“What is one aspect of good customer service?”

“I believe that in order to serve our customers well, we must show our brightest sides and exhibit helpfulness no matter how we are feeling on the inside. Even if I’m having a bad day, or if the customer is being rude, I will try to show my positive side and aid the customer in any way possible.”

“Ahh very good,” Park Bom said as she took a few notes on her clipboard.

After a couple of more questions, the interview finally ended. Even though it was pretty casual for an interview, I was still very nervous.

“I’ve decided; come to work tomorrow morning at 6am,” Park Bom announced, smiling. In truth, she had really needed a pretty young worker ASAP to help her during the busy times of the bakery, and Eunbi perfectly fit her requirements: smart, young, fresh, and most of all, polite.

“Thank you so much!” I said as I stood up and bowed to her, making Park Bom chuckle. “I’ll work very hard, sajangnim!”

Park Bom then left to go to the back to continue baking the bread, leaving me awestruck and crazy happy. I was overjoyed to finally get another part time job at one of my favorite places in the world. Plus, Park Bom seemed like an awesome owner, not one of those stingy, backstabbing sort of people, but more of a down to earth, honest, and overall, very amusing person. Not to mention that she was also very pretty; her hair was always oh so perfect, even though she spent hours baking and preparing the bread. I looked up to her already: she had pursued her dreams of owning her own little bakery despite her parents’ pleads to go to graduate school and become a doctor. She never regretted her decision, however, because she couldn’t imagine herself doing anything else other than managing her bakery. She was only in her late twenties, which is pretty young for a business owner of a successful bakery.

The next day, I went to the bakery, ready for my first day of work. It was still very dark because it was so early in the morning, and the weather was kinda cool even though it was summer. I enjoyed the quiet morning sounds of birds chirping and the dewdrops on leaves glistening in the mist. The sounds of cicadas calling from the trees were a bit annoying, but calming nonetheless.

Still, I was very, very tired. I wasn’t a morning person, but I knew I would have to change that if I wanted to work at the bakery.

Park Bom had given me a uniform the previous day, so I had went home and washed it. Once I arrived at the bakery, I went to the back, where Park Bom introduced me to how things worked around here.

“Sajangnim-” I began.

“Oh, just call me unnie. I’m not THAT much older than you,” Park Bom chuckled. She actually looked really young for her age.

“Oh…. Ok, unnie!” I beamed. This was going so much better than my first day at Sunshine Academy…

Bom-unnie gave me a tour around the back, showing me how and where she makes the bread, and where to put my belongings at the beginning of work. I was assigned a locker to put my clothes and bag, where I would change and keep my personal belongings secure.

“So today, you’ll be starting out as the cashier. This way, I’ll have more time to bake in the back of the kitchen while you tend to our customers’ needs,” Bom-unnie explained. I nodded, and tried to memorize everything she said.

After about an hour of demonstrations and explanations, I was ready for the basics. The bakery officially opened at 8am, and it was only 7am when I was free to practice and explore the bakery. I decided to look around the display of breads and try to memorize the prices and basic ingredients of each type of bread. It wasn’t as hard as I had thought, though, because since I came to the bakery so many times, I practically knew all of the breads and their descriptions.

In addition to breads, the bakery also sold a variety of cakes, ranging from fresh-cream fruit cake to mocha rolls to green tea mousse cheesecake. They were so pretty and perfect in the display case: I definitely hoped that one day I would be able to learn how to bake something as good as these.

I tidied up the counter, got myself used to using the cash register, and adjusted my uniform. I had to make Bom-unnie proud. Once the clock hit 8 am, I flipped the sign on the door to “OPEN” and slapped a smile on my face. It was show time.

The first few hours of the bakery seemed to be the busiest, as many people came in to grab a bread for breakfast and brunch. I took note of which ones seemed to be the most popular, which included the red bean paste buns, soboro, and castella. The pre-made peanut butter sandwiches were also a hit among many high school students.

“That’ll be 1,500 won,” I said as I typed on the cash register and put the bread in a plastic bag. The busiest hour had passed, and now, customers were not as frequent. I was tired already; there would be constant questions from customers about the bread, as well as others who placed orders for catering for events. I ran to and from the bread displays to the register, trying to make sure who ordered what and who had already paid.

As the customer handed me the 1,500 won and I was about to give him the bread, I glanced up, and gasped. My eyes opened wide in recognition of the person.

“Hey….. Aren’t you a high school student?” I asked, my mouth wide open. I then looked at his uniform, which obviously showed that he was indeed a student.

