Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Thief Cat
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"Ah. So pretty."
Whether it was because she'd successfully delivered the surprise gift to me, or thanks to the conversation we'd just had, I couldn't say. But Ji-ah looked to be in quite a good mood.
Was that why?
"Mister. Got any favorite foods?"
"Me? Pineapple pizza."
"...Why?"
On the way home, Ji-ah and I ended up chatting far more than usual.
"Hwa-young... What did you do while working as her manager?"
"Hm. Just drove her around."
"Liar. Her eyes were practically dripping with honey..."
"Guess I was just a good driver."
"...Doesn't seem like it. Oh, and there's something else I wanted to ask..."
Ji-ah seemed determined to clear up all the curiosities she'd been harboring, firing off one question after another.
Things like my favorite foods or foods I hated, movie preferences, everyday hobbies, that sort of stuff.
Was she always this talkative?
Until now, our conversations had mostly been about shop business or household chores.
Suddenly, the scope of our talks had broadened dramatically.
How should I put it? If there'd been some invisible wall between Ji-ah and me before, it felt like that wall had completely crumbled now.
Seeing her like that, it was as if she'd opened the door to her heart for me. A swell of pride made me smile without thinking.
"W-Why are you smiling?"
"No reason. It's funny, that's all. So, what else did you want to ask?"
"Oh. Something I've been wondering about for a while. How'd you end up opening a cocktail bar, Mister?"
"Huh?"
I blinked wide-eyed at her question, and she pressed on as if to say, Am I wrong?
"...Honestly, cocktail bars aren't exactly common. And you don't seem like someone who loves booze or anything. Or... do you?"
"Hm... Don't laugh when you hear this."
"What reason could it be?"
The reason I'd opened a cocktail bar was...
"...The bartender on TV looked cool."
I gave her that answer as memories of that day flooded my mind.
.
Truth be told, I don't remember the exact date.
Back then, I was just lying listlessly in my room, letting time slip by.
"...".
It was after that guy died, after I'd quit the force and holed up at home.
"Long time no see, John."
"Yeah."
Hating the heavy silence filling the room, I'd left the TV on, and an old Western movie was playing.
"John. Mix me a cocktail. Something ice-cold."
"Okay."
The bartender shaking the shaker, mixing the drink.
It was nothing special afterward—just the bartender silently listening to the protagonist's gripes. But I thought it looked really cool.
Not the suave movie star lighting his cigar, but the bartender shaking that shaker in front of him.
"...".
After that, I stepped out of the room for the first time in ages and signed up for a cocktail academy.
It wasn't lingering regret over not listening to that guy's complaints before he died, like the bartender in the movie.
I just wanted to pour his favorite cocktail on his grave someday. Even if it was late.
Someday, when I could go find him.
.
Well, once I actually opened the place, my motivation tanked hard.
It only started picking up after Yoon Seol became my first customer.
Seeing her enjoy the cocktail I'd made filled me with pride.
That sparked some ambition.
A small desire to become like that bartender someday, silently hearing out the protagonist's woes.
"...Sometimes it's good to vent to someone. You can come to me if you need to. My manager gig ends today anyway."
...Maybe that's why I'd poked my nose into Hwa-young's business too. That little ambition of mine.
.
"For real?"
Of course, I didn't need to tell Ji-ah all that. It was a bit of a gloomy story, honestly.
"Yeah."
I nodded at her skeptical question.
"Mister..."
She looked up at me with a slightly complicated expression.
Opening a cocktail bar because a movie bartender looked cool? Even I thought it was kinda funny.
"More romantic than I expected."
"Huh? Thought you'd laugh."
She beamed at my words.
"Nah. Dreams can strike out of nowhere like that."
"Then, what's your dream?"
"...Don't laugh."
"What is it?"
"...Good parents."
She said it shyly, glancing my way.
Guessing she thinks I'll mock her.
I had no intention of laughing, of course.
...But seeing her like that stirred a mischievous urge.
"Pfft."
I laughed exaggeratedly, right in her face, on purpose...
"I said don't laugh!"
...and ended up taking a hit.
Ji-ah hit harder than you'd think.
After that, we kept chatting about this and that until we'd reached the apartment before we knew it.
But then,
"Huh?"
The light in our apartment was on. Had we forgotten to turn it off?
Ji-ah noticed it too and gave me a puzzled look.
"Huh. Didn't we turn off the lights?"
"Yeah."
We'd left around 5 p.m.
