Chapter Text
Click.
Jeongyeon looks at the view she just captured. It looks pretty again today.
She watches as the different shades of red, yellow, and orange cease into darkness, the colorful hues giving in. The slightly chilly breeze caresses her face, attracting Jeongyeon to sit on one of the benches and let herself relax after a tiring day. Well, it’s not because her work required more attention today. It’s just really tiring, making drinks and heating up pastries her sister had baked a few hours before their opening. She has been working full-time at their family’s café for a month now, after she decided to do freelance photography instead.
The shuffling of the person a few meters away from her takes her out of her trance. She watches the stranger walk away from the bench and go, which Jeongyeon sees as her cue to go as well. The sun has already set and only faint traces of orange and red can be seen. The show for today is over.
With the light posts illuminating the surroundings, Jeongyeon stows her stuff and walks towards the shops facing Han river. She crosses the street and weaves through the commuters on the way to their rides home. To her right, different shops line up with warm lights, giving the whole street a cozy feel despite it bustling with people.
She stops in front of a small shop cramped between a ramen house and a convenience store. She opens the sliding door and a bell rings throughout the shop- indicating her intrusion. The girl at the counter looks up and gives her a bright smile.
“Unnie! I’m just wrapping up. Did you take photos of the sunset again? You know I can use some extra income,” Chaeyoung, already familiar with Jeongyeon’s usual purpose of visit, teases the older one.
“You’re already rich, Chaengie. It’s about time you print my photos without charge.” Jeongyeon settles in one of the bean bags beside the door. She has been a regular customer ever since Chaeyoung decided to put up her own studio. Considering its location, it’s not a bad spot since people often visit the iconic river to take photos. She watches the younger shuffle around the shop, busy wiping the counter with disinfectant after taking the cash out of the register.
“So, what are we having tonight? I’m kind of craving for grilled meat and soju.” Chaeyoung walks towards the huge window in front and shutters the blinds. She looks at Jeongyeon expectantly, hoping that the meat beast inside her will be satisfied. Finally done with her tasks, she picks up her bag and gestures for Jeongyeon to go.
“Then let’s eat meat, kiddo.” Jeongyeon playfully messes with Chaeyoung’s hair as she waits for the latter to lock the door.
They walk in silence. Jeongyeon is busy thinking about how much times have changed-Chaeyoung has really grown huh- whilst Chaeyoung’s too captivated by the sight of dogs happily rolling on the grass.
They met when they were very young. Chaeyoung was still a mere toddler who loved to poke Jeongyeon’s eyes whenever the latter tried to carry her. Jeongyeon had always wanted a little sister. She would often ask her mother with little puppy eyes why she couldn’t have a younger sibling, thinking it was as easy as adopting a dog. Her mom would simply tell her a gentle “no” and ask her older siblings to play with her. Seungyeon and Seoyeon would then drag her to the living room and tickle the shit out of her, teasing her about wanting their parents to do the deed. Jeongyeon, obviously innocent, just blinks blankly at Seungyeon while Seoyeon slaps the eldest’s shoulder to stop her from telling more obscene jokes.
It went on until one of their mom’s close friends decided to move to their neighborhood, just one house standing between theirs. Introductions were made between the kids and voila! Jeongyeon finally has a little sister! Soon enough, they would walk home together after school and when Jeongyeon left for college, Chaeyoung ended up following her three years after.
“Chaeyoung-ah, where do you want to go?” Jeongyeon asks as they finally settle in her SUV.
“Oh! I heard a new place opened near my apartment block, unnie. Somi said they have nice side dishes.”
“Alright, just give me the directions while I drive.”
Chaeyoung did give her directions, Jeongyeon can’t deny that. But she literally told her directions when they already drove past the turns (UNNIE NO GO BACK GO BACK GO BACK YOU HAVE TO TURN RIGHT!). She’s pretty sure she damaged her brakes pretty badly with Chaeyoung’s bad navigation skills. And when they finally parked in front of the small restaurant, Jeongyeon let out a sigh she didn’t know she was holding.
