2
"Iris?" A soft voice woke me from my slumber. I groaned softly before rolling over and burying my head in the pillow, "I know your schedule's all messed up, you're usually going to sleep when we're waking up. You should take a day off to sleep in, and maybe check out the city when you wake up. We'll start you at the bakery tomorrow, okay?"
Lacking the strength to do as little as respond, I simply nodded my head without opening my eyes. Aunt Cara planted a kiss on my forehead then tiptoed out of my bedroom.
- - -
Eventually, I opened my eyes, a long yawn escaping my lips. I could hear the busy street that lay just beyond my room.
My suitcases were lined against the wall of my barren bedroom, their tops propped up to reveal my neatly folded clothes. I began to tear through the luggage, destroying my mother's careful packing.
I hadn't brought much on the plane with me, all my other clothes would be arriving with my furniture. So, there wasn't much to choose from. After a few minutes of decision making, I set my mind on a jean skirt with buttons starting at the top and reaching the very end, paired with a long sleeved gray crop top.
After applying my makeup, I brushed through my dark hair quickly, leaving it in its natural wavy state. Taking a quick look in the mirror, I prepared myself to go out by pulling a warm wool sweater over my outfit. Both my parents were full Korean, having grown up in Korea and moved to California to start a new life together after their marriage. I inherited their dark brownish black hair, but dodged the brown eye gene and got hazel eyes similar to my younger brother's.
The stairs creaked as I made my way into the kitchen. "Look who's finally awake!" Uncle Junsu teased, looking up from the dough he had been kneading, "Are you going to explore a bit?"
I nodded my head unsurely, "If that's okay with you," I hopped from the last step, landing with a light thud, "Aunt Cara said I could, but I can stay and help if you need it-"
"Who do you think gave Aunt Cara the idea?" My uncle smiled, wrinkles forming around his eyes, "Go on, go take a look around!"
"Thank god you said that," I let out a breath of relief, "I really want to check out Gangnam."
He chuckled, motioning for me to go with his free hand as he continued to work at the bread dough.
"Have fun, Amaya!" Aunt Cara called to me from the cash register as I pushed the bakeries glass doors aside. The shop was buzzing with activity. I felt a little bad leaving knowing that they could use my help, but I don't think they'd let me stay knowing I'd rather be out in the city. "Call if you need anything!" She shrilled, her voice being carried off with the breeze as I stepped outside. I merely nodded my head to her and waved, before skipping off in a randomly chosen direction without hesitation.
From the glance over my shoulder I was finally able to read the bakery's sign which read, Heung's Pastries. I shrugged off the thought of the bakery and all the work I'd be exposed to tomorrow as the distance grew between me and my new home.
My legs carried me to several different shops, some clothing shops and others torrist-y gift stores. I decided to purchase some little items to send home to my family and a couple pieces of clothing, since I had no idea when the rest of my closet would arrive.
Bags in tow, I glanced down at my phone, which I had recently changed to South Korean timing. By doing this I discovered it was quite a bit past noon. I considered stopping in a small cafe I was approaching. The growl from my stomach made the final decision and I tugged the door open.
The atmosphere of the shop was similar to Heung's Bakery, except they utilized hues of pink and brown. It was quite simple, but affective.
The hostess led me to my seat immediately after I had stepped in. It wasn't all that busy, so it makes sense I was able to get a table so fast.
I tabbed through the thick menu. There was quite a lot to look at, not to mention the English translations didn't make all that much sense, so it was a hard decision to make.
When the waiter came back, I was still unsure about what to choose, "I'm not positive yet, can I have a couple more minutes?" He nodded in understanding and moved to the next table.
I sighed deeply, annoyed with myself. Why am I getting so stressed out by food?
"Try the bibimbap," A boys voice suggested from beside me, "Trust me, it's really good."
I cast a sideways glance at him, not able to help smiling. The voice belonged to a boy who could not be much older than 20. He looked more Chinese than Korean, with clean cut curly, blonde hair and a small flat nose. He looked down on me on a account of his long neck and height combined.
"Bibimbap?" I puzzled.
He nodded furiously, his soft voice barely projecting to my table. His was only a few feet away, but he truly was quiet. It was cute. "It's like, cooked rice with things like vegetables, fried egg, and minced beef." The stranger opened his menu and placed it on my table to point out the dish he had been describing, "It's my favorite."
"It sounds good, I'll try that."
