By Zephyria 
Seo Chi-young muttered quietly. He sighed, lightly tapping his heart, which was racing of its own accord. His wet clothes felt cold against his skin.
It would be better to just splash some water over himself. Changing clothes as he was would feel unpleasant. He didn’t have much time if he wanted to shower, change, and then leave.
Seo Chi-young looked at Jang Ui-geon once more, then checked the clock before pushing himself up. He wanted to keep staring blankly forever, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t simply ignore the reality of being pressed for time, nor the way his heart swelled the more he looked at the man.
But then—
“Where are you going…”
A low voice seemed to drift toward him.
Just as he was about to stand, a hand gripped Seo Chi-young’s elbow and yanked him back.
“Oh…!”
With a short gasp, Seo Chi-young’s field of vision whipped upward, and the next moment, he saw the slanted ceiling. Before he even realized he was lying down, a warm body embraced him generously from behind, and the smell of alcohol reached his ear.
“What… did that bastard Kang-hee come to pick you up..? Tell him to go alone. That guy already has you all to himself, so why is he so anxious… Tell him to go ahead. Just for today… Jun-young… play with me today, okay? Play with me while we talk… I’m having a hard time, lately…”
The voice was slow and indistinct, reaching his ear in fragments, barely audible unless he listened intently. Without even opening his eyes, drenched in a dreamlike state, Jang Ui-geon muttered to himself, whether in his sleep or a drunken stupor.
And Seo Chi-young, trapped within those thick arms, froze, unable to move. The breath touching the nape of his neck was incredibly hot. That was the only thought that surfaced in his mind, which had gone completely blank.
Jun-young, the voice whispered, and the arm wrapped around his waist tightened. Only then did Seo Chi-young snap back to his senses, cautiously struggling to pry the arm away, but the grip only grew more stubborn. The man even clicked his tongue as he patted Seo Chi-young’s body.
“Hey… I said let’s talk… I’m really struggling…”
Jang Ui-geon muttered in a truly exhausted voice. At that slow voice, laced with a sigh, the strength left Seo Chi-young’s body involuntarily. That voice, sounding truly pained, was one he had never heard before. Seo Chi-young only knew a Jang Ui-geon who laughed cheerfully and spoke with composure.
So he shows his struggling side, his exhausted side, to Yoon Jun-young. Even if it’s because of the alcohol.
Seo Chi-young gradually let go of the strength in the hand he had used to try and push the arm away. His chest felt inexplicably tight.
Jang Ui-geon was patting Seo Chi-young slowly, as if soothing a child. He murmured slowly, Jun-young.
“I mean… ever since you went to Kang-hee like that, I’ve been feeling strange. No, maybe it was a bit before that…”
A breath like a sigh tickled his ear. This was the inner heart he let slip in his sleep, or perhaps through the alcohol. His honest feelings, whispered to Yoon Jun-young.
Seo Chi-young listened with a slightly aching heart to the slow, flowing voice.
“I know I shouldn’t, I know it’s not right… but I want to.”
After a long, hesitant pause, the final words flowed out, and Seo Chi-young faintly shrugged his shoulders. For a while, he couldn’t even blink.
“Sometimes when we’re together, even when we’re just talking about ordinary things, suddenly my lower half pulls like crazy. I just blindly—want to do it. …I really do think of you as a friend. Really, just a precious and close friend… I mean it. I feel comfortable when you’re by my side, and just being with you makes me feel like I can breathe easily… ……But sometimes, for no reason, I momentarily suffocate. Sometimes I feel like I’m going crazy because I can’t think of anything else but that. ……Haha, are you sick of me? I’d be sick of me too… Why am I like this…”
I’m sick of myself, wondering if I was always such a vulgar bastard, Jang Ui-geon muttered with a low, bitter smile. He whispered, resting his forehead lightly against the nape of Seo Chi-young’s neck. What should I do, Jun-young, he said, calling the name of the person to whom he was making a confession that should not be made.
Thinking of the precious and dear person who had now gone to someone else, Jang Ui-geon was suffering in silence. Only after drinking until he lost consciousness could he barely stumble through these words.
Seo Chi-young kept his mouth shut tight. Otherwise, it felt as if his painfully throbbing heart would shatter and spill out.
