do you ever feel cursed ?

Of course, lately she had been less herself and more a husk of the grandmother he used to know. But, he loved her all the same. It was difficult not to be devoted to the one person who stuck with him through everything when it would have been easy to discard him.

Due to his stature and his physical strength, Jin-seong couldn't quite relate to the feeling of needing to be around others to be safe. If he came face to face with a killer and was bested, then a part of him considered that his own fault for not being strong enough. His strength was all he had, after all. It did make him feel bad that others lived with that fear though. "You're right. I didn't think about it." It was true, he hadn't, not because he lacked empathy, but because he did not think much of anything. "I wish there were a way to help. I don't know why the cops aren't doing more." He reached up to scratch under his jawline where some stubble was beginning to irritate his skin. "I definitely think the mall is connected in some way, even if it sounds like crazy talk."

Rosario chuckled at his words before shrugging her own shoulders, "Whatever works, right? I don't think it sounds shitty to be honest. I mean, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. And besides, it'd be a little annoying if everyone was wildly witty." If not annoying, it would at least make their own wit, something they prided themself on, not stand out as much in comparison. Furthermore, she thought things would be boring if everyone was so similar.

She nodded, somewhat understanding the other. While her grandparents raised her and her brother after their parents passed, she couldn't say either one of them were ever that close to her grandparents. Then again, they were a lot stricter than she would have preferred. "That's sweet." They took a rare, quiet moment to reflect on what it must be like to have family in town these days. She couldn't imagine how frightening and painful it must have been. "Makes sense why she wouldn't want you hanging around Creepie's." They didn't even like hearing their friends wanted to hang around that place.

Mingyu scrunched up his nose slightly at the mention of the shoes. Unfortunately he was all too familiar with the smell of them and he felt like he could smell them just by thinking about them. Not that he would ever try to talk badly about his place of work - he wouldn't be a great employee if he talked people out of visiting the bowling alley - but he had his moments of not thinking before speaking, so he may have complained about the work environment once or twice. "It is a popular place for birthday parties. Students come there a lot, too." He admitted, getting the sense that Lila was not charmed by the idea of spending her afternoon surrounded by screeching children. Not that he could say it was his personal idea of a fun day out, either, but it paid for his rent.

"No, it's a boutique. After working there for the last couple years, I think working with flowers just might be preferable though." Lila paused, seriously considering the thought after it left her mouth. "Or maybe not, I don't know if helping someone find the perfect flowers for someone else would be any better than helping them find an outfit. They're both retail jobs in the end and I don't think that's my calling." She didn't really know what she wanted to do with her life if given the option to do whatever her heart desired, but she knew anything in retail or customer service was out of the question. Not that that question was one that lingered on her mind much these days as she was far too focused on figuring out what was going on in her hometown or at the very least trying to survive it.

While Leo had the challenge of coming up with a gift based solely off the one vague comment made, Martin had the challenge of loosely describing a sibling he couldn't say he knew too well these days without going into the unnecessary details of his family's dynamic. Outside of the events in January that made this year especially unique for their family, they tended to stick to their own corner of town when not required to show up for a special occasion. It was the best way to avoid any awkward or disappointing discussions about his future after all. "Nice to meet you, I'm Martin." He tackled the easier part of the conversation first while still trying to come up with any kind of adjectives or pleasant tales about his sibling. "And thanks for the help by the way. I know less detailed requests can end up being more of a pain in the ass sometimes." Or at least from their perspective as someone who did not enjoy offering up suggestion after suggestion to a potential customer only to have them turn all of them down.

georgette  smiled  a  small  smile,  firstly  because  she  related  to  the  feelings  her  aunt  experienced  in  the  colder  weather,  but  also  because  she  was  glad  that  their  conversation  could  continue  on  in  that  direction. she  didn’t  wish  to  avoid  speaking  of  the  killers  all  together  -  she  would  especially  be  there  for  her  aunt  if  she  wanted  to  speak  of  her  own  experience  with  them  -  but  it  was  a  hard  conversation  to  have,  and  one  that  could  be  terribly  draining  to  dwell  on  too  much. there  was  an  open  invitation  for  any  of  georgette’s  loved  ones  to  confide  in  her  -  no  matter  how  draining  it  might  have  been  -  but  for  now,  georgette  was  content  with  their  conversation  about  staying  in  with  a  good  book. ‘at  least  it’s  sometimes  good  to  get  a  break  from  a  fast  paced  work  environment,’  she  suggested. ‘i  wouldn’t  want  things  to  always  be  slow,  but  sometimes  it’s  nice  to  be  able  to  take  it  easy. especially  sometimes  when  it’s  cold.’

Fiona nodded with a soft smile, "The change of pace can be nice from time to time." More often than not though, she did miss the busyness that came with keeping up with the diner. Even in a sleepy town like Shrike Heights there was always something to do for the diner as the sole owner. And for a while there if there truly wasn't anything the diner needed, her time was occupied with taking care of and raising Georgette. A busy lifestyle was something she had long been accustom to, so much so that the slower days at Julio's were often filled with her always looking for even the smallest tasks to complete. "I will say I do prefer when there's at least a steady flow of customers. There are only so many things to clean around here after a while." She signed with a smile that seemed to say she wasn't bothered too much either way. "Or maybe just a few chattier ones to help pass the time along." Making conversation was part of her job after all.

evie was a people’s person. which meant she was excellent fit in customer service. despite the annoying customers that came through she was able to stay positive throughout. but she couldn’t help but agree with what lila had to say. as positive as she was there where some customers who where just a literal nightmare to deal with. she kept her smile on and got them out as soon as possible. “you think people would learn to stop shopping last minute, but they never do. and they probably never will.” she says with a huff.

