“Why are we here again?” Wendy asks as she and Jongdae stand in front of a shop selling longboards.

    “Because,” Jongdae starts, pressing himself up flat against the glass and peering inside the shop, “I want to get a longboard.”
 

    Wendy surreptitiously brings up a hand to shield her face, not wanting to be seen with the embarrassment that is Kim Jongdae, before accusing that, “You don’t even know how to ride one.”

    She narrows her eyes at him in suspicion to which he only lets out a boisterous laugh and replies, “Well, I kinda need to have a longboard to begin with if I want to learn how to ride it.” Wendy gives a sigh of defeat before acknowledging that he was right. “C’mon,” Jongdae grins brightly, dragging Wendy into the store by the arm, “let’s go!”

    Inside, the air is humid and old fans blow warm breezes throughout the shop. There was a slight dimness that the sunlight streaming through dirty windows and the flickering lights above Wendy’s head couldn’t ward off, and the paint on the wall was yellowing in the parts where it wasn’t actually just peeling off. It was kind of a dump. And that was putting it nicely. Because Wendy is a nice person. Actually, Wendy corrects herself, it was a lot of a dump. (Wendy may be a nice person, but even she has her limits.)

But the gear was pristine- screws and wheels and tools nicely lined up on rusting shelves- and Wendy somehow manages to lose Jongdae- who prances off to god knows where- the moment they step foot inside. Knowing that it was a small shop and that she’d find Jongdae (eventually), Wendy herself wanders around, curious fingertips grazing the gizmos and gadgets that she (and probably Jongdae) would have no idea how to use.

A burst of color out of the corner of Wendy’s eyes catches her attention and she finds herself drawn to the section of the shop where the longboard decks are held. Displayed on shelves lining the wall are longboard with colorful designs- depictions of cities drowning in the sunset, of tidal waves reaching towards the sky- containing details captured with a casual artistry Wendy has never seen before. “Wow,” she breathes out, reaching out to trace one of the designs. “So pretty,” she mumbles to herself.

Even though she was mumbling to herself, Wendy’s voice has always been pretty loud and said mumbles manage to carry themselves away in the wind and all the way to the cute cashier slouched against the cash register. “Thanks.” Wendy jolts at the sudden voice and swivels around to see a girl- her age, probably- seated down the aisle, behind the cash register.

It takes her a while to gather herself from the shock but once what the cashier had said registers in her mind, she’s caught off guard again. “You-” she trails off, gesturing to the artistic board designs. The cashier simply nods in reply and Wendy’s “REALLY?” bounces against the aging walls of the shop. is agape and her eyes are wide and Wendy’s pretty sure that she looks terrifying because Jongdae has always said that she makes the most hilarious expressions when she lowers her guard down and this time, her guard was dropped like an atomic bomb, but the cashier only lets out fond laugh that sounds better than that bell that tinkled when she entered the shop.

“I’m Seulgi,” the cashier introduces herself and Wendy slowly walks up to the counter, mouth still wide open as she takes in the rest of the designs painted onto the backs of longboards.

“Wendy,” she says simply, still carefully gazing at the designs. “Wow,” she says, turning her attention back to Seulgi, “these are really nice. Like, really nice.”

“Thanks,” Seulgi laughs, grinning in a way that makes her eyes curve upwards and her dimple show and Wendy’s heart skip a beat. “They’re really just for practice though.” At Wendy’s curious look, Seulgi further explains that, “I’m majoring in art at school but my scholarship only covers the tuition so this is basically just a business deal between me and my brother- he’s the one who owns the shop. He gets board designs for cheap, I get canvases to practice on and money to buy art supplies. It’s a win-win.”

Wendy nods but before she can say anything, Jongdae pops up out of nowhere like the nuisance he is and interrupts their conversation. “Wendy!” he shouts out even though they’re only about two meters away from each other, and Wendy huffs in exasperation. Seulgi notices the irritation painted clearly on Wendy’s face and lets out a warm laugh.

“Are you done?” Wendy asks, noting that Jongdae doesn’t have a longboard in his arms.

“For now,” Jongdae agrees, slowly pulling Wendy towards the exit of the shop by the hood of her jacket.

“I hope to see you soon,” Seulgi waves farewell to an unwillingly departing Wendy. Wendy hopes she gets to see Seulgi soon as well, or else she’s going to kill Jongdae.