Chapter 1

I slowly close my eyes as I drift off into sleep. The sound of the cooler in the background buzzes as my head slowly starts to droop lower and lower. 

DING

My eyes shoot open as a man walks into the convenience store. I slowly lift my head and rub my eyes. My stomach feels really heavy for some reason. It's making me extremely nauseous... I slowly rub my hands up and down my thighs and look up towards the man who's walking around the store. I squint my eyes a bit trying to see who it was I was looking at. 

DING

Another person walks into the store and walks up to the counter. I stand up and walk over towards the counter with a tired smile on my face. The man looks older... around my father's age... So, say- about forty...

"Hi." I softly say.

"Hey. Can I buy a pack of cigarettes." The man says with a soft smile on his face. I slowly nod and walk towards the cigarettes on the wall.

"Is there a specific kind you want?" I softly ask.

"Uh... Esse." He answers. I slowly nod and grab it. I place it on the counter and scan it, slowly pushing it towards him.

"Thank you." He says as he walks towards the door. I softly smile and tilt my head down a bit. I watch as the man walks out the store. My eyes stay on him a while but then quickly turns towards the man who walked in earlier. I slowly look him in the eyes. His black eyes pierce into mine. I slowly look down at the cans of food in his hand.

"Porridge?" I quietly say, as I grab the scanner.

"You look new... I don't think I've seen you here before." The man says in a blank tone. 

"Mm- Yeah... I just started working here..." I softly say, nodding a bit. I furrow my eyebrows as I feel him staring into my soul. I slowly look back at him with a soft smile on my face. His eyes are wide. His eyes slowly drift towards the camera in the corner of the store then back at me. I slowly look at the camera then at him feeling confused.

"What's your name?"

"Uh... My name is Yuna..." I softly say. He slowly nods, still staring at me with wide eyes. His eyes relax and he leans forward a bit. His hand raises over the counter towards my face. My chest starts to hurt when his hand moves closer. I close my eyes and clench my fist. 

"Is that a mole under your lip?" He softly asks, pointing towards the right side of my lip. I slowly open my eyes and move my hand towards where he was pointing. I softly smile and nod.

"Yeah... It's always been there." I softly laugh.

"Oh? How old are you by the way... Yuna." He calmly asks with a smile on his face.

"I'm twenty-one..." I answer. He slowly nods and smiles a bit. But his smile didn't look like a happy smile... more like an irritated kind of smile.

"What's your name... If you don't mind me asking." I softly say. His smile goes away and his eyes bore into mine. I furrow my eyebrows and grip onto my pants.

"I do mind." He blankly says. I slowly nod and look down.

"I'm sorry." I quietly say. He smiles and tilts his head a bit.

"You know... you look like someone I know..." He softly says. I look up at him feeling confused.

"I do?"

"Yeah."

"Who?" I question. He stares at me with a blank expression on his face before answering.

"My mother." 

My eyes widen as I watch him grab the stuff off the counter and walk out the store. The door dings as the door closes behind him. My eyes slowly drift down at the counter. I feel very lost and confused... never once have I thought I looked like someone's mother... I can't tell if I should take that as a compliment or not... but I'm offended in a way.

It's 12am. My shift is finally over. I slowly grab my stuff from the back and make my way out. The other employee watches me as I walk out the store. I slowly make my way down the street, heading towards the house. I stop inches from the front door and shuffle through my backpack to find the house key. I take a deep breath as I pull it from the bag and push the key into the keyhole. After unlocking the door, I slowly push it open. 

I tiptoe down the hall, quiet enough so that I don't wake my father up. I quietly push open my bedroom door and slowly close it behind me. I take a deep breath and place my bag down.

"Yuna..." 

I quickly turn my head to see my little brother staring at me through his covers. I slowly walk to him and sit down beside him.

"Why're you still awake?" I softly ask. He furrows his eyebrows and slowly sits up. I pat his head and softly smile at him.

