Self-check out? Never again.

Kang Seulgi had been helplessly trying to find a way to use self-check out but turns out that in this little convenience store nearby her apartment, on the verge of closing hours, did not have the self-checkout options. And so, the lanky young girl was helplessly clutching to two bottles of lubes (and some chocolate bars, the woman needed her sugar), while standing in the aisles next to the cleaning products. She looked like an absolutely little baby, a lost child whose parents have forgotten in an random bout of diarrhea attacks where there were no bathrooms at sight.

Oh boy.

Seulgi was a grown woman, definitely. Despite looking like a baby, she was a grown woman of twenty two years of age. She had her business to attend and in that free day of hers she couldn’t just stay home without lube!

But now, she had to confront a cashier. A gorgeous cashier who was going through her phone and scrolling through in this quiet night at the convenience store. No one but her and other employees going around cleaning. No one. She really had to confront her.

She looked new in town and definitely was way too red to be normal. But she figured she had to go through this sooner or later, maybe with a male cashier who would definitely make an inappropriate comment or a creepy cashier (both male and female) who would insist in keeping her number for any reason.

Good lord.

So, Seulgi armed herself of valor and marched forth towards the cashier, expecting her not to move away from her phone at all and finding herself surprised at the fact that the woman not only stood up from her chair but looked at her direction with a bit of a surprise in that… gorgeous doll-like face that looked better even up front.

“Oh,” Seulgi stopped dead in her tracks and was walking backwards already, ready to turn around, leave the lube and just get out. “Sorry,” and she did turn around.

“Hey, wait,” the cashier began, giggling softly. “You do know that you have to pay for that over here, right silly?”

Seulgi stopped again, turned around and gave her a very small nod as she clutch to the things she wished to own. The chocolates mostly, she needed a consolation chocolate right now. And… the consolation lube but that’s another topic.

Joohyun, the cashier, quickly gave Seulgi a once over and soon learned that the girl was holding two bottles of lube against her body and a very clear handful of chocolate bars. For a moment, she thought Seulgi was going to steal something with how fast she was going, but now--upon noticing and reflecting--she wanted to leave out a small ‘aww’ at the situation!

She’s been a cashier for a while now and knows that this kind of thing is more than common. People embarrassed about buying their condoms, their lubricants and what not. It wasn’t anything to be embarrassed about, Joohyun never made any remarks about it except for when she personally knew the person, or when she felt playful enough to recommend a better brand to the unsure ones. There was nothing to be ashamed about, if anything Joohyun applauded their responsibility to make it safe and enjoyable, it was not her business to make any comments.

But with this girl? She wanted to strike up a conversation, make her feel at ease. Just noticing the nervousness and shyness in her eyes softened her heart to the point where she’d just melt right there. So, with a soft smile, she beckoned her over with a wave of her hand. “C’mon, nothing to be embarrassed about.”

Seulgi gulped at the way her face looked so gorgeous with a small and subtle smile, something motherly and comforting about it made the hairs of Seulgi’s skin stand and waltz about. Less confident but at a normal human speed, she walked up to the cashier and laid the items down on the counter, hiding her hands away as if she was guilty of something.

Again, Joohyun decided to use her comforting words. “You know, I get a lot of people buying this kind of thing, you shouldn’t be shy about it.”

Seulgi looked up finally, her cheeks still monumentally red albeit less so. “I know,” she scratched the back of her neck and looked around, waiting for the whole thing to be over.

But the silly woman forgot to give the cashier her card or the cash.

Joohyun didn’t mind, it would make the conversation longer and that’s what she was shooting for. “Good, so don’t feel shy. I remember one time I was on my shift, there was this huge man--you know, big muscled, bear-like, tattoos on his arms, really massive. The kind of dude you don’t want to meet in an alleyway.”

Seulgi nodded a little as she was listening carefully, suddenly very involved in this story.

“He walked in very confidently, we were all kind of scared of him, you know. We thought he was going to try and pull something, we were very scared. It was late at night just like tonight. So, I was ready to act accordingly to any situation, but when he comes back here he’s red with embarrassment!” Joohyun stops to giggle a little, then proceeds. “I think he thought there was a self-check out option available so that’s why. He came here laid out a few condoms down, a bottle of lube just like you, some bandaids and three big tubs of different flavored ice creams. I was really in shock to see him not looking at me, his voice was really small and all. I playfully said that those ice creams were my favorite and he smiled so widely. It was adorable.”

Seulgi couldn’t help but to laugh as well at the image, somehow finding the whole thing very comforting and wholesome. If a big muscly dude could get embarrassed about buying some condoms, she could too. It was beginning to feel natural. “Ah, book covers really tell a whole different tale, don’t they?”

“Yeah,” Joohyun chuckled. Then, she cleared and felt almost shy to ask her. “So… are you not going to pay or--.”

“OH!” Seulgi had just realized it, blushing redder now and quickly handing her card over. “Sorry, sorry.”

“It’s alright,” Joohyun laughed softly, grabbing the card. “Truthfully, I wouldn’t have asked for it, I wouldn’t mind keeping this conversation longer.”

Seulgi’s confusion was nothing but present, an incriminating tale on her features.

“I like the way you smile,” Joohyun said softly as she did her thing, a smile creeping to her face and not daring to stare at Seulgi after that bold statement.

“I-I…” Seulgi gulped, looking away as well before speaking. “A-and I like the way you talk.”

Now, Joohyun was the one blushing, giggling and looking in another direction. “Oh, my.”

But soon, the transaction was complete and the card was returned and in that brief moment, their hands made contact and their eyes met. It was a quick moment, but one that made both of their hearts swell and flutter. Soon, they looked away and giggled almost at the same time.

“I… I suppose I gotta go,” Seulgi said softly, shoving all her items into the plastic bag.

“Yeah. You gotta go and try the lube--.” Joohyun clamped her hand against , hiding a scandalized gasp.

At the comment, Seulgi blushed even harder but couldn’t help but to laugh at the look on Joohyun’s face. “Hey! Watch it before I use it on you.”

Now Joohyun was blushing even harder. If anyone were to see them from afar, people would mistake them for friends, even lovers. In fact, that wouldn’t be a bad thing. She loved the idea already. “I wouldn’t mind that, you know. That’s a good brand you’re picking, too.”

Glancing at the bottle, a lot of things went through Seulgi’s mind. First, was to drag this woman to her apartment right away. Second, was to ask if she could have her number since the first option seemed a bit too wild. Thirdly, how did she know about that brand being particularly good? Those were all intrusive and intimate thoughts, except for one of them which slipped out of Seulgi’s lips before she even realized it.

“What’s your name again?”

Joohyun smiled mischievously and softly spoke. “Bae Joohyun, I’m here almost all week,” then, she winked.

Seulgi’s eyes widened a bit before she giggled a bit, rubbing the back of her neck, the shyness starting to kick in. “A-Ah, I’ll keep that in mind!” And without another glance at the woman’s eyes, she turned around, with her stuff at hand and waddled out of the store, leaving a giggling Joohyun behind to wonder if such a cutie would come back one day.