The customer, however, didn’t look up, and casually responded.

“Yeah,” he said, reaching out for the bread. I quickly pulled it back and away from him, still staring at him.

“Whoa, easy there, fella. You bumped into me last time, remember? And yet you’re still skipping school? What did you say your name was? Chan..min… no. Chanyeol..? Yeah, that’s right! Chanyeol!”

Chanyeol froze, and slowly looked at me, with painful recognition entering his eyes.

“Chanyeol! You’re late! School started 30 minutes ago!” I said, feeling like his older sister, or even his mom, even though I barely knew him. I would never let my younger siblings be late to school. It was free, and it was crucial to getting into college.

“T-that’s because…” Chanyeol began his sentence, but quickly looked around, scanning the area for exits.

“Gotta go, noona; I’ll come back for the bread. See ya!” Chanyeol grinned, then zoomed out of the store before I could stop him.

“Hey!! Don’t forget your bread!” I shouted, feeling kinda bad because I might have scared him off. I decided to leave his packaged bread off to the side, out of the display area, so that when he came, he could pick it right up.

“I hope he’s running off to school,” I muttered, walking back to the cash register.

Besides that little commotion in the bakery, things went very smoothly. After a couple of weeks of working as the cashier, I got the hang of the schedule and managed my time wisely. Bom-unnie usually stayed in the back, baking the bread, but often came out in order to organize the bread and help customers with questions I had no idea about. I never missed work, and was always on time, because that was one of my pet peeves: when people were late to anything or skipped without a notice. On most days, I worked at the bakery in the mornings, and then went to my tutoring job in the afternoon and evening. This daily summer life filled with part-time jobs and whatnot soon felt normal, and I felt happy because I was much more productive than moping around at home.

“Ok, class, open your books to page 230. Read the passage and then answer the questions. We’ll discuss it afterwards,” I said, earning a groan from all of the students. “The faster you do it, the earlier we finish!”

Immediately, all that could be heard were the sounds of pens and pencils scribbling on the paper, underlining and highlighting parts of the reading.

I made my way over to my desk, sat down, and began correcting the homework from the previous night. As expected, Lay and Baekhyun did their homework, although I had to admit that Lay’s percentage was much higher than Baekhyun’s. Still, I gave them both credit for trying. As I moved down the pile of papers, I landed on Sehun’s sheet. His paper had random scribbles here and there, and only a few of the answers were filled in, but the ones that were filled in were all correct.

Sehun seems like a capable kid… It’s just that he isn’t trying… I took a mental note to pay more attention to Sehun’s behavior during class.

The last paper I landed on, however, was disappointing. It wasn’t surprising, but nonetheless disappointing.

Aigoo….. Kim Jongin…… When is he ever going to improve……..

Jongin rarely did his homework, but unlike Sehun, when he did try to fill out some of the answers, they always ended up being incorrect. I took an even bigger mental note to pay more attention to Jongin during class. Maybe I could call him to answer a question- nahhh. What am I thinking. I knew I didn’t want to mess with someone who hangs out with those types of guys.. I was just a part time tutor in need of some money in order to pay for my education.

Suddenly, embarrassing memories from that one night in the club flooded my mind, and I blushed. I felt frustrated and sighed deeply, earning uneasy glances from the student in the first row. I noticed my unusual behavior, and just smiled at the students, who then resumed their reading.

I had to admit: Jongin was a student to be respected. Even though I didn’t tell him outright, he sort of assumed my situation and didn’t tell a soul about what had happened at the club. I wanted to thank him, but then again, I didn’t want to remember that day, so I just sort of let it pass. Still, I was glad he kept it in the down low, or else Suho would question me endlessly about my responsibilities as a tutor.

“Ok, let’s check the answers now,” I said after the allotted time had passed. As I went to the board and picked up a stick of chalk to start writing the answer key a student stopped me.

“W-wait ssaem!! I’m almost done, so wait two seconds!” I heard Baekhyun yelp as he furiously began reading the last few questions. I turned around, and saw him sitting at the edge of his seat with his hand raised, while his brows were furrowed as he focused on the questions. His pencil was moving like crazy, taking notes and trying to fill out the answer sheet.

Baekhyun was one of my hardest working students, but sadly, his hard work didn’t reflect the actual results of his tests and assignments. Still, I wasn’t too worried, because he averaged 80s to 90s on major assignments. His hard work inspired me, however, to give it my all for this class and truly help these students to improve their English.

The rest of the class giggled at his goofiness because the way he sat looked like he was about to blast off into the sky, with one foot on his chair. I couldn’t help but smile, and decided to wait a few more minutes for Baekhyun to finish up.

