By Zephyria 
“That’s right… I don’t think I’ll be able to come as often as I have been. Not immediately, but it looks like I’ll have to move.”
“Pardon?”
As Seo Chi-young tilted his head, Yoon Jun-young paused for a moment before speaking in a slightly blunter tone.
“Kang-hee bought a house, and I think I’ll be moving in there… Still, it’s not too far from here, so I’ll visit occasionally.”
Having said that, Yoon Jun-young suddenly seemed thirsty; he picked up Jang Ui-geon’s glass and took a sip. Perhaps because of the alcohol, his complexion had turned slightly reddish.
“I see,” Seo Chi-young nodded. For some reason, his gaze kept dropping, making it impossible for him to look at Jang Ui-geon.
What was he feeling as he listened to those words? Even if he had given up on his feelings for Yoon Jun-young, those feelings couldn’t have simply vanished.
However, as Seo Chi-young sat with his head bowed, he looked up at the sound of a light tapping on the table. Jang Ui-geon, with the glass still at his lips, was staring intently at Seo Chi-young while tapping the table with his index finger. A faint, bitter smile played at the corners of his eyes, as if he knew exactly what Seo Chi-young was thinking.
Yet, he said nothing to Seo Chi-young. Setting his glass down halfway through, he spoke to Yoon Jun-young in a slightly lowered voice.
“…..Are you happy?”
His voice, tinged with a hint of worry, was kind. Yoon Jun-young’s feelings had lasted a long time. He wondered if that heart, which had rotted black for so long, was now okay—if he was finally happy.
“……I don’t know. It doesn’t quite feel real yet.”
Yoon Jun-young slowed his chopsticks. Slowly stirring through a plate where only vegetables remained in abundance, he added as if talking to himself, “The time I spent just staring at him from afar was too long.”
Then, after a brief hesitation, he pulled his phone from his pocket. Looking at Yoon Jun-young’s phone—something he had never seen before—Seo Chi-young realized anew that the day the old phone had broken was indeed a reality.
Checking the screen for a message, Yoon Jun-young seemed to send a short reply, then put the phone back and spoke casually.
“It looks like Kang-hee will be here soon. I think he’s at the house now.”
“House?”
“Uh… our house. He’s been coming over every day lately.”
As Yoon Jun-young spoke nonchalantly, Jang Ui-geon, who had been simply smiling, replied, “Seems like you two have become close. I’m glad.” He then looked up and gave a smiling gaze to Seo Chi-young, who had been silently watching them.
“It’ll be hard for the three of us to meet for a while. I feel like I’ll be the only lonely one.”
“….Uh… ….I guess so…”
Still unfamiliar with sudden shifts in conversation, Seo Chi-young mumbled incoherently. Seeing Seo Chi-young bow his head with a shadowed expression, Jang Ui-geon smiled bitterly.
“I mean, why are you making that face, Chi-young? You’re making it so I can’t even joke.”
Unsure of what expression he was wearing, Seo Chi-young rubbed his face awkwardly. Then, he looked at Jang Ui-geon and gave a clumsy smile back to the man who was smiling at him with a slightly troubled look. Seeing this, Jang Ui-geon let out a chuckle, the troubled look vanishing.
I hope he is always happy. I hope he finds the place meant for him soon. Seo Chi-young prayed silently.
“Moving… I think I might be moving soon too.”
As Jang Ui-geon murmured as if he had just remembered, Yoon Jun-young glanced at him.
“Why all of a sudden? Did your Auntie finally kick you out?”
“It’s not that—well, I guess it is. Since it was my mother who brought it up. ……I found a spot for a new shop. I went today to file the permit application to renovate a hanok over toward Namtaeryeong and turn it into a store. That hanok is a real old-style place with a separate men’s quarter, inner quarters, and an annex. It even has a shrine remaining on the grounds, so it’s quite spacious. Since there are so many buildings left over, my mother told me I should just move in there while I’m at it.”
“My mother must have really wanted to kick me out,” Jang Ui-geon said, shaking his head.
“Would she want a son who doesn’t marry and spends his time rolling around with men by her side? Maybe she’s decided to give up on the third child and just consider the two older brothers as her sons.”
At Yoon Jun-young’s words, Jang Ui-geon laughed out loud. Since they had likely made these kinds of jokes often before, he didn’t look offended at all; he just laughed, saying it hit too close to home.
