I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 12
Clear radish soup1, beef braised in soy sauce2, braised potatoes3, stir-fried fish cake4, grilled fish5, baked ham6, rolled omelettes7, and kimchi8. For the first time in Hyunjin’s life, a splendid feast was set in front of him.
“Let’s eat.”
Jaewoo had barely slept; there were bags under his eyes as he picked up his chopsticks.
“I thought you were just going to be serving us leftovers?”
“These are leftovers.”
“You call these leftovers?”
Hyunjin was stunned and asked back. No matter how you look at it, isn’t this something that Jaewoo put a lot of effort into? Additionally, just by looking at the variety of food, the cost of the ingredients must have been quite high.
“They are leftovers. I cook a lot when I’m stressed.”
Jaewoo gestured for him to eat.
‘…You liar.’
Hyunjin knew Jaewoo; did he honestly think he’d believe a word he just said? When did Jaewoo get so comfortable with lying.
He had to be either buttering him up for a favor, or pitying him. Even knowing that, Hyunjin followed Jaewoo to the table and raised his spoon. First, he tried the radish soup. Jaewoo had added a lot of beef to it, to the point where it was at least half meat. As a result, the taste was very rich and strong.
Glancing over at Jaewoo, Hyunjin saw him mixing the braised beef sauce with rice and soft-boiled quail eggs. Then he put a large piece of meat on top and took a bite of all of them together, puffing his cheeks out and mumbling to himself as he ate. When Hyunjin saw that, his mouth started watering9.
Hyunjin hesitated for a moment, then followed Jaewoo’s lead, adding the braised beef to rice and then mixing in a quail egg in the same way. Then he picked up a piece of meat and popped it in his mouth.
The taste was different from the braised pork he sometimes got at restaurants. The pork was delicious too, but the taste of the braised beef blew it out of the water. The salty yet crisp taste lingered on the tip of his tongue. It was too rich to eat it without rice.
The rice was well cooked, and Hyunjin found himself working his way through it quickly. After only a few minutes, the bottom of the bowl was showing. Only then did Hyunjin raise his head to see Jaewoo looking at him happily.
“Would you like some more?”
Hyunjin held out his bowl without a word. He tried the other side dishes this time. Stir-fried fish cakes, grilled fish, and even the kimchi were all perfectly suited to his tastes. After eating so much, he finally felt full. At that point, Jaewoo cautiously spoke up again.
“Today… Are you going to be coming back late?”
At those words, Hyunjin estimated the time when work would end.
“I think I’ll be back around dinnertime.”
“Okay. Dinner…”
Is it okay to leave an injured person lying in an alley all day? No, more importantly, would Mujin still be there by then?
No matter how bad the wound was, someone was bound to report it. Or maybe he’d be able to make it home on his own two feet. Jaewoo hoped that it wasn’t a wound that would make it impossible for Mujin to walk. But if he did leave on his own, wouldn’t that also be a problem?
‘Am I mistaken?’
Maybe this wasn’t when Hyunjin and Mujin met. Maybe this happened again later on? It couldn’t be. Even if this was a novel, having Mujin be injured twice would be too much of a coincidence.
“Can you make sure to check the alleys carefully on your way back?”
Perhaps that was why Jaewoo asked Hyunjin that way.
“The alleys?”
“Mmhm.”
Jaewoo’s question reminded Hyunjin of the conversation they’d had earlier. Apparently Jaewoo had seen something in the alleyways nearby. Otherwise, why would he keep asking about this? Hyunjin silently nodded.
“I’ll keep an eye out.”
Then Jaewoo, who was staring at the half-eaten rice bowl, asked again.
“If anyone is injured…”
“I’ll call 11910. Or 11211, if I need to.”
At those words, Jaewoo was taken aback.
“It’s common sense.”
Hyunjin narrowed his eyes. He was worried that Jaewoo would do something stupid. Hyunjin didn’t care what happened to him, but his younger brothers were also here. So Jaewoo needed to be careful.
