staygame | fic: I Don't Have A Penny (Ara/Lime)

I Don't Have A Penny (But I'll Show You A Good Time)
Hello Venus, Ara/Lime, PG, 2000 words

AU, written for the International Day of Femslash. Title from Little Boots' "New In Town."

"I thought you said the last store was our last one." The store they're standing in front of has a sleek exterior, several mannequins dressed to the nines in the window, and an English name that Hyelim cannot pronounce ("Penus-euh?") and she can tell right off the bat that she won't be able to afford a thing in there.

Yoonjo makes a pouty face, knowing fully well Hyelim is a sucker for it. "You still don't have a dress to wear to the wedding."

"I will go naked," Hyelim says, but she lets Yoonjo drag her into the store anyway.

Inside the store, hundreds of pretty, overpriced items fight for Hyelim's attention at once. Everything looks rich and delicate, all pastel colors and tasteful embellishments. Yoonjo runs her fingers over every rack, oohing at everything while Hyelim tries to imagine herself in any of the she sees. A dress hanging on display in the back of the store catches her eye and she rushes over to it, taking Yoonjo with her.

The dress is perfect- pale blue and strapless, with a sweetheart neckline and embroidered bodice that fans out into a full skirt. Hyelim has never wanted to wear anything more in her life- until she looks at the price tag. "It's 350,000 won," she tells Yoonjo sadly, pretending to wipe away a tear from her face.

"Hey, look at that." Yoonjo points above their heads, where there is a sign that reads 'Dresses Available for Rent for 14 Days for 175,000 Won.'

Hyelim throws her arms around Yoonjo and squeals in excitement. "This dress can be mine for two whole weeks," she says as Yoonjo attempts to peel herself out of Hyelim's grasp.

After trying on the dress and accepting Yoonjo's assurance that yes, she looks fine and no, she doesn't look fat, Hyelim brings the dress up to the register. She has to sign a bunch of forms, give her credit card, and endure a stern talking to from the employee (who warns her that if anything should happen to the dress, she'll be liable for the full cost) before the dress is, temporarily at least, hers.

"Are you sure you can wear that for five hours without spilling anything on it?" Yoonjo asks as they exit the store.

Hyelim hugs the garment bag to her chest defensively. "I am positive. You'll see."

Of course, she does end up spilling something on her dress. It was inevitable, Hyelim thinks as she hopelessly blots the red wine stain on the front of her dress. "I don't suppose dry cleaning would get this out," says Juhee, one of the bridesmaids, as she rubs Hyelim's back.

"I'm sure everything will be okay!" Yooyoung says, ever the optimist. She shoots Nara and Yoonjo a meaningful look, and they both nod enthusiastically.

"At least you probably won't be arrested," Nara says. Everyone turns to look at her. "At least I'm pretty sure you won't be."

Hyelim shuts her eyes and lets her head fall against the sink.

The cashier, Hyelim thinks, must have psychic powers, because as soon as Hyelim enters the store, she's giving her a suspicious glare. Or perhaps it has something to do with the fact that Hyelim's head is bowed and her shoulders hunched, looking absolutely guilty as she brings the garment bag up to the register.

"What can I help you with?" the cashier asks.

"I rented a dress from here a few days ago and I kind of, well, I kind of spilled something on it." Hyelim lays the garment bag on the counter, wincing as she pulls the zipper bag to reveal the dress. "And, the thing is, I don't really have money to pay for it right now," Hyelim says.

The cashier narrows her eyes. "What do you mean you don't have the money? You ruined the dress; you have to pay for it. What do you expect me to do about it?"

"But I can't," Hyelim insists, feeling a bit frantic beneath the girl's glare. "I have to pay tuition and rent soon. I don't have any spare cash."

"You should've thought about that before you ruined the dress," she says, icily, folding her arms over her chest.

"It was an accident!" Hyelim feels so frustrated that she could cry, but she sucks in a deep breath and continues. "Please, I'll pay you back any way I can, but I don't have the money."

The girl lets out a sigh, waving her hand. Hyelim takes the hint and quickly steps back from the counter. The girl squeezes her eyes shut tightly and Hyelim can hear her counting to ten underneath her breath.

"There's only thing I can think of," she says with her eyes still closed, voice pinched like she's holding back. "You'll just have to help me around the store until you've paid back what you owe."

A wave of relief washes over Hyelim. "Oh-" The girl cuts her off.

"You can come in tomorrow at 9. If you're late or you don't show up, I'm going to charge the full amount to your credit card. Got it?"

Hyelim bows rapidly. "Thank you so much. What's your name?"

"Ahra," the girl says. "Now get out before I change my mind."

The next morning, Hyelim shows up at the boutique at 8:55. The door is locked, but Hyelim can see Ahra straightening a jewelry display inside. Her head is tilted down, hair obscuring most of her face, but Hyelim notes that she's a lot prettier when she's not scowling.

She knocks on the door and Ahra takes her time walking across the store before she unlocks the door. As soon as Hyelim steps inside, Ahra is barking instructions at her.

"You can put your stuff in the back. We eat lunch at noon. You can leave when I leave. Ask me if you need help with anything. Got it?" Hyelim nods. "Okay, go to the backroom and steam all of the dresses on the rack labeled 'Spring Florals.'"

