Work Text:
There’s just something about the place, something homey and comfortable, that draws Jihyo to this small corner of the world. She doesn’t know what it is— maybe it’s the sweet smell of something unfamiliar but warm, or the way the shop sign flickers feebly above the weathered maroon door.
Either way, Jihyo finds herself slowly pushing the door open and stepping inside, where she’s greeted with an abrupt— but not unwelcome— surge of warmth. And she looked up to a rather…odd sight.
Oh, don’t get Jihyo wrong— she is much more than used to odd sights. As a regular space-traveller, Jihyo is more than often exposed to strange yet wondrous sights, but this was certainly more odd than many things she sees on the ventures.
It looks to be a supermarket of sorts. A shop, if anything, with dense rows of strangely-coloured objects, many of which Jihyo doesn’t know of. She uncertainly walks over to one of the shelves, and picks up an item— a packet of something…crunchy, something that smells…remarkably nice, actually. Sort of delicious. It’s marked as “COMET COOKIES— SWEET TREATS BAKED WITH THE FURY OF YOUR LOCAL ASTEROID!”.
Very interesting.
Suddenly, her thoughts are interrupted by a soft voice— “Good morning and welcome to the Kim’s Grocery! Did you need any assistance today?”
Jihyo’s thoughts all stop.
There’s a girl, standing near the counter, with a crate full of strange little objects— peering closer, Jihyo sees an assortment of small, very nice smelling spheres attached to short ribbons. But it’s not those she’s thinking about. It’s the girl.
Small, pretty, and absolutely fucking adorable are the first five words to come to mind.
“I’m— uh— no, uh— wait—” Jihyo stutters, trying to get a grip on herself. She’s seen plenty of pretty girls on her travels, flirted with them too, but there’s something different about how this girl tilts her head patiently, how her monolidded eyes curve into gentle crescents.
Jihyo only then realises that she’s staring.
She’s making a damn fool of herself.
“Uh…vessel parts,” she finally manages to say. “I need— uh— parts. For my vessel. Because it’s…um, busted.”
“Okay!” The girl says, smiling at her again, before adjusting the large crate in her hands. “I just need to— hgn— put these away, then I’ll come over and help you!”
The crate dwarfs the poor girl, Jihyo notices, with how she’s struggling under the weight, and before she knows it, the crate has tipped over and all of the contents are splayed across the ground.
“Oh, goodness!” The girl squeaks, quickly bending over to gather the strange spheres in her arms. “Ah, sorry about that! I’m kind of clumsy.”
Despite her…earlier awkwardness, Jihyo finds it in herself to smile, and bends down to help pick some of them up. “That’s alright.” Then she spots the tag of one of the objects. “…vessel fresheners?”
“Hm? Oh, yeah!” The girl beams. “They’re these little things you tie onto the air vents in your ship, makes it smell real nice.”
Between the two of them, it doesn’t take too long for them to pick up all of the small ‘vessel fresheners’ and place them back in the crate, and the girl sighs in relief when they’re done.
“Thank you so much,” she says, wide smile forming on her lips. “That probably would’ve been a pain to do by myself.” A pause. “I’m Dahyun, by the way.”
Dahyun. A cute name for a cute girl, Jihyo muses, saying it soundlessly. “I’m Jihyo. It’s nice to meet you.” She hums. “Are you here by yourself?”
“Yeah. It’s only been recently that my parents let me watch over the shop by myself,” Dahyun admits. “It’s a family business. They’re trying to teach me to take care of it while they rest.” She sticks out her tongue. “I don’t seem to be doing so well, though.”
Jihyo laughs, and picks up the crate with ease. Travelling has made her strong. “That’s okay, not your fault.” Then a great idea pops into her head. “I could…you know, I could stick around for today and help out, if you like.”
There’s nothing that prepares Jihyo for the way Dahyun’s eyes light up— like all of the stars hide within, the brightest thing she’s ever seen. It feels like she’s been shot through the heart. “Wait, really? You…you’d do that?”
