A Perfectly Normal Romance Chapter 3.3 - I Really Hate You

At the moment I was about to send a longer reply, Chief Producer Choi suddenly barged into the office and shouted over everyone’s heads,

“We’re having the afternoon meeting now. I have to go out later. Anyone who’s available now, come to the meeting room, and let those who aren’t know.”

Looking around at his words, I noticed the sound director wasn’t there, so I called him and got up from my seat.

Unlike someone who’d been asking since morning what time Geonjung would be coming in, the ever-so-easygoing Geonjung hadn’t even asked if I’d be seeing him today until I’d spent a good part of the afternoon and heard the good news that Chief Producer Choi would be leaving the site right after the survey. Rather, I was the one who had to ask as I got up.

[Got time?]

[Yeah. I’ll head over.]

That short reply was all. For the first time in a while, getting off work at the same time as everyone else made me feel like a proper, functioning cog in society. With such pointless sentiments, I went out to the lobby and saw a large figure standing with its back to me in front of the main entrance. Compared to the security guards who occasionally went in and out of the building, he looked very similar. Especially the way his neck was a bit shorter, giving him a bulkier look.

Watching people part to either side to avoid Geonjung, I stood close behind him. He didn’t turn around for a while, so I poked him on the back. He didn’t seem particularly surprised when he turned around.

“Let’s go.”

“Food?”

“Yeah.”

Our conversation was brief. As we went down the stairs and entered a nearby kimchi jjigae restaurant, I remembered what Hyun, who had asked me when I’d be coming in today, had said. I hadn’t said I’d be back early, but… I resisted the urge to tell him to eat first and sat down.

The pot placed directly on the gas burner began to heat up. It’s a kimchi jjigae restaurant, but there are three other kinds of kimchi among the side dishes. I want to film this later. What do Koreans think kimchi is, anyway? About its origins. But then I also thought it was a topic that had already been done to death.

I dramatically lifted the hot lid and placed the freshly made yellow rolled omelet on top of the white rice. I took a big bite with the ketchup smeared on it, and Geonjung, looking at the next table, said,

“Order a bottle.”

“I have to go get my camera after this.”

“Going back to the office?”

“No. To my goshiwon. I have a shoot tomorrow, too.”

Geonjung nodded slowly at my answer, then, playing with his spoon, asked a question I hadn’t expected at all.

“Is it okay to go to your goshiwon?”

“Why?”

“Your senior came there, right?”

“I haven’t heard from him since.”

“At all?”

“At all. Not even a text. I think he already got the feeling it wasn’t going to work out. The fact that he came in the first place…”

“Even so…”

He seemed to be agreeing, but then, looking at the kimchi jjigae bubbling around the edges, he said,

“Do you think it’ll be that easy?”

“What will?”

“He almost sold his company, but it didn’t sell, now it’s rumored to be failing, and he still has to run it. Even though he was desperate to sell it.”

“It’s okay. He’ll be okay, too.”

The rolled omelet was so delicious that I was about to finish half of it before the kimchi jjigae even started boiling. I was about to hastily take another bite when the owner’s shout to let it boil a bit more made me put my spoon back down and fiddle with my hair near my ear. Geonjung looked directly at me, not at the kimchi jjigae, then pretended he hadn’t.

“You seem to be talking about what you felt.”

“Yeah. No matter what happens, it all passes. It’s okay.”

“I stopped by wondering how you were doing, but you seem okay.”

“Thanks.”

And then Geonjung didn’t say anything more. Just in time, the jjigae came to a boil, and he lowered the heat. The steam that hit me warmed my face and curled upwards. As I stirred it and ladled it into the bowl in front of me, I muttered to myself,

“I’ve been thinking about this for a while, but I haven’t said it because I thought it might be just me, a failed guy, trying to console myself.”

“What is it?”

“I’m really okay now.”

“That’s good.”

“Like he said back then, leaving to take care of my dad was the right thing to do. Those human bastards deliberately hid the fact that there were issues with the indicators and upside back then to force me out. Looking back now… I’m not just deluding myself, am I?”

“If that’s how you feel, then it’s right.”

