“No. Just.”
“Just what?”
“…I don’t know either.”
“That can happen. Don’t want to go alone? Should hyung-a take you?”
I asked deliberately mixing in playfulness so Eun Haejin wouldn’t feel burdened. Eun Haejin wasn’t originally someone who went around smiling, but his expression was particularly hardened today, so I was concerned. Still, he was Lee Hyun’s only friend, wasn’t he? Even a friend that Lee Hyun liked.
Why did Lee Hyun like Eun Haejin?
Of course, Eun Haejin was handsome and had a cute side even though he acted sharp. Even though his mouth was rough, he wasn’t rough deep down. So was that why Lee Hyun liked him?
Eun Haejin looked at the ground for a moment, then raised his head.
“Or will you stay with me?”
At my words, Eun Haejin opened his mouth and then just closed it. Eun Haejin had a confused expression.
“…I’ll go first.”
“Will you be okay going alone?”
“Fuck, treating a person like a kid…”
Rather, it sounded more comfortable when he cursed, so I laughed a bit too. Eun Haejin looked at me for a while with that usual expression, then kicked near my ankle without hurting me.
“Ah.”
“I’ll contact you tomorrow, so you’re dead if you don’t answer.”
“Yees. When have I ever not answered our Haejin’s calls?”
“So many fucking times. Fuck.”
“Eeing. Hyung did it all for your own good…”
“Stop bullshitting. …I’ll contact you when I get in.”
“Yeah. Get home safely.”
I patted Eun Haejin’s back and saw him off. Eun Haejin sighed and turned around to walk away.
When I turned around, Cha Hyunwoo was also looking at me with a subtle expression. Even though a smile still hung on his face, his mood seemed to have sunk more than before.
“Uh… should we go?”
“Let’s.”
“Haejin doesn’t seem to be in good condition today. I don’t know why.”
“…I think I know.”
Cha Hyunwoo muttered quietly.
“Why?”
“I won’t tell you.”
Cha Hyunwoo spoke in a playful but firm tone. Since it didn’t seem like he’d tell me even if I begged more, I stopped trying to persuade him. And I felt more comfortable hearing about Eun Haejin’s matters from Eun Haejin himself.
“But today was really delicious.”
“Should we go eat again next time? On a day we’re both off or after closing.”
“Sounds good. Or do you want to go with me when I buy clothes? Event where a handsome person picks out clothes.”
“Will you wear the clothes I pick?”
I thought for a moment about the style of clothes Cha Hyunwoo usually wore.
“…Honestly, I think I’ll wear comfortable clothes. I’ll probably just go and buy training clothes and basic T-shirts.”
“Clothes should be comfortable.”
“But boss, you like uncomfortable clothes.”
“Does it look uncomfortable?”
Cha Hyunwoo chuckled and made eye contact.
“Not really.”
“Really? Even today, this shirt is uncomfortable for me. Maybe because I drank too, if it were up to me, I’d want to unbutton all the shirt buttons.”
And I unbuttoned one more button on my shirt. Unbuttoning one more definitely made my neck feel a little less stuffy.
“For me, even this much is just date wear.”
“You wear clothes like this on dates?”
“…When we’ve been seeing each other for less than 3 months.”
“When was the last time you dated?”
“Who knows?”
I traced my memory. After becoming a writer, I hadn’t even dated, let alone gone on dates, and before that I’d been on a few blind dates at a friend’s request, but they didn’t lead to relationships. I had a few light meetings or continued short relationships for about half a year, but they didn’t last very long, and going back to what could be called a proper relationship, the last one was before I dropped out of college.
“I think it’s been several years. I don’t know exactly, but it’s been quite a while.”
“Why didn’t you date during that time?”
“It wasn’t really a situation for dating… just somehow it happened?”
“Really?”
Cha Hyunwoo was silent again for a moment.
Getting some fresh air, I felt the buzz fading a bit. The weather was cool and the breeze felt nice.
“Isn’t the weather nice? Because it’s fall weather.”
“Yes. It’s nice.”
“Do you like fall?”
“I do like it, but fall is too short.”
“That’s true.”
Before I knew it, the cafe came into view. While waiting for the crosswalk light to change to cross, Cha Hyunwoo spoke.
“I’ll take you home.”
“To my place?”
