Love Store - Na Jaemin

2

The school day ends and I text Renjun to meet me at the entrance.

I wait for a bit, constantly checking my phone until he finally exits. When he does, I notice another boy walking beside him.

"Is this your boyfriend?" I joke.

"Eww," The guy cringes. "Renjun is the last boy I'd ever date."

"O-kay?" I hesitate before shaking it off and turning around to take off in the other direction.

"Before you didn't give me a chance to speak," Renjun sasses while speed-walking to catch up with me, the other boy close behind. "I was going to introduce you to my FRIEND, Donghyuck." I wave to the unfamiliar face and he waves back.

We stop sprinting once we cross the street and Renjun takes a moment to catch his breath, handing me his drink.

The three of us enter a convenience store and I take a sip from the cup, forgetting to examine what's inside. I almost instantly gag.

"Gross! I hate coffee." I whine.

"How could you hate coffee?" The cashier in the first lane yells. He sounded genuinely offended.

Renjun's friend, who I now know is Donghyuck, looks to the cashier with a big smile on his face and yells,

"Jaemin!? What's up my dude? I didn't know you worked here."

"You know him?" Renjun questions, taking the words right out of my mouth.

"Yeah," Donghyuck responds. "We went to high school together."

"Small world." I mumble. I continue into the store to grab some ingredients for the pasta me and Renjun plan on making tonight. Renjun follows me as Donghyuck stays back to speak with who I'm assuming is Jaemin.

"So, why'd you bring your friend?" I ask Renjun, gesturing towards Donghyuck.

"We made a bet and now he owes me. He said he'll pay for our shopping as long as he can eat with us because, his dorm-mate, Mark, can only cook eggs." Renjun tells. I nod as we continue getting foods for our dinner.

We finish and I bring the food to the cash register that Donghyuck was standing at. His friend stares me down as he scans each product.

"Do you, need something?" I ask bluntly, confused by his stare.

"It's just... do you really not like coffee?" He questions. His aura changed with the second statement.

"Yeah," I say finally making eye contact with him. "It's bitter and disgusting."

Before the cashier could reply, Renjun walks up, handing him one more item.

"I hope you don't mind but, Jaemin was just telling me that his shift is almost done and I kinda invited him over for dinner." Donghyuck informs.

"That's great, now none of the food will go to waste." Renjun says with a smile. I just sigh. I'm already tired from school, now I have to cook for Renjun and two boys I don't even know. One who's super loud and the other hyper on coffee.

We stand outside and wait for Jaemin's shift to end. I'm leaning against a brick wall and Renjun and Donghyuck are a small distance away from me, discussing their classes.

Jaemin exits the store and we all begin walking towards the apartment. We enter and I wash my hands as Renjun un-bags our groceries. Hyuck and Jaemin sit down on two bar stools that are in front of the counter that separates our kitchen from our living room.

"Weren't you supposed to be looking for a job?" Renjun ask, while rinsing some vegetables. "I told you I was done paying for this rent by myself. We probably couldn't have afforded this food if it weren't for Donghyuck."

I turn on the stove and look at Renjun with a blank face. I have no idea where to work.

"I couldn't help but to overhear," Jaemin chimes in, "There's an open spot where I work. You can come in and work the register after school."

I think about his offer. A guy, I only met today, wanting me to work with him? I mean, what other choice do I have?

"Uh, yeah, I guess it'd be cool to work at a convenient store." I shrug.

"Cool, I'll text manager Doyoung." Jaemin responds.