Tutoring ended at 9 pm, and one-by-one the students filed past my desk, bowing and saying good-bye. I smiled and greeted them as they left, and as usual, only two students remained.

“What can I help you with today, ssaem?” Sehun asked from the back.

Ever since the day after my first day of work, Sehun always stayed after class to help me with tasks. Maybe he felt pity for me ever since the chalkboard eraser incident, or maybe he was just a helpful guy; I was just happy to have a helper because I could use all the aid I could get.

“Are you sure you’re fine with this, Sehun? You can go home and relax,” I said, feeling bad.

“No, it’s fine. I have some time to kill.”

“Oh ok. Then could you help me grade the assignment from today?” I asked.

“Sure.” Sehun then walked over to my desk, took my papers and a red pen, and went back to his seat and began correcting the assignment. There was an answer key, so Sehun didn’t really have to think too much when correcting. Still, sometimes he would point out mistakes in my own answer key, which amazed me because I didn’t know he was so good at English for his age and background.

“How’s Jongin doing?” I asked, pointing at the sleeping boy next to Sehun. Sehun just looked to the side and then back at me.

“He’s sleeping, like normal,” he reported, then resumed to correcting the papers.

Jongin always slept during the end of class, and then rarely woke up when the bell rang, signaling that class was over. I usually let him continue napping for 20-30 minutes, because by then, he woke up and silently left the classroom. Teenagers love to sleep, so I just let him be. Besides, I had to finish my own work anyways.

After around 20 minutes, Sehun finished correcting the papers and handed them to me.

“Thank you so much, Sehun. I’ll buy you food next time, so if you can, I would appreciate it if you could keep on helping me after class,” I said.

“Sure, since I have the time,” Sehun replied, with an aura of nonchalant coolness. He then bowed and said goodbye, leaving me and Jongin still sleeping in the back of the room.

“Aigoo… and when is this nutshell ever going to wake up…” I muttered as I went back to my desk to work on my papers. I decided to not disturb his sleep, and let his stay for a few more minutes. It was almost 10 pm, but I still had a lot of work to do because I was preparing for the mid-term assessments that Suho had wanted me to finish by tomorrow. I was a horrible procrastinator, however, and waited to make the assessments until the last minute.

I heard footsteps in the hallway, and then the door screeching open.

“Song-seonsaeng, aren’t you going home already? Oh and what’s up with- woops it’s just Jongin,” Suho said, noticing Jongin sleeping in the back corner.

“I’ll go home soon; I just have to finish up the assessments for the students,” I said.

“Well, if you insist. Don’t be too hard on yourself. Goodnight!” Suho waved good-bye, then closed the door.

I might stay later than usual tonight…. Oh well. At least Suho gave me the building key, so he can leave first and I can lock up the academy once I’m done.

I sighed deeply, and then began to work on my delayed assessment.

After a couple minutes into working, however, my eyes began to droop, and my head felt heavy. My vision blurred, and I began to doze off. I tried to slap myself to wake myself up, but I couldn’t. Work at the bakery earlier today was particularly exhausting, and I felt pooped. I also had only 4 hours of sleep the previous night, so my whole body felt laggy and slow. I drank a gulp of water, sat on the edge of my chair, and tried to continue to work, but my head nodded off as I continued to doze.

Maybe I’ll just take a tiny nap….. I thought as I put my head down on my desk. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get anything done if I continued to doze off, so I wrapped my arms around my head, and immediately fell asleep.

“Seonsaengnim…. Seonsaengnim!!!!!”

I jolted up from my dream, only to realize that I was still in the classroom at Sunshine Academy. The lights were still on, and outside was still dark.

Dang…. What was that dream about….? I thought to myself as I wiped the sides of my mouth. I just stared into the wall for a few seconds, until I realized what I had done.

“Aishh what time is it??” I muttered, looking at the clock.

2:02 AM

I rolled my eyes and groaned, leaning back into my chair. I stared at the ceiling in disbelief. My short nap hard turned into a four hour slumber.

I froze, and hesitated to move.

Oh shoot….. is Jongin still here? I then slowly turned my head from the ceiling to the back corner of the room where Jongin usually slept. I sighed with relief when I noticed that he wasn’t there. He must have seen my napping and left after his own nap had ended.

I took a deep breath, gathered my things, and turned off the lights. My footsteps made hollow sounds in the empty hallway, which was a bit creepy, but I was too tired to worry. I just wanted to go home and sleep.

