《It's Just You and Me (and Him)》


 Ch. 1

    The sun is beginning to set. Luna is sitting at the bus stop, lightly clenching her bag. Su-Jin walks from behind and sits near her. They look Luna up and down, then smile, ¡°I love your outfit!¡±


    Luna, not expecting the compliment, takes a few seconds before she reacts by mumbling a thank you.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re waiting for the bus as well?¡± Su-Jin continues the conversation.


    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s late.¡±


    Su-Jin bounces their legs, ¡°Me too! My car broke down and I need to get to my job somehow.¡±


    Luna does a slight nod.


    ¡°What about you?¡±


    Luna clenches her bag a bit more, ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to the park.¡±


    Su-Jin leans backwards, ¡°That sounds nice.¡±


    As Luna tries to think of an appropriate response, her bus arrives, giving her the perfect opportunity to get away from the stranger.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s my bus. So, bye.¡±


    Luna steps on the bus and walks up to an empty seat. She almost throws the bag on the seat beside her, before opening it and taking out a set of blue-tooth headphones. Taking a deep breath, she pulls out her phone and starts the Watermelon music app.


    Finally the bus stops and Luna steps down from it, walking into the park. Then she quickly opens up the bag again and starts setting everything up. When everything looks perfect, she presses the record button on her camera, ¡°Okay, so I¡¯ve just arrived at the park. The bus was a bit late, but I was still able to come here before the golden hour, which means we still have a chance to get some amazing aesthetic photos¡­¡±


    Meanwhile the second bus arrives at the station, where Su-Jin was still waiting, ¡°About goddamn time.¡±


    They board the bus, glancing at the time on their phone a few times, as if that could somehow speed up the process. Being late to work was never great, that¡¯s why as soon as they got off the bus, they ran towards the building, almost tripping on the way. Quickly changing into the uniform, before taking one last look in the mirror. Thankfully the make-up hasn¡¯t messed up.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Taking a deep breath in, Su-Jin plastered on a fake smile and walked out, before being greeted by one of their coworkers, ¡°Where were you?¡±


    Su-Jin knew better than to argue, ¡°I¡¯m really sorry, my car broke down, so I took a bus, and it was late.¡±


    The other waiter, who overheard the talking, rolled his eyes, ¡°Just take a taxi next time.¡±


    It took all of the willpower to not roll their eyes back at him, but instead just keep on smiling, ¡°Yup, I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    Then Su-Jin grabbed an empty tray and walked among the tables to avoid any further questioning.


    The sun is just at the right position in the sky, that makes all of the colors look as if they were doused in gold. Luna stood for a few seconds before hearing the click sound, indicating the camera took a photo. She then walked up to it and switched to recording once again, ¡°So the key to getting good photos, as much as it may sound cliche really is good lighting.¡±


    ¡°But you know, cute clothes and beautiful scenery also help,¡± she smiled and spun around.


    Hours after the last shred of light left the sky, Su-Jin walked out of the hotel, counting the money in their wallet on the way. Not only wasn¡¯t it nowhere near close or safe enough to walk back home, but also all of the buses ran their last trip hours ago. Being left with no other choice they rolled their eyes, and picked up the phone to call a taxi.


    After waking up next morning Luna quickly puts on her workout clothes before putting on headphones and following along a Void exercise video. Then she takes a shower and walks to the kitchen, where she opens the refrigerator, with the liquid yogurt staring right back at her. She didn¡¯t really like the taste of it, but at least it paid well, so she couldn¡¯t really complain.


    Luna grabs the yogurt and walks back to her room, where she sits on the chair and starts the computer. She takes a sip out of the bottle, before connecting her camera to the computer and checking the files, quickly separating the bad takes, and importing others to Post Production.


    Few hours later, Su-Jin wakes up all groggy. They walk to the kitchen, where they brew a cup of coffee, which they then pour over the cereal. While eating their eyes meet the clock on the wall. The small hand is placed over the two.


    ¡°God dammit those night shifts are completely screwing my sleep schedule.¡± they murmur before drinking the remaining coffee.


    ¡°Who am I kidding, my sleep schedule could never not be screwed,¡± Su-Jin laughs.


    After checking their phone, they confirm that they really are free for today, and so they start up the computer. After thinking for a few seconds they type in the search bar a few words, trying to find the game everyone was talking about.


    ¡°Life¡¯s Meaning, of course!¡± They finally find it.


    They click on the link of the official website. The big bold letters are prompting them to buy it. 50 dollars. Su-Jin crossed their fingers, ¡°This better be good,¡± before clicking on the button.


    Luna clicks the upload button. The video starts uploading, and with nothing better to do, she goes to the kitchen, where she starts cooking a meal. She was hungry, and after only drinking that yogurt, she was in desperate need of some real food.


    With food on her plate she walked back to her room, with video already being uploaded. She quickly changed the title and uploaded a thumbnail. All she had to do now was click publish. But then her phone buzzed. She placed the plate on the desk, to check what that was about.


