"No, we are not hiring employees at the moment. Look somewhere else." The old woman turns on her heels, already busying herself with arranging products on the shelf.

"Ma'am, it says here that you are currently employing—"

"If I said no, it means no. Now, go away and stop bothering me." She huffs, her voice a pitch higher.

As I make my way out of the store, I can hear her not-so-silent mutter.

"Annoying girl. Do kids these days think that a pretty face is all that they need to get by? Dainty thing doesn't look like she knows the first thing about work. Back in my days—"

My fingers brush against the side of my face, my feet carrying me out of the store, and into the streets. The bustling of the streets enter my ears and the newspaper in my hand crumples a bit.

I take out a pen from the pocket of my jeans and mark an 'X' onto the name of the old woman's store. 

It is fine. The old woman's store is only the third one today to have rejected me. There are still many others offering employment even as the list dwindles down as I job-hunt these past few days.

I look at the people milling about on the streets. There are adults carrying their suitcases and returning to work after having lunch, and some are in their casual clothes, probably on their off-days. My eyes stray from the adults to a pair of female teenagers in their short-sleeved uniforms.

The two girls—perhaps they are around my age?—are talking with bright smiles on their faces and their hands move about in excitement as they wait by the sidewalk. Their destination seems to be on the other side of the road.

A wry smile graces my lips. 

I stare at them for a bit longer before turning my attention back onto the section in the newspaper that advertises work opportunities. I should continue looking for a job instead of dilly-dallying here. 

The nearest potential workplace for me is about a twenty-minutes walk from here. Looking up to the bright blue summer sky, a bead of sweat rolls down the side of my face. 

I sneak one last glance towards the two female students who are waiting for the traffic light to turn green before tearing my eyes away from their figures.

I then set off to my next destination, the soles of my feet aching with every step.

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"Shoo! I'm not hiring a minor like you!" One angry woman shoves me away from the entrance of their shop.

Then, my feet take me to another place, another 'X' on my newspaper page.

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"Oh, of course you can work here…" Another employer flashes a smile, his eyes glinting with disgusting lust. "But I have another job in mind for a gorgeous girl like you."

"I'm sorry, ahjussi. I think I might be more suited for the original job description." I ignore the implication behind his words.

The man's smile disappears and he stares down at me as he crosses his arms over his chest. "If you have so much complaint, then you can go work someplace else. Not sure if your face can earn some normal jobs though. Apart from your face, everything about you is kind of useless. A minor, and most probably a worthless runaway...nobody is as nice as me to take on such a liability, you know?"

I bow. "Thank you for your offer, but I believe there are more capable others that can take up the mantle for the work you offer."

"Hmph, what an ungrateful brat." He harrumphs and closes the door to his store after I am out in the streets.

Another cross marks its place onto the newspaper in my hand.

The wallet in my jeans' pocket is as light as ever, and my stomach growls in protest of having only one kimbap roll filling it since morning. It is already evening, and the scorching heat of summer had the back of my shirt drenched in sweat. I wet my parched throat with whatever is left of my saliva.

I wince as I lift my foot to go to another place that offers a job. I look down and give a brief massage to my thighs and calves. "Just a bit more… Hold on for just a bit more."

I trudge towards my fifth—or maybe it is the sixth?—destination, in search of a job.

Yes, I will hang on just a little bit more.

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I look at the convenience store in front of me before I turn my eyes to the newspaper I hold in my hands. The location should be right. This convenience store should be the one that is hiring as per the details in the newspaper.

I gaze at my reflection on the store's glass walls.I tuck the loose strands of my hair behind my ear, and smooth out the creases on my sweat-stained shirt.

I push the door of the shop, and enter. Like any other convenience store out there, the store is filled with essential necessities that one might need; a variety of instant foods, bathing commodities, women's must-buy item in every month, and snacks lined up the shelves. Carbonated and alcoholic drinks are arranged inside the fridge. A long green counter and a few seats placed near it served as the customers' dining table, living up to the 'convenience' part of the convenience store. On that note, the store is bigger than the typical ones I see.

The things they sell here are relatively cheap, but with only twenty thousand Won in my possession, everything looks expensive. Given that the prices in the early 2000s are not sky-high like they are in the future, living for a week without needing to starve myself is still a doable feat. If I am to stick to one roll of kimbap a day with some water from the taps, I can still have food on my nonexistent table for another week.

