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Han Hyeongjun wipes the sweat off her forehead. The hot Gimhae sun is beating down on her; even with the least amount of clothing possible (which consists of a brown cardigan, white camisole and a maxi skirt, she physically feels uncomfortable not wearing an outer layer, it’s in her DNA), she still feels like melting onto the asphalt road. She curses herself for not bringing an umbrella, believing she could survive the short walk to the convenience store. As it turns out, she could not.
She had been hanging out in her room with her best friend, Kwak Jiseok. It had been a routine for the two of them since middle school — Jiseok, being the new kid, befriended quiet little Hyeongjun and then found herself frequenting Hyeongjun’s house as often as she possibly could, to the point Hyeongjun’s parents gifted her a spare key to the house on her 15th birthday. The girl was painting her nails on the floor, nail charms scattered throughout a small table that acted as her makeshift station. The ceiling fan spun too leisurely, giving unsatisfactory cooling to the two girls. Hyeongjun’s air conditioner had broken a few weeks ago right before summer started, so they had to make do with fans that had seen better days. A steady hum of a Green Day song (because Jiseok physically couldn’t survive without at least a daily 2-hour listening session of the band’s discography) could be heard playing from her battered JBL speaker. Hyeongjun was peacefully scrolling through Twitter on her bed, chuckling at a funny tweet when Jiseok whined, “God, this heat is killing me!”
Hyeongjun glanced up from her phone, raising her eyebrow. “Yeah, and water is wet,” she deadpanned. “Don’t get too worked up, it’s already hot enough.”
Jiseok abandoned her activity, screwing the nail polish shut before crawling to Hyeongjun’s bedside, pouting as she rested her head on crossed arms at the edge of the mattress. “Junie~ I want popsicles~”
Hyeongjun sighed. “There should still be some in the freezer,” she responded before going back to a thread about seals she had left on.
The black-haired girl whined even more. “I checked, they all ran out,” she shook her head, her butterfly earrings swaying back and forth.
“You sure? I swear Dad just bought some like, two days ago.”
“I just told you they ran out! Junie! I’m about to die from heatstroke!”
Hyeongjun ignored her once again. She knew Jiseok could be quite dramatic; the best way to handle her is to let any of her antics pass.
Apparently not today. It seemed like the summer was really getting into Jiseok’s skin (and perhaps, her as well). Sulking, Jiseok climbed up onto Hyeongjun’s bed and proceeded to shake the living hell out of her by the shoulders. “Popsicles!!!” she shouted into Hyeongjun’s face. She let out a surprised yelp. “What the fuck?!”
The shaking became even more aggressive as it went on; she could feel a headache forming. Hyeongjun tried to pry Jiseok’s arms away in vain. “Okay, okay! I’ll buy you a fucking popsicle!” she groaned before finally sitting up. There is no defeating Kwak Jiseok when it comes to popsicle matters. “Yippee!!” the latter squealed in joy.
She grabbed a stray cardigan from a laundry pile she was 70% confident was clean, feeling much too exposed in her semi-transparent camisole top. She stared at her best friend, who didn’t seem to have any intention of getting up. “Well? Are you not coming?”
Jiseok looked incredulously at her best friend, pointing at her ankles. “Did you forget I sprained my ankle and it’s still recovering?” Hyeongjun’s pretty sure that incident was a month ago and it should already be healed by now. She narrowed her eyes at Jiseok, suspicious. The latter put on her best aegyo.
Rolling her eyes, she put in her earbuds, ready to go out. Jiseok shouted out a “Thank you! Love you!” before Hyeongjun closed the door to her bedroom. To confirm her suspicions, she made her way to the kitchen freezer and checked the contents. Lo and behold, there were no popsicles – Jiseok actually told her the truth for once! Finally resigning to her fate, she exited the kitchen and went to the door. Slipping into her faded red Converse, she started her popsicle journey after properly closing the front gate.
Which brings us back to the present. Hyeongjun breathes out in annoyance. Her hair is sticking out weirdly, getting more and more frizzy as time goes by. Giving up on the half-up half-down hairstyle, she grabs her hair in a handful and ties it all into a low ponytail. She really should’ve just let her curls exist today; at least she wouldn’t feel like she wasted her time straightening her hair if it’s just gonna end up in a frizzy mess later in the day from all the humidity. Her bangs are plastered haphazardly against her sweaty forehead. She tsked and swiped her bangs to the sides, tucking the longer pieces behind her ears. Great, she’s already drenched. A nice, refreshing shower is in due, she notes mentally.
