To Find Something True

※ forty-one

When Hoseok mentioned skipping work for the day, he was serious. He even urged Jiah to mute her phone as he turned off his own. They started by spending time at the arcade, playing games until they were satisfied. After leaving the arcade, Hoseok treated them to gelato. It was amusing to watch Jiah getting teased by a Italian man while she only stood there smiling, unsure of what to do.

With their gelato in hand, they returned to the car, and Hoseok suggested going to a nearby park. Upon arrival, they had finished eating all their desserts, so they strolled around while chatting. Their conversations mostly revolved around hilarious stories they had witnessed at the boutique. There wasn't a single moment when they didn't laugh, reminiscing about the antics of the Bejiwoo staff. They also discussed the store's shortcomings. Their time at the park was cut short when it closed.

As the park announced its closure for the day, Hoseok drove the car to his housing area, which consisted of apartments with different levels. Near the gate stood colorful tunnel slides, swings, and spring animals. In a separate section near the playground, there were built-in workout equipment, painted with grey and yellow handles. Children shrieked as they chased each other, while a senior citizen exercised on one of the pieces of equipment. On the red concrete path that separated the playground from an apartment block, pregnant mothers and mothers with strollers walked by, chatting with one another.

If Jiah hadn't known Hoseok's life story, she might have perceived their neighborhood as peaceful. But how many of these people had heard his parents fight at night?

The car came to a stop, and the brake pedal creaked. "We're here," Hoseok whispered. He clicked the button to unfasten his seatbelt, which slid back into place as he took out his phone.

Jiah unfastened her seatbelt and asked, "Which one is your house?"

Hoseok looked up from his phone and pointed at a unit with seven floors ahead. "There. My house is on the fifth floor."

Nodding, she looked out the window again. She was watching the children running around in the car park when she saw someone familiar walking toward the block Hoseok had pointed out. "Hoseok-ah," she whispered audibly.

"Yeah?" Hoseok lifted his head from his phone.

"Isn't that your father?" she asked, and Hoseok looked up from his phone.

"Ah, yeah."

"Your father is handsome," she said. "I can see why you're handsome too! You inherited his genes."

A slow smile curved on her boss's face, his eyes still fixed on the phone as his thumbs swiftly touched the keyboard on the screen. "You think so?"

Jiah hummed in agreement.

"Okay," Hoseok spoke softly, his smile still on display.

"Is 'okay' all you'd say?"

With raised eyebrows, he put down his phone and looked at her. "What am I supposed to say? 'Thanks'?"

"No," the woman with the high bun hairstyle drawled. "You can say 'I know I'm handsome. It runs in my blood.' You've got nice red hair on your head, make good use of it!"

Hoseok chuckled. "I'm not Seokjin hyung. He can say that better than me."

"I do not agree. Anyone can say that!" Jiah expressed with a motion of her finger. "Look at me." Placing her palms under her chin, her fingers waved as she cooed, "I am pretty."

Hoseok stared at her in disbelief, his lips

holding back a grin before he snorted and shook his head, looking out the window. Finally, the grin unfurled on his lips.