When I asked bewildered, Jukyung, who was coming from somewhere holding wine, answered as if it was nothing.
“The person who manages this place. They live nearby, and if you tell them in advance, they prepare meals like this. They bring it already cooked.”
“Ah, really?”
I scanned the food with my eyes. Saliva pooled and my mouth opened automatically. Since we hadn’t gone grocery shopping and hadn’t stopped at a restaurant, I’d been thinking we’d order delivery. But such a feast.
“It all looks delicious. But isn’t it too much? There’s only the two of us, can we eat it all?”
Jukyung stopped pouring wine and looked at me as if absurd.
“What is this glutton saying? Just don’t say later in the middle of the night that you’re craving a late-night snack.”
It was true that my appetite had improved a lot since my homeless life, but it was gradually decreasing, so calling me a glutton. I scratched my cheek feeling a bit embarrassed.
“Hurry and sit down. It’s delicious when you eat it while it’s warm.”
Jukyung said while handing me a wine glass. I completely agreed with those words. I took a seat without argument.
The clam meat was chewy and the beef was tender. Various sauces were prepared, but honestly even eating without sauce, the mild taste was excellent. I also ate plenty of mushrooms infused with the beef flavor, just lightly dipping the tips in sauce.
“How do you eat like that without gaining weight?”
Kwon Jukyung suddenly sighed. It seemed he’d been watching me eat for a while. No, he should just eat his own food, why is he staring at someone eating making a fuss? And why a sigh at the dinner table?
“Why wouldn’t I gain weight? I have.”
“You still haven’t recovered your previous weight. Have you?”
“Well, that’s because there’s a lot of work…”
I had recovered to some extent, but recently with the increase in classes I’d lost some again. Kwon Jukyung seems like he wouldn’t be interested in other people, but surprisingly he has good observation.
“Since we’re on the subject, how long are you going to work at the academy? Have you completely given up on public recruitment?”
“Well…”
What should I say, we’d gotten by without seriously talking about career paths. Around early November I’d briefly mentioned I was thinking of looking into other directions, but I was so busy I didn’t have time, and even when I had time I was busy preparing for classes or sleeping, so there was no time to sit down and talk properly. Thinking about it, it wasn’t really a relationship where we had to share such talk.
“……”
Or was that not right? Since there was debt, it was natural for Jukyung to be interested in how my economic activities would turn out.
“Hearing various stories, it seems salaried workers don’t earn much. Does it make sense that even working 10 years you can’t buy a house? Yet the time tied to the company is long and vacation is short. I’m… well, if I were to get formally employed, I’m thinking I’d rather go to Europe.”
Jukyung’s hand picking up food stopped abruptly. His eyes narrowed toward me as if he’d heard something he shouldn’t have.
“Where are you going?”
Why is that bastard opening snake eyes again when he was eating well? It’s not like I said I was running off without paying the debt.
“Don’t worry, I’ll settle the debt somehow before I go. It’s not a definite plan either. I can’t go empty-handed, so I need to at least earn expenses here first. To do that, rather than wasting time struggling as a company newbie, I think it’s better to work harder as an academy instructor.”
I learned that the hourly wage that seemed absolutely ridiculous at first was not such a bad level for someone with no experience compared to other part-time jobs. Now I was on a percentage system, and as I gained some popularity, my income jumped much higher than I’d initially thought. Of course, to pay back the debt I’d still have to roll around for a long time.
“And I’m also looking into something else…”
I stopped talking mid-sentence and closed my mouth. I hadn’t planned to talk about this, but it came out suddenly without me knowing. Jukyung, who’d been listening to my story with a still-frowning face, frowned even more.
“Something else what?”
He put down his chopsticks as if he’d lost his appetite entirely, then asked while gulping down wine. Where did his usual elegant demeanor go—he looked like he was drinking soju.
“No, it doesn’t really seem like something to talk to you about…”
“What kind of amazing story is it that it’s not something to talk to me about?”
The creditor-nim’s mood seemed to be getting increasingly uncomfortable. It’s not such an amazing story, so that’s why it’s awkward to bring up…
“Um… I don’t know if I’ve told you about this…”
“You haven’t.”
Jukyung cut in sharply.
“Huh? How do you know what I’m going to say?”
“Whatever it is, you haven’t. You ran away from home because they told you to go on a blind date, that’s it. That’s all you’ve told me about yourself.”
It sounded quite displeased, and this time it was my turn to frown.
“You haven’t either. When have you ever told me about yourself?”
“Ask me.”
“What?”
“Ask me. What are you curious about?”
“……”
Being suddenly told to ask, I had nothing to say. What on earth was I supposed to ask?
“Uh… um…”
“……”
“So.”
Jukyung kept his mouth shut and just stared as if telling me to hurry up and ask. Hmm… there were quite a few things I was curious about… but being suddenly told to ask, nothing came to mind.
“That… you… that habit of buying luxury goods.”
I barely thought of one thing.
“Where does the money come from to buy so much? From what I looked into, even at large corporations new employee salaries aren’t much, aren’t you going to become credit delinquent doing that?”
“Well that…”
Jukyung’s face strangely stiffened. Did I poke a sore spot? Is it too private? But he was the one who told me to ask.
“Well that?”
“That… I have some money saved from doing stocks and futures.”
“Stocks?”
“There’s also some inheritance my grandparents left.”
Whoa. So he was a golden spoon? No wonder. Even living alone, I’d found it a bit puzzling that a salaried worker could buy a house, car, watch, and all those clothes. So how much property does that mean? I was curious, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask that far, so I crossed my arms and glared at him.
“What? You said you were an ordinary citizen.”
“That’s exactly what I am. If you work to make a living, you’re an ordinary citizen. So, are you saying you won’t pay back the money?”
He spoke in a sullen tone while glancing at me. No, glaring at me.
“Don’t forget. If you run off without paying back all the money, I’ll chase you to the ends of the earth, catch you, and lock you up.”
Jukyung furrowed his clean brow deeply and threatened in a low voice. He sure makes nonsense sound brutal. I clicked my tongue and took a spoonful of the clam soup in front of me.
“Don’t worry. I’m also a person with credit.”
“Not that kind of thing, don’t you have anything else you’re curious about?”
Jukyung asked again with expectant eyes.
Hmm…
I stirred the clam soup I’d ladled out for myself, lost in thought.
“Do you have siblings?”
In my opinion, he seemed like he’d definitely be an only child. Maybe even an only son for several generations.
“I have an older sister and a younger brother.”
Wow… three siblings? Kwon Jukyung being the middle child seemed both fitting and not fitting.
“What are your sister and brother like? Do they resemble you?”
I asked with anticipation. If they resembled him, I wanted to see them. But Kwon Jukyung grimaced and shook his head.
“No, not at all.”
No way. Disappointing.
“Don’t you have photos or something?”
“Are you crazy? Why would I carry around their photos? Do you carry around photos of your hyung?”
Ugh.
Hearing it put that way, it’s strange. I haven’t even taken a photo with my hyung since childhood. But wait a minute.
“When did I tell you I have a hyung?”
“Huh?”
I don’t think I’ve talked about my family. Except for saying my father told me to go on blind dates.
“I did, you did. How would I know if you didn’t tell me?”
“Uh… well, that’s true.”
I just let it go. Probably just mentioned it in passing. As long as I didn’t say he was an alpha, it didn’t matter. I sneaked a glance at Jukyung. He’d put down his chopsticks as if finished eating, then suddenly started scooping from his bowl again as if ravenous appetite had surged. Anyway.
