By Zephyria 
“Hmph, you think gold diggers attach themselves to just anyone?! They wouldn’t touch a bastard like you even if they were told to! A guy who trembles over a few dozen bucks for drinks—who the hell are you to talk about gold diggers?! You’re just a pauper who couldn’t even set foot in a place like this if it wasn’t someone else’s money!”
BANG!! The kick to the chair from behind was transmitted directly through the backrest. Bang, bang, bang—the chair was kicked repeatedly in a fit of rage, causing Seo Chi-young to instinctively pull his back away from the seat. It would be a disaster if an accident happened because of this.
Seo Chi-young curled his body forward, gripping the steering wheel tightly and staring straight ahead. Unlike the daytime when the roads were always packed like a parking lot, the roads after 4 AM were almost empty, so it wouldn’t be dangerous even if he swayed slightly, but he still couldn’t let his guard down. The day before yesterday, in a similar situation, the girl in the passenger seat suddenly grabbed his shoulder and shook him, causing him to veer wildly across the center line. It was a relief that no car was coming from the opposite direction; if an accident had occurred, he would have had to take all the blame.
When he returned that day with a pale face and told the story, a man who used to drive but was now working as a Gi-do in the hall grinned and said nonchalantly, “Some guy once swerved in the opposite direction and hit a telephone pole, ending up in the hospital.” “This job isn’t easy either,” Seo Chi-young muttered with a sigh, and the man scanned him with a condescending look, asking if he thought any job where you take other people’s money in this industry was easy.
He was right. While no way of making money is easy, it was even more so in this line of work.
Every day from 3 AM—though if you counted the waiting time, it was from 2:30 AM—until 6 AM. For three hours, he thought the pay was quite high for simply driving. He had hesitated for a moment when he heard the job involved driving girls from the establishment to their homes, but he accepted it.
Perhaps feeling sorry for suddenly canceling a favor he had asked of Seo Chi-young in the past, a Seonbae had met him for a few drinks. When Seo Chi-young let slip that his situation was difficult, the Seonbae abruptly brought up this “very good” job opportunity.
In truth, for Seo Chi-young, who had many time constraints, it was an ideal job. There were almost no other ways for him to make money during the hours he wasn’t tied to the shop from daytime until past midnight.
Moreover, the work wasn’t as difficult as the grim image associated with the establishment. From as early as 2 or 3 AM to as late as 5 or 6 AM, the job was to escort the girls who were ‘clocking out’ to their homes. He simply had to stay by their side from the moment they left the shop until the moment they opened their front doors and went inside. As the predecessor had warned, things like stalkers suddenly appearing and swinging knives almost never happened.
There were several conditions that naturally had to be followed: punctuality, confidentiality, and so on. Among them, the most important was ‘never to lay a hand on the girls.’ This was the point most emphasized by the man he interviewed with—the manager who oversaw the establishment.
Perhaps there had been several drivers in the past who had caused trouble while taking the women home, as the man had cautioned him on this point as much as all other precautions combined. Never touch the women. He even added a subtle threat, saying that if he did anything foolish, it wouldn’t end with just a broken bone or two.
While Seo Chi-young was someone who would never let such a dangerous thing happen, hearing that kind of threat directly made his heart heavy. It was only natural, as he had never heard of anyone having a good outcome after getting involved with this crowd. Furthermore, since he was the type of person who couldn’t stand to see others fight, he had agonized over whether to take the job from the moment he passed the interview until he was told when to start. However, considering the pay, the conditions, and his own circumstances, there was no better alternative.
Though he had started the job with a heavy and troubled heart, it wasn’t as difficult or grueling as he expected. After all, there were separate people to handle the rough business related to the establishment. Even if someone appeared and swung a knife—which had never happened since he started—it wasn’t Seo Chi-young’s job to solve it. One phone call, and sturdy men would arrive in an instant.
Seo Chi-young simply had to watch the girls get safely into their homes, return to the shop, and repeat the process for the next girl clocking out. Having already decided to do it, he didn’t regret accepting the job. The drunk girls from the establishment, the smell of expensive liquor, and the sturdy Gi-dos he encountered coming and going—all of these had now become somewhat familiar.
“Ugh… I feel sick… Hey, drive properly, I’m getting motion sick…!”