“Common sense, right. It’s common sense.”
“Just in case, if you see someone injured, report it. You have a phone. Don’t get yourself in trouble by saying you’re just going to get closer to check on the situation. Who brings an injured person to their house these days? Besides, you could hurt them more if you tried to move them. When did you get your medical license again12?”
Jaewoo thought this might be the most words Hyunjin had ever spoken to him in a single go. He couldn’t even refute any of it, because he was right. Is it really okay for the protagonist to act this way?
Jaewoo’s face went blank for a moment. Hyunjin was so pragmatic that he was starting to worry about how the novel could continue. The food, which had been so delicious earlier, turned to ash in his mouth.
What would happen if the main top was taken away by an ambulance? Judging from Hyunjin’s words, Jaewoo was concerned that he’d let him leave and then just continue on with his life.
‘Should I do something?’
Eventually, after finishing the meal, Hyunjin rolled up his sleeves and went to wash the dishes.
“No, I’ll do this, you need to get to work.”
“I’m not that shameless.”
Hyunjin was adamant. He pushed Jaewoo aside and quickly began washing his dishes. Jaewoo tried to stand his ground, but it was no use. All he could do was watch Hyunjin from off to the side.
After Hyunjin skillfully washed the dishes, he washed and dried his hands. Jaewoo couldn’t help but notice how Hyunjin’s hands were larger than Jaewoo’s own.
“I’ll be back.”
With that, Hyunjin headed towards the door. Jaewoo quickly chased after him and handed him a lunchbox, before being left alone in the house once more. His head was spinning. After pacing around for a while, he served breakfast to the kids, who had woken up late, and then sent them off to school.
‘Should I go there again?’
Jaewoo snuck through the gate. He’d go to the market to restock on meat, and check on Mujin along the way. As planned, once he reached the alleyway, he peered through the shadows at the entrance.
‘He’s still there!’
Mujin was sitting with his back against the wall, head bowed. Even like that, the atmosphere around him was tense. It felt like a wounded beast was crouching, ready to strike.
Mujin was larger than he’d realized. Was he slightly bigger than Hyunjin? Hyunjin was a bit taller, but Mujin had more muscles. How bad was the wound? Jaewoo walked back and forth along the same stretch of road over and over again, trying to observe Mujin surreptitiously.
‘It looks like he’s passed out.’
To be fair, most people who’d been stabbed and left in an alleyway for a day would be. Jaewoo’s heart was disturbed. Could he really leave it like this until Hyunjin got off work? He never thought he was a wishy-washy person, but he was worried that Mujin would die if he left it that long.
‘I’ll buy the meat first.’
Jaewoo stopped by the market and purchased the beef. All the while, Mujin was on his mind.
“Phew.”
He sighed deeply and walked the path home.
‘Is he still alive?’
Goosebumps ran down Jaewoo’s spine as he glanced into the alley. The shadows had lengthened, but through a gap in the darkness, black eyes gleamed. Jaewoo should have quickly averted his eyes and pretended he didn’t notice him, but he was too slow. Their eyes met.
‘Ah, noooooooooo!’
Jaewoo screamed internally.
‘No, let’s keep calm.’
Carefully, Jaewoo slid the shopping bag over his arm and rummaged through his pockets. He took out his phone, exaggerating his movements so as not to disturb Mujin.
‘Sorry, Hyunjin.’
He’d ended up interfering with the fate of Mujin and Hyunjin, but it seemed that this was the only way to get out of this crisis. After turning on the phone, Jaewoo pressed the call icon. Then he typed in the numbers one by one.
1, 1, 9.
Please come! 119! Jaewoo closed his eyes and was about to press the call button for the last time when he heard a low voice.
“Stop.”
Mujin growled in a wild tone. Jaewoo ignored it and went to finish the call, when the words that followed froze him in his tracks.
“Aren’t you afraid of the repercussions?”
