Daniel was sitting in the chair near the counter, bored out of his mind. Barely anyone came to the store after school, not that he was complaining. He just opened the next book to study for Physics class. He heard a ding and his head shot up to see who came but it was just a man, he couldn't even see the man. He was covered in black from his head to his feet.
The man walked around the store slowly and Daniel looked down realizing he must look weird for staring too much. He just read a few lines in the book and waited for the man.
Is it just me or is he taking way too long to get something. Daniel then glanced around in search of the man, he saw him by the snack section.
Ehh....probably trying to choose which snack to get.
Daniel then looked at a practice question and read the answers. He tried to figure out the right answer but he was doubting himself. He then heard something drop on the counter and saw the man was ready to pay.
He got up from the chair and moved to the counter. Daniel stared low, he didn't know why but he could just never look anyone in the eye because of his nerves and it annoyed him sometimes.
"That will be 500 won."
The man paid with his card and left the store. Daniel noticed that the man only bought a small chocolate.
Who takes that long to buy a small chocolate.
Daniel just shook his head and went back to studying. He then heard a ding and saw the manager, he packed his things since this was the end of his shift.
"Have things been good in the store?"
"Yes it was, although there weren't many customers today."
Daniel reluctantly told him, he knew he could just lie but the amount of cash in the box would say otherwise.
The manager just sighed and grabbed the apron Daniel gave him.
"Bye Mr. Lee," he waved at the man as he left the store. It was late and he just wanted to go home and sleep. He decided to take the bus and walked up to a bus stop and sat down as he sighed.
He opened his phone up to watch the news and he saw news about there being rumors about a minister missing. This made Daniel's stomach churn.
Could this be related to what I saw.
Although Daniel still hasn't gone to the police station to report what he saw since he just decided it wasn't his problem. He's been a little paranoid since 'that happened'. He just shook his head and saw another article of DG.
Seriously everyone is obsessed with this guy. I don't understand the hype, I mean he is....very attractive.
Out of curiosity he clicked on the article. He scrolled and realized they were talking about DG's soulmate. He scrolled and frowned, the article was talking about how the star DG doesn't have a soulmate since they haven't turned up to claim they are his soulmate.
Stupid people....
There have been stories where people never had a soulmate. It was sad, these people were destined for loneliness in their life from what he heard.
Daniel just turned his phone off and looked beside him. He noticed a blonde man and realized that this kid was in two of his classes.
The man seemed to notice his staring which made Daniel embarrassed. Daniel waved and he waved back hesitantly. The bus then came, which was their cue to go. He then realized he didn't have any cash which means he left his wallet at home.
Guess I just have to walk. Daniel turned but he saw the blonde haired man pay for the both of them. He followed him to thank him.
"Umm I just wanted to say thank you."
The man nodded which made Daniel confused but he remembered that he never saw him speak in class.
Maybe he's mute or deaf.
"So....you do business and fashion as well. Do you plan to create a company?"
The man seemed to think for a little before he nodded slowly.
"You're still thinking about it?"
He nodded again. For the four minutes Daniel was there they both talked, well really it was only Daniel but he could make out what the make wanted to say. He learned his name was Jay, though mute Daniel still liked his company. Maybe in class he'll speak to him.
As Daniel saw his stop he got up and waved at Jay. He walked through the aisles and off of the bus. He walked through the streets as he reached the dorm buildings. He opened the door and walked through the lobby and to the stairs. After two minutes he finally reached his dorm and slid his key card. He opened the door and sighed as he finally got off home.
He went to his room and noticed Zach was nowhere to be seen which wasn't surprising.
Probably with Mira....
He went and changed out of his clothes and into new ones. Daniel was craving some ramen so he went to make some. He knew it was a bad idea but he didn't care. He'll let himself indulge in his unhealthy habits for a little bit. He got a pan and a ramen bag and started cooking. As he was cooking Daniel felt something behind him and turned around.
