🌼 ❭ mall

@✽ hyeju s. the young man adhered to her words; softly did they funnel into his right ear as he still kept his head cocked to the side. his torso turns a bit more, as do his feet, in order to let his eyes meet her for a brief moment of respite, pulling down the mask which veiled his features in obscurity to let her get acquainted with a familiar countenance. with his mask cradling the dip of his chin, a small smile spills from the corners of his lips. niceties in such a volatile situation seemed appropriate. but as did she, he stands himself back up and follows her out of the stall. both of their respective figures could feel a moment's generous yielding of calmness before they had to fight for privacy once more in the nosy real estate of the mall. he joins her in washing his hands at the sink adjacent, talking to her reflection in the mirror as he's busy looking downward and up. yes, it's jake. and hyeju, right? his line of sight surveys the features not eclipsed by the encompassing material of her mask and hears a voice which rang familiar to his ears. i'm a big fan, but unfortunately, we're not meeting under favorable circumstances. just our luck. but as long as you feel safe then let's continue on. let's not stay here for too long. their situation is a precarious one. it is one where seconds could bleed into minutes if they aren't reactive enough, aren't on their feet at a mind's notice. his sauntering steps only make it a few slaps against the tiled floor before he stalls on his feet near the entrance, pivoting back to face the woman as another idea breaches his mind, still only gathering the stake of the situation piece by piece. this might be a crazy idea but something worth considering if we want to blend in a bit more. his stature leans forward slightly, letting an inviting hand of his extend out toward her as he hikes his mask back up over his mouth and nose. i noticed that there’s an unusually high number of couples here at the mall today, but we can use that to our advantage. if we hold hands and pretend to be a couple, maybe that’ll divert attention a bit more. and we’ll be able to skedaddle out of here to the fourth floor. it does not help that the elevator is on the other side of this floor, but we can make it. also, in the event that we see he's waiting for you at the elevator, i have somewhat of a plan B. what do you say? he's a bit on his toes for this one, wondering if it will even suffice. the worst that could happen is a false dispatch article catching two idols together "in the act" should they be recognized at all, but to him, that did not hold as much weight as something awful potentially happening to a female idol at the hands of a stalker.

@✽ jaeyun s. ʲᵃᵏᵉ [you're fine! if it helps with progressing the plot forward go for it. ]

she follows the man’s instructions, too rattled to question the man’s cautionary advisory as she walks towards the bathroom stall as he insists. right, i’ll hide here. his features are somewhat distinguishable like she’s seen him before, but for now, she’s put matters of her safety first without letting her mind ponder elsewhere. every mediated step she takes is one of urgency, remembering to stay light on her feet without drawing unwanted attention from the preparator lurking around. hyeju’s throat runs dry, taking his recommendation of squatting on top of the tank as she lowers herself to remain hidden from the outside. thank you. whispering to conceal minimal fear in her voice, the woman allows her convenient savior to take off with her safety in the palms of his hands. the initial gut feeling to fight or flight diminishes in her stomach, unaware of how the situation may be resolved. yet, due to unfavorable circumstances, she had no other choice but to trust him. her gaze remains focused on his exiting shadow, panning to the marbled tile floor as the male carried on a performance of a scenario she remained in the dark of. a familiar sound of boots steps alarms her, reminding her they are no longer alone in the isolated restroom. dread crawls down her spine as she holds her breath, wanting nothing more to evaporate from her positioned spot before her protector returns to the ‘vacant’ spot. expressing her confusion with furrowed brows, concentrated eye contact was all she needed to receive the memo of playing along with the scheme. the creep wouldn’t dare check in an occupied stall, nonetheless making it obvious that he was acting suspicious if there was a witness to foil his plan. respectfully turning her head away from the other occupant to proceed with their act, relief wells up in her chest as the outsider’s footsteps wither away completely. still, she needed a moment to debrief the plethora of emotions that resonated within her. an exhale leaves her brims, staring at the man before her with the utmost gratitude. oh, you’re - he was a familiar face, indeed. quite familiar to the eye of the public as well; may it be social media or advertisements his group was the hottest ones of the generation. she waits for him to finish explaining his clever plan, stepping down from the tank to join him with feet planted on the floor. it sounded like him, yes. i’m sorry it’s just easy to get paranoid lately, i didn’t know what else to do. a vibration from her back pocket notifies her of her manager’s response, not bothering to check it as she calms her rapid heartbeats by engaging in conversation. he just kept staring and followed me here, so if he needed to use the restroom, I would feel silly. i’m okay, though at least i will be. careful enough to unlatch the door lock, the young woman steps out of the stall to wash her hands and laughs to cope with the mediocrity of the situation. jake, right? there are a lot of creeps out there for sure. any more time spent occupying the opposite gender’s restroom would invoke conversation and frankly, she couldn’t handle another fright for the evening. do you mind just guiding me back to the fourth floor? i could use your services for a few more minutes.

