Jinki counted the money in the register before he locked up.

He worked at a small book store that had a dozen loyal customers, but otherwise no one came into. After making sure that everything was in order, Jinki changed the open sign on the door to closed and locked the door. He looked at his phone, saw it was 7:23 pm, and sighed in relief.

Jinki had promised to hang out with his best friend Gwiboon (or Key, depending on her mood that day) at her dorm at around 8 pm, so he still had time to change out of his school uniform and grab his backpack. Gwiboon and Jinki had been best friends for half of their lives.

Both of their mothers were writers at the same company and had become very close, which resulted in little Gwiboon and Jinki seeing a lot of each other. Surprisingly, they became friends and had been inseparable since.

Jinki got on the bus and went to sit in his usual seat by the window when he saw someone was already seated in his spot. Not that he minded; Jinki was a friendly person after all.

It was just strange because by this time of night the buses in his small town were usually empty and he was sure he had not once seen this boy on his bus before. He was sure of this because he knew that he would’ve remembered this person.

The boy sitting in Jinki’s seat had the weirdest hairdo Jinki had ever seen in his life.  The boy’s hair was black at the crown of his head, fading to off black, brown, light brown, then suddenly a shocking bleach blonde at the tips of his bangs.

The boy was also attractive (read: y as hell), Jinki thought. He had pink lips, the bottom one slightly plumper than the upper, a handsome jaw and cheekbones with unreadable, clear, brown eyes.

Jinki was so interested that he decided to sit in the seat directly behind the boy just so he could stare at his head. Or at least that’s what he told himself.

The ride to his house was short but Jinki wished that it was longer. All too soon, Jinki was rising from his seat to get off at the next stop. A bolt of shock and something like giddiness shot through Jinki when the stranger got up at the same time.

Maybe he just moved here? Does he live near me? Jinki thought; immediately perking up at the thought of this handsome stranger living near him.As soon as they got off however, the boy headed in the opposite direction as Jinki. Taking one last look at the boy he giggled as he saw how short and slender the boy was. So cute, Jinki thought.

When Jinki walked into Gwiboon’s room he was not surprised in the slightest to see her lying on her bed with the TV on and freshly painted, dark purple toenails in the air.

“Hey, Jinki-yah you’re late.” Gwiboon said nonchalantly. It’s not like she cared, but Jinki was normally very punctual. 

“Gwiboonie~ why don’t you call me oppa?” Jinki said teasingly. As far as he knew, Gwiboon had never called a boy oppa in her life.

“Jinki-yah~ why won’t you call me Key?” Gwiboon readily replied. Jinki probably asked her this every day.

“Oh, so you’re Key today?” Jinki finally really looked at her and put his hand over his mouth in shock.  “Your hair! It’s gone!” he yelled.

Gwiboon had chopped off all of her long brown hair to an extremely short bob and dyed it black with a few red streaks in her bangs. Gwiboon used to look like she belonged in some Vogue summer magazine; now the only word Jinki could think of was sharp. Gwiboon’s  new look now matched her personality.

Gwiboon slowly sat up and leveled Jinki with a sultry stare. “Do you like it. . . Oppa?” she smirked.

For a moment, Jinki was at a loss.

“Y-yah! Don’t play like that! You’re scary. Your hair really suits you though.” Jinki stammered belatedly, but managed to smile and give her a thumbs up. “I’ll even call you Key in front of other people now because it sounds cooler!” he grinned.

Jinki didn’t fail to notice Gwiboon’s lips twitch downward before pulling back up into her usual cat-like smile. Her cellphone pinged and she typed out a quick text before returning her attention to Jinki.

“So, how was work today?” she asked as she reaching behind herself to grab a manhwa.

“I think I may like someone.” The words had come out of Jinki’s mouth before he had even known it. In fact, he hadn’t even been thinking about the stranger until just now. What the . . I don’t even know his name. What am I saying? Jinki thought. But he already knew that it was too late to take back, especially with Gwiboon.

“You like someone?? Who? Since when? Why didn’t you tell me?!” she accused angrily.

“I-I don’t even know why I said that. He’s just some guy I saw on the bus today. He was really attractive though. And he had the strangest hair I’ve ever seen but somehow it looked really good on him and I just. . .oh my god, I’ll shut up now. Sorry.” Jinki blushed.

He didn’t know he could sound so excited talking about someone he didn’t even know. But I really want to know him. . . the tips of Jinki’s ears turned red at the thought.

Jinki had never actually dated anyone before because he didn’t form crushes easily, but when he did, he crushed hard. He was sure that if he wanted to spend his time on someone, that boy was the one.

Entranced in his own little world, Jinki didn’t notice the way Gwiboon’s smile had long faded. Or the way the edges of tensed before her eyes became glassy.

Gwiboon lied down and turned her back to Jinki facing the wall. “It’s late and I’m tired. . . We’ll talk about this tomorrow.” She faked a yawn.

“Ah, you must be tired after waiting up for me. I’ll see myself out. See you tomorrow, Key.” He chuckled at her nickname.

Jinki got up with his bag and looked at Gwiboon on her bed. He turned out the light and her TV before walking over to her and lightly her neck where her new haircut ended. Suddenly, Gwiboon’s hand shot out to hold Jinki’s hand on her neck. Jinki stilled.

“Goodnight Jinki-yah.” She whispered; her hand lingering for a beat too long before she slowly pulled away.

“ . . . ’Night.”

Jinki still wasn’t sure if it was his hand or Gwiboon’s that was shaking when he left the dorm.

A/N: Waaahh~~~ ch.1!!! This will be my first chaptered fic so i'll try my best! please comment and thanks for reading ^_^