soigne

               THERE WAS A MOMENT where hyejin could nearly see the gears turning within his head at her words, and when he looked over at her she was already staring up at him with an expectant gaze. it’s a rarity for hyejin to be so BLUNT to this degree, but she found it to be extremely satisfying by the responses she receives from him. at his question she only gives a curt nod, “so you ARE familiar with that particular dynamic.” then her features quickly morph into a more quizzical expression, with a genuine interest to hear what he had to say. “is that something you would be into doing ? “                “yes, very mean.” her tone is laced with finality, not backing away when he moves closer, although her smirk stretches wider. the title he uses for her has her biting into the plumpness of her lower lip, any other man who had the nerve to call her that would have gotten a palm to their cheek. she didn’t feel like the other meant it as belittling though, she found that the sound of him voicing the nickname enjoyable. this newfound realization would never be told to him, of course. “i suppose i can’t make you tell me. and i guess i can wait, although it will be excruciating.” she feigns a look of surrender, swaying her body to keep her figure moving in order to ward off the chill of winter. there’s another laugh, sincere and happy, as they begin walking again, “i doubt i could damage your ego, gorgeous.”                again hyejin is taken by surprise with his question, and she blinks up at the side of his head before staring forward. “truly ? no, i’m pretty certain i can live without you, cinderella man. i won’t miss your teasing, but i will miss those lips.” she doesn’t mention the fact she would indeed miss his rather out of the ordinary company. the hybrid has never come across someone like him, an individual who is covered in hundreds of layers to convey a type of persona to the outside world, but hyejin wanted to peel all of those to see who he really was. “i would never take any other person back there, boy or girl,” hyejin states running small fingers through the front of her hair. “i’ll just take them to a different corner.” that isn’t true either, but she is curious as to how he would react to the information. just for shits and giggles. maybe. hyejin takes his final wink as a sign of departure, and with a disappointed frown that twitches at the edges of her mouth she nearly treks down around a corner store to make her way for her apartment building, yet pauses when she hears his voice for what she thought would be the last time for the day. perhaps ever if he didn’t stick to his word about coming back around the library.                with her excitement reignited by his rough fingers curling around her tiny wrist and his suggestion of continuing whatever it was at her job, she lets him lead her away from random civilians. somewhere secluded. when they’ve come to a stop and he releases her, she’s quick to take notice of how his entire demeanor changes. once a confident, quick witted young male that seemed to have a permanent smug grin on his lips transformed right before her eyes into a less chipper version of himself. no longer is there a smirk but a solemn expression. and hyejin approached closer until she stands right in front of him with raised brows, her sensitive hearing trying to decipher his heart rate to get some kind of hint as to what he was thinking about. oddly her chestnut hues lock in on his bruised lip, and without much warning or thought she reaches up to run the pad of her thumb gently over the injury. brows pulling together when she connects their gazes, “how did you get that ? “