Geonjung was preoccupied with slowly finishing his meal. The busy owner and the people eating, everyone in here seemed indifferent to our conversation. Maybe that’s why I can open up like this.

“My dad first collapsed when I came out.”

“About your orientation?”

“Yeah. He’d been taking blood pressure medication since we went to the ER then. But then, the reason he collapsed while going to work was a cerebral hemorrhage.”

“That was so long ago. It’s not your fault.”

“Still… That’s how I feel.”

Right. It wasn’t entirely my fault. Even if I thought it was, it was already a burden I carried in my heart. My father had been waking up at dawn and going to work for over 30 years, but his complexion hadn’t been good that day. He’d had hepatitis and all sorts of other health issues, but he’d never been like that before, so my mother was worried about his unusually pale face that day. Mother endlessly wiped Father’s hand in the hospital room and said that.

After several times running down to see him every Friday from my increasingly busy company, I should have pushed him to go to the hospital right then and there, but seeing my mom crying, saying she couldn’t do it, made me think differently. Maybe this is my last chance, I thought.

“I actually took care of my dad because I thought he was going to die.”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. That’s why I quit… but after taking care of him, I realized it wasn’t something to take lightly. My dad was lying there, and the doctor kept saying, ‘Let’s wait and see,’ and he couldn’t even open his eyes properly because of paralysis in his hands and feet, so he was only getting medication through a nasal tube. The day he could finally move, the doctor said, ‘Honestly, his brain was so swollen, I didn’t think he’d improve, but it seems like it’s thanks to your diligent checking and care.’”

“You’ve been through a lot.”

“It was about two or three months after we moved him to a rehabilitation hospital. He got much better, and he was able to walk a lot with a cane. The weather was nice, so I helped him walk slowly in front of the hospital. He slowly asked me, ‘What are you going to do if you quit? What will you do in the future?’ And as I answered everything, I realized something. My dad was talking to me like before.”

“Thanks to you, he recovered quickly.”

“Yeah. That’s important, too, but… My dad hadn’t spoken to me since I came out. He wouldn’t even greet me and treated me like I didn’t exist, even during holidays.”

“How could you think of running to someone like that?”

“It’s just… It wasn’t that my dad hated me, it was more like… he didn’t know what to do, so he acted that way. At first, he kept asking, ‘Can’t you change? Really can’t you?’ Then, when I shouted that I couldn’t no matter how hard I tried, he suddenly stood up and collapsed…”

That’s why these days, even my father nagging me about not finding a proper job is a welcome sound. He can now walk well without a cane and has no trouble conversing. And he’s living a normal life, to the point where he worries rationally about his second son, who is still stuck in temporary jobs. What a relief.

“Except for being a bit unstable now, I think I’m okay.”

“If you think so, then that’s good.”

“Yeah. Right. I’m thinking of finding a replacement and leaving after working a little longer.”

“To do what?”

“Well, I don’t think this kind of video work suits me. People give me a lot of advice, like try documentaries, music videos, and so on. I also want to try photography.”

“You’ll do well.”

“I like how you’re so unconcerned.”

“I’m concerned enough to stop by and ask.”

And it’s precisely this level of concern that makes it easier to confide. The story had gone on so long that while Geonjung had almost finished his bowl of rice, I had only taken one spoonful of the kimchi jjigae I’d ladled out. Slurping the now-cold, red broth, I rolled my eyes and glanced at Geonjung. I hesitantly brought up the conversation again.

“So, about that. I heard this from Seungpyo…”

“What?”

“Me badmouthing my old company. It won’t be good for Hyun, right?”

“It’ll be okay.”

“Don’t just say that.”

“You’re more worried about his work than your own?”

“It’s in the past for me. But Seungpyo keeps scaring me, saying who would entrust work to someone who told people not to buy the company he was trying to sell.”

“He’s right.”

Geonjung, replying so, was busy rummaging through his inside jacket pocket. An unexpectedly cute cell phone appeared, and he started intently looking at it and even typing a message. Looking at his furrowed brow, I continued what I had to say.

“He’s my friend, can’t you be a little worried about him? What about him?”

“Worry about Hyun? I don’t know what you want me to worry about.”