“Of course,” Jihyo says, “There’s nothing I’d rather do.”
(Correction: There’s nothing Jihyo is supposed to do; in a life so free and unrestrained as hers, Jihyo oftentimes finds herself bored out of her mind from a lack of things to do. So helping out an otherworldly, adorable person run a grocery shop for a day is a nice change in plans.)
“You’re not from around here, are you?” Dahyun asks, not unkindly, as she leads them towards the counter. “Your voice…it’s different.” There’s a pause before she hurriedly backtracks. “I— I mean, not in a bad way or anything, I think your voice is very nice!”
Jihyo can’t help but chuckle a little at the girl’s embarrassment. “Thank you. I like your voice too. And, no, I’m not from around here. I’m…well, a traveller, I suppose.”
“A traveller?” Dahyun’s eyes are wide with wonder and awe. She’s…wow. “You must have so many adventures! Do you travel between worlds often?”
“Yeah. Mostly I only layover on planets for a day or two, to either fill it up with fuel or rest my back somewhere that isn’t so…”
“Uncomfortable?” Dahyun suggests, giggling a little bit. “I’d imagine it isn’t so comfortable sleeping in a vessel cockpit.”
Jihyo smiles. “Yeah, it really isn’t. One of the few downsides to my life.”
There’s a comfortable silence that overcomes them then, as Dahyun tugs another large crate full of some other item towards her.
(Jihyo learns that they are, in fact, some strange snack called Wispmoon Sticks. “Made from moon dust,” Dahyun says, “or that’s what my father says, anyway.”)
“Your life seems so— oh, thank you— thrilling,” Dahyun says, as Jihyo pulls the crate up into her arms. It’s clear that Dahyun— as adorable and tiny as she is— likely isn’t made for carrying large crates of ‘moon dust sticks’. “Exciting, even. Like every day brings a new surprise.”
Jihyo hums. “I suppose that’s a good way of saying it.” Then a sly smile grows on her face. “And I do get to see a lot of pretty surprises. Like…you.”
“M— huh?” Dahyun sputters, her cheeks quickly turning pink as she turns away. “Aish. Do you flirt with the girls on every planet?”
“No.” Jihyo pauses to place the crate on the ground and they both begin to place the sticks on the shelf. “Only the ones I think are really pretty.”
There’s a strangled sound that comes from Jihyo’s left, and she grins.
“Why are you all awake, anyway?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Well…the sun isn’t up. But everyone here is awake?”
“The sun…oh!” Dahyun laughs. “The sun means night, on this planet. So it’s dark when we all wake up and bright when we go to sleep.” Dahyun pauses to look at her arm. “Probably why I’m so pale.”
The rest of the day goes just about as smoothly as Jihyo could’ve hoped. There are a few people who pop in for groceries, some that Dahyun recognises and chats to, and some that are unfamiliar, foreigners laying over, like Jihyo herself.
And as for Jihyo, she’s perfectly happy carrying large, heavy crates for a small, pretty girl. It’s peaceful, she must admit, in this funny planet. Quiet, and quite uneventful, much unlike Jihyo’s generally fast-paced life, but it’s quite…nice.
It nearly makes her consider staying.
Nearly.
“Oh, look!” Dahyun says, disrupting Jihyo’s nice little fantasies about living above a grocery store. She’s pointing outside the window, a wide smile across her lips. “The sun’s coming up!”
Jihyo smiles at her, before she turns to look outside too. And sure enough, the sun’s light is slowly creeping up from the horizon, filling the small town with warm colour. She can also vaguely see people ushering their children indoors, and shutting their blinds.
“The town’s going to sleep,” Dahyun explains. “It’s night, now.”
“Oh,” Jihyo says, much more entranced with the way the sunlight frames Dahyun’s face. Then she shakes her head. Stop thinking about her, for goodness’ sakes! “It’s…really beautiful.”
Dahyun hums. “You think so?”
“Yeah,” Jihyo sighs dreamily, watching her from the side. “Yeah, I do.”
