Over three hours had already flown by since Haon arrived at the restaurant. It was the weekend, and with the constant flood of customers, time passed in a blur.
“Let’s stop and eat. At this rate, it’ll be past ten before we get a bite.”
Once the tables had quieted down a little, Hyung-cheol came out holding a large frying pan and gathered the part-timers. Tonight’s dinner was kimchi fried rice loaded with Spam.
“Ah, I’m not eating. Diet,” Tae-hwi said, even as he picked up a spoon, smacking his lips. He waved his spoon at Haon, who was wringing out a dishcloth.
“Jung Haon, come on! We need to eat before more customers show up.”
“I’m good. I already ate before coming.”
Haon squeezed the last bit of water from the cloth and neatly stacked the dishes he’d just taken out of the dishwasher. Not even the sight of perfectly fried eggs tempted his appetite.
“Hyung, you should still eat something, though.”
Hoyoung, who had just finished tidying up a recently vacated table, spoke up. He took the stack of plates Haon had made and placed them on the shelf. No one had told him where they went, but he figured it out on his own—his sense was sharp. Despite being young, he seemed surprisingly skilled at restaurant work.
“I had a heavy lunch earlier, so I’m still full. You go on and eat, Hoyoung.”
Haon told him to just go eat, saying he’d handle things here. It hadn’t been long since they started talking, but he already felt quite at ease with Hoyoung—thanks to the kid’s easygoing charm.
“You’ve got to work till dawn, so at least have a few bites.”
“I’m fine. Eat plenty for me.”
When Haon waved him off, telling him not to worry, Hoyoung looked a little downcast but nodded.
“Okay. If you get hungry later, tell me, hyung. I’ve got tons of snacks in my bag.”
So that’s why his bag looked so big—he even carried snacks around.
Haon chuckled, finding Hoyoung’s constant “hyung, hyung” endearing. Despite his large frame, the way he talked and acted made him seem like a much younger kid.
‘Was this how Seong-gu hyung felt when he looked at me?’
Now, he was starting to understand why Seong-gu, who was three years older, always treated him like a kid.
Thud, thud.
Haon tapped his lower back, stretching as he finished stacking the dishes. He hadn’t noticed it when things were busy, but now that he stood still, the aches that had built up in his body became glaringly obvious.
“Haon-ah, don’t just stand there. Come sit down.”
“Yeah, come here.”
Hyung-cheol and Tae-hwi called out to him. It didn’t seem like any more orders would be coming in soon, so there was no need for Haon to stay standing.
“I’m just going to pop into the storage room for a bit.”
Instead of joining them, Haon excused himself and headed toward the cramped storage room. Usually, when he had a free moment, he would take a breather in a chair, but today wasn’t one of those times.
“Aigo…”
He let out a small groan like an old man as he rubbed his back, the sound escaping him without meaning to.
Haon honestly wanted to sit down right away, but his body wasn’t in any shape to handle the hard chair. It was actually more bearable to stay standing, bent slightly forward.
‘It’s not torn… is it?’
The pain below wasn’t subsiding as quickly as usual, and that was starting to worry him. Normally, after a good night’s sleep, he’d feel fine enough to sit or walk without much discomfort. And he had felt totally fine when drinking last night, so why now…
“What are you doing?”
Startled out of his thoughts about last night, Haon nearly stumbled when Tae-hwi suddenly appeared. Tae-hwi narrowed his sharp eyes and scanned Haon’s expression as he leaned against the wall.
“Your back hurt?”
“No, I was just stretching a bit.”
Haon awkwardly twisted his waist left and right, pretending to loosen up his muscles.
Tae-hwi let out a long sigh, then closed the storage room door and crossed his arms. He’d told Haon several times during the shift that he could leave if he wasn’t feeling well, but the guy had insisted on staying until closing. For someone so gentle, he was surprisingly stubborn.
“You sure you’re really okay?”
Tae-hwi reached over and gently lowered Haon’s mask, taking another close look at the bruise.
“Did you report it to the police?”
He stood squarely in front of Haon, making it clear he wouldn’t let him leave until he got an answer. Though he hadn’t pried into the details since Haon seemed uncomfortable, he still wanted to know whether the guy who hit him had been properly dealt with.
“He took care of everything for me….”
“The Lamborghini guy?”
When Haon nodded, Tae-hwi rubbed his chin and let out a thoughtful hum, his expression relaxing a bit.
“Sounds like things are going pretty well between you two.”
“He’s been really good to me.”
The moment Inho came to mind, Haon’s whole face lit up. His lips curled into an unconscious smile, twitching with joy.
“Jung Haon, you…”
Seeing that, Tae-hwi broke into a wide grin and reached out as if to pinch his cheek.
“You said you weren’t like that with him. But look at you now—completely smitten.”
Just last week, Haon had insisted there was nothing going on whenever anyone tried to tease him about it. But now, he didn’t deny it—just blushed in silence.
“I… I like him.”
It was the first time he’d ever said it out loud. As soon as the words left his mouth, embarrassment surged through him, and he yanked his mask all the way up to his eyes. The lower half of his face was still visible, though, revealing a clear smile he couldn’t hide.
He had never once told someone that he liked them. Just saying it made his chest feel light, like a feather had settled gently inside.
“Of course you do. How could you not? He picks you up in a luxury car and even gives you a place to stay.”
Tae-hwi chuckled at Haon’s shy reaction. Despite his nonchalant tone, he couldn’t keep his feet still—there was a spring in his step like he was rediscovering a sense of excitement through someone else’s love story.
“Hey, but what about his face? Is he good-looking? Or is he the kind you only look at for the money?”
