Jeongyeon sat back down at her seat as a customer walked out of the store, after purchasing food. She glanced at the wall behind her to check the time.

10PM. A little while more before my shift ends, she thought.

Looking at her notepad, she worked on her thesis while waiting for time to pass, occasionally looking up to see if any customer approached the door. Alternating between both, Jeongyeon was slightly frustrated at how it was difficult to concentrate on her work. Before long, it was 10:32PM.

Jeongyeon kept her things, took a pen and a clipboard with a stock list paper attached. Going over to the refrigerator, she started by counting the number of bottled drinks, then the canned drinks, then moved on to the sandwiches.

It wasn't a lot for each item as she breezed through the fried rice, cup noodles, pastries and sweets. As she made her way to the final shelf, the bell jingled, signalling a customer had opened the door.

She sighed inwardly as she walked back to the counter, put down the clipboard and waited for the person to walk over for payment. A female who looked like a twenty-something-year-old placed a palm sized cheesecake on the counter, taking out her wallet.

Jeong scanned the cheesecake’s barcode and tending  a note that the girl gave.

“Thank you and please come again,” she said the usual words with boredom while handing her the change.

The girl bowed, then noticed Jeongyeon’s slightly annoyed expression. “Um, sorry for coming in when you’re about to close for the night.”

Jeongyeon paused. No customer has ever apologized for that before. She was surprised, although she disliked people disrupting her when she’s stock taking. It was then she noticed the girl’s appearance. She was wearing a dark blue hoodie, her hair tied up in a messy bun. Her eyes looked a little...tired?

“Ah, it’s fine,” Jeongyeon replied.

The girl nodded and made her way to the entrance.

“Take care on the way home,” Jeongyeon spoke a little louder to her who was now slightly further. She didn’t know why she said that, but her instincts told her to. The girl gave a quick smile before continuing to make her way out of the store.