~ Kim HyunA ~

That night, Hyuna had hurried back through town as fast as she could, for once not concerned with the looks of the others on the street. Tears streaked her face as she sprinted out of the town and hurdled the cattails of the meadow, bounding through towards the woods. BoHoJa joined her side the instant she entered the meadow, and kept pace with her all through to the edge of the woods. Hyuna had tossed her bag down by the tree line but continued to run through the trees. BoHoJa stopped where her bag was thrown and watched her disappear into the night, knowing that she just needed to be alone.

She shifted that night, and ran through the trees as fast as she could, feeling swifter than the wind. She ran out her frustrations and screamed her thoughts as she made her way back into the mountains. She had run almost up the mountain and back again without breaking a sweat. BoHoJa was there waiting for her when she returned, sitting by her bag. She knew that if she really wanted that secure life of solitude, than she would have to sacrifice a week in that small store. She slept that night, nightmares terrorizing her all through the night, BoHoJa watching her with worried eyes.

This morning, Hyuna had run her fingers through her hair and even put on her pair of pants and tennis shoes to look a little more acceptable in the work place. She was quiet, but BoHoJa seemed to accept what she had to do. He walked with her to the meadow, almost reluctant to leave her side as she made her way back into the city, now early enough to be busy with everyone on their way to their own jobs. He sighed as he watched her disappear into the gray jungle, and then inched closer, feeling uncertain about the situation.

Hyuna ignores the people on the street as she makes her way towards the small Bakery. She wonders if the man from the night before would be back to make sure that she shows up. Her body feels uncomfortably warm all over as she thinks of having to return to the place where she had felt so fearful the night before.

She blinks and stares at the little bakery on the end of the street, further down she can see the convenience store that she had tried to steal from earlier that same evening. She sighs as she slowly pushes on the door to the shop, just a little before seven-o-clock in the morning. The door opens with her force and the bells ring a tune as she enters. The shop is just as quiet as it had been the other night. The shelves along the right wall are no longer there and the broken dishes had been cleared but deep ruts show where they had crashed into the wooden flooring. A long row of glass cases lines the back counter where ice cream and pastries would sit for the customers to choose from. Small tables and chairs are scattered about the main room, full of pink, purple, blue, and green colors. The window to the street lines the entire front wall to allow a nice amount of sunlight into the stop to give it a friendlier atmosphere. A couple booths sit on the left wall for more comfort, and over all the shop is rather cute and would seem like a popular place to hangout.

Just then, Chaelin appears from the back hall behind the counter wearing a white apron with her blonde hair pulled up into a bun again. She looks the same as the night before, minus the powder along her face and hands. When she notices Hyuna standing in the doorway, she seems a little surprised as her hands drop to her sides.

“You came,” she states matter-of-factly.

Hyuna blinks and gives a nod, feeling uncomfortable to face the very person who had accused her of stealing just hours before.

“Well don’t just stand around in the doorway letting out the air-conditioning,” Chaelin scolds, and Hyuna hurries a couple more steps in to allow the door to shut, “Come to the back and help me get ready, we open in an hour and the delivery truck is on its way.”

Hyuna nods again and quickly followed Chaelin behind the counter and down the back hall. A pantry stands on one side of the hall and a freezer on the other. After this Chaelin opens a door to a single bathroom and turns around to a closet just across. She pulls out a white apron and a t-shirt, handing both to Hyuna. “Put these on. We don’t usually have uniforms but it looks good to wear the store’s colors,” she places a hand on Hyuna’s shoulder, causing her to tense under the touch, and urges her towards the bathroom. Chaelin’s eyebrows raise as she looks at Hyuna unsurely. “You might want to wash your face a bit as well. Once you’re done changing come out and find me, we have to bring in the boxes from the delivery truck once it arrives.” She pauses and waits for Hyuna to respond. Hyuna blinks and then nods as she goes to shut the door. Chaelin sighs and turns towards the front of the store, “When you come out turn left and go to the employee’s room at the back. You can keep your clothes in there.” She calls over her shoulder.

Hyuna shuts and locks the bathroom door. She turns and lets out a slight scream, which she manages to stifle with her own hands, as she catches sight of her reflection in the mirror. “Is that…me?” she whispers as she leans closer to the mirror for a better look.

“Hey, is everything alright back there?” she hears Chaelin call to her.

“Um, yes, I’m fine.” Hyuna manages to call back.

