* SURVIVE AT ALL COSTS !

Without missing a beat, she entered the shop in the hopes that her manager would not steal her away from her friend. Even though it was her day off, she had her own worries for the limited time she had to rest, and it made her possessive of her quality time outside of work.

“Hey, that looks like- Wait…” Her voice faltered as a feeling of shock and disbelief fell over her. Right before her very eyes was another Min-jun. But how was that possible?! Was this one right next to her his twin after all?

Whether or not it was by natural instinct, her hand reached to cling to the sleeve of her friend, if she were to call him that considering this remarkable situation, and she addressed him by name in spite of her previous doubt.

“Min-jun… Am I hallucinating…?”

                    ❝  you  aren’t.  ❞  &  they’re  looking  at  each  other,   the  logic  nodding  at  the  happiness.  happiness  lifts  a  hand  in  recognition  with  the  arm  without  her  attached  to  it.  ❝  sorry  !  ❞  he  keeps  his  voice  hushed,  the  apology  directed  at  both  her  &  logic.  ❝  that’s  logic.  I  don’t  know  what  he’ll  think  is  the  most  reasonable  step,  ❞  said  a  little  too  cheerfully.  

@falscheart

Now there’s a face she hasn’t seen in a while. Her target was locked, and she was ready for the attack.

She ran up to the tall man, and wrapped her arms around his torso, pressing her pink-dusted cheek against his chest. It wasn’t in her nature to be this forward but this was an exception. She didn’t realize how much she missed having him around until he showed up out of the blue.

“Where’ve you been?”

                    he  stiffens  at  the  sudden  contact  &  he  is  surprised  to  feel  no  pain  :  but  then  again  he’s  not  in  danger,  &  he  recognises  her  breath  &  the  sound  of  her  footsteps,  anyway.  exhales  at  her  question,  he  weighs  it  up  &  knows  he  can’t  really  say  he’s  been  ---  saving  the  world  ?

“Oh…” So she was close to being used by a stranger. That didn’t earn the guy any points in her favor. At the very least, he admitted to his intentions, though a stern expression remained on her face as she listened to his justification.

She hesitated before answering to his pitiful statement, trying not to let her guard down. Not being familiar with his background, how could she trust his word off the bat? Especially after he almost duped her into being his cover from unwanted attention.

“Well, I don’t appreciate your motive there…” Her brow furrowed as she averted her gaze from his, a demeanor of defeat in her features which was followed by an irritated huff.

“But I don’t give a damn about my reputation; so if you need a rental friend for the day, I’m free.” She really did pity him, and she cursed herself for caving in far too easily.

                     ❝  really   ?   ❞  surprise  overtakes  his  expression  &  removes  his  usual  distant  demeanour,  just  for  a  moment  :  he  had  expected  a  REFUSAL  &  her  walking  away.  that’s  what  he  would  do  (  &  has  done,  but  he’s  always  been  told  by  others  he’s  a  cold  man.  )  ❝  you  shouldn’t  ---  not  only  because  my  motives  are  questionable,  but  because  I’m  a  boring  person.  ❞  a  moment  of  hesitation,  then  he  sighs.

Fans? Stalkers? Was she talking to a celebrity? Was she supposed to know about him? Regardless, she could never bring herself to care about all that petty gossip about people she didn’t know, as charismatic as they were. Besides, this guy seemed eager to avoid all the attention his supposed fame had drawn to himself, and she didn’t mind giving him a hand as long as he was honest.

At his invitation to reward her, she grew sheepish. For barely doing anything, this guy sure was generous!

“Oh, uh, you don’t have to! No payment needed for… mumbling.”

                        ---  that  didn’t  work.  another  look  outside  &  he’ll  sigh,  although  the  sigh  is  a  gentle  one  that  he  barely  hears  :  then  decides  he  might  as  well  tell  her.  takes  his  phone  out  to  check  (  pure  habit  the  driving  force  ).

Part of her wondered how true that casually-spoken statement was. How often was he lonely without her knowing? She made a mental note to invite him more often to tea and/or coffee.