The moment the woman, drenched in alcohol and acting out, shouted shrilly, Seo Chi-young hurriedly stopped the car, but he was a step too late. When he stopped the car and rushed to the back seat to open the door, the woman was leaning over the seat, beginning to vomit.
Seo Chi-young first pulled her out of the car as she retched and writhed. Then, as she crouched by the roadside, he held her long hair so it wouldn’t get dirty and gently patted her back.
After she finally calmed down from a long bout of nausea, he wiped the corners of her mouth, handed her a water bottle, sat her in the passenger seat, and cleaned the back seat using tissues, plastic bags, and wet wipes he kept in the glove box.
Having done this once or twice already, he finished the cleanup with ease and returned to the driver’s seat. He fastened the seatbelt for the woman, who was slumped over as if exhausted, and asked worriedly, “Are you okay?” She didn’t answer and only stared out the window.
“I’ll go now. Please tell me if you feel sick or unwell,” Seo Chi-young said quietly and began to drive again. Before long, he could hear the woman sobbing.
These were the kinds of things he could never get used to.
Vomiting or acting out was fine. Sometimes he got slapped or showered in insults, but even that was okay.
The time he spent with them was only the few dozen minutes it took to get them home, but even in that short time, through just a few words, Seo Chi-young could learn quite a lot about them. Some girls wouldn’t say a word from the moment they entered the car, exhausted from selling smiles and conversation to customers all night; others poured out their inner thoughts incessantly; and some had grown up without lacking much but were doing this business with a light heart simply because they lacked entertainment funds. Their lives were all different, but none of them had a life that wasn’t aching or sick, and Seo Chi-young had to take in every painful memory they spilled out while drunk, absorbing them into his ears and his heart.
By the time they arrived at her house, her crying and talking had stopped, and Seo Chi-young, as always, escorted her to her front door while she leaned on him.
“Lock the door well. …….Sleep well.”
Only after she gave a barely perceptible nod and entered the house, and he heard the sound of the gate clicking shut, did Seo Chi-young let out a long sigh.
Walking down the stairs instead of taking the elevator, he called the shop and gave a brief report: “I’ve just confirmed she entered her home. Yes, I’m heading back now.” Then, he started the car toward the shop, where the next girl to be taken home was waiting.
Looking at the clock, it was nearly 5 AM. From what he had heard briefly during the report, it seemed there was only one more person to take home today.
Just one more. Thinking that, a wave of fatigue seemed to crash over him all at once. His mind was even more exhausted than his body, which had been driving without a wink of sleep after working at the shop all day. It was especially true after dealing with people who were suffering.
“…….”
As he turned a corner, something moved on the floor. He slowed the car and glanced over; a pack of cigarettes had fallen somewhere and was sliding across the passenger floor. The girl from before must have dropped it. He decided he would pick it up after he arrived at the shop and parked.
Cigarettes. He had never smoked, but he sometimes thought that if a single cigarette—costing a bit over a hundred won—could lighten the weight of his heart even slightly, then yes, he would desperately crave that small comfort of a hundred-something won.
He had tried smoking once, but he coughed violently and felt nauseous; after crying for a whole night because he felt so ridiculous and miserable, he had never looked at a cigarette again.
Soon he arrived in front of the shop and stopped the car. He lowered the window and gave a nodding greeting to the man standing in front of the shop, then picked up the cigarettes rolling on the passenger floor and put them in the glove box. The girl who dropped them would probably just buy a new pack tomorrow, but he still thought he should return them.
It was just before 5 o’clock. He had heard he had to take one more person, but they hadn’t come out of the shop yet.
“I guess there are still customers left.”
Seo Chi-young stepped out of the car and approached the man at the door, peeking inside—though from where they stood, only the stairs leading into the shop were visible. The man checked his watch and said, “Everyone should have gone back by now.”
“Who are you waiting for?”
“Uh… Sun-mi-ssi.”
“Probably,” Seo Chi-young said, scratching his head awkwardly. The man nodded, “Ah, Sun-mi.”
“Sun-mi went to a second-round party earlier. It’s about time she came back… Heh, you’re too much of a gentleman.”
The man gestured over Seo Chi-young’s shoulder. Seo Chi-young shrugged slightly and looked back. A girl who had just stepped out of a deluxe taxi looked this way and gave a light snort. Walking toward them with a click-clack of her heels, she entered the shop without a single word of greeting. “That bitch has no manners…” the man clicked his tongue, glaring.
