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writetomyheart2021-08-08 09:44 pm
elindar.livejournal.com) wrote in writetomyheart2021-08-08 09:44 pm
Entry tags:
[team four] queens' general store
i'm sorry for being late.
this is something random inspired by red velvet's queens' general store concept/photoshoot they had just now.
seulgi-centric | PG | 1,348 words
Now and then, the dull monotonousness and long, dragging hours of Seulgi’s shift were broken by quirky or interesting customers that visited the Queens’ General Store. Those rare moments were the only ones that made the job worth it, but sadly they only happened once or twice a week, if she was lucky.
One of the moments, and the most intriguing one yet, happened on a chilly, rainy November afternoon.
Seulgi was slowly organizing and dusting a cupboard full of tea china sets since she had nothing better to do, when she heard the bell by the door tingling, signaling someone stepping in. The view to the door was partly blocked by shelves, piles of books and a couple of old mannequins, but between all the junk, Seulgi could see a man and a woman entering. She even felt the faint gust of air and heard the rain’s stable platter against the pavement through the ajar door before it shut behind the pair. She closed the cupboard and quickly returned behind the counter.
“Welcome,” she called out in her customer service voice. She saw the man making his way towards her between all the shelves and tables while the woman lingered a bit behind.
“Good day,” the man greeted when he got close enough. He was in his 30s, dark eyes under the hem of a dark hat. His scarf, long coat and the suit underneath looked expensive. He definitely wasn’t the usual kind of customer they got.
“Um, I–I heard that you sell some herbal medicines here, is that correct?”
“Uh, yes, we do have some,” Seulgi said, a bit surprised. Not everyone knew about this part of the business. “What are you looking for specifically?”
“I’d need something for insomnia. And… also something for an anxious and gloomy mind, if just possible.”
Seulgi nodded and for just a second, glanced past the man to the woman who had just appeared behind a huge cupboard. She was clearly just tagging along, probably on command, with the way she was hovering nearby but not too close, absent-mindedly looking through the items that were on display. She was also wearing a long, dark coat with its hood pulled up so her face couldn’t be seen very well. Her long, pale fingers ran along the spines of old books on the shelf, or fiddled with a small buddha statue or a decorative lantern. After hearing the man’s words though, she suddenly turned her head their way and looked straight at Seulgi.
Her face was pale as well, framed with blond locks, and very beautiful. Her expression was alarmed, but she swiftly turned away before Seulgi could even react properly. Seulgi forced her attention back to the man in front of her.
“I believe we have something for you. Are these medicines for yourself, sir?”
There was a short pause before he answered, like the question was unexpected for him. “Ah, yes. Yes they are.”
Yeah right. Seulgi gave him a quick, polite smile. “Just a moment and I’ll check our selection and the quantities.”
She turned around and pulled out an old book from under the counter and started flipping through the pages. She knew their selection exactly but she needed some extra time to think. Was she overreacting? Maybe he really was buying them for himself? But the scared looking, timid woman (probably his poor wife) told another story. But then again, why was it her problem?
The sudden sound of shattering glass pulled Seulgi out of her thoughts and she looked around. The woman stood beside one of the tables, looking startled and apologetic, shards of a small plate on the ground in her feet.
“You fool!” The man spat. “Do you have to touch everything all the time? Now we’ll have to–”
“It’s okay,” Seulgi said firmly. She didn’t look at the man but instead gave the woman a reassuring smile. “Those are old and almost worthless, don’t worry about it.”
“I–I’ll clean it...” the woman said in a small voice, crouching down and starting to pick up the bigger pieces. Seulgi hurried from behind the counter with a brush and a dustpan.
“Please, let me.” She gently touched her hand and took the pieces from her. Their eyes met and they exchanged small smiles. The woman was even more beautiful up close; big bright eyes, lovely smile, lips painted blood red.
Seulgi cleaned up the shards and they stood back up.
“So, you have those medicines?” the man prompted her when she returned behind the counter.
“Yes, we have them. How much would you like?”
He thought for a moment. “Enough for at least a fortnight. However much that’ll be.”
Her eyes slipped to the woman again. She was standing at the back, arms crossed over her chest like she was trying to protect herself. She met Seulgi’s eyes for a slip second and ever so slightly shook her head. That was the only sign she needed.
“Alright,” she told the man. “I’ll need to go and collect the proper amount, it’ll take a couple of minutes. Please wait here.”
