DG 20

Perhaps the Shop Owner hadn’t expected to find solid evidence proving Ryu Jeong’s innocence, because he was speechless for a while after cutting Ryu Jeong off. He was usually timid and hesitant, so he must have been a little flustered by Ryu Jeong staring him down and arguing back so clearly.

“Ryu Jeong, it’s not like you usually do a bad job… Okay, well… you handled it well. Good job.”

Hmm. The Shop Owner cleared his throat awkwardly and picked up the phone still lying on the counter, shoving it into his back pocket.

“But Ryu Jeong. How can you just accept everything a customer offers you? I’ve told you so many times not to. People will think I’m mistreating you. That soy milk, huh? It’s not that expensive, why are you grabbing it so readily…”

“That’s…”

It wasn’t like they were giving him something without paying for it. Usually, customers who offered something to the part-timer were giving out of kindness, having bought extra while paying for their necessities. To refuse even that kindness, was everything just looking bad to him? A rebuttal rose to the tip of his tongue, but in these situations, saying sorry was always the most effective way to defuse the situation.

“I’m sorry. I was hungry…”

His eyebrows drooped as if wronged, and his shoulders slumped powerlessly. The Shop Owner, who had been glaring, flinched. Saying that people would think he was mistreating him, and then immediately looking like he was about to cry because he was hungry, wasn’t that like giving him the middle finger? He was dumbfounded and speechless, about to say something, when the bell rang.

The Shop Owner’s gaze shifted from Ryu Jeong to the customer. The customer didn’t seem to care at all about the conversation that had just taken place. He was so engrossed in something, not taking his eyes off his phone as he approached and mumbled a cigarette brand.

“Six milligram? Yes, please insert your card in the front… Payment complete. Thank you. Come again.”

The Shop Owner softened his expression as if nothing had happened and greeted the customer kindly. The customer left without even saying thank you, but he kept smiling at his back before quickly turning serious when he looked at Ryu Jeong.

“Why are you standing there like that? Go in and change your clothes.”

“Yes…”

He couldn’t just barge in while he was in the middle of serving a customer. Ryu Jeong simply lowered his head and walked to the storage room behind the counter. The Shop Owner added from behind Ryu Jeong.

“Hurry up and come out, because I need to leave as soon as you’re out.”

I don’t know if that bastard Noh Hee-cheol crawled in or not. A complaint followed, as if he was about to burst. He was loudly badmouthing his son in front of others.

“Aish, damn it. What a pain. I shouldn’t have come.”

The Shop Owner’s annoyed voice leaked out before the storage door could even close. Whether he was doing it for him to hear or not, he continued to grumble, revealing his discomfort. He must have thought he had caught something, but he seemed thoroughly annoyed that it didn’t go his way.

If he was sorry for acting in a way that could cause misunderstandings, shouldn’t he apologize for relentlessly questioning and scolding him? A question popped into his head, but Ryu Jeong didn’t bother to voice it. The Shop Owner he knew wasn’t the type to apologize, even if it meant swallowing his pride.

Saturday was almost the only day he got off work on time when working at the convenience store. Unlike Noh Hee-cheol, who was habitually late, Sae-na, who was the same age and worked on weekend mornings, was a part-timer who was rarely late. If she was ever late, she would apologize profusely, even giving him a piece of candy.

“Hey, jackpot.”

Almost as soon as he thought it was time for her to arrive, the glass door opened and Sae-na walked in. Her cheeks, visible under her deeply pressed hat, were flushed red. Did she run? It wasn’t like she was late. He would have a few minutes to spare even after changing into his uniform, but for some reason, she seemed out of breath.

Sae-na, who had rushed to where Ryu Jeong was, almost collapsed onto the counter. A smile was plastered on her face as she caught her breath.

“Guess what I saw on my way here?”

“…Huh?”

He didn’t know what she had seen to be so confident. Was there anything in this neighborhood that would warrant such a fuss? Ryu Jeong rolled his eyes from side to side with a puzzled expression and cautiously asked, “What is it?”

“A handsome guy.”

“Uh…”

“A really fucking handsome guy! Super handsome.”

Sae-na narrowed her eyes and spoke each syllable clearly. Her eyes were almost lecherous. Ryu Jeong blinked blankly, as if he didn’t understand what he had just heard.

“You know the place where the dry cleaner used to be? The one with the ginkgo tree in front? He was smoking in that alley, you know? I was so pissed because of the smell, but it went away when I saw his face, just now.”

She seemed serious. She was frowning, but that’s what she was saying. She was shaking her head slowly, holding her chin as if reminiscing, and her expression even looked satisfied.

Ryu Jeong, who was just standing there dumbfounded, wondering what was going on as soon as she came to work, and that too after a week, could only gape. Sae-na, who had been nodding and shaking her head, giving her opinion, suddenly looked at Ryu Jeong. The sparkle in her eyes made him uneasy. Ryu Jeong smiled awkwardly and took a step back for no reason.

“That’s the way you go home.”

“…The dry cleaner’s?”

“Go and see him quickly. What if he leaves? Huh? Give me your vest.”

