Chapter Text
Click, click, click
Jiu has been hearing that same sound for the past five minutes.
Click, click
This will soon drive her to insanity.
Click..
“Would you please just…stop it?” She said, gritting her teeth, trying her hardest to give a smile. She was really not having it. “Well, I’m sorry, but the world doesn’t revolve around you, so no, I won’t stop,” the other replied, a small smirk on their face, continuing to click their pen.
Why must they be so obnoxious? All I asked was for them to simply stop and they interpreted as if I just asked them to stop breathing. Actually, I kind of do want them to stop existing but that’s besides the point.
Jiu was already tired enough for this 9 AM class, and this stuck up person was definitely not helping her mood. It’s only been a month since this semester has started and Jiu has already thought of strangling this person. Of course, she was by no means capable of it, just a thought. She doesn’t know what she did to trigger this person into being the absolute worst, but she might as well try to make amends to make them stop…right? Well, at first she tried being nice about it, but it seems the other was not willing to cooperate, so why not treat them the same way? Yes, it was childish, but if they’re playing dirty, so is Jiu.
- - - - x - - - -
“Jiu, if it’s about the same girl I swear to-”
“SHE’S BEEN PISSING ME OFF THESE PAST TWO WEEKS AND I HAVE ZERO CLUE HOW TO STAY CALM!”
“Maybe we should hear her out again, Sua, for the fourth time this week,” Siyeon suggests, not wanting the situation to escalate further. Jiu realized she probably looked a bit too aggressive and just quietly sat down again, slightly embarrassed. Sua and Siyeon were just looking at the blonde, mildly concerned for their friend’s intense anger. ”It’s only been a month, how hard did this person screw up?” is what they thought. “Look, I understand you seem to really hate them, but what did they do for you to end up like, well, this?” Sua asks.
“Ok, so you guys might find me irritable for this, but,”
Sua and Siyeon inch closer into the table, curious on what this mysterious person did.
“...they were clicking their pen and I found it annoying.”
Sua just bursts out laughing, not expecting such a simple reason. “Don’t you do that too Jiu? You might as well call yourself a hypocrite.”
“No, you don’t understand. They clicked it in such a way that sounded like they wanted to purposely piss me off!”
“I think that’s just in your head.”
“And how would you know?”
“Jiu, people don’t click their pens with malicious intent.”
Ok, maybe she was actually an irritable person.
“You know what, maybe I shouldn’t tell you these things again. You guys probably give the worst responses ever.”
“But you still love us!”
“Sure thing.”
Jiu just picks up her bag and leaves. Of course, she will probably tell them about this person again, it’s not like she had anyone else willing to listen. The blonde just heads to her next class, not wanting to imagine their face again.
- - - - x - - - -
“Is it already 7 PM? Darn, I probably should get moving,” Jiu thought while packing up her things. She had to get to her job by 7:30 PM. With that realization, she immediately sprinted out of the school and got on her bike, heading towards the convenience store. Jiu really doesn’t want to go to work, but she really needs the money.
Tuition here is very expensive. As grateful as she is for even being able to attend, she really wished she had more money on hand to be able to go days without worrying about her debt or if she can even eat that day. She was only able to pick up three part time jobs to help somewhat alleviate the crippling stress of money she is having. Her parents insisted on her not even picking up any and to just focus on education. After seeing her mother faint of exhaustion from overworking, she isn’t willing to let that happen again. Her parents have grown old and in general, they are more susceptible to passing out. Any stressor can cause them to go to the hospital. Her parents have done enough for her, she doesn’t mind the fatigue.
- - - - x - - - -
”Mom, you should eat some of this, it’s really good!” a little raven-haired girl exclaimed. Usually she just gets some stale bread. Today, she got a sweet custard bun. “No thanks dear, I’m good. Mommy is really full, you should just eat it.”
“Oh, ok. Save some room next time, this is really good!”
“Of course Minji, will remember next time,” the older woman sighed, feeling her stomach slightly rumble. She was hungry, but seeing her daughter be exhausted from a lack of food made her sadder. They couldn’t afford much, and the older woman just wanted Minji to be happy. To feel full, content, oblivious to their situation.
“How about this dear. If you finish the bun in the next minute, we can play pirates and you can be the captain.”
“Really? Got it! Will finish this bun!” the younger cheered, quickly stuffing it into her mouth. “Oh yeah, where’s dad?”
“Your dad is out in front, talking to some nice men right now.”
“Can we talk to them?”
“No dear, weren't we going to play pirates?”
“Oh right. I forgot, sorry!”
“It’s fine, let’s move along now,” the older woman said as she ushered the younger to a different room. Minji was curious about what the nice men and dad were talking about. All she could hear was “overdue payments,” and “unpaid taxes.” She doesn’t know what they exactly mean, but from the tones of their voices, it didn’t seem like they were having fun.
