ARCANUM | pjm.

18

THE NEXT day, the coffeehouse was packed with muted talk and sounds of dishes and glasses clinking. It was a delightful and busy day, but it was in total direct opposition to the unwanted thought that had been bugging you for days.

You only ever wished to live a peaceful and ordinary life, but it seemed like the world had always something against you.

The number of times you gnawed on your bottom lip as you stared down at your phone, fingertip grazing the screen as you compulsively swiped through the messages Chan has sent you almost made your lip bleed.

After a minute or two, you noticed Yoongi from your peripheral vision sit up from his reclining position and rolled his sleeves up, the thin material uncovering his pale complexion.

A piece of tissue suddenly obscures your view of the screen. You blinked before raising your gaze to see that it was Yoongi who was holding it out for you. Your brows creased, and when you didn't move, he uttered a sigh. "Your lip is bleeding."

"Huh?" Your mouth hung agape. You stroked your bottom lip, a wince departing your lips when you noticed the smeared blood on your fingertip.

"Don't touch it," He rebuked, swatting your hand away. "I know something's bugging you. You've been too absorbed on that phone."

"Why do you suddenly sound like my dad?" You pulled a face, grabbing the tissue and carefully rubbed it along your lower lip.

Yoongi watched you with squinted nut brown eyes, the remark flying over his head. He knew you too well, your attempts to dodge the topic wouldn't go unnoticed to him. "One day you're gonna need glasses if you keep on doing that."

"Shut up, you're gonna jinx it," You hissed, throwing the tissue at a nearby trash bin. "And just to let you know, I try to keep my vision as healthy as possible, thank you very much."

The dazzling rays of the sun gave a lovely sheen to his white milky skin as he combed a hand over his mint-coloured hair. "You're always so reticent about your problems. You need to learn to open up sometimes, Y/N."

Your shoulders sagged in a lazy slouch as a saddened frown swept your face. You admit that being loud with your thoughts was a difficulty for you at times. That gave Yoongi and Hoseok the impression of reclusiveness, but they understood why you felt that way.

A graceful figure suddenly emerged from the transparent entryway, a sparkle of a bell resounding through the area. A broad grin spread across her face, as if a zillion beams of joy had suddenly broken forth and taken over the air.

"Yeri!" You exclaimed as she neared the front counter, her elbows lying on the parquet top. Her sun-kissed soft brown eyes twinkled, and one of her flawlessly manicured red nails twirled a strand of her black hair.

"Hi. Missed me?" She grinned as she draped what seemed like a lavish charcoal single breasted coat over her arm, which she had just removed from her shoulders.

"What a surprise. What brings you here?" Although you did not look his way, you could strongly detect bitterness seeping over Yoongi's face.

"Is that your way of saying hi to your customers?" Yeri's laid-back gaze flicked to Yoongi for a tiny period, her head bending in amusement. "If yes, then hello to you too."

"What do you want, Shin?" Yeri tacitly acknowledged the restrained irritation in his voice with a rise of her perfectly shaped eyebrows.

Shin Yeri was a cousin of yours from your mother's side, who also happens to be Yoongi's first but last girlfriend. They used to date amidst college life, but a swelling of a conflict eventually drove them to break up. Although they still welcomed each other's presence, it was often coupled with utter bitterness.