PM Chapter 26

Chapter 26

Clicking his tongue inwardly, Daesik gestured toward the new refrigerator with his chin.

“Take something out from there and eat it.”

“I was going to eat that after this.”

“You’ll get sick if you do that. There’s fresh stuff in there, so eat that. Give me this.”

Heeseong hesitated as he handed over the leftover gimbap to Daesik. Noticing Heeseong’s reluctance, Daesik let out a small laugh and personally took out a fresh sandwich from the refrigerator and handed it to him.

Receiving the cool sandwich, Heeseong quickly erased his regretful expression and his eyes sparkled. He was simplicity itself. Watching Heeseong, who looked like a carp, Daesik chuckled softly and even took care to get him a drink.

Heeseong hugged the new sandwich Daesik gave him as if it were precious and took small bites. Before eating, he did not forget to glance outside to check whether any guests were coming.

Sneaking bites of the sandwich whenever there were no guests, his 모습 was exactly like a squirrel.

Daesik, who had been about to sit down and look over documents, let out a hollow laugh and rubbed his eyebrow with his finger. What am I supposed to do with that carp, seriously. Even the way he eats is so timid.

Whenever he heard even the slightest sound, Heeseong would flinch, stop chewing, blink rapidly, and peer out the small window. It looked just like a meerkat standing guard. He clearly intended to respond immediately if a guest appeared, but with his cheeks stuffed full of sandwich and puffed out to the brink of bursting, it was nothing but amusing.

The sight of him holding his cheeks full of food while wearing such a serious expression was ridiculous. He was cute, sure, but damn it. I wonder if he can actually work properly like that. Unable to stand it anymore, Daesik spoke up.

“Don’t worry about outside and just eat. You can pretend no one’s there.”

“Uh….”

Is that really okay? Heeseong blinked at Daesik’s words, having thought that working meant starting the moment he clocked in.

Easily moved, Heeseong nodded over and over, thinking once again that the boss really was the best.

Just as Heeseong took another bite of the sandwich.

“One night stay.”

When a guest appeared, Heeseong hurriedly set the sandwich down. In the process, he knocked over his pen, which rolled under the desk.

Startled by the falling pen, Heeseong flinched, then barely calmed himself and steadied his voice.

“That will be fifty thousand won.”

After taking the payment, Heeseong handed over the key to room 301. Even then, he stayed tense, worried the guest might ask for a different room, ask questions, or cause trouble. His heart pounded wildly.

Thankfully, the guest said nothing, took the key, and simply turned away.

Phew. Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, Heeseong resumed chewing the sandwich he had tucked into one cheek. Then, just as Kyunghoon had taught him, he filled out the entry log. Between the neat handwriting, Heeseong’s round, bubbly letters followed along.

Heeseong smiled proudly. Having done it without making a mistake, confidence sprouted like a fresh shoot.

Daesik, who had been watching Heeseong with a nervous heart, lifted the corner of his lips as he saw him handle things on his own and look so pleased with himself. It reminded him of a squirrel happily hoarding acorns.

I worried for nothing. Even though he had been concerned just moments ago about whether Heeseong could do the job properly, Daesik immediately revised his thoughts.

Meanwhile, Heeseong giggled softly as he diligently finished the rest of the sandwich. He also took small sips of the orange juice Daesik had given him.

At that moment, the counter phone rang loudly.

Ring ring

Setting down the orange juice, Heeseong swallowed the sandwich in his mouth and answered the phone.

“Yes, this is the counter.”

“Room 703. I’d like to change the work date.”

Caught off guard by the sudden request, Heeseong blinked in confusion. He had never been taught about changing dates. His big eyes wavered like reeds in the wind.

At that moment, Daesik, who had been receiving a report from one of his men on the phone while casually watching Heeseong, narrowed his eyes. He sensed something was off right away.

Heeseong hesitated and turned to look at Daesik. Daesik quickly ended his call and walked over. Meanwhile, the guest continued speaking.

“Two days from now, midnight. Preparation will be Set A.”