Quietly, he raised his hand and carefully stroked the arm embracing his waist. Jang Ui-geon seemed to hesitate for a moment, then let out a long, low sigh and tightened his grip on his waist. A few days ago, a lonely voice seeped into his ear.
“……Haha ……., don’t laugh… I had a wet dream. …..Ah seriously, isn’t it pathetic? I’m not some kid in his early teens… …..What should I do, but it’s true. I really think of you as a close and precious friend. And yet, it still happens. I thought maybe my desires had built up too much, so I tried to just grab anyone to release it, but I couldn’t even get it up for that… …….Why am I really like this. I think my head has gone a bit crazy.”
Listening to the voice mixed with a hollow laugh, Seo Chi-young simply stroked his arm in silence. It would likely be useless, and he might not even remember this brief moment upon waking from his drunken sleep, but he hoped the man could find even a small amount of comfort.
He, who whispered such a pained heart to Yoon Jun-young.
He, who had actually been that way despite acting as if nothing were wrong.
Scolding himself for being a fool who had simply laughed along and harbored vain expectations in his own insignificant heart, Seo Chi-young quietly swallowed a sigh.
Until the man’s breath finally subsided and only low, steady breathing could be heard, Seo Chi-young continued to stroke Jang Ui-geon’s arm. With a heart full of longing and ache.
But I am not that person.
He closed his lips again as he tried to whisper those words, and he remained breathless and still until the man was completely submerged in sleep and could no longer hold onto Seo Chi-young as he gently slipped out of his arms.
Unexpectedly, the stir-fried tripe received great acclaim.
Although he had received a message from Yoon Jun-young saying, ‘Permission granted to use the restaurant kitchen for tripe tonight. See you at 2,’ Seo Chi-young’s steps were still very awkward as he entered the kitchen with the ingredients.
Gi-do, who looked at Seo Chi-young strangely when he asked if the main entrance was the only way in, had kindly shown him the way. Following those directions, Seo Chi-young went around the back alley and entered through the back door leading to the kitchen.
When Seo Chi-young entered the kitchen, a couple of men inside looked at him with questioning eyes, asking, “Who are you?” But when he hesitantly said, “Um… about the tripe…”, the men nodded, as if they had already been informed.
However, while they were informed, they weren’t particularly pleased—no chef likes someone using their kitchen at will—and they looked at him with disapproval. Seo Chi-young, wondering why Yoon Jun-young wasn’t there, approached the commercial gas stove. After asking the reluctant men if he could use the cooking utensils, Seo Chi-young picked up a large wok.
It felt awkward to stir-fry in an unfamiliar kitchen and on an unfamiliar workstation, but he began cooking the tripe anyway. He glanced at the clock, noting that the time Yoon Jun-young mentioned had arrived.
“Uncle, can I have some milk… Oh, what’s this? Something smells delicious! …….Oh my, what is this? Tripe?”
Just then, a young woman, sweetly drunk and rubbing her chest as if she had heartburn, walked into the kitchen and stopped upon seeing Seo Chi-young. She craned her neck curiously, then frowned slightly.
“What on earth is tripe doing here?” The woman laughed as if it were absurd, but she picked up chopsticks, approached behind Seo Chi-young, and ate a piece. Tilting her head behind the flustered Seo Chi-young, she muttered, “This is delicious,” and ate more.
That was the beginning.
“Is it good?” The men, who had approached with disapproval, put three or four pieces in their mouths at once and muttered, “This is perfect as a side dish for drinks.” Soon after, the young man serving the hall also came in and crowded around the workstation.
For that reason, by the time Yoon Jun-young arrived—exactly five minutes late, likely because of the person trailing behind him—the tripe remaining in the wok was less than half of the original amount. Even though he had brought a generous portion for one person, only a few handfuls remained, which was far too little for Yoon Jun-young’s appetite.
Yoon Jun-young, who had come with a disgruntled Kwon Kang-hee right behind him, stared blankly at the nearly empty wok. As the last few bites disappeared, his shoulders slumped in disappointment. Only then did Kwon Kang-hee, trying to hide his embarrassment, bluntly ask Seo Chi-young, “Do it one more time tomorrow.”
“Oh, you’re making it again tomorrow? I want some too. Bring a lot~”
“True… it was delicious.”
With not only the woman but also the serving youth smiling amiably, Seo Chi-young, despite his bewilderment, found himself nodding reflexively.
