I Threw My Part-Timer a Surprise Party
And so, we arrived back at the villa.
"Well then, I'll head in... Sunbae."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
"...Yes."
She still didn't seem quite used to the new way of addressing me. Head bowed low, Doeun hurried into her own place faster than either of us could blink.
Click.
The door swung shut behind her. I stood there staring at it for a while.
I should head in too, I suppose.
Muttering to myself, I made my way to my own place.
Once inside, I washed up in a hurry and threw myself onto the bed.
"Haah..."
It felt like every last ounce of strength had drained out of me. Quite a lot had happened in a single day. Harin acting strange from the morning, unlike her usual self. Ms. Seoyun stopping by with a delivery. Seoa seeming a little off as well. And at the end of it all, I'd switched how I addressed "Doeun-ssi" — no, wait. Doeun and I had changed what we called each other.
"Doeun... Ha Doeun."
It still felt awkward, so I found myself muttering the name alone for no real reason.
"...What a hectic day."
Not a single day had passed quietly since I'd become manager. And yet, strangely enough, I didn't mind. If anything—
"It's fun."
This place used to be just somewhere I worked. Helping the owners, handing customers their drinks, opening and closing the doors at set hours — I'd thought that was all there was to it. Now, things were a little different. Bickering with Harin, teaching Doeun the ropes, even Seoa, who'd somehow taken to hanging around the cafe. None of it amounted to much on its own, and yet every day felt full to the brim.
"...It's barely been ten days since I became manager."
So much had already happened. And what would come next, I wondered? I mulled it over for a moment, then snorted a laugh.
"Eh, it'll work out somehow."
As long as I could keep laughing and chatting with these people just like now, and keep the cafe safe and sound, that was more than enough. I pulled the blanket up over myself.
"Tomorrow too... let's work hard. Moderately hard..."
With those final words, I closed my eyes. Maybe I was unusually worn out, because sleep came faster than I expected.
Time flew by like that.
When Harin heard how Doeun and I were now addressing each other, she went into another one of her states for a while — but after a few days of compliments, she returned to normal.
"Ungh...! I'm finally about to escape toilet-cleaning duty...!"
Harin held up her rag mid-scrub, her face glowing with emotion.
"Is it really that wonderful?"
"Of course it is! Do you have any idea how I suffered for four whole weeks!"
"That's what you get for showing up late all the time."
"..."
Loud and shameless as ever — but the anxious look she'd worn those first few days had vanished completely.
Doeun had changed too, unmistakably so. There was a time when even meeting my eyes had been a struggle for her. Now she'd smile faintly at a simple joke, and more and more often she'd strike up a conversation first. She'd grown especially close to Harin — Harin, who had used polite speech with her without fail that first week, had at some point slipped into talking to her casually.
"...Doeun! Come share this with me."
"Oh — thank you."
"Hehe... mmf, sho good~"
"Hey, Harin."
"Hm?"
"You wouldn't happen to have seen the cookies I set aside, would you?"
"Mmf...! I ha-haven't seen them."
"...Then what's that in your hand."
"Th-that's..."
Harin darted a sideways glance at Doeun.
"Doeun said she wanted some..."
When I looked at Doeun without a word, she gave a tiny shake of her head.
"Doeun!?"
"Hey."
"...I mean, she could've wanted a bite!"
"That's not the point."
"You're so mean, making a fuss over a cookie!"
"..."
"Booo, you're the worst!"
"...Ha. Do whatever you want."
"Heh."
Good grief. Consistent to the very end, the both of them.
They'd started out so awkward around each other, but by now that stiffness seemed all but gone. Doeun had learned to take Harin's teasing in stride, and Harin, in turn, had taken to looking after her like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Doeun's customer service had come a long way as well. She still fumbled now and then, but—
"It's okay. Take your time."
—just one word from me, and—
"...Okay."
—she'd take a short breath, steady herself, and face the customer again. The old Doeun would have frozen solid on the spot. Now she picked herself back up on her own.
"Sunbae, was that all right just now?"
"Yeah. Just keep doing what you're doing."
"Really?"
"You've come a long way since your first day."
"That's a bit..."
"What?"
"I still don't think I could manage without you, Sunbae."
"Then just say the word whenever you need me."
"...Okay. Hehe."
And so, day after day slipped past. Before I knew it, the calendar had turned to February. Our agreement to work together for a month was down to its final day. The time had come to decide whether Doeun would be joining us for real.
A morning with a chill still lingering on the breeze. I headed in to the cafe like any other day — the only difference being that Harin had come in early with me this time.
"Brr... it's still freezing..."
She hunched into a ball, hugging her puffer jacket tight to her chest.
"But... what if she turns us down after we've gone to all this trouble...?"
"...Not a chance."
