LCL 66

I wondered what Lim Dae-han’s thoughts were in regard to that. It might be inappropriate to say this about my partner, but I honestly didn’t think he thinks too much about it. Unlike me with all my thoughts, Lim Dae-han tended to accept every situation with a “We’ll think about it when we get there” type of attitude.

“I’m bored out of my mind.”

Could I be like this just because Lim Dae-han was away for a bit? It wasn’t like I spent every waking moment with him. I was fine staying quietly at home when he went to exercise or occasionally met up with his family. Why was I so bored today of all days?

I picked up my phone again. As I was scrolling through messages half-heartedly, my finger paused.

Lee Cheon-hee: [Anyone looking for a part-time job?]

Lee Cheon-hee: [It’s at a bar, nice atmosphere, ○○ Bar in front of the main gate]

Lee Cheon-hee: [Hourly wage is 10,000 won, hours are 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., Mon/Wed/Fri, but you can adjust the schedule with the owner. The owner’s nice and sometimes you don’t even work until dawn lol It’s up to the owner’s mood.]

Lee Cheon-hee: [I suddenly have to go home so I’m looking for someone. Just until the semester starts.]

Lee Cheon-hee: [It’s a temporary position, so please, don’t even think of taking over the job permanently.]

Amidst the chattering conversation, one of my classmates dropped a message. A part-time job…I got a generous allowance from home, so I wasn’t particularly short on money.

Furthermore, even though I tried not to depend on Lim Dae-han financially, he tended to buy almost everything…and neither of us really minded spending on each other. Thanks to that, we could fully enjoy nice places and delicious food compared to typical dates of our peers.

I wondered if it would be good to try a part-time job as a college student. It was just for during break. It wasn’t going to be every day of the week either, just Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 3 days, so it seemed to be doable.

Until the semester started, it was at most two months. I slightly pulled up the message my classmate sent and replied.

Me: [Can I do it?]

[Come pick me up.]

A message came from Lim Dae-han. It was a text message, not a chat. I called him as soon as I confirmed the message.

After a brief ring, Lim Dae-han answered the phone. His voice echoed, probably from inside a taxi.

“Where are you?”

– Near home.

“You finished early?”

– Yeah. Come pick me up.

“Where to?”

– Come to the main gate. I’ll buy you some ice cream.

I would have gone to pick him up even if he hadn’t offered to buy ice cream. As soon as I hung up, I left the house without further delay. He probably didn’t drink much, so maybe we would take a walk before going in. I wondered if he would say it was too hot out and refuse.

I stepped out of the building. The humidity was so thick I couldn’t tell if I was in an apartment complex or an aquarium.

It should be cooler at night, but the humidity made it even more sultry. Each step was a struggle. I hated summer. I much more preferred winter. I trudged toward the main gate.

Perhaps because it was late at night, the surroundings were quiet. Unlike the area near the school which became more lively at night, the apartment complex was quiet and still. Only a few convenience stores and bars had their lights on here and there.

Just then, a taxi stopped in front of the main gate. The door opened and Lim Dae-han got out. Lim Dae-han told the driver to take care and closed the door. I approached him. He had brought another strange fan from somewhere.

“It’s hot, isn’t it?”

Lim Dae-han asked, fanning me gently. There was a slight smell of alcohol coming from him. Food, alcohol, and a faint smell of cigarettes. He put his arm around my shoulder, bringing all these external smells with him.

Our steps misaligned and our bodies touched. We walked together on this summer night. Lim Dae-han’s finger pointed at a convenience store.

“Let’s go inside. I’ll buy you some ice cream.”

We arrived at the convenience store, leaning on each other. It was terribly hot being so close together. The convenience store didn’t have the air conditioning on full blast, but it was definitely more pleasant than outside.

I stuck close to the ice cream corner, choosing the ice creams I wanted. I picked six of our favorites.

After paying, we went outside. Dangling the plastic bag in my hand, I clung to Lim Dae-han.

“Did you have fun today?”

“It wasn’t fun without you.”

Stop lying through your teeth.

“Liar…What did you eat?”

“We just bar-hopped.”

“You smell like cigarettes.”

“Oh, do I?”

Lim Dae-han raised his arm and buried his nose in his shoulder. Not seeming to understand, he just shrugged his shoulders. After returning home, he put the ice cream he bought in the freezer and came out with only what he was going to eat.

Lim Dae-han sat down under the sofa without changing clothes. He leaned back on the sofa, tilting his head back, as it was cool with the air-conditioner on.

He rummaged through his pocket and tossed a crumpled hair tie onto the table. I was vigorously sucking on the ice cream when I picked up the hair tie with my thumb and index finger. What’s with the hair tie?

So I asked, “What’s this hair tie?”

“A friend gave it to me.”

“Why?”

“Said to give it to his girlfriend. He got it when he bought cosmetics. Just passing it on, you know.”

“Is it a girl?”

“Yeah. You know her too.”

I tried to recall the girls Lim Dae-han was close with. They all had a similar vibe. Girls who liked dressing up, had loud voices, and enjoyed using profanity…

I didn’t know how such people ended up hanging out together, but Lim Dae-han was one of them. Unlike me, who had no female siblings and was awkward around girls, acting like a blockhead, Lim Dae-han got along well with girls.

It wasn’t a precarious balance between love and friendship—they just enjoyed each other’s company.

I guessed that the group he met up with today was also a mix of boys and girls. That group from high school. Among them were Park Yeo-seon and Lee Deok, who knew that the person Lim Dae-han was dating wasn’t a girl.

