By Zephyria After awkwardly greeting the Shop Owner, who was, without fail, sitting at the outdoor table in front of the convenience store and smoking, Ryu Jeong went inside, zipped up his worn uniform, and began organizing the shelves. Far from increasing, sales were decreasing, so the amount of stock coming in was dwindling day by day, and it wasn’t too difficult to fill the empty shelves.
After neatly arranging the kimbap and ramen, which were among the better-selling items, he was tidying up the empty delivery boxes when he met the Shop Owner’s eyes through the window. He was usually gone without a word around this time, but he was still there. Ryu Jeong showed a considerable amount of embarrassment and bowed his head in greeting.
The Shop Owner, looking awkward, got up from his seat. Ryu Jeong thought he would come inside, but the Shop Owner just stubbed out his finished cigarette in the ashtray and went in a different direction.
“……”
Ever since Ryu Jeong revealed that he was an Omega, the Shop Owner’s attitude toward him had subtly changed. The Shop Owner, who had either glared at him with piercing eyes as if looking for something to criticize or had been consistently indifferent, now often glanced at him surreptitiously, as if trying to gauge his reaction.
Was it because of prejudice against Omegas? Ryu Jeong could only vaguely guess as he disposed of the cigarette butts in the ashtray.
Starting with cleaning the messy outdoor table, Ryu Jeong swept and wiped every corner of the store. He refilled the depleted napkins and wooden chopsticks and tore open a carton to fill the nearly empty cigarette display. After disposing of the expired food items one by one, he took advantage of the lull in customers to wash the dirty mop and returned. Of course, he also attended to the customers who came to the convenience store in between.
Only after thoroughly checking the walk-in refrigerator was Ryu Jeong able to unfold the chair he had kept inside the counter and sit down. Because the height of the chair didn’t match the counter, Ryu Jeong awkwardly propped his chin up and rolled his brown eyes around, looking around the empty convenience store. A song by a singer he had never heard before was playing on the radio, which the Shop Owner had turned on and forgotten to turn off.
“……”
Perhaps because he had been standing and moving for several hours, a tingling pain was rising from the soles of his feet. And at the same time, he felt hungry. The sandwich he had eaten before coming to work seemed to have worn off already.
He had only been away for two days, but the house felt cold when he returned. Ryu Jeong tilted his head, wondering if it had always been this cold, as the chill crept up his bare skin even through his socks. Because he was juggling several part-time jobs with time gaps in between, he had never felt cold as he went in and out of the house three or four times a day to take naps.
And before long, Ryu Jeong found the reason why he had such a feeling. His house had never been warm, it was just always this cold. There was no need to think about it so particularly, but the reason he had such a thought was probably because of Lee Do-hyeon.
Even though he had spent two days barefoot, his bones had never felt cold. Even when he wore thin, soft clothes, it was the same when he was helplessly stripped bare by Lee Do-hyeon’s touch. The house, as large as its owner, was also as warm as its owner. There was no time to even be aware of the feeling of loneliness, let alone the cold.
Ryu Jeong sat awkwardly in his familiar house and slowly ate the sandwich he had bought from the cafe. Unlike the warm toast he had eaten in the morning, the sandwich was cold, and even as he drank the juice made from fresh fruit, he kept thinking of the commercially produced juice that Lee Do-hyeon had poured for him. Ryu Jeong shivered from the cold and loneliness as he ate. The house, which had at least been a haven, had become a den of loneliness in just two days.
Ryu Jeong, who missed Lee Do-hyeon after only half a day, fiddled with his phone for no reason before shaking his head and getting up. Lee Do-hyeon, who had cut off the phone call saying someone was looking for him, hadn’t contacted him yet. He must be busy. It was a time when ordinary office workers would have already left work, but Lee Do-hyeon was far from ordinary, so it wasn’t that strange.
Should he eat something? Thinking that if he couldn’t be of help, he shouldn’t be a hindrance, Ryu Jeong nonchalantly strolled between the shelves. There wasn’t a specific time when customers flocked in, but since the store was quiet right now, it was a good time to eat something.
Cup ramen was an easy choice. Ryu Jeong, looking at the cup ramen that differed in size by more than double, though the price difference was only a few hundred won, picked up the larger one. Thinking about the income he had received thanks to the scholarship award ceremony, he also chose a triangular kimbap and paid for it with the cash he had withdrawn in advance. After pouring hot water up to the indicated line and microwaving the triangular kimbap, he went into the storage room and squatted on the floor, using the chair he had been sitting on earlier as a table.
