By Zephyria 
“Chi-young-ssi.”
Jang Ui-geon called out to Seo Chi-young while the latter was sitting on the edge of the porch, hugging his knees, staring blankly at a cat grooming itself at the bottom of the stairs.
Seo Chi-young looked back at Jang Ui-geon, who had been leaning against a pillar a short distance away. Jang Ui-geon, who had been gazing at Seo Chi-young instead of the book in his hand for a while, softly curved his eyes upon meeting his gaze and shook his head, saying, “It’s nothing. I just wanted to call you.”
Seo Chi-young looked a bit shy, but soon turned his head back to look at the cats, which had somehow increased to two. Jang Ui-geon continued to watch Seo Chi-young for a while before putting his book down entirely.
It was a peaceful and quiet holiday, just like any other.
Plum tea was served to the last remaining guests at the tables.
Since the people at the next table had left a moment ago, today’s business would end once these guests finished their dessert tea and stood up. Beside Jang Ui-geon, who was beginning to organize the ledgers, the employees also looked relieved that the day had ended safely.
It was right then. The moment the headlights of a car entering the parking lot were reflected in the window, the employees’ faces darkened. However, Jang Ui-geon glanced at the car and, returning his gaze to the ledger with indifference, said, “Tell them we’re closed,” and their expressions brightened again.
After confirming there were no errors in the day’s records and closing the ledger, Jang Ui-geon heard the employee outside say, “I’m sorry, but we are closed for the day.” However, the guest seemed to ignore the employee and enter the shop, casually replying, “Yes, just a moment.”
“……”
Jang Ui-geon looked over while putting away the ledger. Having already recognized the person by the voice, he chuckled and walked toward the door.
“Guest, we are closed.”
“Then I was thinking of making a reservation for fifteen days from now.”
The person who entered, responding nonchalantly to Jang Ui-geon’s words, was Kwon Kang-hee. It was a friend he hadn’t seen in a while. It had been over a month since they last met in early last month. Jang Ui-geon led him to a window seat and pulled out a calendar.
“You could have at least told me you were coming. What’s this all of a sudden? Fifteen days from now? What time and how many people?”
“Six o’clock, five people. Maybe one more. I’d like a quiet spot that isn’t too conspicuous. There’s an elder coming along.”
“An elder… if it’s an elder you’re bringing, I’m scared for various reasons. I feel like if the setting isn’t perfect, I’ll get hit on the back of the head on the way home.”
Jang Ui-geon threw a joke with a laugh, then paused to think before telling the employee, “Bring some of that new liquor we got the other day.” Kwon Kang-hee raised an eyebrow slightly.
“I guess some good liquor came in.”
“Yeah. My father finally started getting into the liquor business. He’ll probably start around this autumn; the scale won’t be large, but it’ll likely be expensive.”
Jang Ui-geon laughed, telling him to try some to see if it was worth the high price. While the two shared idle conversation—about whether his father would actually give it to him cheaply or if he was the type to be uncompromising—the employee brought a small bottle of liquor and two glasses. Jang Ui-geon poured the clear liquor for him and stood up.
“Drink up. I’ll finish tidying up the shop and come back. Let’s head out together.”
After seeing the last guests at the other table leave, Jang Ui-geon stepped away, and Kwon Kang-hee remained alone, pouring himself more drinks.
Even after the guests left, cleaning up the shop took a surprising amount of time. By the time the day was wrapped up and the lights could be turned off, Kwon Kang-hee, who had been drinking slowly as if just wetting his lips, had almost finished the bottle.
After the employees left with their “See you tomorrow” and “Good work,” Jang Ui-geon returned after a final interior check to find Kwon Kang-hee staring out the window with a glass in his hand. Jang Ui-geon looked at his friend in silence for a moment, then turned off all the lights except for one by the counter. With a series of short click, click, click sounds, the overhead lighting went out, and only then did Kwon Kang-hee turn his gaze.
“Looking at you like this, you’ve changed a lot. You’re a full-fledged middle-aged man now.”
Jang Ui-geon let out a short laugh as he approached. Kwon Kang-hee chuckled along and replied, “Why don’t you smooth out the wrinkles around your eyes before saying things like that?”
