I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 62
The weather forecast had predicted rain, and sure enough, as soon as Hyunjin arrived at work, the heavens opened up and it began to pour. The rain was so heavy that it almost felt like a summer monsoon. The falling drops accumulated and flowed, making the ground into a muddy mess. Even the people who had still tried to work eventually gave up and huddled out of the rain.
“There’s nothing else we can do today.”
Oh-ssi grumbled, shaking the rainwater off his body, although it didn’t do anything to make him any drier.
“So are we going to finish early today?”
“I’m not sure. The foreman has gone to talk to the bosses, so he’ll let us know soon.”
After chatting for a while, everyone seemed to run out of topics, and the group became silent. Taking advantage of the break in conversation, Hyunjin turned to Oh-ssi.
“Thank you for your gift, last time.”
“Huh? Oh, the movie tickets?”
“Yes.”
“Did you go see it? With who?”
Hyunjin hesitated for a second, then spoke the truth that he’d been trying to suppress.
“With the person I like.”
Jaewoo wasn’t here, so Hyunjin could freely admit that.
“I thought so! So it was like that.”
Oh-ssi smiled and teased him a little.
“So did you make any progress?”
“No.”
“You went to the movie theater together, right? Did you hold hands?”
One of the other workers heard that and laughed.
“It’s not like they went to a motel, what sort of progress are you talking about?”
“Yeah, our Hyunjin’s a good boy! He wouldn’t do anything like that.”
“Kids these days are too shameless.”
Oh-ssi soon became absorbed in his conversation with others, and Hyunjin was thankfully left alone again to watch the rain fall in silence.
Progress, making progress… He’d held hands with Jaewoo, hugged him, even kissed him once, but he didn’t know if that could be called progress.
Even though just the small act of holding his hand had made Hyunjin’s heart tremble, there was no guarantee that Jaewoo felt the same way, especially since he’d turned down his confession. Why did his love have to be one-sided? He felt sad, even though he had no reason to be.
“The rain’s not letting up, so that’s it for today!”
The foreman returned and shouted loudly. The workers who had been huddled together, talking, immediately dispersed. His work had ended early, and his entire afternoon was suddenly free. Hyunjin wondered if he should contact Sanghun from the bar and see if he had work for him today.
But just as he was considering that, Jaewoo suddenly came to mind. Now that he thought about it, he never had been to Jaewoo’s workplace.
‘Let’s go find it.’
The store was called Ullim Mart. Hyunjin checked his phone and found its location, then he changed out of his work clothes and grabbed his umbrella. Luckily, there was a nearby bus that went straight there.
It was getting close to lunch time. If he timed it right, maybe they’d be able to eat together. As soon as Hyunjin got off the bus, he stopped at a nearby pharmacy.
“Please get me a box of vitamin drinks1.”
“Yes, just a moment.”
After buying a box of orange-flavored vitamin drinks, Hyunjin felt a bit less nervous. He planned to pass them out to Jaewoo’s co-workers; that way, they’d hopefully look on him more favorably.
‘After all, I don’t know how things have been at his work.’
Hyunjin stood in front of Ullim Mart, radiating worry. It was a decently-sized supermarket that could be found in many neighborhoods. It was the middle of the work day, so the supermarket was a bit quiet, and there weren’t many people around. Occasionally an employee wearing a green vest would pass by.
‘Where’s Jaewoo?’
After looking around for a few moments, Hyunjin stopped an employee.
“Does someone named Seo Jaewoo work here?”
“Seo Jaewoo?”
The woman he’d stopped looked as if she was thinking for a moment before answering.
“I don’t think there’s anyone named ‘Seo’ among the employees. Wait one moment. Sister2!”
The woman grabbed another passing employee and asked them.
“Is there anyone named ‘Seo’ among the people we work with?”
“No, why?”
“Oh, this person was looking for him.”
“Oh my, I think you might have the wrong store. There’s no one by that name here.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. All of the employees have worked here for a long time, so I know them all.”
Jaewoo had said that he worked at Ullim Mart, but the employees claimed there wasn’t any such person there. Hyunjin checked on his phone to see if there was another supermarket nearby, but there wasn’t.
‘Maybe I should have called him in advance.’
Hyunjin returned to the bus stop, took out his cell phone, and sent Jaewoo a message. He was worried that he might disturb Jaewoo while he was working.
[Hyung, where did you say you work again?]
[Ullim Mart!]
Jaewoo answered quickly. So it really was Ullim Mart. But when Hyunjin had stopped by just then, they’d claimed there wasn’t any such person. How could that be? Hyunjin looked at his phone with a confused expression.
‘A lie…’
Jaewoo was lying.
‘But why?’
Was there a reason for Jaewoo to lie about where he worked? Hyunjin couldn’t think of one. Maybe he’d stayed home today because he felt sick? Hyunjin worried at his lip as he thought.
No, no. If Jaewoo had stayed home sick, the other supermarket employees would have said so.
[You’re sure it’s Ullim Mart, right?]
This time it took a little longer for him to answer.
[That’s right. Why?]
Hyunjin’s chest felt tight, as if something was pressing on it.
‘Why does he keep lying?’
