Sunlight twinkled through the blue sky as Jiah walked to her workplace. The morning's atmosphere was still cold, prompting her to hug herself. High school students passing by, chatting on random stuff. The smell of coffee lingered as she walked through an office worker.
To her surprise, when she reached the boutique, she found Hoseok immersed with his phone in his hand, casually leaning against the display. With his hoodies down, she almost mistook him for a customer who was waiting for the store to open. Although it wasn’t her first time seeing his hoodie down, it amazed her to see him outside their office. A wide smile adorned her lips.
He didn't seem to notice her presence, so she planned something mischievous. She jogged towards him and jumped, holding his arm as she exclaimed in a low tone, "Boo!"
Startled, Hoseok almost cursed out loud. His hand shook as his phone went to stick to his chest. Realizing it was his assistant, he exhaled a sigh and muttered, "Seriously."
Jiah threw her head back, laughing out loud. Smiling widely with her head tilted to one side, she chirped, "Good morning, Hoseok!"
Hoseok breathed out, "Good morning."
Raising both eyebrows, Jiah asked, "Are you angry?"
"No, but goodness, don't do that!"
She threw her head back again, giggling. "You were so immersed in your phone. What's up?"
"Ah, it's nothing. I was chatting with Amber noona," he answered.
"Is she coming back?"
Hoseok shook his head with a downward expression on his lips. "Not yet."
Nodding her head, she smiled at Hoseok. Then, she said, "Ah, let's go now." She patted her stomach with a grimace and said, "I'm hungry."
Hoseok chuckled and said, "Let's go."
They were a few steps away from the boutique when they bumped into the Kim siblings, Namjoon and Jungkook. Seokjin had a confused look on his face when he saw them together. Jisoo greeted them, "Hi! Good morning!"
Hoseok and Jiah replied to her in unison, "Good morning."
"Where are you going?" Seokjin asked.
"We're going out for breakfast," Jiah told him.
"What?" Seokjin exclaimed. "You're having breakfast without us?"
"It's not a big deal for a boss and his assistant to go out together," Hoseok muttered, staring at him in disbelief.
"It's a big deal to me!" Seokjin said. "Which restaurant are you going to?"
Jiah looked at Hoseok, and then Hoseok looked at Seokjin. The red-haired guy said, "I'm not telling. Important business. Let's go, Jiah." He grabbed Jiah's wrist and giggled at her dumbfounded look.
"Hey! Don't tell me you're dating too!" Seokjin shouted.
In frustration, Jisoo exclaimed, "Don't make a fuss so early in the morning!"
"How can I not? They—" Seokjin was interrupted. It made her question what was going on. When she turned her head back, Jisoo was covering her brother's mouth as she hurried Jungkook to unlock the door. Then, she instructed Namjoon to carry her brother's legs. Just as she hooked her arms under Seokjin's armpits, he shouted at her, "How dare you do this to your brother!"
And then, the door to the Bejiwoo boutique was slammed shut.
She waited to see what was going to happen next, but only the cold morning wind blew through. She turned her head to look at Hoseok and asked, "Why didn't you tell him?"
Hoseok displayed a tight smile before he said, "He might follow us."
She wasn't sure why Hoseok would think that way about Seokjin, but she didn't think Seokjin would follow them if he knew.
Her boss's words broke her thoughts. "I'm craving some bibimbap and pancakes. Do you mind if we eat on the street?"
She shook her head. "I don't mind."
His teeth were on full display, his cheeks formed two round shapes as he said, "I know a good place. Let's get there fast!"
**********
Vapors from the pot boiled the barley and rice, rising as its lid was taken off. The smell of stir-fried vegetables and bulgogi on the grill lingered in the air. The cash register clashed as the cashier, a man in his late twenties or early thirties, returned the change to a customer. Upon noticing Hoseok and Jiah, he flatly said, "Welcome!" Then, with a smile on his face, he bowed to the previous customers as a sign of goodbye.
Most of the customers in the camp were college students and taxi drivers.
He looked at Hoseok, smiling, and said, "Barley bibimbap?" Hoseok nodded. Then, he looked at Jiah and asked him with raised eyebrows, "Two bowls?"
Chuckling, Hoseok answered, "Yeah."
"Got ya," the man shouted, directing his words to the kitchen area. "Uhmma, two barley bibimbap!" Then, he returned to his seat at the cashier.
