episode_0009

But the man left one drink, Mira’s portion, on the counter and walked out as he pleased. Mira stood dumbfounded, staring at the exit door he had left through, then shifted her gaze to the drink on the counter.

No one dislikes free things. If she didn’t take it, it would be used as convenience store inventory and sold, so it would be better for her to just keep it.

Mira muttered softly in the empty convenience store.

From that day on, the man visited the convenience store every day. He didn’t say much beyond greetings, always buying food that came with a free gift, then sharing it with her, saying he had too much.

If he had bought separate items to give her, she could have simply refused payment. But, annoyingly, it was a free gift, so she couldn’t.

Moreover, even if she declined his favor every time, there was nothing she could do if he just left it on the counter.

Eventually, after this continued for several weeks, Mira stopped refusing and simply said “Thank you.”

She received it with a greeting. Their relationship was just that, and there was no special progress.

The man never once asked Mira for her phone number or messenger ID. Honestly, Mira had expected that man, Yunyoung, to ask for her number soon.

Of course, she had no intention of giving it to him. She liked being alone as she was now and didn’t want anyone entering her daily life.

While working part-time at the convenience store, she had been asked for her number by male customers several times. Each time, not wanting to deal with them, Mira would lie and say she had a boyfriend, sending them away.

Mira wondered if the man only visited during the weekdays when she worked, or if he also came on weekends when she was off. She could easily find out by asking the weekend part-timer, but she didn’t ask, fearing it might lead to strange misunderstandings.

She even wondered if he was truly giving them to her without any ulterior motives.

Today, too, she experienced the same thing.

After finishing her convenience store part-time job and returning home, Mira showered and lay down on her bed. Then, she opened the bag she carried to work every day and took out a drink.

The gift Yunyoung gave her today was this drink.

Mira stared intently at the glass bottle, then buried her face in her pillow, blushing. A moment later, she lifted her face and muttered to herself.

Her voice was tinged with grumpiness.

She couldn’t tell if he was interested in her or not. He always spoke only like a customer.

Yet, what was with him giving her an item every day?

It would be a lie to say she didn’t care.

For what reason did he keep repeating such actions?

If the man’s purpose was to make her think of him by being so attentive, then, frustratingly, he had succeeded greatly. He didn’t say anything specific, so she was dying of curiosity as to why he was doing this. But asking him herself was embarrassing.

She was afraid that she might be caught realizing she was aware of him.

Was it foolish to assign meaning to Yunyoung giving her things…?

If Yunyoung was just doing her a favor without any special meaning, then she would be the only one to have misunderstood and been mistaken.

Logically, if he did this every time, it would be more likely that he had romantic interest in her. But Mira thought that perhaps he was just acting that way by complete coincidence.

It might just be a simple story: he just stopped by the convenience store he frequented, and it just so happened that she was the part-timer working at that time, so she received it.

She also tried to guess why he always chose products with promotional giveaways.

He might buy items with free gifts anyway, and then give them to the part-timer as a sign of appreciation for their hard work. She had seen such customers occasionally.

But doing it every day was still strange.

Was he giving them to curry favor with her?

A free gift, rather than being perceived as something separately purchased, is literally something that comes along with an item, so the recipient feels less resistant to taking it. It might be a way of expressing interest while pre-emptively blocking the option of refusal.

Perhaps it was just because of the violence incident that happened then, and he felt sorry for her. The more Mira thought about the man, the more complicated her head became and the more tired she felt.

If it was hard, she could just stop thinking about it, but that was easier said than done.

If she asked Yunyoung for the reason first, she could hear from him directly why he kept repeating such actions.

But Mira felt resistant because asking such a question could itself be seen as an expression of her being aware of him. She didn’t want anyone to read her inner thoughts.

Mira kept grumbling.

Mira didn’t consider herself particularly beautiful, but she also didn’t think she was lacking in appearance. When she worked at the factory, many men flirted with her, and while working at the convenience store, she had also experienced male customers asking for her number multiple times.

She had cut them all off without a second thought because she had no interest in the opposite sex, but now it was different. As if by magic, the existence of a man named Yunyoung was astonishingly affecting her.

