@✽ minho l. She was nearly finished with taking out all the potatoes from her makeshift shirt-basket, the box on Miss Choi’s stall being full and the elderly woman coming over and handing her and Minho some bottles of water as a silent thank you. Chaeyoung grinned at the older woman and turned back to Minho to respond. “That’s true, but we do exist. I guess well, just me here. Since my noraebang is the only one in town. But I’ve met a bunch of them when I visit Seoul!” she spoke brightly, flattening her shirt sinceit was wrinkled from the potatoes stretching it slightly.
“The universe wanted us to be friends probably!” she replied, trying to calm her voice down even if she sounded a bit too excited. “Destiny is a crazy thing.”
Chaeyoung, with her arms crossed, leaned on the stall, careful not to let her back hit the boxes just in case she /actually/ made all of them fall by accident. “That sounds fun! I’ve never been much of a baker, more of a cooker, so what you’re doing is actually super cool in my eyes.” She eyed him being almost finished putting his potatoes in the container and her brows raised, her hand flying to her chest. “Me? Well… lots of free time during the day-ish. But also during peak hours it gets messy… lots of old men, noisy students and an abnormally large amount of unwanted bodily fluids during clean up hours.” she admitted, playfully pretending to gag into her hand. She didn’t lie of course, the drunk people in her noraebang, especially on weekends, go very hard on the drinks they bring or ask her to order.
@✽ chaeyoung l. actually, there were a lot of reasons that others could have listed against helping miss choi. waking up this early was definitely not the easiest, and even minho had days when he didn't want to rise before the sun. perhaps chaeyoung was just used to being up at this timing already, but minho still thought it was kind of chaeyoung to help out.
he hummed and nodded as chaeyoung spoke, before replying, "actually, i am surprised. a noraebang owner isn't an occupation that's frequently talked about, to be honest, so i don't know much about it." minho probably knew as much as the regular customer, maybe with the additional information about how noraebangs handle their food.
minho gave a firm nod, repeating, "yes, this early." the possibility of divine intervention raised up by chaeyoung drew out a small laugh from minho as he copied chaeyoung's actions to fill the box with his own potatoes. the smile stayed on his face as he said, "i wonder why the universe wouldn't want us to meet. i'd say we are pretty good business partners."
minho paused for a while, hand wrapped around one of the potatoes in his arm-basket. "work's fine, as always," he said. the job he had was mostly unchanging, maybe with different recipes, but essentially what he did each day was the same. still, it was the kind of repetitiveness that had become familiarity, and minho didn't mind it. still, it didn't make for good conversation, so minho quickly added, "though, we are trying to experiment with recipes and presentation more." with a laugh, he continued, "hopefully, with new stuff, you won't ever feel like you've tasted enough from our bakery." he looked up from the potatoes to face chaeyoung. "what about you, how's work?"
@✽ minho l. Chaeyoung listened to Minho’s words attentively, shrugging with a light smile, her hands still gripping her shirt fabric steady. “I guess it’s nice of me? Miss Choi is close to my family, so why not right?” She started walking backwards, barely a few steps as she replied to his follow-up comment. “You’d be surprised how much time a noraebang owner has. I have a lot of free hours when it’s not peak time for customers, aka at night and late afternoons!”
She eyed him silently, almost stumbling on a little pebble while walking backwards, but she got her footing back just as instantly as she lost it. Chaeyoung finally reached Miss Choi’s food stand, her right hand picking out potatoes one by one and stacking them inside a nearby box. She’d empty out her makeshift basket before clasping the “broken” box the potatoes were meant to be in. “Wow… this early?” she muttered, as if she didn’t know he was really an early riser for work.
Her hands nearly dropped a potato and she caught it quickly, with her eyes glancing at Minho once in a while while he was speaking. “I guess the universe doesn’t want us to meet outside of work that much? And yeah, normally I’m just restocking pastries and snacks early in the morning when the peak hours end and everyone’s left!” she answered, nodding. She had some complaints about the noraebang’s schedule, but it was free enough for her to get enough sleep and be productive for her own personal needs. “How’s work though?” she started, remembering that their relationship had been strictly work for the longest time. “I mean, outside me getting baked goods from you, I’ve tasted enough of that, you know.”
