“Ah, um, that is…”
Seo Ga-young couldn’t hide her flustered expression after hearing my sister’s words.
Sitting with her hands under her thighs, twisting her body this way and that, she seemed to be hiding something related to her parents.
“…Ah.”
It was only then that my sister seemed to realize the possibility that Seo Ga-young might not have parents.
“Could it be… that you’re unable to get permission from your parents?”
Of course, asking directly if her parents weren’t around was not an option.
And there was no reason to assume they absolutely weren’t. There could be other reasons why she couldn’t get their permission.
For example, maybe she was in a situation similar to my sister’s when she was younger.
But if that were the case, then giving her work would be even more difficult.
Once I assumed that, a possible picture started to form in my mind.
Perhaps she hated listening to her parents fighting at home and ran away, wandering around aimlessly, ending up far from home and passing through this neighborhood.
She might’ve seen this bakery by chance, noticed the “Help Wanted” sign on the door, and thought it was an opportunity.
But the job posting in front of the bakery wasn’t very detailed—not even a phone number was listed.
If she looked it up, she would’ve found out that the bakery didn’t post any online advertisements, relying solely on the sign outside.
Maybe that made her think she could start working here without anyone finding out.
And if she urgently needed to save money…
“….”
Of course, this was just a scenario I’d imagined in my head. I didn’t know her actual reasons.
But considering how she had come from so far away, clutching that little note in her hand, my theory didn’t seem entirely off.
Still, if this assumption was true, it would make it even harder to let her work here.
She might just save up money and disappear.
It might seem like unnecessary meddling, but there was a chance she could end up in a worse situation.
Not that I had the power to do anything about it. In this world, I was just an ordinary citizen, powerless to help.
At home, I had four others who had just established their identities here, with no real connections to this world.
If I were being honest, I was in the same boat.
Even if those identities were legally valid, it wouldn’t help to get tangled up with law enforcement.
“….”
My sister seemed to be thinking along the same lines.
But she stayed silent, waiting for Seo Ga-young to speak first.
Finally, after much hesitation, Seo Ga-young opened her mouth.
“Well, my parents… they might not allow it.”
Her response came after a long deliberation.
“In that case, you can’t work here. A minor can’t take a job without parental permission,” my sister said firmly this time.
“Ah, but!”
Seo Ga-young lifted her head sharply, meeting our eyes before flinching and trembling slightly. But it seemed she wasn’t ready to back down just yet.
“I… I have to work here, no matter what!”
Blink.
“….”
My sister and I blinked in unison.
“Here?”
My sister asked again.
“Here?”
“Yes!”
“What about other places? There must be plenty of bakeries hiring part-time workers.”
“No, it has to be here.”
“…..”
Seo Ga-young stared intently at my sister, completely ignoring me.
It wasn’t that she was deliberately ignoring me; it seemed like her attention was entirely focused on my sister.
What on earth could this be about?
…Could it be that she has some personal interest in my sister?
Hmm…
I held back the urge to squint suspiciously.
“Can you tell me why it has to be here?”
When my sister asked cautiously, Seo Ga-young lowered her head again.
“……”
She stayed like that for a while before finally looking up with a slightly stiff expression. She nodded hesitantly.
“…Someday, I’ll definitely tell you.”
Someday.
That was a maddeningly vague answer for both of us.
“Does that answer explain why you must work here?”
My sister’s tone remained calm.
“……”
At that, Seo Ga-young avoided her gaze.
“…No, not really, but…”
“……”
This time, it was my sister who stayed silent.
So, putting together everything this girl had said, it seemed her insistence on working here wasn’t because she had a particular interest in the bakery itself, but because she had some kind of interest in my sister.
I couldn’t tell what kind of interest that was, but it appeared to be something she wasn’t ready to reveal just yet.
…At least, that was my best guess.
I held back the urge to squint again. After all, there might be another reason.
My sister was a kind person.
She volunteered regularly, always helping others. It was possible that this was some connection from a time my sister had helped her but didn’t remember. Maybe Seo Ga-young was someone she’d assisted long ago.
“Is that it…?”
My sister seemed to hesitate, trying to search her memory for any recollection of Seo Ga-young. But it looked like she couldn’t find anything.
“So, we’ve met before?”
At her question, Seo Ga-young finally nodded.
“Yes…”
“And you have something you absolutely need to tell me?”
“Yes…”
“…..”
Hearing her responses, my sister closed her eyes and appeared to be deep in thought.
“…Even so, you need to get your parents’ permission.”
That was her final answer.
“If you have something important to tell me, and you need time to prepare yourself for it, I’ll allow you to work here for one hour a day. But you must get your parents’ permission. That’s the condition.”
It was clear from her tone that my sister wasn’t going to compromise on this point.
Seo Ga-young bit her lip, hesitating for a long time before finally nodding.
“Yes, I promise. I’ll make sure to get their permission.”
“Good.”
Only then did my sister smile, a gentle expression spreading across her face.
*
Would that be okay?
It wasn’t like she said anything specific
There were many reasons to doubt her in various ways, but she didn’t seem like such a bad kid that we absolutely had to stop her. Besides, it was a decision made by my sister, the boss of this store.
“Did I decide this too arbitrarily…?”
My sister packed some bread for Seo Ga-young as she was leaving.
Although she initially declined, my sister eventually pushed her out of the store, refusing her attempts to pay, and only after the girl was completely out of sight did my sister turn to me.
“This is your store; how you run it is up to you,” I replied.
At my response, my sister gazed at me quietly.
“Um, Shihyun.”
“Yes?”
“Are you… mad?”
“Pardon?”
I almost laughed but held it in.
“No, I’m not mad.”
And I wasn’t lying.
It was the first time I had met her. It had been too short a time to form any real feelings or judge her character.
The thoughts I’d had about her were simply my imagination running wild. Suspicion alone wasn’t going to solve anything, so for now, all I could do was observe.
At least for the moment, she didn’t seem like a bad kid.
After all, over the past five years, I had encountered enough people to develop a bit of an eye for these things.
Even if I couldn’t fully grasp everything about someone at a glance, I could somewhat gauge how much of a threat they might pose.
At the very least, Seo Ga-young didn’t seem capable of physically overpowering me.
“I was just a little tense because she’s someone new.”
“I see.”
At my answer, my sister seemed slightly reassured.
“What do you think of her? That… Seo Ga-young kid,” she asked, hesitating as if unsure how to address her.
“Hmm…”
Honestly, one meeting wasn’t enough to know much.
Especially for teenagers. There’s a limit to what you can infer about them. At best, you can assume they go to school.
Things like how many friends they have, what their family is like… you can’t know without hearing it directly from them.
In such cases, it’s often better for adults to make the judgment.
Based on what they’ve done before, how long they’ve stuck to certain things, and how they’ve worked with others, you can draw conclusions more easily.
There’s a noticeable difference between someone who’s done one job consistently over a long period and someone who’s flitted between various short-term tasks.
“For now, we’ll have to wait and see.”
“That’s what I thought too.”
My sister let out a small sigh.
“I agreed to take her on for now, but… I’m still worried.”
“Is she someone you don’t remember meeting before?”
“Hmm…”
At my question, my sister furrowed her brows and thought for a while before letting out another sigh and shaking her head.
“No, I really don’t remember her. It seems like she came here to meet me specifically, but maybe she didn’t know how to say what she wanted and is taking time to figure it out.”
But if that were the case, there’d be no reason for her to work here part-time.
The more I thought about it, the more I was at a loss.
In the end, neither my sister nor I could come up with any clear answers that day.