fluid: haobin

23

"your total is 23,020 won," gunwook clicks some buttons on the cash register. "thank you, and have a good evening."

the customer takes their bag and says a quiet "thank you" before leaving. the student leans back against his chair and goes back on his phone, the standard routine he had developed since working at the convenience store.

the clock read 9:37, and he gets off at 10. luckily, gunwook had quieter times so he didn't have to do much and his boss didn't mind if he was doing school work or anything else, as long as he was greeting the customers well.

"hey gunwook, i have a new shipment of snacks, could you organize these ones?" his manager comes out with a basket full of colorful bags. "and also, feel free to take one for yourself."

"thank you," the boy grabs it and heads to the specific aisle, with all the shelves filled with chips and cookies. he takes a bag of poca chips before resuming his job. the speakers on the ceiling play faint music, giving gunwook something to vibe to.

"yeah i'll be the tomboy," he hums and bops his head to the quiet beat.

"gunwook?"

the sudden voice makes the male flinch at his name and he turns around to see ricky holding a bottle of strawberry soda in one hand and a ramyeon cup in the other.

"hyung," the younger could barely register at how his friend was in a convenience store that's literally a 15 minute walk from where he lives. ricky had 3 other stores to visit that were in a .25 mile radius from his house, why here? "what're you doing here?"

"i was taking a walk but got hungry in the middle. what're you doing here?" the blonde raises an eyebrow at the green vest the other was wearing, indicating he was an employee. "do you work here?"

"...yes..." gunwook admits while looking down and continuing to put the items away. sighing, ricky looks at his watch.

"what time does your shift end?"

"huh? oh, uhm, 10."

"i'll be sitting on the table outside closest to the door. come outside when you finish," ricky hands gunwook some money before going.

.

.

.

"when, how, and why?" ricky starts to bombard his friend with questions as soon as he sits down across from him.

"i started 3 months ago, my friend told me this place hires students and pays 10% more than other places, and i need the money," gunwook says straight forward.

"does gyuvin or taerae hyung know?"

"no..."

"your own cousins don't know you're working?"

"they don't need to know! and besides, once the competitions are over, then i'm thinking about stopping."

"you're working because of the competitions?" ricky restated the question to make sure he heard right. "but why?"

"my scholarship only goes into tuition and living costs. my family was sending me money and that's how i was able to pay last year, but this year, they have to keep a bit more for themselves because the market isn't so great."

"ah," ricky felt somewhat guilty when hearing about the other's troubles. he knew he wouldn't be able to fully emphasize how it is to be in his position because of his comfortable lifestyle. there was a small regret in the back of his mind that gyuvin or yujin wasn't with him; they would know what to say in this situation.