episode_0037

As expected from the week before the year-end party, I was extremely busy from Tuesday onwards.

I don’t know why I was so busy, but I was busy mixing and pouring the egg water like crazy for the scrambled eggs and flipping them over, and the owner was in charge of other menus besides the assorted sashimi, so he had me prepare the ingredients in real time.

There were also a few tables that showed up for a small year-end party without making a reservation.

The server at the hall often had to go over and carefully ask people who were very drunk and tended to raise their voices to lower their voices.

Fortunately, people were polite and the truth did not come out.

Even though I was so busy, Seyun would talk to me whenever she had the chance.

“Jinhyun looks so busy.”

“Jinhyun’s egg rolls are so fluffy whenever I see them, I want to eat them right away. Actually, I did that and my palate got burned last time?”

“There, while the male customers and the women were going to the bathroom, they were whispering to each other about who they liked. They looked like a couple.”

“Jinhyun, are you preparing pasta too?”

Wow, I was so annoyed that I gave vague answers and then just shut my mouth in the end.

I was deliberately keeping quiet and working, but when he started talking again, I opened my mouth, determined to ruin the mood.

But at that moment, Jonghyun hyung intervened.

“Seyeon, the hall and the kitchen are busy right now. If you suddenly startle Jinhyeon by talking to him, a big accident will happen. You’re handling fire.”

“I’m sorry….”

With just one word, Se-yeon’s spirits suddenly died down.

When Jonghyun saw that, he was embarrassed and tried to comfort her by adding a few more words.

Looking at that, it seemed like Seyun knew that she was pretty and was using it appropriately.

Sigh, in many ways, there is no woman as good as Yeonseo.

Whenever something like this happened, I thought of our saint who was home alone.

Ah, work is boring. I guess I should quit now.

It was unexpectedly rare for me to go out, but honestly, I was half-hearted about it.

Since the boss is so good at cooking, I was going to learn some of his cooking skills just by guessing, but I guess I’ll just do it for the year-end party season and quit around the end of the year.

I think that’s all I could do.

“Jinhyeon! That guest came last time.”

Jonghyun came towards the kitchen and whispered.

I glanced at the pointing finger and saw that the male customer who had served me scrambled eggs last time was here again with his girlfriend.

“I’ll do this and take it out.”

With the boss’s permission, I put all my effort into making scrambled eggs, just like I did when I made them for Yeonseo.

I added egg water and made the portion larger than usual, then I plated it myself and carried it to the table.

“Hello, I’m really sorry about last time.”

“No, I’m drunk….”

The customer was rather nervous because he had been scolded so much by his girlfriend.

“I told you last time that I would show you a different level of scrambled eggs, right?”

The couple’s eyes widened as the bright yellow scrambled eggs appeared on the table.

He took a bite of the hot thing and his mouth grew bigger, making a surprised expression.

“Oh… Oh my….”

“This is no joke. He put extra effort into making it because you two came.”

But, while I was happily looking at the two people who were admiring me, Se-yeon came next to me and bragged about herself.

The couple nodded absentmindedly and then drank their sake together.

It’ll be hot if you don’t cool it down with cold sake.

When Seyun was about to open her mouth again, I quickly responded with my usual smile.

“I’m so sorry about last time, so I’ll give you a small service. I’ll give you mochiri dofu made with cherry tomatoes pickled in plum and cream cheese. Please let me know when you’d like it.”

After bowing, I immediately turned around and went into the kitchen.

When I reported that it was handled well, the boss looked at the table and bit his lip slightly.

Well, I guess you haven’t copied my scrambled eggs yet.

Heh, I feel better for no reason.

But then I saw Se-yeon staring at the kitchen again and I felt depressed again.

Why on earth does he have such a happy face every time I ignore him?

A busy day is over.

We finished 30 minutes later than usual to accommodate the customers who were drinking late into the night.

The boss and I finished up the kitchen together, and Jonghyun took all the serving staff outside and explained about the year-end party reservation for tomorrow.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Thank you for your hard work. Go home early today and go to bed early. I’ll pay you your full hourly wage, so come back an hour or two early. I can’t do it alone.”

