Holy Curse • Jeong Yunho

Day One

January 1st, 2019, Sunday.
22:17

DAY ONE

           The blue trim on the walls is quite irking for Deiji as her eyes scan every bit of the space in front of her. The floor plan of the store was well thought and executed — there were two separate doors for entrance and exit, and the aisles were situated neatly apart. The doors were automated with sensors; upon a customer's arrival the entrance door would produce a low mechanical ding. To the side of the same door, was a stand of newspapers and magazines — right in front of which located the cash register with an uncomfortable chair for Deiji.

"Thank you, visit again!" Deiji feigns her excitement whilst handing the customer their grocery bag. She bows slightly at the old woman and sighs in relief watching her walk out to her car parked in the lot.

She sits herself on the chair, leaning back, her eyes drift away to the far end, where the cold storage aisle was. One of the tube lights there flickered every five minutes, irking her. Though, she couldn't care less about it. It was her first day at work. Mr. Haruki hired her almost immediately without any interview. He even requested her to start as earliest as possible; since Mr. Haruki was old and forgetful, he could longer manage the night shift by himself. Hence, he started hiring the young crowd from university for past three months, but all of which resigned almost after a month of working. He even conveyed his concerns regarding if Deiji were to ever leave the job, but Deiji reassured the old man that she won't be leaving anytime soon.

Now looking back on the empty promise she made to Mr. Haruki, Deiji regrets having to say it. Of course she was not going to be here forever, she was going to keep the job for as long as it took for her to save up enough money for her dream. The one dream she dreamt on the new year with her boyfriend. Deiji wants to leave this town behind and move in with her boyfriend; they had thought of renting an apartment, and living on in the city next door. Wooyoung and Mitski had the same plan outlined since, and so the group made it their aim to get out of this town.

Deiji stares at the flickering light, as it annoys her even more so now. She huffs in ire and stomps her feet to get out of the chair. The sound of her rushed footsteps clattering against the floor resound around the vacant store, while her eyes stay fixed on the light. Standing under it, she croons her neck up to examine it. As if she could fix it herself. She sighs yet again, trailing her gaze down to find a reflection of man staring at her.

"Oh fuck," she curses under her breath, turning around to meet with the man she just saw. He wore a long trench coat, or maybe he was just as tall; he also had a muffler around his neck, secured.

He stood by the cash register, seemingly lost staring at her. She doesn't think much of it, and marches back to her designated place. Anxiously, she tugs on her name tag, which remained pinned to her chest, while her other hand straightened the end of the apron clad over her clothes. As surprising it was, the store didn't have a set uniform for the employees. The dingy coloured blue apron was a must, however.

"How may I help you?" Deiji fakes a smile, stepping behind the register.

The man's lips curve slightly, "oh, do you happen to have restocked on dried berries?"

"Yep, aisle six, right down there." She points to the middle somewhere, to which his smile gets deeper and he excuses himself to disappear around there.

Deiji releases a breath. She was relieved somehow. Well, in the point of that, Deiji knew what kind of customers came to the store at night. It were mostly the late night runs ins in the store; seemingly for ramen, or something that people liked to label as their comfort food. She also knew there would be drunks making their way to the store, however she wasn't worried much about it. Mr. Haruki had installed numerous cameras around the building.

"It's cold out there, isn't it?" the same man's voice breaks her trance.

"It is." Deiji agrees, looking down at the stuff he kept on the counter.

Some dried berries, and a box of chocolate. Who was Deiji to judge him. She rings up the items and prepares a polythene bag for the same.

"Card or cash?" she asks as she ties a knot to the bad.

"Card, please." He hands her his card.

Deiji makes the payment and hands him his receipt for the purchased items, murmuring a soft thank you.

"Did Keiko leave the job?" his question catches Deiji off guard. He grabs the bag and stares down at her for a moment.

"I believe so," Deiji replies, looking away.

"Ah, there's never a familiar face here." He adds, "you'll find a new face every month." Maybe it was supposed to be a joke, but Deiji doesn't seem to take it as one. "I'm Seonghwa, you might see a lot more of me from now on."

"I'm..." Deiji trails, pointing at her name tag. "You already know me. And I look forward to seeing you."

Seonghwa — with his coarse voice — mumbles a dainty thank you before leaving out the doors. Deiji's lips curl up slightly watching the taller man make his way to his car; he owned a BMW, she wasn't sure about the model however. The car zooms out the lot with the burning of engine. She mentally awes at the man; Seonghwa, he was insanely good looking, sporting his pink dyed hair and a black choker around his neck. Deiji had a newfound admiration for the job. If she was going to meet such cute guys, then maybe the job wasn't so bad after all.

Time drags on slow while Deiji texts her boyfriend. He's talking to her about the cat he rescued from a tree and brought her home. Deiji was a bit furious, but after comforting series of text from San, she was composed to make a rational decision. Well, with the back and forth of spite, they both decided to keep the cat to themselves. San even named the cat; 'Mau' was her name.

San:
attached image
she's so cute!
meet mau!!

Deiji:
she's super cute...
like you!

San:
how's work?
met any pervert yet?

Deiji:
not really
but a sweet guy did stop by

San:
you're dating me, right?

Deiji:
i love you too
see ya sannie

Deiji hated cutting their conversation short, but she placed her phone down when she heard the similar mechanical ding reverberating around. A shiver runs down her spine, and her breath hitches as she watches a man clad in all black make his way in. He doesn't look at her, or even acknowledge her presence. His feet guide him straight to the aisle holding housing materials. Deiji slumps back into the chair, trying to burn the picture of the man from her mind. He looked ethereal, dressed in black. There was something about his eyes, suffocating her somehow; there was something about his tall stature that she couldn't figure out yet. There was something about the man she couldn't resist.

As she tries to get her head out of it, the man now stands in front with two industrial size bottles of bleach on the counter. His eyes are dark as they stare at her; most of his face remains covered under a black mask, a curse for Deiji as she wouldn't have mind taking a peek at his entire face. The collar of the shirt, adores the name of the brand; Fendi, a luxury brand. He paired the black shirt with black trousers and overlayed it with a black leather coat. The bleached tips of his hair sift tidy on his forehead, parted in the middle. Deiji notices the man's complexion, he was pale, as pale as snow.

"That would be 40000 won." Deiji informs, ringing up the items.

"Payment by cash, please." His deep voice lingers in her ears, as he proceeds to slide her a stack of bills. "It's the exact amount. Don't mind counting them." he deadpans, grabbing both the bottles in either of his hands and heads out.

Deiji clutches onto the receipt of his purchase, wide eyed and confused at the man who just left. He had an eerie aura, but the worst...

He reeked of blood.