Seeing Jang Ui-geon’s smiling face made Seo Chi-young feel better. Without realizing it, he looked at them with a smile. When his eyes met Jang Ui-geon’s, he sheepishly looked away.
“Come to think of it, I heard this area is going through redevelopment. I heard the relocation starts at the end of this year or early next. Are you okay, Chi-young? Isn’t this place included in the zone?”
No way it wouldn’t be; if they don’t redevelop a place falling apart like this, where else would they? As Yoon Jun-young muttered to himself, Seo Chi-young smiled quietly.
“No, this place is included. When that happens… I’ll have to move the shop somewhere else.”
“I see. Maybe this is a good chance to move to a spot with better foot traffic nearby.”
As Jang Ui-geon spoke with a smile as if it were a positive thing, Seo Chi-young simply smiled without words. However, upon hearing that, his mind drifted to his woefully insufficient bank balance and the exorbitantly high rent of nearby shops, making his heart heavy.
If possible, he wanted to continue his business in this neighborhood where he had established himself for several years, so he had been trying to save money here and there lately, but it wasn’t easy. Even today, Saturday, after closing the shop, he would take a short nap at home—unless a customer stayed late, in which case he couldn’t even do that—and go straight to the factory to help with the dawn shift. It was grueling work loading and unloading, but for a few hours, it was manageable.
But he felt he could only do this now; as he got older, it would become harder. He vaguely hoped that his situation would improve before then.
Just then, he saw Kwon Kang-hee walking toward the path leading to Yoon Jun-young’s house. As Seo Chi-young paused and looked, Jang Ui-geon, following his gaze, was the first to make eye contact with Kwon Kang-hee.
“You’re here,” Jang Ui-geon greeted with a smile, and Kwon Kang-hee nodded silently and sat down beside him.
His attitude hasn’t changed much from before, Seo Chi-young thought. Since it was as he had guessed, he didn’t noticeably walk on eggshells around them this time. He simply quietly handed him an empty glass.
As he took the glass, Kwon Kang-hee glanced at Seo Chi-young without much thought, but upon seeing his face, something seemed to trigger a memory. With a blunt expression, he said shortly, “My apologies for the other day.” Not expecting such a comment to fly his way, Seo Chi-young, who had been trying to maintain a neutral face, immediately looked flustered and mumbled, “Oh, no, it’s fine.”
Jang Ui-geon looked at Seo Chi-young with amused eyes, then turned his head and chuckled, speaking casually to Kwon Kang-hee, who was pouring beer from the bottle into his own glass.
“You didn’t even give me a single call, but you visited Jun-young every day? Because of you, I’ve been wearing pain relief patches on my side all week.”
“Is that so?” Kwon Kang-hee replied nonchalantly.
“I chipped a tooth. It was a molar, so the estimate was quite high.”
At the mutter that this was a greater loss than a side patch, Jang Ui-geon let out a snicker.
“Consider it the price for stealing a friend of thirty years.”
“….You weren’t the only one staring for a long time.”
At Kwon Kang-hee’s blunt remark, Jang Ui-geon chuckled. Then, he stopped talking about that matter.
Before long, casual conversation flowed between the three of them. Though it wasn’t moving season, they talked about how a house put on the market would likely sell quickly given the location and price, or how once the permit came through, the shop site would immediately enter renovation and things would be hectic for a while.
Amidst that, stories about the hassle of cleaning up after a broken engagement or how they had made the people watching them suffer for a long time were mixed in with laughter.
That night was clearly a fact that existed between them. It wasn’t something that never happened, nor was it something they pretended didn’t happen. Yet, while stepping firmly over that fact, they remained the same as before.
Suddenly, Seo Chi-young recalled the long time he had spent with them. That time had flowed with difficulty, but it had also built a solid foundation.
“……..”
His heart seemed to have loosened at some point. Until Jang Ui-geon suddenly asked, “Why are you smiling like that?” Seo Chi-young hadn’t even realized he was smiling. “Pardon?” Seo Chi-young looked at Jang Ui-geon and awkwardly wiped the smile away. As Jang Ui-geon quickly added, sounding slightly flustered, “No, I’m not saying don’t smile…” Yoon Jun-young spoke up sharply first.
“Why are you snapping at someone who’s smiling? Are you trying to tear down the foundation I worked so hard to build as a regular? Don’t mind what this guy says, Chi-young. Also, please give us another half-portion of this, stir-fried.”
