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☾☽
Jia stands at the bus stop, alone and focused on the cigarette she starts to light between her fingers.
"you're no help at all."
she feels like a loner, wanting to go home and embrace her son with the enthusiasm and alertness she has for him.
but to Namjoon who starts to walk down the path from her work place, she looks like a troubled yet beautiful woman who he wants to know more about.
"get help! do something!"
which is why he stops in his tracks beside her and accidentally knocks his shoulder into hers. the sudden touch makes his cheeks burn as he moves away slightly, feeling foolish.
he remembers what his friends told him, be confident and be you!
but Namjoon doesn't know what confidence is and he continues to look down when he notices the lady's gaze on him, puzzled and dazed as to why he's standing so close to a stranger like her.
"maybe it was your fault."
Jia moves a step away, furrowing her brows as she continues to smoke. she doesn't know how to feel about the boy, she's been seeing him way too often and she wonders, where did he come from? does he not know what personal space is?
"you know that's not good for you right?"
Jia is suddenly awake as she snaps to reality and hears his voice.
quite frankly, she's had enough of hearing about cigarettes. she wishes people would mind their own business, it's her own lifestyle decision, it shouldn't matter if it's a good or a bad one.
i had to leave everything behind.
"i think i'm aware of that." Jia continues to look ahead, irritation lacing her tone as she fiddles with the blazing stick between her fingers.
the man hums and eyes her hand. "then why do you still do it?"
and Jia doesn't remember the last time someone was so interested in her life. she looks up at him, noticing just how short she is beside him and he looks back at her with an innocent smile.
why are you so interested? who are you? she thinks to herself and lets the silence fall upon the destined strangers.
"the silence says a lot." he says and Jia feels irritated by the cockiness in his tone but when she looks at his bold smile, his flushed cheeks and clasped hands, he doesn't appear so bad.
Jia doesn't know what to say. she's not in the mood to talk to a stranger, even though he's the person she's thought about way too much for her liking.
i wanted to be strong.
"give this to me." the younger boy laughs- feeling butterflies in his stomach as he takes Jia's still burning cigarette.
Jia watches him walk to the bin before he steps on her cigarette, picking it up and throwing it away. she watches with curiosity before laughing loudly.
she's always hated her laugh. it's loud, unruly and she hates how people turn to look at her with narrowed eyes when she does the happy action.
but Namjoon watches her carefully, eyes holding a smile, with his hands in the pockets of his coat. he tilts his head as an uncontrollable smile appears on his lips. there's no sense of judgement which makes Jia feel offbeat.
he raises his brow at her, baffled by her reaction as he analyses her. "i was expecting you to get annoyed." he admits.
"nope." Jia turns to face the bus stand and a smile grows on her face.
when she turns to look at the stranger, he's looking back at her with a smile and they both smile at each other, not knowing what exactly is happening.
Jia runs her hands down her arms and Namjoon taps his foot against the pavement, the two of them showing clear nerves and shyness.
what kind of connection is this? they both thought.
all Jia gathered from their first encounter was the message, hide your heart.
