Love Me More

Chapter 11

“Welcome… Oh my.”

The manager stopped mid-greeting and covered her mouth. Si-yul also paused as he was about to take out the menu. It was someone he knew well. The man brushed off the water droplets on his shoulders and grinned.

“Are you not open for business today?”

“CEO!”

Not just Si-yul, but the other employees seemed to know Woo Hyun-se well too. The disappointment in their eyes changed to delight. Chef Park and the kitchen assistant even rushed out from the kitchen, loudly greeting him with, “Welcome, CEO!”

Si-yul quickly bowed, following their lead. While he was fine with texts or calls, facing him in person made him feel unnecessarily intimidated, even though he hadn’t done anything wrong. He couldn’t help but first recall the man’s palm that had tapped his cheek and the shoe that had been covered in his vomit.

Their eyes met. Woo Hyun-se glanced at Si-yul and quickly turned away. That was better. Si-yul also stood at an awkward distance.

“What brings you here?”

“Why else? I dropped by for a drink. But the atmosphere seems off. Did I come at a bad time?”

“A bit. We were actually about to close for the day, thinking no more customers would come.”

“Hmm,” the man said as he approached with heavy steps. He glanced at the window where rain was pouring so heavily it created a misty haze, and added:

“Then close up. Looks like business is a bust today, as Manager Kang said.”

“Do I have that kind of authority? We should follow your decision, CEO. But our sales today were quite low… Would you mind buying a few drinks?”

Manager Kang whispered, subtly wrapping her arm around Woo Hyun-se’s. He smiled back, not backing down.

“This is why I like you, Manager Kang. You’re so good at milking people.”

It was a sign of approval. Manager Kang cheered and called for Si-yul. At the signal to close, Si-yul quickly locked the glass door and flipped the open sign. The ‘Closed’ sign now hung solemnly on the glass door.

An unexpected drinking party broke out. Manager Kang encouraged everyone to order the most expensive items on the menu, as if determined to completely drain the CEO’s wealth, including expensive liquors that didn’t usually sell well. The busiest were Chef Park and the bartender. Hye-na also joined in without hesitation, raising her hand repeatedly to order drinks and side dishes.

Woo Hyun-se didn’t mind even as the table became crowded with drinks and food. He even pushed the menu towards them, telling them to order more. Somehow, Si-yul ended up squeezed into the seat next to Woo Hyun-se. Even though they weren’t pressed right against each other, strangely, Si-yul’s arm and thigh closest to Woo Hyun-se felt warm.

Maybe because of the humid air, his shirt clung to his skin. Heat built up under the fabric wrapped around his flesh, so he rolled up his sleeves, but the carelessly pushed-up fabric quickly slid back down his arms. After doing this several times, Si-yul gave up on the sleeves and unbuttoned the top button of his collar that was choking him. Finally, he could breathe a little easier.

As he reached for a beer, he felt something touch his cheek and turned his head. Woo Hyun-se was looking at him with a glass of alcohol pressed to his lips. Si-yul’s gaze first landed on his wrist.

From the cuff of his suit and white shirt, to the protruding wrist bone and watch, the thick edge of his hand, the bluish veins pushing up against the skin on the back of his hand, and the thick knuckles, Si-yul’s eyes finally traveled up to meet Woo Hyun-se’s. As their gazes met in mid-air, Woo Hyun-se turned away as if he hadn’t been looking.

“Come to think of it, did we have an initiation for him?”

“Oh, please. What initiation? These days, if you do that to kids, they’ll run away before the day is over.”

Manager Kang waved her hand dismissively. Si-yul also smiled awkwardly, inwardly cheering on Manager Kang. He didn’t have the courage to dance or sing in front of these people.

“Still, we should do something.”

But Woo Hyun-se didn’t back down. His logic was that everyone else who came here had done it once, so there couldn’t be an exception.

“I’m not very good at singing.”

“How about dancing? I think I saw you at the club.”

Woo Hyun-se teased mischievously. Next to him, Yang Hye-na chimed in, “Oh, you go to clubs too, oppa?” Si-yul rubbed his reddening face with both hands, sighing.

Sure, he had been to clubs, drank, listened to music, and nodded his head to the beat, but that was just getting caught up in the atmosphere while working. He wasn’t originally someone who enjoyed it. Besides, he hadn’t set foot in those places since getting caught by Woo Hyun-se.

“If you can’t sing, then dance.”

“I’d rather sing.”

