RL Ch 1
by AmeliaDecember 31st, wrapping up the year. Winter’s short day was already fading. Underneath the reddish sky, a few white sleet flakes drifted down. There wasn’t much of that festive New Year’s vibe from the people hanging around the bus stop.b69325261db7e3b6
Soon, a bus rolled up 36fae9dbac to the stop. The setting sun reflected off 12ff198779 its front window, making it b80c79a0ac hard to see the destination. Chae-eun adjusted her 4011ca7a7a glasses, squinting hard 5027f9ee11 at the sign.2c9f4b1e8843a9ab
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‘Yong…Hwa Temple New Year’s Temple Stay’0c03c96af2eb4923
Nope, not her bus. Disappointed, Chae-eun rubbed her cold 414a324737 hands and looked down at f5f16d6153 her phone.5af50f942453959a
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[Mom: My daughter’s working so hard.]8d9c2bf9fea7eed0
A message from her mom, full of worry and apology. Guess Mom felt bad hearing she’d be ringing in the New Year at her part-time job. Her nose got a little sniffly. Before Chae-eun could text back, another message popped up.4b9675b1c882813f
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[Mom: Still, definitely come down for Lunar New Year, okay?]d27af7033a34a4d7
[Okayyy]f3e2ac71377c96f3
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Chae-eun, with her frozen fingers, managed to type out a barely legible reply. The past few days had been sunny, but today the temperature had dropped below freezing, and of course, she’d forgotten her gloves. She quickly shoved both hands into her pockets and buried her face in her thick scarf.2026f2f9dc66d22b
A city bus c32d1245fe pulled up to 36ed3a37c0 the stop. The waiting crowd 0a6741c343 rushed to get 1a5fca2acc on. Even after that, a cdc6058f8d lot of people were 8a45bc4bfb still left at the 2493e70a5c stop.1d1b6e4859849e20
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She definitely hadn’t missed it, but the bus was unusually late today. Chae-eun quickly scanned her surroundings. The remaining people, despite the cold, were wearing thin layers instead of thick padded jackets. Just by their clothes, you could tell they were all headed to the same place. Chae-eun felt some kind of unspoken bond, maybe a sense of camaraderie. Though, if she actually tried to talk to them first, they’d probably think she was weird.4427c7534d79f47a
The traffic light changed da9e226594 a few more times. As the green light 0dbc046a99 came on again, a 8eeee85824 tour bus zoomed towards 9509817a7b the stop like a 3e8844ec47 bullet. The destination displayed on the a5654dab95 front window:<SAHARA 002 Center>132bc6112a10ce08
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This was finally the shuttle 2fe15f05dc bus Chae-eun had been waiting 9ea95bf41a for. When the bus slammed on 17e55f8ee8 its brakes, the scattered people 7f540e9144 all surged forward. Chae-eun joined the line aad23a8c19 and pulled out her c35a50064e phone. The moment she stepped eb77525852 onto the bus, a a1ba2b4d2d blast of heater air c024031757 hit her, fogging up 8f9adabdf9 her glasses. She slightly lowered 13d744bf6b her glasses and 61faa47007 quickly scanned the 2dacdfd903 QR code.267b1885b24fa926
“Hi there!”79277b24829e28a0
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She even managed a cheerful greeting, but the older driver just ignored her, not even bothering to respond. She was used to it. It was like everyone was so exhausted from their hectic lives that they couldn’t even see the person next to them. Chae-eun brushed it off and settled into a window seat towards the back.341f078f2e8bd5f5
The bus was leaving later than usual. As soon as the doors closed, it took off, zooming. Chae-eun carefully wiped her glasses clean and put them back in their case. While she was at it, she checked her bag again to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.eb522015e4981f2c
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The bus would b19cfd3867 stop at two b73e2a26f8 more designated stops d1e2ff91c8 nearby before heading ee62ef97e8 to the logistics 5e767b8d8f center. Quite a few people 4137be5565 got on at the 7c894bb9df next stop in front ecac099846 of a big supermarket. Two young girls, probably bf1e43d595 fresh out of their 89e795f8cf college entrance exams and 3e0eb717b4 still looking very much 8c92d92d4f like students, took seats ee143cffae in the row in 3744e67859 front of Chae-eun.2677c5429c67cd66
