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The small bell attached to the door frame chimed softly, signaling another curious customer.
A warm summer breeze was brought into the tiny corner store as well, making a few of the countless paper birds that were hung from the ceiling flutter lightly before stilling again.
Careful steps made their way to the worn wooden counter which was surrounded by a wild mix of tables and chairs scattered around the room. They appeared to be as empty as the counter.
The late afternoon sun casted its shine through the big windows at the front, making tiny dust particles pick up their endless dance through the air and over the tabletops.
At first glance it looked like a ran down saloon, maybe an old fashioned café, but
the more you looked around, the more it seemed to be a hundred different other things.
Bookshelves full of unlabeled covers were shoved against the long wall on the right, multiple ledges hung from the opposite, each crammed full of plants, metal boxes, picture frames and other curiosities that would probably take days to name.
Too awkward to make any loud noises Mark started studying the quite questionable table decor that seemed to be all over the place, pretty much the same as the rest of the spacious room.
Metal signs with different motives such as cherries, cars and laughing people from the 50s were accompanied by colorful scarves made from silk, carefully wrapped around wooden sticks and small statues of all sorts of local and foreign animals.
Between each curiosity were vases full of flowers fitting perfectly to each other despite their differences in color, shape and height.
They seemed to give off sweet scents that would mingle together to a single one that felt like a warm day in spring and lingered in both nose and tongue.
It mixed well with the old, dusty smell of the wood.
He let his view wander again, not really knowing what to do next.
According to the rusty alarm clock crammed on one of the wooden sticks it was 5:26pm, 43 minutes before closing.
A quick thought crossed his mind that he maybe was too late already and should just go home again, but before he could take his eyes off the clock ticking the time away, a boy jumped up behind the counter, startling him so much he flinched away from the surface and let out an embarrassing squeak.
The boy's eyes widened and he slapped his hands over his mouth.
"Oh my god I'm so sorry, are you okay?"
Mark's face ran hot and he quickly spluttered out a "Yeah, no worries" before stepping back against the counter.
A smile spread over the boy's features.
"Well then", he clasped his hands together, "good afternoon, how may i help you?"
Still a tad bit confused and not sure how to respond, he just stared at the person that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
"Uhm…" he said instead. Very intelligent.
Unconsciously he started studying the boy in front of him.
His short brown hair was styled in soft waves, one of these strange french hats placed on top of them, the color matching the gentle green of the apron that was tied around his neck.
"It's okay, you can take your time" the cheerful voice snapped him back to reality and the responsibility of actually holding conversations.
He could already feel his face heat up again but swallowed hard and hoped the other couldn't tell or at least wouldn't comment on it.
Remembering the reason he came here in the first place, he found his voice again:
"I'm actually looking for-", he coughed awkwardly, "for some knowledge?"
The boy behind the counter smiled even brighter, making a strange warmth spread through his body; a different one from his face, a good one.
The brunette beamed and shuffled closer to the counter on his side. "Of course! depending on the knowledge i'll have to charge you accordingly though, is that fine with you?", he paused but didn't quite give him a chance to answer before continuing "but since it's Friday you get one free knowledge, isn't that awesome?"
A tiny bit overwhelmed from the sheer speed the boy was talking in, Mark just nodded.
"What's the free one?", he asked.
The boy seemed to think for a second, eyes flitting around the room before snapping his fingers.
"My name is Donghyuck!"
Mark chuckled a bit "that's it?"
The boy, Donghyuck, pouted. It looked adorable. His hair flopped over his forehead as he leaned a bit forward, placing one of his hands on the small space between two vases with blue and white forget-me-nots on the counter.
"It's knowledge and it's free", he sniffed eventually, "Everything you hear for the first time is new knowledge so it counts"
He finished with a huff but didn't seem annoyed at all. Mark guessed it was in a rather playful manner.
"Now what's your name? It's Friday so i should get some free knowledge, too, don't you think?" He smiled again, patiently waiting.
"It's Mark", the other said, although a bit quietly, shy even.
But Donghyuck picked up on it and hummed. Without another word he disappeared under the counter and searched for something. A few heartbeats later he reappeared, placing a heavy looking book in front of him, opening a new page.
The paper was crips and seemed way older than the both of them.
Out of nowhere the brunette pulled a black pen, decorated with tiny sunflowers. He clicked it once, twice, three times before writing "Mark" at the very top of the yellowish page. His handwriting was as junty as the boy himself.
"So, Mark, tell me" he said, looking back up again,"What are you looking for?" his brown eyes gazing at him as if he was trying to figure out the answer before it was even given.
"I'm actually not looking for anything specific", Mark replied sheepishly "i was just wondering."
Instead of looking at the brown-haired boy, he stared at the sunflower pen, that strangely seemed like it couldn't wait to finally start putting ink on paper. Were the sunflowers smiling before?
"Do you have anything about flowers?" he said after a short silence that was way too long for his own ears.
"Indeed, we do!", Donghyuck said, his voice laced with excitement. "Roses are related to apples, raspberries, cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines, pears and almonds"
Mark blinked in surprised, half from how quickly that answer came and half from the answer itself. "How exactly are they related?"
The other reached his hand under the counter again and pulled out a small book in an old, leathery cover. Everything in this shop was ancient.
Donghyuck flipped the pages until he reached a double page printed with images of petals, stems and leaves. The description was in a language Mark could neither read nor understand but luckily donghyuck seemed to be able to read it effortlessly.
Pointing at a few details on the images he explained: "If you look closely at the flowers on these herbs, shrubs, and trees, you will notice a lot of similarities." Mark squinted at the graphics. He definitely wasn't an expert but guessed he could tell what Donghyuck meant. Unconsciously he had moved closer to see better.
