I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 60
Ba-dump ba-dump. Jaewoo’s heart was beating wildly in his chest, but that didn’t mean that he intended to do anything further. Since they were eventually going to be parted, the only right thing to do was to not ascribe any special meaning to Hyunjin’s words. Jaewoo knew that was the correct path, but despite that, Hyunjin’s final expression wouldn’t leave his mind.
The weekend passed quickly, and before Jaewoo knew it, it was Monday. He went to work at Mujin’s apartment as planned and found an empty refrigerator waiting for him. Now that he thought about it, he’d used a lot of the ingredients last Friday. Jaewoo grabbed his rolling cart, and just in case, made sure to tell the CCTV camera that he was going out grocery shopping.
Jaewoo stopped at the supermarket, filled up his cart, then used Mujin’s card to pay and headed out. As he started walking back, he began to feel like something was off. The people around him were glancing at him.
‘What is it?’
As he looked around in confusion, he noticed a very expensive-looking car slowly crawling its way down the road, keeping pace with him. It looked super suspicious.
Jaewoo startled backwards and was about to move away from the road, when the window of the car slid down.
“Hello there!”
The person driving was Jiheon.
“What are you doing?”
“Didn’t we decide not to speak on the phone anymore?”
“What?”
When Jaewoo spoke out in shock, Jiheon smiled softly at him.
“I told you we’d meet again soon.”
He had said something along those lines, but he hadn’t said that it would be today. Jaewoo sighed and began walking again, ignoring his presence.
“Jaewoo!”
Jiheon called out loudly from behind him.
“It’s no fun if you just leave.”
His next words were quieter, but they caused Jaewoo to stop in his tracks. The problem was that Jiheon was someone that he knew nothing about, other than the fact that he was associated with Mujin somehow. He claimed to be the director of a construction company, but he had ties to organized crime. Just ignoring him might not be a good idea.
“What is it?”
Jaewoo turned around and walked back towards him as he asked Jiheon.
“Get in the car for a second.”
“I’m working.”
“Oh, you’re working at Director Choi’s house, right? Then I’ll just call Director Choi.”
Then he lifted his cell phone.
“No, no need. I’ll get in.”
Jaewoo suspected that if Mujin found out about this situation, things would get even worse. It was better to just get in the car.
“Why don’t you take the passenger seat?”
“I feel more comfortable in the back.”
“Well, alright.”
Jiheon shrugged his shoulders.
“Alright then, shall we go for a little drive?”
“Hold on! I thought we were just going to talk?”
“Jaewoo, what are you saying?”
Although Jiheon’s face was obscured by the seat, his voice came through clearly.
‘This smooth-talking jerk.’
Jaewoo bit his lip. If this was happening, then he had no choice but to contact Mujin. He couldn’t just leave the house for a long time without saying anything. He took out his cell phone and sent Mujin a text telling him that he’d be a little late.
Eventually, they arrived at a traditional Korean house1 located in a remote area.
“Where are we?”
Jaewoo asked with a wary face, and Jiheon answered.
“It’s a restaurant. You’ll like it.”
With that, Jiheon headed inside first. As Jaewoo went to follow, a call suddenly came through from Mujin.
─ Where are you?
Jaewoo answered in a depressed tone.
“I don’t know.”
─ Are you kidding me?
“I really don’t know.”
How could he possibly memorize all the twists and turns their route had taken?
─ …Describe your surroundings.
“There’s a bunch of trees, and there’s a hanok right in front of them all. Apparently it’s a restaurant.”
─ What’s the name of the restaurant?
“There’s no sign.”
─ Who’s with you?
“I’m with Director Yoon, that guy you introduced me to.”
Immediately, the sound of grinding teeth came through the phone.
─ You’re not a child, why did you just follow him somewhere?!
“I followed him because I’m NOT a child!”
Jaewoo felt unfairly maligned. What power did he have to reject Jiheon? If it wasn’t for Mujin, he never would have met him in the first place.
─ Wait there.
As soon as he said that, the phone call ended. A few moments later, Jiheon wandered back out from inside.
