If during university all she wished was to finish her degree, that feeling was immediately extinguished as soon as she had gotten her degree scroll, which now seems more of a flimsy piece of paper than a certificate that would grant her a bearable life. She just recently graduated, separated from her friends who got their job offers even before they graduated, when all she's left with is her drowning in a mountain of student debt.
People wouldn't point her as someone who's exactly a genius or someone with the best soft skills; she can barely pass the preliminary stage to the election of suitable scholarship receivers. She had to rake out her own money to be able to afford university, and when she received her student loan with pages and pages of agreement, it was more of a fight to stay alive day by day rather than an ambitious endeavour of gaining knowledge.
She has lost count of how many job interviews she went on; hopeful by the start but crushed by the end. None gave her the answer she was dying to hear, and today it's no different. In fact, today went down as one of the worst, if not the worst day of her history of job interviews.
The vacancy is for a position as a lab assistant in one of the biggest manufacturer of skincare products in the country, but it's located at one of the factories in a smaller district. She is unfamiliar with the district, named the Light District - though she barely knows what's bright about this area when it's all concrete corporate buildings and factories - and she arrived here in a taxi at 6 in the morning, just so she could take her time in case she gets lost. She wouldn't want to be late for her job interview, the only one who called her out of the 12 positions she applied for.
Not only was she late for the interview, but her formal attire was all messed up.
She did circle the district, hoping to be one of the early ones to arrive at the factory for the interview. However she got lost, then got distracted by a scene near a supermarket; which apparently was caused by two men apprehending a thief who had stolen from an old lady. She got momentarily distracted, but when she realized she was already late for the interview, she tripped and her skirt tore right up until her thighs, exposing all the skin she didn't want to. She took off her high heels, embarrassed and ran away while her mouth was constantly cursing at her fate.
It's safe to say that she didn't make a good first impression, and she can say goodbye to the job.
Han Byul, a name that has appeared in multiple piles of resumes waiting to be picked, yet none of the employers would even look at hers. Whether it's the economy or her own set of skills were to blame, by the end of the day it doesn't change the fact that she's unemployed. She would need to find a part-time job to survive until she can find a proper job, and she would have to think on how she could pay back the debt she accumulated over the 4 years she studied. Maybe she should have listened to her aunt who berated her for being adamant on wanting to further her studies - it would be better for her to be prancing around without a degree rather than being chased by the debtors who want more than her money.
Degree or no degree, her life is going down the drain with no bright future.
Her skirt looks like she's trying to walk the runway for some hipster fashion show but her runway is the dank alleys manifested by rats and other pests, lit up by only the glow from inside the buildings - there are no lampposts that can guide her through. It would be dangerous for her to walk alone when it's almost night at a foreign district, yet she feels that she doesn't have anything to go back to.
It's only her in the crammed student dorm, the rent scraped out of her bank account every month, without having any family member to confide in. Her aunt had gotten rid of her the moment she could, happy that she wouldn't have an extra mouth to feed anymore. Her friends are starting their new jobs at their companies or labs, while she's navigating the same old shitty world with a torn skirt.
She wanders aimlessly, hoping to find a place that can bring her a peace of mind after a day full of misfortune, but stumbles upon more as she is suddenly drenched from head to toe with water thrown from one of the flats above. It's a middle-aged man living at the flat on the second floor with a receding hairline, throwing out a bucket full of water for who-knows-what-reason from his balcony. He only says 'I'm sorry miss' without any apologetic note in his voice, sending her away with a wave of his hand before disappearing inside.
She is left feeling like it was her mistake for walking between the buildings, and not his for throwing out the water without looking out for potential victims.
Soaking wet, she sees the neon sign of a crescent moon flickering before it is completely switched off, the 'open' sign shifting into 'closed'. Even when she knows she will probably be kicked out of the cafe, she feels strangely drawn to it, the crescent sign radiating some sort of hope to her. Unknowingly her feet make their way to the front of the cafe, but she doesn't know what to make out of the situation inside.
The lights are still switched on. There are five people at the middle of the cafe, one young man being held back by another, threatened to be tickled by two other. Only one is free from the show, going behind the counter and retrieving a set of keys. She looks down, letting her damp long hair cover her face, sighing.
I must be going crazy, hallucinating five grown-ass men doing a tickling fest in a cafe. I really need some rest.
Then she looks up, and holds the stare of the one with the keys. She realizes that she's not hallucinating when he drops the keys and the rest are frozen in spot, as if they have seen a ghost. Maybe they had, and frantically she looks around before she comes to a dumb realization as she looks at her own reflection.
Welp, looks like I'm the ghost.
The man who was held back shows a reaction first; his mouth says something before he wriggles free from the grasp, already weakened due to their shock of seeing her. She doesn't know what expression she's wearing that's causing them to react that way. She takes one step back and the man scurries to the entrance, opening the door just enough for his face to be put through.
The man has long black hair past his earlobes, the top part tied up into a man bun, showing off his sharp jawline and the multiple piercings he has on his earlobes and along his ear cartilage. He doesn't smile, but there is a distinct softness in his eyes that for the first time today, she feels as if she has found an actual human, not just some blurry faces she bumps into along the way. He doesn't even say anything but merely stares at her, as if asking with his eyes what her business is to be standing in front of the cafe looking like a banshee.
