Chapter 57
I was a bit worried about what to do if I couldn’t find the item, but having done so much packaging, I was able to quickly locate the desired product.
After rummaging through a few drawers, I came out with the necklace.
The customer who was comparing ended up buying the large ribbon necklace she had initially been looking at, saying it was to her liking.
As soon as she left, customers who had been browsing the outdoor display immediately entered the store.
“I’d like to buy something from outside. Do you have new products other than the display items?”
“Just a moment, I’ll check for you.”
I smiled, opened the door, and went out to check the accessory the customer wanted to buy from the outdoor display.
I was surprised these days that despite my timid personality, I was doing quite well at dealing with people. Interacting with complete strangers wasn’t as difficult as I had worried.
“By the way, how long have you been working here? I didn’t see you when I came last time.”
“Since last week.”
“Oh, I see. But don’t you like accessories? Your ears aren’t even pierced.”
“Ah, well…”
What should I say? I stammered, unable to find words, to the point where I felt embarrassed for having just prided myself on being quite capable of handling customers.
Seeing me like this, the two female customers giggled. However, they didn’t interrupt and waited patiently for my answer.
“To be honest, I’m not really interested in accessories…”
“Ah. Aah, but that suits you well too!”
What does it mean that it suits me well when I don’t know much about accessories?
“…Thank you.”
Not understanding the implied meaning, I tilted my head but then just bowed in gratitude.
“We’ll take two of these as a set.”
“Alright. Would you like them wrapped?”
“Just give them as is. It’s not a gift or anything.”
“That’ll be 62,000 won. Thank you.”
“We’ll come again next time!”
The two customers waved cheerfully as they left the store.
Left alone in the store, I finally returned to a calm state of mind. I went back to the packaging station at the counter and started packaging the smart store orders that had come in yesterday and today.
Today, there weren’t many orders, so the work finished quickly. As I stretched and checked my phone, I found KakaoTalk notifications.
[Joo Kwon-oh: Don’t smile so brightly in front of others]
[Joo Kwon-oh: Only lift the corners of your mouth halfway]
[Joo Kwon-oh: You just need to do the packaging]
[Joo Kwon-oh: Why are you talking so much?]
[Joo Kwon-oh: ?]
[Joo Kwon-oh: (Photo)]
“Pfft.”
I finally burst into laughter when I saw the last photo that came in.
It was a close-up photo of Joo Kwon-oh’s deeply furrowed brow and eyebrows. Although only his forehead was visible without the rest of his face, anyone could tell it was an expression of discomfort.
“Hello.”
“Yes, welcome.”
As I was about to send a reply, the next customer came in. The customer said they were looking for a specific design and showed me a photo they had seen on the internet beforehand. I was about to answer with my habitual smile when I remembered Joo Kwon-oh’s recent KakaoTalk message.
As he requested, I just slightly lifted the corners of my mouth and found earrings similar to what the customer had shown.
A little while later, after the customer finished paying and left, I checked my phone to find another flood of KakaoTalk messages.
[Joo Kwon-oh: No]
[Joo Kwon-oh: Why do you keep brushing your hair back]
[Joo Kwon-oh: ?]
[Joo Kwon-oh: They might misunderstand that you’re flirting]
[Joo Kwon-oh: It’d be better if you just stood still at attention]
He had sent such ridiculous messages with such dedication.
How does brushing back my hair become a sign of flirting? I don’t even remember when I brushed my hair back.
Inwardly expressing my dissatisfaction, I stared at the second floor of the cafe through the floor-to-ceiling window. As expected, at the spot I had anticipated, Joo Kwon-oh was sitting at a terrace table, wearing a white short-sleeved T-shirt with a dark sky-blue short-sleeved shirt over it, watching me.
Every time the cool breeze of the summer day swept over him, his hair and collar fluttered in the wind. When our eyes met, Joo Kwon-oh gave a mischievous smile. The refreshing aura overflowing from him was dazzling.
Suddenly, it felt like a miracle that he liked me, that we ended up dating, and that we were facing each other like this from different buildings.
Feeling my heart flutter, I turned my head away first.
Amazingly, in the few seconds that I made eye contact with Joo Kwon-oh, I felt fully recharged with energy. It was time to stop fooling around and get back to work.
