PM Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The woman who spoke coldly had a different air from the previous customer. Heeseong quickly retrieved the key to Room 710 and handed it over. When he glanced at Kyunghoon, wondering if he would handle it instead, Kyunghoon gave a small nod. It meant, “You do it.”

For a moment, Heeseong panicked, unsure of what to say. What was it that the boss had said again?

While he was still trying to recall, the woman spoke first.

“Item.”

“Ah…”

“You’ll need to go downstairs.”

Before Heeseong could answer, Kyunghoon smoothly responded for him. The woman gave a short nod and turned straight toward the elevator.

Kyunghoon then pulled out a black notebook from the counter drawer and began logging the entry. Heeseong stared at him blankly, only to realize that he hadn’t done that himself.

“Um… do I have to write that down?”

He bit his lip nervously, thinking he’d made another mistake. The curses of the gangsters and the sneering scolds of the orphanage director echoed faintly in his ears.

“You idiot.”

“You don’t even know that?”

To Heeseong, not knowing something was no different from making a mistake. His face turned pale. He stared at Kyunghoon, tense and afraid.

But Kyunghoon, having already been told by Daesik to explain the counter duties in more detail, didn’t think much of Heeseong’s ignorance. He simply nodded and started explaining.

“The boss probably didn’t explain this because he remembers everything. But we’re not the boss, right? He has a great memory, so it’s fine for him, but for the rest of us, it’s better to keep a written log. That way, if there’s any confusion later, we can refer to it.”

He adjusted his tone, doing his best to match Heeseong’s level.

“Write down the date, which room it was, whether it was for lodging or a short stay. If it’s lodging, note how many days. If it’s a short stay, mark the hours. As for purpose—usually it’ll be things like ‘basement,’ ‘cleanup,’ ‘item,’ or ‘work.’ For normal customers, just write ‘regular stay.’”

He really was the perfect right-hand man. Since it was a task Daesik had assigned, Kyunghoon took it seriously, regardless of what he thought of Heeseong.

“Oh, and regular or short-stay guests should be given rooms below the 4th floor. Guests with a clear purpose should be given rooms on the 5th floor or higher. Usually, those with a clear purpose won’t say how long they’re staying—just record it as ‘lodging.’”

After the smooth explanation, Kyunghoon glanced at Heeseong, checking if he understood.

Heeseong nodded repeatedly, taking in the words of his senior, then quickly continued writing on the note he had stuck on earlier.

Watching Kyunghoon calmly assist and handle everything so smoothly, Heeseong was quietly impressed. Wow. That’s so cool. Not panicking and explaining everything so clearly, even the way he wrote the log looked so neat and composed.

He felt a bit sorry for having initially assumed, based on his sharp eyes and tough look, that Kyunghoon was just some gangster underling. This just proved you shouldn’t judge people by their appearance.

Heeseong nodded softly to himself, biting his lip. His eyes sparkled with a glimmer of admiration for Kyunghoon.

“You doing okay?”

He was just staring blankly when a voice suddenly came from above his head. The counter door was open—he hadn’t even noticed when it opened.

Leaning against the doorframe with arms crossed, Daesik was looking down at him.

At the sight of Daesik, Heeseong visibly flinched. It was understandable—he had been the center of Heeseong’s fears and worries just moments ago.

But now, more than fear or nervousness, something else was growing larger inside him. His cluttered mind must have been showing in his behavior.

As he hesitated and fumbled for a response, Daesik’s eyebrow lifted at an angle. He could tell something was off in Heeseong’s reaction.

“You’re here, sir.”

Kyunghoon immediately stood up and bowed crisply.

“I’ll take my leave now.”

“Alright.”

As Daesik stepped behind the counter, Kyunghoon walked out and closed the door behind him. Just as the door was about to shut, Heeseong called out softly.

“…Goodbye, sunbaenim.”

Kyunghoon froze mid-step and nearly stumbled. Swearing under his breath, he slammed the door shut.

Shit. I’m screwed.

Cold sweat trickled down his back.