Hoseok led her to a table, and they sat on stools. Jiah made herself comfortable, grabbing a cup and a jug of water from the table. Shortly after, a middle-aged woman arrived with two bowls of bibimbap on a tray. Her bob-style hair was pushed back with a yellow scarf, and her lips were painted bright red. Visible wrinkles at the corner of her eyes were concealed with a thin layer of foundation. As she approached their table, the woman exclaimed, "Oh my, my, my! (omo, omo, omo!) You brought your girlfriend."
Jiah almost had water come out of her nose upon hearing that. Fortunately, she managed to stay calm and pulled out a tissue from a box.
Hoseok laughed. "No, uhmeoni! She's not my girlfriend."
After the woman placed the bowls on the red, plastic square table, she waved her hand down, smirking. "Eh! I've met a lot of young kids like you two. Always saying the same thing. They end up having children together."
Jiah was shocked that Hoseok was playing along, laughing at the comment. "I'm serious, uhmeoni," he said, smiling widely. He gestured with an open palm towards Jiah and introduced, "This is Lee Jiah, my assistant."
"My, my! So this is your assistant?"
"Yeah, this is her," Hoseok said.
"Oh my, I've been wanting to meet you," the ahjumma expressed, holding one of Jiah's hands with both of hers. The action caught Jiah off guard and flustered her to the point that she quickly put down the cup she had been holding and used her other hand to hold the ahjumma's hand. The ahjumma patted her own chest hard, making a drumming sound, and said, "I am Hoseok's mother. That boy at the cashier is his older brother."
Jiah's eyes widened at that statement. Confused, she started to wonder if her boss had been lying about his life. She turned to look at her boss, who was smiling widely, before returning her gaze to the ahjumma. Plus, since when did Hoseok have an older brother?
"Stay as long as you like," the ahjumma chirped with a smile. "Aigoo, aigoo. I better get some pancakes ready."
"Thank you, uhmeoni!" Hoseok blurted out.
As the lady disappeared into the kitchen area, Jiah faced Hoseok with wide eyes. Pointing towards the kitchen, she forced a whisper, "Your mother?"
Snickering, Hoseok handed her a pair of chopsticks and a spoon. Then, he said, "They are my neighbors."
Eyebrows furrowed, Jiah tilted her head to one side. "I don't understand," she said.
"Long story short, I've known this family ever since I was a child. They know about my family's issues too," Hoseok explained. "I can't visit them often. I only met them by chance at our housing area after I sent you home. The night you were drunk."
She still didn't have a clear reason why Aunt Soojung called herself Hoseok's mother. But after thinking for a while, Hoseok's parents quarreling might be worse than she imagined.
"My mother always picks on me for anything. She didn't care about me. It's because of noona." There was a hint of anger in his comment. "One night, I exploded. I got into a fight with her. I left home crying. Aunt Soojung found me and brought me to her house. She told me she heard my parents quarreling at night and was worried about me. It's a shame that an adult guy like me was found like a kid lost on the street." He chuckled darkly. His cheeks formed two rounds filled with the bibimbap. He looked up at Jiah with a tight smile and, with a mouthful, said, "I'm glad she found me though. Or else, I wouldn't have worked for Bejiwoo and met you."
Jiah had to admit she was shocked to hear the deeper story of his family. The more stories he shared, the more she understood why he chose to cover himself with hoodies. She mixed the bibimbap and dipped her spoonful, putting it in her mouth afterward.
Hoseok swallowed his food and said, "Even though it's mean for me to hide myself from people I don't want to see. Even though I plan to punish my sister with that." He paused. "Even though it takes so much time to get over this addiction. If it can lessen someone's heartache, I'll do it," he uttered with a soft smile. Then, he resumed eating.
Jiah stared up at him with a mouthful. She quickly chewed her food and swallowed. Out of the blue, she asked, "Someone?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Carefully, she pronounced, "Wendy?"
Suddenly, Hoseok stopped chewing. If she was to count how long the pause was, she could have passed ten. Not long after that, he swallowed down the chewed ones before continuing to chew some more. As he chewed, he muttered, "Not her, for sure."
The name was another taboo for him, and she had forgotten about that. She hoped she didn't drop her boss' mood. What story did he have with Wendy? Intriguing, but she tried not to dig in too far. Afraid she might trigger Hoseok, she didn't ask.
