Place to Be Chapter 13

Seo Chiyoung quickly handed over the chopsticks, and Jang Wigeon said a brief “Thank you” before starting to snatch and eat Seo Chiyoung’s side dishes. He didn’t even show the virtue of eating just a piece or two and then politely declining. Seo Chiyoung sat in front of him as he busily moved his chopsticks and resumed his own meal slowly. He had thought this before, but his eyes were momentarily stolen by the way the man moved his chopsticks so precisely and neatly.

Giving up on the one side dish that had practically become Jang Wigeon’s portion, he munched on only the rice topped with a raw egg and the vegetable side dishes. A moment of silence followed.

What should I do? I think I’m going to get nervous. He began to doubt whether he was even using his own chopsticks properly. Come to think of it, he had never sat across from this man with just the two of them, sharing the same space in time.

“It’s delicious stir-fried like this, too.”

Jang Wigeon, who had finished the small side dish plate in no time, said as he set down his chopsticks. However, seeing him looking as though he was still hungry, Seo Chiyoung felt a bit embarrassed by his own spoon, which had only taken three or four bites.

“…If you haven’t eaten yet, would you like some? There aren’t any entrails, but…”

“Do they sell meals here, too?”

Jang Wigeon asked as if he hadn’t known, looking at the menu which had almost no proper dishes other than entrails, and Seo Chiyoung shook his head, feeling awkward and wondering if he should have said anything at all.

“It’s not that, but I have some rice I made for myself to eat now, so, I just thought if you were hungry, we could eat together. …There aren’t any side dishes, but if you’re okay with that.”

His voice grew smaller and smaller as he spoke. He had opened his mouth without thinking, but once the words were out, it wasn’t a meal worth offering to someone else. Just rice with a single raw egg on top and a few vegetables. Even in the poorest home, they would rather not serve anything at all than treat a guest like this. Furthermore, come to think of it, hadn’t Jang Wigeon grown up in a family that owned several expensive restaurants that Seo Chiyoung wouldn’t even know much about?

As expected, Jang Wigeon didn’t seem to have the heart to ask for that humble rice and side dish, as he smiled and waved his hand.

“No, it’s okay. Please, have your meal.”

Seo Chiyoung hesitantly started using his chopsticks again. He was silently munching, thinking it was quite awkward to be the only one eating while sitting across from each other, when Jang Wigeon’s phone rang. Seeing him mutter, “This guy,” it seemed to be Yoon Junyoung.

“Hello. …What do you mean, why did I call? We agreed to meet this afternoon. …A text? What text? I didn’t get one. Yeah, I’m telling you, it didn’t come. …I’m at the entrails shop now. …Yeah, so I’m just sitting here. …Yeah. Come quickly.”

It seemed there had been a misunderstanding in their communication. Jang Wigeon, who was hanging up the phone, caught the eye of Seo Chiyoung, who had been watching him while silently munching, and gave a bitter smile.

“He said he sent a text to push back the appointment time, but it seems it didn’t arrive prop…Oh. It did come.”

Jang Wigeon, who was about to put the phone in his pocket, paused and muttered. After opening the phone again and checking the text, Jang Wigeon frowned.

Seo Chiyoung, who could roughly guess how the situation had unfolded, laughed to himself, packed up his rice bowl after finishing the last bite, stood up, and said.

“If it’s that person, his house seemed to be close by, so he’ll be here soon.”

“Ah, yes, in terms of walking distance, it’s about 10 minutes away. But since it sounded like he just woke up, by the time he washes up and everything, well…”

Jang Wigeon, gauging how long he would have to wait, quirked his lips ambiguously. To Jang Wigeon, who was muttering, “The timing is really awkward,” while looking at his watch, Seo Chiyoung, who was putting the dishes in the sink, said.

“You can wait here. …If you’re okay with it.”

Jang Wigeon seemed to widen his eyes slightly while looking at Seo Chiyoung. But he soon gave a bright smile and greeted, “Then I’ll do that. Thank you.” Seo Chiyoung shook his head bluntly, saying, “Don’t mention it,” and quickly washed the dishes before moving into his afternoon routine.

