Chapter 226 – Half a Band

It was Friday, so even though it was a weekday, there were other groups of customers at the makgeolli restaurant besides us.

“Then let’s make a toast to our manager’s health!”

“Oh my! After all, I am the only regular employee of ours!”

“Boss! Isn’t that Dae-ri Kim here too? I’m sorry, really!”

Apparently, it seemed that the company came to play as a group. A little over 10 people gathered round tables to make one huge table, where they drank and chatted loudly.

However, the only person there who laughed sincerely was a man in his 50s with a bald head, and the rest of the people were busy courting him.

It was a good sight to see how good Mina’s company is. Although I envy these people this way.

“Jiheon, here you are.”

While looking at the table, Mina’s voice turned to us. Just like there, other tables were gathered together and made into one, and on top of them were freshly baked jeon and bottles of makgeolli.

“Ah, yes, thank you, sister.”

“Thank you. Ruler!”

With her sincere acting, she smiled at me and stood up alone. She looked around brightly at me and the staff at the table next to me with a bright face, and raised her glass high.

“Cheers then! Siegfried!”

“Uh?!”

When I was a hero, I was embarrassed because I toasted by name, but people who didn’t know it shouted excitedly.

“For!”

“For!”

“For!”

Still, the toast was roughly over, and I drank makgeolli to cool off my flushed face out of embarrassment.

“Long live Siegfried!”

“Cheuk, poop!”

Suddenly, my name came up again, and I couldn’t stand it.

“Cough Cough Cough! Coke!”

“Jiheon, are you okay?”

On the day I coughed because I was sick, Mina patted me on the back and calmed me down. Employees who don’t know why I’m doing this smiled happily and said.

“Ahaha! Master must be weak in alcohol!”

“Teacher, is this your first time drinking alcohol?”

“There are drinks here, so you don’t have to drink. Hey! Just give me a bottle of Coke!”

“Yes! Wait a minute!”

It was treated like a child. It wasn’t that they were wrong about what they thought. Those people are clearly members of society, and they were all in their late 20s, some in their early 30s.

On the other hand, I’m just a 20-year-old college student. I will be 21 years old soon, and if I add up the things I was in another world, I will be 27 years old.

That is, the same age as them.

Feeling resentful for some reason, I drank makgeolli even though my cough hadn’t stopped.

Gulp gulp gulp!

“Big!”

I emptied my glass at once in front of them and shouted to the restaurant lady who brought me a cola bottle.

“Madame! Please bring us makgeolli, not cola!”

“Yes!”

I could tell myself that this looked like a child pretending to be an adult. But because of this, the atmosphere of worrying about me disappeared, and the atmosphere rather heated up.

“You know how to drink, Master!”

“Master! Would you please accept my drink!”

“Ugh! Even my drink!”

… By the way, do you call me Master? I never taught you anything

I looked at Minah as I received the drinks they poured for me. She whispered in my ear out of sight and she told me what it was.

“It refers to the husband of a superior.”

Oh, that’s it.

Anyway, the drinking party started in a harmonious atmosphere. The attention of the company people got away from me and talked to each other, and even in the midst of that, Chae-eun did not change her smile once and glared at me.

“…”

Because of that sharp gaze, I kept drinking. Of course, it wasn’t in a good way, but it was because my throat was burned.

That said, if you drink makgeolli all the time, it’s a little bit, so I tried eating round ttang with chopsticks.

“Mm, it’s delicious.”

It just didn’t go well because it was at the entrance of the trail.

I wanted to convey this taste to Minah, so I put round polka dots on the plate in front of her.

“Sister. This is delicious. Try it.”

“Thank you, Mr. Jiheon. Ah. Jiheon, do you like athletics? Shall I order one more?”

“It’s okay. Do it later And try eating dong-geulangttaeng. Delicious.”

But Minah shook her head, her lips sticking out cutely with her still acting face.

“Um, don’t you like it?”

“Uh?”

“I think it will taste better if Jiheon feeds it.”

“!”

Even in acting, she always put her heart into it. So, this was a real request.

“Dureupjeon here is really delicious. It’s a pity it’s not there.”

“Are you afraid? Isn’t that too old, senior?”

“Noisy. Come and eat here next spring. Because it is really delicious.”

By the way, in front of company people?

With this in mind, I asked Mina.

“Uh, hey, really?”

“Yes, of course! Jiheon’s food was the most delicious for me, right?”

“No, here?”

“Then, somewhere other than here?”

Why is he like this Are you drunk already?

Even when I looked at her with a puzzled face, she instead looked at me with her eye smile. Besides, she wasn’t the only one looking at me, Minah.

“Hey hey, look over there. The boss jokes around.”

“Wow, did you come this far?”

“I’m jealous, really. I want to date like that too.”