Yoon Jun-young, who had become such a regular that he could get a half-portion—which wasn’t normally sold—for free, pushed the plate forward. Seo Chi-young smiled awkwardly and took the plate.
Jang Ui-geon, who had effectively just spat on a smiling face, let out a hollow laugh of disbelief and frowned.
“You said you’re moving anyway. Then I’ll be the regular, so what does it matter? I already promised I’d come often and eat ten portions at a time.”
“….That’s an empty promise, unlike you.”
Yoon Jun-young looked at Jang Ui-geon with narrowed eyes. Jang Ui-geon ignored him and smiled at Seo Chi-young, saying, “Right?” Seo Chi-young also ended up smiling shyly.
His heart felt weary but warm.
The sight of them exchanging casual words, occasionally laughing, responding, or throwing jokes—though it sometimes made his chest ache with the hidden emotions that might be tucked away—was still good. Because it felt like their long relationship would continue into the future. In a way that was the same as before, yet different.
While Seo Chi-young, who had been watching them with a calm smile, went to the inner table to get water and drinks, their idle joking seemed to have continued. Jang Ui-geon was mumbling with a face deep in serious thought.
“Tomorrow is Sunday, so I can stay all day. If I come in the morning and sit here until night, I can definitely eat ten portions. Then it can’t be called an empty promise.”
However, Yoon Jun-young dismissed his words with a low snort this time as well.
“This place is closed on Sundays.”
“Ah, that was right. …..Then I’ll just have to take ten portions to go. No, wait, once construction starts, if I bring the workers here every evening, ten portions will be gone in no time…”
As Jang Ui-geon spoke to himself with a quite serious expression while stroking his chin, Seo Chi-young smiled clumsily and joined in the joke, saying, “Thank you.”
Jang Ui-geon replied nonchalantly with a smile, “You’re welcome.” That smile was so natural that Seo Chi-young wondered if he might actually bring a crowd of people out of a sense of obligation, and he slowly wiped his smile away.
“…If you really do come.., please let me know in advance. The shop is small, so there might not be enough seats.., and I’ll prepare so you don’t have to wait long.”
As Seo Chi-young mumbled with a slightly troubled face, he only realized Jang Ui-geon’s words were clearly a joke after seeing him burst into a low laugh. Jang Ui-geon kept laughing and nodding at Seo Chi-young, whose face quickly turned red. His reply—”Sure, I’ll contact you before I come”—didn’t seem to be a joke.
Kwon Kang-hee, who had been silently watching Seo Chi-young flustered and awkward in front of Jang Ui-geon, who wouldn’t stop laughing at something so funny, couldn’t overcome his curiosity and tilted his head toward Yoon Jun-young.
“….He’s a classmate of ours?”
Yoon Jun-young simply nodded, as if knowing exactly what the man was questioning by mumbling “That guy?”
Once his laughter finally subsided, Jang Ui-geon looked at the clock, which was nearing midnight. Although it was flexible depending on when the customers left, it was almost time to close the shop.
“Tomorrow is a rare day off, so you can go and get plenty of rest today.”
“Uh, no, I have somewhere to go today.”
He could have just glossed over it, but his nature was to answer honestly. Lies or empty words didn’t come easily to his lips. Even if he did try, he had to agonize over it for so long that he was likely to be caught. That was why Seo Chi-young had given up on lying or making empty pleasantries since he was young.
Even now, knowing that saying he had somewhere to go would lead to the question of where, and knowing it wasn’t a topic he particularly liked, Seo Chi-young spoke and then scratched his head.
Jang Ui-geon, watching Seo Chi-young shift his gaze shyly, asked curiously.
“After closing the shop? …..At this hour?”
“Yes.., a bit…”
Regretting that he should have just glossed over it, Seo Chi-young dropped his gaze. Jang Ui-geon’s silent gaze lingered on him. Then, as if he understood, the smile vanished from his face for a moment before returning as he spoke.
“Ah, I see. I suppose if you only have one day off, tonight is the only time. To play. ……Hmm.., I’m a bit worried. Don’t play in dangerous places, Chi-young.”
After a subtle pause, Jang Ui-geon added, “……Like that park from before.”
The moment he heard those words, Seo Chi-young’s face grew hot. “That park from before”—those words involuntarily brought back the memories of what happened that day.
Although things had flowed as if nothing had happened and he could now face Jang Ui-geon calmly, in truth, whenever memories of that time vividly surfaced, Seo Chi-young still had to rush to the bathroom and splash cold water on his bright red face.
