isnāt joowon just a joy to observe? her mindās nothing if delighted, so is the grin on her face and her legs from where she was standing atop of the table put outside while the shop stayed idle. are nothing if ready to bounce just as delighted, her whole body is ready to bounce for that matter. the shatter of objects is nothing to be worried about, the shatter of anything that can be replaced is in fact, nothing to be worried about. sheās broken plates before. broken glasses. sheās destroyed houses simply because they brought too many unwanted memories to some others.Ā
sheās put a flicker in onesā hands because they needed that first flame before they could actually go ahead and strike it to the root. ashes are always smoothing at the end. regrets may occur but never, never has she failed to make them let go. she warned joowon, not because she was worried or to stop him from possibly crashing. she simply did it because she saw the hole and she saw him with carrying enough to not be able to see it.
she said so because she saw and he did not. but that was not intended to make him avoid the impact. isnāt joowon just a joy to be around? always so sure that he can do it even if heās told not to. even now, as heās scrapped and probably bruised from the fall. heās talking as if itās not that much to worry about. it isnāt. things are easily replaced. not scars though. yeoreum would not let someone handle a lighter if it meant theyād be ready to light it up across their skin, she doesnāt want them to scar, simply to feel as if the wounds are patched.Ā
āforget the china, stay right there, iāll be back!ā yeoreum does expect him to stay put, like that, on the ground. with the scatter that most likely involved her china sheās sure of it. bouncing she does, off the table, in the shop and behind the counter. her fingers are grabbing for the first aid kit she always carry around. she shuffles back with quick feet, almost as if sheās been shot with a dose of caffeine. she knows the feeling, sheās lived it.Ā
āi was thinking,ā yeoreum starts as she sits down besides him and starts opening the kit, not a care in the world that theyāre not safe in but on the side of the road. itās not that busy of a road either way, the rare people she sees walk around, theyāre either customers or lost on their way to another place. āthat youāre delightful joowon, kept smiling even with the mess you made, and thatās good because theyāre replaceable, arenāt they? in fact, keep smiling even if you break a bone or two, theyāre not replaceable, but they heal. however, you are not.ā she looks up with a small smile, a nod, a look down at the content of the first aid kit and her fingers gathering what may be needed. alcohol, cotton swabs.Ā
āso break some bones, get some scraps, but donāt fall too low and donāt jump from too high. because thereāll only ever be one joowon in this world.ā sheās holding out her hand, palm up waiting for him to place the bruised part safely there so she can get to whatās important.Ā
of course though, when she tells him to stay put heās already scrambling to fix the mess. minutes had been spent, well what felt like minutes and was only a matter of seconds, spent with him sitting in the same position. criss-cross with pant legs shuffling over glass pieces and dusting around tea leaves. what a sight! honestly what a sight itās something his mother used to stress about when he was little. joowon was only clumsy because he thought he was impenetrable. honestly, until heās proven completely wrong heāll stop but for now, allās fair in his game.
so heās still for a few seconds, letting the fact that he is bleeding and scraped around a few areas sink in before he decides to move. and itās despite a couple winces and a few hisses of his teeth that he does acknowledge the scrapes. itās all after yeoreumās taken off though. itās not about pride or anything itās just he was so concerned about showing that everything will be good and heās good that he kept his face bright. and itās bright now too, with joy and a little of a grimace at the hole that caused his downfall. literally.
āseriously,ā he says that to no one in particular. no oneās passing by really and if they were heād look up and wave at them, bloodied hand and all. dust around his fingers and face and all.Ā
he does manage to shake some off, much like a shaggy dog and then proceed to scoot together the pieces around him. heās quite resourceful too, using pieces of the box to scoop the leaves altogether like a broom. thereās really no focus on his mind, nothing like clean up or get up or patch it. heās just moving to move because the hole messed up his momentum and heās got to keep it up. maybe thatās all it does.
thatās where yeoreum comes in, momentarily breaking him out his reveries and reminding him that yeah he fell but heās also bruised. bruised and grabbing things with his bruised hand isnāt the best. neither is touching broken glass but heās impenetrable right?
and he thinks about her words, thinks about them while holding out his hand freely, and moving back to his same position, knees off the ground and crossed under him.Ā āyou know, I broke my arm in primary school. I jumped off the jungle dome? you know the one with all the holes and stuff? and my teacher didnāt know because I was laughing so much. like it hurt but it was so fun, the tumbling and stuff. my mom cried though.ā he's telling the memory because itās important to note, no matter how many times heās reminded he can break he always tries to prove he canāt. no matter how many people tell him heās going to jump too high and fall too hard joowon is just waiting to see if he can overcome it.
"you know what, youāre pretty awesome too! not many people like touching blood. and the last patron I had to deliver too when I dropped her stuff she hit me on the head with a clipboard. twice. so youāre pretty cool. iām pretty sure thereās only one of you heh.ā
heās impenetrable really!
or well, heās waiting to be.