@✽ soojin s. "Ah- oops? Hehe" he smiled sheepishly at her when she fished out the grocery list from her pocket, Hyuk then leaned in to kiss Soojin on her cheek. "I don't know what am I gonna do without you, love." He said gently, meaning every words he said as he gazed at his wife with eyes filled with love and adoration until his son smacked him on the cheek while giving them a pout causing Minhyuk to laugh. "Sorry, little guy. But you know, appa is so in love with your umma. When you're older, find someone like her when you want to get married, okay?"
@✽ chaeyoung l. seeing that chaeyoung had her hands (and her shirt-basket) full, minho took it upon himself to pick up the remaining potatoes on the floor as he listened to chaeyoung. "ah, i see. that's very nice of you," minho said. miss choi had always seemed to cope well by herself, but it was good that the elderly woman had an extra pair of hands to help now. "and it's impresive how you can make the time to work even outside of your business," he added.
minho got to his feet, his arms wrapped around the potatoes to create a small makeshift basket of his own, and slowly walked to miss choi's stand. "well, i come here from time to time, but i wouldn't say that i'm a regular," minho said truthfully. "actually, right now, i'm just on my way to work."
minho nodded in agreement at chaeyoung's statement. "i've seen you around a few times, actually, but considering that you're working here now, i think i would have you seen you around here more often." he then turned to face the woman as he walked and said, "though, when i saw you up this early, i had always thought it was for the noraebang business."
@✽ minho l. Even if Chaeyoung planned a semi-elaborate scheme just to befriend Minho in an informal setting, she wasn’t /that/ great of a liar. She was too much of an open book, but she was glad the potato incident was fairly convincing. She dipped her head in a small bow as Minho greeted her. Her hands were full but her t-shirt was rather oversized and long, so she just stretched it out slightly, using it as a makeshift ‘basket’ to hold her two potatoes and now the spuds that Minho was extending to her.
She tried not to chuckle when Minho thought /she/ was selling potatoes as well, only grinning with a shrug coming off of her. “Yeah, I am! Kinda. More like Miss Choi is paying me a cut of her potato profit if I carry around heavy boxes, which I can easily do. She’s more of a lovely boss than competition.” she spoke, turning her head to look at the elderly woman who was actually in on her little scheme. Miss Choi looked at Chaeyoung with a knowing smile and she grinned in response.
“Are you normally a regular here at the market? I guess we just keep missing eachother!”
@✽ minhyuk l.ʰᵘᵗᵃ soojin laughed and leaned up to kiss minhyuk's cheek before pulling the list out of her pocket, holding it up along with a marker so they could easily cross things off of it. "you forget it every time, and i have the list every time." she shook her head and led the way to the closest booth, looking over the produce and making sure to grab a bag.
@✽ soojin s. "My wife is really reliable. Not to mention your food is really really good too. If I don't go to they gym anymore, I think I'd get fat." he chuckled, keeping an arm wrapped around her shoulders protectively and also to keep her close to him. If he asked the younger version of himself, he wouldn't believe that he fell in love with someone this deep. A soft smile appeared on his face as they walked into the market. "Oh wait, do you have the list babe?" turned to look at you with wide eyes when he finally remembered about the groceries list, Hyuk was sure to already put it on the kitchen's counter but didn't remember grabbing it on the way out from the house.
