rumor [ seongsang ]

11

Seonghwa couldn't help but notice the way Yeosang's eyes lit up as they approached a small shop.

"We're here," Yeosang confirmed, picking up his walking pace just slightly. He swung open the glass door of the shop upon arriving, gesturing for Seonghwa to walk in first.

The shop was a rather quaint one, its walls lined with books, knickknacks and assorted pens. If Yeosang had to give it a name he would call it an 'arts shop,' as that title described it most accurately.

"Sang! You're back!" came the voice of a rather short old lady who sat at the counter. Her face was warm and homey, a woman who could put you at ease just with a glance.

"Hi auntie," Yeosang greeted back. "Do you have any micron pens?" he asked, glancing around.

"In back with the ball points," she answered, gesturing towards the back of the store.

"My my, who's this?" the 'auntie' questioned, seeing Seonghwa follow closely behind Yeosang.

"Hi," Seonghwa said rather startledly, not expecting to be called out. "I'm Seonghwa, his... friend?" he answered.

The lady seemed to be delighted at this answer, and told him she was glad to meet him before returning to a crossword puzzle she had been doing.

Seonghwa followed Yeosang towards the back of the store, scanning over all of the items piled upon the shelves. The store seemed like a treasure trove of humanity's most niche items to be desired.

"I take it you know the lady who works the register?" Seonghwa mused, picking up a small wooden statue of a sloth and eyeing it in interest.

Yeosang nodded. "Yeah, my auntie? She owns this place. She's not exactly related to me but I've known her since I was a baby," he explained as he dug through a small bin of pen packages.

"What do you mean by not exactly related?" Seonghwa asked, now diverting his attention to the other boy.

Yeosang paused upon locating the type of pen he wanted. He stood upright, now making eye contact with Seonghwa.

"Well..." Yeosang spoke, offhandedly glancing across the store towards the older woman. "She was my mom's homeroom teacher in high school," he answered.

"Really?" Seonghwa asked, quite obviously surprised at that answer. "That's nice, I guess. You don't normally see people who are in contact with their teachers years after."

Yeosang stayed silent for a moment. "Yeah. I guess so," he agreed, glancing once more towards the lady.

"Anyway!" Yeosang abruptly changed the topic.
"This isn't the only place I wanted to show you, unless you just wanted to shop around?"

Seonghwa began to speak, but stopped as his gaze landed upon a small succulent plant sitting on a window shelf.

"Are these for sale?" he questioned, pointing at the small plant. Yeosang shook his head in an "I don't know."

"Ah," came the voice of the old lady, who noticed the boy's gesture. "You want a plant?"

Seonghwa nodded as the lady made her way over, surprisingly fast considering her dependence on her wooden cane.

"This one here is called a Kiwi Aeonium," she said, a sort of pride apparent on her expression as she talked about the succulent.

"Normally I sell those for ten," she paused, taking a moment to think. "But for you? Five dollars," she decided.

Seonghwa stared at her for a moment. "For me...? I mean, thank you, but why?"

The lady let out a hearty laugh. "Dear, you must be special if Sang brought you here. It's been years since I've seen anyone else," she said in a teasing voice.