Chapter 111
“No, no. It’s okay because the boss is here. I’m a bit out of it right now… I’ll call you back later.”
I ended the call after rambling in a way that anyone would find suspicious. Even after that, I was dumbfounded for a while.
Why did Joo Kwon-oh call at this hour? Did he have something to say?
But now wasn’t the time to be curious about such things. The urgent matter was to properly send the sprawled-out boss back home.
Since I had already called a taxi, I needed to find out his home address. Otherwise, I would have no choice but to take him to my house. I desperately wanted to avoid that.
“Um, boss. Can you get up for a moment?”
“…”
“Can you walk? We’ll have to climb stairs later… No, more importantly, can you tell me your home address? Boss? Boss!”
Feeling anxious, I grabbed the boss’s shoulder and shook him. At that moment, the manager approached and handed me the bill.
“Who will be paying…?”
“I’ll do it. Just a moment.”
Ah, right. I should pay first.
I searched my pockets for my debit card. Meanwhile, the phone I had briefly placed on the table started flashing loudly, probably because the taxi had arrived.
“Here’s the card. The taxi seems to have arrived already… I’m sorry, but could you help support the boss up to the stairs?”
“Wait, I’ll call one of our part-timers who’s really strong. You can pay after we send Boss Park off.”
While the manager went to call the part-timer, I turned towards the boss.
“Boss. Please get up. Which direction is your home?”
“…”
“The taxi is here. You really need to go now. You said you don’t get rowdy when drunk…”
“Did you say the taxi is here?”
“Yes, it’s outside now… Huh?”
I was startled to see the boss, who had been lying motionless on the table as if dead, suddenly rise up as if resurrected. With clothes marks on his face, he looked straight at me and started gathering his belongings.
“Boss…? Were, were you awake?”
“Did you pay?”
“I was about to pay on our way out…”
“Use this.”
The boss opened his wallet with his usual voice. As he took out his card, he looked excessively sober, as if he had never been drunk in the first place.
No. Then why didn’t he answer earlier when I called him? I was so shocked thinking he had passed out from drinking.
While criticizing him inwardly, I politely received the card he handed me with both hands.
“Boss, this is your ID…”
“Ah, is it?”
So he is drunk after all.
I returned the ID and received the correct credit card.
“Which customer collapsed? I was told to help them to the taxi.”
The part-timer sent by the manager approached us.
“He just got up, so I think we won’t need help. Um, could you please use this to pay…”
I held out the card I received from the boss. Meanwhile, the taxi driver I had called kept phoning. Intimidated by his irritation telling us to come out quickly as he had arrived in front, I timidly urged the boss.
“The taxi driver is saying to come out quickly as he’s waiting in front.”
“Oh, I should go.”
“Can you tell me your home address?”
“Of course. You’re worrying too much. What’s the taxi number?”
“…8025. I’ll go up with you.”
“Ah, no need. It’s just right in front.”
When I read out the taxi number displayed on the app, the boss made an OK sign as if he understood. Then he pushed away my attempt to support him and headed towards the exit on his own.
His steps were a bit unsteady, but somehow he managed to climb the stairs alone, holding onto the wall.
“I should head home first today, Jeong-ha. I drank too much. Take care of closing the store properly.”
“Boss. We’ve already closed the store today… This is a bar.”
“Boss Park! You left your card behind!”
And the manager hurriedly chased after him.
I let out a sigh while staring at the door through which they had left.
Do company dinners usually end this quickly? Although I wasn’t the type to enjoy such gatherings, being suddenly left alone made me feel a bit empty.
Anyway, at least the boss hadn’t lied. He really did have an amazing homing instinct. Seeing how his consciousness returned as soon as he heard about the taxi, even while drunk.
“Boss Park got into the taxi and left safely. The speed was quite lightning-fast.”
I, who had been standing there like a sack of potatoes for a moment, finally came to my senses when I heard the manager speak as he came in.