His face must be red right now, and if so, Jang Ui-geon would surely realize why. He couldn’t let that happen. Then the other man would surely be embarrassed.
Sure enough, Seo Chi-young glanced at Jang Ui-geon, who looked slightly troubled as if he regretted saying it, and unable to even think of lifting his gaze, he mumbled while bowing his head.
“Ah…It’s not, that… I’m not going to play…”
The words that he didn’t even have the time or leisure for that didn’t come out. He was stuck, and that was the best he could manage.
Jang Ui-geon looked puzzled and started to say, “Then,” but as he looked at Seo Chi-young, who was flustered with a bright red face, he seemed to become awkward himself and fell silent.
“Then where are you going? At this hour?”
Instead, the one who suddenly asked was Yoon Jun-young, who had been watching them with indifferent eyes. Seo Chi-young turned his gaze toward Yoon Jun-young, feeling as if he had been rescued.
“Uh.., over there, to work. I have to go by 3:30 to help load and unload at the factory. I can’t do it at other times, so I only do it on Sunday dawns; it takes about four or five hours…”
With his thoughts in a jumble, Seo Chi-young rambled on about things he wasn’t even asked, trying hard to erase the previous memory. He quickly poured water, added ice, and took a large gulp. In the process, a small piece of ice went down with the water, creating a sharp, cold sensation in his throat before slowly sliding down.
Only then did Seo Chi-young calm down a bit, and with a face that still hadn’t lost its redness, he shifted his gaze. Then, he met Jang Ui-geon’s eyes again. He reflexively tried to avoid the gaze but paused.
Jang Ui-geon was looking at Seo Chi-young with a strange expression. The awkwardness from before was completely gone.
“…You’re going to work without even resting after closing the shop?”
Hearing him ask for confirmation with a slight frown, Seo Chi-young blinked and looked at him, then nodded. “I stop by home to close my eyes for a bit before I go,” he said in a shrinking voice, feeling slightly troubled. He wished he hadn’t mentioned it.
It wasn’t that he was ashamed of the poverty that forced him to work without proper sleep. However, the brief, awkwardness shown by people who had only vaguely conceived of poverty until they encountered it in reality was always uncomfortable. It felt as though it pointed out a gap between them that he hadn’t consciously realized existed.
Even now, Jang Ui-geon said nothing. Feeling suddenly self-conscious, Seo Chi-young rubbed his temples and continued speaking.
“Oh, it’s not hard. There were times in the past when I worked from three or four in the morning until past midnight without even being able to sit down. Compared to that, it’s really comfortable these days. Tomorrow is a quiet day, so I can go and then sleep until the afternoon…”
“…….Three-thirty… how do you get there at that hour?”
“Uh… I borrow a motorized bike from my landlord just for that time. He has a small one he doesn’t use much, and since I go in the early morning and come back by breakfast, he said it was fine…”
Jang Ui-geon fell silent. Looking at his watch, he thought for a moment before asking.
“If it’s a factory, there must be a nap room or a break room.”
“Pardon? Yes.”
As Seo Chi-young replied without knowing why he was being asked, Jang Ui-geon said, “I see,” and poured the remaining beer in his glass onto the ground. “It’s a relief you didn’t drink much,” he added, rinsing his mouth with water before speaking.
“Then I’ll give you a ride now. Go and get a bit more shut-eye before you wake up. You look tired even now.”
“What? …..Uh …., no, I’m fine…”
Flustered, Seo Chi-young looked back. Just then, he saw the last remaining customers at the inner table getting up from their seats.
He started to say something but stopped, glancing at Jang Ui-geon with a troubled look, yet he went to calculate the bill for the customers. Jang Ui-geon, looking at the nearly empty plates and glasses, spoke to the friends sitting beside him.
“Let’s head out. You guys probably want to get home soon too.”
“……..Leaving is fine, but.”
Yoon Jun-young muttered subtly while pouring the remaining half of the beer bottle into his glass and drinking it, but he didn’t say anything more and shut his mouth.
“?Why.”
When Jang Ui-geon asked curiously, Kwon Kang-hee lightly snatched the glass from Yoon Jun-young’s hand, saying, “Stop drinking,” and emptied the glass himself, speaking nonchalantly.
“I guess he’s quite fond of that young CEO.”
