❏— Chapter Thirteen
˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳ ❝ ...everything happens for a
reason ❞
Soobin is exhausted from helping Yeji earlier that day, but he is unable to sleep.
He's mentally as well as physically worn out. He is unable to control his thoughts after talking to his mother, which caused them to wander.
He feels the chilly breeze coming through his open window as he stares at it.
Soobin sighs and rises from his bed, carefully avoiding waking his grandmother. He takes his jacket off the rack, puts his shoes on, and makes his way downstairs on tiptoes. The bottom stair, which creaks every time you step on it, was specifically avoided by him.
As soon as he opens the door to leave, a chilly breeze welcomes him.
At that time, the village is even more silent, and he can hear crickets chirping, a distant dog barking loudly, and the typical morning call of the chickens there.
Soobin is unsure of his destination, and because he hasn't been going out much, the village is still somewhat foreign to him. He just simply follows where his feet take him.
He feels as though he might actually get lost without having a destination in mind, but he is used to feeling lost and is not in the least bit alarmed by the thought.
He notices that the Hwangs' lights are already on as he passes by their home. Hmm, based on what his grandmother told him, village life apparently begins very early.
He's sure that his grandmother would also wake up any moment now and he's hoping that she won't check up on him just to see his bed empty.
"Good morning son!" An unfamiliar voice snaps him out from his thoughts.
Soobin looks at the person and sees someone just about his grandmother's age carrying some gardening tools. He's probably on his way to the farm there.
"Oh good morning, uncle!" Soobin greeted him back, not wanting to be rude.
"I haven't seen you around here before."
Soobin gulped, not expecting to come across someone that early in the morning but he still tried answering him nevertheless. "Ah, I'm Choi Hyeja's grandson from the city and I'm here to visit her for the summer."
The man's eyes widens in acknowledgement, everyone probably knows each other considering the small population in the village.
"Oh I see, I know your grandmother very well." The man chuckled, tapping Soobin's shoulders, "Well then, I'll get going. If you want some fresh fruits, just look for me at the farm and I'll give it to you for free."
Soobin's face lit up at the statement and he bowed at the man. "Thank you so much, uncle."
----
After his encounter with the nice man, Soobin continued his walk to nowhere.
He's currently at a part of a village that he's never been to before and there's really not much to see since all he can see are houses which all have their lights on already.
He hugs his jacket tighter against his body, deciding to get back home before his grandmother finds out that he's missing.
But he immediately stopped on his tracks when he hear a soft purring. He looks around to find where the sound is coming from.
If someone can see him right now, they might think that he's an idiot because he's currently crouching down with his phone that he uses as a flashlight in his hand to find the source of the sound.
Luckily though, he immediately locates the source and his heart almost melts when he sees that it was a little kitten, but it was under the bushes so he tries his best to make it come out.
"Come on little one, I'm not gonna hurt you."
The kitten let out a soft meow and it was almost out of its hiding spot when a high pitched scream startled not only the kitten but also Soobin.
"AHHHH!"
Soobin looked up to see who it was while still holding his phone near his face but it just made whoever it was scream again.
"What the actual fuck!" The person shouted, "Soobin? Is that you?"
Immediately recognizing the voice to be Yeonjun's --- Soobin got up to his feet. "Oh Yeonjun hyung! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."
Yeonjun lets out a sharp breath while holding his chest, "What are you doing here? And can you please not point the light to your face? It almost scared the living days out of me, I thought you were a ghost or something."
Soobin swallowed the laugh that's bubbling up his throat because he finds the situation funny but he still turned off his flashlight for the sake of Yeonjun.
"Sorry hyung, I was just taking a walk when I heard a kitten purring under the bushes." Soobin explained, pointing at the kitten who's now already running away.
"A walk? At this early hour?" Yeonjun questioned.
Soobin scratched his nape before replying. "I couldn't sleep so --- yeah."
"Ah that explains the dark circles." Yeonjun said, pointing at Soobin who quickly looked away while mumbling a curse word because someone noticed it.
"Anyway, you wanna come with me?" Yeonjun switches the subject to something else.
Soobin raised his eyebrows. "Huh? Where?"
"I'm gonna pick up some meat and seafood that mom ordered at the town market,it's probably around a twenty to thirty minute drive from here." Yeonjun said.
"Oh, I'd love to come with you but grandma doesn't actually know I came out."
"No worries, mom will come by your house later to pick up the flowers, I'll ask her to tell grandma Hyeja's you're with me." Yeonjun said then he noticed Soobin's phone in his hand, "Or --- you can just send her a text message."
Soobin almost slapped his forehead when Yeonjun said that, he swears he's kinda dumb sometimes. "Shit I almost forgot about my phone."
Yeonjun chuckled since it's the first time he heard him swear and he looks so funny as he types something on his phone. "Come on now, you're safe with me don't worry!" Yeonjun said, showing his keys in his hand.
Soobin followed Yeonjun to the pick up truck that was parked a few steps from their house.
"Don't forget to wear your seatbelts." Yeonjun reminded him before he started the engine.
