By Zephyria As expected, Noh Hee-cheol didn’t keep to his work schedule. He was a whole 30 minutes late and didn’t even apologize. But that was an everyday occurrence, so it wasn’t particularly surprising, and what was a little unexpected was the lack of the usual “good morning” greeting.
Not greeting could be understandable, he thought. On days when he was in a bad mood, he wouldn’t even say hello, using Ryu Jeong as a sounding board to vent all his complaints. Noh Hee-cheol, who would always open his mouth no matter how bad his mood was, was strangely silent and, above all, didn’t make eye contact with Ryu Jeong. Rather than being treated like an invisible man, it seemed like he was a little ashamed for some reason.
Seeing that, he figured he hadn’t said anything wrong. He must have been feeling something after being called out for not even knowing it was a shameful thing to do. Thinking it was fortunate that he had that much conscience, Ryu Jeong silently left work. Noh Hee-cheol didn’t look at Ryu Jeong until the end.
He ate a simple meal and was going to take a nap, but he couldn’t fall asleep, so he did a major cleaning. He was tired, but he felt like Lee Do-hyeon would come to mind if he didn’t use his body. After sweating profusely and cleaning up, Ryu Jeong went to work at the chicken ribs restaurant. He wanted to overwork himself for the same reason, but there were fewer people than usual, so there was nothing to do. He thought it was strange, but it was the same at the cafe. The large store should have been packed with customers, but for some reason it was empty, and he felt self-conscious standing at the counter.
Unlike the Shop Owner at the convenience store, who gave him the eye even when there were no customers, the CEO of the cafe made a small resting space in the storage room and dressing room, saying that he should rest when there was no work. Feeling a little self-conscious just sitting there, Ryu Jeong filled up the coffee beans and replenished the missing powders, preparing everything so that there would be no disruption to the business, and then sat down on the chair.
“Oh, Darling was resting.”
Even though he was just sitting, his body felt comfortable. He was sitting there consciously trying not to think about Lee Do-hyeon when a customer came in. He jumped up and went outside, and a woman who was looking around greeted Ryu Jeong. It was Su-bin.
“Oh, hello. What brings you here…?”
“What else? I came to buy coffee.”
Su-bin shrugged her shoulders and took out her wallet. Even though it was cold, she ordered an iced coffee with plenty of whipped cream. Ryu Jeong received the card from Su-bin, pressed the employee discount button, and calculated the discounted price.
“Do you want something to drink too, Darling?”
“No. I’m okay.”
He lightly refused Su-bin’s kindness, who asked him to add anything he wanted to drink and pay for it. He was grateful to Su-bin for calling him Darling and following him well, but he couldn’t bring himself to accept it because he felt sorry for his lack of generosity, which was not proportional to his gratitude. Su-bin, who had no idea about these complicated circumstances, offered Ryu Jeong a drink one more time, but Ryu Jeong refused to the end, so she had no choice but to pay for her own.
“Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen it so empty at this hour.”
Since they were both part-timers and were quite close, Su-bin didn’t sit down and wait, but stood at the counter and chatted with Ryu Jeong. Ryu Jeong brewed the espresso, then took out the milk from the refrigerator, set it up, and looked around the store.
“It’s usually a very busy time… It’s strangely empty today.”
“That’s because the semester is over.”
“Semester over?”
Ryu Jeong, who was speaking casually, was surprised by Su-bin’s words and raised his head. Su-bin widened her eyes as if she didn’t know.
“Yes. The final exams are over. I already took all the exams, but one subject had a late exam. So today is the end of the semester for me. I’m going to take the coffee and go to my parents’ house.”
“Ah… so that’s why. I didn’t know.”
“I guess not. Ha, it was a really tough semester. I made a mess of my schedule. From next semester, I’m going to make sure I have Mondays off. It’s okay usually, but it’s a bit tough during exam periods.”
“You worked hard.”
“What do you mean, worked hard? It’s all because of me that you were busy filling in, which you never would have done otherwise.”
Thanks to that, he was able to earn a few more won… Ryu Jeong didn’t bother to say it and just smiled faintly.
When he didn’t respond, Su-bin quickly changed the subject.
“What are you going to do during the vacation, Darling? I’m going on a backpacking trip to Europe with a friend next month. I’ve planned a little less than 3 weeks.”
“Then what about your part-time job…?”
“I told the CEO about it months ago.”
“I… I don’t know. I guess I’ll keep working part-time?”
Ryu Jeong poured the espresso into the prepared cup. The dark brown espresso mixed with the white milk and chocolate syrup blended smoothly. Without stopping there, he topped it with plenty of whipped cream and drizzled chocolate syrup in a zigzag pattern, completing a delicious cafe mocha. After carefully covering it with a round lid, he handed it to Su-bin with a straw, and she smiled, saying, “Thank you, Darling.”
Su-bin, who said she was going straight to her parents’ house, didn’t leave right away and lingered around the counter. Trivial conversations passed between the two. Most of them were about Su-bin’s stories. She listed her excited plans about which countries she would visit, but Ryu Jeong just listened because they were stories he didn’t know well.
“Oh, right. By the way. Are you busy on the weekend, Darling?”