Jang Ui-geon raised an eyebrow slightly. He seemed lost in thought for a moment, but before long, he let out a short laugh and nodded coolly.
“He’s a good person. Sometimes he’s kind to an absurd degree… just watching him puts my mind at ease.”
“Ah,” Yoon Jun-young muttered briefly as if understanding. Kwon Kang-hee merely glanced at Seo Chi-young with a casual gaze.
“You’re the type to give generously to those who make it into your inner circle, but it’s not usually that easy…”
Kwon Kang-hee, who had been observing Seo Chi-young anew, soon put down his glass as if his interest had vanished. Just then, Seo Chi-young, having finished the calculations, greeted the people leaving the shop with a “Thank you, please come again,” and returned to them. Perhaps because the thought had been clinging to his mind even while calculating, as soon as he returned, Seo Chi-young stood before Jang Ui-geon with a serious face and bowed his head.
“Um, thank you for the offer. But… it’s okay. You don’t have to go out of your way to give me a ride…”
“Considering you’d have to go home from here and then take the bike, it’s better to get some sleep in the car. I can just go home and rest right after, so don’t worry about it and sleep while we drive.”
As if he had expected Seo Chi-young to refuse, Jang Ui-geon replied calmly, and after a short pause, added with a bitter smile, “Is it that uncomfortable for you?” Seo Chi-young stammered awkwardly, “No, it’s just, that is…”
Jang Ui-geon gazed at Seo Chi-young, lost in thought for a moment, and deciding it would be better to be blunt, he spoke with a soft but serious expression.
“Chi-young. I want to get close to you. To put it in childish terms, I want to be your friend… Since I’ve grown up, this is the first time I’ve consciously thought about wanting to get close to someone else. It’s funny and interesting that I’m having these thoughts as an adult who has aged enough, and I find it surprising myself, but that’s how I feel. …. But even so.”
Jang Ui-geon gave a faint, bitter smile. As if leaving a clue there.
“I only do as much as I can afford to do. Whether it’s anyone, a best friend or family, I never do something that will make me feel unpleasant afterward. I know it’s not beneficial for me, nor for the other person. So, regarding my offer, I understand you feel burdened because of your personality, but honestly, I feel a bit hurt. …..Unless there’s a specific reason or you dislike me, I’ll give you a ride.”
Seo Chi-young blinked and looked at Jang Ui-geon. An answer didn’t come immediately. He felt his face grow hot for a moment, but more than that, he couldn’t immediately process the words he had just heard, so he simply stared back at Jang Ui-geon.
Then, slowly, Seo Chi-young’s face flushed red. And as slowly as the color spread, Seo Chi-young lowered his head.
He seemed to be agonizing over what to do, but eventually, he gave a barely perceptible nod.
“Yes, thank you,” he murmured almost inaudibly, and Jang Ui-geon beamed. “You’re welcome,” he replied, shaking his head.
“Then let’s tidy up the shop and head out.”
At Jang Ui-geon’s words, Seo Chi-young nodded and began to move diligently as if snapping back to his senses.
Watching Seo Chi-young start to clean the tables where the customers had just left, Jang Ui-geon also began gathering the empty dishes in front of them.
Beside them, Yoon Jun-young, who had eaten the last piece of tripe remaining on the plate, put down his chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and stood up.
“Alright, I’ll head out first. See you later.”
“Uh, yeah. …. Get home safe.”
Jang Ui-geon smiled calmly, glancing at Yoon Jun-young and Kwon Kang-hee, who stood up behind him. A fleeting, bitter smile crossed Jang Ui-geon’s face as he watched Kwon Kang-hee pull Yoon Jun-young close by the shoulder, but it vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Just as they were turning to leave the shop, Jang Ui-geon, who had been watching them silently, suddenly spoke.
“Jun-young.”
Yoon Jun-young, who was turning away, looked back at Jang Ui-geon. He waited silently, looking at Jang Ui-geon, who remained quiet after calling his name.
The short silence felt incredibly long. As if decades had passed.
Finally, at the end of that silence, Jang Ui-geon gave a slight smile.
“Live well.”
“……Yeah. Thanks.”
Yoon Jun-young looked at Jang Ui-geon for a moment and then nodded. His mouth seemed about to say something, but it closed after those words. Beside him, Kwon Kang-hee spoke slowly.
“Aren’t you going to tell me to live well too?”
“If Jun-young lives well, you’ll be living well too. Why bother asking specifically?”
