How to Avoid the Monday Blues Chapter 5

“You don’t need to speak so formally to me.”

“You tell me to call you ‘teacher’ and then tell me to speak comfortably. Do I really look that old?”

The man said this, rubbing his face with his hand again. It was a playful tone, but Sewon grew flustered, thinking he had made a slip of the tongue.

“No. That’s not it, it’s just that you give off a mature vibe…. You’re probably not around my age—”

“You think not?”

The corners of the man’s lips curved upward into an increasing arc.

“…Yes.”

“You’re too honest.”

With that, the man smiled brightly. Neat teeth showed between his parted lips. He had facial features so regular and refined that it felt almost devoid of human warmth. His first impression had seemed cold, but when he smiled with his eyes crinkling, it was the complete opposite. As their eyes met once more, Sewon felt his throat grow parched again.

After a long wait, they finally took off their shoes and stepped inside Hagia Sophia. The soft texture of the carpet could be felt beneath the soles of their feet.

True to its grand exterior, the interior of the mosque was vast. Group tour groups from all over the world sat in clusters, listening to their guides’ explanations. From time to time, awed exclamations of “Whoa” burst out from flushed faces.

It is said that Emperor Justinian, the conqueror of the Byzantine Empire, gazed upon the beauty of the completed cathedral at its consecration ceremony and marveled:

Solomon, I have surpassed thee.

However, the rich, delicate decorations and wall paintings that had moved the emperor to awe were plundered alongside defeat in war and buried beneath layers of plaster.

Sewon raised his head to look at the massive dome and the windows where the sunlight shattered inward. Large round disks bearing the names of Islamic leaders, including Allah and Muhammad, guarded the walls of the main hall.

Fragments of things he and Jaehee Han had crammed all night to memorize for their “Turkish Culture and Art” exam brushed past his mind. Though he was confirming with his own eyes what he had previously only seen in print, the emotional impact wasn’t all that great.

Sewon felt as though there was something wrong with that.

Since it was a space intertwined with complex histories and intersecting civilizations, it felt like he ought to walk away with a realization fitting for it. At the very least, he felt he should marvel at the architectural prowess of humanity that allowed a giant dome to stand for over a thousand years. Watching the awestruck expressions of other tourists passing him by, Sewon asked the man:

“…What do you think?”

The man’s gaze, which had been fixed on the dome and walls, slowly drifted downward. It came to rest on a lamp crafted from intricate glasswork. Gazing at the lamps that seemed to float like bands of clouds, the man replied:

“It’s flashy.”

It was a very plain, understated reaction.

*‘We make a habit of knowing the meaning of the things we experience in life through other people.’

The content written in the essay by Orhan Pamuk that the man had been carrying suddenly crossed his mind. Fragments of memories of pulling his hair out alongside Jaehee Han with the original text and its translation spread out side-by-side for a report submission came flooding back with it.

Sewon wanted to fully absorb other people’s assessments of Hagia Sophia as something unique, overwhelming, and majestic. Partly because a sense of obligation whispered that he somehow should.

Because of that, the man’s understated reaction even felt fascinating to Sewon. It even brought the realization that it’s okay to say things like that, too.

“What do you think?”

“Just… really big. And shiny.”

“True. Must have cost a pretty penny.”

Sewon, who had been gazing at the man’s profile, asked as if spellbound.

“Um… by any chance, might I ask your name?”

“Well, that’s a bit of a…”

As if Sewon’s question was unexpected, the man hesitated in his reply.

“Ah, if it’s inconvenient, that’s completely fine.”

Reading the man’s expression, Sewon quickly waved his hands and added. A wave of self-loathing washed over him for bringing up something unnecessary.

“I have my circumstances…. I’m sorry.”

“….”

Finishing the conversation with a polite tone, the man lifted his head again to look around the interior. Sewon watched the man’s profile with the feeling of watching a movie. Becoming aware of the gaze, the man slowly turned his head toward Sewon.

“Let’s leave our memories of the travel destination right here at the travel destination.”

The man smiled at Sewon, his eyes crinkling into crescents.

