#srjieun

[sryuwon-blog]

cold rice.

@srjieun

evening shifts were probably the busiest part of the day at work. the most accidents happened as people were coming and going to and from work, schoolkids got caught for stealing or drinking or just being a nuisance, one older man or woman from all the way out in riverside finally managed to get the right bus route to the station where they made some kind complaint about teenagers, or bears, or their neighbor who stole their prized vegetable from their garden in their dream the night before. 

and because she was one of the youngest, most of this work was stuck on her, and so for hours she would sit filling out paperwork and listening to complaints and trying to stop altercations with threats of jail time—often times while being looked down on because of her youth. 

the most annoying of all of them were the teenagers who always found their way into her desk area, most of them caught for stealing, smoking or drinking underage. and today, another familiar face was seated across from her as she returned from a coffee run with two cups just for herself to get through the rest of her shift. as she came upon her desk, she could only see the person from behind, and as she got closer she peeked around them and groaned, tilting her head back as she set her coffee down, perching on her desk in front of them. “han jieun,” she said sternly, picking up the clipboard with the preliminary report written on it, “i’m getting tired of seeing your face. if you have so much time to get into trouble, why can’t you use it to study? if you can’t even be a decent punk, at least be a decent student.”

the young school girl was apart of a small group of kids who were always up to no good and generally shuffling in and out of the police station, and almost all of them were pushed to ryuwon’s desk, which she hated. this one in particular was always getting caught, and while ryuwon had pity on her the first two or three times because all teenagers did stupid things, her sympathy had worn out and more than ever she dreaded seeing them at her desk. “tell me what you did, who you were with, and if you have money to post bail because your warnings are up, missy.”

[srmiso-blog]

turnaround.

@srjieun

tick, tock, tick, tock.

miso's had her bleary, glazed eyes fixed distractedly on the clock for the better part of a half hour now, watching with desperation as the hands tick tick tick around the surface, slowly, slowly approaching her current favorite moment. 4pm. in other words, the end of her shift.

now its not a bad job, but like any part time job, its hardly her number one priority. its not exactly fun. its not the way she would choose to spend an evening, or an afternoon, or a morning, or a day, or whatever else. she's tired of her ugly blue polyester vest, she doesn't want to stand up anymore, she doesn't want to smile at customers and punch numbers on the register and thump the side of it twice and wiggle the drawer to get it to open, as she always must. she doesn't want to unjam the stupid receipt machine when the paper gets stuck because hr manager cheaped out on just about everything possible to cheap out on. she just wants to go get dinner, head home.

the sound of a little bell and jieun's subsequent appearance in the doorway signals it must be about time, and a quick glance at the clock confirms this exactly, has her lighting up with energy and enthusiasm. she rips the vest off, runs back to grab her backpack and stowe the garment away, clocks out and heads back to the front of the store to link her arm through jieun's.

the two girls chatter happily, jieun regaling her with stories of the current state of the local high school, miso every amused to hear the complicated goings on of high school life, of the teen years. of course, she herself had dubiously dragged that complication along with her into her twenties, but at least it was better than being bored. as they wound through the familiar streets (placed in an unfamiliar pattern), however, miso's smile slowly faded to be replaced by the slight purse of lips that indicated she was focusing, before she eventually paused in place.

"wait a minute. we're going in a circle. we've walked past this street combination before, turned down second and come out onto 44th. are - have we gotten lost?" she groans, pushes her hand back through her hair as she glances around, as if for clues. she sighs dramatically after a moment, turns her head to jieun with a frown. “my young padawan, i appear to have led you astray.” at least humor will lighten the annoyance of being lost, an unfairly common occurence in iri.