Stumbling Backward(JOOKYUN✔️)

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It is hard to get to work without his car, but it's even harder for Jooheon to arrive early knowing he could have spent those extra fifteen minutes sleeping in. The convenience store is deserted upon his winded arrival, but for the third shift employee that has already removed his smock and fixed Jooheon with a curt smile. "I knew as soon as you sent that old junker into the shop, I'd be getting off early for at least a week."

Leesook, a man with more lines than a road map, pats his replacement's shoulder as he passes by. "The night was busy, hope your day is better." And with that, no time left for Jooheon to reply, Leesook has gone off into the early morning.

Jooheon could still smell the dew on the grass during his walk; he could feel the faintest burn on his cheeks from the rising sun. He wonders if Leesook pays any attention to those sorts of things, or if the aged man has better things to tend to now that his life has been well lived. Watching until the old man has gathered himself into his car and left the parking lot, Jooheon remains stood in the doorway of the convenience store. He takes off towards the employee room behind the counter once he can rest assured Leesook has made it through the busy intersection just North of the store.

Snagging his employee apron from its little hook, Jooheon tugs the ugly blue fabric down over his head and situates it over his T-shirt, clocking in with his punch card and clocking out for Leesook. The man often forgets, or perhaps he knows that Jooheon will handle it for him, but the blonde doesn't mind helping out.

Stepping out into the main area of the convenience store, Jooheon wanders down the aisles and scans the shelves for past due snacks. Technically, Leesook should handle this part as well, since the day transfers over while he is on shift, but Jooheon again does not mind. Nothing in the dried goods has gone yet, as usual, but Jooheon has to clear several rows of cold snacks to make way for new ones that will be delivered later today.

With hair colored salmon, and eyes slanted in a shifty sort that could often be the blame for rather blunt stares, Jooheon prefers it when the store is empty like this. He doesn't like garnering the attention that he does, though he knows he has brought most of it upon himself with his hair choice alone.

Keeping himself busy with tidying the odds and ends of the store, Jooheon watches the hours tick away until just before the early noon rush. In about ten minutes, he figures, the sunny and silent day will become darkened by the shadows of too many patrons at once. Thankfully, that rush also signals the end of his shift at the store, and the start of his walk to his second job.

The front door fills with a hulking shadow just as the thought flutters past Jooheon's pacific mind. Thank God for Mother's firm belief in stellar orthodontics, Jooheon ponders to himself as he garners that signature straight-edged smile, teeth all in a line despite the hard grit to his cheeks. From his place behind the counter, he can see almost the entire store, the front door included, and he sizes up the guest as he greets the man respectfully.

They have a rather aged baseball cap pulled low over their dark face, a jacket far too heavy for the spring warmth around their middle, and jeans that look more worse for wear than the average street sweeper's work attire. But Jooheon has always attempted to avoid judging a book by its cover, and the man that wanders down the snack aisles should be no different.

They have a funny gait about them, almost as if one leg is longer than the other. It causes them to knock into a few shelves as they pass, but Jooheon figures that could also amount to how utterly broad their shoulders are beneath the weathered jacket. Jooheon can see a faded logo across the back of the fabric, and he recognizes the local school it represents. The cashier is left wondering if this ruddy looking character attends the university the emblem represents even as the man himself drops a bag of Doritos atop the counter between them.