Convenience Store Clerk Lee Ji-yeon
It was a day like any other.
"What even is life?"
Lee Ji-yeon turned the question over as she clocked in at the convenience store. This gig had been going for six months now. Long or short, depending on how you looked at it — but six months behind a convenience store counter was more than enough time to meet every flavor of nightmare customer the world had to offer.
Especially since her shift ran from five in the afternoon to midnight. That wide window meant she got the full spectrum. Packs of schoolkids who piled in as a group and wouldn't shut up. Middle-aged women who rolled in after company dinners and started a drunk scene. The works.
Today was no different.
"Kids, I'm beeeegging you..."
Once again, she was wiping up the ramen noodles some brats had left behind. The nuclear fire-chicken noodles must have been too much even for them — juice pouches lay scattered around the cup ramen like casualties. If you're going to drink the damn thing, drink it clean. They'd turned the whole table into a floodplain.
"Huh. And what the hell is this."
Something that was pale yellow liquid swirled together with a violent red. Fire-chicken sauce mixed with juice. What they thought they were going to accomplish by combining the two — what kind of alchemy they believed they were performing — Lee Ji-yeon couldn't begin to guess.
"Haaah..."
She wanted to bolt right then and there, but she was a convenience store part-timer. Running wasn't an option. Lee Ji-yeon let out a long breath and started cleaning, silently praying those little monsters would be shitting blood by tomorrow morning.
Between greeting customers, restocking the shelves, and checking the stockroom, the hours slipped by. She glanced at the clock — 10:30 already. An hour and a half left until she could go home.
If she were a rookie, this would be the stretch where her attitude started to slacken, with the finish line so close. But as a veteran part-timer, she knew this was when the real fight began.
What time slot was this?
This was when the forty- and fifty-something aunties who'd drunk themselves stupid at company dinners started showing up. The hour when wasted women came staggering in with neckties wrapped around their heads.
Schoolkids you could wait out — they'd leave on their own. Drunk aunties? Not so much. Sometimes you got cursed out or harassed. Worse cases, the cops had to get called. So you had to be careful.
Fortunately, she'd put in enough time to know how to stay off their radar.
First: a smiling face. As the saying went, you couldn't spit on one. Just grinning away was enough to dodge a decent number of situations.
And second: greet them brightly. Those people seemed to look kindly on anyone with good manners. Even if something unavoidable happened, ugh, this pisses me off would evolve into well... he's a polite young man, I'll let it slide this once. That much progress from a single greeting. Truly a first-rate survival tactic.
Alright. Lee Ji-yeon equipped her smiling face and got ready to receive customers. Come one, come all. She would kindly "entertain" them.
The door chime jingled.
And so arrived the first customer after 10:30. Lee Ji-yeon turned toward the person walking in and greeted them brightly.
"Welco— huh?"
Or she'd been about to. But the moment she saw the customer's face, she froze.
Sharp, well-defined features. A high nose and a clean jawline. Skin so clear it practically glowed white under the convenience store lights, not a single blemish on it. An extremely handsome face. You could have told her he was some unknown celebrity and she would have believed it.
And yet the messy, sticking-up hair and the cynical eyes heavy with dark circles created this strange atmosphere all their own.
And then there was that outfit...
Holy hell, that's indecent...
A tank top, shorts, and a track jacket thrown on with zero effort. Nothing more comfortable for hanging around the house — but pretty bold for wearing outside. The jacket wasn't even pulled on all the way; one shoulder was completely bare. She knew she shouldn't look. Her eyes drifted toward his collarbone anyway.
A collarbone so deep you could pour water in and it would pool...
"Hello."
That gaze stayed locked on him all the way to the counter. Thunk. He set his items down. Only then did Lee Ji-yeon realize she had made a huge mistake.
Oh my god, you crazy bitch!!
What was she, some kind of pervert, staring at a guy's body like that? If he reported her right now she wouldn't even have a defense. Lee Ji-yeon bowed her head so fast her neck hurt.
"I-I'm so sorry!"
She prostrated herself before the man like she was about to slam her forehead into the floor. She felt like a lamb being dragged to the slaughterhouse. Her future would be decided by how this man reacted — a criminal record, or walking away without incident.
A normal person would definitely scowl and start making a fuss. Lee Ji-yeon had a gut feeling she was completely fucked.
