I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 79
Once they’d decided on the trip, the planning went smoothly. First, they reserved an RV and studied the route. Jaewoo paid for the reservation. He’d been worried that Hyunjin might feel uncomfortable with that, but he seemed less concerned than Jaewoo had thought he would be.
Hyunjin noticed Jaewoo watching him and said with a smile.
“I’ll pay it all back later.”
“You don’t need to?”
“It’ll make me feel better if I pay you back.”
Jaewoo smiled bitterly. No matter how much he changed, some things remained the same. Why couldn’t he just accept when nice things happened to him? It made Jaewoo grumpy for no good reason, especially since he knew that Hyunjin’s nature would never let him do otherwise.
‘I want to make things a little easier for him.’
He didn’t know why Hyunjin had to take on such burdens.
“Hyunjin!”
“Yes.”
Hyunjin got up and approached his younger siblings.
‘Giving is really hard.’
Jaewoo let out a slight sigh as he watched Hyunjin’s back.
The train departure time was early in the morning, so they decided to leave the house at dawn. The children had trouble sleeping, probably because they were so excited about going to the beach for the first time.
After a night that seemed to last forever, just as the sun began to rise, Jaewoo was in the kitchen, stacking up side dishes.
“Hm, kimchi and pickled garlic… Should I take some perilla leaves?”
Jaewoo stopped organizing the side dishes to ask Hyunjin.
“Didn’t you say we were going to have a barbecue?”
“Yeah, but if you only eat meat, you’ll get a stomach ache. We need a few side dishes like these.”
“‘A few’?”
Hyunjin laughed a bit as he looked at the tower of side dishes.
“Yeah? Is this too much? Hyeonu, Woohee, what side dishes do you want me to bring?”
“The pickled garlic is really good!”
After Woohee answered, Hyeonu responded as well.
“I like it too.”
There was no denying that they were brothers – they had such similar tastes. Jaewoo hesitated, then halved the stack of side dishes. Even though it was winter, it would be hard to keep them all refrigerated, so he decided it would be better to only take a few with them.
‘If it’s not enough, I can buy more at a nearby supermarket.’
After gathering up the side dishes, he took the clothes that he’d already prepared and packed them away neatly in his bag. He’d tried to pack as little as possible, but since there were four of them, they still ended up with a lot of luggage.
After Jaewoo and Hyunjin finished packing the essentials, the children turned to their schoolbags. Woohee filled his up with various toys and games, while Hyeonu brought along his homework. It was a perfect insight into their personalities.
After taking care of everything, they were still ahead of schedule.
“Shall we head out a bit early?”
If they waited any longer, the kids seemed like they’d vibrate out of their skins.
“Sounds good?”
“Alright. Let’s leave now and explore the train station.”
Jaewoo wasn’t sure if there would be anything worth seeing so early in the morning, but it felt like the kids would enjoy waiting there more than waiting at home.
The four left the house side by side, each carrying a bag. They took an early bus to the subway, bought their tickets, and headed to the train station. Jaewoo had worried that the children might find this tough, but they persevered.
“Are you guys having fun?”
“Yeah, this is great.”
Hyeonu laughed loudly. His older brother had finally returned, and his family was going on a vacation. There was no world in which this wouldn’t be amazing. Woohee was so full of joy he looked like he was about to fly up into the air.
At the train station, they found a store that was open that early in the morning, had breakfast, then got on their train at the specified time. At first the children had watched the scenery passing by outside the window, their eyes wide, but they soon fell asleep with their heads together. It seemed like the early start had caught up to them.
As Jaewoo was smiling happily at the two of them, he felt something land on his shoulder. When he turned his head, he saw Hyunjin leaning against him, his eyes closed. It seemed like the children weren’t the only ones that were tired.
‘Now that I think about it, he’s still only in his early 20s, right?’
He’d had to grow up so quickly. And because of his parent’s neglect, he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to go on a trip to the beach before then.
‘I’m so lucky.’
To be able to go on a trip to the beach together… Jaewoo felt blessed to be able to give Hyunjin even a moment’s worth of happiness. He adjusted his posture so that Hyunjin could rest more comfortably, then closed his own eyes. Since the rest of them were all asleep, Jaewoo thought he would nap for a while as well.
Time passed. As Jaewoo’s breaths became deeper and more even, Hyunjin slowly opened his eyes. Truthfully, he hadn’t been very sleepy. He’d just seen his younger brothers fall asleep with their heads nestled closed to each other, and had wanted to imitate them. In his desire to be closer to the person he loved, he’d decided to be a little greedy.
He’d been worried that Jaewoo might push him away or wake him up, but that hadn’t happened.
‘I knew it. Jaewoo is so kind.’
Wasn’t this almost permission for him to indulge himself? Jaewoo’s soft hair tickled his skin. The feeling was so exquisite that Hyunjin rubbed his head against Jaewoo’s before he’d realized it. Luckily, Jaewoo didn’t wake up.
‘I want to hold his hand, too.’
