MOTD Side Story 2.13

Side Story: Return Episode 13

The sunlight streaming through the curtains woke him naturally. Ha-jin stretched, his body wriggling. For some reason, the room was quiet. Feeling a void by his side, he turned his head to find the bed completely empty.

“Hah….”

He’s practically a ghost. Ha-jin shook his head, smoothing out the wrinkled duvet with his palm. After pouring and drinking a glass of water, he walked toward the kitchen. A single memo was left on the dining table.

I’ll be home early today, so let’s have dinner together.

Ha-jin added a message beneath Eden’s note.

I’m starting my volunteer work today. I’ll be back before dinner lol

After getting ready and arriving at the center, Ha-jin met the supervisor through an introduction from the staff member he had met yesterday. Contrary to his expectation that he would be assigned to organizing entertainment or play education, Ha-jin’s assigned task was food distribution.

The supervisor, who handed him a yellow vest and a name tag, guided Ha-jin to the cafeteria.

“By any chance, are you interested in food preparation?”

The supervisor asked while placing a sanitary cap directly on Ha-jin’s head. Fiddling with the transparent sanitary mask, Ha-jin shook his head.

“I’ll just work hard at serving the food.”

Cooking in a kitchen? If Mi-so found out, she would definitely throw a fit.

After exchanging greetings with the other volunteers, he picked up the tongs and stood before the tteokgalbi. Before long, people began flooding into the cafeteria.

The scene of the cafeteria wasn’t much different from his school days. He repeated the phrase “Enjoy your meal” while placing the designated number of portions onto the trays. While he was diligently serving, the volunteer lady standing next to him discreetly struck up a conversation.

“Oh my, this young man’s touch is so nimble. And he’s handsome, too.”

“Thank you. You look lovely as well.”

When he responded with a playful charm, the lady swayed her body and burst into a loud, boisterous laugh.

“Did you come to Korea for a visit? Or have you returned for good?”

Ha-jin added as he received more tteokgalbi from the kitchen.

“No, since I had the opportunity, I just came to volunteer for a bit.”

“Is that so? What a kind heart. But why don’t you live in Korea? Are you not originally Korean~?”

“My family is all abroad.”

As they exchanged trivial chatter and he worked the tongs, the end [unauthorized copy]of the lunch service soon [unauthorized copy]approached. Having skipped breakfast for fear of being late, his stomach clock rang loudly.

Just as he was discreetly rubbing his stomach, he saw someone entering the cafeteria in the distance.

“That’s the last guest. Let’s give that person their food and hurry up and eat. Right?”

“Yes. If there’s any of this left, can I have a bit more?”

“Oh, of course, of course. You can eat it all.”

Ha-jin counted the remaining pieces of tteokgalbi and looked up. At that moment, his eyes met the man who had stopped right in front of him.

“…….”

“…….”

At this point, it really felt like fate. The navy-blue horn-rimmed glasses were beyond familiar; they were almost welcoming now. As he stood there blankly with an ambiguous gaze, John Cobelt spoke first.

[You’re the person I saw in the waiting room last time, right? At the quarantine shelter.]

[Yes, hello.]

Answering as nonchalantly as possible, Ha-jin picked up a piece of tteokgalbi and placed it on his tray.

[By any chance, what kind of nugget is this?]

Perhaps pleased to encounter a brief acquaintance again, he actively struck up a conversation.

[It’s not a nugget. In Korean, it’s called ‘tteokgalbi,’ and it’s minced meat seasoned and grilled.]

[That sounds delicious. Is it like a meat patty in a hamburger?]

Ha-jin gave him a surprised look, as this was completely different from his timid first impression.

[It’s roughly similar. Though tteokgalbi is much tastier, of course.]

Even though the small talk had ended, John Cobelt did not leave his spot easily. After a moment of hesitation, Ha-jin added another piece of meat to the tray.

[This is a service. There’s plenty left.]

[Wow, thank you.]

John Cobelt smiled, looking as happy as a child. He seemed to be staying at the traveler’s center within the shelter, as a blue badge was pinned to his chest. Ha-jin stared blankly at John Cobelt as he waved and walked away, before turning his head at the supervisor’s shout.

“Shall we eat now!”

Tossing aside the sanitary cap and mask, he sat in a corner seat with the other volunteers. The cafeteria, now mostly empty of people, was quite peaceful.

While eating and clutching [Read on Read BL Novels]his hungry stomach, stolen contentthe volunteer lady poked him in the side. unauthorized copyWhen he looked over, she whispered.