During lunch time, they close the store for an hour. They eat in the backroom of the store among all of the merchandise that isn't on display, sitting on the floor and resting their lunch on unopened boxes because there's no room at the desk.

"Is that all you're eating?" Ahra asks as Hyelim stares forlornly at her food. Ahra's own meal is more substantive, consisting of pork slices and a seaweed salad in addition to her kimchi and rice. Ahra is small, and delicate, and can afford to indulge. Hyelim isn't at all jealous.

"I'm on a budget right now, I can't afford much else," she explains.

"You want some of mine?" Ahra's voice reveals nothing but casualness, but Hyelim's head snaps up in surprise. It is the nicest thing Ahra's done since they met.

Hyelim shakes her head. "No, it's fine, I'm on a diet anyway."

"No, take it," Ahra says, and she drops a few pieces of pork onto Hyelim's plate before she can protest again.

Hyelim takes her time eating, not wanting to appear too eager, but she still finishes before Ahra. "Well, I'd better go open back up," Hyelim says, dumping her plate in the trashcan and then wiping her hands on her pants. She is halfway out of the door when she hears Ahra coughs quietly.

"You don't need to diet," Ahra says, with an air of authority. "You look good the way you are."

Hyelim feels her face flush. "Oh, oh thank you," she says. Ahra nods, which Hyelim has learned means she's dismissed. Hyelim hurries away to open up the store, ignoring the nervous thump of her heart in her chest.

After the first few initial, rocky days, time passes quickly at the store. As it turns out, Ahra likes singing along to the radio as she works and they end up doing some impressive duets, ending in fits of giggles whenever Hyelim attempts to do the rap parts. Ahra isn't nearly as unfriendly as she appears at first glance and Hyelim finds herself craving the smiles that she deigns to give.

Like the first day when Ahra brought extra food specifically for Hyelim, and when she picked it up to put it on her plate, Hyelim intercepted her chopsticks and forced Ahra to drop the piece of beef into her mouth. Ahra cracked a huge smile and called her a fool, but fed her until she had eaten all of the pieces.

Or when Hyelim asked her if she'd ever danced with one of the mannequins when she was alone, and then they'd proceeded to have a mannequin dance party right there in the middle of the store, in broad daylight where anyone passing by could see.

"You're going to make me lose customers," Ahra chided, breathless from laughter.

"No, they will see how fun and inviting we are and want to come in," Hyelim said, pointing with her mannequin's hand for emphasis.

Ahra made her mannequin raise a hand to her forehead. "No, they're going to think we're crazy."

Even though she's still working her normal job in addition to the boutique, Hyelim finds that she doesn't mind spending her days off at the store. She finds herself looking forward to it. She blames it on the satisfaction of paying back what she owes, even though, on most days, the ruined dress doesn't even cross her mind.

What does cross her mind is the sweetness of Ahra's laugh, the nimbleness of her fingers as she sews up damaged hems and missing buttons, the way her hair looks pushed behind her ear. She thinks about these things as she works on her solitary tasks and then she tucks those thoughts away, into the far corners of her mind where they will not get in the way of reality, and she goes about her life.

One night, four weeks into working at the store, Ahra gives Hyelim permission to head home early. "I'll see you tomorrow!" Hyelim calls out. It's raining outside and she hitches up the hood of her coat, hand twisting doorknob when-

"Wait!"

Hyelim turns around to see Ahra standing in front of the counter, hands gripping the edge so tight that her knuckles are turning white. "I've been lying to you," Ahra says, so fast that Hyelim can barely understand her. "You paid back everything by the end of last week."

The doorknob slips from her grasp and the door slams shut. "What?"

"You don't owe any more money." Ahra doesn't look up from the ground. "In fact, I owe you like 60,000 won at this point."

Hyelim shakes her head, angry, but mostly confused. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because, because I liked having you here!" Ahra lets out a shocked gasp as soon as the words leave her mouth, and immediately she turns defensive. "Why didn't you notice that you'd already worked for, like, three weeks?"

"Because-" Hyelim pauses and it's as if it dawns on her right then. "I liked being here."

At this, Ahra looks up. "Oh."

"You didn't have to lie to me," Hyelim says, sighing. She drops her bag and umbrella by the door and walks over to Ahra, standing next to her against the counter.

"I just wanted to keep seeing you," Ahra says. Their elbows brush and it's all the motivation Hyelim needs to turn and plant a kiss right on Ahra's mouth. She's stiff and unmoving under Hyelim's lips until she's not, and she's kissing her right back, as sweet as Hyelim had tried not to imagine it would be.

Hyelim is the first to pull back, nervously waiting for Ahra to tell her she was mistaken, but instead Ahra grins, wider than she's seen before. Hyelim breathes a sigh of relief and reaches for Ahra's hand.

"How about," she says, lacing their fingers together. "Instead of paying me back in cash, you pay me back in a date."

---

Inspired by me renting a dress for a wedding last week. Except, fingers crossed, I hopefully won't be ruining mine. Happy international femslash day! Which is still is, somewhere in the world. This might have been finished sooner and given me more time to actually build up their relationship had I not accidentally spent an hour and a half looking at Korean food blogs.

Oops.