“You’re not the delivery boy,” Irene says, hand stilled over the clasp of her wallet. Not that she’s complaining; she’s glad to have been rid of trashcan of sleaziness.

    “No, I’m the delivery girl,” the girl says, a bright grin stretched across her face. Irene feels her face heating up, and quickly looks away, directing her attention to the floor. The delivery girl laughs before presenting Irene with the pizza and the receipt. The smell slightly burns her nostrils. “I’m Sooyoung by the way,” the delivery girl- Sooyoung- introduces herself, “but you can call me Joy.”

    “Joy?”

    “It’s an old nickname that ended up sticking,” Joy informs while Irene digs through her wallet. “What’s your name?”

    “Huh?” Irene looks up from her wallet, flustered. Oh no, she’s starting to turn red again. (Why did this girl have to be so cute?) “Oh! Uh, my na-”

    “Wow! Is that pizza?” interrupts her roommate, walking out of the shower in only a towel. (Irene’s willing to bet her crapbucket of a car that Seulgi has made it her life mission to walk around in a towel at the most inappropriate times.) She wouldn’t have been as embarassed if Wendy hadn’t walked out of the shower right after her roommate, also wearing only a towel. Irene bows her head in shame as the two grab the pizza box out of Joy’s hands and walks off into their miniscule kitchen, towels slipping lower and lower with each step.

    “S-sorry,” Irene apologizes, blushing so hard, the tips of her ears were heating up. She fumbles more quickly for the money. “That was really awkward.”

    “No worries!” Joy assures, smile not faltering. “It could’ve been a lot worse. I mean- I could’ve heard them instead of saw them.” Irene shivers at the war flashbacks she just had thinking about her bad timing around those two. The college student finally manages to fish out a couple of bills to pay for the pizza that she’s totally not gonna be able to eat now that those two got out of the shower at long last and hands them over. Joy takes one look at them before handing some bills back to Irene. “The tip’s actually ten percent, not 15,” she informs the college student.

    “What? I could’ve sworn the last delivery boy said it was fifte-” Irene pauses, eyes widening as it finally dawned on her. “That bastard!” she mumbles under her breath. Joy throws her head back, letting out a loud burst of laughter that echoes throughout the dimly lit hallway.

    “Keep it,” Joy says after she’s finally able to catch her breath. “If you’re desperate enough to order from this trashy place, then you probably need the money more than I do.” Irene blushes but doesn’t deny it, instead crumpling the money in her tightening fist. Joy flashes her a final grin before departing with a wink and a tip of her tacky green hat, and leaving behind an Irene with a longing stare and pink dusting her cheeks.

    “Hey unni! If you’re done waiting for your husband to return from the war, come join us for pizza!” Wendy shouts out from the kitchen, still only wearing a towel. Irene sneers at her and smacks the pizza out of her hand.

    “She’s pretty cute. Who is she?” Seulgi asks, ignoring her girlfriend’s incessant whines.

    “She says her name’s Joy,” Irene tries to shrug nonchalantly but apparently failed if Seulgi’s and Wendy’s conspiring glances were any indicator. “A new worker, probably.”

    “She was totally into you,” Wendy tells Irene through a mouthful of pizza. “I mean, she didn’t stare at Seulgi’s s even once.”

    “That’s not an indicator that she’s into me,” Irene retorts. “And it doesn’t matter anyways. She looks twelve.”

    “Well, so do you. It’s a match made in heaven,” Wendy replies. Irene smacks the pizza out of her hand again.

._.

    “Here’s the payment,” Irene says, shoving the money in Joy’s face the moment she opens the door. Joy looks up in shock before laughing it off, thanking her.

    “Late night?” Joy asks, leaning against the doorway as Irene sets the pizza on the kitchen counter.

    “Huh? Yeah, I have a chem exa-” Irene begins to say before she’s cut off by Wendy’s super loud moan. She blushes before shooting Joy an apologetic look. “S-sorry, I don’t think Wendy knows how loud she really is.”

    Joy waves it off. “Like I said last time, it could’ve been worse. I could’ve seen and heard them. At the same time.” Irene smiles at her awkwardly as shivers run up her spine. Yes, it’s a good thing that Joy will never have to experience she has had to bear through.

    “So, I’ll see you next time?” Irene asks shyly. Joy nods affirmatively, smile way too bright for someone who has to work at three in the morning. Irene opens but was once again cut off by Wendy’s loud moan. “Oh my god, just shut up already!” she yells at the door to Seulgi’s room. Joy’s jubilant laugh rings into the grey darkness of the morning.

._.

    “Up studying again?” Joy asks with her usual grin as Irene reaches for the pizza.