She notices that the others are already craning their necks, huddled together, equally curious. She doesn't know what to say, but at the same time she wants to say something. She is in need of some real human interaction after attending job interviews that made her feel like a robot; she says what they want, she acts like how they want to. She's tired.
"I was thinking of having some coffee," she finds herself saying, raking out the hair sticking to her face in a feeble attempt of appearing more human. She puts on a smile and tugs at the hem of her skirt, subtly hiding the tear with her palms.
"We're closed," the man says flatly, before shutting the door with a slam. The man with the keys throws over the set to him and he makes a show by letting their eyes meet; he bends down, slots the key in and twists it before turning around.
My, what a gentleman.
Oh, fuck it.
She wipes her face with the sleeve of her shirt, drying it.
Yunho sees her before slapping the back of Wooyoung's head and uttering, "You just made her cry."
Wooyoung pouts and rubs a hand to the back of his head. "I only said what's right; we're closed. Come on, we need to rest too."
"She looks like she had a really rough day. Maybe we can invite her in for a cup of coffee."
"I ain't brewing a cup of coffee for some damn ghost- ouch ouch stop twisting my ear YOU GIRAFFE," Yeosang shouts as Mingi pinches his ear with a smile on his face.
"I say we invite her in," Mingi says through gritted teeth. "She only has her head down and stays in place ever since you shut the door in her face."
"What if she's an assassin that was sent to infiltrate our base and kill us off one by one? I say we throw Mingi to her first and then we move somewhere else." Jongho leans against one of the tables, his hip placed on the furniture.
"Choi Jongho you-"
Yunho takes the keys from Wooyoung before he can start protesting, then opens the door for her. He steps outside and is about to invite her in, but she walks away wordlessly with her head down. Automatically he takes in her whole condition; she's walking somewhat awkwardly as she tries to hide something at her skirt with her hands, and she's drenched from head to toe.
"Miss," he calls out.
She doesn't turn around.
"Miss," he tries again. "You can come in for a cup of coffee and wait for your clothes to dry."
She keeps on walking.
"Miss!" he shouts before breaking off into a jog to catch up with her.
He lightly puts a hand on her shoulder, his sole intention only to catch her attention, but what happens next completely takes him by surprise.
She yelps once before she spins on her heels, taking his wrist with her hand and she kicks her leg against his, making him lose balance before she throws him onto the ground. With him lying on his back, she presses her knee against his stomach, her hands flying to pin him against the road.
"I have no money for you to take so you better be on your way before I break your neck," she threatens him; her voice too loud.
He looks at her speechless, before he spots the wires dangling from her ears. It's no wonder she couldn't hear him; she was wearing earphones. He puts his hands on either side of his head, palms up, to show that he is not a threat. Knowing that she probably cannot hear what he's trying to say, he gestures wildly to the cafe, showing the motion of drinking something. He mouths the word 'coffee', her press on his stomach making him lose his breath. His damp hair from washing off the remnants of ice cream feels colder, the chill running through his spine.
They stare at each other for a whole minute, as if trying to drink in every detail of each others' eyes.
She snaps out of the involuntary trance first, following his gesture to see that four heads are peeking out of the door, including the man who turned her away. Two of them have silly smiles on, while the man who saw her first - the one with the keys - is smirking. Only the man who turned her away remains placid, as if he's unsure of how he's supposed to react to the situation.
They are piled on top of each other, leaning forward as they try to get the best view of the two on the road; Yunho being pinned down by their mysterious visitor. The one upfront loses his balance and tumbles forward, bringing the other three with him and becoming a tangled mess.
Idiots, Yunho thinks. And I'm one of them.
Realizing the sheer awkwardness of their position she scrambles to stand up, ripping off the earphones. She clears her throat as he straightens up and lightly runs a hand through his hair.
"I'm- I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that to you." She clasps her fingers, "I really thought you were some bad guy wanting to rob or kidnap me."
Yunho runs a hand along his back, feeling stiff. "You were strong, martial artist?"
"Just a little bit of taekwondo," she says sheepishly.
"That was not a little bit. You almost broke my back," he smiles. "I apologize for how my coworker treated you. We're about to close but you really look like you need a good cup of coffee."
She wrings her hands and drums her fingers against the back of her palm. "It wasn't his fault, I just lost my mind for a few seconds. I'll be on my way, but thank you for the offer."
He watches her turn around to start walking back again, but he feels the impulse to stop her from leaving. So he says, "Rough day?"
She stands rigid on the spot, her fists balled. Her shoulders droop as she utters, "You have no idea."
---
[A/N: I really tried to update this at midnight and my laptop just died on me. I plugged it in and here I am, editing this part again fr. My brain's overloaded I have to go to sleep now-- On a side note I changed my pfp to yunho because he's too pretty I can't resist. Also, full album by ATEEZ in October??? I'm ready but not at the same time; I know I'll be having a lot of tests during that month ;-;]