LCL 67

Lim Dae-han went to his parents’ home early in the morning. It was due to a sudden call from his mother. As a result, I woke up early too and spent the morning and afternoon leisurely with nothing to do before going for the part-time job interview.

The owner was a man who looked to be in his mid-thirties at most. He didn’t seem strict. He said I didn’t even need a resume.

“You came through Cheon-hee’s introduction, right?”

“Yes.”

“Have you done part-time work before?”

“No, this is my first time.”

“Hmm…well, it shouldn’t be difficult. Cheon-hee has good friends. You look presentable and seem like you’ll work diligently.”

I hadn’t particularly given the impression of being diligent or good at work, but the owner said so anyway. Still, I smiled brightly. I’ve never been told I look unattractive anywhere.

“It’s Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, but the schedule is flexible. I’ll let you know in advance, is that okay? I heard you live nearby.”

“Yes, I live nearby. It’s fine as long as you let me know in advance…but I won’t have to come every day, is that right?”

“Haha. Not that often. We’ll discuss it, so I won’t burden you too much.”

I breathed a sigh of relief inwardly. Even though it was just for the vacation, I didn’t want to spend my entire summer at twenty doing part-time work. The time I spent with Lim Dae-han was more precious to me more than anything. The owner asked while writing down the necessary documents on a memo pad.

“When can you start? Can you start tomorrow?”

Today is Thursday, so…But I’m not fully prepared yet. Hmm. I furrowed my brow, while deep in thought.

The owner, who had been watching me quietly, spoke up.

“Well, since you need to prepare documents too, if tomorrow is difficult, you can start on Monday.”

“Ah, yes. I’ll do that.”

“There’s nothing too difficult. You’ll learn quickly once you start. Just think of it as doing typical bar work. Carrying things, moving things, cleaning up, and occasionally handling the cash register. But I’m usually at the counter, so I’ll probably handle that unless something comes up. We often eat delicious food and have late-night snacks. Just think of it as coming out to have some fun while doing some work. All the kids are nice here too.”

I nodded, replying with a short “Yes.” The owner handed me the memo with the necessary documents written on it. Then he wrote “Monday 7 p.m., Ki Young-hyun” in a slightly worn notebook.

I came out after a smooth interview. The owner waved enthusiastically until I got into the elevator. As it was my first part-time job interview, I still felt nervous even after coming out. Before calling Lim Dae-han, I left a message for my classmate who had introduced me to the position.

Me: [Cheon-hee, I just finished the interview. I’m starting next week]

Me: [I’ll work hard and give the job back to you when the semester starts lol thanks]

After checking the brief reply, I called Lim Dae-han right away.

I wondered if he had left his parents’ home yet. He said he’d eat lunch there, even though he said it wouldn’t take long. What business did he have so early in the morning? I tilted my head to one side, waiting for the call to connect.

– Hey. Did you finish the interview?

There wasn’t even a “hello.” It sounded somewhat noisy on the other end. He definitely was not at home yet.

“Where are you?”

– I went to my parents’ and then stopped by the department store. How did the interview go?

“I’m starting next week. Why the department store?”

– I’m at a cafe. Come join me. I’m on my way out now, so you just need to head this way.

“Okay.”

After hanging up, I looked up at the sky. The tension finally eased. It felt like my skin would burn under the scorching sunlight. It was that hot…

I covered my face with both hands. My first part-time job ever. Half nervous, half excited, a balloon swelled big in my heart.

Lim Dae-han, who I thought would arrive soon, didn’t show up until an hour later. I figured it was because of the typical Seoul traffic jams everywhere. If I had been outside, I would have been burnt by now, but waiting inside the cafe was actually quite pleasant. Although I was bored, I managed to pass the time by having a long-overdue call with Jung Ji-pil.

When I opened the passenger door, I saw a small shopping bag. I picked it up and got into the car. While fastening my seatbelt, I asked Lim Dae-han.

“What’s this?”

I looked at the shopping bag from various angles. It was a small bag, about the size of two hands put together. Lim Dae-han seemed more eager to hear about my interview than explaining what was inside the shopping bag.

“How was the interview?”

