I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 46
─ Uncle, are you free right now?
Jaewoo had been lying around lazily, but when he heard those words, he instantly straightened up. There had been real urgency in that one short sentence.
“Hyeonu, what’s going on?”
─ H-Help me.
Hyeonu’s faintly trembling voice sounded choked up. When Jaewoo thought of Hyeonu barely holding back tears, his chest felt tight.
─ Please help me.
“It’s okay, I’ll help you. I’ll help you, don’t cry.”
─ T-Thank you. I tried to call my brother, but I couldn’t. All I could think of was Uncle, so I borrowed a friend’s phone to call you.”
“Are you okay? It’ll be alright, just speak slowly.”
Even though Hyeonu was crying, he tried his best to explain the situation. What should have been a fun field trip with a packed lunch was ruined by another child’s bad mood, and Hyeonu said that Woohee was called to the teacher’s office as soon as he returned to school.
─ My brother is coming too, but I’m still worried.
Although he was only in the 5th grade, Hyeonu had lived a difficult life and was forced to mature too quickly. Right now, he knew that even if Hyunjin came, the only thing he could do was apologize.
They all knew that no matter how guilty the other child might be, people’s prejudices were strong, and inevitably, the one to get in trouble would be them. Even Hyeonu had experienced something similar to this in the past. He tried not to cry, but the tears poured out regardless.
It should have been just a fun field trip. Why had it turned out like this? Resentment at the world began to well up in Hyeonu’s heart, but it was interrupted by Jaewoo’s serious voice.
“Don’t worry. Your uncle will fix everything, just wait.”
Jaewoo promised, and then hung up the phone. He looked at the clock, and saw that it wasn’t time for him to go home yet. Still, he couldn’t afford to delay. Jaewoo stood up and knocked on Mujin’s door.
Recently, Mujin’s time at the office had decreased significantly. He now spent more time at home than he did outside, which was why he was home today as well.
“Come in.”
A heavy voice rang out from inside. Jaewoo took a deep breath and entered the room. Mujin lifted his eyes from his papers and looked at him.
“What’s going on?”
Mujin’s eyes were cold and emotionless, but Jaewoo didn’t back down.
“Can I leave a little early today?”
“Early?”
Mujin put down the documents and smiled.
“Huh, I thought you actually had the brains to understand your situation. Maybe that was my mistake?”
“It’s because I have something to do at home.”
“What ‘something’?”
Jaewoo gently bit his lip. Mujin’s voice was deathly cold, but he couldn’t turn back now.
“There’s a problem at the kids’ school.”
As soon as he heard Jaewoo’s words, Mujin’s expression changed strangely. He looked as if he found the idea utterly incomprehensible.
“And?”
‘And’? Was he asking because he truly didn’t get it?
“They’re not even your family.”
Mujin’s words took Jaewoo’s breath away. What he said was technically true, but how could someone’s affection be based only on blood? Even if they weren’t a biological family, they were still good kids.
“They’re like family to me.”
“Ah, like family.”
A look of ridicule was evident.
“Fine. So let’s say you go to help. How exactly are you going to manage that?”
“I’ll figure something out.”
Even if all he could do was stand next to them without doing anything, Jaewoo still wanted to run to them and comfort them. He wanted to let them know that they weren’t alone, and to share their pain. Seeing Jaewoo so determined, Mujin opened his mouth again.
“Do you want me to help you?”
It was a suggestion that came out of nowhere, but Jaewoo couldn’t deny how attractive an offer it was. Mujin had resources that neither Jaewoo nor Hyunjin could match. If he helped, it was likely the situation would end in their favor. But there was something that was bothering him.
“This isn’t out of the goodness of your heart, is it?”
My cautious question was quickly answered.
“No.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“It’s the same conditions as last time. When I call for you, you’ll come, and when I tell you to do something, you’ll do it.”
Jaewoo hesitated. This was a condition that he shouldn’t accept. Still, when he thought about Woohee, in trouble at the school, his determination wavered.
