#be:open starter

[beminjae]

— an ordinary life(?)

  why did he always feel so empty? was it normal for an individual to be as pathetic as he felt? minjae figured that such questions were better suited for a therapist rather than just floating around inside his head. but who actually went to therapy? not people who lead normal lives. and nobody was as normal as minjae. at least, that’s what he liked to tell himself. it always made him feel better when he started to question if other people his age faced the same daily situations. yeah, it was probably perfectly ordinary to hate everything about your life.

  maybe that was why minjae found himself sitting at a table by himself in a small and unpopular café with his laptop in front of him. as much as he loved staying holed up in his dim room, away from the outside world, it didn’t actually provide him with the level of seclusion that he was looking for. there was always a risk of his mom bursting through the door and demanding that he head down the stairs in order to help with whatever restaurant duties she didn’t feel like completing herself. should he have more sympathy for his hardworking mother? it depended on who you asked. minjae just wanted to get as far away from kwon’s chicken as possible.  

  so being huddled in the corner of the café was no coincidence. it was all part of his master plan to leave his extra ordinary life behind. you see, if he were to keep his eyes glued to the screen and study every possible idol video that the internet had, then there was a chance that he’d be able to mirror their behaviors and mannerisms. if he were a famous idol, then he’d never have to be a busboy ever again. not to mention that he’d never have to set eyes on any of his family members for the foreseeable future. minjae couldn’t help but chuckle under his breath as he imagined it all. 

  maybe then life would be worth living.

[beyumi]

she'd walked into the establishment with a can-do attitude, dressed in her most hire-able attire – the latter part was debatable, but yumi functions under the belief that there's very little you can't get away with if you do it with a little flair.

this is the fifth place on her list (aptly titled 'places i can work for a while so my father doesn't cut off my allowance'). the first four had clearly been a little closed-minded, or, at least, she'd decided as much when she'd furiously deleted them from her notes app (pleated mini skirts and wine red patent pumps didn't really scream "let me scoop ice cream for minimum wage" – go figure), so she approaches this one with a bit more tact (and far more sensible shoes). jobs, especially part-time ones, were like skittish woodland creatures, to be approached with caution and the persisting hope that you wouldn't leave with rabies.

things seem slow, so, filled with hope (and the illusion of invincibility afforded to her by 3 redbulls), she approaches the nearest person with an i-work-here vibe and taps them on the shoulder.

𝓼et somewhere in seoul, with <open> ❀

[nickybe]

christmas rush.

open starter !

nicky, despite the external image that remains so frozen in place, is quite the thoughtful, sensitive person. he's a romantic at heart, a softness inside of him that has yet to be stomped out by the troubles the world has already put him through. he wants to believe in magic, in fairies, and in santa claus... even though he knew far too young that such things don't exist. while his face and demeanor remains rather cold and standoffish, he still stops to admire the snow as it falls, wondering at each flake and the knowledge that despite the sheer quantity of them, no two are exactly the same.

but staring at the snowfall is not the reason nicky ventured out to the market on his lonesome. no, he has last minute christmas shopping and is pathetically drawing a blank on what to get for his father.

kian was easy, he likes everything. siwoo didn't really matter, because nicky knows he probably doesn't really understand the significance of receiving gifts anyway (that guy has way too much money). even the kim family were delighted when nicky brought them a nice bottle of wine to share in to his last shift at the store. but his father? he won't want anything extravagant, he doesn't need anything that he doesn't already have. he's not the type to put on frills or spend too much money on himself, and nicky has no idea what he might appreciate. so he's stuck, staring in a storefront window, wondering if dad would at all be interested in the knick knacks in side.

he sighs, and swallows his pride. it's not like he has anything to lose by doing this anyway. "excuse me," he stops the first friendly face he sees, hoping not to bother too much. "do you have any idea what to buy a guy who has everything? i'm trying to get a gift for my dad."

[jindallaebe]

[  🥀  ]  𝖍𝖔𝖜 𝖈𝖆𝖕𝖎𝖙𝖆𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖒 𝖘𝖙𝖔𝖑𝖊 𝖈𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖒𝖆𝖘...

𝖙𝖑𝖉𝖗 /  JIN SHOPS FOR CHRISTMAS GIFTS— OPEN TO WANNABES; AT THE XMAS MARKET.

if there’s one rotten thing about having a relatively large family during the holiday season, it’s trying to buy all of them gifts. what makes this even more difficult — for jindallae, anyway — is that he’s not exactly close with many of his relatives. sure, he has their backs and he has a lot of love for them, and realizes that a relation of blood is the most important bond that someone can have to a degree, but that doesn’t exactly mean that he knows their personalities or what any of them are interested in. his older sister, molan, does well by herself and keeps extremely busy, so he hasn’t had a chance to pick her brain about items she needs or wants. it’s similar with his big brother, beodeul. he lives in the states, has a fiancé, and makes a good bit o’ money in his job. what on earth would he possibly need from jindallae ?? the only clear ideas he has are for his father, and for his twin, but they’ve always been easy to shop for. the pair of them make their interests known, and he talks to both of them more consistently out of the rest of the lot. then, when it comes to his mother, he doesn’t even want to think about it. they’re not on great terms, but he knows he’d be the worst son in the world if he didn’t at least try to gift her something. it’s all so complicated, and as he browses through the vendors at the xmas market, he sighs.

nothing really screams at him, and while the options are seemingly endless, it’s painstakingly hard to figure out what’s right for everyone. at this point, he’s really considering throwing in the towel and making everyone their favorite foods — give them a giant pot of their chosen dinner that they can freeze and have for however long they need. no one is unhappy with food, right ?? though, it’s only been a couple of minutes since he arrived, and he wants to at least attempt to browse, even if he’s already feeling over it and exhausted. pointing towards an item presented, he turns to the person beside him. “ do you think getting a botanist a necklace with flowers on it is too obvious and lame ?? ” he queries, then laughs. “ i thought about setting up an herb garden in my window or somethin’ and givin’ her fresh herbs, spices, ‘n shit that she can use, but i didn’t really have the time to get that together. ” a shrug rises and falls from the breadth of his shoulders, his eyes roll at the same time. “ gift-giving is kinda bullshit, right ?? or am i just a shitty person who hates capitalism ?? ”

[bexeunwoo]

It was a local coffee shop the boy had found that had become his new favorite spot. It had the right ambiance and even the coffee itself was good quality. He wasn’t quite used to this new way of life yet, as he came from a very small town, which was much different than that of Seoul. Perhaps it was a good thing though, new scenery, new frame of mind. It was the beginning of his plan to get the attention of a local Idol company, wanting desperately to live a life far different than the one that was predicted of him. 

Sipping at the coffee, he looked up when he noticed a friendly face that was approaching. Smiling softly, the boy did his best to maintain eye contact. It was quite hard given how introverted Eunwoo truly was. Though he would fake it for now, at least until he could truly get into a good mindset and think of things in a much fonder light. “I’m Eunwoo, or well, most people call me Woo. I’m kind of new in town, though I will say I love this shop. The people are super nice and the coffee is perfect.” Taking a deep breath, he realized that he was rambling more than allowing the other to answer. “Sorry, that was too much.”