Heo Jun-tae.
Four years of MMA experience.
Runner-up at the Junior Martial Arts Selection Competition.
Advanced to the main competition of the Youth Mixed Martial Arts Tournament.
Although he had no prize-winning experience, he reigned as the apex of the food chain among his peers, and he had nothing to fear in life.
That is, until he received his military draft notice.
Any man would understand.
The feeling when he received that devil’s invitation.
After that, Heo Jun-tae’s days became listless.
Although he still had a few months of grace, it was no consolation to a condemned prisoner who had been sentenced to death.
It wasn’t a few months left, but a few months “only” left.
Even when he was knocked out by a younger player smaller than him, he didn’t feel this much of an existential crisis.
How many days did he stay at home, having even quit his beloved weight training?
Eventually, unable to resist his parents’ nagging, he started a part-time job.
And today.
He offered infinite gratitude to his parents, who had recommended the part-time job to him.
‘How can a person look like that?’
It wasn’t a question he asked out of genuine curiosity.
It was born from an involuntary exclamation of admiration.
Heo Jun-tae had actually seen a celebrity before.
An idol.
Specifically, a member of a famous idol group, known to everyone, who was in charge of visuals and very popular.
He had seen him by chance when he went to the ice park a while ago.
His face was so small that it could be covered with one hand, and his features were so delicately arranged that it made him think, “How did they fit them all in?”
He felt a similar emotion to what he felt then.
No, perhaps he felt an even deeper admiration.
Unlike when he saw the idol, who was barely visible beyond the crowds and guards, he could now see her in person right in front of him.
Glancing sideways, he saw that his fellow part-timer couldn’t take his eyes off her either.
He was even gaping.
Jun-tae wondered if he was making such a stupid expression, so he lightly touched his lips.
Indeed.
The corners of his mouth, which were slightly raised, could be felt from his fingertips.
She said she would be filling in for the regular part-timer for the time being.
The original part-timer.
A newbie who had only been working for about a month.
‘Tsk. Skipping out.’
How long had he been working to skip out already?
He also looked like a pretty boy, so Jun-tae didn’t like him from the start.
Perhaps that’s why every little thing he did felt annoying.
What? He couldn’t come because of circumstances?
Sending a substitute?
Wow, that guy really lives his life as he pleases.
When he first got the call, those words naturally came out.
He must have been drinking heavily with a woman the night before and got a hangover. It was obvious. He knew that guy’s pattern of behavior like the back of his hand.
He waited for the substitute, grumbling about the guy’s lack of manners.
This damn PC cafe, which was crowded with customers even on a weekday afternoon, was short-handed with only two part-timers.
Before long, someone came in.
When he finally identified the person who came as the substitute, he felt his hostility towards the previous part-timer melt away like snow, and he could feel the second coming of the Virgin Mary.
‘Good manners. Passed.’
The substitute introduced herself as Han Hyo-jeong.
Han Hyo-jeong.
Her name was as pretty as her face.
Heo Jun-tae finally understood what it meant to “live off one’s looks.”
It literally meant you could be full just by looking.
Living with such a beauty would surely make every day happy.
Cooking? It doesn’t matter if she’s bad at it.
Even just plain rice and kimchi would be a fulfilling meal.
Just the fact that she made something for him would be a dish comparable to a high-end steak from a famous restaurant, and just smiling at each other would be a view comparable to any ocean view.
But his sweet fantasies ended right there.
He was quite self-aware.
He knew he didn’t match the beauty in front of him.
Him standing next to her.
Imagining that scene, it was like Beauty and the Beast.
In the movie, the Beast forcibly took the beauty, but he, a true romantic guy of this era, was a man who was kinder to his woman than anyone else.
He was a man who could let go of his beloved woman with tears in his eyes for her happiness.
In his mind, he had already reached the climax of a farewell movie.
Her leaving his side.
Her meeting a new relationship and smiling happily as she once did with him.
And the person she’s facing with a bright smile is…
The shadow above the unseen neck disappeared, and the hidden face of the other person was revealed.
The identity that was revealed was none other than the previous part-timer.
The pretty-boy face from before he came as a substitute was revealed.
‘F*ck. They look so good together.’
They were like a picture-perfect couple.
It seemed that people who meet are also similar to each other.
Jun-tae felt envy for that part-timer for the first time.
An emotion that could be described as jealousy, to put it a bit more aggressively.
‘Ah, what’s with me, acting out of character.’
Yeah. Let’s just be satisfied with watching from afar.
Heo Jun-tae shook his head and changed his mind.
Instead of being jealous, he decided to be grateful.
That the person called as a substitute was none other than Hyo-jeong.
He also had a generous sense of altruism, hoping that if she had any problems, whatever they were, they would be resolved.
No, if possible, he hoped that even if things worked out, the process would take a long time.
That way, Hyo-jeong would continue to come in as a substitute.
He once grumbled about how no sane boss would hire three guys for a PC cafe part-time job.
Was he not interested in running the business?
He was fine as long as he got his paycheck, but the gloomy work environment caused him excessive stress.
