.·°¯°·.¸.->Autumn Leaves<-.¸.·°¯°·.

1

Hyeri looked up at the tree from the park bench. Autumn was just around the corner, the evidence was planted on the tinted brownish leaves staring below at her from above. Her phone chimed and she picked it up, ignoring the dread that settled in her stomach. She knew it was coming, but ignorance was bliss, as per usual.

It was her mum. Her mum, who was stuck almost a thousand miles away on a business trip, as usual. There was nothing wrong with that, Hyeri didn't mind at all. Her unusual upbringing just added to her pleasant character. Growing up, the girl never once complained of her mother's absence, instead, she felt as if she was the luckiest girl in the world. Hyeri's mum provided the girl with everything she could ever want. A new Barbie? Easy. The prettiest lace dress in the store? You got it. All the love and support she could ever need? Without a doubt.

Despite all this, the unpleasant feeling didn't go away. Hyeri unlocked her phone and sighed deeply into her mask.

Mum💗
This isn't a joke anymore baby, they've declared a global pandemic.
There're no flights back, I'm afraid I'm stuck for the next month.

Hyeri sighed. Covid had been around for a while now, hence the extra precautions to keep oneself safe, however she didn't think that the virus would present itself to be this big of a hindrance in her life.

Her phone chimed once again, this time, it was her best friend, Yunjin.

Yunjin👹
Girl did you see the news?
A whole ass month of lockdown💀
No school, idk it might be kinda fun

Fun??? Due to the lack of transportation, Hyeri would have to stick out a month's worth of lockdown by herself. That sounded Hella depressing. Did she even have enough resources to keep herself going? What if she ran out of Toilet paper? What if period cramps resulted in the need for sugar, sugar that she may not possess at the given moment?

The world was stopping, and no one could do anything about it. This was just another thing that Hyeri would have to do, nothing wrong with that. If it meant that peoples lives could be saved, there was no reason for Hyeri to be miserable. This was for the greater good after all.

The confused girl looked back up at the tree just in time, the first Autumn leaf fell off and spiralled downwards. A gust of chilly wind presented itself, leaving the ghost of a smile on the girls face. Who knew when Hyeri would get the opportunity to enjoy the outside world again? The world was changing and so even if it was just for a moment, Hyeri wanted to enjoy the present moment and the peace it provided.

But still, lockdown? This was new. And scary.

At that given moment, it seemed that the universe decided to take pity on the poor soul in a rather unusual way.

"What the hell?" A boy, around Hyeri's age muttered into his phone as he sat down on the far corner of the bench.

"Jungw-" he paused and looked around, noticing the girl.

"My friend, you know I won't be able to make it back." He continued, exerting extreme stress.

"Huh?" Hyeri thought. "Why didn't he just say his friends name? That's a little suspicious..."

"No, there's no hotels here. No, not even a motel. Look, I'll find somewhere, don't worry about it ok?" He hung up, not bothering to hear the others words.

This was akward. The park was almost empty and the sun had started setting. Lockdown was supposed to commence at 6.00pm, it was already 5.43pm.

"Should I say something? He is alone, so am I, I have enough room for another." Hyeri thought. "Then again, what if he's dangerous."

Hyeri subtly side eyed the boy. He has jet black hair and an intimidating aura surrounding him. His gaze seemed to be fierce, event when it was evident that he was in deep thought. He looked scary- oh wait, never mind. His bag contained a sheer amount of sweets, along with a small plushie bear. He was clearly trustworthy.

"Nah, he's safe." She thought.

The pregnant pause only grew.

Slowly, the girl turned to her side, rubbing her sweaty palms on her jeans. She was about to speak up when-

"Hey, I'm sorry for interrupting your evening, but would you happen to know anyone with a spare place to stay? It's just that I'm not from around here and-" the boy rambled, clearly nervous.

Hyeri's face relaxed into a smile. She took in the moment. The boy seemed to be unable to hide his emotions, despite the black mask that was covering half of his face.

"I promise I'm not a bad person, it's just that I happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong tim-"

"Hey. I was actually just about to offer you my spare room, if you're comfortable enough to accept." Hyeri interrupted the boys train of thoughts.

The boy paused, confusedly. His face displayed his pure disbelief. Was it really that easy? He just managed to find himself in an unknown town, in a random park, and sat down next to a kind person who was offering a stranger a free place to crash at.

"How do I know I can trust you?" The boy asked.

Now it was Hyeri's turn to be confused. These were strange times, so she didn't hold it against the stranger to be precautious.

"I'm not sure, but my offer still stands. There's like 5 minutes til lockdown starts, and I'm not sure you have any other options. It's a quick walk. But if you decide not to come, I won't be mad." Hyeri explained, gathering her belongings and preparing for a brisk walk to her apartment.

The boy pondered. This was the worst scenario he could imagine himself in.

Clearly having no where else to run to, the boy picked up his bag and spoke up.

"Thankyou for your invitation, I promise I will make it up to you in the future." He said, offering what seemed to be a smile.

Hyeri looked up at the brittle tree once again, savouring it for as long as she could. Maybe this won't be as depressing of a month as she thought it would be.