“Yes. It’s nearby.”
“That’s true? But it’s really close so you don’t need to take me. No, even if it were far… If I met a stranger at this time of night, that stranger would be scared.”
“Of you, Hyun?”
It was a bit funny how Cha Hyunwoo spoke as if he was genuinely puzzled.
“Probably, right?”
“Hyun is on the bigger side too.”
“Boss, you look in the mirror every day so your objectivity seems a bit off.”
“Me?”
Just then, the crosswalk light changed. Even while crossing the crosswalk and walking home, Cha Hyunwoo was quiet. I thought about saying more, but I didn’t know what I’d say while drunk, so I just kept my mouth shut and walked.
When we almost reached home, Cha Hyunwoo opened his mouth.
“Hyun seems like a good person.”
“If you say it like that, I get embarrassed again.”
“So I want to get closer.”
Cha Hyunwoo’s voice was firm. Get closer?
“Whoa… weren’t we already close?”
I answered deliberately cutely. No, and I actually thought I was close with Cha Hyunwoo too. We hadn’t known each other long, but on working days we were together for over six hours a day, weren’t we? Of course, it did seem like Cha Hyunwoo and I approached making relationships differently.
Even at my words, Cha Hyunwoo stood still making eye contact with me. Despite Cha Hyunwoo’s overall soft expression, there was a consistently firm aspect, so I stood awkwardly and then impulsively blurted out.
“Will you speak informally to me?”
Right. To get close, you have to start by dropping the formalities. Come to think of it, I hadn’t told him to speak informally. He was older than Lee Hyun and higher in position, so I thought he’d speak informally naturally, but Cha Hyunwoo had been using honorifics thoroughly until now.
Cha Hyunwoo seemed to like my words and laughed pleasantly. Ah, when Cha Hyunwoo smiles widely, dimples form. It was information that didn’t appear in the original work.
***
After parting with Cha Hyunwoo and entering the house, I really only had enough energy left to wash. When I checked my phone, there was a text from Eun Haejin.
“Did you get home?”
I replied to Eun Haejin while biting on my toothbrush. After finishing washing and changing clothes, I wriggled into the blankets. Perhaps because I was drunk, sleep came easily.
***
Beep beep beep beep—
I woke up to a sudden alarm sound and checked my phone in a half-asleep state. It was a disaster because I’d fallen asleep last night without turning off the alarm. A groan naturally came from my throat.
“Aah… today’s my day off…”
When I checked the time, it was 7 AM. The alarm I’d set for last week’s opening day had gone off this week too. Just in case there were more alarms left, I turned them all off and was about to go back to sleep when a text came.
“They say your laptop is recovered. But it’s old so they say it’d be better to replace it. Don’t you want to get it replaced for free?”
It was Jung Yoonseo. Since the end of our last meeting was strange, I seemed to have been inwardly worried or tense. Thanks to that, I was glad Jung Yoonseo contacted me casually with playfulness as usual. I forced my eyes open, which didn’t want to open, and sent a reply.
“I’m interested if it’s under 1 million won.”
Jung Yoonseo’s reply came immediately.
“Hm? I don’t know what you mean.”
What a shameless person. Even half-asleep, I laughed because it was absurd.
“Just give me back the recovered one quietly.”
“Do you have time today?”
“Yes.”
“Should we meet around 7? Eat and have a drink, all together.”
Coincidentally, Jung Yoonseo only contacted me the day after I drank. Still, if there was a silver lining, today was a day off all day.
“Yep. Where should we meet?”
“I’ll come pick you up. The person with a car should move, right?”
“That’s fine with me.”
“Dress up pretty and come out.”
“Yes. Like usual?”
“Not letting you off.”
Jung Yoonseo’s message was funny, so I chuckled and just sent a few basic emoticons. Jung Yoonseo read it and seemed busy, so there was no contact. When I put down my phone, drowsiness rushed in again. Right, if I don’t rest on a day like this, when will I rest? As soon as I wriggled back into the blankets, losing consciousness was instantaneous.
***
Perhaps because I slept deeply, my head didn’t hurt and my body was fine. When I looked at the time, it was well past lunchtime. Eun Haejin said he’d contact me yesterday, did it come? When I checked my phone, there was no contact after the message sent yesterday.
