#stcgnant

The task was simple. Look for a moment when she was out and alone, vulnerable. At that time, another member of the gang would attempt to rob her in a secluded area, likely pushing her into an alleyway to keep her out of sight of potential passerby. Cue Youjin as the random bystander who just so happens to come in and save the day. In the process, the little princess would get herself hurt, Youjin would offer to take her to the hospital upon noticing the injury, and should she initially be wary, all he would have to do is touch her to manipulate that concern into trust. And, just like that, he would have her in his grasp.

And that, step by step, was exactly how it happened. Knight in shining armor Youjin exits a cafe at exactly 10:23pm. He happens to hear a struggle taking place in the small alleyway on the left of the establishment. Being “brave” and “heroic” and with no one else to help, he rounds the corner to find the poor victim at knife point. “Hey!” the robber’s cue to look in his direction, panicked. He “accidentally” lets the knife against her throat slip enough to gash her shoulder opened- not enough to be life threatening, but enough to be concerning. Then there’s a momentary tussle between Youjin and the attacker. Youjin gets hold of the knife, scares the man off, and turns towards the injured girl with immediate “worry.” Perfect. Everything was going perfect. Her fear freezing her in place. His voice, filled with concern but still soothing, helping her calm down. Then the suggestion of “I should take you to the hospital. It’ll be quicker than calling an ambulance. My car is nearby.”, hand on her uninjured shoulder to subtly manipulate her into agreeing to come with him. Only a second of hesitation is followed by her nodding, thanking him, and Youjin is the kind hero who had come to her aid when she most needed it. The drive consisted primarily of charming smiles and idle conversation, just enough to keep her from realizing, for a while, that they were going the wrong way. And by the time she actually realized it, they were near enough to their first destination that she didn’t have time to remedy the situation. She was trapped. And Youjin, true to character until the last second, continued to play the role of concerned savior at the sight of her panic. He even went so far as to pull off the side of the vacant road, “What’s wrong?” He asked, “Are you alright?” but before she could respond, the passenger side door was being flung open and yet another man was injecting something directly into her neck. Youjin wasn’t sure what it was- just that it was supposed to make her sleep for a while. Assuming the dosage wasn’t wrong and they’d accidentally killed her, of course. Youjin’s false worry instantly faded and was replaced, instead, by a devilish grin, “Sorry, sweetheart.” A terrible excuse for an apology and nothing more before she was falling limp, unconscious. Then it was time to quickly patch up her shoulder so she wouldn’t bleed out, switch vehicles and license plates (just in case anyone had seen them) and take sleeping beauty to one more trade off location before their final stop at an underground hide out about an hour outside of the city. Okay, so it wasn’t like this whole thing was foolproof, but Youjin didn’t know what else was going on aside from his piece of the puzzle. He knew only that he was supposed to stay with Minhee while another group of guys was cleaning up the mess, trying to cover their tracks.

Clearly the city of Seoul must’ve had its immediate floral needs cared for because business had dropped to a literal crawl on this particular day. It was so slow, in fact, that her boss let the other girls go home early. Which ultimately meant that any chance of going out somewhere for lunch was out of the question, but Lucy wasn’t about to deny a grumbling stomach its fuel entirely. With her cell phone resting horizontally against the palm of her hand, she hunched over the front counter with her gaze never breaking from the bright screen while its twin was busy periodically bringing a chip or two up to her mouth. Not the most nutritional meal in the world, but it got the job done. 

@stcgnant

       He isn’t usually so careless. Lack of sleep catches up to everyone though. It doesn’t matter how much they hate the thought of laying dead still for a few hours. It didn’t matter how much of a waste of time Siyang thought it was. The human body doesn’t let determination override its basic needs. But he still fights the need to sleep every day.

       He accidentally tips the cup as he hands it over and… Thank you, coffee house employee. Thank you for a lid that isn’t even properly snapped closed. It must be such a hard job to add a little more pressure before handing over scalding drinks. They are truly overworked heroes. And Siyang conveniently ignores the fact he almost dropped the cup in his tired daze anyway.

       “What the-?” He hears some of the sloshed liquid hit the ground and looks down. But Jungah’s reaction brings his attention back to her in an instant. And he almost forgets to react. Almost. But he does. It’s what any normal caring person would’ve done. “Shit. Are you fuckin’ kidding me… Are you okay?” Standard question. He’s still holding both coffee cups as he frowns. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what the hell happened. Cheap ass lids can’t even…”

         The repercussions of a jaded past entangled with a blurred present veiled in a night of forced contemplation are these: hazed mind, jittery hands, headache and the lack of concentration. The occurrence started way back then, yet with each passing weeks it seems to revisit her like an old friend trying to make up for lost time, while there is Jungah, unwilling to embrace all of these. The first few episodes, she could tolerate, but it’s taking a toll on her well-being right now – and most especially, it’s taking a toll on her work.

