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After work on Thursday, Han Jaekyung came home listlessly without making any plans and sprawled on the sofa. Nothing he did was particularly enjoyable. Still, today he felt a bit more energetic than usual. This was because there had been a subtle change in his relationship with Jang Yeonhu, with whom he had been maintaining a cold war that wasn’t quite a cold war for the past few days.
After the class reunion held last Saturday, Jang Yeonhu had cut off contact completely as if it were a lie. Seeing how he had thoughtfully taken care of various things through the hotel staff, it didn’t seem like he was angry… So why wasn’t he calling or visiting?
An ordinary person would have easily called first, but due to the habit Jang Yeonhu had carefully cultivated over the years, Han Jaekyung waited blankly for contact from him like a dog waiting for food. At this rate, it was impossible to tell which one was whose pushover.
During this time, Han Jaekyung steadily withered away. Even Moon Yeonu’s messages that arrived unexpectedly when he was bored couldn’t restore the parched Han Jaekyung.
It was just before quitting time this afternoon when Jang Yeonhu casually opened the legal team’s door saying “Jaekyung-ah.” Jang Yeonhu, who had his jacket and bag with him as if he had stopped by on his way home from work, called Han Jaekyung out saying they should talk for a moment. Han Jaekyung snapped angrily asking why he was ordering a busy person around, but worried that Jang Yeonhu might actually leave, he hurriedly stuffed whatever was in reach into his bag and bolted up from his seat.
‘Sorry. I’ve been pretty busy lately. Had a lot of things to handle.’
‘…Oh, is that so. How impressive. If someone heard you, they’d think you’re the only person working at this big company.’
Crazy Han Jaekyung. Why did he say such a thing? Even after blurting it out habitually, Han Jaekyung wanted to cut off his tongue. Han Jaekyung also wanted to speak gently and kindly like Choi Eunseong, like that pretty and kind young man who was monopolizing Jang Yeonhu’s love right now… but somehow everything that came out was sharp sarcasm. It was because the bitter resentment piled up in his heart wouldn’t easily dissolve.
‘…I heard about it. It won’t happen again. I warned Ukyung sternly too, so cheer up, okay?’
So the classmate whose name he could barely remember was Ukyung. Since they really had no connection, even hearing the name didn’t bring back clear memories.
Still, Han Jaekyung was fine up to that point. Either way, Jang Yeonhu had come looking for Han Jaekyung again and was looking at him with worried eyes as usual. It would have been good if it had stopped right there… The problem was what came after.
‘That day I could only see Eunseong-ssi, so I didn’t think that you would have had a harder time. Sorry. Next time I’ll definitely listen to the whole situation before acting.’
‘…What?’
‘Eunseong-ssi said that day you, Jaekyung…’
Han Jaekyung’s patience for the untimely scratching at old wounds lasted only until that point. He couldn’t listen to any more than that. He had earnestly begged him not to tell Jang Yeonhu about it, and the thought that he had blabbed everything made irritation surge up inside him.
‘Jang Yeonhu, you. You’re really unfamiliar.’
‘Jaekyung-ah. What do you mean by that?’
‘Since when have you listened so well to other people instead of me? Fuck, I’ve been listening and listening… That damn Eunseong-ssi, Eunseong-ssi. Do you have nothing more to say to me unless it’s about your lover?’
‘Why are you suddenly bringing that up? Right now I’m talking about what happened last weekend—’
‘Hey. Forget it, drop it.’
‘Han Jaekyung!’
‘Just go on your dates well. Don’t contact me.’
Whether he hoped Jang Yeonhu would faithfully carry out the intention behind the sharp words “don’t contact me,” or whether he absolutely didn’t want him to listen to those words – Han Jaekyung’s mind flipped over dozens, hundreds of times per hour like a well-cooked fried egg.
It was ambiguous whether this was a retreat or resolution of their cold war state. It seemed like just one step forward and then one step back again, a frustrating march in place.
He had decided not to hate Choi Eunseong no matter how much jealousy poured out, but even that mindset was all in vain. Since it was his own heart anyway, Han Jaekyung decided to just comfortably hate Choi Eunseong. As the target of resentment who had stolen away Jang Yeonhu, who had been his faithful pushover.
That was more comfortable than hating Jang Yeonhu any more than this. His feelings of hatred toward Jang Yeonhu had already expanded to the absolute limit.
“Hah… Why am I really being like this? It’s not like I’m some teenage kid.”
It seemed like even his actual teenage years hadn’t passed this dramatically. After unilaterally sending a text to his team leader saying he would use a vacation day tomorrow, Han Jaekyung even turned off his phone. He planned not to turn it on until at least the day after tomorrow.
