12s

 

 

"okay, this is our stop."

"i'm sure if we kept walking, we would end up in seoul. why are we even here, anyway?"

"i wanna show you what i got from an old friend."

the first person walked into the nearby forest and motioned for his friend to follow, who hesitated before taking action.

"can't you just tell me what we're doing?" the second raised to the first, furrowing his brow.

"just wait."

"you're being really suspicious right now." the second stopped before they could go deeper. the first rolled his eyes, took his hands out of his letterman jacket pockets, and showed him what he took him here for. the second stepped back.

"dude, what the hell? aren't you already on probation?"

"yeah, but my officer doesn't know i'm here, he thinks i'm at the library. i paid some kids to cover for me."

"are you kidding me?" a car passed by. the second person sighed. "i hear cars, i'm gonna dip."

"i did this for you, you're not leaving."

"no, i think i'm leaving."

the first turned his head once and looked back only to find that his friend had disappeared. a car parked on the side of the road.

"hey! hey, what are you doing all the way out here?"

the first muttered a few curses and stuffed his hands back into his letterman jacket pockets.

"oh my god, you're..." the stranger grabbed his arm. "i'm taking you to the police, you can't keep pulling this kind of and expecting someone from town to not recognize you and your bright blonde hair."

the first rolled his head to the left and rolled his eyes as he was taken back to the stranger's car. the second looked on from behind a bush next to a large tree. he shook his head.

"what an idiot."

the second stuck a finger in his nose as made his way back to the gas station.

12s

 

 

white walls, pink curtains, posters of twenty-year-old men in pastel pants smiling endearingly: all details of a typical preteen fangirl's bedroom. her desk (left of the bed) was clear, except for an open notebook that read details about the girl's past few days. a small groan escaped the mouth of a young girl laying in her bed: one of her feet wrapped around her white bedsheets, the other tucked snugly into her chest. her left eye opened to see her white cat plushie staring back at her. its blue eyes gleamed in the dim lighting of the morning sky's brightness, the fur around the crystal balls softly grazing them.

good morning, ellie, the girl her stuffed animal's faux fur. i'll be right back.

after quietly sliding her legs out of bed, she slipped on her slippers and grabbed her fluffy, pastel pink bathrobe from the coatrack next to her door. the morning cold grazed her legs as she ran out to the living room to see her father zipping up his windbreaker.

"oh," she blurted. "you haven't left for the market yet?"

he shook his head.

"i want to go with you." she stepped further out into the living room. he only proceeded to sit down on the chair next to the door to put on his boots.

"kiyeon, you have to stay with your mom and your brother. the memorial is today and i don't want you smelling like fish when you visit your aunt haesook."

"but i didn't like her! why should i care about how she thinks i smell?" the small girl fiddled with the sleeves of her robe and looked at her feet. "i don't even think she'd care, anyway..."

"i know you didn't like her," he looked at his daughter. "frankly, no one really did. she would just come into the restaurant, take some toothpicks, and leave." he stopped tying his shoelaces and placed his right palm on his thigh. "she wouldn't even talk to us. she didn't even remember who i was when i asked her how she was doing—"

"dad, your point?"

"oh, sorry," he said, clearing his throat. "just stay home today. there will be people other than your deceased aunt who might care how you smell." her father stood up and kissed the top of her head before walking out the door. kiyeon stared at the door for a moment with her shoulders slumped before straightening out and running back to her room, where she fell back asleep on her bed.

 

"kiyeon, come here, i need you to wait tables." kiyeon's mother tossed her an apron, the younger running into the staff locker room to change into her uniform. as she put her hair into a ponytail, she felt a gaze boring into the back of her head. after slipping on her button-down and tying her black apron around her waist to cover her skater skirt, the young girl glanced around the room to check for any erts or cameras only to find nothing.

"hello?" she stepped toward the back of the room and felt her heart pound against her chest. she froze for a moment, blinked, and sped out the door. she had decided not to tell anyone what had happened because not even she would be able to explain what she had felt in that room at that time.

kiyeon hurriedly took orders from new and regular customers, rushing back and forth between the kitchen window and the main dining area. she felt a cool breeze on her way back to the dining area and shifted her eyes around again.

the windows aren't even open, she frowned and swallowed her saliva. maybe dad's just blasting the aircon.

the young girl continued her day as usual with a slight case of the chills, most customers telling her she feels cold because she dressed so thinly. she not only had goosebumps because of the strange draft that only seemed to follow her, but also because of the feeling that she had been being watched.

 

"haesook, when are you going to stop breezing past at that girl? the poor thing is shivering."

"wait! i have to punish her for complaining about my memorial."

"this is petty."

"mm-hm."

sigh. "your ghost lease is up in twenty minutes."