Raids

One, two, three, Jindeok mentally counted as she took long, deep breaths.

She had refused to go back to the Byuns' to get her phone the night before, but now she was twenty minutes from starting her part-time job and she needed it for work. The girl was standing in front of apartment 204 trying to gain the courage to knock on the door or ring the bell, but every time she raised her hand to do so she would start shaking.

Three, two, one.

Clamping her teeth around her tongue Jindeok took the plunge and pressed the buzzer. Her heart froze as she waited for a response, her anxious mind counting the seconds.

. . . sixty-two, sixty-three, sixty-four, six–

The door suddenly opened and Jindeok's heart started sprinting a marathon in her chest. Beyond the threshold was a more put together Baekhyun than the one she faced the day before. His red hair was combed, graphic tee unwrinkled and he was in jeans instead of sweats. He just stared at her as he stood with the door open.

“I,” she began nervously. “I left my phone here yesterday. Can I get it back please?”

“No.”

“Than–,” she stopped to stared back at him. Did he just say 'no'? Why? “B-But I need it for work.”

“Then you shouldn't have been so careless,” he shrugged nonchalantly.

“Just give it back, it's mine,” she said holding her hand out for the device.

“And this is my apartment. What's your point?” he challenged.

Jindeok opened to retort back with something equally as childish, but the words didn't leave her. Closing and lowering her hand she took a deep breath and bowed a low bow. “Please can I have my phone back? I'm really sorry for the inconvenience, it won't happen again,” she said instead.

“Mm, no,” Baekhyun replied.

Shooting upright Jindeok yelled, “Just give it oppa!”

“Oppa again?” Baekhyun cocked a brow.

Jin! Not again, she internally scolded. How could she slip up again?

Huffing out in frustration and defeat Jindeok took a step back away from the door. “Sorry to have bothered you. Keep the phone, I'll be going now,” she said flatly. “Have a good day.”

“Hey Jindeok,” he called after her but she was already hurrying off.

She didn't glance back, she just kept her head down and hands clenched at her sides. Guess that's karma, she thought bitterly.

“So you forgot the donuts and your phone?” her superior, Mr. Kang, inquired with crossed arms.

Jindeok nodded. “Yes sir. I'll definitely remember the donuts on my next shift as for my phone I lost it.”

“Lost it? You never go anywhere, how'd you lose it?” he questioned skeptically.

Jindeok shrugged. “It just happened.”

Mr. Kang huffed a sigh as he spun around in his chair to his desk. He opened a drawer and pulled out two walkie-talkies handing one to Jindeok. “Use channel one, and you have a request already. Ms Choi in 114 needs her remote again.”

“Yes sir. On it,” she said with a small bob of her head. Then she left the maintenance office to start her shift.

It was a few minutes to five and Jindeok was making her way to punch out from her shift. She sat her walkie-talkie on Mr. Kang's desk before heading to the computer to end her shift. The older man wasn't there, probably off on a job, when she arrived but as she turned to leave he returned.

“Ah Jindeok, here,” he said reaching into his pocket. She stopped her leave to wait and see what he had for her. “Some guy stopped by a few hours ago and dropped this off. Said you left it behind at a job.” Mr. Kang held out her cell phone to her and she nearly squealed in happiness.

Jindeok had spent the entire day trying to figure out how she was going to afford a new phone, but that concern was over now as she scooped up her phone with a wide grin on her face. She was too relieved to process Mr. Kang's words right away, but as his impatient foot-tapping reached her ears what he said sank in.

Looking up at the man she asked, “A guy dropped it off?”

“Yeah. You should consider yourself lucky you didn't actually lose it and he was kind enough to bring it down,” he said.

Not kind enough to hand it over when I asked for it, she internally sneered. Out loud she said, “Yes sir.”

“Now skedaddle and don't forget the donuts next time,” he shooed.

“Yes sir!”

Pocketing her phone Jindeok took off back up to her apartment. Was Baekhyun just messing with her? Was taking her phone some childish way at getting back at her? Jindeok didn't understand, nor did she try to, if she did she would end up a crying mess on the floor again.

Once she was back in her apartment she plugged her phone in to charge since it was dead. When it finally turned back on she went through her missed messages and social media posts. She checked her texts last, she wasn't in personal contact with many people and most of the time it was just her friends boasting about an a