I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 105
The issue of the damaged restaurant was resolved surprisingly easily. When the two of them stopped by the next morning, they found a group of strangers hard at work fixing the restaurant. When they asked, they found that someone else, probably Mujin, had hired them to repair the damage.
‘Could he help me with my resident registration card, too?’
Jaewoo thought about it, but it was too awkward to ask Mujin for help now, so he kept quiet. For his part, it seemed as though Mujin had no intention of volunteering either.
‘I suppose that’s for the best.’
Jaewoo thought back to the look in Mujin’s eyes the last time he’d seen him. They’d been alight once more with obsession and madness. If Hyunjin hadn’t been standing by his side, he didn’t know how he’d have reacted. Mujin had backed off for now, but they’d have to remain on guard. Everything had a cost.
Once the restaurant was returned to its original state, things began to move quickly. A sign was put up out front with the restaurant’s name, and a preview date was set.
They’d decided to use a name that Woohee had created for the store. It was an ordinary name, but Jaewoo was satisfied with the meaning behind it1.
When the preview date arrived, Mujin sent them a large, gorgeous flowerpot. Although Mujin was still terrifying, Jaewoo couldn’t bear to throw away the plant, so he put it on display at the entrance.
In the afternoon, the old woman from the soup restaurant came to visit them.
“What about your own restaurant, ma’am?”
“I can afford a day off. Please bring me something to eat.”
The small, quiet restaurant quickly became busy. Orders came in one after another, and Jaewoo returned to the kitchen, his hands flying as he prepped.
The items they’d ordered were ready in a flash.
“Let’s have a taste.”
The customers laughed and chatted together as they ate up the food from the earthen pots.
“Wow, this kimchi stew is really delicious! The taste is refreshing.”
“What about the soybean paste stew? This is the first time I’ve had something so good.”
The compliments poured in, everyone full of praise for the food. The crowd of people finished their meals and then left again just as quickly, and the restaurant returned to its quiet state. A few people passing by would occasionally glance in, but none of them entered.
‘Well, I guess that’s just how it goes in the beginning.’
Jaewoo sat down next to Hyunjin and enjoyed the quiet afternoon. The sunlight pouring in through the front windows felt warm on his skin.
It was around that time when Mujin finally made an appearance. He arrived with a trail of his men behind him, and the first thing he did was hand over a colorful fruit basket.
“Congratulations on opening.”
Jaewoo accepted it but then immediately sat down again.
“We’re not serving you.”
Hyunjin spoke firmly and tried to chase him away, but Mujin didn’t budge. He looked over the menu at his leisure and finally chose a few dishes.
“How can a business survive if they chase away paying customers? Oh, do you have any fermented soybean paste stew?”
“We don’t.”
“Then let’s get some soybean paste stew and beef bulgogi. You have those, right?”
No matter what they tried, Mujin refused to leave. Jaewoo had no choice but to start cooking.
“Finish this and go.”
“I’ll consider it.”
Mujin held his spoon and savored each bite of the meal. He was so focused that the ordinary dishes appeared like a feast.
“It still tastes the same.”
After finishing his meal, Mujin beamed.
“It’s delicious.”
Jaewoo blinked his eyes in disbelief. Since when had Mujin been able to smile like that?
“Let me order some more.”
Before he knew it, the smile had been wiped from Mujin’s face as if it’d never existed. He quickly ordered some other dishes. Only after finishing them all did he stand up.
“I’ll come again soon.”
“I told you not to return.”
Jaewoo grumbled, but Mujin just ignored it. After that, some people that Hyunjin had met while working various part-time jobs stopped by. As time passed and evening arrived, the final expected customers entered the restaurant.
“Brother!”
It was Hyeonu and Woohee.
“Come on in.”
“Wow!”
Woohee looked around the store, letting out an excited cry. Hyeonu pretended not to be affected, but he kept looking around the restaurant in excitement.
“Sit wherever you like.”
“Then I’ll sit here!”
Woohee sat at the counter in a seat designed for solo diners.
“If we’re going to eat together, shouldn’t we share a table?”
“Oh, right!”
Woohee, who’d been shifting in his seat with excitement, quickly moved to a larger table. He sat facing Hyeonu and watched the dishes come out one after the other with sparkling eyes. It was food that he’d eaten a thousand times before, but today it seemed different. Maybe eating it in a restaurant for the first time made it feel special.
Jaewoo and Hyunjin sat down next to the kids. It was dinner time anyway, so the four of them were going to eat together.
“Do you think we need to alter the menu at all?”
“Because there’s not enough variety, right?”
“There’s that, too. How does it taste? Is it good?”
“Everyone said the food was delicious. You need to have more confidence in yourself.”
