[Closed♪Ongoing] The start of a friendship.

[thakwonleader]

Who: 黒木メイサ (sweet_meisak) and 권지용 (thakwonleader)
Where: A music shop in Roppongi
When: Late afternoon
Why: Because Jiyong wants to buy a CD
Rating: G, I think

Comments

[sweet_meisak]

Despite the late afternoon sky above her and the bustling people that constantly occupied Roppongi, Meisa felt odd being out and about at this hour. Usually, she would be getting ready to go to work, fussing over what she should wear for that day; the outfit being her reassured way of looking good for her boyfriend, one of PUZZLE's security guards. But since PUZZLE was temporarily closed and Ryoichi was busy at his day job, Meisa decided to take a trip to her favorite music store. Both work and her complicated sleeping hours had been keeping her away from her love of music, so Meisa was relieved to be there.

Greeting the cashier, Meisa made a bee line for the section of where the new artist she had just started listening to was shelved. Supposedly he had released a new CD today and Meisa was eager to listen to the new songs. It took a walk down another aisle for Meisa to find Lupe Fiasco's new album, glad that it wasn't sold out like she had predicted. She smiled, but just when she reached out for the CD, her hand bumped into someone else's.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Meisa quickly apologized, bowing to the stranger next to her. When she looks up, she is slightly surprised to find a foreigner standing before her, mostly because foreigners were quite common in that area. Absently, Meisa can see that the man is a little bit taller than her and quite handsome, but for some reason he looks vaguely familiar. "Um, you were here first, so you should take it."

[OOC: Is Lupe Fiasco alright with you? Because I can definitely see Jiyong listening to him. XD]

[thakwonleader]

When Jiyong felt another hand bumped into his, he looked at the owner of it, offering a smile when the woman apologized. "No need to apologize." Grinning, his hand reached for the top of his head and was slightly surprised that he wasn't wearing a cap to hide his identity. He probably rushed from the YG headquarters that he hadn't even bothered to disguise himself just the slightest. Even if he wasn't that famous in Japan yet - with emphasis on yet - there was still a chance of encountering a fangirl. But it seemed that the woman infront of him didn't recognize him, somehow that relieved and bothered him at the same time. It was always nice to be recognized as an artist while he was in one of his moments right now where he just wanted to be Kwon Jiyong and not G-Dragon.

He took a glance at the album he had been wanting to buy. He figured the woman must've been eager to buy it as well, it explained why they hadn't even noticed each other reaching for the same product before there was actually body contact.

"Really?" he asked while fixing his gaze on her, surprised at the other's kindness, most people would've fought for the last CD. With a bit of hesitation, he took the last CD from the shelf and examined the cover, skimming through the tracklist on the back. To be honest, he couldn't wait to buy it, go home and listen to it. But then again -- he looked up from the CD and glanced at the woman. Guilt would probably overrule him if he were to take the CD, so instead, he handed it to her.

"It's okay, you can take it. I'll just buy another album." he assured her with a bright smile.

[ooc: Sure~ I actually never heard of him but checked him out just now, and he's pretty good. :D]

[sweet_meisak]

Despite the guard Meisa puts up around strangers, she's still kind nonetheless; which is why she wasn't hesitant to let the man have the album. True, she was eager to listen to the new songs, but the music store did stock daily and she could wait another day. Meisa smiled, ready to walk away and find another album when the man suddenly handed the CD to her.

"Eh, are you sure?" Meisa asked, touched that he gave it to her. She glanced from the CD to the man, but then saw how sure he looked. Just when Meisa thought chivalry was hard to find amongst men, this man certainly proved her wrong.

She flashed a genuine smile as she said, "Thank you, Sir. Um, sorry, what's your name? I feel that I should thank you properly."

[OOC: Really? I was afraid that you might not know him, but I'm glad you like him! XD]

[thakwonleader]

"Uh, my name?" Jiyong stayed silent for a moment, thinking over what to say right now since he wasn't sure if he wanted to tell her his name. Despite her not recognizing his appearance, she might recognize his name. He scratched the back of his head a bit, a grin plastered on his face was flashed at her.

"It's Kwon Jiyong." In the end, he decided to tell her his real name, no stage name. Most of the people knew him by his artist name 'G-Dragon' and not by his real name, though there were still fans that knew more than just the artist name. But he assumed this woman infront of him wasn't one of those fans.

"Nice to meet you--" he stayed silent afterwards, expecting her to introduce herself as well and he extended a hand for a quick handshake.

