ASCP Ch 5

Come on, people, hurry up and come in.

Myeongseon greeted the incoming customers while screaming internally. There seemed to be even more customers than yesterday. 

He had to ask for Yangja’s help twice after making mistakes with card payments, and he broke out in a cold sweat mediating a fight between customers over parking. After being told by a slightly drunk customer that he had a “bitchy face,” he was barely holding onto his last shred of patience. 

Yesterday had apparently been a lucky, peaceful day.

The faces of the customers surging in and out looked all the same, dreadful and tiresome. In the midst of all this, the only solace for Myeongseon was admiring Jaekang’s body constantly moving back and forth.

If it weren’t for this Charcoal Grill Guy, I wouldn’t be suffering like this.

If things go well, it would be even nice to try and fuck him in that charcoal grilling area… whoa there.

Struck by a sudden thought, Myeongseon gasped, marveling at his own imagination.

That would be amazing, wouldn’t it? 

Sneaking up behind him while he’s working at the cleaning machine, pulling down his pants and underwear all at once, and fucking him. While he’s holding onto the machine and groaning, his body and the machine would be shaking and rattling together, and water would be splashing everywhere.

Wouldn’t the bold situation make it even more exciting? I bet his body would get as hot as the charcoal. Hot laborer muscles. Hot stallion muscles….

Myeongseon indulged in all sorts of lewd fantasies as he gazed at Jaekang. 

He longed to experience the sensation of his bare skin against Jaekang’s naked body. He desperately wanted to endlessly fuck him, touch him, knead him, suck him, and get sucked by him.

Hey, Charcoal Grill Guy. Let’s sleep together just once. Just bottom for me once, huh? Just once.

Suddenly looking down, Myeongseon discreetly shifted his chair further back under the counter. Even amidst the mental and physical exhaustion, blood was rushing to his genitals.

This is driving me crazy.

Just continuing to watch like yesterday was making him feel like his insides were burning to white ash, like charcoal. He couldn’t believe how frustrating it was that this wasn’t a gay club.

Isn’t there some way to find out if he’s gay or not?

Why are there so many straight guys in the world? Useless straight bastards.

Even if he’s straight, how can I find out if he’s open-minded enough to try something experimental? How can I find out if he’s the kind of straight guy who’s full of desire to try something new, even if he’s not gay? It doesn’t matter if he’s not gay, as long as he sleeps with me.

I need some alone time with him to try anything, but damn, because of these meat-eating humans…

Myeongseon’s mind was filled with curses directed at the customers and lust for Jaekang.

Meanwhile, the customers wouldn’t give Myeongseon a break. The evening rush seemed endless.

He thought working the counter was just sitting and taking money, but it turned out to be endless—seating customers, handling complaints, answering phones, doing light cleaning, and so on.

Myeongseon diligently kept an eye on Jaekang’s body to soothe his battered spirits.

Finally, as the business day came to a close, Myeongseon watched from a distance as the staff’s dinner was being set up. Aedeok slowly came out from the kitchen, placed a half-empty soju bottle on the end seat where Jaekang had sat yesterday, and then went to sit inside.

Myeongseon remembered seeing the soju bottle in the same spot yesterday.

So that’s Charcoal Grill Guy’s official designated seat, and he drinks soju like that every meal. And the kitchen staff knows that and takes care of it for him.

So, should I sit next to him, or across from him? 

Sitting next to him has the advantage of potentially brushing against him, but it’ll be hard to steal glances at his body. Sitting scross from him, I can look at him naturally, but there’s no chance of physical contact.

Myeongseon walked towards the still sparsely occupied tables and sat across from Jaekang’s designated seat, then glanced at the seat next to him.

Would this be better? I heard somewhere that sitting diagonally across is less awkward and better than directly opposite when having a conversation.

“Why are you sitting at the end? Sit inside.” 

Yangja spoke, suddenly appearing and sitting in that spot.

“Ah, Mom, there…”

Myeongseon awkwardly stood up, then sat back down, sighing inwardly.

