Chapter 23

Ha-yeon and I had pretty similar tastes.

Of course, there were times when I had to compromise, and I’m not sure about Ha-yeon, but when she acted mature, I thought maybe she was compromising for me too? Anyway, we lived together, giving and taking, showing consideration for each other.

But there was one thing I absolutely couldn’t compromise on.

“It’s red bean!”

“Mom… not this time! It’s cream!”

Ha-yeon and I were bickering. Normally, we didn’t fight like this.

The reason was the fish-shaped pastry. It was simple. I liked the ones with red bean paste, and Ha-yeon liked the ones with cream filling. I couldn’t stand it. Fish-shaped pastries *had* to have red bean. Anything else was heresy. I didn’t even want to imagine a fish-shaped pastry without red bean. What kind of flavor would that even be?

Seeing cream or some other bizarre filling instead of the savory, sweet red bean made me feel like the very essence of fish-shaped pastries was being trampled on. But Ha-yeon was just as stubborn.

“Creeeeam!”

“Ha-yeon…”

“Eeeh!”

Even with my pitiful gaze, Ha-yeon didn’t back down. Neither did I. We exchanged intense glares.

“Um… you need to place your order…”

“Ah!”

The middle-aged man working at the food stall spoke up. As he said, we couldn’t just keep arguing. We had to order quickly. To save money, should we get red bean or cream?

There was no other choice. We had to spend more money and buy both red bean and cream fish-shaped pastries.

It couldn’t be helped since Ha-yeon liked it. I didn’t know who she took after to like cream, but it wasn’t a good sign. I thought I’d have to hypnotize her later to make her like red bean.

Fish-shaped pastries *had* to have red bean. Cream-filled heresy was absolutely unacceptable. Ha-yeon looked at me and said,

“Mom! You need to take the bag!”

“Ah! Thank you!”

I paid and took the bag. Inside were steaming hot fish-shaped pastries. I held Ha-yeon’s hand and sat on a nearby bench. On a cold winter day like this, blowing on the hot pastry before eating it was just perfect.

“Here’s Ha-yeon’s! And this is mine!”

Ha-yeon and I shared the pastries. These days, fish-shaped pastries were so expensive. Back when I was young, you could get 4 or 5 for just 1,000 won, but now… you only get one for 1,000 won.

A single fish-shaped pastry for 1,000 won? Is that even reasonable? So, even though we bought a decent amount, the price was steep. Three with red bean and three with cream, totaling six.

“It’s delicious!”

Ha-yeon, clearly enjoying it, smiled brightly as she ate the cream-filled pastry. I had tried cream-filled ones before and didn’t particularly like them. A proper fish-shaped pastry *had* to have red bean.

I grabbed one and started eating from the head. I’d heard people have different preferences for how to eat fish-shaped pastries—some start with the head, others with the tail. I preferred starting with the head.

“Ew!”

But it wasn’t a red bean pastry—it was cream. I’d picked the wrong one. But I’d already taken a big bite, so there was no going back.

“It’s gross…”

Cream-filled fish-shaped pastries just weren’t for me. I gave Ha-yeon an apologetic look.

“Ha-yeon, I’m sorry… I ate your cream-filled one.”

“Huh?”

Ha-yeon looked at me. I showed her the pastry. Half the head was already gone. But she didn’t seem to mind.

“Give me the one you’re eating! I’m fine with that!”

“Really…? Do you want another red bean one?”

*Nods*

“You already took a bite, right? Hehe…”

Ha-yeon didn’t prefer red bean pastries, but she happily ate the one I’d already bitten. Seeing that, I felt relieved. If she had thrown a tantrum and demanded a new one, what would I have done? I carefully picked another red bean pastry.

*Munch munch*

Red bean was definitely the right choice. Cream just wasn’t it, no matter how I thought about it.

—

“Ha-yul! Are you free this Friday evening?”

The boss was drying cups at the sink as he spoke. I paused to think. I didn’t have any plans for Friday, and I didn’t work on weekends. Ever since raising Ha-yeon, I spent my time with her. I didn’t have any friends. For some reason, Ha-yeon didn’t seem to like the idea of me making friends either.

So, if Ha-yeon wasn’t around, I’d just be sitting at home alone. Hearing the boss’s words, I nodded.

“Yes, I’m free on Friday.”

“Then how about a company dinner? You’re off on Saturday and Sunday anyway.”

“Sure, boss.”

Our café didn’t have fixed days off. But the boss had mentioned something to me before. He said it’d be better if I took Sundays and Mondays off instead of Saturdays and Sundays. He felt it was a shame to lose sales on Saturdays when I wasn’t there. Even though we made enough from Monday to Friday.

I shook my head and said no. Ha-yeon would be lonely at home alone on Saturdays. Kindergarten was closed on weekends, so there was no one to look after her. Of course, things might change when Ha-yeon gets older.

The boss didn’t push further. If I wasn’t there, the café’s sales would take a big hit. Honestly, the amount of coffee we sold from Monday to Friday was already massive. We didn’t really need to open on weekends. If things changed later, we’d see, but for now, that’s how it was.

“So, what do you feel like eating, Ha-yul? We’ve had company dinners so often that we’ve tried everything. Let’s go with what you want.”

Our boss was known for paying well. That’s why, unlike other cafés, our part-timers didn’t change often. In fact, most of them had been working here for a long time. Chae So-young and Yoo A-rin had been here for at least three years.

In part-time jobs, working for a year already made you a veteran, so three years was proof that the café treated its employees well. Pay, work environment, and people—if even one of these wasn’t satisfactory, part-timers would quit.

They weren’t like regular employees who grit their teeth and endure. Part-timers didn’t put up with much.

Sure, the workload was a bit heavier than at branded cafés, but we were enrolled in social insurance and paid well above minimum wage.

Honestly, part-time jobs like this were rare. We were paid as much as new hires at mid-sized companies. Though I was still a newbie, so my hourly wage was lower. But it increased significantly every month. Even now, I was earning 2,000 won more per hour than minimum wage.

I thought it was a fair deal since we worked hard selling drinks. And no other part-time job offered such flexible hours. If it weren’t for this café, I wouldn’t be able to spend time with Ha-yeon. Other places required weekend shifts. Part-time jobs that only required weekdays were rare.

If they existed, they were usually short shifts of 3-4 hours during peak times. They only hired part-timers for the busiest hours and didn’t use them during slower times.

“Hmm…”

I thought about what I wanted to eat. There were so many things I wanted, but I’d been saving money by not eating out. Well, not exactly. If Ha-yeon wanted something, I’d buy it for her without hesitation.

As long as it wasn’t something ridiculously expensive like omakase or high-end dining, I’d often treat her. After all, we only had two mouths to feed. I wasn’t a big eater either.

I could eat a lot if I wanted to, but I ate moderately for Ha-yeon’s sake. If I ate everything, there’d be nothing left for her.

“Grilled pork belly… I want grilled pork belly!”

“Really? Then this Friday’s company dinner is settled—grilled pork belly!”

And just like that, the menu was decided. The boss said there was no need to ask the others. Those two would be happy with just the idea of a company dinner.