Chapter 2

                You watched Daesung as he worked, mentally taking notes on what he was doing. Unfortunately, you kept getting distracting by that odd smile of his. It seemed like he couldn’t go more than five minutes without smiling. “So, do you want to try now?” he asked, turning to you. “If you think I’m ready?” He laughed and nodded as another customer walked in the shop.

                You greeted her nicely, but she kept her attention on Daesung the entire time you were serving her. She even continued to stare at him after she had sat down with a scoop of chocolate ice cream. “Good job!” Daesung praised as he patted you on the back. “Thanks but I think she would’ve preferred for you to serve her,” you whispered back to him, wanting to a little.

                “Huh? What are you talking about?” he asked, clueless. “Never mind,” you giggled before turning back to reexamine the ice cream flavors. There were normal ones like chocolate and vanilla, but also odd combinations like chocolate rose or wine with strawberries. Of course, there was a hardly touched bucket of churro ice cream as well.

                “So, what school do you go to?” he asked once the lady finally left after realizing Daesung wasn’t going to take a hint. You bit your bottom lip before telling him to school you attended. It was in the bad part of town, where you lived, but it wasn’t that bad of school. You still got looked down on when you told people where you went though, even if you were about to graduate in the top ten percent of your class.

                “Really? You go there? Seungri goes there too! Do you know him?” You stared at him in slight shock; you hadn’t expected this reaction. You smiled before shaking your head, “No I don’t know anyone by that name.”

                “Oh well he’s in eleventh grade. He’s pretty popular though…” he mumbled more to himself. “Oh well I’m in the twelfth grade so I don’t know many younger kids,” you said, trying to get his smile to reappear. You relaxed when it did, “That explains it! We’re in the same grade too! How cool.” You couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction, he was so happy over such a small coincidence. From anyone else, you would expect them to be mocking you with this kind of enthusiasm, but Daesung just seemed to naturally be this nice.

                The rest of your shift was spent mostly listening to Daesung talk and joke around. Finally, Seunghyun came back from his office to turn the open sign off. “Good job you guys!” Seunghyun praised before handing you a bag. “What’s this?” you asked as you took it from him. “Some churro flavored ice cream since you liked it so much! There’s some dry ice to keep it cool too,” he grinned at you.

                “Hyung! Nobody likes your churro ice cream! Why are you torturing her so?” Daesung whined. “But I did like it,” you said, making Seunghyun laugh. “See! I told you it’d be popular.”

                “No way, you must’ve done something to her,” Daesung mumbled as he took off his apron. You averted your eyes because his t-shirt clung to his body and you removed your apron as well. “So I’ll see you on Monday?” Seunghyun asked as he took both of your aprons. You nodded before thanking him for the ice cream. Hopefully your siblings would like it as much as you did. “How are you getting home? Do you want a ride?” Daesung asked as the two of you walked out of the shop.

                “I’m going to take the bus.”

                “Do you want a ride?” he repeated the question, “I mean my car isn’t that nice or anything, but I promise to get you home in one piece.”

                “It’s alright; I need to go get groceries on my way home.”

                “Alright,” he said, looking a little sad. “Maybe next time?” you asked. He nodded before walking towards the parking lot. You walked in the other direction towards the bus stop. It was about thirty minutes to get to the grocery store. You were lucky to get there before it closed. You immediately walked over to the clearance section and picked up as many ingredients that you could get before picking up the remaining things on your list.

                You carried the four bags the ten minutes back to your apartment. Luckily, your brother was there to open the door for you. “How was your first day at the weirdo’s ice cream shop?” he asked as he took some of the bags from you. “It was actually pretty fun, and I have ice cream!”

                “Really?” the twins asked, excitedly as they ran up to you. “Yes, really!” you laughed before walking to the kitchen to put away the groceries. “What flavor?” Junghwa asked, a slightly guarded expression on his face. “Churro.” He groaned while the twins laughed excitedly. “Where’s Ahrin?” you asked, glancing around the kitchen. She usually came to greet you too.

                “She’s with Aboji in the living room. They’re watching a movie,” Junghwa immediately replied as he began to help you put things away. “Alright, have you guys eaten yet?” Junghwa nodded. “Yeah, but we saved some leftovers for you. I’ll heat it up for you, Noona.”

                “Thanks Junghwa-ah. If you do that, I’ll go scoop up some ice cream.”

                “Yay!!!” the twins ran around the table as you got down a bunch of mismatched bowls to put the frozen treat in. Everyone got a scoop of ice cream. You walked into the living room to hand your little sister and father a bowl too. “What’s this?” he asked when you handed him the oddly colored ice cream. “Churro ice cream. My boss gave me some.”

                “Because it doesn’t sell?” he asked with a chuckle before eating a little bit. “Maybe, but food is food.” He nodded before letting out a small sigh, “I wish you didn’t have to work. I’m sorry I don’t make enough.”

                “It’s fine, Aboji, I actually really like my job this time. I might even be able to bring the kids in while I work. I just have to check with my boss.”

               “What would I do without you?” he asked, smiling up at you. He looked so tired and so old. He was in his late forties, but he looked more like he was in his late fifties. His gray hair had almost doubled in the last three months. You leaned down and kissed his balding forehead, “Don’t worry about that. I’ll stay here no matter what.”

                “Noona! Your food is ready!” Junghwa called from the kitchen. “Go eat,” your father said before turning his attention back to the children’s movie playing on your small television. You nodded before walking back into the kitchen where the twins’ faces were covered in ice cream. They seemed to enjoy it though. You chuckled before sitting down in front of your small dinner. They were going to need a good scrubbing.