“Haha, my phone is ringing like crazy.”
His cell phone was shaking back and forth from the vibration. Jiheon simply tossed it away directly.
“Ack!”
The owner of the phone didn’t care at all, but Jaewoo couldn’t help but scream. How much did a cell phone like Jiheon’s cost? Throwing it away was such a waste! He quickly crouched down and picked it up, but the screen had already shattered and gone dark.
“Why did you just throw it? Are you crazy?”
Without thinking, a rude remark came out of him. But Jiheon didn’t seem angry. Rather, the expression on his face almost seemed happy.
“I can just buy another one.”
“Do you think money just grows on trees2?
“It does for me. Come on, let’s go in. It’s about time to eat something.”
Jiheon extended his hand to the crouching Jaewoo. Without thinking about it, Jaewoo reached out and used his hand to stand up.
“Let’s go.”
How weird. Having Jiheon hold his hand should have felt awkward, but it didn’t. The more time they spent together, the more familiar the whole thing felt. As Jiheon dragged him towards the restaurant, Jaewoo examined the back of his head. Suddenly Jiheon turned around, smiling at Jaewoo with his eyes scrunched closed.
Instantly, Jaewoo’s head began to hurt as a memory came to the front of his mind. He still couldn’t remember his name, but he remembered his face now clearly.
It was his best friend, back in his old world.
‘No, wait.’
Jiheon’s face didn’t actually resemble that of his friend. Although they were both good-looking, their facial features were completely different. But when he thought about it, Jaewoo also didn’t look the same as he had in his old world. Was it possible?
Could it be that he wasn’t alone here? Jaewoo blinked his eyes, thinking hard.
Jiheon pushed Jaewoo into a room, the door covered with traditional handmade paper3. Then he turned to the member of waitstaff that had followed them in and began ordering for them both. Yet strangely, everything he ordered was something that Jaewoo liked.
“The grilled short rib patties4 and the grilled deodeok roots5 are delicious here.”
Jaewoo asked Jiheon.
“So, what did you have to say?”
“Nothing, really.”
“Then why did you bring me here?”
Jaewoo was shocked.
“To eat.”
“Why are we eating together?”
At those words, the smile disappeared from Jiheon’s face. Jaewoo instantly became tense.
“Well, there’s another reason for that. The management here is meticulous, so there’s no chance of the room being bugged.”
Electronic bugging? Who would possibly want to listen in on them? As soon as Jaewoo thought that, Mujin came to mind. He had the sort of personality that might eavesdrop on their conversation, especially because he seemed weirdly obsessed with Jaewoo these days. Jaewoo’s expression twisted.
Jiheon learned forward, speaking earnestly to Jaewoo.
“Jaewoo.”
“What?”
“Does anyone come to mind when you see me?”
“…There isn’t anyone.”
“Is that so…”
The conversation ground to a halt for a moment.
“Ah, here comes the food.”
The meal began to be served. Hot white rice, soybean paste soup with spinach and perilla seeds6, grilled short rib patties, grilled marinated deodeok roots, braised lotus roots7, and various vegetables. A veritable feast was placed in front of them, every dish looking delicious.
“Let’s eat.”
Jaewoo calmly picked up his chopsticks. As he began to eat, he couldn’t help but feel amazed. From the rice to the side dishes, everything tasted great. The seasoning wasn’t overpowering, allowing the unique taste of the ingredients to be shown off to their best advantage. He continued to eat without stopping.
“You still like traditional Korean food.”
“Huh?”
“Nothing, I was just saying you seem to like the food.”
Jaewoo thought he had muttered something else, but Jiheon’s voice had been so soft that he wasn’t able to hear him clearly.
“If you want to eat more, let me know. I’ll order more.”
“Then, some more grilled deodeok root please.”
The deodeok root had a savory, well-seasoned flavor, yet the texture was tender as he chewed it. When he ate it with a spoonful of rice, the combination of flavors was fantastic. Jiheon waved the staff member over and made a request, and the bowl of grilled deodeok root was filled to the top once more. The seats were uncomfortable, but the food was so good that the two of them didn’t want to move until they had eaten their fill.
