Son Suhyeon had been working part-ti at the coffee shop for just over a year.
Since a young age, he'd worked countless part-ti jobs to make ends et. Most of them involved dealing with people, so he’d t more than enough of every kind of person to last a lifeti. Especially the scummy kind—plenty of sleazy or perverted bosses who didn’t even pay him. He would work just enough to get by, then quit and move on.
The café he currently worked at was the first place he’d stayed for more than a year. The reason he hadn’t quit was entirely because of the manager.
She cared about employee welfare, let him get paid early when he asked, and never once shorted him—if anything, she paid more than expected. She even raised his wages steadily, and when she heard he was in school, she adjusted his hours.
She was the kind of boss you almost never find.
And she had only one condition for Suhyeon: he had to take off his glasses while working. Since the café was far enough from school, there was almost no chance of running into students, so it hadn’t been a big deal.
That said, there was one minor problem.
“Could I get your number?”
“Have you ever considered modeling or acting?”
Business was booming—too well.
Custors kept pouring in, asking for his number, and scouts from agencies would drop off piles of business cards. It got so busy that he and the manager couldn’t handle it alone anymore, so they finally decided to hire soone new.
“No girls... Let’s stick with a guy.”
Tons of people were applying for the job, but most of them just wanted to get close to Son Suhyeon. Even if they were hired, they wouldn’t do any actual work—they’d just spend their ti flirting with him.
So they hired a guy instead.
“Hyung, let’s take a selfie! I wanna post it on Insta!”
Didn’t do their job—kept begging for photos during breaks. So got jealous of him and caused trouble just to pin the bla on him.
“Hyung, co on, just take care of it. People only co here to see your face anyway, so act the part.”
They dumped all the work on him and just fooled around.
When the manager saw Suhyeon’s face start to twist in barely contained rage, she fired them on the spot. But the sa kind of people kept showing up. The manager was worn out, and so was Suhyeon. Having to train new people from scratch every ti was exhausting, and it was uncomfortable when they got too familiar too quickly.
“I’ll just work harder instead.”
The manager felt sorry seeing Suhyeon suffer alone, but dealing with new hires was even more draining, so she considered taking down the job posting.
That was when the ssage ca.
“I’d like to apply for the part-ti position.”
A seventeen-year-old boy who had just entered high school.
She was tempted to turn him down—his house was far away, and it didn’t make much sense for him to apply. But then she saw how tired Suhyeon looked and changed her mind.
“I’m Ha Giyeon.”
A soft-looking face and a timid deanor.
He apparently knew Suhyeon, and his impression wasn’t bad, so she hired him. His face gave a good first impression, but if he acted like the previous part-tirs, she was ready to fire him on the spot.
And yet—
“Choco Strawberry Frappe, Red Orange Grapefruit Juice, Tiramisu Latte, Brown Sugar Bubble Milk Tea Latte, Tropical Popping Smoothie, Passion Fruit Smoothie—order’s up!”
He rembered every item in the order.
“I made the strawberry smoothie. Just need to finish the coffee.”
Made drinks quickly and smoothly.
“If you like sweet drinks, I recomnd the banana latte.”
Handled custors with a smile.
“I’ll keep an eye on things, so you take a break, sunbae.”
Polite, hardworking, never slacked off. Aside from work-related matters, he didn’t speak to Suhyeon at all. No small talk about school or jokes—nothing.
“You’re way too good at this.”
Satisfaction: 100%.
Ten days into the job, Giyeon had adjusted like soone who’d worked there for months. The manager had expected him to be clumsy or make mistakes—everyone did at first.
“What is this kid?”
He was confident dealing with custors, perfectly recreated drinks after just one demonstration during training, and handled the machines like a pro. Even Suhyeon—whose expression rarely changed—had been visibly startled.
Where Suhyeon was popular with younger won and students, Ha Giyeon was beloved by middle-aged and elderly custors. He smiled often and spoke kindly, which made older folks especially fond of him.
If this kept up...
“We’ll have to raise his pay.”
Having discovered a second gold mine after Suhyeon, the manager was all smiles every day—holding Suhyeon in one hand and Giyeon in the other, grinning from ear to ear.
***
Does he just have a natural knack for this?
Son Suhyeon watched Giyeon smoothly prepare drinks the mont an order ca in and found himself lost in thought.
