PM Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Daesik glanced at the counter window, which was open just a sliver, then casually moved his body to block it entirely. The movement was so natural that the guests talking to him didn’t even notice anything strange.

“It’s so hard to see your face. Things only get big when President Pyo’s around.”

The woman in the sharp suit spoke with a hint of regret, and the man next to her nodded in agreement. The muscular, bulky woman was a fervent alpha, and the man who looked like a toad was a beta.

“Been really busy lately.”

Daesik shrugged casually, but just then a loud crash came from inside the window behind him.

He quietly let out a chuckle. Looks like he finally woke up. The fact that he woke up a beat late like a sluggish little goldfish made it all the more amusing. Keeping his expression neutral, Daesik opened his mouth so the guests wouldn’t catch on.

“How’s the basement? I made a few changes.”

“Oh, don’t even get me started. I completely lost track of time while trying to win these.”

The woman waved the chips in her hand with an expression that said, Isn’t it obvious? The man beside her let out a phlegmy chuckle.

“It was killer! If it weren’t for that thing that came up, I would’ve stayed longer. I hated having to leave!”

“Exactly. If it weren’t for those damn cops, we’d have stayed even longer.”

The sharp-eyed woman smacked her lips in agreement, clearly disappointed. Just then, the toad-faced man rubbed his nose and suddenly said,

“Though, there’s one thing I wish was better.”

For a moment, Daesik’s attention, which had been focused on the window behind him where Heeseong was, shifted toward the man. Most customers didn’t complain—so what was this one about?

“What is it?”

“There’s nothing to shake it to around here!”

The toad-faced man let out a sleazy grin and grabbed his crotch, moving it obscenely. The intent was vulgar and obvious. The woman next to him nodded, snickering.

“True. It’d be perfect if there was a pretty little thing next to me. That’s the one thing missing.”

Daesik’s mood instantly turned foul. This was a common line from gamblers who came around, but for some reason, it pissed him off today more than usual.

“That’s a no-go. Because of what happened last time.”

“Oh come on, that was ages ago!”

The man waved his hand in irritation and snapped, but Daesik stared him down with cold eyes.

“If you want it that badly, bring your own. No one’s stopping you from doing that.”

Oblivious to Daesik’s growing irritation, the man frowned and grumbled.

“Ugh, what a pain. That’s why—”

“Mr. Shin, President Pyo looks uncomfortable.”

Fortunately, another guest, quick on the uptake, stepped in first to stop the man. As expected of an alpha, he was sharp. Only then did the beta man seem to catch on and let out a belated cough.

“Hmph, that’s disappointing, but I guess it can’t be helped.”

“Yeah, there’s no point hanging around here. We can just go.”

The alpha guest smoothed things over, but Daesik still wasn’t in a good mood. The slightly open window behind him nagged at him, and the presence of the alpha in front of him irritated him. There was no real reason, but he was annoyed nonetheless.

“Alright then, President Pyo, we’ll get going.”

“See you next time.”

Once the guests had left, Daesik ran his hand through his tousled hair, trying to shake off his mood. Even so, the frown didn’t leave his face for a while, and his irritation lingered.

Inside the counter area, Heeseong, who had been holding his breath and listening intently, swallowed hard. He didn’t know exactly what had happened, but the atmosphere felt off. The sound of the boss sighing after talking to the guests hadn’t gone unnoticed.

Heeseong was usually slow on the uptake, but when it came to matters of survival, his instincts would occasionally kick in. It was a survival-driven kind of awareness. Like a broken clock being right twice a day, Heeseong’s sense of timing worked in rare moments like this.

Right now was one of those rare moments. Thanks to that, Heeseong realized from Daesik’s sigh that he wasn’t in a good mood. His mouth went dry with dread.

He probably saw me sleeping… Could it really be because of that? What do I do?

Unfortunately, even when Heeseong’s awareness kicked in, it wasn’t always spot-on.

I’m doomed. He bit his lip in frustration. He’d worked so hard not to fall asleep, only to doze off anyway. On the very first day, no less!

He burned with humiliation. Swallowing dryly, he glanced nervously toward Daesik’s back through the slightly open window and rubbed his stinging shin.

Startled by the voices of Daesik and the guests earlier, he had shot up so fast that he’d slammed his leg into the counter table. The sharp pain in his shin still lingered. But more than the pain, it was the fact that he’d dozed off and been caught by the boss that made his heart sink.

While he was still frozen in nervous tension, another voice rang out.

“Room 808. I’m here to work.”

Heeseong blinked, then realized it was a new guest. Just then, the window flung open and Daesik reached his hand toward him.

Heeseong quickly turned to the shelf on the wall and grabbed the key for Room 808, handing it over. He could hear Daesik speaking to the guest as he passed the key.

“All set?”

“The same as usual.”

The conversation didn’t make any sense to Heeseong. It must have been something the guest and the boss already understood. Soon after, the sound of footsteps echoed through the lobby.

Once the footsteps faded, Heeseong glanced through the window to see Daesik’s expression. Without a word, Daesik entered through the counter door and placed the cash into the register. Heeseong jumped to his feet, bit his lip, and lowered his head.

“I’m sorry.”

Daesik looked at Heeseong and thought, oh wow. He must think I’m mad at him. Seeing how stiff and nervous he looked actually lightened Daesik’s mood. It was strange.

Daesik quietly pondered the reason and came to a conclusion. It was obvious Heeseong was trying to look pitiful, but he was so slow and clueless it was amusing. Maybe it was just that something interesting had finally shown up to break the monotony.

He suppressed the smile tugging at his lips and fixed Heeseong with a stern look.

“I won’t let it slide next time.”

Heeseong was just about to nod when suddenly, his stomach growled. Loudly. With a gurgle, gurgle, gurgle-gurgle. His face turned bright red like a beet.

Daesik finally burst into the laughter he’d been holding back. Heeseong’s face turned an even deeper shade, like it was on fire.

Why now, of all times? Heeseong wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear. Embarrassing things always seemed to happen in front of the boss.

“You didn’t eat breakfast?”

“No…”

He’d woken up feeling great, but in the rush, he hadn’t thought about food. He’d been so focused on just getting up that he forgot entirely. Heeseong clenched his stomach and glanced sideways.

“You must be hungry.”

“Yeah, a little… That’s probably why it made that sound.”

Daesik looked at the suddenly bashful Heeseong, amused. After clearing his throat, he pulled out his phone and called Kyunghoon.

“Go grab three sandwiches.”

As he spoke to Kyunghoon, he glanced at Heeseong and saw his pale face flushing again. Heeseong even swallowed nervously.

Daesik nearly burst into laughter again but held it in. He felt like teasing him a bit.

“It’s not like I’m giving you any, so why are you swallowing?”

“Oh… It’s not for me?”

“Yeah. I’m going to eat all of them by myself.”

“……”

That’s just mean. Seriously. The boss was ridiculously petty. Heeseong’s thick lips slowly jutted out in a pout.

At that, Daesik finally let out another laugh. Ah, this is killing me. As he laughed, Heeseong’s eyes sharpened.

Even though he was trying to stay aware, his emotions showed right through him. It was like he didn’t even know he was supposed to hide it—that was what made it so funny. Daesik shook his head with a grin.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. You can eat them all.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Thank you!”

Heeseong gave him a cautious glance and then smiled widely. Daesik laughed again. The way he accepted it without hesitation, without even trying to decline once, was both ridiculous and hilarious.