Hearts of Pain | BTS |

Acquaintances

Luna walked around a convenience store,
hunching slightly by the weight of her backpack.

A white light dimly lit up the store. The air conditioning was cool, despite it being cold outside. Her shoes squeaked on the floor. They left a trail of water droplets from the rain. She gazed dully at all the objects sitting on the aisles.

A song was playing faintly, it's slow melody captivating and calming. It was muffled but she could still make out a few of the lyrics.

"Kisses on the foreheads of the lovers wrapped in your arms. You've been hiding them in hollowed out pianos left in the dark,"

Luna hummed softly to the melody. Her head hung as her gloomy eyes scanned the cheap items.

It was 11:23 P.M. Many people were just leaving, maybe going back to their homes, ready to end the cold winter day in the vast city. Children must be tucked into bed, under their soft, warm covers, listening to the calming sound of the rain as their parents kiss them goodnight.

Luna walked through all the aisles, grabbing as little as possible, resisting the temptation to grab it all.

Only get what you need. She repeated that sentence over and over again to herself.

Bending down, she picked up a package of paper and eyed the price. 5700 won. Luna frowned and took out all her bills and coins.

100, 200, 700... She muttered to herself as she counted until she got to 5700 won. Is it really worth buying? The teen thought and turned to look at all the food she was holding.

She finally made a decision and put back a few things she was gonna buy. Along with the paper, she snagged some cheap pencils and headed over to the counter to pay her things: bread, a few water bottles, instant ramen, and the paper and pencils. She reached into the pocket of her thin black jacket to remove her money.

She had lived like this for five years. Sleeping in alleys or on the streets, selling whatever she could make, then buying little amounts of food, hoping one day everything would change.

But it never did. For five years it never did.

"Hey, I was here first," A deep voice interrupted her thoughts.

Luna turned around to see a young boy around her age standing with his arms crossed. He had dark brown hair that covered his forehead, and his clothes were disheveled. He carried a tan backpack on him. His eyes had the same sad gaze in them.

"I was about to pay. I just went to put something back. See? That's mine," He pointed to a water bottle sitting on the counter.

Luna glanced at the water bottle. She stepped back to let him pay, moving aside her things. She was too tired to say anything and only watched while tapping her foot on the floor.

The boy took out a few coins from his pocket and counted them. All eyes were focused on him.

"I have 2000 won. Is that enough?" He asked the cashier, his voice hopeful.

"You didn't check the price tag, kid? It says 3300 won. Don't you have more money?" The cashier asked, her eyes visibly tired.

"No, I don't. Please, it's only 1300 won left. I swear I'll pay you the rest. When I have the rest of the money I'll come back. Please..." His voice cracked and he bit his lip.

"I'm really sorry. I wish I could help you. But I really need this money. I can't make any deals. You have to pay 3300 for the water bottle," She said with sympathy.

The boy's face fell. He had a look of despair that Luna knew all too well and a pang of pity hit her. "Then I can't buy it. Thanks anyway," He sighed. He turned around and walked away. His head was lowered but the look in his eyes made it seem like he went through this millions of times.