“They didn’t ask much. Just when I could start working…things like that. What’s in this shopping bag? Did you buy something?”

“Open it. Do you want to eat out?”

“No. I want to order delivery when we get home. Can I open this?”

“Yeah. Go ahead.”

When I opened the shopping bag, there was a small box inside. The vertically long box was clearly a jewelry box. I untied the string around the box and opened it. I just blinked silently.

Blink, blink…As I continued to remain silent, Lim Dae-han spoke while looking straight ahead, as if he wasn’t interested despite having bought it himself. He said in a rather indifferent voice.

“I got us some couple’s rings.”

“…You and me?”

“Who else would I get them with?”

There was only one ring in the box. I stared at the empty space for a moment, then looked at Lim Dae-han’s hand gripping the steering wheel.

He had the same ring on his ring finger. Uh, so, um…As I floundered in confusion, Lim Dae-han chuckled softly.

Couple’s rings…Honestly, I hadn’t expected this at all.

We often gave each other various gifts and didn’t skimp on spending for them, but couple’s rings were a first. We had never even talked about it.

Even among close couples we knew, like Ye-jun hyung, they used pet names like “Young-han-ah,” “baby” (ugh) and so on, and Ye-jun hyung called his partner “honey” (ugh), but Lim Dae-han and I just called each other Ki Young-hyun, Lim Dae-han, or occasionally “hey” or “you.”

This meant we weren’t an overly affectionate couple.

“It’s almost our 2-year anniversary. I didn’t think we’d properly celebrate it, so I was wondering what to do and ended up buying this.”

Even if it’s our 2-year anniversary in a few days…is it normal to receive a couple’s rings in such a casual situation?

Not knowing, I tilted my head. Still, I tried on the ring. I spread my fingers out. A ring of the same thickness as Lim Dae-han’s was on my ring finger.

“Wow….”

The ring fit perfectly, as if we had gone together to get them fitted. Lim Dae-han finally turned to look at me.

“I was going to exchange it if the size didn’t fit, but it looks like it fits well.”

“H-How did you know? About the thickness of my finger.”

“I roughly measured it with the hair tie yesterday. From the fourth wrap, it stopped blood flow, so I guessed based on that, and it’s pretty close.”

“Yesterday’s hair tie?”

Ah. Only then did I remember. Lim Dae-han wrapping the hair tie he said he got from a friend around his finger while I was eating ice cream next to him.

Yesterday, I wondered why he was doing that, but I guess this was the reason. I silently stared at the ring while keeping my fingers spread. It was pretty.

There was a small jewel embedded in the middle, and a pattern of lines drawn in the center of the circle was engraved in a row. Only then did I check the shopping bag. It was from brand C. Huh, I inadvertently gasped. It was a place even I, who didn’t know much about luxury brands, recognized.

“Isn’t this place expensive?”

“It had a certain price range.”

Lim Dae-han didn’t bother to hide it. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how much it cost, but it was clearly too expensive to be just a couple’s ring. I stammered without realizing it.

“Why, why something so expensive…”

“I don’t know much about these things either. I just searched, and it was the most famous, so I bought it.”

Suddenly, my finger felt extremely heavy. Flustered, I kept alternating between looking at my finger and the shopping bag.

“It seems too expensive…”

“Yeah. It’s expensive. So don’t lose it.”

I swallowed hard. My teeth clattered as they hit against each other. I was dumbfounded as I didn’t expect to suddenly receive a couple’s ring from Lim Dae-han.

“What did you say when you went to buy it?”

“I said I wanted to get rings fitted.”

“Did you say you were getting them fitted for two men?”

“Yeah.”

“And then?”

“They just introduced me to some options.”

“Really…?”

“They said these were wedding rings.”

My mouth fell open again. The traffic light turned red, and the car came to a stop. As I kept staring at Lim Dae-han with my fingers still spread out, he belatedly turned his gaze toward me.

“What? You were all crazy about getting married during the festival, but now you’re burdened because I say it’s a wedding ring?”

“No, it’s not that…”

“Okay.”

“It’s just that you gave it to me without any warning.”