She turns her head in different angles, observing the shape of her face. Her hair seems as if it needs to be trimmed, as the edges appear frayed and broken, and her face has dark splotches around the edges, probably dried dirt and mud that she has never noticed before. It’s been so long since she has actually used a mirror to look at herself, and she can see now what Chaelin had raised her brows about and what the people on the street must have glanced at her for. She did look like a mess, as if she was a child who had tripped along a dirt path while playing, too determined to continue playing than to have thought of getting clean after picking themself up off the ground.

She quickly pulls her black shirt over her head and puts on the bright blue one with the store’s name in white, bubbly font. She ties the white apron around her waist, as she had seen Chaelin wearing before. She turns on the faucet and cups her hands in the cool water, splashing it on her face and rubbing her skin with her fingers. She dries her hands and face on a towel hanging along the wall and returns to the mirror, seeing an obvious difference in her appearance already. She pulls her hair back into a ponytail to mimic Chaelin and then stares at her reflection. After a moment, she decides that the image isn’t going to get any better, and she sighs as she unlatches the door and sticks her head out first. She looks to the left to see the quiet hall, and then to the right to see part of the store. Chaelin hurries into view and runs towards the front door of the store. “Hurry up!” she calls as she looks outside, “I hear the truck approaching!”

Hyuna gasps and quickly runs to the back of the hall and throws her clothes down on a table in a small room, which must have been the employee room that Chaelin had mentioned. Besides a single table, three chairs, microwave, sink, and television set with a security camera focused on most of the store, there wasn’t much there.

Hyuna then hurries out front to see Chaelin standing in the doorway. She looks to Hyuna upon hearing her approach and smiles at her appearance, looking her up and down. “Hey, you look a lot better.” She seems to have a better attitude now, perhaps starting to forgive Hyuna for the night before.

Hyuna stands and stares back at Chaelin without expression. After realizing that she should respond in some way, twitches almost into a slight smile, and she gives a nod as she looks down to her feet.

“Well, come on out then.” Chaelin instructs as she opens the door and attaches a latch to keep it open. “We’ll unload our assigned boxes and take them behind the counter to put away.” Hyuna follows her out into the street as a large, white moving truck back up to the storefront. “Then,” Chaelin smiles as she places her hands on her hips and waits for the truck to be in place before looking to Hyuna, “we will bake!”

~ Yong JunHyung ~

After a meal of ramyun and beer, JunHyung had watched some television on the small, out of date box in his living room, which doubled as an eating area. He went to bed and slept deeply, without dreams. This morning he awoke and changed his clothes into his moving uniform. He knew that he was needed for the morning at the moving factory, but that by the afternoon he would be finished and could head over to BiRain’s company building to help in the production of a new single by a local group that Rain had brought together.

He hurries down to the street and heads for the bus stop, knowing he’s a bit early. He stands by the awning with a few others who don’t even glance up at him from their cell phones upon his approach. He yawns and looks around the busy street as he waits. Down the road, he can hear the rhythmic beeping of the delivery truck to Chaelin’s bakery backing up. He squints his eyes and holds a hand up to shield the bright, morning sun rising over the buildings to see Chaelin standing along the side of the road, waiting for the delivery man to open the back for her. He watches as they smile and chat a bit, and then the man opens the truck door and Chaelin takes down two boxes, handing one off to a young girl that stands behind her.

JunHyung his head, wondering if Chaelin finally hired new help for her store. The girl wore a bright blue shirt and a white apron, matching the store’s colors as CL wore a bright pink one. Chaelin talks with the girl and then allows her to follow CL into the shop, carrying the boxes.

“Yong JunHyung, just the man I wanted to see,” a light voice pulls JunHyung’s attention away from the bakery.

He glances down to see Goo Hara standing at his side, arms crossed and a sweet smile on her face. She raises a knowing eye brow as he quickly notices her choice of dark, designer skinny jeans and a light blouse, see through to the pink tank top she wears underneath, her dark brown hair falling just under the neckline of the tank, curving at the tips. She’s a tiny girl, with an even smaller figure, but the whole town knew her as a harlequin. He sighs as he meets her big eyes again, and then forces himself to look away.

“What do you want, Hara?” he asks flatly.

“What a greeting,” she remarks with a slight laugh in her tone, “you never were one for happy hellos…or any emotion at that.”