"Dad came home angry... I pretended to be asleep so he wouldn't hit me... I was scared he will hurt you." He softly says. I slowly nod and tilt my head a bit.

"Don't worry about me... You should sleep- you have school tomorrow."

"Yuna... have you ever thought about going to the military?" 

"Huh?" I slowly turn my head to look at him. He has a genuine look in his eyes. "Why do you say that? Do you want me to join the military?"

"Well... I'm going soon... and I thought- maybe when I go, you can go too."

"Is this because of dad?"

"Mhm. I don't want him to hit you when I'm gone... He will take all his anger out on you since I won't be there..."

"Don't worry-" I softly say with a smile on my face.

"Just cause you say not to worry doesn't mean I'm not going to worry."

"You should sleep..." I say patting his head again. I stand up and grab my bag, pulling my classwork out. I place the books down on the table and begin to do my homework.

"You working so late, doing homework and barely sleeping just for you to get up and go to school the next morning is so bad for your health." My brother implies. I stare down at my homework and sigh.

"I'll be okay... I'm used to it."

"Have you eaten?" He asks. I slowly look at him. He has a concerned look on his face. I slowly nod and look back at my homework.

"I had instant noodles." I answer.

"That's not healthy..." He sighs.

"It's better than nothing." I reply. 

"Yeah." He slowly says. I stare down at my homework then at my brother. He has dull black eyes and short messy hair. He has dark circles under his eyes. My mother would say me and him were very similar looking... as if my brother Dan was the boy version of me. I slowly look back at my homework and pick up my pen.

"You should go to sleep... you have school in the morning." I calmly say again as I begin to write on the paper. He stares at me a bit before flipping over and pulling the covers over his head.

The next morning, I wake up to my brother tapping my shoulder. I quickly lift up my head and realize that my homework has drool on it. I sigh and rub my eyes. 

"You didn't get much sleep did you?" He softly asks. I look towards the window and sigh, slowly standing up and rubbing my eyes.

"It's morning? I should make breakfast." I listlessly say as I make my way out the bedroom. I slowly make my way down the hall and into the kitchen. I slowly open the fridge and grab a few eggs. I place them on the counter and begin cracking them. My father walks into the kitchen and sighs loudly as he sits down at the table.

"You still work at that convenience store?" My father asks. 

"Yeah." I answer in a tired tone.

"You should work another job... that job doesn't pay you enough." He sighs as he scrolls on his phone. I stare at him with a blank expression on my face.

"That's the only job I can work at night..." I softly reply. My father slowly looks up at me with an agitated look on his face.

"Yeah? And why do you say that?" He grumbles. I stare at him a bit before turning away and scrambling the eggs.

"That was the only job that doesn't interfere with my school schedule." I softly answer. I can feel him staring at me. I furrow my eyebrows and frown a bit as I pour the eggs into the pan on the stove.

"Didn't I tell you if school becomes a problem to drop out?" He fumes.

"School isn't a problem... it's just-"

"The hell are you going to school for anyway... Either get another job or drop out of school and get a full time job." He seethes. I slowly look at him with a tired look in my eyes. 

"Why the hell does she need to get another job?! Why don't you get a job!" Dan shouts as he walks down the hall. I quickly look at him with shock in my eyes. My father stands up and walks up towards my little brother with his hands balled up into fists.

"The hell did you say to me boy?" He fumes. My brother flinches a bit and clenches his fists. He's shaking a lot. I can tell he's scared.

"Yuna... She shouldn't have to- work all the time..." He shakily says. "She already barely... sleeps."

"That's not my fucking problem. She knows what she's supposed to do- Why? Do you have a problem with my rules?" My father says in a sharp tone. I can see the spit flying out his mouth as he talks.

"I will get another job." I quickly say. Both Dan and my father looks at me. My brother has a concerned look on his face. I turn back around and continue to cook.

"Yuna..."

"It's okay... I've been thinking about getting another job anyway." 