Si-yul stood up, calming the crowd that kept chanting “Dance!” and “Sing!” He couldn’t ruin the mood by refusing outright. Yang Hye-na excitedly waved her phone, saying she’d play any karaoke backing track if he just named the song.

He stood on the stage boldly, but no particular song came to mind. With everyone’s eyes on him at once, he felt incredibly nervous. Si-yul grabbed the microphone and swallowed hard. Only one song suddenly flashed through his mind, and of all things, it was in English.

Fortunately, he knew all the lyrics. It was a song that the orphanage director would play when bored, and she had even taught them the meaning of each word. Instead of children’s songs, the orphanage kids would sing the director’s favorite song when they were bored.

“‘Fly Me to the Moon,’ please.”

It was the only English song Si-yul, who had always put studies on the back burner, knew. He knew the pronunciation of the lyrics rather than their meaning. But there were exclamations of “Oh!” from various corners.

Afraid Si-yul might change his mind, Yang Hye-na quickly played the instrumental. Too shy to look at the audience while singing, Si-yul lowered his eyes and then squeezed them shut. The familiar intro played in his ears.

‘That song again?’

Kwon Yuwon would always wave his hand in annoyance whenever Si-yul hummed this song. Even to his own ears, he wasn’t singing it particularly well. His voice was rough and his pronunciation was terrible. He was just desperately trying not to lose the tune.

Si-yul only opened his eyes after the song ended. He expected everyone to tease him, but instead, they clapped and whistled, saying he sang well. He had anticipated complaints. His tense expression relaxed a bit at the unexpected reaction.

“The CEO sent us a good talent. Next time Hye-na has something to do, we should use Si-yul as a substitute. Nice voice.”

Manager Kang seemed especially pleased, putting her arm around Si-yul’s shoulder and pulling him close. The only experience Si-yul had of being embraced by an older woman was with the orphanage director, so his ears turned red and he quickly pulled away. The soft feeling on his cheek lingered.

“Excuse me.”

Woo Hyun-se, who had been quietly observing, stood up. When Manager Kang asked where he was going, he lightly touched his index and middle fingers to his lips. As they watched him disappear into the smoking room, Manager Kang soon followed.

“I’ve got a feeling about this.”

As the two vanished beyond the smoking room, Chef Park narrowed his eyes as if he had noticed something and muttered. Yang Hye-na, who was eating melon wrapped in ham with a fork, showed interest.

“What kind of feeling?”

“I think the Manager and the CEO might get back together.”

“Were they dating?”

“Yeah. But they broke up a while ago.”

“Wow,” Yang Hye-na covered her mouth in surprise. No wonder Manager Kang’s gestures towards Woo Hyun-se seemed so natural. Si-yul glanced at the two through the smoking room window. He could barely see their heads close together. As Chef Park said, the atmosphere seemed good.

“But they still meet like this after breaking up? I find it awful just running into my exes by chance.”

“Wow, is this Hollywood or what?” Yang Hye-na exclaimed dramatically, pouring snacks into her mouth as if eating popcorn. To Si-yul, it was like a story from another world. He had never dated anyone, never even liked anyone. He had received a few confessions but always rejected them, being too busy trying to make a living. So talks of meeting, breaking up, and getting back together were all foreign to him.

“Well, I guess they ended on good terms. Or maybe there are still feelings left.”

As the smoking room door opened, they both yelped and quickly changed the subject. Si-yul quietly drank his alcohol, smelling the faint scent of cigarettes.

What did it matter to him whether Woo Hyun-se and the manager were dating or not? Thinking it was adult business and not something he needed to know, he let it go in one ear and out the other. His eyes did briefly go to Woo Hyun-se, but his gaze didn’t linger long.

Even after the drinking party ended, the rain hadn’t stopped. It had lessened somewhat but was still coming down hard. Recently, Si-yul had been walking home after work to save on bus fare, but with this downpour, he’d end up looking like a drowned rat even with an umbrella. So he sat at an outdoor table of a nearby convenience store. It was a spot with an awning to shelter from the rain.

The weather forecast said the rain would stop within an hour. Si-yul stretched out his legs, which were aching from standing for so long. He turned on a game on his phone to kill time when he heard someone say, “Oh?” as if recognizing him. He looked up.

A large man holding a black golf umbrella was standing in the rain. Even without lifting the umbrella, his handsome face was clearly visible from the front.

“Why are you here? Why aren’t you going home?”