TYS Ch 13

The large tin can that once held gochujang for the store was dented and riddled with holes. Many employees passed the time by tossing cigarette butts into the sand-filled container. Chief Chae was no exception.

“……”

Seungwan silently watched Chief Chae’s shoulders as he walked ahead. There was a noticeable difference between the man’s back and Chief Chae’s, which was somewhat fascinating. Since Chief Chae was a Beta and the man was obviously an Alpha, their builds were bound to be different. Then what about someone like himself—a half-baked Omega pretending to be a Beta? Still, since he was taller than Chief Chae, maybe secondary gender didn’t have much to do with body structure after all.

“Hey, you there?”

Seungwan quickly lifted his head. It was the first time he had gotten lost in thought in front of Chief Chae. At some point, Chief Chae had placed a peeled cigarette between his lips and was staring directly at him. As Seungwan refocused his blurred gaze, Chief Chae clicked his tongue with an incredulous “Ha,” as if he had already noticed Seungwan was distracted.

“Did something happen between you and that guy yesterday?”

“No…”

He wasn’t sure what Chief Chae was asking about. There was a debt between them, but he didn’t want to reveal that, so he simply said there was nothing. The short, thick fingers that had been lighting a cigarette paused.

“Hey, you little shit, don’t just brush it off. Is there something or not?”

“There isn’t.”

Again, he kept it brief. Chief Chae was definitely picking on him for no reason, but Seungwan wasn’t the type to just take it, which was probably why the harassment always dragged on. Chief Chae, who held more power here than even Manager Song, seemed displeased with how Seungwan refused to submit easily.

It seemed like that was also why Chief Chae would tap Seungwan’s head or smack his back for no reason. To an outsider, it might have looked like playful teasing, but for the one on the receiving end, it was anything but. Seungwan had once thought that maybe if he just acted obediently for once, something might change. But he never bothered to try.

“You fucker, when I talk… No, forget it. What’s the point? Do you even have any common sense? Just behave yourself. What a nutcase—don’t go acting up just ‘cause Yang Jisoo’s got your back. Got it?”

Seungwan wasn’t sure what he meant by “acting up” because the man had his back, but he simply gave a small nod. He figured it was best to just go help out with work rather than waste time on this. Chief Chae frowned and stared at Seungwan for a while before flicking his burnt-out cigarette butt into the tin can and spitting on it. The long string of saliva was disgusting. Seungwan stayed still, not wanting to make it obvious that he was repulsed and risk dragging out this pointless nagging any further.

Soon enough, Chief Chae turned his back and walked away.

Seungwan had no idea what that man had said to make Chief Chae react like that. He rubbed the back of his neck before turning around. There was a lot to do today, and he couldn’t afford to waste time on this.

***

There was one delivery to make. Many of the male employees at the supermarket had taken their annual leave today, so they were short-staffed, and Seungwan had gone to handle it. After loading the goods onto the Damas truck and making a trip to a cooperative member’s house, it was nearly time to clock out. There was still a bit of time left, but he was in a hurry because he couldn’t leave work until he finished placing the order for the dairy section.

After parking the Damas in the lot, Seungwan took off his work gloves and slapped them against his thigh as he walked. Laughter rang out from the workstation. The employees were eating apricots and laughing.

“Wow, Jisoo, why do you talk so funny? Ah, my stomach hurts from laughing.”

“What? Noonim¹, you’re laughing for free? I don’t make people laugh without getting paid.”

It was the man. He was squatting on the ground, doing something, while a group of employees had gathered around him. In front of him was a container filled with apricot pits. Looking closer, Seungwan saw that he was using a Swiss Army knife to cut into the apricots, giving them a slight twist to pop out the seeds, which he flicked away before handing the fruit to the employees. The group surrounding him consisted entirely of older Omega members or female employees.

It was surprising how natural and cheerful the atmosphere was, even though the man—who was young enough to be their nephew—kept calling them “noonim.” As Seungwan stood there watching, the store supervisor spotted him and raised a hand.

“Oh, Seungwan’s here! Come over and have some apricots. Hurry.”

Being welcomed so warmly, there was no way he could refuse, so he started walking toward them. Just then, the man, still sitting in a relaxed squat, glanced over at him. Seungwan’s eyes lingered absently on how his jeans stretched tightly over his thighs before he quickly kept walking.

