episode_0021

I’m being completely honest.

While working here, I never once had the irresponsible thought of waiting for the end of work as soon as I got to work.

I like cooking, and I’m just naturally good at doing chores like preparing food, so I don’t realize how much time passes.

Rather, I’m the type that gets anxious when I keep my body still.

But today, the moment I got to work, I immediately wanted to leave.

As usual, it was the second day, but I arrived in front of the store and sent a KakaoTalk message to Yeonseo saying that I had gone to work.

As soon as the message was sent, 1 disappeared and a reply came telling me to hurry up and come back.

What is this? My heart started to pound.

So, until I opened the door to the store and went in, I was in a pretty good mood for some reason.

I would say it feels like a refreshing start to the day.

I was full of motivation and was just coming up with ideas for everything from the groundwork to the menu for the serving staff.

“Hello.”

But after saying hello and closing the door, the atmosphere in the store was dismal.

There were three people, three people for that matter, sitting at the table.

And with a serious face too.

There was the CEO with a dark complexion, probably from overslept the night before, Jonghyun with his head down, and even a female part-timer with red-dyed hair.

What, there’s one more person?

That redhead… I can’t remember her name.

To begin with, except for Jonghyun hyung and Seyun, we only greeted each other and never really talked to each other.

You don’t need to know someone’s name when greeting them.

I tried to casually walk past the table and into the kitchen.

I had no intention of interfering in that for no reason.

I have no interest in what happened.

“Don’t go to the kitchen and sit down.”

“Yes.”

The voice was so sharp that I quickly sat down.

The only empty seat was next to the boss, so I sat there and Jonghyun glanced at me.

From what I’ve observed since yesterday, I don’t know about the boss, but this guy definitely seems to have something going for him.

“Jonghyun, say it again.”

Even though I urged him in a somewhat urging tone, Jonghyun just hesitated and didn’t open his mouth.

The boss got annoyed at her lack of confidence and pounded the table.

“ Male cubs stretch out and speak straight! ”

Jonghyun, who was startled, spoke in a crawling voice.

“Because of that incident yesterday… I wish Yoon Kang and Jin Hyun would switch positions for the time being… .”

“Absolutely not.”

The president completely cut off Jonghyun from speaking.

The boss is usually the type to listen to the end and then refute questions, leaving people speechless, but today he seemed to be in a really bad mood and quite angry.

“Didn’t you see me yesterday? You couldn’t focus properly, so you kept holding me back, and the scrambled eggs didn’t turn out as they should, so you complained to the customers, and on top of that, you even had to deal with the guy who was making a fuss, right? ”

“It was my fault for carelessly using Konowada’s service… .”

“Ha, I’m so frustrated.”

I got hung up on by my boss again.

“I’m not taking issue with Konowada leaving. How much time do you have that you don’t even notice the trouble in the hall? Aren’t you the hall manager?”

As the boss continued to scold him, Jonghyun’s head gradually lowered.

The president sighed and took a step back, perhaps feeling that he had gone too far.

“Anyway, Jinhyun shouldn’t be taken alone. Even if there’s a problem between the kids, the kitchen was slow yesterday, but the hallway was fast, so there were also backlogs of orders.”

“That’s right… .”

This didn’t seem right.

Jonghyun hyung is the oldest and also the manager, so scolding the younger guys in front of them, even though they are also part-time workers, was disrespectful to his position and reputation.

In addition, the two part-timers sitting next to us had no idea what to do and were just uncomfortable.

The CEO, who had said everything he wanted to say to Jonghyun, turned his gaze to the redhead sitting next to him.

“What’s wrong with Ha-yeon?”

I remembered.

The red-haired part-timer’s name was Ha-yeon. Kang Ha-yeon.

He was a cute kid who knew that he was cute and said everything he wanted to say.

“That’s… I also feel uncomfortable with Yoon Kang oppa.”

“Why you again?”

“Uh… .”

But women’s discipline is determined by women.

Even Ha-yeon, who would say things to older men, becomes discouraged and cautious in front of the boss.

As everyone who asked hesitated, the boss’s expression became increasingly distorted.

Fortunately, Jonghyun hyung came forward and started talking.

“Yesterday, Yoon Kang tried to grab Se Yeon but got yelled at by the boss, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

I suddenly remembered too.

Hey, when I ran out to pick up Yeonseo yesterday, everyone started talking about how I have a crush on someone.

All the compassion I had for feeling sorry for the boss who scolded me completely disappeared.

Surely no one would talk about that.

Ha-yeon came early because of her own problems.

“Hayeon said she was going to the same direction as home, so she went with Yoonkang, but on the way, she said something ridiculous.”

“What? Tell me that.”

As the CEO crossed his arms, Ha-yeon stopped hesitating and continued talking.

