Cinnamon Candy

Working at night was not enough to pay off my debts, so I found a job during the day. It was a petrol station in the middle of the city, for five days a week.

It is a place where the so-called chairman’s chauffeurs are maintaining some kind of deal, so there were many expensive cars. Sometimes, if I was lucky, I was given a small amount of pocket money for my hard work. Most importantly, the boss was frequently out of town.

“Ugh…”

Seon-Joo tilted his head, cupping his palms around the back of his neck. He didn’t get much sleep last night as he was trying to catch up with a guest who came over for a second time. He knows very well his limits and stamina when it comes to drinking, so he thought it would be an easy one. However, even after eating bean sprout soup in the morning, he still had a hangover and his head was pounding.

“Aigoo, you are about to collapse. What’s wrong with the young man? Did you have breakfast?”

“Yes, I ate it. Did you?”

“Of course I did. At my age, if I don’t eat, I’ll get weak.”

“Oh, you are still young, what’s wrong?”

Mr. Kim chuckled at Han Seon-joo’s comment. The workplace atmosphere was not bad. The boss and his co-workers also described Seon-Joo as a hardworking, solid young man. However, he hid the fact that he was selling his body to other people at night. There was no need to reveal that.

“It’s almost lunchtime, what do you want to eat?”

“Earlier, the boss told me to order from that Chinese restaurant. He said he collected all the coupons.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve had hot and sour soup. Then I’ll have some jjamppong. How about you?”

“I have the same spicy one.”

The thought of anything else made him feel sick to his stomach. The best hangover cure is a big bowl of soup.

It started with a meal and ended with a meal. As we chatted and giggled, we noticed a car pulling in through the glass doors. Mr Kim smirked and shook his head. Han Seon-Joo stood up.

“I will put the fuel in and come back. Place an order at a Chinese restaurant. Ask the boss what he’d like to eat.”

Mr Kim scratched his head and picked up his phone. Han Seon-Joo smiled and walked out the door.

The bright blue, lid-open convertible pulled smoothly into the straight line drawn on the ground. Within the inverted triangle logo, a golden bull raised its forepaws as if it were about to pounce.

“Welcome?…”

The greeting didn’t come out properly. Han Seon-Joo’s face hardened at the sight of the man in the driver’s seat. The owner of the car, who wore sunglasses, recognised him. He pushed his glasses down and raised his hand in greeting.

“I didn’t think I’d see you in such a place. Did you quit that job?”

“….”

I never thought I’d see Kwon Hee-Seong here either. He was better than Kim Soo-Chan, but it brought back memories of that day and I wasn’t too happy about it. I couldn’t hide the sour look on my face.

Perhaps the boss took my warning seriously, and for several days, Kim Soo-Chan hadn’t managed to see a single strand of my hair. So I was able to receive other guests with ease.

Seeing Kwon Hee-Seong brought back all those memories. The eyes that crawled over my skin like snakes, and the unpleasant sensations that I felt clinging to my lower body. Han Seon-Joo absentmindedly patted his cheek with the back of his hand. 

“Someone, you know?”

The woman sitting next to Kwon Hee-Seong spoke up. She had long, black, straight hair and a voluptuous figure. Before she could say anything else, Han Seon-Joo spoke up.

“How much do you want me to fill it with?”

“Oh. Full.”

The interjection was effective, and there was a moment of silence between them. In the meantime, Seon-Joo pushed a button on the machine and stuck a gun in the petrol pump. The petrol gurgled and flowed into the tank.

There was a trick to this one. Slow, leisurely pouring will result in more than the correct amount, while hasty pouring will result in bubbling, and the display indicator will show full, but less than when pouring slowly. Han Seon-Joo stretched every sinewy muscle in his hand and pulled the trigger as hard as he could. Whipping petrol into a gushing frenzy.

“That way, put oil in it…are you having some weird disorder?”