“That foreigner you were talking to earlier.”

Ha-jin’s gaze naturally followed her gesture.

“Don’t you think you should eat with him? He looks lonely; he’s been glancing at you since a while ago.”

Glancing at me? Narrowing his brow, Ha-jin stared at John Cobelt, who was sitting by the window. The man was silently eating his food, occasionally scanning his surroundings. Sensing the gaze, he soon looked back this way.

The lady swayed her body, looking as if she were about to call the man over at any moment. Letting out a light sigh, Ha-jin hurriedly stopped her.

“I’ll go and eat with him. Everyone, please enjoy your meal.”

After greeting the volunteers, he picked up his tray and approached John Cobelt. The man glanced at the approaching Ha-jin and then buried his head back into his tray. He didn’t seem to think that Ha-jin was coming toward him.

Setting down his tray, Ha-jin took a seat opposite him. John Cobelt’s eyes widened.

[Is it alright if I join you for a meal?]

When asked out of politeness, the man pushed up his glasses and looked delighted.

[Of course, it was a bit lonely eating alone, so I’m grateful.]

Having nothing else to say, Ha-jin buried his head [unauthorized copy]in his tray and [unauthorized copy]began eating the seaweed soup. After doing so for a while, stolen contenthe felt a piercing gaze clinging to his forehead.

John Cobelt was looking at Ha-jin’s identification tag with an intrigued expression.

[I was looking because your Korean name is fascinating. Do—Ha—jin. The characters look like a neat painting.]

[Haha… yes.]

[May I call you Ha-jin? My name is John Cobelt. Please feel free to call me John.]

Only then did Ha-jin realize he had blindly crashed the man’s meal without even introducing himself, and he quietly pressed his hand to his forehead. The man spoke again.

[This tteokgalbi is truly delicious. It’s incomparable to a hamburger patty. I wonder what the seasoning is?]

[I’m not sure, I’m not very good at cooking. It’s probably a mix of soy sauce, garlic, sugar… things like that.]

Answering vaguely, Ha-jin used his chopsticks to tear off a piece of meat and eat it. Watching closely, John Cobelt followed suit. With clumsy movements, he broke the tteokgalbi into pieces and struggled with the chopsticks.

Perhaps he was very happy to meet a Korean who was fluent in English. The man continued to throw various questions at him, regardless of Ha-jin’s bland answers. The questions ranged from famous Korean foods to what kind of considerations are essential for adapting to Asian cultures.

Perhaps because he had witnessed the secret meeting with Eden, Ha-jin had been wary and awkward toward John Cobelt the entire time, but at some point, he began to open up to the man’s aggressive barrage of questions. Or, to be honest, Ha-jin had also been curious about the man all along.

Setting down his spoon, he gathered his courage to speak.

[Actually, I saw Dr. John Cobelt’s face [stolen content]in a private newspaper. Read on Read BL NovelsI recognized you as the doctor when we met in the quarantine waiting room.]

At the sudden confession, John Cobelt’s mouth snapped shut.

[I held back because I thought it might be burdensome for you to be recognized, but I’ve become curious about something.]

It would obviously be rude to abruptly ask about his relationship with Eden, and such a matter was something to interrogate his partner, Eden, about, rather than John Cobelt.

However, since he didn’t know how their relationship might evolve in the future, he felt it would be good to build a certain level of rapport with Dr. John Cobelt. Above all, Ha-jin did not want to waste this miraculous opportunity to be with a microbiology expert due to foolish jealousy.

Fiddling with the silver brooch in his pocket, he asked.

[I want to know the reason why the Zombie virus was born. Of course, I know the origins are wild dogs and bats, but I just want to hear the story from your perspective, Doctor.]

[…….]

John Cobelt blinked in confusion and scanned the surroundings. Aside from the volunteers chatting and laughing in the distance, the cafeteria was empty.

Soon, the doctor turned his gaze back to Ha-jin and let out an awkward smile.

[In reality, there aren’t many people who recognize me. The virus issue has drifted far from people’s interests now… and, well, anyway, it’s an honor that you recognized me.]

The man shyly scratched his cheek. After rambling for a bit, he belatedly asked back.

[Ah, what was the question? Did you ask about the reason for the birth of the Zombie virus?]

[Yes.]

John Cobelt took a handkerchief from his pocket and lightly wiped his mouth.

[Before I answer, I’m curious about your thoughts, Ha-jin.]

[…….]

[Do you happen to think the virus is a product of chance?]