Two weeks after Jinyoung had joined it became evident that he was the better worker over Sungyeol. He was just better in every way possible, but Sungyeol still hung in there despite his own feelings of inadequacy. Sungyeol felt jilted however, once he noticed the female customers that once came to see him, now coming for Jinyoung. Jinyoung always had a welcoming expression on his face, a trait that all girls found attractive. Nevertheless, Sungyeol along with Tzuyu warmed up to Jinyoung- his mellow and kind nature was to blame, and they all sort of became friends, though they weren't too close.

The store was empty one July morning and with nothing much to do, Jinyoung decided to ask his fellow coworkers a question.

 "Hey, Tzuyu!"Jinyoung asked with a hopeful look.

 "Yeah, what is it Jinyoung?" 

He tilted his head slightly with a gentle grin,  "Do you want to see a movie together?"

 Tzuyu hesitated to answer and Sungyeol was taken aback by Jinyoung's sudden interest in her.

Jinyoung smiled once he realized he had been misunderstood, "Not alone, I mean," he pointed at Sungyeol, "with him too! It would be nice to hang out together for a change, wouldn't it? "

 Sungyeol felt relieved, "I'll go!" 

 Tzuyu felt reluctant at first, but after Sungyeol pestered her with his puppy dog eyes and "Pwease?" she relented.

Jinyoung was glad the two agreed. He was still alien to the city with no friends besides those two, so he greatly appreciated a time with them outside of work. 

Tzuyu yawned and wanted to busy herself with something so she decided to call a locksmith to fix the nagging door from the back of the store. They had told Dongwoo about it, but his lazy self kept putting it off. Sungyeol was opportunistic, his curiosity toward Jinyoung possibly being interested in Tzuyu began to nag him.

 "Jinyoung, do you like Tzuyu? As a girl, I mean..."

 "Don't worry about it, " he laughed, "I just see her as a friend. I won't take her from you or anything. I'm interested in someone else..."

 Sungyeol nodded. After deliberating for a moment, he asked, "Just to be clear, I'm not the one you're interested in, right?"

Jinyoung laughed loudly at Sungyeol's question. "Of course not! Egotistical much?!"

Sungyeol looked at him with a face colored in red, "Oh...I feel silly now."

Jinyoung placed his hand on Sungyeol's shoulder, shook him a bit, and replied, "You should! Are you stupid? How did you get to that?"

 "I mean, it's just that I wouldn't blame you. I mean I'd probably fall in love with myself, too... If I were a girl, I mean."

Jinyoung grinned at him but then his look changed to one of longing, "I like this one girl that I saw on the way back home with Dongwoo. As soon as she came into view, my eyes couldn't help but gravitate toward her."

 "Yeah, that's how I feel about Tzuyu..."

 Tzuyu then returned to the two and questioned the looks they had in their faces.

 "The locksmith said he'll be here later. Jinyoung, can you attend to him when he comes here?"

 "Yeah, sure, no problem."

 Business carried on as usual and Jinyoung did as promised when the locksmith finally came in some hours later. Meanwhile, Tzuyu talked with Sungyeol about Jinyoung.

 "Remember when we first met him last week and Dongwoo said he had been through some stuff? Do you think it was something serious?"

 "Honestly, I don't know. I doubt it was anything grave or something since he looks good. He always looks happy."

Tzuyu held a concerned look,  "You don't think it's a farce?"

 "I don't think so. Plus, he likes a girl so, if he is able to fall in love, that means there is no painful wound or something for him to deal with, right?"

 Tzuyu's face lit up, "I see, I guess you're right! I just thought he might need help or something..."

 "Nah, it's all good."

 "But, who's this girl? It's not me, right?"

 Sungyeol eyes widened at her words, "Wow, I thought I was egotistical..."

With an embarrassed look Tzuyu awkwardly managed to respond "It's just that I...I mean, can you blame me? I've told you about all those other guys that asked me out..."

 Sungyeol began to whistle, "I think you're way of getting to that point is cute."

 "Sure... "

"Want to be my girlfriend?"

 "No thanks. Enough joking..."

 Sungyeol let out a breath of air, comforting himself from being rejected a second time. To him, it was no joke, his genuine feelings had been poured into that confession, although the timing could have been better.

Just before they all went home that day, Jinyoung planned with them to go watch a movie their next day off, Sunday. Dongwoo drove off with Jinyoung, and Sungyeol decided to ask Tzuyu if he could walk her home.

She swiftly answered, "No."

 "Are you sure? There could be a creeper out there or something..."

 "I've always walked home, though. Maybe if you were Jinyoung."

 Sungyeol playfully scoffed, being able see through her kidding, "I'm taller and stronger though!"

Tzuyu playfully scoffed in return, replying, "Yeah, whatever you say, champ!"

 Sungyeol waved goodbye as he saw Tzuyu walk off into the far distance, burning into his retinas every single graceful step she took.

Sunday arrived with fair weather to everyone's delight. Sungyeol had gotten used to sleeping in but he got up early that day at 11:16 am. He woke up at 11, but  lingered in bed for those extra 16 minutes. He brushed his teeth, fixed his hair, and then dressed himself casually, but not too casually since Tzuyu would also be there. They had all agreed to meet at noon in front of the theatre Jinyoung had spoken of with them. Sungyeol knew the place well so there was time to spare as he walked over there. He enjoyed his stride, the wind was blowing, the sun was out but it wasn't unbearably hot, and he would get to meet with his friend, but most importantly, he would get to meet up with Tzuyu.

