도사랑

That smile on her face was almost contagious. 

Almost? No, certainly. His smile turned brighter, a sliver of teeth showing between his rosy lips.

But when she talked again, his eyebrows raised ever so slightly. “You are willing to just give them to me? And suggesting to pay for them? No kai bai bo?” Noeul said as he turned to face her more properly. His tone actually sounding slightly disappointed but that quickly faded when the next part of his sentence began. “Ah, what kind of boss do I have? So sweet.”

The compliment registered a bit later in his brain, the bus trip back to the city had made him even drowsier then when he exited his workplace. A belated hue of red decorated his cheeks for a moment, though not very noticeable. He wasn’t that great with compliments, but it was always better getting them from girls than from boys. He turned so nervous getting them from males. 

He cleared his throat ever so slightly, his eyes glancing to the cashier for a moment before returning his gaze to her.  “But I’d rather give them to you, pay for them too, as a sign of a good employee. To match my good cook status.” A chuckle escaped his frame, the hand that was previously a fist now taking the sweets in his hand - his fingers wrapping gently around the package. “And maybe because you already do so much for everyone at the centre, giving up my favourite sweets is the least I could do.”

“We can still play kai bai bo, if you want. I’ll let you win.” Her smile widened as she offered up a shrug. Sarang wasn’t the type to be selfish, and she liked to play fair. Noeul had technically grabbed it first, so in her eyes it was already his. Besides, she thought, now she knew what kind of sweets he liked. “The best boss ever, duh.”

“Noeul-ah~! I insist, really.” Sarang playfully hit his arm, a swelling feeling of pride rising in her chest. Moments like this made her so happy. Not only was it nice to know that such kind, caring people existed, but to know that he worked for her and helped raise up the next generation of good people made her beam with joy. Since she was always smiling, though, it was hard to tell where her mind was exactly. Gesturing to the small basket hanging from her arm, she continued. “I was buying a bunch of candy and snacks for the kids and staff for the holiday, so now I know what kind you like. One less thing to worry about, right? Plus, I can always come back tomorrow and buy a different package if I want them that much.”

Byungdal walked down the long path to his therapist’s office. He hated his appointments with his therapist. Therapist Sukjin was kind, and intelligent, but having him pick at his brain while using casual chit chat as a cover was the equivalent of hearing nails on a chalkboard. For an hour. 

Today, he was analysing his drawings. He could almost hear Sukjin say how his crude portrait of himself represented his bottled up feelings. 

“Byungdal, can’t you see how your oversized lips and nose represent anguish?” 

He had a good laugh at his thought, and didn’t notice the figure that appeared right before him.

He crashed into someone, and he and whoever bumped into him fell hard. 

“Ouch!”

He spent a moment on the pavement in pain before sitting up and looking at individual he bumped into.

“Hey…Are you okay?”  

If one thing ran strongly in the Do family bloodline, it was independence. Even at only five years old, Sarang’s nephew was brave enough to demand seeing his therapist alone. The first few times, the therapist insisted on staying with him and even Sarang thought it would be better, but her nephew was stubborn as a mule and liked doing things on his own ‘like a big kid.’ 

Normally she’d sit in the office until his appointment was over, but Sarang’s sister had shown up and therefore really didn’t need to be there. As she took her time walking back into the direction of her house, something hit her, quite literally. A deep voice rang out shortly after regaining her balance, but Sarang felt terrible instantly. She knelt down beside him, with wide doe eyes and a worried expression on her face.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me! A-Are you alright? I’m so sorry. I haven’t been paying attention a lot lately, I guess.” She let out a soft chuckle, sweeping a strand of hair behind her ear. Her mind had been a bit scattered lately and this wasn’t the first time she’d bumped into someone. Feeling guilty for her carelessness and worried that she might have hurt the stranger, Sarang offered a hand. “Do you need help standing up?”

Get down to the nitty gritty.  Send a symbol to learn about the muse!

When his eyes landed on the sweet visage of his boss, his lips curled into a smile. He had not expect to see her but it was a pleasant surprise, Sarang always being such a kind person. Noeul could still remember his first months at the learning centre, always seeing the woman walking around and helping the kids with anything. Oh, or when he first met her, his nerves melting away with the kindness she had shown that day.

As he heard her proposal his open hand turned into a fist. Rock paper scissors was the most fair way to solve their predicament, even though he was only half joking when he insinuated that he was hesitant to give the sweets. Only half. Noeul played along, his sleepy eyes glinting from the fluorescent lights hanging above them - a slight bit of enthusiasm hiding behind them. 

Who knows, he might even win.

“Best two out of three?” 

When he agreed to her childish settlement, an even bigger smile cracked across her features. If there was one thing she loved about her work, it was the people there. The employees she had were all so hardworking and lovable and then kids that attended were amazing as well. Each time she saw a coworker or student, it fulled Sarang with an overwhelming sense of pride and satisfaction at the little community and family she created.

“Y’know what?” She said, chewing on the inside of her lip. “Since you’re a good kid and a good cook, I’ll let you have it.” Sarang smiled again, taking back her hand from the sweets. She liked Noeul and appreciated him. In fact, sometimes she saw herself in the younger male and perhaps that had created a small bias towards him. “How about I pay for it for you? I’m buying these for everyone at the center anyways.”

