Amber went over the few good things she had in her life as she made the journey home. The trip wasn't long enough to justify taking the bus, but it was just the right length to take the last bits of strength from her before she collapsed into bed. But at least she had a bed, a roof, and her mom was still with her even though she looked more sickly each day. 

She sighed and hung her head, even the prospect of now having the bookstore job couldn't really make her steps lighter. She got to strike off the hour-long bus ride into the city for her job at the convenience store, but she would be making slightly less money. She also wouldn't be spending it on the bus trip from her home to the edges of Seoul either...so there was that. 

She reached the door of the beaten down house she'd shared with her mother the past seven years and had to will herself to go through the door. She loved her mother dearly, but seeing her fade day by day was a burden. 

"You're back?" A sweet voice called from inside. 

Amber closed her eyes with relief and walked into the living room/kitchen/laundry room/her mother's bedroom. Her mother's pallet was laid out on the floor next to the stove to keep her warm while food cooked. Park SunYoung, a girl who lived a few streets over, sat at her mother's side, brushing her hair, whispy from sickness. 

"Hi, SunYoung, Mom, I'm back." 

"My baby," her mother said in tired Chinese, holding out her arms a bit. 

Amber smiled slightly and laid down next to her, putting her head on her chest. "You smell good today." 

Mrs. Liu reached up and patted the brown cheek of the girl who looked after her for a small fee when Amber knew she wasn't feeling well enough to look after herself. "This precious girl made some perfume out of the flowers her mom grows in their backyard. I told her to bottle some up for you." 

"Thank you," she said, smiling at SunYoung, causing the girl to blush. 

"It's no problem. I remember you saying you liked the smell last time you were over. I figured I'd finally do something with those ancient marriage skills my grandma decided to pass on to me."

Amber laughed, feeling a lot brighter now. Good friends, her mom's arms, sweet perfumes to freshen the damp, heavy scent of poorly insulated walls. Yeah, she definitely could be worse off than now. She could feel herself drifting off to sleep while SunYoung continued to talk about the perfume-making process, but even though she hadn't washed her face yet or brushed her teeth, she decided to let it happen. She knew from experience that you had to linger in the good while you had the chance because good days weren't easy to find. 

Krystal felt like an idiot. The question had been so easy. If only she'd checked her book list a bit more carefully, she'd have been able to read the passage and have an answer ready for the professor. Instead, when she'd been called on, all she could do was sit there with hanging open looking like a pretty fish. She'd seen at least three girls smirk at her and at least four guys glancing toward her like they wished she'd need a tutoring session in the future. 

She huffed, pulling out her iPad to triple check the list of books for the millionth time. She refused to be the pretty empty-headed girl sitting in the middle of class waiting for either the professor or one of the wealthy students to notice her, take her home, and set her up on a big couch with a big ring and only enough children to ensure she kept her figure. She shuddered. 

"Hey, Krystal, want to go shopping with us today?" Sulli asked, passing her in the hallway. 

Krystal shook her head. "No. Well, at least not clothes shopping. I need to grab a few more books for class. Raincheck?" 

Sulli nodded, kissing her on the cheek. "Of course."

"Hi."

Krystal turned to find a tall, fine-boned boy grinning down at her. 

"I heard you were headed to the bookstore to pick up a few books for class. Do you know where it is?" 

"Yes," Krystal answered automatically though she had no clue. She'd ordered her other books online and had them delivered to her house. 

"Well, I could walk with you if you'd like. I have a few things I need to pick up as well, and since I'm in the same class as you, I'm sure I could help you find the books quicker." 

Krystal internally rolled her eyes but put on a polite smile. "No, that's fine, thank you. I usually like to listen to music while I walk." She hated listening to music while she walked, but she had a pair of earbuds she kept in her purse to pop in at random moments to decrease the amounts of unwanted one-sided male conversation. Now was a perfect time. She pulled out her earbuds and slid them into her ears, looking like she was choosing a song on her phone. "I'll see you in class," she said, and quickly turned away from the guy. 

She heard him continue to try to catch her attention but kept walking as she typed the bookstore name into her GPS. She found that it was within walking distance and decided not to call for a taxi like she usually did when she had to make it around town. 

She loved the area around the campus with all of the little coffee shops, bakeries, and internet cafes. It was so busy, yet full of energy since most of the people there were below forty and still trying to figure out what they wanted to do with their lives. She felt the same. On the go and not sure where she was going or what it was going to look like once she got there. 

Her lips turned up a bit at the edges as she imagined her future running business alongside her father. She tried to imagine who else might be there, her mother smiling proudly. No...that was a lie. Her mother wanted her to be just like her, a wealthy housewife with soft hands and a husband to make sure they stayed that way. She was a wonderful woman, but she felt that her life was the best life for a woman and for her daughters. Jessica...Jessica had bought into it and now seemed dissatisfied with her purchase. 

Krystal sighed, her bubble burst by reality. 

The bookstore was right in front of her, so she went in with dampened optimism but even greater desire to grab her books and study hard while she attended college. She would make sure she would at least explore her options rather than let someone else decided what her options were. 

"Hello?" She snapped into the dark space. Where were all the lights? She wondered. Seemed to be only two or three on. There were large windows near the front, but they didn't do a good job lighting the store nearing 7 pm. 

She heard some scuttling around, a few muffled curses, a gasp of pain, then suddenly more lights flared on. 

She shook her head and headed to the counter where a figure was emerging from the back somewhere. 

"I need to purchase some books for class. Why does this place look closed three hours before it's supposed to shut down?"

She felt her eyes bug out when she recognized the guy standing before her as the same one from the coffee shop. Krystal barely managed to stifle a sound of disbelief in the back of . Was the guy like Nurse Joy, a copy of her in each location Krystal decided to visit? Not that she watched Pokemon, of course.

"I apologize, Ma'am, the manager was running me through closing procedure since this is my first day but I'll be responsible for closing from now on since...well, you don't need to know every detail do you," the guy laughed a little, still looking flustered from having to get the place up and running again in a short notice. 

"I still haven't really been taught how to use the catalog system on the computer so...erm...but if you give me the course, the professor, and the book name, I should be able to help you." A quick flash of a smile, exposing slightly crooked bottom teeth. 

Krystal just stood there blinking for a moment, trying to gather herself. She took her iPad from her bag and showed the book list to the cashier, then plopped down in a chair to wait for her books.