By Zephyria 
He quickly exchanged greetings and hurried across the street.
Even after that, he ran into the customer several more times on his way to work. Is a civil servant allowed to do this? Eun-myeong became genuinely curious.
“I’m conducting a survey on residential conditions around the neighborhood.”
Eun-myeong let out an “Ah” of admiration at the customer’s explanation. He thought to himself that one really had to be smart to land a job that was easy on the body.
Eun-myeong lived a truly diligent life. His life had always been hectic, but lately, he was practically flying around like a weasel. He was flashing here and there, east and west.
Hearing that there were things like job search sites, he went to a PC cafe to post his name. But everything was so complicated and difficult. Eun-myeong struggled just to turn on the computer before receiving help from an elementary school student sitting next to him.
He pressed the keyboard one key at a time. His round eyes rolled back and forth.
[I am lookin for work.. I have worked for a long time so I know how to do many things. I am good at catching bugs, rolling nets, and pulling weeds. Please just give me a chance]
He was so slow that a rolling snail would have been faster. By the time he finally finished writing, he was drenched in a cold sweat.
Half a day later, comments began to line up one by one.
[Ffs ffs ffs please come catch the camel crickets in my room. I’ll give 10,000 won per bug. I’ve seen about 2 so far T_T]
Eun-myeong’s eyes snapped open. Ten thousand won per bug? In the house where he used to live with his sister, camel crickets popped out every day. If he had received ten thousand won per bug, he would have been more than wealthy by now.
To think someone would pay for something like that—it was a total dream job.
As it happened, the distance wasn’t far. Eun-myeong quickly grabbed a bundle and some insect spray and went to dispose of the camel crickets. Luckily, he found two more house centipedes and received a bonus, totaling 30,000 won. He felt very secure.
He felt like he could do anything now. Returning home, he quickly turned on his sister’s computer and checked the next comment.
[Looking for someone to help with grave weeding]
The weeding machine, which he was seeing for the first time in his life, was staggeringly heavy. He had never trimmed his own ancestors’ graves in his life, but he became proficient in no time.
And the next part-time job was…
[####Beekeeping Honey Work!##]
It was beekeeping. He donned a hat with a mesh veil and opened the beehives. The worker bees were incredibly annoyed. Bzzzzzz, they wailed, swarming Eun-myeong all at once, asking who he thought he was to destroy their home.
“Agh!”
He got stung on the nose. It was truly strange. The bees hardly bothered the Boss, but they all lunged only at Eun-myeong.
On his way out, he got stung once more on the eye and once on the cheek. It stung sharply, as if someone were poking him with a needle.
“You worked so hard today. Your touch is very precise. Can you come again?”
“Yes, of course!”
It hurt enough to make him feel feverish, but the pay was very lucrative. He felt like he would jump out of bed even while sleeping if they called him.
“But your face is quite damaged. Are you okay?”
The Boss tilted his head, noting that something looked off while handing over the envelope of money.
“Why is this? Could it be that Omega thing, or whatever it is?”
What did that have to do with anything? Eun-myeong scanned the Boss’s expression at the sudden question.
“Ah, yes…”
“Goodness, I should have asked sooner. I didn’t think there’d be an Omega in a rural place like this, so I didn’t bring it up.”
So, according to the Boss, bees lunged like madmen when they smelled the sweet scent of an Omega or Alpha…
Eun-myeong sensed the Boss’s hesitation. Fearing he might not be hired for this dream job again, he quickly spoke up.
“I can do better. I’m okay with being stung; this is nothing. When I do other jobs, I often get cut or hurt more than this.”
Given how many hardships he had faced in life, this was nothing. It was similar to being bitten by a mosquito.
And even if it was difficult, he wanted to succeed. He was in no position to be picky about cold or hot water. He had to pay off the debt so that he wouldn’t act like a loser when he eventually met a man.
“I’m really okay. It’ll heal quickly with some ointment.”
Eun-myeong smiled contentedly with his red, swollen face. One eye was swollen to the size of a fist, completely covering the eye.
“What a spirited young man.”
The Boss, finding him pitiful yet endearing, gave him plenty of honey.
On the way home, he bought some rice cake slices, intending to eat them with the honey. With both hands full, a proud smile appeared on Eun-myeong’s face, but he was also a bit worried.
Ah, Noona might be shocked when she sees my face…
Thinking he should quickly go home and wash his face with cold water, he opened the door.
“Eun-myeong, you’re home? How was work today… what happened to your face?”
It was a disaster. His sister was already home. Dressed comfortably and having come to meet him at the shoe rack, she let out a scream.
And for good reason, Eun-myeong’s face was truly swollen. He looked exactly like an apple that had been pecked at by bugs because its sugar content was too high.
“H-how did you get home so early?”
“I took a half-day off this afternoon. You said you were beekeeping—did you get stung?”
