114.
“You’re a bad child.”
At Choi Mujin’s words, Haseo snorted. How long had it been since he’d been a child? Sometimes when Mujin acted like this because of his age, it felt annoying.
“Then, are you a pervert dating a bad child?”
When Haseo counterattacked, Choi Mujin made a strange expression.
“Yes, we’re dating.”
Then he smiled softly, and the sight was truly splendid. Despite everything, his appearance was exceptionally fine. Still, Haseo didn’t fall for it and made Choi Mujin promise never to harm himself again.
“If you break the promise, we’re breaking up.”
He even made him sign a paper where he had meticulously written down the terms.
“I’ve been taking care of my body lately.”
“I’ll try to believe you.”
This was truly the last time he would trust him. With Choi Mujin’s firm promise, Haseo’s tension eased somewhat, and he sat down leaning against the sofa.
“Tired? Want me to take you to your room?”
“I can walk there alone.”
“So brave.”
“Don’t praise me for something like this.”
Speaking curtly for no reason, Haseo carefully pulled out the photo he had taken from Choi Mujin’s house. As he stared at it, looking for resemblances to Choi Mujin, Mujin spoke as if he’d just remembered something.
“Come to think of it, since you took my photo, you were supposed to give me yours too.”
“It’s in my room. In a box.”
“Should I go get it?”
Haseo nodded slightly. Choi Mujin quickly got up and brought the box from Haseo’s room. Opening the lid of the tacky floral box, two frames and a few photos came out.
“No yearbook?”
“No. I think I had one before, but I lost it at some point.”
Lost it? No, on one particularly painful and lonely night, he had taken all the yearbooks he owned and thrown them away. Because reality was too hard to be bound by past memories. He seemed to have done it because he didn’t want to recall times that had been relatively peaceful.
“It’s okay. If I know the school, yearbooks are fairly easy to get.”
“You want to get the yearbook?”
“There are pictures of you in it.”
“Just for those small photos in the corner?”
Haseo grumbled, but Choi Mujin didn’t seem inclined to change his mind.
“Even if they’re small and in the corner, I want them.”
He then carefully examined Haseo’s few photos. Unlike Choi Mujin, who had quite a few pictures thanks to his grandfather’s photography hobby, Haseo had few photos. His parents hadn’t thought to take any, and his grandmother didn’t have the luxury to take pictures.
There were only a few photos taken with a borrowed camera to preserve his childhood. Even those were half-covered in mold and damp from improper storage.
“Taken with a film camera. Don’t you have the film?”
“I borrowed the camera to take them, so I don’t have the film.”
When others were taking photos with phones, he used what now seemed like a relic—a film camera. For his grandmother, who didn’t know how to print photos taken with a phone, that was the best option. It was fortunate there was a place nearby that developed film cameras.
“Hmm.”
“That’s a scheming face.”
When Haseo pointed this out while looking at Choi Mujin’s face, he pulled up the corners of his mouth.
“I was thinking of trying to find the film.”
“The grandfather who lent us the camera isn’t in that neighborhood anymore. His child took him in. Seems his business did well.”
“I see.”
Haseo knew Choi Mujin was skilled at finding such information. So Haseo gave him the grandfather’s name and former address.
“Don’t do anything bad.”
“Aren’t I already a bad adult?”
What was he saying? When Haseo narrowed his eyes and glared, Choi Mujin explained as if making an excuse.
“Still, I don’t always go around doing bad things.”
He just wanted to buy the film for a fair price. Only after hearing that explanation did Haseo’s expression soften. Today seemed particularly long. Perhaps it was because he’d seen Choi Mujin’s house and his first love.
As he leaned against the sofa, his hands gradually lost strength and his eyes began to blur. Fatigue was creeping in, bringing sleep with it. When he yawned, Choi Mujin turned to look at him. At the end, he seemed to smile kindly.
Probably.
* * *
Daily life flowed peacefully again. Haseo attended an academy and earned a Korean cuisine certificate. On the day of the exam, he was so nervous that even his hands trembled, but once he entered the exam, he became calm. After diligently taking the exam, he passed.
“Having a certificate feels different.”
“How is it different?”
“Like I can do more than I thought?”
“That’s a good feeling.”
“Right?”
