By Zephyria 
“Oh! Then, do you want to come work at our shop?”
Jae-gyeom’s eyes widened at Im Hyo-mun’s unexpected proposal.
“Would that be okay?”
Im Hyo-mun nodded readily and spoke.
“Yeah, a Hyung who worked in the kitchen quit recently, so we’ve actually been short-handed lately. That’s why I’ve been going in to help out on my days off. It’s so busy I can barely think straight. Anyway… kitchen work is a bit grueling, but if you’re okay with it, I’ll go talk to my dad….”
Without needing to hear any more, Jae-gyeom grabbed Im Hyo-mun’s arm.
“I’ll do it!”
At that, Im Hyo-mun looked delighted and said,
“Really? We’d be more than thankful if you could help! Kitchen work is tough, so it’s hard to find people. But Chil-chil, is it okay for you to work part-time right now? There isn’t much time left before the GED.”
Ah, right, that was true….
Jae-gyeom looked troubled and pondered for a moment before speaking.
“That’s true. So, about that… would it be possible to work only on weekends?”
“Ah, a weekend part-timer? That’s possible too. Weekends are actually the busiest.”
Right then and there, Im Hyo-mun called Jeong Deok-cheol.
As he explained the working conditions and the situation into the phone, Jeong Deok-cheol readily hired Jae-gyeom. Perhaps because he was his son’s friend, he was accepted immediately without even an interview.
Since he had to attend an academy on weekdays and the GED exam was fast approaching, it was difficult to devote a lot of time to a part-time job. Therefore, it was agreed that he would work only on weekends for now.
In exchange, it was a full-time shift covering both weekend days. The working hours were from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, including a break time, totaling 10 hours of work. Because kitchen work is more physically demanding than simple hall duties, the hourly wage was much higher than average, meaning the money he could take home after a month of work was roughly around 1.2 million won.
If he worked for just two months, he would have more than enough money to buy the ring.
— Then, Hyo-mun’s friend, please start working this weekend!
And so, the conversation concluded with him starting work this very weekend.
On the way back home.
Inside the bus heading home, Jae-gyeom scratched his head vigorously. He had luckily found a part-time job thanks to Im Hyo-mun, but the thought suddenly occurred to him: ‘Did I push too hastily?’
He had decided without a proper plan… and since today was Friday, he had to start working tomorrow. He belatedly worried about how to tell Yoon Tae-hee. He couldn’t tell the truth—that he had taken a part-time job to buy a ring for him. It was a feeling similar to when he had kept the leaf embroidery a secret from Myo-jeong to give it as a surprise gift. He wanted to surprise him. He would definitely love it, wouldn’t he…?
To achieve that, he had to come up with another excuse.
“Hmm….”
Jae-gyeom sank deep into thought.
When Jae-gyeom returned home, Yoon Tae-hee was organizing books in the study.
“I’m home.”
When he knocked and entered the study, Yoon Tae-hee slid his glasses down and asked,
“Where have you been?”
“I went to a cafe with Shin Ji-hye, then I happened to run into Hyo-mun on the street and we had a meal.”
After answering, Jae-gyeom briefly gauged Yoon Tae-hee’s reaction. Yoon Tae-hee didn’t seem particularly bothered; keeping his gaze fixed on a book, he flipped through the pages and spoke.
“Did you have fun?”
“Yeah.”
“What did you eat?”
“Dak-galbi.”
“Was it good?”
“Yeah. Let’s go eat it together next time. And, you know.”
Jae-gyeom spoke, pretending to be nonchalant.
“I decided to get tutoring at Hyo-mun’s place starting this weekend.”
At those words, Yoon Tae-hee’s hand, which had been sliding a book into place, froze.
“…….”
“…….”
A deep silence fell, as if time had stopped.
…Why isn’t he answering? Did the lie show?
Jae-gyeom swallowed hard in silence. Regardless, a lie was indispensable. If he confessed that he had taken a part-time job, Tae-hee would surely interrogate him on why he was suddenly trying to earn money at this point. It seemed much better to pretend that he had decided to receive tutoring for the next month.
“……Tutoring? Suddenly?”
Yoon Tae-hee asked, turning to Jae-gyeom slowly without any change in expression.
“What subject?”
“……Huh?”
“What subject is he tutoring you in?”
“Ah, uh, English and Ma—Math. He said he’d go over a bit of everything.”
Jae-gyeom quickly followed up so that Yoon Tae-hee wouldn’t suspect anything.
