Woo-jin once said something like that before. With how soft-hearted and naive your personality is, what are you going to do later when you get a job at a company? Han-gyeom understood that Woo-jin was worried about him, but he didn’t particularly dislike his own personality.
“Han-gyeom, you’ve already memorized all the recipes?”
Cha Hae-jun, who had been watching closely as Han-gyeom prepared one of the harder drinks with fairly decent skill, asked in surprise.
“Yes, I’m confident when it comes to memorizing things.”
“It hasn’t even been that many days since you started working, and you adapt quickly too…… I think I really picked a great part-timer.”
At Hae-jun’s praise, both of Han-gyeom’s cheeks flushed red. He knew perfectly well why Woo-jin had said that. It was true that, at a glance, he looked like the sort of person who would need a lot of looking after, and he wasn’t exactly quick on the uptake either. But when it came to official work, it was a completely different matter.
In situations where making a mistake could inconvenience someone else, Han-gyeom knew how to move quickly in his own way.
On top of that, starting his first part-time job at Hae-jun’s café had been a huge stroke of luck. First of all, since it was a private café, people didn’t come flooding in like maniacs. There were busy stretches once in a while, like after lunch or in the evening, but Han-gyeom wasn’t alone. The owner, Hae-jun, really did stay at the café all day long and helped him a lot from the side so he could adjust.
“Now that the lunch rush is over, I can finally breathe a little. Han-gyeom, I’ll make you a drink. What do you want?”
“Huh? I’ll do it.”
“It’s fine, so take this chance to catch your breath.”
Cha Hae-jun, the owner of Café Onwol and a twenty-eight-year-old omega. He had graduated from Hankuk University’s Business Administration Department, worked at a company, then quit and opened a café in earnest, and it hadn’t been that long since the place had settled down stably. That was everything Han-gyeom knew about him.
He had a gentle personality and was incredibly kind, similar to Han-ul. Even when Han-gyeom made mistakes, he never said a single harsh word and instead encouraged him. He could have easily gotten frustrated whenever Han-gyeom stammered and fumbled, but he never showed any sign of that, which left Han-gyeom with a strong impression that Hae-jun was a real adult.
While Hae-jun was making the drink, a light flashed from outside the apron pocket. Han-gyeom quickly pulled out his phone and checked the text.
[Is the job manageable? I should go check out the place where Han-gyeom’s working sometime too.]
As always, the corners of his lips softened at Won-hyeok’s text. It had been about a week since Han-gyeom started his part-time job. During that time, he had gone on a few dates here and there with Won-hyeok, who had gone back to his family home for break.
[Yes! Are you getting ready for your trip okay, sunbae?]
And starting tomorrow, he wouldn’t be able to see Won-hyeok for five days. Apparently his mother had something overseas to attend to, and Won-hyeok was going with her. Five days wasn’t an incredibly long time, but when he thought about not being able to see him during that time, his chest felt a little tight.
“Here, drink.”
Just then, a chocolate latte piled high with whipped cream suddenly came into Han-gyeom’s field of vision. He quickly put his phone away and gratefully accepted the drink.
“Han-gyeom, do you have a lover?”
“Pardon?”
“Ah, is asking things like that rude these days?”
“N-no, not at all. And I do have one, a lover.”
When Han-gyeom shyly scratched his head, Hae-jun smiled as if he’d expected that.
“Well, a cute kid like Han-gyeom having no lover wouldn’t make sense.”
Cute. Even if it was a routine compliment, it was still embarrassing to hear.
“Your lover’s a beta too, then?”
“He’s an alpha.”
“Really?”
Looking intrigued, Hae-jun took a sip of his steaming coffee. It was an era where people dated and met regardless of secondary gender, but even so, it was still common for betas to date betas and for alphas to pair up with omegas.
“Dating…… must be nice.”
For some reason, a lonely expression surfaced on Hae-jun’s face as he said that. Han-gyeom didn’t know what to say, so he just fidgeted with his fingers, and perhaps noticing that, Hae-jun curved his lips.
“I was just complaining because I want to date too. There aren’t many decent alphas around me, so I’m still single.”
“Ah, um…….”
Before Han-gyeom could add anything, a customer opened the door and came in. Both of them set down the cups they had been drinking from and quickly got ready to work.
For some reason, it was crowded even in the afternoon today. Pulling espresso shots to make coffee, preparing desserts, restocking supplies in between—before he knew it, it was time to get off work.
“You worked hard today.”
“You worked harder, boss.”
“Ah, Han-gyeom. I won’t be at the shop tomorrow, you know?”
“Huh?”
Han-gyeom, who had been taking off his apron to get ready to leave, looked up in shock and asked back. Was he saying he was going to leave a part-timer with only one week of experience here alone? No matter how well he was adjusting, it still couldn’t compare to having someone there with him. His vision went dark for a moment, but Hae-jun quickly waved his hand.
“Don’t worry. I’m not planning to leave you here by yourself.”
“Then?”
“I think I mentioned it briefly during the interview, but there’s a younger friend I know who comes to help out whenever they have time or when something comes up for me.”
Come to think of it, he remembered. Hae-jun had definitely said that while they weren’t an official part-timer, there was someone who helped out too, so it wouldn’t be too hard.
“They know this place inside and out too, so don’t worry. If it comes down to it, you can just boss them around.”
“B-boss them around?”
