I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 2

It was only then that Jaewoo remembered the pork belly he had bought.

“Are you going to your part-time job?”

Hyunjin stared at Jaewoo, his face stony. After a while, he answered.

“Yes. I’ll make sure the rent isn’t late this month.”

“No, it’s not that! It’s just that I bought a lot of pork belly…”

‘So?’ Hyunjin’s face seemed to say.

“…Do you want to eat together?”

Jaewoo smiled awkwardly and held up the bag.

“I’m on my way to work.”

“Oh, right…”

Jaewoo sounded like an idiot.

“Then do you want to eat afterwards?”

As Jaewoo kept insisting, Hyunjin, who had been answering calmly the whole time, slowly straightened up. Jaewoo hadn’t even realized he was slouching, and once Hyunjin straightened his back, he was shocked by how tall he was.

‘Oh, isn’t he even taller than me?’

For a moment, Jaewoo had the impression that Hyunjin was towering over his own 180cm frame. Hyunjin strode forward and spoke without hiding his expression of disgust. It was a menacing voice, not his usual quiet tone.

“Didn’t I tell you to stop the last time?”

Had he? Jaewoo searched his memory. He hadn’t made any disgusting comments to Hyunjin since he arrived here, so Hyunjin must be referencing something that happened between himself and the former Jaewoo. Remembering what Jaewoo had done in the novel, it was no wonder Hyunjin hated him.

Being threatened by someone who was even taller than himself was terrifying.

“Y-Yeah, you did…”

As Jaewoo stuttered, Hyunjin seemed to deflate and returned to his usual unimposing posture.

“Remember it next time.”

Then he brushed past Jaewoo and disappeared down the road.

‘What just happened?’

Jaewoo blinked several times before coming to his senses when the weight of the grocery bags started to make his arms ache. He made his way home in a daze.

Mechanically, he arranged the ingredients one by one in the refrigerator, then washed the lettuce with water and dried it carefully. He washed the peppers and placed them next to the lettuce. Then he quickly combined the ingredients for Ssamjang1, following his grandmother’s recipe.

He sat down at the table and took out a propane burner, placing a skillet on top of it. Using tongs, he picked up a piece of pork belly and placed it in the hot pan, making a crackling sound.

Jaewoo slowly began to relax as the meat sizzled. Pork fat leaked out, filling the house with the most delicious smell. Once the meat was browned, he lifted it up with the tongs and raised his scissors. Bite-sized pieces of meat fell back into the pan.

Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside. Jaewoo picked up a piece of meat cooked to perfection and chewed it slowly. The unique, fatty and savory taste of pork belly lingered in his mouth. It was perfect.

Jaewoo smirked and put the next piece of pork belly on the frying pan. Then he looked at the other side of the yard and waved.

“C’mon over, guys!”

The children stared at Jaewoo like a vigilant cat. But he could see them gulping back drool every time the fat in the pan popped.

“It’s because I bought too much meat.”

After all, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link2. So he decided to buy the favor of the children first. Even if it doesn’t help his situation with Hyunjin, the kids were so skinny, Jaewoo couldn’t help but want to fatten them up.

As he raised another piece of pork to his mouth, the younger brother approached first. Then he asked cautiously.

“Can I really eat it?”

“Of course3.”

Jaewoo took another piece of meat, this time sprinkling a bit of salt on it. He personally liked eating meat with just a pinch of salt, although marinated and wrapped in lettuce leaves was good too. There were so many delicious possibilities.

He took out a plate and started placing the pork belly on it, and the little boy quietly picked it up and put it in his mouth. At first he ate slowly, but then his eyes widened and the speed gradually increased.

“Chew slowly.” Jaewoo cautioned him.

The little one did, and after a few bites the elder brother joined in as well.

“We’re not supposed to.”

Even as spoke, his hands were eagerly picking up pieces of pork belly and shoving them in his mouth.

“Why not?”

“My big brother told me not to talk to the creepy uncle landlord.4“

What an innocent kid, just laying it all on the line like that. And what do you mean, ‘uncle’ landlord? Jaewoo snorted in shock. He was only about five years older than Hyunjin! Is that really old enough for him to qualify as an ‘uncle’? These cheeky brats. He was going to feed them until their stomachs burst!

Jaewoo kept dropping more and more meat onto the kids plate. At first, the boys ate like they were starving, but eventually they slowed down and Jaewoo was able to show them other ways of enjoying the pork belly. Dip a piece in ssamjang, then finish it off with a spoonful of rice. Take a lettuce leaf and wrap the meat inside with clumsy hands. Jaewoo even tried it with red pepper, but it was so hot he had to stick his tongue out and fan it off with tears in his eyes.

It was hectic, but it was an enjoyable mealtime. No matter how much meat the kids ate, it was worth it to see them enjoying themselves.

“Thank you.”

After finishing eating, the children bowed politely. They even offered to wash the dishes, but Jaewoo refused. How much help could they be with such tiny hands?5

“Just wash up and go to bed. Leave the cleaning to me.”

Jaewoo began to clean up after himself, feeling like the coolest guy around.

Hyunjin was exhausted. His body felt like a t-shirt that had been wrung out of shape, to the point where it barely registered as being ‘him’. Even working himself to the bone like this, most of the money he made was going to go towards paying off his father’s debts. Hyunjin sighed deeply.

He couldn’t even remember the last time he was able to take a break. The constant stress and exhaustion was slowly wearing him down. If it weren’t for his younger brothers, he might have run away long ago. If he did, would the loan sharks let his brothers go?

Hyunjin dragged his heavy body behind him and climbed the high slope step by step.