@✽ chaeyoung l. his ear without the airpod first heard the sound of things hitting the ground and the gasps from the nearby shopowners. his eyes then spotted the potato rolling across the aisle, rolling and rolling before it came to a stop just before his feet.
minho knelt down, his hands reaching out for the potato that had come his way, when he heard his name being called. he looked up to the source of the voice and saw a familiar face.
lee chaeyoung, owner of jade noraebang.
minho had first known her from his bakery's transactions with her business, and often saw her on his delivery trips. after minho changed his route for his morning commute to work, minho began to see chaeyoung more often outside of her workplace. though, with the potato now in his hand, minho wasn't too sure if this could be considered 'outside of her workplace'.
minho swiftly picked up two more potatoes lying around, before he got up to face chaeyoung at eye level. "hello, chaeyoung," minho said, giving a polite smile to his business partner. "indeed, fancy seeing you here." he extended his own handful of potatoes towards the woman with her own two potatoes. with a raise of an eyebrow, minho added, "i didn't know that you were selling potatoes, in addition to running the noraebang."
minho turned to look at the surroundings, looking for a specific person, as he continued, "though that means you're gonna have to compete with miss choi for business." spotting the aforementioned older woman at her stall looking over at them (and more likely, the potatoes on the ground), he did a quick bow and mouthed a small "hello" before turning back to look at chaeyoung. "i admire the guts," minho said with a small chuckle.
@✽ changwook j. / humming softly as she throws her gazes around the market before you laid your jacket on her shoulders , turned to look at you before she chuckles at your cute antics, tickling your chin right after.
just say you want the coffee and go, why do you even asked me?
/ squinting her eyes in playful ways at her husband before she laughs
kidding. yeah yeah I'd love to get a coffee tbh. shall we get one then?
@✽ yoona i. /strolling together through the farmers' market early on Saturday morning as the last of the vendors finish setting up their booths, the sun is still on its way to its full rise and the weather is still a little chilly, my jacket is laid out over your shoulders as I wrap you in close in my arms, resting my cheek on your shoulder as my gaze dotes on you lovingly.
is it too cold? do you want something warm to drink? the coffee vendor looks open.
@✽ minhyuk l. soojin couldn't help but laugh the entire time minhyuk was playing with minseok, smiling to herself once they made it out of the car. she tugged her beanie on top of her head and fixed her two braids before grabbing the carrier to put it on, knowing that minhyuk would want his hands free soon. "i think we could just focus on gettnig what's on our liste but getting a bigger quantity just in case? i can make extra dinner just in case somebody comes by." she stepped closer to kiss minseok's chubby cheek before tilting her chin up to do the same with minhyuk, giving him a small smile.
@✽ soojin s. The ride to the farmer's market was filled with laughter one as Minhyuk keeps playing with their son, Minseok all the way to the market. But even so, his eyes never fail to steal a glance at thw beautiful lady beside him and feeling thankful for having Soojin in his life. Once they arrived and he parked the car, Minhyuk get out first to take Minseok out of the baby seat on the back and carried the baby in his arms before turning to look at his wife. "What should we get first babe? We don't expect any guests coming over for new year but its never wrong to be prepared."
@✽ minho l. Chaeyoung was always up early, but not because she would choose to do so. It just came with her line of work that her body would naturally wake up at near ungodly hours. She’s barely made a few friends who were always up at this time, aside from her employees, but she did have a certain person she would like to befriend: her colleague Minho.
They only really interacted for business transactions, since he was usually giving her pastries and dessert for her business and she… she just gave him money and a good pat on the back. This morning, that would change! That’s what she believed in anyway. As her new target— her new friend would normally do some casual rounds around the town, she knew she had to keep her eyes on him. She’d been planning it for a while, realising that his route would change since there was construction in his usual spots. His bakery was nearby a few different places, including the farmer’s market which she frequented herself. She was a loyal customer to most of the stalls that a lot of the aunties would willingly give her rice cakes or kimchi as she was already close to them.
She had timed it perfectly, seeing Minho a short distance away, looking around. She had been waiting every single morning for almost a week, voluntarily helping one of her friends in their 50s, Miss Choi, to help set up her stall that specialized in potatoes and sweet potatoes. Chaeyoung was right up front and Miss Choi was on the other side, setting up another section. Once Minho was just close enough, Chaeyoung ‘accidentally’ undid the clasp of the plastic box holding a big pile of potatoes up, having them fall through the center aisle of the market up to Minho’s feet. “Oh no!” she exclaimed, bowing apologetically to the other stall owners and passers-by for the sudden commotion. She picked up two large potatoes and stood up, faking surprise as she spots her colleague. “Minho, fancy seeing you here!”
