LM 10

After walking all day, every bone in his body ached. Siyul stood under hot water for a long time before finishing his shower. Kwon Yuwon’s condition was exactly the same as when Siyul had left the room. He had probably spent the entire day lying there, wrapped in his blanket like a cocoon, without eating anything. Even without watching him, it was painfully obvious.

When Siyul sat nearby and turned on the fan, Yuwon peeked out just his head to look. His eyes were completely lifeless. Well, how could he have any energy when there was nothing in his stomach? Siyul clicked his tongue and, like a mother in a drama, smacked Yuwon’s backside with a loud slap before pulling out triangle kimbap and cup noodles from his bag. He had bought these by sacrificing his bus fare and overworking his legs.

“Eat some of this.”

“I don’t have an appetite…”

“Eat anyway. You need to eat to live.”

Siyul unwrapped the triangle kimbap himself and held it up to Yuwon’s mouth. With a reluctant expression, Yuwon opened his mouth and took a bite. Siyul then placed the kimbap in Yuwon’s hand. Only then did Yuwon start to chew and swallow properly.

“Yuwon, I found a job.”

Yuwon stopped eating and quickly raised his head. He stared at Siyul with wide eyes, as if he had heard something unbelievable.

“Why are you working?! I told you, if we just wait a little longer…”

As he shouted with food in his mouth, rice grains flew everywhere, sticking to Siyul’s cheek. Siyul covered Yuwon’s mouth with one hand and removed the rice grains with the other.

“I’m not quitting the delivery job completely. I just got this to put out the immediate fire. We don’t know when they’ll take us back, so we can’t just sit around twiddling our thumbs.”

“But still… You know too. No matter how much we work, we can’t earn as much as we did with deliveries.”

Yuwon’s voice dropped. The hand holding the kimbap fell limply. Siyul shrugged and poured water into the kettle.

“It’s just for now. Until we can do deliveries again.”

He omitted mentioning that he needed to repay Woo Hyunse, or that the scary man had introduced him to the job. If he told Yuwon, he could already picture him shaking Siyul vigorously, asking if he didn’t know that Yuwon was the only person in the world he could trust, and insisting that he quit immediately.

“Where are you working?”

“A bar. Just as a waiter. It’s not what you’re imagining. They just sell drinks, it’s respectable. There’s even a stage and a piano.”

Seeing Yuwon about to nag again, Siyul quickly cut him off. Yuwon still looked unconvinced. When was he ever not? To Yuwon, Siyul was always someone he couldn’t fully trust.

“It’s true. If you don’t believe me, come see for yourself later.”

Yuwon grumbled, seemingly unsatisfied with Siyul working, then curled up like a caterpillar and burrowed back into his blanket. It was all his fault, because he couldn’t handle things properly, Siyul got caught in the crossfire, he was the most useless trash in the world… He seemed determined to dig all the way to the other side of the earth.

Thinking he should stop this at some point, Siyul flopped his body onto the bulging blanket. A long groan emerged from under the blanket at the heavy weight.

“You’re heavy…”

“Kwon Yuwon, I can’t live without you.”

“…”

“So stop saying weird things and let’s eat ramen. The water’s boiling.”

Right on cue, the kettle whistled. As Siyul got up, Yuwon remained curled up for a while before sluggishly rising. He might have cried a bit in the meantime, as the whites of his eyes visible through the blanket covering his head were tinged red with blood vessels.

“I want to wash up before eating.”

“Good thing I didn’t add water yet. Go wash up. Let’s eat together.”

Finally seeming to come to his senses, Yuwon nodded and staggered to the bathroom. Siyul turned on the TV while waiting for Yuwon to come out. A drama he had watched partially before was on, so he left it on that channel and unwrapped the cup noodles.

The buzzing sound of a phone vibration cut through the drama dialogue. Wondering who could be calling at this hour, he quickly picked up the phone. Seeing the name on the screen, he gasped and swiftly swiped to reject the call.

It was Woo Hyunse. Why was this guy calling again? Siyul looked towards the bathroom, pressing down on his pounding heart as if he had committed a crime. There was no reaction; Kwon Yuwon probably hadn’t heard. If it had been a ringtone, Yuwon would surely have poked his head out of the door to ask who it was.

“I’m going out for a bit!”

“Where are you going?”

“Just to buy something to drink!”

Siyul jumped up, hastily shoved his feet into his sneakers, and left the inn. It was a narrow alley dimly lit by streetlights and the inn’s neon sign. He turned the phone’s volume down low and held it up to eye level. Though he didn’t know Woo Hyunse well, he had a strong feeling he would call again.

Sure enough, the screen lit up with his name. Siyul hurried out of the alley onto the main street. Only then did he press the answer button.

“Hello?”

―Why do you always not answer the first call?

Woo Hyunse never bothered with greetings. He went straight to the point. He’d never make it as a pitcher. He’d only throw fastballs, no breaking balls or anything else.

“I was about to answer, but it got cut off.”

―How was the interview?

“It ended quickly. The manager told me to come in starting tomorrow.”

―Does the job seem doable?

Walking had brought him to a convenience store. Siyul sat on a chair and pressed the phone close to his ear. Maybe because it was night, the sound was stronger. Like before, talking with Woo Hyunse felt like dropping a pebble in a puddle, the ripples reaching even his other ear. Siyul fiddled with his earlobe, feeling ticklish.

