—— it was a known fact that hyemi’s time was PRIORITISED on work ( social interactions frequenting the back seat ), her store being the o n e thing she could actually commit to, which, had provided a genuine reason to the string of familiar faces entering her store—— all of who had NO intention of ever purchasing goods. it just so happened today that it was a certain childhood friend that had wandered in ( perhaps, in an attempt to actually have some time with the female… or, they COULD have just been visiting—— regardless, hyemi was grateful, because, though she claimed it to be an annoyance, it really had been TOO long ). strings of conversation had been dancing off tongues, however, the melodic hums of words were f r e q u e n t l y being forced to pause, the female being in HIGH demand… customers craving the attention of the creator of all the pieces within— and, of course, there was a knot of guilt that came with ever ‘hold on’ and ‘wait a minute’, but, what more could one expect? this was her place of WORK, so, hyemi was going to do just that. mindless small talk fell from the FORCED upturn of reddened lips, a polite exchange with a customer ( of who had only come to pick up an a l t e r e d piece—— a favourite of hyemi’s, being that they were so EASY and, still, provided so much additional finance to the business ), played out natural— experienced— the act of KINDNESS remaining, until the store door c h i m e d to a shut. attention was reclaimed with the urges of another, irises rolling in a response, ❛ you’re lucky i like you, you know? ❜ a figure, dressed with a perfectly fitted piece, exposed from behind a counter— fingertips already grasping around ADDITIONAL fabric, in case extra warmth was required—❛ and that another employee is due to arrive in… ❜ a glance at the time, paused words for a s e c o n d, ❛—— ten minutes. ❜ and with that, an exchange of instruction was given to the SECOND worker within the store, before attention was given back to taemin, ❛ where are you taking me? ❜
you’re lucky i like you. it’s a phrase that taemin has heard one too many times from people, hyemi being included in that list, and he can’t help the roll of his eyes in response to it, mirroring his friend’s own actions. “yes, because if you didn’t, you would of destroyed me by now.” taemin continues, tacking on the part that had been left unsaid. “i’m glad our childhood memories together have been enough for you to decide that i’m WORTH tolerating. in my own defense, you’ve put me through worse.” there is a sardonic drawl in his tone, and taemin watches from his peripherals as hyemi moves out from behind the counter for them to make their leave, and he’s pushing off from where he’s been leaning seconds later to follow suit. brown eyes swiftly turn to glance towards the clock she’s looking at, holding back a retort that just wasn’t needed seeing as he was getting what he wanted. he’ll hold his tongue for her. taemin moves ahead to open the door, ignoring the chime that signals their leave as he does so, holding it until hyemi FINALLY passes through. “depends on what you’re wanting,” taemin answers, brow quirking as he walks with languid steps, “there is the one restaurant we’ve gone to a few times before around the corner. there is a new one just a bit of a drives away. i could call up a ride if need be. and there are more than enough small cafes around here that would suffice. i’m really NOT picky--” he pauses at his own words before making a face, “besides that one all you can eat that we went to. that was disgusting. we aren’t going to that one.”