Generation Lost

1. Horton Hears A What?

Renjun really hated his job.

He felt guilty for complaining, and he tried his best not to, but sometimes he really couldn't help it. Some nights — like tonight, he seriously considered walking out and living in the woods with the deer and the raccoons. They'd treat him better than the customers did, he had no doubt.

He wasn't a waiter. He wasn't a waiter, a fact that slipped the minds of most people — even the regulars, especially them — as they shouted at him every time he passed with an armful of dirty dishes or a heavy bucket full of bleach water, because there was a problem with their food or their server hadn't stopped by in fifteen whole minutes because they were understaffed on a Friday night . . . Renjun was not a waiter.

He told them this, time and time again. 

But can't you do it? How hard is your job? Or, Can you get that waitress? The one with the silly hair?

No, he wanted to say. I can't.

But he never did. He'd shuffle off with his arms full (they always caught him at the worst times), and the second he passed through the doors into the kitchen, he'd practically throw the dishes into the sink.

"What a fucking bitch," He'd hiss to no one in particular. "Cunt, cock sucker, fucking—"

"Renjun—"

"Can you get her for me? Can you? Can you explain to me why, why is she taking so long?" Renjun mocked, raising his voice to an annoying whine, ignoring Taeil and the hands on his shoulder. "Fuck you, lady."

He turned away from the sink, wiping his hands on his very stained apron, and scanned the kitchen for 'the waitress with the silly hair'.

No sign of her, so he stormed off towards the walk-in cooler where most of the employees (basically everyone who wasn't in management, or a snitch) took their breaks. He angrily threw the door open and was immediately met with a cloud of smoke and choked coughing.

Jaehyun sat, leaning back against a crate of frozen french fries with an arm over his face as he seemed to be attempting to hack out a lung.

Seulgi sat on an overturned milk crate, holding a  marbled blue pipe. It faced away from her, she must've taken it from Jaehyun so he wouldn't drop it as he coughed.

Jaehyun spat on the floor.

Renjun's lip curled in disgust.

"What's up, little man?" Seulgi asked once she'd taken a hit for herself, the smoke leaving her lips as she spoke. She let out an extra breath to expel the rest through her teeth. 

'The waitress with the silly hair' was one way to describe her, but Renjun thought it was a bit insulting. 'Silly' wasn't a strong enough word for her.

Her hair was split black and silver, cut in choppy layers. She had it up in a very large, very messy bun on the top of her head. She wore a black bandana, which held her Betty Bangs in place, something incredibly hard to pull off and yet she did it perfectly.

She wore huge, silver hoops decorated with silver roses that clinked every time she moved, and she had long, claw-like red nails.

As a waitress, she had to wear a uniform. A yellow ochre button up with the option of pants or a skirt, either of which had to be either black or khaki (yellow ochre and khaki? Renjun wanted to puke). Seulgi wore a black pencil skirt.

Renjun had heard from the other employees that Seulgi had dressed way down when she first started, saying she wanted to establish her place before getting brave, testing to see how far she could go with her own style before she was asked to stop.