Chapter 61: A Boss’s Day Off

After returning the arm covers and handing over the signed filming permit,

I wandered around the tower before heading to the food court for a slightly late lunch.

With a variety of cuisines Korean, Japanese, Chinese,

and Western the food court was always a place of exciting choices.

But today, nothing seemed appealing.

‘I’m hungry, but…’

I had no appetite.

It took me a moment to figure out why. Realization dawned: Jinhyang and Yoon Bora weren’t around today.

I always ate lunch with them.

‘I don’t want to eat alone.’

Since my transformation, I hadn’t once eaten by myself.

Now, faced with the prospect, a dull ache settled in my chest.

‘I’ll just skip lunch and eat more for dinner.’

Resolving to leave, I turned away from the food court when a familiar voice called out.

“Harang!”

There she was Raxy Bora, waving at me energetically as she approached.

“Ah! Raxy!”

I waved back, though I felt the telltale jingling of the bell on my tail.

It must have been wagging uncontrollably again.

Embarrassing as it was, I couldn’t will it to stop.

Restraining my tail was like trying to stop breathing utterly unnatural.

“Harang, are you here for lunch?”

“Well, I was… Oh, Raxy, have you eaten yet?”

“Yep! I already ate!”

“Oh…”

Disappointment welled up.

I’d hoped she might join me, but it seemed I was doomed to skip lunch after all.

“Harang, what’s wrong?”

“It’s just… I thought we could eat together,

but since you’ve already eaten, I guess I’ll just skip lunch.”

“Wait, what?”

Her face froze at my words, her eyes darting toward me.

Then, suddenly, she clutched her stomach dramatically.

“Raxy?!”

“O-oh no. I guess I didn’t eat enough during lunch because of my diet! I’m so hungry now!”

She doubled over, clutching her stomach like she was about to collapse.

I quickly moved to support her, using my head and arms to hold her steady.

“Raxy, are you really that hungry?”

“Y-yeah. Harang, I’m sorry, but could you eat lunch with me?”

“Really? Let’s do it!”

If I could eat with her, I didn’t need to skip lunch.

I wouldn’t have to endure the loneliness of eating alone.

“So, what do you want to eat, Harang?”

“I’ll have fish cutlet. What about you?”

“I’ll just get a light kimbap roll.”

After placing our orders, there were a few minutes of waiting.

Raxy Bora went to grab the food while I sat with nothing to do, fiddling with my tablet.

“I’m glad Raxy Bora decided to join me for lunch,” I murmured to myself.

[What if Raxy Bora’s stomach bursts?]
[Food torture, lol.]

“Hmm?” I blinked at the comments on my stream.

Raxy Bora’s stomach bursting? That couldn’t happen… Could it?

Even though Raxy Bora only had a single kimbap roll on her plate,

some of the comments from the viewers were incomprehensible.

Sometimes, I wondered if they were even watching my broadcast.

“Sigh.”

Letting out a small sigh of frustration, I heard a thud! as my fish cutlet was placed on the table in front of me.

“Let’s eat, Harang.”

“Yeah, thanks!”

I thanked Raxy Bora and immediately took a large bite of the fish cutlet, savoring the crispy batter and tender fish.

“Is it good, Harang?”

“Mmm-mmm!”

It was delicious amazing, even.

I wanted to tell her that, but with my mouth full, I could only nod enthusiastically.

“It’s okay. You can tell me after you finish chewing,” Raxy Bora said, smiling warmly.

I nodded again and continued to eat diligently, cutting and chewing each bite.

Finally, I swallowed one piece and was about to reach for another when Raxy Bora spoke up.

“Harang.”

“Yeah?”

I dipped another piece of cutlet into the sauce and looked at her.

“Doesn’t that make you the most important person in the tower today?”

“Huh? Me?”

“Well, both Yoon Bora and Jinhyang aren’t here. So, wouldn’t that make you next in line?”

“Oh…”

I glanced down at the name tag pinned to my chest.

My title read General Manager.

Considering Jinhyang had entrusted me with tower management duties, Raxy Bora’s observation made sense.

‘My tower…?’

I looked up at the ceiling.

The height of the floors was so tall that even if I jumped multiple times, I wouldn’t reach it.

And there were over a hundred floors like this.

“Raxy Bora, does that mean I’m the boss today?”

When I turned back to her, Raxy Bora’s eyes crinkled with laughter, and she giggled.

“Yup. Harang is the acting boss today.”

“…!”

The thought of being in charge for the day sparked a strange sense of excitement in me.

I couldn’t afford to waste such a precious opportunity.

I needed to finish my meal quickly.

If I was the boss, it meant I didn’t need to handle broadcasting work.

That was part of the general manager’s duties, after all.

“Everyone, I have to fulfill my duties as the boss, so I’m ending the broadcast now.”

[No, don’t end it!!!!!]
[What am I supposed to do now?!]
[Holding my breath until you start streaming again. Huff!]

Despite the viewers’ dramatic pleas, I ended the broadcast without hesitation. They always reacted like this.

