By Zephyria At the questioning words, Ryu Jeong opened his mouth with a troubled look.
“Um, the promotion is over. Now it’s not One Plus One anymore, so you have to pay full price for both… Is that okay?”
“Ha, I was wondering what it was.”
Do Hwon chuckled, finding it absurd that he was speaking so cautiously, as if walking on thin ice. Instead of saying it was okay, he held out his card. But then, for some reason, he didn’t take the card and just kept grumbling. Was it because of how he looked? The way he acted was just like a puppy.
“Aren’t you taking it?”
“Well, you didn’t take your change yesterday.”
“Change?”
Do Hwon asked again, puzzled. Yesterday… Ah. He remembered roughly taking out the cash in his wallet and giving it to him.
“I’ll calculate the remaining money after this and give it to you now.”
Ryu Jeong rummaged through the cash he had carefully kept in his pocket. Several bills of different colors and a few coins were neatly held in his small hand. He looked at the POS screen and tapped away at a small calculator to count the money. Do Hwon, who had been quietly watching, held out his card to Ryu Jeong.
“It’s okay. I don’t like the sound of coins jingling.”
“Yes? Ah, I’m a bit slow at calculating… But I’ll do it quickly and give it to you.”
“No, it’s not because of that, I really just don’t have anywhere to put the coins.”
Do Hwon took out his wallet and showed it to Ryu Jeong, who ended up dropping a coin in his haste. Ryu Jeong cautiously glanced at Do Hwon and looked at what he was holding out. As he said, there were no coin compartments, only slots for cards and bills.
For Ryu Jeong, who carried around something like a lucky bag as a wallet, it was a very strange sight. If you use cash, you have no choice but to carry coins, so does he throw them away on the street every time he gets them? While he was blankly shocked by the economic sense he couldn’t understand at all, Do Hwon put his wallet away. Thinking he really wasn’t going to take it, Ryu Jeong hurriedly gathered the bills and held them out.
“Th-Then, at least the bills…”
“Keep it, just think of it as a tip.”
“Yes? No. I can’t do that…”
“Why? Does it make you feel bad?”
Ryu Jeong shook his head in alarm.
“How can I take a tip from someone who helped me?”
“You can think of it as separate from yesterday’s events.”
“That’s… Th-Then, how about deducting it from here every time you buy something?”
That way, you won’t have to carry coins. He shrugged.
“Let’s do that, then.”
At those words, Ryu Jeong’s face lit up. He said he would calculate quickly and continued to tap the calculator, then took out a small memo pad from next to the POS and wrote something down. Curious about what he was writing, he glanced over and saw the drink he had just bought and its price written down in rounded handwriting.
His smiling face, saying he was done, was so clear and fair. When he was troubled or expressionless, he looked like he was carrying all the worries of the world, but when he smiled like that, his eyes were drawn to him. As if he had completely forgotten about yesterday’s events. Do Hwon tilted his head.
“Aren’t you tired?”
“Yes?”
“I heard you also work at a cafe. You work here at night and at the cafe during the day, right? Isn’t that hard?”
As if he didn’t expect to receive such a question, Ryu Jeong avoided his gaze.
“A little… I am a little tired, but it’s okay. I’m very used to it.”
The word ‘used to it’ meant that there was a reason why he had to do that. What could be the reason why he had to work day and night? Do Hwon silently looked at Ryu Jeong carefully. Was he a student? Doing a night shift at this time, when he should be sleeping or studying, meant that he wasn’t currently enrolled. He seemed to be short on money, but it wasn’t for entertainment purposes. That was evident from his shabby appearance, which couldn’t be hidden by the convenience store vest. After thinking, Do Hwon began to ask questions in earnest.
“Do you live nearby?”
The road was very narrow to drive a car in, and even if you did drive in, there wasn’t much space to park in this neighborhood. Even he, who was only visiting for a short time, found it very inconvenient, so the fact that he came to work in this neighborhood meant that he was likely to live nearby. Ryu Jeong’s eyes widened at the sudden question, and after thinking for a moment, he slowly nodded.
“I do… live nearby.”
“Do you perhaps live in Moon Village?”
“How did you…”
This time, he took a deep breath. Do Hwon chuckled as if he knew it.
“You said you’d repay my kindness, right?”
“Yes? Ah, yes.”
“How do you plan to repay it?”
“Um…”
“If you don’t have anything in mind, I have a suggestion.”
At those words, Ryu Jeong’s face brightened. He thought it was polite to repay the kindness he had received, so Ryu Jeong looked at the other person with anticipation.
“What is it? Tell me.”
Seeing Ryu Jeong’s eyes sparkling as if he would do anything, Do Hwon quietly cleared his throat. It’s not a difficult task. He began, staring intently as if not to miss the change in Ryu Jeong’s expression.
“I need to look around this neighborhood.”
“…Here?”