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing…”

Myeongseon gulped down some water for no reason.

Just like yesterday, Jaekang didn’t appear until everyone was seated and had started eating. As Myeongseon watched Jaekang walk towards them from the entrance, his heart suddenly started pounding.

His body is really… so fine, so fine. Such fine muscles.

So damn fine, and so damn sexy. Ugh.

As Jaekang approached, Myeongseon pretended to rub his eyebrows and looked away.

When Jaekang sat across from him, the smell of burnt wood wafted over. His arms and hands, exposed because he wasn’t wearing sleeves or gloves, had scattered burn marks.

“Good work, everyone. Eat a lot.”

“Thank you for the food,” 

Jaekang bowed his head at Yangja’s words, filled his water glass with soju, and immediately began eating.

This is my chance.

Myeongseon’s lips parted. He was about to ask, “Do you always have a drink with your meals like this?” when Jeongsik’s voice cut him off.

“Myeongseon, how was it? Was it a bit tough today?”

Meanwhile, Jaekang turned slightly to the side, downed half his soju, and immediately resumed eating.

Myeongseon forced a smile, suppressing his deflated expression, and looked at Jeongsik.

“Tough?… Not really…”

“Well, you’re quick on the uptake and good at learning.”

Jeongsik kept the conversation going, keeping Myeongseon as the topic. Because Jeongsik kept looking at him while talking, Myeongseon kept missing opportunities to properly ogle Jaekang, who was sitting right in front of him. He was intensely aware of Jaekang on one hand and had to react and respond to Yangja and Jeongsik’s conversation on the other.

Unfortunately, Jaekang finished his meal quickly. Just like yesterday, he finished his remaining soju and stood up right away.

“Thank you for the food.”

That perfect retreating figure as he walked towards the entrance finally disappeared.

Hey, are you just going to eat and leave? When you eat, you’re supposed to chat with people and stuff. What are you? Socially inept?

Myeongseon gnawed on his lip as he watched the spot where Jaekang had disappeared, then abruptly stood up.

“Are you done, Myeongseon?”

“Yeah. Uh, I’m just going to go to my car for a second.”

Myeongseon hurried towards the entrance before Yangja or Jeongsik could say anything more. His heart was pounding.

First, I’ll talk about the charcoal grill. Say it’s fascinating.

Ask him what that machine is, how he lights the fire, how he manages it, and so on, to get the conversation flowing. Get a closer look at his face, maybe touch him, and see how he reacts.

Myeongseon racked his brains as he walked towards the backyard, then stopped and rubbed his face with both hands.

Why am I so nervous? It’s just this.

Ah, why do I have to go this far, someone as successful as me!

“….”

Myeongseon took a deep breath, his hands sliding down to clasp around his neck.

Even if it feels awkward and pathetic now, I’ll regret it later if I give up without even trying.

I’ve finally met this 100% perfect body again, I can’t just let it end like this without even touching him properly.

Right.

That’s right.

Myeongseon nodded and took a deep breath, then started walking again. The moment he rounded the corner of the hall, Jaekang suddenly appeared from the opposite direction.

“!”

Myeongseon clamped his mouth shut and stopped dead in his tracks. The smell of burnt wood wafted over him.

Jaekang, who had also stopped in surprise, glanced at Myeongseon, then walked past him indifferently towards the entrance of hall.

No!

Myeongseon inwardly cried out, turning towards Jaekang.

Charcoal Grill Guy! Excuse me! Mister! Charcoal! Part-timer! No, what should I call him? What should I say to him after I call him?

As Myeongseon stood there awkwardly, scrambling his brain, Jaekang, who was walking away, suddenly stopped.

Huh?

Myeongseon’s eyes widened slightly.

Jaekang stood still for a moment, then turned and walked back towards Myeongseon. As he got closer, Myeongseon’s eyes widened further. His mind seemed to go blank.

The smell of burnt wood.

Jaekang stopped right in front of him and stared into Myeongseon’s dazed eyes.

“Stop fucking staring at me, you fucking asshole.”

“….”