“Raxy Bora, since I’m the boss today, you have to listen to me, okay?”

I crossed my arms and looked at her, feigning authority.

“But I’m not a tower employee, so I don’t have to listen to you,” she retorted with a playful grin.

“Huh?”

She was right Raxy Bora was a streamer, not a tower staff member.

Raxy Bora had never worked in the tower, and I had completely forgotten that fact.

“Harang, I’m a guest. ”

“The customer is always above the boss,” she teased with a mischievous grin, causing me to stare at her in disbelief.

“…Raxy Bora, have you ever thought about getting a job?”

“A job at the tower?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Since I’m the boss, I could make you the vice president.”

As I said this, I clasped my hands together as if praying.

After all, as the boss, it would be a bit lonely without any subordinates.

“Well, how much would my salary be?”

“Uh… well, I… I don’t think I could pay you much…”

Even if I made money from broadcasting, it would be a fraction of what tower employees earned.

‘What should I do?’

Was I going to be a boss without any actual power?

As I sank into my worries, Bora spoke up first.

“Could you give me a special pass instead of a salary?”

“A pass?”

“Yep. A pass that lets me do whatever I want with you for a whole day.”

The idea of being at her mercy felt a little intimidating, but I trusted Raxy Bora not to treat me too harshly.

With that belief, I nodded without hesitation.

“Okay. I’ll give you the pass. But today, I’m the one holding the ‘Raxy Bora pass.’”

“Yup!”

Raxy Bora grabbed my hand and shook it up and down with excitement.

I laughed, shaking my hand too.

“So, what’s the boss going to do today?”

“Hmmm…”

What should I do today?

I crossed my arms and thought hard. Just then, my phone buzzed in my pocket.

Ding ding—

General Manager, a new Churu flavor just arrived. Would you like to try it?

“Oh!”

The message was from the pet supplies store.

I had my plan.

My first task as the boss was to go and try the new Churu flavor.

Normally, I would have jumped into Raxy Bora’s arms to go, but now that I was the boss, I had to resist that urge.

Today, I had to show some authority as the boss.

So, I chose the piggyback ride instead.

It gave me the perfect view from the top, looking down on everything.

Plus, I could feel Raxy Bora’s warmth against me, which was a bonus.

As the boss, there was no better way to assert my authority.

‘Mmm…’

However, I felt a little nervous about being so high up,

so I lowered my head and tightly gripped her hair, just in case.

“Don’t move too fast or I might fall,” I said.

“Don’t worry, Harang. I’ll move slowly so you won’t fall.”

Raxy Bora tightened her grip on my legs, providing me with a sense of security.

I gently petted her head in gratitude.

“Raxy Bora.”

“Yeah?”

“You should call me ‘Boss’ instead of ‘Harang.’”

“Ugh, alright, Boss,” she said in an exaggerated tone, almost as if she were playing the role of a servant.

I didn’t mind, though. I knew I’d be giving her plenty of work later, so I didn’t feel bad at all.

We walked for about five minutes until we reached the pet supplies store.

I pointed to the pet supplies store with my finger.

“Raxy Bora, let’s go there.”

“Do you mean the pet supplies store?”

“Yeah.”

With my ‘command,’ she opened the door to the store and stepped inside.

At that moment, the scent of catnip hit me.

It seemed someone had left a container of catnip open.

“Hmm!”

I quickly pinched my nose shut and breathed through my mouth.

Raxy Bora looked up at me, probably noticing how strange I looked.

“Harang, what are you doing?”

“Yeah. I’m blocking my nose because of the catnip smell.”

Since I was holding my nose, my voice came out slightly muffled.

“Catnip?”

“Yeah, catnip. Just a little bit of it makes my body tingle and gives me a light, dazed feeling. It’s pretty nice.”

Even the slightest whiff could do that.

I didn’t even want to think about what would happen if I buried my face in the catnip and rolled around in it.

“Hmm… if it’s so nice, why don’t you just smell it? I’m curious to see what happens to you.”

Raxy looked at me curiously, her expression questioning.

“I’d like to, but the boss strictly told me not to smell it. And I always follow the boss’s orders.”

“Oto…?”

Raxy nodded as if she understood,

and I tugged lightly on her hair, since my hands were occupied with holding my nose.

“Let’s head to the counter, Raxy.”

“Yeah.”

New Churu flavors how exciting!

My tail was wagging wildly, almost uncontrollably, as I was so happy.

It was more intense and faster than usual,

and since I was on Raxy Bora’s back, it meant my tail was rubbing against her back, too.

Sorry, but I couldn’t stop wagging it.

Once my tail got going, it was impossible to control.

As my tail and bell rubbed against her back, there was a strange noise.

Tap!

Raxy Bora suddenly stopped in her tracks.

“What’s wrong, Raxy Bora?”

“It… It’s undone…”

“Undone?”

I looked down at Raxy Bora, and her cheeks were flushed.

It seemed something had happened to her.