My Girlfriend Is Very Good To Me [EN]: Chapter 15

Ep. 14

Monday.

Jung Yoon-sung spoke with the teacher, and we both skipped evening self-study this week.

It was basically mandatory, but the school was flexible enough to allow exemptions for valid reasons, even if they weren’t particularly special. Besides, Yoon-sung skipped quite often, and I had joined him as a helper a few times, so the teacher let us go smoothly without much checking.

My family didn’t interfere much for the same reason. Or rather, they were quite laissez-faire [unwilling to get involved in or influence other people’s activities] to begin with.

Anyway, we were still smiling as we headed to the snack bar. After all, we had done this before, and it was only for a short time, from 5 PM to 10 PM at most.

That smile disappeared in less than two hours.

“Please clean here!!”

“Yes!! Coming soon!”

“When will our tteokbokki [spicy stir-fried rice cakes] be ready?”

“Sorry! It’ll be out soon!!”

“Can we get the bill here!”

“Just a moment!!”

“Hey, Han-yeon!!! Go take care of the bill!!”

“Okay!!!”

It was definitely as busy as I had expected. But maybe because it had been two months, my memory of the previous times had been slightly romanticized.

It was freaking hard. More than I thought.

Customers kept coming in as soon as others left, and Jung Yoon-sung and I had no time to rest. Still, I was doing it with a friend, so even in the midst of the busyness, we could make eye contact and laugh for a moment, saying, ‘Damn, it’s so busy.’ I felt like I’d want to run away if I had to work with someone I didn’t know in a situation like this.

What gave me strength was the memory of the kiss Hee-na gave me yesterday and…

[Hee-na: Fighting for helping your friend! But it’s amazing that the snack bar is so busy~ What’s the name? I’ll search it up!]

[Hee-na: It’s super famous?]

[Hee-na: I miss you so much, but I’ll hold back ㅠㅠ Do you miss me too, Yeon-hoo?]

[Hee-na: Hehe, I love you too! Good luck!]

…Hee-na’s support conveyed in the KakaoTalk [South Korean messaging app] messages we exchanged today.

“Hoo, yeah, let’s 힘내 [himnae – cheer up/hang in there]…”

I said to myself, trying to cheer up.

“Han-yeon!!!! Dishes!!!”

“Goooooiiiiing!!!!”

Damn it, I should have gone to see Hee-na.

—

Tuesday.

Only the second day.

My steps towards that place after school were so heavy. It felt like I was heading to the battlefield. No, it is a battlefield.

Still, I regained some of my previous memories from yesterday, so I thought I could work a little more skillfully today than yesterday. Yesterday, I was a bit flustered with things like calculations because it had been a while, and Jung Yoon-sung had to help me a few times. I heard today that there were no discrepancies when settling the accounts yesterday, so that was a relief.

If I’m a bit more resourceful, surely today will be a little easier, I wanted to mentally 승리 [seungri – victory], but even Yoon-sung, who is more familiar with the work than I am, was walking with his head down.

“The store seems to be doing better than before?”

“Yeah… business is really good. My mom is really amazing.”

“I know… congratulations.”

“Thanks… look forward to the pay…”

Yeah, I need at least that to 힘내 [himnae – cheer up/hang in there].

I have to work hard and buy Hee-na something delicious.

[Hee-na: Fighting today too!]

Fighting…

—

Time flew by like an arrow, past Wednesday and into Thursday.

I was cleaning the dishes like a zombie.

“…Thank you, goodbye.”

Even my voice had no strength. I couldn’t muster any energy. The only hope I had was that it would be time to get off work soon.

“Han-yeon, I’m going to take out the trash.”

“Okay…”

Around 9 PM. There were still many customers sitting, but hardly anyone new was coming in; they were just chatting or getting ready to leave.

While Jung Yoon-sung was away, I was clearing the dishes and diligently wiping the empty seats.

And then, I helped the departing customers with their bills again, cleared the dishes, and wiped the seats.

I even picked up and cleaned up food scraps and trash that had fallen on the floor, but I still felt like I was the only one in the hall.

Why isn’t Jung Yoon-sung coming back? Don’t tell me he’s slacking off while I’m working, that unconscionable bastard?

Just as that suspicion was about to creep in, the door opened and he came in. Thinking of letting him off if it was the bathroom, and killing him if not, I stared intently at him, but he also looked at me with a very constipated expression.

“What’s with that face, you’re late. Don’t tell me you were resting alone?”

“…Hey, outside…”

“What about outside?”

“…Never mind…”

“What do you mean never mind, you son of a… no, you bastard. Did you go play?”

There were customers, and the sound could be heard in the kitchen if it was too loud, so I restrained myself from swearing as much as possible.

As I took a step towards him as if to grab his collar, Jung Yoon-sung instead grabbed my collar in a defiant manner.

“Let’s finish work, you son of a bitch…”

“W-what’s suddenly wrong?”

The way he spoke through gritted teeth was very threatening. I could feel his determination to hit me if I said even one more word.

I never thought the day would come when I would feel threatened by this bowl-cut 반삭 [bansak – half-shaved hairstyle] with glasses.

Without answering my question, he silently started working.