“I haven’t tried it yet… But why are you asking about this?”

―I introduced you to the job, so of course I should ask. If there’s something wrong with you, it’ll reflect badly on me.

“You could have asked by text…”

―Too bothersome.

Conversely, Siyul was more comfortable with texting. Except for Kwon Yuwon, talking on the phone with others made his palms sweat. Even now, his palm was getting clammy, so he switched the phone to his other hand and wiped his free hand on his thigh.

―Work hard. You need to pay back the money.

“So, should I give you my entire first paycheck?”

―Well…

“Um… Could we do installments instead?”

After all, he and Kwon Yuwon needed to eat. Despite his desperate plea, all he got in response was a low chuckle.

―We’ll see how you do.

“Yes…”

What was there to hope for? After Siyul’s dejected response, the other party left only a lingering laugh before hanging up. No greeting upon answering, no indication of ending the call. Muttering about what an arbitrary person he was, Siyul trudged into the convenience store.

Thinking he needed to buy something to avoid Yuwon’s suspicion, he chose a cheap drink with a buy-one-get-one-free offer after some deliberation. As he placed it on the counter, a ‘ding’ signaled an incoming message. Expecting it to be Yuwon asking where he was and urging him to come back quickly, he tapped the notification.

Here’s the English translation:

[6-month installments. Interest included]

At first, he thought it was spam. Then he saw the name at the top. Even the name Woo Hyunse had saved for himself was just “Woo Hyunse,” and the profile picture was the default. Despite only meeting a handful of times, his personality was evident even in his profile.

Siyul’s lips twitched into a smile. Before he could reply asking why not make it interest-free while he was at it, the waiting employee at the counter scanned the barcode. The beep brought him back to reality, and he finished paying.

[Thank you]

[But these days, 6 months interest-free is standard, isn’t it?]

[And could you possibly change it to 24 months?]

He sent the replies promptly after leaving the convenience store, but the number 1 next to the message didn’t disappear immediately. Siyul put the drinks in his kangaroo-like hoodie pocket and walked briskly. His lips kept curling up into a smile, but on second thought, this person was quite peculiar.

At first, he was scared. He thought he might die. The second and third meetings weren’t exactly pleasant either. On top of that, even though Siyul was barely keeping his head above water, the man was demanding repayment. Giving a job like offering medicine after causing an illness.

And yet.

“How strange.”

Siyul’s head tilted this way and that. Perhaps the strange one wasn’t Woo Hyunse, but himself. Although still fearful and inscrutable, he no longer felt the same aversion as before. In fact, his opinion kept shifting towards thinking that maybe, just maybe, this could be an okay person.

* * *

The work at the bar wasn’t difficult. Initially, he struggled a bit having to memorize the menu, but his memory wasn’t too bad, and he quickly became familiar with it. Though the list of foreign liquors that twisted his tongue still made him dizzy at times, he hadn’t made any major mistakes in the past few days.

It was a good workplace. People were kind, and above all, there was no workplace hierarchy. Compared to when he worked at a restaurant before, where he endured all sorts of mistreatment before quitting, this place was like heaven. Plus, they provided dinner. Chef Park from the kitchen had an exceptional talent for fattening people up.

Siyul’s job was simple. Sweeping, cleaning, taking orders, inputting them, serving food, and when the kitchen was busy, he helped out there too. Just minor tasks anyone could do, like preparing herbs or washing dishes.

His body was much more tired than when he did deliveries, but his mind was at ease. He wasn’t being chased or worried about getting caught. After all, it was legal work. If possible, Siyul wanted to work here for a long time. Even though Kwon Yuwon would squint his eyes or sulk every time Siyul left for work.

Today, perhaps because it was a weekday and raining, there weren’t many customers. Even the one table they had just left. As the hall emptied, the piano melody abruptly stopped. Yang Hye-na, who had just lifted her hands from the keys, stretched her arms up high with a long yawn. She even added a groan of “Ugh” for effect.

“It’s quiet today.”

“Must be because of the rain.”

It was a shame, as the sound of rain had blended well with the piano melody. Siyul returned after clearing the messy table. Yang Hye-na had already moved to the bar and was chatting playfully with the bartender. The manager, who had been leaning on the counter with hunched shoulders, looked around the empty hall and approached the bar.

“Indeed. Check the forecast. When is the rain supposed to stop?”

“I checked earlier. They say it won’t stop until dawn.”

The bartender quickly replied while wiping water off a glass. Siyul finished organizing the dishes and came out. The rain pouring outside had only gotten heavier since he arrived at work, with no signs of letting up. The force with which it hit the windows was fierce – how many customers would brave this downpour? It seemed like business for the day was over.

“Should we just close early?”

The manager scratched his chin, rolling his eyes. Chef Park, who had been prepping ingredients in the kitchen, suddenly poked his head out. His usually stern eyes sparkled like a child’s at the possibility of leaving early.

“Are we going home early today?”

“I’m thinking about it… Doesn’t look like we’ll get any more customers.”

Everyone started to get excited at the prospect of leaving early. Siyul was no exception. As he watched the manager’s face, eagerly waiting for a quick decision, ding, the bell on the door jingled. Everyone’s gaze turned towards the door, wondering who could be shattering their hopes.