“Still… you look good. Before, you looked like you’d been stamped out of a steel box, all sharp and square.”
Jang Ui-geon laughed, adding that now it felt as if a layer of firm sponge had been added over it, making him look much better.
Yes, now was much better. Kwon Kang-hee had always been an incomparably good friend, but there were times when Jang Ui-geon felt this friend was too rigid—sometimes to the point of appearing precarious.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen that ‘sponge’ in a while. Is that guy doing well lately?”
When Jang Ui-geon asked, Kwon Kang-hee nodded readily without even asking who he meant.
“Yeah. I’m supposed to see him in a bit.”
“See him? Not at home?”
Jang Ui-geon asked curiously, since they lived together anyway.
“He said he was going to eat gopchang tonight. He’s probably arrived and is eating already.”
“…Ah, did he say he was going to Chi-young-ssi’s place today?”
Jang Ui-geon spoke after a short pause. Since the ‘sponge’ had always been incredibly fond of Seo Chi-young’s gopchang, it wasn’t particularly strange. At one point, he used to visit almost every two or three days, but since he started living with Kwon Kang-hee, the house became far away, and he couldn’t come as often.
Even these days, he seemed to come once or twice a month, and on days he didn’t, he would often send texts to Seo Chi-young—whether they were monologues or complaints, it was hard to tell—saying things like ‘I want gopchang…’, ‘The gopchang must be great today too…’, ‘I want to move near there…’.
“It seems he’s been texting almost every day for the past few days; I guess he’s finally coming today to fulfill his wish. If you look at Chi-young-ssi’s inbox, half the messages are from Jun-young. Anyone would think the two of them are very close.”
“Aren’t they quite close? Considering Jun-young’s personality.”
“Ah… well, I guess so.”
Regardless of what Seo Chi-young thought of him, it was clear that Yoon Jun-young considered Seo Chi-young quite close. Otherwise, no matter how much he loved gopchang, he wasn’t the type to send such frivolous texts.
Kwon Kang-hee smiled softly, watching Jang Ui-geon sink into silent thought for a moment.
“You’re not the one to tell me I’ve changed, Jang Ui-geon. Who is it that you don’t like being close with someone?”
“……”
Jang Ui-geon flicked his eyes toward Kwon Kang-hee, then let out a scoff as if it were absurd. “Stop talking nonsense,” he said, giving the guy a light kick on the shin.
“Get up, let’s go.”
“I’ll drive, so come back here with Jun-young later and tell Jun-young to drive; that liquor is surprisingly strong,” Jang Ui-geon said, and Kwon Kang-hee followed obediently behind him.
—Who is it that you don’t like being close with someone?
It was a question that required no thought.
In all the long years he had liked Yoon Jun-young, there had never been a single time when it bothered him that Yoon Jun-young was close with someone. His own feelings for him and Jun-young’s friendships were separate issues. Even the fact that Kwon Kang-hee and Yoon Jun-young were close, while sometimes leaving him with a bitter feeling, wasn’t something he disliked. If someone was beneficial to Yoon Jun-young, he hoped they would become as close as possible for Jun-young’s sake.
No, in the first place, wasn’t the question itself too childish? Liking or disliking who was close to whom.
Jang Ui-geon was not such a childish person.
Naturally, it didn’t matter who Seo Chi-young was close with, as long as that person wasn’t a bad person. Yoon Jun-young was a good friend, though he was sometimes misunderstood because he was quiet and clumsy with his expressions, and there was no reason to dislike Seo Chi-young becoming close with a good friend. Rather, he should be happy that Seo Chi-young was gaining a good friend.
Jang Ui-geon liked it when the people he loved all became close with one another. Because he was not a childish person.
He liked it when Seo Chi-young was happy. Everything about Seo Chi-young was precious, and he wanted to cherish everything. When had he ever felt this way—that he would be happy if his own life could be used to support the other’s happiness? He hadn’t known he could like someone this much.
Even just calling his name.
‘Chi-young-ssi.’
