came to Korea and... I just... I don't know why I came to see you" he admits more to himself than to me.

I try to suppress the kaleidoscope of butterflies that flutter in my stomach at his words and hope to god my face is not as heated as I feel it is.

"Want to go somewhere we can go and talk?" He speaks up and instantly I am at a loss of words.

What?

He wants to talk to me? That to voluntarily?

"Uhm... Yeah sure but I have work here..."

I glance back at Hive, my mind racing with conflicting thoughts. On one hand, I'm intrigued by Yeonjun's sudden vulnerability and the prospect of finally having a real conversation with him. 

On the other hand, I can't just abandon my responsibilities at work, especially during a busy shift.

"I talked to Woojin. He told me he will cover for you tonight. If you're okay with it, that is" he sounds unsure of himself. 

I chew on my bottom lip, torn between duty and curiosity. 

I am grateful to Woojin to offer to cover my shift. And I am grateful that Yeonjun was considerate enough to consult with Woojin about my work before asking me to go out with him tonight. 

But at the end of the day, it comes down to the money that I an earning while working here. Not working one night will not put a dent in my pocket but it all adds up right? 

But ultimately, my curiosity wins out. 

After all, how often does Yeonjun voluntarily seek me out for conversation? It's a rare opportunity that I don't want to pass up.

"Okay, Let's go" I agree, offering him a tentative smile.

"But, how are we going to go? Wait, where are we going?" I ask simultaneously as my mind comes out of my dreamscape mind and focus on the reality of him standing against his bike in front of me.