Place to Be Chapter 11

Still the same. Seo Chiyoung thought once more, turning his gaze away as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have.

‘So, what do you think of me?’ Jang Wigeon was confessing his heart, much like a joke shared playfully between friends. However, that confession reached Yoon Junyoung as nothing more than a joke.

‘I don’t think romantic feelings can ever form with someone you’ve known since the days you played in the stream with your penis out and cried your eyes out after getting bitten by a crawfish. You know, there’s even a research study on that. That the brain functions in a way that prevents you from feeling romantic attraction toward someone you’ve seen since you were very young.’

‘That’s a lie—just look at me.’

Seo Chiyoung pretended not to notice the faint, bitter smile that flickered across Jang Wigeon’s face as he laughed out loud, responding jokingly once again.

‘Come to think of it, that stream was near here. It was covered up a long time ago, though. Now let me see, where exactly was it…’

As Jang Wigeon lifted his gaze while stroking his chin as if racking his brain, his eyes met Seo Chiyoung’s. Seo Chiyoung answered reflexively before he knew it.

‘It must have been past that intersection over there. The spot where the parking lot is now. The stream used to flow through that area.’

Ah, right, that’s how it was, Jang Wigeon exclaimed, lightly clapping his hands together. He smiled and asked Seo Chiyoung.

‘Do you live around here?’

‘Yes, well…’

‘Haha, I used to come here to play often when I was a kid, too. Because Kanghee—you know that burly friend who comes by sometimes?—lives near here.’

Seo Chiyoung nodded vaguely. He recalled their other friend, who had only visited this shop a couple of times. That man, with a menacing impression that made it impossible to imagine him having any profession other than living by his fists, had a face even colder than it had been in high school.

‘Is that so? I only met him after I entered middle school.’

Yoon Junyoung murmured abruptly. Seo Chiyoung looked at them with a hint of envy and said, “You’ve known each other for a long time.” That steadfast relationship—yes, in a way, he was envious of it.

‘That’s true. It’s already been almost twenty years for you and Kanghee. For me, well, if a little more time passes, it’ll be a thirty-year bond.’

Ugh, Jang Wigeon recoiled as if he were shuddering, yet he laughed pleasantly. He glanced at the silent Yoon Junyoung and gave his foot a light tap under the table.

‘Twenty years, thirty years—it’s nothing. Look at Kanghee; as soon as he got a woman, he stopped showing his face. Have I even seen that guy properly four or five times these past few months?’

As Jang Wigeon grumbled while counting on his fingers, Yoon Junyoung didn’t respond and silently drank his beer. Then, suddenly, he muttered in a low, bitter voice as if talking to himself.

‘It’s probably not because of a woman, but because he feels awkward seeing me.’

Jang Wigeon fell silent. Yoon Junyoung also quietly tilted his beer glass. Silently pouring beer into Yoon Junyoung’s empty glass, Jang Wigeon said nothing for a long while.

“…”

It seemed he had been staring at Yoon Junyoung for some time. Seo Chiyoung, who had been lost in thought for a moment as if he were out of it, realized a second later that he had been facing Yoon Junyoung, who was staring blankly at him with an empty plate in front of him after having devoured the gopchang in an instant.

Shrinking his shoulders, Seo Chiyoung scratched the back of his neck as if flustered, stammering, “Uh, well,” and then blurted out whatever came to mind.

“Would, would you like some beer?”

“No.”

Yoon Junyoung shook his head, giving Seo Chiyoung a strange look for suddenly offering alcohol.

“The… the friend who always comes with you, I guess he’s not coming today.”

Even though it was obviously past midnight and too late to be meeting a friend now, Seo Chiyoung spoke haltingly, not even knowing what he was saying. Unlike Seo Chiyoung, who was visibly flustered, Yoon Junyoung was perfectly composed, staring intently at him as he replied, “Yes, he’s not coming.”

The conversation stalled for a moment. It was only a few words that could hardly be called a conversation, but the subtle silence was uncomfortable. Yoon Junyoung stared blankly at Seo Chiyoung, who stood there sweating and awkward, wondering what he was thinking. Yoon Junyoung, who had been watching him without averting his gaze, suddenly opened his mouth.

