#thread:hanjae

[hanverses]

@wsvrerv

the morning light is still non-existent when the vibration from his phone wakes Jae up from his sleep. He jumps himself awake on the bed, a hand blindly reaching out for the device which is holding onto the edge of the side table. the heavy eyes which are not ready to start the day struggle to open wide, having a hard time to process the incoming text on the screen. Jae has to read it a few more times before he can grasp fully who the sender is and what purpose of the message to be sent to him so early in the morning. he grumbles.

declining the order never becomes the option from the very beginning.

Jae drags himself to the side of the bed, his hand reaching out from inside the blanket for the clothes on the floor. he puts on the clothes one by one, before rolling himself out, fully dressed. the bag packed with the essential working clothes is ready on the floor. he yanks on the strap and carries it on one shoulder, slipping his phone and wallet into his sweatshirt before living his room.

he writes down a little lie on the paper for his mother: going early for work. be back later at night - hanjae. he sticks the message on the fridge with the tape and grabs an apple which possibly belongs to his little sister. jae puts on his shoes at the front door and he walks out.

the sky looks gloomy when he steps out of the apartment block, it seems it’s about time for summer rain to come. he takes a big bite of his apple, a satisfying crunch to start the day. Hanjae checks the message again for the nth times, to make sure it comes from the right person. although, it’s no longer a surprise if she causes an absurd demand in such unexpected hour.

(text) I’m on my way.

(text) would you like some toast? or coffee?

[hanverses]

where has the flower gone

@wsvrerv

the sky was bursting in a crimson color when jae steps to the sidewalk after completing an appointment with a client in the nearby hotel. he rolled up his sleeves up to the elbows, his fair skin immediately turned pink as the light kissed the surface. he combed his silver hair with one hand, stopping on his stiff neck for a quick massage. listening to miss park talked about her unfaithful husband for the nth times between the carrot cupcakes sure worn him out. jae at least had to finish half a dozen of the desert until she let him go, by using his dead father as an excuse to leave before the day turned into night. it was not entirely a lie, except the fact that it was the day of his death anniversary. the family had visited the grave last month, but jae had to skip the ceremony for a sudden job--and bringing home a big sum of money in return; there was no reason for him to reject the job in the end.

living with a family with remnants of happiness and in debt, jae couldn’t rest peacefully until people stopped coming to his house and threatened his mother everyday. ever since his father passed away in a car accident, jae had no other choice but to work his ass off, dropping out of school to feed his mother and little sister. the moment when he received the news of his father’s death was still clear like it happened the night before. his dead body was burnt inside the car, the officer said, it was too late to rescue him. even though jae couldn’t recognize the face in the funeral, he just needed to look at his reflection in the mirror if he wanted to pick up the memories of his father’s features. overtime, he had turned into his father, but taller and bigger eyes, which he inherited from his mother.

it would take too long to travel to the grave, so jae decided to go to another location, which he counted as the real resting place for his dad. there was a big crossroad in another block where his father was found burning to death at night. it was a huge commotion back then, even making it to the national broadcasting station. many people had forgotten about the accident, but for those who were left behind, it had turned into an open stage of tragic performance, where pictures of police cars and ambulance blocking the road, fire rising up to the sky, eating alive what’s under it. jae was only eighteen back then.

before he headed to the said location, jae took another direction to a flower shop. it was located not too far from the crossroad, even though jae had to go back and forth and cross the street to get there. it was on another side of the main street, the small shop owned by a lady who never exchanged any words with him, only with the money.

when he entered the shop, the red tinge was almost disappeared above his head. the night would consume the light soon, and jae had promised his mother to come home early today. he might need to order some dinner take out for his family, as a trade if he broke the promise. the smell of different flowers wafted out in the lobby as jae walked in, the usual softness whenever he stopped by the store. he didn’t give himself time to look around, just making big steps to the counter where he saw the lady.

“excuse me,” he greeted over the table, pulling a small smile. “do you still have some white lilies for today?”