Somehow, it felt strange. In this bright daylight, a man who didn’t seem to suit such a shabby shop at all was sitting neatly. Sitting on a plastic chair inside the vinyl tent, the man occasionally glanced at his watch while striking up a conversation with Seo Chiyoung, and Seo Chiyoung stole glances at him in between answering.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t changed at all. The dozen or so years had left their mark on him too; the feeling of attracting people with a pleasantly bright atmosphere and his laughter were the same, but it felt as though he had been refined by those ten-plus years.

Even in high school, Jang Wigeon was already somewhat mature while also playing jokes and moving around energetically. Still, back then, there were unrefined parts unique to a teenager. A somewhat precarious spirit, a confidence whose weight fluctuated.

But now, all those unstable things were meticulously and smoothly polished. From his mature and refreshing laughter without a hint of childishness, to the feeling that even though he treated everyone roundedly, the line he drew between himself and others at the bottom of it all had become clearer than before.

The man there had become an adult who seemed bright and warm like the late afternoon sun, yet showed no gap to penetrate anywhere.

A faint sense of regret permeated his chest. He was himself, the other was himself, and time had flowed equally.

“Hmm, so you flip it like that… Do you have to pick off all those residue-like things by hand one by one? I feel like I’d have to stay up all night to do all that. Won’t they just fall off if you just scrub them hard?”

Jang Wigeon asked, watching with interest as Seo Chiyoung’s hands pushed the entrails with the tip of long frying chopsticks to flip them and then picked off the black and yellow residues inside one by one. Seo Chiyoung, who was cleaning the entrails while sitting on a low stool, smiled thinly and answered, “Well, they would fall off,”

“But they don’t come off cleanly, so they’re easy to get caught when chewing.”

“Aha,” said Jang Wigeon, nodding his head. He stood up from his seat and entered the shop. Then he crouched down next to Seo Chiyoung and peered in closely.

“Wow, you’re fast… You won’t have to stay up all night.”

Seo Chiyoung gave a small laugh at Jang Wigeon, who spoke with a hint of a smile.

“When I first did it, I really thought I was going to stay up all night. Later on, my fingers even got cramped, and when I went home, I walked with my back almost unable to straighten.”

With any task, the beginning period is the hardest. The most difficult thing was keeping the desire to quit tied down until the body adapted to the unfamiliar work. Even if the path home every night while dragging a body like water-soaked cotton was difficult, even if his knees buckled and he tumbled down the semi-basement stairs, even if there was no one to listen when he was pushed around by people and cried in resentment, he had no choice but to continue. In fact, rather than controlling the desire to quit with his own will, it was simply that there was no other way.

“Ah… well, staying like this for a long time does seem like it would be bad for your back. Doesn’t your girlfriend complain?”

At the words of Jang Wigeon, whose talent for saying a joke that could potentially be offensive in a non-offensive way was still the same, Seo Chiyoung remained silent for a moment. But soon he smiled awkwardly and muttered casually.

“Because I don’t have one…”

“It’s okay,” he added quietly.

“Really? It seems the women around you don’t have an eye for people.”

Seo Chiyoung only smiled without a word. It was partly because there were almost no women around him, but even if there were, it would have to be said that they had a very excellent eye. Because Seo Chiyoung had never liked women in the past, and likely never would in the future.

“Don’t you go on those famous restaurant shows? These days, it seems many people do it for shop promotion.”

“No, not really… I should only do as much as I can handle.”

When Seo Chiyoung shook his head, Jang Wigeon laughed. Even so, Jang Wigeon, who said that once you’re on a broadcast it seems to attract quite a few customers, would likely have never put the restaurants his family runs on that kind of broadcast. Rather, that kind of restaurant would lose customers if it were featured on such shows.

“You’re diligent. Well, I suppose that’s why you already have your own shop. You still look very young.”