Chapter 8
“Heerim, I think someone is coming over there.”
Fortunately, before the atmosphere could become more awkward, we saw a student approaching hesitantly from the corner of the building.
“Um, hello. Are you… from the Earth Peace Research Institute?”
As the student carefully asked while pushing up her large glasses that covered half her face, Heerim, who had been quiet, lifted his head sharply.
“That’s right! Are you Choi Jihyun?”
“Oh…!”
The client who came face-to-face with Heerim took a step back after seeing his appearance, which looked just as suspicious as the flasher.
“Maybe you should take off your mask.”
“Ah. Right.”
After I whispered quietly, Heerim removed everything that was covering his face. As he took off his hat and brushed up his hair, his tall, pretty face was completely revealed in the cool shade.
“You’re Choi Jihyun, right?”
“What? Oh. Y-yes, that’s right.”
This time, the young client stepped back for a different reason. With cheeks flushed red, she couldn’t look Heerim directly in the eyes. Unlike Jaeyeon, she was openly shy, and it looked cute.
“Hello. We’re here to resolve the issue you requested.”
“Y-yes…”
I spoke in the gentlest tone possible to make the nervous client feel more comfortable, but it seemed to have the opposite effect—her face turned even redder.
“Are you a first-year student?”
“What? Oh, yes.”
Glancing at the client’s name tag, I noticed the color was different from Jaeyeon’s. Judging from her youthful face, I thought she might be a first-year, and I was right.
“Is… is there a problem?”
“No. I was just curious.”
I smiled brightly as I thought of our high school senior at home. I wondered if Son Jaeyeon had ever been this innocent and pure…
Had she ever been like that?
“Does the pervert appear every day?”
While I was momentarily lost in bitterness, Heerim asked for information necessary to catch the flasher.
“Um, well. Not exactly. I’m not sure if he’ll show up today either.”
“Then around what time, where, and how does he appear? We couldn’t get in without visitor badges.”
“He doesn’t come through the main gate. Usually, just after 5 PM, he climbs over the wall behind the gym. That’s when things are the most chaotic. Ugh.”
The client shuddered as if recalling her encounter with the flasher. It was a completely different reaction from Jaeyeon yesterday.
“It’s so hard coming to school because of that pervert. Adults just tell us to ignore it… Can you catch him?”
“Of course! We’ll definitely catch that pervert! Don’t worry!”
Heerim exclaimed confidently. The client looked at him with an expression full of admiration, apparently finding him quite reliable. Even I, who usually found Heerim questionable, felt the same way in that moment.
“Oh, right. This is the fee for the request.”
The client fumbled in her school jacket and pulled out an envelope. Written on the wrinkled envelope was “Class Fund.” It seemed she hadn’t made the request alone but had collected money from all the students in her class. If the police had resolved this properly from the beginning, the students wouldn’t have needed to pool their pocket money to contact us. I wanted to refuse the money, but as just a part-timer, it wasn’t my place to interfere.
“Um, Heerim.”
I was about to call out to Heerim, wanting to at least say something, when he took the envelope and put it back into the client’s jacket pocket.
“You don’t need to give us this. We’ll consider it received.”
“B-but…”
“Our company has plenty of money, so it’s fine.”
Even if the company CEO was wealthy, they wouldn’t do charity work like this, but Heerim just insisted it was okay. As I was only a part-timer, I kept my mouth shut and stood quietly beside him.
“Thank you so much! I’ll leave it to you then!”
After bowing deeply, the client went into the school building. Even though she would be late for class if she didn’t go straight to her classroom, she glanced back several times with a somewhat regretful expression. It was understandable. Heerim’s appearance wasn’t something you could see every day. As if his looks would wear out, Heerim put his mask and sunglasses back on as soon as the client disappeared.
“Hmm. Jaeo. Since we have quite some time until five o’clock, let’s go to a nearby cafe.”
“Sure.”
We left the school and headed to a nearby cafe. Despite it being an odd hour, the cafe was bustling with people. Luckily, there was an empty table, so we secured it and went to the counter. Heerim insisted on paying and took out his card, while I stood silently behind him.
“One Java Chip Chocolate Frappuccino, one strawberry yogurt cream cake, one fig scone, one custard pudding, and oh! Also one green grape tart. Jaeo, what would you like?”
“…Just an iced Americano for me. But Heerim, can you really eat all that?”