"AHHHH"
Daniel felt his soul leave his body as he saw Zach behind him.
"What the hell. You scared the hell out of me."
But Zach didn't respond, he just went to sit in a chair at the dining table. Daniel was weirded out by Zach's behavior but didn't question it and just went back to watching his ramen.
"Daniel....."
Daniel glanced at Zach, "Yes?"
"How do you get a girl's forgiveness?"
Daniel then realized that something must have happened between him and Mira.
"I don't know.." Daniel was being truthful. He's never been in a relationship with a girl or anyone in general.
Zach slumped and thought about how he should die. He hated it when Mira was angry at him.
"Why is she angry at you?"
Zach was silent for a moment before he answered, "I.....beat this guy up and she hates it when I fight."
I would too...
Daniel rolled his eyes, shook his head, and sighed.
"Maybe you should control your anger and not let your anger control you."
"Hey! Are you saying I have anger issues or something?!"
Daniel just shrugged and showed off his angelic look, his doe eyes making him look innocent, "I don't know you tell me."
This little.....
Zach just slumped down because he knew that Daniel was right so he stayed quiet. Mira was his whole world and well is part of his whole world.
"Fine. I'll try to control my anger......for Mira." He furrowed his eyes as he then beamed.
"I know what to do. I'll give her flowers just wait here Daniel don't go anywhere."
With that Zach left a confused Daniel alone in their dorm.
It's 21:09 where's he going...?
Daniel just shrugged as he put his ramen in a bowl and started eating.
__________________________
A few days earlier
"I'm disappointed in both of you."
The calm voice spoke but Gun and Goo both knew that Charles Choi was livid.
"You're both lucky the kid hasn't posted anything on the internet or gone to the police."
Gun was a little uncomfortable here, getting scolded. He knew not to get on Charles' bad side.
"What matters is who he is. Have you found out his information." A man with pink hair spoke up, staring at Charles.
"If Mr. Lee finds out that we've been caught he will not be happy. Worse if he finds out through the media. He won't even try to help us."
"So what do we do now," was all Gun could say, even though he knew the answer.
"Obviously we kill him," Goo said.
"That would be the smartest decision but we can't have another person missing. His family will be looking for him."
"So?"
Gun didn't know why Charles was worrying about one person's family. He could just cover his death up as a suicide even if it didn't make sense.
"Mr. Lee will think something suspicious is going on," Charles' harsh voice shut everyone up in the room.
"Ok so who is he and what do we do with him?" Goo did not know why Charles didn't just kill the guy, it's not like this is their first time.
Charles pulled out his phone and tapped it a few times before reading out the mystery guy's info.
"Daniel Park
19 years old
Studies in Yonsei University. He doesn't have his father's name but his mother's in here."
"Let me see," Gun took the phone and read. "Probably because he's dead or something but his info is kinda weird." He then looks at the picture on his ID and his eyes go wide. "Wait.....I know this kid. He works at that convenience store I went to..."
Everyone stared at Gun as he thought about what a coincidence this was. Charles stared at him as he arched a brow at him.
"Well even better, we know where he works."
What they didn't see was DG staring at the screen with his eyes wide and mouth slightly opened. He glanced at the screen confirming the name that he saw on his wrist was the same that he saw on the screen.
"DG what do you think? You've been awfully awfully quiet eh?" Goo's head slightly tilted to where DG was at.
His head snapped up and he regained his composure as if nothing happened as he gripped his wrist.
"I think we should just.....monitor him or threaten him."
They all perked up to stare at him. Charles looked at him as he slightly arched an eyebrow and nodded. They couldn't have any more problems per Charles' words.
"That's exactly what I was going for. We could just bribe him to forget what he saw. I want you to watch the kid, Kouji is already in the process of wiping that video from the boy's phone. I guess that concludes this meeting. Gun and Goo.....make a mistake such as this next time I'll throw you out if we're lucky enough not to get caught."
