Nine
Nine
The next day.
Even after arriving at work, I couldn't focus on my job at all.
It was a good thing it was a slow day, or I would have been in trouble.
Seo Se-na was exceptionally busy this morning.
She, whose usual morning routine was just lounging around, was changing clothes for her interview today. She'd look at herself in the full-length mirror in the living room, decide it looked bad, strip down, and head back into her room in her underwear.
Later, she must have dragged out all her clothes, trying to mix and match them, until she finally found something that fit and let out a sigh of relief.
"Hehe, Oppa. I got it. I'll clean everything up before I leave."
Seeing the clothes scattered on the floor, Se-na hurriedly picked them up and took them into her room.
I snuck a peek through the open door and saw her tossing them into a plastic bin I didn't even know she had.
Since that room is the only space in this house that's purely hers, I guess she's using her head in her own way.
"What time is your interview that you're in such a rush?"
"9:30 AM!"
"That's really early."
I would have driven her if the timing worked out, but unfortunately, her interview time is later than my start time.
I told Se-na to do well on her interview, and she said, "Oppa, you do your best too!" as she waved goodbye.
Is that why?
Why I can't focus on work today of all days.
It's not even my interview, just Se-na's part-time job interview.
If it doesn't work out, she can just apply somewhere else and find a job easily.
"Jin-man-ah, you were like that in the meeting earlier too, you really can't seem to focus today. Is something wrong?"
"Ah, no, Team Leader-nim... I'll upload the report you mentioned right away."
"Oh, okay. Take your time and don't make any mistakes. It's a bit quiet today."
I'm tapping on the keyboard, but I can't get any work done.
It's been about an hour since the interview should have started. Is the conversation dragging on?
She didn't seem like someone who didn't know how the world works, so I wasn't worried about her getting scammed or anything, but still.
"Jin-man-ssi. The Team Leader and I are going for a smoke, want to come? We can grab a coffee too."
"Ah, yes."
I stand up at the words of my direct supervisor, the Section Chief.
The Team Leader and the Section Chief head to the smoking area on the first floor, not the rooftop cafe I usually go to.
I see not just the people working for our agency, but employees from other companies renting space in the building, smoking comfortably.
"Jin-man-ssi, is there something going on at home? You're usually good at your job, so it makes me a bit anxious when you're suddenly like this."
"Ah, it's nothing major."
"It's okay, Jin-man-ah. Tell Hyung, just talking about it can help you feel better."
Maybe it's because I haven't been able to focus all day.
They're worrying about me this much, so it's awkward to just keep saying I'm fine.
I debated how to tell them, then slowly opened my mouth.
"A close younger sister of mine moved nearby, and she contacted me saying she was going for a part-time job interview today. I'm just nervous about whether she got it or not."
Only the parts necessary to clear up the misunderstanding.
It doesn't matter if they fill in the rest with their own imagination, I'll just say enough to put their minds at ease.
Ah, of course, there wasn't a single lie in what I just said.
"Oh, is that it? I was worried there might be some misfortune at home, you punk."
"Both my parents are healthy."
"Oh, that's a relief, glad it's nothing serious."
"You rascal. Hey, hey, if you're done smoking, let's buy a coffee and head back. If a girl has the drive to come all the way up here from her hometown to settle down, she'll figure it out on her own."
I'm led by the two of them into the cafe on the first floor.
They have drinks similar to the rooftop cafe I usually go to, as well as others, but what I ended up holding was the most expensive Strawberry Yogurt Smoothie at the first-floor cafe.
And not long after, a message from Seo Se-na arrived on my phone: 'Oppa, I got the job! Starting tomorrow!'
- Congrats on getting the job.
Only after sending that message did the words on the monitor screen finally start to make sense.
And so, evening came.
In my bag, heading toward the parking lot of the mart near the office, were four bottles of soju in addition to my usual tablet and laptop.
When I arrived home, Seo Se-na looked at me with a smile she couldn't hold back.
"Ahem. Seo Se-na, official hair designer at Idam Hair, greets the landlord, Lee Jin-man Oppa."
"Yeah, sure."
Coming home from work, Seo Se-na's nose is held high in the air.
Her shoulders, which look like they might get even broader than mine, seem to be saying, "Acknowledge how proud I am of myself today."
"Oppa, just you wait. I'll wire you 800,000 won next month."
As Se-na points at me while saying that, I'm holding three bottles of soju I took out of my bag.
"Oooooh? What's that?" Se-na says, her eyes sparkling as she sticks to my side.
"Hohoho, don't tell me you're trying to celebrate me getting the part-time job?"
"Yeah. First experiences are always important."
"But what about the snacks?"
Se-na tilts her head toward the still-empty dining table.
"They'll be here soon."
No sooner had I said that than the intercom rang.
At the delivery person's request to open the main entrance, Seo Se-na runs to the intercom first, expressing her excitement by saying, "Oho! My heart is pounding!"