JunHyung keeps quiet at her accusations, playing into her statements with coolness. The girl waits for some sort of response, but when it becomes obvious that he won’t play with her, she sighs and rolls her eyes, following his gaze down the road where Chaelin and the new girl continue to unload boxes. Chaelin takes in two this time, and the girl follows suit, but only carries one box as the truck driver carries a couple more.

“So, I see that it is true.” Hara says just loud enough for JunHyung to hear.

Without continuing, JunHyung’s curiosity gets the better of him, and he hates himself for it, but he asks without looking to her, “What’s true?” He can see a smirk spread across her thin lips from the corner of his eyes, clearly happy to have caught him in her trap.

“Oh, just the recent news.” She says as she looks down and examines her freshly polished fingernails.

JunHyung waits for another moment before continuing, showing his aggravation through his tone, “which is…”

She smiles as her eyes brighten up and she looks to him with a knowing expression, “Well,” she starts off with that single syllable that makes one sound as if the entire world is aware of something that only you remain oblivious about, “I heard this morning that that girl down the street there,” her eyes widen as she points her head in the direction of Chaelin’s bakery, “well, she got caught at Chaelin unnie’s shop trying to steal some things. The poor dear must have been starving, because she tried to get out with a bag full of the old breads and such that Chaelin couldn’t sell that day. She would have gotten out too if it wasn’t for BiRain oppa!”

“BiRain?” JunHyung looks to her now with full interest at the mention of his hyung.

“That’s right,” Hara smiles with pure delight at his concern, “He stopped that little thief right in her tracks! But, out of anger, that little trouble maker made a fit and smashed poor unnie’s family china! She completely trashed the store, even making unnie cry! So oppa grabbed her up and taught her some manners-”

“Don't exaggerate,” JunHyung shakes his head as he looks to the bakery, “Rain wouldn’t lay a finger on a girl.”

“I’m not saying he hit her, god, I know what kind of a man he is!” Hara feigns being hurt at the thought of JunHyung assuming that she would think of something so terrible about BiRain, “But he did sign a contract or something,” she waves her hand at the lack of details, “and basically the girl is being forced to work off all the damages.” She nods at the end of her story, as if the ending was obvious.

JunHyung watches Chaelin take in a couple more boxes, with the help of the truck driver. The other girl watches them go and then looks to the open truck, where three boxes sit stacked at the edge. The girl looks from the boxes to the bakery and back again, as if deciding whether or not to take them on her own.

“Pathetic little thing,” Hara scoffs, “I’m surprised she even showed up at all. I wouldn’t be shocked if she tried to take the truck too.”

JunHyung rolls his eyes as his lips curl in disgust, “Don’t be ridiculous.”

Hara ignores him for once and watches as the girl walks to the back of the truck and reaches for the last remaining stack of boxes. “What is she doing?” Hara says quietly as she crosses her arms across her chest, “Does she think she can get those by herself? She must not have much of an E.Q.”

“It’s I.Q, Hara,” JunHyung corrects as he steps away from her and makes his way across the road to CL’s bakery.

~ Kim HyunA ~

Unsure of what to do next, Hyuna steps up to the back of the truck and pulls the last pile of boxes towards the edge of the truck. She feels as if she hasn’t exactly done much to help, since she brought in a single box each time, as CL and the driver carried multiple each trip. The least she could do was bring in the last ones for them…or at least bring them off the truck.

Her fingers grip the bottom corners of the box on the bottom and she pulls the stack near. Why is bread so heavy? She wonders as she grunts with each tug on the boxes. She pulls them off the edge a bit and takes a breath to steady herself. She plants her feet firm on the ground and hugs the boxes close. She uses her chin to help balance the load as she slowly starts to tilt them back towards her. She can feel the weight of the boxes slide forward on the truck, coming closer to her a bit too fast. Her eyes widen as they start to tip too far over the edge, the tower looming over her head as it leans back. She gasps as she realizes that they’ll all tumble to the ground, so she rapidly pushes them back onto the truck, but her sudden force on the bottom box pushes it out from under the ones on top.

“Oh!” she cries under her breath as she ducks her head down and squeezes her eyes shut, waiting for the impact.

Before she can feel the heavy cardboard on top of her head, she feels a slight breeze and then something soft and warm encompassing her body.

“Whoa,” she hears a soft, deep voice exclaim from above her. Hyuna peaks a single eye open to see a boy standing over her, holding onto the stack of boxes to keep them from toppling on top of her. He looks down to her with wide eyes, but his mouth slyly pulls into a grin as he looks into her frightened eyes. “You need some help?” he asks as he pulls the two boxes off the truck and places them on the ground next to her.

