The place they arrived at was a udon shop that operated until late at night. In Lee Heewoo’s neighborhood, famous for being a hillside slum, there were almost no shops operating until late at night, so there was only one choice. Even the udon shop seemed to be about to close soon, as there was no one inside the small shop.
When Lee Heewoo came to his senses, he was sitting side by side with Heichi at the udon shop. The small shop, perhaps with the intention of accepting as many customers as possible, was all counter seats except for two tables. Since the owner guided the two people to the counter seats instead of a table, they ended up sitting in a row.
“Two bowls of udon, correct?”
“Ah, uh…”
At the owner’s question, Lee Heewoo momentarily read Heichi’s mood. Was it okay to order two bowls? First of all, he had no money. No, of course he had money to buy two bowls of udon, but if he did that, he’d have to live starving for the remaining week.
“Yes, correct.”
“Spicy? Not spicy?”
Behind the shoulder of the owner asking questions, a handwritten menu board was visible. There were only two items written on the menu board: ‘Non-spicy Udon’ and ‘Spicy Udon.’
Heichi, who received the question, turned his head and glanced at Lee Heewoo. At the sign of postponing an answer, Lee Heewoo unknowingly spoke toward the owner.
“Ah, non-spicy… Please.”
“I’ll make it quick for you.”
The reason he chose both as non-spicy was because Heichi was a foreigner. By common sense, don’t foreigners generally not handle spicy food well? Of course, it was knowledge from Lee Heewoo’s short education of barely graduating middle school, so it could be wrong.
Fortunately, Heichi, who seemed to speak Korean well, appeared to have no complaints about Lee Heewoo’s choice. With those final words, the owner entered the cramped kitchen invisible from the counter seats and started boiling udon. An awkward silence passed between the two people left alone in the shop.
“…If you buy it for me, I’ll… repay the money…”
Lee Heewoo said shabbily. Although he’d unknowingly followed and sat down at the suddenly unfolding situation, Lee Heewoo also had shame. He should be the one buying the meal, but instead he was about to receive one.
However, the only thing he’d eaten all day today was the soup rice at lunch. Normally that would have been enough to get through the day, but perhaps because he hadn’t eaten anything for the past two days, hunger came upon him in an instant. The warm smell coming from the udon shop in the cold winter was also one of the reasons he couldn’t refuse.
“It’s fine. You paid for the bus fare.”
Heichi, sitting with his back ramrod straight, spoke stiffly. Watching him, Lee Heewoo thought that Heichi might perhaps be a USFK soldier or a foreign soldier. Because even though he was sitting in a counter seat with a short backrest, his posture was extremely upright.
“…Are you a foreigner?”
He knew it was a very belated question, but he threw it out anyway. It was because he had nothing to say. Heichi, who heard the question, seemed to chew on those words for a moment before opening his mouth.
“Yes, I came from another land.”
“I see… Are, are you a soldier?”
“How did you know?”
A faint surprise crossed Heichi’s expression. Seeing that, Lee Heewoo unknowingly chuckled. From his manner of speaking to his actions, everything seemed like a soldier, yet such a reaction as if he didn’t know he’d be noticed.
On the other hand, a strange energy passed through the golden eyes of Heichi, who saw Lee Heewoo’s smiling face. Heichi watched him without blinking even once while Lee Heewoo smiled.
“Just… you seem a bit stiff…”
“I am stiff?”
“Yes. Somewhat.”
“In what way?”
“Your manner of speaking… and your sitting posture too.”
After hearing Lee Heewoo’s explanation, Heichi immediately looked around at how he was sitting. But he seemed to not properly understand the fact that his sitting posture was stiff, and only looked at Lee Heewoo with a puzzled face.
“Ah, ah. I don’t mean you should fix it… I mean it’s cool…”
“I see.”
The conversation broke off for a moment. Just as the atmosphere was about to become awkward again, the owner came out holding udon bowls at just the right time. He set down steaming hot bowls in front of Lee Heewoo and Heichi and said,
“Utensils are in that container there. Water is self.”
He’d forgotten to set up utensils while having a conversation. Lee Heewoo busily moved his hands to open the wooden utensil box, then took out plastic spoons and chopsticks and set them down in front of Heichi and himself respectively. Then he stood up and took out two silver stainless steel water cups placed in front of the water purifier.
“…Ah, please stay seated. I’ll do it.”
However, as soon as Lee Heewoo stood up, rattle, a sound came and Heichi followed and stood up. Standing in front of the water purifier trying to fill water, with a mountain-like shadow hovering behind him, Lee Heewoo was very flustered. With the guilt of not paying, he’d feel more comfortable if he did these small errands at least.
“That water is ‘self’?”
“…Pardon?”
Wobble.
