The man left with a cheerful remark. His designer shoes rang crisply against the police station floor. The officer in charge who had been watching the entire situation spoke.
“Mr. Jung Hyun-wook, please sit here for now. Let’s start with the written statement.”
His face showed he was caught up in a tiresome matter.
“Please state your name and occupation.”
For some reason, Jung Hyun-wook answered obediently and continued with the statement. A sharp pain rose from above. My nails dug into my skin. I was tormenting my innocent fingers when—
“If possible, just apologize and settle. The victim has a good job, you know. Something like a securities company employee. He hired an expensive lawyer—you’ve heard of Songrim, right? When they take on a case, things get troublesome. We already have this many backed-up cases, but here we are writing a student’s statement right away.”
The officer pointed to the stack of documents on his desk. After clicking the mouse a few times, he pulled out a cigarette and put it in his mouth. The ashtray on the desk was already full of butts.
“Anyway, you can go home for today. You’ll be contacted again.”
Jung Hyun-wook stood up and walked out without looking back. Then he said to me as if telling me to hurry and follow.
“Want to grab breakfast? How about some warm soup and rice? Do you eat that kind of thing?”
I secretly got the lawyer’s business card from the officer in charge while Jung Hyun-wook was acting nonchalant. As I left, I bowed repeatedly, asking him to please take care of it.
***
With blood sausage soup in front of us, Jung Hyun-wook and I have been in a standoff for several minutes. Unlike me, who hasn’t even touched the food, Jung Hyun-wook gulped down the entire pot.
“Not eating? Blood sausage is the best when you’ve lost blood.”
When I remained silent, Jung Hyun-wook sighed quietly and took my blood sausage soup.
“Auntie! One bean sprout hangover soup here, please.”
Jung Hyun-wook deliberately ignored the problems, and I felt like I was going to die of frustration because of him.
“Let’s go tell them. What that person did to me. Then it’ll be considered mitigating circumstances.”
Jung Hyun-wook, who had cleanly finished his second bowl, looked up at me. I’d noticed before, but he really was a big eater. He placed chopsticks in my hand.
“Eat. You haven’t had even a sip of water today.”
“Why are you so calm?”
“You’re so thin because you eat so little.”
“Hyun-wook.”
When I called his name, he stopped his deliberate teasing. Soon after, he drained the glass of water in one gulp. Water that was too cold for me to even touch. His eyes, which had been playfully relaxed, became serious.
“If you eat even one bite, I’ll start the conversation you want.”
I poured the cold water I couldn’t bring myself to drink into the steaming pot. I hurriedly ate the lukewarm bean sprout soup. He rubbed his face as if frustrated and said,
“If you want to hold that bastard accountable, I agree with that too. The lawyer said it was unfavorable because there’s no evidence, but that’s a matter of finding a way. But that matter and my matter are separate.”
I couldn’t understand what he was saying at all.
“You don’t want to make this a big deal. You’ll have to go in and out of the police station multiple times, give statements, and if a trial starts, it’ll probably be… difficult. I’m saying you don’t need to do that for my sake.”
“Then what? Are you going to get a criminal record for violence? Someone who’s going to become a legal professional?”
He chuckled.
“I didn’t come to law school because I wanted to become a legal professional. That’s not a problem.”
He subtly changed the subject. I couldn’t understand how someone who entered the law school of the nation’s top university at the top of the class didn’t want to become a legal professional.
“You saw earlier, right? Rather than becoming a lawyer like that, it’s better to do something else.”
At Jung Hyun-wook’s cynical words, I took another spoonful of the cold soup. I chewed on the kkakdugi too. Jung Hyun-wook, who said I eat little, knows nothing. I’m someone who doesn’t care at all about the fishy smell of blood sausage. It was Jung Hyun-wook’s huge misconception to think of me as someone who could only eat clean bean sprout hangover soup or oil pasta.
He quietly watched me eat. I hurriedly pushed the soup into my mouth. He laughed quietly and wiped my mouth with a tissue.
“Eat slowly.”
After finishing the meal, I said to Jung Hyun-wook,
“You don’t know me.”
Jung Hyun-wook’s brow furrowed.