[sweet_meisak]

"Kuroki Meisa," she finished, taking his extended hand and shaking it for a moment. "It's nice to meet you too. Thanks again, Kwon-san."

After she let go of his hand, she thought for a moment, wondering why the name Kwon Jiyong sounded so familiar. It couldn't be that she had met him before, because she certainly wouldn't forget a handsome face like his. Shrugging it off, she figured that she would realize it sooner or later.

"So, which album are you planning on buying?"

[thakwonleader]

"Ah, no need for formalities. Just 'Jiyong' is fine by me." Jiyong said, letting go of her hand afterwards. He realized the woman still didn't recognize him, despite telling her his real name. It made him realize how long it would actually take for him to get recognized in Japan. Especially since he thought the woman was a music lover.

"Uh-" He hadn't really thought of what album he would buy if it wouldn't be Lupe Fiasco's one. He assumed that he'd get the album. "Not sure. I guess I have to take a look around the store for a bit, but I think I'll take something relaxing. It would be nice to listen to it while I'm taking a bath." he told her with a soft laughter.

[sweet_meisak]

"Oh, ok, Jiyong. Then 'Meisa' is fine by me as well." Meisa said, trying out his name. She wasn't sure about his age, so she added the "-san" at the end of his name just in case. Even though Jiyong did look about her age, Meisa didn't wish to be disrespectful.

But she still couldn't put her finger on why Jiyong seemed so familiar to her. She was sure she heard his name somewhere.

"Then you should definitely check out the employees' pick shelf." Meisa informed him, motioning towards a shelf near the cash register. "It's packed with the employees' favorite albums and singles and has a wide genre. I'm sure something will catch your eye there."

[OOC: I was thinking that Meisa could have heard about Jiyong through a friend or her sister, but didn't really pay attention to him; which is why she didn't recognize him right away. Is that okay?]

[thakwonleader]

"Meisa it is then." Jiyong repeated her name, pausing to shift his weight on his other foot. "Nice name you got there." he told her honestly, grinning as he did so. Not only was the name nice but also the owner, though he decided not to voice out his thought. She'd probably think he was trying to make a move on her, and he didn't want her to think that, even if she was beautiful.

Maybe she was a model?

His gaze on her was intense, trying to recall if he ever saw her on a fashion show or magazine but after a few seconds he slightly shook his head. Nah, he didn't suppose she was a model or something since he knew for sure he hadn't seen her before.

When Meisa motioned towards a shelf near the cash register, he turned to look at it as he listened to her. "Oh, maybe I should do that then." he said, nodding a few times before fixing his view on her again. "Want to help me find a good album?" he asked, walking towards the shelf as he moved his hand, motioning for her to come along.

[ooc: Sure, that's okay by me!]

[sweet_meisak]

"Thanks. I like yours, too. It sounds very unique." Meisa said, smiling as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear; which was true, because this was her first time hearing a name like his. It had a nice ring to it and sounded Korean.

Although she didn't show it, she felt his fixed gaze on her, but could tell that it wasn't the perverted kind. After her past experiences with men and the ones she interacted at work, Meisa usually knew right away whether a man was just trying to hit on her or wanted to have an actual conversation. Besides, he already proved that there was still chivalrous men left in the world.

At Jiyong's suggestion to come along, Meisa was more than happy to accompany him. "Yeah, sure." He seemed like an amiable guy and she was always eager to make new friends. Plus, it was still bugging her that she couldn't remember why he seemed so familiar. Judging by his spiffy attire and pretty face, maybe he worked in the fashion business?

Meisa shrugged inwardly, tired of guessing. Oh, well, she would figure it out in time.

"So, other than Lupe Fiasco, what other kinds of music do you listen to, Jiyong?"

[thakwonleader]

"Thanks! It's Korean, that's why you probably never heard it around here." Jiyong said with a chuckle. Of course he knew there were other Koreans that lived in Japan but probably not a lot (if not none) that carried the same name as him.

At Meisa's question, he had to think for a moment or two, his eyes on the shelf that they were approaching. "R&B, pop, I listen to everything that's good. I don't like to stick to one genre, you know." he explained her, flashing a grin at her before his gaze went to the shelf near the counter again. And what caught his eye from the little distance was an album of his - his latest Korean mini-album.

Freaking out a bit, he rushed the few steps and stood infront of it, trying to cover the album of his in a way that wasn't too obvious - though he probably failed already. He chuckled at Meisa, a bit nervously before realization dawned on him. His real name wasn't on the album nor was a picture of him. So why did he freak out? It was probably reflex, not wanting to let his new-found friend find out he was a singer. She might start to treat him differently - just like other people did.

