Chapter 681: Fulfillment

June walked around the city, finding himself absent-mindedly traversing through the streets.

From a distance, he could hear the sound of a familiar tune playing, so he let his feet take him to the source of the sound.

His eyebrows raised in surprise when he saw a small store with a pink ice cream logo. It was somewhat familiar, but June couldn't quite pinpoint where he had seen it.

Just then, his stomach grumbled, so he decided to buy some ice cream while he was on it.

"Ice cream for breakfast it is," June said with a small smile.

"Welcome!" a friendly man exclaimed. "What can we get for you today?"

"La la la, Ice cream makes me scream! La la la, A sugary, sweet daydream."

June's ears rang in recognition as the song continued to play. This was the song that inspired him during Rising Stars—the ice cream song that he couldn't get out of his head!

June looked around the place and felt his heart squeeze. It was a small space, but it was clean and decorated nicely.

June couldn't believe it.

The small beat-up track that he had brought ice cream from had actually transformed into a store like this?

"Sir?" the friendly middle-aged man asked. "Are you okay?"

June snapped out of his thoughts and finally went up to the counter. He looked around to see if the little girl who forced him to buy their ice cream back then was there. However, she wasn't, a small frown forming on June's face.

"You zoned out a bit there, sir," the man chuckled.

"Yeah," June said, making his voice deeper than usual. "Just a tough day, I guess."

The middle-aged man smiled. "We've all been there," he said.

"However, here's one thing I can tell you—it gets better."

"Sometimes, it feels like it doesn't. It feels like you're stuck in a maze with no way out."

"However, you just find an opening when you least expect it," he smiled, trying to comfort June.

"I hope you find your opening soon."

"Me too," June said.

"For now, do you want anything? I'm sure our ice cream can help make you feel better."

'Ticklish Tummy Tornado'

'Funky Monkey Business Sundae'

'Ridiculous Rumplestiltskin Ripple

'Hootin' Hooligan Hootenanny'

June smiled when he saw that the names still hadn't changed.

It still pained him to say them out loud, but somehow, he also felt quite happy that they didn't change it.

"I'll have the Befuddled Bubblegum Bonanza Blast," June said.

"Ooh, nice choice," the man exclaimed. "You brought the same thing as June when he first came to our shop."

June raised his eyebrows when he heard his name. It was a surprise that the man still remembered him after all these months.

He hadn't even debuted back then and wasn't even at the top of the rankings.

"You're surprised, right?" the man asked. "He really did come here."

Then, he pointed to a photo on the wall.

It was only then that June realized that his photo was on the wall, similar to that of a saint in a religious household.

"That looks like an altar," June chuckled. "It's almost as if he died."

The man chuckled. "Well, the shop did become famous after June posted it on his Navel account. Actually, we weren't even a shop back then. It was just a small beat-up truck that I had painted myself."

"Those were some of the darkest times of my life. However, after June posted his review of our ice cream, we suddenly started getting more customers—much more than I had expected."

"So, the business began to expand. During his era in Rising Stars, so many people came and ordered the same ice cream as you did. So, it became our best-seller."

"Then, when he debuted, the shop became even more famous," he smiled.

"And lately, their group had been doing so well. Everybody's talking about them, and June's almost on every billboard in the city."

"It seems like June is still stringing me along to his success since our customers increased even more after that. In the end, manning the truck on the street had become too overwhelming, so I opened up this shop just this month."

June listened to his story intently.

"Did...June really help you that much?" he asked, finding it strange to be referring to himself in the third person.

However, June also wanted to hear how the owner truly felt.

As much as June tried to deny it, he did feel more detached from reality and his fans the more that they became popular.

He knew that it was inevitable.

Groups that become bigger than they expected would lose touch with their original intention.

June saw it happen over and over again.

"He did," the man said, causing June's breath to get caught in the back of his throat.

The man was smiling so genuinely that June didn't have a choice but to believe in him.

"He helped us much more than he had realized."

"I know that we were just another daily encounter for him— probably something insignificant."

"However, he's one of the reasons why my life has changed for the better."

"I don't even get why some people are painting him out to be a bad guy when he's clearly not."

"Sometimes, I wish that I could approach him and tell him how hard he's worked to get to where he is. Moreover, I want to thank him for being such a great help to my family."

"He brought some of the light back into my life, and I know that without him, I wouldn't be experiencing all of this."

Somehow, their conversation had June all choked up.

However, he held back his emotions and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Well, here you go," the man said, giving him the pink ice cream. "It's on the house."

June took the ice cream and shook his head. "No, I should pay for it," he said, reaching into his pocket.

The man shook his head. "Just take it, young man. Think of it as an act of kindness from a stranger."

"The kindness I've received from June—I'm passing it on to you."

June smiled and looked down at the ground.

"I'm sure June would be glad once he finds out about it," he said, causing the man to smile.

"I know," the man smiled. "He is a good guy, after all."

June pursed his lips and nodded before turning around and tasting the pink ice cream.

A smile automatically made its way to his lips as the sweet and refreshing taste of bubblegum invaded his taste buds.

Just then, the door opened, and a little girl in her school uniform came running inside.

"Dad!" she exclaimed.

"Lila!"

June halted when he heard the familiar name.

That was the little girl that persuaded him back then? She was finally going to school?

"You should be in school by now," he scolded.

"I know," she giggled. "But I wanted to give you a kiss before I go!"

June's smile widened as he took another bite from his ice cream.

Then, he finally went out of the shop, his heart filled with a strange emotion.

Fulfillment.