“Hey, Byul.”

Byul turned at the voice and met with the familiar smile from one of the grocery store’s usual customers. Eunwoo—as she had learned was his name through their encounters—was holding up a microwavable lunch tray. “Hi, back for lunch?” Byul asked, eyeing the food that he was there almost everyday to purchase.

Eunwoo held it up in guilt. “Yup.”

“You’re going to get sick of that real fast if you eat it all the time,” she warned as she placed the box that she was previously sorting through down on the floor.

He laughed sheepishly. “You think so? Wh-What else is good here?”

“Umm, for actual food?” Byul pointed at something behind him. “The Burger King across the street.”

“I actually don’t mind microwavable pasta too much,” he told her, chuckling. “What did you think of the HONNE album I recommended to you? Did you get a chance to listen?”

“I did!” Byul beamed. “I loved all the songs. It’s so… calming. It’s nice to listen to when I’m just relaxing.”

“I’m glad you liked it.” Eunwoo’s eyes lit up like a Christmas tree at her words. “You know…” The boy told her some fun facts about the album and then recommended some more music that he thought she would also appreciate. Byul diligently made a mental note in her head to listen to the album mentioned later.

“Well, I should get going. I’ll talk to you tomorrow, Byul.”

“Bye!”

Byul waved while he disappeared down the aisle. She sighed and checked the time on her watch. At least that conversation had killed some time for her. Only a few minutes left until the end of her shift—

“Ahh!” When Byul turned to get back to her work, she was surprised to see Sehun standing behind her. “Sehun, stop scaring me every time!”

He stood with his arms crossed and tossed a glare towards her. “I told you to be more attentive. What if I was an axe murderer or something?”

“What are you doing here? I thought I wasn’t supposed to see you until tomorrow.” Byul began to count the days in her head. It was Wednesday that day, wasn’t it? They had planned to go to the batting cages on Thursday after her work shift.

“I was around the area.” He shrugged. “Thought I’d stop by and give you a ride home.”

“That’s nice of you.” Byul studied his outfit. He no doubt never failed to look like a fashion magazine model. That day, Sehun was wearing a denim jacket with dark jeans and a white t-shirt. “You’re all dressed up. Are you going somewhere later?” she asked.

“No.” Sehun looked down at himself, feeling suddenly self-conscious in front of her. “Why? Do I look overdressed?”

Byul shook her head and reached out to pat down the collar of his jacket, her hand lingering for a moment. “No, you look good.”

“Well…” Sehun coughed, his eyes flickering to the side quickly. A flash of heat had reached his face. “Want to get tacos before I take you home?”

“Sure! I’ll clock out soon.” Excited at their new plan, Byul returned her attention to the box she was previously unloading and worked much quicker. She noticed Sehun staring at the exit of the store while he appeared to be in thought. Byul waited until he spoke, meticulously sorting through the work in front of her.

“That guy always comes here. I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

She knew who Sehun was referring to. “I know that look on your face, mister. But don’t worry. He’s just a regular customer. No one dangerous,” Byul explained with a shrug.

“What’s his name?”

“I just told you that he’s not dangerous.”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “How about I decide that?”

Byul internally sighed. “Okay, fine. His name is Eunwoo.”

“Last name?”

“I don’t know.”

Sehun inquisitively looked at her, as if reading something off her face. “He’s either interested in you or he wants you dead.”

“Who, me?” Byul burst out in laughter at the scenario. To her, it was more probable that the innocent-looking customer wanted her wiped out than he was ever interested in her. “Guys who are that handsome don’t like me,” she said matter-of-factly.

Sehun felt his eyebrow twitch. Wordlessly, he walked around her and made his way towards the employee room.

“Wait! I’ll clock out of work right now.”

Emptying the last items in the box, Byul darted into the employee room to change her clothes. Sehun was in the same position beside the door when she was finished. He was quieter than usual on their walk to his car. Looking up at him, she noticed the way his expression was pinched.

“What’s with your face?” she wondered.

Sehun almost forgot that Byul had known him enough at that point to be able to read all his expressions and mannerisms which he could usually hide in front of anyone else. She could tell the difference between his usual annoyed-looking, resting face to his actually-annoyed face. “Nothing’s wrong,” he mumbled.

“I didn’t ask if something was wrong,” she pointed out.

When he frowned even more at his mistake, Byul laughed.

The next afternoon, Sehun had been keeping a close eye on the store. He had parked his car in a spot that overlooked the entrance. Dark sunglasses framed his face. Byul wasn’t finished with work that day until 1PM, though he was there early for one simple reason.

Who was Eunwoo and what was he up to? A simply innocent regular customer or something more sinister underneath? Would someone really try to hurt Byul at such a public place? Sehun doubted that he would attack in public and figured she was safe as long as he only approached her during work.

At 12:45PM, Eunwoo entered the store. He seemed guiltless at first glance, though Sehun knew more than to trust people based on appearance only.

Approximately ten minutes later, Eunwoo exited the store with a grocery bag in hand and a big smile on his face. This was when Sehun slipped his sunglasses off and tossed them to the side before exiting his vehicle. An air of hostility followed him as he entered the store, his eyes darting at his surroundings. Sehun, fortunately, found Byul safe and sound in the frozen food aisle. She was too busy on her phone to notice his approach from behind.

“Byul.”

“Jesus—! Dammit, why can’t I get used to you doing that?” She jumped on the spot in fright and then whirled around to glare at him. “I was just texting you right now.” Byul held up her phone as evidence.

Judging by the slight guilt in her expression, Sehun knew there was bad news to come before she even said it.

“I’m so sorry, but I can’t go to the batting cages with you today.” In shame, she was holding her hands together in front of her. “I hope that’s okay. Chanyeol is still going to go anyway, right?”

“Why can’t you go?”

“You remember that guy from yesterday?”

“Eunwoo,” he seethed.

“Well, I’m grabbing dinner with him and please don’t be mad!” Byul blurted out like one long word, desperately hanging on to his wrist with both hands as if begging for forgiveness. “I promise we’ll hang out another time.”

It felt like someone knocked the wind out of him. “Wait, you’re canceling on me? Me? For a date?”

“It’s not a date. We’re just hanging out. And I know. I’m sorry.” She lowered her head. “Eunwoo is out of town tomorrow, so this is kind of our only chance.”

Sehun looked at her in disbelief. He wanted to tell her, Byul, but it’s me. Instead, he steadied himself, gathered his racing thoughts, and firmly said, “It’s fine.”

Byul snapped her head up to look at him, hope in her eyes. “You’re not mad?”

He shook his head and pressed his lips together, not sure what would come out of his mouth if he opened it.

“Thanks, Sehun! Oh, you’re wearing the denim jacket again,” she noticed. That day, he had paired it with a darker shirt. Byul had rarely seen him wear anything twice. “You look nice.”

“Why would you even say things like that if—” He bit his tongue to stop himself from continuing. Byul stared at him in confusion. “Nevermind,” he muttered instead.

That evening, the duo made their way to the batting cages wit