Nayeon was both a lover of money and a lover of movies, so when she had seen that the classic video store in town needed a new employee, she rushed to take advantage of the opportunity. Luckily, she had gotten the position, by way of natural charisma and charm (obviously). And that was what brought her to where she was in the moment, piqued by curiosity.

She rested her chin on her palm upon the counter, leaning forward lazily as she watched a girl in a letterman jacket staring up at one of their screens on the wall. The store was a small business, particularly dealing in selling and renting classic and vintage films – anything from before 2000 was included – rather than selling anything up to date, often including some rare copies and versions for the collectors out there. However, they still managed to have flat screen televisions hanging up, playing the latest trailers and upcoming releases.

It’s playing that Infinity War thing again, Nayeon thought to herself, squinting at the sight of the girl just standing there. It wasn’t as though there was anything more to do; that was what she enjoyed most about the job. It was rarely busy, with only a handful of customers coming in throughout the day, and she could reserve any movie that she was interested in watching as long as it was returned by her next shift. The salary wasn’t the best, but the perks balanced it out.

The trailer on the screen ended, and the girl turned around and started to walk toward Nayeon, who promptly stood up straight behind the counter as the stranger approached. There was a copy of Gone with the Wind in her hands, only to be placed gently upon the counter.

“Hello! Were you able to find what you were looking for without any trouble?” Nayeon asked, though it was primarily part of the routine. She tried her best to not focus on the girl’s big eyes and how pretty they were when they crinkled up a bit as she smiled back, albeit politely.

“No trouble at all. I really like this store,” the girl commented. Nayeon briefly glanced at the front of the girl’s jacket, seeing the name “Jihyo” stitched over the left side of the chest.

Nayeon tried to look as interested as possible. “Really? Me, too. I’m a new employee here, but I’ve been stopping by at least once a month since it opened. Also, are you buying or renting?”

“Ah! I’ve never seen you in here. I’m here every week. And I’m renting, sorry.”

“One-upping me, I see,” Nayeon smirked as she swept the scanner over the case. She almost felt the need to clarify the joke when Jihyo’s eyes widened a bit, but the feeling dissipated once Jihyo let out a laugh. The volume caught Nayeon by surprise, but she tried not to smile alongside the sound.

“I guess I can show you the ropes,” Jihyo joked back and handed over her card, briefly looking around the store before continuing, “By the way, is it just coincidence that it’s usually empty when I’m here? I’ve never asked.”

“I’ve been here for a few days but there is only ever a maximum of two customers in the building at a time. I used to think that it was just me, too.”

“That’s funny,” Jihyo chuckled, “It’s okay if it’s just you and I, then.”

“Oh,” Nayeon squinted at her as she handed her the bag and her card, unable to resist the temptation as a coy smile played itself upon her face, “I didn’t just imagine that flirt, did I?” The tease caught Jihyo off-guard, who blushed a bit when her eyes widened yet again. Nayeon could feel a sense of satisfaction building at the sight, until Jihyo’s eyes seemed to register the chance to strike back.

Jihyo smirked. “Did you?”

Nayeon couldn’t get the chance to retort. Jihyo had already walked away.
 

True to her word, Jihyo was back the following week. And, consistent as she seemed to be from that alone, she still stood and watched the Infinity War trailer as it came onto the television above her, a case in her hands yet again.

Nayeon was at her usual spot behind the counter, eyeing Jihyo and the screen. She was aware of the hype around the Marvel trends from the last couple of years, but she had never given them a chance. Perhaps it had been due to a bout of prideful spite, though she wouldn’t admit it.

Her smile was much more natural and less forcibly wide than last time when Jihyo finally turned and approached the counter. There was something missing.

“No letterman jacket?” Nayeon asked, a tiny smile on her lips as she gently took the copy of Love Letter from Jihyo’s hands as well as the debit card.

Jihyo seemed impressed. “You remembered that? I’m renting again, by the way.”

“Do you always rent?”

“Yeah, basically,” Jihyo smiled.