“In exchange, I’ll take care of it all for you.”
“Really? And Hyunjin won’t know?”
“Yes.”
Jaewoo’s mouth was dry.
“Alright. Just this once.”
“Then our contract is sealed.”
Mujin then immediately picked up his cell phone and made a call. Dongsoo quickly appeared, and from then on everything became a whirlwind of activity.
“I suppose we should change your clothes first.”
Mujin took Jaewoo to a store that he’d never seen before. There wasn’t even a sign outside. From the looks of it, it seemed like they sold suits. They went inside and Mujin immediately asked the staff.
“Do you have any suits that are ready to wear right now?”
What did that mean? Jaewoo looked around in confusion and finally realized. This wasn’t the sort of store that sold off-the-rack clothes. Of course, this was a store that Mujin patronized, so all the suits must be custom-made.
The employee answered Mujin’s question without any awkwardness.
“Let me measure his size.”
The employee finished measuring Jaewoo in an instant, and continued.
“We have one of a similar size among the canceled orders. With a few alterations, it should be ready to be worn right away.”
“Please prepare it.”
As soon as Mujin said those words, Jaewoo was forced out of the clothes he was wearing and into the suit. Standing in front of the mirror, wearing the nicely tailored suit, Jaewoo looked at himself in fascination.
‘It suits me better than I thought.’
Now that he thought about it, Jaewoo very rarely wore suits, because his work as an author never required it. Maybe that’s why he felt so different now that he had one on.
“It looks better on you than I expected.”
Seeing Jaewoo in the suit, Mujin felt compelled to say something. His gaze raked over him from top to bottom, making Jaewoo flinch without meaning to. Eventually, Mujin continued speaking calmly.
“Now, let’s move on.”
Next, they went to a beauty salon and trimmed Jaewoo’s hair. He hadn’t gotten it cut in a while, and instantly his appearance changed from head to toe.
“I know you said you would help me, but is this really necessary?”
“It’s vital. Since ancient times, people have always been greatly influenced by what they see.”
“But shouldn’t we be doing something else right now?”
“Dongsoo will take care of the rest.”
While Jaewoo was being dragged to different places by Mujin, Dongsoo had secured the witnesses and obtained the CCTV tape. As soon as everything was done, he hurried over and briefed Jaewoo on what he was going to do. At that time, Jaewoo also learned about the relationship that Isak Finance had with the principal. Everything he was told made sense.
When he met the principal for the first time, he was surprisingly kind, perhaps because Mujin had already contacted him in advance. Once again, Jaewoo felt admiration for Mujin’s abilities. Thanks to them, Woohee’s situation concluded safely. The problem was what would come next.
Jaewoo decided not to think about that for now. Thinking about it only made him feel stressed, and he didn’t have a solution anyway.
‘But I don’t regret it.’
Thanks to that, Jaewoo was able to see the smiling faces of Woohee and Hyunjin. It was worth it.
Sizzle sizzle sizzle.
Jaewoo dripped a little sesame oil in a well-heated pot, then added beef for the broth, and stirred. The delicious sound of sizzling meat could be heard. Then, after the beef was partially cooked, he added the well-soaked seaweed and a little bit of fish sauce. He stir-fried them well, then poured in the water.
Since this was for several people, Jaewoo made the portion size intentionally large. He threw some garlic and soy sauce into the seaweed soup1 just as it started to boil, and seasoned it. Now all it needed was to boil for a little bit longer in order to bring out the deep flavor.
“Okay, next dish.”
Stir fried glass noodles with vegetables2. Jaewoo worked quickly, preparing the soaked glass noodles and various vegetables. First, he cooked and seasoned the hard vegetables until they were tender, then he mixed them with the glass noodles and seasoning. Although it looked easy, stir fried glass noodles was a dish that took a lot of work to make, but the end result was delicious.
‘I wanted to make braised short ribs3, too.’
He hadn’t had time to go buy the short ribs, so he wasn’t able to make them now. But that was okay, he would be at another kitchen later. If he bought some ribs on the way and prepared them there, they could have them for dinner once he got back.
