I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 22
Hyunjin spoke to Jaewoo.
“Are you serious about what you said earlier?”
“Huh?”
“About me selling you my body.”
Hyunjin spoke clearly, with no hesitation.
“Can we phrase that a different way? That sounds…”
“Then how would you like to phrase it?”
“How about me helping you repay your debt.”
“Where would you get the money for that?”
Hyunjin asked calmly in a low voice.
“You don’t know this, but I’m actually pretty well off.”
“Don’t you live in a slum?”
“But I own a house and earn rent each month.
“How much would a house like this even be worth?”
“Uhh… I’m honestly not sure.”
“You don’t know how much you’d get for it?”
Hyunjin knew that Jaewoo was unemployed, and that he owned his house, but that was all he knew about his circumstances. Hyunjin frowned quietly to himself. Seeing him with that expression, Jaewoo smiled. Then he put one leg on the floor and wrapped his arms around it.
“I don’t, but it doesn’t matter. I wasn’t planning on selling it. My grandmother was rich.”
“She was?”
“Mmhm. She worked hard all her life and saved every penny in the bank. Then she passed it all down to me. I was going through a rough patch at the time, and she wanted to make sure her only grandson would be able to live securely for the rest of his life.”
Hyunjin couldn’t bring himself to say anything. Jaewoo’s brow was furrowed and didn’t show any sign of straightening.
In fact, up until this point, Jaewoo hadn’t really been affected by this matter. The former Jaewoo hadn’t cared because he was an asshole who didn’t value his grandmother the way he should have, and the current Jaewoo had never met her, and didn’t really think of her as family.
‘Sorry.’
Jaewoo was planning on spending the money that she had left for her grandson. Moreover, he was actually occupying the grandson’s body. He quietly whispered an apology that nobody else would understand.
Hyunjin opened his mouth again after a while.
“Is it really okay for me to borrow that much money?”
Hyunjin didn’t know when he’d ever be able to pay it back. He’d been caught off guard earlier, but now that he heard more about Jaewoo’s situation, Hyunjin thought that he couldn’t drag him into this. Even now, Hyunjin was an upright and moral person.
“Of course it’s okay. I’m offering it.”
Saying that, Jaewoo apologized to his grandmother again in his heart.
‘Sorry. I’m truly sorry! But I’ll make it up to you somehow.’
After all, if he suddenly disappeared back to his world, he wanted to have enough so that the original Jaewoo could continue to live comfortably. He didn’t know how he could make up that amount on his own, but he’d do his best.
“So say yes.”
“No.”
The answer came back with a firm refusal. Jaewoo had thought that he’d broken through Hyunjin’s defenses, but he must have been mistaken. On the contrary, it almost felt like his guard was even higher than it was before.
“But I’m okay with it?”
“You may be, but I’m not.”
Even if his grandmother was comparatively rich, how much could an old woman living in the slums really have saved up? Even if Hyunjin took all of it, there was no guarantee that it’d be enough to pay off the debt. Better for at least Jaewoo to be happy.
“Aren’t you curious about how much is in the bank?”
“Why would I be curious about someone else’s bank account?”
No matter how hard Jaewoo tried to arouse his curiosity, Hyunjin was unmoved. It was enough to cause Jaewoo’s heart to break. He chugged his remaining beer and said firmly.
“I refuse to let you refuse!”
It’d happened too quickly for Hyunjin to stop him. How could someone who was so weak to alcohol throw back a beer like that? A normal person wouldn’t even be buzzed now, but Hyunjin couldn’t help worrying when he remembered what happened the last time Jaewoo drank. He grabbed Jaewoo’s hand as he reached for a new can.
“I think you’ve had enough.”
“I’m not drunk!”
Jaewoo spoke in a clear tone, but his eyes were squinting. He was absolutely already drunk. Hyunjin didn’t know why a person who gets drunk off just one can of beer drank so much the other night. He carefully unclenched Jaewoo’s fingers and snatched the beer can away from him.
“Wh- why!”
Jaewoo’s voice was watery and he lowered his head. Hyunjin was afraid that he was about to cry, so he leaned over closer to try to comfort him, when Jaewoo suddenly shot back up again. If Hyunjin had been a little slower to dodge, Jaewoo probably would have hit Hyunjin’s nose with the back of his head.
“Why not?”
At the sniffled words, Hyunjin sighed and then spoke slowly, as if to a child.
“If you spend all your money on other people, how will you survive?”
“Can’t I work too?”
Jaewoo offered, but Hyunjin looked doubtful. Jaewoo might be of average height, but his body was soft, and Hyunjin didn’t think he had even a single muscle.
“Wh-why are you looking at me like that!”
“How am I looking at you?”
“You think I can’t do it? Fine. I’ll show you my power!”
Jaewoo rolled off the floor and stood in the middle of the yard. Then he lifted the large rubber basin he had taken out to make kimchi.
“Look!”
Hyunjin unknowingly smiled.
“Even Hyeonu could lift that.”
“What? No way Hyeonu could!”
“It’s empty inside.”
At that, Jaewoo lowered the rubber basin and looked inside. Sure enough, there was nothing inside of it. Ah right, he hadn’t bought the cabbages yet. Jaewoo stared at the basin blankly, his mind whirring.
Seeing Jaewoo like that, Hyunjin opened a new can of beer. Earlier today, he’d felt like his life was ending. But now, just from eating a meal with his brothers and Jaewoo, he felt like he wanted to live again.
‘Everyone wants to live.’
That was what Hyunjin thought. Just as he was about to take another sip of beer, Jaewoo blurted out something, as if he had suddenly remembered it.