@✽ solomon p. Yeah, you can say that. What makes you choose this town? I mean, the world has many places to offer and I'm sure as hell you can afford it.
* her head to the side, looking at him for a moment, lips parting as if going to say something, however, she presses them into thin line and shrugs it off* if you say so, hmpk.
Can you stop grinning? Too bright.
Do I have a choice? You look like a puppy that won't stop following me around. There's an ice cream stand somewhere here in the market, let's go. *She didn't wait for you, walking ahead towards the direction of the ice cream stand*
I haven't explored the town much, it's always farm and market for me.
@✽ hankyung w. I'm too much of a city boy, huh? But you know, one has to step out of the comfort zone to find some inspiration for content, you know?
/chuckles softly, giving a smile of appreciation when you helped, listening to you with a soft expression on my face/
Sounds like a good restart, to be honest. At least you're living well! And of course I have to feed you, why did I buy the oranges for? To eat and to share.
/grins back at you, stepping right beside you just as you were about to leave/
Nice things? Bring me along too, I haven't explored much. Be my tour guide~
@✽ solomon p. With how surprised I am to see you here? The heck, I do. This place doesn't seem like your forte.
Still clumsy too, I- *shakes her head, remembering how the male would knock down the camera stands during their collaborations.*
*Once he's upright, she helps him pick up the oranges, putting them back on his bag*
I like it here, no one knows me and fresh start, aye? Been doing well, meeting new people, doing new job, everything's new.
*Her right eyebrow quirked at the offer, rolling her eyes before taking the piece of orange with her fingers and feeds herself*
Yeah? And the first thing you do is feed me- hello?
*Chuckles*
Anyways, I should get going, gotta treat myself to some nice things. Enjoy with your endeavors!
@✽ hankyung w. Wow, is cursing the first thing you do when you see me, Woo Han Kyung?
/holds on to you as I stand up, dusting the dirt of my knees before going to pick up the oranges which thankfully, didn't spilled too far, then turning around to grin back at you/
Same goes for me, I never thought you'd be here? How are you?
/that was a complete lie, but it was the only way to not make him seem weird and obsessed over her, cleaning up and orange before peeling it, having a slice/
This place sure has good produce~ I'm so glad I came to explore and unwind.
/takes out a slice of it as well, lightly putting it in front of your mouth/
Have one?
@✽ solomon p. Strawberries, peaches, fruits, and other veggies, hah. All done now!
*I mumble to myself, checking out the list and crossing out all of the items I delivered.*
Now, I just have to treat myself with some ice cream for a job well done. *I give myself a mental pat on the back, a huge smile on my face as I exit the market. However, before I can go to further distance, I heard my name being called out by a familiar voice, it can't be right? I turned around to look for the source of that voice, and it wasn't hard when you're basically falling down on the floor, watching the scene unfold.*
Oh God- are my eyes deceiving me? Solomon?!
*I gasped, meeting your wide eyes, i rush over to where you are, helping you stand up* What the - what are you doing here? Out of all places I expected you to see, this is the last place on my list-
@✽ hankyung w. /a quaint little farmers market to get your local goods at, huh? i only had one thing in mind ever since I found out that you were at dandelion after moving on from twitch, it was a long search but I couldn't help but to remember you, an obsessed crush developed from our twitch collaborations quite some time ago. with the capability as a large content creator coupled with family money, i needed to reconnect with you again, this time maybe a little more, and after going around this small town which actually wasn't really that small, i managed to catch a glimpse of you at the farmers market, opting for the rather cliché way of accidentatlly meeting up, which was to trip and fall, my bag of oranges dropping out/
Oh my god, I'm so- eh? Hankyung?
