I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 32
“I’m home!”
“We’re back!”
Hyeonu and Woohee entered the house exuberantly. Then, after confirming that no one was home, their shoulders slumped.
“Right, I remember now. Uncle said he started work today.”
“Oh. So he’s at work.”
“Do you think he’s okay?”
“He’s an adult, shouldn’t he be okay?”
While talking, the two of them went up to the porch and took off their school bags. Then they opened the door and went inside to warm up their cold bodies. These days, they rarely returned to their original room. Jaewoo’s room was bigger and warmer, so the kids liked the change.
“Shall we do our homework?”
“Okay.”
Even though no one was there to supervise them, they took out their books and notebooks and started doing their homework. It was lonely, not having someone there to encourage them. Before, Jaewoo had helped, or at least stayed by their sides, the entire time.
“Can’t he just not work?”
Woohee complained finally.
“Not really.”
Hyeonu calmed Woohee down in a very grown-up manner, but in his heart, he thought the same. He wished that their uncle had stayed home instead of working. That was what he wanted. Maybe it was worse today because their homework was difficult and boring. After only a few minutes, Woohee threw his pencil down and jumped onto the neatly-made bed.
“Woohee!”
Hyeonu tried to scold him, but Woohee was already very upset. Work, work, why was it always work? Work took away his brother, and now it had taken his uncle too. Work was disgusting! Even though Woohee knew that they needed to work, he was still upset. If they didn’t work, they wouldn’t earn any money, and when that happened, someone would come to the house and threaten them. Woohee was really scared of that.
“You’re messing up the blanket.”
“…don’t care…”
“Don’t be grumpy.”
“I don’t care.”
Woohee answered, burying his face in the blanket. The afternoon seemed to last forever. Finally dinner time arrived, but even then, Woohee wasn’t enjoying his meal at all. As he was mechanically eating the food, he heard the sound of the front door opening. Someone was home!
The children jumped up and opened the door.
“I’m back.”
Jaewoo stepped through the open door.
“Uncle!”
The two small voices calling out for him at the same time was a touching sound.
“Huh? What is it?”
“Did you do a good job?”
“Dinner! Let’s eat. We got it ready!”
The children held Jaewoo’s hand and led him into the room. While Hyeonu prepared another bowl of rice, Woohee grabbed the chopsticks.
“Would you like me to make some soup?”
Jaewoo had been nervous about the kids handling the gas stove to heat things up, so he hadn’t made any before he left. But when he offered now, the children shook their heads.
“This is delicious too!”
Then the three of them sat down at the table together and started eating. The boys told Jaewoo about what was happening at school, and all their little complaints. It was a happy time. The only thing that could make it better would be if Hyunjin could join them.
“I’m home.”
Did Heaven hear these children’s prayers? Hyunjin had also arrived at just the right time. The children’s mouths went wide in excitement, and the food, that had been so unappetizing before, suddenly tasted delicious.
“Have you eaten?”
“Not yet.”
“Then let’s eat together.”
“Sure, but shouldn’t you be eating porridge?”
“No, I’m all better now.”
“Really?”
Hyunjin looked at Jaewoo with suspicious eyes.
“Really.”
“How did you do at work?”
“I did amazing.”
“Really?”
“Can you do nothing but doubt? Really.”
When Jaewoo grumbled, Hyunjin made an excuse.
“It’s not that I’m doubting you, It’s just that you’re still weak.”
“Excuse me? Who’s weak!”
“You are.”
“I’m not?”
Jaewoo clenched his fists and actively denied it. He was furious that a fully grown man like himself could be considered weak.
“Sure, sure. Let’s eat.”
“Fine.”
As Hyunjin took off his jacket and joined them at the table, the atmosphere became lively. A noisy and enjoyable evening passed like that. Hyunjin returned to work after eating, and Jaewoo fixed the bed and lay down to sleep with the children.
The work wasn’t as difficult as he’d thought. Although the house was large, it was very neatly organized. As for the food, it wasn’t a problem since he just had to prepare something simple.
‘Did I do the right thing?’
Jaewoo was worried that he had just mixed up the story for no reason.
‘No. What’s done is done.’
It was already late. Jaewoo suppressed another sigh and slowly closed his eyes.
‘It’s like you’re not even human.’
When Mujin was still a new gangster, he’d heard something like that from one of his older associates. As time passed, he ascended the ranks and was able to live alone in his own apartment. The locations had changed over the years, but Mujin had stayed the same. He was still the same inhumane bastard that he was before, and his apartment reflected that.
What little furniture he had was meticulously arranged in clean, monochromatic colors. His refrigerator was filled with only bottled water and alcohol, and the apartment, which wasn’t properly insulated, always felt cold. That was how he lived.
When Mujin arrived home that morning, he could feel the warmth coming through the floor as soon as he stepped inside. He could feel it even through his slippers, and he unconsciously raised his head and looked around the house. There were pastel-colored cushions on the black leather sofa, and a reusable bag with a supermarket logo was on top of the low table. Then a familiar smell hit his nose. When he looked into the kitchen, he saw Jaewoo, still wearing his old apron, hard at work.
