𝗨𝗦 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡﹕jay

－ 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄

"I couldn't care less if you're going to keep shopping until dawn, but can I at least fucking put these inside the car for a minute?" Jongseong is about to lose it, struggling to hold them up. It's not that they're all heavy, they're just too many.

With his jacket gone from feeling warm a while ago, his veins popping out from his arms are visible to anyone's sight. His eyebrows are almost drawn together from his irritation. Jieum looks at him blankly and takes a few seconds before nodding — not out of pity, but because she needs more of his lending hands.

"Don't go anywhere." Jongseong warns her and hurriedly walks away towards wherever the exit to the parking lot is. To think that Jieum would stay put in one place is nowhere near possible.

"As if." Jieum mutters under her breath, watching his figure get smaller and smaller the farther he gets away. Once out of sight, she proceeds to look for another store she hasn't gone into.

Yet truth be told, Jieum's mood washed out after Jongseong left her side. Buying everything her eyes laid on impulsively was mainly to provoke the man who kept following her around with a face clearly stating that he didn't want to be there as much as her. She fists her hair, plopping down on an extended lounge seat beside a huge fake ornamental plant. She isolates herself for a moment as she stares at her Doc Martens on the floor.

"Hey!" The voice of someone she certainly just heard last night bursts her out from her thoughts.

"Fancy seeing you here." Jieum says with a humorous tone, but somehow, Sohee has already sensed something was up from the second she saw her.

"Are you good? Was it a bad day?" Sohee's quick to raise questions to check up on Jieum, her arms crossed while standing still in front of her. It wasn't the scowl she caught a glimpse of when she found her lumping on the seat that made her question, it was Jieum sitting on the mall's lounge chair like some lonely lady that made it unusual.

"I'm... I'm good." Jieum wasted the one chance to convince Sohee that she was fine. But whatever, she's not gonna keep it a secret from her anyway.

"Are you though? The universe has been in favour of me ever since I woke up and I got to leave work earlier than I wished, so stand up and come with me, let's spend our cards." Sohee instructs, pulling her up but Jieum swats her arm away.

"At least one of us is having a fantastic day... I feel like the universe is laughing their ass off at my face. You don't understand, I feel like I'm getting punished because of something I didn't do." Jieum tells her in exasperation.

"What's wrong, babe? Let's not talk about what's going on in your life here in a big open area because I swear you were just fine last night, but do you want to get our nails done right now while you tell me about it?" Sohee suggests, smiling giddily to lift Jieum. Jieum can't believe herself, but here she is refusing Sohee's idea.

"I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you next time." Jieum puckers her bottom lip out, Sohee chuckling as she nods.

"Okay, then-" Sohee didn't mean to spin around for her pair of eyes to catch sight of a person, her mouth dropping to the floor.

What's even more shocking to the best friend is that he's casually walking towards their direction, with a glower on his face. Jieum is well aware of Sohee's reaction to the alarming presence of Park Jongseong.