Light A Flame || Hoshi

Chapter 8

When arriving to the countryside to take care of her grandma, the last person Jang-mi expected to see amidst the green hills and huts was Hoshi.

She was eager to leave and enjoy a moment of quiet, away from the fast pace of the city. As luck would have it, not only had her stress levels increased, their root cause had somehow managed to follow her like some pesky parasite on the back of a dog - and despite her true willingness to do so, she could not smack him dead like a fly out of the air.

"What are you doing here?"

"Oh, you've got to be fucking kidding me," he muttered in her direction. She couldn't help but notice that outside of the practice room he seemed much less intimidating. His gaze was softer, his stance less imposing.

"No, you answer me. What are you doing here?"

"It's none of your business, but I'm here - well, was supposed to be here - for some rest. Apparently I've been denied even that luxury," he growled.

"I swear the universe hates me," she chuckled, exaggeratedly throwing her head up towards the sky.

"Hey! Universe! God! Whoever it is! Why the hell is he here?" she yelled upwards, aggressively pointing at Hoshi. Jang-mi was no actress, but she hoped her obnoxiousness was enough to drive him away permanently.

"Wow, that's no way to be speaking to your boss," he feigned offense, placing his hand on his chest.

"You're not my boss," she smirked. "Don't think I haven't noticed that you make us run through a section, like, 5 times when I'm in it?"

"Not my fault you're slow," he responded with a shrug.

"What happened to 'wanna get coffee later'?"

"That was a mistake. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do," he said, pushing past her in anger to get back to the house.

Jang-mi stood there dumbfounded for a few moments, trying to collect her thoughts. The hatred was palpable, no doubt about that. She knew he didn't particularly feel anything positive towards her but his attitude was startling at the least.

Wow, Kwon Soonyoung is a bitch.

**

"Jang-mi, can you help set up the table?" her grandma asked hoarsely.

"Coming, coming... give me one second," she responded, juggling about a dozen different items in her arms. She clumsily dumped them onto the couch before quickly returning to the kitchen.

"How is Seoul? You've barely talked to me this whole year, I don't even know what job you do!" her grandma laughed, setting down plates and chopsticks onto the ornate, patterned tablecloth.

"It's nice, but also quite stressful. I landed a new job last week, I'm a dancer now," Jang-mi explained, hauling the huge pot of stew onto the table.

"Oh, a dancer? Your parents must have finally rubbed off on you. Where do you dance?"

"Well, funny thing is... halmeoni, what's the name of Mrs. Lee's grandson?"

"Oh, dear, I don't remember. Something like Soonmin? Minseok?" she furrowed her wrinkled forehead pensively.

"Seokmin?"

"Yes, yes. That one," she nodded, scooping out rice into a bowl.

"I'm sure Mrs. Lee mentioned that he's an idol. Well, I'm sort of the backup dancer for their group,"

"Oh, really? Isn't that great! If you want, I can invite them for dinne-"

"NO! No. That's fine. Don't worry," Jang-mi smiled sweetly. The last thing she wanted was more time with Hoshi. Though her coldness was initially supposed to be a means of keeping him away, she could feel his was a genuine dislike of her. She pretended it didn't bother her - but deep down, where only she could admit it -