Chapter 17: Unexpected Encounter

During vacation, at the franchise cafe where he worked part-time, Haejun got a message asking if he could cover just the closing shift today. The manager sounded desperate, and Haejun happened to be free, so he agreed right away.

“Hello.”

“Haejun? So you were the substitute the manager found?”

The man at the counter widened his eyes and greeted Haejun. They had worked the same shift during vacation, so Haejun recognized him. Haejun nodded.

The man tried to say something else, but Haejun turned and pulled Sijin along.

“Sit here for a moment. I’ll hurry and change, then make you a drink.”

“You’re making it yourself, Haejun?”

At the teasing laugh, Haejun gave a small nod. He hid his shy expression quickly, checked that Sijin had taken a seat near the counter, and went into the staff break room.

Haejun opened the cabinet like he had been there yesterday and changed into his uniform. He had quit the cafe part-time job because school started, but it had only been about a month since the semester began, so his hands were skilled as he tied the black apron around his waist.

After changing, Haejun returned to the counter and nodded at the man still standing there, signaling they could switch.

Haejun was not usually slow, but the man looked baffled that he had come back out only a minute after going to change. Most part-timers, even if they arrived early, never left the break room before their shift started.

Then the man grabbed Haejun’s shoulder as he tried to pass. Haejun’s body, already eager to run to Sijin, was held back.

“Your apron strings are tied too loosely.”

He touched the strings tied at Haejun’s lower back. Maybe they really had been tied poorly, because the man lifted the strings and Haejun felt the apron loosen. Haejun grabbed the hem.

“I’ll do it.”

“I’ll do it for you, so watch and learn while you’re at it.”

The man behind him giggled.

Hyung is waiting over there.

His heart was already at Sijin’s side, so the man felt especially annoying. Waiting for his waist to be tied again, Haejun looked straight ahead and spotted Sijin nearby, looking at his phone.

As if sensing Haejun’s gaze, Sijin looked up. The counter was exactly waist height, so from where Sijin sat, he would not be able to see well what Haejun and the man were doing behind him.

Sijin tilted his head with an expression that was hard to read as either a smile or a frown. Haejun could tell he was asking what they were doing.

“Done.”

“Thank you.”

Haejun bowed, then stood at the counter and waved Sijin over. Sijin let go of his somewhat delinquent expression and came to Haejun.

“What do you want to drink?”

Haejun was thrilled that he could make a drink for hyung himself. If Sijin said it was good, he felt like he might jump around in joy.

Sijin received that excitement and looked down at Haejun, who was full of thoughts about taking his order, then let out a small laugh.

The drink he always ordered at cafes was decided, but Sijin pretended to look at the menu above Haejun’s head. Americano, latte, smoothie, frappuccino, ade, tea, and other basics were plentiful, and because it was a franchise cafe, there were seasonal menus too.

Why were drinks so colorful? They were far from Sijin’s taste.

“What’s good here?”

“…Americano.”

Haejun recommended in a small voice. He had a prejudice that Alpha men with an urban intellectual vibe would enjoy Americano. It was also the best-selling drink. The numbers said the cafe’s most popular menu was Americano. Haejun himself had never even tried coffee because he hated bitter tastes.

“I heard part-timers like customers who order Americano the most.”

“No, that’s not it… I make coffee well.”

“The machine does look good.”

Sijin glanced at the coffee machine and shrugged. Haejun remembered the manager stressing that the machine cost twenty million won when he first started. Haejun awkwardly rolled his eyes and nodded.

“Then do you want an Americano?”

“Yeah. Iced, with an extra shot.”

An extra shot of espresso. Haejun’s lips parted. Wow. So grown-up. He already knew Sijin was an adult, but the thought still came. If I reach hyung’s age, will coffee taste good to me?

Haejun woke from the small thought and hurried to the machine. While the espresso brewed, Haejun was conscious of Sijin sitting nearby with his legs crossed, looking at his phone.

Earlier, the screen had been full of long English paragraphs. His focused face made it seem like he was continuing what he had been reading.

Two people at a table over there glanced at Sijin and whispered among themselves. There were not many people in the store, but Moon Sijin gave off an aura that was hard to ignore. He acted like he did not care about anyone around him, which drew even more attention.

Haejun pouted for a moment, then realized he was too excited. He forced himself to calm down and grabbed a cup holder and straw.

Normally, the cafe gave customers a buzzer and they picked up their own drinks, but Haejun moved to bring it to Sijin himself. The tray with one coffee was light, but that also made it easy to tip, so he had to be careful.

Just as Haejun was about to leave the counter, the part-timer who had changed clothes called him.

“When are you working again?”

Haejun stood awkwardly with the tray in both hands. The man adjusted his backpack and smiled broadly, not realizing he was blocking someone’s path.

He was naturally friendly, and he had often chatted with Haejun before. There was probably no bad intent now either, but every time the man blocked Haejun from going to Sijin, Haejun felt a little uncomfortable.

“During vacation. I told the manager.”

“Really? Will you do the opening shift then too?”

“I don’t really know how it will work out.”

“Then are you done with substitute shifts like today?”

“No. If the time works, I’ll come out again.”

The ice in the takeout cup clattered against itself. Haejun bowed to the man and slipped out through the empty space beside him. He moved quickly enough that the man had no chance to grab him again.

“Hyung.”

Haejun hid his excited feelings and called him. As expected, Sijin, who had been reading an English essay, looked up.

Sijin looked at Haejun once, the coffee once, the man standing dumbly behind him once, then back at Haejun.

“Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”

He thanked Haejun and glanced over Haejun’s shoulder. Sijin took the coffee and stood from his seat. Now taller than Haejun, he stroked Haejun’s side hair and cheek as if for someone to see. It was an affectionate and friendly touch.

“I’ll come back around when you finish later.”

“I can go by myself.”

“I said I was coming to drink one more coffee.”

“……”

Haejun had answered confidently because he thought hyung meant to walk him home again. At the unexpected reason, he lost his words for a moment. When he just blinked blankly, Sijin smiled mischievously.

“Actually, I did come to walk you home.”

Sijin’s laugh landed lightly on top of Haejun’s head.

“See you later.”

There was a ticklish feeling that he could not hold back without blushing.

As soon as Sijin left, customers rushed in, and Haejun was busy without a break. After the last customer left, Haejun hung the closing sign on the door.

He had sent Sijin a message saying he could just come inside, since Sijin had said he would come at closing time, and then started cleaning. Doing the dishes, sorting the trash, and mopping the floor took over thirty minutes.

During that time, the bell on the door did not ring even once. Haejun only noticed just before he went to wash the mop. He checked his phone late, but there was no contact from hyung.

He did not know who Sijin was with or what he was doing, but it seemed he did not even have time to check his phone, since he had not read the messages.

Usually Sijin replied quickly and often showed up before Haejun even looked for him, so Haejun’s face filled with doubt. Did hyung mistake the time? He sent a message saying he was cleaning up for closing now.

“……”

Haejun stared at the additional unread bubble. Soon, worried that he looked like he was waiting too much, he wrote another message saying he was fine and would go alone if Sijin was late.

Just as he was about to press send, he heard unusually loud noise outside the clear glass door. Then the door burst open.

Only Sijin was supposed to come, but Haejun knew at once that Sijin would never enter so loudly.

“Let’s sober up a bit here. We’ve been drinking for hours, and my head is about to split.”

Night wind and a nasty smell of alcohol rushed in through the open door. When Haejun saw the face of the person who entered, his expression twisted instantly.

Among the three men with reddened cheeks, one was the guy who had recently sprayed pheromone perfume on Haejun and left him with an embarrassing memory.

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