Jihyo has always loved her life. She gets to watch the stars fly around her, she gets to visit worlds that people could only ever dream of. Meet people who shouldn’t be real.
Much like the girl by her side, Jihyo quite thinks, with stars in her eyes and a crescent-moon smile. Jihyo has seen everything, but nothing quite as beautiful as her.
“I…I suppose this means you have to go, now,” Dahyun says after a moment, as they both stand outside the grocery store. The neon sign is turned off, as is the lights inside the store itself.
She sounds…almost sad. And then Jihyo curses at herself for thinking about it.
“Yeah,” Jihyo nods, and Dahyun smiles half-heartedly before leading her down the street.
It’s a strange sight, an empty town in the midst of the bright sun. It’s unfamiliar, but it’s peaceful.
Maybe that’s what Jihyo is so afraid of.
“It was pretty nice having some company around here,” Dahyun says, the sun burning bright above them, as she bounds happily beside Jihyo’s side. “I’m not so used to it. So, thanks.”
A small smile grows on Jihyo’s face. “That’s okay. I had a lot of fun, too.”
“Even in my parents’ buttcrack-middle-of-nowhere grocery store?”
Jihyo laughs. “Especially in your parents’ buttcrack-middle-of-nowhere grocery store.”
There’s something that flares in Jihyo’s heart as Dahyun beams at her, as bright as the sun that boils above. It still jars her how otherworldly this girl is. She’s only known Dahyun for a day, yet these feelings…
…then again, Jihyo has never met someone so…so exuberant and excitable before. Someone so endearing.
They slow to a stop as they reach the parking lot, where several other vessels are parked, their owners likely mingling with the rest of the small community. It seems Jihyo is the only one leaving now.
She’s about to move towards her own ship, lodged in between two worryingly large ones, when a warmth pulls her back, and she realises, with a jolt, that Dahyun has taken her hand.
“I know we haven’t…haven’t really known each other too long,” Dahyun murmurs, “but…could you maybe come visit? I mean, you don’t have to,” she backtracks, but Jihyo only smiles and squeezes her hand.
“Of course I can,” Jihyo promises her. “I’ll come back. I’ll remember the best place to come for vessel parts.”
Dahyun grins, before reaching for something in her pocket. “I actually, uh. I have something for you.” And she pulls out a small orange ball on a ribbon.
It takes a moment for Jihyo to realise what it is.
“A vessel freshener?”
“You know, for your ship,” Dahyun’s cheeks pinken, and she looks to the ground, kicking at the purple dirt beneath her boots with a sort of endearing nervousness. She’s so damn adorable. “It, uh…it smells really nice. And I remember you said you liked orange…”
“I love it, Dahyun,” Jihyo assures the younger girl, holding the small object in her hand. It smells like…like the grocery store. Comfortable. Warm.
The smile on Dahyun’s face is almost enough for Jihyo to want to stay forever. To get used to this world, the world where the sun sets in the day, and rises in the night. To live a life alongside the most beautiful girl she’s ever seen in her life.
Jihyo climbs into her ship, ties the freshener to the air vent above her head. Waves outside the window, where Dahyun is watching, smiles as she waves back. Closes her eyes and dreams of warm eyes and grocery stores as her vessel points to the stars.
It takes ten years for her to visit the planet again.
Her vessel’s engine fails nearly as soon as she pulls into the parking lot, cursing under her breath as smoke fills the cockpit, wincing as the ship groans upon making contact with the ground.
“Fuck’s sake,” Jihyo mutters, climbing out, before she stops.
This place…
Oh. Oh. This is the place where the sun marks the night, where the moon marks the day. The place where she promised…
…she would come back.
And she’d finally found the courage to come back. She’d finally decided to face all the demons telling her to come back, to find her way back.
Jihyo breathes in the air, the freeing, clean air, before scanning for—
—the old maroon door. And the equally old neon sign flickering above it. Kim’s Grocery Store.
Jihyo’s heart pounds as she pushes the creaking door open.