Truth be told, there was another reason we'd come in early today. It wasn't to sit around solemnly deliberating over whether to hire her. Our minds had been made up long ago. Of course she passed. If anything, we were the ones who ought to be begging her to stay on. She did her work well, her service kept improving by the day, and above all, you could see how hard she was trying. What conceivable reason was there to let someone like that go? We'd even resolved to hold onto her if she refused.
So today, we'd decided to throw a surprise celebration party to announce her official hiring.
"Hey! Does this one go here?"
"Yeah. A little more to the right."
"Like this?"
"More."
"Here?"
"Perfect."
Harin dusted off her hands, looking thoroughly satisfied. A few small balloons hung in one corner of the cafe, and next to the counter sat the cake we'd prepared in advance. When I'd casually asked Doeun the other day which cake she liked best, I remembered her saying cheesecake — so cheesecake it was.
"...Phew."
Harin let out a breath once the setup was done.
"Now we just wait for Doeun."
"Yeah."
A short silence settled between us. Then Harin abruptly turned to me.
"...Hey."
"What."
"So, since we're throwing a party anyway..."
She squirmed a little before going on.
"How about we just take today off?"
"......Maybe I should."
Honestly, I was tempted. Since becoming manager, I'd worked open to close every single week without one proper day of rest. I'd figured I could handle it at first, but with nearly a month behind me, the fatigue had piled up higher than I'd realized.
"Right! We've both been working ourselves to the bone!"
"We?"
"We."
"...We—"
"We."
"..."
Is this girl serious? Shamelessness really is a talent.
"...Anyway! So can't we take today off? Huh? Can't we?"
"Fine, fine. Let's do that."
"Yahoo!"
Harin threw both arms into the air, thrilled.
"And hey, since we're partying today, how about a staff dinner on top of it?"
"Planning your meals first thing in the morning, are you?"
"Staff dinners are sacred," she declared with a perfectly straight face.
"...Do whatever you like."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Woo-hoo!"
Beside herself with joy, Harin began zooming all around the cafe. Watching her, a laugh slipped out of me before I knew it.
We went to all this trouble. I hope it makes her day.
The two of us were still chatting away when—
Jingle~
"Hello."
A familiar voice, just a touch timid, drifted in.
"You're here?"
"Hi, Doeun!"
"Hello."
Doeun stepped inside with her usual prim greeting — then stopped dead in her tracks.
"...?"
Her eyes widened slowly as they swept across the cafe. The shop looked nothing like it usually did. Balloons bobbing beside the counter. A little cake sitting on the table.
"...Um."
Doeun opened her mouth carefully.
"Is today... some kind of special day?"
Harin glanced my way. When I nodded, she broke into a beaming grin and walked right up to her.
"Yep! We put all this together for you!"
"...For me?"
"Because as of today, you're an official employee!"
Doeun's face went rigid.
"...Me?"
"Yeah. Will you keep working with us from here on out?"
"..."
Doeun said nothing. She only looked back and forth between the cake and the balloons.
"I..."
Her voice trembled faintly.
"All of this... is because of me?"
"Of course it is."
"...Why?"
"Why, she asks."
Harin said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Because you've worked so hard this past month!"
"And because we're looking forward to having you with us from now on."
Doeun bit her lip lightly.
"...Can I really..."
"Hm?"
"Can someone like me really... have something like this..."
In that instant, the corners of Doeun's eyes flushed red.
"...Doeun?"
Harin's voice went gentle and careful. Doeun bowed her head—
Drip.
—and a single small tear fell to the floor.
"...Hnn."
Doeun hurriedly scrubbed at her eyes.
"...Snf... I'm sorry."
"Wh-whoa...! Why are you crying!"
Harin panicked, completely at a loss. Doeun kept wiping at her tears, but once they'd broken loose, they showed no sign of stopping.
"I've... something like this..."
Catching her breath, Doeun forced out the rest.
"...This is a first for me."
"..."
"Someone doing all this... just for me."
Her head was still bowed.
"...Is it really all right... for me to be here?"
The moment I heard those words, I smiled quietly.
"Of course it is. If anything, we're the ones who should be asking you to stay."
At that, the tears spilled over again — but this time, a small smile was playing at the corners of her mouth.
"And also."
I opened the cake box.
"You said cheesecake was your favorite, didn't you?"
"...Ah."
Doeun's eyes went round and wide. She stared at the cake for a long moment—
—and then smiled, bright as anything.
"...Thank you."
Then, eyes still on the cake, she bowed her head with care.
"I'll keep giving it my all... from here on out."
In that moment, my eyes met Harin's beside me. We looked at each other in silence for a beat, and then I slowly raised a thumb. Harin snorted a laugh and raised hers to match.
"We're the ones glad to have you!"
"Welcome aboard."
"...Yes."
Doeun answered with a small smile.
"Okay, everyone!"
Harin clapped her hands to lift the mood.
"Let's get this party started!"
And so, from that day on, we had ourselves a new employee.