PIA 33

Through the square wooden bars, Ji-an could see Jeong Hee-seo sitting upright and talking. The huge green monstera leaves behind him, the sunlight gleaming around him like a halo, and his peaceful smile made Ji-an feel as if Jeong Hee-seo was living in a different world than him.

Ji-an, who had been watching in fascination for a while, couldn’t help but lower his gaze when the scent of bread wafted through the air. He used his fork to poke into the center of the plump croissant. Thanks to the handkerchief Jeong Hee-seo gave him, his appetite remained clear today.

Ji-an ate the croissant and carrot cake in one bite, then drank the entire lemonade. He pushed away the empty tray, and took his phone out of his bag and turned it on. The phone that had been turned off for 10 days, immediately started buzzing with notifications as soon as the SIM card was inserted.

“For now… Let’s start with Woo-seok.”

He had prepared himself, but his eyebrows involuntarily furrowed. The message window was filled with all kinds of profanity. The Initially simple  insults had become more creative as the days passed. The messages on the first day of Ji-an’s disappearance were filled with concern, so the remaining 99% of insults didn’t bother him much.

Ji-an frowned and proceeded to tap away at the message window, expressing his sincere remorse.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…”

After sending a message filled with his own sincerity, he sighed deeply and swiped the screen again. Brilliant and colorful insults pierced through his eyes. It seemed that no matter what he said, forgiveness was unlikely. He thought he should go and settle it in person rather than through words.

Ji-an let out a long sigh and soon found his mother’s phone number and pressed the call button. Yoon Ok-hee answered the phone before the signal even rang. He didn’t even have time to take a deep breath.

– Ji-an!

“Yes, Mom, it’s me.”

– Do you know how worried your mother was?

As expected, the voice was filled with concern. Ji-an lowered his eyes. He heard his mother’s voice just as he remembered, but it was a concern he had never heard before.

– If your mother told you to run away, you should have told her where and how you were living. How could you be so cruel and cold-hearted? Do you know how anxious your mother was?

“I’m sorry…”

– Your mom was so worried in case you might have had any… any bad thoughts…

“Ah! Mom, it’s not like that at all. From now on, I’ll never…”

The words that would never happen came out easily and got stuck in his throat. Ji-an felt a sudden sense of fear. His chest tightened as he thought of the disappearance that was bound to happen.

“Mom, I want to talk seriously with you and grandmother. I want to get permission… I want to tell her.”

– To grandma?

“Yes, I want to tell her who the baby’s father is.”

– Mom knows who it is, Ji-an. I got a call from Han-joo.

Ji-an let out a long sigh, as if letting out a suffocated breath. He expected it. Why did Han-joo show something like ownership to him? It was strange.

“Mom, you didn’t tell Han-joo hyung that I’m pregnant, right?”

– Why would I tell your story to others? Your mom wouldn’t spread bad rumors about you. Besides, Han-joo said you’re staying with Hee-seo… and told me to bring you back. He said he heard something disrespectful or bad about you while you’re outside.

Although he trusted his mom, he couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity. Ji-an hesitated and asked one more question.

“You didn’t tell grandmother that I was staying with Hee-seo hyung, right?”

– Why would I…

“That’s good, Mom. I… Please tell grandma that I’m stopping by the house. Tell her I have something important to say. And tell her to stop Manager Jang from meddling.”

– Since when does your Grandmother listen to Mom? Well, I’ll do my best to convince grandma to wait for you to come.

“Yes, Mom. It won’t take long. I will stop by this evening.”

Ji-an sighed heavily as he held the phone after the call ended. He worried that sighing might become a habit if he kept doing this, and he wanted to throw his cell phone somewhere out of sight. Ji-an typed another short message to Woo-seok and promptly switched it off without seeing his response.

As Ji-an sat there, he sensed something was off with what he had said to his mother.

Stopping by. He said it like he was going to return. After barely ten days together, he spoke as if Jeong Hee-seo’s home was his own.

What would happen if he suggested to Jeong Hee-seo that they continue living together?

Ji-an continued his delusions and finally stopped. He noticed Jeong Hee-seo approaching him from a distance. The secretary whispered something next to him as they made their way slowly towards Ji-an.

Jeong Hee-seo had a talent for instantly capturing Ji-an’s attention. The sunlight flowing into the well-lit cafe also played a role. The light glittered and highlighted Jeong Hee-seo’s features.