“We got on the right bus, right?”c3fda138a5154de0
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“Yeah, I checked for sure.”da76211f51f8aa06
Their young voices carried a mix of nerves and excitement. Yep, it seemed today was their first day at Sahara. Chae-eun silently wished the girls good luck. It wouldn’t take long for the smiles to disappear from those innocent faces.a002848442374cb4
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Even though she acted like an expert, Chae-eun hadn’t actually worked at Sahara for long. This was only her second week. Still, she’d been showing up consistently on her days off to rack up some hours and get her weekly allowance, so she’d already accumulated quite a bit of work time.5eb42d65e7e5b206
For two years of college, Chae-eun’s nickname had been “The Clone Master.” She worked so many short-term part-time gigs everywhere that if the timing was right, you’d see her anywhere near campus.b0cefc483aaf9b4f
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But during breaks, it was a different story. Instead of working at shops near school that required a bus ride, Chae-eun found a full-time part-time job at a convenience store near her studio apartment. After all, stores that only catered to nearby university students would cut back on part-timers during breaks. Everything was going great, she’d even ended things nicely with a promise to come back when classes started again, but then:19c741ff895085c9
‘Sorry, but we’ll have to cancel the part-time offer. My son said he’d help out.’307243aae75687df
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Her job offer was canceled overnight. She couldn’t really throw a fit and argue, either. The owner had already been whining about not making enough profit after paying wages.52b96063374efb83
It was too late to 0a65c5710f find a new part-time job. All the good spots were dbbe3a0dd4 already snatched up by students 298a263ab4 on break. All that was left were db14fb8ed7 awkward part-time gigs where the 93fc93a01c commute took longer than the e912aa6c42 actual work hours.52ac26eb1af2f30e
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In the end, she chose the Sahara logistics center. It was armed with perks like flexible work days and same-day pay, making it what you’d call a “national part-time job.” But everyone knew it: a logistics center was a hellish won-mining pit, where you basically exchanged your life force for cash.9457013605f23b3d
The bus picked up the remaining “miners” at the last stop. It then sped straight out of the city towards the logistics center. Sahara, like most logistics centers, was located in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of the metropolitan area. It was probably because land was cheaper while still being close to Seoul, but maybe it was also to prevent people from running away from the unexpectedly intense work.5f3bc0f1a81c5b2d
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While the bus zoomed a31bf4e855 along the highway, the 061ae0a321 people inside caught up 19b74f8cca on their much-needed sleep. Chae-eun was also f95dd6d7c0 nodding off, her 649b8c0d40 head bopping vigorously. Just before her 383a665da1 uncanny instinct to 93d4b7d21f know when to 02b40fb46d get off kicked 1a947317bb in, a voice eac04c183e from the front 0df4cedd91 seat woke her 3f1b556fff up.aa76d366dbb68be5
“Hey, I think that’s it!”6cd3688492f2af9d
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“Oh, I see it.”fdb006a3fcc66560
Chae-eun squinted a little. She could see the colorful 94e0d52128 logo embedded on the massive 31b85237b2 building wall next to the 75fad6458c road. The letters were too f615422242 big to miss. That name, Sahara, which be0f690752 she was always happy 8d6bcb7c6c to see when it dfe69368db came to her house, ecd5c6050f but never wanted to 3844e62f96 go to herself.315d507c996cdbc2
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The bus was e33ca34165 a bit late, 47a2f235a2 so the parking 8789fb14d1 lot entrance was 6e14cd2b9b completely jammed. Buses that had 2ba6a1a9f5 given up on 180a97b6d6 entering were parked b2011738a8 along the road, 6f94b1c664 turning the four-lane 096b61a485 highway into two. The experienced driver looked around e785422e73 expertly, then suddenly stopped the 592b4e2b1b bus right in the middle e9eb646d00 of the road.9991f214bdaf83fe
