ONLYONEOF IMAGINES

rie ✦ fuzzy feeling

— in which it all started with a sweater.
word count: 2,275
for our cutie birthday boy, 리에. ♡

The cold air of the well-conditioned place blows onto your face upon reaching its entrance. Without a second thought, you made your way to your favorite clothing boutique. You looked around the place, trying to find a piece that would entice your personal fashion sense.

After minutes of searching for one, your eyes landed on a beige sweater. You came closer to its designated rack and started inspecting it. From the looks of it, it's a perfect fit for you.

Being practical, you didn't forget to check its price. You got surprised after seeing it had a reasonable price, making you have no doubt feeling that you were destined to buy it.

About to take the clothing by its hanger, another hand takes it on the other side, almost at the same time as you did. Both of you look at each other, making the latter take his hand off it.

"I-I'm sorry," he places his hand on his nape and shyly looks down. "No, it's fine! You can have it," you told the boy and motioned the sweater forward. "You got it first, so you take it," he replies, insisting on taking it.

"Hold on," you said, halting him. With a little more hope, you tried rummaging through the rack if there were any other ones left of the same piece. He noticed what you were trying to do, so he helped out. Unfortunately, there weren't any left, no matter how much both of you looked.

"How about we ask a staff?" he suggests, making you agree with his idea. Both of you came up to the nearest employee and asked if there were any remaining stock of the said sweater.

"Excuse me, is there any other available stock of this sweater?" You handed over the hanger together with the clothing, the employee taking it from you. 

"I'm not sure, let me check the backroom. Please wait here," the staff said and walked away.

You stood silently holding onto your handbag, whereas Rie was leaning onto one of the clothing racks and texting away on his phone. A few moments later, the staff came back with a depictable face of failure.

"I have checked our inventory and, sadly, that's the last one." You frowned at the employee's words. "It's okay. We'll-"

"I'll take it."

You now looked at the latter, slightly unamused of his statement. However, you thought it was only a clothing piece; a material object that would eventually be forgotten in the closet. 

You turned to Rie and nodded, "S-Sure. I'll look for something else." You both bowed to the staff for their kind help. Awkwardly, you strutted to another section in the store in hopes of finding another beautiful piece.

While scanning through a particular rack in the Clearance section, you glanced at the boy from earlier who claimed the sweater. You sighed in defeat, watching him pay for the clothing upfront.

It's just a sweater, but why do I feel so down losing it to that guy?

• • •

After all that trouble, you've just decided to settle with a navy green knit cardigan that you laid eyes on within the Clearance aisle. You paid at the counter, thanked the cashier lady, and finally left the store. That sweater was cute and all, but you've figured that it's a waste of time anyway.

You were about to head to the food court to grab a snack. However, a tap on the shoulder made you stop in your tracks, spinning around to the person. You quirked an eyebrow.