Finally, after walking for five more minutes under the blazing heat, she sees the recognisable red and green sign of the neighbourhood grocery store. It has been run by the Ohs for as long as Hyeongjun could remember even before her parents’ time, her earliest memory of it being finding out her all-time favorite snack from a secluded corner of the shop. Now, it has grown to a relatively modern store due to the massive support from the neighbourhood; she remembered the store closing down for renovations for a good year, forcing most of the locals to go to the overpriced grocery store thirty minutes away in the town for their weekly purchase. The cool AC air of the store hitting her face when she opens the glass door feels like salvation, sighing in relief as she hears the overworked staff near the counter say something along the lines of “Welcome, dear customer”, muffled by heavy guitar riffs blasting into her ears.
She goes straight to the freezer section, picking out watermelon popsicles from a specific brand — her and Jiseok’s go-to choice after lots of wasted popsicles and too many wons spent — alongside some vanilla cones and chocolate ice cream bars in case Jiseok suddenly gets into her ice cream mood.
A few rounds through the drink and snack aisles later, looking for anything else to buy, she ends up with a lot more than just popsicles. In the shopping basket are a few packets of sweet buns, some generic potato chips, three too many instant ramen, and a suspiciously instant-pizza-shaped box. What? She was feeling hungry, sue her.
She makes her way to the cashier, the weight of the basket making her sway a little. The basket is placed on the counter with a thump. Apparently, the cashier was quite distracted, if the way she jumped is anything to go by. Hyeongjun finally looks up (her neck cracking in the process) after pausing her music and is greeted by a view one would offer billions for.
She hadn’t realized this when she entered the store, but the cashier is way too damn beautiful. She doesn’t remember the store hosting a Miss Korea competition where the ultimate prize is becoming a cashier at a rural town in Ulsan. The first thing she notices is the multitude of piercings donning her ears and is that a chain connected from her lobe to her lip piercing?!?!?! Her platinum blonde hair contrasts with the dark colour of different cigarette brands behind her. Her eyeliner is a bit smudged, adding to her dangerous look. Her sharp eyes are subdued by boredom as she scans barcode after barcode, the beeps fading into the background as Hyeongjun keeps staring at her. A beauty mark sits prettily on the corner of her right eye. God, she must’ve looked so stupid right now. If Jiseok were here, she would definitely laugh her ass off as she takes photos of Hyeongjun in her gay panic stupor.
Her clothes look way too inappropriate for the weather, but they do not fail to make Hyeongjun swoon anyway. The checkered white shirt pairs perfectly with the striped red tie; along with the washed denim blue jeans, it creates an effortless look. Hyeongjun can’t stop staring at the abundance of pin badges on her shirt, recognizing a few bands and internally cheering at the shared interests. A pair of wired headphones can be seen resting on her shoulders, and when Hyeongjun focuses a bit more, she can hear a rock song that she unfortunately isn’t able to deduce the title of currently playing. Kind of sounds like Pierce The Veil. Great taste.
After what seems like forever, the beautiful cashier finally finishes scanning the last barcode. “Your total is 25,100 won, cash or card?” she says with an oh so fucking attractive voice. That brought Hyeongjun back to reality, only now realizing her mouth was wide open all this time. She coughs slightly and covers her mouth while discreetly wiping it in case drool is actually there. “Cash,” she hastily answers as she pats her pockets in search of her wallet.
To her horror, her wallet is nowhere to be found. Her eyes widen in panic. Wait, did someone steal it? No way, there was no one walking near me at all, so pickpocketing is impossible. Also, only an insane person would walk in this heat. Her movements become even more frantic, repeatedly checking her cardigan and skirt in case her wallet is in some space-bending pocket that somehow exists amongst three folds of fabric. Just then, Hyeongjun gets a flashback to the time before she left the house.
Grabbed cardigan, grabbed wallet from bedside table, middle finger to Jiseok, went to the kitchen, checked freezer, no popsicle, went to the doorsteps, grabbed keys from the cuckoo clock slash key holder, grabbed shoes from shoe rack, put down wallet –
“Fuck!” she whispered under her breath. The pretty cashier raises a perfectly arched pierced eyebrow at her (because of course she has an eyebrow piercing!). Hyeongjun panics. Now she’s gonna think I’m a stupid girl who can’t even pay for popsicles and ramen!
“Uh, wait a second,” she says as she opens her phone and searches for her bank application. Opening the app, she grimaces at the horrifyingly low balance of 6,000 won. To be fair, her current allowance had mostly only been given in cash, and she’d left her bank account practically empty ever since getting back home for summer break. It will definitely not be enough to pay for all the items.