“His future or something…”

I couldn’t quite finish my sentence cleanly. Right. I am worried, but as someone who’s working on a contract basis and receiving weekly payments, it feels a bit extravagant to worry about Hyun. Perhaps it was because of that very point that Geonjung was significantly less focused than when he was listening to my story earlier. Looking at his forehead creased with concentration on the text message, I scooped up more jjigae.

“What is it? Work?”

“No. Want to see?”

“See what?”

Geonjung wordlessly pushed his phone towards me. The letters were small, so I squinted and leaned in to stare at the screen. I could tell what kind of chat window it was, so I read it bit by bit. Then, I closed my mouth.

[Is Jio there?]

[Yeah.]

[Why.]

[What do you mean why.]

[Why are you with him?]

[To eat.]

[I told him to come in early.]

[I don’t know.]

[Did you call Jio out?]

[I just asked if he wanted to see me.]

[Did you go pick him up?]

[I was passing by.]

Geonjung held his phone in front of my eyes for a long time, until I had read all the short replies that filled the screen. After reading everything, I couldn’t manage my expression. I fumbled with my stiff fingers, grabbed my chopsticks, and poked around the side dishes. Embarrassment flooded me, making my face flush. Geonjung put his phone down next to him and picked up his spoon again.

“Is he still misunderstanding?”

“Yeah. He’s misunderstanding.”

This time, I couldn’t yell at the top of my lungs like last time, but we weren’t anything yet, so it was true. Geonjung, as always, didn’t pry any further, maintaining his usual moderate level of interest.

“Okay.”

Relieved at his readily nodding head, he added, “Keep playing with Hyun in the future. It’s fun.”

“I played with him? Hey, he’s the one who played around!”

Played around? If I had played around, I wouldn’t be tormented by this turbulent storm of emotions. Rubbing my stinging eyes with the back of my hand, I walked alone down the alley. Since I came in from a different direction today, I passed the playground where Hyun had chased after me and insisted on sitting next to me. I glanced at the spot where we had sat and continued walking.

Illegally parked cars were lined up tightly against the wall as usual. I watched the monotonous succession of gray and black and shook my head vigorously. This is so unfair. Even if I poured my heart out to Geonjung, he would just listen with his unchanging expression and furrow his brows once. It’s utterly pointless.

I felt my phone vibrate again as I passed the brightly lit convenience store where I had bought beer. When I checked my phone after leaving the restaurant, I saw Hyun had sent me a variety of questions. Did you leave? Are you going to be late today? Jio. Tell me. Where are you? Who are you meeting? and so on. Seungpyo had also texted me, saying Hyun was looking for me. It seemed they had been asking one after the other. I was glad it stopped at Geonjung. If I had met someone I don’t usually see today, it would have been a disaster.

[Geonjung said you left, where are you?]

[Stop asking him, are you crazy?]

[Where are you?]

[Getting my camera]

Just as I pressed send on my reply, just as I turned into the alley where Hyun used to stand, just as I stepped into the dim shadow inside the wall…

“Hey.”

I heard a gruff voice picking a fight. Trying to avoid getting involved, I ignored the presence I felt and took another step forward. That’s when the footsteps of the figure hidden in the darkness suddenly grew closer. I recoiled and turned around at the chilling presence.

“Shin Jio.”

Contrary to my expectations, the person who called my name was wearing a fairly decent suit. However, there was something shabby about his appearance. He came closer step by step. Even as I recognized Sungjae-hyung’s face, I instinctively stepped back.

I tried to tell myself that his flushed face was due to the streetlight, but even the whites of his eyes, which should have been white, were laced with red veins. While I was observing these details, he seemed to think I was making eye contact.

“Jio.”

He called me softly. Unconsciously, I rolled my eyes, taking in his appearance, and then saw the plastic bag in his left hand.

“Hyung.”

“You came in today.”

It wasn’t my imagination that the words “today” stung my heart. I looked at him again. He didn’t look like he’d been camping out in front of my place for days. He must have come from somewhere. Whether he was still going to the company, sane or not, or running around trying to fix things, he had been steadily coming back here. What had he been thinking, standing here every day?

I couldn’t tell what he’d been thinking about for the past few days from his expression. Still, he approached me a little closer with what still seemed to be a sociable attitude. That only made me more uneasy. How light and hopeful my words to Geonjung had been just a short while ago.

