Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Picked Up a Part-timer (2)
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'...It was my favorite umbrella.'
I'd told her to come by the bar if she wanted to return it, but honestly, I hadn't expected her to actually show up.
What I'd done was just self-satisfaction. A way to soothe my own unease.
If I'd truly been kind and good-hearted, I would've tried to offer that girl some real, tangible help.
If it had been that guy...
"... "
Maybe it was the weather.
Dark thoughts kept trying to flood my mind.
Not gonna happen. Fun thoughts. Fun thoughts.
Fun...
"Boss... this is weird. The ground's shaking. I think it's an earthquake...!"
"Pfft."
Suddenly, yesterday's events popped into my head, and I burst out laughing without thinking.
"Guess I should finish cleaning up the shop..."
And a little while later, after I'd finished tidying up the bar, I found myself in a huge dilemma.
"...This is bad."
How am I supposed to get home?
I'd given away the umbrella I'd brought from home, so now I had nothing to use myself.
Which meant I was stuck here unless I wanted to brave that rain...
It was supposed to stop before evening, right?
The sound of rain coming from outside seemed a bit weaker now, too.
No helping it. I'd just have to kill time here until it let up.
Where's the TV remote...?
Ah. There it is. Right next to me.
Beep.
The vintage-style cathode-ray tube TV I'd installed on purpose flickered weakly to life.
[Talent Kim Eun-woo's Daily Life...]
The first channel showed one of those trendy observational variety shows.
...Not really interested in how other people live.
Pass.
[You Are My Companion~]
Trot's getting old.
Pass.
I flipped through a few more channels, but nothing caught my eye, so I eventually landed on the news.
News is the best for zoning out.
"... "
The news covered recent entertainment gossip, incidents from around the world, political updates—all the hot topics.
As I sat there, chin propped on my hand, staring blankly at the screen,
A story that caught my eye a little.
Is that why she looked so down?
Hearing that now-familiar name on the news felt a bit strange.
What was it? Like we'd built some internal closeness after all that ordeal yesterday.
This wasn't Stockholm syndrome or whatever, right?
[In response, Hero Yoon Seol held a press conference to clarify. Reporter Kim Mi-young is here with public reactions.]
The screen cut to a rather sharp-featured female reporter asking questions, and a citizen responding.
They said they picked random passersby on the street... but this citizen was answering way too coherently. Almost suspicious.
Screw this.
Ding.
I turned off the TV without watching the interview to the end.
"I... I don't think so, probably..."
...Something felt off. Like overhearing gossip about someone I knew.
Hm?
Then I realized the rain outside had stopped.
"What? When did it let up?"
Good thing it stopped earlier than expected, but...
She never came to return the umbrella after all.
Ding-a-ling.
Right as I thought that, I heard the door open.
Turning toward the sound, what I saw was,
"...I came to return your umbrella."
A drenched girl holding a familiar umbrella.
"... "
I approached the girl, took the umbrella from her, and naturally observed her.
...She's in bad shape.
Her naturally pinkish lips were pale blue, and her soaked body trembled faintly, struggling against the cold.
"Come inside first. I'll get you some warm milk. Warm up a bit before you go."
"...I'm fine."
"Now."
I couldn't just leave her like that, so I brought her into the bar.
"... "
She hesitated a little but thankfully came inside without much fuss.
I guided her to the bar counter, then rummaged through the cabinet where I kept odds and ends.
Where's the blanket...? Ah, found it.
I'd prepared it in case customers got cold from the AC, but who'd have thought it'd come in handy now.
"Wrap this around you. Wait just a sec. I'll warm up some milk."
I forced the blanket on her and put a mug of milk in the microwave.
"... "
Whirrr. The microwave hummed away.
Soon, the nutty aroma of milk filled the air faintly.
I carefully took it out and handed it to the girl, who looked a bit sullen.
"It's hot, so sip it slowly."
"... "
She stared at the mug I'd given her for a moment, then
bowed her head slightly toward me.
...Feels rewarding.
Compared to her prickly reaction during our first chat, this was a monumental change.
She seemed to feel the warmth from the cup, then started sipping the milk little by little.
Glance. Glance.
Every sip, she subtly checked my reaction, like...
...A cat.
I wanted to watch her a bit more, but it was probably best to give her space.
"Finish that, warm up, then head out."
"... "
I left her there and opened the door to the break room-cum-storage.
Ugh, musty smell.
The break room-storage in the corner was made from leftover space when I set up the cocktail bar.
In case the business boomed and I needed to hire staff...
"Wonder if I'll ever hire anyone..."
For now, it was pretty barren, mostly just used as storage.
...Gotta deep-clean it someday.
Not today, though.
Still, it wasn't uninhabitable.
There had to be space to rest if I looked.
Those boxes look usable.
Heave-ho.
I rearranged the boxes into a makeshift bed and lay down on it.
"Haa..."
A reflexive yawn hit me as soon as I lay down.
Might as well take a nap.
She'll leave on her own.
With that thought, I drifted off.
"How'd it go?"
That day was when the results of his hero qualification exam came out.
Woo-jin and I went to his place to check, and
"Let's go grab drinks. Sigh. Maybe I should just be a bartender."
From his self-deprecating words, we could guess the outcome.
"Yeah, man. Heroes just get crap on TV all the time anyway. Doesn't look that great. Drink it off today and forget."
"Yeah, damn... Feeling down, but drinks are on me today. Let's go."
Anyone could tell he was forcing the energy, but I couldn't find the right words to comfort him... What did I say?
Probably something like,
"You'll get it next time."
A bit irresponsible.
Or maybe,
"That's good enough. Time to give up."
Or some other clichéd consolation.
What sticks in my memory is his face after hearing me...
"Thanks, Do-han."
Looking kind of sad—
"...Ah."
My head felt fuzzy. Like I'd had a dream...
Why was I sleeping here...? Oh right.
Meant to just close my eyes for a bit, but I conked out hard enough to dream.
Glancing at the clock, about two hours had passed.
She probably left by now?
I stretched casually and stepped out of the storage room, only to see...
"... "
The girl sleeping soundly under the blanket.
She crashed too, huh.
She must've been exhausted; dead to the world.
"Phew... Hoo..."
Her face relaxed, breathing softly, like she was having a good dream.
What to do? Wake her?
The rain had fully stopped outside, sunlight peeking through.
No real issue sending her off now, but... she looked so peaceful, I felt bad waking her.
Growl.
As I debated, my stomach rumbled.
Lunch was kinda light...
Felt like I hadn't eaten that long ago, but with all the activity and nap, it'd digested fully.
"Should I whip something up?"
The smell might wake her naturally.
In that case...
Not exactly cocktail bar fare, but perfect for now.
Amazing smell, easy to make right here.
That would be...
"Kinda been craving black bean ramen today... Good thing I grabbed some from the convenience store."
The legendary dish that triggers chain orders just from the smell at PC bangs: Jjapaghetti.
"♪"
As I hummed and boiled the ramen, the girl stirred and woke up, as expected.
"... "
Still groggy from just waking.
I set up the jjapaghetti nicely and placed it in front of her.
"...What are you doing?"
"Boiled too much ramen... Eat some."
She responded prickly, but her eyes were locked on it—body's honest.
"Why should I..."
Growl.
Right then, an embarrassingly loud rumble. Perfect timing.
"Ahh..."
"You sure you don't want any?"
Maybe embarrassed by the growl.
Her face flushed obviously, and—
"F-Fine, I'll eat..."
—she finally took the chopsticks I offered.