“Growl…”

Suddenly, his stomach let out a noise like a thunderclap. Come to think of it, he hadn’t eaten dinner. The time between his part time jobs was too short.

‘I’ll grab something quick to eat.’

Hyunjin hoped no one had heard that. He looked around in embarrassment and flinched as he saw a familiar person. It was Jaewoo, the owner of the house.

That scheming dirtbag. That was really the only way to describe Jaewoo. Hyunjin had been so happy when he first found the room for rent. Where else could he find a place in Cheonji, Seoul with a monthly rent of only 200,000 won? He’d thought he’d gotten lucky, even though the room was small and they’d need to use a communal bathroom. Hyunjin had thought that at least he’d found a room for his younger brothers to sleep in.

It wasn’t like he hadn’t liked Jaewoo at the beginning. Yeah the rent was steep for what they got, but thanks to that, he’d kept his younger siblings from sleeping on the street. But then as time went by, he’d gotten to know Jaewoo more. He’d learned what a slimeball the man truly was.

Jaewoo had started with words, saying things to Hyunjin that no one should say to another person. Still, Hyunjin could endure it. But then the leering had started, and Hyunjin had been unable to pretend that Jaewoo wasn’t running his eyes over his body disgustingly. It’d gotten bad enough that Hyunjin had spent time trying to find another house, but there wasn’t anything to be found.

With so much money going to his family’s debts, where could he get the money to change houses? In the end, Hyunjin had no choice but to stay in the rented room on the other side of Jaewoo’s house.

“Uh, um.”

Hyunjin had hoped to make it home without any acknowledgement on either side, but then Jaewoo coughed slightly, like he wanted to speak. Hyunjin tried to ignore it and pass by without stopping, only to be brought up short by a question.

“H-Have you eaten?”

Why was he curious about that? What angle was he playing at this time? Was this retaliation for what had happened earlier that day? Hyunjin was exhausted, and Jaewoo’s behavior had driven him to the breaking point. But there wasn’t anything he could do to stop it. If he tried to fight back, Jaewoo could throw himself and his brothers out on the street.

“I’ve eaten.”

Hyunjin responded briefly, trying to keep interaction to a minimum.

“Liar.”

“Why would I lie?”

“I could hear your stomach growl from over here.”

At those words, the tips of Hyunjin’s ears turned red.

“You heard wrong.”

“I didn’t.”

What a nasty little brat. When Hyunjin stood there without answering, Jaewoo scratched the back of his head. Then he asked carefully.

“Do you want to eat?”

“It’s past dinnertime.”

“I made extra.”

Was he trying to buy his body with rice?

“I made stir-fried pork belly with some leftover meat, and it turned out amazing! It’s medium-spicy, chewy and delicious. With a bit of white rice on the side, it’s fantastic!”

Jaewoo noticed Hyunjin looking interested as he praised the harmony of stir-fried pork and rice. Was that enough? Would he be willing to give it a try? Hyunjin hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

“No need.”

Then, as if there was nothing more to say, Hyunjin brushed past Jaewoo and went straight into his room. When he entered, his younger siblings were half asleep and greeted him tiredly.

“Are you okay? Big brother…”

“I’m okay. Go back to sleep.”

He smiled at the boys as he took his coat off and hung it on the wall. Leaning over, he straightened the blanket covering the boys, then paused as he sniffed the air.

‘The smell of meat?’

He’d prepared some rice before he’d left, but there hadn’t been any meat to go with it. Just a little bit of kimchi that he got at his part-time job, and a little bit of eggs. That was all they could afford. But the scent was so strong that Hyunjin almost started salivating.

‘Growl…’

The smell made his stomach clench again.

‘Where did they get the money for meat? Or…’

Hyunjin’s expression darkened. Had the boys been so hungry that they’d resorted to begging outside of a restaurant? The thought made his heart ache. That’s what he’d needed to do growing up. He’d been the same age as his brothers were now, but he’d been left to fend for himself, without their parents helping him. His heart ached at the thought that his little brothers had needed to resort to the same thing.

“Ummm.”

He swallowed the pain down as he pulled the blanket back up from where one of the kids had kicked it off. How could he get them out of this situation?

‘There isn’t anything.’

There was nothing he could do to fix things. The debt was still a mountain, and the debtors were always circling them like vultures6.

‘I’m going to live and die like this.’

Suddenly, nausea arose. No matter how much he tried to pretend to be an adult, in the end, Hyunjin was still just a young man in his early 20s. When it was scary, it was scary, and when it was painful, it was painful. Hyunjin put his face between his knees and tried to suppress his tears.

He had work again in the morning. He had to lie down and try to sleep.

Footnotes
쌈장 – A thick, spicy paste made from fermented soy beans, red chili paste, sesame oil, onion, garlic, green onions, and optionally brown sugar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ssamjang
장수를 쏘려면 말부터 잡으랬다 – This seems to be based off a Japanese saying, ‘If you want to shoot the general, first shoot his horse’. Basically saying you should aim for where your opponent is weakest. I substituted an English phrase that means the same thing.
되지 – Google translate claims that this means “not”, but that makes no sense in context. I’ve chosen to trust Naver, which implies that this can be used to mean “It’s okay” or “Of course”
주인집 아저씨 – As far as I can tell, “landlord uncle” is the literal translation. It sounds very weird in English, but I haven’t been able to find a way to word it better
고사리손 – Literally “fern hand” or “brackish hand”. Seems to mean someone with cute, tiny, baby hands
꼬리처럼 달라붙 – Stick like a tail. Seems to be a Korean idiom meaning to stick incredibly closely to someone. “Stuck to them like glue” might be a more exact English translation, but “circling like vultures” gives a better idea of the gravity of the situation