#starteryh

𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐤𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐨 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞 & 𝐜𝐚𝐟𝐞́ ; 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐚.

          “ last night i dreamt that i was running through the stars —— stardust filling the air & the universe’s constellations tangled through my hair as MOONLIGHT enveloped me in its celestial glow. ” haru’s brown eyes were pools of honey, a hint of a smile dancing along the curve of his lips ; voice velvety and soft as he mused aloud to lily —— the bookstore’s ( and his ) cat.  “ you know, lily —— i’ve heard that dreams are memories . . . memories from this life, or a past life ; or memories that aren’t even memories yet —— just dreamdust and stardust in a universe of possibilities ; trying to communicate what was, what is, and what will be. ” ( lily, of course, isn’t listening —— busying herself with the piece of string which haru is dangling over her clawed paws ). “ what do you think my dream meant, hm ? ” 

“so, i didn’t realise these came in a set until i bought them.. you want one?“ kiwoo’s head tilted, holding out one of the bracelets he’d purchased from a stall that had caught his eye. they were pretty little crystal bracelets, and honestly his intention had really only been to buy one, until he’d been handed a small set upon paying. he couldn’t complain, but now he figured the nicest option was to offer them to another. 

"fuck."

yoogeon takes a moment to truly process his situation as he stands on the side of the road in complete silence. he knew he should've just taken his goddamn car out to drive even though the trip to the grocery store was just a fifteen minute walk away from the residential area in hwesakgu. he needed to get gas anyway but god forbid the one day he actually walked to the store he dropped his keys somewhere between the trip to and back. worst of all, the keys to his room at yeyun inn were attached to his car keys and all he had on him were the set of keys to his grandparent's old home.

on the bright side, he wasn't left completely stranded without a place to stay but... there was a reason he chose a room at yeyun to his childhood home. if anything he would rather sleep in his car and now he didn't even have that option.

within the time that yoogeon had gotten back to his grandparents place to find out he had lost his car keys it seemed they had just mysteriously disappeared from the entire vicinity. hell, yoogeon started searching sidewalks and streets he hadn't even walked past just hoping that maybe someone picked them up and dropped them again because he was starting to feel insane from searching the same three blocks over the last forty minutes.

~

“Thank you so much. Enjoy your stay.” Yeong Mi bowed, a quiet smile plastered on her lips in order to make sure the new visitors felt like they received adequate hospitality. Once they left through the back door to find their room, the woman relaxed her face with a deep sigh. Shoulders sunk with the rest of her body as she slumped in her chair, repositioning herself as she had before the customers had checked in.

April was the start of spring. New life breathed into the trees and grass. The air was more crisp in the morning, and refreshing by noon. Dew greeted the residents of Yunhwa every morning. It was the start of the inn’s revival.

For the past month, Jinah had been in-training for her new position, but was quickly left to her own devices after she showed commendable knowledge of the responsibilities of a receptionist, and even helped update some of the systems to make a smoother transaction between the guests. For the most part, most guests at the moment were long-term residents, with guests from out of town coming every so often per day. It wasn’t a very busy job. For now.

Jinah had been warned of the spike in business that would occur in May and consistently increase all summer into the fall months. But for now, the lull of the workplace was languid. Yeong Mi was used to hearing the chime of the regulars coming and going at this point so when the door rang and there was no eager tourist voices, she assumed it was a resident. Until it was quiet for a moment and she sat up, then stood up to see if someone was actually there. 

~

*knock* *knock* *knock*

...

*knock* *knock* *knock*

... “Seriously?” A quiet groan left the older woman’s pursed lips as she waited for a response from the other side of the door. She was impatiently waiting for some kind of acknowledgment from the person behind the door. “Can you open up? It’s urgent!” Jinah spoke up querulously before knocking again.

There was a curious young writer- a journalist- in Yunhwa who had quite the talent for finding stories. Even Jinah, wo didn’t care much for the idle gossip of the town, would go out of her way to read their articles. Usually, Jinah found them to be pleasant or at least, entertaining.

Usually.

Only usually they were not about her, or more specifically, about her job at the local inn. During her usual, uneventful morning, she found the older ladies of her neighbourhood giving her the stink eye (if they hadn’t already since she moved to Yunhwa), whispering about her loose morals. Sleeping with a patron of the inn was not against the law, or the rules, or her contract; so she wondered why it became the topic on everyone’s hushed lips. At first, she didn’t mind it. That was until said patron left a privacy complaint to the inn as they checked out. Early.