Prologue-ish

---------------------------
Thursday, May 3rd, 2012.
2:45pm
---------------------------


“....,” Seungri muttered under his breath as he drenched the front of his shirt with a mixture of hot water and ranch dressing. Quickly getting the crate full of dishes sprayed off, he roughly pushed it through the dishwasher and trudges over to check the waitress’ bus bins to see if any more have been picked up.

Just 15 minutes left to your shift, Seungri. We’ve got this.

Normally he doesn’t even have a problem working. It’s a mindless task that can usually go by quickly, but for some odd reason he just can’t help but feel irritated today. It seems like every time someone speaks or even looks his way it ticks him off.

Seeing that the bins were joyfully empty, he  wanders over to the waitress counter and leans against it looking out into the restaurant. His friend, Daesung, is out hopping from table to table wearing that goofy smile on his face that makes all the customers love him.

Seungri was still looking around with an indifferent expression, not really paying attention to much, when he suddenly gets the feeling of someone's eyes on him. Thinking it to be Daesung, he looks over to the last place he saw his hyperactive friend only to see him still chatting with an elderly couple. Looking around at the tables he tries to pinpoint who exactly would be watching him. Maybe he’s disturbing patrons by being by the waiters area with his wet black shirt and baseball cap. Sometimes he gets the feeling that customers think he’ll spread germs to their food just by looking at it.

Sure.

His gaze finally locks onto someone completely unexpected. A man, obviously in his late 30’s, was sitting at a booth with an attractive woman. He had clean cut dark hair, glasses, and a business suit on. His appearance was quite plain compared to the woman and even gave off an awkward sort of vibe. Seungri felt himself get goosebumps just by making contact with the man’s penetrating gaze.

Having enough of being stared at by the middle-aged customer, he decided to make his way back to the dishwashing station to get his dishes done and clean his area. He was ready to head home and get started on his paper for his Government class.

Getting the clean dishes put away, Seungri ponders over his schedule for the week. Government class one day a week, Algebra three days a week, Business online and his soon to be dropped online English. He was lucky that his job was willing to work with his college schedule and even let him catch up on his homework on slow days at work.

After finally wiping down his sinks and the dishwasher, he makes his way back up to the waitress station to wait by the time clock. He fiddles with his ID card and checks the time to see how long he’ll have to wait before he can leave.

2:54:36 PM

Just six minutes before freedom and he can go home. There was no way he was going to bother with waiting for the next shift to come in, John could catch up on dishes by himself. It’s not like John would be much help to him if he was just coming in for a shift either.

After standing around thinking about how busy the restaurant could get later, his friend Daesung happily walked over to him waving a wad of bills in his hand.

“Hey Seungri! Guess what? Table 5 left me a $14 tip! Man, sometimes this job is awesome. You heading out soon?” Daesung excitedly spoke to Seungri while putting his money in the designated tip boxes. Quickly getting the bills shoved in, he leans next to Seungri on the counter and looks at him.

“Just about. I’m ready to head home and get my done so I can sleep.” Seungri tried his hardest to not sound like he was having a bad day, lord knows Daesung would then try to make his day better and he’d rather just be left alone with his mood.

“How are your tables? Get any weird ones today?” He went for a topic change as he remembered the man from earlier who stared at him. Quickly glancing over to the table he was sitting at earlier, he breathed a small sigh of relief as he noticed he was no longer there.

“Excuse me, but would you be able to give me a to-go box?” Seungri turned his head around to look into the eyes of the same man he’d just been thinking of. On closer inspection, the man had thick framed glasses and plain brown eyes. He was once again only looking at Seungri causing the latter to feel even more uncomfortable at the lack of distance between them.

“Oh! Sure thing, sir!” Daesung quickly walked over and around the corner to get him his box.

Seungri cursed Dae for leaving him next to this man but tried to not outwardly let it show. He just began staring at the clock again in an attempt to close off any communication with the stranger and began counting the seconds that ticked by ever so slowly.

“Working hard?” The stranger asked him in a raspy voice, giving him minor chills that went from the base of his neck down his spine. He leaned over the counter to make eye contact with Seungri making the atmosphere even more uncomfortable.

Seungri didn’t really want to even look at the man let alone talk to him, but in the name of courtesy he replied, “Not anymore. I’m just about off.”

“You usually off around this time?” The stranger casually asked, still only staring at Seungri who just gave a small nod.

When Daesung finally came back around the corner, Seungri couldn’t help but feel relieved and his body relaxed just a little.

“Here you go sir. Apologies for the wait. Is there anything else I can help you with today?” Daesung said in his usual happy tone, unaware of the tension coming from Seungri.

“No, I’ve got everything I need, thank you. You two have a good day,” and with that the stranger walked out of the restaurant with his attractive female friend who was busy paying for their meal during the exchange.

“That guy was weird,” Seungri offhandedly commented as he finally held his ID card up to the clock waiting to hear the beep followed by the electronic ‘out’ sound. He began gathering his few belongings waiting to see if Daesung needed anything before he left.