               “I WOULDN’T CALL WHATEVER that was back there a ‘round’ to begin with,” she shrugs. “since you ended it before it started.” hyejin is able to tell that this nameless stranger is enjoying this push and pull game immensely by the wide curve upon his lips. she had the strong urge to do something that could potentially swipe the smugness from his handsome features, but his smile is rather charming, not that she would mention that bit of information to him. also she preferred this version of him much more than when they’d first spoke to each other at the library. there’s a choice to be made now, would she brush off his teasing or would she decide to beat him at this thrilling game ? hyejin could never pass up the opportunity of spicing up her mundane life. and this young male seemed to be up for it as well, so why not have a little fun ? what harm could it do ? “better ? i’m not too sure that i believe you, to be quite honest.” she’s baiting him, hyejin is talented in riling up her opponents.                she gives a small pause to delay her response, because truly she didn’t know the reasoning behind wanting to figure out what his name is, hyejin is as clueless as he is. “it’s common courtesy. polite. and perhaps i would much rather know your true name for later, when i’m alone.” the hybrid purposefully left her statement open ended, giving his imagination room to venture as far as he would let it as a result of the suggestive tint to her words. ending it off with an innocent upturn of her mouth, eyes shining. with his question however she couldn’t help but to let her gaze slip lower to his injury, now really getting a chance to see the mesh of purple and blue upon the pink of his lip. it threw her off a little, because back in the library she didn’t notice it, but in the light of day it seemed to stand out against the rest of his features. now she wondered about his personal life, which seemed dangerous when this interaction was only supposed to be lighthearted, although she couldn’t stop herself. had he been in a fight with someone ? embarrassingly enough she had already taken a look at his hands earlier, and he didn’t have busted up knuckles or abrasions that would align with that assumption. so that’s ruled out instantly. “i’m interested because of your amazing personality,” the sarcasm obviously comes naturally with hyejin without much thought. “but i guess your hot bruised lip is an added bonus that’s got me hooked.” with still no luck on finding out his name, she immediately started moving after him when he began to walk away from her. and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t irritated at the fact she was the one chasing after him, when usually with most guys it was the other way around.                there’s a huff that comes from her as she marches along slightly behind him, only because his long legs gave him longer strides and with the added difficulty walking in snow with heeled boots it was a task to keep up with him. she curls her slender arms around her middle, trying to savor as much of her body heat as she can. even then her teeth began to chatter. narrowing her eyes towards him, she could physically see his ego grow bigger once he realized that hyejin was in fact not going to give up that simply. “i’m not good at the whole ‘friends’ thing, but if you’re referring to the type of friendship that comes with benefits, then maybe.” that was a joke, and even she couldn’t keep a straight face at her crudeness, there was even a light giggle. “i just don’t understand why you’re being so difficult with this, i mean, it isn’t that hard to just tell me your name. you’re just being mean.” she looks over at him, quirking a threaded brow up at his words. “is that a promise ? “

               SHE ANGLES HER HEAD to the right, still unsatisfied with his rebuttal, but decides to proceed with her nice girl act because she needed a damn painting. “i’m shocked that you have little to no faith in yourself,” she clicks her tongue. she’s running short on time. ah, but money seems to be the answer to everything these days. a rather mocking chuckle bubbles past her parted lips and she shakes her head slowly, “i said, name your price. i’m confident that i can pay you double than what you’re conjuring up in that head of yours right about now. but my only condition is, i get my portrait. deal ? “

               WITH THE MOMENT SHE denies his act of kindness, his next response seemed wounded almost, as if her not taking the flowers from him has been a slap to her friend’s face. and there’s a twinge of guilt somewhere, but it’s easily override by the need to UNDERSTAND. she’s not unfamiliar with his warm personality, the complete opposite to her icy blizzard form of character, it’s just not like him. “i suppose not,” she begins with a short shrug. an odd aura engulfs her, unsure how to go about this now that she’s offhandedly refused to take the flowers. hopefully there was a way to explain her way out of this. “it’s not that i’m not grateful, parker. i just -- oh,” there’s a light groan that tumbles from her baby pink lips, out of frustration at herself, because why can’t she just accept his good heart and not push it away ? “please don’t be upset with me, i didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, this is just... new to me.” in other words, having someone like parker is something new. and it terrifies the hybrid.

               AN AURA OF PLAYFULNESS surrounds the two, his inquiry carrying a cheeky note along with his low timbre and hyejin suddenly wonders if the compliments that she’s receiving from the complicated male ( who seems to only be getting closer ), were genuine. or if they were just an accessory that came with this flirtatious game they’ve begun. “i do tend to have that effect on people,” she alludes smoothly. willingly raising her chin to blink up at him, as if challenging his courage. how far would he go with this ? the hybrid is very familiar with that look glimmering in his dark eyes, they were searching for any signs of displeasure or anything that would tell him to back off. which he would find none. call her intrigued. not that she’d admit this to him, but hyejin would be left impressed with his guts if he goes through with it.                 it probably shouldn’t have gone in this direction, at this very moment she should be in search for that book his mother needed, hyejin should be trying to get rid of him as fast as possible. yet she isn’t entirely opposed to their current predicament. the brunette is a university student who worked a part time job at a fucking LIBRARY for goodness sake, her social life is disgustingly uneventful ! there is never enough time for her to mess around with someone, which should be a part of the whole college life right ? so instead of over thinking their situation or how he definitely should not be looking at her like THAT, he truly knows how to sucker a girl right in, hyejin is just going to enjoy it. instinctively she runs her hands up and over his shoulders, iris’ flickering to his lips just as there’s a minuscule skim against her own. before he’s pulling away with that same quirk to his lips, and even if it hadn’t been a full kiss, her plump upper lip still hums from the brief contact.                it’s almost as if hyejin is on autopilot mode, when she catches a glimpse of his broad retreating back she rushes over to the front desk just in time for the next girl on ‘front desk duty’ to take her place. without exchanging pleasantries or greetings, the petite girl slings on her warm jacket and throws her purse over her shoulder to make the trek for the side exit, which if her calculations are correct, as she’s exiting the building and heads toward the main sidewalk she should bump into the young male right about -- AHA ! “you didn’t think i’d just let you walk away from me like that, did you ? “ a single brow lifts up as she juts her hip out to one side. “i’d like to know your name. you know mine so it’s only fair, unless you would like to be called ‘cinderella man’ ? “

