“Do you have another part-time work today?”
“Yes. Today I have to work part-time in a cafe.”
“Do you do that every day?”
“On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings, but not every day.”
“But today is Saturday.”
“Oh, the owner asked me specifically for this week and told me to only work on the weekends rather than the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of the next week.”
While he listened to Yigyeom talk, Kwon Taejung tilted his head and drummed his fingers on the steering wheel. Working part-time on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays rather than every day was a relatively unusual schedule.
“That’s uncommon, why do you work on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays?”
“That… Normally, the boss keeps an eye on the store himself, but on those days he has other things to do, so I only do it then.
“Wouldn’t it be better to simply work full-time?”
” I had the same thought as you…But, event planning companies handle a lot of work, and those work pay more than working a shift at a cafe. It was the same at the banquet hall as well. I’m simply carrying out what I usually do because if I worked full-time now, I would have to work for the event company only on the weekends.”
When Kwon Taejung posed a serious concern, the response he received was as insightful. Kwon Taejung thought Yigyeom wasn’t unwilling to speak with him at all.
“All right, let’s get some coffee. Since I didn’t drink any coffee today, my head hurts. We can just go to a cafe I know, right?
“Yes.”
“It’s not too far away from here. Perhaps 20 minutes? Don’t worry, I won’t take you home too late.”
Kwon Taejung went to a peaceful cafe with a nice ambiance and a private area to use. The coffee must, of course, taste fantastic.
“Do you like coffee?”
“…Yes.”
“A grownup, I see.”
“But, I just enjoy sweet coffee. I still can’t have bitter ones.
“Okay, the sweet ones. The ones with the syrup? ”
“Yes…
“Vanilla or whipped cream-topped lattes”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Kwon Taejung was immediately brought to mind of his brother when he heard the names of those sweet coffee. Kijoon’s favorite of them all was the vanilla latte. When at work, his brother normally came across as gregarious, although he was often soft-spoken and preferred coffees that were so sweet that his tongue would sting. Kwon Taejung grinned to himself remembering his cheerful brother, who constantly called him “our younger brother” and worried about him.
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“Qts vb sbe bcis ajxf bcf vglcx jiatbeut atfs abiv sbe atja sbe mjc tjnf atgff fjmt vjs? Yc Zbcvjs, Kefrvjs, jcv Qfvcfrvjs, tjnf clcf vglcxr.”
In response to Kwon Taejung’s remarks, Yigyeom shook his head and quietly giggled. Kwon Taejung, who was facing forward, turned his head in response to the pleasant sound coming from the passenger seat as he slowly moved the steering wheel. Yigyeom was laughing.
“Companies’ profits would soar through the ceiling if they had a worker like you, I tell you. You don’t even take anything in return.”
The breathing from the passenger’s seat was audible once more, along with a faint popping sound. It resembled the sound of chewing through soft fruit or when a light breeze sweeps light-colored flowers petals.
“…”
Why do you keep laughing? It felt strange. He put an end to what he was going to say and shut his mouth as he thought back to Yigyeom’s laughing, which was quiet and subdued as it rang in Kwon Taejung’s ears. He was compelled to keep looking to the side, listening, and hearing him chuckle.
“…”
Kwon Taejung asked Yigyeom to choose his drink when they got to the café, but the latter just stated he would choose the cheapest option. So, he let Yigyeom sit at one of the tables and went up to the counter alone to order an iced Americano for himself and a vanilla frappe for Yigyeom. He made sure to nod in response to the strange question about whether he would like whipped cream.
Yigyeom said he only enjoyed sweet coffee, so Kwon Taejung chose that while ordering. Yet, he actually fell for those words, which were so incredible that they nearly drove him insane. Kwon Taejung tried to keep his distance from the kid, who was 12 years younger than him and was waiting for him patiently, and he maintained the patience which only an adult could have.
“Customer no.12. Your ordered coffee is here.”
As the vibration bell rang, Kwon Taejung padded towards the pickup desk and stared at coffee full of whipped cream, which he had never ordered or even tried to have. It wasn’t that he didn’t think he’d like them, but it was the type of coffee that suited Yigyeom. Like Yigyeom, the whipping cream was white and fluffy. It was lovely and vulnerable…and then again…
“….”
Kwon Taejung regained control of himself, convincing himself that he couldn’t think of people as delicious and expressed the same smile that the employee greeted him with. Kwon Taejung carried the tray to the cafe’s private room at the far end of the garden. Yigyeom was gazing out the window at the flowers.
“Oh, let me help.”
Yigyeom was so startled by the sudden noise of Kwon Taejung entering that he dashed towards him immediately and received the tray from him, placing it on the table.
