40
“…Haah, shibal really… Yeah, fine. I got it. Let’s sleep together. Yeah.”
Gu Wanjae nodded his head in a completely giving-up tone. Let’s see how this goes, he pushed Taein aside and put his own knees on the blanket too.
Taein thought “good thinking” at Gu Wanjae’s action and rolled back onto the blanket again. Soon after settling in and looking at Gu Wanjae, there was a persistent aspect in Taein’s eyes. Taein felt Gu Wanjae lying down next to him and moved over just a little more. Then Gu Wanjae’s broad and thick shoulders properly settled right under the pillow. With his shoulder lined up with Gu Wanjae’s shoulder, Taein opened his mouth.
“Hey… if you can’t even do this… are we friends…? You probably didn’t sleep properly yesterday either after that.”
“…I slept fine on my own.”
“Where.”
“In the car.”
“You call that sleeping…? Really don’t do that… I really feel burdened.”
Taein was already drowning in sleepiness. Even rolling around and coming back was barely managed. Even after moving and talking a bit, his condition was similar to before. Taein blinked slowly and said he felt burdened several times. Gu Wanjae muttered “I’m doing this because we’re friends, if you weren’t my friend,” but only part of it reached Taein’s ears. Taein fell asleep in less than a minute.
* * *
When he woke up in the morning, Gu Wanjae wasn’t there. He seemed to have gone out somewhere in the meantime. Taein made a groaning sound and got up, heading to the bathroom first. He washed his face with water and naturally stood in front of the toilet, but the feeling of touching his trunk underwear was strange. Wow, I’m fucked. For a moment Taein thought he had wet himself. Feeling creeped out, he felt around the front, but the front wasn’t wet. Taein slowly moved his hand to the back and realized only that area was damp, then frowned.
He hadn’t even relieved himself yet. Taein sat on the toilet and pulled down his trunks completely.
“Shibal.”
Along with the curse, Taein unrolled toilet paper and wiped his back.
The underwear was also full of damp stuff, and what was leaking out the back was tremendous. Something transparent and sticky like water had soaked the tissue. Taein immediately threw the tissue into the toilet and took off all his clothes right there.
Then he immediately turned on the shower and washed various parts of his body. Fortunately, between his buttocks dried quickly. Nothing kept coming out. Taein hurriedly brushed his teeth too and only after coming outside did he catch his breath. In his hands were the roughly washed trunks. He hung them on the nightstand and sat down heavily on the blanket.
He had heard there was a laundry room inside the first-floor store, but he had never been there yet. The store owner’s impression that he had seen coming and going wasn’t very good, so he hadn’t dared to go there alone.
Was it the concept that the guesthouse owner paid monthly to rent the first-floor laundry room?
That’s what Gu Wanjae had told him. For various reasons, Taein had been continuing to hand-wash only. Since he brought quite a few clothes, he planned to keep washing only underwear and then wash everything at once when the laundry piled up.
Then he heard the sound of the door lock being pressed and the door opened.
It was Gu Wanjae who occupied one side of the corridor. Taein looked at the heavily drooping plastic bag and raised his chin asking “What is it?”
“Jiri-neun tang.”
It seemed to be food bought from the hangover soup restaurant they had discovered while walking around the building yesterday. Gu Wanjae had kept joking about the <Jiri-tang> menu posted in front of that restaurant door, calling it “jiri-neun tang” (leaking soup). He had finally bought it. Taein watched Gu Wanjae put the plastic bag on the small table and moved his position.
“Let’s see how much it leaks.”
Taein laughed lightly at Gu Wanjae’s words. Inside the plastic bag was one large plastic container and several small-sized containers. When the lid of the large container was removed, white steam rose up. Inside was clear soup. Taein was also eating jiri-tang for the first time and didn’t know the color would be like this. It looks really bland, he thought, and took a spoonful of the broth to taste, then looked at Gu Wanjae while making an “oh” sound with pursed lips.
“Is it good? What does it taste like?”
“I don’t know. It’s the first time I’m tasting it but it’s delicious.”
Fish meat and fish skin were floating on top of the soup. Taein was surprised that such rich flavor came out even though the ingredients weren’t that substantial. It didn’t look salty or spicy but he could feel a refreshing and sharp taste. Taein immediately settled in, opened the rice container, and ate rice and soup alternately. In front of him, Gu Wanjae also moved his spoon busily, saying it was good while eating it piping hot.
Taein forgot about the unpleasant feeling he had upon waking up and focused only on eating.
In the middle of eating, he thought about asking Gu Wanjae something, but didn’t say it.
What would he ask?
Did the blanket get wet by any chance? Didn’t something get on your clothes?
Taein only recited to himself the questions he couldn’t bring himself to ask.
The next contact from Gu Wanjae came around 5 PM. He said he was heading that way now, so come to the Ocean Raw Fish Restaurant. Ocean Raw Fish Restaurant? Where is the Ocean Raw Fish Restaurant? When he asked that, Gu Wanjae said the restaurant’s name was just Ocean Raw Fish Restaurant. About 10 minutes after hanging up saying “Oh,” Taein started preparing. He put on layers of clothes, roughly washed his face, and went outside.
