“Two people?”
Minjun guided the two people to their seats. I was still inside the kitchen, only my foot on the threshold, unable to move.
Why the hell did he come here? No, how did he come here? Did I ever tell him I work part-time here?
Just then, Lee Jiwoo, who was taking his seat, discovered me and raised both hands above his head like doing a hurrah, waving them like flags. I was so flustered that I didn’t even register that aggressive greeting.
“Do you know them?”
Minjun was startled by Lee Jiwoo’s behavior, then came to my side and whispered in my ear. Finally coming to my senses at the warm breath felt on my ear, I blinked rapidly and said:
“Uh, yeah. I’ll take care of them, so you finish cleaning up in the kitchen.”
“Yes, understood.”
Who the hell is the grandfather next to him? The grandfather, who had neatly slicked back his pure white hair, stared at me intently, but it was too burdensome so I absolutely didn’t meet his gaze.
“Lee Jiwoo.”
“Yeah?”
“…How did you come here?”
“How did I come? I came by car. To eat.”
That’s not what I meant by that question. He knows but doesn’t want to answer, so he deliberately said it like that. Looking back at Lee Jiwoo’s way of speaking so far, it was almost certain.
“If you’d told me in advance, I would have at least set up the table.”
When I muttered, Lee Jiwoo tilted his head.
“Is there anything to set up?”
“Side dishes and stuff like that…”
I trailed off while glancing at the grandfather’s shoulder area. Even so, Lee Jiwoo didn’t tell me who the grandfather was until the end. After just reading the mood, I finally asked first:
“The person who came with you…”
“He’s my grandfather’s friend.”
“…Grandfather’s friend? Y-your grandfather’s friend?”
Not a friend who is a grandfather, but a friend of his grandfather, right? It was still strange either way. Why the hell did he come here with his grandfather’s friend, not even his grandfather?
I smiled awkwardly and finally met eyes with the grandfather. He was excessively dignified to the point of feeling intimidating. Even the cane he was holding with his hand looked like… an artifact.
Is that an eagle? The handle part was a delicately and elaborately carved eagle’s head, and in its eyes were gems that looked incredibly expensive even at a glance.
“Hello, I’m Lee Jiwoo’s… uh, friend? I’m his friend.”
“He’s the kid I’m in a ‘some’ with.”
“What’s a ‘some’?”
“A relationship that will soon become deep. We’re still in the preliminary stage.”
“Oho.”
“……”
At Lee Jiwoo’s nonsense, the grandfather looked at me with eyes full of curiosity. Since I couldn’t rudely frown, I just desperately smiled.
“My name is Heo Seoun.”
“I’m Mac… No, I’m Park Dongwan.”
“Please speak comfortably, sir.”
“Haha, sir what. Just call me grandfather comfortably, student.”
“Yes, grandfather. Haha.”
Why, why are you suddenly using formal speech again… I felt like I’d die from discomfort. Normally in this kind of situation, Lee Jiwoo should lead the conversation, but whether he lacked social skills or awareness, there seemed to be no sign of that at all.
About 5 seconds of short silence passed, and eventually I opened my mouth first.
“Did you come to eat?”
“This guy who normally doesn’t even contact me suddenly threw a tantrum asking to come, so I came. Please give us something moderately delicious.”
“I didn’t throw a tantrum…”
Lee Jiwoo grumbled in a small voice, but I ignored it.
“Yes, then I’ll bring you the most delicious thing. Do you have any allergies or anything you can’t eat?”
“I eat everything well.”
“Grandfather, you have a metal allergy.”
“What does having a metal allergy matter at a pork restaurant?”
At the grandfather’s words, I internally agreed. I wanted to noisily agree, but I appropriately moved on.
“Our utensils are all wooden and there’s no metal in the food, so you’ll be fine.”
“Hahaha, as long as it doesn’t touch for a long time, it’s fine, so don’t worry too much.”
Perhaps my words were funny, the grandfather laughed heartily.
“Then I’ll prepare it quickly for you. Please wait a moment.”
