episode_0023
by admin
***
“Ah. It’s so pretty.”
I don’t know if it’s because she successfully delivered the surprise gift to me, or because of the conversation we just had, but Zia looks quite happy.
Maybe that’s why.
“Mister. Do you have a favorite food?”
“Me? Pineapple Pizza.”
“… Why?”
On the way home, Jia and I ended up talking more than usual.
“Hwayoung… What did you do with that person while working as a manager?”
“Hmm. Just a driver’s job.”
“Lies. That guy’s eyes were dripping with honey… ?”
“I guess I drove well.”
“… I don’t think so. Oh, and there’s something else I wanted to ask… ”
Jia continued to ask me various questions, as if she was trying to resolve all the questions she had been harboring.
For example, things like your favorite foods, your disliked foods, your taste in movies, or your hobbies.
‘Was there always this much to say?’
Up until now, the only conversations between me and Jia have been about store-related matters and household chores.
Suddenly the spectrum of conversation broadened significantly.
What should I say? If there was an invisible wall between me and Zia, I should say that wall has completely collapsed now.
Seeing that made me feel like Jia had opened her heart to me, I couldn’t help but smile in pride.
“Why, why are you laughing?”
“Just. Because it’s funny. So what do you want to ask?”
“Ah. I’ve been curious about this for a while. How did you end up opening a cocktail bar, sir?”
“Huh?”
When I inadvertently opened my eyes wide at Gia’s question, she continued speaking as if to say, “Isn’t that so?”
“… Honestly, cocktail bars aren’t common. It doesn’t seem like the old man likes alcohol either. Oh, or not?”
“Um… Don’t laugh when you hear that.”
“Why is that?”
The reason I opened a cocktail bar is…
“… The bartender on TV looked cool.”
I answered Zia like that, recalling the memories of that day in my head.
.
Actually, I don’t remember the exact date.
At that time, I was just lying around in my room listlessly, killing time.
“… .”
After the guy died, he quit the police force and became a prisoner at home.
“Long time no see, John.”
“Okay.”
I turned on the TV because I hated the heavy silence that filled the room, and an old Western movie was playing.
“John. Give me a cocktail. Something really refreshing.”
“Okay.”
A bartender making a drink by shaking a shaker.
After that, the bartender just silently listened to the protagonist’s complaints, which was a trivial scene, but I thought it was really cool.
Not a hot movie star lighting a cigar, but a bartender shaking a shaker in front of him.
“… .”
After that, I went out for the first time in a long time and enrolled in a cocktail academy.
It wasn’t because of some foolish wish that I had listened to the guy’s grievances before he died, like the bartender in the movie.
I just wanted to pour his favorite cocktail on his tombstone later, even though he’s already dead.
Someday, when I can find him.
.
‘Well, after I actually opened the store, my motivation dropped a lot.’
It was only after I had Yunseol as my first customer that I started to feel motivated little by little.
It made me feel quite proud to see customers enjoying the cocktails I made.
After that, I also became greedy.
A small desire to someday become like the bartender who silently listened to the protagonist’s complaints.
“… Sometimes it’s okay to confide in someone. If it comes down to it, it’s okay for me too. Anyway, my manager’s work ends today.”
… Maybe the reason I was nagging at Hwayoung was because of that petty greed.
“Really?”
Of course, there’s no need to tell Jia that. To be honest, it’s a bit of a sad story.
“Uh.”
I nodded my head to her skeptical question.
“Mister… ”
Zia looks up at me with a slightly subtle expression.
I think it’s a little funny that he opened a cocktail bar because the bartender in the movie looked cool.
“It’s more romantic than I thought.”
“Huh? What the. I thought you’d laugh.”
Zia answers my words with a bashful smile.
“Ah. Originally, dreams are something that come suddenly.”
“Then, what is your dream?”
“… Don’t laugh.”
“What is it?”
“… Good parents.”
Zia spoke, glancing at me with a slightly shy expression.
‘I guess you think I’m going to laugh.’
Of course I have no intention of laughing.
… but when I look at that appearance, I feel a bit playful.
“Pfft.”
I deliberately smiled exaggeratedly as if to show off to Zia…
“I told you not to laugh.”
… I ended up getting hit once.
Jia’s hands were sharper than I thought.
After that, as we continued to chat about random things, Jia and I arrived in front of the apartment before we knew it.
however,
“Huh?”
The light in the apartment we live in was on. Didn’t you turn it off when you left?
Zia asked me with a slightly puzzled expression whether I had also discovered it.
“Oh, you must have turned off the lights before you left, right?”
“Uh.”
When we first left the house, it was around 5pm.
It was summer, so the days were long and there was no reason to turn on the lights at home.
“… .”
What. I guess I forgot.
“You think I heard a thief?”
“That’s right.”
It was a little uneasy, but it wasn’t something to be overly sensitive about.
Finally arrived at the 3rd floor.
That’s when Zia and I arrived in front of our apartment room.
Rustle.
““Huh?””
