I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 29
Jaewoo opened and closed his mouth several times. There was delicious food right in front of him, but he’d lost his appetite. What took its place instead was chaos.
Mujin looked at Jaewoo in interest.
‘Is this something you’re actually considering?’
Even though it was a condition that he himself had suggested, it was amazing to see Jaewoo shaken like this. Everyone puts themselves first. Why on earth was he worrying about Hyunjin’s debt? Mujin didn’t understand it.
Working in this industry, he’d see things like this sometimes. Family members, friends, or lovers would throw themselves into hell for another person. They’d act on impulse and make a mistake they’d later come to regret. Every time that happened, Mujin would laugh and mock them before exerting his influence to drag them down even further. As they fell deeper and deeper, their feelings of affection would become distorted. The love they once had would wither and turn to hate, until all that was left was resentment.
‘What stupid humans.’
Stupid and foolish. And now, here was another person like that. Mujin licked his lips. He had some free time on his hands, and it looked like something new and interesting might happen.
‘I don’t even think there’s any relationship between them yet.’
At most it was a landlord-tenant relationship, and that was all. So why was Jaewoo hesitating? Mujin just watched him with a smile, and after a while, Jaewoo raised his head and asked him.
“How much will it be reduced?”
Humans were truly unfathomable.
“How about half of the current amount?”
It was an unprecedented condition.
“Really?”
“I don’t lie.”
He just didn’t tell the truth. Even if he reduced Hyunjin’s debt by half, Mujin was confident that it would soon increase again. Hyunjin had a terrible leech attached to him, and until he was dealt with, the debt would always be growing.
“Urgh.”
Jaewoo groaned. In the kitchen, Hyunjin was already busy cutting up the meat and plating it. Soon, he’d be back at the table.
“Take your time and think about it.”
Mujin said that and handed over a third business card.
“I have a feeling you threw away the last one.”
He wasn’t wrong. Hyunjin ripped up the first one, and Jaewoo had thrown away the second one. He hadn’t wanted to risk getting involved with Mujin. Jaewoo glanced toward the kitchen, took the business card, and put it in his pants pocket.
The moment he put the business card in his pocket, Hyunjin reappeared. Mujin started emptying his second bowl of rice as if nothing had happened. But Jaewoo never regained his appetite. Still, if he didn’t eat anything, he was afraid that Hyunjin would get suspicious. He tried to force himself to eat, but the food felt tasteless and mushy in his mouth. Even the tender pork felt like he was swallowing a lump of sand right now.
After an unpleasant meal, Mujin left.
“Why on earth did he come?”
Hyunjin frowned as he said that, and Jaewoo smiled shakily and answered.
“I don’t know. Why did he come here?”
He felt frustrated, as if his chest was trapped in a vise. He’d never felt like this after eating a good meal. He continued to feel worse as the day went on. Jaewoo took digestive medicine and even checked his pulse, but the bloating and pain didn’t go away. Later, he developed a raging fever.
“This is too much. We need to get you to a hospital.”
Hyunjin, who had been nursing him, tried to help Jaewoo up.
“It’s okay! I’m heavy. I’m too heavy for you! I’ll get better if I just rest.”
Jaewoo waved his hands and clung to the blanket. However, Hyunjin did not seem to have any intention of just letting the issue go. It was a lot of weight for one person to carry, but despite that, he struggled to get Jaewoo up and carried him on his back. Jaewoo asked him to put him down several times, but while he was in the middle of talking, he lost consciousness. When he woke up again, he was in the emergency room of the hospital.
As Jaewoo blinked his eyes like a cow, Hyunjin placed his hand on his forehead and said.
“The doctors said it would have been dangerous if your fever had risen any further. Why were you so stubborn? You’re not a child.”
Jaewoo quietly pulled up the hospital blanket and covered his face. As he looked at Hyunjin, he felt like he was going to cry. Why was he so nice? Did it affect everyone this way? Why, why, why. Jaewoo repeated it over and over again.
“Does it still hurt? Should I call the doctor?”
“No, no.”
Jaewoo’s heart, which had been wavering and uncertain up until now, suddenly became resolute1.
“I’m okay now.”
Jaewoo pulled down the blanket. Hyunjin, who had been watching him carefully, suddenly lifted his hand and grabbed his nose.
“From now on, if it hurts, tell me right away.”
“What would you do if I told you?”
Jaewoo made a noise as he heard Hyunjin speak calmly.
“We could have gotten you to the hospital sooner.”
Hyunjin smiled brightly at him, and it made him look like the fresh-faced young man in his early 20s that he was. It was a good look, so Jaewoo couldn’t help but laugh as well.
Jaewoo returned home and slept for half a day straight. When he woke up, he found that Hyunjin had finished cleaning everything. The house was spotless. Jaewoo scratched his head for a moment, then went to the bathroom and washed himself thoroughly. He roughly dried his hair, took out new clothes and put them on. Then he took out the two checks that he had stored in a drawer.
First, he needed to go buy a phone. Jaewoo visited a nearby store and bought the latest model. No information had been entered into the white phone yet.
“Phew.”
Jaewoo took a deep breath and took out a crumpled black business card from his pocket.
“I really hate this.”
