warnings | slight trauma dumping on y/n's part , self-deprecating thoughts
"I just don't know what to do.."
"Well, for starters, do you want to be his assistant?"
She thought back to yesterday.
"Be my assistant."
"I-"
She pressed her lips into a tight line and shook her head after a moment of thought, "I'm sorry, but no. The offer is generous, but I didn't come here looking to be someone's assistant. I came here for a waitress job."
She stood up and gave him another small bow, "sorry."
Jing Yuan hummed in response, "even if the pay is better than any other job out there."
She gave him a small smile in return, "yes.. I'm truly am sorry, but I'm not looking to be someone's assistant."
"...no..."
"Then you have your answer."
"But I really need the money-"
"Trust me, being that man's assistant will cause you more trouble then you need."
She sighed as she rested her head on the table. It was Tuesday. And aeons, she was starting to hate Tuesdays.
Now, she was supposed to be at work at Stellaron Tailor, however, getting lunch and talking to Dan Heng seemed way more enticing at the moment. Which was where she was now. Eating in a rather small diner while sitting across from Dan Heng.
Originally, she was going to eat alone, but low-n-behold, she ran into the Vidyadhara himself. Quite literally in fact. She wasn't looking where she was going and ran right into his back. Luckily, he wasn't angry about her obliviousness.
And, as of now, as they talked to one another in the small diner, she was thankful that they were seated in the far back away from prying eyes. Cause it feels like they were the only ones in the small fast food joint.
"You know, you don't seem to like Jing Yuan very much, are you guys like .. business rivals or something?"
Dan Heng glanced away for a moment as he tried to think of a good answer, "yeah, it's..something like that. We aren't really on good terms right now due to .. business disputes. But we do talk to one another sometimes to sort things out."
She laughed lightly, "well, at least you two are working things out - I couldn't imagine just how hard it is to own a business."
Dan Heng smiled at her, his eyes scanning over her and quickly, his smile faded. Looking at her, he noticed that something seemed .. off about her.
"Y/n, besides declining the offer to becoming his assistant.. did anything else happen?"
He watched her closely and took note how she slightly froze in place. Her eyes immediately flickering off to the side, refusing to look at him.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"N- nothing else happened, promise."
"You're a terrible liar."
She flinched from the harsh tone to which he immediately softened up his tone.
"Y/n, please tell me what else is bothering you. I just wish to help you as you've already done so much for me."
"All I did was fix your coat, not to mention you solved the whole laundered money business too. If anything .. I should be the one repaying you for that."
He shook his head, "thats not true. You've already done so much for me, and you don't even know it."
She was about to ask what he meant by that, but the waitress came by to ask them if they needed anything, answering 'no' to the lady, the two delved back into their talk, but Dan Heng was quick to maneuver the conversation as he saw fit.
"Listen, if he did something, then you can tell me. I promise I won't judge."
She seemed to surrender finally. Her shoulders drooping as her lips formed into a small pout, the action causing his gaze to flicker to her slightly puckered lips, but he was quick to look back at her eyes, catching her slightly defeated stare.
"Are you sure...? I don't want to.. burden you with my problems or anything. I mean..."
"Y/n, I want to get to know you more and if helping you out with your troubles allows me that honor, then I want to help."
She smiled once more as she rubbed at one of her arms, "well, alright. When you make such a convincing argument like that, how can I refuse?"
Dan Heng urged her to continue, so she took a heavy breath.
"I guess it happened yesterday.."
"During the interview?"
"Yeah, it was something Jing Yuan had said. It .. really hurt me. Not because Jing Yuan was the one who said it, but because .. it was something my parents always said. You see, my parents aren't exactly the best. They see me as a failure unlike my sibling. So I guess, I have never really been able to recover. And .. They're the reason why I worry about money so much. Because if I run out money and end up on the streets while living in some cardboard box, well, I would rather die then move back in with them. Because just imagining the abuse I will go through once I'm back there .. it scares me. It scares me so much."
She looked away from Dan Heng again as she rested her arms on the table. Her hands clasping together as her eyes stared hard at the tabletop.
"Y/n."
She didn't want to look at him. She didn't want to be told she was overreacting. She didn't want to see the look of indifference in his eyes.
What am I even doing?
"Y/n."
I'm such an idiot! Dan Heng is never going to look at me again now that I said that!
"Y/n."
I mean, how much of an idiot do I possibly have to be to actually tell him all that?!
I should of kept my mouth shut.
She seemed to come back into reality almost immediately when she felt warm hands cover her own. Her eyes unknowingly tearing up when she snapped her head up, eyes wide as she stared at Dan Heng.
"Y/n, I know that we met not too long ago, but if you'll let me, then I'll gladly help you. You just have to let me in."
This was the first person who has ever seemed to care besides her childhood friend Gepard. It made her heart skip a beat before kicking into overdrive. Her face feeling incredibly hot as her smile returned.
"Dan Heng.."
He leant forward a bit then, one of his hands letting go of hers as he reached for her slightly. His palm gently cradling the back of her head as he pulled her lightly, carefully.
Her breath hitched and she was quick to shut her eyes. Her heart rate picked up dangerously so, and she felt like Dan Heng could hear how rapidly it was beating with how close they were. But thoughts over how fast her heart was were quick to shutoff when she felt warm lips gently press against her cheek.
And when his touch was gone, along with the warmth of his hands- his lips. She pried her eyes open. Her gaze settling on him as the shock seemed to coat her like a fuzzy blanket. But any words that seemed to surface quickly died out as she was met with the sight of tomato red Dan Heng, his eyes averting from her own as his face seemed to glow brighter by the second.
"I'll always be there for you, and I won't ever see you as a nuisance or a burden, so please .. rely on me."
She wondered if this was what love felt like, but she was quick to perish the thought as she smiled brightly at him. A closed eye smile being sent his way, "thank you, so much Dan Heng!"
When he saw how bright her smile was, he felt an invisible arrow pierce right through his heart.
He knew this was what love felt like.