walmart

❧ one

lim jaebeom sighed as he walked into his local walmart, trying to find a sign that would hopefully read 'customer service,' or something related to that.

he had recently moved to los angeles with his mother, and he needed a job. well, technically, his mother made him get a job because she was paying for his college funds, and they needed a little extra cash.

especially since after the divorce. that's the main reason they moved to california. well, that and the fact that he was accepted into ucla. the university of california in los angeles, was what it stood for. or something like that.

when he received news that his mom and dad were getting a divorce, it broke his heart. at the moment, the only good thing about his life was that he was accepted into a nice college. there was only a 15% acceptance rate, or something.

jaebeom had no friends here, knew absolutely no one, didn't even know much about the area itself, nor like it, and his english wasn't exactly justin bieber level. if that even made sense. nothing made sense in jaebeom's head.

he was quickly pulled out of his thoughts when he found the sign that read 'customer service.' no other customer was there, so the male sighed in relief, walking up to the counter.

he rang the bell since no one was there, and a tall brunette came walking out.

"sorry, sorry." the brunette muttered, plastering a fake smile on his face. "how can i help you on this positively lovely day, sir?" the male said, sarcasm laced in his voice.

"um, you're hiring, right?"

"is there a hiring sign out there?" the male asked.

"uh, yes?"

"then we are." he said, and jaebeom was taken away for a second.

"so.. how do i apply?" jaebeom asked, fidgeting with his fingers. he hoped his english wasn't too accented.

"well, you're gonna need an application form," the brunette said, ducking under the desk and digging through piles of papers. after a few more seconds of digging, he found the form and set it neatly on the counter, along with a pen. "what's your name?"

"it's jaebeom." jaebeom smiled shyly, taking the pen and looking at the form.

"i'm mark," mark said. "and let me give you a word of advice. is walmart really the place you want to work at?"

"well, no." jaebeom said. "but i just need some extra money while i'm going to college."

"oh, i feel you. okay." mark nodded. "you can fill it out right here."

"okay," jaebeom nodded, starting to slowly fill the form out.

"MAR- oh, welcome, valued customer!" a boy came bounding in, an adorable smile on his face.

"youngjae, what could you possibly want now?" mark sighed, looking at the always-bright boy.

"well, i just wanted to let you know that jackson is fighting with yugyeom about the star wars legos." youngjae chirped, walking behind the counter and studying jaebeom.

"you're joking, right?" mark groaned, already walking out from behind the counter.

"nope! aisle fifteen, mark!" youngjae called out, giggling as mark stormed off.

jaebeom didn't know what to do. who was jackson and yugyeom, and why were they fighting about star wars legos? are they fucking five?

"hi! i'm youngjae! what about you? are you applying to work here?" the strawberry-blonde haired boy asked, pushing his golden specs up.

"i'm jaebeom, and yes, i'm applying to work here." he said softly, paying more attention to the form than the boy.

"well, good luck! i hope you get the job!" youngjae grinned sweetly. "do you need anything?"

"i think i'll be fine, thanks." jaebeom said, offering the boy a soft smile.

"alright! well, hopefully i'll see you around! bye!" youngjae grinned, waving and skipping away.

that was interesting.

soon enough, mark came back with a scowl present on his face.

"so, did you finish the form?" mark asked.

"yeah uh,"

"nice. i'll give it to the manager, and he'll call you if you got the job. see you around, jaebeom." mark said, offering another fake smile. jaebeom nodded, and handed mark the paper, walking out.

he hoped he'd get the job, he seriously needed it.

on his way home, he blasted music from back home. jaebeom always forgot the title of this song, it was the one where they kept saying ring ding, or something like that.

once he reached home, he walked up to the door, opening it to inhale a deep breath of korean food. he grinned at that, walking in and quickly giving his mother a hug.

"it's almost ready, alright?" his mother said in korean, smiling as she returned her attention to the food she was cooking.

"okay mom." jaebeom smiled, plopping down at their table.

"did you get a job today?" she asked.

"well, i applied at walmart, hopefully i'll get the job."

"oh! great!" his mother smiled.

once dinner was ready, jaebeom helped his mom set the table, the two of them sitting down with their hot bowls of food.

they each talked about their days during dinner, this time without any arguments between his dad and his mom.

it was relaxing, very nice.