Midday Guest Chapter 41

“Still, one must do what is proper for a person; I couldn’t do it today, but I should do it tomorrow, or I must do it the next day. I kept avoiding it like that…. In the end, I happened to run right into you here.”

Park Junseo continued speaking in a quiet voice.

“Even in the midst of being distracted by my father’s sudden passing, I knew clearly that I had no face to show you. To be honest, I wouldn’t have thought anything of it even if you had skipped out on the condolence money…. Yiwon, thank you so much for helping my father on his final journey.”

“…Of course I only did what I was supposed to do. You don’t have to think of it that much.”

“That ‘supposed to do’ thing was quite difficult for me, though.”

Park Junseo added, his eyes softening.

“I’m truly sorry. I want to apologize for everything—from what I did back then, to the way my father, who is no longer here, treated you carelessly.”

“……”

Yiwon looked at Park Junseo with a stunned face. From the perspective of Yiwon, who tended to shake off bad things quickly and erase them from his memory, it was an apology that felt incredibly out of the blue.

However, Yiwon did not reveal his true feelings to Park Junseo. It was because the man’s expression looked quite sincere. Why did you do that back then, why are you making a fuss by yourself only now? Rather than interrogating him, Yiwon chose to hold his soju glass. It was a relationship that would drift away like this anyway.

“Have a drink.”

“Are you accepting it?”

“Yes.”

“Thank you, Yiwon.”

Park Junseo raised his glass and continued.

“Let’s toast. For our new beginning.”

In life, relationships are bound to change and do not stay in one place forever. Perhaps his relationship with Park Junseo was also trying to change like that. When people live, can’t they make a mistake at least once? Especially if it was a mistake committed during young days. If it meant returning to being a hyung and dongsaeng from the same village, Yiwon had no reason to refuse.

Yiwon lifted his soju glass with a slightly lighter heart.

“Yes, cheers.”

Clink. After clinking glasses, they had an actual meal. He was able to eat much more comfortably than right after encountering Park Junseo. Still, it wasn’t as if everything was perfectly fine, so he continued the conversation while maintaining a moderate distance.

“So you’re on a leave of absence and staying at Haeundang?”

“Yes. Operating the guesthouse and managing Haeundang. That’s what I’m doing now.”

“That’s impressive. I really knew nothing when I was your age.”

“I’m about the same.”

“Haha, is that so? How is business?”

“It’s just enough to barely get by on meals, I guess.”

“Wow. That answer just now really sounded like a CEO, you.”

“You shouldn’t misunderstand. Because it’s the truth.”

Yiwon shook his head and scanned the food remaining on the plate. Is it time to demolish the salad now? He was eating delicious food, but he couldn’t sense the flavor.

It was just when he was thinking that he should eat quickly and leave the spot. A whisper like a monologue drifted over from Park Junseo, who was across from him.

“It seemed like it was doing quite well, though.”

“Pardon?”

At the sound that spilled out nonchalantly, Thud, Yiwon’s gaze shifted toward Park Junseo. Even though Park Junseo heard Yiwon asking back, he poked around the food on his plate and said nothing. Soon, he put down his spoon and chopsticks and smiled, pulling up the corners of his mouth.

“No, it’s just that finding a room seemed like plucking a star from the sky. That’s why I said that.”

“…Are you talking about Haeundang?”

“Yeah. Every single day the reservations were closed. I was really surprised. I didn’t know Haeundang’s business was doing that well.”

He didn’t know Park Junseo had visited the Haeundang reservation site. Since Park Junseo could also visit as a guest, it wasn’t something that couldn’t happen, but… as Yiwon stood unable to continue speaking out of flusteredness, Park Junseo put on a good-natured smile.

“Might it be misunderstood if I talk like this? Actually, I did some ‘lurking.’ I wanted to say hello regarding my father’s matters and such on a day you were less busy.”

“Ah.”

“I even tried putting in a standby reservation, but it was no use, and since the canceled reservations weren’t being released either, I thought business must be going well. Was it not?”

If he accounted for his mother’s hospital bills, debt repayment, living expenses, and tax processing, the expression that he was barely earning enough to eat wasn’t a lie, but to another person who didn’t know the internal circumstances, it might seem like he was exaggerating his hardships.

“There were some rooms that went out urgently recently. It’s not typical, but….”

“You don’t have to explain; I didn’t bring it up to make things difficult for you.”

Park Junseo gripped his chopsticks firmly and turned his gaze toward Yiwon. The conversation, which he thought might end, did not break and continued on.

“Anyway, then it’ll be a waste that this place is being redeveloped. Compensation money is different from the fun of making money and having monthly profit come in.”

