With a tired sigh and a quick swipe against her forehead, Hyoyeon stood up and stretched her arms above her head.  A tiny squeak emerged from the back of and her loose shirt rose up over her midriff, exposing the mildly toned expanse of her abs.  “Ugh!” she exhaled, threading a stray strand of hair behind her ear, annoyed the ponytail hadn’t done its job entirely.

                Moving was certainly hard work.  She’d had help enough to get everything in one go but since it was just her, unpacking and putting everything up was a daunting task.  Hyoyeon placed her hands on her hips and surveyed the rest of her disheveled apartment: boxes, both empty and not, were strewn everywhere; furniture had yet to be arranged to her liking with the sofa and a brown recliner resting cockeyed from the wall; and her walls were pitifully bare.  She grimaced at the boring, taupe color and narrowed her eyes, hoping it would help the scene look less… sparse.  It didn’t.

                “Fine!” she huffed when the rest of the boxes continued to silently yell at her to finish.  “I’ll finish soon, but I need a break,” the slim, young woman laughed at herself, checking her sports watch to confirm the time.  It was a bit early for dinner but if she headed out now, she could at least miss the worst of the five o’clock traffic.

                That was more than incentive enough to hurry.  Wasting no time, Hyoyeon shoved several half-full boxes to the side, gathered the empty ones she could carry, and put them by the door to take with her on her way out.  Running to the bathroom, she checked to make sure her appearance was passable: frizzy, honey colored hair was pulled back and out of her face, revealing a pale complexion – if slightly flushed from moving stuff; small, dark brown eyes framing a normal enough nose; and clothes more fitting for the gym than actually going out.  But they weren’t dirty and she was feeling lazy after going through boxes all day.

                “Good enough,” she beamed at herself, confirming there was nothing in her teeth before she turned away and snagged her shoes.  Finding a clean pair of socks was a different matter and she eventually settled for none at all to save time.

                Outside, the weather was warm with just the hint of a chill in the air.  Tall buildings rose up around her, blocking out the sun with the man-made spires.  Pedestrians dotted the sidewalks while vehicles zoomed by to the music of their own making.  The people here certainly liked using their horns…  As for her, she preferred walking for the time being.  It didn’t hurt she didn’t have a car yet and the public transportation system was not great but it worked well enough for her purposes.

                The bus stopped a couple blocks from her new apartment and dropped her off within a couple of her new work place and that as all she needed for the moment.  Shopping was a pain unless she wanted to get a taxi but that was expensive.  But in general, her feet worked quite well and the concrete passed swiftly with each step she took.  There was a Thai place not that far down the street she’d noticed on the way in and Hyoyeon wanted to check it out.

                Pedestrians wandered by her, some moving in a hurry while others took their time.  A few even smiled at her, a gesture she reciprocated brightly, giggling when her stomach growled.  Needing no further reminder, she picked up her pace and reached the Thai Garden shortly.  It was a neat little restaurant: little more than a hole in the wall with a fading neon light sign paired with a bowl of what she presumed was curry.  She’d always been told the places that looked the worst often had the best food.  If not, this was going to be interesting.

                Thirty seven minutes later, Hyoyeon was fed, satisfied, and out the door with a pleasant food buzz.  Her friends had been right.  The food was exceptional.  She hadn’t known what to choose and just asked the waitress what she would recommend.  Whatever the dish was, it had been tasty.

                The smell of Thai spices and curry wafted out after her as she paused to raise her hands above her head and stretch, giggling when her shirt rode up again.  “The only thing that would make me happier now would be a coffee,” she murmured, head swiveling in either direction to see if there was a shop nearby.

                Nothing rose into sight immediately so she pulled out her phone and googled coffee shops in her general vicinity.  A few options popped up.  The big ones she knew – Starbucks, Panera, and the like – but the rest sounded like independent shops or local chains.  Scrolling through the entries, she closed her eyes and picked one at random, grinning when The Grind Shop was her selection.  With a shrug and a bounce in her step, she eased through the growing five o’clock crowd to her destination.  Taking another cue from the barista, she walked away with a subtly sweet latte, sighing in contentment as she moved.

