Don't Fear The Reaper [A Ravi Fanfiction]

Prologue

“Late again, I can’t believe this” the young Kim Shelton muttered to herself while getting dressed fast. It was her fourth time that month arriving late at work, and she knew that it would definitely affect her performance later. She took ten more minutes to fix her long black hair quickly and got out of her house as soon as she was done.

The fact of sleeping in late wasn’t new to her; she had done it since her high school days, and she always got scolded by her father for doing so. But that didn’t stop her from staying up a few more hours at night, doing whatever she wanted to in her room.

The traffic, luckily, was fluid that day in Seoul. As she drove by various markets, she appreciated the smells that were floating through the morning air. Memories came back of her mother cooking her favourite dishes when she came home at night, and she thought about how much she missed her family, residing in America. She stopped when she remembered that she had left because of her dreams and that her parents were proud of what she was achieving; or at least that’s how they saw it.

Nothing much had changed since she arrived in South Korea, except for the fact that she was now struggling to learn the language. She was still the clumsy, bubbly girl she had been back at the States, and she had no intentions of ever changing her personality.

After parking in front of the coffee shop where she worked, Kim threw her head back on the seat and sighed. She hoped that her boss, Hyunwoo, a man in his forties, were actually in a good mood, so that she wouldn’t get the same lecture he gave her every time something like this happened. She wasn’t feeling like listening to the same words for the billionth time; the speech was always the same, and she had grown weary of it. Grabbing her bag and hoping once more, she got out of the car and walked fast towards the glass door of the shop.

“Good morning Jia,” she said to one of her friends and co-workers casually while reaching the counter, “has the boss arrived yet?”

“Well, good morning to you too,” Jia replied, a certain sarcastic tone denoting in her words, “and no, he has not come here yet. You’re in luck, but you better hurry because he’ll be here in no time, Kimmie.” Kim gave her a slight smile and hurried to the staff room, where she changed into her uniform, consisting of a white shirt with a small smiling coffee bean on one of the sleeves, which was the mascot of the brand. She prepared herself a latte and started her shift as soon as she finished it.

It wasn’t a big coffee shop; not many people came by, and for that same reason Jia bragged about knowing each and every single one of their clients. That’s why she was surprised when her friend called her stealthily, while having her eyes fixed on one of the tables. As soon as she approached her, she saw her eyes glowing with joy.

“I’ve never seen him around before,” she said, and Kim followed her gaze to find herself staring at a young man, probably around her age, with brown hair and fake glasses, “don’t you think he’s beautiful, Kimmie?” There was something attractive about him, but she wouldn’t go as far as to call him beautiful. She shook her head and stared at her in amusement.

Just as if he had sensed it, the stranger turned around slowly and faced them, Jia immediately going back to work in embarrassment, but she couldn’t move her eyes from his. It was as if he had hypnotized her, and when he smiled softly before leaving his place she felt herself giggling like a little kid.

“So, he’s not beautiful, eh?” Jia teased from behind her with a playful smile on her face. “Who’s the one who’s blushing madly right now?”

The afternoon was quiet after that, except for the occasional inside joke here and there. She loved working there because it felt peaceful most of the time, especially on Fridays. She had built amazing relationships with everyone, and for being a small place, it had never once felt suffocating for her.

“Kim, can you take out the trash, please?” Jia asked while counting the money the shop had made that day. “Thank God the day’s over.”

“Sure thing” Kim replied and started making her way to the staff’s door. “Just let me get changed and I’ll do it straight away, okay?” When she saw her co-worker nod not even turning around, she walked to her locker and took her belongings out.

After putting her normal clothes back on, she went to the counter and picked up the black bag that was lying on one side of it. It was heavy, but after a few attempts she managed to lift it off the ground. Walking the best she could, she made her way to the back door, which took her longer than usual to open.

The back alley was never dark, but the lights seemed to be malfunctioning lately. Kim made sure there was nothing in her way that could make her fall, and once she reached the dumpster lifting the bag one last time seemed too easy. When she was done, she started walking back when something stopped her in her tracks.

A tall, slim figure was leaning against the wall besides the door, his head hanging low; it was the same guy from earlier. She hadn’t noticed him before, but he was definitely there. She questioned her sanity and blinked a few times to see if she wasn’t seeing things, but after her efforts failed, she just stared at him with a mix of confusion and fear. He had a mysterious, somewhat mischievous look on his face.

“Hello there” he said with a deep voice, and she felt herself freeze. Lifting up his head and looking at her, he just smiled. She felt like running, but her legs did not want to answer; a vibrant red colour had replaced the brown she had seen that same morning. What… what’s going on? She thought as he slowly approached her, and closing her eyes, she wished she had never arrived late in the first place.

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I was lucky I found this old concept I had written months ago hahah I had this planned for the longest time now, so I thought it would be a good idea to upload it now. Hope you enjoyed it and look forward to the first chapter coming out this weekend! Thanks for reading ♥