“Out of all the women you take home, that bitch has the worst temper. The kind of guy she likes is exactly someone like you. Someone who looks gentle and quiet.”
Leaving the cackling man with only an awkward smile, Seo Chi-young returned to the car. She would probably just report to the manager that she had returned and then come out, so he thought it would be better to turn on the car’s air conditioning in advance.
The car cooled down quickly, but she didn’t come out as fast as he expected. Come to think of it, it was the end of the month. It was plausible that conversations about money were dragging on.
Seo Chi-young rubbed his heavy eyelids. Looking at the shop where there was still no sign of anyone coming out, he took his mobile phone out of his pocket. With tired fingers, he pressed the buttons and scrolled through his messages. He called up a single message stored inside.
‘I’m rooting for you, working late into the night.’
Tracing the words that looked like an advertisement with his eyes, Seo Chi-young couldn’t help but smile. It was a text he had received a few days ago. The sender was Jang Ui-geon. The time he received it was similar to the current time. It was early Sunday morning; he had checked it as he was leaving the factory after announcing he would quit. He had seen the text late—it must have arrived while he was in the middle of loading goods at the factory—and his heart had been fluttering the entire way home.
After hesitating for a long while, he checked the time—which was already late enough to be called morning—and sent a short reply: “Thank you.” A response flew back almost immediately, as if the other person had stayed up all night.
‘Are you finished now? Get home safely and get some good rest.’
Comparing the text from that dawn with the one that had just arrived, Seo Chi-young sent a slightly flustered reply.
‘Did you stay up all night?’
‘I’m organizing my things to prepare for the move. Since I already started, I figured I’d just finish everything before sleeping, but it took the whole night.’
Come to think of it, the day Jang Ui-geon was moving was not far off. After a moment’s hesitation, Seo Chi-young replied, “Take it easy,” and a “Thank you” soon came back. He wondered if he should say something more, but fearing he might be a nuisance if he sent another message, Seo Chi-young closed his phone. No further messages arrived. However, feeling as though he had received an unexpected gift, Seo Chi-young couldn’t fall asleep until late that morning.
After that, messages like those arrived occasionally, and every time they did, Seo Chi-young would save them and reread them whenever he was free or exhausted. In truth, Jang Ui-geon himself didn’t visit that infrequently, so there was no particular reason to miss him through messages, yet those few texts were treasures stored within his phone.
“What are you grinning at? Is it a lover?”
The passenger door swung open, and a cold voice mixed with a snort entered. Startled, Seo Chi-young closed his phone and turned his head. The woman, who had entered the shop a moment ago, was climbing into the seat beside him.
“What are you looking at? Let’s go.”
Frowning her delicate eyebrows and speaking sharply, she immediately lit a cigarette. Seo Chi-young hurriedly turned his head away and quickly started the car. Once he dropped her off—the one woman among the many who was particularly difficult to please—his work for the night would be over.
Seo Chi-young exhaled inwardly. The messages he had just read one by one made his heart feel a bit lighter, making it much easier to breathe.
Happiness does not always appear in the form of happiness. For instance, a friend who drops by suddenly late at night without notice, grumbling with a pout, “My missus says she wants to eat gopchang,” was likely one of those cases.
On a day when he was exhausted and had barely stepped inside after finishing work in the middle of the night, Kim Kyung-chul had rushed over without even changing his clothes—still in his suit—while complaining, “Buy some gopchang, hey, isn’t this too much?” Though he was wearing sneakers on his feet, which looked terribly mismatched.
“Isn’t there a gopchang place near your house? Why did you come all the way here?”
“Huh? You don’t know? I just came here because it’s the first place that came to mind when she told me to buy gopchang. Hey, put in only a little seasoning; my missus doesn’t like salty food.”
“Right, right,” Seo Chi-young laughed, but since the ingredients were packed separately in plastic bags anyway, he put in plenty. He put plenty of everything. Gopchang, vegetables, seasoning, and glass noodles. Meanwhile, Kim Kyung-chul had helped himself to a can of beer and was drinking it.
“But your sister-in-law doesn’t even like gopchang that much, so why all of a sudden?”