Still, for a growing child such as I, eating a roll of kimbap everyday will stunt my growth regardless of the deal I made with the Devil, and it will affect my health. That is why, before my health deteriorates to the point that it will affect my ability to work, I used some of the money I have to buy a newspaper and find a job.

Thus far, none had been willing to hire a child. I just hope the one managing this store is different from the others that I had visited.

I cast my eyes to the paying counter. There sits a middle-aged man with thinning hair and visible scalp with the added bonus of a frown.

Sitting down while he finished scanning the prices of the snacks a young man is buying, the middle-aged man says in his gruff voice, "7000 Won." He holds out his hand, not bothering to replace his frown with a smile.

The young man shifts in place before he takes out a ten thousand Won bill from his wallet. He gives the man the bill and receives his change of three thousand Won. The young man shifts in his spot once again.

The middle-aged man raises an eyebrow. "Isn't the change I gave to you, correct?"

"Yes, but, ahjussi, I need a plastic bag for the snacks," the young man replies.

"I can't be bothered to take a plastic bag under the counter to put your snacks into it." The middle-aged man waves his hand and dismisses the young man. "Just take your snacks and go already."

"Ahjussi—" 

"What, you are still not going? Do you want me to chase you out of my store in the middle of the night?" The old man scowled.

The young man stands still as a frown makes its way onto his face. He then proceeds to stuff some of his smaller snacks into his pockets while he carries the bigger ones in his arms.

I can hear him grumbling out cuss words as he passes by me and exits the store. If I didn't know any better, I would have pegged him as a thief.

"Girl, what are you just standing there for? Are you buying or not?" The middle-aged man rapped the cashier counter with his knuckles.

As I make my way towards the man, I don my usual smile that is wider than my default small one. I hold out the newspaper in my hand to him. "I read that this store is hiring a full-time employee."

He looks at me from top to bottom before opening his mouth to speak, "You are a minor, I see." He crosses his arms over his chest, and gets up from his seat. He leans forward. "I don't accept runaway teenagers who don't want to study, as workers here."

I retract my hand that is holding out the newspaper. "I didn't run away from home, ahjussi."

The man leans back and scoffs. "Then, what? Are you telling me you got kicked out of your house by your family and they had you dropped out of school or something like that?"

How accurate of him.

I smile. "How did ahjussi know? That actually happened, yes, but I was dropped out of school before I was kicked out."

He stares at me for a few moments, his eyes searching for what I assume to be telltales of deception on my part. "...You are not lying."

That's...a statement rather than a question. I keep my smile on as I hide my mild shock at the man's unspoken signal of telling me to continue.

"If it is about my ability to work, I understand that ahjussi may have doubts about it, but I can prove to you that I am proficient and capable enough to be an employee under your care if I am given a chance."

The middle-aged man rubs his temples. "Girl, how old are you?"

I study his expression as I answer. "I'm fourteen years of age, ahjussi." 

He continues to rub his temples, however, it does not look like he is rejecting the notion of me working under him.

"Where do you live at right now?" He closes his eyes and sits down.

"If ahjussi is worried about me arriving late to work, then ahjussi has nothing to be concerned about. I'm sleeping just at the park near here." I point outside the store in the general direction of the park I am staying at. "It's only a 5–10 minutes walk from there to the store, after all."

"You...sleep on the bench?" The man opens his eyes and stares at me.

"Sometimes." I give him a joyful smile since everyone likes happy smiles. "Most of the time though, I sleep inside one of the toilet cubicles. Though I don't have much, I'm afraid of my belongings being stolen." 

I pause for a moment. What other worries does he have about hiring a homeless child? He might be worried about stolen goods and my hygiene.

I need to assuage his concerns.

"I take regular baths at the public toilet, and even though I can only afford soap, I can assure ahjussi that I don't smell. If ahjussi is suspicious about the possibility of me stealing the goods, then ahjussi can monitor me every second. I also swear that I will work very hard—"

"Get out," he sighs as he cut off my sentence.

Ah, I am rejected once more. Did I smile the wrong way again? How many times does this make? Five times, perhaps?

