A convenience store in central Seoul during a late summer night. Customers come in to quickly purchase a few items and then swiftly leave. A shadow lingers in the darkness of an urban alleyway nearby.
An adorable, pink donut turns into an object of...
The concrete sidewalk was very dry as summer was nearing its end. Dirt was covering the corners but it didn't really matter as this scenery was about to be swallowed by the darkness of the night. Intense orange light lit the otherwise stoic sky. No cloud could be seen on the entire firmament. The desert of gray concrete buildings of Seoul rested unperturbed of this dramatic sight. Neon signs in the narrow alleyways turned into a sole and stubborn source of light for those who strayed away from the main roads. But as it was still early those traps of the deepest darkness laid empty and quiet. Hannie had gotten used to the urban scenery of this metropolitan city. When she stepped out of the bus, she was enjoying the gentle tickles of the fading light on her arm. It was just a short walk to the convenience store from the bus stop but Hannie tried to cherish every step in the fresh air. She often worked the evening shifts because it was usually less busy and she had time at daytime for her university studies while still being able to earn a bit of money in the night. Only few people passed by in the dim light of the streetlights. It was a rough phase in the economy. The sound of the streets had turned from cheerful business to stressed sorrow. Hannie finally entered the convenience store at the corner of a major street and a dark alleyway. She escaped the ascending darkness that was swallowing the last beams of orange light in the last minute. Suddenly she was surrounded by the epitome of artificial and hyperprocessed reality of the convenience store. All goods were wrapped in colorful plastic and twisted from their original substance into the most convenient form to be displayed under the glaring and lurid light of the store. Hannie bowed politely before she entered the small staff room in the rear of the store to get changed. The colorful uniform for workers felt like a welcome transition support to change from her cheerful college student self to the polite but resolute worker she had to be in order to follow the official guidelines. There were no customers in the store when she stepped towards the cashiers desk but her colleague still seemed very relieved to finally finish his shift as he said: "Hi Hannie, this is perfect timing. I gotta leave for my other part-time job. It's been pretty calm here today. Please check the baked goods section. Take care and see you next week!" Hannie watched her colleague get ready for the end of his shift for a few moments and then turned around to head to the aisle with the baked goods. The items on the shelf were actually quite messy after a whole day of busy interactions with customers. Hannie neatly rearranged the rows of the cinnamon rolls, muffins and apple pies. Then she saw a pile of accurately wrapped donuts. As she put them back one by one into a orderly line, she found a single pink donut in the pile. All other donuts had a dark chocolate frosting but this one donut had a vivid pink frosting with cute little colorful sprinkles.
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The pink donut : imagine it wrapped in plastic on a shelf Image source: https://unsplash.com/photos/EumgKI11Hns
Hannie placed the cute donut in front of this row of baked goods. She stepped back and looked at her work with pride. When she checked in behind the cashiers desk, her colleague had just left the store through the entrance towards the main street. Their other colleague was on sick leave today so she had to handle the night shift on her own but she didn't mind the work load because of the quiet atmosphere of the store when she was alone during a shift. Hannie took a deep breath and looked out the large glass store window. The bright lights of the store only illuminated a small area of the sidewalk. Although the street was usually congested and full with metallic vehicles, it was devoid of its busy self tonight. Profound darkness crept closer to this island of shallow light. The pink donut was still sitting quietly and motionless on the shelf. Only the growling of the large refrigerators could be heard over the loud beating of Hannie's heart when the automatic door of the store suddenly opened.
