Music genius
𓆝 𓆟 𓆞
Doyun's last week consisted of serving tables and cleaning counters: not the fun summer she – and her friends back in Seoul – expected. She knew that was what she had to do, but she couldn't help but admire and envy the people on the beach.
They were sunbathing, playing beach tennis, and laughing with their loved ones. Doyun wanted that too. She wanted to enjoy her summer with her friends. But there she was, stuck behind a counter serving drinks.
At least there's a cool breeze, she thought.
The shape of the bar allowed the air coming from the sea to flow inside of it and cool down the atmosphere. The staff didn't even think about installing a fan in the bar, so she was lucky enough that Mother Nature took care of that for her.
"Doyun, you there?" The boy next to her called out, startling her. She didn't even realize she had stopped what she was doing to stare at two women sitting under an umbrella on the beach, probably gossiping or talking about their old times.
"Did you say something, Jungwon?" She called out. The boy pointed at a tray placed in front of her, where four colorful glasses and a packed popsicle were carefully arranged on top of it.
"Umbrella 319." Jungwon told her for the second time, laughing softly at her puzzled expression.
Doyun lifted the tray, walking towards the exit of the bar. She went down the few stairs dividing the bar from the hot sand of the June early afternoon. She scanned the whole beach, immediately finding the umbrella where she was supposed to deliver the drinks.
She jogged to the walkway, feeling her feet burn touching the sand, despite her wearing a pair of white sandals.
Under Umbrella 319, a small family was laughing at something the youngest girl had said. Doyun caught their attention as she bowed to them, placing the tray on the small table.
Doyun understood they weren't Korean as soon as the woman spoke to her son. "Riki, thank her." The woman said in Japanese. Doyun could understand since she had studied Japanese in high school despite her knowledge of the language not being one of the best in her course.
The only boy in the family stood up, towering over all of his family and Doyun as he grabbed from a hung-up bag the money to pay Doyun. "Thank you." He said in fluent Korean.
Doyun was caught off guard by his perfect pronunciation, considering his mother didn't even know how to say 'thank you'. He seemed to notice it as he let out an awkward laugh, "We're Japanese but I was an exchange student here in Korea."
Doyun nodded as she understood. The father of the family stood up, grabbing his son's arm. This time the girl couldn't understand what he was saying to him, as her level of Japanese wasn't as good to understand such a fast and complex conversation.
Thankfully for her, the boy quickly turned back towards her, "Are there any activities to do here? Like, water activities or boat excursions?"
Doyun seemed to think about it. She wasn't really sure since her father didn't hint anything new about that. I mean, last year there were, so there must be some this year as well.
"There should be some, but you should go ask at the info office. It's right at the entrance of the beach." She said vaguely, smiling.
The boy smiled back at her as he sat back down on the lounge chair, grabbing one of the drinks Doyun had brought, "Thank you..."
"Doyun." She concluded, grinning, "And of course."
"I'm Riki." He soon finished his drink, placing it back on the tray. She waved goodbye to the family as she walked back to the bar, bringing the tray with her.
"It took you some time," Jungwon laughed as Doyun came back to the bar. He shoved the cloth he was using in a drawer as he rested his elbow on the counters. On the other hand, the girl sat right in front of him on a stool, taking advantage of the bar being pretty empty to take a moment to sit down and rest for a while.
"I'm already so tired of working," She sighed, resting her face on the palm of her hand, "My back hurts already. And it's only June?!"
Jungwon chuckled, gaining a frown from his best friend. She rested her head on the counter, a loud sigh leaving her lips. Work was stressful. Most of the clients weren't that bad, but Doyun couldn't really control the few rude customers who occasionally would start yelling at her for the bare minimum.
Anyone could forget to bring salt to a table, why were they wasting their time yelling at her for serving it? The girl would just shrug and walk back to the counter.
She raised her head, leaning back on the stool. Suddenly, a pair of cold hands laid on top of her eyes, along with a bubbly voice speaking from behind her, "Guess who I am."
She spun around, incredulous of the boy standing behind her. His jet-black hair rested on his crescent-shaped eyes as his lips curved into a smile.
"Kim Sunoo?!" Doyun's eyes widened in surprise as she met her friend's sparkly ones, "What the hell are you doing here?"
Sunoo sat next to her, covering his mouth dramatically, "Minji told me you arrived last Sunday, why didn't you tell me?!" The girl looked at him in confusion, slowly realizing that she hadn't called or texted him to tell her when she would have arrived. It's not because she didn't want to, she simply forgot and got lost in between the preparations for the flight.
The only people she informed were Hanbin and Minji, and the latter was the one to tell Haerin and Hanni. Doyun looked at him with pleading eyes, "I must have forgotten."
He eyed her up and down, scoffing amusedly, "I'll only forgive you if you buy me a drink."
She didn't mind paying for it. She called Jungwon, asking Sunoo what he wanted as they caught up with each other. Talking to him was refreshing to Doyun: he was basically the boy version of Danielle, they were both equally cheerful and annoying in the best way possible. She needed someone to keep her entertained while she was there and Danielle was only 450 kilometers away, and Sunoo was the perfect one.
As Sunoo told her about his recent trip to Japan, a group of young boys entered the bar, sitting not too far from where Sunoo and Doyun were sitting. She moved her eyes from the joyful boy in front of her, meeting Heeseung's eyes as he looked around. Doyun then noticed his friends talking to each other, still not acknowledging her presence.