When Han-gyeom asked in surprise, Hae-jun only laughed. He had naturally thought it was a joke, but somehow it didn’t feel like one, and that left him a little confused.
After saying goodbye to Hae-jun, Han-gyeom came outside and walked toward the bus stop. He considered calling Won-hyeok, but figured he was probably busy preparing for the trip, so he let it go. Instead, he started thinking about what to eat for dinner after getting home and washing up.
Even though he had found a part-time job, he still wanted to save as much money as possible until Won-hyeok’s birthday. There was no way he could repay everything he had received so far, not even close, but he still wanted to do everything he could for him. It seemed like he would have to just get by with ramen for dinner after all.
Still, what kind of present would make him happy? It felt like he already had just about everything.
He was walking along, deeply lost in thought, when a loud engine roar sounded from far away, and a moment later a flashy sports car pulled up right beside him and stopped neatly.
“Han-gyeom.”
As the window rolled down, Won-hyeok slightly leaned his head out.
“Sunbae?”
“Get in. I’ll drive you.”
Looking flustered, Han-gyeom hurriedly climbed into the passenger seat all the same.
“I was going to wait in front of the café, but traffic was bad, so I got here a little late. Still, I’m glad I caught you before you got on the bus.”
“I’m really glad too. I missed you a lot, sunbae.”
As always, the straightforward words reached him, and at the same moment the light in front of them turned red. Won-hyeok hit the brakes abruptly. His heart pounded hard—whether it was because of the light or because of Han-gyeom, he didn’t know.
When he glanced over, Han-gyeom’s face was red too. At the shy smile on his face, Won-hyeok unconsciously reached out and brushed through his hair. The soft texture settled so snugly in his hand that it was absurdly satisfying. By the time he had stroked it a few more times, the traffic light had already turned green.
“How’s work?”
“The boss praised me today.”
“……He praised you for what?”
“For doing well! He said I adapt quickly.”
The veins stood out on the back of Won-hyeok’s hand gripping the steering wheel.
“No, but why the fuck is he praising someone else’s kid, what the fuck is that supposed to be…….”
Han-gyeom, who once again didn’t hear the low mutter under his breath, kept chattering on about how it was such a relief that the boss was kind and how great it was that his first part-time job had ended up being at such a good place. The content was shit, but the chirpy sound of his voice was pleasant, so Won-hyeok left him alone.
Riding in the car was definitely much faster than taking the bus. Soon, with his apartment getting closer, Han-gyeom cast Won-hyeok a sidelong glance for no reason other than regret.
“Han-gyeom.”
The car slowly came to a stop in front of the building.
“I’m going to video call whenever I have time, so pick up. And answer your phone properly too.”
Come to think of it, video calls existed. At the method he hadn’t even thought of, Han-gyeom perked up immediately. Of course, seeing him through a screen would be worse than seeing him in person, but it would still be far better than not seeing his face at all for an entire week.
“O-Okay, I will.”
“If a stranger approaches you, just ignore them and keep going where you are going. If someone gives you some note or something at the café, don’t even bother reading what it says. Just tear it up. If someone asks for your number? Tell them you don’t even have a phone. Got it?”
“But why…….”
“Answer me.”
“Yes. I understand.”
Only when Han-gyeom agreed cleanly did Won-hyeok’s expression finally relax. Han-gyeom was just starting to get out of the car when Won-hyeok reached behind him, groped around for a moment, then handed over a paper bag.
“What’s this?”
“There’s a good lunchbox place near your apartment, so I bought you something. Eat that for dinner.”
When he peeked inside, he found food packed so generously it felt too lavish to even call it a lunchbox. Han-gyeom, who had been planning to save money by just boiling ramen at home, looked up in surprise.
“Make sure you eat properly.”
The last time they had been lying in the same bed and he had pulled back at the last second, Han-gyeom’s body in his arms had felt pretty thin. Part of it might be his natural build, but after holding that body once, Won-hyeok couldn’t help worrying that maybe he wasn’t eating properly.
When school was in session, it didn’t matter because he kept him with him and bought him all sorts of food. But after break started, he couldn’t do that. When they couldn’t meet, there was no choice but to take care of him like this instead.
“Thank you. I’ll eat well. But since you gave it to me, sunbae, I don’t know if I’ll be able to eat it because it feels too precious…….”
“Don’t say weird things. Eat all of it and send me proof.”
With Han-gyeom, it really did feel possible that he might just enshrine the lunchbox as it was, so Won-hyeok intended to at least get a proper proof shot. He gently stroked Han-gyeom’s hair, the man who was this happy over nothing more than a single lunchbox.
“You should go in now. Hurry up and get some rest.”
“Okay.”
Gathering up the paper bag Won-hyeok had given him along with his own things, Han-gyeom put a hand on the door handle. But instead of getting out, he glanced at Won-hyeok as though checking his mood.
“Um, sunbae.”
“Yeah?”
Sensing that Han-gyeom wanted to say something, Won-hyeok waited patiently. Resting his chin in his hand, too, while leisurely watching Han-gyeom hesitate.
“If you could close your eyes for a second…….”
“Close my eyes? Why all of a sudden?”
“Just do it first, please.”
“Okay.”
Won-hyeok let out a faint laugh and closed his eyes. He had no idea what Han-gyeom was trying to do this time, but it was far too entertaining watching him not to indulge him.
And then it happened. A soft, squishy sensation touched his cheek.