“I just bought it because I wanted to. You also go crazy when you suddenly want to eat something. Acting like you’ll die if you don’t eat it.”

“That’s you!”

“No, it’s you. I just eat.”

After bickering for a moment, I looked down at the ring again. Then I alternated between looking at mine and Lim Dae-han’s. Identical rings were on both our hands.

Furthermore, the fact that they were wedding rings, somehow made it feel even heavier on my finger. I chewed on my lips. I lightly touched the ring. Belatedly, I raised my eyes.

“…Thank you.”

“If you’re thankful, give me a kiss.”

Lim Dae-han said playfully. Without any hesitation, I pressed my lips to his cheek and pulled away. Lim Dae-han made a silly joke.

“I guess I’ll have to fill all ten fingers to get ten kisses.”

In the past, I’d give a kiss for a bowl of jjajangmyeon. Now, with the passage of time, I gave a kiss for receiving a ring. I could feel the flow of time.

No, is it the size of affection? No, it’s not. It’s the same. Nothing has changed. I mumbled a retort.

“I give you kisses often even without rings.”

“I know. You give me kisses even when I buy you ice cream. And when I buy you jjajangmyeon too.”

Lim Dae-han seemed to remember that as well. I gave a slight smile.

“In the past, it was one kiss for 500 won.”

“And now?”

“What?”

“How much is this?”

Lim Dae-han tilted his head toward me. I knew you weren’t supposed to ask the price, but I couldn’t bear the curiosity. Lim Dae-han pressed his lips to my earlobe as if he was about to whisper. My heart pounded as I held my position.

But instead of the price, what came was a loud “Mwah!” sound. He didn’t even give me a kiss, just pretended to kiss my ear.

Startled, I covered my ear. Just then, the traffic light turned green. Lim Dae-han laughed out loud and continued driving. It really looked like I wouldn’t be able to hear the price after all.

I took a picture wearing the ring. I wanted to take a picture with Lim Dae-han, but I felt too embarrassed to suggest it, so I gave up.

Taking a cliché picture of our hands overlapping seemed like something Lim Dae-han would mock. Should I go brag to my hyung? The hyungs were wearing the same rings too. I probably wouldn’t hear anything nice anyway, so I decided to just forget about it.

I went into the bedroom. Lim Dae-han was on the balcony attached to the bedroom. He was on the phone with someone.

“I understand. Yes. …I’ll do that.”

Lim Dae-han, who was continuing the call, turned around and paused. He hadn’t noticed I had come in. I asked him, my eyes opened wide.

“Who was that?”

He calmly replied, “My mom.”

“Why did she ask you to come home today?”

“Ah. It’s nothing much.”

“Okay.”

“She wants me to stay at home during the break.”

“Why?”

“Yong-i is crying because he misses his big brother.”

Lim Dae-han said while swiping his thumb across his phone screen. If Dae-ryong was crying because he missed his brother, there was nothing we could do. I nodded silently.

“And while I’m there, I’ll help out with my parents’ work.”

With this additional comment, I thought it would be difficult to hang out this summer break. If he had to live at home and help out with his parents’ work, we wouldn’t be able to spend much time together, especially since I would be working nights.

I was a bit disappointed that Lim Dae-han would be going home, but it couldn’t be helped. I knew he lived at his family home during breaks. Didn’t he clear out his rented room and live at home after the college entrance exam too? Thanks to that, even I got to meet Lim Dae-han’s parents.

His parents lived downstairs, and Lim Dae-han lived upstairs, so they didn’t run into each other much. They mostly ate separately, so there weren’t many chances to bump into each other. Even if they did meet, it wasn’t uncomfortable. They were nice people.

“When are you planning to go?”

“I’ll move my stuff on Sunday afternoon.”

“Ah, and you’ll start helping your parents from Monday?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s better. I’ll be starting my part-time job on Monday night anyway.”

“We’ll both be busy then.”

“…Still, you have to come home often. You understand?”

Lim Dae-han grinned and lightly tapped my cheek. He seemed pleased that I was looking up at him and speaking this way, even though I usually didn’t show any aegyo at all. 

Geez…he was so happy over something so small.