Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Picked Up a Part-Timer (3)
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'...She's eating well.'
Clink clink.
Any hint of hesitation from earlier was long gone. The girl was devouring her food with such gusto that anyone watching would feel a warm smile tugging at their lips.
"... "
Even after finishing, she kept staring at the empty bowl, as if regretting there wasn't more. For the first time, she looked like a girl her age—and it was a little cute.
After the meal, an awkward silence settled over the shop interior.
Surprisingly, it was the girl in front of me who broke it, not me.
"...Thank you for the meal. And, um, the blanket too... thank you."
Maybe filling your stomach really does soften the heart.
Her attitude was worlds apart from when she'd first arrived.
"Here, I'll give the blanket back. And... hold on a sec."
She neatly folded the blanket and handed it over.
'Hm?'
Then she started rummaging through her pockets, like she was looking for something.
"Ah, damn... it's all wet."
What she pulled out were three crumpled thousand-won bills.
'No way...'
It couldn't be what I was thinking, right?
"This is for the ramen. Please take it."
It really was payment for the ramen.
Of course, I couldn't just accept it outright, so I waved my hands and refused.
"Nah. I made it without asking."
"...If you don't take it, I'll just leave it here."
With that, she actually smoothed out the bills and set them on the table. Some kind of stubborn pride, maybe.
"... "
After a brief back-and-forth, I reluctantly took the money she offered.
She gave a faint smile, looking satisfied.
'So she knows how to smile like that.'
"Get lost. I'm not in the mood to chat."
...Why had a kid like this been huddled in that alley?
In the end, I couldn't hold back my curiosity and asked her.
"Hey, can I ask you one thing?"
"...No contact info. I'm not into guys like you, mister."
What?
Why was she suddenly throwing a straight punch with her words?
Was this something she dealt with often? Well, with her looks, it probably happened a lot.
As I stood there dumbfounded, she tilted her head with a slightly puzzled expression.
"...You were really just gonna ask for my number?"
"No."
"Then what?"
Cough. I cleared my throat and carefully asked her.
"Not that. Just curious. Why were you out there like that?"
"Ah... "
Her face darkened the moment she heard me.
'Shouldn't have asked.'
"You don't have to say if you don't want to... "
"I ran away from home, but had nowhere to go."
Bingo. Just as I'd guessed.
A runaway teen.
"Oppa. I ran away again. Hehe."
'It was around then that Min-ah first left the orphanage and came to my place...'
For some reason, Min-ah and the girl in front of me started overlapping in my mind. The situations weren't exactly the same, though.
"Warning you ahead—no lectures. I'm never going back to that house... "
She bit her lower lip slightly, her voice trembling a little.
...This wasn't just a simple runaway.
"... "
Obviously, I couldn't pry into why she'd run away in this situation.
Instead, I asked something more important.
"...You got anywhere to go? Like a friend's place?"
It was 5 p.m. Even with summer days being long, the sun would set in a few hours.
"No... friends."
'Ah...'
That figures.
In other words, she had nowhere to go right now.
So...
"Hey, if you don't have anywhere, wanna do some part-time work here?"
"...What?"
"Simple stuff. Help with opening prep before we open, serve and clean tables otherwise."
Twitch.
For a moment, it felt like invisible cat ears perked up on her head.
"Rain stopped today, but they're saying it'll pour again the day after tomorrow."
"Ugh."
"And I heard... they're doing a crackdown on runaways this time... "
"Ah... "
Time to go for broke.
"Room and board included. Hourly wage—we can talk about it."
"... "
Every word I said was visibly weighing on her.
After agonizing over my offer for a while, the girl finally...
"...Please take care of me."
...nodded slightly and accepted. And so, that day, I picked up a cat... no, a part-timer.
"Oh, right. I still don't know your name. What's it?"
"...Lee Ji-ah."
Lee Ji-ah. No final consonant made it easy to say.
"Okay, Ji-ah it is."
"Ah, yeah... But, is it okay for me to work here? This... it's a bar."
"...Kinda iffy, but as long as you don't serve alcohol, it should be fine. Plus, hiring a minor without parental consent is illegal from the start."
I answered nonchalantly.