What is Set A now? Heeseong parted his lips and hurriedly scribbled on a memo pad, writing, “Inquiry about changing work date, prepare Set A.” His hands shook from panic, making the writing a mess.

Looking at Heeseong’s memo, Daesik immediately understood what was going on. Heeseong did not know about work date changes or preparation sets, and he had been floundering over how to respond.

“…Uh, um….”

Daesik lightly tapped Heeseong’s shoulder and nodded, signaling him to go along with what the caller was saying. Heeseong was usually bad at picking up cues, but perhaps because of the sense of urgency, he understood right away.

However, because he hesitated for a moment, the guest in room 703, having sensed something odd, asked back.

“Is there a problem?”

“Ah, no. We’ll proceed as you requested.”

At Heeseong’s reply, the guest finally hung up. Even after the call ended, his heart continued to pound loudly from the tension.

He won’t think it’s strange or complain later, right? Worry bubbled up inside Heeseong, and he lightly bit down on his lip. He grew anxious, wondering if he had made another mistake.

“You did well.”

At that moment, the boss patted his back and spoke. Heeseong lowered his head, embarrassed at the thought that the boss had seen him fluster like that.

“…Really?”

Heeseong asked timidly, half in doubt. At the orphanage and the kimchi factory, he had only ever been scolded. This was the first time he had been told he did well.

Seeing Heeseong glance at him uncertainly, Daesik nodded as if to confirm it.

“Yeah. I didn’t teach you that, but you handled it on your own.”

At Daesik’s praise, Heeseong’s cheeks flushed red and the corners of his mouth lifted softly. Even the long eyes hidden behind his glasses curved slightly, as if he were in a good mood. Watching Heeseong beam with pride, Daesik snorted lightly and added,

“Seems like you’d be fine on your own now.”

Heeseong, who had been smiling softly, gasped at the words that followed, as if struck by lightning. The smile vanished from his face.

“Y, yes?”

“I was about to head out anyway, so this works out. You can stay alone until evening, right?”

Ah, I’m not ready for that yet. Alone until evening…. Heeseong froze, tension running through him.

Startled and scared, he shook his head vigorously. Smiling, Daesik reached out and lightly brushed his disheveled hair.

“Don’t be scared.”

Then, tapping the screen of Heeseong’s phone lying on the counter a couple of times, he said,

“If you don’t know something, just call. Got it?”

“…Yes….”

With how firm he sounded, Heeseong had no choice but to slowly nod. For a moment, it felt like everything went black before his eyes.

“If I’m not back by evening, just turn off the lights and clock out. Kyunghoon will bring lunch later.”

“Yes…. Have a safe trip.”

Daesik was about to open the door when he suddenly paused. The moment Heeseong said, “Have a safe trip,” his chest fluttered faintly.

The feeling was oddly strange.

When he glanced back, Heeseong was bowing with slumped shoulders as he said goodbye.

“…Okay.”

After answering, Daesik opened the door and left. The strange feeling did not fade the whole way out.

Left alone, Heeseong swallowed hard and clenched his fist. Okay, I’ll do it. This is my chance to show the boss I can be reliable too. He wanted to be as helpful to Daesik as possible.

The thought that he intended to harm him, yet wanted to be helpful until then, felt strangely contradictory. Still, Heeseong did not want Daesik to get badly hurt, nor did he want to cause him any harm.

Having made up his mind, Heeseong nodded firmly, his eyes sparkling.

Contrary to Heeseong’s resolve and his earlier worries, there were not many guests. Most calls were just extensions of stays or short term rentals, and the few guests who came in person were only there to retrieve items, all of whom he simply guided to the basement.

Feeling relieved at least for that, he let out a sigh. But soon, another problem arose.

“I’m here to pick up an item.”

“Please go down to the basement.”

It was right after he guided another guest downstairs to retrieve an item. The body that had already felt a bit heavy and sore before began to feel increasingly strained. His arms and legs tingled, then quickly started to ache. On top of that, his stomach churned violently, and his head grew dizzy.