Place to Be Chapter 18

“Then I suppose I should get going as well. Let me take care of the bill—.”

Jang Wigeon, looking down at his watch, stood up from his seat, and Seo Chiyoung stood up right along with him as if suddenly remembering.

“Come to think of it, earlier Kwon, —…well, your friend paid way too much. There is a lot of change left… here…”

Seo Chiyoung hurriedly pulled money out of a container beneath the counter. At that, Jang Wigeon, who had been pulling out his wallet, muttered, “Ah,” and seemed to hesitate for a moment before tucking his wallet away. However, he waved his hand lightly as if he had no intention of taking the money Seo Chiyoung was holding out.

“It is fine, then please just deduct it from the total when Junyoung comes. He seems to like this place so much that even when we meet elsewhere, he grumbles out of the blue about ‘wanting to eat gopchang,’ so he will likely be back soon.”

Jang Wigeon gave a short laugh, perhaps recalling the memory of that moment. Seo Chiyoung looked down at the money with a troubled “Oh,” but he nodded his head, albeit reluctantly. It didn’t seem like Jang Wigeon was going to take the money anyway.

“Thank you. For liking the food.”

Still, Seo Chiyoung smiled shyly, feeling happy that someone liked his shop. To that, Jang Wigeon smiled back, saying, “Not at all.”

“I am the one who should be saying thank you. For making it so delicious. That picky fellow rarely enjoys eating anything. Whatever it may be, it is a good thing to have the things you like in life increase.”

Jang Wigeon smiled as if he were happy for his own sake. Just like the times he would smile silently while watching Yoon Junyoung busily move his chopsticks.

Suddenly, his heart throbbed. A feeling of regret gripped his heart and passed through.

Jang Wigeon. And Yoon Junyoung. His heart felt cut by a bitter, regretful feeling for both of them, without exception.

And so, Seo Chiyoung found himself muttering without realizing it.

“If I had been that person, I would have liked you.”

It was almost like a monologue. Rather than words meant for Jang Wigeon to hear, it was a thought that spilled out from his own lingering regret.

But the moment those words fell.

The smile vanished from Jang Wigeon’s face as if it had been washed away. In the eyes where a soft smile had lingered, a frozen, cold light took its place. And Seo Chiyoung realized that he had made a mistake.

The fact that those words clearly implied—that Yoon Junyoung did not like Jang Wigeon. Furthermore, someone like Seo Chiyoung could never become Yoon Junyoung.

“…”

It lasted for barely one or two seconds at most. The moment Jang Wigeon looked at Seo Chiyoung with eyes like ice was very brief. After that, he soon smiled just as before and said, “Thank you,” and his face looked no different than any other time.

To Seo Chiyoung, who was momentarily frozen and unable to say a word while silently staring at him, Jang Wigeon added calmly as he pulled back the plastic curtain to leave.

“But you are not Junyoung.”

Leaving only those words behind with a composed smile, Jang Wigeon turned away.

The plastic curtain fluttered and hung down. Like that curtain, a line had been drawn right before his eyes.

∞ ∞ ∞

As he stepped beneath the massive roof, the temperature seemed to drop by a few degrees. Even though it was a clear day and late morning approaching lunchtime, the area beneath the roof of the livestock market was covered in cool shadows. What lit up the gloom were red fluorescent lights.

Perhaps because the area was excessively vast or because it wasn’t a busy time of day, the interior of the spacious market felt somewhat empty. Until recently, there had been a large slaughterhouse within walking distance behind this livestock market, but now the slaughterhouse had moved to the outskirts of the city, leaving only the livestock market behind.

In the past, Seo Chiyoung used to do the legwork at the livestock market himself, but since he started receiving goods from a wholesale broker last year, he hadn’t visited for a while. However, even though the year had changed, the people looked the same, so it didn’t feel unfamiliar even after a long time.

“Here you go. I put in plenty because I’m happy to see you come in person after so long.”

Seo Chiyoung received a large Styrofoam box from the owner of his regular shop, located in a somewhat secluded spot on the main road behind the livestock market. After loading it onto a handcart and tying it down, he bowed his head.

