13 - The beloved

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Part two: the beloved.

One foot in front of the other; Jeongguk makes his way down the sidewalk in the direction of his apartment complex. It's warmer out now, a sign that summer is not too far away. He keeps his ears filled with music and his eyes on the figure in front of him, identical plastic bags gripped by both of them.

He wonders what he's gonna eat for dinner. Does he cook the meat that swings lightly in the bag as he walks, or does he make spaghetti bolognese? Last week, they had big packs of spaghetti for a reduced price at the grocery store that's only a few minutes away by foot, and since he recently had to throw out his old, expired pack, he grabbed two of them.

His thoughts are interrupted when he watches the person in front of him drop something. It's a woman, and while she shifted her two bags into one hand to fish her phone out of her pocket, something else followed.

She's quite a bit ahead of him, but Jeongguk grips his own plastic bag tighter and quickens his pace until he's jogging. Luckily, there's not even an inkling of wind, otherwise, the paper bills would've flown away before Jeongguk could collect them.

With the money in hand, he begins jogging again, closing in on the woman. It's in the middle of the day, the sun still high in the sky, and countless people are passing by. If it were dark, and they were alone, Jeongguk doesn't know what he would've done. Or, well, he knows he wouldn't have run up to a lone woman like he's in the middle of doing, so he probably would've called out as soon as he noticed her dropping something.

"Hey!" he calls, slowing down a few steps behind her. The woman jumps at his voice, but stops and turns around. "You, uh—you dropped this."

Confusion evolves into understanding as she lowers her gaze to his outstretched hand, and she instinctively feels her pocket. And then it changes further into gratitude, maybe even a bit of embarrassment. She smiles shyly when she looks him up and down.

"Oh, uh, thank you."

"No problem," he bows his head slightly as she takes the bills from him. For a brief moment, their hands touch.

She's pretty. Around his age. She thanks him again with a small smile—one he returns—and then, he continues walking.


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The bartender pours him a second serving, and Jeongguk thanks him with a nod and slides some cash along the wood. He unlocks his phone, and it opens directly to his latest conversation where that menacing bubble still floats. He takes a sip as he waits for his final sentence. What was it this time? Why has Nayeon canceled on him for the last few weeks? Jeongguk really thought he did it right this time.

A message pops up.

'I'm sorry, you seem nice and all but I guess it was the flowers... we only dated for two weeks and you sent them to my workplace without me ever even telling you about it...'

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