The drive to the market was not as awkward as Soobin thought it would be. They exchanged small talks while songs, mostly ballads, were playing on the radio with Yeonjun mumbling the lyrics.
----
"Here we are." Yeonjun shared as he turned off the engine.
Soobin opened the car door and followed Yeonjun outside.
"I didn't expect that it would be very crowded here." Soobin mumbled as he looked at the large crowd of people.
"It's normal for people to come here early since the seafood's are all guaranteed to be freshly caught. Good thing mom is good friend's with one of the owners here so I don't have to fight with them." Yeonjun snorted as he pointed to the line of middle aged women who looked like they're in an intense argument on who will get the best quality products.
Soobin nodded in understanding as he tried his best to keep up with Yeonjun, not wanting to be lost in the middle of the crowd.
"Oh God! These are heavy, it's a good thing you came with me Soobin-ah." Yeonjun said while they're placing the seafood and meat in the back of the truck.
"Wait I forgot about something." Yeonjun suddenly blurted out when he closed the back of the truck. "Just wait for me here Soobin-ah, I'll be quick."
Before Soobin could answer, Yeonjun was already running past him.
He wonders what the boy had forgotten. And since Yeonjun forgot to open the doors, Soobin settled on waiting for him outside.
Soobin looks around the market, seeing that some of the stalls and shops there are all starting to open since it's almost six in the morning. What caught his eye though is a colorful souvenir shop.
It wouldn't hurt to look inside it so he starts making his way towards the shop.
The shop is as colorful on the inside as it was on the outside. There were clothes, accessories and different types of souvenirs around.
"Hello dear." A gentle voice said behind him.
Soobin quickly turned around, seeing a middle aged woman with a lot of necklaces on her neck and bracelets on her wrists. "Uhm hello."
"What were you looking for?" She asked.
"Oh nothing. I was just... looking around." Soobin replied, gesturing around the shop.
She smiled softly at him. "Ah, may I recommend something to you?"
She turned around, telling him to follow her and he did so.
She stopped in front of the bracelet rack.
"Here, I think you need this one." She said, placing a bracelet on his palm.
He looks at the bracelet curiously, it is made up of black beads with a weird looking stone in the middle.
"It is a sleep bracelet, it is a natural solution for reducing dress, anxiety and for getting a more restful sleep. The stone in the middle helps to balance the body, mind and spirit." The woman explained.
Soobin looked at her weirdly because he never really believed in things like that before.
"How'd you know I needed sleep?" Soobin quietly asked, furrowing his brows.
"I just know. I can sense it." The woman whispered the last statement as if it was supposed to be a secret.
Soobin is well aware that it's not true and that she just probably saw how tired his eyes were that's why she said that.
"Ah thanks for this but I don't really have any money on me."
The woman slightly laughed. "No worries dear, I'll give it to you."
"Oh thank you Auntie." Soobin said and smiled a little.
"And because you're the first person who came into my shop today, I'll give you another one." She beamed at him, "Here, this is a natural stone bracelet. It's made up of natural healing crystals from the earth and these healing stones serve as a daily reminder that everything in life happens for a reason. Whenever life gets difficult, this will help you face your fears and take control."
"No Auntie, you don't have t---"
"Just take it. Give the other one to someone close to your heart." She smiled at him, closing his hand that was holding the two bracelets.
"Thank you so much." Soobin bowed at the woman.
"Oh there you are Soo! I've been looking everywhere for you."
Before Soobin can say goodbye to the kind shop owner, Yeonjun was already dragging him outside.
"Let's go back!" Yeonjun exclaimed which startled Soobin because he didn't expect for someone to be as energetic as Yeonjun at that early time of the day.
----
"Thanks for helping me again." Yeonjun chuckled as he mops the floor while Soobin wipes the tables at the diner.
"No worries, I'm kinda glad actually that I finally have something different to do --- Not that I'm complaining about helping grandma with chores back home." Soobin quickly added the last statement as if his grandma can actually hear him right now.
"Well do you want to help around here? Kinda like a summer job, mom will pay you and there are free meals." Yeonjun said, winking playfully at him.
Soobin cracks a smile. "I'll gladly help but you don't have to pay me anything."
"Yah city boy." Yeonjun barked, clenching his jaw as he looked at Soobin. "Are you looking down on us? Are you saying that we are incapable of payin--- OUCH MOM! I WAS ONLY JOKING!"
Soobin was almost backing away from Yeonjun's tone when Yeonjun's tough and angry act was stopped by his mother pinching his ear.
Soobin lets out a small laugh as he looks at the two.
In the end, Soobin did accept Yeonjun's offer even though he was reluctant at first when he thought about how he sometimes panics when his anti-social behavior kicks in everytime he talks to someone new but Yeonjun quickly assured him that he doesn't need worry since they'll be working together.
---
[ author's note
hi guys :)
I apologize for this filler and boring chapter but i hope you will still enjoy reading this chapter!
i'm halfway done with the next chapter and i hope i can finish it by tonight.
anyways, thank you so much for all your support and I read all your comments so please don't be shy to leave one, I love reading them all.
please also follow me so you will be updated on when's my next update and such :) ily all!!♡♡♡ ]