And as a result.
Seo Chi-young thought that he might as well open a branch here instead of saving up money to move the shop.
It wasn’t every day. Two or three times a week, Seo Chi-young brought the tripe ingredients according to Yoon Jun-young’s schedule, and every time he did, the kitchen became crowded. Now, even the kitchen chefs looked at the ingredients in Seo Chi-young’s hands with anticipation.
Today, too, he thought he had brought enough, but the vast amount of tripe vanished before it even had time to cool. And today, despite arriving on time, Yoon Jun-young looked into the empty wok with a somewhat hollow expression, as if he hadn’t eaten his fill because he was buried among the people. Behind him, Kwon Kang-hee whispered quietly.
“Next time, pack about two servings separately. I’ll eat them at home.”
“No, forget it… The ones you fry taste bad.”
At Yoon Jun-young’s gloomily muttered words, Kwon Kang-hee’s face became even gloomier. Though that expression vanished quickly.
Hesitating in that ambiguous atmosphere, Seo Chi-young eventually felt as if he had committed a crime and could only leave the spot, muttering, “I’ll bring more next time…”
Ms. Chi-young.
Just as Seo Chi-young was about to leave the kitchen, Yoon Jun-young called him from behind. When Seo Chi-young turned around in curiosity, Yoon Jun-young simply said one thing with his usual indifferent face.
“Good luck today too.”
Seo Chi-young blinked, then smiled shyly, gave a small bow, and turned away.
He was a person one couldn’t help but like. He had no intention of hating him from the start, but even if he wanted to, he couldn’t. Seo Chi-young let out a small smile, recalling Yoon Jun-young’s indifferent face, which almost looked a bit pouty.
I probably would have liked that person too, if I had been by his side and watched him grow since childhood. He wouldn’t be easily forgotten. ……And even if he were, I shouldn’t harbor the expectation that he might become mine.
“……”
Seo Chi-young let out a quiet sigh and shook his head.
See, this is why I get depressed so easily—because I hold onto useless expectations. Seo Chi-young smiled bitterly. Let’s stop thinking about it.
As he headed toward the restroom to wash the grease from his hands, Seo Chi-young suddenly stopped. In the inner hallway leading to the restroom, there was a man and a woman.
They seemed to be a male customer and the woman entertaining him. The man, who smelled of alcohol from several steps away as if he had just emerged from a vat of liquor, looked relatively young. Seo Chi-young even thought he might be slightly younger than himself. He was heavily drunk, pinning the woman against the wall and stroking her blatantly—though he probably thought he was being subtle—while she said in a soft, sweet, whispering voice, “I told you to stop.”
Should I help? he wondered momentarily in confusion, but then he saw Gi-do standing like a statue a short distance away, out of sight. Since Gi-do was also aware of the situation, it seemed this was a situation Seo Chi-young should not interfere in. Given the nature of the establishment, it was understandable.
Seo Chi-young quickly averted his gaze from the hem of her skirt, which had rolled up to her thighs, and walked toward the restroom, keeping his footsteps as quiet as possible. But then, he locked eyes with the woman, who was holding onto the arm of the man whose back was turned diagonally toward him, as if trying to push him away. Her eyes seemed to widen slightly.
“……..”
Because it was a familiar face, Seo Chi-young almost called her name without realizing it, but he quickly shut his mouth. He gave an awkward nod and entered the restroom.
That could have been a disaster. Of all people, it was that woman. Among the women he escorted every day, she was the one he felt most uncomfortable with.
If he had impulsively intervened to help and accidentally offended her customer, he would have been severely reprimanded.
Recalling the slight surprise that had flickered in her eyes the moment they met, Seo Chi-young stood before the sink with a slightly awkward feeling.
That night in the car, when he found out this shop belonged to Kwon Kang-hee—after he had been ‘done’ by her, to use Yoon Jun-young’s expression—she never extended that kind of touch to Seo Chi-young again. Occasionally, she would throw a sharp word or two with a snort. For the most part, she sat leaning diagonally in the passenger seat, looking out the window.
Was it a while ago? When they stopped at a traffic light, he had turned his head without much thought and locked eyes with her in the reflection of the window. Just as Seo Chi-young blinked in slight bewilderment, she seemed a bit flustered as well; she immediately glared sharply and looked back at him, asking, “What are you doing? Why aren’t we moving?”
