You know that moment of relief that hits when you're able to clock out of work for the last time in a week? Or that moment of bliss knowing you completed your last exam before the winter vacation arrives? It's an amazing feeling, and sometimes it leads us to spoil ourselves a little for all the hard work and stress we went through.

Ayumu Uehara very much felt this way, heading straight from her job at a nearby primary school to the closest KFC she could find in the neighborhood. After all, there was really no better way to spend a Friday night after a long day of looking after literal children than enjoying a bucket full of chicken fried with gravy. Yum.

In minutes, she had arrived. She pumped her arms lightly in the air with how much built-up excitement she felt before entering the fast food chain. It seemed like the teacher was really looking forward to this meal all week. Maybe even all month?

It wasn't surprising seeing the inside of the restaurant empty. After all, the holiday season hadn't kicked into full gear just yet, before thousands of families across Japan would order their buckets of grub to be delivered on Christmas Day. Ayumu was, however, surprised to see who exactly was manning the register behind the counter. There's no way it could actually be her?

"Hello ma'am, and welcome to KFC. How can I take your-"

"Karin-chan!?" It was totally her.

"Yes Ayumu, it's me. Now, how can I take your-"

"Why are you here!?"

"I work here, Ayumu." The blue-haired woman wearing a red polo shirt and black hat said with a slight amount of irritation in her voice.

"I can see that. I just mean, why?"

"Well, if you must know." Karin took a deep breath before crossing her arms. "The recession hit the entertainment industry pretty hard. The magazine company I belonged to unfortunately folded, and hey, a month goes by and I'm nearly evicted from my apartment."

"Oh my…" Ayumu was learning all this news about her dear friend for the first time. "I'm so sorry to hear that."

"Yeah… Anyhow, when I was walking around this part of Koto City when I saw KFC was looking to hire an assistant manager. I walked in, asked the staff to see their manager, and talked to this nice woman in the back for about 20 minutes before I got the job."

"Just like that? No resume or background check?"

"Ayumu, I was still the most popular model this side of Mount Fuji when they hired me. They knew every part of my background thanks to those magazine interviews, including the information I didn't even give on record."

"A-ah, I see…" The young woman wearing a beige coat, dress shirt and a pair of jeans that fit just right kinda forgot just how big of a deal her former classmate was in the country. "Are you planning on leaving this job anytime soon? Maybe go back into modeling?"

Karin seemed to take a moment to think carefully on how to respond to this question. After taking a sip from a water bottle near the register, she seemed to have an answer.

"At the time, I was just under the mindset that desperate times called for desperate measures. I would've definitely been screwed financially if I didn't get a job that instant..."

The assistant manager of the KFC location let out a chuckle before headpatting the customer. "But nowadays? I think I grew into this job quite comfortably. The pay is high, the employees are kind and hardworking, and I feel like I'm actually giving something to my community besides overpriced photos of myself in, frankly, unattractive clothing made by arrogant designers."

"In other words, I don't plan on leaving this job anytime soon, Ayumu."

The pink-haired woman never could've imagined Karin Asaka of all people helping run a fast food restaurant in her adult years, but if that's what she felt content doing in life, then that's all that mattered. That brought a smile to Ayumu's face.

"Now, if there's no more questions at the moment…"

"Oh, right." Ayumu clasped her hands together and bowed. "Sorry!"

The KFC worker giggled to herself. "So Ayumu. How can I take your order?"