Han Jaekyung, who had kicked some innocent cushions a few times, heaved himself up and quickly changed clothes. There was no point staying alone at times like this – it would only make him more depressed. Since he was out on dispatch work anyway, there was no chance of getting fired, and didn’t he have free time on a weekday evening for once? He planned to visit his uncle after a long time and play the role of a dutiful nephew properly.
* * *
“More large intestines here!”
“Yes!”
“Student, our bottle of soju we asked for still hasn’t come!”
“I’ll bring it right away!”
The sound of intestines sizzling on the coated stone plate tickled his ears. Han Jaekyung, holding a dishrag in one hand and a bottle of soju from an order in the other, had been frantically going back and forth in the narrow hall since earlier.
The intestine restaurant located in a city in Gyeonggi Province about an hour’s drive from Seoul did quite well even on weekday evenings. It was a small but decent shop set up by pooling his uncle’s severance pay with the money Han Jaekyung had saved up.
Seeing his uncle being called “boss” at even a small shop made Han Jaekyung feel full without eating and smile leak out even in his sleep.
It felt like a complete lie compared to the past when he could only stomp his feet watching his uncle being treated no better than a servant by Jang Yeonhu’s family.
Before Jaekyung, who had arrived during the busy evening peak time, could give a happy greeting saying it had been a while, his uncle immediately put a red apron around Jaekyung’s neck. After that, he didn’t have a moment to sit down.
It was a bit hectic and busy, but thanks to that, the depression and self-blame that had been trying to creep into his body and mind all fled in one go. It seemed like he had done well to visit his uncle after all. Han Jaekyung, who had finished all the serving and had a brief break, patted his back and smiled slightly.
“Sorry. We happened to have two group reservations today.”
“No, uncle. It’s much better than having flies buzzing around. Is there anything else to do?”
“No, no. Even if there was, there isn’t. Sit at that empty table and rest for a bit. The group customers all left, so we just need to clean up.”
Feeling so sorry for making his precious nephew, who wouldn’t hurt even if put in his eye, work, his uncle bustled about scanning Han Jaekyung up and down with his eyes and stroking him with his hands even as he went back into the kitchen to do the backed-up dishes.
It had been a really long time since he felt treated as someone very precious and important to someone. That faint sensation tickling his chest wasn’t bad. To be a bit more honest, it wasn’t just “not bad” but so good it made his eyes well up with tears. If he had actually gotten teary-eyed, he would definitely worry his fussy uncle, so he gritted his teeth and held back.
“Hey, young man there. Bring us some more kimchi.”
“Ah, yes. Just a moment.”
Jaekyung, who had been sitting and catching his breath briefly, promptly got up at the call from a nearby table and took out a side dish container.
Around the table, which seemed to be occupied by workers from a nearby construction site, hard hats with “Safety First” written in large letters and vests with cement stains were scattered messily.
“Oh my, you look quite young. Are you a part-timer?”
“No. I’m the boss’s nephew.”
“I see now that you mention it. I think I’ve seen you a few times before.”
There was no ultra-sensitive lawyer Han who wouldn’t let a needle through, no prickly Han Jaekyung. When Han Jaekyung entered this shop, he was just a student nephew of Boss Song with nimble fingertips.
Maybe that’s why. Only when he came here did a gentle side that couldn’t be found anywhere else naturally emerge.
Han Jaekyung smiled warmly at the customer’s affectionate words while quickly replacing empty side dishes and dirty plates.
“Hahaha. Is that so? Please come often and help increase our sales.”
“Of course, of course. There’s nowhere around here that serves as generously as this.”
“By the way, you’re quite admirable for someone your age. Coming out to help with work like this.”
His face already didn’t look his age, and today he had come comfortably without styling his hair and wearing loose hoodie clothes, so the customers seemed to think Han Jaekyung was a college student at most. There was particular emphasis in the voice saying “our son should learn from you.”
“Here, here. You’re working hard, so have a drink.”
“Uh… I’m still working.”
“Tsk, it’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll talk to Boss Song nicely. Originally when an adult offers you a drink, you should say thank you and accept it. Come on.”
“Ah, then just one drink…”
It wasn’t a drink offered maliciously wanting to see that successful Han Jaekyung drunk no matter what, nor was it a glass with the petty intention of getting him drunk to somehow bring him down. Han Jaekyung smiled warmly and accepted the soju glass the customer offered. And just as he was about to coolly down the glass.
“Jaekyung-ah.”
Swish, thunk.
Suddenly a hand reached out from behind, snatched the soju glass, and set it down on the table with a thunk.
“How can you leave like that and even turn off your phone? I was worried.”
It was Jang Yeonhu.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
