Someone Else's Girl
It was the chicken smell he lived with every shift until he was sick of it—and still, every time, it made his mouth water.
Fresh-fried chicken never got old, no matter how many days in a row you ate it. Crisp batter, meat seasoned just right underneath. Knowing exactly how it tasted only made holding out harder.
It was one in the morning besides. Whatever he'd had for dinner was long gone, and hunger was hitting its peak.
"Minseok, you're really not having any?"
"Come on and eat with us, Oppa!"
"Have my share too. I'm seriously dieting."
But chicken at this hour went straight to the gut. Exhibit A: his own belly fat. He'd only just resolved to get himself under control for the sake of his Sex Coin Value—today, in fact. No: past midnight, so the date had already flipped. A few hours ago, then.
"You're really, really sure I can eat yours too, Oppa?"
Lee Jieun's words rattled his resolve all over again. Without answering, he grabbed a cigarette and stepped out the shop's back door.
"Sss… haah~"
Giving in to the craving he'd been holding back seemed to settle his appetite with it. Working a restaurant meant precious few windows for a smoke. Light up and you had to wash your hands, air out the smell—it ate into the time before you could get back on the floor, and he couldn't leave the hall to Jieun alone for long, so he usually held off as much as he could.
The only stretch when smoking was truly free was right now. For a pub, they cleared every customer out at one a.m. and started closing. The boss would tell the hungry staff to polish off a chicken and head home first. The kitchen had a mountain of cleanup, so Dongmin-hyung was buried in closing work from early on, but Minseok and Jieun only had the hall and the restrooms—done in no time. And they still got paid through two. Not a bad gig at all.
When he finished his cigarette and came back inside, the two of them were happily tearing into the chicken together. On any other night he would have squeezed in and joined the usual empty chatter about the customers and whatever else—but sitting in front of that chicken while his stomach growled felt like its own kind of torture. He picked up the cleaning supplies and headed for the bathroom.
Jieun must have seen him starting alone. She called out mid-bite.
"Oppa, finish eating first and we'll do it together."
"It's fine. It'll be done in a second anyway. I'll handle it tonight—you take your time."
By the time Dongmin-hyung and Jieun had finished the chicken, everything he could do on his own was already done. All that was left was a full sweep and wipe of the hall, and clearing the table where the two of them had eaten.
"Jieun, if you're done, head home first. I'll finish up."
"Come on, hall cleanup is my job. You already did the bathroom and everything."
"No—I said I've got it tonight. I have to wait for Dongmin-hyung to leave together anyway, so I can take my time cleaning while he closes the kitchen. You worked hard today~."
Step one in winning Lee Jieun over: kindness and consideration. The two of them had only ever seen each other as coworkers who happened to share a shift; that kind of relationship didn't flip overnight. If he suddenly floored it and confessed, she'd shut him down with a Sorry, Oppa, I just don't see you that way—he could picture it already.
Wasn't there a saying that when a bad guy does something decent once in a while, it lands well? He wasn't a bad guy to Jieun, but indifferent stranger? That much, he figured, he had been.
"Oooh~ What's with Minseok today? Kind of a different guy all of a sudden."
"Right? Skipping the chicken he loves so much, and everything… Oppa, people say if you change this fast out of nowhere, something bad's coming!"
"Enough—just go home already. You're usually dying to leave, and now you're the weird one. And Dongmin-hyung, you get back to cleaning that kitchen!"
"Okay, I'll change and head out first then. Oppas, good work today too~."
Apparently thrilled to be leaving early, she beamed her way toward the changing room.
After Lee Jieun left, he finished the rest of the cleaning alone. He changed, stepped outside, and was on his second cigarette when Dongmin-hyung came out too, closing done, and locked up.
"What's so great about those things that you smoke like that. Quit already."
That was Dongmin-hyung's comment, looking at him. Hyung used to smoke too, Minseok had heard—but he'd quit once he started kitchen work, to keep the cigarette smell off the food.
"Come on, Hyung. You used to smoke yourself."
"Yeah, and that's why I quit. Finish up and let's go."
There was a bit of distance between his one-room and the pub. Twenty, thirty minutes on foot? Luckily Dongmin-hyung had a car, and they lived close enough that he always drove him home.
Dongmin-hyung got in first and started the engine. Minseok stubbed out his cigarette in a hurry and scrambled into the passenger seat.
