DG 5

“What.”

It wasn’t the same tone as ‘You’re welcome.’ It was a question implying he didn’t understand what Ryu Jeong was thanking him for. Watching his large hand take the card and slip it into his wallet, Ryu Jeong smiled sheepishly.

“The situation was really difficult. They’re regulars, but they suddenly wanted to buy on credit… I said no, but they kept asking, so I was really embarrassed. Thank you for helping me.”

The man’s gaze landed on Ryu Jeong’s flushed cheeks. His pale face, devoid of any color, had only his cheeks tinged with peach. The man, as if mulling over Ryu Jeong’s words, stared silently for a moment before lightly smiling and putting away his wallet. He picked up the Black tea drink he had briefly set down to pay and said nonchalantly. His hands were so large he could hold both at once.

“I think there’s been a misunderstanding, I didn’t do that to help you.”

A languid voice flowed out. Ryu Jeong abruptly raised his head at the even, monotonous tone.

“Pardon?”

“Did I even scold that guy earlier, or do anything? He got scared on his own and ran away.”

“Ah……”

Ryu Jeong’s large eyes darted around. The thought that he had been mistaken made him even more embarrassed to meet his eyes. As he hesitated, looking down, the man turned his back without waiting any longer. Ryu Jeong hurriedly opened his mouth.

“S-still, if you hadn’t come in, they would have kept fighting.”

The man paused. Confirming that he had reacted without ignoring him, Ryu Jeong quickly added, not even properly seeing the man’s back.

“You saw the kids sitting outside when you came in, right? They’re all part of the same group. They’re m-minors, but they come every day to drink and smoke… They’re scary kids. And there aren’t many people around… If you weren’t a customer, I might have gotten hit by them……”

Unlike at first, Ryu Jeong’s voice grew smaller and smaller as he continued to speak. He felt the man, who had glanced back, scanning him up and down. Ryu Jeong’s eyes, filled with anxiety, caught sight of the sleeves of his worn-out uniform, stretched out and frayed in places. He felt embarrassed by his shabby appearance, which the convenience store vest he was wearing couldn’t hide.

Just as he was regretting that he should have just let it go as his own misunderstanding, the man reluctantly nodded.

“Yes. If that’s the case, then that’s good.”

Unlike his words, the man’s tone was insincere. It sounded like he was just saying something to quickly end this pointless conversation. He was already tired, and now an Alpha was thanking him profusely for a favor he hadn’t even done. He must just want to go and rest, and Ryu Jeong would feel annoyed and irritated if he were in his shoes. Ryu Jeong, secretly stealing glances at the man’s clearly exhausted face, couldn’t hide his gloom and drooped his shoulders.

Then, something suddenly flashed through his mind. Something he had forgotten just a moment ago when the man was paying awakened Ryu Jeong’s mind. When he looked at the man in a hurry, he was already heading for the exit. Ryu Jeong, fidgeting like a dog needing to relieve himself, closed his eyes tightly and decided to call him again.

“E-excuse me!”

“What is it this time?”

The man, who was about to push open the glass door, let out an annoyed sigh. Although he was still using polite language, Ryu Jeong could tell that he was truly annoyed this time, and a slight crease formed on his handsome brow. Even though he had stopped him because he had something to say, seeing his annoyed expression made him wonder if he had stopped him for nothing. But if not now, there might not be another chance. He might never set foot in this convenience store again because of what happened today.

“Ah, p-please wait a moment? I have something to give you.”

Ryu Jeong hurriedly went into the storage room. He took out a lukewarm Black tea drink from his shabby eco-bag. It was the same drink the man had paid for earlier.

What if he had already left? He thought he had heard the bell that he often mistook for hearing when he entered the storage room. As long as he didn’t go far, he could quickly give it to him and come back. The Shop Owner was asleep and wouldn’t notice. Ryu Jeong bumped into the narrow entrance of the storage room and ran out. Fortunately, the man was standing in the same spot.

“This……”

Ryu Jeong didn’t even think to raise the counter and crawled out from under it. He was panting heavily despite the short distance. Still gasping for breath, he held out the drink he was carefully holding in both hands to the man. The man silently looked down at Ryu Jeong’s hands. It seemed he didn’t even know he had left it behind.