“Yes. But the problem is that I only have time at night. I have to go to work during the day, after all. I’ve been looking around as soon as I get off work, but there are no streetlights, so I can’t see anything.”
Ryu Jeong, who had been narrowing his brow and listening seriously to the serious story, bit his lower lip when Do Hwon mentioned streetlights. He had lived in this neighborhood for a long time, so he could find his way around without lights, but it wouldn’t be easy for someone like the man, who was visiting for the first time, to walk around the neighborhood unless it was daytime.
“Then, would you like me to help you look around the neighborhood?”
Ryu Jeong cautiously checked if his opinion was correct. As the man said, it wasn’t a difficult task, but there was one problem.
“Um, does it have to be on a weekday?”
He couldn’t find the time on weekdays at all. Except for the time he wasn’t working, he was either walking or taking a nap in his room. The time the man was visiting now was when he was working at the convenience store.
“Are weekends okay too? As you know, I don’t have time on weekdays because of my part-time job.”
“Weekends are more convenient for me too. I’m busy on weekdays. Now that we’re talking about it, how about Saturday?”
Do Hwon smiled, widening the corners of his mouth. Ryu Jeong, who was momentarily captivated by the attractive smile, quickly came to his senses and lowered his eyebrows. He had luckily decided to go to work this Saturday because there was an opening at the logistics center.
“I have work this Saturday…”
“You seem busier than me.”
“I’m sorry…”
“There’s no need to be sorry. Then, is Sunday okay?”
Ryu Jeong thought carefully about whether he had any plans. Unlike last week, this Sunday was a rare day off. On days when he didn’t have work, he couldn’t rest comfortably because he thought he wouldn’t earn a day’s wage, but he couldn’t help but smile at the thought that he could repay his debt of gratitude, even if there was no allowance.
“Yes. I don’t have anything that day.”
“Good, then.”
Satisfaction appeared on Do Hwon’s face.
“Let’s meet on Sunday.”
“Yes…”
“What’s your name?”
As he asked that, Do Hwon’s eyes went to the vest Ryu Jeong was wearing. He read the name tag on the left chest. Ryu, Jeong.
“Is it a single-character name?”
“Yes. The surname is Ryu, and the name is Jeong.”
“It’s a pretty name.”
Ryu Jeong, who had also lowered his head to look at the name tag, flinched. He had seen people who were curious about his single-character name, but this was the first time someone had praised it as a pretty name. Feeling a little embarrassed, Ryu Jeong couldn’t even say thank you because he was pressing his lips tightly inward.
“I’m Lee Do-hyeon. Call me whatever you’re comfortable with.”
Call him whatever he was comfortable with. There was no order more difficult than that. It was difficult for him to speak informally even to students younger than him, let alone this person, and he couldn’t think of an appropriate title. Seeing him hesitating and opening and closing his lips, Do Hwon laughed out loud as if he roughly knew what he was thinking. Why does he keep laughing…? Ryu Jeong barely raised his head.
“If it doesn’t feel right, just call me CEO.”
“CEO…?”
“Yes. Everyone at the company calls me that.”
Wow, he’s a CEO. He thought that to be a CEO or President, you had to be at least the age of the Shop Owner. Something like admiration appeared in his wide eyes. Do Hwon thought to himself that he was cute. Everything he said and everything he was thinking was all on his face, which was very childlike.
“Then, I’ll be counting on you, Jeong. From today, I won’t have to walk around at night.”
Do Hwon sighed in relief as if he was finally relieved. So he felt like he should say something like just trust him. But he couldn’t bring himself to say those words. It was because of the unique title that came out of Do Hwon’s mouth.
His surname was definitely Ryu and his name was Jeong, but because people around him called him Ryu Jeong so often, he had lived thinking that was his name. At the same time as the man called his name, separating it from his surname, in a soft voice, Ryu Jeong felt that his name was ‘Jeong’, a single character, and that it was quite new.
“Oh, and this. Drink it while you work.”
While he was just blinking blankly without being able to respond, Do Hwon held out one of the two Black tea drinks he had bought earlier. Ryu Jeong reflexively reached out his hand. Their fingertips briefly brushed.
“Ah… Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Okay. Then, take care. See you on Sunday.”
“Yes… Goodbye.”
Clang. The convenience store, which had been seeing Do Hwon off, quickly became quiet. Ryu Jeong, who had been staring at the glass door until the swaying bell stopped moving, suddenly tilted his head. Had they just made plans? Even after thinking carefully, they had only decided on Sunday, and the specific time and place hadn’t been mentioned at all.
On weekdays, he could just come to the convenience store like this, but it wasn’t the same on weekends when he didn’t go to work. If this happened, there was no way for him to go, and it wouldn’t be easy for Lee Do-hyeon to come.
What should he do…? Ryu Jeong stamped his feet. He had no choice but to hope that Do Hwon would visit the convenience store once more before the weekend.