Since he kept whining halfway through about how hard it was, I ended up finishing almost everything by myself at the end. Rather than working with Park Seongwoo, who kept groaning that he couldn’t do it, it was more comfortable to just move alone.
“Ah, I’m dying. Let’s go eat lunch now.”
“Okay.”
“They were selling cod soup up front. Oh right. You don’t eat lunch. Should I go alone…?”
“Let’s go together. I’ll sit in front.”
“Ooh, that’s good then. It’s boring to eat alone. Better than eating with the ahjussis though.”
Even after we came to the restaurant and ordered cod soup, Park Seongwoo’s complaints didn’t cease.
“Fuck, and doesn’t it piss you off how those ahjussis keep smoking? Isn’t it basic manners not to smoke at the site?”
“Is that so? It is better not to smoke.”
Since I grew up under a father who chain-smoked at home, I’d never thought the smell of cigarettes was uncomfortable. The amount the adults smoked briefly at the site felt mild in comparison. The ventilation worked quickly too.
“Now that I think about it, what kind of guy are you that you have no complaints while working? You don’t eat, don’t drink coffee, don’t drink or smoke. There’s a reason that picky ahjussi foreman likes you.”
Park Seongwoo, who had been speaking passionately, started hurriedly shoveling down the cod soup that had just come out. Steam was rising from it but it didn’t seem hot to him. He must have been very hungry from doing physical work since morning. I just stared at him blankly.
“Ah, hot. Hyun Taeyoung, aren’t you hungry after moving around like that?”
“Not really.”
“You… don’t eat because you don’t want to take off your mask, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Well then.”
Park Seongwoo looked at me with a subtle expression. But skipping a meal for half a day really wasn’t a big deal to me at all. I could eat as much as I wanted when I got off work and went home.
When I lived with Dad, there was even a time I survived a whole week drinking only water. But I didn’t bother bringing that up. From experience, when I talked about things like this, the atmosphere somehow got weird. After experiencing such situations a few times, I stopped talking about it.
The conversation paused briefly while Park Seongwoo ate. The sound of the TV the restaurant had on filled the gap.
—Next news. He’s the star player of our country’s swimming world. We have news regarding athlete Kwon Yujin.
As the familiar name flowed into my ear, I turned my head and stared at the TV screen. The sports news channel I occasionally caught news about Kwon Yujin on was playing.
—That’s right. With the World Aquatics Championships coming up soon, there were various stories going around about whether he would compete because his training records weren’t coming out as expected.
—But listening to what people involved are saying, his training records have been going back up recently.
—Yes. They say his condition is recovering rapidly. At this pace, the outlook is that there shouldn’t be any big problems with competing in the World Aquatics Championships.
I turned my body completely toward the TV and focused on the conversation the MCs were having.
—Especially since athlete Kwon Yujin is a player who’s particularly strong in big competitions. Fans are also expecting him to compete for medals again in this tournament.
“Hey. Even if he’s somewhat popular, why are they going on and on about a swimming athlete like he’s some celebrity or something? Talking about whether his condition is good or bad.”
Park Seongwoo, who had stopped eating, was now watching the TV with me and grumbling.
The guy’s words weren’t wrong. Originally, a swimming athlete’s training was generally recorded privately. Unless the athlete’s side mentioned it separately, it was typically unknown.
But Kwon Yujin was so famous, and he was often categorized as a celebrity rather than an athlete, so the media covered him in much more detail.
On the screen, photos from Kwon Yujin’s previous competition participation and advertisement pictorials were alternating. The MCs continued talking about Kwon Yujin, saying it was news obtained from people involved.
The content was generally about quite good results. It wasn’t without feeling excessive for sports news, but since he was such a popular athlete, the atmosphere treated this level as natural.
“What achievements did that bastard accomplish in his past life to be born with a golden spoon, have good physicals, be an alpha, and win gold medals one after another? And on top of that he’s handsome too.”
“Kwon Yujin is handsome?”
Surprised while listening to Park Seongwoo’s words, I asked back.
“Then is he ugly?”
“…No.”