And—
“Good afternoon and welcome to the Kim’s Grocery! Did you need any assistance today?”
Jihyo’s heart drops slightly upon hearing the voice. She knew it had been a while, but still…
She’d hoped that maybe, she might have been able to see Dahyun again.
Jihyo shook her head before shooting a strained smile at the new woman— maybe her age, maybe slightly older, with a large smile and plump cheeks. “Uh…no, I’m alright, thank you. I just need a few parts to fix up my ship.”
The woman smiles, nods, and points towards the back of the shop. “Alrighty then! Vessel supplies are out back! If you need any help, just holler, either me or my fiancé can assist you.”
Jihyo nods lightly, before trudging to the back. The shop is still familiar, the scents, the warmth. But it’s missing something.
She sighs tiredly, rubbing at her eyes, wondering where she’ll go next, when suddenly—
“Jihyo-unnie!”
She freezes.
That…that voice.
And there she is, an armful of vessel fresheners in her arms, hair tied in a messy bun. It’s not a purple ombre anymore, instead a sort of bluish mint-green that curls over her shoulders, and it’s longer than Jihyo remembers. But it’s still unmistakably her.
“Dahyun-ah,” Jihyo breathes in wonder.
The corners of Dahyun’s lips tilt upwards in that infectious smile Jihyo missed so much. “Jihyo-unnie, you’re…you’re here!” She squeals, before running into Jihyo and wrapping her arms around her waist. She’s warm, and comfortable, and Jihyo can’t stop her heart from soaring.
She sounds excited. Happy, even. Like she’d actually missed Jihyo.
“I am,” Jihyo nods, unable to keep the smile off of her face, even as Dahyun pulls away. “I’m…sorry it’s been so long.”
“That’s okay! I’m just glad you’re here,” Dahyun says, eyes curving into crescents. “I have all the time in the world.”
(If Jihyo wasn’t so blind, she’d be able to hear the slight bitterness in Dahyun’s voice.)
“Anyway!” Dahyun places the vessel fresheners on their shelves, before clapping her hands and bounding towards Jihyo. The scent of flowers over hazy springs washes over her in a wave, and Jihyo smiles. “You need to tell me all about your adventures!”
There’s a sort of lightness that overcomes Jihyo as she grins. “Of course.”
“Oh, that sounds absolutely delightful!” Dahyun squeals, clapping her hands after Jihyo finishes recounting one of her latest adventures, on a faraway planet where the sky is green and the oceans run red. Her cheeks are puffed up in amusement and curiosity. “That sounds so fun. Your adventures sound so fun.”
“They are,” Jihyo says, smiling wistfully. “Sometimes I regret never finding a place to settle down. But, you know. The things I see, I guess it’s all worth it.”
All worth it. The words taste bitter on her tongue, like they’re untrue and they know it. Is it really all worth it?
Dahyun’s eyes sparkle. She’s gorgeous. “Sometimes I wish I chose your life, instead. It all seems so…so thrilling.”
“You know, you could…” Jihyo trails off, before smiling. “You could always join me, someday. I’d love to have you along on my adventures.”
“Oh, that would be so cool!” Dahyun says. Then she swallows. “But, well. I would probably miss my quiet, little life. It’s not so bad. And, I suppose Sana would miss me.”
“Sana?”
“Yeah,” Dahyun says, wide smile spreading across her face. “Sana, my fiancé.”
Oh.
How the times die.
“Your…your fiancé?”
Dahyun nods, eyes creasing in that wonderful smile Jihyo adores. But she can’t fully appreciate it right now, as the walls close around her, knowing that smile isn’t for her. “Ah…yeah. Sana. She runs the shop with me now, usually at the reception, while my folks rest.”
The girl at the counter. A lump forms in Jihyo’s throat.
“She was a traveller, an adventurer, once, like you are. But she…”
She stayed.
The words hang uncomfortably between them.
“Oh,” Jihyo says, mouth dry. She stayed. And Jihyo didn’t. “Oh, that’s…that’s nice.” Then, to try and shake off some of the awkwardness, she clears her throat. “So, uh. When’s the wedding?”