“That makes it simple for me, then, since you’re a regular,” Nayeon noted. While scanning the case, she briefly looked at the back of the box. “This isn’t as old as the last one you rented.”

“I know,” Jihyo chuckled, “I figured this would be more relatable than the last one.”

“So you like romantic movies?”

“I think they’re really cute. And sometimes a good cry is cathartic. They make my heart flutter, you know?” Jihyo said, though it came off bashful.

“’They make my heart flutter’ is a funny thing out of the mouth of someone with a sports jacket,” Nayeon smirked, handing Jihyo her bag and card.

“Listen, I play softball,” Jihyo pouted, continuing, “Emphasis on the soft, by the way.”

That was enough to make Nayeon laugh. “Right, my mistake, duh.”

“What’s your name, anyway?” Jihyo raised an eyebrow, adding, “I see you at school sometimes, but we’ve never crossed paths.”

“Excuse me?” Nayeon froze.

“School? The place where we go to get educated?”

Nayeon hadn’t recognized Jihyo at all. Furthermore, the fact that she couldn’t even recognize her own school’s letterman jackets was beyond concerning, as well as incredibly embarrassing.

Jihyo smirked. “You’ve never seen me, I’m guessing.”

“I’m sorry,” Nayeon felt her cheeks heat up. “I get really busy with musical theatre and choir, so I –”

“I know! I’ve seen some of the musicals.”

Nayeon bit her lip. “You have?”

She tried not to think too hard about the way that Jihyo’s gaze briefly glanced at her own mouth. The idea that she had not only not recognized Jihyo whatsoever but also that Jihyo knew who she was from her performances was suddenly enough to make her want to die on the spot. It wasn’t that she had little faith in her singing; she was often casted as one of the lead roles, after all. It was just another reason for her to feel guilty for never noticing Jihyo.

“Yeah,” Jihyo confirmed with a grin, suddenly, “You’re really good.”

Nayeon cleared , trying to regain her composure. “Thank you, I know.”

It made Jihyo laugh, but she returned to her initial question. “Name?”

“Nayeon! Im Nayeon. Isn’t it in the playbills?”

“I only open them to check the song titles and how far along an act has been going.”

“Fair. Your name?” Nayeon already knew, but she couldn’t let Jihyo know that she had been paying that much attention to her the first time.

“Park Jihyo! It’s nice to meet you again, Nayeon,” Jihyo nodded, smiling with a wave as she departed the store.
 

Nayeon couldn’t resist the scowl pulling at her features when she saw that Jihyo had come in with another girl the next week, and not just any girl. Minatozaki Sana – now that was a name and face that Nayeon had seen in school plenty of times. And it wasn’t as if there were feelings of jealousy or anything like that, of course not. Everyone knew that she was dating Kim Dahyun. But Jihyo was kind of the only thing that happened occasionally at work that made the job fun, and how could someone like Jihyo – who Nayeon never noticed before – be hanging out with someone like Sana, whose presence at school was prominent no matter where she strutted?

Sana was gorgeous, Nayeon could admit that. She was tall, had much longer hair than Jihyo’s own bob, knew how to accentuate her body with the right clothes, and she was constantly teetering over the blurred line of cute and y. Also, she was apparently very touchy. Her body somehow managed to sprawl itself against Jihyo as the latter looked up at the familiar Infinity War trailer and, from what Nayeon could tell from a distance, she was whining loudly about something, despite the giggling and grins coming from Jihyo in response.

Guess we won’t be talking as much, Nayeon huffed, but quickly switched on her customer service persona once Jihyo and Sana walked over to her.

“Hey, Nayeon,” Jihyo greeted Nayeon with a wide smile, her mood seemingly more chipper than Nayeon is used to seeing; literally. After the previous week, Nayeon had sought out Jihyo’s presence in the hallway during school hours at any given moment. Sometimes she could catch her – which was more than she could say prior to their store encounters – but Jihyo was very elusive, somehow. Nayeon almost considered attending a softball game just to further her quest in solidifying the idea that Jihyo does, in fact, exist at their school, but Jeongyeon had only laughed in her face and convinced her it was an incredibly dumb idea.