She slipped through a curtain to the backroom and opened a heavy, locked door to the basement where they kept all the herbs and other ticklish products. One single light bulb on the ceiling cast a yellowish gleam to a huge cabinet with hundreds of small drawers, each one with a small label in a weird language. Seulgi walked up to the drawer and routinely reached for different drawers, picking up dried herbs and flowers into two small paper bags. She then went on to the small table and wrote down the descriptions and instructions for dosage on pieces of paper.
When she was done, she stood there for a moment, letting her gaze run along the many drawers. She made her decision, grabbed a stool and reached for a small drawer in the uppermost row. She dropped a small amount of dark, crushed leaves into a tiny folded paper pocket and stepped back down. She quickly wrote a few words on the paper, then grabbed the other two paper bags and hurried back up.
“Here are your herbs,” she said to the man while placing the bags on the counter. “This one for insomnia and the other for anxiety. The instructions and dosage are written here. It’s easiest to mix them with a normal tea but they can be consumed with other liquids, as well.”
“Thank you very much,” the man said and slipped the bags into his coat pocket.
Seulgi hit the price into the huge old cash register and while the man was counting down bills from his wallet, she turned around and quickly fished a small porcelain cat from the back shelf and slipped it in her pocket.
“Thank you,” she smiled when the man handed her the bills. “I hope you’ll be happy with the purchase.”
“So do I,” the man said. “Thank you.”
He turned to leave and gestured to the woman to follow him.
“Thank you for shopping with us and welcome again!” Seulgi followed them to the door with the excuse that she could politely see them off. She opened the door for the man, still smiling sweetly.
“Have a good day, sir.”
“Yes, yes, thank you,” he muttered while stepping out and opening his umbrella. It was still pouring outside.
The woman glanced at Seulgi when she was stepping by her at the door, and Seulgi quickly grabbed her hand and pressed the porcelain figure in her palm.
“A small freebie for you. Just in case.”
The woman could only give her a small, fleeting smile before she hurried after the man. Seulgi watched them go for a moment before shutting the door and returning in.
She slowly walked back behind the counter and hoped that her small aid could help the woman. The small paper pocket inside the hollow porcelain cat, and her instructions.
One quarter to put him to sleep for hours, the whole pocket – if she so wished – for something way worse.
you're up,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
amaxingbaek!
this is something random inspired by red velvet's queens' general store concept/photoshoot they had just now.
seulgi-centric | PG | 1,348 words
Now and then, the dull monotonousness and long, dragging hours of Seulgi’s shift were broken by quirky or interesting customers that visited the Queens’ General Store. Those rare moments were the only ones that made the job worth it, but sadly they only happened once or twice a week, if she was lucky.
One of the moments, and the most intriguing one yet, happened on a chilly, rainy November afternoon.
Seulgi was slowly organizing and dusting a cupboard full of tea china sets since she had nothing better to do, when she heard the bell by the door tingling, signaling someone stepping in. The view to the door was partly blocked by shelves, piles of books and a couple of old mannequins, but between all the junk, Seulgi could see a man and a woman entering. She even felt the faint gust of air and heard the rain’s stable platter against the pavement through the ajar door before it shut behind the pair. She closed the cupboard and quickly returned behind the counter.
“Welcome,” she called out in her customer service voice. She saw the man making his way towards her between all the shelves and tables while the woman lingered a bit behind.
“Good day,” the man greeted when he got close enough. He was in his 30s, dark eyes under the hem of a dark hat. His scarf, long coat and the suit underneath looked expensive. He definitely wasn’t the usual kind of customer they got.
“Um, I–I heard that you sell some herbal medicines here, is that correct?”
“Uh, yes, we do have some,” Seulgi said, a bit surprised. Not everyone knew about this part of the business. “What are you looking for specifically?”
“I’d need something for insomnia. And… also something for an anxious and gloomy mind, if just possible.”
Seulgi nodded and for just a second, glanced past the man to the woman who had just appeared behind a huge cupboard. She was clearly just tagging along, probably on command, with the way she was hovering nearby but not too close, absent-mindedly looking through the items that were on display. She was also wearing a long, dark coat with its hood pulled up so her face couldn’t be seen very well. Her long, pale fingers ran along the spines of old books on the shelf, or fiddled with a small buddha statue or a decorative lantern. After hearing the man’s words though, she suddenly turned her head their way and looked straight at Seulgi.