He smiled at her as she stood up, excusing Sunoo – "Need to go back to work". Doyun tied the black apron around her waist, approaching them as the leader greeted her, "Hi... Doyun, right?"
She nodded as all of them were now looking at her. She walked behind the counter, "How may I help you?"
Jay fixed the shades sitting on the bridge of his nose, ordering the same drink for all of them. Jake shook his hand, catching Doyun's attention, "I'll take just a lemonade."
Doyun left the four, hearing them tease Jake for his order, as she walked towards Jungwon who was on his phone, taking a break from work while there were no clients.
He raised his cat-like eyes on the girl, wishing she was going to say anything but drink names. Unfortunately for him, that's exactly what she said. He stood up against his will as he mixed the drinks to her side. The two quickly finished the drinks, handing them to the boys.
Sunghoon took a sip from his glass, feeling the refreshing drink on his lips. He complimented Jungwon, the one who handed him the glass, as he stood up from the stool along with Jay and Heeseung.
They were all holding their respective glasses as they looked down at Jake, the only one who was still sitting. The oldest jokingly stole the glasses from Jay's nose, placing them on his own, "See you later then?" He said to Jake.
He waved to them as Heeseung ran away from Jay who was trying to get his shades back, trying not to spill the full glass. They soon disappeared out of the bar, leaving Jake alone.
"You're not going with them?" A feminine voice asked him, making him turn towards the girl. Doyun was busy wiping a glass with a cloth, not looking at him in the eyes.
Jake shook his head, "The beach is too crowded, I need peace and quiet to write music." He opened the tote bag he had placed next to him, taking out a few sheets with guitar tabs drawn on them.
Doyun took a glance at the papers, having no idea what the different lines and dots meant. She found it interesting how she could read a music sheet but at the same time the guitar tab was so different from what she was used to.
Jake looked up at her, his puppy eyes shining under the fairy lights, "Can I sit anywhere I want?"
She smiled politely, "Sure, go ahead." He stood up from the stool, swinging the tote bag on his shoulder.
He scanned the whole room, trying to find the best – and quietest – place in the bar. He opted for the table in the left corner, where two giant windows were divided by just a wooden column. The white table was clean and the air entering the bar created a fresh breeze that Jake found ideal to concentrate. Plus, from there he could still see the sea, a major source of inspiration for him.
He sat down, scattering his sheets on the table. He grabbed a pencil from his bag, checking carefully the already written notes. He played them in his head, he was incredibly good at "imagining" how notes sounded so, as he corrected it, he didn't need his guitar.
A frown appeared on his face as he replayed in his head what he had already written, "This is bullshit."
Doyun peeped from afar how he frantically erased his paper, blowing softly to remove the eraser residues. His hair flowed perfectly on his focused eyes, moved ever so slightly by the sea breeze, his gaze fixed onto the paper. A white shirt covered his upper body while a pair of blue swimwear wrapped his toned legs.
His shoulders were tense as he analyzed his music, his brows slightly knitted. Doyun had to admit how charming and smart he looked. He must be a music genius, she thought.
She had found herself staring at him more than she should have, losing herself in that calming-looking scenery.
"What are you looking at?" A sudden voice called her out, making her quickly spin her head towards the girl in front of her.
Minji sat down next to Sunoo, who was busy on his phone. Doyun turned towards Jake, making sure he didn't catch her staring. Fortunately, he was too busy working on his music. Why was I staring anyway?
"Nothing." Doyun replied, putting the glass she was wiping on a shelf behind her. Her cheeks turned a soft shade of pink, but Minji didn't seem to notice.
"You have work tomorrow afternoon?" She asked impatiently, drying her hair with the large towel wrapped around her body. She must have just come back from a swim, Doyun thought.
"Nope!" Doyun popped the P, "Only in the morning."
"That's perfect. You, me, Haerin, Sunoo, beach." She stood up from the chair, gaining a proud smile from the boy, "I don't take a no as an answer."
Doyun grinned, "What about Hanni?"
"She has work." Sunoo concluded for her, as the two walked away from the bar, winking at Doyun before disappearing behind the white curtain.
A sudden ring coming from her back pocket startled the girl. She grabbed her phone from her pants, reading once again Danielle's name, "You always interrupt me in the worst moments, y'know." She leaned back on the counter, "I'm working."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I know you can't wait to hear me." Her voice chirped from the other side of the line, "I miss you, Doyun. Seoul is so boring."
"I'm sure you are all fine." Doyun laughed, "Me, on the other side. I've been working nonstop. This isn't the fun holiday you and Hyein wished for me."
"Talking about that." Dani smirked sheepishly, before shaking her head, "No, I won't tell you yet. It's too soon."
Doyun frowned, but before she could say anything Danielle spoke again, "You'll find out soon! Gotta go, byeee."
And with that, the call was interrupted. Doyun stared blankly at her phone, blinking rapidly a couple of times.
What did she even mean?
Before she could call her back, a client entered the bar, sitting down at one of the tables.
Despite terribly wanting to know what Danielle was about, Doyun quickly forgot about it as she went back to work. Only a couple of hours left before freedom, she sighed.
☆ AUTHOR 's SPACE ☽˚｡⋆.
This chapter is lowkey bad... but
also I needed a transition chapter
to make Jake and Doyun interact
more 🥲 As always let me know your
thoughts and opinions in the
comments! I love reading them <3
Thank you for reading till here ♡ ,
JYR .