I turned around without losing my smile until the end. As soon as I entered the kitchen, I realized my back was soaked.
Minjun, as if he’d been waiting, loaded water and side dishes onto the serving cart. At that sight, I felt water droplets flowing down my back once again.
Did he hear all our conversation? Of course he did. There’s only one table of customers and it’s this quiet…
Ahhhhh, we’re not even in a ‘some’ and I’m not even gay!
From the serious mental blow, I burrowed into a corner of the kitchen for a moment, tearing at my hair and struggling.
“Ugh…”
I groaned while holding my breath, then barely came to my senses and took a deep breath. Then I appropriately prepared raw meat by cuts. Minjun, who came back into the kitchen, didn’t say anything special to me, but it was certain he’d heard all our conversation.
When a situation I couldn’t handle with my abilities came, laughter actually seeped out. Laughing emptily, I gave up on everything and headed to the table where Lee Jiwoo was waiting with a tray.
Neither Lee Jiwoo nor the grandfather had touched the side dishes yet.
“It’s pork belly, pork neck, and pork skirt meat, is that okay? These are the best sellers at our store.”
“Yes, that’s good.”
“Yes, I like it too.”
Following the grandfather, Lee Jiwoo also answered in formal speech. I really want to punch him. Why is he so annoying?
“Then I’ll grill the meat for you.”
I skillfully picked up the meat with tongs and placed it on the grill when the grandfather asked Lee Jiwoo:
“These days, meat restaurants grill the meat for you too.”
“I guess so. Don’t you normally grill this yourself? Or maybe Seoun is specially grilling it himself because I came.”
I almost dropped the tongs I was holding. Two gazes instantly focused on me, and I reflexively smiled kindly and said:
“Our store normally has staff grill it for you.”
“So you’re not special.”
“I guess. Maybe I misunderstood.”
“Actually, isn’t the ‘some’ also your misunderstanding?”
The conversation between Lee Jiwoo and the grandfather gradually turned into secret talk. Their voices also became small like whispers, but it was useless. I was standing right in the middle of them.
“That’s not it.”
“But Heo Seoun’s expression doesn’t look very good.”
“Seoun’s expression is normally like that.”
“Then maybe you were just never that good to him.”
Please have this conversation when I’m not here…
“Seoun likes me too. If he hated me, why would he smile at me, let me sleep over, and all that? He even made me food.”
“Ooh. Then what do you like so much about Seoun?”
Why are you doing this to me, grandfather…
Unable to manage my expression anymore, I was on the verge of tears and couldn’t do anything. Still, from ingrained habit, I was grilling the meat perfectly without burning it.
“Seoun is… somehow different from other people. None of the people I’ve met so far were like Seoun.”
“In what way?”
Lee Jiwoo said something like an old drama line. I got goosebumps, but this was a part I was also a bit curious about, so I quietly listened.
“Mm, there are various things… If I just say what comes to mind first…”
The meat was already perfectly grilled just right, but I deliberately dragged out more time. I was cutting with scissors as slowly as possible when Lee Jiwoo said something strange.
“Seoun’s bathroom has a washing machine.”
“……?”
This was something I never expected at all. What does he mean by suddenly saying there’s a washing machine in the bathroom? Question marks filled the space above my head.
“And there’s a kotatsu in the living room.”
“Kotatsu? That thing in Japan…”
“It’s not a kotatsu!”
When I suddenly burst out, Lee Jiwoo and the grandfather looked at me in surprise. I was also startled and coughed, correcting the wrong information.
“There’s no kotatsu at my house, Lee Jiwoo.”
“Then what was that place where we slept together?”
“We never slept together, I just laid out a blanket in the living room. If it were a kotatsu, there would have been a table-like thing on top of the blanket too.”
“Why would you lay out a blanket in the living room?”
“……”
Looking at Lee Jiwoo tilting his head, I felt a blood vessel rising on my forehead. This bastard, is he toying with me right now?
I unconsciously gripped the tongs tightly when the grandfather muttered as if pitying:
“The meat is burning.”
“Aaaah!”
At those words, I screamed rashly again.