The spicy ramen smell filled his parched mouth with saliva. He was just about to tear open the warmed triangular kimbap and take a big bite, waiting for the noodles to cook. Ryu Jeong, lifting his eyes without thinking, paused for a moment as he looked at the well-organized interior.
“…Ah.”
It was because he remembered the phone call he had with Lee Do-hyeon during the day. Until then, he had only recognized it as a workplace, but after collapsing due to the Heat cycle, he thought of Lee Do-hyeon every time he came into the storage room. Strictly speaking, he had only collapsed here. But the reason he kept having different thoughts was probably because of what had happened afterward.
It was a night when he couldn’t even move a finger as he pleased. It was his first time experiencing it, so he was afraid, but even more so, the overwhelming desire obscured his vision, making it difficult to even keep his mind together. In the confusion of his burning body, he only looked for Lee Do-hyeon. He wanted to keep touching him, and also…….
“Ah… Ugh… Me.”
What am I thinking right now…….
Ryu Jeong shook his head roughly enough to make his hair fly. He pressed down on his cheeks, which had quickly turned red, with the back of his hand, and then bit into the half-cooled triangular kimbap. After eating it nervously, as if venting his anger, he tore off the tightly attached wooden chopsticks.
I need to eat and clean up before a customer comes. The Shop Owner might be looking at the CCTV at any time. Either he would have to throw away the noodles without being able to eat them because they were swollen like udon noodles, or he would eat them sadly after being scolded. He wanted to avoid either situation. Ryu Jeong roughly loosened the undercooked noodles with his chopsticks and hurriedly shoved them into his mouth.
The stiff texture, as if he were chewing on crackers instead of noodles, spread throughout his mouth. Rather than savoring the taste, he chewed and swallowed with mechanical movements, simply trying to fill his stomach, and took sips of the hot broth, blowing on it. As he did so, he often poked his head out of the storage room and looked around the empty store. He often had the illusion of hearing the sound of the bell when he was inside.
He did that several times. As his stomach filled, he felt more relaxed. Even if he thought he heard the sound of the bell, he dismissed it as an illusion and concentrated on his meal.
Ting-a-ling.
But this time it was different. A short bell sound was followed by the sound of footsteps. Moreover, they were approaching the storage room where he was. Ryu Jeong, realizing that it was not an illusion this time, quickly swallowed the broth that filled his mouth and jumped to his feet.
“Please wait a moment!”
He choked as he tried to swallow the spicy broth quickly. Ryu Jeong was flustered and didn’t know what to do with his stinging throat and nose, so he burst out of the storage room. Could it be that the Shop Owner had come back? He wouldn’t look askance at him for buying and eating something, but he might find fault with him for leaving his post during work hours.
Without even having time to clean up what he had been eating, Ryu Jeong rubbed away the tears that had formed physiologically with the back of his hand and went to the counter. A dark figure was visible in his vision, which was lowered to wipe away the tears. The customer wordlessly opened the warmer and took out soy milk as Ryu Jeong muttered in a small voice that he was sorry.
Warm soy milk and a coffee. Ryu Jeong, who was even sniffling, barely swallowed the cough that had subsided and scanned the barcodes.
“He doesn’t show his face until the end.”
As he was about to read the amount displayed on the POS screen, a voice grumbling as if something was not to his liking landed above his head. Ryu Jeong, startled by the familiar voice, belatedly raised his head. Lee Do-hyeon, who met his widened eyes, tilted his head as if puzzled.
“Uh… President?”
“Were you crying?”
The question that flew at him before he could even think of greeting him was very embarrassing. Before he could even answer no, Lee Do-hyeon, frowning as if displeased, cupped Ryu Jeong’s cheeks and chin. As he blinked his eyes quickly in embarrassment, the tears he hadn’t wiped away streamed down.
“Why? Did someone come and act like a jerk again?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“Did some brats come and cause trouble?”
“…Pardon?”
“Or maybe that horny bastard from before?”
Lee Do-hyeon carefully examined his bloodshot eyes and wiped away his wet cheeks. He frowned at the thought of the rutting Alpha who couldn’t tell the time or place, but he held back, conscious of Ryu Jeong’s gaze. Lee Do-hyeon’s attitude of rattling on as he pleased, as if he had no intention of listening to Ryu Jeong’s answer, made Ryu Jeong quite embarrassed.
As Ryu Jeong, who was stunned by the continuing harsh curses, blankly blinked his eyes, Lee Do-hyeon, who had traced the pheromone trail in that short moment, let out a long sigh, still dissatisfied.
“Did the Shop Owner say something to you, by any chance?”
“No, no. It’s not that, it’s just that I just ate ramen…”
“Ramen?”
