itโs been a while between the last time sheโd come to the salon, and the next time sheโd be going. she stares at herself in the mirror critically, then her gaze flickers to the time on her phoneโ can she wash and dry her hair in 15 minutes? sure.
iโll be a little late!
sorry ๋จใ
๋จ
gimme 5!
itโs a miracle she avoids giving herself a burn, typing that message out one-handedly. she finishes styling half of her head, just as ruan, armed with a curling iron finishes up the other half.
she can make it. itโs a quick spritz of perfume, a peck of gratitude on ruanโs cheek and sheโs out the door, withโฆ. negative 1 minute left to spare. thatโs fine. sooyeon can be fashionably late. she gives her reflection a once-over in the mirrored walls of the elevator, patting down her skirt, making sure her hair looks cute-messy, and adjusting the sleeves of her top.
and what for? it doesnโt even matter, because sheโs pulling a coat over it. berating herself, she looks around the underground parking lot for his carโ lee sooyeon, this is a Professional Work Meeting. stop being so nervous! heโs your friendโ and ooh, there it is. she opens the door of his car, rolling her eyes playfully at his nagging.ย โno hello? no, hi, sooyeon, itโs so nice to see you, you look even prettier than the last time i remember?โ sooyeon sets her bag down, making sure her skirt doesnโt ride up as she gets in.
heโs not flirting with her.
โi can just climb back out, too, no biggie.โ she supplies with a grin, primly smoothing the hemline of her skirt down. sooyeon hums, coquettishly indifferent. โbut what would they think, jinki?โย
maybe she should ease up a little on the flirting. god forbid he actually takes that as a sign of her interest in himโ or worse, flirt back!
his cheeks hurt from the smile when she texts because, god does lee sooyeon always have to be so cute? he thinks maybe itโs intentional, and somehow he likes that more. leans back into the soft leather of his car seat and drums out a rhythm on his steering wheel. he thinks on the many ways they had become closer since meeting, like stepping stones or rocks skipping water surface, it felt like many, when really, there were just a few to lead the way. in reality, there was so much left to get to know sooyeon. she was like origami and jinki realizes just how much different it is when looking into the face of such a complexity. itโs easy to have a crush onย vivienne of wish, her mannerisms much like his own, begged to be loved. but growing closer to lee sooyeon, it was like he had been a frog in a well. his view was so limited, the whole world above him, but he only realizes how wrong that is when faced with the depth of her.
well, her cutness helps. he smiles at her door until she appears and then tames his expression into something hopefully charming. her scent wafts into the car and he feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, his smile sharpening at her words.ย โitโs 5 minutes past hello,โ his eyes jump across her features, eyes (perfect, are her eyelashes always that long?), cheeks (is she blushing or is that his wonder, he wishes she would) lips (god he really shouldnโt look at those, but he does anyway), and then he plays nonchalant. a shrug and he drums out on the wheel again just to make his point, like the mischievous music from a sitcom,ย โcan you even look prettier than usual?โ he pretends to question it, looks around in idleย facetiousness,ย โyou look very nice,โ he gives it up (thereโs a trashcan, the glowing neon signs and parked cars along the street are much less fascinating than sooyeon but he doesnโt look back to prove a point). and he thinks he sees something but her next words have him spinning back to her with a squinting smile,ย โsounds like a biggieโ i donโt care what they think.โ in another world that would sound forward, in this one heโs too distracted by what he thinks he sees out of the corner of his eye to worry about how it sounds.
like a spring he bounces his vision back and for before pinning it on sooyeon with a much tighter smile, leans close to her without much warning, so much that his seat belt whirs in place and his car rocks gently.ย โi think,โ he sounds a little out of breath,ย โi saw someone.โ he leans closer, so much closer, blocking himself in front of her like a censor bar, inhales the full palette of her perfume,ย โdonโt move too much sooyeon,โ his heart hammers but definitely because they might get caught, not because he looks at her lips, very intentionally. jeon jinki, youโre so stupid.