/calls out when my eyes meet yours, not caring about my sprawled posture on the floor nor the oranges spilled, those were just props anyway/
@✽ chaeyoung l. there was something about walking about the streets of dandelion before sunrise that minho enjoyed.
the little street that was home to the local market was usually bustling with people, but at this time, it was serene, illuminated by the faint glow of the moon hanging in the dark sky and the streetlamps dotted along the sidewalk. at this time of day, when a good majority of the population was asleep, it felt like dandelion was minho's to explore all for himself.
even though minho had been waking up early for the past few years ever since he began working as a baker, he never failed to bask in the peace and quiet the wee hours of the morning gave him. recently, he could even enjoy a change of scenery walking through the farmers market instead of his usual route, due to some recent construction work.
as he walked through the market towards the bakery, minho freed his right hand from his jacket's pocket to remove the airpod in his right ear. even at this time of day, the streets of dandelion were shared with others; there would be shopkeepers that would slowly begin setting up their stalls, people like minho working the early shift, and people coming off from work. minho kept the right airpod safely in its case, on the off chance he met someone he could greet.
@✽ hankyung w. Keeho had woken up early to browse around the farmer’s market, having decided to host a baking workshop with his preschool class; his mother had shared with him her secret strawberry shortcake recipe and he couldn’t wait to be able to spend an afternoon baking with his group, on the next day.
Managing to negotiate quite the good deal with an elderly woman that seemed to take liking in his looks and goofy ways, Keeho was now walking around with two crates full of fresh strawberries, only to hear his name being called out by a voice he’d recognize amongst hundreds.
Grinning from ear to ear at the sight of Hankyung, the tall gentleman immediately made his way closer to where she stood, leaning in as to bonk his head delicately against her own, at fault of not being able to embrace her in his arms. ‘Hey there, stinks — had a delivery ?’
@✽ keeho y. It's a pleasant morning at the town's market, the breeze is cool and refreshing, yet the sun is peeking to keep the people warm enough. The crowd is buzzing and busy with their errands, buying meat, vegetables, and anything they need. Hankyung is no exception, however, she's the one to supply vegetables from her harvest to one of her clients rather than shopping.
"Here you are, ma'am! Everything that you need is here!" She shoots the old lady a charming smile, arms carrying a tray with different crops on it. "All fresh from harvest~ a lil discount for you too since you're lovely." She chirped with a playful wink, chuckling at her own silliness.
"Aigoo, youngsters of today are full of charm and energy, just put it over there." The lady shakes her head fondly, pointing her index finger at the empty space on the table. Hankyung nodded, still smiling. "Yes, ma'am! Copy that!" She then proceeded to do as she was told, placing the tray on the designated spot.
"All done!" She turned to inform the lady, upon doing so, her eyes caught a familiar figure, instantly, her smile widened. "Hey, Keeho!!! Over here!!!" She called out, raising her right hand and waves it to get his attention.
@✽ donghun l. hearing the explanation from his brother about hard works and stuffs he needs to do inflicted a heartache at hyuck's heart. oh how he wish they met sooner so he can help him out somehow. even by producing some songs for hyuck himself is hard, what's more this kind of job required physical strength like this. must be tough. but logically, hyuck knows his brother can do it. he knows donghun will achieve anything what he wants and he also knows how ambitious he can get. that's what's makes him admire his one and the only brother he got in this world.
hyuck flashes a soft smiles and nodding his head. "sure then hyung. " he drove off his car tagging closely with his brother, softly hums into his own song that he just produced today. today he was indeed happy. happy that he met his long lost brother back. happy that he could spend more time with him and his beautiful niece. happy that he was given a chance to fix things between them. he heaves a soft relief sighs as he continues to follow his brother till they reached at the certain place.
@✽ haechan l. "I only do this on saturdays," said Donghun, "However, the life of a farmer requires alot of physical labor. And lifting and carrying things is part of it." He shrugged. "I guess I'm so good at doing this stuff without getting tired because it's something I truly want. I want to do hard work if it means I can live on my own in the country in peace and quiet." Donghun sighed. "I don't get help because I have a small farm that's mainly just there to provide for me and Chaewon. It's not like a factory farm or something. I could hire people but the thing is that costs money. We don't have much money because we don't need to buy much. I get everything we need from my farm, so I don't have to have money to buy things. The bit of money I make is from doing this farmer's market. And, yeah, I make alot from this but still it's not enough to have a full staff on board. Plus, I also just don't want people around. I like my life quiet. i don't like people much."
