Chapter 55

Naru’s body had already stiffened like stone. Until a moment ago he had been excited about going to work, but now that he had to part from Gyu-yeon he felt regret first.

Gyu-yeon casually untangled Naru, who was clinging to his back, and busied himself preparing breakfast. Hurt by Gyu-yeon’s nonchalant behavior, Naru sat at the table with a sullen face and watched his busy back.

Gyu-yeon must be okay acting like someone who doesn’t know me.

Naru, chewing on his fork, sighed with a deflated expression. The heart that had been fluttering since last night sank back to its original state.

“Don’t just sit there dazed, eat.”

“Fine then……”

“What’s ‘fine then’ supposed to mean?”

Using a phrase he’d learned on TV recently, Naru started eating hesitantly. It was so funny how he openly showed his disappointment that Gyu-yeon swallowed a laugh and finished his breakfast.

Time flew especially fast at moments like this. After finishing the meal and tidying up, Gyu-yeon hurried his preparations for work. Naru, who had been lounging on the sofa, saw Gyu-yeon emerge from the dressing room and gaped.

It was because Gyu-yeon, who always wore a casual jacket, had appeared today in a black trench coat. Naru swallowed audibly without meaning to, then immediately ran out and scrutinized Gyu-yeon’s body. The coat fit well—perhaps because of his tall height and sturdy build.

“Why are you staring like that? Come out so I can leave for work.”

“Ca-can’t you hug me?”

“Why are you like this from the morning? What are you obsessed with now?”

“Just hug me once, just once, ugh……”

When Naru, harboring a mischievous thought, lunged for a hug, Gyu-yeon lightly pushed his forehead away. He still had feelings for him, but every time he clung to him he pushed him off just as before.

Having fallen victim to the push-and-pull from the morning, Naru pouted and climbed into Gyu-yeon’s car. Sitting in the passenger seat without fastening his seatbelt, he sat still as Gyu-yeon, in the driver’s seat, naturally fastened it for him.

“The moment you sign the contract, personal remarks are forbidden.”

“Not even a little?”

“No, not allowed.”

“What about when it’s just the two of us?”

“No.”

Before they set off, Gyu-yeon gave a final warning and firmly cut off any personal feelings. They hadn’t even arrived at the Cafe yet, and it was enough to feel hurt that he was already drawing a line. Naru stared at him with lingering longing for a long time, then abruptly turned his head away.

“Fine then.”

He used to habitually say ‘so what,’ but now he’d switched to ‘fine then.’ It sounded fairly sharp, but coming from Naru it felt like a small sulk.

Glancing at the passenger seat while driving, Gyu-yeon again silently swallowed a laugh. Naru’s face reflected in the window looked exactly like an upset puppy, and it was cute.

“If you’re going to forbid pretending to be close, why do you dress so stylishly…?”

“What did you say?”

“I didn’t say anything.”

Naru, who had been muttering aloud, pretended he hadn’t said anything. Gyu-yeon, trying not to laugh unexpectedly while driving, parked the car in front of the Cafe and let Naru out first.

Cafe Destiny.

It was a place he always followed Gyu-yeon to, but today the atmosphere looked a little different. Naru stared at the sign in front of the Cafe for a long time, then flung the door open and stepped inside.

With a little jingle as the door opened, the sweet scent of desserts greeted Naru. He’d thought there’d be no one since Gyu-yeon was opening today, but apparently the pâtissiers had already come in to make desserts.

Just then, Jeong-su, who was pulling freshly baked croissants from the oven, saw Naru and greeted him warmly.

“Oh, you’re here?”

“Hello……”

Naru greeted timidly, then rolled his eyes and peeked into the kitchen. Inside were three pâtissiers including Jeong-su, all absorbed in making desserts.

The Cafe is busy from early morning.

Just as Naru was curiously looking at the empty display case, Gyu-yeon returned from parking and opened the cafe door. He exchanged morning greetings with the staff as usual and busied himself preparing to open.

He set up the counter, brightly turned on the lights inside the store that had been off, and went around the display cases, perfectly organizing even the small details—he looked like a pro.

Naru trailed behind Gyu-yeon, helping with the opening preparations. All he did was wipe tables, but he felt proud of the now-clean store.

After thirty minutes of nonstop work finishing the preparations, Gyu-yeon returned holding two contracts. Naru, who by now had received an iced tea from Jeong-su, sat at a corner table sipping through a straw.

“Working hours are from nine to three. Since it’s your first time, take the morning shift.”

“Is Gyu-yeon here at that time too?”

“Boss.”

“Is the boss here at that time?”

“……”

Gyu-yeon, going over the clauses in the contract briefly, highlighted the most important part with a highlighter. Naru immediately asked a question. Above all, what mattered most to him was whether he could be with Gyu-yeon during work hours.

Furrowing his brow at the familiar address, Gyu-yeon corrected him. Since they were filling out a contract, from now on he should be ‘boss,’ not Yu Gyu-yeon. Naru deliberately dropped the honorific and asked again, which left Gyu-yeon speechless.