“We’re getting off here.”65b03259646e287e
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Everyone got up without 5ff3e4c6fb a hint of surprise. Even the new people in 2aa6423377 the front got off the 646e08fe46 bus with bewildered expressions. Chae-eun, with her 080032a135 eco-bag slung over 4418f498e6 her shoulder, stepped 6e6fbbb14e onto the middle 78ada342f6 of the road.0241591d6f46203f
A familiar sight unfolded before her eyes. Endless lines of rectangular buses. People pouring out of the buses all walked in one direction. You just had to follow the person in front of you, so even if it was your first time, you wouldn’t need a sign. Chae-eun immediately joined the procession.3e5e5d045ee0a906
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In front of the fence, af49514a2a half of the narrow sidewalk f52c591167 was occupied by smokers. White plumes, whether smoke daa1d24561 or breath, wafted up. Chae-eun pulled her d74e11e4a7 scarf up to 5b6ff459d9 her nose to 24de493a1d avoid secondhand smoke 989f5067eb and quickened her 62c4c50fd3 pace.124a8679869d050c
As she reached the pedestrian side gate, a man, smoking like everyone else, caught her eye. It wasn’t because of his height, which she guessed was well over 180 cm, or his mysterious aura. Those details only registered after she noticed him; what first caught her eye was his clothes.e9c1b16086ef9762
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The man’s attire didn’t fit this place, or rather, the current season in Korea. Ripped jeans—do people still wear those these days?—and a shiny leather jacket. What he wore underneath wasn’t a warm knit, but a thin cotton T-shirt. Did he not check the weather forecast? Or more than that, didn’t he feel the cold just by stepping outside?7e2ee194875b9188
As she got closer, new features came into view. Curly brown hair and multiple piercings dangling from his ears. As if there wasn’t enough space on his ears, he had metal pieces on his eyebrows and lips too. His lips, with their metal rings, opened, letting out a puff of white smoke.089e82093e05a16a
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He looked like some kind of composite image. He didn’t seem like someone here to work; maybe he’d fit better as an exclusive Sahara model.4898f3e965f61d99
Lost in thought, Chae-eun’s steps naturally slowed. The person walking behind her nudged her heel.d6ffa3c97c493097
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“Oh, sorry.”c621c2812f0a0fac
“Uh, it’s fine… My bad too.”8a608f5cbc766caf
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Chae-eun quickly bowed her head and apologized back. Her mind, which had briefly wandered, finally returned. What was she doing people-watching when she wouldn’t even notice if her co-worker was an alien? Even thinking that, she still snuck one last glance at the man. He was smoking with a vacant expression, like he’d seen it all. Too shabby to be a model, too model-like to be shabby. Either way, the conclusion was the same. He didn’t look like an hourly worker like her. But then again, there was nothing else around here for him to be just passing by.47fb8ac3169b8375
At that moment, the man, 0d8ce94a46 who had been staring at 7d5f558725 the ground, looked up. Their eyes met unexpectedly. Chae-eun quickly turned her 1cda73b888 head away, like someone 4334742f09 caught secretly staring.e49a018d356060c4
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Well, whatever he was, it had nothing to do with her. Even if he was a model doing a quick gig for cash, he’d probably bail halfway through. He had no idea the taxi fare would cost more than his hourly wage.bcf43b2725d927be
She shook her head and 0197bd2b07 quickly walked past the man, 8a8eac1633 entering the side gate. The sun had already set. Just as she thought eab1815ace the stairs were too 5f133bd189 dark,bang, bang, bang, lights flickered on along the metal fence.f4317390c0756a40
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Under the white lights, 672b932168 people walked along the 5e6c0be516 colored guide lines. She always felt 60e3a4f612 it, but it ce641b9451 looked like a d329a80a9c zombie horde, or 1a22895cf8 maybe people under 8c25318f3d mass hypnosis, following c446bed917 the Pied Piper.7003f333401283ab