This Counts as a Company Dinner Too
"…Huh."
The boss climbed out of the car with a dazed look on his face and trudged toward the convenience store. Tall and lean, his frame made him look even more elongated than he was. His hair — a mottled gray fading into white — stood out even from a distance.
Han Jeonguk, sixty-seven years old. Wealthy, generous, and good at his job — and yet, somehow, a man cursed with the most peculiarly rotten luck.
"My store…"
The moment that voice reached him, Jaeseop — a four-year veteran of the job — walked toward the boss with the easy familiarity of long practice. Eunhwan, still only three months in, stayed put beside me in a rigid, ready stance.
"Hey, hey. Boss. You need to pull yourself together."
Jaeseop grabbed both of the boss's shoulders and gave them a light shake. The boss's body swayed limply back and forth under his hands.
"This isn't our first rodeo. Last time the place caught fire. And before that, a couple of part-timers got into a brawl and wrecked half the store."
For the record, one of the part-timers in that brawl was Jaeseop himself. From what I'd heard, he'd caught a night-shift worker trying to swipe cash, issued a warning, and things escalated into a full-on scuffle. That worker got fired on the spot — and Eunhwan was the one who replaced him. It felt like yesterday, but looking back, it had already been a while.
"And way back, someone smashed a whole shelf."
…That one was me. Years ago now, and still embarrassing.
"We've had the place torn up for all kinds of reasons. So what's one little traffic accident at this point?"
Technically, it was a problem — but I kept my mouth shut. Jaeseop was just trying to calm the boss down. I simply watched.
"…Is the boss, like, kinda fragile mentally?"
"Huh?"
I turned at the voice from beside me. Eunhwan was looking up at me with a puzzled expression.
"If Jaeseop-sunbae is working this hard to comfort him… does he cry a lot? Or is he just weak in the head?"
"In a way, you're not wrong. Hmm — you've been here three months, right?"
"Three months and twelve days."
"Short. Fair enough you wouldn't know. Our boss used to—"
I was about to continue when a heavy thud made me turn. The boss was on his knees, both hands planted on the ground. At the same time, Jaeseop muttered, "Oh for the love of—," and hurriedly clamped his hands over his ears.
I covered mine too.
Eunhwan just tilted her head, still confused.
Well. Consider this her initiation. She'd understand soon enough why Jaeseop had been so desperately trying to keep the boss calm.
"My store…!!"
I watched the engine start to rev and edged slowly backward. Jaeseop, who'd been standing right next to the boss, was already sprinting in the opposite direction.
"My store!!!"
"Kyaaak…?!"
What followed was a piercing shriek no one would ever believe came from an old man — a scream that tore out in every direction at once. Eunhwan toppled flat on the spot. I felt a sharp pain in my ears and stared up at the sky.
Ah… I miss Cecilia.
"My e-ears…?!"
When the sound finally stopped, Eunhwan was still on the ground, twitching. I quietly held out a hand to the girl who'd just completed her grand initiation.
When our boss's mental fortitude collapses, he screams. One of the few flaws of a man who was otherwise wealthy, generous, and excellent at his job.
"…Everyone's ears okay?"
"I'm fine, yeah."
"Th-they feel all stuffed up. Am I bleeding from my ears?"
"You're not. Don't worry about it."
We leaned against a nearby wall in a row and talked quietly. Jaeseop looked exhausted. Eunhwan kept kneading her ears. And off in the distance, the boss was speaking with the police.
"…I had no idea the boss's voice could get that loud."
"Apparently he did some vocal music back in the day."
"Ah. That explains it…"
I listened to the two of them in silence, drifting into thought. Vocal music. Come to think of it, I'd given Cecilia books before, but never played her any music. Hmm. I'd seen those videos online every now and then — "music cats love." I wondered how she'd react if I played her some. Would she like it? Hate it? I'd have to try it next time.
"…There he goes, zoning out again."
"Now that you mention it, he's been kind of out of it during shift changes lately too."
"Bet if we poked him a little, something interesting would come out…"
I snapped my head up at those words. Both of them quickly averted their eyes. I gave them a sidelong look and asked,
"…Have I really been like that?"
"Yep."
"You have."
"…Since when?"
This time the answers didn't come right away. One crossed his arms, the other rubbed her chin — each of them thinking for a moment before replying.
"Dunno. A while now?"
"I'd say around last week, roughly."
"…"
I'd only become aware of my own romantic feelings yesterday. Apparently the unconscious ones had been leaking out for some time.
"So? What's got our junior so spaced out that he—"
"Jaeseop! Come here a second!"
"Ah, damn. Be right back."
At the boss's call, Jaeseop headed over at once. Watching him talk with the boss and the police, I said quietly,
"Honestly, Jaeseop's basically the manager of this place."
"He covers whenever there's a hole in the schedule, too. …Is he not actually the manager? I thought he was…"
"Not officially, as far as I know. Though he might be getting paid a little extra. He does so much of everything."