“He kept asking me all sorts of questions. He asked me how things were between him and Se-yeon. He said they seemed to like each other. He said they had met each other separately many times and were really close at drinking parties. He said, “Isn’t that Yoon-kang oppa?” Then he suddenly started talking about Jin-hyeon oppa… .”

Huh?

“Why is Jinhyeon there?”

The president happened to ask the question I wanted to ask.

Jonghyun also turned his head slightly, perhaps curious.

“Usually, someone approaches Se-yeon first and starts a conversation, but Jin-hyun oppa is the opposite. Jin-hyun oppa just sits still, and Se-yeon unnie goes over and starts talking to him first.”

“So?”

“Isn’t that all just to make you jealous? Then he asked me for help.”

This time, Ha-yeon’s face distorted.

It seemed like just thinking about it made him feel bad.

When I heard what happened next, it really made sense.

“Pretend to date me.”

Jonghyun hyung also raised his head in surprise, not knowing this.

I was calm because I believed that anything can happen in this world.

We were just pretending to date… Yeonseo asked me to do it too.

But Yeonseo asked me to do it for the purpose of getting rid of her hunting urges, not to make her jealous for the attention of other men, so it’s okay.

Huh? What if it was meant to induce jealousy?

I just thought about it for a moment and it made me feel extremely uncomfortable and slimy.

“This is fucking bullshit.”

The boss let out another deep sigh, leaning his back against the back of the chair.

Why are the number of sighs from CEOs increasing exponentially these days?

“What’s wrong with guys that age, they all think and act the same? They’re all self-centered.”

Then, when Jonghyun glared at his brother, his head flinched again.

But he immediately corrected himself as soon as he saw me.

“Ah, except for you. You just don’t care about people at all.”

Haha, yes yes, that’s too much praise.

—

The conclusion is that Jonghyun hyung manages Yoon Kang very strictly.

I think Jonghyun hyung was a bit upset because of what happened last night, but I hope he doesn’t ruin the mood at the store in any way.

If this mess continues for more than a month, then I’m going to hit you.

If it doesn’t work out, I’ll sell the house and open a pension with Yeonseo.

It was just a random thought, but it wasn’t bad.

Um… I don’t know if Yeonseo will follow me.

I still wish you would follow me.

I’m embarrassed to say this, but if Yeonseo said she wanted to be apart from me, I’d feel quite empty.

No matter how big the country is, it is not easy to fill the empty space of a roommate under the same roof.

As it so happened, I ended up making a late lunch today in place of the boss who was not feeling well.

This menu is gyudon.

However, I couldn’t call it my cooking since I just fried what the boss had prepared in advance and put it on top of rice.

Ha-yeon, who was having lunch here for the first time, kept saying how delicious it was and played with her spoon in turns.

Certainly, rice topped with sweet sauce tastes better when eaten with pickled vegetables.

Even though I secretly hated him, I purposely gave more meat to Jonghyun, who was always scolding me.

Hyung noticed that and the corners of his mouth slightly relaxed.

Don’t laugh now, because I’ll hold you responsible for spreading rumors about your crush later.

Despite her small stature, Ha-yeon ate all the meat and left half of the rice behind.

When I gave her a cup of water and two napkins because it seemed like she was done eating, Ha-yeon’s eyes widened and then gradually narrowed as she smiled.

“Seonni Seyun said that my brother is secretly funny and it was true.”

What the heck is this?

“Did I do that?”

“Wow! This is surprising!”

Ha-yeon almost dropped her glass of water when she suddenly heard a noise from next to her.

Ha-yeon hurriedly got up from her seat and asked the intruder with a stinging face.

“Sister Se-yeon! When did you come?”

“Just now!”

I felt uncomfortable with Se-yeon standing there smiling brightly.

That smile, doesn’t it feel like my sales smile?

That’s why people didn’t approach me.

I had an unexpected moment of self-reflection.

“I’ll clean it up.”

“Just a minute.”

As I was trying to leave with the dishes I had finished eating from, Seyun grabbed my shoulder and held me down.

“Why? Why?”

I wondered why he was like that, so I deliberately stared at him, and that uncomfortable smile became even brighter.

It’s ominous.

I have seen this smile before.

Right during my college days.

“Hello! … Huh?”

At this very moment, Yoon Kang and other part-timers opened the door and came in.

Yoon Kang, who had been greeting us cheerfully and loudly, stopped when he saw me sitting down and Se Yeon pressing down on my shoulder.

Then other part-timers started peeking out.

In front of a talkative and troublesome audience, Se-yeon asked me calmly.

“Jinhyeon-ah, I sent you a KakaoTalk message, why didn’t you see it?”

What the hell are you talking about? Why should I watch this?

I can feel people’s eyes gathering.

Even the boss was looking this way with a stern face.

This… is so unpleasant?