His sister grabbed his arm, pulling him quickly inside.
“Let me see.”
After seating Eun-myeong, she carefully rummaged through a drawer and brought out an ointment. Using a cotton swab, she gently applied it to Eun-myeong’s eye, cheek, and nose in turn.
His fair cheeks, which looked as if they had never known hardship, were reddish as if he had a skin disease. As Eun-joo looked at that face, her eyes were filled with distress.
“Shouldn’t you go to the hospital?”
“I’m okay… if it gets worse, I’ll just go tomorrow.”
Eun-myeong smiled brightly, oblivious to the situation.
“Eun-myeong, it’s good to work, but don’t overdo it.”
“I’m really okay… they gave me so much honey.”
At his proud words, Eun-joo couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.
He piled the rice cake slices on a plate and drizzled honey over them. He microwaved them until they were soft and ate them with chopsticks. The cakes were chewy and stuck to the inside of his mouth. They were so sweet and delicious that he didn’t mind the stinging of the stings.
“Maybe it’s because it’s fresh, but it tastes great.”
At his sister’s remark, Eun-myeong agreed, saying, “Right?”
“Anyway, you don’t have a single set of clothes. What should we do? Should we head to the market?”
“Should we? I have some money now.”
Eun-myeong answered softly, lost in thought. To get his clothes, he would have to go to the hotel, and he was worried he might run into the man. Eun-myeong’s expression darkened slightly.
If he saw the man right now, he didn’t know when he might crumble again.
“Then since we’re talking about it, let’s go to the market now.”
At his sister’s suggestion, Eun-myeong slowly nodded in agreement.
He went to the market with his sister. He picked out a few sets of clothes and also stopped by a bookstore.
Eun-myeong looked around the interior with awkward eyes. Then, he picked up a book. It was none other than a middle school equivalency exam study guide. Even though it was used, the book was very clean and in good condition.
“Oh, you’re taking the equivalency exam?”
His sister asked, her face brightening. Embarrassed, Eun-myeong nodded. Whether it was the customer named Ji Jun-il or his sister, he envied those who were well-educated and smart, working at good companies.
Moreover, in this day and age, one had to at least have a middle school education. If his sister ever found someone to marry, he didn’t want to be ashamed, at the very least.
And later, perhaps. Just perhaps, if the day came when he encountered the Boss again. He wanted to show him a better version of himself then.
He didn’t understand a thing the book was saying yet, but he believed he would improve if he studied.
As they walked around, they grew hungry and entered a street stall in the market. As they sat down at a table, his sister spoke.
“Auntie, two udons and a bottle of soju here, please.”
Udon with hot broth and a sprinkle of red pepper powder arrived. His appetite surged the moment he saw it. He began eating aggressively with his chopsticks.
Suddenly, shifting his gaze, Eun-myeong flinched and almost bit his tongue. He had seen a black suit in the distance.
The man was incredibly tall, enough to make passersby look back. Dressed in black like a grim reaper, with hair so black it looked blue, and tanned skin.
Thump, Eun-myeong’s heart dropped. His face turned pale, as if he had seen a monster. His jaw felt as if it were about to drop.
It was that man. Eun-myeong dropped his chopsticks. His legs trembled.
“What’s wrong?”
His sister looked at Eun-myeong with a worried face. Meanwhile, that group of thugs swarmed into the stall and sat right in the center.
“Ah, Hyung-nim, you said you’d buy us something delicious, and you give us udon? Udon!”
“You brat, your head is filled with nothing but udon, so of course.”
They were incredibly loud and boisterous. They immediately created a strong sense of incongruity, causing other customers to cautiously scan the room. Eun-myeong unconsciously glanced at them and locked eyes with a pair of frighteningly sharp eyes.
“What are you looking at, you milk-scented brat? Your face is all beat up, too.”
“I’m sorry…”
How could he have mistaken him? Looking closely, the suit was completely different, and there was no spider tattoo on the back of the hand. He was just a local thug. Eun-myeong quickly buried his face in the udon broth.
Sigh, he heard a sigh beside him. Turning his head, he saw his sister looking down at him with a complicated expression.
“Don’t tell me you thought it was Kang Pyeong-won?”
When Eun-myeong avoided her gaze without answering, his sister poured soju and downed it in one shot. She set the glass down with a clack and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, letting out a “Kaha” sound.
“That man, it looks like he’s leaving this place for good. He was moving things out of the CEO’s office.”
“…Yeah.”
It seems he is finally preparing to go back to Seoul. Eun-myeong gave a clumsy smile.
“I should go get my luggage.”
His powerless gaze looked down at the chopsticks that had fallen to the floor. They looked white and smooth, but in fact, the end was broken.
Because it felt just like his own heart, Eun-myeong couldn’t take his eyes off them for a long time.