Her face was pale as well, framed with blond locks, and very beautiful. Her expression was alarmed, but she swiftly turned away before Seulgi could even react properly. Seulgi forced her attention back to the man in front of her.
“I believe we have something for you. Are these medicines for yourself, sir?”
There was a short pause before he answered, like the question was unexpected for him. “Ah, yes. Yes they are.”
Yeah right. Seulgi gave him a quick, polite smile. “Just a moment and I’ll check our selection and the quantities.”
She turned around and pulled out an old book from under the counter and started flipping through the pages. She knew their selection exactly but she needed some extra time to think. Was she overreacting? Maybe he really was buying them for himself? But the scared looking, timid woman (probably his poor wife) told another story. But then again, why was it her problem?
The sudden sound of shattering glass pulled Seulgi out of her thoughts and she looked around. The woman stood beside one of the tables, looking startled and apologetic, shards of a small plate on the ground in her feet.
“You fool!” The man spat. “Do you have to touch everything all the time? Now we’ll have to–”
“It’s okay,” Seulgi said firmly. She didn’t look at the man but instead gave the woman a reassuring smile. “Those are old and almost worthless, don’t worry about it.”
“I–I’ll clean it...” the woman said in a small voice, crouching down and starting to pick up the bigger pieces. Seulgi hurried from behind the counter with a brush and a dustpan.
“Please, let me.” She gently touched her hand and took the pieces from her. Their eyes met and they exchanged small smiles. The woman was even more beautiful up close; big bright eyes, lovely smile, lips painted blood red.
Seulgi cleaned up the shards and they stood back up.
“So, you have those medicines?” the man prompted her when she returned behind the counter.
“Yes, we have them. How much would you like?”
He thought for a moment. “Enough for at least a fortnight. However much that’ll be.”
Her eyes slipped to the woman again. She was standing at the back, arms crossed over her chest like she was trying to protect herself. She met Seulgi’s eyes for a slip second and ever so slightly shook her head. That was the only sign she needed.
“Alright,” she told the man. “I’ll need to go and collect the proper amount, it’ll take a couple of minutes. Please wait here.”
She slipped through a curtain to the backroom and opened a heavy, locked door to the basement where they kept all the herbs and other ticklish products. One single light bulb on the ceiling cast a yellowish gleam to a huge cabinet with hundreds of small drawers, each one with a small label in a weird language. Seulgi walked up to the drawer and routinely reached for different drawers, picking up dried herbs and flowers into two small paper bags. She then went on to the small table and wrote down the descriptions and instructions for dosage on pieces of paper.
When she was done, she stood there for a moment, letting her gaze run along the many drawers. She made her decision, grabbed a stool and reached for a small drawer in the uppermost row. She dropped a small amount of dark, crushed leaves into a tiny folded paper pocket and stepped back down. She quickly wrote a few words on the paper, then grabbed the other two paper bags and hurried back up.
“Here are your herbs,” she said to the man while placing the bags on the counter. “This one for insomnia and the other for anxiety. The instructions and dosage are written here. It’s easiest to mix them with a normal tea but they can be consumed with other liquids, as well.”
“Thank you very much,” the man said and slipped the bags into his coat pocket.
Seulgi hit the price into the huge old cash register and while the man was counting down bills from his wallet, she turned around and quickly fished a small porcelain cat from the back shelf and slipped it in her pocket.
“Thank you,” she smiled when the man handed her the bills. “I hope you’ll be happy with the purchase.”
“So do I,” the man said. “Thank you.”
He turned to leave and gestured to the woman to follow him.
“Thank you for shopping with us and welcome again!” Seulgi followed them to the door with the excuse that she could politely see them off. She opened the door for the man, still smiling sweetly.
“Have a good day, sir.”
“Yes, yes, thank you,” he muttered while stepping out and opening his umbrella. It was still pouring outside.
The woman glanced at Seulgi when she was stepping by her at the door, and Seulgi quickly grabbed her hand and pressed the porcelain figure in her palm.
“A small freebie for you. Just in case.”
The woman could only give her a small, fleeting smile before she hurried after the man. Seulgi watched them go for a moment before shutting the door and returning in.
She slowly walked back behind the counter and hoped that her small aid could help the woman. The small paper pocket inside the hollow porcelain cat, and her instructions.
One quarter to put him to sleep for hours, the whole pocket – if she so wished – for something way worse.
you're up,
amaxingbaek!