“Didn’t Park Yeo-seon and Lee Deok say anything?”

“They’re laughing their asses off behind my back.”

Lim Dae-han took the hair tie from my finger and stretched it out in front of my eyes. “Woa,” he raised his voice, deliberately trying to surprise me. He looked like a monster with its mouth wide open. When I stood my ground without flinching, Lim Dae-han marveled as if it was a big deal.

“Oh, you’re not scared.”

“Am I a kid? To be scared of something like that.”

“Acting all grown up when you’re just twenty.”

Lim Dae-han crunched the last bite of his ice cream. He carelessly put the wooden stick on the bag and snatched my hand. He took the hand that wasn’t holding the ice cream.

He wove the hair tie he received around my ring finger. Then he tied it several times, just tight enough not to cut off circulation. It began to look like a ring.

He carefully slid off the ring-shaped tie from my ring finger, maintaining its shape. But no matter how carefully he pulled it off, it sprung back to its original shape with a pop.

“…”

Lim Dae-han rested his chin on the table and looked up at me. I, who had only eaten half of my ice cream, glanced at him with an uneasy feeling.

“Give me just one bite.”

“You already ate a whole one.”

“There’s more in the freezer. Don’t be greedy. Just give me one bite.”

“Who’s being greedy here? You already finished yours. Why are you trying to take someone else’s?”

I wrinkled my nose, but Lim Dae-han didn’t budge an inch. Sigh, I finally exhaled and brought the ice cream to his mouth.

“You can only have one bite.”

But making my words meaningless, Lim Dae-han ate all the remaining ice cream in one go. He didn’t seem to mind that I had been licking it thoroughly.

Lee Cheon-hee: [Come to the bar by 5 p.m. tomorrow for the interview.]

Me: [Okay, thanks haha]

Cheon-hui: [Don’t say you want to keep doing it after the semester starts if you end up liking it.]

My classmate emphasized several times that this was just a temporary replacement. Which made me wonder why  they decided to temporarily stop working even though it seemed to be such a good part-time job.

I didn’t intend to take their position…I was only doing this during the break…

After replying that I understood and would let them know the result tomorrow, I wrapped up the conversation. Just then, Lim Dae-han, who had just finished showering, sat on the bed. He reached out and grabbed the peach character pillow, then let it go. Wearing only underwear with a towel around his neck, he was enjoying his leisurely time.

I, who had been stuck in the corner of the bed, slowly crawled over and settled next to Lim Dae-han. Why is it that even though we’re together every day, I feel happy to see him after just a short while apart?

“Lim Dae-han.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going for a part-time job interview tomorrow.”

“What kind of job?”

Lim Dae-han put his hand on top of my head. He was just touching me without any particular reason too. I lay down, resting my head on his thigh.

“Cheon-hee said they’re looking for someone to work just during the break where they work.”

“So, what is it?”

“It’s a bar. You know ○○ Bar near the main gate? There.”

“Why work at a bar? It’s not like you desperately need the money. You’ll have to deal with food smells and drunk customers.”

Lim Dae-han’s response wasn’t favorable. I was a bit taken aback by the unexpected reaction. I thought he would casually say to just go for it.

“…Should I not do it?”

I felt deflated. I was just thinking of trying it out during the break without any particular reason. I wasn’t planning to continue into the semester. Since I would just be replacing my classmate temporarily, I didn’t think it would be such a big deal.

Usually, he would always praise the job, saying it was fun and the people he worked with were nice, so I thought the work wouldn’t be that bad.

“…”

Lim Dae-han said nothing. Does he really not want me to do it? I bit down on my lower lip, trying not to pout. Since my expression probably wasn’t so great, I sat up.

With only the bathroom room light on, the room felt gloomy. Fortunately, my expression wasn’t clearly visible.

Lim Dae-han sighed heavily.

“Do you want to do it?”

“Yeah. Just…because it’s the break, I want to try it.”

“What are the hours?”

“7 p.m. to 1 a.m. It might vary daily. And actually, it’s not that dangerous at those times. There are a lot of people outside. You know I’m close to Cheon-hee. And Cheon-hee says it’s really okay. The people are nice, and the work isn’t too hard…”

As I rambled on with explanations, a part of me felt hurt. It felt like I was a minor asking parents for permission to work part-time.

Is this level of communication normal for live-in partners? I didn’t think Lim Dae-han treated me like a child. He was just worried about me dealing with drunk customers as a partner.

“You haven’t been hired yet, right?”

“No. The interview is tomorrow.”

“Ah, I think you’ll get it if you interview.”

“It’s not certain, but…since I’m going as a temporary replacement, I think I’ll start working right away.”

“You’ll definitely get it. If it’s a bar that considers the looks of their part-timers, it’s a sure thing.”

Lim Dae-han seemed to notice my mood wasn’t great and tried to cheer me up. Still, I wasn’t feeling too bad, so I raised the corners of my mouth and nodded my head. Lim Dae-han clicked his tongue and said, “Just go for the interview. You’ll definitely get it though.”

Yes! I wanted to hug Lim Dae-han tightly, but that would really make me feel like a minor who just got permission to work part-time, so I held back.

“Okay.”

Instead, I nodded slightly and touched his thigh. As I buried my face in his crotch, Lim Dae-han unhesitatingly grabbed my buttocks.

What am I thinking, getting permission for a part-time job? I wasn’t a minor anymore, trembling when buying condoms at the convenience store. I was an adult who could do this and that without having to feel guilty or afraid.