The First Post
"Oppa!"
"Shinwoo."
"...What's this? The two of you?"
I murmured it while I watched Rahee and Hyunji come toward me, hands clasped. They'd met for the first time today, and already they looked like sisters. Women, honestly. Impossible to figure out—same in that world as in this one.
"Hehe. We decided to be sisters now."
"...That's how it turned out."
"Funny. Here I am working myself to death."
"And whose idea was it to go get a part-time job without telling anyone?"
"Hey, a guy gets out in the world, these things happen. Anyway, what did you talk about to get this close?"
"We badmouthed you, Oppa."
"...Played with me and put me back where you found me, I bet."
"Hmm, I wouldn't know. Unnie, did we?"
"Hmm. No idea."
The two of them burst out laughing at the same time, and a chuckle slipped out of me. I hadn't heard a word of what they'd said, but it had clearly gone well. Not knowing didn't matter. Finding out wouldn't have been hard, and there was no need for it anyway. Just seeing the two of them happy was enough. Their pretty smiles pulled a pleased one out of me before I even noticed, and I spoke up.
"I do know one thing, though."
"What?"
"Y-you wouldn't know, would you...?"
Hyunji actually leaned in, putting on a prim little act as she asked it back, while Rahee worried at my words and ventured hers carefully. Their personalities were written all over that alone.
"Congratulations. You're officially late."
"Ah! Oppa! I'll text you, then!"
"Ah! Shinwoo! See you later, then!"
Both faces flipped to panic at once as they tossed their goodbyes at me, and I smiled quietly and waved. It seemed to have worked out. Maybe I'd worried for nothing—though I still didn't think this one was on me. And there was no time left to sink any deeper into the thought.
"Welcome."
The moment they were out the door, another customer came in, and I bowed my head again to greet them and take the order. Even so, today was a little better. From around eleven there was a good half hour where I could catch my breath—though the moment lunch hit, that thought vanished entirely. Thanks to the lull, at least, I managed a bit of cleaning and got through the piled-up dishes.
"...The lunch rush really is the problem."
"...Tell me about it. Morning was fine..."
In the end we had no choice but to hang the break sign again today. The morning customers had been manageable; it was the sudden flood at lunch that did it. Most of the orders made it plain that people meant to have their whole meal here. The food threw our movements into knots, but somehow we got through every last one of them. If there was an upside, it was that the customers were all pretty forgiving.
"At least the cake moved today. That helped."
"Right. All you have to do is thaw it. The toast, though... I might be getting sick of that butter smell."
Nothing had actually run out, thanks to the stock the boss had put away yesterday. Stamina was the problem. Right in front of me, ice loaded with coffee clattered down into a cup, and I couldn't bring myself to reach for it. And there she was, forehead planted on the table, fidgeting with her fingers as she rubbed at her wrist.
"Ah..."
I quietly reached out and started massaging that wrist. Her face flushed a little at my touch, but she soon closed her eyes as if it felt good and laid her head gently back down on the table.
"It was Instagram again today, in the end."
"Looks like it. I really didn't think it would work this well."
"Do you think you can keep this up for a few more days?"
"...L-like you said, darling... I should adjust the days a little."
"Good call. Shall I post it now?"
"Yeah... Give me a second."
She drew her hand from mine with a reluctant look and stood. The boss fetched the smartphone from the counter, opened the social app, and on the screen turned toward me we talked this and that until we'd more or less settled the days I'd come in.
"So Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and weekends off?"
"Yeah. A lot of regulars come here to rest on the weekends. Sales aren't that bad."
Most people would have tried to push the weekend harder. The boss's character really was a little different from the usual. Maybe she was looking out for me. If I was being looked after, I figured I ought to pay a bit more attention myself.
"Got it. Oh—I didn't take any photos."
"...About that."
She hesitated, watching my face, then opened her gallery. At the photos that came up, I shut my mouth.
"...This isn't a hobby, is it?"
"N-no. Y-you working is cu—cute—no. You look cool."
"When on earth did you even have the time?"
"Just... whenever there was a gap."
They were all shots of me working, and every composition was from somewhere the boss would have been standing. My profile taking an order at the counter, my back while I cleaned, even me sitting down to rest a little while ago. Maybe because I hadn't known I was being photographed, they looked natural—and she was a pretty good photographer.
She really nailed this one.
The shot of Hyunji and me smiling, especially, was pretty even to my eye. I looked a little awkward in photos that had come out better than I expected, and I scratched my cheek before I answered.
"You take good pictures. Natural. Probably better that I didn't know."
"R-right?"
"From now on, just handle it yourself, Boss. Still, the first post should be the cafe, yeah? How about the outside?"
She looked at the hand that had been massaging her with a reluctant gaze, fidgeted her fingers, and spoke.
"Okay. I'll go take them, then."
"I'll come with you."
We snapped a few pictures of the sign and the storefront, came back in, and shot the menu and the interior. Back at the table, sorting through them, we were having a pretty good time. Two rank beginners who didn't know the first thing about social media clutched our heads, got the first post up, and were just putting up a second—photos of the boss, and of me—when she spoke.
