knight in amor | na jaemin

a series of bad luck

"No, no. No! NO!!" Yeseul screamed as she tried to start her battery dead car for the nth time that afternoon.

"Fucks sake!" She cursed as she finally gave up and her hand flew up to her forehead in defeat.

"What the hell did i do in my past life to deserve this" she muttered but her cursed thoughts were soon interrupted by the grumble of her stomach and the seven eleven across the road was staring at her, glowing in all its glory of processed and instant foods.

She grumbled and took her wallet and keys with her before she left her humble abode, the run down honda civic 2007. She crossed the road safely, scratching her face that hadn't been washed. She placed her face mask onto her face before walking into the store.

"Hello, good morning" she said brightly as she entered the store

"Young miss its already 2pm" the worker said making her turn her smile into a scowl, thankfully everything was hidden by a mask.

"Ah...I see..." she said, bowing in slight embarrassment and she strolled around the store finding the usual breakfast-lunch-dinner items. A cheese sausage, instant spicy ramen, triangle gimbap and some corn chips...and some breath mints.

"Just these please, do you accept cash?" She asked and the cashier nodded before they exchanged.

"Im still trying to figure out if you're a school student or a homeless person" the cashier said with a chuckle as he scanned her products through

"Yah! How dare y- how old are you!"

"17"

"Exactly! Respect your elders you little shit" she said with a scowl and the highschooler chuckled again

"Sorry if I offended you, I know homelessness is a sensitive top-"

"Im not homeless you cu- ah...ah my blood pressure" she sighed, raising an arm to her heart that had started racing in anger

"Give me a free bag or I'll write shitty reviews on yelp" she ordered and the boy smiled, following her order.

"Ugh, kids these days" she said, grumbling as she walked to the tables, yet she was hiding a smile remembering how her younger brother used to fight with her.

Sitting down, she used the hot water to cook her instant ramen and ate her sausage while she waited for it to cook.

As she was too distracted with her tv show, she failed to see the tow truck arrive at the scene until her car was swiftly getting more distant.

"Wait..shit.. fuck NO!!" She shouted exiting the store and attempting to run after the tow truck yet to no avail.

"Ah shit! That had all my stuff in there!" She shouted like a madwoman across the street gaining attention for a few passerbys.

"What? Huh?" She asked looking at the strangers and rolled her eyes before going back into the store to atleast finish her food.

"Yah! Are you guys hiring?" She asked the young cashier and he shrugged looking up at her

"Are you desperate?" He asked and she sighed

"No but...maybe, i work across the street in that club...i might look for a day job too. You know how high rent is in seoul?!" She whined and the boy smiled. It was a pretty empty store and he reached behind the counter to the alcohol shelf before approaching her table.

"Here. On the house" he said with a smile, placing a bottle of soju on the table.

"You're encouraging day drinking! That's bad!" She shouted at him like an older sister and he rolled his eyes

"Okay okay, I'll put it ba-"

"No! Wait..." she smiled awkwardly, attempting to reach the bottle

"Why are you giving it to me on the house though?" She asked

"I pity you" he said and she scowled once more

"Plus... you're kinda cute" he said and she rolled her eyes

"You're still a minor, watch your mouth" She scowled yet she couldn't help but be flattered although she knew he was only saying all this to pick some fun at her.

one, two, three and possibly five hours had passed and she was finally regaining conciousness from previously passing out on the table. The young cashier, Park Jisung was watching over her making sure she wasn't actually dead, it would be extra trouble for him after all. Yet the boy who was somehow going through the same thing as her, barely making a living on his own, juggling two part time jobs along with his senior year of highschool, could feel her sorrow even though she was impressively good at hiding it. The experiences of the both did not have to be said to each other, she knew what he was going through, he knew what she was going through. 

'It was a dark world out there and lowlives ought to stay together'

"how long was i passed out for?" she groaned as she sat up and blinked a few times to make her eyes less cloudy

"4 hours and 49 minutes, that's impressive-"

"I failed maths class, what time is it?" she asked and jisung pointed to the wallclock at the other end of the store and she looked at it with confusion

"did you atleast pass 2nd grade? can you read the clock?" jisung asked, joking once again and was met with her scowl.

"It's already 8" she sighed, yawning a little as she stretched. She stood up from her seat and cleaned the mess on the table to help the boy look after the store, after all his shift would be ending soon anyway, she didn't want to burden him further.

"Thanks for letting me stay here" she said and jisung gave her a small smile

"what's your name?" she asked and he shook his head, showing that he wasn't comfortable giving any personal details and she respected that.

"i'll see you around okay? take care of yourself" she said and he met her eyes, his shaking a little bit. He was closed off and it was rare he would talk to customers this much, or anyone for that matter. He had isolated himself. He had no relatives to talk to, no school friends. Yet he was determined to get by in life, he had himself and that was all that mattered.

"you too" he said, a proper smile on his face as he watched her wrap her scarf on and leave the store.

"ah...it's chilly" she sighed, lightly rubbing her grey fleece covered arms before she crossed the road and walked towards the club where she worked, she had nowhere else to go.