TGMND 82

It was nearly ten o’clock at night.

As Yeo-woon dropped his slumped shoulders at the bus stop in front of his house, he looked up to see the lights on at Cafe Earth. Inside the cafe were two familiar staff members, one doing the final cleanup and the other, Yoon Ji-gu casually tidying the counter while looking at his phone. Maybe because he was tall, Yeo-woon’s steps faltered for a moment as he saw Ji-gu through the window.

“…”

Everyone’s living such busy lives. Yeo-woon felt a second of regret for wishing the Earth would end and turned away. Just then, the cafe door opened with a jingle. A large hand landed firmly on Yeo-woon’s shoulder.

“Hey…!”

“…?”

When Yeo-woon turned around, Ji-gu was looking down at him with a surprised face. The employee doing cleanup glanced curiously at Ji-gu who had suddenly rushed out, then returned to their work. Wondering why Ji-gu called him but wasn’t saying anything, Yeo-woon tilted his head. Ji-gu, seeming dazed, finally spoke.

“…Why didn’t you come swimming today?”

“Huh? I was busy.”

Yeo-woon couldn’t understand why Ji-gu was curious about this, since they barely talked at the pool except when leaving.

“You didn’t come yesterday either. …And you haven’t been to the cafe lately.”

“That’s because I’m tired….”

…But what does that have to do with him? Sensing something odd in Ji-gu’s words, Yeo-woon blinked. Ji-gu sighed deeply and said:

“I told you, you can come up to three times a week.”

“Huh?”

“But they said you didn’t come even once this week when I wasn’t there, so I wondered if something happened…”

Yoon Ji-gu rubbed the back of his neck and avoided eye contact. He seemed genuinely embarrassed. By the way, asking other employees if Yeo-woon had come – is this how cafes manage customers these days?

Wow, they’re good at business…

Yeo-woon inwardly marveled as he stared at Yoon Ji-gu. The more he stared, the more Ji-gu tried to avoid eye contact. Then Yeo-woon noticed small wounds on Ji-gu’s wrist. They were noticeable even in the dark.

“…?”

“What are you doing…!”

“What is this, are you hurt?”

Yeo-woon suddenly grabbed Ji-gu’s wrist to examine the wounds. The glistening surface looked like it had been medicated, but it still looked deep and painful.

“What happened? Did you cut yourself with a knife during your shift? You should be more careful.”

“What are you talking about? This is just… I got scratched while catching a cat earlier.”

“At this level, it looks like the cat caught you instead.”

“…”

Yoon Ji-gu’s lips twitched in disbelief at Yeo-woon’s words, then he muttered quietly:

“It was close to the animal hospital’s closing time, so I had to catch it in a hurry.”

But his words didn’t reach Yeo-woon’s ears. He was too focused on examining the wounds. Yeo-woon pulled Ji-gu’s other arm to look it over, then looked up at him. Both arms were in a mess. Ji-gu’s ears visibly reddened as he let Yeo-woon hold his hands.

“Doesn’t it hurt?”

“…It hurts when you touch it.”

“It looks like it. I’ll stop touching then.”

“After you’ve already touched it all.”

“But I heard you shouldn’t leave cat scratches untreated… Did you go to the hospital?”

“I just got back from the hospital, okay?”

“What did they say?”

“Nothing much… But why are you curious about this?”

Yoon Ji-gu asked, seemingly perplexed. But isn’t it natural to be curious? Yeo-woon just stared at Ji-gu without saying anything. Though Yeo-woon didn’t speak, Ji-gu fidgeted on his own before letting out a deep sigh.

“I got a shot and they told me to apply medicine regularly and leave it be. Happy now?”

“But what if it leaves scars?”

“…It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine. Don’t go swimming tomorrow either. Rest until it’s fully healed.”

“What about you? Are you going swimming tomorrow?”

Yeo-woon blinked and mentally organized his review schedule. As a junior employee, he didn’t have too many tasks, but he’d likely be busy doing menial tasks for at least the next week.

“I can’t go until next week.That’s why I haven’t registered for next month yet.”

At those words, Ji-gu thought for a moment, then mumbled in a small voice, “I see.”

“…?”

Yeo-woon couldn’t understand what he meant by that. Just then, the door to the café rattled again, and a staff member who had changed out of her café uniform into casual clothes came out, nodding a greeting to Yeo-woon. She looked up at Ji-gu with a smirk.

“What are you talking about with a regular customer for so long?”

“…Nothing much.”

“Is that so? I’m heading out first. You can finish up, Oppa.”

“Oh, okay. Go ahead.”

The employee with a white crossbody bag walked towards the bus stop. Ji-gu watched her leave, then turned his gaze back to Yeo-woon.

“Hey, want to take some cookies?”

“Cookies?”

“We have some left over today. I made…”

“Oh? You made them?”

“…No, not really. They’re just leftovers.”

“…”

“A lot of them.”

Yoon Ji-gu suddenly spoke in a serious tone. If there were leftovers, why not just sell them tomorrow? But Yeo-woon had no particular reason to refuse, so he nodded reflexively, and Ji-gu pulled him into the cafe.

“Just give me five minutes. Everything’s cleaned up, I just need to change clothes… I’ll be right out.”

Before Yeo-woon could respond, Yoon Ji-gu hurriedly took off his apron and disappeared.

