Honda Hitomi, 22 years old. In her 22 years of existence, she has never faced any dire situation. But that was about to change this evening.

Hitomi woke up from her nap, happily skipping to the fridge to get her dinner… or not. Hitomi was flabbergasted. Why? The fridge… The precious fridge… was empty. There wasn't anything except for that expired packet of apple pie she had been ignoring for weeks. Just looking at it gave Hitomi the creeps, the packet giving off a malicious aura.

Honda Hitomi, the heroine of this story, despaired in front of the refrigerator, her hands clutching the top of it while gritting her teeth in distress, her head down, lamenting the fact that she ate her food like a glutton instead of saving some of it. Not that she knew she was going to have that accident a few days ago and get fired from her job.

She sighed, giving up and closed the door of the fridge. Nope. She wasn't going to eat that expired packet of apple pie. Dying of poisoning isn't one of her plans. But then, she remembered.

'Ah! The cabinet!'

She quickly went to the cabinet just a few steps from the refrigerator. She opened what she thought was her saving grace but was met with disappointment. Not only was it empty, only a cockroach resided in that damned piece of furniture.

Hitomi pouted, wanting to vanish from the earth in that instant. Why does living have to deal with the consumption of food? Why do we need nourishment? Why does she need money to buy food? Is capitalism taking advantage of human's basic needs? Can't she just live as a plant, receive food via water, sun, and carbon dioxide? Oh wait, she can't. She'll be cut down, minced, and used for human advancement. Maybe neglected and left to die thirsty. Who knows? Roll the dice to find out.

Hitomi shook her head quickly. She was about to go on and write a prolonged essay in her mind about how humans take plants for granted relating to capitalism and the like when her underlying issue decided to remind her of its existence. Yes, her stomach growled. Loudly. Inside the apartment. Hitomi knew she had to get food. And then she saw it.

The resident cockroach.

'How dare you reside here and not pay rent? You freeloader! You deserve to die!' Hitomi glared at the vermin inside the rearranged piece of wood humans call a cabinet. Her right hand slowly and unwillingly tried reaching for it, not until her left hand stopped it because No, Hitomi's dignity needs to live. It has to. Eating the vermin would probably cause her more harm than good. Yes, that was a passable excuse to stop herself from reaching for the insect.

The door to the toilet opened, revealing her roommate, a block mate called Jo Yuri. The so-called roommate gave a blank stare at the scene in front of the cabinet, her eyes too done and tired. Who wouldn't feel that way? Your roommate is someone who only gives you sarcasm and jokes that are usually not thought of. And then just now, you find that same schoolmate stopping her hand from reaching an insect inside a cabinet with all her strength as if her dominant hand has a mind of its own and plans to embarrass her in the remaining days of her life on earth.

Regardless, it was too amusing to watch and suddenly, Yuri found herself expressionlessly taking pictures of the funny event. She posted the photos on her twitter account, with the caption: Look at this idiot. While doing so, the cockroach had fled from its residence, leaving Hitomi with an empty cabinet. Yuri decided to go to the girl's side, having a lot of questions in her mind.

"What are you doing, Hitomi?"

Hitomi stopped, noticing the vermin crawling away with speed. She pouted in front of Yuri who was still frowning. Rather than a frown, it was Yuri's default expression, a frowning puppy.

"I need to find work. I have no more food left," Hitomi mumbled with a pout.

Sighing, Yuri then pointed at her side of the apartment. "I have some more leftovers from my part-time job." She then smiled at Hitomi, hoping that would relieve some of her worries. "You can have some if you want."

Hitomi could feel her eyes wetting themselves. "Really…?"

"Of course- Ah…! Don't cry, Hitomi!"

///

It was just half an hour after both had eaten their dinner. They were now studying on the medium-sized square table at the center of the room together. With a photocopied piece of paper in her hand, Yuri was now trying to cram several terms in her head but something was distracting her from doing so. She then remembered that thing that has been distracting her.

"Oh. We need part-timers, by the way."

Hitomi's ears had picked up the sound too quickly. "What… did you say?"

Yuri put the paper down and repeated her words. "I said, we need part-timers."

Hitomi jumped to Yuri's side of the table, shaking her shoulders. "Bring me there tomorrow!"

Yuri's head felt the change of pace in her surroundings, slowly feeling dizzy. "Stop… I will, I will…"

Several seconds later, Hitomi was now seated neatly on the floor, smiling innocently, while Yuri was massaging her temples.

"Okay… I'll introduce you to the owner tomorrow." Yuri sighed and looked at Hitomi eye-to-eye. "You really should thank your gods we're hiring. The owner's pretty cool with employee recommendations too so you're in luck. My shift starts in the morning tomorrow at 10 o'clock so come with me, alright?"

Hitomi's smile widened. "Thank you so much, Yuri!" She jumped again from her spot and hugged Yuri, whose answer was only another sigh.

///

It was quarter to 10 when Hitomi sat on the chair, waiting for the owner.

From the outside of the establishment, the store looked vintage, the varnish of the furniture inside made them glisten under the yellow-ray of light emitted by several black pendant lights.

Several minutes later, the door to the staff room opened, revealing a beautiful woman in her late 20s. The said woman had a calm and elegant aura as well as grace and poise in her movements. Hitomi would probably list her as one of the women she would like to become in the near future but Hitomi knows herself that the woman was too high to even try reaching.

"So you're Honda Hitomi-ssi?" The woman extended her hand gently, her eyes looking into Hitomi's own. "I'm Lee Kaeun, the owner of this establishment." Hitomi shook the hand timidly because yes, the visual gap between her and the woman was more than intimidating.

After the separation of their hands, the woman then sat on the table opposite Hitomi's. "Yuri already told me about you. I'm not really one to make things long so…" Kaeun smiled sweetly at Hitomi. "We expect you to start today."

Hitomi's eyes widened in shock. The news made her grab both of the woman's hands. "Thank you very much! You won't be disappointed!"

"Well, it would be a pleasure to work with you." Kaeun smiled and looked at the analog watch on her wrist. "Oops, I have to return to my office." She then looked at the waiter who had just returned to his spot from the staff room. "Jang Wonyoung-ssi here will be showing you the ropes so get along with each other, alright?"

The waiter walked forward, finally meeting Hitomi up close. He looked too nervous that Hitomi couldn't help but see him as cute.

"I… I'm Jang Wonyoung and… I'll be your mentor… I guess!" Yeap, he's totally nervous.

Hitomi chuckled before extending her hand. "I'm Honda Hitomi." With her best smile, she added, "I hope we get along."

The waiter's che