Chapter 22
“Yes. Hello, are you the manager? I’m Detective Park In-kyu from the Major Crimes Unit 2 at the Central Police Station.”
As In-kyu asked a few questions, Cheong-ah pretended to be a little awkward and glanced around the counter.
But there was nothing particularly unusual.
Cheong-ah’s mind, scanning the counter, wandered back to why the voice she’d just heard sounded so familiar.
It had been just a very short remark, yet it refused to leave her mind.
“Ah, yes. Thank you for your cooperation. No, this should be sufficient. Yes, yes. Please go ahead.”
Before she knew it, In-kyu had finished the call and handed the receiver to Cheong-ah.
Embarrassed, she took it and ended the call.
“Thank you very much for your… um, coo… peration.”
“…Yes.”
Cheong-ah avoided his eyes as she replied to In-kyu’s voice, which was tight with clenched teeth.
“Well, I have a case regarding the sundae [Korean blood sausage] place near Yongseon Elementary School intersection, so I’ll go there now. If there’s any other info, please let me know.”
This was the signal to finish up here and meet at the sundae soup restaurant in front of Yongseon Elementary School.
“Ah, yes. Yes, please check it out!”
Cheong-ah bowed to In-kyu as he left the PC café.
As soon as In-kyu left, the sound of footsteps approached Cheong-ah. As she had suspected, the owner seemed to be watching them somewhere on the CCTV screens.
“Your name is Bok-seon?”
She smiled with her eyes closed, long eyelashes fluttering.
“Ah, yes. Yes!”
“Sorry about that suddenly.”
“I-it’s okay.”
She held Cheong-ah’s hand tightly, her voice tinged with discomfort.
“I get anxious around scary-looking men.”
Her smooth, soft hand brushed against Cheong-ah’s skin. Seeing her awkward smile, Cheong-ah’s heart melted without resistance.
Right. This was because In-kyu hyung looked intimidating.
Whatever it was, it was Park In-kyu’s fault.
“Oh, right! Maybe it’s because he’s a detective in the Major Crimes Unit? I was a little scared too!”
When Cheong-ah entered the sundae soup restaurant, she scanned the room and found In-kyu.
She walked toward a man with a menacing-looking back seated in the corner.
“Auntie, one extra-large please!”
At the loud voice, the burly back turned.
He seemed quite curious about what Cheong-ah had discussed with the owner. His gaze remained fixed on her.
“What’s going on?”
In-kyu pulled out a chair for her. Cheong-ah sat down heavily and emptied her glass first.
“What do you mean what’s going on? The info from Balhae led us here.”
Cheong-ah shrugged, and within a minute, the sundae soup she had ordered was placed on the table.
“PC Pop PC café…!”
Cheong-ah glanced around as if there were someone listening. Only after confirming there was no familiar face did she relax.
“You said you wanted to work here part-time, right?”
A slow, very thin voice came from Cheong-ah. Then a hand smoothly reached out and grabbed Park In-kyu’s. His pupils trembled involuntarily.
“Bok-seon, you’re quick to assess situations, and I like that. I like that kind of thing. Ah, sorry I introduced myself late. I’m Rachel, the owner here.”
Cheong-ah’s voice perfectly mimicked the café owner’s.
Park In-kyu quickly realized she was imitating her.
“But we’re only hiring for night shifts. Is that okay?”
Cheong-ah spoke just that and released his hand. She then began eating the sundae soup in front of her.
Only then did In-kyu regain his composure, sounding flustered.
“Part-time there? Are you serious?”
“I’ve worked as a janitor before; working at a PC café is nothing. I’ll just be doing undercover work at a different location!”
In-kyu pressed both hands to his temples.
“Do you think that’ll work…?”
“What could go wrong?”
“You told the owner your name was Bok-seon.”
“Yes. Why?”
As soon as she said it, Cheong-ah’s eyes flickered nervously at him.
Park Bok-seon was her older sister’s name, and she had used it on the spot. For In-kyu, it might not have been very welcome.
But he shook his head as if it didn’t matter and scooped some sundae into Cheong-ah’s empty bowl.
“You don’t have to worry about that. The ID we got approved upstairs was only for the Sejeong Park Workline undercover mission.”
“Ah, that’s fine. The owner didn’t ask for any ID, and they pay twenty thousand won per hour.”
Seeing Cheong-ah grin, In-kyu furrowed his brows.
“Really suspicious. Well, the way the owner forced you into an investigation is impressive, I’ll give them that.”
It was because he looked intimidating.
Cheong-ah almost responded, but swallowed her words.
“Uh… y-yeah, that’s true.”
She would need In-kyu’s help for night undercover work. There was no reason to hurt him unnecessarily.
The PC café never closes.
24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It ran continuously, with three shifts of staff.
Cheong-ah’s shift was assigned from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. There was a note that it might be a little busy, but that wasn’t important.
Cheong-ah left work promptly, ate a hearty dinner, and headed to the café.
She was greeted by nearly 200 seats filled with customers.
‘Are there really this many gamers in Korea…?’
The thought that the high hourly wage was suspicious quickly vanished. With this level of busyness, part-timers would run off if paid minimum wage.
There were three other staff, but Cheong-ah had no time to properly learn the work. She took care of cleaning vacated seats and delivered food from the kitchen.
Her first chance to breathe came after 10 p.m.
A loud announcement played over the café speakers: all minors must leave.
Almost everyone left instantly. The manager checked IDs, and Cheong-ah and other staff cleaned and tidied up the empty seats.
“Wow, Bok-seon, are you experienced in PC cafés?”
It was 10:23 p.m.
Cheong-ah could finally have a proper conversation with the staff.
“No, it’s my first time… hehe. Please teach me a lot.”
“Really? You adapted so fast, I thought you had experience. I’m Hwang Se-yeon, the afternoon manager. This is Min-ji, and over here is Hye-rin.”
The owner’s comment about her being nervous around scary men wasn’t entirely false. The staff were all gentle, pretty girls.
Se-yeon, the manager, was clearly very attractive.
“Ah. Hello, I’m Park Bok-seon.”
They all nodded and greeted each other.
“Bok-seon seems to know how to handle work. You only need to learn the kiosk for payment; the manager handles accounting. For food… there’s no time before 10, so the night manager will teach you later.”
“Ah, yes.”
Cheong-ah scribbled down the rapid-fire explanations in her notebook.
“The other part-timers leave now, and the night manager comes in around 11. I need to reconcile the accounts now, so you can read through the work rules and check them.”
“Thank you.”
The laminated sheet the manager handed was full of rules on A4 paper.
“If you don’t follow these, you’ll be fired immediately. Read carefully, and ask if you don’t understand something.”
“Yes.”
Cheong-ah said goodbye to the leaving staff, then sat at a vacant chair beside the counter with the rule sheet.
No one inside seemed like they’d be leaving anytime soon.
She moved her gaze to the work rules.
“….”
Please be punctual. Especially, make sure you leave on time!
A rather unusual rule. Most workplaces just write not to be late. No wonder the part-timers hurried to leave.
Keep the sign at the bottom on 24 hours a day. Report to the manager if it’s off.
If a customer asks about a game not in service, refer them to the manager immediately. -The current game list is on the work PC desktop file ‘Game list’.
Don’t answer phone calls before it rings ten times >< There are many prank callsㅠㅠ
Cheong-ah’s hand tightened around the sheet, and her nose twitched slightly.