"Nah, it's fine. My fault for coming out looking like a slob."
But the man in front of her forgave her just like that. Like it was nothing. He even tossed in a joke on purpose. Lee Ji-yeon lifted her head and looked at him.
...An angel?
She couldn't believe he'd let it go that easily. Lee Ji-yeon could practically see wings unfolding behind him. Pure white, sacred wings.
"Um, could you ring me up?"
After she'd been staring a moment too long, the man spoke. Only then did Lee Ji-yeon remember she was a convenience store clerk.
"Ah, I'm sorry! I'll ring you up right away."
She was making a lot of mistakes today. Zoning out. Stuttering. It was because a handsome guy had shown up during the hour when the problem customers usually came. Still, she felt good.
"Hehe. Here you go."
Lee Ji-yeon beamed as she handed over the bag. Two cans of beer, buttered squid, and some snacks passed from her hands to his.
"Aren't you cold, though? It's been pretty chilly out lately."
She slipped the question in casually. The truth was she just wanted to keep talking a little longer. She'd already blown it pretty hard at the start, but Lee Ji-yeon was a sociable person by nature. That handsome face. That somehow unfamiliar atmosphere. She wanted to know more about the man in front of her.
And she was a little worried, too.
"And it's night, so it's dangerous for a guy to be walking around alone..."
She'd asked about the weather first, tucking the real question behind it. A handy conversational trick. That face, that outfit. Korea's public safety was supposed to be good, but you never knew what kind of crazy woman might show up. Especially lately, with all the talk about random assault cases and sexual assault cases.
"?"
The man tilted his head at the question. Not like he hadn't heard her — more like he didn't understand the question itself. After a brief silence, this was his answer:
"Ahh, I'm a real man, so I'm fine. I'm not cold."
A real man. That slightly off-the-mark, ridiculous answer made Lee Ji-yeon snort out a laugh.
"Pfft. You're a funny one."
"I do have my moments."
The conversation was easier than she'd expected. He really was like an angel. Which only made her more worried. He must have come out dressed like that because he lived nearby. Like she'd said, this was a world where you never knew what kind of crazy woman might appear. Lee Ji-yeon kept the conversation going a little longer, then offered the advice one more time.
"Still, be careful when you go out at night. You never know when or where some weird woman might show up."
"...What?"
And then, silence. The man tilted his head like he had no idea what she was talking about.
"Sorry, what did you say?"
"Huh? No, I just... there are a lot of weird women out there, so be careful..."
Silence.
More silence.
In that moment, Lee Ji-yeon realized something had gone wrong.
Wait? Did I go too far...?
Right. Come to think of it, she'd been staring at this guy's body herself, hadn't she? Giving him a lecture like she was some kind of saint after doing that — yeah, that would piss anyone off.
Lee Ji-yeon, you fucking idiot...
The silence stretched. The man tilted his head for a long time, then, apparently deciding to just move on, said:
"Come to think of it, how much is it?"
Looks like the conversation was over. Lee Ji-yeon answered, her voice drooping.
"Yes... that'll be 7,050 won."
The man heard that and started rummaging through his pockets. Right pocket. Left pocket. But he couldn't find anything, and his brow furrowed slightly. Even that frown had atmosphere.
"Ah, shit... why isn't it here? Inner pocket, maybe? Hold on."
Then the man reached inside his track jacket. Lee Ji-yeon froze.
!!
The jacket fluttered open, revealing the inside of his tank top. That deep collarbone. Those surprisingly broad shoulders. Through the thin fabric, you could almost make out his chest.
"Ah, what the? I definitely brought it."
"Ah— ah..."
Lee Ji-yeon had nowhere to put her eyes. Her face flushed as she directed her gaze upward. And yet she couldn't stop her eyes from drifting slightly downward. They say something that's subtly sexy is hotter than something that's outright dirty... and this was exactly that.
The angel wings behind him twisted into something more like a bat's. Before she knew it, the angel had become an incubus.
No, isn't he being way too unguarded?
Was he maybe... in that line of work?
She suspected it, just for a moment.
After what felt like a lengthy striptease, he found it.
"Ah, here it is."
He handed over exactly 7,050 won and walked out of the convenience store. His stride was so effortlessly cool she didn't even think to stop him.
"Ah..."
Lee Ji-yeon stared at that door for a long time. It felt like she'd just woken from a dream.