She stared dumbly at him as he went on about emotions. At this point, he was speaking riddles. All this talk about his emotions as if they were physical entities left her at a loss. Now she was all the more curious as to what he meant, and played along instead of questioning him further.

“Uhh, there is the one I work at that’s only a couple blocks from here…” She gestured for him to follow as she made her way down the street.

                              follows  in  her  steps  dutifully,  there’s  a  look  around  himself  as  if  anyone  can  be  another  part  of  himself  &  every  shadow  is  capable  of  holding  him  :  no  shadow  is  able  to  (  none  would  sink  so  low  ---  PUSH  AWAY  THE  UNHAPPINESS,  this  body  has  no  room  for  it.  )

Quite a snappy one, it seemed. Although, he supposed that he were partly at fault for his lingering gaze. “My apologies,” It was said with a faltering smile, faint embarrassment etched into his expression. “You seemed rather pale, is all… Are you quite alright?”

*   john mulaney.   /   accepting   !   /   @prismbursts   !

                         by  ripping  out  throats  or  by  pulling  out  their  heart,  or  driving  them  to  the  brink  :  —   HIS  HANDS  DO  NOT  SMELL  OF  ANYTHING  OTHER  THAN  SOAP.  he  knows  because  he  washes  them  clean  every  night  &  he  smells  them  three  times  in  the  day,  each  time  before  he  is  to  eat.  (  YOU  CAN  PRETEND  HOWEVER  MUCH  YOU  LIKE,  YOU  FAILURE,  but  sin  is  not  erased.  )

                        ❝  you  close  your  eyes,  the  first  time,  ❞  or  at  least  he  did,  he remembers  looking  away  from  scenes  of  death  &  eventually,  he  stopped  being  able  to  pull  himself  away,  he  watches  bodies  fall  like  it’s  rain.  it’s  a  careless  shrug  that  follows,  WHAT  ELSE  IS  THERE  TO  IT  ?

he grew up fairly isolated when he was a child up until about the age of 9.  his mother also verbally abused him,  although he himself isn’t aware that’s what it is  :  but as he’s older,  he’s now slightly aware of this.  he tries not to imitate his mother but finds himself still being acidic  /  abrasive.  his father left when he was about 11,  citing his mother as the cause.

in school he had no friends but several acquaintances.  they all liked him  &  usually want to get to know him better,  but he resisted because knowing him is like getting to know his mother.  consciously,  though,  he just says he’s not interested in forming relationships.

he’s never had a girlfriend,  because his mother tells him he is worthless  &  stupid,  but all women want to control him anyway.  she tells him his one good thing is his appearance,  but he thinks she’s wrong.  she tells him he’s dumb,  but his test grades say otherwise.  he moves out when he’s 18 for university  &  she tells him he’ll fail.  while he didn’t pass a few courses,  he still graduated  &  both of his parents were there.  his mother tells him she always knew he could do it,  &  his father says he’s so proud of the son he raised.  as soon as they get in the car to go celebrate,  his mother tells him he took too long to get it  &  his father says he could’ve gone to a better university.

“Ah?” A dumbfounded expression painted her features as she stared up at the rather attractive man. Pretend to talk? She wasn’t much of a conversationalist herself; so even that would be a tricky feat for her. Regardless, she found herself muttering nonsensical things that she hoped would pass as a “conversation.” It was a relief for her that she didn’t have to keep up with this charade for too long; especially when it was for the sake of a stranger whose motives were undetermined. He could be a criminal on the run for all she knew.

“Mariko,” she replied to his introduction as she gingerly shook his hand, a wary eye maintaining contact with his own. “Who were you hiding from?”

                     ❝  fans,  I  think.  I’ve  seen  them  around  a  lot  though,  so...  stalkers  ?  ❞  his  tone  will  convey  disgust,  although  his  controlled  countenance  barely  flickers.  ❝  sorry,  that  came  out  of  nowhere.  ---  I  was  hoping  to  enjoy  time  by  myself,  but  I’m  sure  you  can  guess  what  happened.  ❞