Page 8 of Mother Parker
“What. The. Fuck!” he shouted, trying to ward the birds off from his head and body.
Due to his volume, most of the seeds had either ended up in his hair or clothes, and since the girls weren’t picky, they found his head a fitting table for their feast.
“OMG. I’m so sorry,” I said and turned off the live, rushing to the man’s aid.
I waved my hands at the crows, and thankfully they obeyed and got busy eating the seeds off the ground.
“Are you okay?” I asked and grabbed his arm before I realized I was doing it. It was so large, rock-solid to the touch, and so hot it burned the pads of my fingers. “Hulk me!” I exclaimed, apparently completely incapable of controlling my body or mind.
The man froze and stared at my hand.
When I was finally able to stop touching the absolute stranger, he turned to glare at me with a pair of beaded black eyes that awakened senses in me I didn’t know I had. And a few of the ones I was painfully aware of.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “I didn’t see you there—”
“Well, then look before you throw food and put someone’s safety in danger.”
“I mean, they’re just crows. They can’t exactly kill you, but I understand where you’re—”
The man’s brows furrowed and his skin turned red.
“Who gives a fuck? Just…be careful! What’s wrong with you?”
With my heart shaking like a tambourine and the heat spreading through my body, I honestly would also love to know the answer to that question.
“Truly? The doctors are still looking into it,” I answered him with a smirk.
Even though the mountain of a man—who looked even larger compared to my five foot four—was clearly still angry, if his flaring nostrils were any indication, he did crack a smile. And boy, did that smile make him look like a million bucks. It was a shame I had already spent it on the bubble tea shop, or I’d be at risk of offering it to him.
Get a grip, Hwanchan!
The man caught himself and resumed frowning, but I’d already snapped a mental shot of his smile, and I had a feeling it would haunt me with its beauty for a while.
“I really am sorry. I was distracted. And they get cranky when they’re hungry.”
I glanced down at the crows, and he followed my gaze with a sour face.
“Are they yours?” he grumbled.
“More like I’m theirs,” I answered. “As I said, I’m…I’m sorry. You’re right. I should have looked before I fed them. Are you okay though? I’d hate to have caused you any harm,” I managed to say after a couple more breaths and scanned his body for any scratches.
The man huffed and took a step back.
“I’m fine,” he muttered under his breath.
I could tell he was about to go, but my heart couldn’t stand the thought. I panicked and looked around, trying to find any reason for him to stay and glower at me a little longer.
“Would you…would you like some tea?” I asked, backtracking toward my car. “Or lunch! Yes, lunch. I’ll buy you lunch to make up for my stupidity.”
He stared but didn’t react. I didn’t waste a second retrieving my thermos, and before he could protest, I poured him some boricha.
As I passed it to him, his fingers wrapped around the cup. The tips touched mine, causing an electric current to spark in my hand and spread through the rest of my arm, making my hairs rise and a shiver wash over my body.
He pulled the cup away and eyed the liquid suspiciously, sniffing before he winced.
“What-what is that?” he asked.
“It’s boricha. Toasted barley tea with honey.”