Outside the motel, he cursed his past self from a few minutes ago for not correcting the way Heeseong addressed him. Looks like I’m getting hit tomorrow for sure. Sighing deeply, Kyunghoon looked up at the darkening sky as the sunset bled into the clouds and pressed a hand to his forehead.

As the counter door closed, Daesik faintly furrowed his brows. Something about what he’d just heard stuck in his ears.

“…Sunbaenim?”

“Yeah, because he started working before me…”

“And that makes him your senior?”

Daesik had been about to tell him to just use Kyunghoon’s name, but he shut his mouth. He didn’t particularly like the idea of Heeseong calling Kyunghoon by name either.

Tch. Either way, it’s not great.

From the moment he saw Heeseong listening to Kyunghoon through that little window, he’d already been in a bit of a mood. He was the one who had told Kyunghoon to help and explain things to him, but the moment he saw them together like that, something cold settled in his chest.

Oblivious to what Daesik was thinking, Heeseong rolled his eyes in thought. Isn’t that what a sunbae is? That’s what he believed, but when Daesik said otherwise, he shrank and hesitantly opened his mouth.

“That’s what we did at the kimchi factory…”

Ha. Daesik let out a hollow laugh. So that’s what this was. He understood immediately what Heeseong was thinking. He was just following what he’d learned at the kimchi factory.

He’d said the factory wasn’t bad, hadn’t he? Daesik couldn’t imagine how often people there must’ve thrown around that kind of hierarchical nonsense for it to stick with him like this. Environments that cling to titles and pecking orders usually weren’t what he’d call good.

“That guy’s not your senior—he’s my employee.”

Sitting down next to Heeseong, Daesik corrected him in a firm but gentle tone.

“Just call him ‘Chief Ji.’”

“Okay…”

Heeseong nodded with his lips drawn in. A pang of embarrassment hit him in the chest. He realized he’d made a mistake. So he was the chief, huh? That meant he was way higher in rank than a part-time worker like himself. And yet, he’d called him whatever came to mind without knowing.

His tiny face flushed with the awkwardness of it all. Seeing that, Daesik, who could easily guess what he was thinking, added more calmly.

“And Chief Ji doesn’t like disrespect.”

“H-Huh…!”

“Don’t go calling him casually next time.”

“Y-Yes…”

So he’d been adjusting to things he didn’t even like just to be considerate. Heeseong thought the chief must be kind like the boss and made a mental note to be more careful next time. Next time, I’ll make sure to be polite.

Daesik looked at the way Heeseong pursed his lips and tightened them with effort, almost as if he were studying him. The little guy, trying so hard, was both pathetic and endearing.

“You pick up anything from watching earlier?”

“…Yes!”

Heeseong’s face lit up, and he nodded eagerly. There was even a glimmer of confidence in his flustered face, which made Daesik smirk.

“What’d you learn?”

Heeseong fumbled for words, his glasses catching the light as his eyes darted around.

“Uh, um… That I should write the guest log with the date, the room number, whether it’s lodging or a short stay… For regular guests, give them rooms below the fourth floor, and for others, above the fifth floor…”

“Not bad.”

At Daesik’s praise, Heeseong let out a small sigh of relief without realizing it. He’d been afraid he’d forget something and let him down, but now he felt reassured.

“Anything else happen?”

“Uh… We ate ice cream together! Thank you for buying it…!”

“You ate together?”

Daesik raised an eyebrow, smiling faintly.

He hadn’t told them to eat together. Looked like Kyunghoon was getting too comfortable these days—doing things without being told. Daesik felt it might be time for a little warning.

“Yes…! It was delicious!”

Unaware of anything, Heeseong smiled brightly like he still had the taste of ice cream on his tongue. The sweetness lingering on his lips made his smile come naturally.

“…Is that so? I see.”

Leaning his chin on his hand, one eyebrow raised crookedly, Daesik’s expression gradually hardened. The more Heeseong smiled and spoke, the more a subtle irritation began to rise inside him.