Feeling frozen from her own fear, Hyuna has to force her muscles to cooperate as she rises from her slouch. She clears and looks around the street for some sort of escape from the awkward situation. She glances back to the boy standing in front of her as he waits for her reply. He smirks at her, shifting his weight to a single foot and bending his other knee more comfortably. He places a hand in the pocket of his blue jeans and raises an eyebrow at her. His eyes are a cool brown, his hair a dark blonde or light brown. His face is round and his lips are narrow but slightly heavy. He seems to hold a sense of confidence, but he doesn't necessarily appear to be too arrogant.

“Um,” Hyuna looks away and strains her mind to think of some sort of response, “No.”

She squeezes her eyes shut again in frustration at herself for not being able to come up with more than a one-syllable answer. She sighs as she grabs onto the two boxes on the ground and heaves them up. She balances them on her stomach line and peers just over the top box to see. She slips past the boy, noticing how he doesn’t make a move neither closer nor farther away from her as she passes, but she can feel his eyes on her and notices how his head turns slightly to watch her go.

She hears him chuckle and then grab onto the last box left on the truck. His feet dance along the ground and soon he appears by her side, carrying the box with her.

“I said I didn’t need you,” Hyuna states quietly.

The boy catches his laughter in his breath and nods, not looking at her. “Alright then,” he says as he quickens his pace and steps in front of her. Hyuna stops with his suddenness and peers over the top box with open eyes. He grins at her and then lifts his own box up and holds it over the two that Hyuna carries. He looks at her from between the ones that she carries and the one that’s suspended above. When Hyuna doesn’t make any type of movement, he flicks his eyebrows and his mouth twitches into a smirk right before he drops his box onto her stack.

“Oh!” Hyuna fumbles with the added weight as she feels herself tipping forward. Her feet stagger to regain balance, making her look like a fool in the middle of the road.

The boy laughs out loud this time, leaving her feeling more embarrassed than she would have expected. He then steps forward and wraps his arms around the second box, his fingers slipping close to Hyuna’s face, to the point where she has to pull her head back to avoid his touch. He lifts the top two boxes off and turns to face the bakery again, looking at her out of the corner of his eyes. “I do think you need me,” he says with a strong voice and a knowing smile.

Hyuna blinks, again not being able to make her muscles move forward. She stands and stares at the boy, open in a gape.

“What are you doing out there?” Chaelin’s voice comes from the shop as she walks out. “Oh, Yong JunHyung, it’s good to see you, how are you dear? Here let me help you with those.” She takes a step towards the boy but he pulls the boxes away from her.

“I got them,” he says as she walks around her, glancing at Hyuna as he makes his way to the door. He pauses at the entrance and steps to the side, looking back at the girls. “Ladies first.” He says as he tips his head towards the shop.

Chaelin laughs and walks forward, “Why thank you, sir.”

It takes Hyuna three consecutive blinks and more will power than necessary to get herself to walk into the store.

Chaelin walks to the truck driver and signs some papers, chatting with him about the delivery and such as Hyuna places the box behind the counter, followed by JunHyung’s additions. He smiles as he stands straight and looks at the boxes along the floor, seeming proud of his aid. His eyes dart to Hyuna and he smirks again, making Hyuna feel sick to her stomach to the point where she rolls her eyes and moves away from him.

“Are you from around here?” JunHyung asks as he follows Hyuna out to the shop’s seating area.

Chaelin says goodbye to the deliveryman and then turns to Hyuna and JunHyung. Hyuna quickly places herself on the other side of Chaelin, to put her between Hyuna and JunHyung.

Chaelin scoffs and lightly slaps Hyuna’s arm, sending surprise through Hyuna’s body to her very heart. “Answer people when they ask you something!” Chaelin scolds and then smiles. Hyuna looks nervously from her to JunHyung, who leans against the counter with his arms folded across his chest a smile on his face. Hyuna scowls a bit and looks away. “We need to work on your people skills.” Chaelin remarks flatly, before rolling her eyes and walking away.

“What brings you this way, JunHyung? How are things at the shipping factory? How’s BiRain doing? You just moved in down the street pretty recently didn’t you?”

