#91

I passed through the cramped waiting room and the crowded restroom, finally being pushed out into theater lobby. It was just as hot outside as it was in the cinema, but stepping into the open space felt like a breath of fresh air.

“The movie was fun.”

Since I didn’t know anything about the content, I had no way of knowing if it was actually fun, but I said it anyway. The man responded, “Yes, it was fun.” After that, the two of us didn’t mention the movie again.

“Let’s go have a cold beer. The cinema was too hot, right?”

“Yes. I guess it was because there were so many people inside theater.”

We walked while making small talk.

As we walked, the chicken place appeared. It was the same one where I had eaten chicken and beer with Detective Oh and Detective Park not long ago. I wanted to call the man, but he was on the phone the whole time, so I couldn’t. I also wanted to buy him some chicken because it was so delicious, but the door was closed, so I couldn’t do that either. I felt a sense of self-loathing over something so trivial, not knowing that the man was waiting for me. I remembered the cigarette I had shared with him that early morning. It was really good. Even though I felt it through the cigarette, his lips and saliva had been sweet.

“This chicken is incredibly delicious.”

Tae-heun, feeling a bit anxious for no reason, pulled the man along.

It was a bit early to drink, but the inside of the shop was packed with customers. It felt like this was the next stop after the cinema. Fortunately, there was one empty seat for the two of us, so we went and sat there. Even though it was a local chicken place, it was the weekend. Not a single family was in sight; instead, there were couples on dates, seniors and juniors who seemed to be meeting after a long time, friends, and groups having meetings, all kinds of adults gathered together. Most of them were dressed up rather than in casual clothes. Tae-heun and the man were also well-dressed, sitting across from each other.

Both of them were adults, and they had beer and chicken on the table, but somehow their actions resembled those of lovestruck teenagers. It felt awkward. Both Tae-heun and the man were so shy that they finished a 500cc beer without a word. After finishing the second glass in silence, Tae-heun handed a chicken leg to the man.

“Eat. It’s really delicious.”

“Yes. You should eat too, Tae-heun.”

The man handed the remaining chicken leg to Tae-heun. They clinked the chicken legs together in a childish toast, laughing over something trivial.

“But why don’t you tell me to speak informally?”

After finishing the third glass of beer, the man asked. His voice was filled with laughter. The man, who was weak with alcohol, seemed to be already tipsy.

“We didn’t agree to speak informally on our first meeting, did we?”

Tae-heun replied while finishing the last sip of his drink.

“No, we didn’t. I did it with Yongjun, and seeing Gichul-hyung speak informally, I think he did it too….”

“But I told you to call me Tae-heun, right? Two more pitchers here.”

Tae-heun raised his hand and loudly ordered more drinks.

“That’s different.”

“Is it?”

The staff quickly placed two pitchers of beer on the table and disappeared.

“Were you disappointed?”

Tae-heun asked as he moved his glass in front of the man.

“No, it’s not that. I was just curious. Why don’t you say that to me?”

The man fiddled with the handle of his beer glass. His face was as bright as his voice. He was the type who laughed easily when drunk. Tae-heun thought it was a relief that it was just the two of them.

“Right. Why did I do that? I usually say it to anyone who’s older than me.”

Hearing the man’s words, it did seem strange. Tae-heun had an expression that often led to misunderstandings of being cold when he was expressionless. So he always wore a business smile, spoke lightly, and was exceptionally good at jokes and flattery. Even with someone he was meeting for the first time, he would call them ‘Chairman’ or ‘President,’ and for those he despised, he would elevate them with titles like ‘Teacher’ or ‘Professor.’ For someone who was neither of those, he would always call them ‘Hyung’ and encourage them to speak informally. But he hadn’t done that with the man. He had even told Kwon Yongjun, who was a year older, to speak informally.

“I guess I didn’t want to do that with Ki-beom. Honestly, I don’t like being called Hyung.”

It was true. Tae-heun disliked the term Hyung.

“You can just call me Hyung.”

The man said with a big smile.

“That I really don’t like.”

Tae-heun said seriously.

“I have an older brother, and I really hate that bastard. I hate him to the core. So I don’t call anyone Hyung. I just call them Hyungnim.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.”

The man looked troubled. The laughter that seemed a bit excessive quickly faded away. Tae-heun waved his hand, not wanting him to feel bad.

“What are you sorry for? It’s natural that Ki-beom doesn’t know. Did we do a background check on each other? Let’s just toast.”

Tae-heun raised his beer glass. The man found his smile again and quickly raised his glass. The impact of the toast caused beer to spill over and run down their hands, but neither of them cared. As if they had made a promise, they licked the beer off their hands with their tongues.

“Do you want to speak informally with me?”

Tae-heun asked.

“No, it’s not that.”

“If you want to, feel free to do so anytime. But then I’ll also speak informally.”

He playfully threatened.

“When I speak informally, I become incredibly arrogant. Can you handle that?”

He leaned forward, bringing his face close to the man’s. The man, whose cheeks were flushed from the five glasses of beer, laughed loudly at that.

“No, I like it just the way it is now.”

