Yukinoshita Yukino was the embodint of cold, classic beauty.
Her waist-length black hair, smooth as a curtain of night, was always neatly tied with two blood-red ribbons at each shoulder. Her blue eyes, as deep as a winter ocean, radiated sharp intelligence and, at tis, a hint of disdain.
As a second-year student at Ohananomitsu High School, she also served as the president and founder of the Service Club, an organization she established based on her belief that those around her needed to be "saved" from their own foolishness and weaknesses.
The Yukinoshita family was the de facto ruling power in Chiba City.
With all her arrogance, Yukino had chosen to attend school in Tokyo, hundreds of kiloters from ho, as a rebellion against her family’s gilded cage.
Her relationship with her mother was always strained. Her mother was the puppeteer behind every family decision, a woman who demanded absolute obedience and forced every family mber to bend to her will without question.
Yukino never got along with her mother, let alone compromised with the suffocating demands.
She disliked her family and the oppressive dynamics within it, yet naturally accepted the luxurious accommodations provided by the Yukinoshita family as if they were the most ordinary thing in the world.
This ingrained arrogance—that comfort was a right, not a privilege—shattered when her older sister, Haruno, called to deliver devastating news: the Yukinoshita family was bankrupt. Not just a minor setback, but utterly ruined.
The Yukinoshita family’s towering real estate and business empire, once untouchable, had been declared insolvent.
The culprit? The Shinomiya family—one of Japan’s four largest zaibatsu, a conglorate with power far beyond the Yukinoshita family’s imagination—had deliberately targeted them.
In just two days, as fleeting as a blink, the prominent Yukinoshita family of Chiba City was reduced to a middle-class, if not lower-class, household.
From the pinnacle of the social pyramid, they plumted without warning.
Tokyo’s cost of living was notoriously high. Without the lavish allowance from her family, Yukino—who previously never cared about money, the type to buy anything without glancing at the price—now had to learn to live frugally.
If last sumr Yukino spent her free ti indulging in extravagances like visiting upscale cat cafés, shopping at malls, or simply passing ti at places that suited her mood, she now had to drastically change her lifestyle.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Yukino stood before the mirror in her modest apartnt. Her blue eyes studied her reflection with an unreadable expression.
Today was her first day at a part-ti job—sothing she never imagined doing before the Yukinoshita family’s collapse.
"Who would’ve thought I’d end up like this." she muttered, picking up the blue convenience store uniform with a na tag reading "Yukinoshita."
Her current small apartnt was a stark contrast to her forr high-end one. Without the Yukinoshita family’s support, Yukino could no longer afford exorbitant rent and had to move to a cheaper place.
"Haaa... Let’s go."
Yukino let out a long sigh before leaving the apartnt.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
For the first ti in her life, the young lady of the Yukinoshita family, Yukino, worked a part-ti job. Once served by maids and private drivers, she now stood on the front lines, serving others.
f.(r)eewe/bnov\ll
This sumr break, she worked at a busy convenience store not far from her rented apartnt. The oversized store uniform felt foreign and uncomfortable on her slender fra.
"Welco!"
Yukino’s voice sounded stiff, almost robotic, as a custor entered.
She stood behind the cashier, awkwardly gripping the barcode scanner. She swiped a milk carton too forcefully, causing a loud clank that startled the custor slightly.
"Total: 520 yen."
Her tone was flat, without a trace of a smile. Yukino didn’t even et the custor’s eyes.
"..."
The custor, a middle-aged man in a baseball cap, looked slightly confused.
"Uh... thank you?"
After the custor left, a gruff voice interrupted.
"Yukinoshita-san!"
Yukino turned to see the store manager, Shimoda Yoshihiro, standing beside her.
The man was heavyset, with greasy hair and a grin that always seed lecherous. To Yukino, the most fitting description for Shimoda Yoshihiro was a disgusting "Ugly Bastard." She could feel his lewd gaze crawling over her whenever he was near, like a filthy touch on her skin.
Still, she restrained herself, forcing professionalism because she desperately needed this job.
"Yes, Shimoda-san?" Yukino asked, her tone still stiff.
Yoshihiro sighed, shaking his head. "Yukinoshita-san, how many tis have I told you? You need to be friendly with custors! Smile! Say ’Thank you so much for coming!’ in a cheerful tone! This is a convenience store, not a funeral parlor!"