I deliberately put on a cheerful voice as I replied, “Were you waiting for me?”

“I wanted to talk for a bit. Why haven’t you been coming in?”

“I was somewhere for a while.”

“I was thinking of going to your office tomorrow.”

The thought of him doing this in front of the company made my head ache. It was just a rough idea I had mentioned to Geonjung, but I blurted it out anyway.

“I’m quitting that company soon.”

“Why?”

“Just because. I’m thinking of trying something else.”

I wanted to give a more plausible reason, but if I couldn’t think of one earlier, I certainly wouldn’t think of one now. He didn’t seem to like that. His unwavering gaze was unsettling, so I changed the subject.

“I thought you’d contact me, but you didn’t.”

“You blocked me.”

“You could have used a different number…”

And I didn’t need to provoke him by adding, “because it’s over now.” But as if he had realized what I was about to say in the short silence, he gave a bright smile.

“Ah. Because the interviews are over?”

“Not exactly.”

“You heard, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Yeah, of course. You couldn’t have not heard. It’s about your former company. And your friend was in charge of it.”

“I only heard the results, Hyung.”

“They said you did interviews. Multiple times.”

It seemed like he had already made up his mind. That I had done it. That I had blocked his path, causing the deal to fall through, and so he had to confront me. That it was justifiable.

He was the type of person who never changed his mind once it was made, even if you presented him with solid evidence. This time would be no different. And that decision must have solidified further at the entrance of this dark and damp alley. I looked around, worried about disturbing any passersby, and gestured toward the outside of the alley.

“Let’s talk somewhere else.”

“What’s the point of talking nicely now? You didn’t want to talk to me.”

“That’s because you kept talking about the company I already left.”

“So you went around talking about the company you quit like that?”

He really wasn’t listening. Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair. Okay, I understand he’s feeling wronged, but I didn’t say anything that bad. I said I didn’t know what I didn’t know, and more importantly, since I was going around doing interviews, things worse than what I said were coming out.

“I heard about it this time too. I said I didn’t know what I didn’t know.”

“You son of a bitch. If you’re going to die, die alone, why are you dragging me down with you?”

“Hyung, do you really believe that?”

“What did I believe wrongly?”

“Do you really think it fell apart because of my interview?”

“Shin Jio, your friend did it.”

“I don’t know anything about it.”

“Do you know what that bastard’s first words were when he came to our first meeting and looked around?”

“How would I know? I wasn’t there.”

“‘Where’s Mr. Shin Jio?'”

“…….”

“And you say you have nothing to do with it? Fuck. Why did a deal that was going so well fall apart? Once the rumors spread in the industry, people started pulling out… This fucking… Are you poaching people to set up your own agency? Huh?”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“Nonsense?”

“It wasn’t going well. It wasn’t good from when I heard about it. They said it was difficult to sell.”

“Don’t make excuses. It was going well. It was going well!”

His blustering manner, as if he had thrown off even his thin veneer of composure, was brutal. I stepped back with every step he took forward, trying to impose his beliefs. Was he going to throw a punch?

In the moment I looked away, he was pointing at me and yelling. His breathing quickened, accompanied by a rasping sound as if he was scraping his vocal cords. Trembling incessantly in a way I’d never seen before, he stammered, “Then why did you quit? Huh? What the fuck did you believe in, you worthless piece of shit!”

“Hyung.”

“What.”

“Because you saw me as worthless.”

“What? Y-you…”

“You failed because you saw people as worthless.”

“Me?”

“Hyung, you knew that much. You had good instincts. You knew people were important, so you spent all that time observing people while I ran around with a camera on my shoulder, working myself to the bone, saying you were doing business.”

“You’re saying I was wrong? Are you showing off now, saying you worked hard?”

“No. I’m saying you knew, Hyung. That people are important. I was the one who didn’t know.”

If I had known sooner, I would have smiled more even through the bad times, said yes to everything, and gossiped behind people’s backs. I was the one who realized it too late. But you knew, Hyung. Why did you forget what you knew and end up like this here?

“But when you dismiss and kick out even those people, what’s left? You ruined your own business, Hyung.”