“Oh… no, it’s a red light.”
“What red light are you talking about at this hour of the dawn?! Just go, I’m tired.”
After shouting shrilly, she whipped her head back toward the window. Seo Chi-young hesitated, moving the car forward by about a centimeter or so, and only stepped on the accelerator after the light turned green. It took a while for the signal to change, and she could have easily let out another sharp word, but she said nothing.
Perhaps she was sorry to Seo Chi-young in her own way. She had never separately apologized to Seo Chi-young, who had been kicked and rolled around on the asphalt because of her that day. He rode in the car she was in the next day, and the day after that, but she remained silent. Without even the vitriol she usually spewed.
When Seo Chi-young told Gi-do, who was complaining about how he’d been unfairly treated, “But she seems to feel sorry,” with a smile, Gi-do snorted in disbelief. “That bitch seems sorry? Ha, that rude brat must be feeling so sorry.” But Seo Chi-young somehow felt that way.
So, it was fine. He wasn’t particularly angry with her. It was just that the memory of her touch forcibly colliding with his body remained vivid in his mind, making him uncomfortable.
…There’s no need for her to feel that sorry, but still, if I said ‘You don’t have to be sorry,’ she’d definitely get angry and ask when she was ever sorry.
Seo Chi-young sighed. He felt there was nothing to do but let things resolve themselves naturally.
Seo Chi-young looked in the mirror while scrubbing his greasy hands with soap. A man with large, blinking black eyes was inside. Upon meeting his own gaze, he gave a mindless smile, then felt shy and lowered his head.
Just as the luxurious restroom was a waste without anyone in it, there was one thing missing in the shop, where everything else seemed to be present. A clock.
Seo Chi-young looked at his wristwatch. It was only just past two. He usually arrived slightly earlier than other days when bringing the tripe. Today was the same, so he had more leeway than usual.
Among those who forgot time and indulged in pleasure in a place without clocks, he would have to wait at least another hour before the women could leave the men’s arms and gather their glass slippers. They would return home at the earliest by three, or at the latest, by five or six.
Seo Chi-young let out a quiet sigh as he stepped out of the restroom. Now he had to head back to the kitchen, go out the back door, and return to his car. Since the restroom was a shared space for guests, he couldn’t exit through the main hall to the front door.
“……..Oh.”
Just as he was leaving, Seo Chi-young flinched and stopped in his tracks. Right in front of the restroom door, she was standing there, arms crossed and leaning against the wall as if she had been waiting for him, staring up at him intently.
The reddish eyes looking up at him were clouded, devoid of any trace of a smile, yet they weren’t as vicious as usual.
“Why did you just walk past me a moment ago?”
At her abrupt question, Seo Chi-young murmured flusteredly.
“Pardon? …..Uh, ……well, because you’re a guest…”
“……. You’re unfazed even when you see something like that, aren’t you, Darling?”
After a brief silence, she added those words with a calm demeanor. Not knowing how to respond, Seo Chi-young looked down at her awkwardly. She stared toward the empty hallway for a moment before speaking.
“That man from earlier was my first love. I told you before, didn’t I? The one who was a bit similar to you in atmosphere and manner of speaking. I recognized him the instant I saw him, but he didn’t know me. Well, that makes sense. …When I pushed him away with a scowl a moment ago, he cursed at me and left.”
Only then did a smile appear on her lips. However, the smile was distorted.
“I wondered what kind of person he’d become… turns out he became a piece of shit like that.”
Ha. A low, mocking laugh escaped her like a monologue. After remaining silent with her head turned as if recalling something from long ago, she turned back to Seo Chi-young. Her eyes had grown redder.
“What. Is it funny that a bar girl like me is saying this?”
At her self-deprecating sneer, Seo Chi-young shook his head. As she stared intently at his gentle yet serious face, her expression suddenly contorted.
“He’s not like you at all.”
The moment she whispered in a voice barely audible, tears welled up in her eyes. Without giving him a chance to recoil, she threw her arms around Seo Chi-young’s neck and clung to him; the shoulder she leaned on was soon dampened. Seo Chi-young, not knowing what to do, kept his hands awkwardly suspended, but his hesitating hands did not push her away.
