Cat Boy

27 | good hands

The glass doors open, and in blows Daehyun.

It's almost closing time, and Wonpil looks distracted at the checkout table, probably tired after a long day's work and looking forward to getting the heck out of there. Daehyun navigates the pristine hallways of the store, randomly grabbing items she doesn't really need and stealing an empty trolley and filling it up, keeping an eye on him as the mountain slowly grows.

There are dark circles under his eyes that wouldn't have been very noticeable otherwise, but the fluorescent lights of the interior wash out the color of his healthy skin and give it a zombie-like pallor, making the lightest discolorations stand out. Despite all, Wonpil maintains a sweet smile on his face as he chats up a storm with the old ladies who walk past the counter, which only serves to make Daehyun feel worse about her purpose behind the visit.

According to her sources, his shift is almost over, which gives her about—she glances at the clock—about seven minutes. She was supposed to show up later, but her surprisingly annoying habit of arriving early to everything seems to have overtaken even the littler parts of life.

Not that this is a little part. It's actually a big deal—a bigger deal than she had anticipated when she'd first agreed to that blind date.

Daehyun emerges from one of the hallways and glances over at Wonpil, who's just waving bye to a customer as they pull their shopping bag off the counter and carry it. She doesn't know what prompts him to look over, to catch her eye at the perfect moment so it leaves her frozen light an animal caught in the middle of the road. For a moment, his brow twitches, as if attempting to crease into a frown. Then the next customer distracts him and his attention is pulled away again.

She sighs, feeling like she's just escaped within an inch of her life, which doesn't make sense. The whole point of this is to talk to him, which is indirectly drawing his attention to her anyway. Maybe it's the principle of the thing—that she's rather be prepared and willing when she faces him. Being 'caught' isn't the best way to get involved in conversation.

And anyway, it's not like she's not allowed to be there. This is a grocery shop, a public grocery shop. The realization makes her stand straighter, shoulders squared and chin raised as she casually drops a completely unnecessary bag of marshmallows into her shopping cart. I can be anywhere I want.

Loosely speaking.

Once she's sure she has enough in her cart to keep any curious and/or chatty cashier busy for a long time, Daehyun heads towards the checkout area with purposeful steps. Not a long time before his shift is over. Wonpil glances at her out of the corner of his eye as he scans a few items bought by the man in front of her in the line, looking a little more impatient than before.

"Hi," she finally says when it's her turn, feeling her stomach turn at the thought of what's to come. Even the little heart-shaped pink marshmallows she had not intended to buy don't seem to do their job of calming her down.

"Hey," Wonpil greets back, his lips pulling into a smile. He looks less tired, as if the sight of her has shaken awake some dormant part of him that smiles with the sun sparkling in his brown eyes. "What brings you to my humble workplace?"

"A bad case of the munchies," Daehyun says automatically, her mouth working before her brain has time to catch up. There's another much bigger reason behind her visit, though, but she keeps skirting around that topic, finding herself unable to bring it up. "And...something else."

Wonpil is instantly on alert, the scanner held a little more tightly in his grip. His eyes widen fractionally at her words—it's not like she's said something ominous or with general bad vibes, but it must be her voice, because he seems to have caught on. Or maybe he's just being nervous, especially since he's the one who suggested their 'do-over'. She'd be pretty nervous too.