Hazardous Concentration Chapter 16

However, something that could not be endured happened. Even before that, there had been times when the owner would touch Eunhoo’s buttocks or the back of his neck, claiming he was cute, but he would stop at a line that was cleverly ambiguous enough to make it difficult to call him out on, so Eunhoo couldn’t really say anything. Even if he tried to look stern, he only heard comments about why a man was making such a fuss, so he would just bite his lip, but that day was different. He was cleaning up the shop when the owner, who had left saying he was going home, returned. The owner, who had come back thoroughly drunk, watched Eunhoo working and called him over, telling him to come here. When Eunhoo moved sluggishly because he didn’t want to go, the owner got irritable and shouted.

‘I said come here!’

‘Owner, I think you’ve had too much to drink.’

‘I said I’m not drunk. Not there, here—sit here.’

Since he kept pointing to the seat next to him, Eunhoo went and sat down reluctantly, only for the owner to immediately shove his lips forward. Eunhoo screamed at him to stop and ran out of the shop. He was surprised by the experience, as it was his first time, but more than that, he was terrified.

Going through such a harsh initiation, Eunhoo desperately felt the ruthlessness of society.

“Thinking about it, it hasn’t been that long.”

It feels like it’s been several years, but it hasn’t even been two years yet. He still thinks about it often—that he should have at least slapped his face back then.

There was CCTV, so if he had sued for assault, he could have also sued for sexual harassment. But back then, it was his first time experiencing such a thing, and his first time in the working world, so he was inexperienced in many things. Afterwards, he tried part-time jobs at pubs and cafes. Then, he heard about [Songrim] from a regular customer at a cafe he visited often and immediately submitted his resume.

“Yes? What is?”

Eunseong asked, his eyes widening as he stopped eating.

“It’s just me talking to myself.”

Saying it was nothing, he picked up his spoon, when buzz, buzz, Eunseong’s phone rang. He checked his phone and suddenly let out a big sigh. Eunhoo held his breath at the expression that looked somewhat serious.

“It’s my girlfriend. We started dating as soon as I got into university, so it’s been 3 years this year. She even waited for me during my military service—she’s a very grateful person, but….”

Eunhoo just listened quietly. Not only did he not know the circumstances well, but even if he did, it didn’t seem right to get involved in someone else’s love life. This was because he had seen several cases back in university where friendships were shattered due to such issues.

“It’s a bit hard these days.”

With that, Eunseong opened his mouth. Eunhoo was a bit flustered by the conversation growing deeper than he expected. He wondered why he would trust someone he saw for the first time today enough to talk about this. However, perhaps Eunseong was truly too exhausted, as the words flowed out smoothly.

“How can you contact someone every hour while living a social life? And even through video calls, at that.”

He said that if he didn’t report where he was going and who he was meeting whenever he went out, she would scream and cause a scene.

“In the beginning of the relationship, I was blinded by love and just laughed it off, but as the days went by, it got worse and worse, so I thought I was going crazy.”

He said there was a time they fought big when he discovered she had installed a location tracking app on his phone one day.

“I even went to the military in a hurry because of her. I needed some time to think in a place without my girlfriend.”

Still, he had rethought his heart, thinking that since she was a woman he chose, he shouldn’t act that way. Fortunately, he said, his girlfriend seemed to have grown a little in the meantime, so she had become softer than before.

“But it’s starting again. I should have just studied. Why did I have to go and date?”

Eunseong roughed his hand through his short hair and asked.

“Hyung, do you have a girlfriend?”

Eunhoo flinched at the title “Hyung” that came out of nowhere, but he didn’t bother to correct it. It wasn’t wrong, and there wasn’t another suitable title to call him, anyway.

“…No.”

“Really? I thought you’d definitely have one. Hyung, you’re very handsome.”

“Thank you, even if you’re just saying that to be nice.”

“I’m not saying that to be nice, though?”

Although he was far from a typical “sculpted” handsome man, his fair skin and delicate features created a somewhat androgynous feel.

“Why don’t you? Have you never had anyone you were attracted to until now?”