“Thank you. Here…”

Seo Chiyoung pulled an envelope from his back pocket, counted out the money, and handed it over. The owner confirmed the amount in front of him and wrote out a receipt.

“It’s not something I should say about someone who went down to their hometown for a funeral, but it’s still nice to see your face in person like this after a long time. Did you say Taehoon was coming back next Monday?”

The grey-haired owner glanced at the calendar while reciting the name of the broker who had been trading with him for over ten years. It was because the broker who delivered ingredients to Seo Chiyoung every day had suddenly left after receiving news of a close relative’s passing that Seo Chiyoung had come out to the livestock market himself for the first time in a long while. Since he would only be away for the remaining three days of this week, if Seo Chiyoung bought plenty today to get through the week, the broker would resume deliveries as usual starting next week.

Nodding with a “Yes,” Seo Chiyoung grabbed the handcart. Looking at his watch, lunchtime was drawing near. He thought he had set out early in the morning, but time was flying by. He had to hurry back to the shop and prepare, or he would be late.

“Well then, I will be going—…”

Just as he was about to say goodbye, Seo Chiyoung paused as he saw the reddish lumps of meat that the owner’s son, who assisted at the shop, was pulling out of a box just delivered by a refrigerated truck. Noticing this, the owner looked back curiously.

“What is it? Oh, the duck?”

“…Do you handle duck as well?”

“No, my great-uncle runs a farm, but it’s not enough to sell to just anyone. We just take a little bit of what people we know ask for. There are quite a few people looking for it, but the supply is small, so we don’t put it out for sale. Why, are you going to do something with duck too?”

“What? No, just…”

Staring at the lumps of meat about the size of small pillows, Seo Chiyoung finally waved his hand and laughed lamely. It wasn’t for him; he just suddenly thought of the person who would be opening a shop dealing with duck. It might have been because just the other night, while the two of them were visiting and talking with Yoon Junyoung, that man, Jang Wigeon, had spoken while clicking his tongue, which made it come to mind even more.

‘Once I’m running the shop, I won’t be able to get all the supply from a single farm, so I’ll have to increase the number of places I trade with. But if possible, I wanted to open a trade with that farm over there. However, they don’t seem to care much about money, and it seems an old couple just sells through people they know as a hobby.’

‘Why don’t you just buy the whole farm? If you aren’t going to quit after a few months of business.’

‘I am considering that too, but the first few months after starting are what’s important. Especially in the food business.’

Jang Wigeon, who had been exchanging words with Yoon Junyoung, caught the eye of Seo Chiyoung, who was sitting quietly in front of the counter watching them as usual. He smiled brightly and asked, ‘What do you think, Mister? Isn’t that how it is when you run a business?’ Seo Chiyoung, not expecting the conversation to turn to him so suddenly, was slightly flustered and ended up mumbling, ‘Well, I haven’t run a business that many times, so…’ Jang Wigeon laughed cheerfully, saying, ‘See, I told you I was right,’ and turned his head back to Yoon Junyoung.

Even after that night when Seo Chiyoung had made that slip of the tongue, Jang Wigeon had visited the shop several times. Just like before, he would sit side-by-side with Yoon Junyoung, enjoy a plate of gopchang and a drink or two, and then leave. His treatment of Seo Chiyoung was the same as before. He would smile and strike up conversations or share jokes as if nothing had happened.

But that was his ‘attitude when dealing with people in general.’ Just like Jang Wigeon’s usual demeanor, which brought out a pleasant and refreshing atmosphere with anyone, even a stranger, he treated Seo Chiyoung. He didn’t go out of his way to keep his distance or show any sign of displeasure.

However, Seo Chiyoung knew that an invisible line had been clearly drawn between them.

…It wasn’t that he was expecting anything in particular. At this point, he didn’t think he wanted to newly establish a friendship that they hadn’t been able to build back in high school. He didn’t hope for anything more than the distance between people who are moderately acquainted.

However.