“…Connection, a connection1. That’s it!”
“Yes?”
“If you don’t have a connection already, you can create one!”
Jaewoo jumped up and approached Hyunjin. Then he put his hands on Hyunjin’s cheeks and brought his face closer. Even as he did this, Hyunjin still hadn’t caught on to what he was about to do.
Then, in the next moment, Hyunjin’s whole body froze. Soft lips covered his lips. It was a clumsy kiss, without any technique or finesse. Additionally, Jaewoo had put too much force into it, causing his lip to bleed.
It was nothing more than a play, performed by a drunkard. Even knowing that, Hyunjin’s heart raced wildly.
Thump-thump-thump-thump…
“Mwah!”
Jaewoo pulled back with an exaggerated lip-smacking sound, then raised his head and took a deep breath. Then he said triumphantly.
“We’ve got one now, right? A connection?”
“This…”
Hyunjin spoke, and his voice trembled.
“What kind of connection is this?”
Jaewoo thought deeply about Hyunjin’s question, thumping his palm with his fist.
“Good question. What kind of relationship do we have…?”
After saying that, Jaewoo flopped down onto the floor next to Hyunjin, curled up, and fell asleep. Not even the cold wind blowing through the yard was enough to stop him.
Hyunjin stared at his hand. Like his voice, the hand holding the beer can was trembling slightly.
“He’s just drunk.”
He scolded himself.
“Because he can’t hold his alcohol.”
In the end, Jaewoo hadn’t even said what sort of relationship he wanted. So Hyunjin was left in the dark, second guessing just what Jaewoo had meant by that.
Hyunjin drank the can of beer down in one long pull, then looked at Jaewoo. The alcohol and the chilly air had given his cheeks a rosy glow, making him look soft and cozy as he lay on the floor. For him to throw Hyunjin’s heart into confusion and then sleep peacefully, it was enough to make Hyunjin feel like he’d been taken advantage of. But Hyunjin had never been one to retaliate, so there was nothing to do but endure it. Besides, Jaewoo had done a lot for him today.
Hyunjin finished off the rest of the fried chicken and beer. The chicken was delicious even when cold, so it wasn’t a hardship. Afterwards, he carried Jaewoo into his room, took off his jacket, and laid him down next to his younger brothers. Unlike Hyunjin’s room, Jaewoo’s room was spacious, so there was plenty of room for all four of them. Hyunjin went and washed his face, then returned and lay down next to them.
“Why do you act like this when you’re drunk?”
He asked Jaewoo in a small, very soft voice. Of course, no answer came back from the sleeping person.
“Jaewoo, you shouldn’t drink alcohol anymore.”
Still asleep, Jaewoo mumbled out an answer to Hyunjin’s words.
“…kay…”
It was so strange to see someone answering while asleep that Hyunjin couldn’t help opening his mouth again.
“Next time, don’t drink.”
“…kay…”
“Is that a promise?”
“Yeah…”
Jaewoo answered calmly. Hyunjin wished that Jaewoo would be this obedient all the time. While he was like this, Hyunjin decided to take advantage of it to discuss something else as well.
“Stop offering to lend me money.”
“No…”
Hyunjin doubted Jaewoo for a moment. Was he really asleep?
“Are you really not going to drink anymore?”
“Yeah…”
When he asked again, Jaewoo answered.
“Stop trying to lend me money.”
“No.”
Was he actually awake? Hyunjin swung his hand in front of Jaewoo’s eyes, but he didn’t move at all. He looked like he was still asleep.
“I won’t take it even if you give it to me.”
“No.”
“Are you awake?”
“No.”
How was he so good at responding? Hyunjin was stunned, but it did seem that Jaewoo was answering while still asleep. Maybe this was his talent. Hyunjin smiled and slowly closed his eyes. There wasn’t any point in arguing with someone who was asleep.
‘I should go to sleep too.’
In the morning, it seemed like he’d need to wake up a little earlier than usual to make soup for this lightweight.
Jaewoo curled up under the blanket and grabbed his head. Last night was a total blank. There was nothing past the point where he’d brought out the beer for Hyunjin.
‘Did I drink a can of beer too?’
Why was this body so trashy? Jaewoo sighed and closed his eyes even tighter. There wasn’t anybody else around. The children must have woken up earlier, and Hyunjin also should be at work now. Jaewoo felt a sense of deja vu.
‘I feel like we’ve done this before…’
Jaewoo lowered the blanket that he’d been huddling under and opened his eyes. When he looked at the clock, it was around 10 AM. Oof, he’d overslept. No wonder no one was home. Jaewoo sighed deeply and opened the door. As he did, the children that were hanging around the yarn looked back at Jaewoo.
“Uncle woke up!”
Why weren’t they at school? Jaewoo counted back the days and realized that today was the weekend.
“Your brother?”
“Our brother went to work.”
Hyeonu stood up as he spoke clearly.
“Hyunjin said that once you woke up, you should eat some soup and rice.”
As he spoke, Hyeonu was already heading towards the kitchen. Jaewoo lunged forward and managed to stop him before he made it there.
“I-I’ll handle that.”
“I can cook, too.”
Jaewoo knew that, but it was embarrassing to force a child to cook for him because he was hungover. Jaewoo couldn’t help but laugh.
Footnotes
관계 – relationship, connection. I went back and forth on how to translate this, and I’m still not entirely happy with it. I know the manwha used ‘relationship,’ but that didn’t feel right to me in a way I can’t truly articulate. In the end I went with ‘connection’ instead.