Saying this, he covered his mouth with his big hand. It was a pity that the man’s beautiful lips were hidden by his hand.

“So you don’t have anything bottled up inside, right?”

“It’s not that I have something bottled up; I just asked out of curiosity.”

“Come on, you’re hiding something.”

“…….”

“See? You are hiding something. I’m not ignoring Ki-beom. I’m serious. I just wanted to be like this with you, instinctively. I knew we would end up like this. I have a knack for these things.”

He winked at the man. The man shyly nodded. Looking awkward, he raised his glass with a clumsy gesture. The beer glass touched the man’s lips. Tae-heun, feeling thirsty, drank his beer as well.

The inside of the shop was thick with cigarette smoke. Before long, both of them fell silent and drank in silence until the fifth glass was empty. The chicken was still delicious, but for some reason, it wouldn’t go down my throat. It seemed the man felt the same way.

“It’s a waste.”

“Just ask for a takeout.”

“Still, it’s something you should eat in the shop to enjoy its true flavor.”

The man lamented.

What Tae-heun felt was that the man’s head was starting to droop more and more.

“Shall we stop drinking?”

“No, let’s just have one more drink. The draft beer is delicious.”

Since the man was enjoying it, Tae-heun couldn’t say they should stop and leave. So he called the staff again and ordered one more pitcher each, intending to stop at the sixth glass, but because the man shouted, “Just one more!” it became seven glasses. His stomach felt like it was going to burst.

Damn it. I should have just drunk moderately and left. By the time I thought that, the man was already completely drunk. Before leaving the shop, he needed Tae-heun’s support to go to the restroom.

“Why is your alcohol tolerance so low? This is ridiculous. How can this happen after seven pitchers? It’s not like it was soju. And I kept drinking water too.”

Tae-heun grumbled, and the man just smiled foolishly.

When Tae-heun took the man outside, it was only 9 PM. After three hours in the chicken place, the man was completely drunk, and Tae-heun’s stomach was just full. Because they had just drunk without a plan, everything ended up in a muddle.

It was their first date, but Tae-heun, who had a somewhat colorful dating history, felt like a complete novice this time. He had once been called a playboy. But this time, he was as clumsy as could be. He was so nervous that he couldn’t think of anything.

Even a high school kid would do better than this.

A hollow laugh escaped him.

Supporting the unconscious man, Tae-heun pondered where to go. He could call a taxi and go home like this, but he didn’t want to. A sense of injustice crept in late. He spotted the sign for ‘Lucky Motel’ nearby. Although the man was not in a state to do anything, it seemed better than going home.

Tae-heun headed that way. In front of the motel counter, a man supporting a woman who was as drunk as the man was waiting for keys, while four middle-aged men, heavily intoxicated, were making a ruckus. A thin man in his fifties, who seemed to be either a motel employee or the owner, was hurriedly cleaning up someone’s vomit with a mop, leaving the customers unattended. Only after finishing the cleaning, with a grim expression, did he start attending to the guests one by one.

The shabby guestbook was signed first by the man who came with the woman, who wrote down his name and contact information, while the four middle-aged men argued about not using the same name, then suddenly pushed each other, creating a scene. When it was finally Tae-heun’s turn, feeling mischievous, he wrote down the man’s name and phone number instead of his own.

The two received a room on the top floor. It was only the fifth floor, and there was nothing to see outside but dark fields. He threw the man onto the bed and went to take a shower first. After putting on a bathrobe and coming out of the bathroom, he drank some water. The man was still deep in sleep, just as Tae-heun had thrown him.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he sighed. He glared at the man for no reason and then pulled at his hair. This wasn’t the man’s fault. Honestly, the man was like a fossil. I didn’t know how he had gained wisdom, but he hadn’t been on a date for over ten years. He had blushed at the mere mention of a date, and I had suggested going to the cinema first, only to plan up to the chicken place.

“Ki-beom, Ki-beom?”

I shook the man just in case, but he didn’t move at all. Seven glasses might have been too much; I belatedly realized that seven pitchers of beer was 3.5 liters. 3.5 liters was a quantity that would get you drunk even if you drank water.

“You idiot. You really must have wished for your own downfall.”

I lay down next to the man. Then I sat up again. There was something I needed to check. The man’s financial situation. By this time, there should have been voicemails waiting. I could use the phone in the room, but that would leave a trace.

Tae-heun left the motel and went to a nearby payphone. As expected, there were voicemails waiting. Four of them, in fact. After finishing the investigation on the man and Kwon Il-taek’s family’s financial situation.

Tae-heun played the first voicemail. Damn it. A curse escaped him. When he played the second voicemail, he put a cigarette in his mouth, added more coins, and lit it for the third. While listening to the last voicemail, he almost smashed the payphone.

The situation was worse than he had anticipated. Not only Kwon Il-taek but also the man and the townspeople were on the brink of bankruptcy. The rich had gone completely broke. A family that had been wealthy for generations. Still, the saying wasn’t entirely wrong. They had managed to hold on for three years.

Tae-heun smiled bitterly.

He fell into deep thought about how to resolve the current situation.