Convenience Store Drive-Thru
Today, too, I was heading off to my part-time jo…?
“Have a good day.”
“I will.”
A winter morning of warm sunlight and cold wind. Early hours.
On a stretch of road a little ways from the school gate, we exchanged greetings while glancing at the students walking past.
Cecilia adjusted the strap of her bag once and started walking toward the school.
She had her hood up, and it was still early, so it didn’t feel like too many eyes were on her. A few sharp-eyed kids looked her way with uncertain expressions, but nothing too intense.
That was only because it was early, though. Once more students started arriving and the classrooms filled up, things would get a lot busier than this.
“…Fighting.”
I murmured it quietly as I watched Cecilia’s figure grow smaller in the distance.
She’d probably have a rough time again today. Maybe even rougher than yesterday…
I felt sorry for her, yet proud of the will that made her willing to endure it. There was nothing I could do but watch over her from afar. School wasn’t a place I could enter.
I’d slipped a book into her bag in case she got bored, though I wasn’t sure how much help it would actually be.
In the end, all I could do was pray. Hoping that cat would come back safe and sound today. Wishing for it with everything I had.
“Ah.”
Just then, from quite a distance away, Cecilia glanced back over her shoulder. Even across that space, I felt like our eyes met—hers those sky-blue ones.
“…Cute.”
Looking my way, she waved her hand in a big, fluttery greeting. I waved back in return. With a bashful little smile, she turned toward the school again.
Feeling a quiet warmth from the sight, I turned around as well and headed home.
Unlike yesterday, when she’d left school early, Cecilia’s dismissal today would be around four. Coincidentally, by the time she got home, it would be time for me to leave for my shift.
“Maybe I should try changing my hours….”
I like Cecilia. That was a fact I could no longer deny. I wanted to get closer to her. I wanted to know her more deeply. And for that, what I absolutely needed was time.
Until now it had been fine. Cecilia was almost always at home, so even when I went to work there was more than enough time to spend together. But now that she was going to school, that time was going to shrink quite a bit.
“Let’s see. She leaves for school around seven-thirty, and when she gets out it’s my work time. I finish at eleven, so….”
Before seven-thirty in the morning, and after eleven at night. That was the sum of the hours we could actually be together on weekdays.
“Ugh.”
That wouldn’t work. I shook my head firmly. A passerby gave me a strange look, but I paid it no mind.
From eleven to seven-thirty—just counting the hours, that was eight and a half. And sleep was included in there. Even if we had the weekends free, did that make any sense? We weren’t some weekend couple.
“Hyung Jaeseop… if I asked, would he switch shifts with me?”
I thought of the senior at my part-time job who was always such a big help, and fell into brief consideration. Hyung’s weekday morning shift ran from nine to five—exactly the hours Cecilia would be at school. If we could swap, it would be perfect.
Hmm.
“Nothing to lose by asking first, right? …Huh?”
The moment I pulled out my phone and turned it on, a notification chimed and a text arrived. Coincidentally, it was from that very Hyung Jaeseop.
“What’s this about.”
He did message privately now and then, but a text this early in the morning? Normally he’d still be asleep at this hour.
I tapped open the messaging app.
He’d told me to wait, so I stood right there and waited. Before long a photo arrived from him….
“…Wow.”
The moment I saw it, a gasp slipped out. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the good kind of gasp.
First thing that hit me was a half-destroyed car. Right after that, what used to be a convenience store came into view.
“They really rammed it.”
What Hyung had sent was a photo of some car that had barreled straight into the convenience store. Naturally both the car and the store were completely wrecked… and of course, that convenience store was ours.
At Hyung’s follow-up text I smacked my forehead. Unintentionally, it looked like the time problem was going to solve itself for a while.
“Oh, you made it. Come on over.”
“Good morning. You actually managed to get up this early?”
“I was sleeping like a rock when a traffic accident went off right near the house. If that doesn’t wake a guy up, is he even human?”
“…Fair point.”
And so I arrived at the scene of the accident—right in front of the place where Hyung and I worked. Careful of the glass shards scattered everywhere, I talked with him.
“Whoa…. That, ugh.”