“I don’t know. They say when you’re pregnant, you eat things you usually don’t. Yesterday, she suddenly told me to buy seonji-guk. When I asked why she wanted seonji-guk when she never even looked at it before, she gave me a glare and asked if I hated the idea of buying what the baby in her belly wants. What was I supposed to say? I just shut my mouth and said yes. Ugh, such a pain. Well, if the baby in her belly really likes gopchang, it’ll be perfect to bring the kid here in about 20 years to drink and eat gopchang together, so that’s fine.”
Looking at his friend, who was smiling happily despite saying it was a pain, Seo Chi-young gave him a soft smile.
“Twenty years, huh? Then I’ll have known you for over thirty years. Ugh, how tedious.”
“Really? I’d like that.”
“…. Man, if you put it that way, what does that make my empty words? You’re a brat who doesn’t understand Hyung’s heart.”
Kim Kyung-chul frowned intentionally and scolded him. Seo Chi-young only laughed faintly.
Listening to him mutter in admiration that in a few more years, they would have known each other for half their lives, Seo Chi-young also became newly aware of the time. It didn’t feel particularly long, but time had accumulated between them before he knew it. Seo Chi-young liked that light yet deep layer of time, where it felt natural to share dull and ordinary conversations.
“Here, take this. I’ve told your sister-in-law before, so you’ll know how to stir-fry it. You should go now.”
Seo Chi-young placed the bundle of ingredients, wrapped in several plastic bags, in front of Kim Kyung-chul. Kim Kyung-chul licked his lips, seemingly regretful that the beer can was only half empty.
“Just let me finish this.”
“Hey, don’t keep your sister-in-law, who’s in an uncomfortable condition, waiting. Hurry up and go.”
“It’s almost closing time anyway, only 15 minutes left. I’m leaving as soon as it hits twelve.”
Seo Chi-young followed Kim Kyung-chul’s gaze to the wall clock behind him. As he said, midnight was not far off. I won’t be responsible if you get nagged by your sister-in-law. Wondering why this guy kept calling his sister-in-law “jesu-ssi” instead of “hyeongsu-nim,” Seo Chi-young sat opposite Kim Kyung-chul and engaged in idle conversation.
As expected, it seemed he wouldn’t come today.
The moment he looked at the clock ticking toward midnight, Seo Chi-young smiled bitterly to himself, realizing he had felt a lingering disappointment. Even though he knew from the start that there was a high possibility Jang Ui-geon wouldn’t come today, some corner of his heart must have been expecting it.
Today was the day Jang Ui-geon was moving. Although the construction of the annex wasn’t finished yet, it was nearly at the final stage, and Jang Ui-geon had said he would move his things today, as he wouldn’t have any more leisure time to move after this.
Since it was a weekday but a “day without evil spirits” in a sunny season, the moving companies were extremely busy, so he heard the move would start late in the afternoon. If so, there was a high chance Jang Ui-geon wouldn’t be able to come here today. Not only because of the time it takes to move and organize, but because he would surely be exhausted afterward.
Around evening, after hesitating for a long time, Seo Chi-young sent a message: “You must have worked hard moving. Please get some comfortable rest today.” Not long after, a reply flew back: “I’ve just arrived at the new house and started bringing in the luggage. I think it’ll be finished around midnight. T.T” Thinking that it would indeed be difficult for him to come today, Seo Chi-young had laughed at Jang Ui-geon’s out-of-character emoticon.
I wonder if the organizing is roughly finished by now. That modest and beautiful main house will finally smell like someone is living there. Seo Chi-young smiled, thinking of that warm and bright house.
“What are you thinking about now, smiling to yourself?”
Only after Kim Kyung-chul asked abruptly did Seo Chi-young realize he was smiling. However, he didn’t bother to erase the smile and spoke the thought that had suddenly occurred to him.
“Just… come to think of it, back in high school. The sunlight really came into the classroom well.”
“Hmm? Did it?”
“Yeah, it did. It moved toward the hallway in the afternoon, but in the morning, sunlight poured through the classroom windows, so the kids sitting by the window looked sparkling.”
“I don’t know. I just remember thinking how the boys’ classes in co-ed schools were this gloomy, and wondering how the guys in all-boys schools managed…”
Having never once thought that those guys were sparkling, Kim Kyung-chul frowned in thought, then shrugged as if he still didn’t know, even after thinking about it again.