Ryu Jeong quickly added to Lee Do-hyeon, who asked back as if puzzled.
“I was hungry… I was eating ramen inside. I was trying to eat quickly and come out, but I choked. So I was coughing… I definitely wasn’t crying.”
It was a little embarrassing to say it with repeated emphasis. Anyway, it was something that happened because he was trying to eat quickly. Ryu Jeong awkwardly pursed his lips, wondering if he looked like a glutton, and slightly averted his gaze.
“Then it’s my fault.”
“Yes?”
“You thought I was a customer and came out of the room in a hurry, right?”
Ryu Jeong’s eyes widened even more at Lee Do-hyeon’s words. Like trying to put out a fire and accidentally setting it on another place, the explanation he had given to fix things seemed to have caused an even bigger misunderstanding. If you looked at it one by one, Lee Do-hyeon’s words weren’t wrong, but Ryu Jeong couldn’t hide his embarrassment, as it seemed that he was blaming him for no reason.
“Th, that’s… that’s…”
“I guess I made it difficult for you again. Right.”
Ryu Jeong couldn’t readily nod, nor could he shake his head, and only moved his lips. Lee Do-hyeon, feeling a strange satisfaction from Ryu Jeong’s attitude of not knowing what to do with each word he said, secretly pulled up the corners of his mouth and smiled.
“I’m sorry. I came here for nothing and made Jeong uncomfortable.”
“No! I’m not uncomfortable.”
Ryu Jeong, not even knowing that Lee Do-hyeon was smiling, denied it in a loud voice, surprised by the continuing apology. He had never intended to blame Lee Do-hyeon in the first place, so he didn’t want to receive an apology. He was surprised by the sudden visit, but he was happy if anything, and he had never thought that Lee Do-hyeon was making him uncomfortable, even if it wasn’t now.
However, it was undeniable that he had choked because he had come out in a hurry because Lee Do-hyeon had barged in. Ryu Jeong, unable to do this or that, finally made a tearful face and raised his head, and his eyes widened as he saw Lee Do-hyeon smiling right in front of him. Only then did Lee Do-hyeon smile broadly and wink as if he was sorry.
“Hmm, was my joke too much?”
“A joke…?”
“I’m sincere about being sorry, but I didn’t think Jeong would be this embarrassed.”
“Ah…”
Ryu Jeong, greatly relieved by the word joke, let out a long breath, like a sigh. This time again, he felt relieved that he hadn’t caused any trouble, rather than resenting the excessive joke. Ryu Jeong clasped his hands tightly under the counter and continued to speak, fidgeting his fingers.
“Actually… I was thinking about President. But you really came… so I was also surprised.”
“You were thinking about me?”
“Yes…”
Ryu Jeong nodded shyly, glanced up at Lee Do-hyeon, and then slyly averted his gaze. He had thought about wanting to see him, but he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud because he was thinking about the embarrassing situation, so he had nothing to say but nod.
“Are you really thinking about me?”
But somehow, Lee Do-hyeon tilted his head with a meaningful expression, as if he knew. Ryu Jeong, who raised his head in a flash, clenched and unclenched his fist as if emphasizing that it wasn’t a lie.
“It’s true. I’ve been thinking about President all the time.”
“……”
“…Ah, only when I’m not busy. When I’m busy… I’m too busy.”
The rambling excuses were something that could have been laughed off as a joke, but Lee Do-hyeon couldn’t bring himself to laugh. Ryu Jeong’s appearance, saying such great things so casually, rather embarrassed Lee Do-hyeon. Lee Do-hyeon, who was unusually absent-minded, finally came to his senses when he met Ryu Jeong’s gaze, who was slyly glancing at him.
“Hmm…”
The thought of wanting to kiss him suddenly popped into his head. Lee Do-hyeon, who rubbed his chin with the hand that had been cupping Ryu Jeong’s cheek, suddenly shifted his gaze diagonally. The storage room behind Ryu Jeong was wide open because he had rushed out too quickly and hadn’t been able to close it.
The dark interior of the storage room was visible through the crack in the door. As he looked at the inside of the storage room, where all sorts of things were piled up with dust, he saw Ryu Jeong’s appearance when he had collapsed due to the Heat cycle not long ago.
How long had it been since he had talked about time and place? Lee Do-hyeon, who swallowed the saliva that had gathered in his mouth as if he had been waiting for it, quickly composed himself before his dark intentions were revealed.
“But President… what brings you here?”
Ryu Jeong, who glanced up at his expression, which didn’t seem particularly bad or good, carefully opened his mouth.
“I wanted to see Jeong.”