“Honestly? You’ll do well there. Seeing how they accepted someone stubborn shows they all have good eyes. My heart feels so proud…”
“Why are you proud?”
“Hyung said you doing well is me doing well.”
“Stop saying things like that.”
“Why?”
When I chuckled and deliberately looked at Eun Haejin cheekily, Eun Haejin pressed my forehead with his hand and turned my head away. I was about to confront Eun Haejin about the pain of my head throbbing for a moment, but just then Eun Haejin got on the arriving bus, so I followed without complaint.
“You really should have gone to physical education instead of business administration.”
“What did I do?”
“No, what strength…”
I wasn’t objectively weak either. Even when working at the cafe, I could easily carry two milk boxes at once. But Eun Haejin just seemed to have innately strong strength.
“Why don’t you just prepare a bit more even now and go into sports? I think our country is missing out on talent.”
Eun Haejin seemed to have decided to just ignore my words. Perhaps because the timing was awkward, the bus seats were completely empty. I sat down next to Eun Haejin.
“Is there anything you want to eat?”
“You’re the one who got in, so you should eat what you want.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it… I just want to order something casual.”
“Pig’s feet?”
“I don’t care.”
“Why does this kid have no sense of self?”
At my playful reprimand, Eun Haejin chuckled.
“I really don’t care.”
Eun Haejin turned on his phone and started searching through a delivery app.
“You’re really going to order pig’s feet?”
“You said you wanted it.”
“No, I eat anything well too. Should we eat something spicy? But shouldn’t I be the one buying?”
“Ah, fuck. You’re so loud I can’t stand it. Be quiet. I’ll order.”
With those words, Eun Haejin immediately ordered pig’s feet. From earlier, I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling about Eun Haejin’s employment, but I decided not to show it. Actually, showing it wouldn’t accomplish anything. Still, it would have been better if I could at least buy the drinks.
I clung to Eun Haejin’s arm asking him to let me at least buy the drinks, deliberately blinking my eyes and leaning on Eun Haejin.
“No, in the first place, when you get your first paycheck after getting hired, let’s go eat something delicious with that, okay? For now, I’ll buy?”
“What do you want to eat? Steak?”
“Honestly, I’m a little tempted.”
“If you eat as much as you do, I can’t handle it with my paycheck.”
“Please. I’ll eat modestly.”
Eun Haejin laughed as if absurd and looked out the window. I looked at Eun Haejin’s well-defined profile rather passionately, but Eun Haejin didn’t turn his head toward me until the bus arrived. Since someone got hired, there was only cause for celebration, but there didn’t seem to be anyone who was truly happy here.
***
“Are you going to my place?”
“Which is more comfortable? Do whatever you want.”
“If you say you’re drained, wouldn’t it be better to go to your place?”
“Being with you isn’t much different from being at my place….”
“Are you saying that to make me feel bad?”
After a brief squabble exchanging not-so-serious banter with Eun Haejin, we ended up heading to my place. It seemed Eun Haejin had already ordered the pig’s feet to my place anyway.
On the way home, Eun Haejin and I stopped by a convenience store and just bought a few cans of beer. Eun Haejin didn’t drink soju anyway, and I wasn’t much of a heavy drinker, so there was no reason to buy soju.
When we got home, I put the beer in the fridge and gave Eun Haejin some comfortable clothes before sending him to the bathroom. I’d brought an umbrella when I went out earlier, so I barely got wet, but Eun Haejin, who’d run through the rain, looked like he’d been enthusiastically playing in water at best.
Eun Haejin obediently took the clothes and headed to the bathroom. While Eun Haejin was washing up, I just changed into pajamas. The clothes Eun Haejin wore were the last comfortable clothes available besides Lee Hyun’s pajamas.
Now that I thought about it, time had flown by quickly—in just a few days, it would already be a month since I started working at the cafe. That meant payday was approaching.
Since Cha Hyunwoo’s cafe hourly wage conditions were good, I’d saved quite a bit of money even from part-time work. I was thinking about how to divide up my paycheck when the doorbell rang right on cue. The delivery had arrived.
By the time I set up the delivery and took out two cans of beer, Eun Haejin opened the bathroom door.
“Your timing’s good?”
“I heard the bell and washed up quickly.”
“I’ve set everything up so you can eat right away.”
Seeing Eun Haejin take a seat, I popped open a beer can. The feeling of cold beer going down my throat felt good. Eun Haejin also took a few sips of beer and picked up his chopsticks.
“So when do you start?”
“I report to work from the first Monday of next month. But the first month probably won’t be too bad, right?”
“Oh…. That confidence of thinking the first month will be easy when entering a large corporation as a new employee.”
“I don’t know. I’d have to get a job to know.”
“If anything’s hard, tell me.”
Eun Haejin just shrugged once. It was too obvious that he absolutely wouldn’t talk about it. I glared at Eun Haejin, then just drank another beer.
Anyway, I was curious about what Eun Haejin would think when he first saw Jung Yoonseo. Of course, it was obvious they wouldn’t get along well. They were fundamentally people with completely different tendencies and personalities.
Suddenly remembering I hadn’t replied to Jung Yoonseo’s message, I checked my phone and found a text from an unfamiliar number. I was about to delete it, but checked the content just in case.
“Why? Who is it?”
Eun Haejin asked me, but I couldn’t answer him. Not just an answer—I couldn’t say anything at all. I slowly let out a deep breath. The text message’s send time was 5 minutes ago.
“I said who is it?”
“A bookstore employee.”
“What bookstore?”
“There was a book I was looking for, and they contacted me saying it came in stock.”
“You could’ve found most things at the library, so why bother? Something related to your thesis? You said you finished your thesis.”
“…Haejin. Would it be okay if I go to the bookstore?”
Eun Haejin stared at my face for a moment, then picked up his jacket.
“Let’s go together.”
I obediently got up as Eun Haejin helped me up.
I’m contacting you because the book you inquired about last time came in stock. ‘Until the Day I Confess Again.’ That’s right, isn’t it? But there seems to have been a mix-up last time. It was attached to the romance section, but it’s not that kind of content—it’s just a coming-of-age novel. Is this the one you’re looking for?
I checked the text with a blank expression. That couldn’t be right. That was…. It was a work with a familiar cover.
It definitely looked the same as the original work, but what if it’s not the original?
Butterfly and Tornado
“But what book is it? You can at least tell me that much.”
“No… It’s just a novel.”
“Is it an important book?”
“I don’t know.”
I thought it was an important book, but what if it’s not? No, it being the exact same book might be the more serious problem here. Lost in thought and spacing out, Eun Haejin broke my reverie.
“Let’s go first. You said it was urgent.”
“I can go alone.”
“No, fuck, your reaction right now really makes it seem like I shouldn’t let you go alone, so would I tell you to go?”
Rationally, I knew there was nothing good about going with Eun Haejin. It wasn’t just because he was involved. I just didn’t want to show him my emotionally confused state. But then again, when Eun Haejin said he’d go with me, I was also grateful. Words of refusal lingered in my mouth until the end, but I absolutely couldn’t open it.
When I discovered that book at the bookstore, it would be a lie to say I’d had no concerns about the book’s content. But those were concerns about how the book might be related to the current situation—at least they weren’t concerns about the book’s content being completely different.
The bookstore was within walking distance, so when Eun Haejin and I walked a bit quickly, we arrived in no time.
As we entered the bookstore, the employee greeted us kindly.
“I got a text earlier saying the book I was looking for came in stock.”
When I showed the employee the text I’d just received, the employee spoke as if understanding.