                Warm liquid heated her up from the inside out and she cupped the container in both hands, letting the warmth seep into her palms.  Fully caught in the worst of the foot and car traffic, Hyoyeon decided she didn’t want to brave the crowds to get back to her apartment and wandered around the sidewalks instead, taking in the new sights.

                On the way, she noticed several other eateries she wouldn’t mind stopping at eventually.  There were also shops that looked cute and a few with clothes she would have loved to try on.  The angel on her shoulder eventually won out and told her to wait until she was actually settled in before she decided to go shopping like that.  Not too far from her apartment was a gym too.  Peering into the establishment from the outside, it looked really nice: two stories with an indoor running track, lots of free weight machines, and plenty of cardio equipment.  She decided she would check out the rates later, but for now, her fridge was bare and a quick stop at the small grocery store around the block would remedy that.

                Dropping her empty cup off in the trashcan on the sidewalk, Hyoyeon bounced into the brightly lit store, threading her way through people somewhat uncertainly.  She didn’t know where anything was and she didn’t want to get in the way of other busy shoppers so she kind of just moseyed between the aisles, holding lightly to a handcart.  She really didn’t want to take too much home just yet.

                Eventually, she found her way to the deli section and was trying to decide on a cut of meat to buy when a glimmer of something silver in the corner of her eye caught her attention.  Chirping curiously, she turned and blinked as the silver turned out to be someone’s hair color.  And he was cute too.  Even in profile.

                Shoulder length strands of straight hair brushed his shirt as he frowned thoughtfully, narrow eyes nearly closed in his scrutiny.  Hyoyeon’s gaze traced up and down him quickly, taking in the relaxed blue jeans and white tee shirt with something on the front.  She couldn’t make out the writing and didn’t want to look like she was staring by angling for a better look, even if she kind of was.  He had a flannel, long-sleeved shirt wrapped around his waist and obviously washed, white shoes.  That or they were brand new.

                She smiled when he did as he found something he wanted and leaned forward to grab a packet of some sort of beef.  It made her wonder if he was a good cook and then she laughed at herself with how silly the thought was.  “Quit it you,” she snorted, shaking her head in embarrassed amusement.  “Pick your meat, go to the checkout, and go home,” she reminded herself with a cringing glance at her watch.  She’s spent far more time out and about than intended and it would be quite late by the time she was finished unpacking if she actually got around to it that evening.

                At last, she made her selection and stood up, looking around for the cute stranger just in case.  A mild pang of disappointment hit her when she didn’t see him but that was how it went sometimes.  There would be others at some point.  And it wasn’t like she was looking to start anything anyway.  Lugging the hefty cart to the front of the store where a few lengthy lines awaited her, Hyoyeon debated leaving it and just going home, but then that would have wasted the time spent and she was too invested to do that.

                Plus… she saw the cute guy again.  He was already in line but there were a couple people ahead of him so he would be there for a little while yet.  “Hmm,” she hummed to herself thoughtfully, wandering towards the line he was in almost comically, taking slow, awkward steps while she swung the cart from one side of her to the other.  “I suppose it could be worse.”

                It was a relief to set the handcart down and even more pleasing to lean over and catch another glimpse of the mystery man.  Nice broad shoulders were easy to see from her current view and he had a lovely V frame as evidenced by the way the shirt hugged his waist.  Unfortunately, it hid his and she wondered if it matched the rest of his physique.

                As if he could sense her scrutiny, the stranger shifted and looked around, eyes moving in her direction.  Hyoyeon gasped slightly and immediately tried to hide behind the slightly taller woman in front of her, feeling a flush warm her cheeks.  “Now you’re just being silly,” she chided herself, taking a breath and pushing the grocery items closer when the line moved again.  When they stopped, she played with her fingers and then leaned around the shopper in front of her to get another glimpse of him.

