Chapter 23
After going to the trouble of buying clothes, all Chris had to say was,
“Too small.”
Chris complained and took off the shirt, tossing it aside. Admittedly, the buttons were straining to the point of bursting.
‘This is what happens when you guess the size instead of taking measurements.’
At least the pants fit perfectly. If he had taken those off too, I would have thrown Chris out. Thankfully that didn’t happen.
“I don’t want to make another wasted trip, so let me take your measurements.”
Conveniently, there was a measuring tape. I instructed Chris to raise his arms, and then measured his shoulder width and waist size with the tape.
And immediately regretted it.
‘I should have just bought a slightly larger shirt.’
It felt a bit strange, observing an unfamiliar man’s upper body from various angles. Chris’s heaving chest with each breath was distracting.
“Bigger than I thought…”
“You’re smaller than I thought.”
I was startled when he responded to my muttered aside.
I hurriedly put down the measuring tape and spun around.
“All done.”
“You didn’t measure my chest circumference?”
“The shoulder and waist are enough, right? Go wrap yourself in a blanket or something.”
After that process, I finally got Chris some clothes.
He unbuttoned them carelessly, seemingly uncomfortable…but at least he’s wearing them now.
Isn’t having a part-timer supposed to make things easier? Why do I feel like I just created more trouble?
‘No, providing a work uniform is a basic duty as an employer.’
Having woken up at dawn and run around buying clothes, I was getting hungry. Ravenously hungry, in fact.
Let’s eat first.
I led Chris to the kitchen and took out a few onions from the net bag, holding them out to him.
“Let’s see your skills? Go ahead and peel those onions. The knife is over there, in the back.”
“Seriously? Why would you hand me a weapon without knowing what I’m capable of?”
“How are you going to peel onions without a knife?”
Is he trying to make excuses because he doesn’t want to peel onions?
Or could it be he doesn’t know how? It’ll be a hassle if I have to teach him from scratch.
“Want me to demonstrate?”
As I tossed an onion up and caught it while asking, Chris remained silent for a while before speaking up.
“Got it.”
Chris removed a knife from the wall and diced the onion into rough chunks. The shape was messy but still passable.
Not professional level, but maybe the skill of someone experienced with living alone?
“Not bad knife skills.”
“If I couldn’t do this much, I’d starve.”
Seems he wasn’t from a wealthy family after all. I just nodded and started preparing to make a stew next to Chris.
I melted butter in a deep pot and sautéed the onions Chris had prepped until browned and fragrant.
If there’s one thing I was good at, it was making appetizers.
While showing off my skills, Chris, who had been watching curiously, spoke up.
“What ability do you have?”
“Me? I’m just a bartender.”
“What’s that?”
Chris asked as he roughly chopped potatoes.
“I make good drinks. I’d offer you one, but… never mind. You’re still a patient, so it’s not allowed.”
“You’ve survived quite well with such useless skills. It’s admirable.”
“That’s going too far.”
“Well, anyway, don’t worry. As long as I’m here, you’ll be safe.”
Chris declared unnecessarily solemnly. I, who was cutting the meat into small pieces, couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Ah, yes. Just finish chopping those carrots, please.”
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“Here you go, eat up.”
When the hearty stew was done simmering, I served it neatly, but Chris just stared at me instead.
“Go ahead. It tastes best when it’s hot.”
Even after I urged him again, Chris didn’t readily pick up his spoon.
“Why aren’t you eating?”
“Should I eat this?”
I had only offered to avoid looking authoritative first, but his icy stare made me reconsider.
What? Does he think I poisoned the stew?
‘Why is he so suspicious?’
Well, he did come back from the brink of death, so the world probably doesn’t look all rosy to him.
I scooped up a big spoonful of the stew and put it in my mouth.
The tomato, imbued with the aroma of meat, melted softly in my mouth.
“Ah, it’s delicious.”
It would go perfectly with a wine-based cocktail, but I didn’t want to spend effort while hungry, so I brought a can of beer instead.
