White dress shirt. Check. Black khakis. Check. Black tie. Check. Everything is ready. Being the ultimate neat freak, Myungsoo puts everything on in the order he checked them off the list. He has an hour before his shift at the Coffee Shop starts and still hasn't eaten breakfast yet. He walks down the hall of his New York City apartment and finds a microwavable breakfast sandwich in the fridge. While it's heating up, he pours himself a glass of orange juice and turns on the news. 

The headlining story is a murder committed last night. The female victim was mugged, and brutally beaten to death in the Bronx. He gulps. On the bright side, the weather is supposed to be nice today. The microwave beeps three times indicating to him the breakfast sandwich is ready. He makes the mistake of taking it out of the microwave with his hand and quickly feels the aftermath of the mistake, dropping the sandwich on the floor as a reflex. The burns leave his palms red.

The five-second rule has long since passed for the sandwich. He picks it up with an oven mitten and tosses it in the trash, deciding to make scrambled eggs instead. After the eggs are done, he takes the glass of orange juice and plate to the living room and places them on the coffee table. He turns the TV off. His cell phone suddenly rings as he is eating. He checks the caller ID and swallows before answering it.

"Casey, what do you want?" The tone in his voice is grumpy. He and his current girlfriend, Casey, have been experiencing problems with their relationship. She is too clingy.

"Good morning to you too," she retorts. "Are we still on for lunch today?"

"Can't. My shift is till five."

"How about dinner then?" 

"I have class tonight."

"Till when?"

"Nine."

"We can catch a movie."

"No thanks." He hangs up and finishes his eggs. After washing the plate and glass, he throws on his black jacket and leaves the apartment, taking the elevator down to the first floor. It takes about twenty minutes to walk to the shop. His shift starts in half an hour. As usual, the streets of Manhattan are crowded. He does his best to avoid bumping into others and being the victim of bumping. As he waits for the stop light to turn red, a hand grabs his . He quickly turns to face the culprit and spots the familiar chocolate brown hair and forest green eyes. "Casey, please don't ever do that again." He switches his attention back to the streetlight. They take forever to change.

Casey locks her arm around his. "Don't be such downer, babe."

"Why are you here?"

"I wanna walk you to work, silly." She smiles. "Oh, the light is red. Let's go." With her arm still tucked in his, they cross the street.

"Don't you have class this morning?" He wants to get rid of her. 

She shakes her head. "Nope. It was canceled."

Damn. He is stuck with her for another ten minutes. 

"Can I come over tonight?" She asks with seduction lining her lips. "It's been a while since we've spent the night together."

He sighs. "I'm too busy, Casey."

"I feel as if you're trying to avoid me these days. Why?"

He is very blunt with the response. "You're too clingy." It's not the first time he has said it to her. "I need my space and alone time."

"But I don't wanna be away from you. I like being around you, babe." 

They approach the shop. He releases his arm from hers. "You should leave now."

"Not without a kiss." She places her arms around his neck and leans in to kiss him, but he turns his head away. "You know I hate PDA."

"Come on, babe. Just one kiss. No one is watching." She attempts to kiss him again. He puts his index finger on her lips and shakes his head. "No. Now go." 

Sighing, she takes her arms off him and manages to sneak in a quick peck on his cheek. "Can I go in? Please? I really need to use the bathroom. It's urgent."

Myungsoo opens the door for her. "Go." She rushes in and scurries to the restroom. The shop is almost vacant with only three customers eating breakfast. He walks to the back, hangs up his coat, and punches in for the day. Then, he walks to his post. He is a cashier. Casey returns.

"Your tie is crooked." She fixes it for him. "Call me later. Alright?"

He nods. 

She smiles again. "Have a nice day at work. I love you." With that, she leaves the shop. He notices one of the customers eyeing her as she walks out. This strikes a nerve. "Take your eyes off her, George."