I truly believe that. From what I heard from Hyun and the others, there weren’t many people left in the company. I didn’t know because I changed my phone number. That it had been gradually falling apart. Frustrated, my voice finally rose.

“Do you think I like what happened to Link? Think about it logically. Wouldn’t it be better for me if my former company had a good track record? And it didn’t even go bankrupt, it just didn’t sell. If things go well now…”

That’s when it happened. He swung the plastic bag he was holding in his right hand. In that instant, I quickly twisted my body to avoid it, seeing his face flash before my eyes. His eyes weren’t human. It was like the eyes of a beast that grazed past me, and then there was a thud.

Beep— Beep— Beeeep—

The loud alarm of a parked car started blaring as it was hit by whatever he was holding. He followed me as I backed away, then ripped open the plastic bag in his hand. With a clinking sound, something heavy and soaked fell to the ground with a splash.

The strong smell of soju spread out. As I stepped on the damp plastic bag, there was a crunching sound as something underneath shattered. With the ominous sound, Hyung approached, holding a broken soju bottle.

“Hyung. Stop it.”

“Stop what?”

The white car with the dented door near me flashed its headlights and blared its alarm. I winced at the bright light. I just had to wait until someone came after hearing this. Hyung… we just have to pay for the repairs. It doesn’t need to get any more complicated than this. Fuck. This is crazy.

The smell of alcohol, penetrating deep into my nostrils, triggered a sharp warning signal in my head. The sound grew and faded in time with the alarm that was convulsing and filling the alley.

Seeing my undisguised fear, Hyung finally laughed. He actually laughed as he approached me. He muttered with his dry lips, “It seems you’re finally thinking about listening to me. Right?”

“Yeah. I’ll listen, Hyung. Put that down.”

“If I put this down, you won’t listen to me again.”

“Hyung, this isn’t like our club’s get-together when we got into a fight after spilling drinks.”

“No, I didn’t mean to do this, but it broke.”

He glanced down at the sharply broken bottle and suddenly laughed.

“You didn’t mean to do it either, right?”

As I slowly nodded, lowering my chin, I felt the soju bottle suddenly rise higher than my eye level. It was a moment where it felt impossible to dodge. It’s okay. I can get my face stitched up. I saw the dim light of the alley glint ominously off the broken edges of the glass. It’s okay, I thought, hunching my shoulders.

My shoulder was yanked forcefully from behind. The bottle sliced through the air where my face had been just a moment before. I saw the sleeve of the black shirt I had seen this morning. A white hand, clenched into a fist, revealed bluish veins, and the bottle grazed it dangerously close, tearing the fabric.

With a long ripping sound, I fell backward. Hyung, his jaw clenched, turned toward me, avoiding the tall figure that stood firm. I couldn’t believe it when the bottle, swung again, was blocked.

“Hey!”

No. No. Hyun, why did you grab it? The longest, sharpest shard of glass plunged into his large hand. The next moment, a spurt of blood streaked across the hood of the white car and splattered against the grayish-white wall. Seeing that, I scrambled forward from where I was crouching.

Only after seeing the blood, after seeing another person’s flesh torn open, did Hyung stop. In that split second, Hyun reached out again and grabbed the broken neck of the soju bottle tightly.

“Hyun!”

As I saw the blood dripping again and was about to cling to him, Hyung let go of the bottle’s neck and stumbled back. Hyun dropped the bottle to the ground and stomped on it, crushing it completely. With that crunching sound, he stretched out his hand and tried to move toward Hyung.

“Mr. Lee Sungjae.”

“Hyun. You need a hospital. You need to go to the hospital.”

“We meet again like this. Hey.”

“You need to go to the hospital!”

“I knew this would happen from the moment you, with no talent of your own, started leeching off others’ talent.”

I grabbed Hyun’s flushed face, his voice hoarse with shouting, and pulled him toward me. The footsteps widened the distance between us and gradually faded away.