The reason for his unusually high sensitivity, which Han Jung-ho had noticed, was hidden in these circumstances.
But what about now?
With the appearance of one holy, beautiful woman, the atmosphere of the existing PC cafe changed 180 degrees.
It felt somehow bright, vibrant, and even refreshing.
He even had the illusion that a sweet scent was wafting from somewhere.
It was as if the sweet cinnamon scent was blooming among the musty flour.
“Here’s your honey churros!”
“Yeah!”
Ah, it was the churros smell.
Hyo-jeong, running off with the churros, reminded him of a fresh-faced college student visiting an amusement park.
The PC cafe, which was filled with all sorts of profanity and keyboard shotguns, had become Lotte World, where young people laughed and spread happiness viruses, all thanks to one person.
Lotte World part-timer Heo Jun-tae.
Job satisfaction.
Top tier.
The more he looked at Hyo-jeong, the more he saw her true worth.
In his experience, most women who were even a little good-looking were usually lazy, but she worked harder than anyone else here.
She was pretty and diligent. Meticulous and passionate.
Truly a model of a good wife and mother.
‘She’d definitely be good at supporting her husband.’
He couldn’t take his eyes off Hyo-jeong as she scurried around.
As he was watching her with a fatherly smile, forgetting what he was doing, he accidentally made eye contact.
Her somehow mysterious aura caught his attention.
Her sparkling eyes, reflected in the light, were like a galaxy embroidered with stars.
Jun-tae, who was being sucked into the deep starlight, hurriedly turned his head away.
Looking to the side, he saw the other part-timer doing a similar thing.
Hyo-jeong then left her spot, saying she was going to clean up the seats.
He was disappointed, but since food orders were coming in one after another, he had to put aside his lingering feelings and head to the kitchen.
He cooked.
He served.
Then, he collected the empty dishes and dealt with the mountain of dishes that were piling up.
“Excuse me?”
“What’s the matter?”
“You need to go over there for a moment.”
“Yes?”
The customer who called me from the counter pointed to a certain spot.
When he went to see what was going on, he saw three men and women in the middle of an argument.
In particular, Heo Jun-tae was shocked to see the male customer raising one hand as if he was about to slap someone.
Hyo-jeong was covering her face with her arms in an 11-shape, and she looked very frightened.
‘That, that crazy bastard!’
How could he hit that frail body?
Thinking he had to stop it, he moved before he realized it.
Without asking any questions.
He quickly knocked the man down and subdued him.
A brief lull.
They cleared up the misunderstanding, or rather, the non-misunderstanding, and returned to the main point.
“So, you played games for three hours and want a refund?”
Heo Jun-tae let out a scornful laugh.
“Hey, you need to speak human language for our part-timers to understand. How can they understand if you’re just barking nonsense?”
There it was.
His characteristic swaggering expression.
He looked like a delinquent, except without the tattoos on his arms.
“Why are you doing this after enjoying everything?”
As the intangible aura of intimidation exploded, the troublemaker customer flinched and trembled.
His gaze gradually fell, as if he had encountered his school bully, and Heo Jun-tae delivered a decisive blow to the customer who was now practically crawling on the floor.
“Let’s just settle this quietly.”
“Yes, yes. We should.”
And I, who had been watching the whole situation, thought,
‘Seriously.’
I was dumbfounded.
He didn’t listen to a word I said when I tried to reason with him, but he immediately cowered and tucked his tail between his legs at Heo Jun-tae’s glare. It was a classic example of bullying the weak and being submissive to the strong.
If Heo Jun-tae had confronted him from the start, would he have been able to confidently spout nonsense about women?
No.
He would have packed his bags and left quietly.
Because of the overwhelming difference in physique, he wouldn’t have dared to confront him, even with the help of alcohol.
So, it seems building a big physique is the first thing to do.
The troublemaker was quite large for a man, but Heo Jun-tae was a head taller.
In the face of overwhelming size, even anger management issues turn into excellent anger management.
The troublemaker, realizing the truth that “the law is far, but fists are near,” couldn’t utter a word and was helplessly ejected.
Today, I miss my previous body.
It wasn’t as bulky as Heo Jun-tae’s, but it was a sculpted physique with practical muscles.
And a part of me wondered if I looked that easy to take advantage of.
My mouth felt very bitter.
“Hyo-jeong, are you okay?”
Jun-tae, your brother is very sad right now.
Both my situation, being ignored by the troublemaker, and this situation, where I’m being worried about over such a trivial matter.
It’s just so damn unfair, right? Huh?
“You must have been very surprised. Why don’t you take a break in the staff lounge for a bit?”
As he said that, Heo Jun-tae’s gaze was already directed towards my chest.
Seriously, he’s still glancing?
He’s persistent.
He was like a grizzly bear when dealing with the troublemaker, but now he’s like a naive Winnie-the-Pooh.
I felt the injustice of the world once again as I witnessed the astonishing sight of a 19+ rated noir film instantly transforming into a 7-year-old’s movie.
This emotional wound feels like it can only be healed a little by receiving Ye-eun’s aegyo.
Sadly, there was still time left until I finished work.
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