JunHyung looks to Hyuna a bit longer before turning to Chaelin to answer, “That’s right, just a couple blocks down. BiRain’s good, I’ll go to the company later today to help finish a song project he’s working on these days. And I was up this way waiting for the bus…”

Seeming to have just realized that he needs to go to work and might have missed his bus, JunHyung pushes himself away from the counter and jogs to the store door. “Speaking of which, I need to go. Talk to you later CL. Nice to meet you…uh…” for once, his face twists into confusion as he looks at Hyuna.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Chaelin speaks up as she shakes her head, “JunHyung this is…oh my god…” she glances to JunHyung in shock and then back to Hyuna, “I’m sorry, dear, but we never got acquainted ourselves.”

Hyuna stares at both of them as they wait for her to speak up. She clears her voice and looks out the window, “Hyuna.” She says softly.

“Hyuna,” Chaelin smiles, “JunHyung this is my new temporary aid, Hyuna…Hyuna, this is a dear friend of mine, Yong JunHyung. And as you know by now, I’m Chaelin. But you can call me CL.”

Hyuna nods but looks down to her feet awkwardly. JunHyung chuckles before nodding and opening the shop door. “Well, it was nice to meet you Hyuna, and I’ll see you soon, CL.” He smiles at Hyuna before making his way out of the shop and hurrying down the road to the bus stop.

Hyuna looks to CL, who now stands with her hands on her hips and her facial expression showing disappointment. “We really need to work on your people skills.”

~ BiRain ~

Rain sits in the recording studio on the third floor of the building he had bought and renovated not three years earlier. Things seemed to be picking up as he brought in more talent and worked with different kids on perfecting their work.

He bobs his head to the beat of the song and taps his pen against the table as his newest additions record the final bit of their main song in the small sound room before him. He hears the door open behind him, but he doesn’t turn to greet JunHyung, rather, he holds his pen up and ushers the boy in. He listens to the kid quietly shut the door and then pull up another chair next to him. JunHyung leans forward and watches the singers finish the ending of the song. BiRain leans forward and holds a button down on the panel.

“Alright, boys, that’s good for today. I’ll get to work on the editing sometime tonight. Not sure how long it will take.”

The five boys in the sound room smile and give him a thumb’s up before they start to chat and laugh with each other as they take off their headsets and clean up the room.

“What do you think?” BiRain swivels in his chair to face JunHyung.

The boy’s eyes widen with Rain’s request for his opinion, but he smiles and looks back to him, nodding. “They’re good. Different style. I think they would be popular once you get them out there.”

BiRain nods in agreement. “They are good. And they will get even better.” He leans forward and hits the button to the sound room again, “Alright, MBLAQ, get yourselves cleaned up and go out for the night. No sketchy activities but have yourself some fun.”

The boys laugh and thank him. Rain smiles and stands up, patting JunHyung on the shoulder. The kid was like Rain’s own son, and the boy had a knack for rap and music production, something that Rain’s company could use.

“How was work?” he asks JunHyung.

He shrugs in response as he follows Rain out into the hall. “Same as usual I guess.”

“And the apartment?”

“Fine.”

Rain pauses at the elevator and turns to raise an eyebrow at him. His mouth twists into a smile, “Have you eaten?”

JunHyung laughs and shakes his head. “I was waiting for you.”

BiRain laughs as they enter the lift, “Of course you were. Well, I need to stop at some place first. Maybe we’ll pick someone up for dinner.”

“Who?”

~ ~ ~

BiRain opens the door to CL’s bakery to let JunHyung in. The boy thanks him and quickly enters, looking around the shop until his gaze stops on the young girl sweeping the floors. CL stands behind the counter, packing up a cake for a waiting customer. She’s already covered in flour and her cheeks look flushed with a busy day’s work. She looks up upon hearing their entrance and smiles.
“Hello, boys,” she calls out, “I’ll be with you in a minute.”

BiRain nods and turns to JunHyung, who continues to stare at the girl working on the other side of the store. She’s turned her back towards them and cleans in an area that looks as if it has already been done, but it’s the farthest away from them as she can get. Rain smirks and elbows JunHyung in the arm to get his attention back.

The customer leaves with their cake and CL sighs as she leans forward with her hands on the counter top. Rain steps up to the counter with JunHyung at his side, but the boy’s attention again turns to the girl in the corner.

Rain points his head in her direction, “How’s the girl working out for ya, CL?”

She smiles and looks over to Hyuna and nods. “She’s not bad, actually. She’s a hard worker. Not much of a talker but she’s definitely diligent. Fast learner too.”

