episode_0013
by admin#13
“There, there.”
The pretty child next to the boss approached me cautiously.
“Are you really Yunseol?”
The girl continued speaking while cautiously observing my expression.
‘Like a cat.’
Isn’t this how people who see heroes usually react?
No. It’s not like I want that guy to treat me like this kid… Oh, I don’t know.
“Yes, that’s right.”
By the way, she is such a pretty girl that it makes me admire her.
You said that you were a newly hired part-time worker.
‘I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere… Ah.’
… That’s the kid who was walking with the boss last night. He was wearing his school uniform.
She looked like a younger sister, but did she come to help me with my work since it’s almost summer vacation?
“… That’s amazing.”
“Yes?”
“That’s right. You work part-time at your brother’s store. You probably want to play during vacation.”
Usually at that age, you’d be more interested in other things.
I actually don’t know because I started preparing to be a hero in earnest at that age…
“Aren’t you my brother?”
“ in?”
Oh, well, wait a minute. What was that yesterday?
“Then yesterday…?”
“Yes?”
“Oh, no.”
Hey. No way. We were just together for a part-time job interview…
‘Wait a minute. This smell… .’
Basically, when heroes gain this ability, their physical abilities also increase dramatically.
This of course includes the five senses, including the sense of smell… Thanks to this, Yunseol came to realize a rather shocking fact.
That’s right,
‘They both have the same shampoo… they smell the same.’
That’s not all. The fabric softener smells the same on my clothes.
The moment he realized that, the scattered puzzle pieces in Yunseol’s head began to fit together.
‘no way.’
When I thought about it, it was strange.
Just now, when I was loitering around in front of this store, didn’t those two come in together, looking friendly?
Part-time workers usually go to the store to work.
At first I didn’t think it was strange because I thought she was my younger sister, but if that wasn’t the case…
“Excuse me, excuse me. Are you two living together?”
“Huh? Ah… .”
The part-time worker continued speaking with a slightly embarrassed look at my question.
“… No? What do you mean? Why, why am I living with you… .”
Oh, my.
“Oh, I see… .”
At that moment, when my mind was becoming complicated due to the suspicious reaction of the girl,
The boss, who had been preparing food in the kitchen, returned.
“Tada. Watermelon hwachae is out.”
***
After that, Ji-ah, Yoon-seol, and I sat around a table with a watermelon salad in the middle.
‘… Hey. What happened between you two?’
It seemed like the two of them were talking while I was making watermelon hwachae… but the atmosphere was a bit strange.
““… .””
Ji-ah is like that, but Yun-seol seems to have lost her mind… Ah. I must be mistaken.
“I will eat well.”
“I’ll eat well… .”
After a while, while each person was eating the hwachae with a fork,
“Yeah, that could be possible… . No, but that kid is a minor. No, but if the two of you like each other… Ugh.”
She occasionally glances back and forth between me and Jia, mumbling something to herself that is hard to hear.
‘Is the vegetable dish tasteless…?’
Looking at Jia silently staring at the watermelon floating in the bowl and continuing to fork over it, it doesn’t seem to be that.
What else should I say?
I should say her lips look like they’re quivering, but she looks like she’s been shocked by something.
‘Hey, I guess not.’
After that, the store was filled with no sound of conversation, only the sound of forks clanking silently.
“I enjoyed the hwachae. Okay, then. Goodbye.”
“Yes… .”
After that, Yunseol hurriedly leaves the store, saying that she has somewhere to go today.
As I watched that scene, I quietly asked Zia, who was feeling full next to me.
“Jia. What happened while I was making the flower arrangements?”
“… Yes? Not really. We just talked for a bit. Oh, he thought my brother and I were siblings. ”
“Why?”
“Well. … Did he really look like me and the old man?”
Jia has a strangely timid expression.
But I never heard anyone say I was ugly… Well, the comparison group is important.
If I had to divide it, I’d say Yunseol and Ji-ah are in the same dimension. I’d say I’m in the human world below that.
Anyway, it seems like nothing happened. I may have just been a little unwell.
I think so, and put away the bowl I ate the vegetable in…
“Ah. I’ll do the dishes after eating the vegetable soup.”
“It’s okay, I… ”
“Please hurry up and give it to me.”
“Okay… ”
“Quickly.”
… I was about to get it stolen by Jia, so I ended up just sitting at the table in a daze.
‘It won’t work. If I don’t establish the president’s authority soon…’
“Mister, please bring me the one fork left.”
“Yep.”
I’m not taking a step back at all. I’m just biding my time. Seriously.
After that, Gia starts washing dishes skillfully.
Dalgrak Dalgrak
Is this something you’ve done a lot of before?
It wasn’t my first or second time doing the trick of drawing just the right amount of water, turning it off, and washing the dishes.
“That’s right. Sir, you seemed pretty close with that hero just now… How did you become acquainted with such a famous hero?”
After Jia finished washing the dishes, she asked me as if she had just remembered.
“Huh?”
How did we become acquainted?
“Please give me the strongest drink in this store. Something that will make me completely drunk. So I can’t come to my senses.”
He was the first customer after I opened the store, but one day he suddenly came to me crying and his eyes were swollen.