    “No, more like horror movie night gone wrong and now these two losers won’t go to sleep,” Irene informs, jabbing her thumb at the two huddled together on the couch. “They were the ones who chose the movie, too.”

    “How was I supposed to know it was a horror movie? It just said greatest movie of the summer on the cover!” Wendy yells defensively, head popping out from under the comforter. Seulgi gives a trembling nod in support.

    “There was also an image of a bloody hand popping out of a broken mirror!” Irene yells back. “Did you not see that or did you just subconsciously omit it?!”

    Joy laughs. “Well hopefully the horror of how disgusting this pizza tastes will cancel out the horror of the movie,” she says before leaving once again with a wink and a tip of her tacky green hat.

._.

    “You’re not Joy,” Irene states as she opens the door, money ready in hand, only to see the old sleazy delivery boy instead of the charmingly bright delivery girl.

    “No, I’m Junyoung,” the pizza boy replies, scratching at his crotch with his free hand. Irene stares at him for a moment before hesitantly handing over the money. Junyoung takes one look at her money before stating, “The tip’s fifteen percent, not ten.”

    “Really? But Joy said it was ten percent.”

    “No, it’s fifteen. Here, wait a moment,” he instructs, handing the pizza over to Irene before heading down to his scooter. Irene waits a few minutes in confusion before the pizza boy finally appears again, old crinkled paper stained with unknown, unspeakable ‘things’. “See,” he says, showing her his contract. “It says a fifteen percent tip.”

    “O-oh, sorry about that. Let me get you the money.”

    “Take your time,” he replies, staring intently at Seulgi, who just walked out of the shower in only a towel.

._.

    Irene shivers as the coldness of the stormy day seeps into her bones. She bows to her professor before leaving, opening her pink umbrella, and rushing out into the rain. Walking to the bus stop, she pauses when she sees someone waiting at the bench with only a thin green hoodie to protect them from the rain. She hesitates for a moment, biting her lip, before deciding to take a chance. She steps up behind the person, moving her umbrella to protect them from the rain as well. “It was fifteen percent, not ten,” Irene says.

    Joy turns around in shock to see the college student. “43!” she shouts out in pleasant surprise, making Irene blush at her nickname/ apartment number. “Junyoung- the last pizza boy- he’s my brother,” Joy fills Irene in, scratching the back of her neck, once she realizes the statement she just said. “I was filling in for him while he was in the hospital.” At Irene’s curious look, Joy decides to explain further that, “When he was leaving after delivering pizza to your place one time, he hit on some girl on the stairs and she threw him down them. Turns out she was captain of the Hapkido team at her uni.”

    “Ah, Park Chorong? Yeah, messing with her is a death sentence,” Irene agrees.

    Joy suddenly starts leaning forward, staring at her intensely. Irene flinches, face bursting into twelve different shades of pink, and starts to slowly move backwards. “Hey,” Joy begins, a serious expression on her face, “you like me right? All this time- we were flirting, right?” Irene flushes an additional twenty shades of pink before looking away, shyly nodding. Joy breaks out into a grin.

    Right at that moment, the sleazy pizza boy appears on his sputtering scooter and honks the horn. “Sooyoung! Get on before I leave you here! Hurry!” he shouts at her. Joy quickly pecks Irene on the cheek before running out from under her umbrella and jumping onto the back of her brother’s scooter. When did the rain suddenly get so hot?

._.

    “Did you order pizza?” Irene asks Seulgi when a knock is heard at their door at nine o’clock at night. Her roommate shakes her head in the negative, causing both of them to stare at the door curiously. They both look at each other for a moment before Irene moves to open it.

    “Hey!” Joy cheerfully greets her- tacky green hat placed firmly on her head and pizza in hand- the moment she opens the door. Irene can feel her body temperature quickly rising, a burning warmth spreading across her face.

    “Hey,” Irene says back cautiously. “Did you get the wrong apartment? We didn’t order pizza.”

    “Oh, you didn’t?” Joy doesn’t look the least bit perturbed and instead just hands the pizza over. She doesn’t bother asking for money and instead only leaves with another quick peck on Irene’s cheek. From behind Irene, Seulgi’s jaw drops. “Enjoy it anyways!” she calls back behind her. Irene hastily shuts the door before placing her burning cheek against the cool wood.

    “What is it?” Seulgi asks once Irene places the pizza box on the countertop. Irene shrugs before proceeding to open the box. Her eyes widen at the content and Seulgi howls with laughter.

    Inside the box was a pizza with pepperoni slices placed on top in the shape of a heart. On the inside of the lid of the box, the words, ‘Hey 43! Will you go out on a date with me?’ along with a phone number were written in bubbly letters. Irene practically swoons.

A/N: Written as a distraction while I anxiously wait for college to start. Hope you enjoy! (Sorry for any possible mischaracterizations.)