“Last time. It was buy-one-get-one-free, so you were supposed to take another one, but you left it outside.”

He thought he would take it right away, but the man didn’t lift a finger. Ryu Jeong, feeling puzzled, held out his hand again, urging him to take it. Then, the man let out a long, sighing breath and touched his forehead. His stylishly swept-back hair was slightly disheveled by the touch.

“You have it.”

“Pardon?”

“Have it yourself.”

For the first time, his words were curt, and at the same time, the man gestured towards the drink with his eyes. Whether he understood him or not, the man said only what he wanted to say and turned around and left. Clang. He immediately turned and disappeared from Ryu Jeong’s sight.

Ryu Jeong stood still, staring blankly at his reflection in the glass door, then lowered his gaze. He quietly lowered the hand that had been holding the drink painfully until now. He rubbed the letters printed on the drink with his thumb. His lips pouted.

“I don’t even like this……”

He would have happily drunk it if it was a drink he liked, but this was a drink he wouldn’t eat even if someone bought him a truckload of it. Ryu Jeong trudged back inside the counter. He thought about just drinking it since it was free anyway, but he didn’t really feel like it.

After much deliberation, Ryu Jeong carefully put it in the refrigerator in the storage room. The next morning, he asked Hee-cheol, who was late for work as usual, if he wanted to drink it. But he only got scolded for nothing. Who would eat something like this, he glared with his swollen eyes narrowed into triangles, so he reluctantly took it to his mouth, but it was still not to his taste.

Unlike the convenience store Shop Owner, who wouldn’t even let him eat expired food, the cafe CEO was a really good person. He would tell the Alphas to make themselves a drink to quench their thirst while working, and he wouldn’t say anything even if they took out sandwiches or cakes to eat when they were hungry, saying they couldn’t work if they were hungry. He would even buy gifts for the Alphas when he went on trips. It was always busy and there was no time to rest, but Ryu Jeong was enduring for a long time because of the CEO. It was such a good part-time job that he wished he could work more than just weekday afternoons.

“I’ll let you know with the buzzer.”

Ryu Jeong familiarly took the buzzer and card and handed them to the customer. The customer, who had finished ordering, returned to the table where his friends were waiting and took out books and laptops to study. They were whispering something to each other, but they all looked miserable. There were many students exhausted from fatigue because it was exam season.

Among them, one person had hung a navy blue jumper on the chair as if it were a hanger. While making the drinks, Ryu Jeong glanced at it several times. Among the alphabets he had memorized by begging in the bookstore, he knew the ones embroidered on the students’ jumpers the best. H, A, N…. He stammered the alphabets in his head, then quickly lowered his gaze at the sound coming from the coffee machine.

At that moment, the automatic door opened and the sound of brisk heels clicked. Not only Ryu Jeong, who was busy working, but also the students who were studying with their faces buried in thick books, glanced at the entrance. A woman in a beige coat was standing in front of the automatic door that had just opened and closed.

The woman, with her short bob tucked behind her ears, was a beauty who immediately caught the eye. Partly because she was wearing high heels that looked precarious, but even without such shoes, the tall woman resembled a fashion model in a magazine.

“Oh my, it looks like it’s exam season for the students.”

She looked around at the full tables and muttered to herself. As she craned her neck and looked around inside, the automatic door opened and someone else came in. The woman, as if she knew who was coming in, didn’t even turn around and said naturally, “There are no seats. I think it’s exam season for the kids.”Ryu Jeong, who had been staring blankly at her without realizing it, barely shifted his gaze to look at the person with her.

“Oh……”

Black tea drink. It was that man. Ryu Jeong, who recognized him at once, opened his mouth without realizing it. I’m meeting him here again. Before he could leisurely be surprised, he hurriedly turned his body. The microwave with the bread in it was making a loud noise, saying it was done.

His body was facing the counter, and his hands were cutting the warmed bread into easy-to-eat pieces, but Ryu Jeong’s ears were open to the man. Both the man and the woman were so outstanding in appearance that he kept paying attention to them. Birds of a feather flock together.

“Just take it out.”