In Mira’s eyes, Yunyoung’s appearance wasn’t bad, and his personality seemed responsible. Thinking normally, it wouldn’t be strange for him to have a girlfriend.

As her speculation reached that point, it gradually turned into a conviction that Yunyoung had a girlfriend. Mira’s mood plummeted.

From the next day, Mira decided to be needlessly harsh towards Yunyoung. Previously, when dealing with Yunyoung, her voice would unconsciously soften, but from now on, she intended to speak in a blunt tone, without any emotion.

Yunyoung, who came to the convenience store, was puzzled by Mira’s changed attitude, but tried to act as usual. As always, he bought a promotional item that came with an extra gift and intended to give one to Mira.

Yunyoung seemed to have thought Mira would accept it this time too, as she had for the past two months. But Mira refused in a slightly chilly voice.

Yunyoung looked at her face in confusion, but Mira continued speaking with her head slightly bowed, as if trying to avoid his gaze.

Just then, Mira realized something and quickly blushed, cutting herself off. She had unconsciously used the man’s name. Soon after, the man seemed to realize it too and smiled.

Yunyoung asked her cautiously.

Mira’s mind progressively went blank. She couldn’t think of what to say to avoid misunderstanding and to salvage her actions.

In the end, Mira’s thoughts became tangled, and she just blurted out this and that. She wasn’t thinking straight.

Just then, a customer came from behind to pay. Yunyoung stepped aside, gesturing for her to check out the customer first. Mira, with her face completely flushed, rang up that customer. During the process, mistakes followed one after another.

Not only did she press the wrong keys on the calculator, but she also asked the customer,

The customer burst into laughter, perhaps finding Mira’s behavior ridiculous. It goes without saying that Mira became even more embarrassed.

After that customer left, Yunyoung tried to talk to Mira, but again, the bell at the entrance jingled as another customer entered. This customer didn’t go to the display shelves but came straight to the counter.

While Mira dealt with the customer, Yunyoung stood awkwardly beside her. Mira knew Yunyoung looked like he had something to say, but customers kept coming, and there was no timing for him to speak.

Ultimately, the continuous stream of customers lasted until Mira’s shift ended 20 minutes later. Until then, Yunyoung had been sitting on a chair in the store, waiting.

After Mira handed over to the next shift worker, she left the store with Yunyoung.

Yunyoung spoke.

The two remembered what they had been talking about earlier and blushed.

Mira recalled how she had babbled earlier, saying Yunyoung had a girlfriend. She was so embarrassed she wanted to sprint away from the spot immediately.

Mira said, as if feigning ignorance.

The two continued walking in silence. They didn’t even know where they were going themselves. They just walked along the road together. As they entered a quiet park, Yunyoung spoke.

Because he called her name and stopped, Mira also stopped along with him.

Yunyoung scratched his head, looking awkward. But soon, he adopted a serious expression and gazed at Mira with sincere eyes. Seeing that, even Mira’s heart inexplicably fluttered.

Yunyoung took a deep breath, then spoke.

Mira’s face flushed hotly. Her ears turned red and felt hot, and her heart pounded.

She never thought it would come to this, but such a situation actually happened?

Even though she had intuitively sensed an unusual atmosphere, when it actually happened, her heart pounded violently.

She had grumbled about Yunyoung’s ambiguous attitude all this time, but she hadn’t expected things to progress so quickly all at once. Moreover, it was something she hadn’t thought about at all. It was such a sudden confession that she found it difficult to mentally prepare.

Mira didn’t have the courage to meet his gaze. She could feel that the other person was desperately waiting for an answer. But she couldn’t think of anything to say at that moment.

Mira kept giving ambiguous answers.

Mira tried to avoid his gaze by looking to the side, but she could still feel Yunyoung staring intently at her from the corner of her vision.

Her voice was barely a whisper, but uttering it required immense courage from Mira. Hearing that, Yunyoung rejoiced and grasped her hand.

Mira replied shyly in a small voice. Nevertheless, her heart was beating wildly. She felt as though she had never been so excited or had her heart pound so much in her life. She felt almost intoxicated with happiness, even having the illusion that her body was floating.

The two became a couple.