“Of course!”
Is that obvious?
Everything he ordered was high in calories and sugar. It wasn’t that he couldn’t eat it all, but it was a very heavy combination to consume at once. And from my long experience working at a cafe, male customers who ordered so many desserts alone were rare. But since I wasn’t the one paying, I didn’t say anything more.
“Jaeo, go sit down first. I’ll bring everything over.”
“Okay.”
I took my Americano, which came out first, and sat in a corner of the cafe. I could see Heerim standing in front of the pickup counter, waiting for his drinks and desserts. Seeing him from a distance, I noticed how large his frame was. Come to think of it, Heerim was taller than me. I’m exactly 178cm, so he must be around 185cm?
Looking at him now, I realized his shoulders were quite broad too. The masculinity that I had failed to notice before because of his striking face was now apparent.
“He’s got nothing to envy.”
A comment tinged with envy slipped out. Given that he hadn’t attended school, he probably had some personal circumstances, but from the outside, Heerim looked like a young master who had lived without a care in the world.
As I was absentmindedly staring at Heerim’s back, the screen of my phone, which I had placed on the table, lit up. The name “EPRI CEO” was displayed.
Why would she call me instead of Heerim?
The unexpected contact from the CEO made the back of my neck tingle. Regardless of the content, it was natural to feel tense when receiving a call from a superior. I carefully pressed the accept button.
“Hello?”
-Yeah, it’s me. Is Jaeo with Heerim right now?
“Yes. We’re at a cafe at the moment.”
-I see? Then can you move somewhere where Heerim isn’t for a moment? I have something to say to you.
“Just a moment.”
Seeing that Heerim was still at the pickup counter, I quietly got up and moved to the bathroom. I was curious about what she had to say that required Heerim’s absence.
“Yes, CEO. I’m in the bathroom now.”
-I’m a bit worried about sending just the two of you.
“Ah…”
Is she worried about me? But there’s nothing particularly dangerous about this job.
-Listen carefully, Jaeo. There probably won’t be any issues, but I’m saying this just in case.
“Yes.”
Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, her serious tone made me tense up unnecessarily.
-Is Heerim okay?
“What?”
-Heerim’s condition. Is it okay?
For a moment, I thought she was asking what I thought of Heerim. I hid my confusion and answered calmly.
“Yes. He seems fine.”
-If, while you’re together, Heerim’s behavior seems strange or problematic, contact me right away.
“Is Heerim unwell?”
-Well, not right now, but it could happen. Anyway, if anything seems even slightly off, contact me immediately. Understood?
“Yes…”
I wanted to ask what exactly she meant by “strange,” but the call ended before I could. Carrying an inexplicable uneasiness, I came out and saw Heerim sitting at our table, eating cake.
“Where did you go?”
“Just to the bathroom.”
I didn’t mention my conversation with the CEO. Heerim nodded and said “Aha,” then continued sipping his Java Chip Chocolate Frappuccino. I stared at him for a moment before carefully speaking. It suddenly occurred to me that the reason he couldn’t attend school might have been because he was sick.
“Heerim, you’re not ill or anything, are you? Perhaps a chronic condition…?”
It might be a rude question, but given the CEO’s direct phone call and warning, I felt I needed to know what the issue was. That way, I could handle any situation that might arise without panicking. But Heerim blinked his eyes and shook his head as if my question was out of the blue.
“Sick? No. I’m perfectly healthy. I’ve never even caught a cold in my life. I brought two forks, would you like some cake?”
“Ah, no. I’m fine.”
I observed Heerim’s bright face closely as I finished my coffee. True to his claim that he had never caught a cold, he did indeed look very healthy. What could the CEO be worried about?
Before that, the question of what my role in this company actually was resurfaced.
“Heerim. I’m curious about something.”
“What is it? Ask me anything!”
Heerim, who had already finished one cake, looked at me. The look in his eyes was so innocent that it seemed like he would tell me his bank PIN if I asked.
“Why did you hire a part-timer?”
I finished what little remained of my Americano, drinking directly from the cup without a straw, and continued.
“To be honest, the company isn’t busy enough to need a part-timer, and there’s no work to share, so I don’t understand why you hired one.”
“Ah, that’s a bit embarrassing to explain…”
Heerim showed an unusually troubled expression as he put down the fork he had been using to cut the corner of his cake. I waited somewhat anxiously for his answer.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