Cocktail bars were technically like regular eateries, similar to a minor working at a barbecue joint.
Strictly speaking, circumstances vary, but there's a universal truth in life:
'If you don't get caught, it's legal.'
"Ugh. True, but... "
She hesitated a bit at my response.
Truth be told, hiring this girl—Ji-ah—as a part-timer was a pretty risky move for me.
Underage runaway, to boot.
The shop had been busy lately, so I'd thought about hiring help... but it still felt too soon.
Even so, my reasons for hiring her were... first, I'd been through something similar myself, and so had Min-ah. I couldn't just leave her be.
And second...
"This is for the ramen. Please take it."
...I'm a softie.
'That aside. I said room and board, but... where to put her.'
I'd thought my empty spare room would work, but would she come along willingly?
If she misunderstood and thought I was up to something shady...
"Hey, mister... Can I start today? You said room and board, right?"
"Ah."
Perfect timing—she brought it up first.
"Today's our day off anyway, so tomorrow's fine, but... "
"...But?"
Screw it.
"If you're okay with it, come to my place. Got an empty room."
Ji-ah stared at me blankly, her expression frozen for a moment.
Then, a clearly flustered voice leaked out.
"...Huh?"
That evening, after the rain stopped, the sky turned into a palette splashed with paints.
The day's clamor faded under the spreading sunset,
the air thick with the scent of rain-soaked earth.
Thud thud.
"... "
Ji-ah and I left the shop and walked silently in the same direction.
'She's following more easily than I thought...'
Considering our first meeting, I'd braced for harsh words, but surprisingly, Ji-ah accepted my offer without fuss.
"Hoo. It'll be fine. Worst case, report to the cops... "
Whatever she was thinking, her face was a bit flushed as she muttered to herself.
More concerning was...
"That guy... shouldn't we report him to the police...?"
"Nah, probably siblings."
...the stares from passersby looking at me and Ji-ah.
'They're getting some weird ideas...'
Me in my disheveled clothes, her in her school uniform.
Two total strangers walking side by side was bound to look suspicious.
Especially since Ji-ah was pretty enough to turn heads, drawing even more attention.
And I'd stayed up late last night, looking even more haggard.
"...Better than going home, anyway."
'Why's she acting like that?'
As I fretted over the stares, Ji-ah wore a resolute, determined expression, like she'd steeled herself.
Before long, we reached our destination—a slightly rundown but beloved apartment, 25 years old.
"We're here."
"... "
No words had passed between Ji-ah and me the whole way.
...It was suffocatingly awkward.
Creeeak.
Opening the front door revealed the interior just as I'd left it that morning—pretty messy.
Usually not this bad...
'...Should've tidied up before leaving.'
A bit embarrassed by the state of the place, I glanced at Ji-ah, but her reaction wasn't bad at all.
"...Mister, you live in a nice place."
'Huh?'
Just a normal apartment, no?
As she looked around curiously, her expression wasn't dark like I'd feared. If anything...
'...She's kinda amazed?'
What kind of life had she been living to react like this? It piqued my curiosity.
"This is the bathroom... That's my room. And this one's yours, Ji-ah."
I showed her to the empty guest room I usually used for that purpose.
"...I can really stay here?"
She asked with a dazed look.
"Of course. Make yourself at home. Oh, check the dresser—my little sister's clothes are in there. Feel free if you don't mind."
Not my clothes, anyway... Min-ah would understand. She's a good kid.
'She left them here on her own anyway.'
"Rest up, then."
"...Huh?"
I quietly closed the door, leaving her standing there in a daze, still not quite grasping reality.
Meanwhile,
'...It's closed.'
Yoon Seol had mustered her courage after work to visit Do-han's cocktail bar and apologize for her earlier outburst.
Thud thud.
Seeing the [CLOSED] sign, she turned to leave when she spotted a vaguely familiar face on the street.
"...Huh? Isn't that the cocktail bar owner? But... who's the girl with him?"
The owner in his slightly rumpled clothes, followed by a schoolgirl.
'He has a little sister... They don't look alike.'
He's not alone, so maybe not the best time to say hi...?
Muttering to herself, she turned away with a somewhat deflated feeling.