Chapter 70
*
And so, on the day of the part-time job substitution.
“Ah, a totally cute guy just came in.”
“Where, where?”
Suddenly, the tone of the female part-timers’ voices rose. The surroundings became momentarily noisy with their excited reactions. Whether that was the case or not, I continued tidying up the table without much interest.
“Eh, what? He has a girlfriend.”
Soon after, the disappointed voice of a part-timer followed. Only then did I turn my head while pausing from organizing the shelves.
And I discovered Bae Yu-rim and Ryu Jeong-ha sitting at a window table.
“Huh?”
Suddenly, I felt a surge of irritation. How did they know to come here? If it was near the school, I could understand, but coming all the way to a different area? Does Ryu Jeong-ha not know his limits?
This is ridiculous. I don’t like seriously threatening such a wimpy guy. This time, I really need to drag him to a corner and give him a proper scolding.
“I’ll take that table.”
I said, gritting my teeth as I picked up a menu. As I walked towards the table where Bae Yu-rim and Ryu Jeong-ha were sitting, Ryu Jeong-ha’s anxious gaze briefly fixed on me before disappearing. At that moment, the emotion reflected in his pupils was directly imprinted in my mind.
A face contorting with embarrassment, silently screaming with all its might that it wants to run away from here. And Bae Yu-rim, sitting relaxed, oblivious to such anxiety.
It’s obvious he was dragged here by Bae Yu-rim. He followed her meekly without knowing where, and it just happens that I’m here.
‘It wasn’t on purpose, I just mindlessly followed Bae Yu-rim and when we arrived, it turned out to be here. I really didn’t know you were here. I’m truly sorry. If you tell me to leave, I’ll leave right away. I’m sorry. I’ll stay out of sight, keep my mouth shut, and leave. Sorry, sorry, sorry!’
Even though Ryu Jeong-ha hadn’t uttered a word, just seeing his tearful face made me feel like I could hear his thoughts so clearly it hurt my ears. He was desperately begging me with his whole body.
Ryu Jeong-ha was trembling so much that even his hair couldn’t stay still, fluttering about. The closer I got, the more intense his trembling became.
Seeing that zero offense, zero defense appearance, my sharp irritation flattened out and subsided. This is… really strange.
While I was explaining the recommended menu, Ryu Jeong-ha clenched and unclenched his fist five times. He seemed completely unaware of how fidgety he was being.
He would glance at me, and if our eyes were about to meet, he would quickly lower his head and whimper.
By the way, it seems Bae Yu-rim came to bring up the model talk again. I wasn’t surprised as I had already heard that she was asking about me here and there. Even though it’s for an assignment, it was a bit interesting to see her putting in this much effort.
“Hyung, an order came in. After you’re done with that, can you check this too?”
“Hey, Joo Kwon-oh. Come inside for a moment.”
As I was about to go deliver the order from Bae Yu-rim’s table to the kitchen, the head chef called me over.
“What is it?”
Thinking he might need some help, I approached, and the chef, wearing an apron and dripping with sweat, pointed at a frying pan. There was pasta in it.
“This is a newly developed recipe, try it. Which is better compared to the previous one? All the girls just say it’s delicious, so I’m confused.”
“I don’t know much about pasta either.”
“Still, just taste it, man. You’re picky about food, aren’t you?”
The red pasta he had worked hard to develop seemed to have a lot of ingredients in it. I took a bite with the fork next to it, and the flavors of tomato, mushroom, and meat burst out. And finally, a hint of cheese.
“Well, it’s delicious.”
“Is it better with cheese or without?”
I shrugged.
“Adding cheese is more popular, I guess. But doesn’t it blur the sauce flavor?”
“That’s why I should add more tomatoes.”
“Hmm.”
“Is the one you tried before better?”
“No. This one is delicious. The seasoning is just right.”
“Really?”
The head chef, still looking uncertain at my words, tasted the seasoning again with a spoon. Is there really a need to put in so much effort? Even if it’s delicious, pasta is pasta.
The chef chose the wrong person to ask. Compared to others, I had significantly less experience eating Western food.
Having grown up in an overwhelmingly male-dominated environment all my life, there’s no way I would have properly tried fancy foods like steak or pasta.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll go out now. I need to check the hall.”
“This guy. Is there honey spread in the hall? You’ve been itching to get out there since earlier.”
As soon as I came out of the kitchen, I checked the hall. The number of customers had increased, but it wasn’t my assigned area, so drinks had already been served there.
Turning my gaze to the window seat, Ryu Jeong-ha was gone, and Bae Yu-rim was sitting alone, using her phone.
What’s this? Where did he go in the meantime? Bathroom? Or did he bolt?
Wondering about this, I went towards the corridor where the staff room was, and I found Noona Seo Subin moving some boxes. They contained newly arrived coffee beans and canned sauces.
“Noona, give me that. I’ll do it.”
Might as well move these since I don’t have anything urgent to do anyway. In fact, even if there were other tasks, this was something I should be doing.
“Oh, you want to? But I think it’ll be too heavy to move the whole box at once. We should open it and carry things individually.”
“Then all the more reason for me to do it. I’ll handle it, so you go do something else.”
As I placed boxes on both of my shoulders, I glared at the male part-timer who was slacking off in the hall.