What’s with this guy? I have a 킹리적 갓심 [kingrijeok gatsim – a portmanteau of “king-like” + “reasonable suspicion” + “god” (used to emphasize the suspicion)] that he’s feeling guilty for resting alone and is pretending to be angry on purpose, 시발 [sibal – a Korean swear word, similar to “fuck”].

But I only had suspicions and no evidence, so I couldn’t press him further. He also seemed genuinely pissed off.

Well, I guess he’s tired too, I thought with a generous heart.

Unlike me, who goes straight home when I finish at 10, he has to help prepare the ingredients afterwards, so it must be even harder for him.

Anyway, I managed to endure today as well. Tomorrow is the last day, so I just need to 힘내 [himnae – cheer up/hang in there] a little more.

—

The long-awaited Friday.

Even though it’s a busy snack bar, the pay is high, and there’s a university nearby, so as soon as they post an ad, applicants flock in. Thanks to that, they’re going to have interviews over the weekend, pick someone from among them, and start using them from Monday, so today was really the last day.

Maybe that’s why I had more energy than yesterday. And Yoon-sung’s words that Fridays are relatively less busy than Monday to Thursday also gave me strength.

College students look for alcohol rather than snacks, and 초중고딩 [chojunggoding – elementary, middle, and high school students] below them either go to PC rooms [internet cafes] or stay home before the weekend, they don’t come to eat tteokbokki [spicy stir-fried rice cakes]. It’s quiet on weekends for similar reasons.

“Yeon-hoo~ eat this and work~”

“Ah, thank you!”

I know that people need to be humble in life, but this time, there was no need for that. The auntie knows this hardship better than anyone else. She’s now a 달인 [dalin – master/expert] of part-time job interviews…

“It would be really nice if you could come work as our employee, Yeon-hoo… I’m so tired of having to find someone new every time.”

“I really like this snack bar and the auntie, but that’s a bit…”

“Aww, but if you want to work part-time after you graduate, contact me anytime~”

“Yes.”

I have similar conversations every time I come to help. But honestly, I’m only enduring because I’m not doing it for many days; I wouldn’t be able to do this every week.

“Hey, what are you eating?”

“Squid 튀김 [twigim – fried food/tempura].”

“Is it good?”

“존맛 [jonmat – 존나 맛있다 (jonna masitta) – very delicious].”

Enough 余裕 [yoyu – leeway/room] to stand at the counter and have a conversation. Yeah, this is what a part-time job is. What I was doing until yesterday was basically 노역 [noyeok – hard labor].

It was Friday, and for some reason, there were fewer customers today, so the store was surprisingly empty. Usually, this would be a cause for concern for the owner, but Yoon-sung, the auntie, and the kitchen 이모님 [imomnim – a respectful term for an older woman, often used for waitresses or shopkeepers] were all smiling and saying it was a relief that they could rest a bit.

I was also 은근슬쩍 끼어 [eungeunseuljjeok kkieo – subtly joining in] eating 튀김 [twigim – fried food/tempura].

Time didn’t pass by quickly when I was relaxed. But it’s much better than being busy.

About three hours after starting work, at the current time of 8 PM.

After clearing the table where the customers had just left, Yoon-sung approached me, who was guarding the counter.

“Hey, you’ve worked hard.”

“Yeah, I’ve worked hard.”

“It doesn’t look like there will be any more customers today, so go home. I’ve already told my mom.”

“Oh, really? Can I go?”

“The store is empty, what are you doing here?”

There were still about three more teams, but it wasn’t necessary for me to be here.

“Can I send the pay to your account?”

“I’d appreciate it. Do you know my account number?”

“Yeah, I think my mom has a record of it. I sent it that way last time too.”

“Okay~ then I’ll go change?”

“Hey, don’t change your clothes and go out the front door. You know we have a back door, right? Go out that way.”

“Why?”

“Don’t ask. Go out and go left, then come out towards our store through the alley with the convenience store.”

“What kind of 짓 [jit – act/behavior] is that?”

“Just go, you 개시발롬아 [gaesibalroma – a very strong Korean insult].”

“Hey, why the swearing…”

“Go before I beat you to death.”

With those words, he pushed me away from the counter.

Confused by the incomprehensible words, I quickly changed my clothes, feeling my heart warm at the fact that I was leaving work early.

I returned the apron, said goodbye to the auntie, and went out the back door as Yoon-sung told me to, for some reason.

“Go left, then the convenience store alley? Is that it?”

I was thinking that if there was no reason or a useless reason, I would go back and cause a 진상 [jinsang – trouble/scene], and slowly walked into the alleyway.

After walking a bit, I could see someone standing at the end of the winding road that would take me back to the snack bar if I turned just one more time.

Because of my poor eyesight, I couldn’t see well from afar, so I squinted slightly and approached, and a familiar figure gradually came into view.

Staring intently at the snack bar.

As I got closer with each step, a smile came out as the figure became clearer in my eyes.

At the same time, I felt a mix of absurdity, embarrassment, joy, and loveliness that I couldn’t describe.

Finally, I reached right behind ‘her’ and gently put my hand on her shoulder.

“What are you doing here?”

“─꺅!!!!!”

휙 [hwik – sound of quickly turning around]!

With a high-pitched scream that I had never heard before since we met, she hurriedly dropped her body and turned around,

“O-oh? Y-Yeon-hoo? Why are you here…?”

“That’s what I should be saying…”

Hee-na’s very embarrassed face was visible.