ℙ𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕥 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕤 ⭒ ℍ𝕦𝕒𝕟𝕘 ℝ𝕖𝕟𝕛𝕦𝕟

[ 23 ]

"I'm not allergic," Songmin responded absentmindedly, peering into the restock cabinet and scanning the labeled boxes for the box she needed. Records, CDs, gift bags, cassettes... ah, here it is. Pulling the box down from its spot on top of some other ones, she grabbed the little packaging knife that sat on a small stool beside the door and slit the tape holding the box closed, setting the knife back down and opening up the box.

She searched through the large cardboard box for the artists whose albums she needed to restock. Huh, there seems to be a lot of interest in kpop lately. The albums she pulled out were almost exclusively kpop albums, with the exception of a few smaller rap and R&B artists.

Closing the box as well as she could, Songmin placed it back where it had been and gathered the albums she had taken out. She exited the closet, closing the door securely behind her, and brought the albums out to the front to begin restocking.

On most days, Songmin might have put on some music when she did a task as mundane as restocking, but the amount to restock was so small and the atmosphere of the shop was so peaceful she didn't want to disturb it. She soaked in the relative silence as she sorted the albums by artist and genre, the only sounds being the muted sounds of Mrs. Ki's cane as she walked around in the kitchen, the kettle on the stove, and the creak of the wooden floor under her feet.

The soft evening sunlight shone through the big windows at the front of the shop, joining with the tinted lights on the ceiling. The scent of the wooden shelves on which the merchandise were arranged was stronger today, a thick and familiar musk that reminded Songmin of her favorite childhood library. Dust stirred as she walked past the shelves that held the less popular products; she tried to stifle her coughs as she brushed off some of the shelves. I can't believe the other employees don't regularly dust. I'm going to have to start cleaning the place every time I come back for my shifts again.

But then again, why wasn't Mrs. Ki here already when I came today?

"I'll leave your tea on the counter here, Songmin." The sudden sound of Mrs. Ki's voice surprised Songmin and she whipped around to see the woman standing at the front of the store, setting a small cup beside the cash register.

"Thank you," Songmin said, stopping her sorting momentarily and turning to face Mrs. Ki so that the woman could hear more easily. "But Mrs. Ki, why wasn't the shop open already when I got here?"

Mrs. Ki waved her hand nonchalantly. "The employee before you fell sick today and couldn't come in, nothing you need to be concerned about. I should warn you though, I have a new student coming in today."

"The high schooler didn't stop his lessons, did he?" Songmin asked, shelving the last of the albums and making her way to the counter. She picked up the warm cup, giving the steaming tea a blow across the surface to cool it off. "I don't remember having seen him for a while before my vacation."

"Bokyung? He's only on vacation with his family, he'll be back soon. But speaking of my new student-" Mrs. Ki paused and the bell above the shop door tinkled. "Here he is, right on time."

"Kinam?"

"Songmin!" Kinam intoned with surprise, genuine astonishment apparent in the way his eyes widened and his mouth hung open slightly. The door clicked shut behind him. "I didn't expect to see you here."

"You do music?" Songmin marveled, setting the teacup down since the tea hadn't yet cooled enough to drink and it was burning her fingers.

Kinam shrugged. "Not exactly. I enjoy music and I've been wanting to learn an instrument for a while. I went to one of the music teachers and she told me about Mrs. Ki here and the many talented students she has had."