Summer days are long; no reason to leave lights on then.
"...".
Eh. Must've forgotten.
"What if it's a burglar?"
"Could be."
A bit unsettling, but not worth overreacting.
Soon, we reached the third floor.
Just as Ji-ah and I arrived at our door,
Rustle.
"Huh?"
A faint but unmistakable presence from beyond the door.
"That was footsteps, right?"
"...Yeah. Sounds like it."
Ji-ah, tense, grabbed my sleeve. What to do? Was it really a burglar?
"Sh-Should we call the cops? Or... maybe your parents are here...?"
Oh. Right, she wouldn't know. That I'm from the orphanage.
"N-No parents."
"Ah."
Her face froze even more, eyes darting in regret over her slip-up.
I wanted to tell her not to worry, but... the situation came first.
Who else could it be?
Let's think. Not Woo-jin or other friends.
They'd have called first. They don't even know my passcode. And it's a weekday—they wouldn't stick around this late. Pass.
No one else would drop by...
Then it really is a burglar... Wait a sec.
Actually, one person. Someone who knows my passcode.
"S-Sorry... about your parents..."
Ji-ah was still downcast over bringing it up.
I patted her head lightly, then pulled out my phone and dialed a number.
And then.
Ring ring, ring ring.
As expected, a phone ringing from inside.
"Phew."
Hearing it melted the tension away with a sigh.
Ji-ah caught on too—the ringing started right when I called.
"Mister, you know who's inside?"
"Yeah. It's..."
Just as I was about to tell her who it was,
Creeeak.
The door swung open.
"What? If you're back, just come in. Why call?"
Min-ah, from the same orphanage, hair still damp from a recent shower, dangling loose.
"...Hm?"
She'd been smiling brightly to greet me, but her eyes shifted to Ji-ah beside me.
Oh.
Had I mentioned Ji-ah to her?
I'd meant to last time but must've forgotten...
"Hey, you. Who are you?"
Ah. Guess not.
We stepped inside.
"...".
A slightly chilly atmosphere hung between Ji-ah, Min-ah, and me as we sat around the living room table.
"So. Bro. Who's this girl?"
Min-ah pointed at Ji-ah with a frosty tone,
"...Then who are you, sis?"
and Ji-ah fired right back, undaunted.
I opened my mouth to introduce Min-ah...
"Oh. She's a close friend I met at the orphanage..."
"Bro, stay out of it."
...only to get cut off by Min-ah.
She was shy around strangers, sure, but this seemed extra intense today.
"Me? Didn't Bro tell you?"
With that, she suddenly scooted right up to me.
Her still-damp hair tickled my nose with a fresh shampoo scent.
What's with her?
Pushing uncomfortably close, Min-ah declared,
"Me? Bro's girlfriend."
as she hugged my arm.
"Wh-What are you doing?!"
Ji-ah's voice rose in shock.
Well, yeah. Girl whose dream is 'good parents' is pure like that.
Guess it was a bit too much stimulus for nineteen-year-old Ji-ah.
"Hah. Don't know where this stray cat rolled in from, but got it? Now scram—"
Amused by Ji-ah's reaction, Min-ah spouted some soap-opera line.
"...".
My response to that was,
"Ow! Why'd you hit me!"
"Didn't hit that hard. Don't be a baby."
a solid knuckle rap. Geez. Twenty-three and acting like this?
I turned to Ji-ah, who looked stunned, and explained.
"Girlfriend, my ass. She's just my little sis. From the orphanage."
"Orphanage...? Oh."
She seemed to grasp the situation.
Noticing her earlier faux pas, Ji-ah looked a bit downcast, so Min-ah spoke up.
"So, who are you? Bro's girlfriend? His type is girls like you?"
"G-Girlfriend...? No...?"
...She's pissed.
Was it hearing she was 'this old man's girlfriend'? Ji-ah's ears flushed pink.
Her pale skin made it stand out.
Before Ji-ah could get angrier, I denied it.
"Just our shop's part-timer staying with me temporarily. Due to circumstances."
"What circumstances? Hold on. There was a weird girl's school uniform in my closet... Wait, is she a high schooler? Bro, you nuts?"
Min-ah scowled and chewed me out.
Fair enough.
Her reaction made sense.
Min-ah and I weren't blood, technically, but we were as close as siblings now.
But if,
if Min-ah said she was living with a runaway high school boy...
Yeah. I'd react the same.
...What now.
Anyway, things had gotten messy.