“I eat fast originally. There are many children at the orphanage, so I’m always pressed for time.”
I didn’t even know I ate fast until I grew up a bit. Even after becoming independent, I always just grabbed a quick meal without Jong-hwa, or ate carelessly at the convenience store.
“I’m not someone you need to protect.”
Our eyes met. A brief flutter passed through his piercing gaze. It was a change difficult to notice, but I could tell. I silently received that gaze. Soon, he broke into quiet laughter. Then he spoke gently, as if soothing me.
“Okay. I’m sorry. I apologize.”
He stood up from his seat, shouldered his bag, and came around the table to me. After making me stand, he put the field jacket hanging on the chair on me. He even pulled the large hood over my head and looked directly into my eyes as he said,
“Actually, I had a lot of questions about you, but I held back. That’s right. I don’t know you. So from now on, you can tell me slowly.”
He turned around as if he didn’t need to hear my answer. I hurriedly followed Jung Hyun-wook, who had already paid and was leaving. Then my feet got tangled and I stumbled. Seeing that, he laughed. Then he suddenly knelt down at my feet.
Office workers who had rushed in for an early lunch passed by us standing at the door. Jung Hyun-wook paid no attention and knelt on the floor to tie my untied shoelaces. I felt somehow embarrassed. Looking up at my reddening face, Jung Hyun-wook said,
“You know what? You’re difficult. Like the hardest problem I’ve ever encountered. I’ve always gotten the answers right.”
Having tied the knot tightly, he strode ahead of me. The cold winter wind rushed into the hood he had put on me.
Jung Hyun-wook insisted on taking me all the way home. His words that he couldn’t let me go alone didn’t feel unpleasant, strangely enough. We passed 5 subway stops and waited for a village bus at the bus stop.
The stop sign had only one bus number. The steep roads of this neighborhood could only be traversed by village buses. At the stop, there was only one grandmother holding a bundle. When the village bus arrived, Jung Hyun-wook carried the grandmother’s luggage and got on first.
The grandmother gave him pumpkin jelly, saying he was a handsome and kind young man. Jung Hyun-wook always wore an indifferent face while going around being quite kind.
When the warm air touched my frozen glasses, they fogged up. I was blankly waiting for my vision to clear when Jung Hyun-wook laughed and took my glasses.
Leaning against the safety bar, he wiped my glasses with his sleeve. As if accustomed to standing, he maintained his balance well even on the swaying bus. Jung Hyun-wook stopped mid-way through handing back my glasses and stared at me intently. Because his face was close, I could see his expression well even without my glasses.
“I thought this at the hospital too, but you… look better with glasses. Make sure you wear them.”
I roughly snatched the glasses from his hand. Jung Hyun-wook laughed shamelessly. I pressed the stop button hard.
My semi-basement room required passing 5 subway stops and three bus stops, and then climbing up a narrow, steep alley for quite a while.
“We’re almost there… You can go now.”
Jung Hyun-wook was silent. Before I knew it, he and I were walking at the entrance of a multi-family housing area. A musty smell came from somewhere. I quickened my pace for no reason. The familiar alley I always passed through felt embarrassing.
“Isn’t it hard because it’s far?”
“It must be harder for you who comes here every day than for me.”
Jung Hyun-wook raised his head and looked around every corner of the neighborhood. I walked looking only at the ground. I saw the trash discarded on the ground. Abandoned beer cans and snack wrappers were scattered about. A crushed beer can kicked by Jung Hyun-wook’s foot rolled away making a sharp sound.
At that sound, I raised my head. Jong-hwa, standing crookedly in front of the semi-basement window, was looking at us. I stopped in surprise. I thought no one would be there.
Jong-hwa threw down the cigarette he had stubbed out onto the ground. I looked at the cigarette butt that fell in front of the window. While I was blankly looking at the butt, thinking about how to explain this situation, Jong-hwa, who muttered a small curse, picked up the butt and threw it into a paper cup next to the flowerpot. That wasn’t what I meant…
“Explain first. The convenience store guy who answered your call told me roughly. That you got into a fight with some drunk bastard.”
Jong-hwa immediately pressed me.