Is that guy in his right mind? Knowing full well it’s heavy, he’s making a woman do this kind of work. It’s not even difficult, just needs some strength to move it. If I were the boss, I’d fire someone like that immediately for negligence.
What an inconsiderate bastard. Didn’t they say he was twenty? So young, yet already learning all the wrong things.
“Hey. You, carry this and follow me.”
“Huh? Me?”
“Who else is here besides you?”
When I called the slacking part-timer, he froze with a surprised face before hurriedly approaching.
His expression seemed to say, “Why are you bossing me around when you’re just a substitute?” But when I tilted my head as if daring him to voice any complaints, he carried the load without a word. Should have done that from the start.
Together with the part-timer, I put the boxes and coffee bean sacks in the storage room opposite the staff room. With two men going back and forth a few times, it was quickly organized. The weight was considerable, so I broke a slight sweat.
“Hyung. I’ve moved all the luggage, so I’ll go check the outside area.”
“Okay.”
After getting my approval, the part-timer immediately fled towards the hall.
“Phew.”
As soon as I wiped the sweat from my forehead, I had a ghostly urge for a cigarette. I grabbed my lighter, planning to go out the back door and have a smoke.
But I didn’t expect there to be a customer who arrived before me.
Ryu Jeong-ha was puffing on an electronic cigarette tip. It was a bit unexpected.
It doesn’t seem to be a regular cigarette, but why is he puffing until his cheeks are so puffed out? His white cheeks were bulging like steamed buns, visible even from behind. It wasn’t much, but it was interesting to observe.
He seemed not to have noticed my presence and remained still, so I lit my cigarette too.
Then, a stray cat appeared from somewhere. The boss must feed it, as it seems to frequently loiter around here. I think I heard it was fierce.
“Gasp. Cute…”
Ryu Jeong-ha must like cats, as he took out his phone in surprise and quietly approached. Then he started taking pictures enthusiastically.
But perhaps because he got too close without hesitation, suddenly the cat got really annoyed and struck Ryu Jeong-ha.
“You… that’s too much…”
Perhaps shocked, Ryu Jeong-ha mumbled while holding his scratched cheek, not even thinking to pick up his phone that had fallen to the ground. As if the cat would understand if he said that.
Crouching on the ground and sniffling, he looked just like a tragic protagonist in a drama. How pathetic it seemed. To have less attack power than a cat, seriously.
“That one’s famous for being vicious around here. I heard it appeared about a month ago, and its nickname is ‘Thug’.”
After taking a deep drag on the filter, I spoke to him, and Ryu Jeong-ha turned his head in shock.
Looking at his face, the wound was quite long. It was even bleeding. I couldn’t help but click my tongue. To scratch that white cheek with its claws and leave. Being a stray cat, it’s cruel unlike its appearance.
“It’s scratched quite deeply. I’ll give you a band-aid, come with me.”
The thought of applying medicine took precedence. I took him to the staff room and rummaged through the first-aid kit, fortunately finding suitable medicine and band-aids.
“Thank you.”
Ryu Jeong-ha clumsily took a band-aid and roughly stuck it on his cheek before thanking me.
What’s there to be thankful for when you’ve applied it so poorly? It’s actually gotten worse.
“Come in. I’ll give you a bigger one.”
“It’s…”
“Let’s apply some medicine while we’re at it.”
Honestly, it’s none of my business and there would be no problem if I sent him away like this, but seeing Ryu Jeong-ha fidgeting, desperately wanting to get away from me, I wanted to tease him.
I felt annoyed that he was treating me like the world’s worst villain when I hadn’t even done anything that bad.
I forcibly sat Ryu Jeong-ha in a chair and personally removed the sloppily applied band-aid.
Up close, I could see fine, transparent fuzz on his face. And his cheeks were incredibly firm and soft. Although it was annoying how he flinched every time my hand touched him, it was also intriguing.
He seemed to be trying hard to pretend it didn’t hurt, but the stinging pain must have been difficult to bear as Ryu Jeong-ha’s eyes were faintly filled with tears.
He had creepily spied on me, but strangely, I didn’t find it disgusting at all.
Taking advantage of the close distance, I examined Ryu Jeong-ha’s features. There was a clear red line drawn on his white, soft cheeks.
Ugh, shit. What if this leaves a scar? His parents would weep tears of blood if they saw this. Shouldn’t he go to a dermatologist?
Huh? No, wait. But why the hell am I worrying about that? It’s his fault for looking so weak that he got hit by a cat.
“Close your eyes.”
While thinking in my head that he should take care of it himself, I found myself directly applying the disinfectant.
Is it because he looks so weak? I felt like my conscience would bother me if I left him alone. That’s why I’m applying it. The disinfectant.
Ryu Jeong-ha’s eyelashes, as he obediently closed his eyes, were remarkably long. How can a guy be like this? They’re even longer than a girl’s.
‘It’s rare to see a guy who looks like that.’
Strangely, I now understand what Kim Yong-woo had said.
“…Thank you.”
Ryu Jeong-ha said as the treatment finished. I could sense his cautiousness, carefully choosing even a single word to say to me.
What kind of feeling is this?
Before I could answer the question that suddenly arose, Ryu Jeong-ha left the staff room as if escaping from me.
