--tip jar
rkjonahâ:
@rkjunhyuk
is this rock bottom? he thinks to himself, as another passerby drops a thousand-won bill in his open guitar case. it isnât because heâs busking in front of a kitschy-cute hip kid cafe in hongdae, he has no problem taking in a bit of extra change for his playing, itâs quick, itâs easy, itâs painless. itâs not painless, though, because his rock bottom is the fact that he has succumbed to the resigned temptation to play acoustic covers of pop and kpop songs just to get a few extra won tossed his way.Â
itâs less out of a need for money; he is privileged enough to see a steady income not just from his family but from his day job and his side hustle and his grad school grants. itâs more of a science experiment really, to see just how far the industry has fallen, to see just how far he is willing to fall to match it. heâs just finished playing and singing his acoustic adaptation of dynamite for the second time in an hour and has noted, begrudgingly, that he made more money in those three minutes than he did in the rest of the hour.Â
well, it is hongdae: at least the girls are cute.
he decides to stop for a break, balancing his guitar against the side of his chair and reaching for his half-consumed cappuccino, now vaguely lukewarm in the mug from sitting out for as long as it has, when he spots a young face peeking out from inside the cafe. he looks high school age from what jonah can discern, definitely no older than seventeen, which makes him wonder what heâs doing here on a saturday afternoon, and not out wreaking havoc with his friends. then he remembers this is not downtown atlanta, and not all high schoolers are as chaotic as he was (is) at that age.
jonah nods a greeting, offers a standard lopsided polite smile while reaching for his mug, âyâknow itâs polite to tip the musician if youâre enjoying the show.â
junhyuk was a little surprised when he had arrived to help out his mom for the afternoon to find some strange busker standing in his usual performing spot. not that he supposed it mattered for the day as june hadnât been planning on busking that afternoon, but still, it was strange. of course he had asked his mom if she knew who the guy performing outside was, but she had told him she didnât really know herself but didnât mind him being there.Â
but while he was interested he didnât really have any time to investigate the matter himself before his mother was putting him to work in the back dealing with the washing up. not really the most exciting job in the world, but he supposed in the back he could still blast his own music and it wasnât exactly taxing just to wash some stuff up. and it wasnât long before he was just in the groove and had completely forgotten about the busker just outside the cafĂŠ, instead focusing on his own loud music coming from his phone, unable to stop himself from loudly singing along with the lyrics whenever his favourite songs came up.Â
it was only when he was done with that job and his mum let him have a fifteen minute break before assigning his next job did he remember the busker. and, looking out of the window, sure eough the guy was still there performing. so, junhyuk decided to go and have a quick look for himself, poking his head outside the door, leaning up against the doorframe, arms folded across his chest as he watched.Â
what he didn;t expect was the guy to actually address him.Â
âoh, so you paying my mum to use the space outside her cafĂŠ then?â he quickly countered, knowing full well that he wasnât. that he probably hadnât even asked permission to use the space he was currently occupying. ânever said i was enjoying it, either,â he did have to add, just to be a brat about it.Â


















