Chapter 54: The Daily Bar’s Hidden Charm

The daily bar was incredibly busy, leaving no time for rest. Customers continuously poured in, and by late afternoon, the queue stretched outside. Yoonwoo, who hadn’t anticipated such popularity, was inwardly surprised even as he busily moved to serve.

“It was a good idea to put Yeon-chae out front.”

“Yeon-chae?”

Jungseo, with a pleased expression, pointed to Yeon-chae, who was engrossed in cooking in the open kitchen. From up close, Yeon-chae could be seen kneading dough, facing their direction.

There was no trace of fatigue on Yeon-chae’s calm face. Their brow was slightly furrowed in concentration, making them appear serious.

Their downturned eyelashes were as lush and long as ever. Their clear cheeks, high nose bridge, and sharp jawline also drew the eye.

Even Yoonwoo, who saw Yeon-chae every day, felt a momentary flutter in his chest at the striking beauty of their face.

“I had planned for Yeon-chae to attract customers, but I think putting them in the kitchen was an even better idea. It became a completely natural form of promotion.”

“Indeed. Yeon-chae is really popular.”

Yoonwoo looked around at the crowded bar with curious eyes. Jungseo continued.

“Yeon-chae was always popular, you know. There’s probably no one in the business department who doesn’t know Yeon-chae.”

“Oh, really?”

“That’s why I went to such lengths to get Yeon-chae to join. They played hard to get, you know.”

This was new information to Yoonwoo. He was at a loss for words.

He recalled Yeon-chae showing keen interest and acting proactively when he first brought up the stock investment club, but perhaps his memory was mistaken. Yoonwoo’s poor memory was nothing new. So, he simply nodded, accepting it as fact.

“I asked Yeon-chae to join because they had won several awards in mock investments, but there was also a promotional purpose, of course. After Yeon-chae joined, our new member count significantly increased.”

“What? Really?”

“Yes. But…”

Jungseo, who had furrowed their brow as if recalling past events, soon looked crestfallen. It seemed the outcome hadn’t been good.

“Though Yeon-chae drove them all away, we’re back to square one now…”

“Yeon-chae did? How could they drive them away?”

“It’s not that Yeon-chae actively chased them away, it’s just… They’d get confessed to and then reject them, confessed to and then reject them. After that happened more than ten times, all the new members just left.”

“…”

Yoonwoo recalled the time when he and Yeon-chae had just joined the club. He vaguely remembered Jungseo being delighted that new members had continuously poured in for a while. Now that he thought about it, those new members had disappeared one by one before he even learned their names, leaving only a few behind.

“So that’s what happened. I didn’t know.”

His voice, when he replied, sounded rather flat. Yoonwoo, crestfallen for no apparent reason, glanced at Yeon-chae’s profile, who appeared absorbed in cooking.

‘Yeon-chae is popular.’ It was an obvious fact, yet one he had never truly considered, and it now struck him anew. ‘If they were so popular, why didn’t things work out with Yoon-hyung? It was all flash and no substance.’

As he grumbled to himself, feeling a bit prickly, Yeon-chae suddenly lifted their head, as if sensing his gaze. Their eyes met in the air as Yeon-chae quickly turned to look his way. Yeon-chae called out to Yoonwoo.

“Yoonwoo.”

As Yeon-chae’s eyes crinkled into a sweet smile, long dimples formed on their pale cheeks. Their radiant smile was so beautiful it made his heart flutter for a moment.

“Oh…”

“Don’t go far, just stay around here.”

“Huh? Uh-huh…”

Yoonwoo unnecessarily avoided their gaze, fiddling with his reddened cheeks.

Two days flew by in an instant. It was the last day of the festival. Since they had sold all the dishes made from their remaining ingredients, they were able to close the daily bar early and enjoy the final stretch of the festival.

“I wanted to make you non-spicy kimchi pancakes, but I couldn’t.”

Yeon-chae’s expression was crestfallen. Yoonwoo, remembering the pale, lackluster appearance of those kimchi pancakes, forced a disappointed expression, pulling up the corners of his mouth.

“I know. I really wanted to try them.”

“Shall I make them tomorrow? Will you come to my place?”

“No.”

“…”

“It’s fine. You don’t have to.”

“…”

His feigned disappointment didn’t even last ten seconds.

Looking around, there were many delicious-looking food stalls. Yeon-chae quietly observed Yoonwoo, whose head kept turning from side to side, before returning with two *sotteok sotteok* skewers from a nearby food stall.

Yoonwoo clapped his hands, his face filled with admiration.

“I really wanted to eat this. How did you know!”

“You were staring at it, practically drooling.”

“Oh…”

It had a simultaneously tangy, sweet, and spicy flavor. When he subtly asked if Yeon-chae knew how to make something like this, Yeon-chae nodded with a confident expression.

“It’s completely basic. It’s really easy.”

“Oh, really? Then you can make it as an appetizer when you make me *ganjang gejang*.”

“Yes. Of course… What?”

