Her Gift for Cecilia
“Welcome back.”
“Hey, hyung.”
It was 4:50 in the afternoon—shift time.
I stepped through the automatic doors of the convenience store and greeted Jaeseop hyung.
“I’ll go change real quick.”
“Sure.”
I ducked into the storage room and hurriedly pulled on my uniform.
After straightening my clothes, I came back out.
While hyung finished the handover, no customers seemed about to appear, so I did a light round of cleaning.
“All counted….”
“No shortfalls?”
“What do you take me for? It matched perfectly again today. So, uh….”
Stretching his back in a long pull, hyung turned to look at me.
“Been a while? How’ve you been?”
“Pretty relaxed. Eating, drinking, going out….”
“What about that cousin you said you were living with? Getting along okay?”
“Yeah, we’re good. Getting along great.”
“Glad to hear it.”
Letting out a big yawn, Jaeseop hyung stretched his whole body once more.
Even after that, he still seemed stiff, reaching back to knead his shoulders.
He looked more worn out than usual today.
Was it because it was Monday?
“Something happen?”
“Hmm?”
“You look exhausted.”
“Ah~. Well, yeah. There was a bit of a scene. Some problem customers.”
“Problem customers….”
I muttered under my breath.
Hyung added with a playful lilt in his voice.
“Sun wasn’t even fully down yet and the place was packed with drunks. A whole dozen of them in one group.”
“Ugh.”
Hyung spread his arms wide to show the scale.
Seeing that, I couldn’t help scrunching up my face.
Over ten drunks?
How could anything be that nightmarish.
“Must’ve been rough….”
“It was a total mess. Yelling, throwing up, slamming the counter… ugh, damn….”
As if the memory had just hit him mid-sentence, hyung’s face twisted hard.
I could see his arms trembling a little around the elbows.
“Ugh….”
“…You worked hard. Want me to get you something? An energy drink?”
“Nah…. Wait, no. Actually, just one….”
He started to refuse, then nodded.
He really must have been that tired.
With a wry smile, I pulled out a vitamin drink.
I scanned it with a soft beep on the POS.
“Here.”
After finishing the payment, I held it out.
Hyung took the bottle, twisted the cap off in one motion, and brought it to his mouth.
A moment later a satisfying gulp echoed through the quiet store.
“Kuaaah…. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
His voice boomed around the convenience store like some middle-aged guy nursing a hangover with spicy fish stew after a night of drinking.
Smacking his lips, hyung disposed of the empty bottle.
“Man, I’m beat. Hey, I’m gonna head out for today—”
Unlike last week, he was about to leave without any small talk. That was the moment he started to say it.
The automatic door chimed as a customer walked in.
“Welcome.”
“Who… ah, welcome~.”
“Hello~. Shift change time?”
It was Heewon, a regular I hadn’t seen in a few days.
She waved at both of us with a bright greeting.
“Yeah. Just finished the handover. This hyung was about to leave.”
“Aha….”
Heewon’s ordinary expression lit up with a mischievous glint.
Looking at Jaeseop hyung, she spoke in a familiar tone.
“Then before you go, could you do me one little favor, Jaeseop-ssi?”
“What is it?”
“Recommend me something for dinner.”
She even threw in a sly wink.
Just like that, all his earlier fatigue vanished, and hyung nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world, drawing a circle with his hand.
“Of course.”
“Great!”
Heewon’s cheerful reply followed.
Soon the two of them disappeared between the convenience store shelves.
“…Like a pair of lovebirds.”
I couldn’t help muttering at the sight.
Those two, really… how should I put it….
They acted like that every time they met, but if you asked them, they insisted they weren’t dating or even in a flirty stage.
Was one of them dense, or both?
…Or maybe both of them were missing a few screws.
At least they seemed to get along well, so that was good.
“…So last time….”
“Hehe….”
From over there, I could hear the two of them chatting quietly.
Their voices were soft, but I could catch bits and pieces of the conversation.
“…Ah, right. …You know about that?”
“…That?”
“He’s been… with a beastkin lately….”
“What?!”
Suddenly a loud voice rang out, making me flinch.
Right after, tap-tap! Heewon came running over fast and planted her hands on the counter with a smack! as she leaned in.
“Eunhyuk-ssi!”
“Whoa. Y-yes.”
“Is it true you met a beastkin?!”
…So that was what it was about.
I glanced sideways at hyung.
He also seemed not to have expected Heewon to react like this, looking at me with a flustered expression.
“Well, more than met… I guess you could say we’re living together….”
“You’re cohabiting?!”