Yukino clenched her fists under the counter. "I’ve been trying, Shimoda-san. I’m not used to this."
"Not used to it?" Yoshihiro laughed derisively. "Everyone here works, Yukinoshita-san. You think you’re so noble princess who can do whatever she wants? This is the real world, Miss! Custors are king! If you can’t be friendly, how will we keep loyal custors?"
Yukino’s face flushed faintly—not from embarrassnt, but from her wounded pride. "I understand."
"Understanding isn’t enough! You have to do it!" Yoshihiro pointed to a stack of boxes in the corner. "Now, go stock those items. Make sure the price tags are correct and arrange them neatly. Don’t ss up again."
"Mm."
Yukino nodded stiffly, moving from the cashier to the boxes. She began lifting packages of instant noodles and canned drinks, arranging them on the shelves.
Her hands, accustod to holding books or pens, felt clumsy handling heavy items. She mistakenly placed seafood-flavored cup ran on the curry ran shelf and overlooked so products that needed restocking.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Hours later, Yoshihiro patrolled again, inspecting Yukino’s work. His sly eyes scanned the shelves, and he abruptly stopped at the drink section.
"Yukinoshita-san! What’s this? Didn’t you check the label orientation? This is basic stuff!"
He pointed to several energy drink bottles placed upside down, scolding her.
"Sorry, Shimoda-san. I’ll fix it."
"Fix it! And make sure you check the expiration dates on every product! We can’t have expired goods on our shelves!"
Then Yoshihiro’s gaze swept over Yukino’s body with that lecherous look again.
"Hurry up and get to it. You’re not paid to daydream."
"..."
Yukino bit back any retort, forcing herself to rearrange the bottles.
Fatigue began creeping into her body. Her legs ached, and her shoulders felt stiff. The noisy, stuffy convenience store felt like hell to her.
*TING!*
A custor entered with so onigiri and a bento to heat up. Yukino moved to the microwave behind the counter.
She pressed a few buttons but sohow mistid it. When the food ca out, she realized the onigiri was overheated, nearly scorched.
"S-sorry! I... I’ll make a new one!" Yukino panicked.
The custor, a young woman, gave a faint smile. "It’s okay, Miss. Just be more careful next ti, alright?"
Yukino’s face burned with embarrassnt. She bowed deeply. "I’m so sorry. I’ll be more careful."
"..."
Yoshihiro, who had appeared behind her at so point, patted Yukino’s shoulder with his fat hand.
"Yukinoshita-san, you need to focus! Custors are important! Don’t be so careless!"
His whisper in her ear felt repulsive. She could feel his warm breath on her nape.
Yukino could only bite her lip, resisting the urge to swat his hand away.
"Yes, Shimoda-san."
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Throughout the afternoon, Yukino kept making small mistakes.
She gave the wrong change, mislabeled so new products, and even dropped a can of soda that exploded, soaking the floor and her uniform.
Each mistake was t with Yoshihiro’s snide remarks or odd looks from custors.
"Can you actually work, Yukinoshita-san?" Yoshihiro asked mockingly as Yukino cleaned the soda spill.
Yukino t his gaze with her cold blue eyes. "I need this job."
"If you need it, prove it! Don’t just complain! Hurry, clean this up, and then clean the restroom. It needs extra attention today." Yoshihiro snorted.
(Clean the restroom?)
Yukino nearly scread. She’d never cleaned a restroom in her life.
But seeing Yoshihiro’s commanding stare, she knew she had no choice.
Reluctantly, she grabbed the cleaning supplies and headed to the restroom.
The stench of disinfectant and filth hit her nose imdiately. Holding her breath, she forced herself to scrub the toilet and clean the floor.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
When her shift ended, Yukino felt utterly broken. Her feet were swollen, her hands rough, and her heart empty.
She stepped out of the convenience store, breathing heavily, and looked up at the fading evening sky.
Stars began to appear, but their beauty no longer felt the sa, unlike so long ago. Now, they seed distant, cold, and irrelevant.
She just wanted to return to her small apartnt, collapse onto her bed, and forget this humiliating day. But she knew she’d have to co back tomorrow. This was her new reality.
A reality where Yukinoshita Yukino, the refined young lady of a prestigious family, had to work hard to survive, serving people she once never cared about.
Reviews
All reviews (0)