                He was flipping through a magazine this time, his face in profile again.  He really was quite handsome.  She was rather enchanted by him so that she didn’t notice initially when he was looking at her in the corner of his eyes.  An amused smile pulled at the edge of his mouth when she blinked in surprise and darted behind her cover once more.  Oh great.  Now he was bound to think she was some sort of creeper or something…

                The line moved again, she peered around once more, and resumed hiding when he seemed to be waiting for her, a bemused expression on his face.  “Dummy,” she tapped her forehead with her fingertips.  Determined not to stare anymore – for now – she focused on the magazines that had just come into her range, flipping through overdramatized tabloids while rolling her eyes.  Unfortunately, by the time she looked up again to check on him, Hyoyeon realized the cute stranger was gone.  “Oh bugger,” she sighed, setting the magazine down and getting ready to load her groceries on the conveyer belt.  “So much for first impressions.”

                She was pretty sure the woman in front of her thought she was crazy but it didn’t really matter.  It wasn’t like she would see her or the other man again after all.  With no more distractions, buying her groceries and getting home was much easier, though the daunting task of finishing going through boxes greeted Hyoyeon as she stepped through the front door.  Frowning at the task ahead of her, she threaded her way through the partially covered floor, stored her spoils from the day, and came back out to appraise the situation.

                “You know what?  I’ll worry about you tomorrow,” she gestured to the general mess of her apartment before crossing her arms over her chest.  “Shower first!” Hyoyeon beamed, raising her hand in the air excitedly.  It actually had a shallow bathtub and she was very excited to try it out.

                Washed, dried, and clothed in warm, fuzzy pajamas, Hyoyeon flopped down on her bed and stared up at the ceiling with her cell phone in her hand.  “What a day,” she sighed, pulling the screen into view so she could punch in her sister’s number.  She’d promised to call when she was settled and all that and right now, she was close enough.

                “Hyoyeon!” Soonkyu snapped at her from the other end.  “Are you alright?  Why did you wait so long to call?” the older woman huffed on the other line.

                “Relax, Sunny,” Hyoyeon laughed as she called her sister by the nickname she preferred.  “It’s just been a long day.”

                “You still could have called or sent a message or something,” Soonkyu chided, though her tone had lost the first burst of energy.

                “It’s a lot of work unpacking after moving,” she responded, beaming despite herself.  “And I took a walk around and found a good Thai restaurant and a coffee shop and a possible gym and a grocery store and some cute guy was in it…” she trailed off, waiting to see how the other woman would respond.

                Soonkyu’s delighted squeal was answer enough.  “Oh!  Tell me, tell me!” she demanded, giggling like a little girl.

                So Hyoyeon did with as much detail as she could remember.  She blushed when Soonkyu made a suggestive comment and then ended with a heavy sigh.  “But I’ll probably never see him again.  I mean, what are the odds?” she bemoaned, kicking her feet on the bed uselessly.

                “Hey.  Don’t count it out yet.  Stranger things have happened,” Soonkyu reminded her with an obvious smile.  “But that’s for another day and it’s getting late you know.  You should get some sleep so you can finish up tomorrow.”

                “I know…” Hyoyeon made a grumpy face but didn’t argue.  “It was good talking to you, Sunny,” she smiled, rolling over onto her stomach so she could kick her feet in the air.

                “I’m just glad to hear you’re doing alright after the move.  It’s a big step you know,” she reminded her younger sibling.  “And you can call anytime if you need anything.  You hear?  Anything,” Soonkyu reiterated just to make sure.

                “I know, sis,” Hyoyeon laughed, pillowing her head on her arm.  “I’ll let you know if something comes up.  But good night for now and I’ll talk to you later.”

                “You better,” she laughed.  “Good night and have sweet dreams of cute, silver haired men.”

                “You’re terrible!” Hyoyeon groaned, laughing as she ended the call.  “But it would be nice,” she couldn’t help but add, rolling onto her back and cradling the phone against her chest.  “Maybe,” Hyoyeon hummed, a seemingly permanent smile on her lips as she got up to set her phone to charge and turn the lights off.  Maybe indeed.

(a/n: So off to a little bit of a slow start but hopefully I'll be able to keep the momentum going and things will undoubtedly pick up before too long.  Not much of any other characters though they will come!  No worries.  hehe  Thanks for being patient with me and I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter.  We'll get to a bit of Hyoyeon and Youngbae enteractions soon!  Woohoo!)