Calling him the manager wouldn't be far off. Our boss was the laid-back type — Jaeseop did manager-level work, and the title just never got formalized.
Fragments of conversation drifted over from a short distance away. After a bit more back-and-forth, Jaeseop took something from the boss and walked back toward us.
"First things first — he says he's sorry for screaming."
"That was the first thing he said…?"
"Yep. Good boss, right?"
Eunhwan tilted her head with a thoroughly confused look. Well, the longer you knew him, the more you realized he really was a good boss… but hearing that right after an eardrum assault would throw anyone for a loop. With a question mark practically floating over Eunhwan's head, I spoke up in her place.
"What about the boss?"
"Heading to the police station. Still some things left to discuss. He only called me over to ask if any of us got hurt."
"I didn't get hurt!"
"…With her in this state, it wrapped up pretty quick, though."
The way he let out a long sigh was memorable. The boss was a birdbrain and the junior was a rock. This guy really had it rough.
"Anyway, that's not the important part."
As he said it, Jaeseop pulled something from his pocket.
"Know what this is?"
A card. An utterly ordinary debit card, held in his hand. No way it was his own, given the situation — which meant…
"Boss says to eat whatever we want today. Meat, whatever. On him."
"Whoa?!"
"Compensation for the eardrum terrorism and the traffic accident scare."
This was exactly why I could never dislike our boss.
"H-he's a good boss…?"
"Right?"
"He really is."
There was no better boss than a wealthy one with an open wallet. In front of the still-bewildered Eunhwan, the two of us nodded in deep satisfaction.
"Eat up."
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
Jaeseop's casual words got a nod from both me and Eunhwan. Current location: a Korean barbecue restaurant. Time: four in the afternoon — early for dinner. That was by design. Jaeseop's idea was to take it slow and leisurely and keep eating until the balance ran dry.
Oil hissed and popped as the meat began to take on a rich, golden-brown color. We picked up the well-done pieces and, without any of the usual polite hesitation, stuffed them into our own mouths and savored the happy taste.
"Mmm~…"
"It's so good!"
"Eat plenty. It's the boss's money, after all."
For the record, I'd left a note at home for Cecilia. I'd cooked rice and side dishes, so she should reheat them and eat well — and if she needed anything, she should come find me here. I'd drawn a little map to the barbecue place along with the address.
"Alright then…"
With a sizzle, Jaeseop laid more meat on the grill. Cooking it in small batches on purpose to keep us wanting more, he looked at me with a grin.
"How about we talk about girls for a bit?"
"Cough."
"Oh! Yes! I've been curious!"
The unexpected topic made me choke. Girls? …Out of nowhere??
"Why the sudden girl talk…"
"Why do you think? To mess with you."
"I'm just curious."
They answered before I'd even finished speaking. I drained my water glass in big gulps and turned the question back on them.
"Pwah. …Why would you mess with me using girl talk? I never said the reason I've been zoning out was a girl—"
"So it's not?"
"…Well,"
"That was textbook unrequited-love energy, Eunhyuk-sunbae. No question."
"…"
Damn it. It was true, so I had nothing to say. But "textbook unrequited-love energy"? Had it really been that obvious…?
"Give it up. Eunhwan's one thing, but you can't fool me. I already know everything."
"Huh? What do you know, Jaeseop-sunbae?"
"Oh, I know. But I can't say until he says it himself."
Jaeseop grinned, thoroughly enjoying himself. Beside him, Eunhwan was staring at me with I'M CURIOUS! written all over her face. There was nowhere to run.
"Eunhyuk-sunbae, if you don't talk…!"
"…That's scary, put the meat down. What are you planning to do with that."
I let out a small breath and continued.
"Fine. I admit it. There's someone I like."
"Ooooh!"
"Finally. Bittersweet, huh. Mind if I order some soju?"
"Whatever you want."
"So? So? What kind of person?"
Leaving Jaeseop raising a hand to order soju behind me, I looked at Eunhwan as she leaned in. Her whole demeanor was bright and lively, her eyes practically sparkling.
"Korean? Foreigner? Girl? Guy?"
"Why is 'guy' even on that list. …Well, technically a foreigner."
"Ooooh…"
"Silver hair, sky-blue eyes…"
"Ooooh…!"
"Pretty and cute, and the way she looks when she's sleeping is so innocent…"
"Ooooh — wait, huh? When she's sleeping?"
"Ah."
Only then did I realize I'd said too much. Watching me, Jaeseop smirked and helpfully added,
"Why not just go ahead and say you're living together?"
"Huh?!"
"Ah, hyung, please…"
"It was all going to come out the second this conversation started. What's the difference?"
He wasn't wrong — but he could at least let me choose the timing…
"Come to think of it, isn't it almost time for school to let out?"
"She's a student?!"
"Yeah. I cooked before I left, at least."
"Hmmm."
Eunhwan kept reacting with pure shock. Leaving her to it, Jaeseop pressed on.
"If we're eating anyway, better to eat together, right? Why not just bring her here?"