It's About You, Right?
A new week has begun.
After a honey-like weekend, I have to return to my part-time job.
I spent my days eating the pizza Siu gave me. Since I was eating two slices per meal, it lasted me four days.
My condition hasn't fully recovered yet, so I can't say I'm in great shape, but it's better than the first day.
On the first day, it was hard to even move, but from the second day on, it became much more comfortable, as if nothing had happened.
Maybe it's because of the pizza I've been consistently fueling my body with for the past four days.
Oh, come to think of it, I have to go for a regular check-up, too.
Every time I go, there's nothing special, yet it wastes my time for no reason.
I wish they'd at least pay me more. They give me peanuts while eating up one full day of my week.
If I still had my original job and this was affecting my life, I would have probably sued the government or something.
But there's none of that, and since I'm a total loser, I can't even whine about it.
Well, I'm working a part-time job now, so maybe I'm not a total loser anymore?
It feels awkward going back to the cafe after so long.
I had worked so hard to build up some inner intimacy with the staff, and now I have to start all over again.
I'm already nervous.
I opened the cafe door a little earlier than my shift started, and Doha was already there. He looked a bit tired.
Why is Doha here already?
He wasn't here as a customer. He was standing behind the counter, wearing the staff uniform.
This is supposed to be Areum's shift.
“What the. Why are you here…?”
Doha looked down at me and gave a soulless smirk.
“Why do you hate it so much?”
“No, I, I don't hate it, it's just….”
“Areum asked me to cover for her today. I even made sure to have no classes today just for this.”
Even as he spat out complaints, his hands were moving busily.
“Hey, I’ll have to ask you to buy me something to eat later.”
“Then are you leaving after the morning shift…?”
“No. I’m here all day.”
Doha let out a sigh.
Still, it’s better to be with Doha, who is slightly less awkward, than with Areum, who is just awkward.
My first part-time shift after the semester started, which I had only heard about through rumors between Areum and Doha.
It was so busy. Busier than I could have imagined.
I lost my mind in an instant.
Honestly, I didn't know it would be to this extent.
The door never had a chance to close, and it was always crowded with people coming in and out.
The cafe was filled with white noise from many people talking at the same time.
“This is insane….”
Even when I muttered to myself like this, it was buried by the noise around me.
I couldn't even attempt the little trick of secretly listening from behind to make drinks in advance.
The machine was spitting out receipts one after another, and Doha and I read the small text on them to make the drinks.
Because of the gap between the speed at which Doha took orders and the speed at which I made the drinks, the orders started to pile up.
Doha would help with making drinks whenever he had a brief moment while taking orders.
All I could think about was how much I wanted this peak time to pass quickly.
“Noona, is order number 239 ready?”
“Ah, yeah…! Here.”
“Uh, this isn't it. You made the wrong menu.”
“…Huh?”
My mind went blank. I checked the menu I made and the receipt Doha was looking at.
It was a different menu. I made a mistake because I was so flustered.
What do I do? What do I do?
I messed up. And I haven't even been working here that long.
Doha looked at the receipt and scanned the people in the cafe.
Then, as if he had a good idea, he grinned.
I feel uneasy about this.
Doha said in a slightly lower voice.
“This one, customer 239. You call them out yourself. And tell them you’re sorry.”
Doha insisted on me doing something I obviously had to do anyway.
I knew that much.
“Ho, how do I do a refund? I still don't really know how to use the POS system….”
“I don't think you need to worry about that.”
We are in a situation where I can't help but worry, so why is he telling me not to?
I didn't understand his actions, but Doha's expression was too relaxed.
So, I had no choice but to hold the wrongly made menu tightly with both hands and take a deep breath so I could be heard even in the noisy cafe.
“Cu, customer 239, your order is ready…!”
My voice came out smaller than I thought. Was it buried by the other noise?
Just as I was about to shout it again, thinking they didn't hear me, a male college student standing a bit further away checked the small piece of paper in his hand and stood up.
Thankfully, it seemed they heard me.
The male college student walked over with long strides. Up close, his physique was massive.
Looking at the muscles visible even through his clothes, he probably worked out.
It would be scary if this person got angry. I heard people who work out have strict hierarchies and are really scary.
I know in my head that when you have to apologize like this, it's polite to look them in the eye.
But halfway through speaking, I ended up avoiding his gaze slightly.
I didn't know what kind of words would come out of his mouth.
“Ah, I’m, I’m sorry…. I made it wrong. A, are you okay? I’ll make it again for you….”
There was a brief silence.
Then, a voice that didn't seem to belong to such a massive physique was heard.
I thought he would be angry, but his voice was a little soft.
