As Giju Wishes Chapter 2.7

“Hi, Geon.”

Giju smiled and greeted him.

“You’re fucking late.”

“Did anything happen?”

“Nope.”

“The deity’s protection is pretty good, huh.”

Choi Geon slowly nodded his head. He didn’t want to admit it, but he’d won at soccer today and his luck had been pretty good.

“But where are we going? To your house?”

“Shin Giju.”

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever had a drink before?”

Giju was quiet for a moment, as if searching his memory.

“I haven’t. Why alcohol?”

“Because we’re going to go drinking right now.”

Giju stared blankly at Choi Geon. No one had ever told him not to drink, but to Giju, alcohol was an adult thing that shouldn’t be touched.

“We’re students.”

At the word ‘student’, Choi Geon let out a scoff. A student was nothing more than a frame created by the state. If you wanted to eat or drink something, you just did. Whatever it was.

“Do students die if they drink? Just follow me.”

Choi Geon headed for his parked motorcycle. Then he immediately took out a helmet and put it on the head of Giju, who was standing there bewildered.

“Are we really going drinking?”

“Yeah.”

After fastening the chin strap securely, Choi Geon put on his own helmet and got on the bike.

“Get on.”

“Can you drive?”

Giju asked Choi Geon, who wasn’t an adult, with pure innocence.

“Hey. I got my license a long time ago, so get on.”

“This is my first time on a motorcycle.”

“Then it’ll be fucking fun.”

Giju, who was staring at Choi Geon, got on the back seat with a strange expression, as if bewitched. He was like a child following someone offering candy.

“Hold my waist tight. You’ll fall off.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Choi Geon started the engine and took off, immediately picking up speed. Giju, riding a motorcycle for the very first time, felt like he was going to fall and grabbed Choi Geon’s waist tightly.

Then, not long after, feeling as if his body were floating, he lifted his head which had been buried in Choi Geon’s back. He saw the cool wind and the neighborhoods whizzing by. He could feel his heartbeat quicken in an instant. Giju grinned with his mouth open in excitement.

“Woooow!”

At that, Choi Geon glanced back and sped up even more. Giju forgot to be scared and burst out laughing. For Giju, who had never even been to an amusement park, the motorcycle was an immense thrill. His hands gripped Choi Geon’s clothes even tighter.

Perhaps because it was a quiet neighborhood, there were few cars on the road. The bike shot forward toward the downtown area without hesitation.

Screech-

A short while later, the bike entered downtown and stopped in front of a certain building.

“I know this place.”

Giju, having gotten off the bike, looked up at the building with his helmet still on. Choi Geon took off Giju’s helmet from behind.

“Have you been here before?”

“No. I’ve seen it while passing by.”

Giju, who rarely had a reason to go downtown, would often stop and stare at the flashy sign as if observing it whenever he came. That sign was probably the shiniest thing in this town.

“Follow me.”

Choi Geon, having put the helmets away, gestured with his chin to follow. Giju, still full of curiosity, followed obediently.

“But we’re students, how can we drink?”

“I know the guy.”

Giju looked around as he went up the stairs. Flyers were stuck messily on the walls. Far from being intimidating, the unfamiliar space was just fascinating to him.

Ding-a-ling-

As the door opened, a clear bell chimed.

“Who is it- oh, you’re here?”

The man at the counter greeted Choi Geon warmly.

“I came with a different guy today.”

Choi Geon casually slung an arm over the shoulder of Giju, who was behind him, and said relaxedly. The man looked at Giju with curious eyes.

“Be honest, Choi Geon. You bastard, you didn’t force your friend to come here, did you.”

Then he said in a joking tone.

“Do I look like that kind of guy? Shin Giju, say it with your own mouth.”

“Hello, I’m Geon’s friend.”

“You weren’t threatened, were you?”

“Ah, geez, just give us some drinks.”

Before Giju could answer, Choi Geon grabbed his arm and led him to a private room.

“Who was that?”

“A hyung I play pool with. Hey, let’s play a round of pool later.”

“I’ve never played before.”

“You just hit the ball with a stick.”

“Oooh….”

Giju, letting out a small sound of admiration, scanned the room, which had a strange, musty smell.

“But is the food here good?”

“It’s fucking delicious. You’ll probably pass out after eating it.”

Choi Geon planned to get Giju so drunk that he wouldn’t even think about the ancestral rite food and would pass out. That kid needed to escape from the world of ghosts.

“It’s been a really long time since I’ve eaten out.”

He didn’t need to say it; it was easy enough to guess. That’s why he planned to exorcise that ghostly meal with alcohol today.

“Today, we eat and drink till we drop. Got it?”

“Is it that good?”

“Hey, Shin Giju. Listen up. This is round one. Round two is at my house.”

Giju’s eyes widened.

“We’re eating twice?”

“Yep.”

The excitement was brief; Giju’s face fell with disappointment.

“Oh… but I have to go home to eat dinner, so I can only eat a little bit.”

“You can just eat anything from the ancestral altar, can’t you? You just have to go home before midnight and grab a piece of fruit, right?”

“…Midnight?”

“Yeah.”

For Giju, who always went straight home after school, it took some time to accept this new proposition. In the first place, he had never once hung out with a friend and gone home late at night.

“Is that so?”

“Of course. You said it yourself. About what to do in case of unavoidable circumstances.”

When you thought about it, Choi Geon’s words weren’t wrong. As long as he ate something from the altar before the day was over, he would have kept his promise to his grandmother.

“Want to borrow my phone?”

Choi Geon casually tossed out a word to Giju, who was hesitating over the unfamiliar proposition.

“Call your aunt and tell her you’ll be late. Tell her you’re hanging out with a friend today.”

Choi Geon graciously placed the phone in Giju’s hand and brought up the number pad on the screen, urging him to dial.

“You’ve gotta eat and drink till you drop with your friend today.”

At Choi Geon’s whisper, Giju placed his finger on the phone as if possessed. And he called his aunt.

Ring, ring-

The phone rang for quite a while.

“Auntie…?”

Giju was silent for a moment.

“It’s Giju. I borrowed a friend’s phone. Yes, I’m out… Yes. I think I’ll be home a little late today, so could you please put some hangwa on the ancestral altar? I’ll eat that and go to bed.”

Giju’s eyes rolled upwards.

“Uhm… around 9 o’clock. Yes. Yesss….”

A moment later, Giju nodded, broke into a wide smile, and hung up the phone.

“It’s settled. We can eat until round two!”

Thud-

At the same time, two bottles of beer and two bottles of soju were placed on the table.

“What do you want for food?”

“Give us the usual.”

At the man’s question, Choi Geon answered as he put his phone in his pocket.

“What’s the usual?”

Giju, who had been wondering what they would eat, asked as he watched a water droplet trickle down the cold beer bottle.

“There’s something that’ll blow your mind. That hyung is a fucking amazing cook.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Choi Geon popped the cap off a beer bottle. Giju watched, fascinated.

“Are we drinking this?”

“Yeah.”

“Can we really drink it?”

“Yeah.”

Choi Geon filled an empty glass with beer, then immediately opened the soju and poured it into the beer glass. Then he grabbed the top and swirled it, creating a small vortex inside. Giju’s mouth fell open with a small “Ooh” of admiration. Next, Choi Geon made the same thing for Giju’s glass and placed the beer cup in front of him.

Thump!

“Here, drink up.”

Giju stared down at the fizzing somaek.

“How drunk will I get if I drink this?”, his face, a mix of nervousness and curiosity, asked.

“Just enough to feel good. The rest is up to you.”