Jang Ui-geon said with a laugh. Kwon Kang-hee also chuckled and muttered, “I suppose that’s true.”
Seo Chi-young quietly watched Jang Ui-geon as he stared at the two of them walking away. Then, he began washing the dishes soaking in the sink, doing so quietly so as not to make a loud noise.
Hearing that sound, Jang Ui-geon turned toward Seo Chi-young. Then, wearing the same smile as always, he stood up.
“Shall we help with the cleaning? I just need to put these chairs up on the tables, right?”
The wall clock caught in his eye pointed to 12 o’clock. Sunlight poured blindingly through the window that had no curtains.
The time Seo Chi-young returned home in the morning and fell asleep was nearly 9 o’clock. Barely three and a half hours had passed since he fell asleep. He wondered with a hazy mind why he had woken up when he could have slept more, and as he closed his eyes again, he only realized why he had awakened when he heard the phone ringing by his bedside.
Groping for the phone, Seo Chi-young let out a low groan. His back, which had twinged while loading boxes into a container, throbbed. He had been worried because it had throbbed intensely until he collapsed at home in the morning, but he was relieved that it felt much better after sleeping.
It would be troublesome if he ended up having to visit the hospital for a long time. It had happened before. A few years ago, when his body, which had been moving without rest, finally screamed and he collapsed, he had been unable to work properly for several months and had to commute to the hospital. It had been very difficult as the regular hospital bills were substantial while he couldn’t work.
Since then, he had been careful to work only within a range where his body wouldn’t be excessively damaged.
“Hello…”
Seo Chi-young answered the phone with a raspy voice, unable to even open his eyes. His mind, vaguely wondering who would call at this hour, suddenly woke up as if doused in cold water the moment a voice mixed with laughter was heard over the phone.
“Were you sleeping? I thought you might be… I’m sorry. There’s just something I wanted to ask.”
“……..”
His eyes snapped open. Not just his eyes, but his body reflexively bolted upright. However, as he kicked off the blanket and sat up, Seo Chi-young curled his body, swallowing a groan at the throbbing pain in his back. The sound of his low intake of breath must have reached across the phone, as the laughter vanished from the voice.
“Chi-young? What’s wrong?”
“Uh…. ugh… ah, no.., I’m fine. My back is just a bit…”
While clutching his back, Seo Chi-young quickly answered and briefly pulled the phone away from his ear to check the screen. Three characters appeared: Jang Ui-geon. He hadn’t misheard the voice after all.
“Um.., Ui-geon-ssi?”
As Seo Chi-young asked hesitantly, the voice regained its laughter.
“Yes, that’s right. Why are you so surprised?”
“Uh.., ah, no.., w-what is it?”
Tsking at himself for stuttering like a fool, Seo Chi-young clutched his pounding heart.
He had spoken with Jang Ui-geon on the phone a few times, but he had never had a call at such an unexpected hour where he couldn’t guess the reason for the call no matter how much he thought about it.
“Ah, right. By any chance, do you have a motorcycle license?”
“What?… A motorcycle?”
“Yes, a motorcycle. One with a fairly large displacement.”
“Uh.., yes, I can ride one.”
Seo Chi-young answered haltingly, sitting neatly on his knees on the blanket. Suddenly, he saw his reflection in the mirror placed in the corner of the room and combed down his messy, bedhead hair with his fingers. Since the person on the other end couldn’t see him anyway, he quickly rubbed his disheveled face with his hand.
“Is that so? That’s great. What are you doing today?”
“What? Today? Today.. , cleaning, and shaking out the blankets to hang them on the rooftop.., ah, I have to do the dishes too. I didn’t wash the rice bowls and spoons.. And I have to put out the trash, water the plants in front of the door… the plants the neighbor put out were drying up, so I’ll water those too while I’m at it…”
Though the sleepiness was gone, Seo Chi-young, still with a dazed mind, counted them off on his fingers one by one, then shut his mouth upon hearing Jang Ui-geon’s laughter. Only then did he realize he had been rambling foolishly, and his face flushed, but he comforted himself that it was okay since it was a phone call and the other person couldn’t see.
“I see. Then would it be okay if I stopped by for a bit in the afternoon? I think I’ll be there around two or three.”
“What? Uh, today is a day the shop is closed…”
Still, Seo Chi-young was about to answer that if there was some business, he would go and open the shop, but Jang Ui-geon’s voice answered first.
