Dishes clinked and clattered. In the awkward silence, Seungyeon silently scooped a spoonful from the soup bowl in front of him and slurped it down.
“Um, what was Seungyeon’s friend’s name again?”
“It’s Jung Sanho.”
“What a pretty name too. Want to try this? It’s made with cabbage my friend harvested from her farm.”
“Thank you.”
Jung Sanho, who’d picked up the fresh kimchi, diligently tasted it. Satisfied with the answer that it was delicious, Seungyeon’s mother smiled brightly and offered him various other things to try. At the position of the side dishes thoroughly tilted to one side, Seungyeon muttered quietly with chopsticks in his mouth.
“Mom, what about me…?”
However, only his mother’s cold gaze returned instead of an answer. Seungyeon, who understood perfectly the unspoken message to shut up and eat, calmly nibbled on plain rice. His mother seemed already enchanted by Jung Sanho.
Well, if you just look at his appearance, he does make you want to take care of him and feed him.
Though his insides weren’t much different from an evil spirit, his exterior was beyond decent—it was handsome. Even if his expressionless face looked a bit scary, there wasn’t a single rough edge anywhere, and perhaps because he was a rich family’s son, even without doing anything he gave off the air of a precious household’s young master. Come to think of it, he seemed to resemble the celebrity his mother particularly liked?
“Want to take home a container of sikhye when you leave? I made it the day before yesterday.”
“No. Just eating like this is already thank—”
“Wait a moment. I need to find a water bottle and wrapping cloth.”
His mother, who naturally rejected Jung Sanho’s refusal, disappeared to the back veranda with quick steps. Watching the restless Jung Sanho, Seungyeon picked up one piece of fresh kimchi in front of him with his chopsticks.
“Just say ‘thank you’ and take one on your way. The sikhye turned out delicious.”
“No…”
“Well, if you’re really grateful, on your way back ask the woofies on the back mountain where the shopping bag is.”
Jung Sanho shut his mouth tightly. Well, he’d have nothing to say either. When things got this tangled because he beat his own drum and played his own janggu, if he made excuses on top of that, where would he be human?
From the point the stray dog ran off with the shopping bag, Seungyeon gave up trying to understand this entire situation. After consciously suppressing the question “Is this real life right now?” and just accepting it as “I guess so,” his head felt much lighter.
From the moment that damn watch came back, everything was already unnatural. Even if Jung Sanho hadn’t gotten involved in the middle, the watch would probably have escaped Seungyeon’s hands anyway. That way, Baek Sehee would be in trouble like in the original, and she had to be in trouble for the story to flow, and that way she’d meet the male lead too.
After understanding—no, memorizing—that this world’s setting was just made this way, he felt better instead. It’s not like there was anyone to blame for the irrationality, so he just had to accept it.
In the end, the freedom permitted to Seungyeon in this world wasn’t perfect. It was similar to when the status window appeared going on about world balance or whatever. No matter how much he tried to ruin the original story, he couldn’t change the big flow. Seungyeon breaking up with his lovers and reforming was a deviation that could be adjusted, but refusing the act of losing the watch and causing trouble for Baek Sehee was impossible.
Pondering what the difference was between those two actions, Seungyeon pushed another piece of fresh kimchi into his mouth. Mom’s cooking really is the best.
“…Um, I’m sorry. I thought that was a gift you received, hyung.”
Seungyeon, who’d been earnestly picking at the side dishes piled in front of Jung Sanho, glanced at him. He stole it thinking it was a received gift? What kind of case was this? Honestly, he didn’t understand, but he didn’t want to blame Jung Sanho at this point either. The deed was already done, and his noona’s watch was lost. It was a bit ambiguous to say it was particularly Jung Sanho’s fault.
“It’s fine, so if you’re sorry, take the sikhye on your way. Don’t leave any rice either—scrape it all clean and eat it.”
What kind of kid hasn’t eaten until this hour? When Seungyeon grumbled, Jung Sanho picked up his spoon while reading the situation.
“Maybe the reason you sometimes do crazy things is because you’re hungry. So make sure you eat well on your own. People normally get a bit sensitive when they’re hungry.”
It was something he said as it came to mind, but the more he mulled it over, the more plausible it seemed. Perhaps Jung Sanho’s bizarre behavior so far had been because his blood sugar dropped? Maybe because he already had some deficiency, his judgment became particularly clouded when hungry. Seungyeon continued his own reasoning while glancing at Jung Sanho, who was nibbling while taking care to eat various things.