“It was, it looked that way to me,” Seo Chi-young muttered under his breath and stood up to begin closing the shop. In the past, if customers remained late, he would wait for them indefinitely, but these days he had to be at the establishment by 2:30, so he had to close the shop by 1:30 at the latest.
Fortunately, most of the customers had already left today, so he didn’t think he would need to say, “I’m sorry, but it’s time to close,” with a regretful heart.
“You should go too. It’s almost twelve.”
“Closing up? Right, I should head out too.”
Kim Kyung-chul swallowed the last sip and stood up. As he gathered the plates scattered on the table, Seo Chi-young turned to him.
“Yeah, get home safely and give my regards to your sister-in—”
However, the greeting he offered with a smile stopped midway. It was because his eyes met those of Jang Ui-geon, who was striding toward the shop behind Kim Kyung-chul.
Dressed in a cotton shirt that smelled strongly of sweat—as if his whole body were announcing he had done heavy lifting today—and loose jeans, he had momentarily erased the smile from his face upon seeing Kim Kyung-chul, but then he turned his gaze back to Seo Chi-young, who was staring at him with wide, blinking eyes, and beamed.
“Are you closing already? I was carrying and unpacking things until a little while ago, and I got hungry, so I came all the way here to eat gopchang.”
Following Seo Chi-young’s gaze, Kim Kyung-chul turned around and met Jang Ui-geon’s eyes. Instead of a formal greeting, Jang Ui-geon gave a light smile with his eyes. Kim Kyung-chul seemed surprised for a moment, but since it was a face he had seen once or twice before, he acknowledged him in an ambiguous tone, “Oh… long time…”
Sitting in the spot where Kim Kyung-chul had just stood, Jang Ui-geon said in a light yet polite tone, “Are you leaving? Then please get home safely.” After hesitating for a moment, Kim Kyung-chul scratched his head, “Uh, yes,” and turned his gaze to Seo Chi-young.
“Chi-young, I’ll be going then. See you later.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, get home safely.”
Without even properly seeing off his friend, who gave a light wave and turned away, Seo Chi-young looked back at Jang Ui-geon with bewildered eyes.
“……Uh, ….what about the move?”
“I’ve finished it reasonably well. I just need to organize a few personal items and do one last cleaning. I wanted to finish everything neatly and even take a shower before coming, but it took unexpectedly long… By the way, could you stir-fry one plate of gopchang for me? I’m a bit hungry from the heavy lifting.”
Jang Ui-geon looked up at Seo Chi-young, gesturing by rubbing his stomach. Only then did Seo Chi-young say, “Oh, yes,” and quickly opened the side dish containers again.
“I thought you wouldn’t be able to come… aren’t you tired?”
“I am. That’s why I need to eat more to replenish.”
Jang Ui-geon smiled with a face that didn’t look tired at all. Seo Chi-young smiled awkwardly in return. Despite himself, he could feel his heart fluttering slightly, as if it had been waiting for him to come.
He thought it was strange. Long ago, when he only watched from a distance, he hadn’t felt his heart beat this way. He might have felt a slightly excited, tingling sensation, but it hadn’t throbbed so vividly. Rather, since they now faced each other often and shared conversations, he should have become more accustomed and calm, but why was it? He seemed to like him more and more.
“It feels like it’s been a while since I saw Mr. Kim Kyung-chul too… what were you talking about?”
“Huh? Uh… just this and that… old stories…”
“Old stories?”
When Jang Ui-geon asked back curiously, Seo Chi-young tilted his head and smiled faintly.
“Yes… well, things like stories from high school… Kyung-chul seemed to think our class looked very gloomy back then.”
“Our class? In high school? Hmm… I think the light came in well. In the summer, if you sat by the window, it felt like you’d roast to death.”
“Haha, right, it was like that. It was hot even if we drew the curtains. Who was it, one person even collapsed midway.”
“Ah, right, that happened.”
Nodding and laughing, Jang Ui-geon suddenly seemed to stop smiling for a moment. Seo Chi-young, who had been laughing along while tracing those memories, looked at him in confusion as he gazed at him with a faint, ambiguous smile. Jang Ui-geon smiled warmly and opened his mouth, saying, “No, it just suddenly occurred to me.”
“I haven’t really had many ‘classmate-like’ conversations with Chi-young-ssi until now.”