When Sungyeol turned the last corner, he spotted a beautiful lady standing in front of the theatre. She was dressed in a sleveless, dark blue dress, woven with an intricate design. She squinted at Sungyeol to get a better look at him. Sungyeol waved and ran with much eagerness to meet with her. 

 "Hi Tzuyu!"

 "I thought it was you!" Tzuyu replied with her eyes squinting from the sun's brightness.

Sungyeol nudged her with his elbow, winking simultaneously, "I knew you liked me! You were looking forward to seeing me, huh?"

 "Sure...if you say so. "

 "Where is Jinyoung, though? Won't we miss the movie?"

Tzuyu looked at her watch, "It begins at 12:30. It's 12:02, so he still has some time left. I'm surprised he wasn't the first one here though..."

 Across the street, a familiar face, dressed in all denim with glaringly white running shoes, gestured at them.

 "I think that's him," Sungyeol said.

 Sure enough it was Jinyoung, and after apologizing for his tardiness, the three went to buy their tickets to see Justice League: Infinity Crisis.

 "You think Darkseid will kill off Earth 2 in this one?" Jinyoung asked as they went to their seats.

Sungyeol added his two cents,  "Nah, Supes will save the day, but I think Barry's Flash will die and get replaced by Wally. Maybe Green Lantern will replaced by John Stewart too."

 Tzuyu laughed at their dorkiness. She wasn't all into the famous DC Cinematic Universe like those two were; she just came because Sungyeol insisted and Jinyoung seemed to really want her to go.

 "You two really like your Marvels, huh?"

 Sungyeol scoffed at her ignorance, "It's DC!"

 "Okay, fine... Triggered?" she joshed, amused by his overreaction. 

 After the 3-hour long film finally ended, they all went to look around the plaza wherein the theatre was situated. A nice burger restaurant, a Jollibee's, was nearby, so they went there for a late lunch. Jinyoung felt obliged to pay for them, but after thinking at length and catching hold of Tzuyu's tender eyes, Sungyeol paid for their order, aspiring to be a source of admiration for Tzuyu.

Jinyoung helped him carry their order to their table when it was finished. As Tzuyu ate her fries one by one, she thought of asking Jinyoung about his life in the States. When she was yet to open her lips, Sungyeol opened his and asked him why he moved here. It seemed like Tzuyu and Sungyeol were on the same wavelength.

 "Uhm...long story!" Jinyoung laughed, hinting to the depth of his past.

 "Tell us, please?" Tzuyu asked.

 Jinyoung sat deep into his chair and related his story, "My dad died some years ago while driving along for work and my mom took care of me until she died the year after." He forced a smile, as if to tell them not to worry. "I was 12. I then moved from place to place, living with different relatives until I settled with an aunt in LA several years ago. My cousin's name was Mark and he had this one gang with five other people in it." He rolled up his sleeve and began scratching his elbow, "I joined because I just really wanted friends... After dropping out of high school I kinda got into trouble with them, and Dongwoo, who's like an uncle- always been there for me since dad was alive- asked if I could live with him for a while, to get away from the bad influence of God's Seven, our gang...And here I am."

Tzuyu and Sungyeol looked at Jinyoung with eyes of unbelief and were unsure of how to respond. Their view of Jinyoung became a complicated mosaic tinted with the colors of adversity, strife, crime, and much sorrow. Within the few moments of silence, the two quickly reflected over their lives and began to challenge their current outlook on life. Jinyoung knew the two would react in such a manner. 

 Jinyoung looked at them with sincere eyes, "I didn't kill a man, just to let you know. We just kinda tagged on buildings." He spoke abruptly to make clear his point, "I mean they did. They tagged, I just went along with them since they were my only friends. I promise."

 Sungyeol rubbed his face, "Why'd you call yourselves God's Seven? Isn't it like blasphemous or something, I mean bringing Him into the thug life..."

 Jinyoung scratched his chin, "It's kind of ironic now that I think about it. Our leader Defsoul came up with that name though. Maybe he saw some gang movies like 'Boyz in Da Hood' or the 'Cross and the Swithcblade'? You know? That one movie with Ricky Estrada?" Jinyoung noticed their blank expressions, "I guess you guys don't know?"

 "What?!" Sungyeol's interest in Jinyoung's past persisted, "did you like  get a nickname too or something? Did you have gang signs?"

 "Yeah, I was JR. Mark was Hollywood, Defsoul was Defsoul. Jackson was Macho Jack. Our Thai friend was Big Bam Biggerthanyou, Bam Bam for short. Yugyeom, the youngest, was the Giant. And Youngjae, we called him Leon Black because he loved Resident Evil and the color black. He's doing juvie for possession..." Jinyoung gestured his hand to resemble the form of a pistol, "We went like this."

 "What?!"  Sungyeol copied  Jinyoung's gesture and looked at his hand. "But are the rest, are they in jail too?"

 "Well, I heard Mark, Defsoul and Jackson are on parole for attempted robbery... And the other two are still in school. I'm supposed to be a senior in high school, but I dropped out last year, that why I ain't going to a school here. Dongwoo be cool with that."

 Perplexed by Jinyoung's relative casualness, despite having told such a contrived story, Tzuyu excused herself and went to the restroom.