The Air Felt Wrong
I let the answer trail off as I wrung the mop out into the bucket. It was only a bit of push and pull, of course. I needed to know how badly she wanted this, and what she wanted, before I decided where I stood. It wasn't as if I had no curiosity.
On the other end, Bae Jihyun swallowed hard and pressed on.
She spilled it all in a rush, the same way she had the day we met, fast enough to sound like she was rapping, and the hurry in her came through clearer than she probably meant. There had to be a reason. I decided to make her chase it one more time.
Anyone can shrug off being teased for bad grades, an unremarkable face, or being single. Games are different. Games. Who could sit still after being told they were bad at them? I'd only said it to be polite, and the way she took it as obvious stirred a stubborn little spark in me.
No wonder her voice had gone thin at the end. I wasn't offended. If I were Bae Jihyun, I'd have been careful about throwing someone I'd only just met straight onto a broadcast. The fact that she'd called anyway meant I was very likely the last option left.
Not that she had no other way out. Even so, it would be a shame to let a chance like this slip. She didn't yet understand how dangerous it was to hand me a justification.
It was only an excuse. Filling a day with a gaming stream was hardly a crisis. Talking like this, she must have bragged pretty loudly that a guest was coming. Truth was, I didn't mind getting the experience now instead of having it pushed into next month.
...gulp.
She must have sensed I'd gone quiet, thinking, because the sound of her swallowing came through the speaker. I turned it over. I had some interest in broadcasting anyway, and this seemed like a good moment to put her in my debt. I didn't yet know how I'd spend that card. The more of them I held, the better.
Someone's voice drifted in from beyond the receiver, and Bae Jihyun hurried on.
I hung up, and it wasn't long before a KakaoTalk message arrived from Bae Jihyun with a document attached. I already knew the shape of it. Cleaning first, then I'd look.
"Th-then... get home safe..."
"You hang in there too, boss."
"...Okay."
I hung my apron in the utility room and came back out, and Ju Hayeong offered the goodbye with disappointment written all over her. I stepped in as if it were the most natural thing in the world and pressed my mouth to hers.
"...Ah."
"You look good today. That puts me at ease. See you the day after tomorrow."
"Okay..."
"And if there's something you want to do then, bring it."
"...Ah... Okay..."
"Let's see what our Hayeong likes."
"D-don't... M-my heart's pounding..."
I waved at her as she touched her lips, face gone red, and left the café. A little way down the street I glanced back. Through a gap in the blinds she was stealing a look at me, and the moment our eyes met she jerked away from the slats. I let out a quiet laugh.
Hm-hm, hm.
Humming under my breath, I lifted my phone. I'd meant to check the KakaoTalk from Hyunji and the message Bae Jihyun had sent, but what caught my eye first were the social notifications piling in. Enough of them to call it a stack.
...What is this number?
All I'd done on my own post was tag the café's account, so I could understand people seeing the café's post first and wandering over to mine. I couldn't understand there being this many of them.
What mattered was the café's Instagram anyway, so it didn't trouble me. The comments were friendly enough.
That last one got a report. The comments weren't the real question, though. I was starting to wonder how any of them had found the place at all.
I didn't even write the name down. How did they find the café's Instagram?
The café's tag was ordinary. It didn't make sense. Then I noticed the DMs stacked up without end. A few hellos from people whose names I didn't know, and then, by a ridiculous margin, one sender drowning out the rest. Hyunji. I smiled and opened what she'd sent, and saw that Rahi still hadn't replied.
I didn't think it was her playing hard to get. I couldn't picture Rahi doing that in the first place. If she was, all the better. That would only make things more interesting.
Well. It doesn't matter.
I'd be seeing her soon enough. I stopped by the house to grab my workout clothes and remembered I'd forgotten to wash them yesterday. I could already see Rahi making a scene about it, but there was nothing to be done. I sighed, packed a slightly shorter set, and headed out. On the way to the gym I looked over Bae Jihyun's paperwork. It really was a simple contract. Things like that were little more than formality, so it wouldn't mean much. I signed it and sent the message back. When I lifted my head, I was already at Go Yewon's Boxing & Yoga Gym.
...?
I rode the elevator up, opened the door, and felt it at once. Something in the air was off. The floor looked the same as ever, people working hard at their sets, ordinary enough. The air itself sat a little heavy.
Ah. The front desk is empty.
The owner, who always greeted me kindly from the desk, was nowhere in sight. Then, as if she'd been waiting, she came out of the office. Her face kept flushing red and going pale again. She looked thoroughly worked up.
What's going on?
I tilted my head and started slowly toward the locker room, offering her a quiet hello as I went.
"Hello."
What she did next caught me off guard. The agitation on her face broke into a bright, open look, and then a deep pity spread across it as she hurried over to me. She seized both my hands. I nearly shook her off and just managed not to. Whatever this was, it had something to do with me, and I needed to read the situation before I did anything else.