“Hm?”

“…”

“…”

They stood side by side, eating *sotteok sotteok* in silence for five minutes. Yoonwoo had intended to immediately tell Yeon-chae it was a joke, but Yeon-chae’s serious gaze, fixed on some point in the air as if in agony, was too amusing to watch.

“Alright…”

Finally, Yeon-chae groaned and nodded. Yoonwoo chuckled, pulling off and biting into the last remaining sausage.

“It was a joke.”

“…”

“Why do you always fall for it? You didn’t actually think I’d ask you to make *ganjang gejang*, did you?”

“Because I really wanted to make it for you.”

“Oh?”

“…Never mind.”

“You really were going to make it?”

“No, I’m not! I won’t!”

The streetlights twinkled on Yeon-chae’s face, their cheeks puffed out.

Band music drifted from afar. A long, soft breeze touched his neck and then vanished. It was the season between seasons, spring fading and summer not yet arrived. His heart felt as light as his clothes.

He had caused a major incident by getting pregnant at twenty-three, yet the days since deciding to have the baby had unfolded like any other. He might regret this decision someday.

Raising a child would be unimaginably difficult, and Yeon-chae wouldn’t stay by his side forever. Yet, strangely, he felt no anxiety. Yoonwoo was surprised at how immature he seemed to be.

Perhaps it was because of Yeon-chae’s low, reassuring voice that always reached his ears.

“Later.”

“I’ll practice a bit… and if it’s successful, I’ll make it for you.”

“Oh?”

“The *ganjang gejang*.”

“Oh…”

‘Is it alright for us to talk about ‘later’?’ Yoonwoo briefly wondered, but then simply laughed in front of Yeon-chae, who was making a serious pledge.

There was no need to worry prematurely. Yoonwoo was the kind of person who couldn’t sleep a wink the night before a picnic, worrying the sky might fall. So, while he was imagining the worst and pushing Yeon-chae away, Yeon-chae was studying *ganjang gejang* recipes and talking about ‘later’.

Someday, Yeon-chae would find someone they liked or things would work out with Yoon-hyung, and Yeon-chae would drift away from Yoonwoo and the baby. However, he felt that living each day as it came was enough until then.

“Maybe we should have just done something simple like this. Yeon-chae, you must have been so tired.”

He changed the subject as he threw the empty *sotteok sotteok* box into the trash. Relieved from the worries about *ganjang gejang*, Yeon-chae smiled, shaking their head. Even if they didn’t show it, they must have been very fatigued.

“Shall we go home now?”

Yoonwoo intended to send them home early. However, Yeon-chae calmly pointed towards the stage where a performance was underway.

“Let’s listen to the music there before we go.”

“Really? You don’t like crowds.”

“You wanted to see the performance. I’ll take you home after we watch it.”

“Wow. How did you know?”

“You’ve been singing about it a hundred times, hyung.”

Yeon-chae replied, letting out a small laugh.

‘Had he?’ Yoonwoo felt he had been quite excited throughout what was the last festival of his undergraduate years. ‘I want to see a performance. On the last day, I want to wander around campus and play.’ When he put together the casual remarks he had thrown out, it seemed he had said them a hundred times.

Still, dragging Yeon-chae, who had suffered for three days at the bar, to the noisy stage to watch a performance felt like enjoying it all by himself. Yet, he doubted Yeon-chae would go home alone. Yoonwoo, who had been feeling sorry for Yeon-chae lately, took hold of their elbow, about to suggest they just head home.

“They’re also having fireworks soon.”

“What! Really?”

That was before he heard that fireworks, which many rumored would be omitted due to budget issues, were still scheduled. ‘Alright, Yeon-chae is a dominant Alpha and young, so they probably won’t be laid up after a few days of work…’

Before the fireworks began, he and Yeon-chae walked around campus, picking out a few more things they wanted to eat. They also played a water balloon target game they found on the way to the performance venue. Yoonwoo threw ten times and hit the target nine times; the last one burst in his hand just as he was about to throw it.

“They should have let me try again.”

Yoonwoo grumbled, hugging the teddy bear he received as a prize for hitting nine targets, and Yeon-chae subtly smiled. They seemed to be trying not to laugh with downturned lips, but it was obvious.

“Why are you laughing? What’s so funny?”

He demanded, frowning. Yeon-chae denied it a few times, but after Yoonwoo pinched their cheek and stretched it out, they finally confessed.

“You should have applied just the right amount of force. You were too impatient and put too much strength into it, so it burst in your hand.”

“Hey, that water balloon was weak. Who’s impatient?”

Watching their pale cheek stretch like a rice cake in his hand was always fascinating and adorable. Yoonwoo squeezed the soft rice cake several more times. Yeon-chae, who had obediently surrendered their cheek to Yoonwoo’s hand, finally made a pained sound, saying “Ow, ow,” before Yoonwoo reluctantly let go. A red handprint, like a maple leaf, was left on Yeon-chae’s clear cheek.