"Don't forget your volunteering hours, you still have to make up for them. And if you haven't picked a place yet you can come to me after class to discuss where you're going to be assigned," It was that time of year, again.
Hanni hated highschool because of thoes volunteering hours, she doesn't even have time for herself, yet to spend it working for her to not even get paid? and the fact that they're forced to do them is worse. It's bullshit.
"Want to volunteer with me?" Hanni asked Aeri, leaning back into her chair.
"Already did them in October, you should've done them sooner, it's the end of the semester." She replied.
She sighed and fixed her sitting "I have no one to go with, plus I only have like five hours left because I couldn't continue them."
"Well, too bad."
"Hey!" Hanni scolded her, lightly slapping her arm.
"Girls, do you have any problems here?" The teacher asked them both.
"No." They both said at the same time
"Okay, moving on..."
"But I don't want to go alone, it's not fair. You all went at the start of the school year."
"It's because I don't procrastinate every thing for last minute. And you can always do them next year, but then you'll have more hours to do." Giselle continued.
"Whatever, it's not going to be that bad."
"Oh trust me, if you don't know anyone, it'll be that bad, I wouldn't want to spend like like four hours with a stranger." Danielle joined
"It's five hours." She complained.
"Yeah, good luck with that." She chuckled lightly, making Hanni roll her eyes in frustration, I guess thoes are the amazing friends she has.
Just as the bell rang, Hanni approached the teacher, she was almost cursing the person who made volunteering hours mandatory, what is she going to do? Make small awkward talks with old people and greedy customers? That's so not her.
"Hey Mr. Kim, What options do I have for the volunteering hours?" She began.
"Oh Hanni! Uhm... There is an elderly home, I think there was a children's playground and there was an animal shelter. There isn't many options since all places were full." He said with a small comforting smile.
As she said, she can't talk to elderly people, small talks make her want to end herself. And children? That's even worse. Who would want to deal with creatures that do nothing but cry and act like... well, children.
The animal shelter was her last resort .
"Can I sign up for the animal shelter?"
"Oh thats a good choice, I heard that an employee in there is the same age as you. I'll put your number on the list."
"Okay, thanks Mr. Kim, have a good afternoon." She said, trying her best to smile.
"You too!" Mr. Kang was too sweet for his own good, he's lucky that he was her favorite teacher.
...
Hanni got into the store, she wasn't enthusiastic, the exact opposite in fact. It was right after her classes, she was so tired she was sure she isn't going to be able to stay standing for long.
She approached a women that she could recognize as an employee from her uniform, trying her best to seem like a nice and collected person, which she infact wasn't.
"Hey, I've applied to volunteer here."
"Oh hello, let me take a moment to check. What's your name?" She said, walking over and taking a seat on the computer.
"Pham Hanni." She said, her eyes darting around the room, it somewhat felt cozy, definitely not what she thought a pet store would look like. The walls were painted with light green and it had a couple of bean bags scattered across and many animal toys laying on the ground.
"Oh, there you are, you can come to the back, the employees there will show you what to do."
"Thank you."
She walked out into the store, suspecting where she meant by 'the back' but she eventually sees a staff only room, thinking that will be it.
"Hello?"
She froze when she saw who was leaning against the wall, wearing the store's black uniform with the logo on it, her phone in hand. And the other girl seemed to be just as shocked as her.
"What are you doing here?" Hanni asked again.
"my parents own this place, you're the volunteer?" Minji said, she wasn't used to seeing Minji outside of school. And seeing her outside of that school uniform was... pleasant, to say the least.
"Yes, but seeing you here doesn't make me any more cheerful."
"Great, then don't try to make my work harder than it already is." Minji got closer as Hanni got in, opening the door and holding it out for the other girl "come on, we're going to the shelter."
And turns out the pet shop and the shelter were two different places in the same store, only seperated by a wall.
"We have many different pets and breeds, we have from regular house pets to lizards and snakes, each animal has different preferences and their own diet. We sometimes have to care about other animals more than others in cases of special need, but we always have to treat animals equally, you listening?" Minji continued, walking in front of Hanni as she rambles on about animals, you can tell how passionate she is.
"Uh-huh." Hanni replied, even though she was thinking about how good the girl's arms look in that uniform, but also trying to pay attention to the animals around them, and with every bark she flinched a bit, taking notice of how loud these dogs can be.
"Why do you even work here?" She asked.
"I get to waste my time away from everything, getting in my volunteer hours was just a bonus. Plus, my family owns this place." She said, finally walking up to a cage that held a small kitten.
She handled the kitten with care, trying her best to make her comfortable, and Hanni thought she looked... approachable, or at least kindhearted with that beautiful smile on her face. At the end of the hallway they reached some sort of station.
"What are we supposed to do?" She questioned.
"Milk." Minji answered shortly, grabbing a bottle that almost looks like baby bottles and milk powder, she mixed it with water. She did all of that under Hanni's gaze, while the kitten was exploring the counter she was on curiously.
"Ever fed a baby?"
"No? Is it one of the qualifications to work here?"
"Well, not exactly, here take this and I'll help you." She handed her the milk bottle, her hand brushing against Hanni's lightly.
"Hold it like you're pointing down," And she held it as if she have been holding a knife.
She chuckled lightly "Okay maybe not that kind of pointing down."
"Let me show you." She held her hand softly, Minji's front is facing the other girl's back, almost back hugging her as she puts her other hand on the other side of the counter, almost looking like she was cornering Hanni.
She slowly directed her hands to the kitten's mouth, Hanni can feel her soft breath on her neck, this was all too much. She kind of felt like there was a lump in her throat. No that's a lie, she can't feel like that towrds Minji.
"Her name is Kety, she's on of the newest kittens around. You need to be careful with her especially, since she lost her mother and has no one to protect her. Treating animals is difficult, but you can earn their trust by time," She whispered to Hanni softly.
YOU ARE READING
Bewitched || Bbangsaz
FanfictionHanni hated Minji, infact, she despised her. Minji was the first person that stood up against her, and Hanni should've known she wasn't an ordinary person. Minji succeeded to push her buttons constantly and never knew where the lines were, yet Hann...
