“Did something good happen today?”
At Andy-ssi’s words, I was a bit flustered. There was nothing particularly good today. Sales were steadily doing well, but no matter how much I tried to eliminate problem customers, they never disappeared. At least I was correcting the people on Saint Sophia Island every time I saw them, and the more I corrected them, the more the lifestyle habits I’d guided became ingrained in their bodies, reducing the need for correction.
But the problem was the tourists. Among the various tourists who came to play from all over Europe, some were always problematic, and today was especially a day with many such problem customers. So I couldn’t help but be flustered when Andy-ssi asked if something good had happened. Rather, I was even sweating from calling the problem customers one by one and quickly giving them suggestions.
“N, no, nothing in particular….”
“Heh, then why do you have that idiotic expression on your face?”
Andy-ssi, true to being Scottish, had quite a blunt way of expressing himself. Bothered by the phrase “idiotic expression,” I reflected my face in the kitchen window. Dark black hair reflected in the mirror—my usual face with nothing different except my expression. Seeing myself with the corners of my mouth slipping up into a stupid smile, I unconsciously covered my mouth.
“Hey, why, are you going to sneeze?”
“N, no……”
“Don’t tell me it’s because I said idiotic expression? Geez, you loser!”
Andy-ssi smacked my back. Despite being over 70 years old, Andy-ssi had become strong enough that he might even beat the Boss in combat power if it were in the kitchen. Perhaps because of that, Andy-ssi was someone even the Boss couldn’t treat carelessly. When he patted my back, my hand naturally came away from my mouth. Andy-ssi looked at me with somehow peculiar eyes, then blurted out.
“Got a girlfriend?”
“N, n, no….”
“Kid, you’ve been smiling all day…… Enjoy it while you can, while you can.”
Saying that, Andy-ssi took out cottage pie he must have prepared for staff meals from the oven. The scent of butter, meat, and spices stung my nose. I’d said simple pasta would be enough for staff meals, but Andy-ssi baked fresh pie every day.
Come to think of it, when the Boss first offered me a job, I ate Andy-ssi’s pie too. Thinking such thoughts, laughter came out again and I had to cover my mouth once more.
‘Eat. It may look like this, but it’s a well-known pie in our neighborhood.’
When I first came to Saint Sophia Island, Ruben brought me to ‘Manon’s Pleasure’… no, at that time it was ‘Tatiana’s Feast’ and fed me pie. At the time, as a poor international student, I was mostly getting by on discounted bread and sandwiches from the neighborhood mart, so warm food that someone was treating me to felt like it had been a very long time.
‘Go ahead and try it. If you’re a university student, you do lots of pub crawls and stuff, right? You must have tried it. Fish pie.’
‘N, no, never…. I was too busy studying and couldn’t even join clubs….’
At those words, Ruben had made a surprised expression. I think I thought I’d made a mistake then. Because I felt like I’d given the impression of being ignorant to the most beautiful person I’d ever seen in my life.
‘What, you’re diligent, aren’t you?’
But Ruben at that time was kind. Ruben under the July sunshine was as fresh as freesia and as beautiful as Golden Celebration, so I hurriedly shifted my gaze to the pie, thinking I might go blind from that light.
‘It’s, it’s delicious.’
‘Right? Even though I’ve eaten delicacies from all over the world, that old man Andrew’s pie always comes to mind.’
In truth, I was so nervous I didn’t even know if the pie was delicious or not. My nerves were entirely on Ruben then. The Boss at that time told me I could ‘come and eat whenever I want’ and said he would tell Andy-ssi.
Later, when I learned that the Boss wasn’t as kind as I’d thought, but rather was the owner of a personality that would make even demons cry, and that he was committing the worst acts like gambling and prostitution. And finally, on the day I had to quit school, I came to Andy-ssi’s shop for the first time and ate pie.
The moment I put Andy-ssi’s pie in my mouth amid fear for the future, I realized that Ruben’s words that it was a “well-known pie in our neighborhood” weren’t a lie.
When I confirmed that the Boss had indeed been good to me in at least that one thing, it was strangely comforting. To me who had been afraid with the conviction that no matter what Ruben did, I would never hate him, that one fact was comforting.
‘Come to think of it, is the Boss doing okay these days……’
I thought while serving myself my portion of pie and eating. It’s been three days since I hypnotized Ruben and had sex with him to my heart’s content. That day, the Boss cheerfully kicked me out with the words “If you tell others about my insomnia, you’re dead,” and having become certain that the Boss didn’t remember anything, I left with a light heart.
Now that I know this kind of hypnosis is possible, from now on, if I get the chance, I can have sex with the Boss. With a completely vivid, Ruben-like Ruben at that. Since I was able to confirm that our physical compatibility was incomparably good, I was feeling satisfaction beyond satisfaction.
