> please read the prologue (0.) for content warning.
The loud blaring of your phone alarm had woken you up from your dreamless slumber, you dragged yourself out of bed just so you wouldn't have to hear it for a second longer.
You sighed to yourself, stretching your arms above your head, letting a strange sound that you wouldn't let another human hear due to embarrassment as your limbs readjusted from being unmoving for countless hours.
Peeking through your blinds you saw that it was cloudy... You'd better prepare for the worst, clouds mean worries and uncertainty in your mind, you heavily associated weather with the tone of your mood, and so, today must just be one of them days.
Time to get ready, you don't want to end up being late, you'd worked too hard to even afford this apartment, late mornings were just something you'd need to suck up to, what a stupid world, having to make yourself unhappy just to be allowed to live, it really was pitiful.
You sifted through your closet, you had so many clothes just so you were prepared for any type of situation, it kind of overwhelmed you! You ended up picking a cute blouse and then a cute skirt with some tights, your usual outfit, it's not as if you wanted to wear cuter clothing to appeal to people, you just thought it looked good, and so you wore it! You couldn't care less if people were watching you.
Half an hour later after you'd properly woken up, you grabbed your bag and headed out to your shift at your job, you were a worker at a local bakery – you didn't man the kitchen, that would mean you needed to wake up even earlier! Instead you were the clerk, you sold the baked goods, sorted out displays, took phone calls, and occasionally when the bakers asked you'd help out, it was honestly a pretty fun job, you just felt lucky that you hadn't been forced into an office for the rest of your days, you really couldn't complain about the hand you'd been dealt with.
You were actually friends with the owner, the two of you were close friends during your high school days, and, when they told you they were planning on starting a business, you had nothing but support for them, even when they were struggling you still would come and help, and they in turn, offered you a job working there! It's not everyday your friend randomly gives you a career opportunity, and so you graciously accepted.
Opening the doors, a bell rang, and, a yawn slipped from your lips, the scent of freshly made cakes drifted around you, invigorating you to do your best today! Not that there was an overly heavy workload on your back.
"Ah, Good morning, I hope you slept well. "Eom Shin, the owner peeked his head out from the kitchen, his white hair pinned up as he was dressed up in an apron, another reason you enjoyed your job was having no dress code, if you weren't walking into work naked, you were fine.
You smiled at him, giving the man a wave. "I slept ... good. "You were lying, waking up before noon was a struggle. "It's good to see you're in good spirits!" You'd known Shin for so long you could read the emotions he felt easily, he was dull in tone when he spoke, but his face was simple for you to understand.
"Yes, I came up with a new...." combination" to try, we'll need to experiment but, I think it'll sell fast. "You'd opened your mouth to ask him, but he already figured you out too it seems.
"I'm keeping it a surprise, Be ready. " You deadpanned as he disappeared back into the kitchen, you followed in his stead so you could retrieve this morning's goods that were cooling, time to get ready for a long day of interacting with people!
He wasn't much of a talker, your work conversations were normally short, btu, after you've known someone for a few years, things tend to dry up, but you weren't sure if it was that or just his composed attitude. It was normal to you though, he did have a lot more to do than you, and probably was a lot more stressed, it's not like you were about to start complaining.
Shortly after you, your other in-house employee arrived, you were currently organising some filled- croissants onto your display as the ding of the bell sounded out again, you turned and met eyes with the dishwasher, Tae Iseul, you waved to her again and she bounded over to you, wrapping her arms around you, you couldn't help but let out a chuckle, stepping away from her. " I can't do my job if you're planning to latch onto me Iseul." You patted her head for a second, knowing she was about to start talking to you about her day, unprompted, She was very active compared to you, animated and lively, you'd have to say you were more of a passive person, so, the two of you were a good match, you weren't sure if you had become friends quickly due to you getting along well, or just because the girl was chatty in general.
" Oh. My god. You won't believe what happened to me this morning! So, I was getting out of my bed and then I-"
She went on and on for a good five minutes, telling you some mundane story as if it were the most important moment of her life up till then, you nodded to let her know that you were listening, you were lucky to have someone like her be your friend, it meant you'd never get bored, she would often spam you with texts in both the work group chat and on your social medias, you always replied when you could, you were baffled at how she had so much energy all of the time.
