By Zephyria 
Of course, breaking the rules just once wouldn’t necessarily lead to such consequences, but Eun-ha’s daily life was supported solely by his own will, so it was better not to give any room for it from the start.
“Oh. You’re here, CEO.”
“Yeah. Hello.”
As he parked and entered the cafe, Jeong-ho greeted him as always. He was mopping the floor with a squeegee, looking distressed.
“That rude opening customer came again today.”
“Ah. Should I open the door for Grandfather?”
“Yes. Ah, really. He kept knocking on the door, asking for just one cup of coffee, saying it would only take a moment, shouting and yelling outside, it was so stressful from the morning… I managed to appease him as best as I could and send him back, though.”
“It’s amazing that you can appease him as best as you can and send him back.”
“I can’t get angry with him. He’s an elder.”
“I told you. I don’t care. If he acts like a dog, you act like a dog too.”
“What if he leaves a bad review? What if I get a reputation for being a rude part-timer?”
“It’s my place. I said it’s okay.”
“It’s because it’s your place that it’s not okay—.”
Jeong-ho, saying something pleasant, shrugged his shoulders as if acting spoiled. How cute. He was really good at navigating social situations. Even amidst fatigue, a smile quickly formed. He, revealing a faint smile, slowly started walking towards the second floor.
“Call me if you’re busy.”
“Yes.”
Eun-ha, climbing the stairs and arriving at the terrace, looked at the neighborhood spread out beyond the railing for a moment before moving his feet. He familiarly squatted in front of the space lined with large flowerpots. After carefully checking their condition first, he reviewed the tasks he had to do today one by one, and added new parts that needed to be taken care of, keeping them in his head.
Bringing the management tools from the storage room and tackling the list of things to do one by one, Eun-ha suddenly slumped, bending his neck as he was squatting. Perhaps because he hadn’t slept well for several days, his physical condition wasn’t very good. He felt weak and his eyes hurt. His head felt empty inside, as if it were hollow. There would be several ways to solve it. Alcohol, drug, sex.
He didn’t want to rely on alcohol if possible, and he had a drug prescribed, but he didn’t like it as much as alcohol because of the side effects.
It was actually a simple story. It was something that would be quickly resolved if he acted as usual. He could grab Anyone and go to a hotel or Officetel and fool around. After that, sleep would pour in like a lie. He wanted to do that. He wanted to turn on his phone right away and contact someone. He wanted to bury himself mindlessly. He wanted his whole body to be warmly entangled.
Suddenly, Yeon-jun’s face came to mind. Clean eyes filled with strange light. A gaze that focused straight. The resonance of his voice calling, Hyung. The warmth conveyed through his wrist.
That face that couldn’t hide his liking, even though they had only met a few more times.
…How could he do that, leaving him behind? It wasn’t impossible if he wanted to, but he still didn’t feel like it. It probably wouldn’t be right to him either.
Who should he blame? He thought he should just quickly settle his karma. He tilted his head up to receive more of the warm sunlight. Still, being outside like this and receiving the fresh sunlight seemed to alleviate the fatigue a little.
The sounds of the world conveyed through the air. Embracing his knees within them, Eun-ha enjoyed a peaceful time for a while before resuming his work again. Then, when his limbs felt stiff, he got up from his seat.
It was when he was moving his body for stretching. Eun-ha, who turned around absentmindedly, gasped at the unexpected sight. He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his chest with both hands. He was so surprised. His heart, which had dropped with a thud, was beating rapidly.
The scene he saw when he opened his eyes after calming down was similar. Yeon-jun was sitting at a nearby table. He had turned his chair towards Eun-ha, and had a notebook on one folded leg.
He, who had been leisurely, widened his eyes at Eun-ha.
“You surprised me.”
“I’m sorry. You seemed focused.”
“……”
“I didn’t want to disturb you…”
He furrows his eyebrows as if he didn’t know it would come out so heart-stoppingly. Thanks to that, Eun-ha, who was about to reflexively snap back, had to swallow his words. He didn’t know what to say. He was even younger than Jeong-ho, who was as cute as a puppy. He just sighed lightly.
“When did you come?”
“A little while ago.”
“…What’s that.”
When he gestured to the notebook placed on the thigh of his folded leg, Yeon-jun, rolling the pencil in his fingertips, looked up at Eun-ha with very clear eyes, saying, “Ah.”
“Can I draw Hyung?”
“It looks like you were already drawing.”
“I’ll draw you prettily and give it to you.”
It was an tone as if he were treating a customer. I didn’t order anything.
“Can’t I?”
“…Do as you please.”
The answer came out automatically to the question that sounded pitiful. Well. It probably didn’t matter. Yeon-jun showed a slight eye smile as if responding, then lowered his gaze. He starts scribbling something on the notebook.
Watching his face, which was gradually losing its smile and concentrating, Eun-ha suddenly felt ambiguous. But, how is he infiltrating so naturally?
He said he would have a few more meetings like yesterday, but he never said he would spend his daily life together. He couldn’t find the timing to chase him away and it just flowed over like water.
Is this right? Should this also be counted as that date? Eun-ha, who was tilting his head, soon shrugged, saying he didn’t know. His condition wasn’t good enough to fall into worry. No matter what that kid does, if he thinks it’s just a process of going to a predetermined ending, it seems that small parts don’t matter much. Whether he draws a few pictures or spends some time at the cafe….
Come to think of it, he realized that it had been quite a while since he had faced him in the cafe. The day he was carried away drunk. It was the first time since he woke up at his house and declared a severance. It’s already been a month since then.
Eun-ha, who had finished stretching while thinking about this and that, squatted down in his seat again. He continued the work he had been doing. Giving water, inserting nutrients, and cutting off branches that were hindering growth.
It was like each of them was quietly doing their own thing. The faint sound of a pencil scratching could be heard from behind.
“I didn’t know you grew plants here.”
“I guess. You don’t come up to the second floor. Even when I’m here for a long time.”
“…Coming up and looking around is too obvious that I like you. It looks a bit suspicious.”
What does that mean? Eun-ha looked back in bewilderment.
“Then you, did you think it wasn’t obvious when you came here all this time?”
Yeon-jun opened his eyes blankly. He had a face that firmly believed that. He became even more bewildered.
“You were very obvious. Every time you came.”
“…Really?”
“You are now, too.”
“Now? Me?”
“Then who else is here besides you.”
Yeon-jun, who put the notebook face down on the table, picked up his phone. He tilted his head slightly and looked at himself through the black screen.
“It’s just normal…”
The sight of him turning the angle of his phone this way and that way and checking diligently was funny. He was like a big kid.