Place to Be Chapter 2

“No, it’s fine. Doesn’t look like much else is open nearby, and I’m too lazy to go looking. Let’s just drink here.”

As if driving away the exhausted night hours, the sounds of a loose, pleasant laughter—bright as a mid-afternoon—and a blunt, indifferent voice entered the tent mid-conversation. Seo Chiyoung, who had been bent over to put a container into the refrigerator, straightened up awkwardly and turned toward them.

“I’m sorry, customers. I’ve finished for the day…”

“Oh, really? I wanted to try it at least once…”

Beside the man who muttered in a regretful tone, another slightly shorter man peered down the alley with a stoic face. Watching him mutter that all the shops were closed, it seemed he was looking around to see if anything else was open.

Seo Chiyoung stood still, not even blinking, and stared at them.

What should he do? It was late; should he just send them back? Or should he suggest they check the side alley where there seemed to be more shops? Perhaps his gaze, fixed intently on the two men as they murmured to each other, was too obvious.

The man who had been scratching his head with a troubled expression seemed to feel the gaze and looked at Seo Chiyoung. When their eyes met, Seo Chiyoung’s eyes widened slightly more, and the man gave him a deep eye-smile, striking up a conversation sociably.

“We’ll just have a beer or two and leave quickly. Could you please stir-fry just one plate for us?”

“…Yes, please sit down.”

Muttering dully, Seo Chiyoung began to pull back out the containers he had halfway put into the fridge. “Thank you,” the men said as they sat side-by-side on the long bench in front of the cooking counter. After handing them the beer and cups first and lighting the gas burner on the iron plate, Seo Chiyoung kept his mouth shut the entire time. Usually, when the indoor seats were empty, he would tell outdoor customers, “It must be cold, please go inside and sit,” but he couldn’t even think of those words.

“Kang-hee said it’s good here?”

“Yeah. He even went so far as to tell me I should try going. So I’d been thinking I should visit sometime, but I hardly had the chance.”

“That guy lives not even that far from here.”

The expressionless man, who had been scanning the dilapidated shop that looked like it might crumble at any moment with skeptical eyes, spoke, and the man beside him laughed generously.

“When I get home, it’s always the middle of the night—would I even think about going out for a snack at that hour? Well, I’ll be a bit more free from now on. …Mister, please give us a lot. A lo—t.”

Seo Chiyoung caught a glimpse of the wrinkles that folded nicely at the corners of his eyes when he laughed, then quickly averted his gaze and silently grabbed another handful of tripe to place on the iron plate.

“You’re quite shameless, pushing your way into a shop that’s trying to close, Jang Wigeon.”

“Oh, really? Everyone seems to like me, though. Whether it’s the owners or the ladies.”

“He doesn’t look much older than you; won’t he hate it even more if you call him ‘Mister’?”

The sociable man called Jang Wigeon went, “Hm?” and looked at Seo Chiyoung. Feeling the piercing gaze, Seo Chiyoung instinctively flinched his hand, but he never lifted his eyes, staring only at the iron plate while snip-snip cutting perilla leaves with scissors.

“You’re right… He looks quite young still, so he must be angry that I called him Mister. I’m sorry.”

“But then, what should I call him?” he asked playfully. Seo Chiyoung said nothing, and the man, seemingly unbothered, changed the subject and resumed talking with his companion. Inwardly, Seo Chiyoung let out a sigh that could have been relief or disappointment.

While staring only at the tripe cooking to a golden brown in the alcohol that was quickly evaporating away, his nerves were focused entirely on them as if his whole body had become a pair of eyes.

You’re both the same.

As if he had traveled ten-odd years back in time, the two of them were no different from the images in Seo Chiyoung’s memory. If he looked closely, the passing years would be etched into their faces or gestures, but they were exactly as they were.

Just like back then, they were still close, that pleasant and generous atmosphere and the indifferent yet quiet vibe were still the same, and the fact that he was standing apart from them remained the same as well.

