To Find Something True

Lights from the lampposts lit the path. Quiet, no passersby around, just one vehicle zooming past. They stood with their backs on the glass display a few meters apart from each other, yet the awkwardness kept floating in the air. The (Kim’s siblings’) ice cream that Hoseok brought for her didn’t seem to have successfully erased it.

Having finished his popsicle earlier than Jiah, he discreetly glanced at her as he nibbled the wooden stick with his lips.

While pondering how to start a conversation, his mind drifted to the times his personal assistant had amazed him. Perhaps, those moments could be brought up break the silence.

When she tried to adjust to his vibe or pace, when she almost broke Seokjin’s bones. Almost! When Joohee became close with her within a day. That day, Jiah showed him how to play with hairpins to unlock the door. How many talents and skills she had, he wondered. Yet, to start a conversation with ‘you know you have amazed me many times, you know?’ didn’t seem to work for someone like him.

“I… I just wanna get my phone,” Jiah said, her voice shrunk at the end.

Hoseok allowed a short silence pass, wondering if he should answer. He scratched his nape before pulling down the ice cream stick. “I-I know,” he said.

Although he expected Jiah to make a move into the premises, her feet remained on the ground. This led to another awkward exchange. Slender fingers fiddled with the empty ice cream pack, crackling in the silence, as he thought of ways to get her to go inside and take it. However, he made a different decision.

He pushed away from the glass display and stood still. "W-wait... wait here," he said as he stepped inside the boutique.

He headed to his office, grabbing the pastel pink cased phone from the table. Looking around, he saw a brown coat on the guest’s leather chair. Assuming it belonged to her, he took it too. Then, he strode out of the room and slowed his paces when Jiah’s back view filled his sight. Having stretched his arm to Jiah, he looked straight ahead, above her head. “Here!” he said.

Through his peripheral vision, he caught Jiah’s bewildered look. Slowly, she reached out for the phone. “Thank you,” she said in a small voice.

“Uhm. Yeah.” Hoseok shifted his gaze elsewhere, scratching his nape before he – yet again – stealthily watched Jiah quickly put on her coat.

Jiah didn’t seem to leave. Did she have something to say? The next thing he knew that he was caught off guard. She bent down with her palms stuck above her knees and said, “I am sorry, boss!”

Hoseok almost cried of frustration. He said, “oh my gosh, don’t call me ‘boss’!”

“I know but I must!”

“No, please don’t. I hate it!”

“In case you’re planning to fire me –”

In an almost crying frown, the boss shook his head, saying, "no, no! I don’t have the power to fire you. Seokjin gonna burn me alive!”

Upon hearing his name, Jiah stiffened. Slowly, she straightened herself up, staring at him with her doe eyes. She asked, “did I worry him? Did I worry others?”

The boss took some time to calm down before saying, “yes. Y-you had him and the others… worry.”

"Did Seokjin scold you?”

Wondered if it was a good idea to be honest, he gulped his saliva before saying, “he… he did.”

Again, Jiah bowed down and said, “I’m so sorry!”