episode_0010
by admin#10
‘… You eat well.’
Thump thump.
After that, the girl who had been hesitant at first disappeared, and she ate so deliciously that it made the onlookers happy.
“… .”
Even after eating everything, she continued to stare at the bowl, perhaps because she felt a little disappointed with the amount of food. Now, she seemed a little bit like a girl her age, which was cute.
.
After finishing the meal, there was an awkward atmosphere inside the restaurant for a moment.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t me but the girl in front of me who broke the silence there.
“… I ate well. And the blanket too… thank you.”
I guess when your stomach is full, your heart also becomes at ease.
It was a clearly different attitude compared to the beginning.
“I’ll return the blanket. And…just a moment.”
Afterwards, she folded the blanket neatly and returned it to me.
‘hmm?’
Then he started rummaging through his pockets as if looking for something.
“Ah, shit… It’s all wet.”
Finally, what she took out of her pocket was three crumpled thousand-won bills.
‘no way….’
That’s not what I think, is it?
“ It’s worth it. Please accept it.”
It really was the price of ramen.
Of course, it was something I couldn’t accept straight away, so I waved my hand and declined.
“Hey. I boiled it myself.”
“… If you don’t accept it, I’ll leave it here.”
After saying that, she really spread out the money on the table and put it down. Is it some kind of stubbornness?
“… .”
After a brief struggle, I had no choice but to take the money she offered.
Then she smiled faintly, as if she was satisfied.
‘He was a kid who knew how to smile like that.’
“Get out. I don’t feel like talking to anyone.”
…Why was that kid doing that in the alley?
Finally, I couldn’t hold back my curiosity and asked her.
“Excuse me, can I ask you something?”
“… No contact information. I don’t like people like you.”
what?
Why are you suddenly being so direct with your words at me?
Isn’t this the first or second time something like this has happened? Well, I guess that’s what it would have been like if it looked like that.
While I was a little speechless, she tilted her head with a slightly subtle expression.
“… Really, were you going to ask for my contact information?”
“No, that’s not it.”
“Then what is it?”
Ahem. I cleared my throat once and asked her cautiously.
“No, I’m just curious. Why were you there?”
“Ah… .”
When she heard me, her expression darkened in an instant.
‘Did I ask for nothing?’
“If you don’t want to say anything, you don’t have to say anything… ”
“I ran away from home, but I have nowhere to go.”
As expected, the reason I had roughly guessed was correct.
You were a runaway.
“Brother. I ran away again. Hehe.”
‘It was around that time that Min-ah first came out of the orphanage and came to my house… .’
For some reason, Min-ah and the girl in front of me began to overlap. Strictly speaking, the situations were a bit different.
“I’m warning you in advance, don’t even think about preaching. I’m never, ever going back to that house… .”
She spoke with a slightly trembling voice, her lower lip slightly bitten.
… It seems like it wasn’t just a simple runaway.
“… .”
Of course, in this situation, it is impossible to ask why he ran away.
Instead, I decided to ask something a little more important.
“… Do you have a place to go? Like a friend’s house.”
It’s currently 5 o’clock. Even considering that the days are long in the summer, the sun will set in a few hours.
“Friends… None.”
‘ah….’
That could be the case.
Anyway, what that meant was that there was nowhere to go right now.
then…
“Hey, if you don’t have anywhere to go, do you want to work part-time here?”
“… What did you say?”
“It’s a simple job. Just help prepare for the store opening, and during the day, just serve and clean the tables.”
Snap.
Somehow, I felt like I could see cat ears on the girl’s head that shouldn’t be there.
“It stopped raining today, but…it’s supposed to keep raining until the day after tomorrow.”
“Ugh.”
“Also, I heard… This time, it seems like it’s a period of guidance for runaway youth… .”
“Ah… .”
Here’s the gamble.
“Accommodation provided. Let’s discuss the hourly wage.”
“… .”
It is obvious on the outside that he is agonizing over every word I say.
After that, the girl, who had been pondering my proposal for a long time,
“… Please take good care of me…”
In the end, he nodded slightly to my suggestion─I picked up a cat… no, a part-timer that day.
.
“And come to think of it, I still don’t know your name. What’s your name?”
“… It’s Lee Ji-ah.”
Lee Ji-ah. Maybe because there was no final consonant, it was a name that was quite easy to pronounce.
“Then I’ll call you Jia.”
“Oh, yes… But, can I work here? This… is a bar.”
“… It’s a bit ambiguous, but you just have to not serve alcohol. And hiring minors without parental consent is out in the first place.”
I answered sarcastically.
In reality, cocktail bars are classified as regular restaurants, so it’s similar to having minors work part-time at a meat restaurant.
