Chapter Text
When you learned that your apartment would be small, you weren’t expecting quite this small. The main room served as the kitchen, dining room, and bedroom. The only other rooms were a bathroom and a small closet close to the bed. This was the cheapest place you and your mom could find that looked safe enough to actually live in.
You took a deep breath and placed your duffel bag on your small – hopefully brand new – bed. You glanced around the apartment, taking it all in. There was the bed, a simple kitchen, and a table. No chairs. They could give you a dining table, but no chairs? Whatever.
Moving here was a huge risk, but one you were willing to take. Anything to get away from home. Away from him. A brand-new country and nothing but a loose understanding of the native language and five thousand dollars in your bank account. You have your dad’s parents to thank for both. You never did quite like them, but they evidently loved you. They were very passionate about you learning Korean – they said something about wanting to make sure you didn’t get “lost in your mom’s culture.” When your grandma finally passed a few months ago, she left a large sum of money to you. You offered to split it with your mom but she was insistent that you used it to finally escape. You also wanted to take her with you, begged her to come with, but she had finally gotten a stable job and a nice girlfriend that she didn’t want to leave. This caused a bit of tension between you – you couldn’t believe she would choose her girlfriend of only a month over you – but after a long argument, you gave up on the issue. You understood how hard it was to make the choice to abandon the life around you, and it was clearly not worth it to her.
The convenience store you got hired at was a pretty small one that wasn’t open on Tuesdays, so your first shift wasn’t until tomorrow. Using this free time to your advantage, you unpacked what little belongings you had and then flopped down on the bed. You scrolled through your contacts, wondering if you should reach out to any of your friends from home, but eventually decided against it. You had never really been close enough to them. You sighed and settled on calling your mom.
After just one ring, she picked up, “Hey baby, I’ve been waiting to hear from you. How’s the apartment?”
“Hey mom! Yeah, it’s pretty good, a little small, but I like it. Just wanted to let you know I’m settled in.” You tried to be enthusiastic for her; she was more concerned for your well-being than you were.
“Good! What’s your plan now?”
“I’m just going to get some rest. The store doesn’t open today, but I have my first shift tomorrow. Hopefully I can find that second job soon.” The convenience store only needs you to work the late-night shift and doesn’t pay quite enough for you to be comfortable. You also have no intention of abandoning your goal of finally upgrading your trashy old camera. The poor thing finally gave out on you right before you started packing, so you hoped to be able to replace it soon.
Your mother sighed before replying, “Are you sure about that? I don’t want you overworking yourself and that money should take care of you for a while, right?”
“I told you already, that money is going straight to savings and hopefully I won’t touch it. I’ll be fine.”
“I just don’t want you to put all this pressure on yourself honey. You’re only one person!”
“It could’ve been two people. You could be here Mom, all the pressure wouldn’t be on me. But you’re not here. So, it’s all on me.” You were suddenly frustrated; you didn’t have the energy for this right now.
There was only silence on the other end for a moment. “You know I can’t be there, you know- “she cut herself off for a moment. “Ah… it’s time for Nana to eat. We can talk more later. I love you.”
“Right. Love you too.” You quickly hung up, thankful for the excuse to not be on the phone anymore.
You sat down on your bed and put your face in your hands. You tried to will the coming tears away, but it was no use. The stress of it all finally took its toll. It was finally hitting you – you were alone, and that wasn’t going to change.
After a while, the tears wore you out and you decided to turn in for the night, hoping that tomorrow would go well.
Your alarm brought you out of your fitful sleep, and you quickly grabbed your phone to turn it off. Squinting at the brightness, you noticed one text message from your mom.
Mom: I’m sorry for arguing with you last night. Do we need to have another talk about me not coming?
You groaned and rolled out of bed while typing out a reply.
You: no we don’t
You: im sorry for blowing up on you
Deciding that was a good enough response for right now, you stretched and started getting dressed for the day. You looked in the mirror, wearing one of your favorite outfits and matching accessories, and smiled. With how down you felt last night, you wanted to feel confident when looking for jobs today. This would be an amazing day! At least you hoped so.
You quickly left your apartment, only pausing for a minute to figure out which direction to go. You had seen a hiring ad for a nearby café, but you had to apply in person. Looking up the address, you set of towards what you hoped would be your new job.
It was only a ten-minute walk so you arrived quickly. You look up and confirm that it’s the right café. Yup, the sign says Stray. You felt like that was a weird name for a coffee shop but you just shrugged and pulled open the door. You were immediately hit with the smell of baked goods, which made your mouth water as you looked around. It looked like a comfy place, with tables and couches filled with a couple customers chatting. You finally let your eyes fall on the worker behind the counter and you felt your heart skip a beat. Woah.