The blue-eyed man laughs a little. "She's hot. I can't help it." He gets up from the table and approaches the counter. "I have a request." He slips the familiar orange paper to Myungsoo. "I need it done in two days."

Myungsoo looks down at the paper. "A loan? Again? Your debt is piling up, George." He opens up the register and slips the paper into a secret compartment underneath the money. "Check your mail tomorrow. It should be there."

"Tell your boss I said thank you." He shoots the lad a grin and then walks out. A sigh escapes from Myungsoo's mouth.

The shop starts filling up with customers, but no requesters. Requesters are rare during rush hours. Requesters are usually regulars. He can spot them from a distant. They are the only ones aware of the illegal business the shop offers other than serving food and drinks.

Casey texts him throughout the rush hour. She is still persistent to meet up with him for lunch. He turns off his phone.

"E-Excuse me, young man?" A shaky voice asks. He looks up to find an elderly woman standing in front of him. A new face. She is wearing scrubs and a hat. He can see the orange edges of the piece of paper peeking out of her clenched fists. She hands him the crumpled up sheet of paper. He unfolds it and looks down at her request. It simply reads lethal injection.

"Th-The hospital...I'm staying at is...Mount Sinai Hospital. Room 102. Thank you." She begins to leave. With the paper still in his hand, he walks out from behind the counter and chases after her. "May I ask why you want this done?"

She looks around the shop and finds an empty table near the corner. "I need to sit. My legs don't work like they use to." 

He follows her to the table. She sighs before she begins to speak. "I...have a terminal illness." 

His face saddens. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"And it's costing a fortune for treatment. The medical bill is tearing my family apart." Her thin lips start quivering. "I figured it's best for me to go."

"Why not just request the money to pay off the bills?" 

"I thought about that at first, but I didn't want to put my family in even more debt. This is my only option." Tears stream down her face. "This needs to be done by tomorrow. Please, put in the request." She gets up to leave. And this time, he doesn't follow her. He knows she won't change her mind no matter how hard he tries to convince her not to go through with it. 

He strolls back to the counter and is hesitant to slip in the request. The manager shoots him a glare. He quickly slips the request in the compartment and turns his phone back on. He calls Casey. She picks up.

"Lunch does sound good right now," he simply says. "I'll meet you at Shorty's." He hangs up and clocks out for lunch, catching a cab to the restaurant. Casey walks in a few minutes later. "Hey there, babe." She takes the seat across from him. "What made you change your mind?"

He doesn't respond and looks down at the menu. She quickly catches on and stops asking questions. It's one of those days. He orders a cheesesteak and eats it silently. 

"Do...you want...to talk about it?" She's hoping he says 'yes'.

"No." He continues to eat his sandwich. What bothers him the most is he didn't get the woman's name. The least he could have done was ask for her name.

Casey continues to sneak in worried glances. "What happened?"

"It's fine." He can't tell her. It's for her own good. "I'm just having a bad day. Rude customers and all."

"Oh, I see..."

He finishes his sandwich. "Are you still up for that movie tonight?" He needs her to take his mind off the incident.

She grins happily and nods. "Yes!"

"Great. You can...also come over too...if you want."

"Alright." She mentally thanks all the rude customers for changing his mood. She accompanies him back to the shop and even kisses him good-bye. 

The remaining hours for his shift crawl by. It feels like an eternity has passed when he finally clocks out. He opens up the register and collects all the requests, placing them in a black envelope before leaving the shop. He catches the bus and takes it to the lower east side of Manhattan. The request drop-off is located inside a bar, Charlie's Bar. He walks inside and slips the envelope over to Charlie.

"Need a drink? You don't look good. Rough day, huh?" Charlie asks worriedly. Myungsoo nods and has Charlie pour him a glass of beer. He quickly drinks it and then exits the bar making it just in time for his evening class. It's not always fun being an illegal business accomplice by day and a college student by night. 

(A/N): So, what do you all think? I know it may be boring, but it sets the scene for the rest of the story. Comment and upvotes are very appreciated.