“It seems like it will take a bit longer.”

Jeong Hee-seo, who stopped in front of Ji-an, smiled as he looked down at the empty tray. Along with a pleasant perfume, his pheromones subtly spread, enveloping Ji-an’s body.

“I’m fine.”

“Would you like something else to eat?”

Jeong Hee-seo took out his wallet and handed it to Ji-an. Bending his upper body, he grabbed a paper napkin and gently cleaned Ji-an’s mouth. Then pheromones flowed from a hand placed on his chin. Ji-an’s face flushed as he breathed the scent.

It was a habit he developed after eating together about 20 meals over 10 days. Ji-an suffered from morning sickness, so Hee-seo made sure to do this before eating anything. It was the same facial expression and behavior as usual, but it felt strange because they were outside. Ji-an felt embarrassed.

Ji-an got up exaggeratedly. He naturally pushed his hand away.

“If you give me your wallet like this, I’ll end up buying everything. Can you trust me this much?”

“Go. Go and show it to the store owner.”

Jeong Hee-seo whispered with a voice filled with laughter.

Jeong Hee-seo patted Ji-an on the back with a hand that dropped off his head. To avoid this, Ji-an walked quickly to the bread counter as if he was running away. As soon as he was out of reach of Hee-seo’s pheromones, Ji-an looked back and watched Jeong Hee-seo return to the interview with a serene expression on his face.

Ji-an was embarrassed and just scratched his head. Because of the spot where his body temperature touched and the scent of pheromones, the heat on his face does not go down easily.

“He is a man of many sins…”

He placed a paper towel on the empty tray, then took the tongs and made a round. He didn’t know the price when the secretary bought it, but the price range was quite high. A croissant alone cost 9,000 won… Ji-an’s hand, with the soul of a commoner, hesitated to pick it up.

The cheapest madeleine was 6,000 won and was the size of two fingers. It looked decent at least. After a while of holding the tongs and staring at the bread, someone approached from the side.

“If you sign up for membership here, we will give you one loaf of bread for every 10,000 won spent.”

“What? Then it’s almost one plus one, right? There’s almost nothing left.”

Just when Ji-an had thought it was expensive, he quickly fell for it again.

“We’ve recently opened, and we’re trying to attract regular customers. So please try it. This is truly a masterpiece.”

At the last word, Ji-an turned his head and looked at the employee. He thought he was a part-time worker, but he seemed to be the owner of the cafe.  A man wearing an apron that didn’t fit his huge frame smiled brightly at Ji-an.

“The croissant with milk cream is really delicious. You should also try the one with blueberry mascarpone cream. Since it’s early, and we’re closed due to a reservation, these two are the fastest to go. You’re lucky today. It’s usually hard to get these.”

“Wow, really? It does look delicious…”

“Since you’re cute, I’ll give you one more as a service.”

“The boss is really good at business.”

As Ji-an listened to the explanation, he felt that it might be even more delicious, so he added more to his tray, thinking it might disappear soon. Ji-an’s tray quickly filled up thanks to the boss, who was following him and promoted the items.

“All in all, it costs 58,000 won.”

“Uh… ”

Ji-an suddenly came to his senses when he heard the amount called out with a bright smile. Ji-an even gave them his phone number to sign up for membership, but the price was still staggering.

Ji-an slowly turned his head and looked for Jeong Hee-seo. He thought he was watching, but perhaps the timing was perfect when he made eye contact with Jeong Hee-seo, who was looking in this direction.

“…”

Ji-an, who had been smiling brightly, suddenly froze without realizing it. Jeong Hee-seo was looking at him with a very dissatisfied expression.

Did he buy too much? But, Jeong Hee-seo wasn’t that kind of person…

“Customer?”

“Uh, sorry. I’ll pay for this.”

Ji-an smiled awkwardly and took out a pitch black card from his wallet and handed it to him. After completing the payment, the cafe owner handed over a paper coupon with several stamps and another cookie that was on the counter.

“This is also a service.”

“Uh… don’t you think you’re giving me too much service?”

“I’m giving it to you so you can come back next time.”

“Oh… ”

Ji-an didn’t think he’d come again next time. Ji-an swallowed his inner thoughts that did not need to be said and smiled brightly.