After completing the noodle dish, Jaewoo started on some other vegetables. Bean sprouts, bracken, bellflower root4, zucchini, spinach. It took a lot of work to prepare them all, but they tasted great once they were done. Next he added a little bit of the vegetables to some rice with homemade red pepper paste and a fried egg to make bibimbap5. Just thinking about it made his mouth water.
Jaewoo placed the finished side dishes one by one into a large airtight container.
“Is it a special occasion?”
Hyunjin had just woken up, and his eyes opened wide when he saw the finished dishes.
“No, nothing special. This is your lunch box, don’t forget to take it with you when you go.”
“Thank you.”
“Are the kids awake?”
“Not yet. I’m going to give them a day off from school today.”
“Okay, that’s a good idea. They had a rough day yesterday, they should rest.”
Jaewoo nodded.
“I’ll take care of the kids’ food before I head out.”
“Thank you again.”
“I’m getting paid for it, no need to thank me.”
He was, but it was only 30,000 won. It was definitely not enough to cover the monthly food expenses for a family of three. But instead of saying that, Hyunjin just laughed. He knew that Jaewoo would appreciate that response more.
“Alright. But what is that?”
“Huh?”
Jaewoo was startled by Hyunjin’s words, as he pointed towards the large airtight container.
“I wanted to take some food to work with me and share it with the people there, so I ended up cooking a lot.”
It seemed like an excessive amount just to share, but Hyunjin knew how generous Jaewoo was, so he just nodded.
“Won’t it be too heavy?”
“Why do you think it’s heavy?”
“Would you like me to carry it for you?”
Eek! That sounded like a disaster! Jaewoo spoke urgently.
“You have to go to work!”
“I’ll only be a little late.”
“You’ll get scolded if you’re late. It’s fine. I promise I can lift it all by myself.”
At the same time, he held up his arm to show his non-existent biceps. Hyunjin touched his soft forearm and shook his head.
“I think it’s going to give you trouble.”
“Hey, I’m still a guy too?”
Jaewoo urgently pushed Hyunjin’s back.
“Wash up quickly and get ready to leave! C’mon, hurry it up!”
Hyunjin nodded and headed toward his room, then turned around as if he’d suddenly remembered something.
“By the way, did you get a haircut?”
Jaewoo’s heart sank.
“Uh, no? Why?”
“Because it looks like it was cut.”
“It’s just your imagination, I swear.”
“Is it?”
Hyunjin gradually tilted his head to the side, before smiling and speaking in a slow tone.
“If my brother says so, then I guess it must be true.”
After, Jaewoo went to take a shower, but he was so nervous that his hands were covered with sweat again as soon as he got out.
The food storage bin that he’d had out in the open was a problem, and so was his haircut. Jaewoo felt lucky that he’d refused the expensive watch that Mujin had tried to give him yesterday.
As time had passed, it seemed as though he’d let his guard down without realizing it.
‘I have to be careful.’
Jaewoo was scared just thinking about what would happen if Hyunjin found out.
‘It would be chaos.’
Jaewoo knew how much Hyunjin hated to be a burden to others. He’d be so angry and distressed if he found out, so this had to be a lifelong secret. A secret that Hyunjin could never know.
Footnotes
미역국 – Miyeok-guk – A non-spicy soup whose main ingredient is seaweed. Sometimes it’s made with beef. Wikipedia, Recipe
잡채 – Japchae – A dish made from stir fried glass noodles and vegetables, traditionally eaten by royalty. Wikipedia, Recipe
갈비찜 – Galbi-jjim – Braised short ribs, a traditional dish generally reserved for special occasions. Wikipedia, Recipe
도라지 – Doraji – The root of the platycodon flower, also known as the balloon flower or Chinese bellflower. It’s a frequent ingredient in bibimbap. Wikipedia
비빔밥 – Bibimbap – A dish of rice topped with seasoned vegetables, red pepper paste, and generally an egg and sliced meat. Wikipedia, Recipe
