As Won-hyeok rattled off words like a machine gun without pausing even once, even the passersby going around them stole glances over as if they found it fascinating. Even if they couldn’t understand Korean, the sight of a tall, striking man talking nonstop was more than enough to draw attention.
The one most flustered under all those looks was Cha Woo-hee.
“E-excuse me… no matter how much you dislike me, saying it like that is a little….”
“I mean it sincerely.”
Startled by Won-hyeok’s calm voice, Cha Woo-hee nonetheless looked as though she had realized something. After all, having such a specific ideal type could imply something else.
“Could it be, Won-hyeok-ssi….”
Just then, Won-hyeok’s phone screen lit up. He quickly checked the text that had popped up.
[I only just saw your message, sunbae. I burned my hand a little, and I was too out of it getting it treated.]
In an instant, Won-hyeok’s face hardened coldly. Even Cha Woo-hee, who had just been about to say something, flinched in surprise. It was hard to believe this was the same person who had been smiling warmly and acting kindly the entire time just moments ago.
Won-hyeok hurriedly called Han-gyeom. And the moment the call connected, he shouted,
“Where did you burn yourself, and how bad is it?!”
His voice was so sharp and so loud that not only Cha Woo-hee, but even the pedestrians walking nearby, were startled.
“No… how did you touch something hot badly enough to hurt your hand?”
Not knowing what to do, Cha Woo-hee could only stand there like a stone statue. The moment she realized Won-hyeok’s attention had shifted to the person on the other end of that call, the suspicion she had felt earlier finally turned into certainty.
As if only now noticing the woman he had left standing there, Won-hyeok tossed out a farewell like he was saying he had to get going, then turned on his heel and strode away.
“What was that owner bastard doing while you were getting hurt? Did you go to the hospital? Huh? No, what if it leaves a scar on your hand? Put that owner on the phone.”
The farther away Won-hyeok got, the more agitated his voice became, making it carry even more clearly. Watching him, Cha Woo-hee let out a breathy laugh, almost like a sigh.
“If you had someone, you could’ve just said so….”
Her strength drained right out of her. She’d gone through all the effort of dressing up after finishing her performance, hoping to make a good impression, and it had all gone to waste. But if he was already taken, then that was the end of it, no more and no less.
And with that, Cha Woo-hee turned away without lingering regret.
***
“How is it? Does it feel a little better? It still looks like it must hurt a lot.”
“I put ice on it and applied ointment, so I’m really okay! It’s only a slight burn too.”
Even so, Hae-jun’s expression wouldn’t ease. A little earlier, Han-gyeom had touched the milk steamer and gotten a minor burn. Fortunately, Hae-jun had quickly brought burn ointment and burn bandages from the storage room, so they’d been able to deal with it before it became a bigger problem.
“Han-gyeom, I’ll count today as a full workday, so do you want to go to the hospital? You can go straight home after.”
“What? No, it’s okay. I’m really fine.”
“Yeah, hyung. Why are you making such a huge fuss?”
Right then, In-seok opened the storage room door and came in. He was carrying two boxes, as if he had been in the middle of organizing supplies. Leaning against the door, he looked Han-gyeom’s hand over from every angle with his eyes, then reassured Hae-jun that it seemed fine to him.
“Do In-seok, you were distracted again because you were busy chatting with customers, weren’t you? I told you Han-gyeom is still inexperienced in a lot of ways, so you needed to keep a close eye on him.”
Hae-jun let out a sigh, sounding frustrated. Thinking they were arguing because of him, Han-gyeom grew restless and looked back and forth between the two of them. But In-seok didn’t seem offended at all. He only joked about how Hae-jun had figured out he’d been goofing around chatting with customers.
Just then, they heard the sound of a customer coming in from outside. Hae-jun told Han-gyeom to rest a little longer before coming out, while scolding In-seok to finish organizing that stuff and hurry out, then left the room.
“That hyung is only strict with me, I swear. Han-gyeom, you’re really okay, right?”
“Yes, of course.”
“But wow, your boyfriend’s personality is no joke. He must’ve been really worried about you.”
It looked like In-seok had overheard Han-gyeom’s phone call with Won-hyeok earlier. Han-gyeom scratched his head, embarrassed for no reason. Still, he was secretly overjoyed because Won-hyeok had worried about him when he heard he’d been hurt.
“But hyung, you must be really close with the boss.”
“Huh? Well, yeah. Hae-jun hyung used to be my private tutor when I was in middle school and high school.”
That explained why they seemed so comfortable with each other. Hearing they’d known each other since they were young made the way they acted make perfect sense.
“That’s why he still can’t break the habit of trying to teach me. Ah, he’s calling me again right now. I don’t want to get scolded any more, so I’m heading out first.”
“Okay.”
Han-gyeom absentmindedly touched the bandage on his hand and thought of Won-hyeok.
“I want to see him already.”