Soon, it's Se-na who hears the doorbell at the front door and brings in the food.
"Whoa, Bossam?"
"Eat up. I ordered plenty."
"Wow! Thanks for the meal!"
We pour the soju, clink glasses lightly, and take a drink.
I scoop two bowls of rice from the rice cooker, share them, sit down, and pick up a piece of Bossam.
'Bossam is all about the kimchi,' I think, as I wrap a piece of meat, rice, a clove of garlic, and ssamjang in lettuce with a piece of kimchi. There really is no better snack than this.
"It's so delicious, Oppa."
Se-na, who downed a shot of soju with me, picks up a piece of Bossam meat and says in a voice that sounds moved.
Then, suddenly, she starts shedding tears.
What the? Fuck, did I do something wrong?
"I'm just so happy... I've been drifting here and there, and this is the first time I've been celebrated in such a warm place."
It's not that I did something wrong; maybe it's just been a long time since she received this kind of kindness.
"Se-na-ya, have another drink."
"Okay..."
But contrary to her tears, she had a truly happy expression on her face.
At that moment, my phone rings.
"Hold on a second."
Usually, I reject most calls after I get off work, but this was someone I couldn't really reject.
"Ah, yes, Noona."
- Jin-man-ah, what were you doing?
"I was just eating dinner."
- Aha. Jin-man eats dinner really early."
"How about you, Noona?"
Was Ye-seo Noona drinking too?
Unlike last time, her voice sounds a bit relaxed.
- Just, I was curious what the man who rejected me was doing right now, so I called-
"Oppa, why didn't you just answer it? Why did you go outside to take it?"
Since I didn't come back in from the veranda after thinking I'd just take it quickly, Se-na approaches the veranda and calls me.
And since that sound must have been heard over the phone, Ye-seo Noona's voice cuts off.
- Are you with a woman, by any chance?
"Oppa, is that a woman calling?"
Both sides ask me at the same time.
Se-na, whose face is slightly flushed, seems to have figured out who it is after hearing the voice. She rushes over to me, saying, "Oppa, is that the person from that time? I want to say hi too!" and lunges at me.
I press my palm against her forehead to push her away and speak to Ye-seo Noona.
"Ah, she's a close younger sister I know. She just moved to the city, and she got her first part-time job today, so I was celebrating with her."
- ...A younger sister?
For a moment, Ye-seo Noona's voice drops heavily.
"Hello, Eonni! My name is Seo Se-na! Hehe, nice to meet you!"
"Se-na, be quiet for a second! Are you trying to show everyone you're drunk? Ah, anyway, Noona, I'll call you again tomorrow. Have a good night. Sleep well!"
I hang up the phone in a hurry.
Seo Se-na says, "Eonni! Good night!" but the call is already disconnected.
I have a bad feeling that some unnecessary misunderstanding is going to arise.
"Hey, you..."
"Whaaat, Oppa?"
"If you suddenly pop up like that to a Noona I'm keeping in touch with after a blind date, what do you think she's going to think?"
"Hmm, I don't know? Hehe."
That girl is definitely doing that on purpose.
I let out a sigh at Se-na's reaction, as she speaks with a playful smile, and send a message.
- She was just playing around. We don't have any relationship, so I hope you don't misunderstand.
Fortunately, a reply came back right away.
- It's just, I'm having a drink alone, and I miss you.
I stand there blankly for a moment, looking at the screen with the message that tugs at my heart.
This Noona, she said she was a university professor.
But she must still be the youngest level, so she's probably in a tough situation.
"Oppa, what are you doing? Come over quickly and have another drink."
The situation makes it hard to continue my contemplation.
"You did that on purpose earlier, didn't you."
"What?"
"Coming out when I was on the phone and making noise on purpose."
At my question as I sit down, Se-na pouts her lips and says.
"You're the one who left me sitting here to go take a call from another woman."
"That's because I'm in the middle of an after-date with someone I went on a blind date with."
"Ppuu. You said you went out that day just out of courtesy."
She helped me, and now she's acting like this?
A kid is still a kid, after all.
"Hmph, I'm going to sleep," Se-na says as she gets up, her back looking somehow full of dissatisfaction.
"Se-na-ya."
"Hmph, what."
"I don't know. Oppa is bad. Bleh, tongue out~ Hmph, I'm going in to sleep!"
I couldn't help but laugh at Se-na's cute, playful behavior until the very end.
Did she say her start time tomorrow was 9:30?
I really feel that not just anyone can be a boss.
To check if normal attendance is possible by setting the interview time to the start time.
'Smart.'
I roughly unzip the bag I left in the living room.
If it's a hair salon, she'll be using her hands a lot.
I place the hand cream I bought for Se-na on the tidied-up dining table along with a Post-it note, then go into my room to get some sleep.