Su-bin, who had been chatting for a while, leaned her upper body over the counter as if something had come to mind. He wondered if she was asking him to fill in, but Su-bin immediately denied it, saying that wasn’t the case.
“No, it’s not about asking you to do something for me. I was wondering if you’re interested in a short-term part-time job. Well, it’s a bit much to call it short-term. It’s just for one day.”
A short-term part-time job. Ryu Jeong was tempted.
“What kind of job is it…?”
“You know I’m in the student council, right? There’s a school event this weekend. Our school has a great lineup of graduates, so we have an event every year to raise scholarship donations, and we set aside a day for it? But the event staff are selected from among the students.”
He just found out that Su-bin was in the student council, but what was important was the part about ‘event staff’. As Ryu Jeong seemed interested, Su-bin continued her explanation with an excited face.
“But this year, we didn’t get enough applicants. They’re telling us to find people we know and fill the spots, but everyone’s on vacation or busy going to academies. Are you… interested, Darling?”
“When exactly do I have to do it?”
“Saturday! It’s not at school, but they’re renting a hotel event hall.”
Ryu Jeong paused for a moment at the word hotel. Come to think of it, they said they were building a hotel… Ryu Jeong, who had been helplessly lost in thoughts of Lee Do-hyeon, was startled and shook his head. Su-bin had already taken out her phone and was checking things, so she didn’t seem to notice what Ryu Jeong had done.
“The event itself starts at 1 p.m. But there are a lot of things to prepare beforehand, so you have to come a little early. Around… 10 a.m.?”
10 a.m. was the perfect time to wash up and go after finishing work at the convenience store. It would be a little tiring, but he desperately needed a job that guaranteed work, as he didn’t know if there were any openings at the logistics center. Noticing that his thoughts were leaning in a positive direction, Su-bin began to explain the pay.
“It starts at 10 a.m. and the event will be from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. with plenty of time. We’ll have a meal together. I’m guessing it’ll be 5 p.m. by the time we finish the event and clean up. It could end later, but if we only count until 5 p.m., that’s 7 hours from 10 a.m., and there’s a lunch break in the middle. We’ll get a lunch box. The daily wage is 150,000 won. They’ll deposit it into your account on Monday, after deducting a little tax.”
Working for 7 hours, getting food, and getting a daily wage of 150,000 won, which far exceeded the minimum wage, there was nothing more to ask.
“I’ll do it.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“You can’t change your mind later. It’s really urgent…”
“No. I won’t change my mind. I’ll really do it.”
Su-bin seemed touched by Ryu Jeong’s confirmation, and she clasped her hands together and prayed. He didn’t show it much, so he didn’t know, but it seemed like it was an urgent matter.
“Thank you, Darling. I need to find a few more people besides you, but one person is better than nothing…”
“No. It’s hard to find a part-time job these days… I’m the one who’s grateful.”
“I’ll text you the exact address and time. Oh, but I don’t have your number, Darling. Wow. I’ve known you for a year and I haven’t even thought about exchanging numbers?”
Su-bin, as if surprised, held out her phone first. The phone with the cute case looked just like Su-bin’s personality. Ryu Jeong smiled slightly as if agreeing with Su-bin’s words and typed in his contact information. Su-bin, who received the phone again, tapped the screen a few times and smiled, saying she was done.
“I just called your number, Darling. Save my number.”
“Okay. I’ll check it later.”
“Ha, I’m so relieved. Anyway, if you want to do this job, I have to give your name and contact information to the planning department. Is that okay?”
“Yeah. It’s okay.”
“The planning department will send you a text message, but I’ll contact you just in case. There are some national assemblymen and businessmen? A lot of famous people come, so there are dress code regulations. I’ll probably tell you about that too. They said they’ll lend you clothes if you don’t have any, so you don’t have to buy new clothes.”
Su-bin grumbled that there were so few people that she might have to work with him. But she said that the hourly wage was higher than other part-time jobs, so she could earn a little more and add it to her backpacking trip expenses, and soon she smiled again.
After talking about the part-time job on the weekend, Su-bin suddenly said that she was going to miss the bus and ran away in a hurry. As she left, she didn’t forget to thank Ryu Jeong.
After Su-bin, who had been chattering away, left, the cafe became quiet again. Ryu Jeong turned up the volume of the classical music that was playing softly and took the spoon and espresso shot glass that he had used to make the drink that Su-bin had ordered to the sink. As he washed the dishes, soaking his hands in the warm water, he moved blankly by himself, and suddenly he thought of Lee Do-hyeon, who had said he would see him on the weekend.
It was really a good thing. He could earn money, and he had a reason not to meet Lee Do-hyeon.
‘Don’t you want to see me, Jeong?’
He must have misspoke. He said he wanted to look around Wolhyeon-dong more… Ryu Jeong pursed his lips.
Then, as if it had never been quiet, customers began to pour in. Ryu Jeong quickly turned off the water in the sink, wiped his wet hands, and approached the counter. He was too busy taking orders, making payments, and making drinks to think about anything else. Without having to try to erase his thoughts, the thoughts about Lee Do-hyeon gradually faded and disappeared.