ch. 3

"i'll get past it someday."

-promise

"hello, i'm wooyoung! i'm a regular here, but i've never seen you here before."

after the ironic encounter with her crush, a male stands before the grey-white themed worker with his hand hovering between them. eunbi is taken back at the sudden customer, but she conceals her startled reaction with a small grin.

he's one of yunho's friends, she recognizes as she reaches for his hand and shakes it.

being the polite person she is, eunbi introduces herself to the customer. "i'm van! i'm a little bit new to this cafe and i only work part-time, so maybe that's why you haven't seen me."

they release the handshake after their introduction, just to be interrupted by a pink-themed coworker. "van has a fan? that's a first."

"that's not funny kookie," she pouts and softly punches her cousin's shoulder, causing him to let out a fake cry.

the younger one rolls her eyes at his immature behavior and returns her attention to the customer. "sorry, kookie can be very bothersome. did you want something from me?"

and with that question, the boy sheepishly rubs his neck and avoids eye contact. "c-can i get to kn-know you?"

kookie and chimmy, who's still at the cashier, drop their jaws. even eunbi herself.

her face blooms into red as her body goes stiff. "i-it would b-be a pl-pleasure!"

the two walk away from the counter, where kookie calls all the workers to watch them, and settle themselves at a two-seated table, which is a few seats away from yunho's friend group. they can feel the stares burning into their backs while they nervously fiddle with their fingers. someone from wooyoung's table whistles at them.

"i apologize for this awkward situation," eunbi speaks up first. "this is... my first time."

"no! don't be!" wooyoung's eyes widen, surprised at her sudden apology. "it's my fault for requesting you."

awkward silence seeps in the conversation once again, the both of them looking around their surroundings instead of the person in front of them. their ears catch on the sighs of disappointment from both parties.

she begins to recall the basic description of wooyoung that yunho provided her under the cherry blossom tree.

jung wooyoung: second year, dance department, known as the playboy of the group. she internally scoffs at the information, seeing that the last part of the description does not play account in the boy's characteristics.

then, an idea pops into the girl's head and she looks at the boy. "wooyoung-ssi, since you're a regular here, who's your favorite worker here?"

"chimmy," he immediately says. he covers his mouth with his hands at the sound of himself exposing his fangirl side. "sorry, i never really talked about this with my friends; it's their first time here."

her lips pull into a sweet smile while she reaches out for his fidgeting hands. "well then, i'm always here if you want to talk about this type of stuff."

she unexpectedly causes the customer's face to burst into red due to the skin contact and her words, so she instantly let go of his hands. "oh my goodness, i am so sorry for rushing things-"

"it's okay!" he interrupts as he holds her empty hands. "it just took me by surprise."

she sighs in relief. "anyways, why is chimmy your bias?"

he beams at the question and lets everything escape his lips. "he's very well-rounded: he has the looks, the dance moves, and the vocals! he has such a bubbly personality and his voice is so silky that everyone falls for. his signature smile always makes my day and he can be very funny sometimes."

eunbi develops an urge to laugh as she listens to him, shutting her mouth as tight as possible to prevent any noise from coming out. no offense to wooyoung, but the way he describes her brother makes her cringe to the max. she never knew that this man has an effect on everyone around.

nonetheless, she continues to smile at the fact that he looks happy talking to someone about this topic.

i hope we can be good friends when we meet at school, she wishes silently.

as the rambling continues, however, she is slowly getting annoyed hearing about the good things about her brother. all those things he has that she doesn't...

makes her envious.

it makes her realize that compared to her brother...

she's a nobody.

she begins to build a feeling where she has been lacking. she begins to feel self-conscious of herself. she begins to hear her negative thoughts quietly seep into her mind.

she begins to think that maybe yunho doesn't like her because she isn't pretty enough.

maybe yunho doesn't like her because her personality isn't appealing enough.

maybe yunho doesn't like her...

because she isn't good enough.

but before her intoxicated thoughts become overwhelming, a small voice sings in her mind.

"i want you to be your light, baby. you should be your light."

and that is all it takes to rid her unpleasant mindset.

eunbi snaps out of her deep thoughts and returns to reality, where wooyoung has just finished his long explanation about everything he loves about chimmy. he innocently stares at the worker as he awaits for a response from her, still holding her soft hands.

"wow," she manages to say. "there are a lot of things you like about him."

he chuckles at her reaction. "yeah, no one can beat him on my bias list."

"oh?" she raises an eyebrow and leans towards him, leaving their faces a few inches away from one another. "is that a challenge?"

"no," he shrugs while his smile changes into a smirk. "but if you interpret my statement as a challenge, i'm all for it."

"challenge accepted then."

confidence surges throughout her body as she leans back on her chair as she clears her voice and warms up her throat a little. her lips pull in a sly smile and her eyes glimmering in mischief, intriguing the curious boy. their hands separate once the girl leaves her seat and heads toward the small stage that is behind her.

her cousins and her brother, who have been watching the interaction the entire time, rush to the control center on the side of the counter to adjust the lighting on the stage.

eunbi drags a stool to where she wants it to be and adjusts the height of the microphone stand while her hand holds an acoustic guitar. tapping the tip of the microphone to hear if it's on, everyone directs their attention to the stage.

"hello?" the grey-white themed worker greets awkwardly. "i hope you guys are having a good time here at magic shop!"

she can see the female customers rolling their eyes and flat-out ignoring her, causing her sheepishly lets out a chuckle. "as you can see, this is my first time being up here, as i will be performing a song for you. i hope you enjoy!"

she glances at wooyoung and flashes him a smirk.

i'm going to ruin your bias list.

she settles herself into the stool behind her and strums the guitar a little before playing the song. the guitar melody flows throughout the cafe with some heads nodding to the beat of the song.

then, she opens her mouth and sings.

all the chattering dies out, and the only sound that can be heard is eunbi's voice echoing throughout the silence cafe. all eyes are on her now.

as the most hated worker at magic shop, no one knows her talents. she has been disregarded and ignored whenever she is working a shift. they all assumes that she is talentless, useless, and is hired out of pity; that she is using this opportunity to be closer to the seven men.

but her voice is so captivating, so beautiful...

so ethereal.

it is as if she was gifted by the heavenly skies above them.

they can hear how much effort she puts into the song with the change in her tone, her expression, and her strumming of the guitar. the way she enunciates each word with delicacy satisfies their ears.

"now promise me, oh, oh," she sings. "several times a day, oh, oh."

"even if you feel that you are alone, oh, oh.

don't throw yourself away, oh, oh

oh, oh, oh, oh."

she takes a deep breath before singing the ending of the song.

"let's stop here for a moment

intertwine our pinkies

and promise me now, oh, oh, oh, oh."

and with the last strumming of the guitar, everything goes quiet. the audience sits with their eyes close as they listen to the final chord resonate in their ears. the girl on stage catches her breath from her performance, content with the outcome.

she forgets that she is on stage to show off one of her secret tricks to a specific customer, believing that she is standing under the spotlight for a different reason...

to remind herself that she made a promise to herself to move on.