Dangling Earrings
"It's been a hell of a day," I mumbled, stretching my neck sidewise, as I stood beside the railing of the bridge overlooking the Han River.
"Is it cold Dad," I thought, looking down at the sparkling water.
"Why here?"
"Was dying easiest here or because it was cold, did you think it would numb everything," I asked.
"Don't worry, I won't die like a coward, choosing you was a mistake, dad, I should've moved out with mom too just know this," I said, pressing my lips in a straight line.
"Look what a mess I got myself into?" I replied, sighing.
My stomach growls.
"My life is hell I still need to eat something,"
"I should do something," I mumbled, moving along the bridge.
"Tteokbokki," I ordered a service from a food cart and shifts on a table laid beside that small street cart "Jeong Bae's Tteobokki centre."
"Your service," the lady in her forties announced as soon as she poured the tteokbokki, into a white plate and rest a pair of chopsticks over it.
"Yes!" I said, moving to her cart.
"Enjoy your meal," she said, handing over the dish.
"Thank you!" I replied.
"Look who's here," Woo-jin said, sliding a chair against me, even before I could even start eating.
"What are you doing here?" Woo-jin said, sitting beside me.
I continued eating without taking any notice of him.
"Yaah! I'm talking to you," he said, shaking my arm.
"Seriously!" I threw chopsticks over the plate and placed my back against it firmly.
"You have something else to say, why should I kneel, before listening to you,'' I shouted at him.
"She just ruined my mood," he replied, clearing his throat.
"Ajumma, One serving of Tteobokki, and make it spicy," he ordered.
"Why is that my mistake, do you think I should care if you got hurt or not," he continued gazing at me with a smirk.
"Just leave me alone,* I sighed.
"I would I'm just curious,"
"Why did you hide my face?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.
"You should know when to go against whom?" I replied, looking at him.
"Why didn't you try to deny it even once?"
"As you denied to Hyun-woo," he asked, with a scoff.
"I shouldn't have overheard,"
"Denying could be really tiring!" I replied.
"Why took the hard way, when this could've ended that night," he asked, taking his phone out.
"For me, it just started that night,"
"Some things don't end that easily, you need to get your hands dirty," I replied.
"It wouldn't have happened if you had asked for forgiveness," Woo-jin commented.
"I'm not scared it turns out to be that way, but you should be because it happens with me," I replied.
"Are you threatening me," he asked.
"How could I?" I replied, with a vague smile.
"What's with that cut?" he asked.
"Why do ask?" I paused.
"I'm...,
"Curious, I can tell you're not one of us," he replied.
"I believe, I should leave your guest here," I replied, standing up from the table as soon as I noticed a junior of ours on the road.
"Your phone," he said, after me holding my phone in the air.
"Thanks," I replied, taking it.
"You're not cold?" he asked, rolling his eyes at my half-sleeved sweater.
"Just focus on eating" I replied, leaving.
***
"Where is my bag," I inquired raising my voice in the class.
"I throw it," Da-eun replied, standing up from her seat, curling her hair around her fingertips.
"This is too much don't you think," I replied, closing my eyes with a deep breath.
"Are you angry?" she asked, shifting towards me.
"You're going overboard even though I haven't done it," I replied.
"Yaah! We couldn't sleep the whole night. people are protesting in front of our galleries, shopping centres, we're getting criticized in public, of all they're calling me crazy."
"My gallery is ruined, artists don't even want to meet my curators," she replied.
"Then you should've thought before acting up," I replied, glaring at her.
"What?" she asked.
"I need to take care of her," I thought, with a sigh.
"You've heard it the first time," I replied.
***
"What would you like?" I asked, shifting beside the table of our new customers.
"Anything, you'd like to recommend," the girl said, turning towards me.
"You work here," Ji-eun asked, widening her eyes.
"The caramel doughnuts with latte are best here," I replied, avoiding her eye contact.
"How could you work here, don't your family provide for you," she asked, shifting her hair locks to behind the ears her dangling diamond necklace sparkled around her face.
"Uh her earrings I'm having Deja-vu," I thought, unintentionally scanning her attire her black silhouette was playing around her red dress, and now those dangling earrings.
"I ran away from my house," I replied.
"Your family must not care about you, they let you move out without money," she commented, shrugging her shoulders pausing herself an amiable girl.
"I'm not even allowed to do that,"
"This kind of suits you," she said.
"Why don't we focus on ourselves, I already have enough for a day," Hyun-woo meddled, with a sigh.
"I would've got the same," he replied.
"We're just starting about ourselves," she continued resting her hand over his.
"An Americano for me and a mocha latte for him," she replied, with a forced smile.
"Okay," I replied.
"They didn't teach you some manners, okay man you should say," she said, after me.
"Manners," Hyun-woo chuckles.
"Yes! Customer," I said, pressing my lips in a straight line.
"The doughnuts, your Americano and his mocha latte," I replied, putting their glasses down.
"I've heard Da-eun is being bitch to you,"
"Did something happen between you two," Ji-eun asked, blinking rapidly?
"Anything else," I asked.
"You're not going to tell us, if you won't try to befriend us how would you get close to us," she replied.
"Friends!" I replied, with a scoff.
"Please enjoy your coffee," I replied, leaving.
"Do you know them?" Manager Jun-ho asked.
"No!," I replied, moving to the counter to take the orders.
"They are from your school,"
"No, I don't know them," I repeated and got busy with other orders.
Hyun-woo handed out his black card to pay the bill.
"Black card!" I thought, swiping it.
"This is a thank-you gift for our new VIP customers," I replied, giving him a designated macron's pack with his card.
"Visit us again," I replied.
"You can eat it," he said, putting the box down on the counter and placing his card back on his school's blazer.
"You do have a way to put people down, stuff it yourself I'm not the VIP customer here," I replied, sliding it towards him.
"Then throw it too," he replied, leaving.
"I've to solve my conflict with them only then I can do anything," I thought, with a sigh.