"Dude calm down I didn't touch your balls at all!" Heart blushed and looked at the guy. He was pretty sure he hadn't even landed anywhere near there.
The guy gave him a glare that froze him stiff and made him feel as if he was having his skin peeled from him slowly, something seemed to clear in the man's eyes at that moment and all semblance of drunk-ness was gone as if the time from now and before this were all just an act.
"Not those balls, Look around you." He said, his arm gesturing towards the yards and yards of red strings coming undone from multiple balls of yarns that had covered the alley ground.
There was enough venom in the man's voice that a "Sorry" choked out from his own voice with a will not his own. He looked around. There was tangled up red string everywhere. He suddenly understood. "Oh uhhh, I'm really sorry..." He meant it genuinely this time as he understood that in their smackdown he had made the bag spill everywhere. He leaned forward and started gathering the string.
"What a weird hobby this guy had. And getting so angry over it too."
"Here you go, sorry again." Heart said starting to hand a huge ball of string to him then hesitated and blushed again awkwardly "Wait I should fix it since I messed it up."
He slowly started searching for an end after a few minutes he located one with a little-pleased smile he started to wind the string. Heart had no idea how long it was taking or how much time had passed but he finished the first ball proudly and searched again. Four times more he painstakingly detangled rolled and started again. By the fifth time his fingers were sore, he was tired and sweating, and his knees and hands hurt from crawling around on the ground. He didn't even want to think of the state his hands were in or what they were covered in from the ground. Finally, he placed the last ball back in the bag and smiled handing the bag back to the man proudly.
The man took it with a soft smile "Thanks, your life is going to start to change in some very strange and new ways. It's funny how many peoples lives end up mixed up isn't it?" He said cryptically.
Before Heart could even ask what the stranger meant, he had already walked away from the alley.
Heart waved goodbye slowly. Then turned pulled out his phone checked the time and his location and Sighed. "The guy had pulled him That far!" He sighed again and started towards a more well-lit road in the distance. It wasn't till he was almost there that he realized the man had dragged him for an hour and he still didn't know why.
If he had looked back he would have seen the self-satisfied smirk on the man's face as he watched Heart disappear. He clicked his fingers and for a moment, just a flicker in the dark, you could see five small red strings tied to the Heart's ankle as he walked away.
"Serves you right for messing with my string when I was trying to save your life." He thought before walking into the dark humming the same song as before. This time the darkness enveloped the man and he was gone just as he had appeared.
At the same moment, Heart was getting into the taxi he barely managed to hail. The words the man said came back to him and made his hair stand up on the back of his neck. "Why did he feel like that might have been a curse? No matter. He had fixed the mess he made hadn't he?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heart looked into his sisters' full-length mirror and turned crimson. "It has really come down to this."
At first glance, the black suit seemed to fit him perfectly, but looking carefully in the mirror, it was clear the suit was not designed for a body like his. Specifically a male body. Where certain 'allowances' are needed in certain parts that the suit was not made for.
"Are you sure you can't tell its a girls suit?" He turned towards Min and adjusted the crotch one last time.
"Sure you can't even tell. Besides, you can't use your universities uniform to get the job that would be embarrassing. And what other choice do you have? neither of us has the money and we are the same size in everything you just don't have my boobs otherwise we are the same."
"What boobs?" he sneered teasingly.
"Hey, I heard that Just wear it! Once you get the job and get your first paycheck we can take you to get something discount okay."
"But it's tight in ... certain places..." He adjusted again. His sister looked back at him from the kitchen and then turned back but not before he caught a glimmer of a smile.
"You can't even tell at all. Really, honestly would your big sis lie to you?"
"Yes."
He groaned and went back to his room to take it off. He folded it gently and got back into his at home, comfy clothes. With a sigh, he placed it on his desk for his eight am interview tomorrow. It was embarrassing but what else could he do? He really had nothing but a plain white shirt and his university uniform other than that he had his everyday clothes and that just wasn't enough to land this position in this company as a paid intern. The pay wasn't much but paid internships were hard to find let alone get. And after what happened last month with losing his job. He needed this. He just hoped that his luck would finally turn around.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heart's alarm blared loudly and he pulled himself from his bed like a drowned cat stretching every limb. Sleepily he started getting ready, putting his only white dress shirt, and Min's pantsuit and jacket on while mumbling the speech he had beat into his skull until three in the morning the night before.
When he went into the kitchen there was a simple breakfast of an omelet and rice waiting under a dome for him. He sighed and sat to eat. It was still warm so Min must have just left. While he was eating he continued to memorize.
"SHIITTT! he exclaimed as egg fell directly on his white shirt. He ran to the bathroom and tried to wipe off the grease as fast as he could.