“What menu is it?”
“It’s a cafe latte, not a cappuccino….”
“…I’ll just drink this.”
I looked up.
The man picked up the cup I had set down.
His lips were twitching, perhaps trying to hide an angry expression, but he didn't look that displeased.
“Tha, thank you.”
The man nodded slightly and turned away.
He was a nicer person than I thought.
Doha whispered from the side.
“He said it was fine, right?”
Thankfully, the wrong order incident passed, but I couldn't let my guard down.
There were still mountains of customers to deal with.
The drink production was so backed up that Doha eventually decided to make them himself. It was an inevitable choice.
I was kicked out to the counter. Still, it was a time slightly outside of peak hours, so it was more relaxed than before.
It was still noisy, but I could tell with my own eyes that the number of people had decreased significantly compared to before.
A customer stood in front of me.
“Hello….”
I have to look at the customer straight on, but it's still difficult.
Like magnets of the same pole, my pupils kept pushing away and I had to force them back with my will.
Would it look natural if I just stared at the POS machine? I already finished the greeting, anyway.
“One iced Americano, please.”
As I was punching it into the POS, I could feel the customer's gaze, especially intensely.
“Wo, would you like to order anything else…?”
“No.”
I thought I had picked up on it pretty well, but I guess not.
Even after the payment was finished, I could feel them glancing at me.
I feel like I've felt this kind of gaze many times before.
Even after that, the customers didn't stop. It wasn't until the afternoon that the crowd thinned out a little.
I had never spoken this much in my life, but I broke that record today.
As it got late, only one or two customers visited occasionally.
When it's relaxed, I have to move the boxes of ingredients for tomorrow.
“I’ll do this.”
Doha reached for the box first.
“I’ll do it, too.”
I spread my arms and picked up the box. It was much heavier than I thought. But it wasn't to the point where I couldn't lift it.
“Isn't that heavy?”
“Yeah. It’s heavy….”
I said it honestly. It’s heavy, but I have to do what I have to do.
Doha must be getting paid the same amount as me to work here.
I can't just be slacking off.
… Because when I saw someone else working alone while others were playing, I thought to myself that I should never become like that.
I know better than anyone the sorrow of working alone.
So, I have to do this, no matter what.
I hugged the box tighter so I wouldn't drop it and walked toward the shelf.
It was manageable at first, but after a few steps, my arms started screaming.
‘It’s heavy….’
I leaned my body back further, trying to make sure my body supported the weight of the box as much as possible.
Doha moved the boxes next to me without a word.
When I moved one, Doha moved two, no, three.
The efficiency is different. That’s to be expected.
Still, Doha didn't tell me to stop. He didn't offer to help me anymore, either.
He just moved his own.
When we finished moving all the boxes, Doha looked down at me.
“Good work.”
“You worked hard, too….”
My arms were trembling. A reflex that happens when you suddenly lift something heavy.
My body was honest.
I regretted it a little after moving them, but the sense of accomplishment won out.
Now, I'm walking home after finishing the closing shift.
Today, there were a lot of customers, and I really felt like I had done some work.
Suddenly, I wanted to walk the night streets while listening to music. I put my wireless earphones in my ears.
I chose a song. Listening to the guitar sounds of a calm indie band made my heart ache.
The way back home is short.
Watching the tips of my feet as I took steps, then looking up at the streetlights.
Looking at the cars illegally parked in the alley, looking at the night sky without a single star.
Walking slowly for no reason, then walking fast.
Since there was no one around, I even spun around in the middle of the alley road for no reason.
Before I knew it, my house was in sight.
Suddenly, the music cut off. I didn't even turn it off.
Instead, I heard an unpleasant-toned TTS.
Yang Jiyu.
A female junior in my university research lab. No, should I call her a junior?
We were in the same year, but she was younger.
That's just how it is between a male senior and a female senior in their fourth year.
We had done a few projects together, but we never contacted each other personally.
… She was the lab manager, so she was the person I talked to the most in the lab.
And even that, she only took care of me a little at the beginning, and as soon as a new student came in, even that fizzled out.
It was definitely forced care.
But I’ve already graduated, so she wouldn't be contacting me about lab work.
I couldn't even guess why she would suddenly send me a message.
Before that curiosity could even leave my head.
Perhaps because it was a short message, it read the content of the message right away.
[Oppa, the thing on the news is about you, right.]
I stopped my legs. My legs just stopped.
The music started playing again in my earphones.
I didn't go directly into the text to check it; I swiped down from the top to read the notification once more.
[Oppa, the thing on the news is about you, right.]
There wasn't even a question mark. It meant she wasn't asking.