Lee Heewoo, who was holding the stainless steel cups, momentarily paused his arms. It was because Heichi’s question was out of the blue. Returning to their seats holding two cups, Lee Heewoo chewed on Heichi’s question. Then he understood belatedly.
Heichi, being a foreigner, must have understood the owner’s words ‘water is self’ differently. Lee Heewoo, who noticed that fact, this time didn’t just wear a brief smile but laughed out loud with giggles. Heichi, who followed and sat down, also stared intently at that sight this time.
“Ah, no, I mean… The water is self-service, meaning you have to get it yourself.”
“Ah.”
“Here… drink your water.”
Lee Heewoo held out one of the stainless steel cups he’d brought to Heichi. Heichi quietly looked down at that cup. Soon the two people’s meal began.
Slurp.
When he blew on the hot, thick noodles and put them in his mouth, he could feel his stomach, which had been full of only cold air, being filled warmly. From then on, Lee Heewoo pushed in noodles without rest. Of course, he also properly put on the pickled radish that came as a side dish in between.
Focusing only on his own meal like that, his gaze happened to go to Heichi’s bowl sitting next to him. But Heichi’s bowl hadn’t changed much from when it first came out. No, it had changed. In that the udon noodles had bloated and the broth had reduced because he hadn’t touched the food at all.
At home when Lee Heewoo boiled ramen, he deliberately let it bloat to increase the quantity, but there was no need to do that at all at a restaurant. So wondering if perhaps the udon didn’t suit his taste, he looked at Heichi and…
“…?”
There was no particular sign of that on Heichi’s expression. Lee Heewoo, who’d been rolling his small head around, belatedly realized he was a foreigner. Perhaps he might be clumsy with chopsticks.
“Would… you like to try the spoon?”
“This, you mean?”
The spoon used at the udon shop was, since the only menu item was udon anyway, the ceramic-shaped spoon commonly used at udon specialty shops. Lee Heewoo carefully reached his arm over the spoon with a hollowed bottom good for scooping broth. He lifted a few strands of noodles from Heichi’s bloating bowl and placed them on top of the spoon.
“Using chopsticks is difficult, right…”
The act of placing food on someone else’s spoon itself wasn’t unfamiliar to Lee Heewoo. At least until his grandmother, who lived with him, passed away. Lee Heewoo showed off the deft chopstick handling he’d often been praised for by his grandmother. He of course also put on the finely cut pickled radish.
“…Would you like to try it?”
“…”
Heichi brought the spoon to his mouth. Fortunately, seeing him eat without rejection, Lee Heewoo was greatly relieved, thinking his guess was correct. Taking a foreigner who wasn’t skilled with chopsticks to a udon shop—while also blaming himself for his mistake.
Like that, Lee Heewoo spent a busy mealtime filling his own stomach and also filling Heichi’s spoon. Since he tried to handle chopstick work for two people alone, it took twice as long as his usual mealtime. When the two people left the shop, it was already well past midnight.
Since he hadn’t planned to wander outside until this late, bewilderment spread over Lee Heewoo’s face as he checked the time. Lee Heewoo bowed his head to Heichi, who had bought him a delicious meal, and then hurriedly turned his body and ran out beyond that alleyway.
Then Lee Heewoo suddenly changed direction and came back to Heichi.
Heichi, who had been standing still watching Lee Heewoo leave, only blinked his eyes seeing him approach right up close. Lee Heewoo, who had been hemming and hawing in front of the large-framed man, held out his phone.
“If… you have problems in Korea… you can contact me…”
He knew that Lee Heewoo himself, with no money and no strength, wouldn’t be of much help. Nevertheless, Lee Heewoo wanted to help this man who had bought him delicious udon. With that feeling, he held out his shabby flip phone that no one used these days.
“This is… what?”
However, Heichi showed a strange reaction looking at the flip phone. Lee Heewoo looked with surprised eyes, wondering if he perhaps didn’t even know what a flip phone was. Although flip phones were relics of an old era, still, people who knew them all knew…
“Then will you give me He-Heichi’s phone? I’ll, I’ll save my number for you…”
It was a suggestion made thinking that if someone was unfamiliar with flip phones, the operation method might be difficult. Heichi nodded his head briefly at Lee Heewoo’s words. Then he rummaged through his pocket, took out his phone, and held it out. However, with the back of the phone visible rather than the screen.
Lee Heewoo thought that was strange, but since it was night, he might have been mistaken. Lee Heewoo quickly left his phone number on the unlocked phone and said,
“My, my phone can only do texts… For urgent matters, please call.”
While saying that, he held out the phone he’d finished saving to Heichi. As Heichi was about to receive it, Lee Heewoo fidgeted with his fingers and their bare skin ended up touching. At that moment, Heichi pulled his hand back as if struck by lightning.
Thud, roll roll roll…
The new smartphone Lee Heewoo had been holding rolled on the ground.