"Get out and get your stuff from the toilet or wherever you hid them at, and come back here." He sighs again. "I will lend you the storeroom for you to sleep in from here onwards. There's also a toilet big enough for you to use it as a bathroom. I will give you a bucket and a dipper, and even throw in proper bathing necessities for you to use later on."

Am I hearing things right?

Due to my shock, I almost committed a grievous mistake of letting my smile slip off my face.

"You will work starting tomorrow from 8 A.M. until 5 P.M. everyday. Lunch break is at twelve. I will give you your pay at the end of each workday." He suppresses another sigh. "Any questions you want to ask, girl?"

"Ahjussi, thank you very much!" I bow at my waist, almost hitting my forehead on the counter. 

Not only is the man employing someone like me to work at his store, he even offers me a place to stay. Such a windfall is both unexpected and unrealistic.

However, I should not get my hopes too high lest when this unbelievable kindness of the man disappears, I would be taken aback by it—something I should have expected in the first place, something that should have been a normal occurrence for me.

"You can thank me by doing an excellent work starting tomorrow. Just go and take your stuff already." The middle-aged man waves his hand, dismissing me with the same frown he had when I first saw him earlier.

I bow again and go out of the store. When I come back, the man is already closing down his shop.

If I am not mistaken, the convenience store is supposed to close at 2 in the morning, but last I checked the central clock at the park, the time was 12:43 P.M..

I walk up to the man and ignore the lead-like legs weighing me down, my hand that previously held a piece of newspaper now holds the straps of my bag. "I do not mean to be impudent, but ahjussi, isn't too early to close the store?"

The middle-aged man looks over the items on the shelves, and grunts, "I can close my store whenever I want."

I follow after him, and says, "Ahjussi will be losing business that way."

Now that I think about it, his attitude towards the young man was also not something a business-oriented person would do.

"It's already late, girl." The man goes to the cash register, sits on the chair before he punches in the numbers on the register and opens it. 

He takes a wad of cash from the register and thumbs through them. "Not a lot of customers today…" He mutters as he finishes counting the paper bills before he moves onto the coins.

I furrow my eyebrows. 

I guess since he is the owner, he can do whatever he wishes. However, I am apprehensive that this will do him harm in the future. Being bankrupt is never a good thing.

I open my mouth, but closes it back once the middle-aged man fixes me with a stare. "I already put a yo mattress in the storeroom. It may be a bit cramped and dusty, but I'd argue that it's better than a toilet's cubicle or a bench in the park."

"I am indebted to you, ahjussi." I bow my head. "Is there anything I can help you with at the moment? I am pretty good at calculations, but I understand if you don't want me near the cash register—"

"Stop your blabbering, girl." The man sighs. He pointed to a deeper part of the store. "The storeroom and the toilet are over there. There are signs above the doors, so there's no mistaking them. Now, go to sleep." He waves his hand, going back to counting the day's profit.

"It is fine. I can help with the store's closing."

He rolls his eyes at me. "Listen here, little girl. I didn't close the store early for you to be so eager to work. I said for you to sleep, so sleep."

"However—"

"Girl, I'll even pay you to sleep, so stop your yapping, and go knock yourself out in the storeroom." The man scowls even harder as he counts the coins. "Don't make me repeat myself, girl."

I blink, once, and twice, before my subdued smile widens. "Ahjussi."

"I said to go to sleep, didn't I—" The man looks up from his work and pauses as he looks at me.

"My name is Yoon Chin Sun." I bow once again. "Although we just met, thank you for your kindness for giving me a job and a place to stay. You are a very kind ahjussi." I lift my head up to look at him whose current expression is of a careful neutrality. "Then, I will head off to sleep like you ordered now, ahjussi. Please excuse me."

I head towards the storeroom, and the middle-aged man says nothing in return.

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Author's notes: Yup, this story is going to be a slowburn because I need to set up some initial background for our MC here.

Btw, the Chin Sun in Yoon Chin Sun means 'The one who seeks truth and goodness in everything', and the Yoon in her name means 'To rule'.

P.S.: Tiffany has come back with a new song called Run for Your Life, and Taeyeon is coming back this month on the 22nd with her second full album called 'Purpose'! Can you guys feel the hype?!