Whenever he called him like that, the deepest part of his heart trembled with a sharp ache. Because he knew the gaze that would follow as he looked up at Jang Ui-geon, the faint smile that would bloom on his lips, and the calm voice that would answer, “Yes.” In that way, even his name was precious.
He would worry, What if the name wears out?, and then laugh at himself for being so absurd. And every time that happened, he would think:
I really do love this person.
“Actually, from a customer’s perspective, a quiet place is better than one that’s too crowded. But on the other hand, if it’s too quiet, it’s anxious because you don’t know when they’ll close. From the owner’s perspective, it’s probably much better to be crowded, right?”
“Uh… not necessarily. If it’s too chaotic, there are more mistakes and I feel like I’m not doing things thoroughly, which makes me feel bad. A moderate amount of people is best. For example… just one table left empty.”
“Ah, then in this case, Wednesday or Thursday would be the most ideal.”
“I like Mondays because they’re the quietest,” Yoon Jun-young was muttering while eating gopchang. And in front of him, Seo Chi-young was sitting across from him on this very quiet Monday, acting as Yoon Jun-young’s conversation partner.
Seo Chi-young, who had been talking quietly with a soft smile on his eyes, only then noticed Jang Ui-geon, who had slowed his pace a few steps away, and stood up happily, saying, “Oh, you’re here?”
“Yes… were you talking with Jun-young?”
When Jang Ui-geon met Seo Chi-young’s welcoming smile, he reflexively smiled back, but the smile soon faded halfway. His expression was somewhat subtle as he blinked ambiguously, looking back and forth between Yoon Jun-young and Seo Chi-young.
Yoon Jun-young, who had been diligently moving his chopsticks throughout the conversation, looked at Jang Ui-geon with a puzzled face.
“Kang-hee said he was going to your shop today; didn’t you come together?”
“Huh? Ah, he went to the pharmacy for a moment to buy some digestive medicine. He’ll be here soon. But…”
Jang Ui-geon pulled out the chair next to Yoon Jun-young and looked back and forth between Jun-young and Seo Chi-young with a subtle gaze.
“You two seem very close…? Since when did you start speaking informally?”
“Huh? Informally? Ah, it’s been a while?”
Yoon Jun-young looked blankly at Seo Chi-young, as if he had heard something unexpectedly out of place. Seo Chi-young looked at Yoon Jun-young with a similar expression, then muttered a small “Ah” to himself. He looked as if he had forgotten to mention it.
“When Ui-geon-ssi went on a business trip to the countryside before, Jun-young came to the shop. That’s when it happened.”
“Ah, early last month. I see… Jun-young did?…”
“Jun-young did,” Jang Ui-geon nodded, slowly repeating Seo Chi-young’s words. Seeing Jang Ui-geon smiling but looking somehow subtle, Seo Chi-young bowed his head slightly, feeling a bit embarrassed, and said, “I forgot to tell you. I’m sorry.”
“Pardon? Ahaha, no, why are you sorry to me for that? It’s good to see you two looking so close. But how did it happen?”
“Kyung-chul came that day too. Kyung-chul got a promotion, so we had some drinks to celebrate. But Kyung-chul is the type to get very excited and upbeat when he’s drunk…”
Hearing this, Jang Ui-geon nodded as if he understood. Jang Ui-geon also had a general grasp of Kim Kyung-chul’s personality. He knew that he was the type whose intimacy levels spiked suddenly once alcohol was involved.
He presumed—and his presumption was likely correct—that at first, Kim Kyung-chul would have struck up a few words with Yoon Jun-young, perhaps feeling slightly awkward, just as he did with Jang Ui-geon. Since Yoon Jun-young was selective about people but not shy, he probably wouldn’t have felt particularly uncomfortable and would have responded to those words.
Then, with the alcohol flowing, the responses being natural, and the feeling of becoming comfortable as they talked—and the fact that they were high school classmates—Kim Kyung-chul, in his drunken state, would have suddenly blurted out, “Hey, isn’t it weird for us to be like this? Let’s just speak informally; we’re classmates anyway.”
Since Yoon Jun-young wouldn’t have spoken to or responded to someone he disliked in the first place, he would have nodded nonchalantly at Kim Kyung-chul’s suggestion and simply said, “Sure, let’s do that.”