Since Haon hadn’t offered much explanation, Tae-hwi couldn’t help but pry. All he’d seen was Inho’s flashy car, and his curiosity had been bubbling ever since.
“And what does he do? What kind of person is he? He’s definitely single, right?”
The barrage of questions left Haon dazed. He tried to answer them one by one, but because he still knew so little, his responses came off to Tae-hwi as half-hearted.
“He’s really, really handsome, and his job is… um… I’m pretty sure he’s single. Probably.”
Blink. Tae-hwi closed his eyes tight and reopened them, frowning at the utter lack of useful information.
“You are living with this guy, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So you don’t see him often? He doesn’t come home much?”
“No, we eat dinner together every day.”
Haon said it with another shy smile, and once again, Tae-hwi blinked in disbelief. They’d been living together for a while now, yet Haon knew almost nothing more than he did at the beginning.
“Do you two even talk?”
“Every day.”
Haon scratched at his chest and answered bashfully. Just being able to tell someone that he shared meals and conversations with Inho made him happy. He wanted to brag about Inho, but kept the urge in check.
It was only natural to want to talk about and show off someone you liked—but since Haon had never experienced that before, he now felt self-conscious, like he was overstepping by speaking so openly about Inho.
“You’ve got a long-ass way to go, don’t you.”
Tae-hwi sighed and patted Haon on the shoulder.
“Jung Haon-ah. You should at least know what the guy does for a living. What if he’s in the mob or something?”
“He’s definitely not that kind of person.”
“Then what does he do?”
When Haon paused, then mumbled, “Something good…” Tae-hwi could tell he was in deep.
“When you see him today, ask him. If he dodges the question or avoids answering, wait for the right moment and break it off. Keep it going for another month or two if you have to.”
Rolling his eyes, Tae-hwi added that three months was the max. He couldn’t quite bring himself to say “just give up the Lamborghini.”
Haon, wide-eyed like a startled rabbit, quickly waved his hands.
“Hyung, we’re not dating. I just like him. He doesn’t like me back.”
“…Are you seriously saying this right now?”
Tae-hwi’s jaw dropped and he let out a huge, incredulous laugh. This was beyond frustrating.
“Then why the hell would he want to live with you if he didn’t like you? He practically gave you an excuse to move in by calling it some cleaning job.”
“That’s just because… he happened to need someone to help…”
“If he really needed help, he’d have hired a professional cleaner. Why would he pick you?”
Watching Haon struggle to come up with an answer to such a simple question made Tae-hwi smack his own chest in disbelief.
‘How could someone be born with that kind of face and still not get it?’
“Because he felt sorry for me…?”
Tae-hwi clenched his fist but couldn’t bring himself to yell. He could only sigh in frustration. Sure, that might be part of it—but there was no way that was the whole reason.
“Come on. If he just felt bad for you, he would’ve handed you some money and left it at that. Why would he invite a complete stranger into his home?”
“Well… he donates a lot, and he’s really kind-hearted…”
Haon’s reasoning—that Inho couldn’t bring himself to kick him out because he was just that nice—made Tae-hwi shake his head so hard it looked like it might come off.
“No. It’s because he likes you. I’m telling you, that’s what it is.”
“He has no reason to like me…”
Haon glanced downward, catching on to Tae-hwi’s frustration. The floating, airy feeling he’d had thinking about Inho now started to sink like a stone.
“And… he said he doesn’t date Omegas.”
Saying aloud what he’d already known made it hit even harder. Sure, even if Inho did date Omegas, that didn’t mean he’d choose him, but the weight of it still left Haon feeling hollow.
“…He said that to your face?”
Tae-hwi, who had been thumping his own chest moments ago, now looked a bit thrown.
“And then what—still sleeps with you?”
“No, he’s never suggested that. It’s just that… my heat cycles are irregular, and he’s helping me through them.”
“So you are doing it. He took in an Omega with unstable heats and…”
Tae-hwi trailed off, running a hand over the back of his neck, then let out a curse-laced sigh as realization dawned.
“You like him a lot, don’t you?”
Haon opened and closed his mouth before murmuring that he thought he did. His voice lacked confidence—he’d only just recently come to terms with his feelings—but the expression on his face betrayed how deeply he was already in.
“Don’t let him see it,” Tae-hwi said, watching him with a troubled look. “Don’t show him how much you like him.”
“It’s for your own good. Don’t give your whole heart. Just… like him a little. Keep it light.”
“Why…?”
The heat that had been blooming across Haon’s cheeks faded at Tae-hwi’s heavy sigh. He fidgeted with his fingers, waiting for an answer.
“You really don’t know?”
Tae-hwi replied with a short, rhetorical question, then held Haon’s gaze. Haon quickly looked away and pressed his lips together. He didn’t need Tae-hwi to spell it out—he already knew the answer.
“Let’s go.”
Tae-hwi reached out and placed a hand on Haon’s shoulder, moving to open the door—
Thunk.
Suddenly, the storage room door slammed shut from the outside. Tae-hwi stumbled back from the unexpected force and stood there, stunned, staring at the now-firmly closed door. Haon looked just as startled.
— “Hmm. I don’t know about that.”
A loud voice rang from outside. It was Hoyoung. Sounded like he’d deliberately closed the door.
Tae-hwi narrowed his eyes and pressed his ear to the door, trying to catch the conversation outside, but couldn’t make out who Hoyoung was talking to.
— “Haon hyung didn’t come to work today.”
Haon leaned in next to Tae-hwi, pressing his face against the door, and his eyes went wide as his mouth opened in silent disbelief.
‘Wait, I did come to work today…’
