#pyrxflies

if there was a word to define seulhee’s current state, one would take forever. for all she knew, she’s everything but positive. everything but happy, or ecstatic, or content, or calm, or— anything. the list goes on. dear god, seulhee whispered to herself since 3pm. and what? it’s almost past 9pm. the nail of her right thumb was starting to lose its shape (it was a good thing she wasn’t a fan of painting them). her fingers were shaking and her breathing was far from normal, like she ran fifty rounds around her diner.

when a customer stepped in, seulhee realized the diner was empty for hours now, few to no one stopping by for a meal. her waitresses were slacking, chefs out smoking. it was a long day, and slow for the business, but the constant buzzing of nervousness and fear kept her awake more than coffee did. it was just around lunch, peak hours of her diner, and she was cleaning one of the tables at the far corner. the sun was high up. now and then, a customer would step in only to order a sundae and leave. turning the jukebox on, seulhee was on her way back to the counter when she heard a cry.

“good lord!” she yelled with a jump, the cloth she held flying like a pigeon above her head. and hours later, here she was, holding a burrito blanket that held a mini human. no one knew who owned the kid, some even mistaking it as her own when she asked the customers.

seeing the face of the customer gave seulhee hope. “maeg! oh my god— maeg!” handing the baby out of sight to one of the waitress, seulhee made her way to maegan with evident rush. it was that second when she heard muffled crying. her forehead had a thin layer of sweat, the rolls of her hair giving out. the sunset like hues made the tangles conspicuous, her rolled bangs not helping either. “what’s your meal tonight? i can give it to you for free— i need... i need to show you something.” without waiting for maegan to be settled just yet, seulhee captured the woman’s slim wrist and walked. successfully dragging her trusted customer, seulhee stepped into the kitchen.

“do— do you... do you have like— like a good apartment? you live alone, right?” just then, the waitress seulhee haphazardly handed the baby to stepped in. no... this waitress wasn’t holding a baby. she was holding a time bomb. “shut it up, seulhee! it started crying when you handed it to me!” the little human cried and yelled and turned red and seulhee was starting to shake from fear again.

“a customer left this behind—” mid-sentence, she held the baby that might cry its lungs out any second now, its cheeks as red as the tomatoes in her kitchen. seulhee had to yell louder to speak to maegan. “it’s been here since three! and it hasn’t had anything yet— oh my god, maeg please help me! i don’t have milk in my tits!”

seulhee was crying with the baby now. her face... awfully similar to the little human’s she was holding.

( ▲ : calling for @pyrxflies​ — aiden !! )

jinah was a science vlogger. that meant she talked about science at least 90% of the time, while the other 10% was nonsense rambling or her vlogs. she never brushed over other topics unless it was necessary. so when a commenter had practically spammed flooded begged on multiple videos to do a boyfriend does my makeup tag!, she felt a bit perplexed. she knew squat about makeup, only knew how to apply lipstick and eyeliner if she got lucky. the rest was just lucky genetics, really. she had clear skin and that, she was thankful to her parents for. but the comments always became one of the most liked and top comments and she knew that if she continued to ignore it, she’d never hear the end of it. so she had given in, declared defeat and waved her little white flag.

“fine, you guys win. i’ll do the video. BUT IF IT’S BORING, DON’T TELL ME I DIDN’T WARN YOU -__-” 

but she had a few problems. one, she had only two pieces of makeup, and that was it. two, she didn’t have a boyfriend. sure, she had boy friends, but they were all busy or they had girlfriends. or she just didn’t feel like bothering them. either way, she was at a loss. as she aimlessly wandered around tony moly (she was on her fifth circle, and the employees were starting to get worried), jinah had hit an incredible epitome. who said it had to be boyfriend does a makeup tag? it could be girlfriend! not that she had a girlfriend, but she did have a lot of girl friends. swiping the nearest makeup tools, she recklessly shoves them into her basket before pulling out her phone. she had the perfect person to do this video with. well, sort of. 

