⟢ marketplace.

@✧ cho seoyun Beomseok was munching happily on the fishcake bar, only having taken a few bites before he was rudely interrupted by some random woman. Scratch that, not woman, that would be too far a reach as it would compliment her. She was more of a girl considering the height difference and how immature she looked.

He had already said his kind and genuine goodbyes to Ms. Jeon, who had probably notified this little girl that he had gotten the last of one of her greatest recipes, one of the greatest fishcake bars that he had the privilege to access.

Of course, only to be polite since he was a newcomer, Beomseok’s scowl wasn’tt as pronounced as it would be to some enemy or physical equal he had in his messy past. It was more just very very obvious annoyance, like a librarian being pulled from the quiet by loud children. “Mister? And no, you won’t. They’re mine.”

As extra salt on the wound, he took a bigger bite out of the fishcake bar, smiling mouth closed with the clear intention to annoy her before he swallowed it. There was a little less than half left.

“You /need/ them, huh? Well, I don’t like stealing food from little kids so … you can’t have these. You’re a little kid, but I paid for them, so legally they are mine. Get some tomorrow.” His annoying cheeky grin faded into a flatter expression, like he wasn’t even going to bother entertaining her. Beomseok spun on one foot, with plans to speed walk all the way back to the police station with what remained of his fishcake bar and the one-third-finished sugarcane juice. “Have a wonderful day!” he yelled sarcastically, waving his hand without even looking at her.

A hard no from him, or any normal civilian, would be enough to deter anyone who was too slow to get food that they apparently ‘needed’, right? And judging by Beomseok’s expert and speedy analysis of her clothes, she was well off enough to have food for the rest of her life.

@✧ ji beomseok It was not often that Seoyun could find time to spend at the snack bar these days, not with it being her final semester in college. Her parents kept her busy with social events that would boost her social standing and she kept herself occupied with her studies to make sure she was always on par with the standards set by her brother. The social butterfly who would have preferred being out and about with her friends most times of the day was instead locked inside her room, buried in mountains of books and papers.

"I need a break."

It was an impulsive decision that Seoyun made, her braincells completely exhausted after spending hours on the paper she was researching. She knew if she stayed cooped up in her room any longer, she'd need a vacation that lasted much longer than a few hours of the night.

Looking at the clock, the girl was relieved to see that there was still some time remaining before her favourite snack bar — introduced to her by her best friend who was also a social butterfly like her, would close. She was pretty sure there would at least be a few fishcake bars left at this time... right?

Wrong.

Seoyun found herself standing in front of the store, coming after a much too tall man who was being friendly with Ms Jeon — overly friendly in her eyes, he was probably trying to smooze some of the final pieces of food all for himself by being nice to her.

"Oh, Seoyun-ah! It's been a while." Ms Jeon smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry but this nice young man took the last few fishcake bars and sugarcane juice, darling. Perhaps you can come again tomorrow night?" Seoyun was upset. She needed her fixer upper and it was gone? She would need to go home empty-handed on research night? Not a chance.

Seoyun found herself chasing after the man who had just been lining up in front of her, the one who took her source of happiness — her fishcake bars and sugarcane juice.

"Excuse me, mister. I'll pay you for those."

Seoyun had her eyes glued onto the fishcake bar and the sugarcane juice.

"I need them." for my sanity.

She left the final few words unsaid, it was something he didn't need to know but she knew he needed to know was how to hand over those fishcakes and that cup of juice.

@✧ cho seoyun ( Circa 2023, Three Years After The Move to Gohyang. )

Beomseok was a friendly guy, charismatic even, but he was still acutely aware of his freshness among the town (now city’s) citizens. It’s not like they hated him of course, many of the elderly and the shop owners loved chatting him up, but he was still indeed a newcomer to them. Many have lived their entire lives in this place, and he couldn’t imagine that for himself yet. Moving to a new home or a new neighborhood every few months since he was 10 years old instilled in him that his life, or at least his home, could never be stable. Seeing the network of childhood friends, old neighbors, and lifetime connections baffled him. It saddened him too.

He wondered if Gohyang was the place where he could settle and finally take a breath of peace.

The only plus side to moving around way too much as a kid is that, him being luckier than others, had the skill to navigate and enter new social circles. His smooth talking nature paired with his handsome face (yes, he was aware) was the most perfect combination for him to use for discounts. Not that he would take advantage of shopkeepers and small restaurant owners, he’s not a complete . But he did enjoy the ‘newbie in town’ discount he could casually get. After that, no more. He knew what it was like to be financially struggling, so he could not take away money from honest workers. In fact, it would be evil considering how much dishonest work he’d done in his teens and early 20s. To survive, yes, but it was still dishonest.