I wonder if it’s okay to live like an unemployed vagrant like this.
In Seoul, he at least worked part-time at the dumpling shop. It wasn’t for several years, but it was work he had been doing for nearly 3 months after his body recovered. The sensation of moving busily at the workplace remained intact. As for school, he attended so carelessly that except for the difficulty of waking up in the morning, there was nothing. Taein tried overlaying his past work on his current leisurely daily life.
Is it okay that I came on a trip like this? Taein occasionally felt caught by his self-rationalization about being young and twenty. Even when he told his boss with a regretful face that he could probably only work until December, he had thought when else would he go on such a trip. But contrary to the easy decision, it was true that in his heart he also thought ‘Are you really okay? A month is pretty long, isn’t it?’
I don’t know. It’ll work out somehow. As Gu Wanjae said, he could work after returning, and he was still young enough to start anything at any time. Twenty. It was a big and burdensome age for him and Gu Wanjae, but in the world, twenty was still very young and insufficient.
Still, I’m not living recklessly like in the old days.
I even feel guilty about having fun. When Taein had such thoughts, he felt that three years ago and now had changed a lot. Even someone who lived carelessly without dreams or future seemed to have more thoughts as he became an adult. Adult is only adult in name though. Taein looked at himself in the mirror hanging in the corridor and chuckled.
Taein went down the stairs and headed toward the sandy beach.
He didn’t go all the way down but looked at the buildings from around the boundary between the road and sand.
There were several guesthouses, a raw fish restaurant without a sign, and small restaurants. The hangover soup restaurant in the back also caught his eye.
The <Ocean Raw Fish Restaurant> sign was attached to one of those buildings.
Among the surrounding raw fish restaurants, it seemed to have the largest scale. Taein roughly determined the direction and started walking. Wanting to keep hearing the sound of waves, he walked staying as close as possible to the sandy beach, and it was quick to reach the building. Taein turned his back to the ocean regretfully and opened the restaurant door. He happened to make eye contact with an employee passing by in front.
“Welcome. How many people?”
“Ah, my friend is already here…”
Before he could finish speaking, the employee said “Ah, yes” and left. They looked busy. Taein took off his shoes and entered the restaurant. Warm heat was rising from the floor covered with wood-patterned linoleum. With his hands in his pockets, Taein looked around and glanced at the slightly open room door. They wouldn’t have gotten a room for just two people. However, the outside seats were full of unfamiliar faces. Just in case, Taein looked inside and made eye contact with someone, then opened his mouth saying “Ah.”
He thought only Gu Wanjae would be there, but there were a total of eight people sitting in the room. Taein made eye contact with an unfamiliar man and froze saying “Ah,” then felt relieved when he saw the bald hyung-nim sitting next to him. Still, having ridden in the car together once, there was no distance in the eyes looking at him. Taein felt the same. The bald hyung-nim was more comfortable than the person he first made eye contact with.
“Wanjae, your friend is here.”
The bald hyung-nim glanced to the side.
“Hey, come here. Over here.”
Gu Wanjae’s voice was heard from inside. His seat was already prepared. Taein was truly burdened by everyone staring only at him. Ah, Wanjae’s friend, Wanjae talked about him often, didn’t the baby’s face turn out properly? At the openly audible words, Taein’s face just turned red as he stepped toward where Gu Wanjae was patting the cushion with his hand.
Everyone seemed to have already had a drink.
Taein sat on the cushion and pressed Gu Wanjae’s thigh with his fist.
“Hey… I thought it was just you.”
“Why, are the hyung-nims uncomfortable?”
He spoke quietly, but Gu Wanjae’s voice was a bit loud. The hyung-nim sitting next to Gu Wanjae could be seen asking “Your friend is uncomfortable?” Taein immediately made eye contact with him and waved his hands saying “No, not at all.” Continuing to talk about this topic itself was too much. Taein just accepted it and only picked up the chopsticks placed in front of him.
“Hey, eat this.”
The raw fish Gu Wanjae pointed to was somewhat red on top. When he dipped it in vinegar sauce asking “What is it?” and tasted it, Gu Wanjae told him the fish species, saying to push it in.
A texture that was chewy yet went down without being burdensome. Taein picked up one more piece and tried dipping it in soy sauce too. Between the pungent and salty taste, the unique texture of fresh raw fish lingered in his mouth. Originally he didn’t even know if raw fish was delicious, but after eating it a few times with Gu Wanjae, he came to know that taste. It was the moment when Taein was about to pick up the third piece.
“Baby, Taein baby.”
The bald hyung-nim called him baby both in the car and here.
Taein answered “Yes?” while dropping the raw fish into the vinegar sauce.
“Baby should have a drink too, right?”
“Ah.”
Everyone was looking only at him. Taein said “Yes” and felt around in front, noticing there was no glass nearby and looked at Gu Wanjae. As if he knew this would happen, Gu Wanjae was pouring alcohol into a glass. When the glass was full, he handed it to Taein.
“Here.”
Taein took the glass and looked ahead.
“Baby should make the toast.”
It was the bald hyung-nim’s voice.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