In the process, it was certain that Seo Chi-young, who was there at the time, got swept up in it.
“I see. That must have been interesting.”
“Yes, we just had a comfortable chat since it had been a while.”
As Jang Ui-geon spoke with a smile, Seo Chi-young smiled back and nodded, looking somewhat bashful.
“Chi-young, I saw the other day that you can really hold your liquor. I thought you didn’t drink much.”
“Oh, no. I don’t. I don’t actually like it much. I just happened to drink a bit too much that day, and I suffered from a hangover the next morning.”
“Is that so? You kept beaming with a smile once the alcohol hit, so I thought I should feed you some more often.”
As Yoon Jun-young muttered with a hint of regret, Seo Chi-young gave a thin smile and replied, “No, please don’t do that, Jun-young.”
Jang Ui-geon stood by, listening to their quiet conversation. With a painted smile on his lips, he remained silent, simply watching them.
It was then that Kwon Kang-hee entered, bowing his head as he stepped under the shop’s slate roof. Although the roof was low, it wasn’t low enough to hit his head, but since he had bumped his head several times when entering such low temporary structures, it seemed to have become a habit.
“Oh, you’re here?” Yoon Jun-young acknowledged him, and Kwon Kang-hee responded by lightly tapping Jun-young’s shoulder before pulling up an empty chair. He cast a glance at Jang Ui-geon. Perhaps Jang Ui-geon, who was just smiling with the same expression in silence, seemed a bit strange.
“Aren’t you eating anything?”
“Huh? No, I’m fine. ──Chi-young ssi, please stir-fry one serving of gopchang for me.”
Jang Ui-geon gave a beaming smile to Seo Chi-young, who was already pouring oil onto the griddle, and only then poured barley tea into his cup, which had been empty until now.
“I see, so that’s how you and Kim Kyung-chul ssi became so close, drinking and talking together. I didn’t know Chi-young ssi drank too.”
“Oh, no. Usually, I hardly…”
“Try feeding him later. He gets kind of cute when he’s drunk.”
“Jun-young, stop it…”
Jang Ui-geon watched with a circling smile as Seo Chi-young, looking flustered, tried to stop Yoon Jun-young from interrupting. Then, he turned his gaze toward Kwon Kang-hee, who had been watching them one by one with blank eyes.
“Come to think of it, Kang-hee, did you know the two of them dropped honorifics? They look much more comfortable than before. It’s nice.”
For some reason, Kwon Kang-hee stared intently at Jang Ui-geon, who didn’t let the smile leave his eyes, as if he were genuinely pleased. He seemed about to say something, his eyebrow twitching slightly, but he soon closed his mouth and merely muttered, “Hmm.” A look that seemed to say this has become a bit problematic briefly flashed across his face.
I see, that happened while I was gone. That’s nice, Jang Ui-geon muttered nonchalantly while drinking his barley tea. In the next moment, Seo Chi-young’s quiet voice reached him.
“Kang-hee, you’re eating too, right? Just one serving?”
It was a cautious voice, one that still carried a slight sense of distance.
Gulp. The sound of a large lump of barley tea sliding down Jang Ui-geon’s throat echoed.
At the same time, Kwon Kang-hee, whose face looked vaguely stiff around the jaw, stole a glance at Jang Ui-geon before dropping his gaze to the table and mumbling, “Um… no, give me two servings. Including Jun-young’s.”
“Okay,” Seo Chi-young replied, roughly chopping perilla leaves and turning toward the refrigerator to get the gopchang. Behind him, an inexplicable silence flowed. On both sides of Yoon Jun-young, who remained silent, preoccupied with eating, the two men shared a silence.
Jang Ui-geon’s quiet silence pierced through Kwon Kang-hee, who stubbornly kept his gaze fixed on the tabletop, like an arrow.
“……I guess Kim Kyung-chul ssi really drank a lot that day, since he even dropped honorifics with Kang-hee…?”
As Jang Ui-geon spoke slowly, word by word, Seo Chi-young, who had just turned around with the gopchang container from the fridge, blinked and said, “Yes?” before realizing, “Ah, Kyung-chul?”