Beyond the apartment door, a faint but distinct presence was felt.
“Just now, was that the sound of human footsteps?”
“… Oh. I think that’s right.”
Zia, with a very nervous expression, grabbed my collar. What should I do? Is there really a thief?
“Should I call the police? Or maybe your parents are here… .”
Ah. Now that I think about it, Jia doesn’t know. I’m from an orphanage.
“I don’t have parents.”
“Ah.”
Jia’s expression becomes even more frozen. Her pupils are shaking wildly as if she has made a mistake.
I want to tell you that you don’t have to worry too much, but… this situation comes first.
‘Or is there anyone who will come to our house?’
Let’s think about it. First of all, it’s not Woojin or any of my other friends.
If it were them, they would have contacted me. They wouldn’t know my house password in the first place. And it’s a weekday. They wouldn’t be dead at this hour, so let’s pass.
There’s no one else who’ll come looking for you… right?
‘Then it’s really a thief… Ah. Wait a minute.’
Come to think of it, there is one person. Someone who knows my house password.
“Excuse me… ”
Jia still looks very depressed, as if she feels sorry for bringing up the topic of her parents to me.
I gently patted Ji-ah’s head, then took out my phone and dialed the number.
and.
Ring, ring.
As expected, the sound of a cell phone ringing can be heard from beyond the door.
“Whew.”
When I heard that sound, the tension in my body naturally released and a sigh escaped me.
And as soon as I called, Zia seemed to realize that the doorbell was ringing from beyond the door.
“Sir, do you know the person inside?”
“Uh. That’s… ”
The moment I was about to tell Zia who was inside,
Squeak.
The apartment door squeaked open.
“What the. If you’re here, why didn’t you just come in? Why did you call?”
Min-a, a younger sister from the same orphanage, appeared, her hair hanging down, as if she had just washed up.
“… Hmm?”
Mina greeted me with a bright smile.
Minah’s gaze then moved to Jia next to me.
‘ah.’
Come to think of it, did I say anything about Gia?
I clearly said I would tell you last time, but I seem to have forgotten… .
“Hey, who are you?”
Oh. I guess you didn’t do it.
***
After that, we came inside.
“… .”
There was a slightly cold atmosphere between me, Jia, and Minah, who were sitting around the table in the living room.
“So. Oppa. Who is that girl?”
Mina points to Jia with a slightly cold voice,
“… Then who is your sister?”
Jia, not giving in, responds.
After hearing Jia’s words, I opened my mouth to introduce who Minah was…
“Ah. This is a close friend I met at daycare… ”
“Be quiet, oppa.”
… but was immediately interrupted by Mina’s words.
Mina is usually shy around other people, but she seems to be a bit more shy today.
“Me? Didn’t my brother tell you?”
As she said that, Mina suddenly came closer to me.
Then, the fragrant scent of shampoo from my still-dry hair tickled my nose.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
Mina, who pressed her body against me to the point where it felt a little burdensome,
“Me? My brother’s girlfriend.”
He said and hugged my arm.
“Ji, what are you doing now?!”
Jia raised her voice, seemingly embarrassed by the sight.
‘Yes. He’s such a pure child that you could say he has good dreams from his parents.’
It seemed like it was a bit too stimulating for Gia, who was only nineteen years old.
“Whoa. I don’t know where that thief cat came from. Got it? If you got it, get out of here─”
Mina, who seemed to find Jia’s reaction amusing, said lines that sounded like they came out of a drama.
“… .”
The action I took toward Min-ah was,
“Aya! Why are you hitting me!”
“I didn’t hit you hard enough. Don’t joke around.”
It was a honey chestnut of punishment. Oh my. What are you doing at the age of twenty-three?
I said this to Gia, who was looking at me with a bewildered expression.
“What about your girlfriend? She’s just my sister. We’re from the same orphanage.”
“Daycare…? Ah.”
When I heard the word orphanage, I guess I had a rough idea of the situation.
Mina said to Jia, who had a slightly gloomy expression on her face, perhaps remembering her slip of the tongue earlier.
“So, who are you? Your brother’s girlfriend? Is this the kind of girl you like?”
“Yeah, girlfriend… No… What? ”
‘… You seem angry.’
Perhaps it was because she heard that she was that kind of old man’s girlfriend, but Ji-ah’s earlobes turned slightly red.
Since his skin was originally white, it really stands out.
I denied Minah’s words before Jia got more upset.
“He’s just a part-timer at our store who’s going to live with us for a while. He has some circumstances.”
“What’s going on? Wait a minute. There’s a strange girl’s uniform in my closet… Hey, are you a high school student? Are you crazy, oppa?”
Mina frowns and gets angry at me.
‘but.’
It’s not that I don’t understand Minah’s reaction.
Mina and I are technically strangers, but now we are almost like real siblings.
But if,
‘If Min-ah says she’s living with a high school boy who ran away from home…’
Hmm. I’m sure I would react like that too.
‘… What should I do?’
Anyway, things have become a little tiresome.
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