Which employee would blatantly keep calling him ‘boss’ and act so arrogantly?

Half resigned from the start, Gyu-yeon couldn’t help but nod. Naru clapped his hands as if satisfied. Such a simple action.

“Write your information here, and sign here.”

“Re-, si-, den-, tial registration number……”

Gripping the pen firmly, Naru hesitated at the box for the resident registration number. He remembered his mother telling him to memorize some numbers when he was a baby, but he couldn’t recall them no matter how hard he tried. The only number Naru could remember exactly was the classification number he had been given just before being sold.

D14-00

The front part of the number indicated the Beastkin’s grade and the order they arrived; the back part was a number used to check for any abnormalities.

When Naru wrote down that strange number, Gyu-yeon, who had been watching the paper, snatched the pen. It was odd that he was writing an unknown number when he was supposed to be writing her resident registration number.

“I told you to write your resident registration number—what are you writing?”

“This is my number. They gave it to me when I was caught.”

“……”

“Isn’t it?”

“Forget it. Just sign.”

The number given when he was caught. Gyu-yeon, who had been about to snap thinking Naru was joking, clamped his mouth shut. He handed the pen back, told him to sign, and tapped the signature line with his finger.

If this went on, Naru would become an illegal resident, which was a big problem. Lost in thought, Gyu-yeon decided he would soon ask his brother or a close secretary to help resolve Naru’s identity issue.

After carefully checking the densely written text, Naru fidgeted with the pen in the signature box. Signing—he’d never had to make a signature before, and doing so felt somehow embarrassing.

In the end, Naru wrote out his full name in a crooked scrawl instead of a signature. A snorting, airy laugh could be heard from above—none other than Gyu-yeon had laughed.

‘Song Naru’

The round, wildly flying handwriting was so Naru. Gyu-yeon handed one copy of the contract over for Naru to keep and neatly put the remaining contract in the drawer under the counter.

“Seoyeon will be in charge of new employee training, but he hasn’t arrived yet, so I’ll teach you until then.”

“Gyu-yeon is the best.”

“Boss.”

“Boss is the best.”

Is he doing this on purpose now?

Gyu-yeon looked at Naru with suspicious eyes and gave a hollow laugh. His constant use of the presumptuous ‘boss’ bothered him, but seeing that innocent face made it hard to scold her.

Pulling Naru to the counter, Gyu-yeon taught him the most basic tasks. There were limited things Naru could do since he wasn’t used to the work yet.

“Package desserts in this box, and this is how you handle the register.”

He’d thought counter work would be the easiest, but there were surprisingly many tasks and it felt complicated. Naru carefully stored everything Gyu-yeon taught him in her head and thought it over several times to avoid mistakes.

Gyu-yeon looked surprised at Naru’s seriousness. He’d expected accidents, but he memorized what he taught like a charm and executed it easily—impressive.

“At this rate, there’s no need to worry much.”

“I’m good, right?”

“Use honorifics.”

“……”

Everything was fine except one thing: he still couldn’t stop speaking casually to the boss.

Gyu-yeon lightly flicked Naru’s nose and scolded him to use polite speech. If he had been another employee, Gyu-yeon would have already scolded him harshly, but because it was Naru he let it slide. If Seo-yeon had seen, she’d have made a huge fuss.

“Oh my, what is going on here?”

“Just in time.”

Seo-yeon appeared with perfect timing. Covering her mouth and watching the two, she gave a meaningful smile. It was obvious Gyu-yeon was showing Naru something about the job….

“No way—Naru, are you working here too?”

“Make sure to teach him well. I’ve covered the basics, so just explain the details.”

“Oh my, the uniform suits you so well. That apron ribbon—it’s so cute……”

Ignoring Gyu-yeon’s words, Seo-yeon hurried over and praised Naru’s uniform. The ivory apron tied with a pretty ribbon made him look so cute that Seo-yeon couldn’t stop staring.

Thoroughly left out, Gyu-yeon frowned and pulled Seo-yeon away. He hadn’t expected this situation, and seeing the two of them so cozy made him oddly twisted inside.

Startled and standing still, Naru scanned Gyu-yeon’s expression and lifted the corners of his mouth in a smile. It was contradictory that he had to call him ‘boss’ at the Cafe, yet showed jealousy toward Seo-yeon.

“Look at this, I even wore a hat.”

“Oh my, Naru. The beret looks so cute. Can I take a picture?”

“Yes.”

Clapping her hands at the light brown beret, Seo-yeon pulled out her phone. Naru smiled brightly and looked at the camera, like an idol giving fan service.

Gyu-yeon let out a dry laugh at that cheeky behavior. He grabbed Naru’s arm and pulled him—some kind of signal telling him not to stay with Seo-yeon.

Naru, who had behaved obediently until then, ruthlessly slapped his hand away. With a smack, his expression filled with astonishment.

“Here you’re not Gyu-yeon, you’re the boss. Boss.”

Despite his curt tone, Naru wore a mischievous smile and uttered an irritating remark that completely unsettled Gyu-yeon.