“…By the way, perhaps,”

His heart gave a thump at the subtly lowered voice, though he didn’t know why.

“Yes?” Just as Seo Chiyoung whispered back, the sound of a phone rang from Yoon Junyoung’s pocket. Yoon Junyoung, who was about to say something, frowned slightly, took out the phone, checked the screen, and grumbled, “This guy is never going to be a gentleman…”

“Yeah, what. …Yeah. I’m on my way in now. Yeah, I guess so. …Yeah. Give it to me tomorrow. We agreed to meet during the day. …Yeah, you too, get some rest. …Why would I dream about you? Hang up.”

Yoon Junyoung clicked his tongue and shut the slide with a clack. In that moment, he checked the time on the screen, and seeing the numbers well past midnight, he let out a long sigh as if fatigue were suddenly washing over him.

Seo Chiyoung remained frozen in the same posture he had been in while talking to Yoon Junyoung. Yoon Junyoung glanced at Seo Chiyoung, who was just staring at him silently, and seemed to grimace slightly. He looked as though he were contemplating whether or not to say something, but soon stood up as if it didn’t matter.

“How much is it?”

Asking formally, he pulled out and handed over the amount he already knew, but Seo Chiyoung hesitated with an “Uh,” and only accepted half of the money.

“Just give me this much. …Since it was leftover ingredients anyway…”

Yoon Junyoung stared intently at Seo Chiyoung again. At that indifferent and direct gaze, Seo Chiyoung felt restless, as if he had overcharged him even though he had taken less.

Ah. Is it that? He said he didn’t like receiving uncalled-for kindness because it felt like being in debt. Or, is even half-price too expensive…

As Seo Chiyoung stood there holding the money in one hand, not knowing what to do, Yoon Junyoung eventually put the rest of the money away without much word.

“Even if it was leftover ingredients, I enjoyed it. …Thanks for the meal. I’ll see you again tomorrow at lunchtime.”

“Ah, yes, get home safe…”

Stopping mid-sentence, Seo Chiyoung looked at him curiously. Yoon Junyoung, who was about to turn away, added casually.

“I’m supposed to meet a friend tomorrow at lunchtime. Though even if I say lunch, it’ll probably be around two or three in the afternoon by the time we meet.”

“…, At our shop?”

“Yes.”

The thought that he must have really come to like gopchang came to mind first, but Seo Chiyoung blinked and looked at Yoon Junyoung as he said:

“We don’t open for business during the day because we’re preparing, we only start around four or five in the afternoon.”

Yoon Junyoung, who had always visited only at night, stared blankly at Seo Chiyoung as if this were news to him, then asked back, “Is that so?” and clicked his tongue. “I’ll have to push the time back,” he said, taking out his phone, but he frowned as if the other person wasn’t answering. Muttering that he should just send a text, he turned away after leaving another greeting: “Then I’ll see you tomorrow evening.”

Just as he had said he’d been stuck in the lab since yesterday, Seo Chiyoung watched his receding figure as he walked, almost dragging his feet, looking ragged and exhausted.

That weary back, which he had always thought of as an ice wall, somehow looked full of gaps. He suddenly thought that perhaps it really was so. It felt like seeing the soft belly of an armored armadillo.

That man, too, likes someone, cherishes someone, and in doing so, gets hurt and feels pain. …Even though it would be easier if he liked someone who liked him back.

“…”

Seo Chiyoung let out a sigh. Just then, a passerby poked their head inside the tent and asked, “Are you still open?” and only then did Seo Chiyoung quickly pull his heart back to reality from beyond his distant memories.

“I’m sorry, we’re closed for the day.”

Announcing the end of today for real this time, Seo Chiyoung began to finish tidying up the shop, which he had briefly stopped doing when Yoon Junyoung arrived.

Seo Chiyoung’s days are busy.

Except for Sunday, his day off, the same daily routine repeated all week long. Although he had now developed a knack for the work, there was still no time to rest idly.