I Became the Lousy Side Top - Chap 96
The place Hyunjin went to was a bar located in an alley. There weren’t any signs leading to it, and a tough-looking bouncer was stationed in front of the door. The few people seen entering it had shady looks about them. Normally, this wasn’t a place Hyunjin would have set foot in, but over the past year he’d come there a handful of times.
As soon as he stepped foot inside, he spotted a man he’d seen before. He had a tough-looking face and a strong body, and was often found standing besides Mujin.
Dongsoo, that was his name. He bowed shortly to Hyunjin and guided him further inside. As they entered the deepest room in the bar, he finally saw Mujin. He was sitting on a sofa, slightly turned away from the door. There were two men sitting next to him, clinging to each other and performing acts that would make a normal person blush.
Hyunjin sighed and said.
“Send them away.”
“Why? You don’t like it?”
“It’s unpleasant. Please think about the people that have to see it.”
“Well, fine then.”
At Mujin’s gesture, the men left the room, their expressions dissatisfied.
“Last time it was a man and a woman, this time it was two men?”
“I just wanted to see if it’d do anything for me.”
Mujin chuckled and grabbed a cigarette from his pocket. He lit it up, took a deep pull, and then downed his drink in one gulp. Hyunjin sat down on the sofa across from him, eyeing him warily.
If Hyunjin had hovered on the brink of despair, only remaining upright by clinging to his younger brothers, Mujin was the opposite. He had nothing at all holding him back.
Choi Mujin was falling apart. Seeing how he was deteriorating, Hyunjin leaned back on the sofa and slowly closed his eyes. There were no further words exchanged between them.
The two of them shared the same emptiness in their hearts. He knew exactly what Mujin was feeling. Mujin was constantly drinking strong liquor, and his formerly-robust body had become thinner. Even his cheeks were sunken in these days.
“Anyway.”
Mujin suddenly spoke up. He opened his eyes and looked at Hyunjin as he continued.
“You seem to have gained some weight.”
One corner of his mouth rose up in a sneer.
“You look like you’re finally alive again.”
Had he gained weight? Hyunjin looked down at his wrists. Now that he thought about it, the amount of food he ate had increased ever since he’d gotten to know the new Jaewoo. It was like he somehow understood just what he liked to eat, and Hyunjin had devoured them all because they reminded him of his Jaewoo.
“I really do look like I’m living again…”
Mujin chuckled.
“I feel like I’m already dead, but you look like you’re living it up.”
“You’re drunk.”
“I’m not.”
“Let’s call it a night here.”
“Fuck, no!”
Mujin leaned over and rested his head on the back of his hand. Seeing that, Hyunjin got up from his seat. Mujin swore at him again, but didn’t make any move to stop him. Like that, Hyunjin left the shadowy bar and headed off into the night.
“Is life worth living again?”
No. Absolutely not. Hyunjin clenched his fists. His life was nothing but unending, unceasing pain. He didn’t deserve to have it stop.
‘It’s all my fault.’
If it hadn’t been for him, would Jaewoo have died at such a young age? If he had stopped his father earlier, none of that would have happened. After Jaewoo’s death, those thoughts had tormented him nonstop, and it was still the same now.
‘I want to meet Jaewoo again as soon as possible.’
That hope was all Hyunjin had left, but he still had so long to go. He couldn’t leave until Hyeonu and Woohee had graduated from university, and he’d seen them get married. When he tried to count down how many years he had left, the time seemed never ending.
Snow began to fall from the sky. The flakes were small at first, but they quickly began to grow larger and cling to the ground. As the drifts piled up, Hyunjin began to move again. For now, he needed to go home.
“Fuck.”
Mujin reached out, grabbed the ice bucket from the table, and upended it over his head. As the cold water washed over him, his head became clearer.
How had he become so pitiful? Mujin let out a harsh laugh. His circumstances hadn’t changed. He was still a director in a financial company, and his power and backing remained the same. He’d just lost one small thing.
Seo Jaewoo.
One tiny, insignificant existence, but without him he was falling apart, along with the kid who’d also loved him. But now that brat seemed to somehow be pulling himself back out of this hell they were in? He couldn’t accept that.
They’d both loved Jaewoo equally, so why was he the only one like this? It was selfish of him, but Mujin couldn’t let go of Hyunjin. He was the only other person who’d been close to Jaewoo. Without him, there was no one else to mourn Jaewoo with him.
“I won’t allow it.”
Mujin staggered to his feet. After a moment, he adjusted his posture, returning to his usual demeanor.
“Dongsoo!”
When his name was called, his associate immediately entered the room.
“I want you to investigate that bastard, Yoo Hyunjin.”
“Yes sir!”
“And prepare the car. I’m going back.”
“I’ll have it ready in a moment.”
When he arrived home, Mujin’s apartment was cold, with no heat flowing through it. Mujin was too lazy to turn on the boiler, so he just lay down on the couch and closed his eyes. He had only been lying down for a few minutes when he began to hear quiet noises coming from the kitchen.
