"what sort of noise was that?”
It was not a well-known fact that Jaerim could dance – and do it well – and that required a certain degree of flexibility, bodily strength, and coordination to attain. However, being severely out of practice (the church really had no room for dancing ministers anywhere), he was probably not the best candidate at helping out a devout church goer who asked for his help doing her mundane tasks. And no, it was definitely not because of his age – he was very nimble and young in spirit, thank you very much.
One particular task was to carry heavy boxes from a delivery truck and into the store that which the lady owned. It was not Jaerim’s role to check the contents of these boxes, but it was his to aid the delivery men in the tedious task of carrying them. It was challenging on its own, especially since he was told that the contents were fragile, and the streets were becoming denser by the minute.
And, by the fourth or fifth box, his body could already feel the strain of not having quite enough exercise (something he should truly work on, come to think of it). And that strain was made audibly evident by a loud crack – loud enough to gain the attention of a passing male, apparently. Jaerim winced, and attempted (painfully) to stand upright, the automatic smile on his features obviously forced, along with the shaky laugh. “I-it’s fine. It’s just my back, that’s all.”
