I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 10
“I’ll make the two of you something. Give me a bit.”
“No, we’re fine.”
Hyeonu hurriedly tried to stop Woohee from speaking up, but Hyunjin’s warning about Jaewoo had been forgotten long ago. They’d even rummaged through Jaewoo’s refrigerator yesterday in search of something to eat.
“No, children need to eat well.”
Jaewoo walked to the kitchen like a zombie, planning on taking out the dry side dishes and boiling a simple soup. He remembered that he had also bought some bean sprouts the other day. He opened the refrigerator with a smile, but his joy soon faded. He couldn’t find the bean sprouts no matter how hard he searched.
“Where did they go?”
After grunting and searching for a while, Jaewoo’s eyes suddenly landed on a pot on top of the oven.
When he opened the pot, he found the bean sprouts that he’d been looking for, already part of a soup.
‘Did I cook this while I was drunk?’
The idea that Hyunjin may have cooked it never crossed his mind until he actually tasted the soup. It was only then that he realized.
“I didn’t make this?”
It was made by someone who knows the basics of cooking, but it wasn’t well made.
‘Then who…?’
Jaewoo tried to remember as hard as he could, but nothing came to mind. In the past, he’d never blacked out before no matter how much he drank, but this body’s alcohol tolerance seemed terrible. Everything from the night before was blank.
“Mister!”
The sound of the kids could be heard outside. The soup would have to do for now. Jaewoo quickly heated it up and set the table. He left the children’s soup as-is, but sprinkled red pepper powder on his own. When he put a spoonful of the hot bean sprout soup into his mouth, he felt his nausea start to settle.
As his stomach calmed down, his mind kept spinning. There was only one person who could have made the soup – Hyunjin. It had to be him.
‘He went to all the trouble of cooking bean sprout soup, even with everything that happened yesterday?’
What an upright and kind young man. It was bittersweet to think that someone like Hyunjin would soon go through more hardships and suffering. But what could he do about it? No matter how hard he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out a solution.
Hyunjin quit all his part-time jobs. Fortunately, everyone understood the situation and no one made it harder on him. From now on, he needed to find something that could earn him more money. He used to occasionally take jobs loading and unloading cargo; now he focused on that and construction jobs, as well as helping Sanghun at the bar in his spare time. That was all he could do.
He arrived home earlier than usual, while the children were still at school. Jaewoo was sleeping on the floor with a blanket over him. Seeing him there reminded Hyunjin of what had happened earlier that morning.
‘Is the floor comfortable?’
Jaewoo seemed to be making a habit of falling asleep there. Hyunjin looked at him blankly for a moment, then continued on to his room. He disrobed and got under the covers. It was cold at first because the heating pad had been off, but after a while, it slowly started to warm up.
His body was still, but his mind was racing, calculating numbers. How much longer could he afford the interest? He didn’t know. As his body gradually warmed up, his stomach rumbled, asking for sustenance.
‘Should I boil some ramen?’
He thought about getting up, but in the end, he just closed his eyes and lay there. He was too tired to move.
Hyunjin only woke up again once his younger siblings returned from school.
“Brother!”
“Brother, are you sleeping?”
Hyunjin opened his eyes to Hyeonu and Woohee watching him from point-blank range. Despite how long he’d slept, he was still tired. He blinked blankly at them for a moment before the boys lost patience and started tugging at his arms to pull him up.
“He made a side dish with meat.”
Hyeonu looked up and said.
“Meat side dish~!”
Woohee was excited and followed after Hyeonu, shouting loudly.
“He made it with the meat you bought.”
“Let’s go eat!”
The kids ran wild, like puppies who had just opened their eyes. The scent of the meat had permeated the house and could be smelled as soon as they reached the hallway. Rushing ahead, Woohee ran right into Jaewoo’s room first.
And after he’d warned them to be careful around Jaewoo. Hyunjin smiled bitterly and tapped Hyeonu’s back as he noticed.
“Let’s go.”
Only then did Hyeonu follow Woohee with a relieved expression. After hesitating for a moment, Hyunjin also entered Jaewoo’s room.
There was a table set inside, but today it wasn’t stir-fried pork. Instead there was pork bulgogi1 with a soft boiled egg, ssamjang, lettuce for wraps2, white garlic, and green chili peppers.
“Let’s eat!”
Jaewoo shouted as he came in with a large bowl of soup. The soup bowl was full of hot bean sprout soup.
Woohee, who was the first to sit down, was shifting from side to side in excitement. As soon as Jaewoo gave the okay, he picked up some of the meat and put it in his mouth.
“Delicious!”
Half-eaten food sprayed out of his mouth as he shouted. He quickly continued on, trying some of the egg, munching on a wrap made from meat wrapped in lettuce and dipped in ssamjang, then following up with a bowl of bean sprout soup.
Since Woohee was chowing down, Hyeonu also started to eat as well. Looking at them reminded Hyunjin of how hungry he was. Next to him, Jaewoo started assembling a big plate of wraps. First the lettuce, two pieces of meat on top, then topped off with garlic and red pepper with ssamjang. The wrap was quite large, would it even be able to fit in that small mouth? As Hyunjin was looking at it, the wrap suddenly came closer and closer.
“Ahhhh~!”