With his acquired skill of charming people, as well as just being an overall decent and friendly guy (or looking like one), it was easy for him to befriend the local restaurant owners. So far he had tried freshly caught fish at three different Gohyang restaurants, and a handful of snack bars. Say what you will about its provincial location, these people know their food. Especially seafood and local specialty drinks. Today, his aim was to make it in time at this snack bar that was a few minutes away from his workplace, the police station. It would have taken a bit longer if he went to his car and weaved through the local roads, he was faster on foot and he knew that. So he ran.

Beomseok was indeed lucky. Lucky that he managed to get a good place in Gohyang, all thanks to his aunt and his general resourcefulness. Also lucky that he was wearing newer (thrifted, but barely used) sneakers that day. On Fridays, the line to the snack bar was always way too long. He knew this as he passed by it nearly every day in his car, to the point where he memorized the schedule of the shop owner. Beomseok had visited on Sundays and Saturdays, and found out the owner would only sell the delicious food deal (local specialty fish cake bar and sugarcane juice, all their own recipe) on Thursdays and Fridays. Thursday was a full day but Friday he was out an hour early. Fridays were his only chance.

His desperate but speedy run got him to the line in time, and he was just one person away from getting the combo meal. The shopkeeper was upfront, selling her stock of in-demand combo meals. Turns out most people coming from work loved the stuff, they were the main market for this as he’d seen in days before.

“Finally here to get the combo meal a third time, Beomseok?” The woman in her mid 50s spoke, the soft wrinkles around her eyes moving as she smiled at the sight of the police aid running in line. He was panting, so she knew that he was eager to try her cooking.

“Yes, ahjumeoni. You’ve seen me come here on other days just to check, you know I’ve been waiting for another chance! Don’t be so modest, your food is hot stuff.” He replied, matching her bright energy and mixing it with his livelier body language. He pulled out his wallet quickly, seeing that there was only one complete set left. The big jug of sugarcane juice had about half a cup left after he would take his full order cup. He really had been cutting it close, he might need to ask the chief at the station for an early clocking out just on Fridays.

Ms. Jeon, beaming with pride as the young man complimented her cooking. He was also a newbie in town in comparison to the others, so getting validation from people who were from outside Gohyang was always a plus. “Ah, you really have a way with words. You want a discount? You have the last fishcake bar so it might be soggier than the others –” She spoke quickly, not even waiting for a response and shoving the medium paper bag with the bar into Beomseok’s hands. “You can get a little extra sugarcane too, you’re always here on other days. Plus, I need to empty this jug!”

Beomseok nodded immediately, taking note of how kind Ms. Jeon always was to him, even if he was new. It felt weird, but that uncomfortable feeling in him was dampened since, after taking a quick glance behind his shoulder, there seemed to be no one lined up behind him. Sorry not sorry to the poor chump who would be coming after him, he’d be taking the last of the meal and with an extra bit of drink too!

“Ah, thank you Ms. Jeon, you’re always so nice to me,” his right hand set the discounted total of his food after Ms. Jeon notified him, before he reached for the slightly bigger cup with extra sugarcane juice. Beomseok was so ready to go home and just devour this … or back to his car all the way at the police station, he almost forgot about it.

@✧ woo seri In his personal opinion, Taeyang believed he never should be having a full day off. A few hours? Maybe, but never a full day. He had actually forgotten that he had a day to use, but he thought major city politicians didn’t get them. Serving the people shouldn’t have breaktime, but he had no choice since Sangjoon and Soojin texted him that he’s not allowed to come to the office that day. To top it off, he had forgotten to set his alarm the night before so he woke up later than normal.

Taeyang was spending his morning by himself, not even changing out of his pajamas while he was gardening in his little plot of land at the back of his and Soojin’s home. The most extra clothing he’d put on was an apron and some gloves since he was repotting a few plants, hair untouched and keeping its bedhead form.

Working in the garden had tired him out significantly and after a few hours it hit him that he hadn’t eaten anything /at all./ Stepping out of his home, he sprinted to the strip of vendors at the marketplace. It was a sight that longtime Gohyang citizens had been used to. He looked like a normal guy, dressed down in comfortable pajamas and an outer jacket for extra protection. It was actually more common for people to see him like this than in mayor mode, suited up and announcing things at events.

Shuffling through his pockets, he realized that the majority of his change was in his other pants and he was short of a few coins. Taeyang’s hands patted every part of his pants, sighing at the other empty pockets and even feeling his debit card full of money in one. The old vendors were sweet but they also never accepted cards and – he turned at the tap on his shoulder.

“U-uh, wait –” The stranger was so nice and they obviously were new in town. They did not know who Taeyang was and it seemed like they were trying to sell to him the taste of the tteokbokki that he’s been eating for the past 28 years. “Thank you!” he finally gave in, seeing the old vendor amused as she handed him his cup.

Taeyang sneakily pushed his premium debit card back into his pajama pants pocket, change rattling in the other. “Thank you again, I haven’t eaten all day. I will repay you, so don’t worry!”