The words, meaning he had no intention of keeping in touch, did not sound unpleasant at all. Rather, it was simply astonishing that someone could politely decline without hurting the other person’s feelings. Thinking that this must be what a mature adult’s social finesse looked like, Sewon began walking again.

Having left Hagia Sophia, Sewon and the man ended up touring the Sultan Ahmed Mosque as well, since their routes naturally flowed into one another.

The interior of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque was decorated with bluish tiles. Because of that, it was more famously known by the nickname “Blue Mosque.” They entered amidst a crowd of people, but unfortunately, due to ongoing construction, they couldn’t fully savor its beauty.

Once they were swept back out of the mosque by the throng of people, a hunger set in as the tension finally dissipated. Checking his watch, the man announced that he had another schedule in the afternoon. Deciding to grab lunch and then part ways, the two of them walked together down a street lined with restaurants.

“I’ll buy.”

The place where the steps of the two men—exhausted by aggressive storefront touting—came to a halt was a fast-food restaurant. Standing in front of the menu board and picking out a burger, Sewon spoke up to the man. It was something he said out of gratitude for holding down a spot he almost lost, but the man wore an expression as if he had just heard an amusing joke.

“I’m a bit too mature to be mooching meals off someone.”

“The maturity I mentioned earlier wasn’t about looking aged or anything like that, it’s just…”

“You saved me plenty of waiting time in line thanks to that, so let me buy.”

“It’s just a burger…, I can—”

“Precisely because it’s just a burger.”

Before Sewon could even stop him, the man pulled a black card from his wallet and handed it to the clerk. Looking on with a bored expression at the incomprehensible bickering between the two men, the clerk quickly finished processing the payment.

Sewon, who had insisted on fetching the burgers himself, returned with a majestic, triumphant stride. The man, sitting with his coat peeled off and resting to one side, watched Sewon intently.

“…Why?”

“You brought it back without spilling anything, how admirable.”

The man said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world, treating him like a capable child. Sewon set the tray containing the burger sets down onto the table.

“Shall I pour the fries?”

At Sewon’s question, the man gave a slight nod. With a rustling sound, the French fries for both their shares were pooled together into one spot.

The man, having torn open the burger wrapper, lifted the top bun. Then, he neatly placed several French fries right on top of the patty. Sewon, who was busy tearing open his own burger wrapper, wore a delighted expression.

“Do you eat burgers and French fries together?”

“It’s convenient and delicious.”

The man gave a nod and pointed to his own burger. Seeing the man’s burger, Sewon smiled faintly. Then, he wedged French fries into his own burger in a lattice pattern.

A man who looked like he belonged elegantly cutting up a steak with a fork and knife ate his burger with gusto, too. It was just an ordinary sight of someone eating a hamburger, but it naturally drew the eye.

Someone who commands attention and carries a presence simply by standing still. Sewon knew one more person like this. Right—it was Jaehee Han.

“My friend says eating them like this isn’t very good.”

Concealing a bitter expression, Sewon took a large bite out of his burger.

“Really? This shouldn’t be that unusual of a preference.”

“Umm…. Aside from me, you’re the first person I’ve seen eat…, I mean, eat them this way.”

“You’re very respectful. Are you using formal language because of ‘teacher’?”

With a hint of laughter lingering in his voice, the man spoke at Sewon’s use of honorifics.

“…Just because. Formal language is more comfortable for me.”

Saying that, Sewon felt needlessly flustered and took another large bite of his burger.

Was I that hungry…?

Sewon looked at the burger, which had already shrunk to half its size in no time. A sense of regret arose at the diminishing burger. He couldn’t tell whether that regret was because of the burger or because he was about to part ways with a companion he had spent even a brief moment with.

He swallowed the mouthful of burger that had rounded out his small cheeks. The man, who had been staring intently at Sewon, crumpled up the wrapper in his hand.

“Your friend.”

“Yes?”

Lifting his gaze, which had been cast downward, the man looked at Sewon and spoke.

“He really doesn’t know what tastes good.”

One corner of the man’s lips lifted upward.

“…Right?”

“Yeah.”