Charles left the room leaving the three of them alone. Goo groaned as he laid his hand through his hair.
"We should just kill him, right Gun."
Gun just nodded as he stared at the wall. He thought about how his job will be easy since he's met the kid before and he'll be able to watch him easily. But he also thought about how weird it was for Charles to be hesitant just to kill nobody.
DG was the first one to get up and start walking but not before turning to them, "You guys are idiots." With that he left the both of them alone.
Gun reached to his pocket as he got up and got a cigarette from his pack, Goo following behind him.
"Well Gun you better do a good job on watching that kid or else."
Gun glared at him as he lit his cigarette and inhaled the nicotine.
Fuck this shit..., Gun groaned as soon as he got in his car.
______________________________
Daniel walked through the hallways. School was done and he could finally go to the store to buy some clothes for himself. He was too into his thoughts as Daniel bumped into a hard chest. He almost fell but the man he bumped into grabbed him and pulled him.
"Sorry, he bowed to the man. "I wasn't checking where I was going." He looked up and saw a bulky man and a man with big ears by him.
"It's alright, right Vasco?"
The man who Daniel presumes was 'Vasco' nodded. Daniel glanced at him and saw him and his friend wearing jumpsuits but 'Vasco's' was open so he could see the tattoos he had.
Gangsters ..?
It was odd. Daniel was sure that Yonsei would not let gangsters into their school. Then a teacher came and she gasped when she saw them making them worry. She quickly came up to them and Daniel wondered if he would get scolded.
"Vasco, have I not told you to cover your tattoos? Our school's reputation would fall if people were to see this. Hurry up and cover or else I will have to report you both."
"Mrs. Jung, we are so sorry. Vasco, what did I tell you."
Daniel just started to walk away from them and headed out of the school building and went to the bus stop as he waited for the bus. This time he remembered his wallet and wouldn't let something embarrassing happen like ast time.
Oh I almost forgot, I should pay his money back shouldn't I? But it's only 500 won.....but still. Maybe make a new friend.
Daniel nodded as he opened his phone and scrolled through TikTok. His page was mostly filled with people dancing. He laughed as he saw a funny video of a kitty. He waited for four more minutes before the bus pulled up. He along with many other students got up to get on the bus.
He paid and sat on his seat. He went to scroll through his phone but was a little distracted by a few loud students. He just sighed as he scrolled through his phone. But then a random girl sat next to him and he turned to her confused. He saw the girl's eyes widen before she coughed a little.
"He-hello"
".......Hi?"
The girl was blushing and stared further back and he followed her gaze to see girls giggling and putting a thumbs up.
"Ummm.....I just wanted to.....give you my phone number. It's alright if you don't text back, just take it."
He tilted his head as he took the piece of paper from her. She looked embarrassed and she then bowed and went back to the group of girls. Daniel looked at her number and shoved it in his pocket as he took one last glance at the girl and saw her pouting at the girls as they laughed.
He then saw his bus stop and got off of the bus. He caught the sight of many stores, Gucci, Versace, you name it. He walked up to a store that he could afford. He's seen Gucci's prices and he was mind blown, he would not spend 195,000 won on a shirt.
He walked in and saw a clearance and brightened since he knew he would save money. He went up to the clearance spot and saw more and more people come. It was mostly old grandma's who started grabbing all the clothes which made him brawl with them for a pair of military cargo pants. He raised them up into the air as he finally took them out of a grandma's grasp but he was then suddenly pulled by someone making him yelp out.
He almost fell from the sudden force but they then put him onto his feet. As he turned around he saw a girl, it was the girl from the convenience store.
"Sorry, I just couldn't stand watching that anymore."
Daniel blushed as he realized how dumb he might have looked fighting with ahjummas probably twice his age.
"Ummm...," was all he could say. He didn't even know the girl so he didn't know her name.
"Crystal is my name," she had her eyebrows furrowed a little as she lightly glared at him. He just nodded at her as he felt the awkward atmosphere between them.
