𝗗𝗘𝗝𝗔-𝗩𝗨 | ᴀᴛᴇᴇᴢ

𝗢𝗡𝗘 ─ 𝗜 𝗞𝗡𝗢𝗪

A soft hum was filling the small store where a girl was working inside. The sweet and delicate melody ran through the short and barely discernible hallways separated by little shelf units on which were tidily exposed coloured packages of instant ramen, tteokbokki, and ready-made mixtures for anyone that needed something quick to eat. It was about 11:30 on a Tuesday, the night was silent, the fresh air was breathing through the open door and the streets were empty to be in the Gangnam district. Blonde hair danced following the song, taking advantage of the moment in which no customer walked into the small store.

Jeon Somi, twenty years old, twirled elegantly from one section of the shelf to the other, following every step of the song she had stuck in her mind for a week already with meticulous precision as if she was the one who recorded that song.

"I'm dancing on top of your head, you dumb dumb."

And then she started whistling and she put all her efforts into making the choreography perfectly. But, just at her favourite step, the piercing sound of the bell filled the space and abruptly interrupted her show since a new customer had entered the store. The girl rolled her eyes and sadly welcomed the buyer, hoping to hide her frustration. She didn't like that job at all, but it was better than having no money for herself.

"Good evening, welcome to 24/7!"

She chirped falsely and stamped on her face an even more fake smile as she questioned herself why she couldn't finish a shift without having customers interrupting her job. At first, her eyes didn't catch the newcomer's figure wholly, she couldn't care what he or she could look like, but she kept staring at the new client with a bothered expression, waiting to curse whoever dared to enter the shop without even greeting, until Somi finally managed to examine the features.

Perfectly breathtaking wasn't enough to describe him. First of all, he was tall, which wasn't something to be taken for granted, considering that Somi herself was taller than the average girl in Korea, and for that, boys felt somehow intimidated by her. That guy that had just entered the store, was a few centimetres taller than her, but the ponytail he had tied his straight, black hair in made him look even taller. He was wearing a black, long-sleeved top with sheer sleeves which allowed his muscles to peek a little, especially when he stretched his arm to grab a pack of strawberry candies.

He was dressed in black from head to toe, his trousers were loose and chains were dangling from his hips; his boots were heavy when he dragged them on the floor to move to the next shelf, looking for some instant ramen. Sneakily, Somi reached the register and pretended to tidy the small place and get ready to take his payment. Observing him from another angle, the girl noticed how his nose was long and narrow and how his full lips were curved into a slight pout as he was immersed in studying every pack of instant noodles in front of him. The man, then, picked eight stacks of the spiciest ramen he could find and headed towards Somi, who was smiling politely at him but only because it was her duty as an employee.

The man reached the register and involuntarily threw his purchases on the counter, a movement that would've enraged the girl if it had happened with every other customer, but not this time, not with him.

"Ah snap, I'm sorry." He said quickly and without even lifting his eyes from his wallet to properly apologise. But that was another gesture that didn't bother Somi, this time. On the opposite, the way he excused himself made the girl giggle childishly. Somi proceeded to scan the barcodes on every package before revealing the total.

"The total is twenty-eight thousand and five hundred won. Cash or credit card?"

Chirped the employee as she spoke to the handsome man in front of her, who once again, didn't look at her and flapped his card between his pointer and middle finger, suggesting to her that he chose the second payment method. The transaction occurred way too rapidly, for Somi's liking: she handed him the POS and he placed the card to remove it right after the computerised checkout emitted a sound signalling the transaction had been completed successfully and left with his bargains.