The Chocolate and the Detour

Ju Hayan bent slightly toward the customer who had just approached the counter and spoke.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry, but we’re about to close the hall. Will that be alright?”

“Mm… yes. Then I’ll take it to go.”

“Of course. I’ll take your order.”

She took the order for drinks and muffins, finished the payment, and turned around immediately.

The sink was cluttered in the middle of closing, and she rummaged through it to brew the coffee and heat the bread.

After handing the packaged items to the customer, Ju Hayan looked around the hall, where only one table remained occupied.

Today was an easy shift, with no rush of customers and comfortable gaps between orders.

“Ugh.”

Because she had been standing the whole time, she bent and straightened her aching legs before stopping in front of the coffee machine beside the register.

Ju Hayan fell into thought.

“What should I do….”

Should she make a drink and take it with her, or not.

All day—no, ever since she heard Lee Jonghoon’s words—she had been wavering so much that making a decision had become even harder.

Even after filling her tumbler with ice, she couldn’t decide, and she shook the slowly melting cubes instead.

Ice and water mixed together, making a small clattering noise.

Clink, clink—

When she first heard Lee Jonghoon’s story, she had wondered what she could possibly do for Shin I-hyeok.

He was someone who had more than she did in every way, someone who had experienced far more.

Buying him something expensive was impossible with her thin wallet.

Thinking of coffee had been a kind of strategy.

Shin I-hyeok always ate before visiting, so it wouldn’t disrupt anything, and since he had told her to drink whatever she wanted at the café, it wouldn’t be a financial burden.

She felt embarrassed for calculating money even while giving a gift, but she brushed the thought aside, blaming her circumstances.

Once should be fine.

A half-hearted rationalization.

“He probably likes coffee.”

Adults all seemed to drink coffee like it was their lifeblood.

For Ju Hayan, who wasn’t close to coffee at all and had only ever tasted cheap instant mix at best, it was something she couldn’t understand.

“But he might not even come today….”

Even as she steeled herself with the belief that repaying kindness was the mature thing to do, she kept feeling inexplicably self-conscious.

She had held out this whole time without drinking the free beverages she could have during work, yet now, with quitting time approaching, she couldn’t bring herself to move.

What if Shin I-hyeok found her offer unpleasant.

The image of a creditor and debtor buying each other meals and handing over coffee felt strange.

Her courage kept shrinking, and as she fiddled with the coffee machine, another employee asked if she had finished closing.

Startled, Ju Hayan’s shoulders jerked.

“I just need to finish the coffee machine.
I’ll do it!”

Overthinking only made decisions harder.

After a small sigh, Ju Hayan straightened from where she had been leaning against the table as if finally resolved.

She poured out the melted ice water into the sink and turned toward the bean grinder.

Please, just don’t let him come to the house today.

The hands of a server with neatly tied hair moved briskly across the table.

Shin I-hyeok’s gaze rested on the hair, smoothed back without a stray strand.

It wasn’t intentional.

He simply needed somewhere to rest his eyes for a moment.

Watching the man across from him, who seemed ready to continue speaking at any second, already made fatigue creep in.

“So, have you contacted the Chairman?”

As expected, Team Leader Kim, seated opposite him, opened his mouth the moment the server cleared the tray and left the room.

He had never been particularly taciturn, but since arriving in Usang-dong, he had turned downright chatty.

After wiping his hands with the loosened wet towel, Shin I-hyeok answered leisurely.

“No. I didn’t have time.”

“You didn’t have time for a few minutes on the phone? You could split the time of one meal and call ten times.”

“Then let’s say I didn’t have the inclination.”

He spoke as though bestowing a favor, drying each finger in turn.

He knowingly ignored the way Team Leader Kim twisted his mouth in dissatisfaction.

Having a driver was convenient for the body, but occasionally harsh on the ears.

If they had been at someone’s house, he could have left him behind, but at a restaurant, it was awkward.

Shin I-hyeok hid part of his face behind his glass of water and frowned.

Choosing the restaurant during dinner hours had been a mistake.

“I hear the patient is receiving treatment well.”

