# Chapter 19
“What’s your major?”
Park Sihyeong asked while expertly tamping down coffee grounds with a porter filter in his left hand and a tamper in his right. Haeseung, having just finished washing dishes, wrung out the dishcloth firmly and answered.
“Department of Electrical and Information Engineering.”
“Hmm.”
After giving an ambiguous response, Park Sihyeong cleaned off the coffee grounds from the edge of the holder and attached the porter filter to the group head. Along with the familiar noise of the espresso machine that he had heard to the point of nausea for about three hours, black liquid dripped from the small holes of the porter filter. Park Sihyeong quickly made an iced Americano with nimble hands.
“Want some?”
Haeseung checked the time and shook his head.
“No thanks. I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep if I drink coffee now.”
It was 10:40 PM. The café customers had noticeably thinned out. At 11 PM, Haeseung would be able to get off work.
In the evening, there had been a brief interview with the café owner. The owner, who initially offered the legal minimum wage as compensation for the part-time job, quickly added a thousand won more as soon as he noticed Haeseung’s face darkening slightly. He also said that he would raise the hourly wage after three months, but Haeseung didn’t pay much attention since it was uncertain whether he would even last three months. He decided to start working today and set his working hours as three days a week, 7 PM to 11 PM, four hours a day.
Haeseung learned the overall duties from Park Sihyeong, his fellow part-timer. Given his rank as a novice, Haeseung couldn’t touch the espresso machine yet, but he could make and serve simple tea varieties like iced tea, which only required putting tea bags in hot water or adding cold water and ice and stirring diligently. After 10 PM, when there weren’t many customers, he completed his first hands-on experience with the POS (point of sales) terminal under Park Sihyeong’s guidance, fumbling through it while asking for the customer’s understanding. Apart from that, his main duty was mostly dishwashing, along with small tasks like wiping tables or replenishing water, syrup, and napkins. Of course, Haeseung hadn’t yet learned the knack of finding work to do on his own, so he only did what Park Sihyeong told him to do.
Park Sihyeong, who was a year older than Haeseung, said he had been working at the café for over half a year. According to him, during the half year he had been working there, the part-time workers who worked with him had changed three times. So Haeseung was his fourth partner.
Haeseung often bumped shoulders with Park Sihyeong today. This was because his movements kept getting tangled up due to his inexperience. At first, Park Sihyeong would give looks suggesting Haeseung was in the way, but as time passed, he perfectly began to treat Haeseung like he didn’t exist. Haeseung wished he could just wash dishes all day. At least then there would be no shoulder bumping.
“I’m in Electrical Engineering too. Since I’m your senior, I can drop the formalities, right?”
Park Sihyeong had already been speaking informally to Haeseung since confirming their ages within 5 minutes of meeting, yet he suddenly sought permission. Haeseung nodded as if this was only natural.
“Yes, sunbae-nim. Please speak comfortably.”
“What’s with the ‘sunbae-nim’? Just call me hyung casually.”
“Yes, hyung.”
“Let’s count the cash and start closing up. The morning shift will come in tomorrow to clean.”
Just then, the last customers occupying a table left the store. Park Sihyeong opened the safe and began counting bills, while Haeseung stacked coins into neat piles of ten each as instructed.
After getting off work, Haeseung headed home while pounding his lower back with his fist. The aftermath of fatigue from bustling around for four hours rushed in all at once as the tension released. Hunger suddenly came upon him as if his stomach were completely empty. Though it was unexpectedly tough, the unfamiliar sensation of having done his first part-time job in his life enveloped his entire body with a sense of fulfillment.
The chill of a March night crept under his clothes, and Haeseung hunched his shoulders. He suddenly remembered Mugyeong telling him to wear a long padded coat. As if to reinforce Mugyeong’s nonsense, a cutting wind mercilessly struck his face. Come to think of it, Haeseung had lied to Mugyeong earlier today. When Mugyeong suggested having dinner together, he hadn’t honestly said that he was going to start a part-time job today. The lie had popped out so spontaneously that even Haeseung was taken aback, causing him to miss the timing to correct himself. Why had he lied? Since Haeseung himself didn’t know the reason, all he could do was blame his own unconscious for blurting out the lie.
Just as he passed the street lamp near his home, which had been flickering weakly for several days now, someone blocked his path. There was no need to see the face. Mugyeong’s scent subtly enveloped his nose, carried by the wind.
“You’re back now? You don’t seem to have been drinking.”
Mugyeong sniffed like a dog. Coincidentally, the sound of a dog barking could be heard from a distance. Perhaps it was because its owner usually returned home around this time, but it was a dog that always barked at this hour.
“Yeah. I didn’t drink.”
“Why are you coming back so late? Do you know what time it is?”
“What are you saying? It’s not even midnight yet.”
“Don’t you know how actively ghosts wander around at this hour?”
