Just as he was feeling dispirited due to his growing feelings, there was a loud sound of steam escaping from the rice cooker that had finished cooking. Geun-yeong thought he should feed some carbohydrates to the three people who were only fixated on protein. As he stood up to serve the rice, “Keep eating.”
The force pressing down on the crown of his head prevented him from standing up.
The person who stood up using Geun-yeong’s crown as support was Kyung Jiho. Bong Tae-gu, with a clear face suggesting he had no objection to the detective serving rice, said:
“Anyway, he really takes care of you. Serve my rice in the soup bowl. So I can mix it with the spicy fish soup.”
“Me too.”
After worrying that Professor Baek, who had high blood pressure, shouldn’t eat rice mixed with salty soup, Geun-yeong reflected on what Nurse Bong had said. The person he was referring to as being “really taken care of” seemed to be himself. No, there was no need to pretend to be naive. It was definitely him. Of course, it wasn’t something he didn’t already know. It was true that he was being well taken care of.
So his momentarily excited heart soon sank.
Detective Kyung taking care of him wasn’t something new. He was a detective, and Geun-yeong was a victim. He was a civil servant protecting citizens from crime, and Geun-yeong was a citizen involved in a crime. He had been receiving his help from the beginning until now, but it would have been the same whoever he was helping. Whoever was sitting in this place would have received his care. Meaning that it might not have been him whose crown was pressed and whose heart fluttered from his large hand.
Watching the man performing the feat of carrying four soup bowls, two in each hand, without even thinking of using a tray, Geun-yeong’s heart fluttered again. He felt upset because his heart kept fluttering when he told it to stop.
And when rice was placed in front of each person, Geun-yeong, who had been upset because his heart kept fluttering, this time froze in shock. Geun-yeong’s portion of rice was absurdly large.
Baek Moonjong made an “oh” sound, creating a cave with his mouth in admiration, while Nurse Bong mocked with a sulky face:
“What’s this? You criticized me earlier for trying to make Geun-yeong burst, but now I see you’re the one trying to make him burst?”
“He hasn’t been eating well lately.”
The detective, who was already picking up his spoon and getting soup regardless of what anyone said, answered as if it were only natural.
Due to the mental shock from this case, Geun-yeong hadn’t been able to properly swallow food. As a result, he had indeed become emaciated.
But still, he couldn’t eat in one meal what he hadn’t eaten for so long.
Geun-yeong couldn’t bring himself to pick up his spoon, looking at the rice that not only filled the soup bowl but was also piled high above it. Kyung Jiho, who glanced at Geun-yeong and observed his expression, said before putting the rice mixed with spicy fish soup into his mouth:
“Just try to eat as much as you can, and if you can’t finish, leave it. I’ll eat it.”
Hearing this, Nurse Bong scoffed, “Come on,” and laughed as if it were ridiculous, saying:
“Detective Kyung is quite urgent. What are you going to do by fattening up Geun-yeong? Huh? What are you planning to do? Hmm?”
It seemed like a question with some hidden meaning, and even before that, Geun-yeong’s heart was already fluttering because only his rice was piled so high. With his fluttering heart, Geun-yeong listened carefully and waited for Detective Kyung’s answer. But no answer came. Once again, it was just an illusion and a vain hope.
Geun-yeong, holding his spoon, moved it toward the ridiculously large mound of rice.
After finishing the meal, cleanup went quite quickly as the three sturdy men, including Geun-yeong who now somehow looked small but had never been called small anywhere else, moved their long legs back and forth between the living room and kitchen.
Kyung Jiho was doing the dishes, and Geun-yeong, feeling uncomfortable about this, was fidgeting in front of the sink. Baek Moonjong opened a drawer in the living room and naturally took out a deck of hwatu (Korean playing cards), suggesting they play a round with a bet of 100 won per point. Geun-yeong was quite surprised at the boldness of proposing a gambling game to a detective.
Tae-gu, who had been gauging the atmosphere, rummaged through the utility room next to the kitchen and came out with three bottles of soju. Geun-yeong was also surprised to see soju coming out of the utility room as if it were completely natural.
And he was curious about how much Detective Kyung, who kept alcohol stocked, could drink. He was also curious about what kind of drunk behavior Detective Kyung would show.
While being curious, he watched the detective’s large hands hold, touch, and wipe the wet dishes, not realizing he was looking with envious eyes.