"...Hey."
"Yeah?"
"W-want to take one together...?"
It was nothing at all, and she asked so carefully that I smiled and nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Sure. Want the counter for a background?"
"Y-yeah. Let's do that. One second."
"Okay."
I got up first and went to stand in front of the counter, and the boss hurriedly propped her phone on the table to frame the shot. The panty line drawn across the backside she'd stuck out brought yesterday rushing back, and I took in the view with quiet satisfaction.
"Okay. Got it."
Then she scurried over to my side and stood with both hands neatly folded in front of her. Seeing the stray hairs at her temple, I reached over and tidied them.
"Ah..."
As if my touch felt good, she closed her eyes and quietly enjoyed me fixing her hair, then opened them and looked up at me.
"There. Even prettier. Look at the camera."
"O-okay."
Color washed softly over her face, and the livelier look suited her—she seemed a little better. I smiled quietly at the camera too. A few shutters sounded. She was fidgeting with her clasped hands, just about to take a slow step, when—
"Hup?"
I wrapped an arm gently around her waist. She'd worked hard today, and she hadn't even begged, so maybe I'd give her a little reward.
"Look here."
I watched the eyes of the boss in my arms go soft as she looked up at me, then quietly raised the phone I'd slipped from my pocket. Only then did she seem to understand. The boss—no, Ju Hayeong—smiled as if she were glad, and soon rested her cheek gently against my chest.
"Came out well. Want me to send it to you?"
"Yeah... Sh-should I send you mine too?"
"Please. I don't have anything to post either."
"Okay."
The shutter went, and Ju Hayeong slipped out of my arms with a trace of regret on her face. Watching that expression, I quietly took her hand. The fingers that had flinched and fidgeted at my touch straightened.
"Not today. You know that yourself, don't you."
"...I-I know... Thank you... for thinking of me..."
"We can't play, but—"
"Ah..."
I drew her hand gently around behind my waist. She came into my arms as if it were the most natural thing, and I settled her hand there. She hugged my waist carefully in return and looked up at me. The rustle of the apron was a small shame, but I could feel the soft give of her chest against me and the warmth of her body, and I stroked both her cheeks as if to tickle them.
"...You're warm."
"So are you."
Holding each other like that, we didn't need many words. It really wasn't much of anything. Just a hug. Even so, Ju Hayeong was deeply satisfied by this small bit of contact. The more these little touches piled up, the more she would learn, on her own, how to tell ordinary life apart from play. Watching her yesterday and today, she already had a good sense of her own state.
"...Shinwoo."
"Isn't it darling?"
"...I want to kiss you."
When I quietly stroked her face, she pressed it into my hand. I looked at eyes that had already gone a little slack, then lowered my face, and as if she'd been waiting she rose onto her toes and hugged my waist tight.
"...Haa."
It wasn't long, and it wasn't short—just a small kiss. As I slowly drew away, Ju Hayeong let out a regretful sigh.
"That's it. Done for today."
"...I want more."
"No. There's a mountain of dishes piled up right now."
Then I quietly lifted her chin and whispered.
"It's not like it ends today."
"...Yeah."
"Come on. Back to work, Boss."
"Yeah. Thank you..."
"For that pile of dishes?"
"...N-no. That's not what I—"
"I know. Let's get to it. I'll clean too."
"You have to clock out too, darling."
"I'll finish what needs doing, then go. There's something in it for me."
Ju Hayeong tried to stop me, but I still had things to do. All I'd managed was taking orders and washing dishes—I hadn't cleaned at all. And while I cleaned, I quietly made an Instagram account. I just tacked a few underscores onto Lee Shinwoo, and it went through right away.
Hmm. This should do.
Digging through the gallery, I sorted the photos the boss had sent me and, without much thought, uploaded a few of myself taking orders. For a tag, I stuck on nothing but the cafe's name. Then, from the people popping up in the suggestions, I picked Hyunji, Rahee, Changsu, and Ju Hayeong and sent them a message.
My social circle's pretty simple, huh.
I considered sending one to the people from the company, then didn't. They'd be living their own lives now, and I wasn't idle enough these days to look after folks who hadn't been in touch since I quit. They might not want to be reminded that the company was gone, either.
"Boss. I sent you a DM, so try tagging me."
"Okay."
She answered from the sink, and I was pushing the mop this way and that, wiping down the floor, when the phone I'd just pocketed started going off again and again. I pulled it out. Hyunji was fastest, as expected, with Changsu right behind her. Rahee must have been busy; still no reply. And then my eyes caught a message under an unfamiliar name.
Ah. Lee Hyangsuk.
For a second I couldn't place her. Then the interview came back—the one at the cafe, all that restless, bouncing energy. I thought about texting back, but at this rate the cleaning would run far too late. Rahee showed no mercy when it came to working out, and if I was late on top of that...
I'm not walking into that on my own two feet.
I quietly hit the call button, wedged the phone between my shoulder and my cheek, and was just resetting my grip on the mop when the call connected. Something crashed and clattered on the other end. A deep breath finished—and the instant it did, the speaker erupted.