He turned around and glanced at the album on the shelf, pretending that nothing happened a moment ago. "So, what's your fav music genre, Meisa?"

[sweet_meisak]

Meisa was taken aback when Jiyong walked quickly ahead of her, only to stand in front of one of the shelves, acting as if nothing was wrong. Tilting her head to the side, Meisa wondered if something happened, but decided to let it go and followed after him.

"That's cool. I'm the same way, but I didn't start listening to hip-hop until last year." Meisa answered as she scanned the shelves for anything appealing. Seeing as how they were mostly CDs she had already already seen or heard before, she was about to turn away when a certain album caught her eye. It had a creative cover, but Meisa wasn't able to get a better look because Jiyong was slightly in the way.

"Excuse me," Meisa apologized, reaching around her friend for the album behind him. Once in her hands and reading the artist's name, she realized that it was familiar to her. Hoping the album was new to Jiyong, she tapped his shoulder and asked, "Hey, have you heard of this G-Dragon guy? One of my friends is a fan of his and from what I heard, he's a pretty popular Korean artist." Meisa turned away from him momentarily to read the tracks on the back. "Hmm.. He seems really cool. I remember liking of his songs when my friend let me listen to him."

[thakwonleader]

"Really? And I bet you took a liking to it immediately, didn't you?" Jiyong asked in a bit of a teasingly voice. It was that case with him. About 10 years ago he had listened to a hip-hop song and it was that moment that he wanted to go deeper into it. He thought it was really his style.

Jiyong startled a bit when Meisa grabbed his album and this time he really thanked himself for having a nickname and not putting up a picture of him on the cover. He liked being creative with his covers and simply putting a picture of himself was plain and not unique since most of the artists did that. "Uh, yeah. I heard of him." he answered shortly, hoping she'd just drop the topic about him and move onto another artist. But when the woman told him that she liked his songs, he couldn't help but question her about it. "Really? Which songs did you like the most then?"

[sweet_meisak]

"Yup." Meisa answered with a laugh. "It was actually Lupe who got me into hip-hop. I saw his 'I Gotcha' music video online and knew I had to hear more." It was funny how clicking on the wrong link at a music video website actually piqued her interest in hip-hop music. The beats of the song were the first to catch her attention and then she found the lyrics interesting after. Now, she couldn't get enough of hearing new songs and learning about the different artists in that genre.

Meisa looked over the tracks when Jiyong asked which song she liked. Luckily she still remembered the name of the song as she pointed out the track and explained, "I liked 'This Love' the best. Even though I had to find the translated lyrics online, I thought the lyrics were fun and the beats exciting. Which one is your favorite?"

[thakwonleader]

"Nice, I don't really hear often about people liking Lupe, here." Jiyong explained, trying to recall if he ever did hear someone talk about Lupe, aside from the people he already knew. "So, it's kind of surprising, yet really cool that you listen to him. Hip-hop is an amazing music genre, my favorite."

He grinned when she answered that she liked 'This Love' the best. It was the first song he wrote, so he couldn't help but feel proud that it was someone's favorite. "Uh, I like them all." he answered, the grin still plastered onto his face.

"So, which one should I take?" he asked her as he looked at the shelf again. "Maybe Ne-yo's latest album since I still haven't gotten that one?"

[sweet_meisak]

"Yeah, my older sister was actually surprised when I started getting into hip-hop, mostly because I used to listen to a lot of acoustic and R&B," Meisa confessed, which was true, but only because she was never able to experience any hip-hop music when she was younger. Back then her mother was big on grooming her to become a 'proper young lady' and forbid her from listening anything other than classical music.

Taking in Jiyong's question, she quickly answered, "Definitely Ne-yo. His music is amazing and it's crazy how regardless of how many times I've listened to his songs, I don't get tired of it." Ne-yo was another artist that Meisa loved and she loved all of his songs.

Seeing as how they both had their own albums in hand, Meisa asked, "So, are we ready to check out?"

[thakwonleader]

Jiyong laughed. "Hip-hop is definitely something else. You either like it or dislike it, not hate since hate is a big word." he said with a small chuckle. "I think we somehow have similiar tastes in music, Meisa." he told her, and grinned. He always found it nice to talk about the same music with other people.

"His songs are realy addicting." he said with a couple of nods, taking the album from the shelf and skimming through the track list. There were a song or two that were familiar to him, but the rest seemed unknown. "Yup, ready." he told her, walking towards the counter and urging for Meisa to go first as he averted his look to the ground - avoiding to look at the counterworker since she might recognize him.