After awkwardly greeting the manager, I felt my throat become parched. As I was about to finish the remaining drink in my glass on the table and head home, the sound of the bar door opening flowed into my ears.
Amidst the noise filling the bar, the sound of the door opening and closing was surprisingly clear.
My head naturally turned, and I froze when I spotted Joo Kwon-oh standing at the entrance.
“Kwon-oh.”
For a moment, I thought I was seeing things.
Perhaps hearing my mumbled words, Joo Kwon-oh’s gaze, which had been scanning the bar, landed precisely on me. Seeing his brow furrow clearly, I flinched, feeling a chill.
“Where’s the boss?”
Joo Kwon-oh asked as he strode towards me. He was breathing heavily as if he had run here.
I stood stiffly like a frozen person, only rolling my eyes to look Joo Kwon-oh up and down.
How on earth did he get here? And so quickly. It hadn’t been long since I hung up the phone.
“You said you came for a company dinner with your part-time job boss. Where is that guy?”
“He, he was here until just now… He just left.”
“…”
“By taxi…”
My voice grew quieter as I watched his reaction, worried he might think I was lying. It was all true, but I was the only one left in the bar now. It might look strange to Joo Kwon-oh.
Joo Kwon-oh’s gaze soon turned to the table where the boss and I had been sitting. I could vaguely see his jaw tighten as he spotted the multiple glasses placed there.
Because of this, the question I was about to ask about how he found this place disappeared.
“You came to a place like this alone with the boss?”
“When he first said it was a company dinner… I didn’t know it was a place like this either.”
“…”
“But it’s not that strange of a place.”
As soon as I finished speaking, suddenly two men at the opposite table put their arms around each other’s shoulders and started whispering closely, just like ordinary couples do.
Seeing that, Joo Kwon-oh’s chest heaved roughly, and I, at a loss for words, opened and closed my mouth.
“Shit. What kind of place is this?”
His voice, full of suspicion and anger, ominously brushed my ear.
“Let’s, let’s go outside first. I’ll explain outside.”
Feeling that staying here any longer would only upset Joo Kwon-oh more, I grabbed his hand and quickly led him outside.
“See you again next time.”
The manager, noticing me leaving the bar, made eye contact kindly and winked. I flinched as if pricked by a needle and bowed my head to the manager.
“What was that?”
Joo Kwon-oh growled in a cracked voice. I could feel the strength in his hand that I was holding. Feeling like I was holding the leash of a hunting dog that might dash towards the manager at any moment if I let my guard down, I pulled him hard in the opposite direction.
“Let’s go out. Okay?”
Fortunately, perhaps understanding my desperation, he followed me obediently.
As soon as we got out, standing in front of the narrow entrance leading to the building’s parking lot, I carefully said to Joo Kwon-oh:
“It’s not the kind of place you’re thinking.”
“How do you know what I’m thinking?”
“…”
“…”
At a loss for words, I closed my mouth after watching his reaction.
Joo Kwon-oh, who had been staring at me intently, took out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth, then took out a lighter, but soon put it back in his pocket without lighting it.
Only the unlit tobacco hung loosely in his mouth.
“Is this really a gay bar?”
“No. It’s a regular… just a normal place for drinking… But, it seems like those kinds of people come here a lot too.”
“…”
“Nothing happened while I was inside. I just talked with the boss… As for drinking, well, it was a company dinner, so…”
“…”
Joo Kwon-oh remained silent.
Feeling like I was suffocating in the silence, I tried to lead the conversation somehow.
“But how did you know to come here?”
“The guy who answered the phone mentioned the bar’s name.”
Fortunately, this time Joo Kwon-oh answered immediately.
“Ah.”
“It came up right away when I searched. It’s also close to the store where you work part-time.”
“Were, were you in this area originally?”
“Yeah.”
“…Oh.”
If he was in this area, does that mean he was waiting for me to finish work today too?
“Jeong-ha. We haven’t broken up yet. Even if I’m the one holding on, you promised to think about it more too. You know that, right?”