I placed my finger to the picture he was showing me, tracing it lightly. When I looked up at him, his head was rested on his palms, a sweet smile spreaded across his cheeks, "Thank you, uh-"
"Minghao." He stated, bowing his body at the slightest, "But most people call me The8."
"The8," I echoed in confirmation, "Well, I'm Iris."
"Enjoy the food, Iris!" The8 said sincerely, "If you don't like it, I wouldn't mind eating it for you."
"I'm sure I will, but I'll let you know if I'm not going to finish it." I joked, grinning at him. He laughed and spun around in his chair to look through his own menu.
As my waiter was walking by, I signaled him down, finally placing my order. I was glad Minghao suggested a dish to me because I'm rather indecisive when it comes to food.
The bell above the front entrance rang as three new customers entered the restaurant. They waved at The8, walking in a line to the table he must have been saving for him. Much to my surprise, a familiar face tailed the group.
It was the boy who loaned me cab money the day before. What a coincidence that I would see him here.
I became rather flustered at the sight of him, for some reason, so I propped up my menu in attempt to hide my face. I can't believe I didn't get the chance to pay him back. It may not have been much money, but it felt very rude of me. But beside the bad manners I had presented, the whole situation was also rather embarrassing on my part.
Poking my head out from my menu fort, I snuck a glance at the table. The8's back was turned to me. A loud, rusty brown haired guy was directly across from him, the taxi boy diagonal to him. To The 8's right, with their back also facing me, was a white-blonde haired figure.
I ducked below the menu, almost dodging a glance from the rusty haired boy. He caught my stare at the last second. I must have looked like such a freak hiding like that.
What am I doing? I don't even know this guy!
There's no reason why I should be panicking like this. So what if he sees me?
Slowly, I flattened the thick paper on the wooden surface that was my table. Seconds after, my phone screen lit up with my aunt's profile, "Hello?" I answered.
"Hi Amaya," She spoke in her usual gabby tone, but seemed a bit apologetic this time around, "I hate to bother you on a day off, but would you mind picking up a few things for me at the grocery store and get them back in the next hour or so? We've seemed to run low on supplies and there's a big order to fill."
"Of course," I assured her, "It's no bother at all, just text me the list."
"Thank you so much, hunny." Her voice became less tense as she released a sigh of relief, "I'll pay you back for it all when you get here."
"Alright," And with that, our conversation ended. Just then, the waiter arrived with my food, "I hate to be a bother, but could I get this to-go?"
"Sure," He nodded, "I'll get this packaged up and bring your bill right away."
The meal was quite cheap for the amount of food I was getting. I had a lot of cash with me from what my parents had given me to travel with. I had only used the money for a donut while I waited for my flight, I hadn't eaten anything else and obviously I didn't pay for my own cab fair. I raised an eyebrow at the enthusiastic group of boys close by.
"All set?" the waiter began to pick up the leather pocket that held my bill.
"Yes," I cleared my throat, "I also left some extra in there to cover their meal over there," I gestured with the wave of my hand in the boys' direction.
"Who should I say paid?" The waiter went along with my plan politely.
"Do you see the brown haired boy with the black jacket?" He nodded in response to my question, "Tell him, 'Thank you for helping with my cab the other day.' "
- - -
I reached for a can of condensed milk desperately. My tippy toes didn't quite cut it. I glanced at my phone again, hoping this was the wrong brand and the one I needed was on a shelf I could actually reach, but no luck.
A thought came to my mind when I studied the shopping cart I had been piling the groceries in.
As carefully as possible, I climbed into the cart and stood on its interior to gain the extra height I needed to grab the ingrediant. Luckily, I snatched it without problem and hopped out.
On my way to the checkout section of the grocery store, a flyer taped to a shelf caught my attention. I veered off in it's direction, leaning in to look at it.
The body type was in Korean, rendering it useless to me. All was in the foreign language except the picture of three beautiful, smiling girls next to a sign that read Orange Caramel and the bright pink letters at the top that spelled out 'PLEDIS'. That word seemed awfully familiar to me.
Soon after repeating the phrase in my head, it clicked.
Isn't that the building across from the bakery?
From what I could gather they were a record company or producer of some sort. For some reason, the company sparked an interest in me.
I shrugged it off, continuing to the nearest cash register.
A.N -
Hiii
I just have a bunch of chapters saved and ready to be published, because I'm a lazy ass bitch, so if I start gaining readers I can post as often as possible. thanks for reading, love you 💖
- paisley (aka lazy ass bitch)