#119
Idam, who was washing dishes in the cafe kitchen, flinched at the sudden presence. Being on the run, it was an instinctive tension. But this tension was completely resolved when the partition was removed and Sujeong appeared.
“Idam! My brother says we sold out all 100 egg sandwiches again today!”
“Wow, that’s really great.”
Idam’s cheeks flushed like newly bloomed flowers as he rejoiced. He was happy that the sandwiches he made were so popular. When he first started working, he made egg sandwiches as a snack, which received good reactions from Sujeong and her brother. So they naturally decided to try selling them.
On the first day, they prepared about five, but they sold out in less than an hour. As they gradually increased the quantity, they became more popular and became the cafe’s signature menu item.
“I left the store to bring flyers. Looks like my brother had a hard time alone.”
“I thought it was unusually busy today…”
Idam comes in early in the morning to make sandwiches until breakfast and then cleans up in the kitchen. Making 100 sandwiches every day meant there was a lot of dishwashing and cleaning to do. So Sujeong or her brother usually mans the morning counter, but today Sujeong had something to do, so her brother seemed to have struggled alone. Idam thought maybe he should have gone out to help.
“Should we order lunch now? How about soup with rice?”
“I’m good with that. I’ll have sundae soup with rice.”
“Okay.”
Sujeong immediately opened the delivery app. Idam, who had been watching cautiously, carefully opened his mouth.
“Can I get two servings of rice and extra meat?”
“Huh? Do you think you can eat all that?”
“Yeah. I’m really hungry right now. Is that not okay?”
“How could it not be okay for the future manager of our cafe to eat what he wants?”
“What do you mean, me being the manager? I’m just working here temporarily.”
Idam felt embarrassed. But Sujeong praised Idam with a storm of compliments and ordered not only extra meat for the sundae soup but also boiled pork slices.
* * *
“So… you’re saying the sandwich the CEO ate was made by the madam?”
“Yes.”
“How do you know that?”
“When Idam cooks, he makes his own sauce. He usually uses kiwi, and that taste remains here too.”
“Kiwi taste?”
Secretary Kang tore into the remaining sandwich and ate it. He could taste the soft texture of the egg and a spicy-sweet flavor. But he couldn’t understand where the kiwi was hidden. Had he awakened some absolute sense of taste after eating proper food for the first time in a while? He felt like he was seeing all sorts of strange things now.
“Secretary Kang, keep an eye on that cafe.”
“What?”
“No, I’m going in right now.”
Taemin’s eyes flashed fiercely like a hunter’s. Just as he was about to open the car door, his phone rang. He faced the screen with an annoyed expression. It was the president of a company he was supposed to meet today. As he couldn’t ignore someone important for business, he answered the call. The president asked to move the meeting time earlier, saying he had received a call that his daughter living in America was suddenly coming to Korea.
“I guess it can’t be helped.”
In the end, Taemin had to give up on entering the cafe right now.
“Come to think of it…”
While the sandwich clearly had Idam’s touch, it could also be that they were buying them from somewhere else to sell. So he needed to confirm first whether Idam was actually in that cafe. Rushing could ruin everything.
“What should we do? Should I call the guys to keep watch?”
“Do that. But don’t catch him. It’s only valuable if I catch him with my own hands.”
Taemin showed a sinister desire for possession.
“Ah, understood.”
Secretary Kang barely held back from calling him a crazy bastard out loud as he answered.
“Also, investigate that cafe.”
“Investigate the cafe too?”
“It could be run by an abusive owner. It would be troublesome if Idam is being mistreated.”
“I… I understand for now.”
He wasn’t sure who the real abusive boss was here, calling others abusive. Secretary Kang was exasperated but tried not to show it.
“I’ll come down to Cheongdo right after I finish work this afternoon.”
“Yes. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Secretary Kang started the sedan and left the cafe, entering the main road.
* * *
“Thank you for the meal.”
Idam put down his chopsticks. He had completely emptied the large stone bowl piled high with sundae, including all the soup. The same was true for the two servings of rice. Idam had also devoured almost all of the boiled pork slices.
“Idam really eats well.”
Sujeong’s brother, with his plain appearance, marveled, and Sujeong did the same. Only then did Idam seem somewhat embarrassed, scratching his cheek and rubbing his stomach.
“This place’s soup is really good. And it doesn’t smell at all.”
“Right. They say it’s a famous restaurant. Idam, next time you should order two bowls.”
“I think I might have to.”
Idam licked his lips like a cat. He had eaten his fill, but he didn’t understand why he still wanted to eat more. After clearing the empty bowls, he started eating the bread he had failed to make yesterday. Although some parts were hard and others were bland due to lack of seasoning, Idam inhaled it all. Yet a strange hunger still remained. He wondered if he might end up chewing on the table at this rate. Was it all because of the baby?
The lunch break ended, and the afternoon began. Idam, wearing his frog-like glasses, started manning the counter. The glass door opened, and two men entered. They looked like gangsters and seemed vaguely familiar. Idam tensed for a moment, thinking they might be Baekwol Corporation employees, but he felt their clothing and atmosphere were subtly different.
“Two iced Americanos.”
“Certainly.”
As Idam was operating the POS machine, he realized the man’s gaze was fixed on him. He was already uneasy because the man looked familiar, and this blatant staring made him even more anxious. However, contrary to his worries, after paying, they headed to a table.
“Ah, there’s nothing worth doing for YouTube content these days.”
“Since we’ve come all the way to this countryside, let’s find something worthwhile. But hyung, why are you staring at that part-timer?”
“Ah, it’s just that he looks familiar.”
