#threads;aki.

Despite having been inside and out of the cold for at four hours, the rosy flush clung to her porcelain cheeks as she wandered around the bookstore. She had failed to read The Handmaid’s Tale most recently. It started out fascinating enough, commanding her attention for five consecutive hours, a record high. But then, well, what always happened, happened again. One moment she was enjoying a book, and the next thing she knew she had that itch. The itch to throw the book aside, get up, do something else, anything else. As per usual, she was unable to stop her impulses, tossing aside her reading attempt to clean instead.

She unironically enjoyed cleaning more than she enjoyed reading a good, goddamned book! 

But, she figured she just hadn’t found the right book yet, and Mondo-san said it was very important for a lady to know how to read, so she was determined to see one through the whole way. It just needed to be the right book. And right now the right book was on the top shelf, out of reach. All she could see were the words on the spine - IT. How simple and interesting it seemed! The girl was nothing if not determined though, pushing herself onto her tippy-toes and grasping the edge of the book with her finger tips. Just when it seemed like she was going to finally get it to tip over, one wrong maneuver ended in her pushing it all the way back again. “No!” She exclaimed. “IT, don’t be like this.”

Although this trip to A New Chapter had become a part of her daily routine, her stride was filled with unusual trepidation. The knuckles of her dainty hands were chalk white as she gripped onto the larger-than-usual bento container. That morning, she had felt good about her decision. It served as her motivation in the early hours of the morning as she zoomed around the kitchen like a stressed-out worker bee. Now that the time to actually go ahead and commit to her decision was here, anxiety filled her to the bone. Ever since she had heard from his roommate about his upcoming birthday, the idea of making a special birthday meal had not left her mind. It was exactly the sort of thing she would want for her own birthday. Still, she did not want to come across as too much and make the skittish male view her differently. Over the past month that they had known each other, she had grown to value his presence in her life, even though their relationship was mostly transactional. She spoke to him briefly whenever she dropped off his lunch and then attempted to make conversation sometimes whenever she came over to visit the bunny he was looking after for her. Sometimes, she wanted to ask more about him, grow their friendship more, but the threat of rejection loomed heavily over her. It would be like the Dai-chan situation all over again; somehow both not as bad and worse at the same time.

The other issue was that the girl was helpless even in the face of moderate kindness. People gave her an inch and she poured endless sunlight into it without question. It was simply who she was. Hoseok was nice to her; quiet and shy, sure, but a perfect gentleman all the same. So, it was difficult to reign herself in from putting a little more effort into his lunches each time in an attempt to make him happy. They were small gestures anyway. This, on the other hand. This might be excessive. She pushed her way into the shop, using her shoulder to nudge the door open enough to let herself in, and bounced on her heels briefly for a moment as her eyes sought him out throughout the room. They finally landed on the lanky figure tucked away between some of the book shelves. She dragged her feet as she made her way over. “Hey!” She chirped when she was finally there. “Um, I have your lunch.” Her gaze dropped to the box she was holding onto for dear life and she kept it there. “Um. If it’s okay, do you wanna go to lunch together? I - It’s kind of a surprise. I can go like, after you see.”