“Yes. He went home completely wasted that day. When I called him the next day, he said he blacked out and couldn’t remember properly. ……Haha, so Kyung-chul went back to using honorifics with Kang-hee.”
“I see. So suddenly, only Chi-young ssi…”
It felt as though an ill-fitting adverb had been attached, but Seo Chi-young blinked and then nodded with an awkward smile, saying, “Yes, well.” Kwon Kang-hee remained silently mute, Jang Ui-geon continued to smile as if painted, and Yoon Jun-young, still focused on the gopchang, added a request: “Chi-young, fry it crispy, really crispy.”
Ding-dong-dang-dong.., ding-dong-dang-dong..
Where had he heard that nostalgic bell sound before? Jang Ui-geon frowned, unable to remember despite the sound being so familiar. It felt like something he had heard a very long time ago—no, very recently.
‘Are you acting up because of your wisdom tooth again? Why the long face?’
Someone tapped him on the back. Turning around, Jang Ui-geon blinked as he saw Yoon Jun-young muttering with a worried look, ‘I told you to hurry up and go to the dentist.’
A familiar school uniform. A familiar badge. ……Ah, right. It was the bell signaling the end of self-study hour. Since there was no homeroom meeting today, the students were packing their bags to go home. The fast ones were already bursting through the back door. And as for himself…… yes, his wisdom tooth had been hurting for a few days, and he was thinking of visiting the dentist today. But before Jang Ui-geon could say that, Yoon Jun-young looked around and spoke to someone sitting further away.
‘Chi-young, do you happen to have any painkillers?’
Jang Ui-geon looked curiously in the direction Yoon Jun-young was approaching. Who was that? As he tilted his head, a boy who was taking books out of a desk in the middle of the second row turned his head.
It was a name he didn’t know, yet it felt strangely familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before. Jang Ui-geon looked at the boy and nodded, Ah. Come to think of it, there was one guy who was so quiet he didn’t stand out. But when did Jun-young become that close with him?
‘Painkillers? Kang-hee took them earlier to give to a Hubae in the track and field club…… Kang-hee, did you give all the medicine to the Hubae?’
The boy spoke to Kwon Kang-hee, who was just entering through the back door. Kwon Kang-hee looked puzzled for a moment before saying, ‘Yeah, I gave it all,’ and approached them. Seeing the three of them huddled together chatting, they looked very close. Jang Ui-geon watched them from his isolated seat.
Strange. If he’s that close with those two, there’s no way I wouldn’t know him. Why don’t I remember him? He looks very familiar, though, Jang Ui-geon thought, examining the boy carefully. He was a quiet and gentle-looking boy. Had he spoken to him once or twice before regarding class matters? Or maybe not.
Chi-young, Jun-young, Chi-young, Kang-hee. He could only hear the names being whispered between them, wondering what they were talking about so amusingly. Wait, wasn’t he going there to get my medicine?
For some unknown reason, Jang Ui-geon’s mood soured, and he frowned. Just then, the boy turned his head toward Jang Ui-geon, and their eyes met. Large, gentle eyes blinked. Those eyes were just like a calf’s…….
‘………’
Suddenly, he wanted to see those eyes up close. Jang Ui-geon readily stood up and approached them. Thinking about it, Jang Ui-geon was close with Yoon Jun-young and Kwon Kang-hee. If those two were that close with him, it would be strange if he wasn’t. Why couldn’t he speak to him? But then, when did they become so close? He thought he knew everything about them inside and out.
‘If you don’t have any, it’s fine. It doesn’t hurt that much, so I think I’m okay. I’ll just stop by the dentist on my way home.’
Jang Ui-geon slid into the conversation. Up close, the eyes looked even more like a calf’s. Blink, blink, large and pitch black ……he wanted to touch them, but he couldn’t do that.
‘Really? Still, just in case… do you have any spares, Chi-young?’
‘Yeah, there’s probably one somewhere here.. Ah, here it is.’
The boy, who had been rummaging through the front pocket of his bag, pulled out a single packaged pill and looked back at Jang Ui-geon.