" Oh that reminds me, are you free tomorrow tonight? I feel like going out! You need to come with me, pleeease! Please, please, please! " She latched herself onto your arm as well, shaking you as you tried to write on the little signs of what the prices of your items that day were, as much as it was a bother, it was nice at the same time. " I promise we'll have fun! Plus the day after we have the day off, so you have all the time to rest afterwards! "
" Sure, Just text me the details tonight! " You replied as she started to use her puppy dog eyes on you, before a bright smile filled her face
" You're the best! I loveee youuuu! " She sung as she started to walk to the kitchen, probably to let Shin know she was present and to get started doing her job, instead of talking to you. You didn't have time to say it back, but she wouldn't mind it, you didn't do it half of the time anyway, you knew it wasn't a serious I love you, more of just a " thank you. "
You knew there were more employees working there, but you weren't on a talking basis with them, just passing smiles if you were in the same part of the bakery, so, this meant you could finally focus on getting everything set up, your most important thing on the to-do list!
When the time passed 10AM, you switched on some faint, calming background music, and skipped over to the front of the store, flipping the "Closed " sign over to "Open".
Customers came and left, some of them sat inside, enjoying the ambience, since you had a few tables set up near one of the windows, most of them were couples or old women, and you'd answered one phone call regarding what you put into your food, wanting to allergy check before coming, you hadn't been called back to the kitchen so far, and it had been a nice shift for you, that was until a certain person entered.
You didn't like to judge people based on their appearances, people go through shit, it isn't their fault, but this guy was just reeking of sleaze, you didn't let it bother you at first, maybe this was a bad day for him or something, he could be lovely.
" Hello! Welcome Shins' bakery, what can I get for you today? " You gave him the customer-service smile, and waited for his answer, the second his mouth opened you had to stop yourself from covering your nose, perhaps you should give him a complimentary mint. Yikes.
" I'll have ummm...one of those. " he pointed a finger with a crusted, bitten nail to one of your slices of carrot cake, ready to ask him if he'd like to take it out or if he's going to stay inside and eat it, when, a smirk finds its way onto his face. " and uhh..I'll also get your number, sunshine. "
Your face visibly cringed, you were thankful for the counter separating the two of you, lord knows where those grimy hands had been.
" So, the carrot cake will be a takeout, then! " You replied in a forced chipper voice, you didn't want to get a complaint, but, you didn't want to give him a chance to stay with you, he was a creep for sure, nobody asks someone out like that if they have good intentions. You brushed it off, getting the cake out and putting it into a box with a little fork, before bagging it, there was always the chance that he was the type to give up after first rejection...?
" Ya didn't hear my order properly sweetheart. " He leant over, and you took a step back.
" Let me take ya out. " He stared at you, making you feel uncomfortable, not that type of guy at all.
" Unfortunately, that would be very unprofessional of me, mister. I'm not allowed to accept any advances from customers. " You were lying through the skin of your teeth, but, it was better to lie and stay safe than say you didn't want it.
You saw his face contort into a scowl as you rejected him much clearer this time, you looked around somewhat frantically, but to your dismay, nobody else was at the storefront right now, and you couldn't just ask the customers for help.
" Does it look like I care what your rules are? I can provide for ya if ya ditch this place. " You scoffed, why would you risk anything for a complete stranger, and a creepy one at that... at least he had believed what you said, so you could keep going with it. But his blatant disrespect to you was really irking you out, why did he not just listen to you for the first time, had he really just came in here in order to ask you out? Theres no way right?
" Well, I enjoy my job, I'm very sorry, if you're not willing to pay and then leave, I'll be taking it up with my manager. " Your tone was more stern now, wanting to get the point across but not wanting to sound angry or threatening. Interacting with people could be so awful sometimes, it made you want to rip your hair out.
The man looked like he was about to reach over and choke you, and you were frightened for a split second, your heart dropped, before he seemed to concede, leaving the store without even taking the cake.
You took a deep breath of air in, thank god that situation had been avoided.
You look to see if anyone else was coming inside before you retreated for a few minutes, you needed to calm down after that.
Hopefully you wouldn't end up with anymore creeps today.
For the first time in a long time, Yul was feeling ecstatic, he was so happy! After all of his hard work, he was finally being hooked up to a job! It wasn't anything too big yet, but, being new in the business, he was grateful that he'd been given a chance to do anything.
He wasn't taking any photos today, but he was meeting up with the establishment to talk over pricings and times, it was some sort of nightclub, so he figured he was going to be out late on whatever day they wanted him in, but he was exhilarated, his first gig.
He was only wearing a simple outfit, a black sweater with black jeans beneath it, he kept the hood up to cover his hair in public, just to draw less attention to himself and his more feminine appearance, since he couldn't just peel his facial features off.
He hung his camera around his neck, as an accessory, and also so he could snap a photo of whatever he pleased when he was outside, with work being unguaranteed for him, he had to be ready at all times for spontaneous jobs.
