Place to Be Chapter 60

The hand gripping the steering wheel lightly loosened its fingers, tapping tap, tap against the wheel. After rubbing his chin with his other hand while staring straight ahead for a while, Jang Wigeon suddenly let out a low sigh. Seo Chiyoung’s expression darkened.

Did I behave incorrectly today? He might have. In a place like that, there might have been implicit rules that Seo Chiyoung didn’t know, and he might have done something outside of them without realizing it. Perhaps because of that, Jang Wigeon, who had taken Seo Chiyoung there, had been put in a difficult position.

Looking at Jang Wigeon’s profile with a sheepish face, Seo Chiyoung awkwardly dropped his head and scratched the back of his neck.

“I’m sorry. I’ve hardly ever been to places like that, so I didn’t really know how the atmosphere was supposed to flow…. If I happened to make some kind of mistake…”

“No, that’s not what I meant. There’s absolutely nothing for you to apologize for, Mr. Chiyoung. However,”

Jang Wigeon quickly waved his hand as Seo Chiyoung apologized, but he shut his mouth mid-sentence as he was about to say something. Whether it was just his imagination or not, a sense of awkwardness seemed to seep into the way he stroked his chin.

Jang Wigeon, who had been staring intently at the car in front of them with a faint frown as if glaring at it, stole a glance at Seo Chiyoung.

“I thought about this before, but Mr. Chiyoung, by any chance, have you never dated anyone? I mean, what I’m talking about is, a deep relationship.”

Seo Chiyoung, staring blankly at Jang Wigeon, only realized what he was saying after a few seconds had passed. Unable to even turn his head away from staring at him, he just blinked his eyes and stuttered a word or two with an “Uh, well,” and in the meantime, he hung his head low as it flushed hot.

“I… haven’t… slept with… any…”

It was a voice like a crawling ant, but it was enough to echo inside the quiet car. The moment that answer came out, Jang Wigeon made a strange face. He looked at Seo Chiyoung as if he were looking at a bizarre creature. However, as if he had vaguely guessed such an answer might come out, he turned his head back to the front without any particular retort.

“Good grief, it’s like leaving a child by the water’s edge…” The mutter to himself, accompanied by a click of the tongue, brushed past the ears of Seo Chiyoung, who was only staring at his own knees.

Even while driving and still only looking at the car ahead, Jang Wigeon likely felt Seo Chiyoung’s questioning gaze on him, as he merely gave a light, bitter smile and said, “It was nothing.” As if he didn’t want to drag out that conversation any further, he cast a glance at his wristwatch.

“We came out earlier than I thought…. If I’d known there would be no results like this, we should have just opened the shop and eaten gopchang.”

“Uh… we can go even now if you want. It’s not enough to open the shop and take customers, but there are enough ingredients left for a single plate.”

When Seo Chiyoung spoke after recalling the inside of the refrigerator, Jang Wigeon threw him a smile with his eyes.

“I actually am a bit hungry and feel like eating… but it’s a holiday night, don’t you hate going to the shop, Mr. Chiyoung?”

“No, I’m fine with it.”

As Seo Chiyoung shook his head, Jang Wigeon’s smile deepened a bit.

“Alright, then. Instead, I’ll do the dishes and the cleaning up.”

Jang Wigeon spoke pleasantly and pressed down on the accelerator; with the sound of the engine raising its voice lowly, the scenery flowing outside the window blurred.

Seo Chiyoung leaned his body against the backrest. A quiet sigh escaped him. Just as Jang Wigeon said, it was a visit with no results. He didn’t mind himself, but it would have been better if Jang Wigeon, who had taken time out specifically for Seo Chiyoung, hadn’t gone. He felt a little sorry.

However, Jang Wigeon’s eyes, reflected through the rearview mirror, held his usual calm smile, and since that smile didn’t seem forced, Seo Chiyoung thought he must not be in too bad a mood and let out a quiet sigh in his heart.

∞ ∞ ∞

As he remitted this month’s interest, as usual, the first digit changed and the balance decreased. Even though he had only been remitting interest for several months, looking at the bankbook, things were always tight.