Donghun sighed after they finally loaded everything in the bed of the truck. He picked up Chaewon and put her in her carseat in the truck. He wiped some sweat off his brow. "Yeah, we can go now, You just follow me. Then you gotta help me unload this stuff and chop a bit of wood. Then we can go to your place, ok?" Donghun got in his vehicle and waited to see that the other was ready to take off. Soon, he drove off and soon he was going down a winding dirt road for a bit of a ways until he pulled into his driveway. Outside were two small silos, a large barn, a small barn, a storage building, a windmill, various birdhouses and feeders, the smoke house, the mushroom house, and then their small farmhouse.
@✽ donghun l. he frowned at his hyung's words before he nodding his head with a soft smiles. "yeah sure hyung,,I'd love to help you out .. " haechan proceed to take some stuffs with his arms and lift them towards the truck. "I wonder how you can stand to do this everyday but i guess you've got some heavy stamina huh?" asked him with a small grunts while lifting another stuffs. "why didn't you hire people to help you out, hyung ? I'm asking because I'm concerned you know. you've got to do this alone everyday,, I'm worried you might sprained your back or this stuffs might effects you in the future." tells him as he heaves softly as he's finished helping him loading all those stuffs into the truck. "phew. do we go now? I'll follow you then, I bring my car."
@✽ haechan l. Donghun sighed. There were so many things he wanted to say, but he held his tongue. Instead, he just replied, "Thank you...that's very kind of you to be concerned and...s-same to you."
Soon, the farmer's market ended. "It's closing time," Donghun said, "We should get going." He put Chaewon down gently. "Haechan, do you mind helping me clean up and carry all this stuff back to the truck? It's alot. The tables, the chairs, the cash register, the banner, the cooler, the scale and baskets, and then whatever produce we didn't sell today. Usually I have to carry all of this stuff on my own." He went and grabbed a crate of apples and lifted it with a grunt. Chaewon followed him as he started walking to his truck, an old red farm truck that was beat up and had a dent in the hood. He loaded the stuff into the back bed of the truck.
@✽ donghun l. haechan can only sighs and shaking his head. "I don't meant it to spoil her like that hyung.. if there's something I could help out, with money you can always ask for help though. and I'll never feel trouble about it bc you're my brother." tells him as he's being sincere with his words. "but alright,, if you said so .. I'm just saying that I'd be glad to help out okay?" haechan gives a faint smiles towards his brother and his niece. "I understand that though. and I'm willing to wait till she opens up with me. it's my niece after all."
@✽ haechan l. "Aish!" Donghun groaned, rubbing his daughter's back, "Don't tell a child something like that. It's not good to spoil a child, especially with material possessions. Kids shouldn't be taught that objects are so important. Also, it's not good to try to win her over with things and money. That sets a bad example." He looked at the other and softened his tone. "She just needs some time to get used to you, alright. She's not even two yet, so don't let it bother you so much if she doesn't fall in love with you instantly at the drop of a pen. Besides, she's mainly just used to it being me and her and the animals all the time. And no one else." He then looked at his daughter. "Chaewon, you know uncle and daddy are brothers, right? We grew up together and have the same mom and dad. Uncle is a nice person, okay?"
@✽ donghun l. haechan could traced the uneasiness as he keeps eating the apple. he need to rack his brain to get close to the child somehow. slowly haechan approached the two and sits next to his brother while he's still holding the child. "I'm sorry if I looks scary to you , but uncle isn't a bad person though. your daddy and uncle are siblings! we're like hm.. pororo and crong? yeah. somewhat close like that. though they are not siblings... ahem.. so you shouldn't be scared at me. uncle will buy anything you want if you ask nicely though. " tells him with huge smiles on his face.
