the convenience store guy ☾ 이희승

episode 02

"Heeseung?"
I looked at him as he took his eyes off his phone and he looked shocked too as he saw me.

"y/n? Whoa"

"You both know each other?",the girl with straight balck hair and pretty intricate features was genuinely curious and shocked by this. "Ah! I now know why I found your name so familiar at that time."

"Heeseung hyung? y/n? You both know each other or what?", jake was so confused.

"Ah, I met him at a convenience store one time."

"Whoa, wait a minute y/n... you gonna be in this college, right?", jake asks.

"Hmm yep, majoring in eco."

"Damn, I am also doing that! Oh, then that means that we four are freshmen and these three are sophomores."

Realising that they haven't introduced themselves to me, they did now.
The four freshmen, including me were jake, ningning, yedam and sunghoon while the sophomores were heeseung, beomgyu and minjeong. Damn, they are all so friendly.
"Do you also have business studies now?", i asked and all of them nodded and a smile immediately formed on my face.
(time skip)
The college was over now and I was with jake and the other two right now going to meet the three somewhere. I am totally new here so I didn't know my way anywhere. Jake and his other friends are guiding me and telling me various things. Me and Jake did catch up on a lot. The only problem is that I am not really sure if i should get included in their group cuz they must have been together for years?
But well, let's go with the flow. We went to a park which had benches... oh? It was an open cafeteria here!
"This is only for one week. It's to welcome the freshmen and is set up by the juniors, third year students.", ningning explained, seeing me all excited but at the same time confused.
I nodded and thanked her.
"Oh! Jake! y/n!", I heard someone say our names, so I turned to see it was heeseung and beomgyu and minjeong beside him.

"So, let's tour this small fare kind of thing?", beomgyu jumps up and down excitedly while clinging to only heeseung as all of them laughed at his childishness.

"jake....", I whispered into jake's ear and he nodded, asking me to say whatever I wanted to ask. "Are sophomores allowed in here?"

"No, but they can accompany us."

"Oh by the way y/n! Do you still write?"

"Write what?"

"Songs? Like you used to sing so much and make up so many lyrics, i remember that so so well"

"Oh- uh about that... imma once let you hear all of them... even though i still sound like a dying walrus but yea am proud of my lyrics."

"Yes, i knew it- but waiiitt, why did you come here? Shouldn't you go to an art school or something?"

"Jake... are you seriously going to ask me about that? Don't you already know? My mom.... My sister?"

A knowing expression flashed on jake's face and he hugged me.
"What is it that you two are whispering about?", yedam comes up from behind making me flinch a bit. It's not like i am scared or something but hello still-

"Can you not do that?", I asked.

"Ooo, were you talking about something private? Jake... y/n...? Omg this is so couple like!", yedam says and gathers everyone's attention as jake shushes him.

"Idiot. And no we ain't any couple thingy...", jake says, hitting him slowly on his shoulder.
With this small bickering... we visited various stalls and had fun.. And yes i got acquainted with them very well. Especially Heeseung and minjeong.
(time skip) sorry lol, i just need to wrap up the story as soon as possible that's why you gotta get mannnyyyy time skips-
It's been a month or so... and I made jake and the others hear the final version. Yes, I have become very close to them to let them hear my voice.
"Your voice? It is so comforting! I thought you said you can't sing?" heeseung remarks as soon as i finished playing the demo. A smile automatically appeared by the compliment. Sorry, I get too embarrassed when someone compliments me.
"y/n. You seriously have to debut as a singer!",Minjeong compliments me and well, there and then I was ko-ed....
"Please, don't exaggerate y'all."

"If you don't believe me then I dare you to submit this demo as an audition. Seriously, i am not even kidding.", Jake says in all seriousness as the others nod.

"Jake, are you for real? Don't you know why i... stopped everything I did professionally once?"

"Yes, but now that you are away from them, reach your frickin' dreams! I remember you crying in the park after your mom smashed your laptop which had all your demos. I remember that you were on the verge of running away! But now that they ain't with you, try and try to do what you want to. No one supported you but here... I... we all support you.", everyone nodded to jake.
I frowned a bit and looked at him.
"Why are you being so serious... like c'mon. You know what will happen if she gets to know about it once again.", I said , stretching and closing my laptop.
"She... is your mom, right?", heeseung asked carefully as if asking for my permission.
I nodded and looked at him with a 'sad' smile. "This song... the lyrics all reflect on my past. This is why this song is the closest to my heart and you all will be the only one who knows about this."

"Your emotions... they almost made me cry, you know. I never cry and by never I really mean it. This song... is something... that can actually make you feel what you have gone through even though I haven't. It makes me feel the pain. This song.. It really must be the closest to your heart. And, please we just reckon you, I mean it's all up to you but just once try to submit a demo.. If not of this song.. Then of any other which you are confident of?", he reasoned with me and his words, it made my heart race. Why? Because I was aware of my crush on him. But then, I know how to hide it so well that no one will know.
I thought and thought about what heeseung told me all night and the other day i rushed to him. He was sitting alone at the park going through a file.
"Heeseung!"

His head snapped and he sighed in relief to see it was me. "You actually scared me."

"Heeseung... i- i am going to submit my other demo... I thought about it a lot last night and whatever you said... it just touched my heart."

The smile on his face was just evident.
"So, shall we start filing up the form and making your final demo hmm?"

A grin spread across the not so pretty face of mine as I just dreamed of how it would be if people would love my song.