Outside, I locked up the building with the key that Suho entrusted me with, and then made my way back to my dorm. The weather was cool, yet still pretty warm. I was glad I had worn a cardigan, or else my top would have been too thin to keep me from shivering. I was still a bit clumsy because I had just woken up, and my vision was very sensitive because of the sudden exposure to bright lights on the streets. The route from the academy to the dorm was simple, but not exactly the shortest. I usually took the main roads where lots of people roamed, just to be safe, but there was a short cut that involved passing through a much more uncommon, lesser used street. I was tired and sleepy, so with my irrational thinking, I decided to take the deserted street at 2 AM in the morning because I wanted to get home faster.

My senses were still a bit fuzzy due to my sleepiness, but I managed to find myself on the empty street, walking by myself. The glowing yellow streetlight provided some visibility, but for the most part, the emptiness of the street sort of spooked me out.

Suddenly, my breath hitched as I felt something weird. I didn’t stop walking, but my heart twisted as I felt something uneasy in the atmosphere.

I sensed someone following me.

The whole time, I had failed to react to my uneasy senses, thinking that since I was tired I was being overly paranoid, but this time, I knew it was real. There was something different, something urgent.

I kept walking in my normal speed, not trying to earn any suspicions from my pursuers. As I kept walking, I saw the street open up to a much busier street filled with people and much brighter lights.

Oh my goodness, thank the heavens, I thought as I continued to walk straight, towards the busy street.

 The second I reached the busy sidewalk, I cut through the crowd of moving bodies, weaving through different crowds in order to lose my pursuer. I didn’t look back quite yet, but instead, tried to look natural as I went through the crowd in zigzag patterns. I began to walk a bit more quickly in order to guarantee that I had lost the stalker.

My eyes were wide open now, and my heartbeat raced. Any traces of sleepiness had completely disappeared: my body was in flight-or-fight mode, and adrenaline soared through my system, giving me incredible energy and strength. I knew what people out there in the world were capable of, and I surely didn’t want to become the next victim.

As I mentally reproached myself for taking the deserted road in the first place, I went over to the left of the sidewalk, near the entrances to the numerous stores and restaurants. I continued to walk, when suddenly, somebody grabbed me by my wrist, pulling me into a random store. Since the sidewalk was so busy and crowded, nobody else noticed me being dragged into a store.

Before I could yelp, I looked up to see my captor. He was wearing a hat, sunglasses and a mask, but I could see the rest of his face clearly.

Hmm….. he looks familiar…..

“Yah!! Let go of me-“

The person hissed, not letting go of my wrist. I panicked, thinking that this guy was on the same side as the pursuer I had tried to lose in the busy streets.

“If you don’t let go, I’m going to-“

“Ssaem!! Shhh!!” The person hissed, continuing to look out the store window.

That voice…..?

“Don’t move, and don’t say anything,” he whispered, still gripping onto my wrist. I obeyed, keeping in mind that if I made a commotion, my pursuers could notice and find me easily.

The person and I looked outside the store window while hiding near the aisle of the market. We casually looked outside for any suspicious activity. Suddenly, on the other side of the street, we saw a sketchy looking man run through the street, with three more men following him. They were all wearing suits, just like the gangsters from the club. The lead chaser stopped running, panting, and the men following him also stopped, panting. The lead man then turned around, saying something to his subordinates. The three followers then nodded, and the four of them got inside a nearby black sedan and drove away.

The whole time this was happening, I was staring with bewilderment outside the store window. The person holding my wrist was also speechless.

Once we finally saw the gangsters leave, both of us unconsciously took a deep breath and sighed.

“E-excuse me, but my wrist-“ I began.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” he said before letting go of my wrist. I rubbed my raw wrist, which now was a bit red because of all the pressure in the grip.

“So, who are you?” I cautiously asked.

“Shhh talk more quietly,” the person whispered, before taking off his sunglasses.

I gasped.

I know this chapter is a bit boring but don't worry~ More excitement coming on the way~

But until then, thank you so much for reading!! ;D

P.S. I'm working on the next chapter right now... but idk guys. I feel like it's becoming more and more like a reverse harem, which I was trying to avoid. It's just that I don't want to make some EXO members the "bad" guys in the story.. Ahhh idk! Hopefully it all works out and you guys will hopefully enjoy it! ^o^

P.P.S. OH MAH I just saw EXO's teaser for "Overdose" and maaaaaaan they look good~ I really like all their new hairstyles and stuff~ Ahh can't wait!! :D My biases always change.. T_T

credits