“No, I didn’t mean to…”

The footsteps grew fainter. I looked up to see Sungjae-hyung, muttering like a madman, stumbling and running away into the distance. I glared at him with burning eyes, then stopped. That wasn’t the problem right now. I could report Sungjae-hyung or whatever later, after catching him. So…

With trembling hands, I lifted the soaked sleeve of his shirt. I couldn’t see the wound in his palm, which was supporting the back of his hand. There was just a pool of blood, welling up and deepening.

“Let’s go to the hospital.”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

“Here, 119…”

“A taxi would be faster.”

“Then hurry up!”

As I yelled, pulling on Hyun’s arm and turning around, his pale face looked unusually white today. As we rushed out of the alley, people gasped and moved out of our way. Among them, a taxi with its vacant sign lit red was pulling out of an alley. I rushed to stop it and opened the door. After pushing Hyun inside first and getting in myself, the taxi driver turned around with a grimace.

“What are you doing getting in here with that? It’s going to stain.”

“I’ll pay for everything, just get us to a hospital. The closest one!”

How can he say that when someone’s injured? My frustrated shout echoed in the taxi. Fuck, I don’t care. The driver flinched at my voice, then abruptly started the car and turned left. The closest hospital. Hospital. I didn’t know where one was.

Hyun leaned against me as if collapsing. I tried to stroke his head as it rubbed against my shoulder, then turned and hugged him. I tried to hold his hand above his heart, but the blood kept flowing. Is this wrong? Hyun, with his other hand, caressed my jaw, which was chattering from the trembling. It was so pathetic of me to keep leaning on him. Who’s the one injured here?

Hyun leaned into me again as if burrowing into my embrace. I hugged him and murmured, “Are you okay?”

“I think I’m losing my vision.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Your hand is injured, why would you be losing your vision!”

“From blood loss… Okay, I’ll stop.”

“Is it bleeding more because I’m holding it too tight? Tell me.”

“No, you’re doing fine.”

Meanwhile, the taxi swerved sharply somewhere, and the weight shifted towards me. Supporting the heavy weight, I held him tighter. Because he was hunched over in my arms, I saw his smooth ear, revealed through his hair, was stark white. This idiot, only his mouth works.

“Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt.”

“Don’t lie.”

“Okay, it hurts.”

With a faint, weak voice, Hyun leaned against my chest again. Clenching my chattering teeth, I looked at the taxi’s windshield. Fortunately, a tall hospital with a cross mark was visible ahead. I could finally breathe easier.

“We’re almost there.”

“Jio, back there…”

Back there? Back there? I was about to ask, but the words caught in my throat. Right. You told me not to go. I had already deeply engraved the answer to his unspoken accusation in my heart. Trembling, I cowered in fear. Until it burrowed deep, like the marks carved into his palm, festering like a wound.

“It’s a good thing we got there in time, right?”

But the words he spoke were so much for my sake. My eyes suddenly stung. As the car slowed down, I pulled out a card from my wallet and flung the door open.

I seemed to be the only one in a hurry even at the hospital. I rushed into the emergency room, almost causing a scene after hearing the procedures, but Hyun quickly returned after leaving his wallet at the reception desk. Then people in white and green clothes swarmed us, saying all sorts of things. Deep cut. Shards of glass, and so on.

Meanwhile, the words about checking if nerves, tendons, and other complex things were severed stabbed at my mind. Hyun, his lips now blue, came up to me, sitting dazedly in the chair, and spoke gently.

“I’ll be back after surgery.”

“…Okay.”

“Don’t cry.”

I definitely wasn’t crying at that moment. But Hyun touched my dry eyes with his uninjured hand, and I just nodded vaguely. I watched his retreating figure as he walked down the long corridor to the operating room, and sat dazedly in the chair. Then I suddenly raised my hand and touched my face. It was dry. As I touched my eyes, cheekbones, and under my chin, dried blood flaked off my hand.

“Don’t cry.”

It’s okay. He walked in on his own two feet, so it can’t be that serious. Someone, seeing my disheveled state, brought me something to wipe myself with. I scrubbed my face and hands until they stung. Until they were swollen and throbbing. There mustn’t be any trace of blood left. We’re at the hospital now, and Hyun will be fine. His hand will be fine. Looking at the closed doors of the operating room in the distance, I thought to myself. He walked in. He’ll be okay.

