EX Ch 12

As if possessed, I rose from my seat and approached the refrigerator, where I saw the “Life Four Cuts” photo strip of me and Yoon Hyeonjo stuck to the door. Why did I suddenly dream of Yoon Hyeonjo? I hadn’t dreamed of him at all since we broke up. Is it because I’ve been seeing him again lately?

No, but of all things, why a dirty dream. With an embarrassed face, I toyed with my flushed cheeks before sitting back down on the bed.

Right, even in the dream, it was on this bed. Back then we were together, but now I am alone…

The dazing reality made me feel strangely sentimental for no reason. It felt as though sleep would not come easily tonight.

⭑.ᐟ

The first thing I did after getting scolded severely by Yoon Hyeonjo was go for an interview at a convenience store near my house. I was nervous since it was my first interview in a long time, but I approached it with a dogged determination, fueled by the mindset that I had to earn money somehow.

“Welcome. This is Nine-Eleven.”

Thanks to that, I successfully started working at the convenience store this weekend. However, the convenience store part-time job I thought would be easy was much harder and more exhausting than expected. There were many things to memorize and countless tasks to organize.

“Take care.”

“…Yes.”

I confirmed that the customer had left and immediately picked up a mop to start cleaning the messy floor of the store. No, if I sweep and mop like this every day, it should be normal for there to be no room for dust to settle, so why is it that every time I turn my head, black footprints are stamped everywhere? It was truly a mystery.

After busily moving about to tidy the store for a while, I felt the phone tucked inside my blue vest vibrate. I stopped for a moment to check the cell phone, and a message from Woosik appeared on the rectangular screen.

Woosik-ie

What are you doing? lol I’m bored, shall we go on a date?

Date, my foot. I let out a small sigh and typed back a message with a tired face.

I’m on my period so I’m a little tired^^;;; haha Let’s hang out on a weekday

I kept it a secret from Woosik that I was working a part-time job for now. If I told him the truth, he would definitely ask if I needed money, and if I said yes, he would obviously ask what I was going to spend it on. Rather than confessing everything honestly, telling a lie like this might be the wiser choice.

Ah, I want to go out and play. I looked out the window where darkness had fallen with a childish face, but soon put down the mop and turned my steps back to the counter. As I sat down, a leftover roll of kimbap caught my eye. It tastes bad, and the grains of rice are hard…

Normally, I would have happily finished the day with a double shrimp burger, truffle fries, and a Dubai cookie, but to pay back Yoon Hyeonjo, I had to save on food expenses as well.

As I was munching on the tasteless kimbap with a gloomy face, I saw the phone placed on the counter vibrating. No, I said I can’t play! I scowled deeply and picked up the phone, seeing that a message had arrived from an unfamiliar number.

Don’t even think about idling around. Think about paying back the money by the end of the month

I had only read a single line of the text, but the sender’s face floated vividly in my mind. I thought of Yoon Hyeonjo’s pale face and silently pouted my lips to myself. Then, I hurried to type a message.

I’m working hard. And I will definitely pay it all back

The number 1 disappeared immediately, even before I could press the send button. Subsequently, a message arrived from Yoon Hyeonjo as if he had been waiting.

Where and what kind of work are you doing lol Can you really pay it all back?

Even though it was just a text, the tone of disregard was evident. I munched on the kimbap with its hardened rice and replied half-heartedly to Yoon Hyeonjo’s text.

Convenience store—! Don’t worry because I’ll even pull out the pillars of the house to pay you back

To be honest, I didn’t even have the strength to pull out a pillar. How on earth could I pay back such a large sum of money? I was looking at my phone feeling completely dejected when Yoon Hyeonjo quickly sent a reply.

The one in front of your house?

Yeah

Aha lol Good luck with your hard work

Hmph. Even the words telling me to work hard seemed like something tossed out just to tease me. I tucked the now-silent phone into my vest pocket and picked up a dry rag. It was to wipe the glass windows where customers’ fingerprints remained. To my eyes, they seemed clean enough, but the owner made a fuss about wiping them whenever there was a spare moment, so I had no choice but to keep moving busily.

