C h a p t e r  F o u r

“Aish! What’s his name?!” Naeun grew frustrated thinking about the guy she met the other day. She hated his gut but somehow, she loved to know him more. Yes, this love-hate feeling even exists. She straightened her 7-Eleven uniform and grabbed a wet towel, starting to wipe the shelf. The bell chimed as a customer walked in.

“Welc-“ She paused and laughed at her mistake silently. Doing two jobs sometimes made her confused. Why would she greet a customer at a grocery store?

“Something’s funny?” Naeun startled to hear the voice. She looked up and met Sungyeol’s face. Her expression brightened, “Sungyeol-sshi! What are you doing here?”

“Erm, taking a shower?” Sungyeol laughed as Naeun slapped her head mentally.

She smiled sheepishly, “What do you want to buy, Sungyeol-sshi?”

“Nothing actually. I just wanted to see you.”

Naeun widened her eyes at his honesty and chuckled to hide her nervousness. Sungyeol was still looking at her even though he could feel his heart beat rapidly. He cleared his throat, “I bumped into Bomi at the campus and she told me you work here too. So, I thought, hey, a visit won’t hurt, right?”

They both then talked about random things for a few hours that night as Naeun really enjoyed his company. To her, Sungyeol was like the male version of Bomi. Energetic, lively and someone she could count on. They exchanged phone numbers after Sungyeol was texted by his mother asking him to go home. It took a lot of courage and not to mention sweats for Sungyeol to ask for her number.

“See you later, Naeun-sshi.” Sungyeol waved and paced out of the store.

After she finished her shift, she checked the time. It was already 12 in the morning and she should go straight home but she felt urged to check on the letter. So, ignoring the dark, cold weather, she went to the ocean and found Mr. Stranger’s letter. She could feel a burning spirit inside herself despite the scary surrounding. If it was the usual Naeun, she definitely wouldn’t dare to be there. But this was the other Naeun. The Naeun that people never knew.

As she stepped in her room, Naeun threw her bag on the floor and landed on the couch. She didn’t bother to change her clothes and opened the letter in a second.

Scooter? Really? You could’ve done better B) But anyways, I feel happy to know that you’re doing fine. How is the dream you’re chasing on doing? Any progress? Hope to know more good news from you. My life has been boring but something happened- well, more like someone happened and to me, it’s a great distraction.

To be honest, I really didn’t have anything fun to share with you. So, might just as well end this letter. But, hey! I almost forgot. Don’t worry about your letters. I keep them safe with me.

I guess, this is goodbye. Sorry for this very short letter. Till then.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. Stranger

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L plugged the earphone in his left lobe and hummed to the song, his favourite song sung by a ska band. Well, not that he would admit it on any day in front of his friends but L’s love for ska music was complicated. He knew that that genre wasn’t really well accepted by Korean communities for nowadays they would prefer something stronger and more upbeat. He didn’t know what about it that made him interested. Maybe it was its different elements. Or the rhythm and blues. Or maybe it was the walking bass line.

So, ska was like his guilty pleasure. Listening to them made him calm and his friends would definitely laugh their asses off if they find out. Including Sungyeol. No, scratch that, he thought. Especially Sungyeol. He felt a nudge from his side and a grin appeared on the guy’s face, “Sungyeol. I was just thinking about you.”

“I wonder what it was.” Sungyeol raised an eyebrow. “Nothing weird, right?”

“Dude, you’re sick. I was just thinking of.. how late you were.” L pressed the stop button on his iPod and kept it in his bag. “Let’s go. I’m thirsty.”

“Pink Panda café?”

“What is wrong with you and that café, man? Let’s go somew