I know you

o n e

❝You're holding me and holding back
I don't really care for that
Just you❞

As Haneul walks to her local convenience store job, she focuses on the dirt and rocks under her beat up shoes other than her rather quiet life living in Yongin Gyeonggi-do. A city around an hour and a half away from Seoul where everyday is pretty much the same old routine, with minor differences.

As an introvert, she doesn't have many friends, actually only one besides her mother. But that wasn't saying much as she rarely gets the pleasure of seeing her between their jobs and her schooling.

As she briskly walks, her eyes catch on the different shiny rocks that crunch underneath her sneakers. While her job wasn't far from her small apartment, it wasn't all that close either. Haneul didn't mind, this was the time she usually sorted out her thoughts.

The recent mishap of the week included one of her good friends, Hyo, who was an intense K-pop stan that knew everything about everybody. The said drama included a boy groups comeback that was just apparently so good that Hyo had started to play it every chance she got. Like every chance. When they were hanging out earlier in the week Hyo had shown the entire album to her and started to play it in the background after the conversation moved on, she let it re play for a couple hours. It didn't stop there, even in the middle of the lunch room she played it in the headphones they'd share.

Haneul smiled at her thoughts. She really loved Hyo, but her obsession with pop stars was out of hand. The only reason Haneul even knew anything that was happening in pop culture was because of her.

While Hyo was more of an online fanatic, Haneul was the complete opposite. She barely texted and didn't have any social media. She didn't see the point when her only friend was Hyo, plus it's not like she had anything to take pictures of either.

However, she loved books. She would trade her phone for books any day of the week and she mostly did. There was no other hobby of hers that she loved more than the pages she emerged herself into. Especially a thrilling fantasy. There was no other feeling in the world than reading a good book while it was raining or stormy out.

As the path finally leads up to a sidewalk, she feels wetness on her face. Reaching to her cheeks she brushes off some rain drops that had fallen. She sighs out a breath in relief as the store comes into view, rushing inside as the rain washes away the last of her thoughts.

〄〄〄

"Haneul! Come here! Come quickly!" Hyo shouts from her spot towards the back of their classroom. Embarrassed and with quickly pink turning cheeks she hurries over to her obnoxious friend. Some would think she would be used to this sort of thing by now since they've been friends for a couple years, but nope.

"Hyo, don't shout I was already coming," She sighs, sitting down while looking around at her classmates that thankfully weren't paying attention.

"You won't believe this though!" Hyo exclaims, ignoring her best friend's words.

"What is it," She asks, not bothering to guess. Hyo was a wild card so only god knows what she's about to blurt out.

"They are going to begin filming Boys Planet in a couple weeks! Imagine how surprised I was when I checked this morning on Twitter, I'm literally so happy! You know I've been looking forward to this for so long!" Hyo excitedly shares as she unboxes her gourmet looking sushi she brought from her house. It looked phenomenal and it probably tasted as such. Haneul wondered how much better life would be if she could whip up something like that.

Blinking a few times she tears her gaze away from the desirable sushi and back onto her friend while trying to recall what she had recently said. Right, the show. Now that Haneul was thinking about it, her friend had been talking about the program recently. Her thoughts have been so elsewhere with their short break coming to an end that she had forgotten all about it, which may have been a blessing in disguise.

"Yeah I remember before the break you had said something about it," She says as she takes out her own lunch that looks much sadder and much less appetizing than the goodies inches away.

"I don't think you understand how important this is, like you're truly not grasping everything that is going to come with this program. I bet you I'm going to end up stanning them no matter the final lineup," Hyo emphasizes as she starts shoving the sushi down one by one.

"I'm sure you will," Haneul shakes her head before focusing on the window and what lies on its outside.

〄〄〄

Haneul wipes the beads of sweat off of her face as she opens the door to her apartment. The walk from school had been grueling due to the sun, which added to making her day shittier ever since she found out this morning that one of her bike tires was flat.

She sighs before heading to the shower to rinse off. She's quick with her small routine as she washes her body lost in thought. Today was filled with more talk of the so called "life changing" program that was set to begin filming any day now. Her best friend was so anxious for the first episode that she was practically foaming at the mouth.

Haneul thought her friend was funny, since she guessed she could be the same way about books and specific dramas. But she supposed this was what being a teen girl was all about.

Getting out of the shower, she throws her sweaty school uniform into her dirty laundry and puts on one of her many work uniforms. She didn't bother to wash her hair, knowing it would get frizzy with this humidity, and threw it up into a ponytail.

If she was going to survive this walk to her job, it needed to be out of her face. Normally she doesn't mind the walks, but lately they had gotten a random heat wave that was making her sweat like crazy. By heat wave, she meant weather that didn't necessarily require a jacket. But anything less than the cold was her enemy on these walks.

Grabbing a full water bottle and her everyday bag, she sets out for her evening shift.

As her sight finally sets onto her job once more, her vision couldn't help but be caught over to the management institute. It wasn't that far away, so she could easily tell that it was packed. Cars and buses filled the usually empty parking lot. Raising her eyebrows, she walks into her workplace while trying not to pant too heavily. She really wasn't lying about the heat being out to get her.

"What's with the building being so busy?" She asks her boss as she opens the door to the back rooms.

"Ah, some sort of filming sight, hopefully brings in good business," He says, not bothering to give any more details. Her boss was a man of few words, he was kind, just not the type of person that makes small talk.

Haneul nods in response before going to take over the cash register. She would be up at the front until she closed, which was eleven on the dot.

A year ago when she had first been employed she had been incredibly anxious to close and walk home when it was pitch black at night. But as the year progressed she quickly lost the fear and gained a sense of boredom. Nothing had ever happened to her when walking home, or even in the store. After all, it was only the locals that ran in here to get little snacks and things.

Which was why she was so surprised to hear teenage boys giggling to themselves fifteen minutes before she was supposed to close.

"Hyungs I can't believe it's finally over! Ugh that took so long but at least we all got three stars. They were so harsh..." Haneul hears from a younger sounding boy just outside of the store.

"Yah, that was so scary I thought I was gonna pee myself! But Gunwook wow you looked so scary, like you were gonna crush everybody!"

They finally walk close enough to the store to where she could see their silhouettes and then eventually into the dim outside light. That's when she saw that all of them were wearing black outfits with masks and hats.

"I was just determined," The tallest one chuckles as they step into the lit up store.

He catches her eye immediately, with being the tallest and having the broadest shoulders of the bunch. She fixed her white mask a smidge before calling out a somewhat quiet, "Welcome in."

Not taking her eyes off of the handsome one, the boys bow to her in a silent greeting before he glances up at her.