“You have a paper to write tonight Ri?” Dae said, scanning his tables to see if they needed any attention.

“Yup. As usual. Hopefully I can get it done quickly so I can get some sleep.” Even just the thought of sleep made Seungri long for his comfortable bed and huggable pillow. He began to his soaking wet work shirt to reveal the black undershirt beneath. Pulling his car keys out of his pocket he gave a casual wave to Dae before finally heading towards the restaurant exit.

“See you tomorrow, Ri!” Dae quickly yelled before rushing off to his busy tables.

_____________________________________________________________________

Seungri unlocked his old blue bicycle from outside the building as he swung his backpack onto his shoulder. After turning his mp3 player on and putting his earphones in, he set off towards his apartment to get started on his paper. The quicker he got everything done, the quicker he could lie in his comfy bed and sleep. Counting the hours in his head he figured that if he got his paper and other assignments done along with laundry and cleaning up within six hours, he would have at least ten hours to sleep peacefully.

It was only a ten minute bike ride to get to his apartment which was situated on the second level of an old complex in a less than favorable working-class area. Due to the lack of traffic during his ride, Seungri arrived at the front step of the building quicker than usual. He got off his bike and leisurely slid his backpack off one shoulder to place his mp3 player and earphones safely inside. He’d rather not have a mess of headphone cords in his way while trying to carry his bike up the stairs.

As he was kneeling to put his player into his backpack, he vaguely noticed a dark blue car driving slowly down the street. He kept his eyes on it trying to see the driver but could only make out two figures in the front. Not thinking much of it and wasting enough time watching the random vehicle as it was, Seungri swung his backpack on once again and grabbed for his bike and maneuvered his way through the front doors of the complex. He began the familiar, yet still difficult, walk up the stairs carrying his bike the whole way. His mother instilled in him at birth to always be vigilant of his belongings, it was one of many things she said that stuck with him.

Finally reaching the door that read 2B, he set his bike down and dug his keys out of the back pocket of his faded black work pants. He searched out his copper colored key and quickly got his door open while maneuvering his bike in front of him to set against the wall of the front hallway.

Feeling the tension release from his shoulders, Seungri immediately forgot about his morning and began undressing as he walked towards his room making sure to set his work clothes in a little pile by his bed for the next day. Sitting on his double bed he let out a small sigh and stared at his light blue colored wall for a few moments. After mustering the energy to get up, he searched his dresser drawers for a set of flannel pajama pants and a loose t-shirt to get comfortable in. Debating on the pros and cons of taking a shower he walked towards his small bathroom and situated himself in front of the sink.

As difficult of a decision as it was, Seungri took the easy route and decided to just wash his face and get started on the small paper he needed to write. After washing his face and changing, he headed towards the kitchen just in case he decided he was hungry. He glanced at his MARVEL Comics calendar as he entered the kitchen trying to remember what day of the month it was.

He stared at the date for a few seconds before turning and opening his fridge. He sighed for the nth time that day as he once again looks at the lack of food within. Vowing to go grocery shopping the next day, he finally grabs his laptop from the kitchen counter and heads to the last room of his apartment, the small living room. He sits on one of the few pieces of furniture he owns, the beat up dark grey couch he bought at a yard sale, and began researching the topic for his government paper promising to not venture onto fun and time consuming websites in the name of procrastination.

---------------------------

Time quickly passed as Seungri sat doing nothing but college assignments and before he knew it nearly four hours had gone by. Finally shutting his laptop with a small snap, he layed on the couch and gave a nice long stretch letting out small noises of pleasure. Letting out a deep breathe, he decided to get up and start his laundry quickly before he became too tired. Slowly walking the small distance from the living room to his bedroom, his bare feet making little patting sounds on the hardwood floor, he set out to throw his hamper full of clothes into the washer situated up next to the kitchen. Luckily he’s managed to keep on his laundry this month so there was no monster of a clothes pile growing out of the floor and he was able to have them sorted and in the washer within fifteen minutes.

Feeling accomplished enough for the day, Seungri zombie walked into his room and fell face first onto his bed. After laying in this position for a good few minutes, he rolled on his black comforter and wiggled his way under the blanket. Too sleepy to have another thought about the day, he shut his eyes, cuddled his pillow and promptly fell asleep.

---------------------------
Next Morning
Friday, May 4th, 2012
5:48am
---------------------------

Seungri awoke from slumber-land to the sound of knocking at his door. Looking over at his alarm he noted that it wasn’t even time for him to get up for work yet.

The knocking on his door got more aggressive in sound and he rolled himself off his bed and shuffled a few feet before dramatically hugging his door as he tried to shake off the sleep. He began a slow walk towards his front door wondering who could possibly need him so early in the morning.

“-ri! Seungri!” A slightly nasally voice echoed through his apartment as he finally became aware of not only someone calling his name but also the owner of said voice.

