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001. THE LIFE OF NAKANO ASUKA ( chapter one! ) ⁱ ᵃᵐ ʰᵘᵐᵃⁿ ᵃⁿᵈ ⁱ ⁿᵉᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵇᵉ ˡᵒᵛᵉᵈ ʲᵘˢᵗ ˡⁱᵏᵉ ᵉᵛᵉʳʸᵇᵒᵈʸ ᵉˡˢᵉ ᵈᵒᵉˢ -how soon is now?, the smiths.
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NAKANO ASUKA NERVOUSLY chewed on her chipped black painted thumbnail as she peered outside the rain speckled window of the convenience store. The rain had been falling steadily throughout the day, but it felt like it had only gotten heavier since she started her shift a couple hours ago.
The heavy grey clouds shrouded the town of Ssangmun-Dong in darkness, making the entire atmosphere gloomy and depressing. Fitting for the particular mood she found herself in.
An irritable sigh left her full lips at that. While rainy weather was her favourite, granted when she's at home nursing a warm drink, she didn't particularly enjoy the idea of walking home in it, especially at night. Not to mention she still had to make a quick pit stop at a local fish market on the way home, too, that's if it's still open in this weather. She didn't expect the owner of the shop to wait around all night just for her to show up.
Boredom and exhaustion had the woman's mind spiralling, and when she decided to rest her chin on the palm of her hand, she could almost pass out, right then and there, sitting behind the cash register. Working two shifts at two separate jobs was putting her body through a loop, it seemed. She had been working at the convenience store for a couple of months now, and while it can be quite slow at times with all she really needing to do was restock the shelves and ring customers up, her new waitressing job had her on her toes all day. She wasn't quite used to the gruelling tasks.
Dealing with entitled customers, trying her hardest not to burn her hands on the hot plates while she carried them to tables, and while also trying not to trip over and throw their hot meal on their laps.
Her chestnut eyes flickered upwards at the sound of a bell chiming, signalling a customer's arrival. Usually she would greet them, and be ignored, but she didn't have the strength to open her mouth, and instead, her eyes followed as the mother and child navigated their way to scan the snack food aisle. Asuka's eyes fell on the clock across from her that ticked down the remaining time she had left on her shift, and she sighed.
It's almost over, and then the next worker will take over. The convenience store was a 24 hour joint, meaning sometimes Asuka had to work well into the night, right into the dead of morning. She's glad, at least, that wasn't on her roster for today.
The offwhite artificial light within the store gave her a migraine, though.
Night shifts were always the slowest, especially when it rained, but it meant less customers which made it a bit more desirable. The only thing Asuka didn't like about taking the night shifts was how scary it could be. While it meant less customers, it also invited the strange ones to come visit. The darkness brought out the worst in people, and being a young woman working by herself in the more rundown part of town, naturally, it made her alert and filled with distrust for anyone who entered the store.