“Unnie, I have a question for you,” Chaeyoung states as she opens the bottle of soju. Jeongyeon nods and gestures for the younger one to continue as she chews her lettuce wrap. “Why don’t you have a girlfriend?”
Jeongyeon chokes on her food, eliciting a laugh from Chaeyoung who’s giving her a shot as peace offering. “With how you’re clinging to me, do you think people will still be interested?” She glares at Chaeyoung as she feels the liquid trail down her throat.
“It’s not my fault you decided to take me in when I was young. You know my mom doesn’t accept returns.” She pokes at the meat currently sizzling on the grill. “What about the girl you keep taking photos of?”
“Huh? What girl?”
“The one who’s always in your photos.” Jeongyeon knows who exactly she’s talking about, minus the ‘taking photos of’ part though. She shoots Chaeyoung a questioning look. “I don’t know. Her back seems… attractive. She seems single anyway.”
Jeongyeon bursts out laughing at Chaeyoung’s assertion. “Attractive, really? Stop being creepy Chaeyoung and don’t make assumptions about strangers.” She picks up the cooked meat and serves some to the younger girl.
“Jeongyeon-unnie, how is that different from taking photos of someone without them knowing?” Chaeyoung gives her a serious look.
“I don’t do it on purpose! She’s just always in the way. How the hell can I take a decent photo if she always sits at the center?” It’s true though. Jeongyeon has no choice but to take photos with bystanders in them. “Besides, she’s not the only person there and they’re in a public area. A tourist spot, to be exact.”
“I bet she’s single though.” Chaeyoung puts a tteokbokki in her mouth. “Based on how frequent she appears in your shots, I assume she has nothing to do after work. Try to approach her sometime.” Jeongyeon rolls her eyes at Chaeyoung. How could she speak to some random stranger? First, it’s absurd. Second, it’s another Chaeyoung scheme so it’s definitely a no.
“Stop it, Chae.”
“What about you, Nayeon-ssi? Do you have any plans for the weekend?”
Her colleague, Mark, has always been invasive when it comes to their personal lives. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Jihyo roll her eyes. He’s actually not so bad, if one’s going to ignore his persistent ass. He’s quite easy on the eyes and sometimes, he can actually say some words to Jihyo (everyone’s afraid of God, right?). But even though Mark seems like a decent guy, he just doesn’t fall under any of Nayeon’s types. Him being a guy already leaves him with zero chance.
She stabs a broccoli with her fork and shrugs. She doesn’t really have anything planned after work. Not that I actually have someone to go out with. “I’m- “
“Aren’t you going to see her when we get off work?” Jihyo interjects. Nayeon is really thankful for her. Ever since Mark took the initiative to be closer to Nayeon, Jihyo has been responsible for freeing her from their colleague’s grasp.
“Ah, y-yeah.” She nods and ducks her head to hide the warmth creeping on her cheeks.
Finally done with his lunch, Mark just nods his head and gets up. He throws away the remnants of his veggie delight sub and walks away.
“Thanks, Jih.” Jihyo gives her a nod of acknowledgement.
“I don’t get why he still hasn’t gotten the memo that you’re not interested. Did you get anything on your desk again?” The question reminds Nayeon of the two Twix bars she accidentally sat on this morning because someone placed them in her swivel chair. The squished chocolate bars ended up being placed back in the pantry. She tried her best to revive them to their original shape and mixed them with the rest of the chocolate bars. Evil but it has to be done.
“He left two freaking chocolate bars on my seat,” she says through gritted teeth.
“I assume it didn’t end nicely.” Jihyo takes another bite from her lunch. “You should definitely check out the coffee shop at the building next to ours. I tell you, the other owner is quite interesting. Maybe she’s your type.”
Nayeon still vividly remembers the morning Jihyo bought her coffee from the new café nearby. Jihyo had blurted out all the nice compliments she could think of and most of them were directed towards the barista. A week after, she actually found herself walking towards the said place before going to work. Her best friend had declared it as her new favorite coffee shop mainly because of the pretty barista. And to be honest, Jihyo wasn’t lying.