“...Jiyong, I’m coming,” Seungri muttered as he finally made it to the door. Debating the pros and cons of opening the door he knew he couldn’t just leave his friend out in the hall so he opened the door and was nearly bulldozed as his best friend, Kwon Jiyong, pushed his way into the apartment. Letting out a deep sigh, Seungri shut and locked his door and followed Jiyong to the living room where he had already began pacing back and forth.

“Jiyong, to what do I owe such a pleasant morning visit? Can I get you something? Perhaps a warm beverage?” Seungri tried to hide his annoyance at being woken up so rudely and still not knowing the reason. After staring at Jiyong for a few moments, Seungri plopped himself onto his couch and had to stop himself from lying down and going back to sleep.

“Ri, Tabi broke up with me. Me! Over a text message. I mean, we had a good enough relationship to at least end it face to face right? Don’t I deserve that much? He didn’t even tell me why. Look at this. Look at what he sent me. ‘Let’s break up.’ Let’s break up?!” Jiyong was nearly hyperventilating at this point so Seungri grabbed his arm and pulled him down onto the couch.

Seungri just looked at Jiyong as his friends anger and confusion slowly started to give way to sadness. Jiyong had fallen in love with Seunghyun, his boyfriend of nearly five months, and was even going to ask to move in together. Seungri couldn’t comprehend what had happened to make Seunghyun do such a thing. Not that him and Jiyong’s lover were particularly good friends but he knew how much the two seemed to care for one another.

After finally pulling Jiyong down onto the couch to try and calm him, they sat in complete silence with nothing but the sound of their breathing filling the air. Seungri wasn’t the type to talk when consoling somebody, he knew that his silence was appreciated more often than not and that people only got more confused and upset when useless opinions were thrown in. After a few moments, Jiyong took a deep shaky breath and looked up at Seungri.  

“Ri...what did I do wrong? Why doesn’t he want me?” Jiyong’s soft voice broke the silence, his heart seemingly breaking with every second that passed. Seungri knew how strong Jiyong was trying to be, knew how much he had thought things would never end like this, and simply pulled his head into his chest and held him.

“It’s not you Ji.” Seungri, finally forgetting his early morning fatigue, wasn’t planning on saying any more. It made his heart ache to know that his best friend had to hurt in such a way and was still trying to process everything.

Seunghyun and Seungri shared two things and two things only. Their names and Jiyong. Seungri never had the time nor the desire to get to know the intimidating and arrogant Seunghyun. Jiyong knew of his small dislike for the man but Seungri wasn’t the type to let that interfere with his relationship. He simply didn’t hang out with Jiyong when Seunghyun was around and things worked out just fine because he knew at least Seunghyun truly cared for Jiyong.

At least he thought he did.

----------------------------------
Half an hour later
Seungri’s bedroom
6:27am
----------------------------------


After a good half hour of nothing but the sound of quiet sobs and sniffling, Seungri managed to get Jiyong into his bed and covered him with the blanket. Within minutes he was fast asleep and cuddling Seungri’s favorite pillow.

Deciding to just get ready for work, Seungri grabbed his work clothes and a towel and headed towards his bathroom. He undressed and looked in the mirror at the dark circles underneath his eyes. After letting out another deep sigh he turned to set the showers water to the right temperature and stepped in. While lathering his hair with a sweet smelling shampoo he began to think about Jiyong and Seunghyun. A lot of important stuff of Jiyong’s was at Seunghyun’s apartment and Seungri knew that there was no way he was going to let him go to his ex-lover’s house anytime soon.

Making the decision to be as neutral in the break-up aftermath as possible, Seungri planned to head over to Seunghyun’s apartment after work to get Jiyong’s most important belongings. Hopefully Jiyong wouldn’t be too mad about him doing it without informing him first.

Seungri stepped out of the shower and quickly toweled himself off before grabbing his work clothes and sliding them on. Getting started on the annoying little buttons of his black work shirt, he wandered into his bedroom to leave Jiyong a note telling him to stay and rest for the day.

Silently hoping for Jiyong to stay for the rest of the day just so he could have some peace of mind, Seungri shoved his feet into his shoes and grabbed his bike. Making his way out of the door and locking it behind him, he headed down the stairs and out the door, going towards his usual route to work. The last thing to go through his head before getting on his bike was the hope that the rest of the day would be calm.

---------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So there's that! Sorry if it was super boring or unnecessarily angsty. I was trying to make it interesting without starting with way too much. Jiyong/Seunghyun is going to be a fairly significant side story I think.

Anyways, here's the first part of my story. It's the prologue because I just wanted to get the ball rolling before I overthought it all. I'm not going to lie, I don't take criticism well but not in the sense that I get y, I just let things get to me internally easier than most things. But I do appreciate thoughts on what you think and appreciate knowing if you believe my story is going in a totally ridiculous direction.

I hope you all like it enough to stick around for the first chapter!

At the latest, it'll be out next Sunday the 13th. Sundays will be my ultimate deadline for chapters because I tend to procrastinate. A lot.

Tl:dr? I tried this chapter to make it not cheesy or stupid or boring. Updates are every Sunday at the latest.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my story!

Word count: 3112

-T.A.D.A