They were classmates who had graduated from the same high school as Seo Chiyoung. Moreover, they had even been in the same class for two years. However, just as it was natural for Seo Chiyoung to recognize them, it was also natural for them not to recognize Seo Chiyoung. Even back then, they were famous enough that no one in the vicinity didn’t know them, while Seo Chiyoung was nothing more than one of the dime-a-dozen students living an ordinary life.

Those two had been close since high school. To be exact, three of them were close. To be even more precise, the three of them had been close since childhood, even before entering high school.

The smart one, the one from a rich family, the one who was good at fighting. Since three guys who would be famous even if kept separate hung out together, they stood out wherever they went. Some people found it fascinating that three guys who didn’t seem like they would get along played together, but while they seemed like they wouldn’t mix—like water and oil—the sight of them hanging out together blended perfectly.

It was the same right now.

The man with a generous, large frame and handsome, if slightly rough-hewn, features exuded a pleasant and relaxed feeling that seemed like the atmosphere would turn festive just by him being there. In contrast, the blunt man accompanying him had a slim, neat appearance with a cold expression stuck to his face, making it difficult to approach him easily. It seemed like they didn’t have a single thing in common, yet seeing them exchange talk in short bursts, they matched each other strangely well.

Ten-odd years.

It was strange. Suddenly, his heart felt fluttery and shaken. Standing before these two people who hadn’t changed at all, even he felt as if he had returned to that time, and the fresh memories and emotions of those days burst forth one by one like flower buds. He realized for the first time that the moment where one’s past self overlaps with one’s present self is a very peculiar and poignant experience.

The moment of realizing that what he thought had already been forgotten and vanished long ago had been there all along.

“…”

When Seo Chiyoung placed the tripe on a plate and set it down in front of them, the sociable man smiled with a familiar face.

“Whoa, do you even have anything left over after giving us this much?”

Seo Chiyoung hesitated before giving an ambiguous nod that was barely visible. But the man didn’t even see it as he picked up his chopsticks. As he muttered about whether the cost-to-profit ratio would even work out, his friend tapped him lightly.

“Then what about your shop? Do you take that price to maintain the cost ratio while giving out portions the size of a rat’s tail? Don’t say useless things in someone else’s shop.”

“It’s not my shop, it’s hyung’s shop. Do you know how carefully he selects the ingredients there? If you only calculate the cost ratio there, he’s probably losing money. …Oh.”

While grumbling with a frown, he let out a short exclamation as he ate a piece of tripe. Seo Chiyoung, who had been blankly staring at the hand movements that still handled chopsticks so cleanly, flinched upon seeing him tilt his head with raised eyebrows. Had he chewed on a grain of sand or something? Even though he tried to clean the tripe as neatly as possible whenever he received it each day, sometimes residue was left behind. However, the smile that soon returned washed away Seo Chiyoung’s worries.

“It’s delicious. No wonder Kang-hee recommended it. You try some too.”

“I told you, I don’t really like tripe.”

“I’m telling you, just try it. It’s really delicious. It’s cooked just right so there’s no gaminess, and it’s not tough at all.”

The man almost forced the chopsticks into his friend’s hand. The friend had a reluctant face but picked up a piece and put it in his mouth as if just to taste it.

“Meat itself just doesn’t really suit my palate. You know that…”

The friend, who had been chewing the tripe while complaining, suddenly raised his eyebrows and tilted his head. He watched his friend mumble silently for a few seconds with a smirk. After tilting his head the other way and making a gulp sound as he swallowed, the friend nodded after a moment.

“Mmm. …It is good.”

Saying so with an indifferent face, he began to move his chopsticks slowly but diligently. Watching his friend with satisfaction, the man turned his head toward Seo Chiyoung.

“It’s really delicious, Boss. This guy has a small appetite, so there aren’t many things he eats well. Has this place ever been featured on one of those famous restaurant introductions?”