"Why did you do that?"
"I just can't stand seeing horrible fashion choices."
Rude, I just wanted cargo pants.....
He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at her..
"Look....buy this," was all she said as she then started a full 15 minute lecture on how to dress more fashionably.
Is what I'm wearing that bad? He looked down to the clothes he was wearing and thought he looked fine.
"You'd look good in this. You got all of that right?"
He just nodded as he held onto the pile of clothes in his hand.
"Come let's go pay for this."
As they walked Daniel couldn't resist the urge to ask her, "Why did you help me?"
She just stayed silent for a while before answering, "I just felt like it..."
He nodded as they waited in line. He wondered if that dude would come up and cause problems. Although now it's just mostly the girl that comes most of the time.
"So what's your name?"
"Daniel. Daniel Park."
"Where do you study?"
"Ummm...in Yonsei University"
She nodded and glanced at him before prying further. "What about your parents?"
Daniel thought this was getting a little weird and she looked like she knew since she smiled at him. He just looked to his side and thought maybe she wanted to be friends so he smiled back at her.
"My mom is fine."
She stayed quiet for a while before asking, "What about your dad?" She was smiling lightly as they moved up the line.
"Oh.....um...he died when I was young so.."
"Oh......I'm sorry for asking. My condolences." She bowed lightly and he shook his head.
"No it's fine, it's not like I was close with him since he died when I was really young."
She nodded at him as they walked up to the cashier and she took her card out. He was confused and the. Realized she was trying to pay for him.
"No, it's alright I'll pay for it." He took out his wallet but she shook her head.
"My treat," she smiled at him and he shook his head again.
"That will be 496,110 won."
His eyes widened a little as he heard the price but he wasn't not going to pay for it. As he was pulling his money out regretfully he saw Crystal pay for it.
"Too slow," she smirked at him and he gasped a little.
"Oh my god.... how much was that? I'll pay you back." He was pulling out his money as she slowly put her hands on his and put them down.
"Don't worry," she showed him her card. "That's how much money I spend on a single dish."
"Next in line please."
They were interrupted by the cashier and noticed how they were hogging the counter and Daniel quickly grabbed the bags as they both walked to the exit.
She spends that much money on a single dish. Is she rich or something?
"But really.....Can I at least repay you for paying..?" Daniel stared at her with his eyebrows slightly furrowed at her. She looked at him and then stared ahead and shook her head.
"Sure. Well I have to go now. See you later." With that she waved at him and started walking away from him. He stood there for a little while before he started going back to his dorm.
____________________________
Daniel opened the door to his dorm and the first thing he saw was Zach in front of the door wearing a suit.
"Daniel! I've been waiting for you all day. Did you not receive my text messages?"
Daniel just stared at the dorm and saw a heart balloon, a bear, basically valentines stuff.
"Didn't valentines end over a month ago Zach? It's almost April."
"No.....this is just the plan to get her to forgive me alright." He puffed his chest out as he crossed his arms.
"Oh right but what do you need me there for?"
"Well......for...moral support!"
Daniel just nodded as he did know how awkward it was to say sorry. He nodded and waited for Zach's next words.
"...Do we go now Zach?"
He stayed silent for a little before he sighed, grabbing the stuff. "Alright....let's go. Just follow me."
"Wait, let me just leave these clothes in my room."
Zach glared at him as he smiled apologetically and ran to his room quickly and came back.
"Right, let's go"
With that Zach and him left their dorm and headed to Mira's dorm. He followed Zach through the hallways. They climbed up to the 3rd floor and walked some more before finally getting to their dorm. Zach was a little hesitant but I nudged him which made him knock on the door. It took a few knocks before it finally opened.
"Hey Mira...," was what Zach said as he shoved his gifts into the girl's face. She blinked a few times before grabbing the gifts.
"Thank you...," she blushed as she stared at the ground. Then Zoe came out of nowhere and stood near the door. She looked at Zach up and down before laughing.
