Somehow Extra Bashful
Somehow, she was being extra bashful.
"Cecilia?"
"…."
"…You okay?"
"Ugh…."
Nothing that could reasonably be called an answer came back. All I could see in front of me was a face gone completely scarlet and a pair of eyes brimming with tears.
For the record, it was about four in the afternoon. One hour before my shift started. Cecilia, who had only just woken up, was sitting on the bed stomping her feet in place. She was curled up tight, body wrapped so thoroughly in the blanket that only the edges of her eyes showed. That face was every bit as red as it had been before she'd fallen asleep.
But odds were it wasn't the alcohol this time. Even I wasn't that dense.
"You sober now?"
"…Mm."
"Do you remember anything from while you were drinking—…okay, okay! I won't say anything!"
"Uuuu……!!"
Watching the moisture surge into her eyes, I hurriedly cut myself off mid-sentence. Still on the verge of tears, she clutched the blanket covering her even tighter. Then, as if she simply couldn't stand it, she started kicking her feet against the mattress. The classic blanket-kick.
"Wh-why did I do that…."
Still hugging the blanket for dear life, she let out a trembling, watery voice. Cecilia, sniffling and shaking from sheer embarrassment. It felt a little wrong to think it in a moment like this, but honestly? She was adorable.
That said, it was also a little puzzling. Getting this flustered over it. Sure, she'd been pretty unrestrained while drunk this time, but it hadn't seemed all that different from her other drunken episodes. I knew she had a shy streak… but had something about last night hit her especially hard?
"…Hmm."
Even replaying it, nothing particular came to mind. I'd been pretty drunk myself, so my memory was a little fuzzy.
"Whatever. Everyone's threshold for embarrassment is different."
"…?"
"Just talking to myself. Anyway, Cecilia."
I stepped a little closer and met the eyes of the blanket-cocooned girl.
"I've got to go work for a bit. Think you'll be okay eating dinner on your own?"
"…When are you coming back?"
"After eleven. It's pretty late, so eating together probably won't work out. If you're sleepy, go ahead and sleep first. I don't mind."
"What kind of work…."
What kind of work. Normally I'd just say "convenience store shift" and be done with it, but of course Cecilia wouldn't know what that meant. I turned it over in my head, hunting for a word that would land.
"…Shop clerk?"
"A clerk? At this hour?"
Her eyes went round as she repeated it back in a startled voice. Then she glanced once toward the window and spoke again.
"The sun's about to set…."
Hearing that, I was freshly reminded that this girl had come from another world. The baseline common sense was just different. A clerk who didn't work after sundown—how novel was that?
"In this world, there's tons and tons of work that happens at night."
"Really…?"
"Yeah. I'll teach you all sorts of things later."
Without thinking, I reached out to stroke her head—and Cecilia flinched at the sight of my hand, shrinking back. It wasn't fear. Her face had gone red again; she was dodging out of sheer bashfulness.
"…Anyway, I'll be back."
Sheepishly withdrawing my hand, I gave a little fluttering wave goodbye. Cecilia, in turn, offered a timid little wave of her own.
"…Come back safe."
"Yeah. There's food in the fridge. Rice is in the cooker, and the soup pot's next to the induction burner. You remember how to use the induction, right?"
"Mm…."
"Good."
Satisfied with that small but solid answer, I nodded. I threw on a light outer layer, stepped into my shoes, and as I opened the front door, offered Cecilia one last goodbye.
"I'm heading out."
"…Come back safe."
With a soft creak, the door slowly closed. Feeling the weather grow a little chillier by the day, I set off toward the convenience store.
"You're early."
"You covered for me yesterday. Figured I had some time left, so I came a bit early to help out."
"Loyal little bastard."
And so I arrived inside the convenience store. After a bit of small talk, I headed into the back room first to change clothes.
"Whew…."
"So, did the make-up go well yesterday?"
"Ah, yeah. Thanks to you. The alcohol worked pretty well."
I nodded as I answered, and Jaeseop cracked a thoroughly satisfied grin.
"Glad to hear it. Figure out what the problem was?"
"The problem… oh, her worries? That, uh, not yet…."
"That so? Well, whatever. As long as she's settled down for now, that's enough. Yeah."
"R-right."
I answered lightly while straightening my uniform. Thinking I might as well take the counter for a bit in the remaining time, I started over—then suddenly remembered that Jaeseop had covered the soju tab yesterday.
"Ah, hyung. How much was that soju yesterday, total?"
"Hm?"
"Figured I'd pay you back now. Let's see, your account…."
"Forget it. Keep it."
Seeing me reach for my phone, he waved me off.