“Eek.”
Heewon leaned in even further.
Thanks to her, I felt the space behind the counter growing smaller and smaller.
“A girl? A guy?! Fur color or texture, maybe….”
“Calm down there.”
At that moment, hyung came over and lightly bonked Heewon on the head.
A small, cheerful thwack rang out.
“Ow!”
“You’re getting too excited. You’re gonna scare the kid.”
It wasn’t that I looked scared—I actually was scared.
Having a normally normal person suddenly rush at me like that was pretty terrifying.
“Ah, sorry. I just really like animals….”
Only then did Heewon seem to come to her senses, slowly backing away.
I quietly let out a breath and relaxed my posture.
“Phew.”
“…But you’re really living with a beastkin. Not joking?”
“Yeah, well….”
“What, so it wasn’t just meeting one, you’re living together? …Aha. Looking at it now, that ‘cousin’ of yours is actually a beastkin, huh?”
At Jaeseop hyung’s knowing words, I nodded.
Honestly, I hadn’t planned on spreading this around yet, so I felt a bit dazed.
“…Huh. But then, isn’t this something that shouldn’t get out? Since it’s about other races.”
“Uh, w-well, yeah?”
“For now, yes. So I’d appreciate it if both of you kept it a secret….”
Trailing off, I brought my index finger to my lips.
The two of them followed the gesture with equally serious expressions.
Especially Heewon, who seemed to feel guilty about raising her voice earlier, looked extremely solemn.
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
“Sorry. I thought it was just a story about randomly meeting and becoming friends….”
Hyung said with an apologetic look.
Probably what he was referring to was the story I’d told him during the last heat cycle.
Back then, I think I’d framed my worries as being about some girl.
Without the full details, it was easy to misunderstand.
“It could happen. Just keep the secret and we’re good.”
“Yeah. I’ll definitely keep it.”
“But is that okay legally? I heard something about some new regulations or whatever recently….”
“The legal side’s fine. Got lucky.”
We chatted lightly in low voices.
Questions came up about where the other races came from and how, what kind of beastkin, how they differed from us….
There was a lot I didn’t know myself so I couldn’t answer everything, but their reactions of wonder every time I did answer were fun.
“Sensitive ears? Just like a real cat.”
“What about the tail? Have you tried patting her butt?”
“W-well, I’m not sure about that….”
“Then what else? Food preferences! Does she like fish?”
“Haven’t tried feeding her fish so I don’t know, food preferences…?”
I tilted my head and briefly dug through my memories.
Food preferences, huh.
Anything she particularly liked or disliked….
“Well, you know those convenience store dried squid snacks? She hates those.”
“Huh, unexpected.”
“She handles spicy food well. And her tongue is a cat tongue.”
“Ooh….”
“And she likes alcohol.”
“Alcohol?”
Two questioning voices rang out at the same time.
I nodded.
“Doesn’t seem like she’s had a lot of experience drinking… but she holds her liquor well.”
“Unexpected.”
“Ooh…. Ah, wait a second!”
Just then, Heewon suddenly started rummaging through her bag.
Under our questioning gazes, she pulled something out of it.
“Ta-da~.”
“…Alcohol?”
“Why is there alcohol coming out of your bag…?”
“A coworker gave it to me saying I should try it if I was okay with it, but I’m a lightweight…. If it’s alright, would you give it to that kid?”
What she held out was a fairly large glass bottle.
It was a wine bottle, and the contents were clear.
It looked quite high-end and expensive.
“White wine?”
“Sparkling white wine.”
Heewon filled in my incomplete knowledge.
Sparkling wine, huh. I’d never tried it.
“But is it okay for me to take this?”
I asked carefully.
Even if it became her own once she received it, was it really fine to just pass on a gift like that?
That was the worry behind my question, but….
“You can take it. It’s something some guy I don’t even like gave me as a way of making a move anyway.”
“…Aha.”
So there was a backstory.
It seemed most of her desire was to give it to Cecilia, with a bit of wanting to get rid of it quickly mixed in.
As a bonus, Jaeseop hyung’s expression as he quietly sank into deep thought at those words was priceless.
Well, if that was the case, there was nothing to feel bad about.
I gratefully accepted the bottle.
“Thank you. I’ll let you know how it was later.”
“Promise?”
I nodded at Heewon, who asked with a smile.
She then let out a small, satisfied giggle.
“I hope she likes it♪”
Her expression was full of visible anticipation.
Thinking I should try it today or tomorrow at the latest, I carefully stowed the bottle of alcohol I’d received under the counter.