“Yes. Of course. The Chairman is very attentive.”

“A pointless gesture.”

At the click of his tongue, Team Leader Kim finally stopped pretending and paused mid-bite.

Meeting his incredulous expression, Shin I-hyeok’s brow lifted.

He didn’t need words to understand what he was thinking.

“When a child does wrong, the parent takes the blame.

You know Chairman Shin couldn’t even lift his head in front of Chairman Ahn for a while.”

“All that fuss over catching a loudmouth. It’s not like I killed him.”

“You nearly did!”

Shin I-hyeok let out a scoffing laugh at the exaggerated tone.

To him, it had been nothing.

“Everyone makes such a fuss.”

At least, from his point of view.

That day, unlike usual, he had been on edge.

A restless dream had ruined his sleep, and he had been buried all day under a mountain of approval documents.

After enduring an old man venting his frustrations, his patience had already run dry, and to top it off, the music at the bar he visited for the first time in a while grated at his headache.

He simply had no capacity left to tolerate petty provocation from someone he already found unpleasant.

To shut the noisy mouth, he stood up.

There was a whiskey bottle within reach.

He picked it up.

The thick glass proved admirably sturdy, not shattering even when brought down against a head.

Impressed even through the haze of alcohol, Shin I-hyeok struck evenly across the body.

And that was all.

He left feeling somewhat refreshed, only hearing the next day that the man had been hospitalized.

“Good thing Chairman Ahn is broad-minded.

If it had been you who got hurt, the Chairman would’ve been much harsher.”

“I wouldn’t get beaten that foolishly.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“He needed to be hit.

If someone managed to rein in a delinquent even his father couldn’t control, Chairman Ahn might have been grateful.”

That must be why he let it slide so easily, even with a four-week injury diagnosis for his only son.

After the incident, Chairman Ahn had merely sent a warning through someone.

The one who raged was his own father, Chairman Shin.

And so he had been exiled to this rural place, paying more than enough for it.

Shin I-hyeok looked bored at the old story.

Sensing he wouldn’t listen further, Team Leader Kim sighed deeply.

“Do you have any schedule afterward?”

“No.”

The answer came immediately, as if the question were absurd.

Even for someone who didn’t enjoy being busy, life here was unbearably dull.

Visiting houses to kill time only worked for a day or two.

He wanted to fill one month, two months—whatever was required—and end this exile, or retreat, or whatever it was.

After finishing the meal and stepping outside, the restaurant owners were waiting by the door.

Perhaps because he hadn’t refused their hospitality on his first visit, they did this every time.

The owner was always desperate before him.

“Did you enjoy your meal?”

“Yes. It was good.”

“Thank you for coming so often.”

“There aren’t many places around here that suit my taste. No need to trouble yourselves.”

They had once run a small Japanese restaurant in the neighborhood before expanding after good profits.

They had taken private loans during that process, but were faithfully repaying principal and interest, so they weren’t even under special management.

Though it was true he sometimes visited debtors to pass time, this place was not one of them.

In truth, he didn’t particularly care whether debtors repaid their money or not.

A show of effort was enough.

Coldly speaking, aside from company connections, this was a separate business entirely.

Though admittedly, it did make him itch a little more.

In any case, his visits were purely about taste, but the owner, perhaps burdened by debt, could not accept that simply.

“Still, we’re grateful.”

At the repeated thanks, he gave a perfunctory nod.

If they were grateful, there was no need to refuse.

He had no desire for pointless verbal sparring.

While Team Leader Kim handled the payment, Shin I-hyeok glanced around the shop and noticed a small child standing beside the owner’s leg.

It seemed to be his daughter.

“Hello.”

He tilted his head slightly to look down at her.

The child clutched her father’s pant leg with one hand and fidgeted.

“Hel-lo.”

Her father pressed gently on the back of her head to make her bow.

Though half-hiding behind him in shyness, she kept looking up at Shin I-hyeok.

Perhaps she was shy around strangers.

Unlike his tone with Team Leader Kim, his voice softened.

“What’s your name?”

“Hyejin.”

“Hyejin.”

