*.ﾟ☆ 𝖆𝖒𝖔𝖗 𝕗𝕒𝕥𝕚

“Definitely drawing a line on male and female, for sure. No blue tax, because then people assume it’s for men, it’s gotta be pink. Totally girly,” Chaerin nodded in agreement. It was as though she had been conditioned into that belief growing up. Boy colours and girl colours and boy animals and girl animals. She never truly understood the purpose of it and it was sad to say that this way of thinking still influenced the world even today.

“Yeah, but condoms are free and I mean, that’s a choice. We can’t choose what happens to our bodies, why are we not being offered things for free? Totally unfair,” Chaerin shook her head, knowing that no matter how much people talked about it, the chances of a change were slim to none. It was another part of the way the world worked.

“I very well might be!” Chaerin laughed. “A hidden recipe? No, nothing like that, but if there was one, it would change depending on the person. To each their own, you know? This is how I make it and it’s perfect for me, and if people like it, then it’s a plus. If not, they can tweak it themselves,” she said, blowing on some noodles before helping herself to some too.

❝ i need to figure this out why society as a whole decided we should be pink and blue is for boys…like imagine a world where i don’t know we’re green and they’re yellow, ❞ the image that comes to karin’s head a few seconds too late is that of the subway logo and she grimaces at herself and the accidental conundrum she’s built for herself. there would be no intention to alter the gender colours into the subway logo and she hopes that the other girl doesn’t catch onto that.

❝ let’s just hope that in our lifetime it’ll be free eventually. i heard some schools do it already so  fingers crossed it’ll be worldwide one day? ❞ the statement is a slightly childish one but karin feels as if it would be a better response than to down the mood. it is a grim reality, one she’s reminded of during the unkind moments when cramps come to settle in.

At her response, Wonho could only raise a brow. He couldn’t blame her, if he had been her he likely would have planned just that first step and not bothered to look at the rest of the steps to get the cat home. 

“What if it’s a stray?” he asked, knowing that it would make things more difficult. “Would you just let it go? Drop it off at the pound?” He wondered if those types of places still took any old animal that was found, or if they would make Karin pay to get the clean and given shots to make it be able to live with the others and friendly in a home environment. That would definitely end up being costly for a thing she wasn’t planning on keeping.

“Me?” he said, feeling a bit dumbfounded. “I don’t know…get it out of here?” he said, knowing his words maybe didn’t come off the nicest way. “Just…get it a home or take it to a shelter. Whichever works for me.” 

“Maybe, but who knows if it would end up home or up another tree. I think do the posters. Adn by posters I mean social media. Or the shelter.”

❝ things happen? ❞ she squeaks out, feeling rather reflective of her experiences back at her shared house all of a sudden. maybe it came with being the younger and only female member of the house but she’s definitely had a few browns raised at her. for different reasons but not unlike this one, where body moved before mind thought.

❝well i can’t keep it…that’s for sure…but i wouldn’t let it go. it doesn’t seem like a feral cat since it’s purring at me, ❞ for good measure of confirmation to her statement, she gives the kitten a few strokes on its head. a satisfied rumble reaches her air, and she offers it a few pats as if it’s meant to be a reward for the simple action. ❝ i’m willing to find a humane shelter for it. ❞

The idea was simple and it wasn’t as though it was ridiculous, but Wonho couldn’t help but shake his head as she spoke. There was no way to know that was what the cat was feeling, but it was just like Karin to swoop in and try to rescue the little thing, even if that may not have been what it needed.

The cat was secure and Wonho heard Karin say something before climbing down herself and dismissing the crowd. A part of him couldn’t understand why people needed to stand there and watch. What was so out of the ordinary here? Getting an animal out of a tree? Unless they were the cat’s owner, he didn’t see why it mattered and if they were the owner, why hadn’t they done anything?

