a dayâs work
hsheeyeonâ:
heeyeon would often encourage her employees to âleave this ajumma behind, and be free and frolic in the jeju sunâ as soon as they finished cleaning their stations, waving them off as she made her way behind the cash register to count the dayâs funds and close it out. the space was easy enough to maintain, the windows were cleaned throughout the day, as were the tablesâŚand her cashier would sweep the floor periodically. at the end of the day, heeyeon would have to flip the chairs up and onto the tables, wipe things down one more time before sweeping, clean the kitchen and so on and so forth.Â
sheâs just finished setting aside the afternoonâs deposit and placing the closing funds back in the register when the chimes announce someoneâs arrival. heeyeon looks up with a smile, having anticipated jinjooâs arrival; this was becoming a nice routine, âjinjoo, i set aside some tea and a bread roll for you; banana walnut, this time.âÂ
she wakes up right before noonâher circadian rhythm isnât the most ideal, but she does run a bar from five in the evening til four in the morning. all things considered, itâs a miracle she wakes up before lunch time. ( lunch time is... relative. ) miracle doesnât really explain all of it, though. her alarm is set to half past eleven, which is just enough time for her to roll out of bed and get the last few pieces of bread from the bakery next door.
though when she says get, she really means is: heeyeonâll save some bread for her, regardless. a little treat specially for her. in return, she goes a little earlier than achikâs closing time to help heeyeon; even though their shops are both small enough that their respective owners are able to close up alone, company is always welcome. but that second snooze on her alarm has her running later than usual, jinjoo feeling a tad bit sheepish when she catches the reading on the clock before crossing the few metres from canola to achik.
âmorning!â she greets, throws her arms around the bakeryâs owner in a quick hug. âi know, i know, itâs past noon, just lemme have this, okay?â jinjoo makes little grabby hands when heeyeon passes it to her, smiles wide and mimes inhaling the wonderful scent of freshly baked bread. âthanks, yeonie!" sheâs a lot shorter than the other, and jinjoo leans into her shoulder as thanks. ânow you can put me to work,â she jokes, laughter trailing behind her as she makes her way towards the back where the cleaning cloths are. itâs a nice routine, one that sheâs become startlingly familiar with, considering how she knows exactly where everything in achik is.
âiâll take care of the outside,â jinjoo calls, shooing heeyeon into the kitchen where she usually cleans up. plus, with heeyeon in the kitchen she can sneak little bites of the bread roll that looks so tantalising from the counter. she takes a first bite, careful not to drop any crumbs on the table sheâs cleaning, and catches heeyeonâs eye as she does. âstop looking at me,â she complains, waves the cleaning cloth at the other woman as if to prove sheâs actually cleaning. âgo clean up!â
( and if she steals another bite while heeyeonâs busy in the kitchen instead of cleaning like she promised, what can she say? the breadâs just that good! )