Perhaps it had been a precious memory for her. The sparkling moment that Seo Chi-young also cherished might have been that time for her. A time precious simply because it remained unchanged in one’s memory.
And now, that memory lay shattered in pieces at her feet.
“There, ……..there will be. Just, moments… where you feel that things are simply good……”
Seo Chi-young spoke haltingly. He had no talent for comforting people, and he felt that no matter what someone heard in this moment, it would only seem presumptuous, but he couldn’t just leave the small body trembling silently in his arms.
“Even without someone special, just one moment, one moment… just ordinary moments that feel good… and those moments connect like stepping stones, allowing my life to continue…”
Even if it’s nothing and means nothing, there are moments that sparkle when you look back. Even if it’s a mundane daily routine, it’s a routine that sparkles only for oneself; Seo Chi-young thought that the time spent moving forward through those scattered, sparkling moments was a good thing.
Leaning against Seo Chi-young’s shoulder, she lifted her head just a fraction. A wet voice leaked out in a low mumble.
“You call that comfort? You idiot. Where would there be any ‘ordinarily good’ moments in a miserable life like mine?”
She lifted her head further to face Seo Chi-young directly. With mascara-smudged eyes staring straight at him, she asked softly, “Or maybe…”
“Will you make it that way for me, Darling?”
“……..Uh, ……Pardon?……Uh, …..”
As Seo Chi-young struggled to find words in his panic, she hugged him gently again and whispered.
“You said you needed money. I have some. I’ve been saving up to quit this and open a shop after a few more years of earning. That’s why I just wanted to live with a… plain, hardworking… kind man. I’ve always thought that. ……..Yes, do you hate a woman like me?”
Her voice was still haughty and arrogant, but the end of her sentences trembled faintly. It was a tremor that revealed a sliver of sincerity, whether she was just speaking casually or not.
With a conflicted heart, Seo Chi-young looked down at his own arms, which were awkwardly hovering in the air behind her back. However, his conflicted hesitation wasn’t about whether to nod or shake his head. That had already been decided. His two arms could not embrace her.
“…….I’m sorry.”
Seo Chi-young murmured. The eyelashes of the woman staring intently at him fluttered slightly.
“There is someone I like. ……I’m sorry.”
“…… ……Hmph.”
The arms that had been wrapped around Seo Chi-young’s neck dropped away. A cold and arrogant gaze, no different from usual, glanced at Seo Chi-young. It felt like a suit of iron armor worn to hide a wounded heart, and Seo Chi-young found himself bowing his head.
“I didn’t know you had a lover. You seemed like such a naive innocent that I thought you’d never even held a woman’s hand; this is unexpected. ……..What kind of person are they?”
“Not, not a lover.., just someone I have a crush on…”
She frowned slightly.
“Not a lover? A crush? ……Have you even confessed?”
“Yes, I did.. ….but it didn’t work. That person has someone else they like…”
Seo Chi-young scratched the back of his neck. The smile spreading awkwardly on his lips was faint. She looked at Seo Chi-young as if he were absurd, then slowly reached out and grabbed his arm.
“Then tell me. Do you hate me? Just tell me that.”
Looking into the pitch-black eyes that appealed to him with a hint of anxiety, as if clinging to something, Seo Chi-young shrank back. He didn’t know why she was acting this way toward him—yes, she probably had a basic level of affection for him. Perhaps that affection had clung wrongly to a heart that currently had nowhere to lean—but he could not treat another person’s feelings lightly.
Seo Chi-young lowered his gaze for a moment before looking at her. Seeing that sincere gaze, she paused.
“I’m sorry. I don’t hate you, Ms. Sun-mi, but I probably won’t come to like you more than I generally like other people.”
“…..Even in the future?”
“…….Yes.”
“Can you swear it?”
“……, …….Probably. …..I don’t think I could ever like anyone more than the person I like now.”
Though he hesitated at the forced question, Seo Chi-young soon drew the answer from his heart. Even if it wasn’t her, would there ever be someone he could like more than that man? Would there ever be a time more dazzling than that sparkling moment that would never be erased?
Seo Chi-young smiled faintly. Watching that smile, she suddenly hardened her expression and bit her lip. Her eyes sharpened fiercely. And along with that glare, her hand swung and struck Seo Chi-young’s cheek.