         Damn. Concentration fleets in and out, distraction stealing her away in the simplest stimuli such as the sound of grounding coffee beans, or the gentle splash of hot water pouring down the cup, or of the hushed conversations that converts to mindless whispers in her head. Damn. Everything is distracting. Why?

         Walking carelessly, the goal is to finish the task, to hand the coffee and go back behind the counter, get another, and deliver onto the table – same, repetitive chore throughout the day and it’s easy. Very easy. But complications arises at an unexpected moment. Distraction, here it is. Or maybe a jolt back to reality. The splash of liquid and the smoke of its heat paired with the raised volume of one’s voice are enough to awaken her, quickly evading the spilling hot coffee to burn her skin, a swift reflex, before a shocked expression grows on her face. “Oh my god. I’m sorry. I’m really really sorry!” A fast response of apologetic bows prevents her from seeing the man’s face until he speaks again and his voice registers.

      Shou did not understand the world around him as others might - - brought up in a home where he was expected to follow in his father's footsteps. To be something he felt no connection to, while his mother ushered him to pursue his dreams. It was too much to handle at times, shipping back and forth between Korea and Japan. Dealing with the two sides of parenting each adult believed to be correct. And even still, through the cloud of opinion, Shou had discovered his true passion in life. And here he stood ; fingers clicking and swiping at the settings on his camera.

This wasn’t really Yongsun’s scene. In fact, she’d only been to two bars in her entire life before now and both times had been majorly awkward. Still, it wasn’t like her to turn down an offer to hang out with her friends, even if the location wasn’t one she was especially excited about. Wouldn’t a night in playing Mario Kart or DDR or something have been so much better? Oh well. So long as her friends were having fun, she was happy.

@stcgnant  

 One couldn’t get too used to stares, of eyes searing with what they call as natural tendencies of men – lust, or of eyes boring deep as though it attempts to undo, to find an answer to an unspoken question. For the former, Jungah might have found herself not minding those ridiculous gazes, often she would counter them with a piercing glare but not for the latter. It had always left her confused, left her thinking of things she shouldn’t, of things that are less likely but not entirely impossible. The past few months of living in Seoul have ticked by rather peacefully albeit a weird, recurring dream, but the frequency of such stares had stressed her.

Not that one attempted to progress their stare with a confrontation – maybe only one out of the many of them, but what bothered her was not the fact that they stared, but of the reactions their faces held as they did. Jungah was always meters away but she could clearly see their faces - dazed, surprised, terrified. And it did settle much on her. If she had a choice she would’ve taken steps closer, not to make any commotion but just because of pure curiosity. But even before she could successfully bring her thoughts to action, they would always look away as her eyes meets them. And that was always it. They’ve always left her confounded.

    “Why not?” It was an innocent question. Probably not the best thing to ask right now though. Minhee could’ve been less obvious about it. But she didn’t mean to be nosy. She just… was. she’d been caught staring at the stranger’s blazing hair when she spoke up. Minhee was again lost in her thought. Envying random people. Wishing she could be as expressive as they were. Meanwhile she was stuck “boring”. The fashion industry told her she could try different looks better if she stayed as neutral as possible. But no. It was boring.

    She was 100% jealous of the woman’s hair. Not in a bad way though. There was no spite. Just intrigue. “Why can’t I look? I love your hair!” Minhee beamed. She thought the person was being self-conscious about being stared at. Nonsense! It was for good reason.

    But then she saw the problem. A large tear in the person’s shirt. How? “Oh no!” Her hands went over her mouth. “Your clothes!” Way to point out what she was supposed to look away from. “Your clothes is ripped!” Could you be any louder, Minhee? “What happened?!”

A sudden draft of cool air brushing against her abdomen raised alarm bells, but Lusine brushed it off as passing a strong AC vent at first. When it kept happening, despite being indoors and not in any way exposed to a consistent breeze, the alien eventually paused to check her appearance with the full expectation that maybe her shirt had ridden up and gotten caught on her jeans. Only--things couldn’t be that simple, could they? An involuntary gasp escaped the redhead as her head strained to get a good view at a popped seam running down the right side of her shirt. Frantic hands fumbled and feebly pulled the fabric shut from any prying eyes. 

With a face already brighter than a traffic light, she risked utter embarrassment and raised her head in search of a bathroom. That was when she noticed a girl just staring straight at her and anxiety nestled into a wave of mortified nausea in the pit of her stomach. “Don’t look,” she breathed, her voice not nearly as firm on the execution as she had hoped. At first it didn’t seem like she saw the source of her misery, but clearly her request gave reason to further scrutinize her appearance and it was only a matter of seconds before her worst fear was announced to everyone within a fifty foot radius.