“…Well, that’s a part that can’t be helped.”

Park Junseo rested his crossed arms on the table and leaned his body forward.

“Have you decided what you’ll do in the future?”

“For now, I plan to continue operating Haeundang.”

“Until the demolition schedule is set?”

“Probably so.”

“What’s that, what kind of answer is that?”

“Because I haven’t thought about it that deeply yet.”

“Then start thinking about it from now on. The Haeundang site is quite wide, too. That’s how it was in my memory. Right?”

Park Junseo’s questions poured out. Park Junseo, who had been asking this and that about Haeundang, subsequently began to toss out personal questions. Questions like what he would do once he received the compensation money, or if he was doing any financial investing.

Yiwon, who did not want to share any more private conversation, chose to play the fool. Using “Yes,” “Ah, is that so,” and “I don’t know very well” alternately, he cut off the words at an appropriate level and asked Park Junseo.

“By the way, how have you been, hyung? Are you still living in America?”

“…Oh, you remembered?”

After Park Junseo launched a confession attack on Yiwon, he barely graduated high school and went to study abroad. He heard he left the country without even taking exams properly because it was an escape-style study abroad, but it was never known which school it was. Since it was awkward to ask which school it was now, Yiwon just nodded and answered with a “Yes.”

“The semester starts from the end of August, and I have to apply for a visa, too, so I don’t think I can stay long.”

“There’s not much time left.”

“Still, it’s a relief. Because I’ve become able to take care of urgent matters on behalf of my mother, who is still distracted.”

Park Junseo, who said that, turned his gaze toward a placard hanging on a telephone pole.

“We decided to wrap up the grain mill.”

“…Yes.”

“We’re going to leave Yonggung-ri and make a fresh start. We put it on the market, and there were many people looking for it. It’ll probably be settled soon.”

“Everything will go well.”

“…I hope so.”

Yiwon filled the empty glass of Park Junseo, who was smiling at him, with soju and clinked glasses.

After drinking a few more glasses like that, the alcohol revealed its bottom. The plates were the same.

“Will you drink more?”

“No.”

“The weather is hot, so shall we get up now?”

It was what he had been waiting for. Yiwon tidied up the spot and picked up the empty plates and utensils, stacking them. The gaze of Park Junseo, who was tidying his spot with a face flushed from the alcohol, landed on Yiwon’s fingertips. Yiwon’s movements were neat, and his complexion hadn’t changed at all. It was just white and clean.

“I thought I’d take you home if you were drunk.”

“It’s okay. I can drink a bottle of soju by myself.”

“Seems like it.”

Park Junseo, who still hadn’t been able to leave the spot, lightly tossed out a word.

“Do you want to go together at least halfway? The direction is the same anyway.”

“I’m sorry, but I think that’ll be difficult. I have an appointment afterward.”

Remembering how Oh Taesik said he would pack side dishes, he used that as an excuse. He was glad there was something he could bring up.

“Ah, an appointment. You had… an appointment.”

“…Yes.”

“It’s a shame to part like this, so I keep trying to hold on to you. It would be nice if we could at least have a cup of coffee.”

Park Junseo stealthily put down his plate and pulled out his chair. He even pulled over the drink plate that had been placed on the next table. Yiwon, conversely, took a step back.

The man, who had tried to create an atmosphere to sit back down, laughed awkwardly. He touched the back of his head once, Swish, and bowed his head with a reddened face.

“You’re still as impenetrable as ever.”

“……”

“If I tactlessly keep talking to you here, everything I apologized for today will become useless, right?”

He couldn’t honestly answer with a “Yes.” And yet, he was worried that if he said “No,” something he didn’t even mean, the conversation would continue further. There was no one in Yonggung-ri who paid attention even to the tent farthest from the catering, but there was nothing good about staying long.

As he stood there unable to do anything, Park Junseo grabbed his empty dish and turned his body.

“Let’s have a meal once before I leave the country. You can do at least that much, right?”

Only then did Yiwon answer with a “Yes,” putting a positive mind into it. Because to a Korean, the words “let’s have a meal once” meant a formal expression shared when meeting and parting—a social courtesy.

“Fine, let’s do that.”

“Okay, then. I’ll go first.”

“Yes, sunbae. Please get home safely.”

“Yeah. You get home safely, too.”

Park Junseo moved away with his eyes curving into a smile. Leaving behind the words “See you again,” he moved forward while looking back at Yiwon several times. While showing a broad grin.

They say you can’t spit on a smiling face. It was just as he was forced to lightly wave his hand along with a business-style smile. Only then did Yiwon identify the person who had been beneath the building across the street.