I think I was stuck to the window, engrossed in cleaning, for quite a while. Around the time my shoulders felt stiff and my arms throbbed, the logistics truck arrived. When exactly can I rest? My worry was brief, as the Mister who stepped out of the truck began to unload boxes quickly.

“Alright, two boxes of room temperature, one box of refrigerated food, three boxes of alcohol. Confirming the quantity.”

“…Yes, thank you.”

It’s hard, it’s hard, it’s too hard. I put on cotton work gloves that I wasn’t even destined for and began to restock items here and there. Fortunately, it was a time when customers were sparse, so I could organize the inventory much faster than yesterday. Just as the organizing was almost finished, I heard the sound of the door opening behind me with a “ding-dong” and the presence of a customer entering.

“Welco…”

The moment I turned my head with a listless greeting, my eyes met Yoon Hyeonjo, who was standing crookedly with his hands in a black jumper. No, how did he get here? More than that, why…? It’s not even the day to pay back the debt yet…

“Why, why did you come?”

When I asked back with startled eyes, Yoon Hyeonjo, who had been looking at me with his head tilted to one side, moved his lips in a blunt voice.

“I came to monitor whether you’re working well, why.”

“……”

“Can’t I even do that as a creditor?”

There’s nothing stopping him, but still, it’s a bit uncomfortable for me when he shows up like this! I wanted to say that, but I just held it in, fearing he might get angry and tell me to pay the money back quickly. Since I stood still without saying anything, the guy stepped inside confidently and began to scan the display stands with relaxed eyes.

I watched Yoon Hyeonjo and then eventually dragged my feet to go inside the counter. How long had it been? The guy, who had picked out a bunch of snacks, dumped them in front of me.

“What is this?”

“I’m going to eat here, so ring them up.”

It’s strange, he could just go home and eat. Why is he insisting on eating here? Cruel. A cruel creditor. I muttered curses at Yoon Hyeonjo under my breath and began to scan the barcodes of the mountain of items. Beep, beep, beep. When all the calculations were finished, the guy, who composedly put all the items into a shopping basket, moved his steps to the table located in the corner of the store.

“Where is the microwave?”

“…Over there.”

It wasn’t a joke; he really seemed to intend to eat here. I watched Yoon Hyeonjo as he turned toward the microwave with dissatisfied eyes and sat down feebly on the chair behind the counter. As if he couldn’t feel my stinging gaze, Yoon Hyeonjo crammed a large hot bar, a sandwich, and even a triangular kimbap haphazardly into the microwave.

While Yoon Hyeonjo prepared his food, I toyed with the receipts on the counter, pretending to work. Is he really planning to come every day and monitor me? I huddled up at the ominous premonition when I heard Yoon Hyeonjo muttering to himself from afar.

“Ah, man. The loading takes forever.”

Perhaps Yoon Hyeonjo found eating alone boring, as he took out his cell phone and started a game. I peeked at Yoon Hyeonjo and quietly chewed and swallowed my remaining kimbap. Boop, boop, boop. Yoon Hyeonjo continued his meal leisurely while playing the game.

“Ah, the attack is terrible.”

“……”

“Ah, right, yeah, that’s it.”

As if he couldn’t even feel my gaze, Yoon Hyeonjo was engrossed in the game, even moving his head this way and that. He didn’t forget to satisfy his hunger with the hot bar or triangular kimbap in between. I stared intently at Yoon Hyeonjo and, as if possessed, began to scan his features.

I’ve felt this since we first met, but he really is remarkably handsome. His long, horizontal eyes without double eyelids were clean yet sharp, and his straight bridge of the nose was a shape you’d only see in a comic book. Moreover, what made Yoon Hyeonjo stand out even more was his natural frame. His shoulders and back were as wide as a door, and his coolly elongated limbs gave off an appearance as if the Creator had sculpted him with great care.