I was a little worried because the proud CEO was asking me to do it so openly.

“Even if I can’t make it, I’ll come an hour early.”

“Oh, thank you!”

You’re being very kind today.

Is that because I threw it away and said I was going out?

Since the CEO and Jonghyun are both working hard, I think they will really do it until the year-end party season.

As for the New Year’s party… do whatever you want.

I’m thinking of going on a long trip with Yeonseo to celebrate the new year.

“Brother Jinhyeon! Let’s go together.”

As I opened the door and came out of the store, the serving workers were just starting to disperse.

Ha-yeon, who noticed me, ran towards me quickly.

“Fall down.”

“Wow… Jinhyun oppa is worried about me…?”

How cold-blooded do you think I am?

“Seonyeon said she had somewhere else to go and went first.”

It was a welcome sound to hear.

I was feeling quite relieved as I was nervous about having to be on guard on the way home from work.

The two of them walk together.

It was just after 2 a.m., there were hardly any people around and all we could hear was our footsteps.

But strangely, his steps were slow.

It’s not me, it’s Ha-yeon’s footsteps.

“What’s going on?”

“Huh? Me?”

Ha-yeon, who had been asking nonchalantly, soon sighed and her shoulders slumped.

“Haha… I failed the paperwork again today.”

When I ran my hand through my hair, it was quite stiff, which was unusual for Ha-yeon.

I guess the stress is beyond words.

“The company doesn’t seem to be that great. They don’t recognize you.”

“It was a mid-sized company that I knew just by hearing the name. I guess I was just not that good.”

“No way. You work so well at the store. When you ask someone to do something, they do it with a good sense. A company that doesn’t recognize that kind of thing is not a good company.”

“Is that really true?”

I don’t know.

It’s true that Ha-yeon has a good sense when it comes to work, but I don’t know if her sense is related to the job she applied for at the company.

But when your self-esteem is low, it’s not necessarily a bad thing to praise someone without thinking.

“Well, I’ve also been an interviewer for part-time jobs.”

To be exact, I had chosen a group to travel with in Askria.

There, Zenk and Arian were selected.

At that time, Yeonseo and Prislet were the only saints, and the assistance of the wise man Bargan was also essential, so their joining was naturally confirmed.

“There are many people who are good at their jobs. However, if they don’t fit the work culture or personality, they should be eliminated.”

“For example?”

“For example, I was an applicant who worked very quickly, but the position required me to be thorough even if the place I was assigned to was slow. If I made a mistake after finishing everything, I had to take everything apart and reassemble it.”

That was the wizard.

It was necessary to cast magic using magic circuits and formulas, and although it was fast, there were some who had a misfire or misfire one out of ten times.

Arian was slightly slower than him, but he passed by bringing his own formula and demonstrating simple yet effective magic.

Jenk just did well on his own.

There was no need to explain it at length.

“I see. Then I guess I wasn’t the right fit for that company.”

I don’t know that either.

Because I didn’t even see how Ha-yeon wrote her personal statement.

No matter how well you do your job, if you can’t express yourself properly on that small piece of paper, you won’t be given the opportunity to be interviewed.

The reality these days is that even part-time jobs don’t call you unless you properly demonstrate your career and determination.

At least that’s what I meant.

“This is already the 12th time.”

Ha-yeon let out a deep sigh.

“Am I doing well?”

“You’re working hard, right?”

“I don’t know if you’re working hard. People who really work hard work hard, working all night, writing resumes, getting certifications, and building up their resumes, but I’m busy going home and sleeping after work.”

At those words, I stared at Ha-yeon.

“Working hard doesn’t mean giving it your all every moment.”

“Yes? Working hard means doing your best every day.”

I flatly denied it.

“Hard work means striving to achieve results while maintaining above-average condition anytime, anywhere.”

“Um…what are you trying to say?”

By the way, I really hate coming in like this.