Jaewoo mumbled, turned on his phone, and dialed an unfamiliar number.
-Tururururu
The phone’s default tone rang, and the call was connected.
‘Don’t pick up. Don’t pick up.’
He prayed earnestly, but the heavens didn’t grant his wish.
– This is Choi Mujin, director of Isak Finance.
A familiar voice came from over the phone. Jaewoo, who had been holding his phone like it was roadkill, reluctantly put it to his ear.
“It’s Seo Jaewoo.”
– Aha.
The voice sounded happy.
– And?
Jaewoo closed his eyes and then opened them.
“I will accept your offer.”
– Good. Then how about coming tomorrow? The contract will be written then.
“A contract?”
– What kind of era are you living in? Isn’t a contract required when doing business? I’ll send you a text message telling you where to meet tomorrow.
That was the end of the phone call. Jaewoo fiddled with his disconnected phone and placed it in his pocket. When he thought about it, his first call and his first contact were both with Mujin. He’d hoped to exchange numbers with Hyunjin first, but it seems like he couldn’t get everything he wanted.
“Is this really okay?”
After he’d already committed to it, he felt some doubts. Maybe he’d been too swayed by his affection. On the other hand, anyone who had seen what Hyunjin had gone through up close would have been shaken, not just Jaewoo. Not to mention he knew that more misfortune was on the way. How could he watch that right next to him and do nothing?
‘I can’t do it.’
But then what about himself? That was the question he’d been trying to ignore. In the book, Jaewoo would never have become Mujin’s housekeeper. The story seemed to be getting more and more twisted. If he did this, what might happen in the future? Was it even possible for him to return to his original body? Jaewoo couldn’t figure it out.
He was scared. Still, he didn’t want to give up on his efforts now.
‘Was I always this affectionate?’
Jaewoo took a deep breath again. When he exhaled, his breath turned white in the air, as if winter had arrived.
He took out a rolled up shopping bag from his other pocket. Life was hard, and before anything, you had to make sure to keep living. Mujin had given them a lot of meat, so he only had to buy the rest. When he thought about it, he still hadn’t managed to give the kids the chocolate candy he’d bought for them.
Jaewoo walked towards the supermarket.
Hyunjin was anxious even after finishing work. With Jaewoo’s personality, he doubted that he would simply rest quietly. Hyunjin was worried that he might be running around, working.
‘Maybe I should have taken one more day off…’
Even as he moved his body, he thought of Jaewoo. Even when he was being carried on Hyunjin’s back, he was struggling and saying that he was too heavy. The truth was he was actually too light, which might be why he had gotten so sick. He always liked to feed others but ate little himself, which is why he never seemed to gain weight. Hyunjin clicked his tongue, wiping away the dripping sweat.
‘He needs to eat more meat.’
When he thought about meat, he remembered Mujin. When Hyunjin thought of him, his heart boiled with anger. A gangster who delighted in leading people into the abyss. He didn’t like the fact that he kept approaching Jaewoo. But despite his concerns, he wasn’t able to stop him. Because he was powerless. Because he was in debt.
Jaewoo had said he would pay back Hyunjin’s debt, but how could he possibly accept that? He wanted his life to get better, but not at the expense of dragging Jaewoo down too. Hyunjin looked down at his hands wrapped in gloves. Hands that held nothing, and were nothing. All he had to offer was himself.
A sigh passed by Hyunjin’s lips, but his body continued to move steadily. His diligence is what had kept him alive until now, so he couldn’t afford to become lazy.
That’s how the day ended. Normally, Hyunjin would have gone straight to his next job after dinner, but he decided to take a break from his night shift just for today.
‘I can’t keep taking time off like this.’
Hyunjin made a bitter expression. Even though he knew that, he was so worried about Jaewoo that he couldn’t bear it. He just wanted to go home and make some porridge.
On his way home from work, Hyunjin fiddled with his phone and opened his contact information.
[Landlord]
He saw a number that he had answered but never called. After hesitating for a moment, Hyuunjin pressed the call button. After a short connection sound, Jaewoo’s voice came through the speaker.
– Hello?
It was good to hear him. The corners of his mouth, which had been dropping this whole time, went up little by little.
“It’s Hyunjin.”
– Hyunjin? How did you get my number?
A blank voice was heard. Hyunjin could picture it without even looking. Jaewoo would blink slowly and make a surprised expression.
“I saved it the day I moved in.”
– Oh, that’s right.
“Are you feeling okay?”
– Yes, I’m fine now.
“But you know you have to be careful, right? Take it easy for now, I’ll make porridge for dinner.”
– Porridge?
Hyunjin was exhausted as he walked up the slope, but strangely, it didn’t feel difficult at all.
“Hey, I’m pretty good at cooking porridge.”
As he confidently spoke a little white lie, he heard laughter coming from the other side.
Footnotes
오뚝이처럼 한없이 흔들리던 마음이 어느 순간, 딱 멎었다. – At some point, my heart, which was constantly shaking like a roly-poly, stopped. Roly-poly is a type of toy that’s basically a doll with a rounded, weighted bottom, that always flips back upright no matter how you rock them. Here’s a blog post that talks about their origins. I had seen the dolls before, but wasn’t familiar with the name.