@✽ hyeju s. [ sorry it's a bit long. you don't have to match with the next reply, just wanted to get some details out as exposition. ]

it was time to buy a pair of pants, but he is too particular about them to shop online. and so, his steps took him through the winding infrastructure of the mall, adorning a facemask to keep his own peace. as much as he could, anyway. even with the monolith of the mall presenting itself to the young man, he chose to stick with the array of options cozied at the lower level. but not without making a detour to the restroom. he enters, uses a urinal, and then cradles up against the sinks to begin washing his hands, until he heard a pair of footsteps, steps whose pace and proximity stuck out grandly amongst the rest of the white noise of the mall. soon thereafter, did what seemingly looked like a young woman spill out from the dividing wall of the entrance, mouth eclipsed by a mask but irises dripping in zealous bargaining, an intangible reach for help. while he is slightly dumbfounded at her entering the men's room, he's not one to question when someone seems like they may be in danger, especially in today's gendered socioeconomic climate. an idea prods at him, and he moves toward her, keeping his tone of voice low. come here, let's hide you in one of the stalls. the man guides her to a stall, gesturing her up to sit atop one of the tanks. take a squat on the tank of the toilet and don't move until i think we're clear, ok? it can hold up the weight of a human. keep your feet up and don't say a word. no matter what /i/ do, you stay here. once he made sure the woman was situated, he calmly exits the stall and waits by the entrance, only to hear a heavy pair of combat boots reverberate along the flooring of the area. he could only think that it was the stalker in question, characterized by his disgruntled stature. and with that, jake starts "entering" the restroom again, a few meters ahead of the hooded man. pulling out his phone to act candid, jake plays the part of an innocent civilian entering a stall, the same stall the young woman was situated in. still unsuspected, jake made sure the man saw him entering the stall from a far enough distance. opening it, jake makes unsteady yet reassuring eye contact with the woman atop the tank before sitting on the seat to "use" the toilet. jake makes the usual noise cues - fiddling with his belt, clearing his throat, and exhaling to mimic relieving himself. these were par for the course, as the heavy booted steps scurried along the length of the stalls. loitering, steps only coming at intermittent levels. it was just the three of them and the ongoing, slowing lapse in time. seconds almost stunted as the pair in the stall tried their best to keep their constitution upright. and with that, the boots seemingly rippled toward the exit of the men's room, fading away until it meshed together with the noise of the mall and dissipated into obscurity. jake waits thirty seconds, as a buffer, and whispers to the woman behind him. i think we're clear... for now, at least. there's still a whole mall out there he could be searching for you in, and it's probably best we get you out of here. did those steps sound like him? i figured if i hid you in here, and he visibly saw me walk into this one, he wouldn't want to check this stall if he were to check every last one. it sounded like he just had to use the restroom... i think. but that was a risk in itself - you never know how crazy those dudes are. how are you feeling? are you okay?

@✽ jaeyun s. ʲᵃᵏᵉ the age of malls dwindled lower in population as the years went by. teens mostly used them as charging stations before being glued to their cellphones. adults shopped there if they couldn’t purchase whatever they wanted online, and yet, hyeju was attached to the arm of her female manager in one of the biggest shopping centers in the country. it was the best way to stay undercover, her superior reminded her. she was successful enough to hide her visage behind a mask, but not successful enough that she would be mobbed upon notice. surprisingly it was complacent for the idol’s self-esteem. unbothered, she separates from her manager to use the restroom, pressing the down button to request the elevator to stop at her floor. looking at her phone once sensing another presence waiting for the same lift, she indiscreetly glances at the male’s tall stature. nothing too imitating, she hoped. as the elevator signaled its arrival with a ding, the young woman headed toward the back of the fixture as he followed the trail behind her. a few civilians possessed the same space as them, hoping they were distracting enough not to shudder in disgust as the hooded man’s gaze lingered on hers, she quickly sends a text of emergency to her manager that parted ways with her just minutes ago. chatter enveloped the caged shelter from the surrounding strangers as it finally reached the lower level. while dispersing from the closed area, she strides toward the destination she aimed for in the first place. she was fast, but the anonymous man was faster, frightening her as her hearing tunneled on the steps of his boots. twisting a corner to head to the male’s restroom instead, she grabs the first person’s arm she sees and heaves as her heart drums in the pit of . there’s a man following me. can you please help me?