#bbiwon

[bezeniths]

dinner plans ft. @bbiwon

zurie had been gutted when she found out she was working the afternoon shift the same day the spring carnival was popping up in the mall's main plaza. she'd become resigned to the fact that she'd miss out on the busiest periods of the festivities, which may have been a plus for most. zurie could only mope about the prospect of less people, however. as she exited sephora, she was surprised to hear continued commotion coming from the plaza. she hurried over to the side of the mezzanine to see that the sky was tinged with dusky hues and the twirling lights of the carnival were still in full effect, enhanced by the impending nightfall.

like a child on christmas morning, something zurie had ironically never really experienced, she journeyed down the countless stairs it took to get there with eyes widened. the scent of various carnival foods hit zurie like a freight train and she nearly sped off in that direction immediately, but she knew she had to be strategic. the main reason zurie was even hitting up the carnival, aside from the company, was to fill up on free food so she didn't have to buy or make dinner later. some people thought she seemed like an airhead, but she was always calculating her best bet for survival out of habitual necessity. still, she'd save all that for later, as she didn't want to tackle any rides on a full stomach.

it also occurred to her that coworkers and friends would likely be attending too, and as if on cue, she spotted jaewon among the crowd. "hey! hey, jaewon!" she waved to him like a maniac, as if anyone would be able to miss her. she took initiative to slide through the crowd to greet him, getting uncomfortably close to many people only to simply cast an oblivious and innocently enthusiastic 'hi!' their way. it was in that moment she realized she still had smudges of lipstick test trails on the back of her hand from her most recent consultation. "jaewon, isn't it exciting?" she inquired of him, still brimming with joy at the amount of people around.

[minhru]

the first hour after midnight carries many things across and into the night -- a muted sort of ambience throughout the mall, a handful of people doing their handfuls of tasks, the opportunity to squeeze a few breaks more than usual. more importantly, it deposits a tattoo artist with an impatient smile and a strawberry vape right onto the front desk of his kiosk, and haru blames the bleariness of the early am for how he's just a little too late to slam a 'NOT IN SERVICE' sign across the front.

it's more of a case where he won't say no instead of can't say no, but he deludes himself into thinking it's the second because then that means he isn't really interested in what moon jaewon wants to bring to his night.

not that protesting would've dissuaded jaewon from dragging haru along. the latter's just there for the ride. like now, like always.

"hey," he starts off tentatively, thumbing any possible anxiety into the koi fish wrapped around his other wrist. it's harder to throw caution to the wind when your two arms are always firmly by your side -- jaewon, however, doesn't seem to share the same proclivity, evident in the way he's already flittering around the front of bottle tops like he owns the place. the pinnacle of a free spirit by nature, he's someone to be envied because there's pin drop silence permeating the air and haru still finds himself glancing over his shoulder. just in case.

he feels like he already knows the answer, but he asks anyways. the smile his mouth tilts into is hesitant. "are you sure we're allowed to do this?"

@bbiwon / 01.