His eyes flitted up and met Donghyuck's brown ones, glancing over the book's edge. Even though he couldn't see his mouth he could feel that the boy was still smiling behind the book.
Unable to look away he blinked. Donghyuck blinked back.
All Mark could hear was his own heartbeat and the steady ticking of the rusty alarm clock. Suddenly, the tension grew awkward for him and he forced himself into an upright portion again. Donghyuck didn't seem to notice his struggles. But maybe he did. Mark couldn't tell.
"Uhm…", he said, "That's cool, I can see what you mean".
Visibly satisfied with his own answer the brunette closed the book and put it back where he took it from (wherever that might be).
"What else do you want to know?"
Ignoring the weird moment from a few seconds ago, Mark pointed at one of the silk scarves. A complicated drawing of a koala was stitched on the soft fabric. "I want a fact about koalas"
Donghyuck leaned over the counter and untied the scarf from the wooden stick it was wrapped around. He hummed again before replying: "A baby koala is called a joey". He handed the scarf over the counter and Mark quickly took it. "It's short knowledge but you get this with it!" He said, the smile that never left his lips, stretching out into a wide grin. If it wasn't genuine, it had to be exhausting.
However, returning the smile carefully, Mark placed the flimsy material inside the pocket of his light jacket. It shouldn't be heavy, yet he could clearly feel it was there. He promised himself to keep it forever.
"Okay last one" he said, a daring tone in his voice. "What is the meaning of life?".
Donghyuck sighed and propped his elbows on the counter. "You wouldn't believe me how often I hear this", he tilted his head and looked to his left. Mark followed his gaze and it landed on a huge painting mounted on one of the walls between all the shelves. It showed a simple mountain landscape.
"What's the meaning of life? Will I ever find love? Where do we go when we die? You'd think people would get more original over time.", Donghyuck said. He giggled and Mark's eyes slowly found his again. "I really didn't take you for a boring person, Mark."
"I'm not-", he started, slightly offended by the accusation. A flush crept up his spine. To be fair, he didn't really prepare anything before coming here. It was a rather spontaneous trip.
Donghyuck interrupted him: "Of course you're not, I was just joking." He sighed again. "Honeslty, i can't tell you that". He held up his hand before Mark could open his mouth. "I know, I know it's my job and all but come on, I can't answer everything." His pout had returned. It still looked adorable.
Mark looked at him, slightly narrowing his eyes. "So, you do know the answer?". Donghyuck clicked his tongue. "Of course I do, what do you think?" He tapped the sunflower pen against the wood. Mark could've sworn the flowers were yellow before, not purple. "But if I told you, you'd probably lose it and we can't let that happen, can we now?"
To be honest, Mark had no idea what the other was talking about but he nodded anyway. "Then, can I ask another question?", he asked after a beat of silence.
Donghyuck's expression quickly changed to a soft smile again. "Of course, ask right away!"
Mark looked directly in his face again. Donghyuck's eyes were big and round,
giving him an almost innocent look.
"What's your favorite color?", he eventually questioned.
The other blinked in surprise, seemingly taken aback by the request. "It's, uhm, yellow", he eventually said.
Mark nodded. "Was that a weird question?", he couldn't help but ask based on the ununsal reaction.
"Oh no, don't worry", Donghyuck shook his head. His hand came up to awkwardly fiddle with a few strands of his bangs. They looked incredibly soft. "It's just that not many people want to know anything about me, you know".
Mark huffed. "They should." He could've imagined it but it was almost like Donghyuck's cheeks turned a bit red.
Though, before he could say anything, the moment was abruptly interrupted by the loud ringing of the rusty alarm clock.
Mark flinched and almost suffered another heart attack but donghyuck just sighed again and turned the obnoxious noise off with a flick of his finger.
Finally closing the book with the yellow pages from the beginning and putting the pen back into his apron pocket he grinned at his customer.
"Time never stops and it looks like ours is up." He digged up a small coupon from behind one of the metal signs and handed it over the counter. Mark reached for it, although not really sure what exactly it was. Their fingers briefly brushed together and left Mark with a tingling sensation in his bloodstream.
As if he was able to read it on his face, or maybe even in his mind, Donghyuck spoke up again: "It's a charm, read it if you need it!"
Mark just nodded and smiled. He wasn't really sure how to reply. The time he spent here felt like three seconds and three days all together, yet still felt far too little. Time really never stops.
"Well i'll- uhm…" he pointed weakly at the door, awkwardness returning now that the bubble was burst. "I'll take my leave then".
He knocked on the counter for good measure before turning his back to Donghyuck and making his way towards the door.
"Have a nice day! I hope i was able to help you and satisfy your questions" the brunette chirped behind him.
Mark glanced back over his shoulder and gave the strange boy behind the counter a little wave.
He was about to leave as he suddenly remembered: "What about the payment?"
"Don't worry about it!", he just received. Then after a small pause. "But, Mark, come back yeah? If you want to, of course"
"I want to."
He turned back around and walked through the door. The small bell jingled again but this time it signaled the leave of a satisfied customer.
"The meaning of life is to be happy", was printed on the coupon in bold letters.
EtheriaDragneel Fri 18 Dec 2020 05:45AM UTC
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moleatwork Fri 18 Dec 2020 09:15AM UTC
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baejyn Fri 18 Dec 2020 07:33AM UTC
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moleatwork Fri 18 Dec 2020 09:15AM UTC
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produce101all Fri 29 Jan 2021 08:01PM UTC
Last Edited Fri 29 Jan 2021 08:02PM UTC
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moleatwork Fri 29 Jan 2021 08:08PM UTC
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