Cha Hyunwoo asked. He wasn’t asking me; he was talking to Jung Yoonseo. Instead of answering that question, Jung Yoonseo offered a greeting.
“It’s been a while. I heard you were running a cafe, but I was too busy to visit beforehand. Have you been well?”
“…I’ve been well. Have you been well, hyung?”
“Yeah. Give my regards to your father too.”
“It’s been quite a while since we’ve been in contact.”
“Ah…”
Jung Yoonseo trailed off. Fuck. I should’ve gone in earlier. I stayed for no reason. I hesitated to go in even now, opening my mouth, but Jung Yoonseo was a bit faster.
“Is Hyun-ssi’s workplace Hyunwoo’s cafe?”
“Yes…”
“The world is really small, isn’t it?”
At Jung Yoonseo’s words, Cha Hyunwoo asked with a still not particularly good expression.
“How do you two know each other?”
Since Cha Hyunwoo always had a gentle expression normally, seeing him stiffen his face like this felt a bit unfamiliar. Anyway, Cha Hyunwoo’s question was quite difficult to answer. To say that by chance one of Jung Yoonseo’s team members spilled coffee on my laptop and that’s how our relationship started with Yoonseo saying he’d compensate for it was a bit…
While I was pondering, Jung Yoonseo answered instead.
“We just happened to get to know each other.”
Should this even be considered an answer? With no response from Cha Hyunwoo, I eventually explained instead.
“We happened to run into each other at a cafe, and hyung’s team member spilled coffee on my laptop, so hyung gave me his contact information saying he’d compensate for it.”
Cha Hyunwoo listened to me and looked at me with a subtle expression.
“…Is that all?”
Cha Hyunwoo’s gaze swept over the patches plastered all over my neck and returned to Jung Yoonseo.
“Even if it wasn’t, what can you do.”
…That was what Jung Yoonseo said. Damn it. I really should’ve gone in earlier. I’d completely forgotten that needless curiosity invites trouble. I took out my phone and checked the time.
“Boss, I’ll go in first… I need to switch shifts.”
“…Okay.”
“Take care. Work hard and contact me later.”
I awkwardly bowed to Jung Yoonseo in greeting. It probably would’ve been better to just wave my hand, but since I unconsciously bowed as well, the picture seemed a bit strange. Cha Hyunwoo said something to Jung Yoonseo, but I didn’t listen and quickly entered the cafe. It’s a burden I have to bear, but I didn’t know I’d be caught between acquaintances like this…
Anyway, I never got to hear to the end how Jung Yoonseo and Cha Hyunwoo knew each other. Judging from the talk about his father, it seemed their families knew each other too.
I went to the break room, changed clothes, and switched shifts with the previous part-timer.
“You really worked hard today.”
“Me? I’m leaving now. Work hard.”
After briefly exchanging greetings, I was checking the cash and inventory at the counter when Cha Hyunwoo came in. I greeted him awkwardly. Cha Hyunwoo chose his words for a long time before asking.
“Are you seeing Yoonseo hyung?”
That “seeing” probably wasn’t talking about just running into each other. I hadn’t exchanged those kinds of words with Jung Yoonseo, but it was probably right to say we were seeing each other.
“Uh… yes.”
At my answer, Cha Hyunwoo fell silent. Cha Hyunwoo seemed to have many things he wanted to ask but also seemed like he didn’t want to ask anything. Cha Hyunwoo’s lips moved several times before he spoke in a cracked voice after a long while.
“…I see.”
I couldn’t say anything and just stared quietly at Cha Hyunwoo before turning my eyes away. The feeling that I’d ruined everything in an instant pressed heavily on my chest. I unconsciously picked at my nails. Eventually, I could only stop that action after seeing blood along with a stinging pain. I quickly washed the wound with water in case Cha Hyunwoo would worry.
After that, befitting a Sunday, a busy day continued, so there was no time to have a proper conversation with Cha Hyunwoo. Of course, even if it had been slow, I didn’t think I could have had a proper conversation. I didn’t think I’d know what kind of story to bring up either.
After finishing closing, I hesitated before greeting Cha Hyunwoo.
“I’ll lock up and leave. Hyung, you get off work first.”