Although it was clearly a conversation between the two, their voices were quite loud, so Idam could hear everything clearly. Idam also pondered where he might have seen these people before.
“Ah! Shit, I remember now.”
Suddenly, the man stopped walking.
“Doesn’t that frog-face look similar to the kid that Baekwol Corporation CEO was protecting last time?”
“What? Wait…”
Idam flinched. At the same time, he realized who they were, as if hit on the head with a hammer.
It was the YouTuber called Cherry whom he had encountered while being chased by Taemin in the spring. At that time, Idam had refused to be filmed, but they kept insisting, causing trouble. The cameraman had joined in, putting Idam in a difficult situation. Now he realized the man next to him was that cameraman from back then. He wondered why he had to encounter them in this situation of all times.
Back then, Taemin had appeared and helped him overcome the crisis, but now if they recognized him, it could lead to troublesome situations. So he lowered his head deeply. However, the cameraman couldn’t take his eyes off Idam.
“But that kid wasn’t wearing glasses back then. Isn’t it a different person?”
“The face shape and pale skin look the same, but it’s ambiguous.”
“By the way, hyung, why did you run away from the Baekwol Corporation CEO back then?”
“I used to work as a bodyguard for Baekwol Corporation. I was a real ace there, putting Kim Doo-han to shame.”
Cherry boasted, exaggerating.
“Really?”
“Yeah. At that time, I was one of the personal bodyguards for the middle school student Ji Taemin, but his personality was really picky and nasty. One day, I just slightly touched the real sword Ji Taemin was collecting, and he went ballistic. That day, Ji Taemin swung at me.”
“Gasp.”
“But I caught that sword with my bare hands and blocked it. Maybe that made Ji Taemin even angrier, so he told his father and got me fired. Then when I saw him again this spring after a long time, he had grown disgustingly big. It seemed like his nasty temperament was still the same. I held back because I felt like I might cause trouble if I messed with him.”
Idam was dumbfounded. Didn’t that man run away from Taemin because he was scared at that time? By the way, it seems Taemin had a nasty personality since he was young… Actually, it wasn’t surprising.
Suddenly, he worried that the baby to be born might take after Taemin’s rough aspects. He thought maybe he should start prenatal education soon to prevent that even a little.
* * *
Evening came, and the cafe closed. They locked the doors and cleaned and tidied up various parts of the store. Just as they were nearly finished, Sujeong came into the store carrying a large bundle. It looked quite heavy, so Idam quickly took the bundle from Sujeong and placed it on the floor.
“What’s this?”
“We’re supposed to hand out flyers tomorrow, remember? It’s the costume I’m going to wear.”
As the egg sandwiches became popular, the cafe was gradually gaining word-of-mouth reputation. So Sujeong, saying they should strike while the iron is hot, had produced discount event flyers to promote the cafe as well.
“Won’t it be hard wearing this?”
“It’s fine. That’s actually better for leaving an impression on people!”
Sujeong unfolded the bundle. A bear mascot head and a costume with a protruding belly popped out. It was quite cute.
“Should I try it on?”
Just as Sujeong was about to grab the bear head with a grin…
“Um, Sujeong…”
Idam held Sujeong’s hand with a serious expression.
“Can I wear this tomorrow instead?”
“What? You want to wear it, Idam?”
“Yeah!”
Idam nodded. Currently, Idam needed to hide his face as much as possible. So wearing the mascot head seemed safer.
“I’ve worn mascot costumes before when I worked part-time at an amusement park.”
In high school, he had worn a mascot costume and handed out balloons as a short-term part-time job with Hayun. Hayun had given up midway because it was hot, but Idam had completed the job until the end. It was also because he desperately needed money for his mother’s hospital bills.
That was three years ago already. He wondered when he had grown so old. Idam looked at the bear head with its fluffy face.
“Oh, so you’re experienced. Okay, you can do it, Idam.”
“But will the size be okay?”
“I don’t think that matters. We’re about the same size anyway.”
“Same? You’re smaller than me, you know.”
“What do you mean I’m small? Your legs looked thinner than mine when you wore a skirt last time. I need to go on a diet.”
Sujeong grumbled as she approached the window to lower the blinds. Then her eyes caught sight of a black sedan. She felt it was strangely familiar somehow, but thinking it was nothing special, she lowered the blinds. At the same time, the sedan started its engine and disappeared.
“Idam, let’s go home now.”
“Okay.”
Idam moved the mascot costume to the changing room and then prepared to leave work.
* * *
“Wow…”
Idam, who had come out of the cafe, marveled at the vermilion sunset covering the sky. He could even see dragonflies flying around. The first autumn of his twentieth year was about to begin.
Just then, a pretty strong wind blew. Because of that, the cap on Idam’s head flew off with a whoosh.
“Huh? Oh?”
Flustered, Idam ran to catch it. The cap, which had been rolling on the ground, suddenly disappeared from view as it went into an alley.
Idam quickly entered the alley. Fortunately, the cap was gently placed on top of a wall.
“Here it is.”
Relieved, Idam quickly picked it up. At that moment, he faintly smelled a rose scent from the cap, like flowers blooming at dawn. Just like Taemin’s pheromones.
Could it be?
Idam urgently looked around. But no one was in sight.
“What’s going on?”
By then, the scent that had permeated the cap had gently disappeared. Idam wondered for a moment if he had fallen into an illusion. Tilting his head, Idam put on the cap and left the alley.
And behind the wall, a chilling gaze watched Idam’s retreating figure.
“Found you.”
The corners of Taemin’s mouth curved into a smile.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
