Chapter 1
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For some reason, my luck had been absolutely terrible today.
Of all days, customers had to flood into the café right when it was time for the shift change at my part-time job.
And the coworker who was always late showed up only after a full forty minutes had passed.
“I’m really sorry about this, Hayeon-ssi. You should head out first.”
Seeing him apologize with a face that did not look sorry at all made my blood pressure spike.
“…You could’ve at least contacted me.”
“I overslept, so how could I contact you? And why are you still working and making things awkward for everyone? From now on, just go home when your shift ends.”
He was so shameless that I did not even have the energy to get angry.
Barely holding back the urge to smack the back of his irritating head, I went into the changing room.
Part-time job or not… He makes me want to just quit.
He was the owner’s nephew, so he was late every time and always pushed his work onto other people.
His attitude toward customers was cocky and dismissive, and it was common for other part-timers to apologize on his behalf.
I let out several deep sighs as I changed my clothes, checked my phone, and stepped out of the changing room.
“Then I’ll be heading off—”
“When is my coffee coming out, XX!”
As soon as I stepped out, I raised my head at the sound of shouting. Apparently upset about the delayed order, a customer was yelling at the top of his lungs.
“And you, what kind of attitude is that? Huh? Crossing your arms while I’m talking. Are you not going to do your job properly?”
“Ah, it’ll come out when it’s ready. Do you think you’re the only customer here? Go wait over there.”
I had been about to leave, but I froze with my mouth slightly open, at a loss for words.
“……”
Not only me, but the other part-timer pouring a shake into a cup and even the customers all turned to look this way. It seemed like everyone was thinking the same thing.
Is he crazy?
The customer who heard that seemed so dumbfounded that he could not speak for a moment.
“What are you doing? I said go wait. Can’t you see the line?”
A brief silence fell. Soon, the customer’s face gradually turned red as if his anger had reached the top of his head, and he suddenly raised his hand while shouting.
“Kyaaah!”
Thinking I had to stop it, I ran forward.
“E-excuse me, sir! Just a moment—”
Smack—!
“Kyaaaah!”
“Ah! Wait, let go of my hair…!”
“Hey, you rude little XX!”
The area in front of the counter instantly turned into chaos.
They grabbed each other’s hair while arguing, hurling curses at each other, and in the middle of it all, I got swept up between them.
In the process, I was even slapped, something that had never happened to me, not even by my parents.
After people who saw me get hit rushed in to stop them, and the police finally arrived, the situation calmed down.
With my hair yanked out and my cheeks slapped twice, I stared at myself in the mirror in a daze.
Since I was also an employee, I felt like I had to step in, but if I had known it would turn out like this, I would have just stayed still.
“Lee Hayeon-ssi? You’re Lee Hayeon-nim, correct?”
“Ah, yes.”
“You may go home now. If you plan to file a complaint, please wait a moment.”
“…I’ll just go home.”
I was completely drained. Right now, all I could think about was going home and resting.
As I staggered outside, my phone rang.
A message from my mom asking if I had finished work, and a short text from the café manager saying I had done well.
And one more message informing me that I had failed the first round of document screening.
“Ha…”
Receiving news of my rejection on top of everything else made my situation feel almost impressive.
I was really, really going to quit smoking this year.
But there was no way I could in this situation.
I felt around in my pocket to make sure my wallet was there, then looked for a nearby convenience store.
In front of it, I saw a shabby-looking homeless man eating cup ramen with soju.
When he saw me, he abruptly stood up and suddenly began loitering around me.
“…What?”
As I shrank back slightly, he opened his mouth to speak.
“M-money.”
“Pardon?”
“Money…”
Muttering while glancing at me, the homeless man held out a box that looked like a donation box in front of me.
Ah, he’s asking for money.
What kind of money would a job-seeking part-timer like me even have?
“I don’t have any money.”
I passed by him and went into the convenience store. But the homeless man continued to stare at me through the glass window.
What is it with today?
I had no idea why so many exhausting things were happening today. I had never even seen someone like him around here before.
Ugh, I just want to go home and rest…
Even in this state, the moment I get home, I would have to submit resumes, study for certifications, and look for a new part-time job. I had a mountain of things to do.
When I opened the door and stepped out of the convenience store, the homeless man I had seen earlier was walking around holding out his donation box to other people.
I had not noticed before, but now that I looked closely, he seemed to have quite a bit of difficulty moving.
“……”
Forcing myself to ignore him, I turned and began walking toward the bus stop.
My own situation is desperate, and I’m pitying someone else.