After complying with Joo Kwon-oh’s requests a few times, he seemed unsatisfied and his demands kept increasing endlessly. So from then on, no matter what KakaoTalk messages came in, whether Joo Kwon-oh was staring at me with wide eyes or not, I ignored them and dealt with customers as I saw fit.
Seeing sales increase the more friendly I was to customers, my actions weren’t wrong.
As several hours passed like this, I heard the bell on the door jingle.
“Welcome.”
As I lifted my head to greet the customer, I flinched involuntarily when I realized the new customer was someone very familiar.
The customer standing at the door was none other than Joo Kwon-oh.
“Hello. I’m looking to buy a piercing.”
“…”
After a few seconds, when I finally came to my senses, I quickly looked around the store. Only after confirming with my own eyes that no one else was there did I ask him.
“Are, are you crazy?”
“Why? I said I came to buy a piercing.”
“Why are you buying that here? And how can you just show up like this?”
I had expected him to throw a fit later for ignoring his KakaoTalk messages, but I didn’t think he’d actually come in person.
“I’m telling you, I really came to buy something. But hey, why are you ignoring my KakaoTalk messages? You’re not even reading them. There aren’t even any customers in the store.”
“It’s difficult to respond during work hours.”
I answered nervously, as if to say, ‘You know why.’
“Difficult? Is it okay to speak informally to customers like that?”
“…”
Ah, this is completely out of line. Even though I had confirmed that no one else was in the store, my heart was pounding, worried that someone might overhear this conversation.
“Please leave quickly. This is disrupting business.”
“No, I’m telling you I really came to look at piercings.”
“Th-then look quickly and leave.”
I was so flustered that I mixed formal and informal speech. I wanted to get rid of Joo Kwon-oh as quickly as possible.
The problem was that Joo Kwon-oh didn’t seem to have any intention of complying with my wishes. He questioned me in a playful voice, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.
“But you were smiling so nicely at other customers earlier. Are you discriminating against customers?”
“No… What are you…”
What saved me from this tight spot was a customer browsing the outdoor display.
“Excuse me, manager. Do you have this with slightly larger cubic zirconia?”
“Ah, yes! Just a moment!”
At the customer’s call, I ran out, opening the door as if escaping.
The female customer was choosing a bracelet. She picked up one from the display and held it out to me.
“This one. I’d like it if the cubic zirconia in the center was more prominent and larger…”
I nodded, glancing at Joo Kwon-oh, who was still boldly wandering around inside the store.
“We don’t have exactly the same design, but we have something similar with larger cubic zirconia. It’s inside, would you like to come in and take a look?”
“Ah… yes.”
As I entered with the customer, one of Joo Kwon-oh’s eyebrows raised slightly and then lowered.
Even though a real customer had arrived, he didn’t leave and shamelessly continued to browse the accessory shop, staying near me.
I tried my best not to pay attention to where Joo Kwon-oh was.
“Here it is. We have two versions, one with the cubic zirconia protruding outwards and another with it embedded inside.”
As I laid out the bracelet chains carefully so they wouldn’t tangle in front of the customer, she glanced back and forth between me and the bracelets, smiling. Then she spoke to her friend who had come with her.
“Ah, the larger one is pretty.”
“Right? It’s visible from a distance. If it’s too small, it’s not noticeable.”
“Do you think so too?”
“Yeah. Try it on your hand.”
“Can I try it on my wrist?”
“Yes.”
While I was standing next to the real customer, the fake customer was blatantly staring at me through the mirror hanging on the opposite wall. Even though his gaze was refracted once through the mirror, it was so direct that my face felt hot.
Unable to find a place to look, I rolled my eyes around, and to shake off the gaze clinging to me, I approached the customer who was struggling to put on the bracelet.
“Let me help you.”
“Ah, yes, yes. I’m having trouble with this…”
As I went to the customer’s side and carefully fastened the bracelet, I heard a thick, fake cough from behind. Although it was just a cough, somehow it felt threatening.
“Excuse me.”
Joo Kwon-oh finally called out to me in a low voice.
Even though he spoke politely, I reflexively answered with a casual “Yeah?” not wanting to speak informally in front of others.
“I’d like to look at rings.”
Didn’t he say he wanted to look at piercings earlier?