He wanted to call Jaewoo immediately to ask, but he couldn’t bring himself to press the call button. If Jaewoo really was lying to him, what could he do about it? There wasn’t anything.
Hyunjin stood there, continuing to debate with himself, but this wasn’t a problem that could be solved just by worrying about it. Then, in the middle of his distress, someone appeared.
“Hello?”
It was a man Hyunjin had never seen before. He was wearing an expensive suit and coat, but his smile was eerie. The corners of his mouth were raised, but it gave the impression of being nothing but a smokescreen.
“Mr. Yoo Hyunjin.”
The stranger knew his name.
“Is that correct?”
“That’s right. Who are you?”
The man handed over a business card.
<Han Gyeongshin, Executive Secretary of Yoram Construction>
“This is my card. There’s someone who wishes to speak with you, Mr. Yoo Hyunjin.”
Yoram Construction – that was the construction company that ran the site where Hyunjin currently worked. He’d been there a hundred times, so there was an opportunity for them to be familiar with who he was. But he was only a day laborer – why would an executive for the parent company be seeking him out?
Hyunjin’s natural suspicion arose. It looked like a legitimate business card, but it could be a lie. Even though he’d been making his interest payments on time these days, this could be a trick the loan sharks were employing.
“It’s not anything bad. All we’re asking is for a moment of your time.”
“I’m sorry, but I have no reason to do as you say.”
“In that case, if you’re refusing, the Director instructed me to ask you, ‘Don’t you want to learn more about Seo Jaewoo?’ Knowing that, what would you like to do? Are you still going to decline?”
Hyunjin’s heart sank, and he gritted his teeth, but there was nothing else he could do. Someone on the bottom rung of society had no power to resist those on the top; all he could do was go where he was dragged.
“I’ll come.”
“Good thinking. Please get in.”
The man, Gyeongshin, opened the back door of the car in a polite manner. But to Hyunjin, even that felt like he was mocking him. The vitamin drinks in his hand felt like an anchor.
“Now, let’s go.”
As soon as Hyunjin entered the car, the man got into the driver’s seat and grabbed the steering wheel. The expensive car got started with barely a sound, and drove away from the curb smoothly. A frustrating silence descended throughout the course of the drive.
Eventually, the car came to a stop in front of a luxury apartment building. It was a place Hyunjin had never seen before.
“Here we are. Please head to apartment 601.”
“You’re not coming with me?”
“My orders stop here.”
Gyeongshin kept the same insincere smile on his face as he saw Hyunjin off. The security guard in front of the building allowed Hyunjin through – it seemed as though he had been briefed in advance. Hyunjin went straight in and took the elevator up. The 6th floor was the top floor.
As soon as he got off the elevator, the first thing he saw was the door. The apartment seemed to occupy the entire top floor. Hesitantly, he pressed the bell. A short sound rang out, and the door unlocked.
“Please come in.”
Another man he’d never met before greeted Hyunjin.
“I’m Yoon Jiheon.”
Jiheon held out his hand to Hyunjin, offering a handshake.
‘Yoon Jiheon.’
Hyunjin couldn’t bring himself to shake his hand. He knew that name, ‘Yoon Jiheon’.
“You’re Jaewoo’s friend.”
“Ahaha, did Jaewoo call me his friend?”
Jiheon smiled, his face kind. His smile felt more sincere than that of his underling earlier, but something still felt strange about it. It made Hyunjin feel almost slimy.
“Anyway, you’re right: I’m Jaewoo’s friend.”
“Why did you call for me?”
“Please make yourself comfortable first. This might be a long story.”
Jiheon turned and walked towards the living room. Hyunjin had no choice but to follow him.
“Please sit down. Would you like some tea? Or coffee?”
“I didn’t come here for something to drink. Please start by telling me why you called for me.”
“Hmm. Well, if that’s the case…”
Jiheon sat down on the sofa, crossing his legs calmly before resting his chin on his hand.
“How much do you know about Jaewoo?”
Jiheon had said he had information about Jaewoo, but now he was questioning Hyunjin about him. How much did Hyunjin know? Hyunjin thought about everything he’d learned about Jaewoo.
He knew his face, his age, where he lived, his past as an aspiring idol. He knew that Jaewoo was good at cooking.
‘But is that what he meant?’
Hyunjin doubted it.
“What are you trying to say?”
“Don’t be paranoid. I’m trying to give you a hint out of the goodness of my heart.”
“A hint.”
“Yes, a hint.”
“What sort of hint?”
“Why, a hint about how to get out of your current situation, of course.”
Jiheon’s eyes were cheerful. The more he seemed to be enjoying himself, the worse Hyunjin felt.
“Do you know where Jaewoo works?”
Hyunjin couldn’t answer that question.
‘Jaewoo said that he works at Ullim Mart.’
But there was no ‘Seo Jaewoo’ working there. This man seemed to know something about that, something that Hyunjin didn’t.
Footnotes
- 비타민 음료 – bitamin eumlyo – Vitamin drinks. Drinks that are infused with vitamins to make them ‘healthy.’
- 언니 – eonni – Big sister. A word used by a woman to refer to an older woman. Since English doesn’t use this type of honorific, I went back and forth over how to translate it (‘Ma’am!’ ‘Manager!’ etc ) but eventually decided to keep it as is.
