By Zephyria “Ah, well……”
“Ryu Jeong, did you think I wouldn’t wait?”
Ryu Jeong couldn’t continue, as if he’d been hit right on the mark. Lee Do-hyeon, feeling that not being able to lie wasn’t always a good thing, was about to sigh but instead looked up at the ceiling at an angle. Despite being indoors, the chandelier sparkled even more brightly as night fell. Usually, seeing something shining makes you feel good, but for some reason, his mood was waiting at the bottom, on the verge of plunging into the gutter.
“Since today is Saturday… I’ll have tomorrow off.”
Lee Do-hyeon, who had been staring at the ceiling for a while, lost in thought, muttered quietly to himself. Ryu Jeong, wondering if he was talking about him, cautiously watched his expression.
As if he had come to a conclusion, Lee Do-hyeon lowered his gaze, still holding his chin up arrogantly. He stared intently at Ryu Jeong, who quickly averted his eyes as soon as they met. What should he do with this thoughtful kid?
“If you’re busy tomorrow, tell me now.”
“Yes……?”
“I’ll take that as you’re not busy.”
“……”
“I was going to give you a ride if possible, but I’ve changed my mind.”
“What……”
If it had been like before, he would have continued speaking more kindly for Ryu Jeong, who was keenly responsive to even the slightest change in tone, but he didn’t notice such things. His tone was still unkind.
“Let’s go together.”
“Oh, where to?”
“Why? Do you have to go to work again?”
Ryu Jeong couldn’t bring himself to answer. He clasped his hands tightly together and rolled his eyes around, then nodded slightly. Lee Do-hyeon knew he didn’t have work from his hesitant expression, but he decided to play along with the lie. Even if he really was going to work, it didn’t matter.
“Then I’ll buy Ryu Jeong’s time.”
“Buy my time… what does that mean……?”
“It’s exactly what it sounds like. I’m buying all of Ryu Jeong’s time.”
“……”
“So let’s go together now.”
As soon as Lee Do-hyeon finished speaking, he took out his wallet from his inside jacket pocket. Ryu Jeong, who initially wondered what the white paper coming out of the black leather wallet was, soon realized it was a check and widened his eyes. He stepped back at the sight of the amount written on the check being held out to him. It wasn’t 100,000 won, but a whopping 1 million won check. There were five of them.
It was the amount he could barely earn after working a full month with three part-time jobs, substitute shifts, and even working at a logistics center. Since convenience stores didn’t pay the minimum wage due to the low intensity of the work, it was difficult to earn that much even if he worked that hard.
But to offer such a large sum of money just to buy two days of his time. He was momentarily tempted, but for some reason, he felt repulsed.
“Ah, no. This is too much.”
“Then sell me your other time too. Consider this an advance.”
The expression on his face as he looked at him, asking how he could do that, looked quite troubled. On the other hand, Lee Do-hyeon’s face was cold and hardened, without a trace of a smile. He was in a position to use money to get people to do things anyway, and he spent enough money on others without having to do this to Ryu Jeong, but he didn’t feel good about shoving money at Ryu Jeong like this.
“Whether you calculate it by the hour or by the day, it’s up to Ryu Jeong, and until all this money is used up, Ryu Jeong’s time is mine. If you think of it as receiving it in advance, it’s not a large sum, is it?”
“……”
“Aren’t you going to take it?”
He held out the check again to Ryu Jeong, who was biting his lip in embarrassment. Ryu Jeong, conscious of the glances of people passing by, reluctantly took it.
“Ah! You haven’t left yet.”
French echoed through the wide lobby. It was common to hear foreign languages in a hotel in the middle of Seoul, so Lee Do-hyeon only looked at Ryu Jeong, regardless of what others were saying around him. But Ryu Jeong was different. Because it was a language he could understand, and even a voice he had heard a few times today and was familiar with, he involuntarily turned his head in the direction of the sound.
A couple who had just gotten off the elevator were approaching with bright smiles.
“Oh……”
Ryu Jeong opened his mouth hesitantly and then looked at Lee Do-hyeon’s expression. Surprised by the sudden event, Lee Do-hyeon frowned, trying to understand the situation.
“We were looking for you. We were so worried, thinking you had already left.”
The couple who had rushed over were the protagonists of the unexpected allergy incident. The man, relieved, sighed and suddenly extended his hand. As if asking for a handshake, Ryu Jeong quickly stuffed the check he was holding into his pocket and carefully took his hand. The lukewarm body temperature was in contrast to the enthusiastic handshake that lasted for a few seconds.
“Thank you so much for today.”
“Ah, no. It was… something I should have done.”
“I naturally assumed you would communicate in English, but I was surprised you used French. Is it your major?”
“Ah… I’m sorry. I’m not very good at
…….
”
“Ah, he asked if you learn French at school.”
“Ah… no. I don’t go to school… I just happen to know a little.”
“I see. So do you work at the hotel?”
“I’m just here for today, working temporarily.”
The couple didn’t seem surprised that he didn’t go to school or that he wasn’t an employee, and they listened attentively to Ryu Jeong’s stammering words. He didn’t understand all the words in between, but the friendly atmosphere continued, perhaps thanks to the kindness he had shown during the event.