"I think you're right, unfortunately." Obnoxious customers were far from the most serious problems the mall employees faced, but they were often the easiest to talk about. "I can't say much ever changes around here." The statement wasn't necessarily true as many things had changed in the small town since the construction of the mall. Maybe it would have been better to say nothing had changed for the better in the last couple of years, at least not in her eyes. "Not like there's too much we can do about it though. It feels impossible to get a job outside of this place." Not that she blamed the rest of the town for flocking to any job that wasn't housed in a place that had been turned into a crime scene on numerous occasions.

It was strawberry season and Jiwon was homesick. It was difficult not to think of home, his family's strawberry farm, childhood memories of picking the very best strawberries for his grandmother, nights spent sneaking boys there where his parents wouldn't think to check. Life was easier in Shrike in many ways. After all, he was around his best friend in the universe and was able to openly be himself, a privilege he did not take for granted. Still, it was difficult not to miss his family at all, especially since it had been a while since their schedules had aligned well enough for his phone call home to not go unanswered. He thought of his mother and worried that she was getting too old to do the field work the way she used to. It was difficult not to feel selfish, like a bad son. Although he was his parents' most precious person, and they told him so often, he knew things about himself that she didn't. Things that would cast doubt on the reverence she held for him. The day had started ordinarily enough, no different than the day before or the one before that. The only difference was his lack of focus had led him to take an ungraceful tumble in front of the mall, just barely breaking his fall and making a mess of things. The yakult he had been holding was on the ground too, its pink contents spilled across the asphalt, his jeans partially soaked, and his knees scraped strawberry red where the denim had ripped against the ground. Like a child, he wanted his mother in that moment. Not for any particular reason other than the fact he missed her desperately anyway and he just knew how much she would have fussed over him if she were here. He didn't know how long he'd been there, just surrendering on the ground, but he grew self conscious when he saw a shadow casting over the sunlit ground. Turning to the person walking by him, he gingerly said, "Nothing to see here. Just a bit of a strawberry-related disaster."

To say the day started just as any other would also be applicable in Diego's case. He woke up well before he really needed to from the same restless sleep he got every night and groggily dragged himself around his place as he got ready for work that day, clinging to the tiniest bit of hope that his morning coffee would be enough to get him through his shift. It never really was and that was already apparent by the time he found himself in the mall parking lot. Even so, to say the day was a lost cause so early would've been a touch dramatic. While he was far from the type of person to look towards the brighter side of things, he could still acknowledge that he was at the very least fortunate to have an earlier shift which would be a little quieter than other times at the arcade and also meant he wouldn't be hanging around this place too late – not that he ever felt particularly great sitting with the knowledge that someone else was doomed to close.

Knowing the mall better would have definitely come in handy in the situation Davis found himself in now. It was near the end of his shift, and he walked into the store with the stolen item in his hand; someone had just tried to shoplift it, the clerk calling security, and Davis was pleased he had managed to find the perpetrator and retrieve the item; at least he could do that right. "So I got it back, but the guy got away unfortunately," Davis said as he approached the clerk. But then he paused, looking around - this was the wrong store. "Uh...you're not the person who called me, are you?" he asked, feeling embarrassed. He didn't know what store he was in, nor did he know where the store he was supposed to be was located. "Dammit," Davis muttered under his breath. "Sorry," he apologized, "I guess I need to learn my way around a little more."

While it was common for Nick to space out during his shifts at Tracks, it was never bad enough to the point that he would completely forget any situation that would warrant calling security, so he was quick to meet the other's words with a look of confusion. He chuckled softly after the situation was cleared up, "Yeah, I can't say we've ever sold that here. On the bright side though you still got it back." Despite all the drastic changes to the town and his own personality, he still did a decent enough job at being optimistic, at least in front of others. Even though things had been quiet for some time now, everyone had more than enough to deal with so he thought it was best to celebrate the small victories whenever they could be found.

Martin decided to let the subject rest at the other's response. Seeing as though they had few romantic endeavors, more preoccupied with others things in life such as hobbies and academics, they couldn't say they were qualified to give any real advice anyway. "Sounds like a plan. I'm sure a group of hungry teenagers wouldn't mind eating whatever we're not able to finish." A small laugh followed his words, remembering the complaints of his parents about how much growing teens needed to consume whenever him or his siblings had friends over.

evie has always been a social butterfly of sorts. everyone can be her friend if they let her befriend them. but she isn’t one to push someone. she doesn’t want to be pushy. she lets them open up to her on their own time. and while she wanted to be friends with all her coworkers, she knew that it was best to let lila come to her when she was ready.

Lila managed a laugh, "I don't think much could disappoint me after this shift. I swear every customer I've had to deal with today has been a nightmare. Just a bunch of people trying to get outfits at the last minute and then getting upset if we don't have something in their size or the exact color they wanted." She rolled her eyes. Retail wasn't a job that suited her well, especially in a store she thought was too uppity for her tastes. It was better however, than something like cleaning up after people here as a janitor.