“Wow, your hyung even came to pick you up. Must be nice, Seungwan.”

The supervisor said that with a laugh. Seungwan hesitated, wondering if “hyung” was referring to the man. While he was still uncertain, the man suddenly grabbed his wrist.

“What are you doing? They told you to eat an apricot. Hurry up.”

He spoke in standard Seoul dialect at first but mimicked the supervisor’s accent at the end, grinning as he did so. Seungwan unconsciously glanced at the way the corners of his mouth lifted so easily, unable to say anything. Instead, he had to endure the heat creeping up his wrist where the man was holding him.

Seeing the two of them, the employees chuckled and teased playfully.

“Oh, I didn’t know Seungwan and Jisoo were hyung and dongsaeng.”

“Ah…”

“What, is he too pretty to just be a dongsaeng?”

Seungwan could only blink in silence, unable to respond. The man gave his wrist a small shake as he repeated the question. His hand, sticky with apricot juice, clung to Seungwan’s skin. It wasn’t like he had never been called pretty before, but it was almost laughable how often he had heard it in just the past few days.

“Oh my, both of you are such lookers—we’ve been enjoying the view all this time.”

With that remark from the supervisor, the employees burst into laughter. The man let out a quiet chuckle as well before standing up. Seungwan’s hand, still in his grasp, was lifted slightly into the air. The man pulled a pack of wet wipes from the worktable and wiped the apricot juice off Seungwan’s wrist before cleaning his own hand.

“Anyway, please take good care of Seungwan, noonims.”

“All right, you two should get going now.”

Seungwan had no idea what exactly he was asking them to take care of, but the supervisor and the other employees nodded with amused smiles before breaking into laughter again. Their reactions felt odd. It wasn’t quite time to clock out yet, and there were still some orders he hadn’t finished placing. But the man casually gave him a light push on the back, as if this was completely natural.

“Let’s go. Should we grab a whole fried chicken from the market on the way?”

That was his way of asking—just like that. Even though it was strange, Seungwan didn’t question it. Instead, he let himself be led to the man’s truck. He had heard the man say he’d come to pick him up, but he’d assumed that meant after his shift ended. He had worked overtime before, but he had never left early, making the situation feel awkward.

However, the man acted as if Seungwan’s confusion had nothing to do with him and simply started driving in silence. Then, he actually pulled into the parking lot in front of the market and even opened the passenger-side door for him.

“Let’s go get some fried chicken. Or would you rather have pork?”

When his father had been at least as reliable as other men, he used to stop by the market on payday and bring home sweet and sour pork. It was called that, but really, it was just pork tenderloin roughly sliced, coated in starch, and deep-fried. On those days, his mother would prepare a sauce to go with it. She would try to imitate the sauce from Chinese restaurants, mixing ketchup, vinegar, sugar, and a bit of fruit juice. Dipping the crispy pork into that sauce had been a luxury that came around once a month, something to look forward to.

The memory made Seungwan pause for a moment, and the man grabbed his wrist and pulled him along. He held on firmly, tousling his hair without restraint. Seungwan sighed and followed him. For some reason, his chest felt tight. And yet, it wasn’t unpleasant, which was strange. He stared intently at the man’s back. The impression it gave was completely different from when he looked at Chief Chae’s.

***

Even though there had been quite a lot of fried pork, they finished it all. Seungwan had only picked at it, so it was mostly the man who had devoured the entire plate. Using the excuse of needing something to wash it down, he had also opened two large cans of beer, leaving Seungwan wondering if he could really drink all of that.

He had eaten only a few pieces, reminiscing about the taste his mother used to make, and when he felt full, he stopped chewing altogether. Meanwhile, the man, neither rushing nor slowing down, finished everything left on the plate.

“Now that we’ve eaten, should we get to work?”

He even gave Seungwan a push on the back, telling him to just go brush his teeth instead of helping with the dishes. Then, as if particularly quick with his hands, he swiftly washed the few plates and chopsticks before disappearing into his room. When he came back out after brushing his teeth, he was holding an old box. Approaching Seungwan, who was sitting in the living room, he set the box down on the table. Inside were several plastic cases, each filled with buttons—easily over a hundred of them. They were all the same shape but varied in size and came in different colors.