“The beer is just for me. You’re still a patient.”
“…Oh.”
Only then did Chris start eating the stew as if he had been on guard the whole time.
“It’s been a while since I’ve had a proper meal.”
Before I knew it, Chris had cleaned his bowl. Seeing him slightly disappointed, I offered him more, but he shook his head.
What? Still suspicious? Is he paranoid?
“I can’t waste precious food carelessly.”
So is he just extremely frugal?
I tilted my head, finding this man hard to figure out.
Chris finished cleaning up, including the dishes, in an instant. All traces of him being there were completely erased. It was so thorough, I wondered if he had mysophobia or something.
“You’re good at cleaning.”
“If I leave traces, I’ll get tracked down.”
The reason is a bit… I hope he’s not a criminal or anything?
‘Well, at least someone else cleaned up for me.’
I was contemplating having another beer when Chris approached me.
“Hey.”
“What is it?”
Chris crossed his arms, his face tense, as if he was about to say something important.
“Don’t you have a lot of questions for me? I’m pretty suspicious, you know.”
“Not interested.”
I flatly rejected him. He was definitely suspicious. What happened for him to collapse in front of someone else’s store, on the verge of death at that?
‘I don’t want to get unnecessarily involved.’
Knowing too much about these kinds of things can be dangerous. The guy is like the final boss or something.
“All I want from you is your labor.”
“What…”
“Oh, and one more thing. I’d like a written agreement that you won’t harm me.”
I took out a piece of scrap paper and waved it toward Chris. He quickly snatched the paper, checked the back, and chuckled.
“What’s this? These drawings are terrible.”
“I drew that.”
On the back was evidence of me practicing animal drawings while supposedly decorating a poster cutely.
“You’re not very talented, are you?”
Chris bluntly remarked and flipped the paper over to start writing.
Was he blatantly ignoring my feelings? I didn’t expect him to compliment my drawings, but did he have to be so blunt?
“I’ll write it since you asked, but what power does a mere pledge have?”
“At least it’ll put my mind at ease.”
I took the paper Chris handed back to me and glanced over it.
<Christide de Elsha Vycheris will not threaten Sena. The undersigned will faithfully fulfill this contract.>
Surprisingly, the content was quite formal.
“Huh?”
But at the bottom of the pledge was a drawing. An adorable little duck.
Flipping the paper over, I saw my own distorted duck drawing. This was clearly a taunt.
“Good enough.”
Thinking it was annoying would be immature.
“You’re in charge of the posters now, Chris. Looks like I found the right person.”
True masters don’t fall for it, but make use of it instead.
I had to hide my abilities at my original workplace, but who knows about that.
I chuckled and wrote a similar statement under his note.
<Sena will not harm Chris.>
Similar to Chris’ but more concise.
“You don’t need to write one.”
“Why not? What do you think I’m capable of?”
Chris spun the pen around skillfully, drawing my gaze to his dexterous trick. But the next moment, he raised the pen and…
“!”
He slipped it right between my fingers.
I almost stopped breathing. The tension constricted my diaphragm. Chris looked me straight in the eye with a crooked smirk.
“You think you can do something to me?”
It was a clear warning. A warning not to step out of line since he was in a superior position.
As vexing as it was, I cowered.
Chris leisurely brushed his hair back and continued speaking.
“So, what’s next after the meal? What do you want me to do? You said you wanted my labor.”
“…I’ll be taking a nap, so you should rest too, Chris.”
I gathered up the agreement and spoke.
To calm my startled heart, I wanted to keep some distance for now. This wasn’t cowardice, just a tactical retreat.
“Rest?”
“Yes. Our business hours start at 4 PM. Until then, we’ll be resting.”
I gave a vague answer and headed out the back door, climbing into the hammock.
As I basked in the warm sunshine, a sense of peace and happiness washed over me.
‘That’s right. This is it.’
The tension from just moments ago was completely forgotten.
“Rest? What have you… been doing until now?”
Chris, who had followed me, muttered in a stunned voice.
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Thank you for reading! ♡
