Thin white cylindrical stick on pale lips, inhaling till his lungs begged. Junhong wasn't a smoker. He doesn't light sticks on a daily basis, but damn he needed it.

He needed a break from all the s happening to him.

He just retrieved his reaction paper with an "F" written on the upper right corner together with his not-so-good looking of a term paper with a large

"Incomplete" written in bold red letters.

There was a pang of guilt in his chest not from an incomplete grade on the term paper that he could've finished, it was from the fact that he was so close to flunking the same subject again, for the third time.  He exhaled and watched the smoke come out from his mouth.

It was calming and thoughts actually start running through his mind again.

What will he say to his parents?

What will he say to his aunt and uncle who have been looking out for him since he went to Seoul to attend university?

He couldn't formulate the perfect answer so he inhales again and again until his lungs hurt.

"Oh whatever." he thought, smirking through gritted teeth.

Junhong gasps as he felt the cigarette slip out of his mouth. Someone had pulled it out.

"Holy f--,"

"You're not supposed to smoke, idiot." A young petite girl had said, stepping onto the fragile little stick before he could even protest.

Oh he almost forgot how would he tell his favorite cousin who looks up on him?

"And you're not supposed to call me an idiot, little punk." He says ruffling the girl's hair making sure the pigtails get ruined. It had been a hobby to wait for Yeri after class and go home together, it was probably because he wasn't a good student when he was her age, often wandered around the streets until evening. Not that he was being a good model now but prevention is always better than cure. After all, he thinks his little cousin deserves better, so much better than him.

"Don't you dare smoke again, you little piece of sh*t." she says, murmuring the last few words as if hesitant to say it.

Junhong knows that it's not good for Yeri to say such words but he chuckled anyway, gripping on his skateboard tighter, smiling at the fact that his cousin was growing up though the fact that she looks up to him was a big bother. He was never a good example.

"Then don't you dare say foul words ever again Kim Yerim, understand?" He pauses trying to look a little serious but to no avail. He gets elbowed in the gut instead.

"I was serious, little kid. If you keep up the foul words boys wouldn't be interested in you."

Yeri tries to walk faster but Junhong catches up almost immediately.

"It doesn't matter since you punched the last guy I talked to."

"Talked to?" Junhong laughs now. "He was holding your hand trying to get a goodbye kiss and mind you, you were just 15 that time." He gets elbowed again this time with full force that it actually hurts. Yeri tries to run away but stops when she hears "Ice cream. My treat." and walks right back. "We've got something to talk about anyway." Junhong places his hand atop of the little girl's head.

It took them ten minutes to get to the Ice cream parlor, there he tells her about his standing in literature class and she pouts.

"No way! There’s no way TA Irene would give out an F, I mean look at her she’s so fluffy and kind."

He glares for a second before taking out his papers to show her.

"But kid, grades doesn't really rely on the fluffiness and kindness of the TA. She's really really beautiful though." Yeri slams the paper on the table so loud that people actually looked at them.

"Is it me or you purposely placed yourself in this situation to take the subject again because you want to see Bae Irene, Huh!?"

"What? No way, she's beautiful but definitely not my type."

"I have a chance actually." He adds.

"On your TA?" Yeri asks and he answers right ahead.

"Jesus, no! What's running on your mind little kid?" he protests. Almost wanting to hit the girl for the crazy idea.

"We as in those who are on the verge of failing were given an assignment of some sort." she signals for him to continue.

"Since we got almost straight Fs and , she de--"

She interrupted with a "You deserved it."

"Thank you for the encouragement dear cousin." He said sarcastically. "TA said she's so over assigning books for us to read and make reaction to and decided that we create our own work of literature be it a poem, a short story or due by the end of the semester. The longer the better I guess."

"Wow" was all his cousin could say.

--

9:49

His paper was still blank, he had been staring at it for quite a while now. His food almost untouched. Junhong wondered why he went to a nearby cafeteria when his cousin told him to go out to breathe in ideas but obviously he got nothing but a plate of greasy pasta and a tall frappe.

Nothing seems worthy to be written about but it's not as if he was a good writter. He's a ty person and a ty writer as well. The last time he was asked to produce a piece of his work, he wrote "An ode to the Baseball bat" and earned a D-. Atleast it wasn't an F, he thought back then.

The amount of people was decreasing as the night deepens and it was his cue to stop he was not doing and take a break first. The pasta was already begging to be eaten, and the whip cream couldn't wait any longer. So he eats and he realizes that there are lots of things to be written about. The world around the cafe, the food, the people, the smooth music playing right now but he discards it all with the thought that it's not worth the ink (or maybe he's just too lazy to write).

It was around 10:45 and he's halfway to finishing pasta. Only three of the tables were occupied but what the heck, the sign outside says 24 hours though he already feels the sleepiness of the crew seeping in, it changes the mood of the cafe. He checks on his work still unstained by ink and slightly loses hope on ever passing the subject. He needs to be home soon because Yeri's parents nag more than his real parents ever did and probably nags more than any parents that ever existed, their whole family is ideal so genuinely kind and cuddly and it's he doesn't deserve it, but now’s not the right time to think about it. Especially now that the bells atop the door chimes and someone just came in.

"Dinner at 10:45, really?" He thought not even wanting to look at who the person was. He might be wrong it could be a teenager wanting to have a drink or a student just like him wanting to do work in the now silent cafe but who cares he thought as he continued on eating his pasta.

And then he sees her a slightly tall girl with a weird color of hair in a nice blue dress, she was in the adjacent seat from him. She was pale and though most of the skin in her arms were covered with the light colored cardigan she's wearing he sees it, he sees the rash like marks on her skin. He thinks he's weird for actually thinking that it looked nice on her, for thinking that rash looked like genuine art on someone. She wasn't even "that" beautiful and by "that" he meant the TA Irene kind of beauty (which is almost unattainable). She was attractive in an intriguing way, in way you'd want to look more so see if it's real or not. And so he does. He looks stares and as he was observing the long lashes he realizes that the girl was looking back at him, the big black orbs disappeared to a crescent shape as she smiled at him pointing her lips. He doesn't get it at first but comes to the realization that he has sauce all over his lips. Junhong hears the girl chuckle as he wipes off the sauce, he looks down and hopes that his cheeks weren't as red as the pasta sauce earlier because it sure felt like it was burning. He didn't try to look at her after that just finished eating and started scribbling notes on the piece of paper he brought.

By the time he finishes writing the girl was already gone and he was the only costumer left on the cafe.

He sighs and walks his way home silently.

I tried to stop but how can I not stare

when the lights are dancing on your hair

walking slowly with your dress so blue

would you tell me 'who are you?'

I don't know what I'd gotten myself into

but my eyes seemed stuck on you

f**k, why am I writing in rhymes

In a matter of five I experienced the four seasons

the red marks mapping your skin reminds me of summer

pale white skin of winter

smile as warm as spring

changed my tint like the fall

and why am I writing weird things

This is .

I hope I can see you again, stranger.

A/N: Had the urge to update yesterday and came up wih this (carelessly written) chapter. Sorry for that.
            So yeah, talk to me.