How much time had passed? The strength drained from my back, which I had been holding straight with the confident thought that he would be okay. I hunched over, staring at my toes for a long time. A single shadow beneath my feet remained motionless. As I struggled to lift my head, I saw the hem of my pants, speckled with dark red stains. I looked up abruptly, and Hyun was standing close, almost blocking the light above me.

Blinking, I asked, “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay.”

“You… Did the surgery go well?”

“They did local anesthesia and stitched it up right away.”

His pale face creased into a playful grimace for a moment before smoothing out again. He held up his bandaged hand and poked it with his index finger from the other hand.

“The anesthetic shot before the surgery hurt more. They were poking around with a needle looking for glass shards, but I didn’t feel a thing.”

“Don’t you have to be hospitalized?”

“They told me to come back tomorrow. I was on an empty stomach, so they said the surgery went well because they could operate right away.”

Even the fact that he had surgery right away because he had an empty stomach made me tear up. Unable to take my eyes off his bandaged hand, I stood up. We both needed to do something about our messy clothes… What should we do? My overheated mind was now moving slower than the second hand of a clock. Hyun gently grasped my shoulder with his free hand.

“Is your shoulder all better now?”

“Yeah.”

“Then it’s Jio’s turn to help me.”

“Okay.”

After answering, I wondered what I could possibly do, but seeing his steady gaze, I couldn’t back down.

“You’ll do everything?”

“I’ll do everything.”

His lips, which I expected to follow up with another question about what else I would do, were unexpectedly sealed shut.

˙✧˖🎥⋆˙

In the aftermath of the storm, there were lingering effects. The aftershocks of yesterday, of yelling and dramatically throwing my card, were hitting hard. Emerging from the warehouse where they stored century-old soy sauce, I slung the heavy camera around my neck and retreated to a corner.

My card had been steadily accumulating charges since early yesterday morning. After the taxi fare, there was a charge for what appeared to be an interior cleaning at a parking lot. I understood that much. I had seen a few people throw up in taxis after company dinners. I should have seen this coming.

But the problem started with the charge from a drivers’ restaurant this morning. I checked the charges, and they showed no sign of stopping, ranging from convenience stores to car repair shops. And just a few seconds ago, at the top of the message, was the name of a spicy monkfish restaurant, likely for lunch. I quickly searched the name, found the number, and was about to press the call button when…

“Jio, let’s eat.”

“I need to make a phone call. You go ahead.”

With that, I practically ran to a corner and crouched down. I felt a little pathetic, calling about someone else’s meal charges when I hadn’t even eaten my own. But I had to get my card back. Or cancel it if I had to. The long ringing tone finally ended, and a woman’s thick accent and rapid speech filled my ear.

―Hello.

“Ma’am, is the man who just paid there still there?”

―I don’t know.

“It was just a moment ago, really. A taxi driver, about 50 years old, with thick eyebrows. Not very tall.”

―Hold on.

Her loud call made my heart pound. After a short wait, the voice I heard yesterday answered the phone as if nothing had happened.

―Hello.

“Yes, sir. I left my card with you yesterday… and I’m calling because I keep seeing charges.”

―You said you’d pay for everything.

“Yes. So, I thought the gas station charge was for cleaning, and maybe the charges after that were for the business you lost because of me, but from this morning… it keeps…”

No. Don’t drag it out. What did you do right yesterday? Think, Shin Jio. Think about this man’s age and the life he must have lived. He’s in the same category as the CEOs I always interviewed and tried to persuade. I ran my fingers through my hair, messing it up, and apologized first.

“I’m sorry for what happened yesterday.”

―That’s right. You should apologize first.

His tone changed from nonchalant indifference to smug triumph.

―I let it slide yesterday because the young man seemed flustered.

“Yes, I’m sorry. Thank you for taking us to the hospital right away. Thanks to you, we got treated immediately.”

―I’m glad to hear that. I made sure to think of a big hospital in that situation. You know?

“Yes.”

―Think of a meal or two as my treat.

“Yes, I understand.”

―I’ll drop it off at the police station or put it in a mailbox.

“Yes, please.”

After the call, which squeezed every ounce of politeness from me, I slumped to the ground where I had been crouching. My reflection in the glass across from me looked pathetic. I hadn’t been able to think straight since last night.