There was a hint of exhaustion in his voice, but the stiff, businesslike tone he had used when talking to Ryu Jeong was nowhere to be found.

“How can I do that? I came out after a long time.”

“Then go somewhere else.”

“It’s the same wherever you go. It’ll be much faster to just wait a bit and sit down when a seat opens up, right?”

It was all over the man’s face that he didn’t really want to, but the woman didn’t care and stood there, scanning the room with sharp eyes. Just then, the people by the window were packing up their things and getting up.

“Looks like they’re leaving over there. I’ll sit down, so order and bring it over. You know what I drink, right?”

The man nodded instead of answering. The woman smiled and walked away almost running. Meanwhile, Ryu Jeong prepared the drinks and desserts according to the order he had just received and put them on a tray. He brightly smiled and handed the tray to the customer who came to get the buzzing buzzer, and then the expression on his face as he went to the counter was quite solemn.

“How can I help you order?”

The man didn’t know Ryu Jeong was there because he was looking at the menu. Then, as he took out his wallet and moved his lips to speak, his eyes met Ryu Jeong’s, who was very nervous. Ryu Jeong swallowed nervously and added a bow that he didn’t really need to do.

“Ah, hello……”

At first, he didn’t seem to recognize him. He received Ryu Jeong’s greeting with an expressionless face, but then the man’s eyes widened as if surprised. Then, his expression immediately crumpled.

“You work here too?”

The man raised his eyes, which had been staring at Ryu Jeong’s face, and looked at the beret on his head. Ryu Jeong, noticing his gaze, awkwardly touched his temple with his fingertips.

“Ah, yes. It’s not usually my day to work. A friend who works today had something to do and asked if I could cover for him. I’m just filling in today……”

“I see.”

He didn’t seem to be curious about that much. Ryu Jeong, who was about to say something more, opened and closed his mouth. His face flushed with embarrassment. It was a habit to ramble on about things he didn’t really need to say if someone talked to him, probably because he didn’t have anyone to talk to. Ryu Jeong held his hands tightly, which were hidden by the POS, and fidgeted with his fingers.

The man ordered an iced Americano and a milk tea. He could tell right away which one was the man’s without having to ask. Ryu Jeong politely took the card, finished the payment, and then took out the ingredients one by one to make the drinks. He pretended not to notice the back of his head tingling.

“Two drinks are ready. Enjoy.”

Normally, he would have looked the customer in the eye and greeted them brightly, no matter how busy he was. But Ryu Jeong didn’t have the confidence to meet the man’s eyes, so he quickly finished speaking and turned around. Fortunately, there was a mountain of used cups in the sink, so he could pretend to be busy and move his hands quickly.

He only briefly caught sight of the man’s back as he carried the tray back to his seat. There was a slight expectation in his eyes as he watched the man put the cup to his lips. He had put one more spoonful of Black tea powder in the milk tea than the recipe called for. He expected a change in expression, but the man was expressionless, as if he were drinking plain water.

“Doesn’t he like it……?”

Ryu Jeong tilted his head. He thought he liked it, so he put more in. He thought it would be delicious because there were customers who occasionally asked for it to be made strong and sweet, but it seemed to be more of a personal preference than the taste.

His gloom was only temporary. The customers who had filled the hall had all rushed in at once, and then they all left at the same time as if they had made a promise. Ryu Jeong was busy taking new orders and washing dishes, and he didn’t even notice the time passing. In the process, he gradually forgot about the man’s existence. He had completely forgotten that the customer he had seen at the convenience store had also come to the cafe as a customer, when the man came with two empty cups.

“I enjoyed the drinks.”

Before he could say anything, the man quickly left.

“T-thank you. Come again……”

Ryu Jeong, dumbfounded, said mechanically to the man’s back. He wasn’t really expecting a greeting, but the woman who had accompanied him smiled at Ryu Jeong instead. He thought he had met many outwardly impressive people while working so many part-time jobs, but there were very few people who gave him a friendly smile. He was completely immune to it, so Ryu Jeong was startled and quickly lowered his head.

But when he looked at the cups he had dumped into the sink, they were empty, with not a single sip left. For some reason, Ryu Jeong, who was proud of that, curled his lips and smiled faintly.