He doesn't belong here. But he's here.

Friday- The 6th Day

Kyungsoo is flipping the bread on the frying pan when he sees you stumble out of the room, bedraggled hair and dopey-eyed. He smiles as he silently congratulates himself for gauging your wake up time correctly so the breakfast is still warm.

“Good morning!”

“Good morn—, you are cooking?” You break off the greetings with a squint as you behold the sight (and smell) a distance before you.

“Yeah, buttered toast. It’d be ready soon.” He chirps, trying to hold in his laughter as he watches your expression transform into extreme bewilderment.

“B-Bread? Where did you get that from?”

“From G—”, he starts but suddenly remember things don’t work the same way around here and thus chooses the more assented explanation. “From downstairs. I helped an elderly lady moved her stuff and she turned out to be a pastry shop owner, so she gave me some bread… Fresh in, she said… To thank me, I guess.”

You realize your mouth is still gaping open after five seconds and quickly snaps out of your daze to answer.

“You went out?” Your sluggish mind finally chugging to some remote consciousness as you move a few steps towards the seeming apparition.

“And I got a job.”

“A what?”

“As an ice-cream man!” He announces jubilantly. The shop owner told him about the opening around the block when he mentioned he’s looking for a job. “You’d be perfect, you’ve got such a pretty smile, it’s like a heart shape!” She added benignly.

He is just glad he can be of assistance. He isn’t sure how you are taking it though because you are wearing a blank look.

“The gelato shop downstairs needs an assistant for a couple of days because the previous guy suddenly left, so I’m filling in, starting tonight seven to nine, when the crowd is thickest.” He pauses but you still doesn’t respond and he thinks maybe he should have asked for permission first or something.

How does things go in this world again? He can’t remember.

“I-I’m sorry I left the house without your knowledge, I wanted to make myself useful around here and you weren’t awake yet so…”.

Your eyes follow his hands doing a feeble sweeping motion and you register the neat pile of magazines on the table and the floor.

“You… cleaned the house?”

“I only tidied up a bit, I didn’t do much exactly. But oh, I cleaned the bathroom.” He knows how much you hate doing that and it is one of the to-dos he promises himself before he came.

“W-What.. When… What time did you wake up?” You glance at the wall clock.

“7:10, 7:15?” Kyungsoo’s eyes fleet upwards as he recalls before placing the evenly toasted bread on a plate.

“You cleaned the house, went downstairs, got a job… in under three hours?” Astonishment is an understatement. You are blown away by this efficiency that you probably won’t even muster in a lifetime.

“And a neighbour gave me some new clothes!” He beams and gestures to himself. “They were moving out and I held the door open for them. There’s a bag of clothing they didn’t wanna bring along so they gave it to me. Nice people aren’t they?” He mentally thank the courtesy of the good guy above again.

You blink twice, trying to take in the actuality of the situation.

“Breakfast is ready.” He claps his hands together.

You open your mouth.

“Let me shower first.”

As you step into the bathroom, you feel somewhat glad that he seems… normal. Ok, maybe he is mad productive, but he isn’t one of those slugs or weirdos you half feared when you woke up today with realization slapping you across the face.

You brought home a stranger last night. A male. Not mind-blowing attractive, but a handsome male nonetheless, who radiates an aura that doesn’t seem to belong here.

The way he talks with surety and a dash of naivety, as if everything is transient and he’s just living in the now. The way he moves with an air of guilelessness, his big, round eyes squeezed into half moons when he’s delighted… like February’s child.

He belongs to springtime and summertime, to hope and continuity.

He doesn’t belong in a cheap, disconsolate apartment with a person hung up on the past and too burdened in the present to look forward to the future.

He doesn’t belong here.

But he’s here.

And when the rush of water drenches your face, you close your eyes to see a brink of light in the darkness.

____________________________

“I saw an angel.”

“A what?”

“Angel. There were clouds. Lots of clouds. And a person was calling out my name, I thought he was an angel. It’s beautiful… and… I felt happy.” Your mother turns her ailing eyes that now glistens to you.

"You know I don't believe in all that God thing." You respond quietly.


The clattering outside is getting louder as trolleys carrying today’s lunch weaves through the wards.

“I think it’s close, ___________ ah.” She whispers.

“Don’t say that.” You snap, then continues more softly as you lower your gaze to the apple you are paring. “You’ll be alright.”

“I feel… better. Better than I’ve ever felt before. You are happy for me right?” She closes her skeletal fingers over your arm and gives a light squeeze.

You raise your head.

“You look happy today. You are happy for me right?” A wane smile spreads over her sunken face.

“Yes. I am.”

_______________

As you trudge out the hospice to head for work, you wonder what Kyungsoo is doing now.

“Isn’t an ice-cream attendant too… you know? You used to be a sous chef.” You had asked over breakfast.

“It’s only temporary, plus serving ice-cream is a joyful thing! Ice-cream makes people happy.” He beamed.

“You must have had lots of ice-cream then.” You chuckled.

“Why?”

“You always look happy.”

He guffawed at your comment.

“And you aren’t?”

Those warm set of eyes bored into yours.

Are you?

Not in a long time. But maybe.

_________________

Thanks for the subscriptions and lovely messages, peeps! Hopefully this chp sheds some light on who Kyungsoo really is? Heehee... I will explain more in the next chp~ til then~ keep the comments coming! I love to read 'em! ^^