Strictly speaking, the circumstances are different, but… there is a truth that runs through life.
‘If you don’t get caught, it’s legal.’
“Ugh. But that’s… .”
She seemed slightly hesitant to my answer.
In fact, hiring this girl in front of me—Jia—as a part-time worker is quite a risky thing for me.
Minors and even runaways.
The store has been quite busy lately, so I’ve been thinking about looking for a part-time worker… but I still feel like it’s too early.
Still, the reason why I want to hire that child as a part-time worker is… Nana and Mina also had times like that, so it was hard to just leave them alone—first.
And the second reason is,
“ It’s worth it. Please accept it.”
…because I am a bit weak-hearted.
‘By the way. You said you’d provide accommodations, but where will you let me sleep?’
At first, I thought I could let him sleep in an empty room at home… but would he really follow along?
If you misunderstand and think I’m doing something strange…
“Excuse me, sir… . Can I start working today? You said that accommodations and meals would be provided… right?”
“Ah.”
As it happened, they were the ones who brought up the subject first.
“Today is a day off, so you can start working tomorrow… ”
“… What are you doing?”
I don’t know.
“If that’s okay with you, come to my house. I have an empty room.”
Jia stared blankly at me for a moment with a frozen expression.
After that, a voice clearly showing confusion came out of her mouth.
“… in?”
.
On an evening when the rain had stopped, the sky was colored like a palette with paints spilled on it.
The hustle and bustle of the day subsides as the evening glow slowly spreads,
At that time, the air was filled with the smell of wet earth after the rain.
Thud thud.
“… .”
After leaving the store, Gia and I walked in the same direction without saying a word.
‘You’re following along more obediently than I expected…’
When I first met her, I thought I would hear harsh words from her, but surprisingly, Jia readily accepted my offer.
“Whew. It’ll be okay. If it’s urgent, report it to the police… ”
She muttered something with a slightly excited expression, as if she was thinking about something.
What worries me more than that is…
“Shouldn’t that be reported to the police…?”
“Hey, no way. They must be siblings.”
… It was the gaze of passersby looking at me and Zia.
‘I think there’s some kind of misunderstanding… .’
Me in a shabby outfit and Jia in her school uniform.
The sight of two people who looked completely different walking down the street side by side was suspicious enough.
People’s attention is drawn to Jia because she is a pretty girl who makes people on the street look at her at least once.
On the other hand, I looked even more haggard because I slept late last night.
“… Yeah, it’s better than going home.”
‘But why is he like this?’
Even while I was mindful of the eyes of those around me, Jia had a solemn expression on her face, as if she had made up her mind.
Meanwhile, we arrived at our destination─a 25-year-old, slightly shabby, but familiar apartment welcomed us.
“Arrived.”
“… .”
There was zero conversation between me and Zia during that time.
… it was literally a suffocatingly awkward time.
Squeak.
Finally, I arrived at my house and opened the front door, and this is what I saw inside.
It was still in a somewhat disarray, just like when I left the house today.
It’s not usually this dirty…
‘… I should have cleaned up a bit and come out.’
The somewhat embarrassing state of the house made me automatically start to look at Zia’s reaction… but surprisingly, her reaction wasn’t bad.
“… Sir, you live in a really nice place.”
‘uh?’
Isn’t it just an ordinary house?
Gia’s expression as she looked around the house was not as dark as she had thought. No, rather…
‘… I should say that he seems a little curious.’
I wondered what was the environment he usually lived in that made him act like that. It was a reaction that made me a little curious.
“This is the bathroom… That’s my room. And Jia’s room is here.”
Afterwards, I guided Zia to an empty room that was usually used as a guest room.
“… Really, can I stay here?”
Zia asks me with a slightly bewildered expression.
“Of course. Make yourself at home. Oh, if you open the drawer over there, there will be my sister’s clothes. If you feel uncomfortable, you can wear them.”
It’s not my clothes, but… I’m sure Minah will understand. Minah is kind.
‘Well, it’s like the clothes were left behind on their own in the first place.’
“Okay, take it easy.”
“… in?”
After that, I quietly closed the door, leaving her standing there in her room, still not feeling real.
*
one side,
[CLOSED]
‘…It’s closed.’
To apologize for her shameful behavior, Yunseol visits Dohan’s cocktail bar again after work.
Thud thud.
Afterwards, she saw a [CLOSED] sign and was walking back when she spotted a somewhat familiar person on the street.
“… Huh? Is that the cocktail bar owner? But… that’s your younger sibling next to you?”
The president is dressed in a slightly shabby outfit and a female student follows him.
‘You had a younger sister… You don’t look like her at all.’
I’m not alone, so it might be a bit awkward to talk to him…?
She muttered as she walked away, feeling somewhat dejected.
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