I hate it when people try to organize things while building up, but then they nag me to give them an answer right away.

“Doing your best every day, every moment means pouring out all the energy a person has. If you do that, the energy you expend won’t be easily recovered. In severe cases, you may even experience burnout.”

“Just wake up.”

“You say that doing your best is to reduce your sleep? How can you recover by sleeping only 2~4 hours a day? Your condition will gradually deteriorate, and things that were easy will become difficult. It’s like a marathon. It’s doable at first, but if you keep running without resting, at some point you’ll start running the same way, but that itself will become difficult. The important thing is to adjust so that you can finish without losing your pace.”

“Uh…so what is hard work?”

It was just a pointless rant.

I feel stressed because I asked first.

To be honest, I already regretted it because I realized that I was taking it too seriously.

“I say that hard work is maintaining a state where you can run without any major problems until you reach your goal.”

“If you look at it that way, just resting and doing nothing is also considered hard work? Because you can manage your condition.”

“You said it was a marathon. A marathon is a marathon if you run it. How can you say you’re running when you’re just resting?”

Before he could say anything else, I quickly continued.

“You write your resume every day, go to work, and maintain a state where you can do your work without difficulty. That’s hard work, and that’s what you’re doing well.”

Ha-yeon stopped walking.

The part-timer brother, who had stopped at a point where the alley where they were separated was not far away, quietly felt pessimistic about himself.

“Working hard doesn’t necessarily lead to good results.”

“If you don’t work hard, you won’t be able to grab the opportunity even if it comes.”

Because I was always preparing and honing my skills, I was able to find the Demon King’s weak point and stab him with my sword.

Ironically, that attack was a type that I always had a hard time dealing with, and I ended up practicing that part intensively, which turned out to be the opportunity to finish off the Demon King.

“Even if I work hard, there is no guarantee that I will be able to seize the opportunity.”

“Then at least you can find another path without any regrets since you’ve tried it all the way to the end.”

“What if… it’s too late?”

“I wasted two years going to a college I didn’t even want to go to. Now I’m working part-time here and there and saving up money diligently.”

“Solchan… Old.”

I really want to hit him in the face.

“Actually, I wanted to do photography. I’m putting it in marketing, but I don’t really know what it does, so I just roughly followed the resumes that I passed, but it didn’t work out well.”

“Then find what you are good at, what you want to be good at.”

Somehow, it became something I said to myself.

Wow, that was really off-topic.

I don’t know what I want to do with my time, and I’m putting off figuring out how I want to draw a future with Yeonseo.

“What I can do well, what I want to do well….”

Ha-yeon, who had been mumbling a few times, raised her head with a better expression than before.

“I don’t fully understand, but I’ll think about it.”

There was no word of thanks.

And then, without even saying goodbye, he walked away on his own.

I thought it was because I had a lot on my mind, so I went home without thinking much.

Damn, I feel so ashamed. Who is going to teach whom?

As I entered the hallway with an uneasy feeling, Yeonseo suddenly ran towards me.

“Wow?!”

“You’re kind of cool, aren’t you?”

“Me?”

“Yeah, I heard what that part-timer said.”

How? Our saint could easily enhance her physical abilities like I could.

I feel like my hearing has been turned upside down after hearing my voice.

“You were like that back then too. I don’t know what I want to do, so let’s find out together until the end of this journey.”

That’s what it was.

Yeonseo hugged me even tighter and said.

“So I found it. Finally.”

“I just think I may have been a bit too over the top back then.”

“Not at all. It was hard to understand at the time, but in retrospect, I realized that what I said was not wrong.”

“That’s fortunate.”

I’m so glad I stopped being a useless, serious, and explanatory jerk.

“Thank you Jinhyeon.”

I heard a thank you message from Yeonseo that I had never heard from Hayeon.

As my heartfelt gratitude subsided, the self-loathing that had been surfacing in my head subsided, and I was able to carefully hug her.

“Are you hungry? Want to eat?”

“Yeah! I finished cleaning and laundry today? Praise me!”

Ah, home is the best after all.