09. wildflower

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The Jeong Family's record store was a staple in Moonglow Bay's community. Passed down from generation to generation, Fawnlily Records had been around since the mid-1940s and was the oldest business in town to date. The brick building, though built by great-grandfather Jeong upon moving to the bay area, gave the illusion it had been around for hundreds of years. In a town as small as yours, it was something of legend. The only fracture in the illusion was the fact that the current owners, Mr. and Mrs. Jeong, recently painted the brick structure white to make the store look clean and more modern.

On your trek to Fawnlily Records, you remembered the Jeongs had a son a year older than you. The two of you went to high school together, you knew for sure. However, with him being in the class above yours, the two of you shared little to no interaction. Because of this, you couldn't even remember his name, much less what he looked like.

Let's hope he doesn't remember me, you thought, bundling yourself in your brown wool coat.

Standing before the store's facade, your heart began to race. Was this too strange of you, to show up at San's place of employment like this? If he were to recognize you from his busking performances, what would he think? All you wanted was to get to know him, to show your appreciation for his talent. Was this taking it too far?

With a sigh, you pushed all doubts out of your mind and entered Fawnlily Records for the first time in years.

The first thing you noticed was how spacious the inside was. The building's exterior appeared too small to give way to an interior such as this, It was considerably larger than your family's bookstore. The second thing was the soft melody of Day6's "Congratulations" playing through the overhead speakers.

"Welcome in." The head of a young man popped up behind the counter on the left wall. With a crooked grin in your direction, he added: "Let me know if you have any questions." He then ducked back down so only the roots of his chestnut hair were visible over the counter.

You walked over to the shelf of records closest to you, a faint smile overtaking your features. "Day6 is on vinyl?" You asked.

A faint chuckle echoed over to you as the young man stood once more. "Ah, you caught me," he said, gaze fixated on the bundle of papers in his hands. "It's just me today, so figured I should play whatever I want while I can."

Your smile faltered a bit at his second sentence, and you shook off the small dose of disappointment before responding.

"That's false advertising, isn't it?" You teased.

"Probably," the young man shrugged. "I guess I just like disappointing MyDays."

You let out a soft laugh, and the conversation stopped there. As you continued to browse the shelves of records, the temptation to leave grew with every passing second. You had no motivation to buy anything, and your reason for being there vanished with San not working that day. But as the music switched over to a song you recognized to be by Lauv you started uncovering a reason to stay.

"I'm guessing this isn't on vinyl either?" You asked, sneaking a glimpse at who you assumed to be the youngest Jeong.

"Au contraire," he said, making his way over to a shelf labeled 'NEW ARRIVALS.' He produced an album from the stack and skimmed the song list on the back of it. "Right here, 'Tattoos Together' by Lauv." With a smirk, he held the vinyl out for you. "Want it?"

From this angle, you were able to take the young man in completely. Facing him head on, you were able to recognize him from your high school days, but he was considerably taller compared to your faint memory of him. His dark eyes seemed to twinkle; they were full of glee and remained that way with every passing moment. The most striking part of all was his energy. This young man seemed to radiate the color yellow. You were wholly captivated by him.

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