Hyunjin opened his mouth and Jaewoo popped the wrap inside. It looked big, but somehow it all fit. As he chewed, he could taste the juicy meat combined with the flavors of the green vegetables.
It was delicious. Before Hyunjin had finished chewing, Jaewoo had started work on a second wrap. Hyunjin wondered if he would eat that one himself, but instead he held it up to Hyunjin’s mouth again.
“Uh… No thank you, I can feed myself.”
After Hyunjin refused the second wrap, Jaewoo’s expression quickly turned sullen. He stuffed the wrap into his own mouth, chewing slowly with his cheeks puffed out. It was hard to believe he was older than Hyunjin. He looked strangely cute when he pouted.
Hyunjin finished his bowl of rice. As soon as it was empty, Jaewoo filled it back up again, as if he had a phobia of empty bowls. In the end, Hyunjin ended up eating three servings, even more than last time.
Why was this person suddenly being so nice to him? The question Hyunjin had been wondering about countless times came to the surface again. He’d thought Jaewoo was after his body, but that didn’t seem to be right. Hyunjin could still remember the feel of his hand smacking him on the back.
“Once you’ve finished, let’s eat some fruit.”
After the rice cooker was empty, Jaewoo skillfully began slicing the apples. Hyunjin, who’d missed the timing to get up, ate some with his younger siblings. It’d been a long time since he’d had an apple, and he enjoyed the sweet and sour taste.
“Do you want some puffed rice3 with that?”
First apples, now puffed rice. Jaewoo seemed determined to fatten them up. It’s not a common sweet and savory snack, but the kids rushed to it in excitement.
After feeding the kids, Jaewoo looked at Hyunjin and cleared his throat purposely. Hyunjin understood his message, and stayed seated as the kids got up to leave.
“Isn’t brother coming with us?”
“The grown-ups need to talk for a bit.”
With that, Jaewoo sent the children back to their room. After they left, he glanced at Hyunjin and struggled to open his mouth. He wrestled for a moment with what he needed to say.
“Hey, um… Did I get drunk yesterday?”
To Jaewoo’s words, Hyunjin answered calmly.
“You did.”
“Argh, I knew it. I’m such a screwup!”
Jaewoo slapped his cheeks with his hands and broke out in a cold sweat.
‘What did I do while I was drunk!’
While he was frightened and torturing himself with ‘what-ifs’, Hyunjin grabbed Jaewoo’s wrist and gently laid it down on his lap.
“Hey, can you tell me what I said?”
“My body…”
“Sorry!”
Jaewoo was almost ready to prostrate himself on the floor. Why couldn’t he keep his mouth shut! His goal was to not be hated by Hyunjin, but it felt like that goal was now further away than ever.
“You told me to cherish myself.”
“Huh?”
However, the words that came out of Hyunjin’s mouth were different than what he expected.
“You also slapped me on the back.”
“…Hard?”
“Harder.”
Still, it seemed that the worst hadn’t been said. Jaewoo felt bad for hitting him on the back, but at least he hadn’t caused any damage.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve seen a lot of drunk people.”
Compared to them, Jaewoo’s drunkenness was almost charming.
Jaewoo looked at Hyunjin openly. Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be in a bad mood. In for a penny, in for a pound4.
“I’m sorry for saying this all of a sudden, but… we also need to talk about the monthly rent.”
Hyunjin looked at Jaewoo cautiously as he spoke. He didn’t know what Jaewoo had to be sorry for, but as he continued on, it became obvious.
“Can I raise it a little more?”
What had he expected Jaewoo to say? The disappointment was all the worse because it was unexpected. He had been so determined not to rely on anyone else, and yet here he was again.
“So…”
“How much?”
Jaewoo hesitated, then spread three fingers.
30,000 won. A total of 230,000 won. It wasn’t a small amount of money for Hyunjin, but it wasn’t outrageous either. Hyunjin let out a sigh of relief and was about to reply that it was alright, when Jaewoo cut him off before he could.
“In exchange, I’ll serve all your meals.”
Hyunjin blinked slowly. Unknowingly, the corner of his mouth went up. Hyunjin only realized it when he raised his hand to his face and ended up covering his smile. Raising the monthly rent by 30,000 won was burdensome, but if it came with free meals, then the story would be different.
“Why?”
Hyunjin asked again.
“I’ve found that I have a taste for cooking these days. I’ve been trying a bunch of new things, and I always end up with a lot left over. It’s better for someone to eat it rather than just throw it away.”
Jaewoo spoke quickly, rattling his words off before Hyunjin could respond.
Footnotes
불고기 – a dish made from thin, marinated strips of meat grilled on a barbecue or stove-top griddle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgogi
쌈 – Ssam is a dish where leafy vegetables are used to wrap a piece of meat. It’s often accompanied by ssamjang and topped with garlic, onion, green peppers, or kimchi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ssam
뻥튀기 – A snack made from taking a grain such as rice or corn and placing it in a sealed container, then applying heat to cause it to expand. Think popcorn. https://namu.wiki/w/%EB%BB%A5%ED%8A%80%EA%B8%B0
그러면 1차 관문은 통과했으니 2차 관문에 도전할 차례였다 – “Then, since the first gate had been passed, it was time to challenge the second gate.” I used the English idiom “In for a penny, in for a pound”, meaning that once you’ve started something, you should see it through to the end.