An ambiguous smile played on Kwon Hee-Seong’s lips. Han Seon-Joo looked at him with a questioning stare. He shook his head negatively.

“No.”

Kwon Hee-Seong grinned and tilted his head. There’s no way Han Seon-Joo could have known that the gesture of holding the gun and shoving it into the petrol tank was reminiscent of a suggestive act.

I heard a ticking sound. After a couple of sweeps of the gun, I pulled it out and hung it on a hook, then took the card out of the machine and handed it over. Kwon Hee-Seong handed back the receipt without looking at the price.

“Throw away the receipt.”

“Yes.”

“No extra service? Water or something.”

There are. A couple of bottles of water and a couple of lollipops. There was no reason to show kindness to Kwon Hee-Seong, even if he liked it. Han Seon-Joo shook his head.

“None.”

“What petrol station doesn’t have a service?”

Whatever Kwon Hee-Seong said, Seon-joo bowed his head and turned away. There was the sound of a car starting up behind him, the engine rumbling, and then the car was gone as fast as it had come in. He turned his head and watched the blue convertible drive away.

Is it my lucky day?

The horoscope I saw in the newspaper this morning wasn’t bad. I turned around and walked away, thinking that seeing Kwon Hee-Seong must have been the worst part of the day.

Just as he is about to open the glass door and step inside, he hears a distinctive engine noise and stops in his tracks. A bright blue car pulled into a petrol station once again. The woman in the passenger seat leaned her elbow against the window in annoyance, while Kwon Hee-Seong, who held the steering wheel, looked at Seon-Joo with a wide smile.

“It’s unfair. At least get me a bottle of water. I always get them when I come from that old man.”

When Mr.Kim realised what had happened, he rushed out of the building. He looked at Seon-Joo and Kwon Hee-Seong alternately and bowed his head.

“Aigoo, boss. It’s been a while since you stopped by. Is there any mistake?…”

Mr Kim glanced at Kwon Hee-Seong hesitantly for a moment. Han Seon-Joo looked to the other side and sighed. 

If you’re going to do something like that, ask for it in the first place. So I could have taken back my lie and pretended I didn’t know, but now I only bothered Mr.Kim as well.

“Sorry about that. I’ll get it right back to you.”

It’s hard to imagine driving an expensive car and coming back for just a few bottles of water. Still, Han Seon-Joo apologised graciously and hurriedly brought bottled water and candy.

Kwon Hee-Seong was grinning from ear to ear the whole time, leaving Han Seon-Joo wondering what was so good about it. He didn’t seem happy to receive the water and candy. As Seon-joo bows down to follow Mr.Kim’s example, Kwon Hee-Seong suddenly thrusts a lollipop in front of Seon-Joo’s nose.

“This one’s for you. Instead of cigarettes.”

“Yes?…”

He didn’t smoke at the petrol station other than before he left for work. Seon-Joo pressed his nose against his forearm and sniffed. It reeked of unpleasant grease.

“No, not now. When we saw each other last time…”

“Sure. Thank you.”

He interrupted Hee-Seong and snatched the candy. Despite being cut off in the middle, Kwon Hee-Seong only shrugged.

The car left the petrol station as noisily as it had come in. Mr.Kim didn’t straighten up until the back of the car was completely gone. It was only after Han Seon-Joo told him that it was gone, that he felt relieved.

“I didn’t think you would make such a mistake. Did the two of you meet before?”

“Nope. It’s the first time.”

“Is it? He must be mistaken. Ugh, the world is so unfair. He’s rich, he’s handsome, and he’s an alpha.”

“How do you know? That guy is an alpha?”

“Huh? I’m an alpha, too, though I’m embarrassed to call myself one.”

Originally, Kim Soo-chan pointed out Kwon Hee-Seong as an Alpha and said that Alphas are known for hanging out with other Alphas. But Han Seon-Joo didn’t realise that Mr.Kim had the same type.