After breakfast, I slowly make my way to school. I walk down the hall and into my first class. I slowly walk up the stairs towards the back and sit down. My eyes feel extremely heavy. 

During the lecture I try my hardest to keep my eyes open. I'm so tired... but I need to get another job... There is this one barbeque place that's hiring I heard... maybe I can work there from 5pm until 11pm then work at the convenience store from 12am until 6am. 

After school, I quickly make my way to the barbeque place. I stare through the window thinking about how I'm going to give myself time to sleep. If I work from 5pm to 6am then I have to go to school from 8am to 3pm... which gives me... barely any time to sleep. I slowly rub my head and sigh a bit as I walk into the restaurant. A man looks up at me and smiles a bit. I smile back.

"Hi- Are you hiring?" I politely ask. The man nods and shows me towards the back. I guess he was the manager of the place. He has been wanting to find someone to work during rush hour since that's when the restaurant tends to be the busiest. After filling out a bunch of papers and being interviewed he said he will give me a call back.

I quickly make my way to the convenience store and put my work shirt on. After the employee leaves, I pull out my homework and begin to work on it. I don't know when I will be able to get a good night's rest so I'm going to do my homework then get some rest when I get home. Tomorrow is Saturday so I won't have school... I will get to sleep in.

After I complete my homework, I place it back into my bag. I sit silently on the chair as I drift off into sleep. My eyes feel extremely heavy. I feel so dead inside... I'm so tired.

DING

My eyes open and I slowly look towards the door. It's the guy from yesterday. Now that I look at him more clearly... His hair is a light brown on the top. I close my eyes again and furrow my eyebrows. I slowly open my eyes when I notice him walking towards the counter. I slowly look up at him and stand up, walking towards him. He places the stuff down on the counter and I begin to scan the items.

"You look exhausted." He calmly says, staring into my eyes. I slowly look him in the eyes and softly smile.

"Do I? Is it that noticeable?" I ask, laughing softly. He doesn't reply and just stares at me. I can't really explain it well but him staring at me like that makes me so deeply uncomfortable. It's like he's staring into my soul.

"Do you go to school?" He softly asks.

"Yeah.." I slowly answer.

"I see... You're a hard worker then." He softly says, smiling at me a bit. I look up at him and smile a bit.

"Yeah... I guess you can say that." I softly reply. His smile disappears as I bag his stuff and hand it to him. 

"Do you have children or something? You work a lot for someone so young..."

"No... I don't."

"Is someone sick?" He questions.

"No... I- It's complicated." I softly reply. He slowly nods and sighs a bit. 

"What do you do for fun?"

I slowly look back down feeling confused. I can't remember the last time I had fun. That question is strangely hard to answer.

"I have no idea..." I say in a confused tone. He stares at me with a blank expression on his face before smiling.

"Do you like to sing?" He softly asks. I furrow my eyebrows a bit and slowly look at him.

"I don't know." I answer.

"Well... If you don't mind- Wanna go to a karaoke lounge sometime?" He asks. I look at him confused, tilting my head a bit.

"Sure... but- why do you ask?" I question.

"Why not?"

"But why... I'm not really the fun type... I wouldn't want to bore you."

"Come on... I don't believe that." He softly says with a smile on his face. 

"I'm being honest... I don't go out like that and do things... I'm not one of those cool girls who knows how to party..." I add. His smile disappears then reappears. He tilts his head a bit and sigh.

"I will be the one to judge that then..." He soothes. I take a deep breath and nod. "May I get your number?" He asks. I nod and write my number down on his receipt. He smiles as I do. I give it to him and smile back. "Thanks... talk to you later." He says as he walks towards the door. My eyes widen and I lean over the counter a bit.

"WAIT! I didn't get your name..." 

He stops walking and slowly looks back at me with a shocked expression on his face before smiling again.

"Sangwoo." He softly says before walking out the store. 

I back away from the counter and furrow my eyebrows a bit.

"Wait... didn't he say I looked like his mom yesterday?"