Gorgeous. That was the first word that came to her mind when she saw the person behind the counter. Everything about the woman screamed perfection. She had gorgeous brown eyes, which gave Nayeon a hard time looking at the woman as she gave her order. The said barista had her long brown hair in a ponytail which exposed all her facial features. Nayeon could see how the woman’s jaw moved as she called her name and honestly, it was quite a heavenly sight.
Although she looked very pretty, she was too feminine for Nayeon’s taste. Heck, I don’t even think she swings that way. If asked whether Nayeon wanted to be like the woman or be with the woman, she would immediately say the former. Nevertheless, she still thinks highly of the coffee shop even though she had only gone there once.
“Jihyo, you’re good at eyeing women but please, I’m 100% she’s straight,” she tells Jihyo as she thinks about the owner of the café who brewed her coffee. It was one of the rare moments where she actually enjoyed drinking the bitter-flavored liquid.
“I’m telling you, she’s not! Come with me next week and I’ll introduce her to you.” Nayeon just dismisses the topic and packs up her empty lunchbox. She knows Jihyo has good matchmaking skills, but she’d never let anyone touch her love life, not even her best friend.
Nayeon prefers meeting people naturally. She believes in destiny and all that sappy stuff she learned from reading YA novels in high school. In fact, she still thinks that being separated from Jihyo when they entered different universities was meant to happen. Fate brought them back together anyway.
However, meeting someone to date is a different case. Her parents’ failed marriage had become a constant reminder that love makes people feel like they have to put everything at stake, regardless of its outcome. It’s dark, messy, and it leaves two children hugging at night while their parents shout profanities at each other. It’s like a blackhole. It absorbs every surrounding matter that dares wander around it- replacing whatever used to be full of life with voidness.
Thus, she can only gush over women who make her insides feel like it’s filled with Pop Rocks. Going on dates but never really pushing anything close to commitments, just allowing herself to enjoy the thrill of being intimate with someone. She lets herself give in to romantic ventures but when the fizzy feeling becomes too unbearable, she lets go.
Of course, karma doesn’t make exceptions. Nayeon, despite the towering walls guarding her heart, had her first heartbreak the first time she went beyond casual relationships. It left her moping long enough for Jihyo to voluntarily barge into her apartment and watch over her for two weeks. After that, she promised herself to never let anyone get too close. Thus, she stopped venturing out into the romantic world again.
“Ah, the restaurant downstairs really sells good food,” Jihyo exclaims. Nayeon watches her hastily eat the rest of her bibimbap before standing up to leave.
Right, no time to space out for Im Nayeon.
Sunsets at Han river has always been a treat for Nayeon. Almost every day, she stops by the park near her house to loosen up and watch the different colors fight for dominance in the sky.
So here she is, taking in the majestic view from her usual spot. Usually, she’d enjoy watching it with a pack of Capri Sun but today, she only has her father’s words about her parents’ divorce:
It was like sunset. Beautiful but limited. Like strangers but with thousands of mixed emotions in between.
Nayeon heaves a sigh. The last thing she wants right now is to be reminded of the dark analogy her old man had made. She looks around, hoping not to see any familiar faces who might spill that the sales department’s Im Nayeon was seen spending her Friday night alone at a park.
Click.
Her ears perk up at the sound of a camera shutter coming from somewhere behind her. If she wasn’t at a tourist spot, she would’ve tackled whoever that is to the ground. But here, she has grown accustomed to the sound of memories being captured. If she turns around, she knows she’ll see the familiar brunette whose small face is always hidden behind a camera. Despite the woman being a complete stranger, she has been unintentionally giving Nayeon a sense of familiarity by being there almost every day too.
Whether she’s just a figment of Nayeon’s imagination or not, she has no idea. But something about her presence has been drawing her towards the stranger, as if they’re particles made to attract each other.