When the stray dog ran off with the shopping bag, the person more flustered than Seungyeon was Jung Sanho himself. As if he hadn’t expected such a thing to happen either, he creaked like a broken robot for a long time. Then suddenly, like someone who’d realized something, he tried to chase after the stray dog. It was fortunate he didn’t miss him then—if he hadn’t caught him, he might still be wandering the back mountain looking for Jung Sanho even now.
Holding onto the soul-departed Jung Sanho, Seungyeon persuaded him as nicely as possible. In that process, he learned about Jung Sanho’s empty stomach, and since it was that time, rather than looking for a restaurant, he brought him home first. His mother, who’d been flustered at the visit of a stranger, was shocked upon hearing he’d been starving all day and quickly whipped up a meal. Jung Sanho too, whether because of his mother or because he realized his mistake, had his venom considerably subside after entering the house.
“Eat a lot.”
And don’t forget to take the sikhye when you leave. At Seungyeon’s words, Jung Sanho nodded slightly and picked up his spoon. After that, for a long while, only the sound of dishes clinking occasionally echoed.
***
The spring campus welcoming the new semester was dazzling in itself. Even in the somewhat hot, glaring sunlight, smiles didn’t leave the students’ faces.
“So this is what being a college student is like.”
Seungyeon sucked on an iced Americano through a straw. If I’d known it would be like this, I shouldn’t have sold the car. It took a long time just to get from home to school, and somehow the campus was even bigger. Because it took over thirty minutes to get here from the main gate, he was completely drained. Seungyeon leaned his back against a bench and looked up at the sky.
The reason he’d come to a university campus that had nothing to do with his fate was none other than Jung Sanho. He planned to ask about the well-being of Jung Sanho, whom he’d sent off last night with both hands full of side dishes and sikhye, and incidentally make one very minor and modest request. After that incident yesterday, if Jung Sanho had any conscience, he’d grant that much.
Last night, right after Jung Sanho left, Baek Sehee came over. She naturally asked Seungyeon where the watch was. Hearing about it, apparently she’d entrusted it to Go Won for an errand to get the watch fixed or something. To his noona looking for the watch, Seungyeon answered calmly.
‘Sorry, Noona. I lost it.’
He deliberately didn’t add that a stray dog had run off with it. What’s the point of saying that except to get her more upset? Baek Sehee, who’d turned pale, interrogated him asking what he meant, but Seungyeon couldn’t even make excuses.
‘Seungyeon, don’t joke around. That’s not Noona’s thing. I have to return it too, so it’s really a problem if it’s lost.’
There wasn’t much to say to his choking-up noona. When he apologized repeatedly, even his mother, who’d caught on to the seriousness of the situation, joined in pressing Seungyeon. Even at the words asking if he was touching his noona’s watch because a dog’s habits can’t be cured, Seungyeon maintained silence throughout. It was fortunate he’d sent Jung Sanho back before showing this state. Otherwise, what thorny seat would he have been on?
“Nothing goes my way.”
Whether his heart hurt or his back that got hit yesterday hurt. He’d suddenly become a damn thief bastard, but well, wasn’t that somewhat foreseen from when he saw the watch? He wasn’t particularly hurt. While he’d just get scolded, Baek Sehee would suffer for a while, so he had nothing to say either.
Seungyeon sipped his coffee again. Now Baek Sehee would get an earful from her mother-in-law, and while suffering all sorts of mistreatment, she’d struggle to somehow obtain the watch. In that process, her relationship with Tae Jeyoung would develop too. Then there’d be no problem. In the end, this makjang drama existed for those two to be happy.
“A protagonist…”
What would that feel like? Blankly staring at people coming out of the building, Seungyeon ground his straw. If Baek Sehee knew that despite twists and turns, her life was a tightly sealed happy ending, what reaction would she show? The current her couldn’t even imagine being connected with Tae Jeyoung, so even if he told her she’d live happily ever after with that person, she wouldn’t believe it, would she?
Around when the visitors had mostly left and the entrance became quiet, a familiar person appeared outside the building. It was a bit ambiguous because of the hat covering half his face, but that build wasn’t common, so it must be him. Seungyeon, who threw the half-remaining cup into the trash can next to the bench, hurriedly stood up.
The man in black training pants and a black T-shirt stopped upon discovering Seungyeon. Seungyeon smiled and waved his hand.
“Jung Sanho!”
Seungyeon trotted over to Jung Sanho. Jung Sanho, who looked unusually intimidated perhaps because of last night’s incident, adjusted his hat and moved his lips.
“How did you get here, hyung…”
“I have my ways of knowing. Anyway, you’re done with class, right?”
Looking troubled, Jung Sanho obediently nodded. Thinking the timing was about right, Seungyeon enthusiastically led Jung Sanho’s arm.
“Come somewhere with me.”