“Here,” he said, holding the cat out to Karin again, who was wiggling and eager to escape, still clearly in a state of panic, which Wonho suspected was due to his own presence. “Now what? Are you going to just let the thing go? It would probably find it’s own way home. Or are you going to take it home and stick up posters for a lost cat?”

with an unexplainable sense of triumph, she settles herself onto the ground. a final pat of her own clothes to make sure nothing has been ripped or wrinkled and her attention falls once again back onto the cat. ❝ come here you poor thing, ❞ eyes are not even glancing over at the other until the wriggling feline is in the safety of her grasp first where it seems to calm down.

at least for the time being. fingers scratch against the chin of the settling feline as eyes glance back to the male in thought. true to her nature, she had not planned anything else after the task. It had simply been, rescue the cat.

chuckling he agreed with her: “yes, me and around twenty full of hormones sweaty hockey players.” he was one of the oldest in his team and he always laughed at the youngest and their weird but funny behavior. sometimes he even joined them in their weird acts. 

what surprised him though, was the fact that she didn’t know who had practice after her, since all the boys were loud and usually came quite early. she must’ve seen them at least a few times, right? but then again, maybe she was lucky that she hadn’t - he knew those around her age would go crazy and probably ruin her day with stupid flirting and remarks. 

he was taken aback, but still liked her proposal. “sure!” he shrugged and stood up, picking up his bag. “i won’t say no to skating;” he smiled, kind of excited for this. “be right back;” he nodded towards the bag  and headed towards his team’s wardrobe.

he changed in a rush, managing to be ready in about twenty minutes. at the end, he tied his skates and put on his helmet and gloves. picking up his stick and two pucks from the puck basket, he exited the room and went towards the benches.  the girl was still on the ice as he jumped over the fence on it. the comical contrast between his and her outfit made him laugh. “i hope it’s really okay!” he said in her direction, just wanting to make sure for the last time before continuing. he dropped the puck on the ground, dribbling it for a second with his stick. “also the name’s woohyun, by the way.” 

❝ that many? ❞ karin almost squawks, her eyes widening at how she could have missed so many people. but in a way it made sense. not the part about her missing so many people but the fact that she usually fell into a sort of concentration trance. when she left it, her only thought would be to rush straight into the female locker room. then home sweet home. albeit somewhat boring, but there usually wasn’t someone other than her coach to speak to. ❝ well that makes sense if you’re a hockey team. we figure skaters are the more solitary ones. ❞

his response is received with a nod from her end and two small hands coming up to offer him a thumbs up. her attention drifts the moment he vanishes, eyes easily gazing back at the ice. what was once smoothed over now filled with grooves and scratches. it’s her artwork. so many people focus on her movements, her leaps, her glides and her spins, but she’s always looking down beneath. if not looking, she’s thinking of it. well since the stranger said yes, he probably wouldn’t mind the little rifts and bumps that scatter their way across.

Chaerin nodded. “You got it. Pink for girls and overpriced because we’re girls,” she said, shaking her head. “Right? People always argue against it though. Companies will say the woman’s brand is more quality and better and that’s why it costs more but I fail to see how this razor versus a men’s razor differs. I honestly just buy men’s razors, it’s much cheaper than anything else,” she said.

A laugh escaped Chaerin’s lips at the other girl seeming to agree with her. Her excitement was contagious, and she found herself mimicking her actions, lifting her arms in the air for a cheer as well. 

Chaerin nodded and stood up as the other excused herself and started to work on their evening meal. She prepared some side dishes as well and made maybe a little too much ramen, but she told herself they would eat it all and if not, she would simply save it for the next day. 

She heard the other girl return and quickly over her shoulder called out, “the food is almost done! I’ll be another minute or two,” she said, before checking on the contents and noting that it just needed to sit for a minute. In the mean time, she took over the side dishes and some drinks, as well as chopsticks and poured the ramen into the respective bowls before bringing them over too and carefully placing them before Karin and herself.

“Dig in,” she said. “I don’t mean to brag, but this is going to be the best ramen you’ve ever had.”

