By Zephyria 
“Uh, um….”
While Haon was staring closely at the man’s familiar face, the door clicked open. The man, who had paid the taxi fare on his behalf, opened the door himself and waved to Haon.
“Hurry up and get out.”
Haon quickly grabbed his coat, gave the driver a polite nod, and stepped out of the car. The man held the door open until Haon had fully exited.
“You didn’t leave anything behind, right?”
“No, thank you.”
As soon as he stepped out, Haon bowed his head to the man as well. He was the youngest kitchen staff member at the restaurant where Haon worked on weekdays. Why was he here at this hour?
“Hey, Jeong Haon! What’s going on!”
Just then, Tae-hwi, who had come out a step later with the money, shouted in surprise. Perhaps the card balance had been insufficient, as he was holding three crumpled ten-thousand won bills. He had taken them from Hyung-cheol’s wallet.
“Tae-hwi hyung, I’m sorry…!”
Haon looked back and forth between the man and Tae-hwi, repeating his apologies in a flurry. He kept bowing his head even though the man said it was fine.
“I’ll pay you back right away. Please just leave your contact information.”
“No, it’s okay. You can pay me back slowly. We’ll be seeing each other often now anyway.”
The man scratched the back of his head and gave an awkward smile, glancing at Tae-hwi. He seemed to be signaling for Tae-hwi to explain the situation instead.
“This guy worked in your place yesterday.”
“In my place?”
A bewildered Haon looked genuinely surprised.
“He came here to drink, but the shop was so busy that he filled your spot, so you’d better thank him.”
Tae-hwi patted the man on the back, saying he had been saved thanks to the man coming in during the busiest time. With his mouth wide open, Haon leaned his upper body even further toward the man.
Saturdays were the busiest, so the absence of even one person left a massive void. If the serving slowed down, the sharp complaints from drunk customers would increase, inevitably leading to significant trouble.
“Thank you so much.”
“No, I was actually looking for a separate weekend part-time job. Thanks to this, I found a new one!”
“The boss scouted him on the spot because he works so well.”
Tae-hwi stopped Haon, who was bowing vigorously, and finished explaining the situation.
“Ah….”
Then I guess there’s no spot for me anymore. As Haon nodded bitterly, the man hurriedly added.
“I’m in the kitchen! I do some serving, but he told me to focus on helping with the kitchen work!”
Then maybe… I haven’t been fired?
Holding onto a sliver of hope, Haon stole a glance at Tae-hwi.
“You aren’t fired, so don’t worry.”
Noticing Haon’s concern, Tae-hwi lightly patted his thin shoulder.
“What happened to your face?”
Tae-hwi frowned as he closely examined the bruised purple mark on Haon’s left cheek. The man’s expression also soured.
Even without hearing the details, it was clearly a wound from being beaten. Given Haon’s personality, there was no way he had fought; it seemed he had been unilaterally struck.
“Did you report it?”
“Which bastard did this? And I heard you aren’t feeling well, so why did you even come to the shop?”
Haon didn’t know what to do, overwhelmed by the combined concern of the two. While the tips of his ears turned red from the unfamiliar attention, he tilted his head at Tae-hwi’s words.
“How did you know? That I’m not feeling well….”
“I heard your brother contacted us.”
“My… brother?”
Haon’s eyes grew even wider at the mention of a brother he didn’t have.
“The boss said your brother called and said you weren’t feeling well. He said the call came an hour before opening.”
In his dazed state, In-ho’s face flashed through Haon’s mind. It seemed that while Haon was asleep, In-ho had made the call on his behalf.
But why didn’t he tell him? When they drank yesterday, In-ho hadn’t mentioned a word about the weekend part-time job. Even though he had gone as far as calling the shop.
“Could it be that guy? The Lamborghini?”
“Lamborghini?”
The man, who had been listening intently to the conversation between Tae-hwi and Haon, chimed in. It was only natural he’d be curious when the name of an expensive foreign car suddenly came up.
“Ho-yeong, you go finish the opening preparations for now. I’ll head in after talking with the other hyungs for a bit.”
Tae-hwi said, patting the man’s broad back.
Ho-yeong. His name is Ho-yeong. Haon memorized the name in his head. Since Tae-hwi called him a ‘dongsaeng’ and referred to himself as a ‘hyung,’ he seemed younger than him. Maybe twenty?
“Jeong Haon.”
Tae-hwi snapped his fingers, drawing the vacant gaze of Haon back to him.