Sae-na grabbed Ryu Jeong’s arm, who was still inside the counter, and pulled him out, then roughly took off the uniform Ryu Jeong was wearing. Before he could even protest, Ryu Jeong’s convenience store vest was in Sae-na’s hands.

They didn’t work at the same time, so the only time they saw each other to say hello was for a short time on Saturday mornings, once a week, but thanks to Sae-na’s unique sociability, they were much more comfortable with each other than with Noh Hee-cheol, whom he saw every day. They were a little ambiguous to call friends, but they were the most unreserved among the people Ryu Jeong knew. But even so, wasn’t it a bit much to touch someone of the opposite sex? But then again, he thought that this was something only Sae-na could do, so he had nothing to say. Ryu Jeong’s face quickly turned red, and he was already outside the glass door before he could say anything.

“It’s time for you to leave anyway! Go quickly. Good work. Submit a review next week when I see you. Okay? Uh, go! Bye!”

She comes to a conclusion on her own without even getting an answer. Sae-na waved her hand, telling him to go quickly, and went inside without even thinking of receiving a reply or greeting.

Ryu Jeong blinked in bewilderment before moving on, telling himself to just go. He was dazed, as if his mind had been completely emptied. What had just happened? The situation a moment ago was so chaotic that the Shop Owner would have been shocked if he had been watching the CCTV.

It was such a sudden departure that he wondered if he could just leave like this. The time he checked before Sae-na came in was not even on the hour, but thanks to Sae-na, who was constantly making a fuss, he seemed to have left about 5 minutes early. Nevertheless, he was still tired. He couldn’t help but yawn just by walking. Ryu Jeong, who covered his mouth and yawned widely, even though no one was watching, rubbed his teary eyes.

He usually tried to work even on weekends, but on days like this when he was tired, he didn’t want to do anything, whether it was work or housework. Even if he had a pre-arranged job, he would have to go to work, but today was his day off. Should he get some sleep for once? Ryu Jeong, who had been maintaining an irregular sleep pattern for years, had never slept well as he wished, and probably wouldn’t be able to, but he was determined to sleep all day.

Every time he stepped, he felt like his whole body was being sucked into the ground as if it were a soft swamp. He felt like he would fall asleep as soon as he lay down, regardless of whether it was at home or on the street. He was personally feeling the limits of his physical strength when he was about to pass the dry cleaner’s that Sae-na had mentioned.

“Are you off work now?”

Wolhyeon-dong on a weekend morning was as quiet as usual, but there was a voice that broke the peaceful silence. Ryu Jeong was startled and stopped walking. Lee Do-hyeon, wearing a coat, was standing in the alley next to the ginkgo tree in front of the dry cleaner’s, leaning against the stone wall.

“…President.”

Ryu Jeong, following Lee Do-hyeon who smiled when their eyes met, turned and approached him. Do Hwon straightened his slanting posture. It was cute how he had been walking with a gloomy look from afar, but as soon as he saw him, he ran over with a bright face.

“What brings you here today?”

“We were supposed to meet today. We didn’t get to see the whole neighborhood last time.”

Gasp… As soon as Do Hwon finished speaking, Ryu Jeong took a deep breath. He had approached him as if he was happy to see him, but now his eyes were wide and he was fidgeting, not knowing what to do. Anyone could tell that he had forgotten. Lee Do-hyeon, seeing Ryu Jeong unable to hide his embarrassment and bowing his head, chuckled as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“It’s okay. You can forget. I’m lucky to have my secretary, otherwise I would have canceled all my schedules. Jeong doesn’t have a secretary like me, and he’s busy with the convenience store and cafe work. It’s natural to forget.”

“I’m sorry…”

“What are you sorry for? We didn’t even set a time this time. I’m such an airhead. I did this last week too. I wonder if I’m even fit to be a businessman.”

“When did you get here…?”

Worried that he might have been waiting for a long time, Ryu Jeong looked up at Lee Do-hyeon with teary eyes.

“When did you get here?”

“Let’s see, about… 20 minutes? It hasn’t been long.”

“That early?”

20 minutes was just a figure of speech. Ryu Jeong’s quitting time was 8 o’clock, so if you calculated the time he arrived in Wolhyeon-dong, it was early in the morning. Considering the time it took to get up, prepare to go out, and travel, it wasn’t a reasonable time. Lee Do-hyeon shrugged as if it was nothing, seeing Ryu Jeong rolling his eyes seriously.

“I came early so we wouldn’t miss each other. If you went home first, I’d have to go up again.”

“Ah… that’s right… my house is a bit high up…”

“Ah, I’m talking about Jeong, not me.”

“Yes?”

Perhaps because he hadn’t slept much, he didn’t understand what Lee Do-hyeon was saying. Ryu Jeong tilted his head, pondering as if he were looking up the meaning of an unfamiliar word in a dictionary.

“What does that mean…?”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like. You came down to meet me anyway, so you’d have to go up twice. It’s better to be tired once than twice. Go up later, not now.”

“Ah… then would you like to look around from the bottom first? This is my neighborhood from here…”

“No. More than that, let’s go eat.”