❝ i love how they used pink since if you think about it so many of the products we use end up being pink cause it's a feminine colour, ❞ karin chuckles albeit a bit bitterly at the thought. make less, pay more and yet so many people are unable to see the flaw in all of this.❝ the company just know that we're the main shoppers and sometimes we have to buy things like feminine hygiene, so they're like money time! ❞

leaving the conversation as is, she thinks she can complain another day anyways, karin drums her fingers away on the bed lightly. she's absolutely not a musician, but little things like this are what calms her down. sometimes she taps away against the barrier of the skating rink too. briefly and then attention is back to the girl who'd just entered.

❝     I think you should. It seems like quite the fascinating thing to explore,     ❞ Felix says. He’s pushing onwards trying his best to get more information out of her about it. Nobody else would amuse him. Not like that anyways. He didn’t even expect to find someone who would actually read tarot cards. Not in Hwaryung.

❝     If you’re willing. How about both? I would love to see how it differs, that is if it does.     ❞ Felix is smiling when he talks though his actual emotions remain unreadable. Sort of on purpose but also not, he figures the less that Karin knows the more he can convince himself it’s not a cheat. But that’s just a thought. Doubt, ah yes, his father’s favorite thing.

Obediently he takes the card from her hands. They have a different texture from playing cards which Felix wonders if there’s a reason behind them. He’s obviously touched a lot of those, whether rigged ones or not. But this felt different. They almost felt fragile, which was weird. Felix has heard they are expensive though so he’s careful instead of his usual rough housing that he does with his own cards.

❝     Is this good or do I need to do more?     ❞

❝ well, ❞ she begins her train of thought, eyes squinting at him not judgementally but more so in thought as to what he means. it's just a hunch she has no other words for it, but the boy seems to somehow treat things always so inquisitively. she wonders why though she never tells him. ❝ it does differ a bit so i can definitely show you. like i can easily tell your past present future or i can go into detail about your future. something like that? ❞

karin hopes what she's saying makes sense. she's often pulled the cards out and demonstrated things but she's never explained her own actions. she wasn't questioned, things came just as they were. but here she has to explain and this makes her realize why she'll never become a teacher. putting thoughts into words is an entire ordeal.

“Well yeah, you’re holding it in a tree, why would it attack you? You throw it at me, it’s going to try and grab something and hence that something being me,” he pointed out, and spared a glance at what he was wearing. No matter how much he argued now, he figured it would be pointless, Karin had her mind set to this and he wanted to avoid ruining a shirt if he could help it. 

All Wonho could do was let out a sigh and he rolled up his sleeves, letting out a small sigh when he realized she wasn’t going to throw the cat at him but try to lower it down to him. “I got it,” he called up to her as he wrapped his hands around its belly, feeling the claws digging into his arms and cursing under his breath.

At the mention of the crowd, Wonho glanced over and noticed a few people stopping by, looking at the odd scene before them. “Yeah, yeah, let go of the thing and get down, I have a hold of the cat and it’s got a hold on me,” he spoke quickly, as though doing this would speed up the process. 

❝ cause...well cause... the cat was stuck so i think it was panicking in the first place and cats hate heights? like maybe, it only looks calm and it’ll actually be calm when it’s closer to the ground? ❞ she doesn’t know what exactly she’s blabbering about now at this point. instead, karin is simply speaking whatever is on her mind. still continuing on as she slowly dangles the cat over closer to him.

karin owes the older male a lot for doing this. she can already see how the cat fights the movements though not audibly. but still she’s begun so she might as well go all the way until the cat has finally found itself a new foothold in the male’s grasp. the taller probably more competent male ---  a reminder to her that she shouldn’t have climbed up so quickly without thinking!!

Heiran looks curiously at the screen of Karin’s phone, as the other female pulls up a video that she wanted her to watch. Once the video finishes buffering and starts playing, her entire focus is on the video. It was showing a series of clips showing different animals reacting to being startled. She smiles seeing the silly reactions, eventually laughing at how scared a cat was to see a cucumber. “How in the world? These pets are so adorable!”