Slap—! A sound so loud echoed that Gi-do, who was outside in the hallway, tilted his head to see what was happening. Seo Chi-young stared at her with wide eyes, clutching his cheek.
“Do you take me for a fool? You, who chase after a woman who looks at another man?! Do you think you’re that great? That noble?”
“We are inside a shop. I’d appreciate it if you’d be quiet.”
A low, calm voice intervened, cutting off her shrill tone. She glared back with wide eyes. Seo Chi-young followed her gaze. Kwon Kang-hee was approaching.
Perhaps intending to go to the restroom, he approached with a neither slow nor fast pace and stood before the door, looking down at them with indifferent eyes.
For a moment, she glared at Kwon Kang-hee with fierce eyes as if she might bite him, but she shifted her gaze to glance at Seo Chi-young once more before abruptly turning away. Even after she left the hallway and vanished from sight, the sharp sound of her clicking heels continued for a while.
Seo Chi-young, who had been staring blankly after her, only slowly turned around after the sound faded.
Wondering whether he should say thank you or sorry, Seo Chi-young looked at Kwon Kang-hee for a moment and ultimately just bowed his head without speaking.
However, as if he had neither the intention to help nor to reprimand, Kwon Kang-hee spoke coldly.
“I did say it would be better to mess with a woman, but I didn’t mean you should actually mess with one.”
“…..Uh, …..it’s, not like that…”
“It would be better not to be easily lured by women here. Especially that woman; she’ll be too much for you, Mr. Seo Chi-young. I’m saying this for your own sake.”
Seo Chi-young blinked for a moment, looking up at Kwon Kang-hee, then bowed his head. He didn’t fully understand what he meant, but it was a fact that the words were meant to be understanding of him, and Seo Chi-young also knew that it was rare for Kwon Kang-hee to give such advice to a stranger.
As if he had nothing more to say, Kwon Kang-hee pushed open the restroom door and turned away. Having nothing particular to say to him, Seo Chi-young hesitated before remembering Yoon Jun-young, who had been in the kitchen until a moment ago.
“Did… Mr. Jun-young leave?”
When Seo Chi-young asked, the man entering the restroom paused. A gaze that had grown slightly colder looked down at Seo Chi-young.
“He left.”
“…….I see.”
At the blunt response, Seo Chi-young simply nodded. He had just asked without any particular intention.
Thinking it was time to go and wait in the car, Seo Chi-young greeted Kwon Kang-hee once more and turned back toward the kitchen. Behind him, Kwon Kang-hee spoke.
“Mr. Seo Chi-young.”
When Seo Chi-young turned back in curiosity, Kwon Kang-hee spoke with the same cold face.
“The gopchang—from now on, bring Jun-young’s portion separately and fry it. Don’t make him stare at an empty pot.”
“…… ….Yes.”
He must have found it pitiful. Indeed, even to Seo Chi-young, the sight of Yoon Jun-young looking at the wok with longing had seemed disheartened.
“Um, I’m sorry for using the shop’s kitchen without permission.”
Thinking of it suddenly, Seo Chi-young spoke, and Kwon Kang-hee lightly shook his head.
“Forget it. It’s better than you saying you’ll visit that shop.”
With those words, he entered the restroom. …Did he hate our shop that much? Scratching his head, Seo Chi-young had nothing more to add, so he turned away after seeing the restroom door close. The smell of rice being fried in gopchang seasoning was wafting from the kitchen.
The old house, which had completed its renovation earlier than expected and was awaiting its opening, was flawless. As is often the case with buildings that renovate traditional hanoks into modern styles, the sarangchae—which would be used as the shop—was naturally situated, as if it had always looked that way, without any forced or awkward feeling.
Similarly, the kitchen, built as an extension in a position not easily visible from the front gate, consisted of a building that fit well with the tranquil atmosphere.
On a late Sunday afternoon, the shop was ten days away from opening. Since next Sunday would be the height of opening preparations, this was the last peaceful Sunday he could spend here before the launch.
Though it looked like a secluded old house from the outside, the interior had been renovated to suit a shop, with low tables arranged neatly in the sarangchae for guests’ comfort. Seo Chi-young looked around, admiring it, then crossed over to the main house and sat on the outer porch. Jang Ui-geon, who had invited Seo Chi-young to visit before the opening, had stepped away to take a call a moment ago; despite it being a leisurely Sunday, it seemed he was receiving calls from various places as the opening approached.
