Hazelnut - Ryeji

2

"Ma'am, I'm here!" I shouted as I entered the ice cream store.

The woman in her 40s stood up from her seat and smiled at me. The woman is the same height as me and has the same black short-haired cut as me. "Will you start working today?" She asked.

I inhaled and exhaled as my eyes wandered around the little ice cream store. It was very simple. The only colors present are red and blue and there are stickers of different flavors of ice creams on the wall.

I placed my hands behind my back while thinking. I decided to work in an ice cream store because I want to earn money and my family seems to be falling apart.

"Yep." I said.

The woman handed me an apron and a vanilla ice cream hat. "Wear this."

The smile on my face dissolved into a frustrated expression. I looked at my boss and I pouted. "Do I have to wear that?" I took the objects from her hands. "I don't wanna get caught by my friends." I said.

The woman chuckled at me and gave me a pat on the head. "You have to wear that, Ryujin. Don't worry, you look pretty in anything." She complimented me.

I chuckled awkwardly at the woman as I walked my way to the counter. I placed my bag on the floor and I wore my hat and my apron that has a big logo of a smiling ice cream cone. "Gosh." I whispered to myself.

I looked at my boss and I noticed that she's looking at the window. She was obviously looking for something that made me a little curious. "Are you looking for someone?" I asked.

The woman didn't give me a reply as she was busy searching with her eyes. "Hazelnut is still not here." She said to herself.

"Who?" I asked.

The woman looked at me. "There's this young lady that always go here. She always buy the chocolate hazelnut ice cream, hence the nickname Hazelnut." She explained.

"Is she pretty?" I asked.

The woman laughed at me. "She's very pretty. If I'm being honest, you two would look together."

I awkwardly chuckled. "O-oh."

The woman grabbed a notebook from the table that made me a little confused. "Anyways, she left this here." She showed me the notebook she was holding.

The cover of the notebook was purple and it was filled with glitters and pictures of cats.

"I think you're from the same class. You guys wear the same uniform and tie. Do you mind giving this to her?" She asked and placed the notebook on the counter.

I grabbed the notebook and I started flipping pages.

It was filled with random bullshit. It was like a diary. As I was on the second to the last page, I looked at something that seems to be a bucket list.

I was uninterested so I went to the last page of the notebook.

My eyes widened when I saw a picture of a familiar face. The eyes, the face, and the annoying smile. 'Is that her?' I thought to myself as I scanned a selfie of a girl who is wearing a beanie.

Under the picture, there is a name that confirmed everything. "Hwang Yeji." I said.

"Do you know her?" My boss suddenly asked that made me snap out of my thoughts.

I awkwardy laughed. "W-well.. we don't... know each other.... but.."

"Good. Give that to her after work. She's probably looking for her diary." The woman said.

I let out sigh as I placed the notebook on the counter. "Alright." I said.

--

"Look at that annoying smile in that picture." I said to myself while looking at the picture of Yeji for the 30th time.

While I was walking at the park, I let out a sigh of relief. My hand was aching so much and there was a stinging pain on my back. We had so much customers and scooping ice cream was very tiring.

I closed the notebook and I tightly held it with my hand. I looked above and I saw the blue sky and leaves flying around. It was a windy day.

A small smile formed on my face as I gazed upon the forest of clouds. The tranquil feeling satisfied me. There were dogs and kids running around at the park. There were students that are having fun with their friends.

I looked in front of me and I saw a familiar face that made my eyes widen.

I saw Yeji.

She was walking alone while looking around the park. I was confident that it was Yeji because of her side profile. The nose, the eye, and the jawline. 'There's no doubt. That's her.' I thought to myself.

"What will I do?" I started battling with my thoughts. It felt embarassing if I walk up to her and give her the notebook.

'Shit.'

--

I have been following Yeji for minutes. I feel like a creepy stalker doing this. We are meters away from each other so I can't clearly identify what she's doing.

I looked around the street and I saw houses on my left and right side. "Where the hell do you live? I'll just leave this notebook at your house." I said.

While walking, I noticed that Yeji is holding her head with her hand and is walking like a drunk person. 'The hell?' I thought to myself.

"Is she drunk or something?" I asked myself while looking at Yeji. She looked like she was a little dizzy. She had trouble walking that made me chuckle a little bit.

I shook my head and I faced the ground. "I'm right. This girl is weird and insane." I laughed while I kept on repeating how Yeji walked in my mind.

I held my head and I faced forward. The smile on my face disappeared. "What?" My eyes widened at what I saw.

Yeji was on the ground. She was lying down on the ground. Her eyes were closed and it looked like she wasn't breathing.

"Did she die out of the blue?" I asked myself. I looked around the street to see if someone saw her. I waited for someone to assist her because I don't want to get involved with this weird girl.

Out of frustration, I held my head as I tried to think of something. 'Shit. People might think that I did something to her.'

I clenched both of my fists as I inhaled and exhaled. I dropped my bag on the ground and ran towards Yeji.