Don’t look and you guys eat something! I wanted to shout, but it was only possible in my imagination anyway.

“Jiheon.”

At this time, Minah called me in a small way. When my eyes met hers, she signaled with a wink. When she saw that wink, she realized that this was an act to show off to Chae-eun.

“Mr. Jiheon. Please hurry up yes? Quickly.”

Or were you really drunk?

Still, I couldn’t give it here, so I picked up a round polka dot with chopsticks and handed it out to Mina.

“Come on, ah”

“Ah, sum! Mmm! After all, it tastes even better because Mr. Jiheon feeds it!”

When she was fed, she shouted at her employees, and she rejoiced as if she were her own.

“Oh really! You two should get married!”

“Wait a minute, isn’t that the case at work too?”

“How are you? Besides, if you dry it, it will burn more?”

Her face grew hot from embarrassment at what they were saying. But when I saw Mina acting with her sincerity, I couldn’t help but raise the corner of her mouth.

“Here, boss.”

However, Chae-eun, the only one here who did not smile, raised her hand.

“I’ve always wondered, why does the boss speak respectfully?”

To that question, Mina answered by covering her mumbling mouth with her hand.

“Yes?”

“It is. I heard that Mr. Jiheon is 20 years old, why do you treat him with respect?”

It was a legitimate question. I didn’t know because it was so natural, but without knowing it, Minah spoke to me with respect. To Mina, I treated her casually.

To what Chae-eun said, her staff also nodded in agreement with her. “I think so?” Mina, who ate all the round ttangs while she was talking, explained.

“When I first met Jiheon, I thought he was older. Since we met in a game, I thought he was older just by looking at his kind appearance. He was caring, meticulous, and just like a father. Wait a minute.”

She continued talking after rinsing her mouth with her rice wine.

“Since my family environment was not good, I preferred someone like my father. Of course I was nervous. But when I met you like this, voila! It’s been a long time! That’s half the band! Ahahahaha!”

The employees of her company laughed loudly when they saw Mina, who spread her hands and introduced me as if to introduce me. She acted with a pleased look on her face as she observed the reaction, and she continued to speak as she watched.

“Well, I thought he was older, but I was a little surprised that he was younger. But since it’s exactly the same as when we met on the Internet, honorific words came out without me realizing it. It’s comfortable, so I’ve been speaking with respect until now.”

After her explanation, she asked for my consent. The two eyes that met me were full of feelings for me. Those words earlier were a lie, but the eyes looking at me now made me believe the truth more than the truth.

“Right, honey?”

“Yes, sister.”

I looked at Mina and nodded her head.

People who saw us were amazed.

“Wow, I really hope you get married. At that time, I go even if I am in another company. Really.”

“Ah… I think I will be purified and disappear…”

“Before you disappear, take over and leave, senior.”

“…”

Even there, Chae-eun still looked at me with a disapproving expression.

Maybe we should talk separately later. I’ll ask Minah later and talk to the three of us like this.

However, this opportunity came sooner than expected.

The atmosphere has matured and the company employees have become as noisy as the table next to them. I was a bit drunk, so I had a conversation with the staff sitting next to me without hesitation, and Mina also talked to someone else with a slightly reddened face.

As I drank snacks and alcohol without hesitation, a signal came from my lower stomach. Of course, not big, but small.

I got up from my seat to empty my raging bladder. Then Mina noticed my signs of getting up and asked me.

“Mr. Jiheon? Where are you going?”

“Uh, me, my bathroom.”

“Is it so?”

She raised her hand to hide her mouth from her staff. Then, without making a sound, she spoke nonsense with her lips.

I will drink

“Oh little! It’s okay!”

After protesting once, I left the place in a hurry. She walked towards the bathroom, leaving the voice behind her asking, “Did you ask me to go with you, boss?”

This makgeolli restaurant had to go through a long and narrow hallway to go to the bathroom. I passed the gray cement floor and the concrete walls where the paint had peeled off.

But at this time, I heard a strange but familiar voice from behind.

“Hey, Mr. Jiheon?”

“Yes yes?”

I barely managed to turn his staggering body and look around. The person standing at the entrance of the corridor was none other than Chae-eun.

Impressive in a red mountaineering suit, she opened her eyes and said as if she was shooting at me.

“Mr. Jiheon. Would you like to talk to me for a second?”

It was an opportunity. Now that she was drunk, her body was a bit like this, but her mind was clear. Besides, Chae-eun’s staring made her sober.

“Ah yes. Uh, where should we do it?”

“You don’t have to go anywhere. I just do it here.”

“Here you go?”

“I’ll say it in an introductory way.”

Chae-eun ignored my words and she came towards me. She then stopped right in front of her nose, and she blew out words she had heard somewhere.

“I like President Chae Min-ah. No, I love you.”

“… Yes?”