White steam rose from the pot, and a hissing sound could be heard, as if something was coming to a boil.
“Oh, right. The ventilation fan…”
Only after the smell of fish and fermented soybean paste had invaded the kitchen and started to penetrate into the living room, did Jaewoo turn on the exhaust fan above the stove where the stew was simmering.
Whiiiiiiiiiiirrrrrrrr.
The quiet house became noisy. Mujin felt hot in the warm air and took off his tie.
“Is it fermented soybean paste stew again?”
When Mujin asked, Jaewoo answered without even turning around.
“Today it will taste different because I added a lot of tofu and pumpkin.”
Soybean paste stew was soybean paste stew, but Mujin wondered if it would really make a difference in the taste.
“Didn’t you say you were going to cook me something delicious?”
“Are you saying it’s not delicious?”
Jaewoo turned his head towards Mujin and asked. Mujin didn’t have an easy answer to that question. It wasn’t that it didn’t taste good, it’s that Jaewoo had somehow managed to make something delicious even though Mujin didn’t particularly like soybean paste stew.
“It’s delicious, right? Then just eat it.”
Then Jaewoo turned back to his cooking with a hum. Mujin didn’t know how this little bastard was so fearless. In the past, he would have ended this a long time ago, but it seemed like he’d grown more patient with time. If his underlings knew about this, they’d be shocked. Mujin returned to his bedroom and changed his clothes, and when he came back out, he found a sumptuous feast prepared for him.
There were exactly two servings. On the first day, they’d sat at the same table to eat, and even prepared their own food. It was bold of Jaewoo, but Mujin didn’t say anything. He needed Jaewoo to let his guard down for the time being.
When someone arrived home in the morning after staying out all night, it would be normal to ask them where they’d been. But Jaewoo didn’t ask any questions. It showed that Jaewoo’s walls were still up. Mujin would be cautious for now, but there was a limit.
Breakfast was fermented soybean paste stew, grilled mackerel, and a few side dishes. It didn’t seem like Jaewoo had any intention of preparing less for breakfast. It was hearty as a country grandmother feeding her grandson.
Mujin picked up the chopsticks and started eating. The stew still had a distinctive smell, but strangely, he found himself savoring it. The same was true for the grilled mackerel. Mujin was amazed at how Jaewoo had grilled the fish, which he rarely ate because it was too much of a hassle to debone it. Even the egg rolls that he had made before had been delicious.
“It tastes good.”
Jaewoo looked at Mujin and smiled. When he saw that, Mujin felt a bit odd. After finishing the meal, Jaewoo cleared the table and washed the dishes. Then he sorted through the dirty laundry. He washed some of it himself and hung it on a drying rack that he’d found in the apartment, then he’d drop the rest off at the laundromat on his way back home.
After doing the laundry, it was time to vacuum. Although vacuum cleaners were better these days and the noise is quieter, they’re still an annoyance. Jaewoo didn’t care; he made sure to vacuum thoroughly in every corner of the apartment. After cleaning the living room, kitchen, and every other empty room, he even invaded the room Mujin was in.
“Do you really need to do that now?”
“Then when should I vacuum? I get off work in the evening.”
“Can’t you run it when I’m not around?”
“I don’t know your schedule, so how can I know when you’ll be around?”
And then Jaewoo talked back to him. Mujin hated the sound of vacuum cleaning, so when he hired a maid, he made sure she vacuumed only at certain times. Jaewoo didn’t seem to have any intention of adhering to Mujin’s schedule. Even though Mujin’s expression had turned ugly, Jaewoo just pretended not to notice and continued cleaning.
“Also, why’s the temperature so hot in here?”
“You’ve just gotten used to it being freezing inside. I can’t live like that.”
When Mujin had been recuperating at Jaewoo’s house, the furnace had been stoked so high it had nearly burned his back. Mujin had the impression that Jaewoo liked it warm. What a child. Mujin clicked his tongue without realizing it.
“All right, fine. I’l be working from now on, so please be quiet.”
“You’re not going to sleep?”
“I don’t usually sleep a lot.”
“But when you need it, you have to sleep. Didn’t you stay up all night and only just come back?”
“It’s fine.”
Mujin spoke firmly and sent Jaewoo out of the room. Jaewoo calmly went outside, dragging the vacuum cleaner. Only then did the room become quiet. Mujin took out his laptop and sat down in his chair. But as he was working, he became concerned about the sudden quietness outside.
Once his work was complete, what was Jaewoo doing to kill time? Mujin tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingers before making a decision and getting to his feet. When he opened the door, he paused, then brought a hand up to his forehead.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m peeling garlic.”
There was a mountain of raw garlic piled up on the table in front of Jaewoo as he said that.
“Why are you punishing me like this?”
“I’m going to make pickled garlic.”
‘Why are you pickling it in my house?’
Mujin forced back the words that he wanted to speak. Wasn’t he just thinking about getting Jaewoo to trust him? Patience, patience…
“Oh, don’t worry. I bought this with my own money. I’m going to pickle three jars and take two home with me.”
He said he would leave one container at Mujin’s house.