               AS HE BERATED HER hyejin’s blood began to boil, even more so than when he crashed into her on his skateboard, if there is one thing she truly despised it’s being talked down to by someone she considers a stranger. yes, she definitely isn’t the easiest to get a long with, but it seems this guy isn’t exactly a people person either. “i’ve had this job for nearly an entire year, so i must be doing something right.” hyejin bites back. she’s dealt with hundreds of horrible customers and still catered to their needs with a big grin on her face, but for some reason ever since their first encounter she’s made it her mission to hold a grudge against him. when he lessens the space between them the hybrid has to stiffen every muscle in her body to remain in place and not take a step back. his cologne instantly hitting her heightened senses, and she’s hyper aware of the heat rolling off of his body. “i’m not even going to ask what you mean by that.”                “something wrong with ME ? “ without even meaning to her volume rose with her question, nose scrunching in distaste at the male who had the guts to chastise her without even knowing her.  not many people were able to handle her brash personality, being on the spectrum leaning more towards intimidating rather than friendly, it’s what kept her circle small. just the way she liked. and it’s not a shock to her that not many people like her, but she’s never had someone brave enough to give their opinion. especially one she never really wanted. the last straw was his final question, and she opens her mouth to put an end to this conversation once and for all without a care if she’d get fired or not. it’s in the time frame of a few seconds that result in hyejin’s back being pressed flat to a corner of the library where they both would be concealed and hidden. widened eyes stare into his with a puzzled expression, but it softens when her hearing takes in the footfalls of someone nearing the two of them, and she worries she had been a little too loud. she tries to ignore the feel of his hard body against hers, instead focusing on the distancing steps while he releases her mouth. and she tries to regain her mind, she should be yelling at this point, or at the very least push him away. however she stays still while staring at him, blowing out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “i’m getting a lot of mixed signals from you.” hyejin explains quietly. slowly she begins to relax, body leaning back to get a better look at him. “was this your plan the whole time, to get me alone ? “ the corner of her lips twitch, threatening to break out into a smug grin. 

              RELIEF WASHES OVER HER in waves when his figure halts in his stride, and she thinks maybe she can fix this before her boss has her head on a platter. hyejin stands before him with squared shoulders and her small hands clasped together in front of her, taking in the way his eyes dart between her and the elder, and it’s obvious he wasn’t as dumb as she had thought. the pieces were gradually coming together in that head of his and the hybrid purses her lips into a thin line waiting for his final decision. inwardly she grimaces at the fact he now knew her name, silently cursing herself for not hiding her name tag with her brunette locks, but what he says next causes any form of expression to fall from her face. “uh, yeah, that’s me ? “                 “i know the way i had spoke to you had been extremely unprofessional,” hyejin grits out, trying to keep up with her civil act despite her inner demons wanting to rip him a new one for his snarky tone. “but the offer still stands either way, it’s up to you.” there was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, a twinge of something telling her that this guy was about to make her life a living hell, he now currently held the fate of her job in his hands and that in itself made the hybrid extremely uncomfortable. all he had to do was create a scene right in front of her boss and it’d be over. but with the look upon his features hyejin knew he had something else up his sleeve. involuntarily she shivers at his words, but keeps the blank expression firmly in place on her face, “this is definitely a one time thing.” she has to bite her tongue whilst he approaches her boss, and at the pleased smile that eerily stretches over her aged lips hyejin pulls her brows together once he faces her again. nearly rolling her eyes at his command, she quickly follows behind him. once they’re far enough away from prying ears she all but snarls under her breath, “okay, you helped me out, and i appreciate it. but this doesn’t change the way i feel about you, understand ? “