adora • lookism

3. GS24 Convenience

The problem with being too good at your job was that everyone wanted you to do it. It was long past midnight when Ari finished with her last client of the day, and she could very honestly say she was not happy to come home to a pile of homework that hadn't yet been finished.

"Okay, this isn't it," Ari sighed, catching herself nodding off over her literature homework for the fifth time. "Nothing's gonna get done like this."

What she needed was a change of scenery, and the presence of another human being. But of course, all the libraries and cafes would be closed by now, and she didn't want to bother her friends in case they were sleeping. She couldn't exactly go far without a car, anyway. So that only left one real option.

"Welcome to GS24," called the part-timer behind the counter. He was a plump young man with glasses. He looked a little familiar, his voice even more so, but she was too tired to try to engage with the Lookism plot at the moment.

Ari gave him a polite little wave and went to go purchase some snacks to keep her company. Settling down at one of the tables in the back with a cup ramen, a triangle kimbap, and a cold milk tea, she spread out all of her homework across the table and got to work.

She made good headway for the first hour or so, empowered by food and tea, as well as the occasional bustle of stray late-night customers. The part-timer was surprisingly good company: he went around doing his job but was quiet for the most part, and he seemed to make an effort to speak more softly after he realized Ari was studying. His voice was pleasant to hear as well, not so deep that it was distracting and not so high that it grated. Even when he momentarily forgot she was there and started to work out by himself, he only did noiseless exercises such as squats and push-ups, which she only noticed because she'd silently gotten up to throw out her trash.

And then she heard a voice she knew saying, "Where are the chargers?"

Ari tried to ignore it at first, since it had nothing to do with her if Jiho was trying to shoplift or not. But she found herself no longer able to when the bully trio from her class walked inside with a raucous wave of noise.

Oh my god, she thought, trying to read the same equation for the fifth time in a row.

Exhaustion and frustration rose up to her head like a hot wave. Slamming her pen down onto her workbook, Ari looked up fiercely.

"What are you doing? It's not enough to bully Jiho at school, you even have to bully him outside of school at this hour?" she snarled, catching the attention of all the people in the store. Jiho and the part-timer jumped, skittish. The rest stared at her as if they'd just noticed she had grown two heads. "And why the heck are you threatening the poor part-timer here? A student's job is to study, but not only are you refusing to do the one job you've got, you're stopping others from doing theirs?"

Breathing heavily, Ari glared at the group. There were only two questions left until she could go back home, to the warmth and comfort of her bed, and these bastards were being so noisy she couldn't even hear herself think.

Among the group was a thickset girl whom Ari didn't know. She was the first to find her bearings. "What the fuck?" the girl snapped, glaring back at Ari. "Who the hell are you?

This seemed to snap the bully trio back to awareness.

"Isn't that Ari Lim?" whispered the square one to the others. "The cute girl next to Zack who's always sleeping."

"Uh," the round one mumbled back. "Isn't she close to Jay Hong? Even Zack treats her different..."

"Yeah, but Zack and Jay aren't here right now," said the pointy one, under his breath. His name was Doo... Doo Lee? His was the only name among them she actually knew. "And after what happened today, if we just let it go, everyone's gonna think they can walk all over us."