Immediately, she changed the topic. After putting another spoonful into her mouth, she let out a loud hum and said, "It's delicious!"
The red-haired man looked up and laughed. "I know, right? Aunt Soojung's bibimbap is the best bibimbap I've ever eaten."
"I agree, I agree," Jiah spoke under her breath, nodding. Pushing a grain of barley at the corner of her lips into her mouth, she then said, "But there's one thing I don't understand."
Eyebrows lifted, Hoseok asked, "And what's that?"
"Aunt Soojung said she's been wanting to meet me. If you've only met them by chance on the night I was drunk, then..." Jiah looked up at the ceiling, thinking. "Did you tell something about me that night?"
Hoseok shook his head. "No. She saw the news."
She blinked and asked, "What news?"
"The event at the In-Kang."
She looked around, trying to recall. Then, when it hit her, she let out an "Ahh!"
"The article she saw was us holding hands."
Remembering how Aunt Soojung reacted to her appearance, she whispered-yelled, "Was that a dating scandal news?"
Hoseok snorted and laughed.
"Why are you laughing?" Jiah said, annoyed.
Tilting his head, smiling wide, he said, "Nothing. It's just that you're cute." He halted his movement to stare at her, suppressing a smile. "No," he drawled, smiling again.
She thought of her father, who loved to read the newspaper every morning. Assuming that her father brought a different company's newspaper, the photo of them holding hands might not be in the paper. She exhaled a relieved sigh.
Aunt Soojung came from the kitchen to their table with assorted types of pancakes. "Poor you children have waited so long," she muttered. Putting two plates on the table, she said, "I made a lot of pancakes for you."
Displaying a light smile, Jiah bowed slightly in her seat as she said, "Thank you!"
"Aigoo, you pretty being," Aunt Soojung uttered with an accent, smiling at her. "Ah, Hoseok-ah, I'm closing my stall early today. Come to my house for dinner. I'll make you some more bibimbap if you'd like."
"Ah," Hoseok whispered. "I don't think I can—"
"Aish," the lady waved her hand down with her face contorted. "You, young lad, shouldn't overwork. Oh, Jiah, you should come too."
Jiah and Hoseok looked at one another.
"My son," the lady cooed, earning a chuckle from Hoseok.
"I'll come," he said. "That is if Jiah comes too."
"Pretty girl, come on!"
Hoseok laughed at the saying while Jiah bashfully smiled. "I'm free, so I'll come."
"Dat's great!" Aunt Soojung exclaimed with a thick foreign accent. "I'll get us some pork belly! We're gonna have fun grilling them tonight!"
**********
Having made a promise and having a brief chat with Aunt Soojung, the boss and his assistant left the stall after paying for their meals. With the arrival of sun and warmth, the crowd began to thin out as people began heading to work and school. A few elderly people passed by, some carrying grocery bags.
Walking side by side, they stepped further away from the stall. Silently, they observed the streetscape. The lane was lined with cars on both sides. A young boy on a bicycle rushed down the street. As the bike sped away, a teenage girl in a school uniform shouted, "Wait for me, you scoundrel!"
After witnessing the commotion behind them, Jiah and Hoseok looked at each other and stifled a laugh together.
Silence draped them again as they walked together to Hoseok's car. Once they got inside the car, they fastened their seatbelts. Hoseok buzzed, both hands firmly on the steering wheel. Then, he said, "Hey, Jiah. How about we skip work today?"
"Huh? But we have work to do."
"We can do it tomorrow."
Jiah was surprised by Hoseok's sudden change of behavior. She asked, "But why so sudden?"
"I'm tired of staying in the office every morning. I want you to accompany me and help me refresh my mind," he said.
Jiah puckered her lips and made a face. "I see," she said. "I'm glad you're the boss. You don't need the trouble of asking for a day off."
Smiling from ear to ear, Hoseok replied, "You're lucky you're my assistant. You'll receive a bonus in your salary this month for accompanying me."
"Are you serious?" she asked, raising her eyebrows, her lips threatening to smile.
"No."
"Eyy..." she muttered, turning to the window with her elbow on the armrest and her chin resting on her knuckles. Her reflection on the window showed a displeased expression, causing Hoseok to burst into laughter.