In that moment, for some reason, Jang Ui-geon’s heart throbbed. Ah, I see. Now the boy will speak to me. Here, take this, Ui-geon, he’ll say.
His heart raced for no reason. As the boy held out the medicine, Jang Ui-geon stared intently at the boy’s lips. Finally, the boy spoke.
‘Here you go, please take it, Ui-geon ssi.’
“───!!”
Jang Ui-geon snapped his eyes open.
His heart was pounding. A sudden surge of emotion was making it throb. Why only me.
After glaring at the space in front of him with fierce eyes for a while, Jang Ui-geon finally realized that what was before him was a ceiling shrouded in pitch-black darkness. The scenery of the classroom and the figures of the students had all vanished.
“………”
It was a dream. Only then did he think, Ah, no wonder.
Indeed. It had to be a dream. Because such a thing had never actually happened.
In high school, he had hardly ever spoken to Seo Chi-young. The same went for Yoon Jun-young and Kwon Kang-hee. Back then, they had no connection with Seo Chi-young, and even now, he barely remembered what Seo Chi-young was like in high school.
“……Damn it..”
Jang Ui-geon groaned. What kind of dream is this? Even in a dream, I’m the only one using honorifics.
The irritation that had flared up the moment he woke from the dream remained, and he sat up with a crease between his brows. Then, he looked down at Seo Chi-young, who was sleeping peacefully beside him. The gaze, which still held a trace of sharpness, gradually softened as he stared.
Even while sleeping, he was like a calf. He had never seen a calf sleep, but it surely would sleep like this. Quiet and gentle, making soft, rhythmic breathing sounds. Even though his frame looked fully grown, he still seemed soft and fragile, making Jang Ui-geon want to instinctively bury him in his arms.
Jang Ui-geon looked down at Seo Chi-young for a while before tentatively opening his mouth. His lips moved slightly after a moment of hesitation.
“Chi-y—.”
“Mm……, ……Ui-geon ssi? ……Are you not sleeping……?”
However, before Jang Ui-geon could finish the last syllable, Seo Chi-young opened his sleepy eyes. Jang Ui-geon ended up swallowing the half-spoken words.
“I’m going to sleep. Sleep more, Chi-young ssi.”
Jang Ui-geon lay back down and gave a light kiss to Seo Chi-young’s forehead. Seo Chi-young seemed to nod and then fell back into a deep, rhythmic sleep.
Jang Ui-geon watched him for a long time, then at some point, he scratched his head in frustration and pulled the blanket over himself with a final grumble of, Geez…
The hour starting from 3:30 PM was the most leisurely time.
It was the gap between the lunch rush and the dinner rush, specifically the middle period excluding the time needed for cleaning up after lunch and preparing for dinner.
During this time, the employees ate, drank tea, and rested.
Jang Ui-geon did the same; having finished his meal alongside the employees, he was resting on the wooden veranda with a teacup in one hand. Beside him, the head chef came out and sat down, lighting a cigarette. The head chef, whom he had hired at a very high price, was an old man nearly seventy and the eldest person in Jang Ui-geon’s shop. Jang Ui-geon gave him a slight smile with his eyes and looked back down at the leisurely courtyard.
Two employees were sitting side by side in the courtyard chatting, and the sound of their conversation reached the veranda. Most of the talk was trivial—things like, the weather has completely turned hot now, oh my god, I saw a dragonfly on my way home the other day, the sense of seasons is different from when I was young.
“The weather is wonderful. On a day like this, one should pack a lunch and go for an outing in the fields.”
The old man muttered abruptly while exhaling cigarette smoke. Jang Ui-geon readily smiled and spoke to him.
“Shall we set the table in the courtyard for lunch tomorrow? To get into the picnic mood.”
“Forget it. Cleaning up is more work. Those kids are better off idling around like that; would they prefer eating in the courtyard and doing more work? Goodness…… they’re at such a wonderful age. In the bloom of youth.”
The old man muttered, looking at the two employees sitting side by side in the courtyard with narrowed eyes. Jang Ui-geon followed his gaze.
