Prologue: Convenience Store on the Corner
As if overnight, a new convenience store opened on the corner of the street. Like any other convenience store, this chain is open 24 hours a day, and the owner is a thin boy who likes to wear white clothes.
My name is Emma. I have an ordinary name, I go to an ordinary high school, and I have an ordinary family. I thought I would study and work like everyone else until the end of my ordinary life, but I don’t expect that the humble convenience store on the corner of the street would completely change the trajectory of my life.
This convenience store does not have a name, and the lights inside are not very bright. Looking in through the all-permeable glass wall, I can always spot rows of shelves filled with goods.
An obvious sign placed near the cash register lets people know that it is open 24/7.
The entire convenience store seems to have only one clerk— the owner himself. I have been wondering how the establishment runs with only one person working 24-hour shifts. By some miracle, however, he made it possible. Whether I’m heading out to my school in the morning or returning from my part-time work in the evening, I have seen the same face manning the store.
The owner and only staff’s name is Mika. He never seems to leave his post behind the cash register, smiling at every customer.
The owner of the convenience store is tall and thin. His complexion is very pale— white as if he does not have much blood left in him. His face is also very attractive. In fact, it is kind of rare— delicate and feminine. Mika has deep-set eyes, a straight nose, a chiseled chin, and perfect facial lines. All his features look so perfect, as if they belonged to a model. One look at him could send people’s hearts pounding.
“What would you like to eat today?”
It is a late-night, and the lights in every household are already on. When I walk into the store, the convenience store owner was already standing behind the counter— as always—and greeted me softly. His voice is clear and melodious, like chimes swaying against the wind. I just finished my part-time shift at the local coffee shop, so I went into the convenience store to buy something to fill my stomach.
“A sandwich will do. I’ll get it myself.”
It seems that it has become a habit of mine to buy food in the convenience store after work, so by now, I am already very familiar with the layout of the shelves in the store.