"SHIITTT no no no no no, ah why now!" he scrubbed but the soap and water didn't seem to be removing the chili sauce he had mixed into the rice and only was spreading it around. He was going to have to have it cleaned. He removed the shirt and walked to his closet. He stared at his closet as he tried to will more appropriate clothing than he would ever have to appear.
Heart sighed. He really only had one option left.
His university white dress shirt uniform, complete with their logo on it.
How embarrassing.
Heart pulled Min's suit jacket over top the shirt and looked at himself in the mirror.
People can't really see the logo if he leaves the suit jacket on. So, he just won't take it off no matter how hot it gets.
Great.
Sometimes it sucks to be poor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heart stumbled through the front doors of ISL Industries gasping for breath. He had been late and missed the bus that would have brought him right to the front of the building and instead had to catch the other one which stopped much, much further away. So he had no other choice than to run for it all the way there, then into the building and up the stairs to the third floor. As he barged through the door slightly out of breath the other people waiting for interviews coughed and looked away politely. Some hid sneers and others hid smiles. He headed towards one of the few empty spots in the room and sat down.
The interviews seemed to be taking their time and during the wait, Heart realized he hadn't had a chance to relieve himself since he woke.
" Do you think they will call us soon?" he asked the girl next to him. She wore the number one hundred and forty-eight. Her number was four before his so they would be in the last batch together.
She smiled. "I think you have a little bit of time. I would go fast." Like she read his mind she pointed to the far hall outside the glass doors. "Down their third door on your left."
He bowed a little said his thanks and then walked as gracefully as he could towards it.
~~~~~~~
Heart looked in the mirror while washing his hands and mumbled his answers to the questions one last time. He adjusted and adjusted every part he could on the pants and suit jacket but to him, it clearly was cut for the curves of a woman's body.
A door slammed behind him and Heart jumped looking into the mirror and gulped uncomfortably. The Man leaned against the doorway that had just opened one arm above his head the other placed on the doorway lightly and grinned. His smile was perfect in a firm heart shaped face. His dark hair was swept back in pieces giving his hair the illusion of movement even when it was still. He closed his eyes for a moment then smiled again. And Heart couldn't help but notice the cutest little birthmark right above his left eyelid crease. And a matching one right beneath the left brow bone. The man looked at him again and Heart quickly glanced down so he wouldn't catch him staring. The man walked over. He had thought he was alone. Heart's looked up into the mirror to take another look at the man but had to look back down quickly when the man's deep dark brown eyes locked on his own staring intensely instead.
The lean tall man started to wash his hands quietly next to him and Heart dabbed lightly with a wet paper at his mouth. He glanced up in the mirror again and caught the man smirk. His smirk seemed malicious for some reason. But that didn't seem right this was their first encounter. He smirked again. Heart glared and slammed the wet paper down.
"Is something funny to you?"
"..."
He slowly raked in every inch of Heart then did it again.
Heart gulped uncomfortably and sucked in his lower lip subconsciously nibbling on it nervously.
"No, nothing at all. Nothing..." The man took a step closer to Heart and shoved his hands in his suit pocket smoothly. Smiling wickedly he leaned in. His hand that was in his own pocket a moment ago suddenly reached out and reached down towards Heart's crotch.
Hearts breathing slowed and his face started to flush as the man's hands touched the bulge at the front of his trousers. Heart gulped and closed his eyes. His heart was pounding so fast he could feel it everywhere in his body. He choked back a sound as he felt the man's warm breath tickle his ear.
"The next time you want to wear such a lewd woman's suit to an interview you might want to make sure it fits you in all areas." His soft husky voice slithered all over Heart's ear making his body shiver. With that one sentence this man had stripped him bare and made him feel exposed, but Heart didn't feel dirty at all. There was a small zipping sound and then the man pulled back and headed for the door. He stopped again at the door and looked back.
" Although, I quite like the princess seaming on your figure it fits you in all the right places, one fifty-two. Next time make sure your fly is up, those pants already leave so little to the imagination." He chuckled and then the door swung closed.
Heart gasped for breath realizing he had been taking such small ones before that he had practically stopped breathing since the man had leaned in. He looked down at his crotch uncomfortably. "Was it his imagination or had something stirred in not just his stomach when the man had touched him there." He looked back up at his shirt where the number one hundred and fifty-two had been pinned and groaned. Whoever that man was he knows my number now and what I was here for.
"FUCK FUCK FUCK!"
He ran his hands through his hair then slammed his fists on the counter. He charged to the door then peeked down the hall, the room still had the group in front of his in it. He closed the door again and went to the sink and turned on the water all the way to cold. This time he dunked his face directly into the water and didn't bother with the paper at all.
"I don't care who the FUCK you are to this company! I am going to make your life a living hell once I get in! And I am going to get in!"