“But this is my first time selling food.”
Until now, Jaewoo had only cooked for people he knew. Apparently, once you were selling it for money, the pressure was higher
“It’s really good.”
Hyunjin showered praise on Jaewoo.
“It’s really, really good. I’ve never eaten anything that even comes close to what you make.”
It was embarrassing to be overly-praised. Jaewoo only realized that now.
“Okay, stop, stop.”
Jaewoo covered Hyunjin’s mouth with his hand before focusing on the meal again. For dessert, he took out a melon from Mujin’s fruit basket and sliced it. The taste was pretty good, probably because it was expensive.
After stuffing themselves, they finished washing the dishes and locked up the restaurant. Holding hands with the children, the family of four walked home. The road was long, but their steps felt lighter than usual, and the journey went quickly.
“When do you think we should have our grand opening?”
Jaewoo asked the children.
“What about next week?”
“You’re going to make a lot of money!”
As Hyeonu responded to Jaewoo’s question, Woohee spoke up in an excited voice, adding his own opinion.
“What makes you think that?”
“Because your food is delicious!”
As they walked, Woohee swung their joined hands forward and backwards vigorously. He was such a good kid.
“Yeah, that’d be nice, wouldn’t it?”
So many things would change if that happened. First of all, they’d be able to hire more employees, and the restaurant would expand. At that point, Hyunjin would be able to stop working. Jaewoo could find out if there was anything he wanted to study, and they could work together to help him further his education. Jaewoo wanted Hyunjin, who had worked hard all his life, to know that he had other options.
From now on, their days would be happy. Jaewoo promised himself that over and over again.
A week passed, and the small restaurant at the outskirts of the marketplace opened. On the first day, there were only a few customers, but as time went by, more and more people visited. After a while, the volume became too much for the two of them to handle, so they hired more staff. When they reached the point that the line of customers stretched outside the door and around the corner, they decided it was time to expand.
The upper floor of their building was empty, so they rented it. Everything was going smoothly. Mujin still stopped by the restaurant frequently, and the old woman sometimes visited and had a meal. Their busy days continued on.
It was nice to earn lots of money, but if things kept on like that, Jaewoo’s body was going to wear out. The two of them mutually agreed to limit the days the restaurant was open.
“It’s nice to have two days a week off.”
“I think we could even do three.”
“But there are a lot of customers ordering from us.”
“I know. I’m really grateful.”
The two of them lay side by side on the patio, looking up at the sky. Winter was almost over, and spring was just around the corner. It felt strange to be lying there together in the warm sunlight when all their memories took place during the cold.
“Spring’s almost here.”
As Jaewoo mumbled to himself absentmindedly, Hyunjin reached for him. His large, rough hand clasped Jaewoo’s tightly.
“Yes, Jaewoo.”
When he turned his face to the side, he saw Hyunjin smiling at him.
“It’s spring.”
“Then how about we go on a picnic tomorrow?”
“Where?”
“Anywhere.”
As long as they were together, Jaewoo would be happy. As he smiled, Hyunjin seemed to hesitate for a moment before moving closer until he was hovering over Jaewoo’s body, looking down at him.
“What about the kids?”
“They went out to play with their friends.”
For a little bit, the adults had the house to themselves. Hyunjin lowered his head and pressed his lips gently against Jaewoo’s. The heat transmitted through that contact seemed to warm up Jaewoo from the inside out.
“We should finish fixing up that storage room quickly.”
“Why?”
“I think it’s time for my younger brothers to have a room of their own.”
Hyunjin said with a pout before pressing his lips against Jaewoo’s neck. Since the four of them shared a room, kissing was all that Jaewoo and Hyunjin had been able to do so far.
“There’s a lot of things I want to do with you.”
At Hyunjin’s smile, Jaewoo’s heart started pounding.
“M-Me too.”
One of Hyunjin’s hands, which had been pressing against the floor, started to slide underneath Jaewoo’s shirt until it rested on his stomach. They started kissing again, Jaewoo’s lips naturally parting. Hyunjin’s tongue began to explore his mouth as his hands crept higher.
Bang!
That was all they had time for, as the sound of the gate slamming open echoed across the courtyard. Jaewoo and Hyunjin quickly separated as a loud voice called out.
“Brother, look at this!”
It was Woohee. The two of them, now safely apart, laughed as they watched him jumping up and down in excitement like a puppy.
That was how winter ended.
The End
Footnotes
우리 뚝배기 – uli ttugbaegi – Our earthen pot. I tried to look into the meaning behind this name. ChatGPT suggests that the word ‘ttugbaegi’ can be used metaphorically to refer to a cozy and warm atmosphere, often associated with home-cooked meals and comfort. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to confirm this anywhere else.