Eunhoo avoided Eunseong’s gaze as he asked with sparkling eyes and muttered.

“There’s no such thing.”

Yeo Taejun’s face did cross his mind. However, Eunhoo’s imagination suddenly vanished without a trace due to someone approaching.

“Joo Eunhoo, see me for a moment.”

It was the manager of [Songrim].

Eunhoo kept rubbing the back of his neck. There wasn’t really a “uniform” for the kitchen, but most people wore short-sleeved t-shirts and black pants. So, Eunhoo also always worked wearing a white t-shirt and black cotton pants with an elastic waistband.

That same self was now wearing a green-tinted Korean traditional-style work uniform and pulling a mobile tray. Since it was a Korean restaurant, the servers’ uniforms were hanboks. However, they were modernized, with narrowed sleeves and buttons instead of ties.

There was no other reason why he, who should have been in the kitchen trimming ingredients for the evening, was pulling a tray. It was because of the manager’s earnest request.

‘I’m sorry, Joo Eunhoo. I usually make adjustments so this doesn’t happen, but circumstances became strange this time….’

It was quite rare for all food to be served at once at [Songrim]; it was mostly course-style. Therefore, each room had a dedicated server. And unless there was a separate request, those servers had to stand in front of the room and wait unconditionally until the guest finished their meal.

But today, two servers were missing. One had taken a formal day off, and the other had kept going to the bathroom until they threw up what they had just eaten, so they had sent them to the hospital in a hurry.

‘You know enough about the [Songrim] system now, and I saw that your physique is quite similar to that employee’s.’

‘Ah….’

‘Fortunately, the kitchen has some breathing room since you brought someone new recently.’

The manager added his words quickly, afraid that Eunhoo would refuse, that was how urgent he was.

‘I’m sorry, but couldn’t you help me just this once?’

‘I’ll do it.’

Given the room he was staying in, and the fact that the manager had taken care of quite a few things for him without his knowledge, he couldn’t refuse the request from the beginning.

Eunhoo checked the food loaded on the tray.

“I was told to serve them in order, starting from the bottom layer.”

There were cases, unlike other hanjeongsik (Korean table d’hôte) restaurants, where all the food was served on one table for guests who disliked being disturbed in the middle of their meal, and this was one such case.

Eunhoo looked at the main dish placed on the very top. A warming plate was used to keep it from cooling down while they ate. Just then, a wireless call came from the manager.

—Joo Eunhoo, the party just entered. Please serve the food.

At those words, Eunhoo stood in front of Room 11, cleared his throat, and said.

“The meal is being served.”

Afterwards, he pushed aside the sliding door covered with hanji (traditional paper). Inside sat a man who looked quite elderly.

Looking at him, Eunhoo tilted his head slightly. He thought he looked very familiar, and realized it was Assemblyman Jung Myung-hoon. Assemblyman Jung was a famous politician, known even to him, who had no interest in politics.

The image Eunhoo remembered of Assemblyman Jung was not as a politician, but as a diplomat. He had seen news coverage on TV of him rescuing his own citizens who were kidnapped abroad, and he had thought his confident appearance was quite impressive.

“Umm, the appetizer is pumpkin porridge.”

Perhaps because he was nervous, he stuttered.

“…It’s made by grinding mature pumpkin and adding kidney beans.”

All the food at [Songrim] is delicious, but what Eunhoo liked most was the pumpkin porridge. He was familiar with it because his father used to boil it often when he was young, and he especially liked that instead of rice balls, they added finely chopped rice cake (sirutteok).

He was a little nervous about facing a famous person, but as time passed, he gradually calmed down. Then, he could see the surroundings one by one.

It’s strange. The manager clearly said the party had arrived, but there was only Assemblyman Jung in the room.

“The main dishes today are five-colored steamed prawns and steamed sea bream. It tastes better if you eat it with the water dropwort placed on top of the sea bream.”

While explaining the food, he placed the dishes on the table without making any noise. Not only was the plate heavy, but his nerves were frayed wondering what he would do if he dropped the plate due to tension.

After carefully placing the last dish, Eunhoo asked.

“Around when should I bring the dessert?”