Then Mujin raised his head and smiled crookedly, his mouth full of blood. Why? Why was his smile so terrifying? Jaewoo should have dialed 112 instead of 119. When you considered Mujin’s occupation, it’s not like the police would be more than an inconvenience to him. Although considering what Mujin could do to him in the future, maybe that wouldn’t be the greatest idea.
Jaewoo spoke in a soft tone as much as possible, controlling his beating heart.
“Are you okay? It looks like you’re hurt.”
In fact, Jaewoo was so nervous he didn’t even know what to say.
“What?”
“I was just trying to call 119.”
Jaewoo turned his phone around to show him the screen. Do you see? 119 was lit up brightly. However, even after seeing that, Mujin was still frowning.
“…crazy…”
He laughed from his position against the wall.
“119?”
“Yes, 119.”
“I don’t need it. Rather, come over here.”
Then he flicked his black gloved hand. Don’t talk to me respectfully and then gesture to me like a dog13. I guess when you’re the main top, you can do whatever you want.
‘I don’t want to go!’
Mujin was injured. Couldn’t he just run away? Jaewoo glanced sideways towards the road.
“If you run, I’ll catch you.”
For a moment, Jaewoo estimated his running speed versus Mujin’s. Impossible. He didn’t have the confidence to win even if his opponent was nearly dead. Because like most crazy tops, Mujin was the owner of a monster-like body!
Meanwhile Jaewoo’s body got worn out just walking to the market and back. After weighing his options, Jaewoo slowly approached Mujin with a sullen expression.
One step. Two steps.
He tried drawing it out as long as possible, but no one passed by that could help. After a long delay, Jaewoo stood in front of Mujin.
“Did you crawl here?”
“I’m walking properly.”
Mujin said.
“Give me your phone.”
“What? Why?”
Mujin only waved his hand without answering. Even with that little motion, the atmosphere was brutal. It was obvious that he was a former gangster. Jaewoo handed him the phone in the most polite manner possible.
As soon as the phone landed in Mujin’s hands, he threw it vigorously against the wall and smashed the poor phone into pieces.
‘My phone!’
Jaewoo resisted the urge to scream.
Footnotes
맑은 뭇국 – clear radish soup. A simple soup that is often taught in home economics classes. Namu wiki
소고기 장조림 – beef braised in soy sauce. A dish made with lean beef braised in soy sauce with shishito peppers and eggs, commonly packed in lunch boxes. Wikipedia
감자조림 – braised potatoes. A dish made by simmering potatoes (or other vegetables, meat, tofu, etc) in seasoned broth until the liquid is absorbed into the ingredients and boiled down. Wikipedia
어묵볶음 – stir fried fishcake. Japanese-style fishcake made from corvina or cuttlefish and then stir-friend Wikipedia (Fishcakes) Wikipedia (Stir-frying)
구운 생선 – grilled fish. It’s just grilled fish.
구운 햄 – baked ham. This could also be ‘grilled ham’. Honey-Baked Ham recipe
계란말이 – rolled omelette. A sidedish made with beaten eggs mixed with various finely chopped ingredients. Wikipedia
김치 – kimchi. Salted and fermented vegetables, usually Napa cabbage or Korean radish Wikipedia
그걸 보니 괜히 입맛이 동했다. – “When I saw that, my appetite whetted for no reason.” I chose to use the phrase “mouth watering”, which means something that looks so delicious that your mouth begins to water in anticipation of eating it.
Number for emergency services, equivalent to 911
Number for the police
시대가 어느 때인데 병원 두고 그래요? – “In what era are you leaving a hospital?” I’m guessing at the gist of this. The manwha uses “We have hospitals for a reason”.
반말을 쓰든가, 존댓말을 쓰든가 둘 중 하나만 하지. – “You can either use informal language or formal language.” This line was added just to make my life harder. I think that Jaewoo is saying “either use informal language or use formal language, pick one” but since I don’t speak Korean it’s really hard for me to tell how politely people are speaking in general.
