timing | nct

cigarettes

BAE AREUM BLINKED at the shiny, bald head in front of her at the gas station. he fumbled with his wallet before shoving it into the pocket of his sagging jeans and stalking off.

she wrinkled her nose and stepped forward to the counter. "marlboro lights, please," she asked politely.

the cashier lifted a brow at her face in suspicion, but areum slammed her id onto the counter before he could say anything. the man nodded and barely glanced at it. satisfied, he pulled out a pack and slid it across the counter.

"will that be all?"

"oh, and a kitkat, please."

he rung her up and held out the receipt along with her purchases.

"thank yo-," areum began to say with a triumphant grin, before a hand suddenly grabbed her by the wrist.

"return it, now," a stern voice demanded, and areum looked over to see an angry huang renjun mean-mugging the man at the counter.

"renjun, what are you-?"

"you're selling cigarettes to someone who isn't even old enough to buy them," he said to the cashier,  completely ignoring the girl.

the man tilted his head in confusion. "i saw her id," he grunted and areum covered her face in embarrassment.

"what? you saw that she wasn't 21 and still chose to sell her cigarettes?" renjun continued in bewilderment, "that's even worse. i think i'm going to call the police."

areum grabbed renjun's arm, "funny joke, renjun. let's leave the man alone now."

"her id said she was 22."

"well, she's a high schooler. so you clearly read wrong," renjun spat, shaking areum's grip off of him.

the man was beginning to get agitated, standing up straight and fixing the two teens with a terrifying look. 

"you know what," areum laughed nervously, "you can keep the cigarettes. bye now!" she grabbed renjun by the hand before dragging him out of the store.

"you don't want a refund?"

"no! keep that too." she shouted, before shutting the door behind them.

renjun was about to ask her why she was buying cigarettes and why the man thought she was 22, when he was struck with the realization that they were holding hands. hers were soft and smooth and a bit smaller than his own, and the skinship made his cheeks flush.

"are you insane?" areum's loud voice shook him from his thoughts and he looked up at her in confusion.

"i should be asking you the same thing. why are you buying cigarettes with a fake id? i didn't think you were that kind of girl."

"first of all, they weren't for me. and secondly, it's not a fake id!"

renjun snorted, looking away. "so i'm supposed to believe that. and what? you're a 22 year old high schooler?"

"believe me, it's not what it looks like."

"rumi?" a concerned voice spoke from behind them, "what happened? who's this?"

"this is my friend," areum simply stated as they turned to face her, exhausted from this entire encounter.

"okay...," her sister trailed, approaching them awkwardly, "uhm, did you forget to add the 'boy' part in front of that or are you two just holding hands for fun? and what happened to my cigarettes?"

the boy and girl quickly released each other's hands, turning away from each other in embarrassment.

renjun cleared his throat, "so, i guess they really weren't yours," he mumbled awkwardly.

"i told you." areum snapped.

the boy turned back to look at her, "but that doesn't explain the id!"

"it was mine," aeri chimed in, shooting him a bright smile. "i'm her older sister, by the way. i would have bought them myself but the guy working is kind of obsessed with me."

renjun simply blinked at her. "oh," he said before looking around awkwardly, "well, it was nice seeing you guys but i do have somewhere to be."

"don't act like we're keeping you here," areum huffed, crossing her arms. her older sister kicked at her leg.

"yes of course, you go on your way. it was nice meeting you." aeri replied to the boy, an amused smile plastered across her face.

renjun gave her a nod in acknowledgment and then looked at areum.

"see you at school," he offered before walking off to his car.

the two girls watched him leave for a moment before aeri turned to wink at areum.

"he's cute."

"shut up."