“Haneul! Seriously, wake up!      

            The dim light of the convenient store filled her pupils as she lifted her head from the counter. The sun had gone down hours ago but Haneul was only on her second hour of work that Wednesday night, a time when customers only came once an hour. From morning until early evening she worked at a local bank, but to really support herself she needed a second job. Unfortunately her shift as a cashier at a convenience store close to her home started late in the evening and usually went past midnight only allowing her a few hours of sleep every night, an amount of time not enough for someone who insisted beauty relied on rest. Sleeping Beauty got used to her dark circles, but having to stay awake when there was no one else in the store but herself and her supervisor was not something Haneul wanted to deal with.

            “I have to go in the back and take care of some things. Are you sure you can handle the register without closing your eyes?”

            Haneul nodded and watched as the older woman walked to the back of the store. Her supervisor was only in her thirties but she was married and had two young children. She was nice enough to hire Haneul as a part-time employee who could only work nights, but she was always strict with her when it came to doing things properly. She didn’t care if Haneul played on her phone when there was nothing else to do, and she didn’t care if Haneul wanted to chat with a friend in the store if there were no other customers to tend to, but she could not and did not tolerate Haneul resting her head on the job. Haneul knew that and respected that the best she could, but some days she simply couldn’t tolerate the lack of sleep she got. Regardless, she did her best as a cashier and reminded herself nightly that money was money and although she was living in a part of the city that was known for being a bit rough, she had a place to put her head every night and way to put food on the table. Her life was far from interesting and most days Haneul appreciated that, but sometimes, like now, she wished she could say more about herself and about her life.

            Another hour went by without a single person coming in. Midweek was always the slowest time for the store, and Wednesdays were always the days Haneul’s supervisor left her alone to tend to the shop that closed at one in the morning. After wishing her supervisor to have a good night and to get home safely, Haneul sat back down behind the counter and checked her phone to see the time. Huh… one hour to go. Maybe I could close early toni- Her hopes and dreams of going home before one were shut down when she heard the bell of the door ring indicating someone had entered the store. Haneul craned her neck to see who could possibly be in the store at such an hour, and to her surprise it was unfamiliar face. Most of the people that went to the tiny convenience store were regulars, but this guy looked different. For starters, he was tall. Really tall. His eyes were dark and his lips were full, and the hair on his head was lighter than most of the men who frequented the store, almost blond. Perhaps he was just a visitor to this part of the city, but Haneul couldn’t imagine why. The area was mostly filled with hard workers who had no extra time or money for anything luxurious, and there were no special places to eat and no fancy bars to drink at, but what did she know? Maybe she just wasn’t as observant as she thought she was. Nevertheless, Haneul couldn’t deny one thing about this guy: he was handsome, like model handsome. She followed him with her eyes the best she could as he wandered around the store, and although he had his flaws—like teeth that were seemingly too big for his mouth—she would rather blatantly stare at his face and slim body than do whatever else she had to do at the store. Only once he caught her staring and he politely smiled which led Haneul to quickly look away to hide the blush that could be seen only slightly on her tan skin, but as soon as he took his attention away from her, she went right back to her gawking. Her staring wasn’t only due to his handsomeness, but more due to him aimlessly wandering about. It was suspicious, certainly, but Haneul didn’t want to assume anything too quickly. Maybe he was indecisive, maybe he was bored. She took out her phone from the pocket of her jeans and pretended to text someone for a few minutes until he approached the counter. Haneul put her phone back and looked up at him.

            “Can I help you?” She asked politely.

            “Just a pack of cigarettes, please. Arirang.”

            Haneul obliged and took a pack from behind the counter. She was about to tell him the price when he suddenly cut her off.

            “You work at the bank down the street, right? The one on the corner?”

            She nodded. “Yeah, why do you ask?” His question was innocent enough, but most people coming in so late at night barely made small talk.

            He shrugged, his smile fading a bit. “I think I saw you there yesterday. Park Haneul?”

            Her eyes narrowed slightly and she nodded slowly. “2,500, please.”

            The guy seemed to take the hint that Haneul was not in the mood to talk to a stranger, albeit a somewhat cute stranger. He dug out a few bills from his pocket and set them down on the counter, taking the cigarette pack in exchange and shoving it into the pocket of his thin leather jacket. He nodded at her slightly before heading to the door.

            Haneul watched him as he made his way toward the exit but held her breath the moment he stopped and turned to face her once more.

            “Say hello to Howon, will you?” He flashed another grin at her and winked before making his full exit from the store.

            Haneul sighed and mumbled some very impolite Korean under her breath before picking up the exact change he left on the counter. What a creep! What a rude bastard! Haneul controlled her temper well, but when it was late at night she couldn’t deal with people acting so forward and strange with her. Who did he think he was to speak to her like he knew her? Tellers were required to have their names on display so she couldn’t exactly blame him for knowing her name, but there was no reason to bring it up so unexpectedly. And did he know her coworker from the bank? Haneul made a mental note to scold Howon in the morning for picking such awful friends, if the two were even that.

            She opened the cash register and began putting the money away when a white piece of paper flew out from between the bills. She closed the register and leaned down to pick it up. It was nothing more than a blank piece of paper on one side but when she flipped it over she noticed something was written. It was a symbol written in black pen, an infinity symbol.

            .

            Haneul crumpled up the paper and threw it away. It was nothing, it was meaningless. For the next hour she told herself this as a means of solace. That guy, whoever he was, was nothing more than an average creep, a guy who had nothing better to do on a Wednesday night than piss off innocent convenient store workers. Haneul also told herself this, but even after she closed up and walked home she couldn’t help but feel uneasy. It was late at night and Haneul was exhausted so she wondered if it was nothing more than her imagination running wild, her imagination going crazy from the lack of rest she denied her head. Whatever it was, Haneul decided it was probably best to keep the night a secret and forget about that guy. He was nothing to her and that piece of paper meant nothing. A little infinity symbol couldn’t scare her.

            Unless it was the very symbol that defined her whole existence, the very symbol that led her to lead her life of secrecy.