He was a little nervous at the same time, going out to meet people, reintegrate into society after everything, he felt like curling into a ball and locking himself inside and never leaving the house again! He couldn't do that though, he was getting better step by step, he knew not everyone outside was staring at him or recognising him, how would they? Nothing came of what happened, but, he was still nervous it would catch up to him.
If he thought anymore about it he was sure he wouldn't make it out of the door, so he slapped himself in the face and made himself leave, he couldn't ruin the first good opportunity he had been so graciously given..! He didn't believe he worked hard enough for it, but, maybe whoever was up there had been smiling down on him that day..!
His pace was quick, he didn't want to stop and talk to anyone, or even look at anybody for too long, or those horrible, horrible thoughts would come back, he thought, maybe they wouldn't, he hasn't tried out of how nervous he is, he really has become a wreck, he'll work to get better though, he's sure of it, he just needs time, he's ready to face what he did, it's just difficult for him to stomach it without throwing up.
Yul shook his head, and put his headphones in as he was walking, if he listened to music, he wouldn't have such worrisome thoughts bothering him, he could imagine he was somewhere else, perhaps in the clouds with his dear beloved------
He was doomed. Maybe he could never recover, he changed his mind on it.
He didn't think of her as much now, which was definitely a start, he's been able to sleep without thinking of her a good 5/7 nights a week, that was amazing from him, but he still wanted to do better, why was she still in there? Couldn't she just get out? He wanted his obsession to fade so badly, he would dig his fingers into his brain and spill it all over the surrounding floor just so he could be rid of it.
It was torturing him with a smile on its face, and all Yul could do was deal with it and hope it would get better, hopefully it would, one day. He wouldn't just be like this forever, moving on is a natural part of human life, loving and losing is what it means to be alive.
He bit the inside of his cheek, a new habit he'd picked up, if he kept thinking about such thighs too deeply, he'd drown in them. He had to stop. He needed to stop. He closed his eyes and grabbed at the fabric inside of his pockets to get some of his excess stress out, squeezing it helped him a little, and he kept walking.
After around twenty minutes of letting soulless music flood into his ears, he arrived outside of the club he was going to be taking photographs in, and he sighed to himself, this couldn't be that bad, make sure you keep up the good impression you made the first time Yul..!
He took his hood down, and removed his headphones, and he stepped inside, his first step back into the world.
Thankfully, after that man had left, nothing had came up for you, you'd let Shin know about it and he was sure to check over the CCTV in case he was a bad character, which you had thanked him for, at least something could be done for you.
After finishing up your cleaning duties at shopfront, you were just about to leave, with 5PM passing, your shift was over! The long days weren't too bad, especially when you got phone breaks and the job didn't require strenuous work. You took your hair down from the ponytail it was in, you'd only put it up for work, normally it would just be down, and bid farewell to Shin and Iseul, offering a wave to your other co-workers who were leaving, and you stepped outside.
It was dark, probably from how cloudy it was earlier, you thought to yourself, but not dark dark, you could still see everything out there, you readjusted the strap of your bag on your shoulder, and made your way home, you walked the same way back that you walked there, so, in theory, there shouldn't have been any disruptions to you..and, you bumped into something?
Cursing your special awareness, which had never been overly good, you looked up, ready to spew apologies to whoever you had accidentally bumped into, then you saw who it was..
" Fancy seein' you here sunshine. " the man from before your shift was standing, blocking your path, he must've been in hiding and waiting for you, since you hadn't seen anybody walking your way when you were looking up before.
" ...why are you here? Um..could you please move, I need to get home. " You spoke nicely, now you weren't in a controlled environment, this was a much more dangerous situation fpr you, you needed to play your cards carefully to make sure this man kept his hands away from you.
He laughed, looking down at you, and immediately you regretted making eye contact with him, the way he looked at you was if you were prey.. you absolutely despised it.
" I've been waitin out here since ya rejected me...Now you're outta work, why dontcha come back to mine, pretty? " he stepped closer to you, and you stepped back again, oh god, You were outside, nobody was around you, it was kind of late, and you weren't very fast, neither did you fancy having to touch this thing either... what would you do if he wouldn't accept your rejection now..? Worry was setting in, the man was looming over you, he was tall, and that was scary when you were by yourself and unable to hide.
" W-why have you been waiting so long...couldn't you have tried to find another woman..? I'm sure that wouldn't be difficult for you..." Flattery may work? If you're nice enough he could let you leave perhaps....?
Wrong. This only made him smirk more, reaching out to grab you by the waist.
" Oh, so ya think I'm good lookin'~?" ..absolutely NOT. " I saw you n' couldn't help myself... I need you sweetheart, come on...just say yes.. I'll treat ya so good.."
You winced as he grabbed your waist, his touch was rough and scary, your mind was spinning.