Their plan to properly set up, drink, and have fun was in danger of falling through after the man who had finished the dishes and was wiping his hands on his thighs came into the living room and said:
“I have to go out.”
“Where?”
Bong Tae-gu asked back, and Kyung Jiho looked at Geun-yeong. He couldn’t say he was going to a “club” in front of the young guy with round eyes.
“Work.”
“Ah…”
All three sighed simultaneously. They were disappointed that the host was leaving.
And among the three, two quickly gave up. It didn’t matter if one of the big hosts of this house left since the slightly smaller one was still there. Baek Moonjong, with a face that seemed to say “let the one who has to go leave quickly,” began laying out hwatu cards and matching pairs, while Bong Tae-gu put the soju bottles on the table and headed to the kitchen to prepare snacks.
Only Geun-yeong, who was too disappointed to learn about Detective Kyung’s alcohol tolerance and drunk behavior, and sad that the detective would be away from home all night, still sat awkwardly with a gloomy face.
On top of that, Baek Moonjong was asking, “Geun-yeong, do you know how to play hwatu?” and Bong Tae-gu was asking while rummaging through the refrigerator, “Can Geun-yeong drink?” Then he was exclaiming with delight, “Oh my goodness, spicy pork!”
Because it felt quite uncomfortable to leave these three people with alcohol, Kyung Jiho, who had been lingering, finally had to leave the house with a rather unpleasant expression.
Bong Tae-gu started stir-frying the marinated spicy pork he had bought from a side dish store without asking the owner’s permission. Geun-yeong said he would call Detective Kyung to ask about the pork that was unhesitatingly going into the frying pan, but Bong Tae-gu snorted.
“You’re going to call someone on stakeout to ask if you can stir-fry spicy pork? Oh my, why is our Geun-yeong so innocent?”
That was true. Though he didn’t know the specific situation, he imagined the scenario where the detective’s phone would ring loudly while he was crouched behind something like a large trash can, and his voice asking “Can I stir-fry spicy pork?” would leak out. That would be a terrible inconvenience. It was absolutely out of the question.
Geun-yeong gave up on the spicy pork that was already being stir-fried and couldn’t be undone, thinking he would have to go to the market early tomorrow morning to buy more.
After the drinking table was set, Baek Moonjong and Bong Tae-gu played hwatu with Geun-yeong, who said it was his first time playing.
They played, but…
It was a game where memory accounted for half the skill. Geun-yeong, who used the method of remembering each card that Baek Moonjong and Bong Tae-gu picked up, achieved a “heundeugo sseurego” (a winning combination) in the third formal game after just two practice games, and accomplished the feat of recovering all the coins he had lost.
“This is boring. Just put it away. Let’s have a drink instead.”
Baek Moonjong, who had always won big money against Kyung Jiho who played casually and Bong Tae-gu who was originally not good at it, lost his enthusiasm.
After understanding the atmosphere, Geun-yeong felt very apologetic and decided that if they played again next time, he would definitely let them win.
After putting away the hwatu cards and returning to the center, the drinking session began on the table. Baek Moonjong handed the first glass, said to bring good fortune, to Geun-yeong and tilted the bottle.
“Geun-yeong, you’ve had a hard time emotionally, haven’t you? Here, have a drink.”
Not knowing the drinking capacity of the guy he was drinking with for the first time, he considerately filled only half the glass. The guy had recently lost a lot of weight. Though he would no longer have hypoglycemia, he shouldn’t pass out from forcing himself to drink alcohol he wasn’t good at.
Though it was his first time drinking with adults, Geun-yeong had seen and remembered a lot, so he held the glass, turned his head, and emptied half the glass in one go.
“Oh… ho ho, that’s right, that’s right.”
Baek Moonjong added grandfather-like exclamations, seemingly impressed that Geun-yeong had emptied his glass. He was also actually grandfather-aged.
And now Baek Moonjong received the drink that Geun-yeong poured for him. To the guy who hesitated after pouring about half, he said, “You can fill it all the way.” Watching the glass being filled the rest of the way, he asked:
“Don’t you know the results of today’s test yet?”
After putting down the bottle, Geun-yeong said:
“He told me to expect good results.”
The doctor who had conducted the long three-hour test smiled slightly after completing the test and said so. He seemed cautious because of the cameras surrounding them, but that was enough to guess what the results would be. So Geun-yeong too could push away his “what if I…?” thoughts and release some of the tension he had been holding onto all this time.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