After escaping from that hellish place and getting his life back, there were so many things he wanted to do. He wanted to eat the delicious food that Jaewoo cooked; he wanted to talk to him; he wanted to touch him. He used to be so anxious about hiding his feelings, but now he wanted to reveal them all.
It made him feel incredibly selfish, but the damage was already done. Jaewoo couldn’t live like he had before due to Hyunjin, but Hyunjin couldn’t either.
‘Let’s open a restaurant together.’
He’d asked Hyunjin to help him pay off the debt. The amount had been doubled, making it truly enormous. They would have to be incredibly successful in order to pay it all off. If not, they’d be working to repay it until the day they died.
‘If that’s the case, would Jaewoo stay by my side that entire time?’
It was an insidious thought. Hyunjin considered it for a while, then closed his eyes again. As the family slept peacefully, the train continued on.
“We’re here!”
Arriving in Donghae Station1, the kids let out a cheer.
“It’s estimated that a taxi from here will cost about 10,000 won2.”
Since there were four of them, they decided to take the taxi, even if it meant paying a little bit more. Arriving at the RV campsite, the accommodations were a bit dated, but they had charm.
A car they could sleep in! How romantic was that? The sea breeze blowing in from the nearby beach just enhanced the feeling. The salty, vaguely fishy smell stung their noses.
After being assigned an RV, Jaewoo looked inside briefly.
“It’s incredible, everything we need is there.”
Excited by Jaewoo’s words, the kids shouted out.
“The car has a bed!”
“There’s a fridge too!”
The children ran inside without even taking off their bookbags, climbing and playing on the bed, laughing at the novelty. Jaewoo thought about scolding them, but decided to just let them be. They sounded so excited.
First, he took out the side dish containers and placed them in the refrigerator, then neatly organized the ingredients that he’d bought at a supermarket along the way. Just as he finished, Hyunjin walked in through the open door. It looked like he’d brought the barbeque equipment.
“Shall we eat lunch first before we explore?”
“Sounds good.”
The children were left to play while the adults got to work. Hyunjin set up the barbeque equipment and quickly prepared the marinated ingredients. There was beef, pork, sausages, shrimp, squid, and even some vegetables. He even prepared marshmallows for dessert.
Jaewoo lit the charcoal and started grilling the pork, which took some time to cook. Once it was nearly ready and the smell of meat had begun to waft through the air, the children came out from the RV.
“It’s meat, it’s meat!”
Even though they’d just had a beef party not too long ago, the kids seemed to want more. After all, meat was their favorite. All four of them stuffed themselves until their stomachs were full. Then they roasted marshmallows for dessert before finally turning their attention to something else.
“Let’s go see the ocean!”
The kids took Jaewoo and Hyunjin by the hands and led them to a nearby beach. There weren’t many people around, probably because it was still winter, but the people that were there seemed to be enjoying the beach in their own ways.
Woohee stared at the sea with wide eyes before charging towards the receding waves. He darted forward and back, dodging the incoming waves for some time. After watching him for a little bit, Hyeonu sat down on the sand and started scraping it into a mound. He seemed to be trying to build something out of it.
Hyunjin and Jaewoo laid down a mat a little ways away, where they could keep an eye on the kids. The mat had been cheap and wasn’t very large, but was still big enough for two adults to sit on together.
“Is there anything you want to do? We could go for a walk.”
“I’m alright. I just want to relax.”
After all, they had to watch the children. Jaewoo shook his head, then leaned back to watch the sky.
“It’s so peaceful.”
“I know, right? I wish it could always be like this.”
The kids had started playing together. Hyunjin watched them with a smile while Jaewoo lay down on the mat, leaning back on his arms as he gazed up at the blue sky high above them. There was a wrenching feeling deep inside his heart.
“The sky is so pretty. You should lie down too.”
Jaewoo tugged at the hem of Hyunjin’s clothes. Hyunjin hesitated for a moment, then lay down next to him.
“It’s really pretty.”
His mind became calm.
“Ugh, I slept on the train, but now I’m falling asleep again.”
“Then go to sleep.”
“No, I should stay up. It’d be a waste to fall asleep now.”
“What do you mean, a waste? We can always come here again some other time.”
Jaewoo chuckled softly at Hyunjin’s words, but the sound of it was strange. It was almost like a hidden sob. Hyunjin’s heart sank as he turned his head and stared at Jaewoo.
“Jaewoo?”
“Huh? What is it?”
When Jaewoo turned to look back at him, he looked normal. Hyunjin wondered if he had imagined it, but the sound had been too clear for that.
He thought about asking him again, but it didn’t seem like Jaewoo would answer. Instead, he changed course and asked something different.
“Will you come with us next time too?”
Jaewoo’s only response was a smile. Hyunjin chose to believe that was a yes.
Footnotes
동해역 – donghaeyeog – Donghae Station. Donghae is a city in South Korea, located on the north east coast. It’s known for its beautiful beaches and caves. Wikipedia, Travel Guide
About $7.50 USD.
