Chapter 56
Except for occasionally helping out at school-related art events or exhibitions held by graduating seniors, I had never had a proper part-time job.
Joo Kwon-oh, who knew my detailed circumstances, seemed uneasy even after my first day of work. He personally taught me how to properly fold and wrap the packaging sample set he had brought with permission from the store.
“You need to fold this sticker part like this and peel it off at the end for a clean adhesion. Looking at the intact tag craft and non-woven dust cover, it seems the boss isn’t completely careless about business.”
Joo Kwon-oh mumbled indifferently as he examined the wrapping paper. It sounded like he was saying the quality wasn’t bad.
“What if I accidentally put the wrong contents inside after wrapping?”
“In that case, it’s better to just unwrap it all, throw it away, and start over. If you try to reuse it, it’s obvious when the customer receives it. See how this part gets wrinkled?”
“You know a lot.”
“I told you I’ve done many part-time jobs. If you have any questions, ask me, not that boss guy.”
“You’re cool.”
“Ryu Jeong-ha, you have weird tastes.”
“That’s because Joo Kwon-oh is my ideal type.”
“…Wow. You’re getting better at talking. Makes me want to eat you up.”
Joo Kwon-oh glared at me while stroking my thigh. At first, I thought he was just joking, but his hand gradually moved to the inside of my thigh, massaging the soft skin.
I felt the heat rush to my face and pushed him away.
“Ah, we really can’t. I have to go to work tomorrow.”
“We can’t?”
“…We already did it this morning.”
Besides, it was already 1 AM. If we had sex now, I might have to limp all afternoon tomorrow. I was prepared to kick Joo Kwon-oh out of my studio apartment if he tried to pounce on me here. Fortunately, he didn’t touch me any further.
Anyway, although there were some routines I had to learn, the tasks required by the part-time job boss weren’t too difficult.
After safely getting through the first week, I practically lived at Joo Kwon-oh’s place afterward. Before going to my part-time job, I would laze around with Joo Kwon-oh and go on dates, and after work, we would cook and eat dinner together at his place.
Strangely, even when my body was tired, the day always ended with sex. Sometimes it felt like we were like animals, igniting with just eye contact, but when I was with Joo Kwon-oh, I couldn’t control my libido for some reason.
It was mostly Joo Kwon-oh who initiated, but there were times when I sent the first signal.
Today was particularly satisfying. I received my first week’s pay, and my body was pleasantly relaxed from sex, leaving me in a dreamy mood.
I thought I would fall asleep quickly, but for some reason, I couldn’t sleep even after thirty minutes.
I turned my head to look at Joo Kwon-oh’s face, already asleep next to me. The light from the hallway was on, casting a dim glow on Joo Kwon-oh.
As I had suspected the first time I came here, Joo Kwon-oh did intentionally leave that light on when we had sex. It was too far to go turn it off every time, and the light wasn’t bright enough to make things unbearably embarrassing, so we ended up mixing our bodies while seeing each other’s naked forms with the light on.
Well, it wasn’t a bad option for me either, as I could see Joo Kwon-oh’s body. I couldn’t help but find his intention annoying, though.
After thoroughly examining Joo Kwon-oh’s face, I habitually took out my phone and started checking the apps I frequently use one by one.
And for the first time in a long while, I deeply stalked Joo Kwon-oh’s Instagram account.
Although I had already seen everything, as I was rechecking past photos, I realized something incredible.
I almost screamed, naked in Joo Kwon-oh’s bed, lying next to him in the early morning.
Joo Kwon-oh’s birthday was approaching soon!
“…”
I turned my head to look at Joo Kwon-oh’s face with his eyes closed. Then I checked the Instagram post again.
In a photo where Joo Kwon-oh was tagged, his friend had left a comment saying, “A rare gathering to celebrate Kwon-oh’s birthday, lol.”
Come to think of it, why hadn’t I asked about his birthday before? My birthday is in winter, so it had passed a long time ago, and I hadn’t even thought about it.
