I slam my driver's side door shut and step closer to the warm, red awnings that Target has to offer. It stings knowing that I'm coming here for two reasons—to say goodbye to the most well-paying job I've ever had, and to buy Soon Young a temporary wardrobe—among other things--to get him through the next two days of travel.

"Wow," he says, leaning back to take in the oversized department store in all of its glory. "What is this place?"

"Target," I reply simply. "I used to work here."

"Used to?" he replies as we step through the sliding glass doors and are blasted with heat, which is soaring up from underfoot grates. I scowl as my carefully straightened hair is blown around my face and into my mouth. Soon Young laughs. "Why did you leave?"

If only he knew just how recent my departure was. "I missed too many shifts, so they let me go."

Soon Young stops in the middle of the aisle, and glances at me. "You don't seem irresponsible."

I laugh hollowly, reaching out to brush my hands along the swimsuits they recently unloaded into the clothing department. "Looks can be deceiving," I reply.

I lead us deeper into the shiny maze of clothes, heading for menswear. Pants and shorts are haphazardly tossed on top of piles of jeans, while shirts half-hang off of their hangers. It's clear that no one had been in the clothing department for quite some time.

Oh, wait. That was my position for the day. They probably hadn't been able to find someone to cover for my absence. I scan our surroundings, watching for a grumpy coworker to zero-in on my presence and rip me a new one.

Soon Young grabs a t-shirt off the rack and holds it up in front of his chest, beaming at me. In the center of the shirt is a graphic of a cartoon tiger. "What do you think?" he asks, laughing.

I shake my head, a small smile rising on my face. "We're not getting you that."

Soon Young pouts. "Why not? I like it!"

I gently take the hanger from his hand and place it back on the rack. "You may like it. Your stylist, however, may not."

I continue to usher him through the clothing department, keeping his hand from reaching from anything too crazy. Even if k-pop is only a growing fascination within the States, the more I can get him to blend in with the normal populace, the better. His arms are laden with two full outfits, a pair of pajamas, and a new sweatshirt. I shove him into the men's dressing room, since there is no one present to man the collection desk.

I grab the sleeve of his jacket before he crosses into the beige hallway beyond.

"What's your underwear and sock size?" I ask quickly, averting my gaze.

"Wha-what?" he sputters. His face is flush red, all the way up to the points of his delicate ears.

I roll my eyes. "Relax, I'm not asking to be creepy. I just figured you wouldn't want to be wearing the same pair of underwear for three days straight."

"Ah," he nods shyly, turning back toward the fitting rooms. He quickly mutters his size under his breath and ducks into the hallway. I listen to the definitive clip of the changing room door locking before stepping away to hunt down his underwear.

The store is quiet. No music plays overhead, but it's relaxing to hear the patter of carts and feet as people make their way through the departments. Thankfully for me, no one is hovering around the clothing department, which gives me the chance to slyly straighten up the displays and fix the clothes that are dangling off of hangers. Even though I was just let go this morning, I can't seem to stop myself from fixing up a mess that was partially my fault.

After tidying up the men's wear, I finally wander over to the racks of men's boxers and socks. If there's one nice thing about shopping in a department store: you can bulk buy items for cheap. And cheap is what I'm going for when it comes to dressing an idol for a few days, especially since I'm unemployed now. I grab a random package of designs off the shelf and return to the fitting room, where a smiling Soon Young is exiting the dressing room.

His arms are laden with clothes. "They all fit!"

I smirk and hand him his underwear. "Of course they do," I respond. "I have a great eye for fashion."

Soon Young side-eyes the oversized sweatshirt I've thrown on over my ripped jeans and dirty tennis shoes. "Yes, you do," he deadpans.

I frown. Soon Young merely laughs and bumps his shoulder against mine. Warmth sparks down my arm as I put more distance between us and guide us toward the grocery department. Thankfully, this was a part of the store I never had to work in, but I did often frequent it for my break time snacks.

"We should grab some food while we're here," I say. "Since it's just going to be us two and the open road for the next two days."

Two days. An almost twenty-hour drive to Dallas with nothing but food in the backseat and a stranger sitting beside me. Normally, the thought of being trapped in an enclosed space would have made my nerves churn with worry. But, that's not the case when I think about spending that time with Soon Young. I almost yearn for it, for wanting that quiet moment with another person who may understand me.

What can I say? He's gotten under the rough barrier that I've put up against the world.

"What sort of sna—"

"Zara?" a voice snaps from the left. The voice is hard, as bitter tasting as the darkest of chocolates. There's only one person this can be.

I startle and turn on my heel, my eyes scanning across the colorful toy aisles we're strolling past. A glaring face hovering above a vibrant red shirt catches my eye. There's only one person I could ever tick off when I called into work—Chloe. She'd been working at this store since she was a teenager and thought of herself as a manager on the floor, even if she had never been given the title.

"So you can show up to shop, but you can't show up to work?" she sneers, her hands shaking around the Barbie doll she was restocking. "You should know better than other people just how severely screwed the rest of us are now that you didn't show up. Did you think I woke up this morning and said 'Oh, how I dearly want more work on my plate and I surely hope someone doesn't show up to work!'. 'Cause no, I didn't say that."

I step in front of the lost Seventeen member, blocking my coworker from latching her attention onto him. I raise my slight frame to my full height, staring down my nose at her. "I'm dealing with a personal matter. Ease up, 'kay?"

She rolls her eyes. "What, your dad got shot during an investigation again?"

I freeze. "Don't ever say anything like that again." My fingers curl into fists at my side.

Sensing the tension, Soon Young whispers in my ear, "Who is this?"

I glance toward him, my nose almost brushing against his cheek. "Chloe, one of the worst coworkers I've ever had," I respond in Korean.

"Oh?" Chloe starts at the sound of her name, her face flushing a deep red as her gaze lands on Soon Young. "Who's this? Why are you speaking a different language? Is this your boyfriend? Is this your 'personal matter?'"

I smirk as I settle my attention back on Chloe. "My personal matter is none of your business," I sniff, glancing at her cart. "Don't you have toys to play with?"

With that, I grab the edge of Soon Young's jacket sleeve and drag him away from the toy aisle and from the curses Chloe is most likely muttering under her breath.

"I take it you two didn't get along much?" Soon Young asks as we deep dive into the groceries.

I angrily grab a bag of potato chips off the shelf. "No."

"She didn't seem nice," he continues on, his cat eyes roaming along the bright array of snacks the aisle has to offer.

"She never was," I respond mindlessly, drifting about the food department.

Soon Young's arms are soon laden with clothes and whatever junk food I can pile on top of his outfits. I make sure to grab healthier options, such as clementines and bananas, and things for quick sandwich fixings.

"I know these meals aren't going to be what you're used to," I say as we head toward the red check out lanes. "But we're going to be focused on driving, so we'll need things we can eat quickly."

Soon Young shrugs as we laden the cashier lane with our prizes. I try not to think about how much money is sliding out of my bank account as my card swipes through the card reader. We grab our purchases by the handles of the plastic bags and step through the sliding glass doors, back in the world once again.

*****

A/N: I know this chapter feels a little lifeless, but it's been difficult to write lately with everything that's going on in the world. I hope that everyone is staying healthy and practicing social distancing! I'll talk with you all through the screen. 😊