｡ ➟ text message / aiden 」

five minutes. seulhee took five minutes to grasp most (art) student’s necessity. laptop bag (inside was her laptop and drawing tablet), pen, a bunch of paper (some had doodles on the center, bottom, left, wherever, but seulhee believed in occupying all spaces before trashing them), and a rubber band to bun her hair up when things get serious. showering was out of the way. the long slim hands of her hand watch pointed 12:45pm. she was late. common, but seulhee couldn’t afford wasting more time even if it was for hygienic purposes.

wearing her trusted deep green sweatshirt, beanie covering the mess of her head and baggy pants that looked like her father owned, she marched through the sea of office workers out for lunch. the sleeves wrinkled by her wrists, its length clearly not for her frame. at first glance, one would naturally think she pulled out whatever from her boyfriend’s closet out of laziness. maybe she was instructed to buy milk. or condoms. or both. the artist couldn’t care less though. she had deadlines to meet. and its heavy footsteps were growing right behind the door of consciousness.

the cafe was packed with cramming students, just like seulhee. these lazy asses. there were a number of customers that genuinely visited for the coffee. good for them. seulhee caught a glimpse of a number of men in suits. probably a business meeting. after throwing her stuff at her usual spot (by the cashier, near the condiments, where it’s easier to order coffee without standing and reaching for sugar), seulhee made her way to the cashier. it was the same thing, same order, same barista with this dashing smile. seulhee often compared those pearly white rows of teeth to the rays of the sun, the eyes the sun itself. two suns in one face. odd, yes, but seulhee was magnetized, like some gravitational pull.

minhee was on the name tag.

“good morning,” but the wall clock, right above the cafe’s brewing machine, pointed its hands at 12:50pm. “i’ll have the usual— extra shot of espresso though.” her ‘usual’ was composed of the basic recipe of caramel macchiato. but waking up late, with sleep wrapping its long warm arms around her brain and dragging her back to slumber, she needed the help of espresso. a good punch will always work (maybe not without breakfast but who cares about breakfast?)

( @pyrxflies )

the soft strums of the rainfall on the pavement were like an acoustic song lingering in the background on a sunday morning. baekin liked it. it made everything so calm, surreal and slower. it was as if time had slowed down just to give way of the dull weather. sky was gray and clouds were sad; baekin felt otherwise though. outside, the wind was strong. little sprinkles of water hit her face but she walked on nonetheless. her yellow umbrella shielded her small frame with ease.

it was a fifteen minute walk from her apartment to the nearest park. although neglected, she could see people visit now and then, mostly couples making out and having battle of the tongues.

with today’s weather, she must visit that little place again. it was a ritual. it had a forest, an abundant amount of trees— trees were her friends! she figured it was her kind’s friend. clad with jeans and a simple tee, baekin marched on. the ends of her worn out converse started to soak her feet. it was an icky feeling but there were worse things. like maybe how her shoulders were getting soaked from how she had held her umbrella.

“damn,” she groaned under her breath.

on her way to the gazebo, baekin held her umbrella before her. the wind wasn’t cooperating much with her and kept pushing the rain into her face. reaching her secluded spot, at the very far depth of the park, she aimed the yellow umbrella to the side and folded it.

but she saw a surprise!

someone was there!

the water was cold in her throat as wheein took a sip. her forehead was moist from sweat, her fringe like a little illustration of its own train system, lines intersecting and going their way. around her were trainees too, just as of a mess. some faces were familiar, some were new, but there was this hush to act like long time friends. wheein struggled at that but tried. she was, however, familiar with another trainee. byulyi. hyejin long went home, successfully impressing the trainers with the color of her voice and technique.

by the water dispenser, half empty paper cup in her hand, wheein built a little world of her own. she was confined by walls of her thoughts, of occurrences that happened recently. she remembered the sequence vividly, like a dream that she could recall with great detail. “i will sponsor you. you’re a good catch, your voice is beautiful. trust me with this,” while in her made up reality, trainees around her started packing up. goodbyes were bade with waves, smiles of relief making their face. finally, they can rest after hours and hours of repeated choreography. it was after the door was closed shut again that wheein realized she had been chewing on the edge of the paper cup.

everyone’s gone except byulyi.

“everyone went home?” wheein’s voice was tired, both from dancing and singing. wheein disposed the paper cup then walked to settle beside byulyi who was leaning against the mirror wall. both their backs against the mirror, wheein rested her head on byulyi’s shoulder. eyes stared ahead at nothing, silently going back to the world she had constructed earlier. maybe she should bring byulyi with her.

“how long do you think we can do this, unnie?”