Before, he said weird things to me about being handsome, looking like a gigolo, so I thought there was a big problem with Park Seongwoo’s aesthetic standards. But seeing that he recognized Kwon Yujin was handsome, fortunately his eyesight seemed to be fine.
Anyway, I hoped what I just heard was true—that Kwon Yujin’s records had improved.
“I’m jealous. Kids like that must meet tons of women.”
Park Seongwoo, who had finished eating, rinsed his mouth with water and muttered.
“Ah, since he’s an alpha, he probably gets to pick and choose among omegas too.”
“If he practices hard, wouldn’t he not have time for that?”
“If you want to date, you can. At Kwon Yujin’s level, he might only meet celebrities.”
“……”
“Right. Did you try what I told you about last time?”
“What try?”
“I told you to grab just anyone and ask for their number.”
Understanding the meaning of the attempt Park Seongwoo was talking about belatedly, I nodded.
“Ah. I tried it.”
“How was it, they all gave it to you, right?”
“Yeah. They really all gave it to me.”
“You bastard…. You should’ve tried it earlier. Now that you know you’ve got a decent build, date a little, meet people, okay?”
Park Seongwoo giggled, saying he knew it. Then suddenly his expression hardened and he clicked his tongue. Muttering, ‘Still, how did you get such a problem in your heart….’
“Hey, instead of that, I’ll introduce you to a hotel part-time job. If you’ve got a decent build, they’ll hire anyone there. Short-term is possible too.”
“I’m fine.”
“But if you go there, the level of people you meet is different. They’re on a different dimension from the bastards you see here…. Ah fuck, the foreman’s calling.”
Park Seongwoo, who had been talking excitedly, grimaced hard. Then he picked up his phone and got up from his seat.
“If you’re done eating, let’s go back now.”
At my words, Park Seongwoo nodded. As he answered the phone and moved to the counter to finish paying, I couldn’t take my eyes off the news about Kwon Yujin on the TV.
***
Saturday. As always, I woke up early in the morning. Feeling thirsty, I went straight to the kitchen and filled a cup with tap water to drink.
Then I checked my phone out of habit. There was no contact from Kwon Yujin at all.
So do I go to the same place at the same time today? Or does it mean not to come?
I wanted to ask directly, but I remembered being told it wasn’t polite to contact someone early on a weekend morning.
‘Team Leader-nim. What time should I come to work tomorrow?’
—Hey you crazy bastard. You’re calling at 6 AM on a weekend morning and going crazy? Kid, didn’t you even learn basic manners?
When I was nineteen and learning the work, the site team leader I met yelled at me in anger one day after I kept calling early in the morning to ask questions.
After that, I developed the habit of checking the time first whenever I needed to contact someone.
I decided to eat breakfast first to kill time. After stir-frying six eggs and three instant rice packs together in a frying pan, I mixed in soy sauce and sesame oil. After eating two apples and one small cup of ramen for dessert, my stomach felt appropriately full.
After washing the dishes and sweeping and mopping the floor, when I checked the time again it was almost 8 o’clock.
Only then did I send a text to Kwon Yujin.
[Where should I go today?.]
And I waited for a reply. But for over an hour, there was no response from Kwon Yujin.
“Should I call?”
I muttered without taking my eyes off my phone for even a second.
While I was killing time aimlessly like that, someone knocked on the front door.
At the sudden knocking sound, I jumped up from my seat.
“Who is it?”
—Is this Hyun Taeyoung-ssi’s place?
“That’s right.”
—I’m Lee Gyumin, the agent in charge of athlete Kwon Yujin-nim.
I hurriedly put on the mask and hat I kept in the entrance storage and opened the door. Then I saw a man in a white hoodie and jeans standing in front of the door.
“Hello. You must be surprised that I came suddenly.”
“Yes.”
“Ah… haha. Today the athlete sent me to pick up Taeyoung-ssi. I’m sorry I couldn’t contact you in advance.”
“It’s fine.”
“Um, do you need time to prepare? I’ll wait here in front…”
“No. We can leave right away.”