When I looked up, he just shrugged.
"A few bottles of soju aren't worth anything. Don't worry about the money. If it really bothers you, just buy me a meal later and call it even with the shift cover."
"…Okay. Thanks, hyung."
"Let's get to work."
"Yes. Ah—"
"Welcome."
We both offered the greeting in unison as a customer came in, and the two of us got moving. Roughly seven hours until the end of my shift. Even while working, I found myself quietly hoping that Cecilia, alone at home, would be all right.
Time slipped by with its usual speed, and it was now about ten-fifty. Sitting at the counter, I quietly reflected that today had been an especially leisurely one. Customers had been astonishingly few. Other work had been scarce, too. The occasional people who did come in were all familiar regulars. Naturally, not a single difficult customer—peaceful from start to finish.
Not that it had been boring, either. Even after his own shift ended, Jaeseop had stuck around. With no customers to interrupt, we'd killed the time chatting. And so here I was, with clock-out right in front of me….
"…But hyung, is it really okay for you to hang around this long?"
"Huh?"
Looking at Jaeseop, who had even pulled out a chair and settled in comfortably, I sent him a mildly incredulous look. Amazingly, this guy had been here the whole time since his shift ended. Not that I minded having someone to talk to.
I just worried whether he had anything he needed to do at home.
"It's not like there's a problem, right? I already changed out of the uniform, so right now I'm just a customer."
"There's no problem, no. But don't you need to go home?"
"I live alone too, so~…. Not really? And going home is boring."
Still, a guy who would sit around chatting at his own workplace for four or five hours straight was something else. At least I couldn't have done it. I'd rather go home and read a book.
"Hyung, you don't have a girlfriend?"
"Nope. You don't either, do you?"
"Well, I… ah—welcome."
Just then a customer walked in, and I bowed my head in greeting. When I looked up, a familiar face was looking back.
"Hello~."
"Ah, welcome, Heewon."
"Welcome~."
I, still on the clock, and Jaeseop, who'd been loafing beside me, both offered greetings—his laced with playful mischief.
Heewon. An office worker. One of our regulars.
"Both of you been well…? Wait, why is Jaeseop still here?"
"I'm a customer too~."
"This guy said he was bored and just kept hanging around chatting. Been hours already."
"Whoa."
At my pointed finger, Heewon widened her eyes a fraction and let out a soft sound. A refreshingly understated reaction.
"Mm, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
"Not at all."
"Then we're good. Mm…. Eunhyuk, do you know where the Scotch tape is?"
"Scotch tape? One second."
I stood up from the counter and headed for the shelves. From the back, in a spot people rarely looked, I pulled out the item and held it out.
"Here you go."
"Thanks~."
Another understated response. On my way back to the counter, the muttered "How did he even find that…." that drifted over was memorable.
Beep—I rang it up on the POS, and Heewon held out her card as if she'd been waiting.
"One thousand won."
"Okay~."
I finished the simple transaction and handed over the tape.
"No bag needed, right?"
"Of course not."
I passed her the tape, and we each gave a small nod. Right then the door opened and the next part-timer walked in.
"Hello, senior~! …Seniors?"
"Come on in."
I glanced at the clock. Just about time to clock out.
"Hyung, Heewon—thanks for your hard work today, and… you, good luck with the rest. I'm heading out first."
"Sure. I'm gonna grab a late-night snack and then go. You first."
"Ah, me too. I was on the fence, but yeah—I should grab something for later."
I nodded and finished the handoff first. With no issues, I quickly ducked into the back room, changed clothes, and came back out.
"Have a good night."
I offered the farewell, received one in return, and stepped outside. Just before the automatic doors finished closing behind me—
"…Works hard, good with people. Didn't he get a job offer last time? Why's he still here…."
"Who knows…."
—that soft murmur drifted out. I deliberately pretended not to hear and set my legs toward home.
The house I arrived at was dark.
"…Is she asleep?"
I slipped off my shoes and gave the place a light once-over. The soup pot had been put away, so at least she'd finished her meal. Looking farther in, I could see the bed blankets puffed up. She'd gone to sleep first, it seemed.
"I should get to bed too. Aahh…."
I let out a long yawn and headed for the bathroom. Just because there hadn't been many customers didn't mean I wasn't tired. Holding down a spot for hours was exhausting enough on its own. With Cecilia already asleep, there wasn't much else to do—I figured I'd turn in early myself.
"Wash up first…."
Muttering very quietly to myself, I yanked the bathroom door open.
And.
"Ah."
"…Ah……?!"
My eyes met Cecilia's—who looked like she'd just finished her shower and was stepping out.