I am back – Chapter 29

Yu-ri noona’s wedding is almost a week away.

Originally, the Sunflower Bakery was closed on Wednesdays and open on weekends, but since Yu-ri noona’s wedding fell on a weekend, we decided to close the shop that weekend.

“It’s all because of me…”

I grumbled that if I had stayed alone, maybe we wouldn’t have had to close the shop, and my noona shook her head and replied.

“No, even if I were alone, the shop still needed to be closed.”

Her words made me feel embarrassed, knowing how considerate they were.

After all, the reason for hiring part-time workers is either because the shop is so busy that one person cannot handle the workload or so the shop owner can take a breather.

This bakery was definitely not a quiet one, but it wasn’t the type of place that would crumble with just one person either. But that still didn’t mean I could manage it alone.

I had to bake the bread myself. I had to brew the coffee myself too.

I could manage both tasks adequately, but I could never match the taste of the bread and coffee that my noona crafted.

“I wanted to try drip coffee as well as espresso.”

I once wondered why we even had part-time workers. From what I saw, my noona seemed to handle nearly all the work alone. Of course, now that I was helping, she could take short breaks now and then, but still, she was definitely managing the tasks on her own.

“I wanted to experiment with different types of coffee roasting too. After all, when there are more labor-intensive menu items, it becomes overwhelming to do it alone.”

While she wasn’t planning to expand the shop, there was still enough space to store various tools and such.

So, my noona liked coffee.

Maybe it became a hobby after she entered university. Or maybe she liked it before, but didn’t have the luxury to enjoy it as a hobby.

“Do you want to learn about coffee later?”

“Yes!”

When I answered her energetically, my noona chuckled. She probably knew I couldn’t drink what I wrote. A few times after that, I had tried coffee, but each time I swallowed, I grimaced a little.

“Well, you don’t have to keep up with everything. Just take your time and start with what you can do.”

That was what my noona said.

Just having me help with baking the bread would definitely reduce the workload. Well, I had confidence in my strength, so I could handle any physical tasks without issue.

Still, working alongside my noona for over two weeks allowed me to learn a bit about her life.

She was still living alone. But she no longer lived near the school like before. She lived within walking distance from here.

Luckily, since there was an apartment that she passed by on her way home, we could walk together every evening and share short chats.

She had graduated university safely. She was a scholarship student until the end, so her grades were probably good. Still, it seemed she was managing to do what she wanted, considering her situation had improved compared to before.

I still hadn’t been invited to her house. To be honest, even if I was invited, I wasn’t sure if I could go.

In my childhood, I didn’t know anything; I was able to be alone with my noona… but that was a long time ago.

At some point, I realized I had feelings for her. Maybe it started when I hit my teens. Of course, after I started liking her, being alone with her at home felt completely natural, so I never thought it was embarrassing. Plus, whenever her parents fought upstairs, we dashed outside to wander around.

But now… if I were to be alone with her at home, it would definitely feel a bit awkward.

She probably wouldn’t think much of it, but I certainly would. If I were my old self, I might have had different expectations in another sense, but right now, that’s not an option. I’m just a part-time worker and a guy at that.

I would probably start to think about the possibilities that I might have.

I still didn’t know whether my noona had a boyfriend or not. To be honest, judging by my intuition, it seemed she didn’t. I wasn’t sure if she had dated anyone in the past, but at least now, it didn’t look like she was in contact with any guys, nor did she close the shop for any special reason.

I wasn’t sure if she was still in contact with our mom. My noona never seemed to contact anyone else while working. The last person who came to visit her was her fiancé, Park Hyun-seung.

At this point, I felt a bit worried. It seemed like she wasn’t seeing a boyfriend and didn’t meet other friends either—

…Of course, I could hardly point that out either.

I was pretty much in the same boat of having no friends.

During the slow hours without customers, my noona was quietly reading a book, and I was lost in thought when—

Bzz, my noona’s smartphone on the counter buzzed.

“Hmm? Oh.”

My noona lifted her gaze from the book and, upon seeing the smartphone, made a short sound and picked up the call.

“Yes, this is Lee A-yoon.”

Soon after, a voice came through the smartphone.

Even if I didn’t want to hear it, my keen sense of hearing picked it up perfectly.

It was the voice of an older man.

[I was just wondering if you’re coming this Wednesday.]

“Oh, yes. Of course, I will.”

My noona nodded with a smile while talking to the man.

[Oh, I see. Thank you, as always.]

“No, I’m doing this because I want to.”

The two continued the conversation for a while, exchanging light greetings about how things were going with the bakery.

“Well then, see you Wednesday.”

The call ended with her saying goodbye.

As she placed the smartphone back on the counter, her eyes met mine.

“Hmm? What’s up?”

“Oh, it’s nothing…”

It wasn’t a particularly significant conversation. Of course, my noona had acquaintances too. I was a bit uneasy about the older man’s voice… but maybe he was just a professor or someone she knew from university. At least from the conversation’s vibe, it didn’t seem weird.

But… still, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. I realized I was being unusually sensitive about this; every time I heard her talking to a man, I was on edge.

…Was I really this sensitive?

I was surprised at how I was feeling.

“Curious? About who I was talking to?”

My noona smiled and asked.

“Uh, um…”

I was curious.

I was curious, but that didn’t mean I could ask outright. As close as we were, it felt like too much.

“Just a friend I’ve known for a long time. We help each other out.”

“Oh, I see…”

“That’s—ah.”

While speaking, my noona made a half-smile.

“Oh right, by the way.”

She muttered to herself and suddenly looked a bit embarrassed.

“Well, that is… yeah.”

Then as if she had made up her mind, she nodded.

What was my noona about to say? Was it something I would find awkward if I heard it?

I was getting tense inside, but my noona smiled gently at me and said.

“I go volunteer once a month on my day off.”

“Oh.”

“I told the girl who was working part-time before that I was ‘going out’ and she ended up following me… Then I quit a week later. So this time, it’s probably best to be upfront about it.”

She said this while her face turned slightly red. It seemed like she was a bit shy about saying it.

“Oh.”

Was that the ‘weird thing’ that Mr. Park Hyun-seung had mentioned last time? If she got dragged into volunteer work unexpectedly after following him…

Well, I want to support her, but honestly, it was understandable for him to back out. He might think he was tricked into doing something he didn’t even want to do.

Of course, it felt too coincidental that the timing of the part-timer quitting and that ridiculous incident matched up, but still, it did seem a bit odd that she had gotten dragged into volunteer work under a misunderstanding like that.

But—

“Is there really a need to hide the fact that you’re volunteering?”

I asked out of genuine curiosity.

Since it wasn’t something bad, did she really need to hide her volunteering like that?

“Oh, well…”

My noona looked down shyly, seeming more embarrassed than before while she spoke.

“That… If I say I’m doing volunteer work here and there, it sounds like I want to brag about it…”

“Oh.”

Upon hearing that, I was certain.

This person really was just as I had always admired.