First Love

Chapter 6

Jae slumped heavily on her bed in the 6.6m2 room she called home. She lived in a gosiwon. It was small living quarter, just enough to house a single bed, a desk big enough for her things and equipment. Space was limited but it was cheap. They were gender separated by floors. Males occupied the 3rd and 4th floor and females occupied the 1st and the 2nd. The occupants in her gosiwon were mostly construction workers, students and elder people who couldn't afford a studio apartment. Nothing in Seoul comes cheap, so the gosiwon is the best option for a penny pincher like her.

She looked up to her clothes hanging in line above her bed and sighed. It was a tiring day. She had an idea playing in her head after Yoongi left the convenience store in the early morning and couldn't wait to get back to her place. She recorded it straight away on her phone with the hope that she could work on it. Now she could just throw that plan out of the window. She was dead tired and only had 4 hours to sleep.

She looked longingly to her desk that was just within reach. She had a deadline to meet and time was running out. Within seconds, she was fast asleep, dreaming of working.

Jae woke up as her alarm went off few hours later. She stretched out, wishing she had few more hours of sleep. She didn't have that luxury. She was working 6 days for each of her part time jobs but since the day off did not coincide, she was basically working every day. She refused to look back on what she had decided. She made her decision and promised herself not to think much. Her brother needed her and he's the only family she got. Money she could find but nothing and no one could replace Chin-Hwa oppa.

It didn't come as a surprise when relatives kept on mentioning their relationship to her brother when he was well off and dropped him off when he was in a downfall. Jae and her brother only had each other to survive and she didn't plan to bail out on him either. Not when he needed her the most.

Jae dragged her feet off the bed and took her clothes and toiletries to the communal bathroom. One of the reasons she chose to work night shift was that she didn't have to fight for bathroom turns when she bathe late morning. She even had the kitchen to herself all the time as most of the occupants on her floor were out during day time and wouldn't be back until night. Living in a gosiwon had it perks. The rice cooker in the communal kitchen was always filled with cooked rice. The monthly rent covers basic food such as rice, kimchi and ramyeon. She only needed to cook or buy her own side dish if she wanted to eat anything else.

She went out for work after she finished her simple meal of rice, fried egg and kimchi. She needed to catch the train and clock in at Big Hit Entertainment building before 12 noon. Jae greeted the receptionist after she entered the building and went straight away to the store room to change. That was when her phone buzzed alerting an incoming message.

Yoongi: Saw you coming in. You look tired. Are you okay?

Jae paused at the message. Where was he just now? Jae shook her head. She had a tunnel vision so she knew she didn't notice anything or anyone other than getting to the store room.

Jae: I'm fine. Can't chat long. Gotta work.

Jae replied the message shortly, put the phone in her pocket and changed into her working clothes. She took her trolley out and went straight to the service lift. She met her colleague, Aunt Ji in the lift as she went up.

"Good afternoon, Aunt Ji. How is your knee so far?" asked Jae with concern. Aunt Ji had been complaining about her knee and how painful it was for her sometimes when she moves

"Good afternoon, Jae. I'm holding up. Put on a lot of those medical patches and I am okay," she replied. "You're working top floor today, right?" Aunt Ji asked.