147.
#Side 1. Small Changes in Daily Life (3)
The Korean-style dessert café that Theo introduced was more Korean than Dawoon had expected. While it looked ordinary from the outside, the interior of the café felt like stepping into a traditional Korean house, with wooden chairs, silk cushions, and decorative windows made with hanji paper.
The desserts were also traditional Korean foods. There was an abundance of cute desserts pleasing to the eye, including rice cakes, colorful yeongan (sweet red bean jelly), cookies made with various fruits on top of sweet bean paste, and dried persimmon rolls filled with walnuts and cream cheese. Even the drinks were traditional teas instead of coffee, making Dawoon wonder where they sourced all these ingredients.
“Nice to meet you.”
The café owner was a young woman who looked to be in her mid-30s. As soon as Theo introduced Dawoon, she smiled brightly and extended her hand. She joked that she was looking for a Korean to maintain the café’s concept, and was pleased to have found a candidate exceeding her expectations. Her tone and expression were all very cheerful.
“You just need to take orders and serve. However, if customers ask about the desserts, I’d like you to explain them well. What ingredients are used, how they’re made. Many people are curious since these desserts aren’t commonly seen here.”
She explained what Dawoon would need to do. Although he had no part-time job experience, it didn’t seem difficult. Fortunately, it was easy to arrange the working hours. Since they had just opened the café and were looking for part-time workers, Dawoon could choose his working hours first. He decided to work until 7 PM after his graduate school classes ended. That way, he could make the excuse to Hayun that he was studying at the library.
“Can you start today?”
The owner seemed to like Dawoon very much. When he agreed, she smiled even more brightly than before and said there was a uniform.
“A uniform?”
Dawoon thought it might be a modernized hanbok since it was a Korean-style dessert café. However, the hanbok the owner brought after asking him to wait a moment surprised him.
“It’s a cheollik?”
It was a black cheollik with intricate embroidery in places, made of what appeared to be expensive material. It looked too luxurious for a part-time worker to wear, making Dawoon wonder if he was really supposed to work in this.
“Would you like to try it on?”
At the owner’s suggestion, Dawoon put on the cheollik and tied the strings. The owner, who was watching, brought a black waist belt of the same material and tied it around his waist herself. The belt had a thin blue strip in the middle, adding a point of interest to the monotony of the black cheollik. The sleeves had buttons to tighten them, which seemed convenient for working.
“You can wear whatever you like underneath. Actually, wearing a jeogori underneath would look prettier, but it might be uncomfortable for work. A white shirt would be good. As long as the color isn’t too flashy, you don’t need to worry too much.”
She looked at Dawoon, fully dressed in the cheollik, with satisfaction.
“Is this… really necessary for work?”
“It looks good, doesn’t it?”
The owner answered cheerfully.
“It gives a Korean flair, and it’s pleasing to the eye.”
Dawoon had a feeling that this reflected the owner’s personal taste more than a desire to show off hanbok to customers. He wondered if she had sought a Korean part-time worker specifically to properly showcase the cheollik.
“I look forward to working with you.”
She smiled and extended her hand. Although it seemed like he had found a somewhat unusual part-time job, the café’s atmosphere was cozy and comfortable, perhaps due to the owner’s personality. He liked that just being in this space felt healing.
***
When Hayun came home from work, the living room was empty. The lights were on, so Dawoon seemed to be home. Usually, he would be sitting in the living room watching TV or reading a book, but he wasn’t in sight. Wondering if he might be studying in the study, Hayun looked there but couldn’t find him.
While looking around for him, Hayun noticed a small shopping bag on the kitchen table. Curious, he checked inside and found a flat, square box.
“You’re home?”
Turning at the voice, he saw Dawoon in light training clothes, presumably fresh from the shower, drying his wet hair with a towel.
“You’re late.”
“Ah… a bit.”
Dawoon casually answered Hayun’s comment about being later than usual to shower, then came over and took out the box from the shopping bag. He opened the lid and handed it to Hayun. Inside were dried persimmon rolls. The rolls had walnuts and cream cheese in the center.
“Where did you get these?”
“I told you I was going to a Korean-style dessert café near the graduate school, remember? They sell these there.”