Mujin knew that sound. It was the sound of a knife hitting a cutting board. He remembered it well because he had often heard it while working in the living room.
‘Am I dreaming again?’
He didn’t know whether to call it a dream or a nightmare, although Mujin didn’t dislike the sound. If he listened quietly, he could pretend that Jaewoo was still standing in the kitchen.
His heart was growing heavier and heavier, but it didn’t matter. That was a problem for after he woke up, when the painful reality would come crashing down on him once more. For now, this moment was good. Mujin lay there, listening quietly, until dawn finally came and he was forced to get up.
When he opened his eyes, there was no one in the kitchen. The only thing left in the empty kitchen with its spartan shelves was pickled garlic in a large transparent container.
‘Jaewoo peeled and pickled this garlic himself, because he loved it so much.’
Now that it had fully pickled, Mujin could eat it whenever he wanted, but he didn’t. He just kept it on the countertop and looked at it. His kitchen was empty, and he didn’t want the last remaining traces of Jaewoo to disappear.
To be honest, even eating was too much trouble these days.
Just then, the doorbell rang, and a voice was heard from outside.
“It’s me, Dongsoo!”
In the past, Mujin had let Dongsoo enter and exit whenever needed, but now he made him announce himself first. Hearing the doorbell by itself had raised too many vain expectations.
“I have the information you asked for.”
Dongsoo was fast. He was still a capable subordinate. Mujin accepted the bundle of paper that Dongsoo handed him, leafing through it. The recent changes to Hyunjin’s routine were all written there.
“He brought in someone new?”
“Yes, it looks like he’s staying in the room that was originally Hyunjin’s.”
“He’s not short on money, right?”
“He hasn’t touched the inheritance left behind by Seo Jaewoo.”
“Yes, I see.”
Hyunjin was only charging 200,000 won a month. That was far too little.
“200,000 won and no deposit.”
Hyunjin wasn’t the sort of guy who would take someone in just for the money. At least, that was what Mujin had thought. He continued looking through the papers and spotted something interesting about the man staying in Hyunjin’s house.
“Is he an illegal immigrant?”
Even trying back channels, there wasn’t much information to be found about him. Seeing as he lacked a resident registration card, at first Mujin thought he must be an illegal immigrant, but digging deeper, the man was a complete ghost. Even an illegal immigrant should have some information available. This man had barely anything.
“On the surface, he appears Korean. It’s said that he’s an excellent cook.”
“Good cooks are a dime a dozen.”
“He seems to be in his late 20s, and is quite handsome. He has a friendly personality, and has curated a good reputation as well.”
“Is that all you got?!”
Mujin put down the paper with a nervous twitch of his hands. An unknown man had entered Hyunjin’s home, someone whose past was unclear. That shouldn’t matter to him, but strangely, something about the situation was gnawing at his nerves. Whatever it was kept bothering him.
“I’ll go take a look for myself.”
“He works at a soup restaurant during the day, so you can find him there.”
“I have something important to do today. I’ll go to Hyunjin’s house this evening.”
Mujin needed to know why Hyunjin had changed. That day, he rushed through his work and was able to make it out to Hyunjin’s neighborhood before the sun had set. The town was still a run-down slum.
It was earlier in the day than he’d expected, so Mujin scrapped the plan to go to Hyunjin’s house. Instead, he went straight to the soup restaurant in the marketplace. He didn’t like being in crowded places, surrounded by people, but there was no choice.
“Shall I fetch him for you?”
“It’s fine. I’ll go myself.”
Mujin entered the soup restaurant directly. As he walked in wearing his knife-sharp suit, all eyes in the restaurant were instantly drawn to him. The owner turned to face him as well, but recognizing him as a customer, she greeted him politely.
“Come in.”
Mujin looked around silently and sat down in an empty seat. When he did, the man he’d come to investigate finished up something he’d been doing in the corner and came over. His stride was normal; he didn’t seem like someone who was particularly skilled in self-defense or fighting.
“Welcome. What would you like to order?”
His face was handsome. The slight droop at the corners of his eyes reminded him of Jaewoo a little bit, but that was all. If you looked closely, it became apparent that he and Jaewoo were different people.
Mujin suppressed a sigh that wanted to burst out of him. What on earth had he been thinking? He was comparing a stranger to Jaewoo. He didn’t even know why he’d thought they were similar.
“One soup and rice.”
“Alright, one soup, coming right up.”
The broth must have already been boiling, because the soup came out quickly. Mujin wasn’t really hungry, but he remembered how Dongsoo had said that the man was good at cooking. Reluctantly, he picked up his spoon.
The taste was fine, but nothing special. It tasted just like any other soup sold in a marketplace restaurant. Mujin wondered if he should just leave before glancing at the kimchi. The red color did look appetizing…
Without much thought, he picked up a piece and ate it. The taste was familiar. In an instant, his mind went blank.