“There’s less than a month left until the exam, so I want to give it my all with Hyo-mun. I heard he was really good at studying. He’s the type who would have been a high official or a scribe in the old days. You know Seonggyungwan, right? Seonggyungwan is a place where….”
Then, Yoon Tae-hee, who had been listening silently, cut him off in a dry tone.
“Am I not enough?”
“……What?”
“I think it’s already sufficient for me to look after your studies.”
Pausing for a moment, Yoon Tae-hee stared blankly at Jae-gyeom with emotionless eyes and continued.
“You’re already attending an academy for English, and you’re already in a stable passing range for other subjects. No matter how I think about it, there’s no need to go as far as getting a tutor… Hearing that you’re going to Mr. Hyo-mun for tutoring isn’t particularly pleasant. If by any chance there is another reason, I’d prefer it if you just told me honestly.”
As expected, Yoon Tae-hee was not an easy opponent.
For a moment he was speechless, but Jae-gyeom poured out excuses as they came to mind.
“You—you’re busy these days because of the Exorcist Order work, so I felt like I was just getting in your way. I’m fine, so I’ll take care of my own things from now on. You do your work, and I’ll do mine.”
At those words, Yoon Tae-hee’s eyes darkened. However, Jae-gyeom did not notice the change.
“…….”
To be honest, Yoon Tae-hee’s mood was completely ruined. He had to suppress the urge to rip the book in his hand to shreds and throw it away. Instead, he closed the book with a loud thud and spoke.
“Fine. Do as you please.”
The next day, Jae-gyeom went to work for the first time at ‘Jeong Deok-cheol’s King Tonkatsu.’
Yoon Tae-hee had not spoken to Jae-gyeom since their conversation in the study last night. This morning, he hadn’t shown his face once, staying shut inside his room. Only then did Jae-gyeom realize that Yoon Tae-hee’s mood was severely twisted. No matter how he looked at it, he was clearly sulking.
And to think he had denied it when asked if it would be better not to meet Im Hyo-mun.
Yoon Tae-hee’s jealousy was truly unpredictable. However, it was almost time to clock in to soothe or cheer him up. In the end, Jae-gyeom had no choice but to leave the house, leaving Yoon Tae-hee as he was.
“Um, hello. I’m Kim Jae-gyeom, Hyo-mun’s friend….”
“Hyo-mun’s friend! Welcome, welcome!”
Jeong Deok-cheol welcomed him warmly with a hearty smile, patting Jae-gyeom’s back with hands as large as pot lids. He boasted a physique like a mountain bandit, as always. It seemed there was no need to worry about thieves breaking into the shop.
Jae-gyeom’s assigned role was kitchen assistant. He wasn’t someone who cooked often at home and was clumsy with kitchen work, so he lacked confidence, but Jeong Deok-cheol didn’t mind, saying, “Everyone improves by learning one thing at a time!”
For Jae-gyeom, this was a relief. He figured he was being considerate because he was his son’s friend. And although he didn’t know what Im Hyo-mun had told him, whenever Jae-gyeom felt a gaze and glanced at Jeong Deok-cheol, the man was looking at him with moist eyes as if he were proud of him. It was a quite burdensome look.
The main job of a kitchen assistant was preparing the ingredients needed for cooking. It mostly consisted of miscellaneous tasks like pounding meat to flatten it, washing and shredding cabbage, or changing oil containers.
“First, you need to make shredded cabbage. It’s for the salad.”
Where Jeong Deok-cheol pointed, there was a large basin filled with cabbages as big as human heads. Jeong Deok-cheol said he would demonstrate. He placed a slicer over a large bowl and rubbed the cabbage against it; shredded cabbage, looking like thick threads, piled up inside the bowl.
“See? Easy, right?”
“Yes.”
Jae-gyeom sat on a low stool—the kind used in public baths—put on rubber gloves, and began the cabbage shredding process in earnest. It wasn’t a difficult task. It was while he was diligently rubbing the cabbage against the slicer.
“Oops!”
In his desire not to waste any, he tried to push it as far as possible, and his hand caught on the slicer. The tip of his finger slid against the blade, resulting in a cut. Only a small piece of flesh had been sliced off, but a fair amount of blood flowed out.
“What! What happened?”
Jeong Deok-cheol rushed over in a single bound to check the situation. Upon seeing that Jae-gyeom had hurt his hand, he screamed “Kyaaaak!” with a pale face. It was the moment Jae-gyeom understood where Im Hyo-mun’s fussing personality came from.