“Why wouldn’t I know that? I’m dealing with a ghost-like guy right now.”
“…”
“What about you? Where are you going at this hour?”
Haeseung asked grumpily. Haeseung’s steps were heading home, but Mugyeong was facing the opposite direction.
“Where would I be going? I was just standing here.”
“Then keep standing there. I’m going in.”
Though he said this, Haeseung didn’t budge from that spot. Mugyeong, wearing comfortable athletic clothes with the black scarf Haeseung had given him casually wrapped around his neck, stood like a large pillar with his hands in his pockets. It was a strange confrontation for no apparent reason. The sound of a barking dog broke the momentary silence again. While they briefly appreciated that sound tinged with joy, Mugyeong finally spoke.
“Want to go to the convenience store together?”
Although it was cold and he was tired, and he wanted to bury himself in warm blankets right away, Haeseung nodded. Mugyeong unwound his scarf and handed it to Haeseung.
“Why?”
“You use it.”
“I’m fine.”
Mugyeong wrapped the scarf around Haeseung’s neck with an expression that suggested he knew that would be the answer. The back of Mugyeong’s cold hand brushed the tip of Haeseung’s chin. The scarf was warm and the back of his hand was cold, so Haeseung had to feel both warmth and coolness from Mugyeong at the same time.
Haeseung walked back along the path he had just traversed while shivering from the cold, now side by side with Mugyeong. A cat passed by, glaring at Haeseung with shining eyes. Come to think of it, at the café today, he had received many similar looks from his coworker Park Sihyeong.
At the convenience store, Haeseung chose a drink filled with vitamin C. Mugyeong, who had been selecting canned beer, put it back and grabbed a vitamin drink following Haeseung’s lead. Mugyeong paid, and they both silently gulped down their vitamin drinks.
“Is your back hurting?”
Mugyeong asked, noticing Haeseung pounding his lower back with his fist.
“It doesn’t hurt. What would I have done to make my back hurt?”
“Pfft!”
Mugyeong suddenly choked and dribbled the drink, soaking the front of his pants. Haeseung unconsciously stared at Mugyeong’s wet crotch. He wondered about the reason only the front of the pants got wet—whether it was because that area was especially protruding, or if the falling point of the liquid just happened to be there—but he couldn’t tell.
Haeseung, not taking his eyes off Mugyeong’s center where the vitamin drink had seeped in, muttered:
“I guess that part of you needed vitamins too.”
Mugyeong briefly wore an expression that showed he couldn’t understand what was being said, but then immediately looked shocked.
“Are you making a joke right now?”
Even Haeseung himself couldn’t understand it. What state of mind had prompted those words? Haeseung hurriedly withdrew his gaze and left the convenience store first. Behind him, Mugyeong burst into laughter as if in disbelief. Haeseung quickened his steps, as if running away. Life without crutches had become familiar at a surprising speed. However, the fact that Mugyeong liked him still hadn’t become familiar. Because of this, the aftermath of casually blurting out a joke that he would have said without any ulterior motives when they were purely friends felt quite disorderly.
Is it necessary to break away from what was previously considered familiar in order to become accustomed to a new environment? Haeseung no longer felt completely comfortable with Mugyeong. Although “familiar” and “comfortable” don’t mean the same thing, Haeseung couldn’t precisely distinguish the difference, so he had no choice but to equate the two.
As they passed the streetlamp that was flickering because its bulb was near the end of its life—probably going to flicker all night—the possibility that Mugyeong might have been waiting for Haeseung’s return quietly emerged. Honestly, he had vaguely guessed from the beginning but just didn’t want to admit it. Haeseung spoke up, intending to drive home the point so Mugyeong wouldn’t behave like that again.
“Kang Mugyeong.”
“Yeah?”
“Why were you outside?”
“Why ask when you know perfectly well? I was waiting for you.”
“Don’t ever do that again.”
“I waited because I had something to tell you.”
“What is it? What did you want to say?”
The two stopped in front of the house. Mugyeong stroked Haeseung’s head with his large hand.
“Come home earlier.”
“You were out in the cold just to say that?”
“Yes.”
A playful smile gathered in Mugyeong’s eyes. Haeseung thought that if he was going to mention the part-time job, now would be the opportunity. However, his lips wouldn’t part.
After staring into Haeseung’s eyes for a while, Mugyeong tilted his head slightly and looked up at the flickering streetlamp, murmuring vaguely as if talking to himself:
“That streetlamp, I should file a complaint.”
“…”
“It’s cold. Go inside quickly.”
Haeseung realized he had missed the timing to speak. Mugyeong had already turned away, and at that moment, the easy word “next time” promptly settled in Haeseung’s heart. Telling him about starting a part-time job could be done next time. Just as not filing a complaint immediately wouldn’t cause a major problem. Haeseung slowly climbed the stairs.
It was right after entering his room that he realized he hadn’t returned the scarf to Mugyeong.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
