Clap - 6

These people were Alphas. Jaemin realized it just now. He should have known from the Omega talk earlier. He didn’t know he was a dull Beta. Well, Alphas were the same kind of people anyway. If Omegas were careful around Alphas, that was enough. In other words, Betas were not relevant.

“Will you do whatever I ask?”

Ihyun asked.

“Yes, yes. I can do everything. I’ll work hard.”

Floor cleaning, bathroom cleaning, toilet cleaning. He could do anything. He might gag a few times due to the smell, but with an hourly wage of 20,000 won, it was worth it.

“Really?”

Hmm, Ihyun’s Adam’s apple swayed slowly. Jaemin swallowed dry saliva as he watched it.

***

It was Jaemin’s first week as a cleaning part-timer. He was doing better than he thought. Since he didn’t have to interact with people like when serving, his mistakes decreased significantly. Cleaning was also easy as long as he had good notes to refer to.

Starting with the vacuum cleaner, then the mop, followed by the dry mop. Turning on the air purifier. Cleaning the bathroom with bleach once a week. Don’t forget to remove mirror and water stains. Writing it down and checking it off made it easy even for his dim-witted mind.

Working alone meant he didn’t have to worry about others watching him. Moreover, with the appointments over and no patients around, it was like a dream part-time job. Remembering this, Jaemin hummed a tune while cleaning.

“Jaemin.”

Ihyun called Jaemin as he was mopping in the lobby. Jaemin quickly raised his head.

“Yes! Do you need me to do something?”

Even though he was a cleaning staff, Jaemin didn’t have much work. There was someone else to handle medical waste, and Ihyun and his twin would clean the examination and director’s rooms themselves, so Jaemin hadn’t even touched the doorknob.

“No, this.”

Ihyun offered him a cup of coffee. It wasn’t real coffee but a smoothie from a famous franchise. Even after the appointments were over, Ihyun and his twin didn’t leave, and whenever they had coffee, they always included Jaemin. At first, Jaemin had said that drinking black water would keep him awake, so they started buying smoothies or drinks over 6,000 won.

Well, they couldn’t be unkind employers. With whipped cream on top, a drink like that could substitute for dinner if gulped down in one go. If possible, Jaemin wanted to bury his bones in this dental clinic.

“Thank you.”

Jaemin accepted it with a shy smile. Today, it was a strawberry smoothie. His cheeks involuntarily puffed up with the sweet drink. As Jaemin was sipping through the straw, Ihyun stood still in front of him.

“You’re staying late again today?”

Jaemin asked. It was close to nine o’clock, and both Ihyun in front of him and the one stuck in the director’s room didn’t seem to be leaving. He had never seen them leave. They must have studied hard to become doctors. Or were they studying again? Or were they doing a side job despite a high salary? He couldn’t tell.

“Yeah, well. There’s something to see.”

Ihyun replied with a smile.

“Something to see?”

“Yes.”

Jaemin’s question was meant to ask what there was to see in this sterile and clean hospital, but Ihyun gave a brief answer. Jaemin didn’t ask further. Even if they were dismembering someone in the examination room, he had the confidence to act like he didn’t know. An hourly wage of 20,000 won was more important than someone else’s life.

So, after drinking the beverage Ihyun gave him and continuing to clean, this time, the twin approached. He reached out his hand to Jaemin. On his open palm were four unknown pills. There were gold, white, green, and pink ones.

“Vitamins.”

The twin called them vitamins. Jaemin wondered why a part-timer like him was being given these, but the twin cut off Jaemin’s suspicion by saying, “You’re too skinny. What if you collapse, and our hospital has to take care of you?” Considering that he only saw sick people all day, it made sense.