Yeo-woonn leaned against the back of his chair and stared in the direction where Yoon Ji-gu had disappeared. The half-lit cafe felt different from usual. A new potted plant had appeared in one corner – a monstera with split-end leaves. It matched well with the muggy summer.

Yoon Ji-gu kept his promise and came out quickly. He had changed out of his uniform into a white t-shirt and was carrying a small box. Inside the white box were individually wrapped cookies, well over ten of them by the looks of it.

“What, are you allowed to give all these away?”

“It doesn’t matter. I can just make more anyway….”

“You said you didn’t make them.”

“Ah, I mean someone else will make more…”

“…”

“…Just take them graciously when I’m giving them to you!”

He’s getting angry again… Yeo-woon nodded nonchalantly.

“How many are there? I could eat these for a long time.”

Not being a big fan of sweets, Yeo-woon thought about taking them to work tomorrow to share with his colleagues.

“Hey, this one’s heart-shaped.”

“You’re mistaken.”

Yoon Ji-gu said firmly. Does he mean they’re not heart-shaped? Yeo-woon turned a cookie over, thinking. Flipped 180 degrees, it looked a bit like a spade. But at first glance, it clearly looked like a heart…

“Let’s go.”

“Are you done?”

As Ji-gu nodded, the sound of the air conditioner turning off was heard. Yeo-woon picked up the heavy cookie box in one hand and followed him. He felt he should give something in return… Rummaging through his empty bag, he found a lollipop he’d forgotten in a side pocket. He took it out and slipped it into Ji-gu’s pants pocket as he was locking the door.

“…What the!”

Yoon Ji-gu jumped in surprise and turned to look at Yeo-woon.

“It’s candy.”

“If you want to give it to me, just hand it over nicely! Why do you always stuff things in my pocket!”

“Because your pocket is the only place to put it.”

“And why do you always carry candy around? Are you a peddler?”

“To give to you?”

“…Do you really carry it around every day? How would you know when you’d meet me?”

It was meant as a joke, but Ji-gu’s face was so serious that Yeo-woon was at a loss for words. Looking at Ji-gu’s round eyes, Yeo-woon smiled awkwardly and confessed the truth.

“I’m kidding.”

“…Ah, seriously!”

“I just happened to have it and gave it to you as thanks. I’ll enjoy the cookies.”

At this point, a common farewell like “take care” would be appropriate. But Ji-gu and Yeo-woon were neighbors. While waiting for the elevator together, Yeo-woon wondered what kind of goodbye would be suitable for Ji-gu.

“Do you always work this late?”

“No, just today…”

“Why? Were you covering for someone?”

“…”

Yoon Ji-gu was silent. Somehow, his face seemed to redden slightly under the dim light. Although the tightness around his eyes suggested he was quite angry rather than embarrassed.

“…You said earlier you can’t come swimming until next week, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Is that because you’re busy? So after that, your schedule is okay?”

“Why? Is there something?”

“There’s nothing. I’m just asking.”

It sounded like he wanted to do something together. Yeo-woon nodded reluctantly. Yoon Ji-gu kept looking down at the floor, fidgeting with his hands. Watching this, Yeo-woon got the sense that Ji-gu had grown bored of going to the pool alone, something he hadn’t noticed when he used to go alone. It seemed Ji-gu was prone to loneliness too.

The elevator quickly stopped at the ninth floor. Though he had felt dead tired when getting off the bus in front of his house, somehow receiving a few cookies had eased his fatigue a bit. Ji-gu was pressing in his door lock code without even looking in Yeo-woon’s direction.

“Ji-gu.”

“…What?”

When Yeo-woon casually called out to him at the door, Ji-gu’s eyes widened as if hearing his name for the first time.

“Thanks for the cookies. Good night!”

“…”

Being neighbors, “good night” seemed more appropriate than “take care”. It was the middle of the night, after all. Yeo-woon waved to Ji-gu and entered his apartment first. Only after a while did he hear Ji-gu’s door slam shut.

「Earth Star: Why are you acting so busy these days? Come online and play!!!」

After showering, Yeo-woon found a Holblue message from Earth Star. It seemed he was still gaming at this hour. Earth Star was almost always online whenever Yeo-woon logged in. Being on vacation, the college student Earth Star seemed quite excited.

「lololol ok ok weekend」

「Earth Star: The weekend????? I’m bored now」

「But what would you do if I log in? There’s nothing to do together, right?」

「Earth Star: ? I said I’m bored… Do we have to do something together? -_-」

He must be really bored. If there were any solo content for Earth Star, he wouldn’t be bothering Yeo-woon like this. Yeo-woon wished Illusion would quickly release some new event.

「Earth Star: I said I’m bored, okay?」

「Earth Star: Ignoring me again?」

「Earth Star: I can see you’re online, you know?」

「Earth Star: It says you’re logged in. Bet you didn’t know that??」

「You’re really noisy. Just go to bed」

「Earth Star: lol lol ok ok」

For some reason, today’s Earth Star was easier to ward off than usual. Normally, he would have pestered more with replies like “Nope, don’t wanna? Why should I?”. Yeo-woon turned off the lights and fell asleep almost as soon as he lay down. Much later, a faint water drop sound came from his bedside as a popup message appeared on his phone.

「Earth Star: Sleep well, hyung… -_-」