" Let go of me please, I'm uncomfortable with being touched by strangers. " Your words fell on deaf ears as the man let out a hearty chuckle.
" But, I'm no stranger to ya.... We met earlier silly. " his eyes darkened as he grabbed you tighter, your heart was beating faster than it ever had before, what were you supposed to do? You couldn't think straight.. you were so worried, you'd heard stories about this kind of thing, but you presumed it would never happen to you..
He was leaning in closer, you leant back, but he was holding you in place, you had seriously frozen up in fear and were too panicked to scream or call for help, your lungs felt like they were filling to the brim with blood.
Just when you had thought hope was lost, you saw your saving grace through your peripheral vision.
Lunging quickly, you grabbed the strangers arms, pulling yourself away from him with all the strength your adrenaline had gifted you.
" I can't go with you because I-I um..have a boyfriend! " You proclaimed as confidently as you could as you held the strangers arms with both of your hands, digging into it, hoping you weren't causing them too much panic. " I'm already taken so..please leave me alone! " Without thinking you hugged their arm, getting real close to them, in this situation, you just had to take the shot that maybe not everyone was an awful person.
The guy looked down at you for a second, examining your face and then looking up at the man standing next to you, before puffing his chest out.
" Yeah, Leave my girlfriend alone, creep. " The guy had protected you...you thanked the stars for your quick thinking.
" Oh? Ya think ya can fight me shrimp? " The creep hadn't backed down, squaring up to your " boyfriend", with an eyebrown raised, his arms crossed over his chest.
" Wanna find out? " the guys voice seemed lower this time, you were too busy clutching onto him for dear life to see that from his sleeve on the other arm, he had pulled out a knife, holding it with clear intent of violence.
The creep stayed silent, looking down at the knife sourly. Bringing your fists to a knife-fight was never a good idea. He kicked the ground, clicking his tongue. " Whatever, I'll be back for you, bitch. " he muttered, before walking off, luckily for you in the direction of the shop instead of the direction to your house.
You shivered in fear, you'd have to let your boss know about this, and you'd need a new lock on your door, as well as having to look behind you no matter where you go..this was the worst...why did people like him get the right to exist...
After the man had walked out of eyesight, you let go of the random guy you'd grabbed, bowing your head to him profusely. " I'm so sorry for dragging you into such a scary situation... I could've gotten you hurt as well.. I wasn't thinking..ah—um..thank you so much for helping me anyway even though you don't know me ..i" you'd started to ramble from how worked up you were, and the guy shook his head.
" It's no problem, you were in danger. " He looked down at you, and his eyes widened slightly, a gasp slipping from him lips, which confused you.. did he recognise you...? You didn't recognise him, when you finally did look up at his face, you couldn't deny how exceptionally pretty he was...how had such a charmer scared such a brute off? Maybe his reaction was from seeing how horrified you looked...you must've traumatised him because of that...
" Still ... thank you! " You proceeded to give him your name, letting him know where you worked, promising him that as a that as a gift for saving you he could come in and order whatever he liked on the house, meaning you'd just take whatever out of your paycheck, he didn't say whether or not he'd take you up on it.
" I'm Chae Yul, " ,what a lovely name, " are you sure you're feeling alright? " , he asked you with concern as you were shaking like a leaf, you seemed to catch on and tried to steady yourself, you were still coming to terms with the fact that , that had actually just happened.
You nodded your head. " I'm good..I'm okay. I'm just glad you were here to step in. I should..really get home. I'm not far now. " You said to him, but, it was more so you could calm yourself down, home was only five minutes away, if you ran it would be shorter.
Yul looked at you again, staying silent for a second.
" I could stalk you home if you'd like. "
He looked at you, you looked back up at him.
" Oh mygod I'm so sorry I meant walk i-it came out wrong! I meant I could walk you home..I wasn't mocking your situation or anything I didn't mean to—" he was cut off by the sound of your laughing.
A beautiful carefree smile was on your face as you laughed at his blunder, but it didn't make him angry that you did it, you weren't like the people who bullied him... there were no traces of your fear on your face for a second, it made him..happy?
" Y-you..i-i..." you spluttered through your laughs, looking up at him as you smiled, unable to frown about your prior situation. You wiped a tear from your eye as you looked at him.
" You're funny, Yul. " you spoke his name with a smile as you shook your head. You shouldn't give your address to a stranger, even if they did save you. " I think I'll just call my friend and walk home, bit, thank you for your offer..."
You turned around , thank Yul one last time before you started your walk home, dialling your co-workers number, ready to listen to her ramble about nothing, if you'd have looked back, you would've seen two purple eyes piercing into you.
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