Work Text:
A sea of people entered the carriage, Park Dong Hoon and Lee Ji An included. It was a busy Friday evening and everyone wanted to hurry to the bars, to the karaoke place, to the barbecue restaurant, home.
Park Dong Hoon was exhausted, another long week of trying to stay on top of everything. His wife was still cold and moody and distant. He had a sneaky feeling she was hiding something, but he wasn’t about to stop and ask. He had things going on, too. He felt constantly threatened at work. The other colleagues wanted to see him fall and everyone knew it. Luckily, he had a good team under him, all who had his back and wanted nothing except good things for him. And he had his wits about him... most of the time.
Miss Lee Ji An was a completely different story altogether. Always with her headphones in, always with a look in her eyes that told everyone who saw that she knew something that everyone else didn’t, always unpredictable...
Back on the subway, it was doing its best impression of a sardine tin. Person after person packed in tight, hardly any breathing space. Lee Ji An was standing near the door, people surrounding her from all sides. Most were taller than her, but Dong Hoon had no trouble noticing her. Without her earphones this time, he registered. He wondered what she listened to, what kind of music she was interested in...
He felt his phone buzz and he took it from his pocket and smiled to himself. A text from Ki Hoon, with a photo of their older brother, already drunk with several bottles of empty soju next to him. Dong Hoon recognised the background as Jung Hee’s bar. Thinking of the stress from work, and his wife... he decided he’d head there for a few drinks with his brothers and friends.
Another stop, another wave of people, all wanting to go home and begin their weekends. Ji An saw him and nobody else. She saw how he was staring out of the window, looking into the darkness. He seemed to be focusing hard, determined to look out instead of in, instead of at her...
The subway car jolted to a sudden stop and it caused a shift. A shift of people, a shift of dynamics, a shift of feeling.
A few people muttered and ‘tsked’ at the people who had accidentally stood on their foot or bumped into their backs, held the hand rail and covered somebody else’s hand with their own.
Park Dong Hoon had lurched forward and had been brought toe to toe with miss Lee Ji An. Christ, he hadn’t realised she was this small. The top of her head was just about level with his chest. Chest that had instinctively breathed in and as of yet hadn’t breathed back out. He had reached his right hand out and held onto the rail to steady himself, and he hadn’t realised just how close he now was to Lee Ji An. That girl could have an excellent career in card games. Her face didn’t falter, eyes didn’t blink. She didn’t even look up at him, or mutter or grumble. She didn’t blush or touch her hair awkwardly. She just stood and did nothing.
He was so close to her that she could smell him. He smelled like cigarettes and sandalwood.
His woollen grey scarf was almost tickling her face. She could see the fine threads of his grey coat
A ripple surged through the car and a secondary wave caused Park Dong Hoon to step even closer and he didn’t think it was possible to get any closer unless he was wearing her. He swallowed hard as his legs got pushed and he felt contact. Christ. Lee Ji An tactfully raised her eyes without him realising -- he was too focused on trying to focus right now -- and saw that his grip on the rail had tightened. This time it was not to steady himself.