The card issue was resolved, but what about the other one? I pulled myself together, leaned against the thick glass wall, and fumbled with my phone. There was too much to say to text. And I didn’t want him typing with that hand. Had he eaten? He said he’d talk to a lawyer this morning, how was that going?

I thought Sungjae-hyung would at least apologize, but there was no contact, as if he was trying to pretend his wrongdoing never happened. I knew his habit of avoiding things he couldn’t handle, but it was tiresome.

I stared at his profile picture on messenger, a picture of him in a suit that looked like someone had taken it for him. Who took it? It’s a good picture. Why did he even touch his laptop with one hand in that situation yesterday? He said he wasn’t going to work today, did he eat? His medicine? The lawyer? I hope his wound didn’t reopen. Worries piled up one after another. So much to think about.

With those thoughts, I rubbed the back of my head against the cold glass wall. Can I call him now? It’s okay, right? It had been a while since I had worried about someone like this. As I moved my fingers, embarrassed by my own thoughts, a curse slipped out.

“What the hell am I doing?”

I started the call, feeling strangely nervous. I licked my dry lips and shifted my weight just as he answered. I straightened my back and cleared my throat belatedly.

―Yeah.

Hyun’s voice was lower and gentler than it had been in the morning.

“Did you go to the hospital?”

―Just now.

“Your medicine?”

―Not yet.

“Take it. What about lunch?”

―I was thinking of going out again.

“I told you to stay home.”

I felt a slight sense of déjà vu in our conversation, but I brushed it off.

―There’s something I want to eat.

“What is it?”

―Bibimbap.

“I’ll buy some. Stay put.”

―You’ll be late.

“I don’t have anything to return today, so I’ll be right back.”

―I know you’ll run off if someone calls you.

“I won’t. Did you… report it?”

―I got a call and connected them to my lawyer. It’ll be fun to sue him both criminally and civilly.

Even though he hadn’t contacted me, it seemed Sungjae-hyung had contacted Hyun and begged for forgiveness. Right. He wouldn’t have just thrown everything away. He still had some ground to stand on. Although I wanted to destroy that ground now.

“Can’t we just settle? I’ll beat him up.”

―I don’t want to.

“I really want to beat that guy up…”

―Are you very angry?

“Yeah.”

How could I not be angry? That crazy bastard. If Hyun’s hand had been okay yesterday, I would have picked up that broken bottle and hit him with it. I pushed aside the violent thought and muttered, trying to compose myself.

“No. He might come after us with something else.”

―You’ll be fine as long as you don’t go anywhere dangerous, unlike a certain someone.

“Don’t tease me, it hurts the certain someone you’re talking about.”

―It hurts?

“Wouldn’t it hurt?”

Hyun was ambidextrous, but he favored his right hand. And the hand he instinctively raised to block last night was also his right hand.

―I’ll take care of it.

“Okay. But you have to give him some room to breathe so he doesn’t do anything crazy. Got it?”

―Tell him to contact me directly if he calls. Don’t say anything.

“Okay.”

The subject abruptly changed.

―Did you find the card you threw yesterday?

“Yeah. I called and asked them to drop it off at the police station or a mailbox.”

―How did you call them?

“I called the number on the charge notification.”

―What charge?

“They helped us, so a meal charge is understandable.”

―Should we tell the lawyer together?

“Tell him what?”

―About the lawyer.

“I don’t want to make a fuss over a small amount. They took us to the hospital right away yesterday. I absolutely won’t do that.”

― Okay. Then come home early.

“Okay. Bibimbap, got it.”

Since I obediently agreed every time he told me to come home early, our conversation ended quite peacefully. I put my phone in my pocket and entered the bean sprout soup restaurant across the street. Now that I could relax, I felt a wave of hunger.

˙✧˖🎥⋆˙

The carefully packaged bibimbap was yukhoe bibimbap, famous in the area around the filming location. My hand ached from the weight, but I couldn’t switch hands until I reached the bus stop. It was thanks to Sungjae-hyung, who had contacted me again with a new number. As soon as I heard his voice, I almost told him to come out, but I managed to hold back and just parrot whatever he said.