Dawoon said he had bought some for Hayun too because they tasted good. A Korean-style dessert café in the middle of London was unusual. As Hayun just stared at the persimmon rolls in the box, Dawoon picked one up and held it to Hayun’s mouth. When Hayun obediently opened his mouth to eat it, Dawoon asked, “How is it?”
“It’s good.”
Hayun had thought it would only look impressive. It was natural not to expect much from dried persimmon rolls made in England, not Korea. But surprisingly, it tasted good. The texture was soft, and the cream cheese inside went well with the sweetness of the dried persimmon.
Suddenly curious about the name of the dessert café, Hayun checked the logo and café name written on the shopping bag. Watching him, Dawoon chuckled.
“Looks like you like it.”
Hayun wasn’t picky about food, but he also didn’t have many preferences that he sought out. For him to even check the café name, it must have really appealed to him.
“They sell a lot of other things besides the persimmon rolls. I’ll buy something else next time.”
Dawoon said with a bright smile. He seemed pleased that Hayun liked it. Hayun looked at the smiling Dawoon, then put the box he was holding on the table and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him close. As the distance between them suddenly decreased, Dawoon looked up at him.
“You’re not inviting me to go together?”
When Hayun asked if he’d like to go eat there together instead of just bringing it home, a strange light flashed in Dawoon’s eyes for a moment before disappearing.
“I know you’re busy. We can go together when you have time. I think they’re open on weekends too.”
He met Hayun’s gaze with a calm expression, speaking so quickly it seemed like it might have been a misunderstanding.
“The café atmosphere is nice too. They’ve decorated the inside like a hanok. I was a bit surprised to see a place like that in London, since I didn’t expect it.”
His tone and expression were casual and ordinary. Had Hayun been too sensitive? Hayun tilted his head and lightly kissed Dawoon’s cheek. Perhaps because he had just showered, a sweet scent tickled Hayun’s nose. As the lips that had touched his cheek moved a bit inward towards his earlobe, Dawoon hunched his shoulders as if ticklish and gently pushed against Hayun’s chest.
“Go shower. It’s before dinner. I’m hungry too.”
Hayun had to pull away at Dawoon’s urging to eat dinner soon. In truth, he was more drawn to Dawoon than food, but if he embraced him now, Dawoon would surely skip dinner, claiming he was too tired. Even if he was going to embrace him, he needed to feed him dinner first.
After Hayun went to shower, Dawoon let out a small sigh. He pressed a hand against his pounding heart. Although he hadn’t lied, just the fact that he had created a secret from Hayun made him so nervous he thought he might die.
Although he had started the part-time job without Hayun’s consent, he was already losing confidence in his ability to keep it hidden well in the future. What would happen if he got caught? It was obvious that Hayun would tell him to quit immediately. He would ask why Dawoon needed to do a part-time job, telling him to focus on his studies instead.
If Dawoon argued that he needed social experience, Hayun might ask what a café part-time job had to do with the work Dawoon intended to do. No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t imagine a positive outcome. So it seemed better to keep it hidden as long as possible.
***
“That concludes today’s schedule. Shall we return to the company?”
As they came out after visiting a shopping mall client, Director Park asked. Hayun checked his watch. It was just past 5 o’clock. However, it was awkward to return to the company. Considering the traffic congestion on the way to the office, it would likely be time to leave as soon as they arrived.
“Just a moment.”
Seated in the back of the car, Hayun asked to wait before departing and took out his phone. He called Dawoon and soon heard a voice saying “Hello.” Hayun smirked, thinking there was no need for Dawoon to answer in English when the caller ID would show it was him.
“Where are you?”
[Ah, hyung…]
It seemed Dawoon hadn’t checked the caller ID before answering, belatedly recognizing Hayun’s voice.
[The library. I’ll be here until evening.]
The expected answer came. Recently, Dawoon had been saying he was struggling to keep up with lectures and always stayed at the library to study more after classes ended. He seemed to return before dinner, but he went to the library without fail every day. When Hayun suggested he could study at home since no one else was there, Dawoon said the library was better because he needed to look up various materials.
When he was attending university in Korea, he rarely went to the university library. Perhaps because Haram frequently visited, he usually studied at home even during exam periods. It was a bit strange that he was now practically living at the library.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
