Today is just like any other day.
I am at my third part-time job dealing with rude customers while putting on a fake smile. There was nothing out of the ordinary today.
Then why was there a strange feeling in my gut? Like the one, you get just before something terrible happens?
"Yuri, can you lock up tonight? Please, please, pretty please?" Woojin asks me with his best pout and puppy eyes.
"What? Why? My shift is about to end in 5 minutes Woojin. I can't stay for the next hour. I am tired" I complain. I already had a really long day today. I just want to go home, have some noodles, and sleep.
"Please. You will be doing me a really big favor" he folds his hands and gets down on his knees in front of me.
"Yah! Get up. There are people around" I scold him. Woojin and his dramatics. Although it is the end of the day and we don't have a lot of traffic, there are still some students around.
"Please. Today is my 100th day with Songa. I have planned a lot for her. Her curfew is 10 pm. You know if I don't meet her today, how she will react. Please, Yuri. I beg you, you will be doing me a big favor" he pouts again.
Even though I try my best to not be affected by him, in the end, I sigh.
"Yes! Thank you so much. Thank you" he gets up and hugs me.
He knows that I will eventually give in. If this was San, this would be a whole other conversation. Woojin knows I will always help him out.
Again the strange feeling in my gut escalates and I attribute it to the sheer hunger I have right now. I have been so busy going from one work to another that I didn't even realize I missed lunch today.
"Excuse me, I would like to place my order" a pretty girl stands on the opposite side of the counter and voices out in a clipped tone.
She looks at Woojin and me and there is a sneer on her lips like it is a pain to come and talk to us.
Likewise.
If only could tell her that.
I gave her a once over.
Her short hair is in a perfect bob. She has diamonds in her ears and eyes narrowed on me. Her skin is smooth with minimal makeup, the type of no-makeup look you can only get after a lot of practice.
She smells floral, a little too much, a little too fake and she keeps her lips pursed as she chews on a gum. The uniform stands out and blends in at the same time.
She is neat and pristine.
she is wearing white knee-high socks with maroon stripes at the end with black ballet flats. Her navy blue skirt is pleated and too short, but instead of looking trashy, it looks chic and trendy on her.
The white shirt she wears underneath her maroon blazer is crisp with thin pleats in front and without a single stain. The maroon and navy striped tie sits perfectly in the middle of the shirt but what stands out most is the blazer.
It is a blazer we all know. The dark maroon of the blazer and the smooth material only highlight the breast pocket's gold.
Royals high is written in golden calligraphy.
Her attitude makes a lot more sense now.
I bite back a scowl and stare back at her.
"Hello. Welcome to the Hive. What would you like to order?" I ask in my best fake smile and cheery voice.
The girl in front of me doesn't seem to care about my effort.
"One strawberry milkshake and one mint chocolate ice cream" she orders in a clipped tone.
"Coming right up," Woojin says from behind me and prepares her order.
I quickly pull up the bill and hand it to her. She doesn't even bother looking at the receipt to check how much the bill is.
She hands me a black card as Woojn brings up her order.
If you're wondering how can a student have a black card? Don't. It's common here.
I am used to seeing at least 4-5 black cards in this cafe every day and they all almost most of the time belong to a student.
I quietly swipe the card and hand it back to her. She takes her order and walks back without even a single thank you or a smile.
"I wanted to spit in her food" Woojin says from beside me. I look at him and pass a small smile.
"And why is that? Aren't you used to it by now?" I ask and he shakes his head.
We get back to doing our job and another group of five students in the same uniforms come in and orders a bunch of drinks. They don't have a black card but they split the bill with their own card as well.
Thankfully they know the words hello and thank you.
This cafe was the hot spot for the students of Royals High.
I was used to rude students with holier-than-thou attitudes coming here. I had to get used to it. Even if someone was extremely rude, I had to bear it because this job paid really well and the working hours were flexible.
I needed this job so I had to find the silver lining, no matter how thin.
"No. I don't understand why students of Royals High are so uptight. Why do all the students who come in wearing that god damn uniform behave like they are better than the rest of us? Like they own the world?" Woojin rants out.
"That's because they do own the world" I bark a laugh at him and he shakes his head, still bothered by the girl's behavior.
I look back at the previous rude girl's figure.
She is sitting in the corner, facing the large window overlooking the street. She seems to be waiting for someone. A friend. Maybe a boyfriend? She adjusts her blazer again as she looks over at her watch.
Royals High.
It was the most elite high school in the country. It would be easier to get into SNU than in Royals High. It housed all the future heirs of all the big companies, sons and daughters of important politicians, and children of famous actors and musicians.
Basically, if you were someone whose name was worth something, chances were you were a part of that school.
The students who went to that school were children born not with a silver spoon but a gold one with showers of diamonds and crowns of platinum.
I don't think they even understood what life outside their bubble of a world meant.
They were like royalty - the name was perfect for them.
It made sense that they look down on people like us. We were very different from them.
The only thing common between us was that we were the same species.
I look at myself.
My hair is greasy and matted from all the work and sweat throughout the day. My face is oily and I feel two pimples forming on my forehead.
I am wearing my work uniform which consists of a bright yellow t-shirt with the logo of the cafe on the back and a small white name tag. My black pants are looser on me than they were a month back.
I need to eat more.
Every day I am too tired at the end of the day to bother myself with a proper plate of food. Every morning I get up too early and start my day, not bothering to sit down and eat a full plate.
I look terrible right now. I don't need to look in the mirror to tell me that.
Of course, she looked down on me. She probably can't imagine how someone can look this hideous.
Well then again, I am sure she is some heir to some company or at least the daughter of someone famous so she doesn't know what it feels like to work 14 hours a day when you're just 16.
Not that I am complaining.
I know what I want in life and I know what I have to do to get it.
"Whatever. I hope that school burns down" Woojin mutters as he unties his apron. I chuckle at his antics.
I know why he is being this way.
We went to the same high school. It was under the Choi group, also one of the founders of the Royals High.
Basically, we were the poorer version of Royals High. We were the charity case. Our school was still better than most public schools out there in our neighborhood but still, it was no Royals High.
Nothing could ever compare to Royals High.