However, since I didn’t know much about sleep disorders, I was curious how the Boss was doing. Did the insomnia get better from letting him sleep deeply once? If not, having tasted deep sleep once, it would be hard to endure for long. In fact, given Ruben’s impatient personality, I’d expected to be contacted the very next day, but today is already the third day.
‘Surely it hasn’t all gotten better……’
Even without insomnia, I can have sex if I hypnotize him, but in my head, the Boss’s face kept coming to mind—the Boss who was able to sleep deeply thanks to me. A beautiful man sculpted from platinum. I wanted to see again that Ruben whom I dressed, washed, and laid in bed, who smiled at me like an angel and praised me.
I want Ruben, that human being, to praise me in his right mind. No, more than praise, I want him to pat me, tell me I’m a good boy, and as a reward, give me a gentle kiss on the cheek, or if possible, even a lap pillow. Of course, if the other party is Ruben, it would be a dream beyond dreams. I thought that while sucking up the last remaining portion of cottage pie from the innocent fork.
“Hey Elbek, eating alone again! If you were going to eat alone, you should have given me your dish before the washing was done!”
When Andy-ssi, who had somehow gotten close, shouted loudly, I jumped up from my seat in surprise. Lost in thought, the other staff had already finished eating, and it seemed the kitchen assistant had even finished washing dishes.
“I’m, I’m sorry. I’ll wash it.”
“Hmph. These days it takes a long time to wash dishes.”
“I’ll wash mine. Sorry for being late, Andy-ssi.”
When I hypnotized Andy-ssi’s kitchen assistant, I’d also put in hypnosis related to dishwashing, and that seemed to be working well. Feeling sorry for causing unnecessary trouble, I was about to go toward the kitchen with the dish when I felt a vibration in my pocket.
Boss❤
‘……It came.’
It was the Boss. After having sex, I’d put a heart next to the Boss’s name. It would be terrible if the Boss found out, but it was my own kind of commemoration. Is that why? Now I smile just seeing the Boss’s contact on my phone. I turned on my phone, feeling the corners of my mouth twitch.
“Hello…. Boss…?”
“Eeel-bek……”
A languid, drawn-out voice, kind in a way unbefitting the Boss. But I could tell that voice was slightly hoarse. Whether it was hoarse from fatigue or from screaming hysterically again at sleep that wouldn’t come, I didn’t know, but even this kind of voice had its own appeal, so I covered my mouth.
“You know my home address.”
“Yes, yyes….”
“Get over here right now.”
“To, today’s work……”
“……I’m your boss, so what I tell you to do is your work, isn’t it? Get over here right now.”
The call that ended quickly as soon as I answered “Yes….” The work talk was deliberate. The Boss hated back talk very much. If it had been someone other than me who questioned his summons, Ruben would have immediately hurled curses and personally demonstrated that he could kill a person with conversation alone. But now it’s different. Ruben is… being a little patient with me. Since I’m essentially the only human who can make him sleep, he must be treating me specially.
Of course it’s not love. Special people to him are useful people. But at this moment, I felt that I wasn’t just ‘convenient to have around’ to Ruben. I, with just my ability, I’ve become a necessary person to Ruben!
“Hit, hehe….”
I was so happy about that. A creepy pleasure like all the pores of my body were opening seemed to sweep down my spine, so I hunched my body and trembled while covering my mouth.
“Um…… Elbek-ssi, a, are you alright?”
When I suddenly raised my head, Amelia-ssi was standing in front of me with a worried face. She’d already dressed in her bartender uniform, so the start of business must not be far off, and I felt like I was getting in the way in the middle of the establishment for no reason.
“What the hell, this kid! Elbek, did your girlfriend show you pictures of lingerie she’s wearing tonight?”
“N, no.”
When Andy-ssi interrupted with nonsense, I hurriedly corrected him. Amelia-ssi was glaring at Andy-ssi.
“I, I think I need to go…. Bo, Boss summoned me…. it seems…..”
“Ah, ah, hurry and go, Elbek-ssi. Give me the dish.”
As soon as she heard the word Boss, Amelia-ssi’s already pale face turned even paler. She took my dish almost snatching it away while making a pitying expression.
“Geez, crazy bastard. Did you get hit wrong in the head? Why are you smiling? It’s a summons from that bastard Ruben.”
“N, no…. I wasn’t smiling…. Amelia-ssi, thank you. I’ll be going…..”
Even Andy-ssi’s rebuke couldn’t stop me. I bowed my head to them and hurriedly stepped outside the shop. What should I try today? What should I do to carve myself more perfectly into Ruben’s body? What should I do to make the Boss more honest with his body and feel better the fact that he’s loved? Imagining such utterly pleasant thoughts, I hurriedly got on my commuting bicycle.
