The outside of the building where the auction was taking place was adjacent to the sea. Feeling like he’d suffocate from the fishy smell inside the fish market, he went outside. Handcarts loaded with ice busily came and went, and hands were busy unloading fish from the fishing boats.
I can just wait outside, why did I even come in here? Just as he was about to turn back, a boat was coming in to dock with a man standing at the bow like a triumphant general.
“Wow.”
An exclamation escaped Go Seok-jun’s mouth. A man with long hair tied back tightly, wearing only a sleeveless shirt and apron despite the season, was getting closer and closer.
It was the precise answer to the question of what Sang-eun was doing these days. Though with one leg propped up on the edge of the boat and gripping the rope, he looked more like a pirate than a fisherman.
Baek Sang-eun, who spotted Go Seok-jun, tilted his head down. Go Seok-jun, who had been standing with his arms crossed, waved his hand, then pointed at the bag with his index finger.
“What’s ‘White Shark No. 1’?”
He chuckled at the boat name written neatly on the hull and waited for the boat to fully dock. Baek Sang-eun standing on the boat looked much bigger than on land. His height, his build. The dark brown forearms exposed outside the sleeveless shirt were brawny. A body that seemed to have not even one percent fat—the kind of body that many men would envy.
An arm with muscles that could split threw the rope with a swoosh. The rope arrived precisely in front of the bollard, and the fish market employee tied it. The boat got closer and closer.
Is that really someone I know? Go Seok-jun blinked and checked again the fisherman who had come right up close. If not for the bold necklace and bracelet, and if not for the hair grown out long in such an unfashionable way, he wouldn’t have recognized him.
He felt strange. The Baek Sang-eun Go Seok-jun remembered was a small, pale, soft baby—when did he become an adult? The absurd thought even occurred to him that the Baek Sang-eun he encountered in this chaotic, hectic fish market might be someone with the same name.
It was strange that he was standing here, and it was strange that the guy who came in piloting a childish boat called White Shark No. 1. The noise of the fish market, the sound of fishing boats coming in, even the sound of waves slapping against the dock—everything felt surreal to Go Seok-jun.
“Thank you.”
Baek Sang-eun, who had jumped down from the boat, approached Go Seok-jun closely. He regained his sense of reality at the low, rough voice addressing him. At least the voice was familiar to his ears.
“Is White Shark No. 1 your boat?”
“Yes. It’s mine.”
“You must have made a lot of money?”
The guy standing close smelled strongly of salt. Go Seok-jun unconsciously stuck out the tip of his tongue slightly and licked his lips. Perhaps the seaside air had stuck to his skin—he tasted saltiness on himself too.
“Stay in the car.”
“I came to watch you work.”
“You’ll get splashed with a lot of water.”
Baek Sang-eun pushed up the corner of his mouth slightly. It was a pleased face. He must have caught a lot of fish.
Since he said a lot of water would splash, he moved as far away from the boat as possible. From a distance, he watched him unload the fish. There wasn’t a single mistake in Baek Sang-eun’s movements. The world of manual labor he was experiencing for the first time was fascinating. And the fact that Baek Sang-eun accomplished all that work.
Nameless fish poured out in a rush, and a broker examined them as if checking, then tore off a receipt and handed it over. At someone calling out “Captain Baek!” Baek Sang-eun bit the yellow receipt in his mouth and went over there.
It seemed there was work requiring strength. Three able-bodied men lifted and moved something while even calling out “one, two” in unison. They should handle that kind of thing themselves, why are they making someone else’s kid work? Go Seok-jun twisted his lips.
The fisherman who finished his work approached Go Seok-jun. Still holding the receipt in his mouth, he jerked his chin. It seemed like he wanted him to take it, so he pulled out the paper from his mouth.
“Why are you holding it in your mouth so sloppily?”
“My hands are wet.”
“Do you always go around like this?”
“No. I wanted to show Uncle.”
And then he grinned. Go Seok-jun unfolded the receipt with a snap like a parent checking a report card. On the receipt labeled ‘White Shark No. 1’, the value of the fish Baek Sang-eun had caught today was displayed precisely in numbers.
“Whoa! You made a lot of money?”
Go Seok-jun’s eyes widened as if they’d pop out. They say everyone who rides boats has built a building or two in town—if he earned this much every day, building one was only a matter of time. He’d planned to pay this time since he’d gotten treated before, but it seemed he could keep getting treated going forward too.
“I’ll wash up and come back. Get in the car. The air is still cold.”
Baek Sang-eun took off his apron and strode off somewhere again. His booted feet left water marks with each step.
Though he had seen him naked at the bathhouse, honestly the apron and boots outfit felt much more provocative than the fully naked body. Of course, it didn’t mean he was turned on. Just that someone who saw that appearance would probably fall for him.
Go Seok-jun felt awkwardly embarrassed for no reason and moved to the parking lot. How long had he waited? Baek Sang-eun, who had taken off his apron, knocked on the passenger door. Then he took the duffle bag Go Seok-jun had brought and disappeared again.
What was in the bag? It must have been clothes to change into. Baek Sang-eun returned with his hair dampened and changed into neat clothes.
It was the first time Baek Sang-eun got in his car, and as soon as he got in, the car tilted slightly toward the passenger side. He cleared his throat awkwardly, perhaps embarrassed himself too.
“Did you wash up? You smell nice.”