Back when he was still in training, Giyeon had been tense and cautious—but the mont he started working, he was shockingly competent. Even when a rude custor showed up, he handled it gracefully. Never mixed up an order, never panicked.
His skills were impressive—but what Suhyeon liked even more was...
“Thanks for your hard work.”
Ha Giyeon didn’t ask about things that didn’t concern him, and never tried to get close.
After finishing everything, he would simply bow and leave like it was nothing.
When Suhyeon used to work with other part-tirs, they’d always try to take selfies with him or chatter nonstop during breaks. He found it exhausting. But Giyeon would just glance at his phone or rest with his eyes closed. He never so much as looked Suhyeon’s way.
Unless it was about work or a greeting, he never spoke.
From Suhyeon’s perspective, it was strangely comforting. Since they knew each other, he’d expected Giyeon to try and get closer. At the very least, he thought he’d greet him at school—but instead, Giyeon would just nod or pass by with his head down.
It didn’t feel bad. Actually, it was ideal—for soone like Suhyeon, who didn’t want to build relationships.
“Ah.”
He’d been absentmindedly watching Giyeon walk out after his shift and quickly ca to his senses, heading to the locker room. He changed clothes, grabbed his bag, and was about to leave—when he stopped.
He took out his laptop and placed it on the table.
He hadn’t bought a new phone yet, so he was checking ssages on his laptop instead. A new phone felt too expensive—he was browsing for a good used one instead. His last one had been secondhand, too.
Ping!
As he sifted through notifications, a familiar tone rang out, and he moved the mouse.
“Soone replied...”
It wasn’t a generic ad from the secondhand app—it was a chat ssage. He’d seen a pretty good listing for a used phone and had sent a ssage before his shift. Now, finally, ca the reply:
[Hello. I'm interested in buying the Galaxy S20.] – 6:50 PM
[Hi. When would you like to et?] – 10:50 PM
Suhyeon checked the ti and deliberated.
He wanted to make the trade after school, but getting from class to the café left no wiggle room—he risked being late for work. He could ask the manager for a favor, but he didn’t want to be a burden.
And he had a weekend part-ti job too.
“Only ti left is after work...”
But it was almost midnight—a very late hour. It wouldn’t be polite to propose a deal this late, but he didn’t have much choice. He couldn’t live without a phone any longer.
After so hesitation, Suhyeon carefully sent a ssage:
[Would you be available now?]
[I can, but... would an hour from now be okay?]
[Yes, just let know a location and I’ll co to you.]
[Then would Hwaguk High School at midnight be alright?]
[Yes, sounds good.]
[Text when you arrive.] – 10:55 PM
The prompt, agreeable replies made him exhale in relief. It might only be a few dozen bucks to soone else, but for Suhyeon, it was hard-earned money—blood and sweat. Getting a good phone at this price was a blessing.
He wrapped up quickly and headed to Hwaguk High.
***
[I’ll ssage when I arrive.] – 10:57 PM
Ha Giyeon checked the chat, then closed his eyes briefly on the bus.
The work was a bit tiring, but with a good manager and an easygoing senior coworker, he had no complaints. Especially Suhyeon—outside of work matters, he never tried to talk, which made things comfortable.
He was getting used to the job, and it didn’t interfere much with his studies.
“Actually... I guess there’s one problem.”
He got off the bus, and before he knew it, he was ho. Giyeon opened the front door with a slightly sour expression and stepped inside. The mont he passed the foyer, he saw Ha Dohoon leaning crookedly on the stairs.
“Again...”
Dohoon, who’d been leaning against the wall scrolling on his phone, looked up at the sound of the door opening. His narrowed eyes were fixed on Giyeon.
“Just getting ho now?”
Dohoon straightened up and strode over. Then, standing one step away, he scanned Giyeon from head to toe—his gaze full of irritation.
“What is with him lately?”
Suppressing a sigh, Giyeon inwardly groaned. It had been ten days since he started the part-ti job.
At so point, Dohoon had taken to loitering around the living room in the evenings like he was waiting for a confrontation. Now he was just standing on the stairs—openly waiting for him to return.
“You’ve been coming ho late.”
“......”
“Co with .”
Dohoon turned and marched up the stairs with angry steps.
He looked genuinely upset about sothing, which made Giyeon sigh.
“I’ve got a deal to make...”
Reluctantly, Giyeon followed him upstairs.
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