Cha Hyunwoo looked at me for a moment, then just smiled and said.
“…No. You go first. I have some things to do.”
“…Okay. Then I’ll leave first. See you tomorrow.”
“Okay. Get home safely.”
Even in that moment when Cha Hyunwoo was seeing me off, there was that perfume scent that was no longer unfamiliar. It was hard to smell that scent for long.
As I was walking home, a call came. It was Jung Yoonseo.
“Hyung.”
[Are you done with work?]
“Yes. Are you home, hyung?”
[Yes. If you just finished, you must be tired. Go home and rest.]
“What were you doing, hyung?”
Jung Yoonseo seemed to ponder my words for a moment before answering playfully.
[I was thinking about you.]
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“What were you thinking about me?”
[If I tell you that, I’ll want to drive there right now, so I’ll hold back.]
“You must have been thinking something fun…”
[It’s nighttime, so thoughts came to me.]
We exchanged words that would slip into dirty talk if we weren’t careful, and before I knew it, I’d arrived home. I entered the password and lay down on the blanket with just my outer clothing roughly taken off. I pondered for a moment before finally asking what I’d been curious about.
“How do you know the boss?”
[Hmm…]
Jung Yoonseo paused for a moment. Was it perhaps an awkward relationship to talk about?
“If it’s hard to talk about, just skip it.”
[No. It’s not that. I was just retracing my thoughts. It’s been a while since we met.]
“How long has it been for you to say that?”
[You know I attended school in Korea starting from first year of middle school, right?]
“Um… yes.”
[I met him then.]
They met there even though their age gap was definitely not one you could see at the same school?
“Boss is three years younger than you. He would’ve been eleven then, right?”
[Of course we didn’t meet at school. We met at a party. I don’t even remember what party it was, but I think it was quite a big party. Ah, Hyunwoo’s father was an executive at our company.]
So that’s why he asked about his father earlier.
[We met there, and even though Hyunwoo was young, he spoke English quite well, so we became somewhat close. It was a time when I couldn’t speak Korean at all. And as Hyunwoo entered middle school, we kept in touch occasionally. Then after becoming adults, um… during Hyunwoo’s difficult time, I somehow ended up helping him, so we got close for a while, then drifted apart again, and repeated that. That’s what all friendships are like, right? It’s been about a year since we completely lost contact. Neither of us really cared much, so we just went on like that.]
The part where Jung Yoonseo glossed over probably had Cha Hyunwoo’s coming out issue mixed in. I listened quietly to the story before asking.
“You two never had a bad relationship?”
[Right?]
“But earlier, it was a bit…”
I recalled Cha Hyunwoo’s expression that wasn’t good at all and Jung Yoonseo resolutely getting on his nerves. At my words, Jung Yoonseo chuckled before saying.
[That’s… Hyunwoo is quite perceptive.]
“What?”
[I am too. You’re not.]
I was told I was clueless again. But this time, I could guess why Cha Hyunwoo acted that way. I don’t think I’m particularly clueless, but this time it was a situation that was glaringly obvious even without being perceptive. I bit my lip hard. I felt an indescribable guilt toward Cha Hyunwoo. Of course, even if it wasn’t the original intention, it was a weekend that Hyunwoo had considerately given up for me…
Moreover, since I ultimately knew that Cha Hyunwoo liked me, the guilt from that was immense.
When I didn’t say anything, Jung Yoonseo asked in a sunken voice.
[…Did you know? Did Hyunwoo perhaps tell you?]
I could fully guess what the omitted subtext meant.
“…I think I probably knew. Boss… told me he likes men too…”
[Hyunwoo told you that?]
“Yes.”
Jung Yoonseo also had nothing to say. I too kept silent before speaking.
“…I think it’s a bit much to talk more about it. Boss isn’t here either, and we don’t know for sure. I don’t want to talk by making assumptions.”
I heard Jung Yoonseo’s sigh through the phone.
[…I know what you’re worried about, but I’m… just.]
Another long silence followed. Just as I was about to ask back, Jung Yoonseo’s words continued.
[You’re not going to say let’s stop seeing each other, right?]
Jung Yoonseo’s tone was light. But it was hard to answer easily. When I didn’t answer, Jung Yoonseo’s words grew longer.