“That’s because… ……”
Because they did not share the same memories. Even while being in the same space, Seo Chi-young had spent a different time. Therefore, there were no old stories worth sharing together.
Jang Ui-geon seemed to have the same thought as Seo Chi-young, whose expression had become subtle. “Well, I didn’t spend my school days that productively either,” he said, rubbing his chin awkwardly. Come to think of it, back then, as soon as regular classes ended, he always skipped self-study and went out to clubs and other places.
Truly, at that time, there could have been no point of contact between the two. Just as there was nothing that could be called a proper point of contact even now.
Seo Chi-young scratched the back of his neck and lowered his gaze. When he served the golden-brown gopchang on a plate, Jang Ui-geon smiled, said “Thank you,” and picked up his chopsticks.
Watching Jang Ui-geon eat gopchang with beer, Seo Chi-young opened his hesitating mouth.
“I, I saw you in middle school too. I used to go to a Taekwondo gym… or something like that.”
Jang Ui-geon seemed to stop his chopsticks for a moment, then widened his eyes slightly and stared at Seo Chi-young. Then he smiled awkwardly, “Did you?” Seeing him look sorry for not remembering, Seo Chi-young shook his head shyly.
“Even then, you stood out, Ui-geon-ssi… you even won medals at the National Junior Sports Festival.”
“Ah, when you’re young, things like that seem impressive. In reality, it’s nothing special.”
Jang Ui-geon laughed it off awkwardly. “Oh, that’s not true,” Seo Chi-young shook his head.
“Medals might not matter, but even then, you stood out. Just like in high school, how should I put it, it was like you were standing by the window, sparkling… so I found myself staring at you without realizing it.”
That was true. Back then, he sparkled. Regardless of medals, family background, or the friends around him, he seemed to shine by himself.
As he recalled that, Seo Chi-young suddenly noticed Jang Ui-geon looking at him with a subtle expression and flinched, closing his mouth. After staring at Seo Chi-young with his smile gone, he eventually smiled normally.
“I did? Thank you.”
“Eh, uh, ……I, I don’t do that now.”
As Seo Chi-young waved his hand in embarrassment, Jang Ui-geon looked puzzled. But soon, he smiled mischievously.
“I don’t sparkle now?”
“Huh? Uh, that, ……it’s not that, …….I, I don’t l-like you as much as I did back then, so I don’t stare like that, ….now, just, ..you’re just like a friend…”
Unable to handle the situation, Seo Chi-young let his words slip one by one, and because he had his head bowed low, he couldn’t tell what kind of face Jang Ui-geon was making as he looked at him. No, he didn’t want to see it. He felt that the other man must be looking at him with absurd eyes, seeing him stumble and unable to find his footing.
Or perhaps he had a troubled expression. Because the emotion beyond affection leaking through those clumsy words was uncomfortable.
He only peeked up with a glance. Then, he became even more flustered. Jang Ui-geon was looking at Seo Chi-young as if lost in thought. His face was expressionless, almost as if he were angry. Seo Chi-young added in a small, bewildered voice.
“It’s true… I don’t like you as much as I did before… I don’t stare like that either… I-it’s really true…”
Ashamed of himself for lying while emphasizing that it was true, Seo Chi-young dropped his head again.
The silent stillness falling over his head felt incredibly heavy, and just as he was about to repeat a futile whisper, “Really……” like a monologue, a short voice cut him off: “It’s fine. I get it.”
At the firm voice, which sounded as if he didn’t want to hear any more, Seo Chi-young hesitantly raised his head. Because Jang Ui-geon was drinking beer, his expression wasn’t clearly visible.
However, having emptied the glass in one go, Jang Ui-geon looked back at Seo Chi-young with a face no different from usual, as if asking why he was acting that way, in front of Seo Chi-young’s anxious gaze. With a smile still lingering around his eyes, he laughed like a sigh upon seeing Seo Chi-young.
“Why are you making that face?”
“Huh…?”
Seo Chi-young blinked and rubbed his face. With an uncertain expression, he looked into the shabby mirror hanging on the shop wall. He didn’t look particularly strange, but perhaps he looked strange in Jang Ui-geon’s eyes. Seo Chi-young blinked again and looked at Jang Ui-geon. Jang Ui-geon clicked his tongue.