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Je vous ai compris

(I have understood you)

“So much of the loneliness in our culture, however, comes from the vicious circle people get caught up in when they try to prove they are adequate enough to be loved.”  
- The Hidden Injuries of Social Class 

Hyejin // 7.20PM 

Can I crash at your place- 

Hyejin // 7.20 PM 

Message has been deleted 

After staring intently at the screen of her phone, Hyejin locks it up and chooses to focus instead on the empty street laying in front of her. The night air around the bus stop is getting colder and as if it cannot be worse, she was kicked out of her crib tonight. That old geezer sure likes to go back on his own words, she wondered begrudgingly. 

The sight of a woman with smoky eyes and a crinkled coat covering tightly her spandex adorned figure stands near the bus stop under the dim light. This is the kind of look that will get herself picked up in no time. At this point anyone will ask for her price for the night. Sounds like a good idea. 

Nope nope nope. Pull yourself together, Hyejin. The bucks cannot be compared with the risk. 

She was absorbed in her own mind and took a seat on the left side of the bench in a daze, all sorts of alternatives swirling in her head at the moment.  

Snatching newspapers from a homeless person and sleeping in the public park. 

Hyejin cut the last conclusion with a groan. She is about to pull her hair out of frustration. So much for the dignity. 

“Excuse me.” 

Even when she already felt the weight on the bench from someone sitting at the other side, she turned to her left to find the source of the soft voice.  

It’s a woman.  

Her cropped, brown hair was stuck out of the hat that covered above her nose. She wore a brown wool vest that looked a little thin to her liking. formed a small smile when she realized Hyejin heard her just fine.  

“This will sound weird,” Now that Hyejin thinks about it, her sound is deeper than Hyejin think will come out from a lithe body. That doesn’t mean the woman’s not tall. No. Wait. “I lost my bag. My wallet is in it, including the bus card and… You get the point.” She shrugged but Hyejin didn’t trace an arrogance in her demeanor at all. “So I wonder if you can lend me a swipe. I’ll take it from there.”  

Hyejin does pay attention, only it’s not exactly to her words. 

“You…” Hyejin reached out to her own philtrum to show to the other girl. “There’s a blood, there.” 

A silence ensues between the two.  

“Your nose.” 

“Ah!” 

The woman wiped her philtrum in erratic motion, creating splotches of red on her fingers and near . Hyejin quickly takes a handkerchief and is about to lend it before noticing patterns under her hat. “Sorry.” This is abrupt, but Hyejin needs to confirm something. “Can you take off your hat?”