“I don’t want to go home… ?”
Then, he got so drunk that he couldn’t move, so I took him home.
‘… you wouldn’t believe me if I said that.’
And it’s a bit awkward to tell other people what happened that day, because it’s a private matter.
“We’re not exactly close enough to know each other… If I had to be specific, I’d say it’s more like a customer and the store owner?”
“Hmm… .”
He didn’t seem very convinced, but he didn’t seem to have any intention of asking any further.
Afterwards, I turned my head and looked at the clock, and saw that it was pointing to 5:30.
‘… It’s already this much time.’
Jia followed me and checked her watch.
“Sir, what time do you open?”
“It’s 6 o’clock, but usually a lot of people come after 10 o’clock.”
Due to the nature of the cocktail bar, not many people come to dine there.
It’s not like we’re focusing on that in the first place.
Usually, people visit cocktail bars to finish off their night with drinks at other bars, or they come just to have a cocktail.
“Then, there is more free time than I thought… .”
“That’s right.”
In fact, it is uncertain whether there will be as many guests as last time.
Last time, there was a festival held nearby, so we received unexpected benefits.
“Sir. Do you happen to have a store promotion Instagram account or something?”
“… .”
I quietly took my old feature phone out of my pocket and showed it to Gia.
“Ah.”
Jia let out a small sigh, as if that alone was enough of an answer.
‘Because it’s an Instagram account… … .’
Well, I’m starting to feel the need to make something like that.
Nowadays, social media accounts like Instagram and Facebook are used to replace flyers and soliciting customers.
The problem is that I’m really bad at that kind of thing…
“By any chance, Ji-ah. Do you have an Instagram account or something?”
“… .”
Jia quietly hands me a smartphone that looks obviously old, with the LCD half-cracked.
“Ah.”
What should we do? It’s a total mess.
Should I ask Minah for a favor? Come to think of it, I think Minah’s department was related to film… I wonder if she knows much about this.
‘How do I explain that Gia came to live with us…?’
I don’t think there will be any major problems given Minah’s personality… but I should at least say something.
“Excuse me, sir. It’s almost 6 o’clock… What should I do?”
Oh, right. Now that I think about it, the reason I came to the store early today was to teach Jia, who was on her first shift.
‘…I completely forgot.’
“Jia. Do you know how to use a force field?”
“… Yes. I worked part-time at a convenience store, so I have a general idea.”
You saved me some trouble.
“Then, first of all, I have to calculate the customers’ bills and take their orders… and set the tables and clean up.”
“Hmm. That’s about it… .”
After that, while briefly explaining the store work to Jia,
“Hello. Wow. There’s a cocktail bar in a place like this.”
“Look. I said that because I saw it as I passed by.”
Before we knew it, it was opening time and customers started coming in one by one.
‘… I was worried that no one would come.’
Even so, there was only one group of guests, including a couple.
Considering that we didn’t have any guests for the first week, this is also a huge relief.
It may be that the effect of putting up a signboard after hearing Yun Seol’s words in the past is showing.
“Oh, a glass of Chi Chi, and some nachos… Also, oh. You ordered a glass of Donghae. Can I take the caramel bread that’s over there?”
“Okay.”
It was Jia’s first time, so she seemed a little clumsy, but it definitely helped.
After that, several more groups of customers visited the store, and business continued smoothly.
‘… I guess I can pay Jia’s hourly wage at this rate… Hmm?’
Tiring
A rather unusual customer came into the store.
He was wearing sunglasses, a mask, and a hat pulled down low.
Judging from the clothes he’s wearing and the outline of his body, he seems to be a woman.
‘I can barely see your face.’
It’s like a celebrity disguised to avoid the paparazzi.
… In addition, the red hair sticking out from under the hat and the aura of the person itself gave off the impression that he was not an ordinary person.
‘Model? Influencer?’
… No, if we really have to be specific.
‘It’s similar to the feeling I had when I first saw Yoonseol.’
Could that person also be a hero?
‘Hey, heroes aren’t that common.’
Knock knock.
Naturally, while I was keeping my eyes on her, she naturally sat down at the bar table in front of me.
‘There’s no need to check ID.’
If a minor were to come to a cocktail bar, they wouldn’t be so conspicuous.
“Jiaya. Menu.”
“Ah, ah. Yes.”
After that, she looked at the menu that Jia handed her, thought for a moment, and then ordered from me.
“A glass of catharsis.”
Catharsis?
“That, sir. Catharsis is a bit strong, is that okay?”
“That’s okay, so let’s do that.”
Catharsis, along with Faust, is a cocktail with a very high alcohol content among the alcoholic beverages available at cocktail bars.
The alcohol content of the raw material, overproof rum, is approximately 75 degrees, and even if lime juice and amaretto are mixed, it is still a whopping 51 degrees.
It’s not called Catharsis for nothing.
Well, it’s not strange to order it since it’s made for people to drink… but it’s also true that it naturally catches the eye.
But that doesn’t mean I can keep looking at it,
‘Hey. Don’t worry about it.’
I looked away from her and took the rum and amaretto from the cupboard.
“… .”
Without even realizing that her eyes were looking at me through her dark sunglasses.
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