Since that day, Minho quit his part-time job.
He kept showing up at school, but
whenever he ran into me, he would avoid my eyes and never join in conversation.
Just as I’d thought, Minho
avoided any contact with me as much as possible, and
when I tried to start a private conversation to ease the awkward atmosphere,
he’d usually cut it off coldly.
The familiar everyday routine fell apart.
I lost a friend I used to eat with and chat with every day overnight.
Whenever I walked alone down the street,
whenever I ate something the kid liked
I kept thinking of Minho.
Even his mischievous pranks and his comically scrunched-up face
I never saw again.
A pudding Minho liked showed up on the university cafeteria dessert menu.
Even with steaming mussel soup in front of me,
my eyes were fixed only on the pudding.
“What, you’re not eating?”
“I don’t really have much of an appetite today.”
I barely took a spoonful of rice before getting up from my seat.
“You like pudding, don’t you?”
I set the pudding down right beside my friend’s tray
and headed for the dish return.
Into the bin for food waste,
I flipped the tray over and dumped the leftovers out in a rush.
“Welcome~”
The store was packed with customers.
As always, I hustled to deal with the customers crowding the counter.
Struggling with more customers than usual,I worked,
but
the day felt especially long.
I wanted a cigarette.
With trembling hands,
I tapped the register all day long.
When I thought about an hour had passed and turned on my phone,
only 20 minutes had gone by.
Even after wiping down the dining tables and thoroughly cleaning the kitchen,
less than 10 minutes had passed.
Had 3 hours always been this long?
I thought it would be better to work
without checking the time at all.So I stuffed my phone into my pocket
and focused only on work,
and before long the sun had set.
Even the once-packed dining area gradually emptied out
as customers left one by one.
9:30 p.m.
After finishing everything and squatting on the floor,
I waited only for quitting time.Even after sweeping and wiping down the dining area and the bathroom,
I’d finished closing meticulously,
and yet it hadn’t even been 20 minutes.
The face I’d been wearing all day finally relaxed for a moment.
Around the time I was exchanging messages with Hyemin,
my high school classmate,
several new speech bubbles popped up in the chat window.
Instead of replying, I called her.
It didn’t take long for the line to connect, and through my phone
I heard Hyemin’s voice.
“Taehi~ where are you? You’re still at the store?”
“Yeah ㅠ I’m almost off work, but I’ve still got a little time left.
Did you meet up with the others after a long time?”
“Oh~ Minji, Sooyeon, Jaeun, and Minho are here too. Want to come?”
Before I knew it, my expression stiffened.
“No, I’m too tired, so I’m gonna go straight home and sleep~”