“Uh… I’ll just have the ice creams, sorry,” she says meekly. She’s quite sure she’s burning up like a cooked lobster at this point, fumbling her supposedly cool image in front of the one hot woman in this area (“Hey, what about me?!” the mini Jiseok in Hyeongjun’s mind whines). She has a reputation to uphold, for god’s sake!
The cashier’s lips quirk up, seemingly amused by this whole situation. “I get you, everyone has their days”, she comments. Okay, Hyeongjun needs her to stop talking and start communicating in any other way, because she’s about to combust purely from her voice on top of all the humiliation. She understands a bit of sign language, that can be a start.
“Also, you seem like you really need the other items, so I’ll help pay for them,” the blonde suggests, which, in her shock, makes Hyeongjun finally look at her eyes properly. They’re a beautiful shade of brown, long eyelashes coated with a thick coat of mascara which further emphasizes the length. A furious red spreads across Hyeongjun’s cheeks, waving her hands around. “Oh no, you really don’t have to!”
The cashier smiles even wider, and Hyeongjun feels like she can drop dead right here, achieving her lifelong goal of making a pretty woman smile. If she had paid more attention in the midst of her internal panic, she would’ve been able to notice the same shade of red on the blonde’s cheeks. “Well, I insist. Consider it pretty privilege,” she responds, winking at the former.
Oh yeah, she’s definitely in heaven now. Hyeongjun’s heart races as though she'd run for hours trying to get away from Mrs Jeong’s weirdly aggressive Chihuahua and not currently standing still in a perfectly air-conditioned grocery store. Dazed, she nods slowly. “Oh, s-sure…if you’re okay with it.”
The blonde grins as she takes out her wallet and swipes her card on the card reader, a ding happily ringing out, signalling the payment is successful. It would’ve been comical if the card is also rejected, though Hyeongjun cannot handle that probability at this point.
After the cashier hands over Hyeongjun’s items safely packed in plastic bags, the latter finally snaps out of her daze as she’s about to walk out, holding the glass door ajar with her free hand. “Wait!” she says. “I’ll repay you the money tomorrow.”
The blonde raises her eyebrows. “You don’t need to.” she responds.
“I insist, it must’ve been burdensome.”
She takes a second to think, finger tapping at her chin, beautiful plump lips pouting. ‘How can someone be this cute?!?!?!?’ Hyeongjun screams internally. “Perhaps you can repay me with your name, cutie,” she answers with a confident smile.
Hyeongjun’s mind short-circuits. “Ah– um– eh?”
The cashier continues smiling innocently as if she hadn’t just done significant damage to Hyeongjun’s wellbeing. She fully believes her lifespan has now been cut in half by this one interaction. Goodbye to her dreams of having a hot and sexy wife and growing old with her. Maybe this cashier can be her hot and sexy wife. Okay, no, we’re not gonna go that far. Yet.
“Han Hyeongjun! Uh, you can call me Hyeongjun.” she answers, her voice a bit too loud and squeaky to her liking. Her face is blazing hot, almost rivalling the gruelling weather she’s starting to feel beyond the glass door.
“Hyeongjun,” the cashier repeats, as if testing out how the name rolls off her tongue. Hyeongjun would literally pay her to say her name every second. She feels like she can get addicted to this quickly. “Well Hyeongjun, I hope I get to see you around soon,” she bends forward onto the counter, resting her chin on her palm. Hyeongjun now also realizes she looks a lot like a fox with how her sharp eyes get smaller the wider her smile gets.
Hyeongjun works up a smile, a genuine one after finally calming down. “You too, pretty cashier,” she says, now exiting the store and fully oblivious to how the blonde drops to her knees behind the counter.
She doesn't realize it, but some neighborhood aunties bear witness to how she skips happily all the way to her house, a lopsided smile on her face at all times.
Suddenly, a thought creeps up into her mind. Fuck, I didn’t even get her name!
.𖥔 ݁ ˖ ✦ ‧₊˚ ⋅
(“What took you so long?!” Jiseok snatches the plastic bag and digs around for her popsicle. “What the fuck? It’s all melted! All that waiting for nothing!” Hyeongjun couldn’t pay any attention to her best friend, too focused on the way the cashier’s canines catch on her lips when she smiles. When she finally comes down from her high, she’s faced with a red-faced Jiseok who’s eyeing her way too suspiciously. Needless to say, a text message to her father requesting for a box of watermelon popsicles serves as a decent apology to Kwak Jiseok, who finally gets to enjoy the summer treat at nighttime after having dinner with the Hans. Jiseok makes it her summer mission to find out what happened, though. Nothing like being able to make fun of your best friend and possibly blackmailing her after waiting for an agonizing 30 minutes for some fucking popsicles. Until then, she'll just have to resolve to killing Hyeongjun with her mind.)