“I’ll go to your house. There’s something I want to give you. And while I’m at it, I’d like to visit Chi-young’s home.”
Seo Chi-young fell silent. It felt as if cold water was being poured over his head once again.
By ‘home,’ did he mean this place where he was currently sitting?
Seo Chi-young remained dazed as if he had lost his soul until the question “Are you going out this afternoon?” came back. “Ah, no,” he answered, then added flusteredly:
“But, th-this house? The house where I am now.., where I live? ……Why, why?”
“I thought of it while listening to you yesterday, and I have a motorcycle I don’t use at home. I rode it for a while in the past, but now it’s just sitting in the warehouse. I thought if you used it, it would be good for the bike not to rot in the warehouse, and it would be convenient for you when you have to go somewhere late at night.”
‘Ah, that’s why he asked about the license…’ Seo Chi-young thought blankly, still sitting with his knees gathered on the blanket, scratching his head and lowering it.
“Uh, thank you for the offer, but…”
“….Is it uncomfortable?”
A smile containing a hint of bitterness. Contrasted with the voice that had been speaking calmly and brightly until a moment ago, Seo Chi-young fell silent. It wasn’t that—no, actually it was, but, he stammered, and Jang Ui-geon spoke quietly.
“I don’t use it anyway. Neither the Hyungs nor I ride it, and the only person below me is a younger sister who grew up like a princess, so she won’t ride it either. By the time a nephew grows old enough to ride it, I’ll probably have to sell it to a scrap yard.”
“…, th, …thank you.”
After agonizing fiercely for a short time, Seo Chi-young eventually bowed his head again, and Jang Ui-geon, smiling, left the words “Then I’ll go in the afternoon” and hung up.
Seo Chi-young remained frozen, staring blankly at the phone for a long time, and only came to his senses when his knees began to tingle.
Everything from start to finish surprised him. From the fact that Jang Ui-geon called, to the offer of a motorcycle, to the fact that he was coming to his house—all of it were things he had never even imagined.
“……”
Seo Chi-young let out a quiet sigh. Only then did the heart that had been pounding in his chest seem to settle down a bit.
He felt as if something similar had happened very, very recently, and as he tilted his head, the memory quickly returned. The memory of snapping awake upon hearing Jang Ui-geon’s voice while asleep.
It had happened just last night.
While giving Seo Chi-young a ride to the factory—it wasn’t far, about a 20-minute distance—Jang Ui-geon had told him to get some shut-eye during the ride since he would be tired from working all day and then having to go back to work. Seo Chi-young had replied “Uh, yes,” thinking he wouldn’t be able to sleep because he was nervous, but he actually fell asleep, lured by the heater wind blowing at just the right warmth. He might have kept sleeping if he hadn’t heard the voice carefully waking him up.
When he came to, it was just before the time he had to enter the factory. Jang Ui-geon had parked the car in front of it and waited quietly for nearly three hours.
To Seo Chi-young, who woke up startled and bowed repeatedly in apology, Jang Ui-geon had replied with a smile and eyes that showed no sign of sleepiness, “I just woke up from sleeping beside you too.”
Jang Ui-geon seemed to want to say something as Seo Chi-young got out of the car, but seeing Seo Chi-young glancing anxiously at his watch because he had slept until the very last second, he smiled and waved his hand, saying, “Go on. I’ll call you later.”
The words “I’ll call you” had lingered in his mind for a moment, but he thought it was just a common greeting, and above all, he forgot about it in his haste to run because time was pressing.
He had vaguely recalled it on his way home in the morning, exhausted after finishing work, but he never imagined he would actually call so soon.
“……….”
Seo Chi-young scratched his head.
As he remained lost in thought, he could no longer distinguish whether it was a daydream or reality. Only after hesitantly reaching for the phone to check the call history did he realize again that the call from a moment ago was real.
—I think I’ll be there around two or three.
The voice that had mentioned it in passing suddenly came to mind, and Seo Chi-young snapped his gaze to the clock. He hurriedly stood up, but his knees, which had been tucked under him the whole time, went numb, and he flopped over. While massaging his cramped leg with a miserable expression, his heart was in a hurry, and he left the room on his knees.
That meant there were only about two hours left. The house was reasonably tidy, so there wasn’t anything particularly new to clean, but he still felt an inexplicable sense of urgency.
What did he have to do? Ah, right. Cleaning and dishes, hanging the blankets, putting out the trash, watering the plants…