"What's this Zach? Oh hey danny~" She grabbed his hand as she got out of her dorm.
"Hey Zoe," Daniel tried to get out of her grip but in the end he couldn't. Zach glared at them harshly before he stared at Mira again.
"I wanted to apologize for fighting....."
"It's fine.....but just don't do it again. One day you'll get hurt Zach."
He blushed and shook his head up and down.
"Such cute love. I wonder if it'll be like this when I meet my soulmate."
Daniel nodded, "Uhhh.... just kidding, you're the only one for me danny."
"Ummm well wanna go to the library or something."
"Sure we can all go study together."
They all nodded at her words and Zoe and Mira brought their books with them. They talked with each other about school and what they were aspiring to be.
"I think I'm going to start broadcasting in Paprika."
"Really? Hmm if you do I will definitely watch you if you do," Zoe smiled at Mira.
"Thank you Mira."
"I'll watch Zoe too," Daniel smiled at her and she grinned.
"Hmph well I bet if I streamed in NewTube I'd be popular."
"With 10 followers," Zoe laughed as Zach glared at her harshly.
Him staring at Zoe made him bump into someone, making them all stop. Zach glared at them.
"Hey, watch where you're going. Are you blind?"
Daniel noticed that the person Zach bumped into was the person he met earlier.
"You. You should apologize. You were the one who wasn't looking."
"Vasco....."
"Me?! You little......"
Zach suddenly stopped and then put on a smile, well if you could call that a smile.
"You're right. I'm sorry." Daniel could see veins in Zach's face which made him worry. The man in front of him seemed a little stunned. Daniel turned to see Mira smiling at Zach.
"That's right Zach. You always apologize when you're at fault."
Zach's eyes then widened as he slouched down a little and rubbed his neck. "Of course Mira."
With that they went their separate ways and continued walking to the library. They went down the stairs and started walking to the school building.
"Daniel..", he hummed at her to continue. "Do you really think that I'll become famous in Paprika?"
Daniel thought for a little while, "Well I don't really know a lot about social media so I don't really know if I'm being honest. I believe that there might be sometimes where you won't have anyone watching but it takes time I guess."
Zoe stared at him and smiled. "If I were to become famous enough, do you think I might be able to meet my soulmate?"
Daniel then thought back to that article he saw about DG. "Maybe, if they don't want to meet you and are hiding away then I don't know. But obviously who'd want to do that. I'm sure they would post about you." Daniel purposely didn't bring up death knowing that if it were true it would be devastating for the other soulmate.
They finally made it to the library and quieted down as they entered. They all went and found seats near a corner and sat.
"Alright so what should we start with? Maybe with the class we're all in?" They almost nodded at Mira's words and started studying. For a few minutes they talked about stocks and all that type of stuff before Zoe brought something up.
"Guys are y'all going to that festival Yonsei's having?"
"What festival?"
Everyone then stared at Daniel like he was stupid.
"Umm Yonsei is literally an elite school and you don't know about its most famous festival?!" Zach looked at him like he committed treason or something making Daniel feel awkward.
"Yeah, an elite school. It's a wonder how you got in here. I remember you being last in class freshman year."
"You guys went to school together?" Daniel looked at her curiously.
"Yeah. Me, Zoe, and Zach. There's also some other students like Vasco and Jace, the ones we bumped into earlier."
"Now that we're talking Vasco and Jace. How the hell did he get into this school? Jace must have pulled something with his smart-ass self."
"Zach you shouldn't be rude." Mira scolded Zach so he looked the other way while Zoe started laughing.
"Do you even know him? How many people from your school go here." Daniel was surprised by the amount of people Zach knew. "Are they that smart?"
"Nope," Zach smiled as he drank his water bottle. "The reason why is because our school is famous for kpop idols, streamers, etc."
"Really?! What school did you go to?"
Zach smirked as he felt a little pride, Daniel's pikachu face was too funny. He crossed his arms making Zoe deadpan.
