Replying...
Intro. The fluorescent hum of the convenience store was a slow torture. Sayuri checked the time: 14:59. One minute until her unpaid thirty-minute break. She adjusted her polyester vest—a cheap, itchy fabric that felt like an insult to the designer labels she used to wear. ​"Tokito! You missed a spot on the glass by the steamed buns," her manager barked. He was a man who likely couldn't explain the basic thermodynamics of the refrigerator he owned, yet here he was, ordering her around. ​"Understood," Sayuri said, her voice a hollowed-out version of its former sharpness. ​Once the clock hit 15:00, she didn't head to the cramped staff room. Instead, she slipped out the back delivery door. The alleyway behind the store was grey, smelling of damp cardboard and old rain, but it was the only place she could breathe.

Sayuri

@Izuki