Thinking that, I had almost finished crossing the crosswalk when I stopped. The homeless man’s voice behind me kept bothering me.
“Ah…”
Looking at the remaining money in my wallet, the bus, and the homeless man across the street, I ran a hand through my hair.
“Ah, damn it.”
Muttering irritably, I ran back across the crosswalk and hurried over to the homeless man who was wandering nearby.
“Excuse me!”
I put most of the little cash I had left into the box in his hand. His face immediately brightened.
The homeless man turned and began walking straight toward the convenience store. I shouted at his back.
“Buy food, not alcohol!”
Without even turning around, he broke into a run. I let out several deep sighs and turned my head.
The traffic light had already changed back to red.
In the meantime, the bus I had planned to take stopped at the opposite stop and then departed.
“……”
Nothing was going right. I moved toward a narrow alley near the bus stop.
Standing in the alley, I took out my lighter. I flicked it on and had just lit my cigarette.
Plop.
“…?”
I felt something cold fall onto my head.
Plop, patter.
At first, I thought something small had accidentally fallen from above, but that was not it.
Ssshaaa—
“……”
The raindrops that had been lightly falling suddenly began to pour down like crazy within seconds.
I squeezed my eyes shut as I looked at the rain cascading over my head and the cigarette getting soaked.
“I didn’t even get a single puff…”
What kind of day was today, seriously? If it was any kind of day, it was clearly one determined to make me furious.
“Ah, this is so annoying!”
When I kicked the ground, rainwater splashed forward.
The downpour became so heavy in an instant that I could barely see what was in front of me.
I should’ve listened when Mom told me to choose a major with better job prospects…
If that had been the case, I would not have had to suffer because of a part-time job like this, go to the police station, or stand in the pouring rain waiting for a bus.
I did not know what had gotten into me back then, but with my ruined CSAT scores, I had insisted that I would not retake the exam and applied to a completely random department.
Of all things, why did I choose one of the humanities majors with no job prospects? I was such an idiot.
If I could go back to my thoughtless high school days, I would have studied harder. But it was already too late for regrets.
With nothing to shield my head, I simply stood at the crosswalk in the rain, waiting for the light to change.
The rain poured down so wildly that it was hard to tell whether it was fog or rain.
“Why is it coming down so hard…? The roads are so slippery, there’s going to be an accident.”
Car horns blared from all directions.
Through the heavy curtain of rain, I faintly saw the green light. I slowly stepped onto the road.
Bzzzz—
The moment I started crossing, the phone in my pocket kept vibrating. The rain was too heavy to answer it.
I briefly covered the phone with my palm to check the caller.
Screeeech—!
At the chilling sound of friction from nearby, I jerked my head up.
Bright headlights shone directly into my eyes. A loud horn blared from a car skidding toward me.
“Ah.”
By the time I thought I should move out of the way, it was already too late. I reflexively shut my eyes and was certain.
Today really was a fucking unlucky day!
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“Hayeon-ah!”
“Ugh…”
“Lee Hayeon! Are you not getting up?! This is the third time I’m waking you.”
I blinked my sleepy eyes. My hazy mind returned to reality. When I reached out my hand, I felt the soft blanket on my bed.
“I…”
I was not dead?
“You should at least go to school once and see it. You already have no sense of direction. What if you get lost on the way and cannot even find the school on your entrance ceremony day!”
At the sound of my mom continuing to shout at me, I bolted upright.
I was certain I had been hit by a car, yet the place where I woke up was not a hospital but my room.
“…What?”
Did I collapse, get hospitalized, and then get brought back home? But could they just bring someone home when the person had been unconscious?
Unable to understand the situation, I blankly stared at my mom, who had come into my room.
Wearing an apron, she stood with her arms crossed as if telling me to hurry up and get up.
Why does Mom… look younger?
Had my blurry eyes from just waking up automatically applied some kind of filter? But even after rubbing my eyes, she looked the same.
I could not pinpoint exactly what was different, but her face looked about ten years younger.
“Hurry up and get up and put on your uniform. Do not forget it changed. Do not get confused and try to wear your middle school uniform.”
After listening to her, I asked back in disbelief.
“Middle school? What middle school?”
I let out an incredulous laugh without realizing it, wondering if she was joking with someone who had nearly died.
“High school, high school! You’re a high school student now. Get a grip, get up, wash your face, and eat.”
“…High school?”
What kind of situation was this now?
For a moment, I wondered if I was dreaming again and stared at my mom with a bewildered expression.
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