Chap. 1
The CHECKMATE Project
It’s a beautiful winter day, the sky just slightly cloudy, but still the lively streets of Seoul fill with all sorts of people. Friends going in and out of stores, families walking the streets to a nearby restaurant for lunch. In front of one clothing store stands a semi-tall male. Staring at his reflection through the window, he runs his hand through his bleached bangs, having been messed up from hitting a low slung tree branch and leaving him with a little red mark hiding behind his bangs. As the male finishes fixing his hair, he habitually his lips, catching a girl’s gaze facing him in the reflection. Gently sighing, he quickly adjusts the five piercings lining his earlobe and the three on his right ear. As he turns around, he hardens his gaze at the frail girl that he caught staring at him from the reflection.
“What? Is there something you want?” He asks monotonically to the shorter girl. Her thin, caramel brown hair barely making it to her shoulders, swaying lightly with the winter breeze.
Her pale face instantly turning red as she finally meets his eyes, “I-I’m sorry…” she mutters, turning around to leave, but too slowly. The tall, bleach blonde male swiftly gripping her wrist.
“I caught you staring at me,” he pauses tilting his head down to her, “now tell me why,” he demands.
She struggles to shake her wrist out of his grip. “I wasn’t!” she yells right as she got her left wrist back, running away from him and leaving eyes on him with little murmurs.
Another male with brightly dyed red hair, shorter than the first, wraps his arm over his shoulders, dragging him to walk with him as he continues walking. Having observed the atmosphere he asks him softly, “Why all the eyes on you Wangja?”
Wangja gently pushes off the males arm from his shoulders. “Tsk, caught a girl staring at me is all Jiwoon-hyung,” he answers, putting his hands in the pockets of his sweatshirt that is layered by a bomber jacket.
Jiwoon sighs and folds his arms over his torso. “Now, where to eat then…” he mumbles, straying from the topic of what just happened, seeing that if he continued that topic he would cause Wangja to lose his appetite.
Wangja shrugs, “All I know is I’m not in the mood for the regular Korean food.”
“Ah! How about Vietnamese? I could go for some pho~” Jiwoon smiles, trying to lighten Wangja’s glum mood as he unfolded his own arms.
“I was thinking a cafe so I could get a sandwich…” Wangja mumbles, “A Vietnamese sandwich sounds good. Can we go to the one that has Thai tea?”
Jiwoon nods seeing the restaurant they were just talking about across the busy street and walking slightly ahead of Price to stand in front of the crosswalk. “Vietnamese it is,” he smiles as he starts walking across the street, Wangja trailing slightly behind. As Jiwoon arrives at the restaurant first he opens the door for Wangja, who rushes in feeling the winter breeze creeping up his neck.
“Just two?” A familiar female voice addresses them as Jiwoon enters.
“Ah!” Wangja yells pointing at the waitress who had addressed them, giving Jiwoon a little startle, “You!”
Jiwoon quickly covers Wangja’s mouth, giving a kind smile to the frail girl, “Please excuse my friend, but yes, just us two.”
The frail waitress gives an awkward smile. “This way then,” her voice trails as she leads them to a table and sets down two menus. “Um, what can I get you guys to drink?”
“Water for both of us and one iced Thai tea please,” Jiwoon orders as he takes off his bomber jacket, setting it on the ba
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