By Zephyria The promised Sunday arrived. Usually, on days off from my part-time job, I would do nothing but sleep for more than half the day, but strangely, today I woke up before 8 a.m.
The room, almost touching the house next door, didn’t get much sunlight and was as dark as late evening even in the morning. Ryu Jeong hugged the old blanket tightly, looked up at the yellowish ceiling, and got up. His back throbbed, probably from working at the logistics center for the first time in a while yesterday. He sat for a moment, stretching his stiff body, and then quickly got up to make the bed.
He was so busy with work that his house had become just a place to sleep, so it wouldn’t have been a problem to leave the bedding spread out, but Ryu Jeong neatly folded the blanket and pillow and placed them on the low dresser. Because the house was small, it only looked decent if he kept things out of sight as much as possible. Also, if he let go of everything, both his belongings and his mind, just because the house was small and shabby, he would become even more depressed, even though things were already tough.
Only after barely opening the stiff window to ventilate the room did Ryu Jeong leave the room and head to the kitchen. He was just thinking of drinking some water, but he froze when he saw what was next to the water bottles in the almost empty refrigerator.
“…….”
It was the Black tea drink that Do Hwon had given him a few days ago. He couldn’t refuse it, so he took it, but it wasn’t to his taste at all, so he couldn’t drink it and brought it all the way home. Ryu Jeong stared at the shiny can for a moment, then picked up the water bottle next to it. Even as he took a sip of water, his eyes remained fixed on the can.
By the way, what about today’s promise? Ryu Jeong wiped his wet lips with the back of his hand and thought of Do Hwon. Lee Do-hyeon hadn’t visited the convenience store even once since that day, as if he didn’t know that they hadn’t set a place and time. Just in case, he kept a close watch outside when he was working at the cafe, wondering if he might pass by, but not only did he not appear, he didn’t even see anyone who looked similar.
Should I go to the convenience store? The convenience store was the only place where they might run into each other, but it would be quite awkward if he waited in front of it and was spotted by the Shop Owner or Noh Hee-cheol. They might recklessly jump over the counter and disappear, or he might have to listen to unnecessary complaints or nagging.
“Haa, what should I do…….”
He sighed deeply with a serious expression, and then he heard a rustling sound from somewhere. Ryu Jeong was startled and stopped in his tracks. He opened his big eyes even wider and turned his head in the direction of the sound.
The neighborhood had been there since before Ryu Jeong was born, so even if he swept and cleaned it thoroughly, he would often see rats or cockroaches, so at first he thought it was that kind of sound. But the sound was coming from outside the house, not inside. Since the couple who lived next door had moved out about two years ago, all the houses near Ryu Jeong’s house were empty, so it wasn’t even a normal noise from people. Ryu Jeong swallowed hard with tension.
“Who is it…….”
He was about to go out, but he pursed his lips. Could it be that they came to get money again? The thought that the person outside the door might be a loan shark made his blood run cold. Ryu Jeong counted the days in his head. Today was definitely not the repayment date. Sundays were often days when they didn’t come because it was the Lord’s Day, but why so early in the morning?
Ryu Jeong swallowed hard, calmed his breath, and cautiously went outside. He tiptoed out, trying to make as little noise as possible, and looked at the front gate. Sure enough, a black head was loitering in front of it. It was a little strange to think of them as loan sharks. There was no way that people who should be having a conversation full of curses would be so quiet.
“Hello?”
The sound of someone knocking on the gate made Ryu Jeong’s shoulders jump up. At the same time, Ryu Jeong carefully approached the gate when he heard a man’s voice.
“Maybe this isn’t the place…….”
“W-Who is it?”
His voice trembled with tension and fear. Did he have debts in other places, too? His dad had borrowed money from more than one or two places. People who heard the news that he had died without paying back the money he had borrowed came to Ryu Jeong over the course of a year and urged him to pay it back instead. He thought there wouldn’t be any more. It would be really difficult if there were more expenses now, when he could barely afford to eat one meal a day.
Then the man who had been pacing outside the gate stopped abruptly. Ryu Jeong rubbed his cold fingertips, where the blood had drained away, and took a step forward little by little. But soon, the familiar voice that followed made him lose all his strength.
“Ah, it’s me. Lee Do-hyeon.”
Ryu Jeong immediately jumped forward. He pulled the latch that was firmly locking the gate to the side and threw it open without hesitation. Sure enough, Lee Do-hyeon was outside the gate. He was wearing comfortable clothes instead of the black suit he always wore. His eyes widened slightly, surprised by the sudden opening of the door.
“…Customer?”
Ryu Jeong was the first to speak, as they stared at each other with surprised eyes. Ryu Jeong couldn’t believe that Lee Do-hyeon was standing in front of his house.
