Lilac Skies

Flaneur

"Don't look at me like that."

The sun barely came out yet but the sky was already bright enough. She wasn't used to early mornings and seeing herself awake around this time was already an achievement bigger than any award she won.

Seri pulled the handkerchief back up to the bridge of her nose so that only her eyes, covered in big sunglasses, showed. It wasn't enough and she still had a cap on.

"Aren't we exercising?" He asked.

"Jogging around the neighborhood, yes."

Jeong Hyeok tilted his head, trying to make sense of everything. He was dressed in his usual sports suit, sneakers, and carried a handy tumbler filled with water. The contrast of his outfit and hers confused him.

"Will you be comfortable in that? We'll be running so much."

"Yup. All good."

Five minutes into the run, Seri stopped to catch her breath. Noticing this, Jeong Hyeok jogged back and waited for her.

"It's hot." She pants.

"Anyone wearing a knitted turtleneck and a thick coat over it would say that," he logically reasoned out, not realizing he just irritated her even more.

Seri huffed and stuck her empty hand out.

With no hesitation, he opened his tumbler and gave it to her, making her drink it like a woman deprived of water for one month.

Today was the first day she agreed to her mother nagging her about pulling herself together. A month of lazing around and ruining her sleep schedule was enough, she began to agree to that. And when she learned that Jeong Hyeok does morning routines, she was quick to join him in it.

"How long have you been doing this?" Seri asks as they now walk the road, her hand swinging his half-filled tumbler.

"Two years."

"Straight?"

A car passed the road and he casually moved her to the side, switching their places with her away from the street side.

"Not really. But I try," he replies, taking his tumbler from her and drinking the remaining water from it.

"I could never."

Jeong Hyeok chuckles. "I heard celebrities have complex exercise and diet routines."

"Not me," she looked up to him, surprised. "Did you really think I can stand being in a room just stretching my body for the... whole day?"

Seri, unlike him, used to roam around their house, the house next door, and hang out at the local toy shop where there are mini arcade games placed outside that anyone can play.

She doesn't usually read books, unlike him, and prefers to play with children her age.

When they were in elementary school, Jeong Hyeok mostly took care of her essays while she made sure she was always paired with him during activities. It doesn't matter which, may it be physical ones where they have to run in the field or academic ones where they have to present something together.

Either way, they worked well and that somehow brought convenience and made their school lives much more enjoyable.

"Some things never really change, I suppose." Jeong Hyeok replies with a soft smile on his face, before increasing his pace in walking, those long legs of his making it hard for her to catch up.

They stopped by a convenience store as per Seri's request. All the running made her hungry and she began craving for instant ramen.

"My manager always scolds me whenever he sees me eating this, you know." She says, slurping a few noodles, the spicy aroma enveloping them in their table by the glass window. "Do I look like I care?"