Why did time feel like it was crawling so slowly? When Won-hyeok had told him he’d be out of Korea for about five days, Han-gyeom had thought five days would pass in no time. But that had been arrogant. This was the first time Han-gyeom had realized time could move this slowly.
***
It was the day before Won-hyeok came back. Just the thought that he might get to see him tomorrow was enough to make Han-gyeom smile no matter how busy it got or how many customers came in today.
“Oh, Han-gyeom. Looks like something good happened?”
In-seok came over beside Han-gyeom, who looked happy even while washing dishes.
“Huh? N-no, it’s not that….”
Han-gyeom smiled awkwardly. Maybe because they were seeing each other practically every day lately, he and In-seok had gotten close surprisingly fast. At first, Han-gyeom had thought maybe In-seok only came to help whenever Hae-jun was away, but that didn’t seem to be the case either. From the day they first met until now, In-seok had been showing up at the café and helping out consistently.
“Do In-seok, stop slacking off.”
“Yes, yes.”
Hae-jun came out from inside and scolded In-seok again today. And, as always, In-seok answered with that distinctively playful grin of his.
“Oh, right, Han-gyeom. Do you have time tonight?”
“Tonight? Yes, I do.”
“Then I’ll buy you dinner, so eat before you go.”
“Huh? What’s this, a staff dinner? Then let me join too!”
Even though Hae-jun had clearly spoken quietly, somehow In-seok heard him and came rushing over to whine and beg to be included. Hae-jun looked at him like he was pathetic, but he didn’t refuse.
“Then after work, the three of us can have dinner together. How about it?”
Han-gyeom was flustered. Was this how part-time jobs usually worked—having staff dinners and getting treated to meals? And since Han-gyeom was only working short-term, this kind of treatment felt even more surprising. At the same time, he felt good thinking that thanks to this part-time job, he’d gotten to know a lot of nice people.
“R-really? Would that be okay?”
“Of course.”
When Hae-jun nodded readily, In-seok shouted excitedly from the side, “Yes!”
Won-hyeok was finally coming back tomorrow. That meant tonight would probably feel slower than ever, and Han-gyeom had been wondering what to do about that, so this worked out well. If he had dinner with the two of them, then maybe this waiting time until Won-hyeok returned would pass a little faster.
Han-gyeom texted Won-hyeok in advance to let him know he’d be having a staff dinner with the people from his part-time job. But after Won-hyeok read it, there was no reply for quite a while. Han-gyeom started to worry a little, wondering if maybe he didn’t like that. Fortunately, a reply eventually came saying he understood and asking only where they’d be eating, which made Han-gyeom relax.
So Han-gyeom stayed excited the whole time, looking forward to his very first part-time job staff dinner, but an hour before he got off work, Hae-jun suddenly had something come up.
“Guys, sorry. Something came up at home, so I can’t make it to dinner tonight.”
Judging by how urgent it seemed, Hae-jun had already changed his clothes.
“Hyung, should I come with you too?”
“No need. I can’t go, but you stay and make sure Han-gyeom eats something good tonight.”
Before Han-gyeom could even say that it was okay, Hae-jun pulled a card out of his wallet and handed it to In-seok. Then, after leaving behind a firm instruction to take responsibility and make sure Han-gyeom ate well before sending him home, he disappeared in the blink of an eye.
“Uh, what should we do?”
Originally, it had been supposed to be dinner with the three of them, but now that the owner himself wouldn’t be there, Han-gyeom wondered whether it still even meant much as a staff dinner.
“Well… should we just eat by ourselves then?”
“Would that really be okay?”
“If hyung finds out I didn’t feed you anything, he’ll seriously chew me out. And he’s softer than he looks, so he might end up feeling bad toward you too.”
Han-gyeom didn’t want Hae-jun to feel guilty for no reason over the staff dinner falling apart because of him. In the end, with no other choice, he nodded when In-seok suggested the two of them go.
Following Hae-jun’s wishes, the two of them closed up earlier than usual and came out. They stood side by side in front of the traffic light. They’d decided to go to a restaurant In-seok knew. Apparently, there was a galbi place nearby that he was familiar with.
While waiting for the light to turn green, Han-gyeom texted Won-hyeok the location of the dinner. But Won-hyeok wasn’t reading the message for quite a long time. Was he busy getting ready to come back to Korea tomorrow?
“Waiting to hear from your lover?”
“Huh? Ah, yes.”
Just then, the light changed, and the two of them crossed the street side by side.
“But doesn’t your lover say anything? About you having dinner alone with me. I mean, it’s not like we planned it that way on purpose.”
“I already told him I was going to a staff dinner from my part-time job. And sunbae probably won’t really care. He said he’s not the kind of person who tries to control things like that.”
Han-gyeom recalled the last time he’d asked for permission to go to a freshman classmate dinner, and Won-hyeok had told him to relax and do whatever he wanted.
“Oh, now I’m getting kind of curious. What kind of person Han-gyeom’s lover is.”
Without the faintest clue who Han-gyeom’s lover actually was, In-seok tossed out the casual remark.