“Thanks to your attention, we enjoyed the event.”
Whether it was fortunate or not, the conversation didn’t last long. The man said he would be leaving now and extended his hand again for a handshake. The woman suddenly touched her cheek to his and made a light kissing sound, and although he was briefly surprised by the sudden skinship, he was able to laugh it off, having heard that people in France sometimes greet each other like that.
Even though it was only a few minutes, he felt completely drained. Ryu Jeong, at a loss, bowed deeply to the couple waving goodbye, and then belatedly became conscious of Lee Do-hyeon and rolled his eyes. Sure enough, Lee Do-hyeon, who was standing alone, was looking at Ryu Jeong with his head tilted, his eyes unreadable.
“You can speak French?”
He felt like he had been caught red-handed. Ryu Jeong lowered his head and muttered in a small voice, as if making an excuse.
“I can’t write or read it. Just… a little conversation.”
“This doesn’t seem like just a little.”
“I, it’s true. They were being considerate.”
Lee Do-hyeon, who had been quite upset until just now, was very puzzled and surprised by the new discovery. Ryu Jeong, embarrassed by the praise, couldn’t bear it any longer and bit his lower lip.
“What about dinner?”
Lee Do-hyeon, who had been thinking about the lips that had been moving busily while speaking French a while ago, suddenly returned to the main topic and asked.
“Ah, the organizers gave me a lunch box……. I ate that.”
“I mean dinner.”
“…Dinner… not yet……”
Lee Do-hyeon, exhaling a sigh-like breath through his nose, nodded and held out his hand. Ryu Jeong glanced up, wondering if he was telling him to take it, but the hand that had been floating in the air awkwardly closed and was soon withdrawn. Ahem. In the awkward atmosphere, Lee Do-hyeon cleared his throat and nodded briefly.
“Then let’s go for now. We’ll talk on the way.”
“…Yes……”
Ryu Jeong secretly bit his lip and followed Lee Do-hyeon, who was walking ahead. Perhaps because he had stuffed it in so carelessly, he kept feeling conscious of the pocket containing the check. Thinking that this was probably why he felt awkward and uncomfortable, Ryu Jeong secretly swallowed a sigh.
Lee Do-hyeon, glancing at the side mirror, quickly turned the steering wheel. The outside of the car was complicated and noisy with cars filling the road and crowded people, but the car the two were in was just quiet.
“……”
It was a silence that made even breathing feel cautious. Ryu Jeong couldn’t move, with his hands neatly placed on his thighs, and carefully exhaled. He didn’t remember whether he usually swallowed the saliva that collected in his mouth or left it alone, which made him very embarrassed.
Why did he have to run into him here of all the many hotels? Not even a week had passed since that incident, and Ryu Jeong was quite embarrassed by what had happened as if it were a scripted scene.
He must be angry……?
He was always kind and smiled gently, but even I, who am not observant, could feel a distinctly different atmosphere than usual today. Well, the situation we encountered today was awkward in itself. He met me before the meeting, so he must be thinking that I ruined his mood and probably his whole day.
In the midst of all this, he was glad to smell Lee Do-hyeon’s pheromone deeply embedded in the car seat. His mood fluctuated back and forth.
“Where did you learn French?”
It was Lee Do-hyeon who broke the silence first. Ryu Jeong flinched at the sudden question. Ryu Jeong, embarrassed that he seemed too obviously surprised, blinked quickly, then swallowed his saliva and opened his mouth.
“I don’t remember well because it was when I was young… probably… Vietnam.”
“Vietnam?”
“When I was in the Philippines, I sometimes went to Vietnam with my dad. There were some foreigners who spoke French at the casinos there, and they taught me.”
Ryu Jeong, who had been answering the questions obediently, closed his mouth tightly, wondering if he had said too much. He should have vaguely glossed over it like he had told the foreign couple earlier, but he had inadvertently said it, and he felt a sense of despair. How pathetic would it seem that he had learned it by begging at overseas casinos? He couldn’t imagine how absurd it would sound to someone who had studied abroad.
“……”
As his tense shoulders drooped powerlessly, Lee Do-hyeon’s gaze shifted slightly. Ryu Jeong, unaware that Lee Do-hyeon was looking at him, was lost in endless gloom.
He was worried because he looked tired or sick, and for some reason, haggard. When he was resenting Ryu Jeong for openly showing his discomfort and avoiding him, he suddenly felt sorry for him as he saw his already small frame shrinking like a deflated balloon, as if he had acted too much according to his own feelings.
He hadn’t raised his voice particularly loudly, but Lee Do-hyeon, feeling uneasy as if he had been scolding him alone for no reason, took a long breath and asked the question directly.
“Ryu Jeong, is something wrong?”
“Ah… no.”
“Then why do you keep avoiding me?”
“I haven’t avoided you…….”
“You have. You’re not even looking at me now.”
Ryu Jeong paused for a moment. Was it obvious……? As he hesitated and turned to the side, Lee Do-hyeon was still occasionally making eye contact even while stepping on the accelerator. When he avoided his gaze again without looking at him for long, Lee Do-hyeon grumbled as if he was upset, “See?”