“Display shelves, fridges—everything’s gone. I called the boss earlier; he was crying.”
“He runs the place out of love more than money, so that tracks….”
“Apparently he’s already in the car and racing over. Said he’d be here soon.”
I nodded at Hyung’s words and bent down to peer deeper inside. The actual accident site was far worse than the photo had suggested. The car had plowed deep into the store and was barely recognizable as a vehicle anymore. Glass fragments, chunks of concrete, and all sorts of debris littered every direction, while police officers and police tape ringed the whole area.
“Drunk driving, apparently.”
“…It’s morning, not even night.”
“That’s what I’m saying. This was supposed to be my shift soon—if it had hit then, who knows what would’ve happened…. The world’s a scary place.”
The heavy sigh that followed left an impression. His words made me suddenly curious about something else.
“Speaking of which, what about the person on this shift? The weekday night one.”
“She says she dodged it cleanly. …Honestly, I don’t know about that kid. Just because she goes to a sports college, does that mean her reflexes can dodge a car?”
“Probably just bravado.”
“Right? Anyway, just in case, we sent her to the hospital. Told her to get checked out and all that.”
I nodded. From the way she was talking, it didn’t sound like she’d been badly hurt, so that was a relief at least.
“…How long do you think repairs will take?”
“How would I know? But it shouldn’t be too slow. Our boss has money to spare, if nothing else.”
“We won’t be able to work in the meantime, right?”
“Yeah. If we negotiate with the boss he might cover living expenses at least. Not sure. We’ll have to ask and find out.”
“Thinking about it again, he’s a really good boss.”
“Yeah.”
Normally if your workplace got wrecked this badly, the first thing you’d do is start looking for another job. Money was on the line, after all—no work meant no pay. Yet the first thought that came to mind was still “He’ll probably support us reasonably somehow.” That was unique to our convenience store, I supposed. It wasn’t normal. And that was why I liked it.
I found myself reflecting once more on how lucky I’d been back then.
“Looks like we’ve unexpectedly got free time.”
“Yeah. Well, I already had free time to begin with.”
“You eat breakfast?”
“I did.”
“Then later, want to go somewhere and hang out for a bit? We’ve got time to burn now—”
Not a bad idea. I had plenty of time myself, after all.
…I was about to answer that when a lively girl’s voice rang out.
“I’m here!!”
I glanced back. A short girl in clothes far too thin for the weather was bent over, hands on her knees, panting hard.
“Hah…. Hoo…. Good morning, seniors! …s!”
After catching her breath she lifted her head and spoke. A familiar face. Hyung Jaeseop looked startled and asked,
“Eunhwan! What are you doing here? What about the hospital?”
“They just took a quick look and said no injuries, so I left….”
“You idiot.”
Hyung clicked his tongue like he’d expected exactly that. The girl gave an awkward “Haha…” laugh in response.
Oh Eunhwan, twenty-one. My junior and Hyung Jaeseop’s, and the weekday night-shift worker at our convenience store. …Also the girl who’d been inside the store when the accident happened.
“Uh, good morning?”
“Yes! Good morning, Senior Eunhyuk!”
I offered a greeting and got an energetic one right back. Well, at least she didn’t look injured, so that was good….
“You little idiot.”
“Ow!”
Hyung Jaeseop stomped over and smacked Eunhwan right on the forehead. From the crisp sound, he’d hit her pretty hard.
“Did I or did I not tell you to get a proper checkup…. You don’t mess around with traffic accidents, you hear me?”
“B-but I dodged it fine….”
“You little idiot.”
“Ow.”
The second strike was even more intense. Despite the louder crack, she herself didn’t seem particularly bothered.
“…Look at that solid forehead of yours.”
“Thank you, sir!”
“That wasn’t a compliment.”
While I watched their little comedy routine, a car approached nearby. An ordinary black sedan pulled smoothly to a stop by the convenience store. The door opened and out stepped….
“Welcome, Boss.”
“Welcome.”
“Good morning, sir!”
It was the owner of our convenience store.
On a day that had suddenly opened up, I happened to run into almost everyone from my part-time job.