Rain lifts his hands and takes a step back, “You see? Didn’t I tell you?” he smiles.

CL nods and laughs. “Her name’s Hyuna,” she whispers as Rain walks over to her.

Hyuna jumps as Rain pops into view, bending down to her eye level and smiling at her. She backs away and holds the broom close to her body. She, too, is covered in flour, probably more so than CL. BiRain holds his hand out and the girl shies away a bit. “Name’s BiRain,” he says confidently, “Nice to meet you miss Hyuna.”

The girl blinks and stares at his open hand. She slowly releases the broom and reaches forwardly, gingerly taking ahold of his hand. He laughs as he shakes it up and down slowly and looks over his shoulder to JunHyung and CL.

“The girl’s grip feels a lot weaker than it did last night,” he calls to CL, “I think you’ve worked her hard today.”

“What can I say?” CL laughs.

BiRain faces Hyuna again and gives her a wink before letting her hand go and walking back to the counter. “Want to go get a bit to eat with us?” he asks her as he rejoins the other two.

Hyuna stares for a second and then her eyes flit to JunHyung, who’s eyes hold hers in waiting for her answer. She slightly shakes her head.

“That’s what I thought you would say,” Rain chuckles as he nears CL. “Do you mind if I take her for the rest of the evening?”

“No, go ahead.” CL smiles, “Just make sure you don’t send her back to me empty handed.” She winks.

“Of course not!” he turns to Hyuna, “Hey, you’re coming with us whether you want to or not!” he jokingly states in a demanding tone. “Now get into the back and wash up, I’m not taking you out looking like you’ve been puked on by the Pillsbury Dough-boy!”

The girl seems startled by his commands, but she slowly makes her way around the counter and walks with her head down to the back room.

Finally, with the girl out of sight, JunHyung seems to rejoin reality. He leans forward on the counter, folding his hands together and talking quietly.
“So, noona, is it true about her?” he glances from CL to Rain for confirmation.

“Depends on what you heard and who you heard it from,” Rain scoffs.

“Goo Hara.”

 Both BiRain and Chaelin break into laughter and shake their heads.

“Probably taken a bit out of concept.” CL states as she rolls her eyes.

JunHyung nods, knowing that was most likely true.

“Nah,” Rain waves his hand after he gains control of his laughter, “Don’t worry about it. I have a good feeling about the girl, and I’m never wrong. Trust me, kid. I don’t lie.”

CL laughs and stands up, shoving BiRain away playfully, “Yeah and your piece of junk cell phone has a camera on it, too.”

Rain puts his finger to his lips and cracks a smile as he slips his old-fashioned flip phone into his back pocket. The piece of plastic could barely dial a number or get a signal; to try to put a camera in the model would have been impossible.

Hyuna comes back from the back dressed in the same black t-shirt she wore the night before. A type of brown necklace with a feather dangles halfway down to her stomach. She let her hair down and washed the flour off her face. She glances around at everyone uneasily as she puts her hands behind her back.

“Alright,” Rain shoves off the counter and heads for the door with JunHyung on his heels, “Let’s get something to eat!”

~ Kim HyunA ~

Rain took them down just a few blocks to a local outdoor restaurant on the street that would serve them soju and chicken feet. Rain glances to Hyuna after ordering and his head. “You’re what… twenty something, right?”

Hyuna turns the small cup around in her hands, avoiding his eye contact. She had been quiet the entire walk down the road, even though Rain and JunHyung chatted freely with her, practically completing her sentences in assumptions just as Rain had just done. “Twenty.” She answers quietly.

Rain looks to JunHyung with a bit of shock and the boys laugh.

“It’s okay because I’m buying,” Rain smiles as he fills her soju glass. “So, Hyuna, where are you from?”

Hyuna looks up to them with piercing eyes.
Rain smirks as he throws back his first shot. “It’s obvious you’re not from around here.”

“I’m just passing through.” Hyuna answers, looking away but feeling JunHyung’s eyes bare into her, making her face feel like he’s sending fire onto her cheeks.

“Where are you headed?”

Hyuna sighs and looks to the street.

“Okay, next question!” Rain slams his empty soju cup in front of JunHyung, who smiles and proceeds to refilling it for him.

“Where are you from?” JunHyung asks, glancing her way.

“North.” She answers.

JunHyung smirks as he looks to Rain, who shrugs in response. “Fair enough.”