    The message read, ¡°Hey, I saw there¡¯s a charity event at our old school next weekend, you should come! It¡¯s gonna be a great opportunity to catch up with everyone while doing something good for the community. I¡¯ll send you the link to it.¡±


    Su-Jin reached for another can of Blue Lagoon, ¡°This game is so amazing.¡±


    After downing the whole can in a matter of seconds, but before they could reach for a new one, a small streak of light peaked through the window.


    ¡°Fuck, it¡¯s morning already?¡±

 Ch. 2

    ¡°We did it!¡± Luna excitedly claps her hands, as the number rounds up from a 4.99k to a 5k.


    Then she leans back forward, squints her eyes, before leaning back again.


    ¡°What should I film for a 5k special? Decisions, decisions.¡±


    After Su-Jin wakes up, they stretch, ¡°God, I hate mornings.¡±


    Then they grab the phone from the nightstand and open it.


    ¡°Fuuuuck. It''s 4pm already?¡±


    Jumping out of bed, they quickly scramble to put on clothes and make-up.


    Then they proceed to frantically search the apartment, at the verge of tears, ¡°Where did I put my keys?¡±


    As soon as they say that, they stop and facepalm, before giggling.


    ¡°Of course! My car is still at the mechanic.¡±


    Su-Jin takes out their phone and calls the taxi.


    Meanwhile Luna is happily murmuring to herself, searching her closet for which dress she should wear.


    ¡°This one is perfect,¡± she finally decides.


    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    She puts it on, stands before the camera and takes a deep breath in before pressing the record button.


    ¡°Heya! I''m Luna and welcome or welcome back to my Void channel! Today''s video is gonna be a little bit different. Since we just hit 5k I decided to do a Q and A video where I''ll answer your questions. And so, let''s just start with the first one!¡±


    Su-Jin is cleaning the tables of a now empty restaurant when one of her coworkers approaches her.


    ¡°Hey, Su-Jin? You know that charity even I was supposed to be serving next week?¡±


    Su-Jin sighed, already half expecting what she''s going to say, ¡°Yes, what about it?¡±


    ¡°Well, my boyfriend surprised me with tickets to Maldives! I''ll be gone for the whole week. Could you cover for me?¡±


    And there it was, Su-Jin rolled their eyes, ¡°Fine.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Su-Jin! You''re the best!¡±


    Though working additional hours didn''t sound appealing, they at very least couldn¡¯t complain about additional pay.


    The phone buzzed and started playing a melody. Su-Jin took it out of their pocket to check who''s calling.


    Bold letters spelled MOM.


    As soon as Su-Jin read that, their finger swiped to cancel the phone call.


    Luna is laying in the bath, her head half submerged under the water, thinking about whether or not she should go to that charity event. There were pros and cons to both decisions; on one hand she would have to return to that hell of a place, potentially meeting her old classmates, but on the other hand, it was a charity event. And she knew her guilt wouldn''t let her forget that.


    ¡°Fine, I''ll go.¡±


    The day arrived quicker than expected, and though she was filled with anxiety, Luna finally stepped back on the school grounds.


    Though the place was full of familiar faces, one stood from the rest; Su-Jin in their waiter uniform, someone she could actually say hi to.


    ¡°I''m so sorry you had breast cancer.¡± a woman tried to hug Su-Jin.


    ¡°I didn''t have breast cancer.¡±


    The woman tried comprehending what she just heard, ¡°But- Your boobs? Girl, if it wasn''t because of cancer, what happened to them?¡±


    Su-Jin sighed. How did they manage to meet someone they know after moving states?


    ¡°That''s just kinda it, I''m not a girl. And I got top surgery. To help with dysphoria.¡±


    Woman''s face turned from pity to one of disgust in a matter of seconds.


    ¡°Lord, help us all. I''ll pray for you. Really this LG whatever you call yourself has brainwashed you and I know you can''t see it now, but it¡¯s not too late to turn back to god almighty.¡±


    ¡°Heya!¡± Luna greeted Su-Jin, who saw this as a perfect opportunity for an escape.


    ¡°Oh, hey! Let me show you around,¡± they grabbed Luna and walked away.


    ¡°Ugh, transphobes.¡± Luna took the words right out of their mouth.


    ¡°Thanks for getting me out of there. I know her from middle school, and when that woman starts talking, I swear there''s no way of stopping her.¡±


    Luna smiled, ¡°Of course. I might not be part of the LGBT community myself, but I try to be an ally. I''m Luna by the way.¡±


    Luna extended her hand, and Su-Jin shook it.


    ¡°I''m Su-Jin.¡±


    Then the moment is broken by a loud, ¡°Waiter!¡± reminding Su-Jin, they are still at work.


    ¡°See you around, Luna?¡±


    Luna nods, and Su-Jin fastly walks to the complaining man.