No, the real problem was that I was a newbie at dating. I had forgotten about the most basic and biggest event.
Joo Kwon-oh’s birthday was August 6th. Strictly speaking, there was a little over a month left, but it felt woefully inadequate to prepare something.
Moreover, I didn’t have any pocket money now. I was in the cold reality of having to earn and spend living expenses.
Ah. What should I do? What should I get him?
This was really bad. I even felt resentful towards Joo Kwon-oh for not telling me about this important anniversary.
I carefully got out of bed, put on some clothes, and sat in a chair, trying to recall Joo Kwon-oh’s lifestyle patterns.
First of all, since it’s summer vacation, he obviously doesn’t have classes. Sometimes he goes out with friends, attends department-wide gatherings, and since the school is right in front, he seems to go play soccer too. Ah, he also occasionally visits his parents’ home to prepare for the furniture exhibition. Other than that, he waits for me to finish work in front of the store where I work part-time.
So, in conclusion, he’s often engaged in outdoor activities. Then, what would he need?
“…”
I had no idea. Deciding on a gift for Joo Kwon-oh was like entering a mysterious realm for someone like me who had little experience with outdoor activities.
I started to think of a list of safe gift options.
How about clothes? Clothes… I can’t even dress myself well, so there’s no way I could choose clothes for someone else. I’ll have to pass on that.
Then a wallet? Joo Kwon-oh already has a wallet, but… it’s a luxury brand, so I probably can’t replace it with a better one. Watches are also out of the question since he already owns a few expensive ones.
Then a phone case? …No, that’s too thoughtless.
The only things I could put some effort into gifting within my means seem to be shoes and an Apple Watch strap.
But with shoes, you can’t tell if they’re comfortable unless you try them on. We’d have to go together to choose…
I wanted to surprise Joo Kwon-oh with a gift since I found out about his birthday, so after intense deliberation, I decided to give him an Apple Watch strap. These days, they even engrave leather straps with custom messages, so it seemed meaningful enough.
It felt like I was given a new mission right after completing my first part-time job mission. From that moment, I started searching for suitable leather strap brands and designs to gift Joo Kwon-oh.
For now, I planned to figure out what colors he likes whenever I had the chance.
Fortunately, this wasn’t difficult. Since I started working, Joo Kwon-oh often sat at the cafe across from the accessory shop, waiting for me until closing time.
I was meeting him almost every day, morning and evening, so there were plenty of opportunities to find out his preferences.
By the way, seeing Joo Kwon-oh regularly accompanying me to and from work recently, I was surprised to discover that he had a more persistent side than I expected.
Of course, even though Joo Kwon-oh waited for me across from the shop from 3 PM to 9 PM, he wasn’t obsessively focused solely on me like a crazy person.
He would bring work to study, or his friends who were playing nearby would drop by. I even saw Choi Kyung-won through the glass window once.
Ah. He would occasionally send me photos he took of me.
His preferred moments for capture were usually when I came out to the front of the store to attend to customers, or when I was wrestling with packaging.
[Joo Kwon-oh: (Photo)]
[Joo Kwon-oh: You changed your apron]
Today, as usual, a photo of me moving around the store with wrapping paper appeared in the chat. When I had a moment to spare, I checked my phone and chuckled at the sight of myself in the photo Joo Kwon-oh had sent.
[Me: Ah, you’re like a stalker]
[Joo Kwon-oh: Jeong-ha, you’re my stalker too]
[Joo Kwon-oh: So now we’re even lol]
“…”
When he puts it that way, I have no comeback.
“Do you have this in silver design too?”
While I was contemplating how to reply, a customer in the store spoke to me. I put my phone in my apron pocket and approached the customer.
“Yes. That one comes in gold and silver, and there’s also a slightly smaller design.”
“Really? I’d like to compare them side by side…”
“I’ll bring them for you, just a moment please.”
I excused myself to the customer and went to the storage area behind the counter to find necklaces of the same design. Unfortunately, the boss had gone to Dongdaemun for inventory shopping today, so I was alone in the store.