“The one with the cream is yours.”
“….”
“Don’t like it?”
“….Thank you. I will have it.”
Yigyeom used a straw to scoop some whipped cream from the top of the coffee that Kwon Taejung had bought and placed it in his mouth. It melted and dissipated as soon as it touched his mouth, leaving only delicious sweetness.
“Why did you say you like coffee even though you like these kinds of food?”
“…I really don’t mind, I like everything. You even spent too much money buying me lunch, two times on top of that.”
“You seem to have a lot of worries so let’s not worry about what I do with my money, okay? It’s not something you should worry about.”
“Sorry. I was being too presumptuous…”
Kwon Taejung observed Yigyeom sag into his seat. He reached out and touched his cheek in an instant. Kwon Taejung tapped his cheeks jokingly as he lifted Yigyeom’s chin and the latter returned his gaze.
“I won’t starve if I buy everything you like, okay?”
“…”
“So whenever you want to have pork cutlets, or coffee like that one, tell me. I’ll buy it for you a hundred, even a thousand times.”
“….”
“You should be fucking touched.”
Kwon Taejung grinned and gripped Yigyeom’s cheek lightly. The soft and fluffy cheeks which were glutinous rice cakes wrinkled under Kwon Taejung’s fingers.
“Or make me spend more money on you.”
“…”
“You know? I will buy you pork cutlets every day if I come to like you.”
Kwon Taejung smoothed Yigyeom’s cheek surface, which had turned a little red after he touched it. He let go of his cheeks and cupped his fingers around the cold coffee cup.
“Then, our Yigyeom would totally hit the lottery, don’t you think so?”
From the demolition village, Yigyeom would be entering a castle like the Taesung group. Kwon Taejung drank a large sip of coffee. Perhaps it was because he drank too much coffee when he used to work at the company that he would get a mild headache if he didn’t get his daily dose. Kwon Taejung tried to keep it to a minimum.
“…I…hate thugs.”
Was it a coffee addiction?… Kwon Taejung, who was thinking about it while staring at the coffee, turned his head reflexively when Yigyeom’s words broke his trance.
“What?”
“I won’t like thugs.”
Kwon Taejung was baffled as to why he was suddenly addressing thugs. Kwon Taejung remembered what he had said earlier as he looked at Yigyeom. To tell him if he wanted anything, and joked that he wanted Yigyeom to make him spend money on him plus, he mentioned there was a chance he would come to like him.
“So now.”
But the answer to those words he said was that he didn’t like thugs.
“Are you saying that I am a thug?”
“…You stay at the container. You are the Chief even…”
“…”
“The previous Chief…also used to live there. The one who left…”
Ah, where did it go wrong? Kwon Taejung seriously looked back on all the past times. Kwon Taejung wondered where it all began and found the answer on their first meeting.
“I am the recent resident of the red container.”
“…Container?”
“Yes, the red one. It’s a total landmark of the slum.”
From the first time Kwon Taejung met Yigyeom and told him that he would be moving to the container, Yigyeom seemed to consider him as the new Chief of the management. He didn’t introduce himself as Kwon Taejung, the executive director from Taesung Group, and only talked about the container. Kwon Taejung burst out in guffaws.
“So well, let’s say I’m a thug. Why wouldn’t you like a gangster? Did I give you the fright of your life? Did I threaten you? I never asked you for your money and helped you instead. So why?”
“…I am scared…and it’s dangerous…I also don’t like fighting…”
“Then wouldn’t it be okay if I am nice to you only?”
Kwon Taejung, interested in what Yigyeom was saying, pushed his coffee away and only focused on Yigyeom.
“…You can get hurt from doing dangerous things…you could die as well. I don’t like that. If…If I really had to like someone, I would like someone who is an average person.”
“What’s an average person?”
“Someone who works hard, whom I can have dinner with after we get off work, and someone who can be with me for a long time.”
“Someone who works hard but doesn’t have money. Does that work?”
“Money…we can make together, so it’s okay.”
“Okay, then someone who makes money and has dinner with you, well everything is average but he is really ugly. Does that work?”
“Face doesn’t matter at all.”
Kwon Taejung, who was too familiar with his own face, pushed his face closer to Yigyeom. Yigyeom flinched and drew back. No way. It couldn’t be that the face didn’t matter.
“A handsome, rich, and amazing thug and an ugly, poor worker. Which one do you like?”
Taejung … Slow down … You’re scaring even me…
yeah he is getting pretty aggressive…wait till you read the next chapter haha
Oh my … I can see the holy arrow … But now suddenly, out of nowhere, I’m starting to feel shy…
Thank you tho’ shy looks good on me 😌
😭🤭