Nayeon made sure to make eye contact with both of them, “Hello! How has your day been?”

“Nayeon! I didn’t know you worked here,” Sana beamed, genuinely seeming very pleasantly surprised. Nayeon wasn’t sure if she liked or disliked that part of Sana – the overly sincere bubbliness – but she mostly wanted Sana to just not be there in general in the moment.

“It’s good to see you, Sana!” Nayeon said, grateful that it sounded convincing.

“You, too! I’m excited for the Spring musical!”

“Thank you,” Nayeon swiftly took the card and copy of Singin’ in the Rain from Jihyo, who gave her another personal smile. Jihyo didn’t seem to mind that Sana was talking more, even if Nayeon did. She already knew that it was meant to be a rental, so she didn’t hesitate to grab the scanner.

“Are you going to see Infinity War, Nayeon?” Jihyo asked suddenly.

Nayeon cursed herself for sounding incredibly awkward, “Uh—”

“Do you not like the Marvel movies either?” Sana interrupted, eyes widened as though she found her own kin.

Jihyo laughed, “Sana feels like she’s the only one.”

“Harry Potter is better! I don’t get why you love them so much, Jihyo,” Sana pouted, “It’s just a bunch of boys and a hot girl with no powers. They could all have wands and magic!”

“There are two female Avengers, and one does have powers! Natasha and Wanda.”

Sana frowned, “See? I don’t even know which one of those is the one I meant.”

Jihyo didn’t seem bothered at all. In fact, she looked more amused and unsurprised if anything, with the occasional lighthearted eyeroll. However, Nayeon decided to feel bothered for her, for whatever reason.

“Yeah, I was thinking about seeing it,” she said after clearing and putting the case into the bag. She tried not to feel too proud of the way Jihyo’s eyes lit up a bit.

“Nayeon! I thought I could trust you!” Sana whined, the pout back on her face.

Nayeon shrugged. “I’m not to be trusted, I guess.”

“I trust you, don’t worry,” Jihyo grinned, and both she and Sana waved goodbye once Nayeon handed her the bag.

Great, Nayeon groaned. She would need to start binging the Marvel movies that night if she had any chance of understanding anything about it by the following week. She had to be trusted that she hadn’t just lied to Jihyo’s face.
 

She hadn’t meant to like it as much as she did. It was already a big enough blow that she would force herself through them at all over some girl, of all things, but it was a huge hit to her pride when she ended up actually enjoying them. She had asked Jeongyeon to watch them with her, though it was a quick lesson in discovering that Jeongyeon’s taste in men is abysmal. Thanos? Really?

But it gave her something to talk to Jihyo about for the next time, at least.

“You always watch that trailer when you’re in here,” Nayeon commented when Jihyo approached her the following week, wearing the old letterman jacket. She added, “There’s always YouTube if you want to watch it at home.”

Jihyo took no offense and chuckled, “Who says I’m not watching it every chance I get, home or not?”

“God, please tell me you’re not doing that,” Nayeon gaped, hand paused midway through grabbing the copy of Titanic from Jihyo’s hands.

“No,” Jihyo grinned, “I only watch it here since it always seems to come on. I rarely look it up when I’m home. But I really do love those movies, I think they’re awesome. The trailer just gets me really excited for the new one!”

“Who’s your favorite?” Nayeon asked, finally grabbing the case and scanning it. She bites down a smile when Jihyo’s face lights up, her smile already wider and ready to open as she hands over her card.

“Thor! He’s really funny, and he’s got a really good heart on top of it.”

Nayeon snickered, “Sounds like me.”

“I guess I’ll learn that with more time together, right?” Jihyo remarked.

Nayeon smirked, meeting Jihyo’s gaze as she handed her the bag and returned her card. “Oh? I haven’t seen the flirty Jihyo in a couple of weeks.”

Jihyo pumped her eyebrows a single time, puffing her jacket momentarily. “It’s the jacket.”

“I mean,” Nayeon raised an eyebrow, “you look pretty good in it.”

