By Zephyria 
“Hello, CEO.”
“Yes. Good morning.”
The weekend part-timer greeted Eun-ha as he arrived for work. 8:40 AM. It was still before opening. Eun-ha left his belongings in the staff room and headed straight to the second floor. It was raining from the morning.
On rainy days, there was more to do than usual. It was because each plant had a different personality. Even if everything was perfect, they would die as if to tease people, so on such humid days, he had to take even more meticulous care of them.
Eun-ha, who had been working on the task that usually took about 40 minutes for well over an hour, pursed his lips as soon as he came down to the first floor after finishing the care.
Yeon-jun, who never failed to attend, was sitting in what was practically his designated seat.
Feeling the presence, he slightly raised his head. Eun-ha met his gaze indifferently. His mind was blank without thought. It was a situation that was more than familiar, even boring, because it had been repeated for over a month, and he could predict the man’s reaction.
He would turn his eyes somewhere else. Pretending not to see… a predictable pattern.
And what came back to Eun-ha was an unexpected sight.
Yeon-jun, who maintained eye contact for a while without avoiding it, raised a gentle smile in his eyes.
……What?
Eun-ha was momentarily frozen. At the way he seemed to be acknowledging him intimately with his eyes.
After being stiff for a moment, he put strength into his eyes. Otherwise, he felt like his expression would be distorted.
Again, feeling that absurd feeling, he quickly left his seat.
“CEO. I found a replacement for next Sunday.”
“Yeah. Who’s covering for you?”
“The weekend afternoon person. The male part-timer for the next shift said he’d come in early.”
“Okay. I’ll check it.”
He acted as usual. Looking at the counter, having trivial chats with the part-timer, staring blankly out the rainy window…….
All the while, his mind was elsewhere. Like what happened in front of the art museum just yesterday.
‘I want to have a meal with Hyung.’
Eun-ha chewed on pessimism, recalling the request Yeon-jun had made to him under the guise of a very minor favor.
See? He’s a two-faced flirt pretending to be innocent. He’s hitting on me…….
Learning such cunning things at such a young age. Trying to deceive people.
‘Okay.’
Saying that was purely out of spite. To see how far he would go.
‘Yes?’
‘Yes? Why?’
‘Really?’
‘Yes. When is good for you?’
‘Ah. I’m fine anytime….’
A slightly flustered and impatient answer.
‘When is Hyung free?’
He nodded again as if it was okay anytime, to the answer that he would have to check his schedule.
Eun-ha let out a shallow snort and looked at Yeon-jun. He was sitting with his legs crossed, a stiff notebook on his lap, scribbling with a pencil. It was something he often did at the cafe. He guessed he was drawing something. Or maybe doing schoolwork.
Seeing him in that position every time, it seemed to be a habit.
Next to him, a long picture window that wrapped around half of the building stretched out. The outside of the window was gloomy, the sound of rain pattered, and droplets dripped from the eaves.
It was a frequent thought. Drawing is so nice. Whether the background is clear or cloudy. What to say…… Yeon-jun often played the same role as the plants Eun-ha grew in the cafe. Wonderful and beautiful plants to look at. Beautifully bloomed flowers.
After watching him for a while as if admiring him, he got up from the stool he had been sitting on. He craved a cigarette, having been immersed in the sound of the rain.
As he gathered his belongings and stepped outside the store, the damp air quickly enveloped him. Eun-ha, who was familiar with the smoking area in the corner next to the building along the space under the Awning, put a cigarette between his teeth. He lit the cigarette and took a deep drag on the filter before exhaling the smoke. Immersed in a sense of refreshment as if something was being recharged, he plopped down.
Leaning against the outer wall of the building and smoking, he looked up at the cloudy sky with his head empty.
Ignoring the sound of the automatic door opening and closing, and the approaching footsteps.
He smoked without paying attention, and only glanced to the side when someone approached nearby.
Yeon-jun, who had squatted down right next to him, hesitated and slightly moved his eyes to meet his. Then, as if the gaze reaching him was awkward, he looked straight ahead. He covered his mouth slightly with his large hand as if wiping it. Eun-ha quietly took in the prominent blood vessels running across the back of his hand.
“…I smoke too.”
“Who said anything?”
Of course, you do. He answered in an unconcerned tone and looked up at the distant sky again. As he was smoking like that, he felt a gaze on him again. Eun-ha ignored it, finished his cigarette, threw it away, and looked to the side. He had his arm resting on his knee in the direction facing Eun-ha, and with his other hand supporting his head, he was watching Eun-ha with his head tilted diagonally. With one eye buried in the inside of his wrist. Without even taking out the cigarette he said he came to smoke.
As he picked up a new cigarette, he asked.
“Are you smoking again?”
“Yes.”
“It’s not good for your health….”
“I don’t think you’re the one to talk.”
“You….”
The way he muttered was strangely slow and blurry. As if he was chewing over a fact that bothered him.
Eun-ha was deeply lost in thought. He had been consistent in his behavior over the past month without the slightest deviation.
Now, and yesterday too…… it felt like he was suddenly approaching too quickly.
Because they happened to meet at the art museum? Well.
Eun-ha, who had been concentrating on the sound of the rain, blurted out.
“From where did you hear it? Yesterday.”
It was a question he asked while roughly guessing. He was also curious about the exact timing, and well…….
Yeon-jun was silent. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the subject. Rather, it was the opposite. He understood it right away, and his face became slightly reluctant. When he didn’t continue, silence fell as it was. It was an awkward and conscious silence. The intensifying sound of the rain filled it.
The sound of rain.
A sound that beat against his eardrums so much that it felt muffled.
Was that why? That lush white noise suddenly felt like a barrier surrounding him. The inside, thus confined, was filled with heavy air, cut off from the outside, and the view gradually blurred with steam. Such a strange imagination filled his head.
Eun-ha lowered his gaze with a feeling that had become subtle in an instant. He pursed his drying lips. He took a deep drag on the filter. In the still silence, he felt a distinct gaze. He looked to the side. Yeon-jun didn’t make eye contact. It was the first time. He wasn’t responding to the gaze that was so obviously felt.
As he was looking at somewhere around this side’s lower face, he suddenly raised his gaze upward as if belatedly coming to his senses. His focus momentarily shifted as if retracing the situation, then found its place again.
“Um. Don’t worry about it. I don’t care about that kind of thing.”
“…….”
“…Sorry. I didn’t mean to listen.”
“…….”
“But I really don’t think it’s weird….”
Really. Of course, you don’t….