Maybe she should invite them to play pirates.
- - - - x - - - -
“Sorry for being a few minutes late,” she said to absolutely no one. Jiu’s not surprised that her manager had already left, leaving it to the other employees for the night. The blonde just quickly tied up her hair and put on the apron. Now, she is back to being Minji. Not that she hated that name, but she mildly detests always having to keep a customer service smile on her face. Even though she’s glad that she got the reputation for being the ”nice kid”, it could get tiring when people purely expect you to be happy 24/7. Her manager used to scold her for ever having a frown on her face and always said “smile more.”
It’s no different from any other day. No one comes in. Sometimes someone does, but for the most part, it’s empty.
Jingle
“Ah hello! Is there anything you need-“
Then she pauses.
She recognizes that fiery red hair. Isn’t that the same annoying girl from her marketing class? I can’t believe she’s here, no one goes here. Wait. Did she go here because she knows I work here? Oh that son of a-
“Yeah I’d like these two,” the red-haired said, placing down a peach drink and chip bag. Despite coming into a convenience store at 10 PM, they look like they were preparing for a fashion shoot. A black pleated skirt matched with a white collared shirt that had a black sweater vest. To finish off the look, they had gold plated earrings and a black bow tied at the back of her head. They also had a very expensive name-brand bag Minji could never imagine having. Coming back to reality, Minji scans the items, putting on her best smile as she can see her manager scold her from a mile away once they look back at the camera footage. “Ok, your total is $6. Do you want to pay in cash or credit?” “Credit,” the other says as they grab their card from their purse. Minji scans the card and reads the name on it. Handong, huh, that’s an interesting name. Once the card was finished being scanned, she returned it to “Handong” and added “thank you for shopping here!”
“Don’t mention it,” Handong replied, walking towards the door.
Yeah, I still don’t like her.
- - - - x - - - -
Once it hit 11 PM, her shift was over. She clocked in her hours and immediately started to bike home, just wanting to feel the comfort of her bed. Once at her front door steps, she fumbled around with her keys to find the right one. Eventually she opened the door, entering the dark house. “Oh Minji, you’re home,” an older woman said, a small smile on her face. “Mom, why are you up so late? Didn’t I tell you to not wait for me to come home?” Jiu said with concern, quickly grabbing a blanket for her mother who seemed to have waited for her arrival.
The floorboards creaked as she went to try and find something to heat up. Their lighting hasn’t been working properly for the past few months, resulting in a dim home. They should've hired someone to fix it. Looking at the costs though, they’ll just stick to it being dimly lit. The paint job wasn’t clean, evident from the many scratches and cracks within it. Once entering the kitchen, Jiu smelt a carrot soup her mom made. Carrots, cabbage, and beef. A simple but delicious soup that her mom has made for many years. The blonde grabbed a bowl and started ladling some of it into it and placing it in the microwave. As much as the house wasn’t in great condition, Jiu still loved it. It had a homey feel to it, reminding Jiu of her fond childhood.
Beep, beep, beep
She quickly grabbed the bowl out of the microwave and placed a spoon in it. “Mom, I’m heading off to do my assignments now. Please go back upstairs and get some sleep,” Jiu said as she quickly looked over to her mother who has now closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. The blonde placed down her bowl and picked up her mom to bring her to the couch to lie down on. At least this will be easier on her back.
Jiu picked up her bowl and bag again and went upstairs to her bedroom. She started eating her soup.
Yup, tastes the same. Just like how I last remembered it.
Jiu lifted up the laptop’s lid and started to type away after finishing the soup. She had an assignment due in a few weeks and she had only gotten a start to it yesterday. She was researching for what felt like hours. Typing, searching, sourcing, everything. She eventually lazily stretched her arms and checked the time. 2 AM? I probably should head to bed.
She closed her laptop and quickly went to brush her teeth and get changed into her pajamas. After getting changed, she just laid down on her bed, still wide awake. Jiu is just very worried for her future. As much as a routine she is in right now, being able to financially hold herself and her family, she’s worried if one day it will all just crumble, quickly losing everything she has worked so hard on gaining. All her efforts went to nothing, being wasted. No, she shouldn’t think of such thoughts. She should be thinking about how great it was to get this opportunity, to have such nice parents. Hell, to be alive. But, just because she has all these nice things, does it not mean she can’t have these worries and concerns? Jiu doesn’t know, it’s always an internal battle.
“This is too much, I’m tired,” Jiu whispered as she rubbed her eyes. She can handle this another night, just not today. All thoughts pushed in the back of her head, her eyelids were heavy and she nodded off, going into dreamland.