“So now you’re flirting?”

“I was thinking about it,” Nayeon shrugged, averting her eyes. The fact that Jihyo hadn’t already walked away was new.

“You’re really pretty, you know,” Jihyo stated. The way it came out of was cool enough, but a quick glance from Nayeon was enough to tell her that Jihyo was blushingly bashful again.

“I know,” Nayeon leaned on the counter, arms crossed, “I’m glad you do, too.”

“I can’t tell if you’re just super confident or trying to deflect my compliments,” Jihyo laughed, unwavering from her spot despite Nayeon’s sudden proximity.

Nayeon tried her best not to flinch at the accusation. “I’m confident enough to ask you out.”

Jihyo scoffed, though it was more amused than anything, “You barely know me. You didn’t even know I went to your school.”

“That was unintentional,” Nayeon winced, “I don’t really pay attention when I’m in the hallway or at lunch. And we’ve never had a class together! I notice you now, when I look.”

“You look for me now?”

Nayeon regretted her wording, not having intended to admit that. “Er, well, you know how it is. Once you notice something, you can’t stop noticing it? That sort of thing.”

“You haven’t said hello or anything,” Jihyo raised an eyebrow.

Nayeon rolled her eyes. “I’m not going to walk across a sea of students to say ‘hey.’”

“Damn, you really do look for me, then. I thought you meant you saw me at a nearby table or something.”

Dammit, Nayeon narrowed her eyes. “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

Jihyo snickered. “That’s fine. I’m just waiting.”

“Waiting?”

“You admitted to wanting to ask me out,” Jihyo squinted. “I didn’t imagine that, right?”

Nayeon blinked. “Right.”

They both waited there for a moment in silence, the counter between them and a plastic bag with Titanic nestled comfortably inside. It wasn’t that Nayeon had never been on a date, it was just that it had been a long time and she had never been the type to initiate it, anyway. She liked when people asked her. It wasn’t that she couldn’t, though, of course. Stealing a swift glance at the television on the wall, she met Jihyo’s eyes again and straightened up.

“Want to see Infinity War together?” Nayeon offered, purposely looking at her nails so that she didn’t look too hopeful.

She hated how cute it was when Jihyo’s eyes brightened up again. “That sounds great! Want to go to the midnight premiere this Friday?”

“Won’t that be a little busy?” Nayeon asked, eyebrows raised.

Jihyo pouted a little. “I really want to see it.”

Nayeon held her gaze for a moment, searching for any hint that Jihyo could be kidding, but she ultimately relented. “Fine. Friday. Midnight premiere.”

Jihyo beamed. “Awesome. Who’s your favorite character, by the way?”

“I really like Iron Man,” Nayeon answered, smiling finally. “I appreciate him a lot, even when he has his bitter moments.”

“It wouldn’t be the same without him, that’s for sure. I like him, too,” Jihyo said, before gently lifting the bag. “Thank you again, by the way. When do you get off work on Friday?”

“Eight.”

“Alright, I’ll come around and we can grab dinner, if you want.”

Nayeon nodded. “That sounds good to me. Do you want my number?”

“Oh! Yeah, duh,” Jihyo chuckled, exchanging their phones across the counter so that they could fill their contact information in. When Nayeon returned her phone, Jihyo continued, “Thanks. I’m looking forward to Friday. You can text me whenever.” There was a small wink at the end.

Nayeon smirked, “Don’t send anything lewd. Contrary to popular belief, I’m a proper girl who likes a date first.”

The joke was enough to make Jihyo blush, “I’m a gentlewoman, rest assured.”

“Good to know,” Nayeon winked, all too satisfied by Jihyo’s flustered gawk. The latter cleared , turning on her heels.

“I’ll see you soon. On Friday or in the hallway, maybe, even though I’m sure you’ll be seeing me first in that case.”

“Shut up!” Nayeon called out, though Jihyo was already far out the door. She rolled her eyes, leaning on the counter again until the Infinity War trailer came up on the television screen again. She couldn’t bite away the widening smile on her lips anymore.

She’d pay attention to it this time.