"Ah—we were talking about this earlier. Minseok, what are you doing for Christmas?"
The second he sat down, Dongmin-hyung jumped on it like he'd been waiting.
"Me? I'll just rest at home."
"You know the boss is taking the family on a trip Christmas Day, so we're off, right? Figured the staff could throw a little party."
"Just the staff? You, me, and Jieun—the three of us?"
"No, no. The girl who works the hall on day shift, plus the daytime delivery kid. Five total."
The daytime hall girl was twenty-one, two years younger than him, and on her third try at the college entrance exam. Holding down a part-time job while studying was impressive enough, though he had no idea how she'd scored on this year's test. He'd only learned she was a three-time retaker because he'd covered her shift on exam day; they'd never so much as had a real conversation. Looks-wise, the charitable word was plain. The honest one: she didn't know how to put herself together. Studying full-time, sure—he got it—but bare face and thick horn-rimmed glasses every single day made "pretty" a stretch even as empty flattery.
And the delivery guy who worked before the boss came in was a twenty-year-old drowning in bravado. Arm tattoos, hair dyed screaming yellow—your classic punk type. Skinny build, ego for days; Minseok had overheard him bragging that he'd gotten into trouble and dropped out of high school. When you volunteered that kind of thing to people you barely knew and had barely spoken to, there wasn't much left to say.
"Everyone else already in?"
"Yeah. Everyone but you said okay. They're all single, so Christmas is wide open for them."
He had zero desire to see the two daytime kids—but if Lee Jieun was coming, he couldn't sit this one out. If not a special day like Christmas, when else was he going to hang out with her off the clock and actually get closer?
"Alright then. What time, and where?"
"Mm… still have to lock it down, but right now I'm thinking something light—meat for dinner, drinks, karaoke, that kind of thing."
"Aww. You said party, so I figured we'd at least grab a room and go all out."
"Kid. Party rooms on Christmas were booked solid ages ago. And it's only a 'party' in name. We're single, so instead of rotting at home on Christmas, we go out and have a drink. That's it."
Fair enough. Christmas was only two weeks away; nothing was going to open up now. And Dongmin-hyung was right—better to make some kind of plan and get out of the house than sit home alone just because you were single.
"Fine by me! But Hyung, you've got a girlfriend. Why skip her to crash a singles hangout?"
"Hey! The reason we're off Christmas is the boss's family trip. Obviously my girlfriend's going on that family trip too. Boss even asked me to come along—we're not even married yet, why would I tag along for that? Drinks with you guys is way better."
Something he'd forgotten clicked back into place. Dongmin-hyung was dating the boss's daughter. They never really showed it at the shop, so Minseok had mostly thought of him as the senior who'd been there forever—but locking up, and a lot else besides, was already on Dongmin-hyung's plate. Getting ready to take over the place, in a way. Treating the shop like his own was part of why he drove Minseok home every night too.
"Ah, right. So that's why you're with us?"
"Mm… and this is off the record, but honestly the daytime bike kid wouldn't shut up about it. Looks like he's into Jieun. Every time they work together he hounds me about her. I've been ignoring him, but it's Christmas, so I figured why not get the afternoon crew and the night crew together for a drink."
"Jieun?"
"Yeah. She's a cute one. Same age as him, and she doesn't seem to have a boyfriend anyway… figured I'd let them see if they click. What about you and Heejung? Ah—the girl on daytime hall. She's a pretty sweet kid in her own way…"
Set Jieun up with that punk, and pair him with the plain girl? Not a chance in hell. Saying Forget the plain one, I want Jieun out loud would only put Dongmin-hyung in an awkward spot between them.
"Nah, I'm really not looking to date anyone right now. I can barely take care of myself—who's got time to meet people and go out with them."
"Whatever. Suit yourself. Anyway, keep Christmas free. Get home safe!"
Before he knew it, Dongmin-hyung's car had pulled up in front of his place.
"Yes, thank you! Drive safe, Hyung!"
He was already pulling out a cigarette as he got out. The second the passenger door shut, the Avante that had driven him home pulled away.
He lit up and watched the car's taillights, and something started boiling up inside him.
You've got some nerve, eyeing someone else's girl.
Not aimed at Dongmin-hyung, of course. Just that blond punk. Some kid whose name he didn't even know, going after Lee Jieun—it pissed him off more than he could say.