“How did you… how did you know to come here?”
He opened the gate so hard that the wind blew, and his face looked like he had seen a ghost. The gaze that swept over his face once, and then down to his toes, with trembling eyes, contained emotions other than surprise. Do Hwon, who imagined that he was so happy to see him that if he had a tail on his butt, it would be spinning around like a helicopter, smiled calmly.
“I asked you to meet me, but I didn’t decide what time or where to meet, so I just left. I thought you might be waiting, so I came early and asked around.”
“Ah…….”
“The road was complicated, so I got a little lost, but I guess I found the right place.”
Ryu Jeong didn’t find any fault with Lee Do-hyeon’s words. Did he get help from his Grandmother or Grandfather? Or maybe he asked the Shop Owner at the convenience store, Ryu Jeong thought, but the truth was that it wasn’t any of those things. Do Hwon had woken up Chief Yoon, who was sleeping on a weekend morning, and pestered him.
It wasn’t difficult to find out the address of the house where Ryu Jeong lived. It was just a little difficult to find the house where Ryu Jeong lived among the many houses that were close together. As befitting a Moon Village where houses were built as they were, without any set rules, he had spent a considerable amount of time just comparing the addresses to the houses along the narrow alleys and stairs.
“C-Come in for now.”
“Ah. Should I?”
He couldn’t leave a guest who had come all the way to his house standing outside, so Ryu Jeong stepped aside and made way for Do Hwon to enter.
“Then I’ll be intruding for a moment.”
Lee Do-hyeon smiled and gladly stepped inside. Because of his height, which far exceeded the height of the gate, he bent his head to enter, and Ryu Jeong’s face flushed at the pleasant scent that brushed past him. Intruding? It felt like he was the one intruding by asking him to come into his house.
“…….”
Lee Do-hyeon briefly looked around the yard. It was called a yard because there was space between the house and the gate, but it was too small to be called by any other word. The empty houses he had seen while walking up seemed to have no room to step because of the junk that had been left behind when people moved out, but whether it was because he was such a neat person or not, it was very small but clean.
“I’m sorry. Did I come too early? I hope I didn’t wake you up.”
But he couldn’t beat the passage of time, and the cement floor was cracked like a drought-stricken rice paddy. Lee Do-hyeon, who had moved his foot that had been standing on it, apologized with a sorry expression. Then Ryu Jeong, who had locked the door in the meantime, was startled and waved his hand.
“No, I woke up a while ago.”
“Really? You’re diligent as expected.”
Ryu Jeong, who was embarrassed by the unexpected compliment, avoided his gaze. It was a familiar reaction for Do Hwon. So he didn’t tease him or ask why.
“Ah, um…….”
It wasn’t really a problem that Lee Do-hyeon had come to his house. Of course, it was a little embarrassing to show his shabby house to someone he wasn’t even close to, but on the contrary, wasn’t it thanks to that that they met without missing each other? But he was too embarrassed that he hadn’t prepared to go out at all, except for washing his face roughly with water after waking up.
He had told him to come in for now, but the aftermath was the problem. Ryu Jeong stood there helplessly and then hesitated to speak. His lips didn’t fall easily at the look in his eyes that seemed to be asking what was wrong.
“I haven’t showered yet… I think I need to get ready.”
“Really? We have plenty of time anyway, so I’ll wait. Can I sit here for a bit?”
“Ah, you can go inside and wait instead of here. It won’t take long, but it’s a bit… to make a guest wait outside… so…….”
“Would it be okay with your family? I’m fine, but I’m worried they might be uncomfortable.”
“It’s okay. I’m the only one here.”
He nodded in agreement. Ryu Jeong, who was greatly relieved that he hadn’t refused, quickly stepped forward and went up to the wooden floor. Lee Do-hyeon followed him in.
Although the real winter hadn’t started yet, it wasn’t well insulated and there was a draft, so even though he had entered the room, there wasn’t much difference from the outside. Ryu Jeong, who had lived there for a long time and was used to it, pulled down the blanket he had been sleeping under a little while ago, as it would be cold as ice to the guest. He spread out the blanket, muttering embarrassedly that there were no cushions.
“Would you like something to drink?”
It was awkward to ask this kind of question, as the only guests who had come to his house so far were loan sharks who had come to collect money. When the neighborhood was noisy because of redevelopment, public officials would come, and social workers would come from time to time, but they didn’t stay long enough to have anything to drink, so it was almost like the first time. But all he could offer was water that had been boiled and cooled, and green tea bags that were past their expiration date.
“Ah, um…….”
As soon as he asked, he remembered the Black tea drink that Do Hwon had given him last time. He was about to add to it, but Do Hwon was one step ahead.