MW 45

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After having lunch at a nearby restaurant, Jaeha headed to a local mobile phone store to buy Yijae a new phone before going to the department store.

“Ah!”

Yijae suddenly remembered something and spoke with a flustered expression.

“I, the part-time job, I, I didn’t contact them…”

How could he forget this? With a surprised look, he blinked his large eyes, not knowing what to do.

“Don’t worry, I took care of it.”

“You did?”

“I asked a friend, so you don’t have to worry. Turns out his older cousin is the owner of Hidden.”

At the mention of an older cousin, Yijae thought of Chaekyung. He seemed close with Seungmin; so they were cousins. Now that he thought about it, their faces did look a bit similar. It was a relief that it wasn’t a no-call no-show. Still, he felt ashamed for skipping three days in a row when he had just started working.

Seeing him fidgeting in the passenger seat, Jaeha had no choice but to hand him his own phone.

“If you’re worried, you can call them yourself.”

“Is that okay?”

“I told you there’s nothing you can’t do.”

Jaeha said, lightly placing his hand on top of Yijae’s head. Yijae found Hidden’s number and made the call. The ringing went on for quite a while; it seemed they weren’t answering because it was still long before opening time.

He had left his phone and everything else at the main house, so he didn’t know the numbers of any of the hyungs at the bar or the owner. Frustrated by this, Yijae was about to take the phone away from his ear when he heard a voice.

—Hello.

“…Taehoon-hyung?”

—Is that you, maknae? You, are you okay? I heard you were in an accident, how are you! No, first, what hospital are you in? We couldn’t get in touch, so we couldn’t even visit. Do you know how worried we were?

They recognized each other just from their voices. From that moment on, a rapid-fire stream of words flowed out, making Yijae’s ear hurt, so he slightly lowered the volume.

“I’m okay. I wasn’t hospitalized or anything, I just had some things come up so I couldn’t go in. I can start working again tomorrow…”

“Work where?”

Turning his head at the low voice coming from right beside him, he saw Jaeha frowning as he continued to speak.

“Where do you think you’re going to work in that condition, Seo Yijae.”

There were only two situations when he called him by his full name: when he was truly angry, or when he was speaking sternly. This time, it was likely the latter.

—Hello? Can you hear me?

“Ah! I can hear you. Um, Taehoon-hyung. My phone is broken right now, so I’m on my way to buy a new one. Can you maybe text me your number and the owner’s number? I’ll call you back later.”

Feeling a hot gaze on his cheek, Yijae hurriedly ended the call. In the silent car, a vibrate, vibrate, sound buzzed twice soon after.

“You know that’s ridiculous, don’t you?”

“…Why?”

Jaeha was the first to break the silence.

“What kind of work can you do in that condition?”

“But you just said there’s nothing I can’t do…”

Of course, he knew Jaeha was opposing it out of concern for him. Even so, he didn’t want to give up such a good job. He liked the people he worked with, and the work itself wasn’t too difficult. His body hadn’t fully recovered yet, but he had worked just fine even when he was in worse shape before. Pouting his lips, he watched Jaeha’s expression and brought it up again.

“I want to keep working.”

“Haah. Yijae.”

“I’m going to…”

Yijae stated his intentions as firmly as possible. He didn’t want to whine like a child to a worried Jaeha. What if he kept opposing it? What if he wouldn’t let him… Yijae bit his upper lip slightly as anxiety gradually crept in.

Just as he thought. It seemed Jaeha was going to continue to object. As time passed, Yijae’s expression grew darker.

“Let’s adjust it to about three times a week. You don’t need to work this much anyway.”

“So, I can keep working?”

“I never intended to force you to stop. I was just worried because your body hasn’t fully recovered yet.”

“Wow…”

He had worried for nothing. And the reason he was trying to stop him was because he was concerned about his health. With a brightened face, Yijae gripped his phone tightly and spoke.

“I’ll talk to the owner. Thank you.”

“And one more thing.”

He didn’t doubt Jaeha. But the atmosphere had become more serious than expected, and Yijae swallowed hard.

“Can I give you a ride to and from work?”

“What? Sunbae-nim, you must be busy, you don’t have to…”

“It’s because I want to.”

Why would he want to do something so troublesome?

As if he couldn’t understand, Yijae tilted his head. But if it was what Jaeha wanted, there was no reason to refuse. Next to Yijae, who was nodding in agreement, Jaeha wore a subtle expression.

How much time had passed? After entering a department store that looked incredibly luxurious from the outside, Yijae looked around at the splendid interior and took a hesitant step back.

“There’s no need to be nervous.”

Noticing Yijae’s reaction, Jaeha intertwined his fingers with his. As they rode the elevator to the top floor with Jaeha, he could feel the stares of the people around them.

“Um…”

Yijae stood on his tiptoes and whispered in Jaeha’s ear, “How about we let go of our hands for just a moment?” But why was his grip getting tighter? It felt like Jaeha was conveying his firm resolve to never let go of their intertwined hands. In the end, Jaeha didn’t let go of Yijae’s hand until they reached the very top floor.

“It’s been a while, sir.”

Finally, they entered a place that, unlike a regular store, looked like an enormous room, and employees approached and bowed 90 degrees. Yijae flinched when he saw their gazes land on their joined hands, but Jaeha asked with a calm face.

“Yes, is everything ready?”

“Of course. We will start by showing you the S/S season collection.”

“Sunbae-nim…?”

What did he mean by ‘ready’? Hadn’t they come here to buy things they needed for living together? He had expected to look at things like dishes or furniture, but when they went a little further inside, the room was filled with dozens of outfits.

“Do you have hot chocolate?”

“Of course. Is there anything else you need?”

“That will be all.”

With practiced steps, Jaeha led Yijae to the sofa in the center and, placing the snacks on the table in front of him, said. As Yijae blinked and looked around, Jaeha popped a cookie with a rich buttery scent into his mouth and smiled, his eyes crinkling.

He had heard that department stores don’t have windows, and he couldn’t tell how much time had passed. So this is why he had fed him so much earlier.

Even though he wasn’t working, Yijae suddenly felt like he wanted to go home and lie down right away.