“Two months,” Dahyun says, turning over to the side to stack some of the fresheners in the shelves. “It’s, uh, going to be small.” Her voice quietens a little bit. “I asked Sana. We’d…we’d love to have you come, too.”
Her breath catches in her throat. “I’m…I…”
“It’s okay if not,” Dahyun backtracks, scratching the back of her neck and shooting Jihyo a nervous smile. She’s so beautiful, and Jihyo’s heart aches. “I know you’re probably busy…”
The words hit her like seperate stabs in her back, of pure guilt. How long did Dahyun wait for her? How long did it take for her to stop watching the stars, hoping for her to come back?
How long…how long did it take for Dahyun to tell herself that Jihyo had forgotten about her?
She hadn’t forgotten, she’d never forgotten; always in her mind there was that small part yearning for starry eyes and crescent smiles, but it was…
…now that Jihyo thinks about it, she doesn’t know why she never came back. Maybe it was the guilt, the fear of coming back and staying. Maybe she preferred the life of freedom.
But in doing so, she’d lost…all of this. All of her.
“No,” Jihyo says suddenly. “I don’t…I don’t think I’m busy. I can try to see if I can make it.”
And even through all of her guilt, something in her is lifted when Dahyun smiles. “I’d love that.”
She’s about to say something else— an apology, maybe, I didn’t forget about you, I’m sorry, when suddenly another voice enters their conversation.
“—Dahyunnie, darling, I think we’re running out of— oh! Hi! You must be Jihyo, I’m sorry I didn’t notice earlier!”
The girl from the counter is back, and Jihyo’s throat clogs when she sees how effortlessly the girl— now recognised to be Sana— slips her arm around Dahyun’s waist.
“Hi, Sana. Yeah, this is Jihyo. Jihyo,” Dahyun looks back towards Jihyo, who’s trying so hard to keep it together, before looking back up at the other girl with a soft smile on her soft features, “this is Sana.”
Sometimes you don’t need to know a person to hate them. Jihyo never really knew the meaning of it until now.
“Hi,” Jihyo says bluntly.
“It’s nice to meet you, Jihyo!” Sana beams warmly, smiling widely. Jihyo can hear it in her voice, a foreign lilt, not unlike the one Jihyo wears in her own voice. She’s not from here, definitely. But, unlike Jihyo’s own accent, hers is slowly merging with the accent Dahyun’s people have. “Now, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go and tend to some stuff outside— let you guys catch up— nice seeing you, Jihyo!”
Jihyo hates the smile on Dahyun’s face as Sana kisses her cheek. Hates the ugly feeling curdling in the bottom of her stomach.
Hates how selfish she is, to only want that smile to herself.
She swallows thickly as Sana bounds away, before turning to Dahyun. “I’m sorry, but I’ve— I think I need to go.”
“Oh…already?” Dahyun says sadly, eyes creasing in disappointment. For a second, Jihyo’s heart lifts at the thought— Dahyun doesn’t want her to go.
The feeling is soon replaced with a feeling of regret, overpowering and ugly. Sana is nice, a nice girl. Why does Jihyo already hate her so much? “Y-yes. I…need parts to fix my ship.”
“Okay,” Dahyun says, turning away. If Jihyo wasn’t so blind, she’d be able to hear the tone of disappointment that colours her voice. “They’re…they’re right over here.”
Jihyo looks back one last time, as her ship pulls out of the parking space, and points towards the stars. Looks back towards Dahyun, who is smiling softly from where she’s leaning on the grocery’s door. Looks back towards a life she could’ve had.
Jihyo wants to say something. Anything, just…something. But the words die in her throat as Sana emerges from the shop, winds an arm around Dahyun’s waist. And they turn to bile, as Dahyun smiles and leans her head on the other’s shoulder.
The old, worn vessel freshener swings wistfully from the air vent above her as she shoots into space.
Jihyo never sees Dahyun again.