Finally the day was dwindling down to a pink and blue hue stretching like a blanket over the heavens, tucking it in for the sleeping night. A yawn escaped Noeul as he watched the next bus destination blinking on the tv screen at the front of the bus. “Almost home.” He thought whilst his arms hugged the pole to keep him steady.

It was a long day, first running around in the kitchen of jeju’s learning centre and after that learning how to make the most beautiful lotus dumplings (failing more often than he liked) at the buddhist restaurant. The sweet taste still lingering in his mouth. A delighted sigh escaped him, his mind traveling back to his teacher smiling at him when he did it right. The warm feeling of appreciation and pride slowly crept back into his chest.

And so did the rumble in his stomach of hunger as well. 

“Ah.. Maybe I’ll stop at a take out near home, Hwijae’s favourite maybe… Or mine if I’m selfish” The last part of that thought made a sleepy grin decorate his plump lips. 

When the bus came to a halt at the right stop Noeul released the pole and tucked his chin under his scarf, waving at the bus driver whilst stepping out of the vehicle. 

“Food food food.” He sing-song’ed as he walked down the street, determent to find something delicious and filling. That determination halted for a moment when he passed a 7 Eleven. “Snacks are good- snacks are good with take out.” He mumbled to himself whilst reversing his steps, entering the shop to find some snacks and drinks.

Having already a few things in his hands, he searched for his favourite types of sweets. With his eyes widening slightly he saw them, only one pair left. Why were they so popular? His hand reached to grab them but ended up bumping into another persons reaching for the same ones. Whilst chuckling slightly he said “Well- I could be nice and say take them… but they are my favourites”

He looked to the side, slightly tired eyes looking at the person who stood in the way of him and his favourite sweets.

Being the motherly type she was, Sarang always looked forward to Valentine’s Day. In her eyes, she didn’t need a lover to enjoy the holiday, all she needed was people she loved. She was always said to live up to her name, having more love to give than humanly possible. So, on the way home she decided to stop in at the convenience store to pick up some treats for the kids. Most of the parents might not encourage binging on sweets, but Sarang figured a few snacks for each child wouldn’t be too bad. All in the name of love and happiness, she thought.

She decided on getting a variety. Not all kids liked the same things, and some even had allergies. Deciding against the debatable choices, Sarang opted for one of each kind she could find. As she reached for the sweets, her hand touched another’s. Her eyes looked up, smiling at the familiar face, but her hand not moving from it’s spot.

“Hmm,” She hummed. Sarang had no problem letting him have them, but she was the playful type and would never pass up an opportunity to make someone smile. “Kai, Bai, Bo for it?”

“Sarang’s Key to Happiness. What is your fanclub name? Or what do your followers call themselves? I have to proudly declare myself as one after all.” Hwijae thinks that this is definitely a philosophy he can get behind though it is how he likes to live his own life. Positive thoughts, positive attitude, positive life. There is no touch of negativity and truth be told, it is more because he just runs from it than because he knows how to face it and change it. After all that is why he avoids his parents these days. 

He laughs and nods, thinking that is a fair assessment. Compared to her he might be a professional but he doesn’t think that there is really a hard and fast rule when it comes to this art. It is all about just feeling and whatever works, well it works. And he laughs again, pressing his palms together. “Wow, no pressure huh?” But he already has an idea of what he wants to do so with a basket in hand, he begins to gather the flowers needed for his task. 

“Hmm..” She thought her a moment, tilting her head as if in deep thought. “I don’t think I’ve never had enough followers to think of one. I’ve been a one-woman show for a long time.” Grinning with a smile as bright as the sun, she crossed her arms over her chest and leaned closer to him. “Got any suggestions?”

“No pressure at all, really. I trust you’ll find the perfect batch. Hwaiting! Plus, that’s the good thing with flowers, huh? They’ll look beautiful even if you don’t get them exactly right.”

         It was cold but that was quite literally the least of his concerns, the one thing on his mind that was quite ever present on his entire life was boredom. And he was swimming at it on that very moment. Jae was almost too glad when Sarang agreed upon going out, she had always been good company, doesn’t matter if they ended up doing something great or just talked. He respected and care for her more than he would ever bother to admit, the honest smile on her lips and her good intentions were enough to make him have hope on the world some times.

         “You want to go to the arcade?” He asked, an amused smile covering his lips as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked down at the woman. “Alright, we’ll go with your choice tonight, how about that?” He didn’t mind playing a few games, having mindless fun. “However!” He announced, holding back a chuckle before he continued. “We need to go by the bar next to it and drink some soju before, deal?”

When he agreed, the smile on Sarang’s face grew immediately. However, when the trade was mentioned, it faltered only slightly as she narrowed her eyes. She didn’t like making it a habit to drink at night, especially when she always worked. But this was a night out with a friend and the last thing she wanted was to be a party pooper, so she agreed, nodding her head.

“I don’t want to drink too much.. But I guess a few shots wouldn’t hurt. Then I can kick your ass at skiiball.”