It was a rare, leisurely afternoon. Sunday was Seo Chi-young’s only day off. Even then, since he only got to sleep after returning home in the early dawn, it was a precious time that amounted to only a half-day off.
And here was a space and a person quiet and comfortable enough to spend that time. Feeling satisfied by that alone, Seo Chi-young hugged his knees, sat on the outer porch, and let out a pleasant breath.
From outside the wall of the main house in the distance, Jang Ui-geon’s voice could be heard. Though he couldn’t make out the content of the conversation, the low, quiet voice had a gentle cadence, making it clear it was his ‘professional’ voice. He’s busy even on a Sunday, he thought.
But once the shop opened, he would be even busier, and such leisurely time would become scarce. Perhaps the time to live leisurely would only return much later.
Seo Chi-young closed his eyes. The scent of old wood, the fresh scent of grass. The sound of birds calling in the distance, and the faint sound of Jang Ui-geon’s voice.
“……”
I really do like that man. He found himself thinking it anew, with a slightly aching heart.
Just then, a small sound rang out from his pocket. Seo Chi-young opened his eyes. Is it an ad? Tilting his head, he took his phone out of his pocket and checked the message.
‘One more serving. —Jung Beom-yong.’
The content was short, but the meaning was clear. Seo Chi-young couldn’t help but smile. It seemed the number of people who wanted to eat gopchang at the workplace had increased. Seo Chi-young sent a reply, ‘Yes, I understand,’ to the message from the man working in the company kitchen.
“I might actually have to open a branch…”
“Where?”
Jang Ui-geon, who had returned from his call and was entering the main house, asked. “I’ll have to prepare celebratory wreaths then,” he said with a smile as he sat beside Seo Chi-young.
“Oh, no.. At the place where I work at night, people like gopchang, so I occasionally bring some and fry it for them.. But I got a message asking me to bring a bit more.”
Seo Chi-young spoke bashfully and smiled. His fingers, fidgeting with the phone, felt a bit shy.
The mention of a branch was a joke, but he didn’t feel bad. It always felt good to see people enjoy something he had made.
Watching Seo Chi-young look down at the phone with a beaming smile, Jang Ui-geon asked.
“You said you do designated driving?”
“Yes? Yes..”
“You must be close with the people there.”
“I wouldn’t say ‘close’ exactly, but there are many good people.”
Though there are some difficult ones too, he swallowed those words. Jang Ui-geon stared at Seo Chi-young, who was putting the phone down while scratching the back of his neck, then took off his shoes and sat on the porch.
“Isn’t it hard? Not just the part about not sleeping at night, but I imagine there are many difficult things when you have to drive drunk people.”
“Uh.., there are times like that, but it’s okay.”
Seo Chi-young waved his hand and gave a clumsy smile. Jang Ui-geon, who had spoken without much thought, instead frowned.
“Are there people who hit you? ……Chi-young, have you ever been hit?”
When Seo Chi-young paused and fell silent, the crease between Jang Ui-geon’s brows deepened. Seeing his eyes grow fierce as if he were angry, Seo Chi-young quickly waved his hands.
“Uh.., but there are plenty of drunk customers at the shop too, so it’s okay. I’m used to it. It, it happens at the shop often. When it’s severe—though not that common—the police even come, so compared to that, it’s really nothing. Besides, most people’s drinking habits aren’t that bad, so it’s really okay.”
The last part was a bit of a lie, but the sentiment was true. Without realizing it, Seo Chi-young grabbed his sleeve as if to soothe him, and Jang Ui-geon, whose eyes had been harsh, glanced down at his captured sleeve. Watching Seo Chi-young slowly let go, Jang Ui-geon let out a quiet sigh.
He looked at Seo Chi-young with a face that seemed to have much to say, but none of those words came out. Perhaps the words he wanted to say most were for him to quit, but he couldn’t say that either.
“….If anything troublesome happens, be sure to contact me. I don’t care if it’s late at night.”
“Uh.., yes, thank you.”
“You say that, but you won’t actually contact me when you’re in trouble, will you?”
At the question asked in a slightly disgruntled tone, Seo Chi-young hesitated for a long time before finally surrendering. I’ll contact you… he whispered.