⟢ general store.

there are three things iseul would consider as soul crushing these days: third, when the cats reject her hopes to coddle them even if presented with treats; second, when she forgets to bring her backup airpods when the her previous pair runs out of charge as well as leaving the charger back home.

first, the existence of any circumstances that holds her away from her love to mister nam's dirty ice cream special.

mister nam, as far as she can remember, sells his specialty dirty ice cream even when she was still a toddler — a popular frozen dessert loved by all walks of ages, highly in demand especially during the summer. with every chance he puts up small tubs for sale, father ha never fails to remind her awaiting daughter about it by giving her enough money to "go outside and buy something that you like"; mother ha usually is adamant with his coddling but now lenient as iseul gets older. her love overflows to the point that she used to collect the containers she have bought with doodles best describe that day for decoration, almost filling half a cupboard cabinet, and it took a lot of time to break that "tradition".

to say that she has grown an obsession with the ice cream is an understatement. if only fare back to town isn't too expensive, as well as if she wasn't swamped with practicums, she would most likely spend her saturday dawns to traveling back gohyang-myeon to have a taste of home and travel back to seoul monday mornings with a tub (or two, or three) full of the treat. the first on the list to cure her homesickness, second is mother ha's personal ice cream cake recipe. now that she's back home, she can have the best of both worlds whenever she likes.
(or so she thought.)

over time, and understandably so, the production of the ice cream slows down. as much as she loves how mister nam makes it daily, having it weekly is both fit for his physical health and good for his pocket. judging with how quick the containers run out, it's safe to conclude that everyone is still on the lookout for the ice creams — herself included. consider her as a #1 fan!

what starts out as an understanding and camaraderie turns into simmering hatred (?). as far as iseul is questioned, she splurges a bit on the ice cream and buys five containers, the remaining two she'll allow any members of the household to have their second filling whenever they feel necessary (read: any members coincidentally iseul). mother and father ha are confused as to why she brings back two containers home, a lot less than usual, but figured she might have a couple back home. she's rather disappointed to tell them that it isn't the case. with the growing hype and her nine-to-five schedule, it's impossible to obtain one recently. iseul considers it to be in a battlefield to get one; with how many battles she have gone through, she only won twice. twice too many yet too small for her liking.

with this pattern a normal occurrence, much to iseul's dismay, her trips to the store gets during weekends turn frequent — anything to fill in the bottomless pit of craving she has for the ice cream, and much to no avail. as much as iseul considers the use of power for the sake of getting her own fill, that is against her morality as well as it's against the practice of responsibility carrying such power. at the end of the day, it's just ice cream; her daily prayer against the devils of insanity.

but is it /just/ ice cream now? iseul prefers ignorance.

the world, however, has its way on plucking her last straws despite clinging on it, the news a pop goes the weasel. one that manages to worm their way out of her grasp until cemented as a fact by mister nam himself in one faithful weekend trip to the store. the unwanted manifestation of her inner turmoil exposed by the flesh. the reminder of her empty trips back home and a heavy heart even if it's more empty.

a cemented fact, one that's chipped and roughed around the edges after her successful attempts to dodge, now heavy on her lap after leaving a mark on her face: it is no longer /just/ an ice cream.

an investigation unfolds right then and there, more than eager to fish every information she can get her hands upon; but, alas, her understanding of mister nam's declining memory thrice the size of her aggravation. that doesn't mean she's lenient with getting the culprit; such lack of information adds more fuel to the fire never once extinguished for an eternity. it is soon her life-long goal to catch them, outsmart them — claim victory against them — after chains of battles she leaves in complete shambles. she swears in her life to vow revenge.

seeing the town's treasurer barricading (?) a public store entrance on a weekend is a sight to behold — alas, it is the only way she deems fit to reel in her nemesis. two hours earlier than the opening time of the store and she considers herself camping on the entrance, thankful that no one is still around around such hour (and such weather, in the name of ice cream) — with iseul's obnoxious setup to "match" her battle cry: layered padded jackets to protect herself from the early cold, gloves and socks to match the red found in between flower patterns on her long sleeved top; hat a solid green, one that matches her pajamas, glasses resting on the bunch of her hair enough to be called a messy bun — and she's more than ready. the sweet potatoes making home in one front pocket lost its heat, snacking on the other in between impatient (and excited) munch.

today (and probably tomorrow, if her schedules allow her to) is the only time she'll come face to face with her enemy. and she isn't one to waste precious opportunity down the drain. she will, no matter what costs, finish this war once and for all.