Just then, the door was thrown open.
“Director Yoon.”
“Director Choi, it’s been a while.”
Jiheon gently waved his hand.
“What are you doing?”
“Hm? I was just buying him lunch. What about you?”
“Why are you buying lunch for my pet?”
“Haha, are you saying that you own Jaewoo?”
“If they work for me, then I own them.”
The atmosphere became cold. The only one that still seemed to be enjoying himself was Jiheon, but rather than smiling because he was happy, it seemed like he was just doing it because it bothered Mujin.
“But if the person quits, that relationship ends, right? Jaewoo and I are actual friends. He’s allowed to have a meal with a friend.”
Up until this point, Mujin had been tightly controlling his expressions, but at that, his face turned fearsome. Jaewoo clutched at his chest in anxiety, wondering if Mujin was about to do something terrible, like overturning the dining table. He couldn’t believe they were causing such drama right in front of this glorious meal.
“Get up.”
Mujin ordered Jaewoo. As he started to stand up, Jiheon was the one to speak up this time.
“You don’t need to leave if you don’t want to.”
It was like pouring oil on a fire. Jaewoo hesitated for a moment, then stood up. For now, he felt like it would be better to do what Mujin said. Mujin had more potential to cause direct harm to Jaewoo.
As Jaewoo got closer, Mujin violently grabbed his wrist.
“See you next time, Director Yoon.”
With those parting words, Mujin dragged Jaewoo out of the room. He walked through the hall so quickly that Jaewoo had difficulty keeping up with him.
“Wait, my shoes! I need to put on my shoes!”
Only then did Mujin slow down. But even as Jaewoo was fumbling to put on his shoes by the door, Mujin refused to let go of his wrist. Outside of the restaurant, Mujin’s familiar car was parked right in front of the door.
“Ah, my shopping cart!”
Jaewoo belatedly remembered that his shopping cart was still inside Jiheon’s car, but Mujin responded firmly.
“Forget about it.”
“What about the groceries?”
“You can buy them again.”
Jaewoo really didn’t agree with that. Mujin was probably just saying that because he had money to spare. Still, he didn’t have the confidence to resist, so he just silently got into Mujin’s car. His stomach was flip-flopping inside of him, and it felt like the delicious food he had just eaten was about to come up again. If things continued like this, Jaewoo felt like he was going to lose his temper.
The car jolted forward violently. Mujin was normally a good driver, but he seemed to be so pissed off that he’d lost his usual iron-clad control. Jaewoo silently reached over and fastened his seatbelt.
After driving for some time, the car came to a stop by the side of a quiet road.
Bang!
Mujin hit the steering wheel, then lowered his head until Jaewoo couldn’t see his expression. Despite that, it was clear that Mujin was angry.
Jaewoo took a deep breath.
Footnotes
한옥 – hanok – A traditional Korean house. The style first became popular during the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897), although the term ‘hanok’ wasn’t used until the 1970s, as a way to differentiate them from new, Western-style houses. Wikipedia
땅 파면 돈이 나와? – ttang pamyeon don-i nawa? – “If you dig in the ground, will money come out?” Seems to mean something like “Money must be earned and doesn’t come easily.” I went with an English phrase that means something similar.
한지 – hanji – Korean paper. A type of traditional, handmade paper made from the inner bark of the paper mulberry tree and then laminated. It is often spread across doors in order to help preserve heat in traditional homes. Wikipedia
떡갈비 – Tteokgalbi – See chapter 37 for the full details.
더덕구이 – deodeoggu-i – Deodeok is a flowering plant native to Korea and other Asian countries. It doesn’t have an English name. The roots are used in Korean cuisine. Wikipedia, Korean Wiki, Recipe
들깨 시금치 된장국 – deulkkae sigeumchi doenjang-gug – Perilla seed spinach soybean paste soup. Soybean paste soup with spinach leaves and ground perilla seeds added to it. Recipe
연근조림 – yeongeunjolim – Stewed lotus root. Lotus roots boiled with soy sauce, sugar, salt, and other spices. Wikipedia, Recipe