“Tell me quickly before the customers arrive. I heard you’re living at that guy’s house.”
Tae-hwi’s thin voice dropped an octave. He stared seriously at Haon’s cheek, urging him to tell the truth.
“Did that Lamborghini bastard hit you?”
“No! It’s not like that! He helped me.”
As Haon waved his hands frantically to explain, Tae-hwi’s eyes narrowed. He looked as if he were weighing whether it was a lie or the truth.
“Really. I got hit because I made a mistake with someone else, and he settled everything for me.”
“You made a mistake?”
Knowing Haon’s personality, Tae-hwi couldn’t shake his suspicion toward In-ho. There was no way Haon, who always smiled with his pretty face and only spoke kind words, would do something to get hit.
“There was a reason… Really, he wasn’t the one who hit me, so please don’t worry. He’s a good person.”
Feeling wronged that In-ho was being misunderstood, Haon spoke with sincerity. Whether that sincerity reached him or not, Tae-hwi let out a deep sigh and clicked his tongue.
“How much did you get hit for your cheek to look like fuck… Did you take medicine?”
“Yes, I did.”
“The boss isn’t coming in today. He went to a relative’s wedding, so you just come back starting next week.”
Since he knew Haon wasn’t scheduled for the rest of the week anyway, he pushed him toward the exit, telling him to go home.
“Ah, you don’t have taxi fare, right. Use this for now. I borrowed it from Hyung-cheol hyung, so pay it back next week along with Ho-yeong’s.”
“I’ll work since I’m already here.”
Haon dodged Tae-hwi’s hand and dashed toward the entrance of the shop. Since he had caused trouble for the shop, he intended to work today without pay. If they’d only let him.
“Forget it, kid. What work can you do with that face?”
“Uh… then I’ll at least do the dishes. I can do it well.”
Fearing Tae-hwi would stop him, Haon slipped inside the shop. Since the first customer had just walked in, Tae-hwi couldn’t stop him any further.
Heading toward the storage room, Haon heard a customer ordering and hurried to find an apron to tie, but then he paused. He thought of In-ho.
Ah, I should have contacted him before leaving.
He had rushed out so quickly that he hadn’t even had the presence of mind to grab his phone, let alone leave a message. He didn’t know when In-ho would return home, but he felt that if In-ho found out he had left the house, he would worry. …Of course, he might not.
“Are you going to work?”
Ho-yeong spoke to Haon from behind while he was lost in thought. Perhaps he had come to refill the hand towels, as he reached out his long arms and skillfully pulled out a box. Being as strong as his large frame, he easily organized the big boxes.
“Yes, I’m going to work before I go. I won’t take any money.”
“Why?”
Ho-yeong widened his eyes exaggeratedly, as if he couldn’t understand. It was only natural to be confused when someone comes in on a weekend specifically to work for free.
“It was very busy yesterday because of me. I’ll do the closing cleaning, so Ho-yeong-ssi, you can leave first. And the borrowed money—”
“You know my name?”
Ho-yeong, who had momentarily dropped a box before catching it again, cleared his throat. His face turned slightly red, perhaps because his voice had cracked while speaking.
“I heard it earlier. That your name is Ho-yeong.”
“Yes, ahem, yes. I’m Ho-yeong. Nam Ho-yeong. Please feel free to call me comfortably!”
After introducing himself briefly as a twenty-year-old, Ho-yeong suddenly stepped closer while holding a large box in one arm. Because the storage room was narrow, he became very close to Haon, causing Haon to step back with a slightly flustered expression.
“And if you don’t mind, please use this.”
Ho-yeong pulled a black mask from the front pocket of his bag and held it out to Haon.
“I often wear masks because of the wind when I ride my motorcycle. Ah, it’s new, of course.”
“Thank you.”
“You can speak casually to me. Tae-hwi hyung already does.”
As soon as he mentioned Tae-hwi, the latter called out to Ho-yeong like a ghost, telling him to bring the boxes quickly.
Ho-yeong shouted “Yes!” and dashed out. He seemed to have a truly great personality, just as Haon had felt during their first conversation.
He really was twenty. Haon was a bit surprised that he was even younger than he had first thought.
With a bright smile, Haon tied the apron strings tightly and left the storage room. He was looking forward to potentially making a close younger friend for the first time.
He was relieved that he hadn’t lost his weekend job and that, thanks to Ho-yeong, he wouldn’t be as much of a burden to his colleagues.
And at that same moment, missed calls were piling up on Haon’s phone. The caller was the same person every time: In-ho.