Compared to the old man, they were in their youth, but to call them “in the bloom of youth,” they were already adults, a man and a woman two or three years younger than Jang Ui-geon. Both were very shy and reserved, so they seemed to struggle with the shop work at first, but they had improved a lot now.
……Come to think of it, were those two close?
He clearly remembered them acting awkward and strictly using honorifics until recently, but now they were chatting comfortably, mixing in half-informal speech. They were even treating such boring topics as if they were the most interesting things in the world.
“Jeong-un, Yun-mi. Since when did you two drop honorifics?”
When Jang Ui-geon threw out the question with a smile, the two in the courtyard looked back at him, saying “Yes?” and then stared blankly at each other. They muttered that they hadn’t dropped honorifics…… it seemed they intended to claim they hadn’t officially dropped them despite using half-informal speech. As they looked at each other awkwardly, it was obvious what was happening. Beside him, the head chef chuckled, puffing on his cigarette.
“Yes, yes, that’s how feelings develop—dropping honorifics, joking around. That’s how they get closer and fall for each other.”
The two seemed embarrassed. They laughed it off, saying, “Oh, please, we just talk for a bit during breaks,” but they didn’t seem to dislike it.
Suddenly, the taste of the tea became bitter, and Jang Ui-geon slowly wiped the smile from his lips. He felt as though a not-so-pleasant memory was about to surface.
“Feelings develop……”
Feelings. Jang Ui-geon shook his head as he pondered the word. Even when he tried to force himself to think about it, nothing came to mind. Seo Chi-young and Yoon Jun-young. Seo Chi-young and Kwon Kang-hee. Either way, he couldn’t even imagine it, to the point where he couldn’t even get upset. So, the bitterness in his mouth wasn’t because of such an absurd possibility.
“When people’s hearts connect, their speech naturally becomes more comfortable. And when speech becomes comfortable, the heart opens up even more. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes, that’s true.”
Jang Ui-geon agreed with the head chef with a smile and then let a slow smile creep back.
Thinking about it, Seo Chi-young had never once called Jang Ui-geon comfortably. It wasn’t a matter of using informal speech or not; he treated Jang Ui-geon as if he found him difficult to approach. He knew that was partly due to Seo Chi-young’s personality, and he didn’t doubt for a second that Seo Chi-young liked him. ……Still.
After that, Jang Ui-geon met Seo Chi-young every night. It was a continuation of days where they exchanged conversations like ‘I’m here’ and ‘You’ve arrived?’ with calm smiles, as if nothing had happened.
It was good. It was still good, he had no complaints, and he didn’t feel any particular distance or awkwardness. He was in a very satisfied state, as always. However, whenever the topic of Yoon Jun-young or Kwon Kang-hee came up, the names ‘Jun-young’ and ‘Kang-hee’ would come out of Seo Chi-young’s mouth, and it grated on his ears.
Of course, every time, Jang Ui-geon would simply smile and move on, saying, ‘Is that so?’ because Jang Ui-geon was not a childish man who would nitpick over such things.
So, there was no problem. On the surface, both then and now, Jang Ui-geon was getting along well with Seo Chi-young without any issues. ……But even if he tried to pretend he didn’t know and wash it clean from his heart, he couldn’t help the irritation that kept rearing its head.
Why only me. ……Why only those guys?!
This didn’t seem right. He felt inexplicably wronged to just let it be.
“Yes, keep playing around like that and develop some feelings. That’s why youth is so great.”
Beside Jang Ui-geon, the old head chef was looking down at the young man and woman with a pleased smile. Jang Ui-geon, lost in other thoughts and sipping his tea in silence, found those words particularly piercing and unconsciously cast a sharp glance at the innocent old chef. Then, he swallowed his bitter saliva and looked away.
…….Damn it. Fine. I’m childish.
“Chi-young.”
Jang Ui-geon spoke.
Why.
The telephone pole answered.
“……….”
Jang Ui-geon looked up at the telephone pole and thought, It’s no big deal.
Actually, in all honesty, what was so special about calling someone by their name? Everyone in the world does it; if that were a big deal, he should just stay shut in his room and never come out. Besides, other guys he wasn’t even that close with were called by name, so why was he the only one who couldn’t?
“Chi-young. ……Chi-young.”