Though he’d nagged enough to make his ears hurt about not drying his hair properly, he liked the shampoo scent coming from the not-quite-dry hair. The changed clothes also smelled of fabric softener. It seemed a bit much to make his uncle run an errand just to bring clothes, but anyway, he was glad he’d done the bag errand.
“Is there somewhere you want to go?”
“Uncle has been waiting since this morning to take Sang-eun somewhere awesome today.”
When he winked, scrunching one eye, Baek Sang-eun turned his head sharply as if he’d seen something he shouldn’t have. Go Seok-jun was completely absorbed in the fun of teasing Baek Sang-eun.
The place he took Baek Sang-eun to was a sundae soup restaurant. A few days ago, the Chief had brought him here saying it was a “restaurant only those in the know know about,” and it perfectly suited Go Seok-jun’s taste. Despite his prim impression, always dressing up stylishly in clothes, and insisting on dress shoes even though the farthest he went was Misong Police Substation, Go Seok-jun surprisingly had hearty tastes.
He parked the car neatly in the parking space and got out. Even without opening the door, the smell vibrated out. The smell commonly called the gamey odor.
“Ah, I’m hungry. Boss. Two specials here.”
While Go Seok-jun was ordering, Baek Sang-eun rolled his lips inward and looked around. Go Seok-jun felt slightly elated for having brought Baek Sang-eun to a restaurant even he didn’t know.
Not long after, two bowls of soup with rice already mixed in came out bubbling hot. Go Seok-jun, as the Chief had taught him, put two pieces of kkakdugi in the soup and heavily peppered it. This is how it tastes refreshing, apparently.
“Eat a lot. Originally, adults are the ones who bring you to places like this. I only knew about it because the Chief brought me too.”
Go Seok-jun slurped down the soup. They say soup is a police officer’s soul food, but he probably would have liked sundae soup even if he hadn’t become a police officer.
The way sweat beaded out, it was nourishing like nothing else. He was eating with his face buried in the soup when the guy sitting across from him was strangely quiet, so he lifted his head while holding his spoon. By the time Go Seok-jun had almost finished eating, Baek Sang-eun hadn’t even eaten half of half.
“Ah, it must be too hot for Sang-eun. Uncle will cool it down for you.”
He’d been a child with a sensitive tongue since young, unable to eat hot things. Even now he was the kind of guy who blew on instant coffee until it cooled completely before drinking it, yet Go Seok-jun had been so focused on filling his own stomach that he hadn’t even noticed whether his companion was eating or not. He took out a new spoon and stirred Baek Sang-eun’s earthenware pot round and round to let the steam out.
When Go Seok-jun, having finished his task, stared at him to hurry up and eat, Baek Sang-eun raised the flesh under his eyes and smiled awkwardly. He stirred the soup with his spoon, then grabbed the hair falling into his face and took a bite. His cheeks puffed up hugely. It was a face that looked like he might vomit any moment.
“Does it not suit your taste? This place has a bit of a pork smell, so opinions might be divided… I didn’t think about it.”
“No, no. It’s hot. Really hot.”
Go Seok-jun dunked the spoon he’d stirred the pot with earlier and took a spoonful. It had already cooled completely. This guy still doesn’t know deep flavors. He tapped the cheek of the guy who still didn’t know the taste of soup with his index finger and stood up from his seat.
“Ah, that’s not quite enough. Let’s go for round 2.”
His stomach was already full, but he planned to feed something to the guy who had worked his bones off since morning but couldn’t even eat half his rice. Still, the beach area was a downtown district with quite a few brunch cafes and sophisticated establishments, so anywhere would be fine. He loaded up Baek Sang-eun and drove for a while again from the soup restaurant to the beach.
“What should we eeeeat?”
They say you’re an old man if you drag out your words when speaking, but there was nothing he could do about the habitually popping out sing-song tone. Wanting to have a cup of coffee, he walked looking for a cafe where they could have a simple meal.
“You scraped that earthenware pot clean earlier, but you’re still not full?”
“Yeah. Not full. A meal isn’t complete until you’ve had coffee. I wish a cafe or something would open in Saetgol too. Should we go here?”
It was a cafe with open glass windows and clean interior. When he opened the door, jazz music was playing. He quite liked the atmosphere. Not long after ordering, coffee and pancakes dripping with maple syrup came out.
Baek Sang-eun took out his phone and devoted himself to photographing the pancakes. Go Seok-jun quietly watched what he was doing while sipping his coffee.
With every movement, the flashy necklace and bracelet jingled. Still, after being told he’d ruined his ears, his ears had become more modest. Perhaps because of that, Baek Sang-eun in a short-sleeved t-shirt with strange drawings looked unusually youthful.
Go Seok-jun with his soul buried in sundae soup, and Baek Sang-eun eating pretty pancakes while even taking pictures. Is this the generation gap? He was taking a sip of the bitter coffee with acidity felt on his tongue when, click. A shutter sound was heard. Go Seok-jun lifted his head. Click again.
“What? Bring that here.”
When he beckoned with his finger, Baek Sang-eun leaned his body all the way back. Baek Sang-eun, who had instantly moved far away, touched his phone screen and giggled.
“Ah, it came out cute.”
“What is it? Let me see.”
He just needed to show the phone, but he leaned his entire body over so completely that their heads almost touched. The image of Go Seok-jun in the phone was, well, just a man in his late thirties sipping coffee.