“…”

Seo Chiyoung thought of the two or so bankbooks he had tucked away deep in his dresser—though it wasn’t an amount worth hiding deeply—and did the math in his head. However, he had already done the same calculation dozens of times, and the result was always the same.

It seemed like he would be short on money. No, it was certain he would be short.

He had to give up the shop by the end of the year, at the latest early next year. Even if he postponed it as much as possible and saved until next spring, it was woefully insufficient. He had been increasing the amount of small jobs he could do here and there for a while now, but it didn’t make a big difference. Above all, since he was tied to the shop from afternoon until midnight, there was no room to do other work. Even so, he couldn’t quit the shop.

He really needed to increase his work, but wondered if there was anything suitable; Seo Chiyoung sighed as he came out of the bank. Come to think of it, a sunbae who had asked him to help with shop opening preparations before and then canceled on the day had contacted him recently. He said he was sorry about that time and suggested they meet up sometime since he’d buy him a drink.

Although he was a bit irresponsible and selfish, he was a person with many connections. Maybe he should contact him and ask for a favor.

Seo Chiyoung looked at his watch. He had come out early thinking he’d have to wait a long time at the bank since it was the end of the month, but surprisingly, it ended quickly. Furthermore, while waiting for the remittance task at the bank, the middleman contacted him saying he’d be about an hour later than usual today. He might even be slightly later than that, but he couldn’t get angry at the man who repeatedly apologized, saying he would definitely bring it by 2:00 PM at the latest.

“…”

If he went to the shop now, it seemed like a lot of time would be left over, but even if he went back home, there was nothing in particular to do. It seemed better to just go to the shop and, since he had some spare time for once, scrub off the encrusted grease from the cooking counter.

He was moving his steps toward the shop while thinking that when the phone in his pocket began to ring.

“…?… Oh.”

Checking the screen, Seo Chiyoung tilted his head. It was Jang Wigeon.

Speaking of which, he had been meaning to contact him but had forgotten, so this was good. Jang Wigeon, who had stopped by the shop last night, had left his notebook behind. It would have been good if he had discovered it immediately, but he only found the notebook sitting on a corner chair right before closing the shop. Jang Wigeon was someone who hardly ever made such mistakes, so he wondered what had happened. Since it was late, he thought he should contact him tomorrow morning and had brought the notebook with him separately.

“Hello.”

『Mr. Chiyoung.』

As soon as he answered the phone and heard his name being called from the other side, Seo Chiyoung broke into a smile despite himself. A voice calling his name with a faint smile, as if very glad to hear him, was always a joy to hear.

“Hello, Mr. Wigeon.”

To Seo Chiyoung, who greeted him politely first, Jang Wigeon offered a greeting after a short pause with a laugh, saying, ‘Yes, hello.’

For some reason, the air inside the phone call was bustling. He could hear sounds of something being hammered and the occasional sounds of misters shouting. Hearing those signs of what seemed like a construction site, Seo Chiyoung guessed that Jang Wigeon was likely out at the site of his new shop.

Starting the renovation of the hanok to be used as a new shop a while ago and gradually beginning to pick up the pace of preparations, Jang Wigeon seemed to always be out and about early in the morning. And then, in the evenings, he almost always used to stop by Seo Chiyoung’s shop before heading home.

“Oh, speaking of which, Mr. Wigeon, you left your notebook at the shop yesterday.”

Before the suddenly-calling Jang Wigeon could even state his business, Seo Chiyoung brought that up first in case he forgot. However, it seemed that was also Jang Wigeon’s business for calling. “As I thought,” says the voice mixed with relief and laughter.

『I actually called you because of that. I was thinking of going to pick it up later in the evening, but I need to know something written in there right now. Mr. Chiyoung, you are… outside right now. Are you on your way to the shop?』

“Uh, yes.”

『Then I’m sorry, but please give me a call when you arrive at the shop. If you could just let me know the things written in the notebook first, I’ll go pick up the notebook in the evening.』

“Oh,” Seo Chiyoung muttered as he fumbled inside the bag he was wearing slanted across his side. A large leather notebook came into his hand.