It was an emotion he hadn’t felt when he was earning money thinking only of his grandmother. Back then, he often suffered because he felt so pathetic. He felt sad about the invisible future. Even while running forward, he kept wanting to stop.
“But you said a guest is coming today?”
“Yes.”
“And you’re telling me this in the morning?”
“If you don’t like it, I can tell them not to come.”
“No, it’s fine. But what kind of guest makes you prepare food yourself?”
“Actually, I was going to order, but I thought they might prefer this.”
Choi Mujin asked Haseo to help with the cooking, and Haseo agreed. Park Dongsu had already bought and delivered the ingredients. Haseo made several Korean dishes as he had learned at the academy.
He made Seoul-style bulgogi, japchae, and crab doenjang jjigae. For side dishes, Choi Mujin moved as Haseo instructed. Fresh kimchi, rolled egg, and seasoned bean sprouts. Even with just these, it looked quite abundant.
“Fruit should work for dessert.”
As he said that, the doorbell rang from the entrance.
“What are you doing? Go greet them.”
When Haseo poked him in the side, Choi Mujin said with a troubled expression,
“I’m using the stove right now. You go check.”
“Me?”
Do you know who it is? But since Choi Mujin was so intently staring at the pot, Haseo decided to move. He placed the plate of bulgogi on the table and went to the entrance.
Ding-dong.
Opening the front door and politely greeting,
“Welcome.”
“Oh, it’s been a while.”
The guest’s face was all too familiar.
“Wait, Grandpa, why are you here?”
The pawnshop grandfather who had once taken Haseo’s money. The person he met again when Haseo was later held captive by Choi Mujin was here.
“Why? I was invited.”
Hearing the gruff voice, Haseo quickly scanned the old man’s body. Fortunately, he looked perfectly fine on the outside.
“Are you healthy?”
“At this age, how could I be healthy? Recently, even when it’s just cloudy, my back kills me! More importantly, how long are you going to keep me standing here?”
“Wow, you’re so bold.”
“Should I act like a criminal?”
“No. Come in.”
The grandfather boldly stepped inside as if it were his own home.
“Sir! The guest is here.”
“Hey, you call that guy ‘sir’?”
This time he whispered softly in Haseo’s ear.
“He is my senior.”
“He’s a thief. How old do you think I am to call him ‘sir’? Call him ‘mister.'”
“But there’s not a twenty-year age gap.”
“Still, there are so many younger and more decent men.”
Apparently, he was fine with Haseo liking another man. Just as the grandfather was about to say more, Choi Mujin came out from the kitchen. He was wearing an apron since he had been cooking. Seeing that, the grandfather finally closed his mouth.
“At least he does housework.”
Though he spoke quietly, it seemed Choi Mujin heard him.
“I cook quite well too.”
“Yeah, right.”
Haseo wondered what kind of relationship they had for Mujin to invite him. They didn’t seem close. They were cold with each other, and it was obvious they disliked one another. Then this invitation wasn’t for Choi Mujin’s sake.
He must have invited the grandfather for Haseo’s sake. Thinking that made a corner of his heart tickle pleasantly. Haseo cleared his throat unnecessarily and pushed the grandfather toward the kitchen.
“The meal is ready.”
“Alright.”
“I made it myself.”
“You did?”
The grandfather looked at Haseo with dubious eyes.
“Do you know how to cook?”
“Of course. I recently got a Korean cuisine certificate.”
As he proudly puffed out his chest, the grandfather widened his eyes as if surprised.
“Even a grub has a talent for rolling.”
“Do you always have to speak like that?”
“But you found something you want to do.”
Only then did the grandfather smile comfortably. He sat at the table and delightfully emptied the food.
“Delicious?”
“It’s because I’m good at cooking.”
“So, are you going to open a restaurant?”
“No. I want to learn more. Get lots of certificates, enter competitions. My final goal is to go to university.”
“For university, you need to study well too.”
“I’m not that stupid, you know?”
Haseo then peeled some fruit and placed it in front of the grandfather. Despite having already eaten two bowls of rice, he ate the fruit with delight.
“Good, good.”
“How have you been lately, Grandpa?”
“I reopened the pawnshop.”
“Aren’t you living comfortably now?”
“Working is comfortable for me. Just relaxing doesn’t suit me. Besides, there’s no one to fear now.”
With that, the grandfather grinned.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