"We went to J High School."
"Hmm I've never heard of that before."
Zach gasped as he looked at him. "What! Our school was famous for our slave auction."
Slave auction....?
Daniel side eyed Zach as Zoe elbowed him in the ribs making him howl in pain.
"The hell was that for you little......" He cut off mid sentence as he saw Mira staring at him.
"You have to put context in things Zach. What would you think if someone said they had a slave auction in their school." Zoe rolled her eyes as she turned to Daniel. "It wasn't actually a slave auction. It was just girls buying guys time for a date. But Zach's right about one thing, mostly everyone knows of J High."
Daniel then smiled awkwardly, "Well most of my life I just studied to get where I am."
"Well it's not like it matters," Mira shrugged as she closed her textbook. "Well, do you guys want to go to the festival?"
"Of course Mira. I'll go anywhere with you," Zach sat closer to Mira and she smiled.
Zoe rolled her eyes, "What a dog.."
It made Daniel chuckle, "Sure when's the festival."
Mira motioned to everyone to huddle up and come closer. "It's in two weeks. Guys I suggest you wear your best outfits. Not like suits but you know. Even though Yonsei is the second best university in South Korea, there will be famous people coming."
"For real, literally everyone is talking about. I honestly don't know how we're going to compete with these rich girls at school."
"It's alright Zoe, all of us are going to have fun," Daniel assured her and she smiled.
They all then continued studying for 30 minutes before they grew tired.
"Alright I think I'm going to head up to the dorms," Zoe was the first to leave, followed by Zach and Mira.
Daniel then also got up to start walking to his dorm. As Daniel was walking he heard someone crying near the staircase.
He moved slowly towards the person and saw a short guy sniffling into his clothes. Daniel frowned and tapped the boy's shoulder causing him to jump.
"Eeeekkk"
Daniel then put his arms up to show he's defenseless and it seemed to work as the shorter male sniffles dimmed.
"What's wrong? Uh sorry if I'm being nosy." Daniel scratches the back of his neck as he shifts uncomfortably. The short guy then shook his head as he started crying.
"....everything.......gone......dad......money." The male was having a meltdown in front of Daniel which made him worry for the boy. He then suddenly hugged the boy awkwardly hoping it would calm him down.
"Don't worry....you can tell me what's wrong. Is it about school."
"What's going on here?" Daniel then turned at the voice he heard and saw a tall, muscular man glaring at him. It was the guy Zach called Vasco.
"I'm trying to-"
He was cut off as Vasco started walking up to him and grabbed his shoulder. Daniel then bit his lip as he felt pain instantly in his shoulder. This made the distressed male gasp at what was going on.
"Answer me," Vasco glared at Daniel as he demanded an explanation. Daniel then gripped his hand and forcefully pushed his arm away which made him surprised.
"First of all, I was helping him. I didn't do anything wrong so how dare you hurt me. Apologize or I'll make sure to report you to the school!"
"Vasco!?," it was then that another man, who Daniel recognized as Jace, came. Vasco turned to Jace and looked away, a little worried.
"Please....um, forgive him. He just doesn't like it when he sees people being hurt."
Daniel glared a little before he turned the short male besides him.
"Just leave me alone! What the hell would you help me with..." Daniel was a little taken back by the boy's harsh tone but he didn't back down. Vasco and Jace then glanced at Daniel.
"I can help!" He pouted as he furrowed his eyes. He glanced at the boy's clothes and face as he stood there waiting for the boy's answer. This made Jace's eyes glance back and forward between them and Vasco furrowed his eyes as he listened.
"Fine, then I have nothing to lose by telling you. I lost all my money on this website and it was my college money! My parents are going to be pissed and my life's ruined without that money."
"You. How will you help him?" Vasco crossed his arms as Jace whispered something to him but Vasco shook his head.
The male began breaking down and Daniel's eyes furrowed as he tried deciding what he should do.