The chicken feet get brought to the table and everyone helps himself except for Hyuna. JunHyung looks at her with worried eyes, and then to BiRain. Rain sighs and places a large helping of food onto her plate. “Eat something, the chicken have more meat on them than you do for christ’s sake.”

Hyuna reaches for one of the chicken on her plate, but Rain grunts and grabs ahold of her hand. She gasps as she tries to wrench her hand free from his grip. Her other hand instinctively holds onto the whistle dangling from her neck. JunHyung’s eyes widen and he stops eating to stare at the two.

“Calm down,” Rain says as he rips his hand cloth in half and wraps part of it around Hyuna’s palms, covering the pink scrapes she received rom falling on the glass the other night. “Having these touch your food may affect the taste!” he remarks as he takes her other hand away from her necklace and wraps it up too.

JunHyung watches in silence, his eyes staring at how Rain lightly wraps Hyuna’s hands in the cloth. Rain lets her go and returns to his own meal, as if nothing had happened, but Hyuna’s heart has leapt into palpitations at the suddenness of his touch. She can feel her face get warm, so she casts her gaze down and nibbles on the chicken in order to avoid their eyes.

After a while, they eat and continue to drill her with questions. Why was she in town? How long was she staying? Did she finish school? Did she have family? To answer most of the questions, Hyuna would shrug or say that she didn’t know. Rain downed more soju than necessary for the evening and his speech began to slur, but she noticed that JunHyung didn’t drink too much. In fact, Hyuna was pretty sure that he and she drank the same amount at that sitting.

JunHyung laughed and he and BiRain they told each other stories, not minding to bother Hyuna with more questions. She would occasionally smile to herself at a funny story being told, or her eyes would widen with the suspense of one of Rain’s many exaggerated near-death experiences, which JunHyung whispered were fake, but Rain couldn’t tell the difference between fiction and fact with so much soju in his system.

The last servings of chicken feet were boxed up to take back to CL and Rain was wobbly on his feet. JunHyung seems concerned as he wraps his arms under his hyung’s and helps him to the road.

“He usually doesn’t drink this much…” JunHyung says quietly.

Hyuna nods, but BiRain starts to tip to the side. She steps forward and helps ease the man back onto JunHyung’s shoulder. Rain starts to smile as his eyes close and his head lolls to the side of JunHyung’s arm. He begins to chuckle and then point a finger at Hyuna, just laughing and shaking his head as if she had just told a funny joke.

“I think I better see him back to his apartment,” JunHyung says.

Hyuna nods but JunHyung seems worried. “I, um…I don’t live far from here, I’ll just head back.” Hyuna says.

JunHyung purses his lips but nods as he looks down the road. The night has begun to fall and the stars seem to come out of the mountaintops but disappear above the city.

“Hyuna,” Rain suddenly says as he lifts his head, “We will see you tomorrow!”

Hyuna can’t help but smile a bit at his composure as she nods.

“You know…” Rain continues, “I think you may be surprised to know…that I may know more about you…than you know…”

Hyuna raises an eyebrow as opens but no words come out.

“Oh, geez,” JunHyung scoffs as he starts to pull Rain down the road, “You’re creeping her out, hyung. And to be quite frank, you’re creeping me out too.” He smiles at her and rolls his eyes.

“I’m just saying!” Rain announces in a louder voice, “For instance,” he shrugs off of JunHyung’s arm and stands on his own, looking at Hyuna. “There’s something that CL and I have been pondering ever since last night. And that, my dear, is the question of why a thief…would leave more than enough money on the counter for whatever it is they are trying to steal…”

Hyuna’s eyes widen, as she hadn’t even thought of the money that she left behind. If she had gotten out of the store that night, she would have been a free person since she would have paid for the bread she was leaving with. However, she had knocked the shelves and dishes down, resulting in her current employment status.

Rain smiles and starts to slouch again, causing JunHyung to rush to his aid. BiRain hiccups and then chuckles, giving Hyuna a wink before turning down the road.

“Uh,” JunHyung fumbles to help his hyung walk and look back to her at the same time, “See you…tomorrow.” He smiles.

Hyuna blinks her eyes clear and smiles slightly, lifting her hand to gesture goodbye…but it freezes in the air, as she’s not sure whether or not she should say something or wave. She awkwardly puts it back to her side and then turns quickly to walk away with her head down, feeling her neck warm as she goes. 

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~ LC ~

Chapter Two :) Tell me what you think of the characters so far~! :D