[ Two ]

It was the end of my first shift and I was exhausted. There was a stark difference in being on my feet all day to shop to being on them to earn a wage, I had learned. I thanked my former self for having the foresight to wear my converse, since I was sure my feet wouldn't have survived anything in a heel. Nor would they for a while yet. 

“So, how you feeling?” Minhyuk asked as he slid a glass of water towards me.

I accepted it gratefully. “Tired.”

“You did really well.”

“You don’t need to lie to me.” I smiled. 

“Well, you did make a few mistakes.” He accepted. “But nothing experience wont fix.”

“Then I really have the job?”

He nodded and I couldn’t hide my elation. It wasn’t a fancy job and it certainly was below the type of job I could get with my qualifications, but it was something of my own. My first step in the world as Bae JooHyun.

“We’ll ease you into the rota while you’re still training, so for now you’ll just shadow Shin-Hye on her shifts. She works evenings Monday-Saturday. When Shin-Hye says you’re ready we’ll move you into the rota and full pay but for now we can only offer you part time wage plus tips.”

He didn’t ask whether this was ok with me – but even if he had I’d still take it, despite always having it drilled into me to negotiate for more, even if the base deal was perfect. But I was no longer that girl and I was willing to work seven nights a week full time in a part time salary if it meant finally having my independence. 

After thanking Minhyuk I made the laughably small walk next door and upstairs to my aunts studio, where I was alone again, though could hear the soft music of her radio indicating she was in. Fixing myself some supper I collapsed on my futon fully clothed and reminisced about my first day experiencing real work. As I mulled over the mistakes I’d made and the regular customers I’d met, my mind immediately went to him. 

TaeHyung. 

I scolded myself because out of everyone I’d met today his introduction had been the worst and therefore the person who I should have dismissed. He was handsome, that much I’d credit to him, but he was also clearly unhinged and despite our somewhat pleasant exchange in the café I had no desire to familiarise myself with him. Because pretty boys like him were nothing but trouble. I’d met enough of them in my lifetime to know good looks usually equated to huge egos, ones that left little room for anything of substance in their lives – like the possibility of friendships. 

Sliding my phone from my pocket I realised that for possibly the first time in my life, I’d not checked it. For the length of my entire shift, in fact. Even during my break I’d talked with Shin-Hye and not once brought my phone out to check social media or my texts. My post from earlier had more comments all following the same theme; people asking where I was, who I was with… None of them were asking because they were worried, of course. 

They just wanted something to gossip about. 

I scanned through my timeline, looking at all the posts from my old crowd and felt a brief moment of longing as I looked around my aunts studio. It was cold and drafty here, the only source of heat a small portable heater that was currently turned off. There was a stark difference from the cold atop of a mountain when staying at the Les Suites de la Potiniere in Courchevel, France, to the cold in my aunts studio in Seoul, I found. I wanted to turn the heater on but I knew there was a reason it was off. Heating cost money… Money my aunt had made it clear she didn’t have much of. 

I didn’t want to be a burden on her.

My first night in Seoul I slept in, tired from the let-lag and the long shift. It was 2pm and I was feeling guilty having slept all day, but my aunt was out already. I used the rest of the daylight hours to pawn my jewellery, eyes watering at the pathetic amount I got for them compared to what I’d originally paid. I couldn’t complain though, not when it wasn’t technically my own money I’d spent on them in the first place. 

Opening a bank account was next, and that proved to be an even bigger hassle.

True to his word, my dad had closed down all my accounts I had the moment I had stepped on the plane to Seoul. Maybe even before that. The bank manager was sympathetic, but explained that since I was opening an account under my own name for the first time, my credit rating was low and the chances of me being able to buy anything on credit – or even getting an overdraft, would be a distant achievement. For someone who never had to worry about money before it was a daunting prospect. Depositing the money I had got from pawning the jewellery into it gave me a reasonable balance, but there would be no shopping trips in my near future. 

The next two days were a whirlwind. I was so busy working in the café and getting my affairs in order that I didn’t have time for much else. I woke up on my third day in Seoul to find my aunt had left me a note taped to her staircase door announcing she would be in Busan until the next week to see an art exhibition. The truth was, even if she wasn’t in Busan I didn’t see my aunt much anyway; she was either in her loft or I was out exploring the city. 

Stepping into the café for my shift, I was feeling somewhat melancholy after discovering a group of my old ‘friends’ were currently hitting up the Bahamas while I was freezing my off. 

“You’re early!” Minhyuk smiled behind the counter.

“My aunts gone away so I had nothing better to do.” I admitted.

“You’re living with your aunt?”

“Yeah. She actually owns the place above here, the studio."

Minhyuk’s eyes widened. “You’re Kim AeNa’s niece? She used to be one of our regulars until she got an agent, now she hardly has time to pop in with all her deadlines!”

I shuffled nervously, realising I knew very little about my aunt. I knew she was an artist and that she made a living selling her work, but I didn’t know she had an agent. Did that mean she was doing well? Was she a popular artist and I didn’t even know it? A swell of guilt overcame me as I realised I never made any attempt to get to know her. 

Beginning my shift early, I smiled to Shin-Hye as she arrived and made small talk with a few of the customers, though all were too caught up in their craft to provide much distraction. The night was proving to be a slow one, so Minhyuk offered for me to leave early, too. Taking off my apron, I waved goodbye to them both as I left, eying the door to my aunts studio. I wasn’t ready to head back yet. Being alone in the studio only made me overthink. So, I began to walk.

Walking around Seoul had to be one of my favourite pastimes; I couldn’t get en