As he slowly repeated her name, she nodded.

She covered her mouth shyly and giggled.

Her large eyes seemed unable to leave his face, as if she had met a prince from a storybook.

“Our second child. She has an older brother.”

“I see.”

After smiling down at her, Shin I-hyeok glanced around and reached out.

He took a candy from a basket on the counter and held it out to her.

Her small hand, reaching to take it, was barely the size of his palm.

“You should say thank you.”

“Thank you.”

He accepted gratitude for something that wasn’t even his.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Team Leader Kim approaching.

He ruffled the child’s head as she rustled the candy wrapper.

“Goodbye, Hyejin.”

As he straightened to leave, something grabbed his hand.

It was the child.

Holding the candy in one hand, she dug into her pocket with the other and fumbled for a while before pulling something out.

Her small fist loosened, and a tiny wrapped chocolate dropped from her hand into his.

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

A give and take.

Well educated for her age.

Shin I-hyeok looked down at the chocolate in its plastic wrapping and let out a small laugh.

He gently pinched her soft cheek as she stepped closer to reach him.

After receiving her farewell all the way out, he got into the car parked at the entrance.

Team Leader Kim, already in the driver’s seat, turned slightly to look back.

“Where to?”

“Let’s go home.”

He rubbed his stiff neck.

Oddly, doing nothing made him feel more tired.

As he leaned back into the seat and adjusted his clothes, a rustling sound drew his hand into his pocket.

His fingers brushed against the chocolate the child had given him.

“Aren’t you going to get married, Team Leader Kim?”

At the sudden question, eyes lifted in the rearview mirror.

Not only sudden, but absurd.

Coming from the man who had used him as a driver even on weekends recently, it was hardly appropriate.

Most of the people Team Leader Kim had seen lately were his superior.

“I’m too busy with work to think about that.”

“Excuses.”

Unaware—or perhaps uncaring—of his feelings, Shin I-hyeok smiled faintly.

“Kids are cute. Small, fragile.”

“You mean the little girl from earlier? The owner’s daughter?”

“Her too.”

He thought of the girl with neatly braided pigtails.

After a brief pause, he leaned his head comfortably against the headrest and frowned.

“But I’m not particularly fond of kids.”

It had been doomed from the beginning, perhaps.

Aside from that, maybe he was still too young himself to understand what people meant when they said children were lovely.

Of course, he could acknowledge their general cuteness, but beyond that—adorable enough to want to hold in his arms—no.

What he found more interesting to keep close were those a little older.

“At least they should be able to talk.”

Yes.

They should be able to speak for themselves and understand others.

Rather than unconditional innocence, Shin I-hyeok found intelligent, shining eyes more charming.

The way they constantly calculated to preserve themselves.

The way their reactions shifted with his actions.

Predictable defiance.

Unexpected responses.

“Hm.”

He suddenly thought of one child he had met recently.

Much older than the little girl from before, but in his eyes, still just a child.

She didn’t seem the type to give up easily, even when outnumbered and physically weaker.

That was probably why she had been beaten.

What happened during collection was always the same.

Even then, she had continued to look after herself.

Tears might fall, but she wiped the traces away quickly, pride intact.

Despite looking so prim and proper, she behaved cleverly even in fear.

He had left the debtor’s house but lingered in the alley for a long time.

How long had he waited in the car.

When he finally saw her leave the house, carrying a heavy bag, the feeling was…

He had almost wanted to mess up her hair in praise.

If the Chairman had been a little healthier, perhaps he might have had a younger sibling like that.

A pointless thought.

“Turn the car around. I just thought of somewhere to go.”

Maybe he would drop by and see her face.

He had no schedule, no particular reason to postpone it.

After giving the new destination, he relaxed back into his seat.

Darkness had already fallen.

How much time would he spend today.

Perhaps, like last time, the child would wander the alley for a while.

Shin I-hyeok loosened his body, considering closing his eyes briefly on the way to Ju Hayan’s house.

Soon the turn signal clicked on, and the scenery outside the window slowly spun in a circle.

A soft piano melody played quietly in the background.