“Since you haven’t tried anything here anyway, let’s think of it as your first time and consider together. ……For the first time, shouldn’t it be soju?”
“It’ll be strong.”
“Did you drink whiskey because it wasn’t strong?”
Kang Sehyun, who rarely laughed out loud, unusually laughed loudly. It was a laugh that made even me feel good for no reason.
“They said makgeolli has a bad hangover, and beer doesn’t really feel like alcohol……. I don’t know what’s what with sake. After all, there’s only this.”
“Let’s go with that, then.”
In the end, we decided on soju for the first time.
“Let’s get something for the snacks that’ll fill us up a bit.”
“You said you ate dinner.”
“Yeah……. But I barely ate.”
“Why?”
“There are some circumstances.”
The other person looked puzzled but didn’t ask any further. I liked this about him. Kang Sehyun, regardless of whether he was interested or not, didn’t pry into stories the other person didn’t tell first.
“Did you eat dinner?”
“Yeah. I sent the message from the restaurant. So order whatever you want to eat.”
Honestly, anything was fine. Meat, sashimi, salad. It seemed like anything would be okay as long as it wasn’t abalone.
After worrying, I ordered two menu items with beef brisket and shrimp, and one bottle of soju. The staff member who took the order after checking my ID glanced at me before leaving.
“But why did you want to meet?”
“Can’t I call you out?”
“It’s not that, but it’s so sudden. If you sent it from a restaurant, you sent it in the middle of eating dinner. Plus, you said let’s drink, so I thought something happened.”
A large hand picked up the plastic water cup. He seemed quite thirsty as he emptied it quite quickly. Kang Sehyun said with a slight frown.
“It’s not like that.”
“Then?”
“I just didn’t want to be with people I don’t know today.”
“……Ah. Those people you met a few days ago?”
“Yeah.”
Even though they were people he met a few days ago, instead of saying they weren’t close, he used the expression that he didn’t know them at all. That alone showed how much Kang Sehyun didn’t think favorably of those people.
I was newly surprised again that he’d liked me from the beginning.
To even be happy about this. Now I’m happy about all sorts of things.
“So you were meeting your girlfriend today?”
“I was with her until just now. We originally planned to just have dinner, but she said to come with her if I didn’t have plans.”
“Ah, then well.”
“You’re not telling me to stay with her today. Before, you said to endure it even if it’s uncomfortable.”
“I decided not to say things like that carelessly from now on.”
“Suddenly?”
“Yeah. I decided to do that starting today.”
While we were having this and that conversation, a staff member came and placed a green bottle and two soju glasses and left. As basic snacks, boiled beans and soft tofu came out. Kang Sehyun, who was holding a boiled bean in his hand and looking at it closely, saw me eating and soon put one in his mouth and chewed.
His awkward appearance was rather unfamiliar. I couldn’t believe he was the same person who ate a $2.50 hot dog. Who was the person who ate $10 pizza without hesitation?
“I’m going to take a call.”
“Oh, okay.”
Kang Sehyun, who took out his phone from his coat pocket, hurriedly got up from his seat. The way he was rushing seemed like it somehow wasn’t his girlfriend, and sure enough, formal speech came out of Kang Sehyun’s mouth as he turned around.
What caught the eye of the man left alone was the green bottle with dew droplets beading on it. Looking at the liquor bottle reminded me of something I’d heard once—that you should learn to drink from an adult. Back then, hearing those words, I thought I too would someday be able to drink liquor poured by my father. It was an absurd hope I’d wished for briefly. Probably that person and I would never even sit at a table alone together for our entire lives.
Once one thought came up, other forgotten futile wishes came up one by one. If I had a father, would he have congratulated me as soon as I turned twenty? Would he have raised a glass with me? If that person had thought of me as a son, wouldn’t he have probably poured whiskey? I hadn’t even drunk yet but my emotions were already fluctuating.
This was why I didn’t want to drink. Drinking to get drunk should be fun, but I was afraid I’d become sad if I got drunk.
“What are you doing.”
Kang Sehyun, who had returned at some point, was looking at me with a frown. To be precise, he was looking at my fingertips holding the neck of the soju bottle and fidgeting with the cap.
“You couldn’t wait that short time and were about to drink?”
“No.”
“How did you not drink until now when you wanted to drink that badly?”
“I said no, it’s not that. I just remembered something.”
Even though I said no, suspicious eyes followed to the end.
“Did you finish your call?”
“Yeah. Let’s drink now.”
A large hand took the soju bottle I was holding. Kang Sehyun, who naturally opened the cap, suddenly held out the bottle in front of me. After hastily holding up my glass to receive the liquor, I also filled the other person’s glass.
Kang Sehyun and I clinked glasses without anyone saying anything. Naturally, there was no special toast.
Is it okay for me to share drinks so amicably with Kang Sehyun like this?
I worried for just a brief moment before drinking. I still thought we were on the boundary line between acquaintances and friends, but more than that, it seemed like I absolutely couldn’t show a disheveled appearance in front of Kang Sehyun.
But knowing I should have worried about such things before coming to this place, I immediately downed my glass. As I put down the empty glass, a sharp scent vibrated belatedly and the tip of my tongue became bitter. I frowned without realizing it.
“……This is the taste you drink it for, right?”
“Probably. I definitely said it would be strong.”
“…….”
My forehead wouldn’t smooth out at all, but the other person looked too unbothered.
“If you don’t like it, drink something else.”
“It’s fine. I’ll just drink it. It’ll get better as I eat.”
While I was drinking water to get rid of the bitterness in my mouth, snacks came out. They looked appetizing, not much different from the photos. Thinking I should fill my stomach first with alcohol in front of me, I immediately picked up my chopsticks. In the meantime, the empty glass had been filled again.
Looking for a topic, I threw out a question that suddenly came to mind earlier.
“How’s work?”
“Well, just so-so.”
“Hmm, you said it was your father’s company work, right? Can I ask what kind of work it is? You don’t have to say if you don’t want to.”
When I asked that, his already large eyes became even rounder.
“You’re curious about that now? You’re asking pretty quickly.”
“You answered vaguely that it’s family business, so I figured you didn’t want to talk about it. I just didn’t want to seem like I was prying if I asked more.”
Among the people I’d seen so far, those who lived in places as nice as Kang Sehyun, wore nice clothes, and drove nice cars were all children of mid-sized companies you’d recognize by name or quite prominent families.
And most such people talked about that first when introducing themselves. Because they thought revealing their background would put them above the other person. But Kang Sehyun was different. He didn’t say it himself, and so I also thought I didn’t need to particularly ask.
“The hyungs didn’t tell you?”
“What? What your family does?”
“Yeah. They roughly know.”
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask either.”
Last time when I heard the conversation between Kang Sehyun and his noona, it seemed like his noona and the hyungs were all helping with their father’s business. We didn’t talk in detail, but seeing them talk about other siblings’ business trips, I could roughly guess. That meant the family business was quite large in scale.
I thought it was fine knowing just that much. And if I became curious, I thought it was better to ask the person directly rather than hear through others.
Fortunately, the hyungs didn’t carelessly talk about things I didn’t even ask, and I also had no intention of asking until today.
“But why are you suddenly curious about that? Because I said I’m working?”
“No. I was wondering what kind of prominent family’s child would start with whiskey.”
“What. Were you teasing me?”
“I did intend to tease, but separately from that, I was also curious. If I don’t ask, you’ll absolutely never tell me.”
Kang Sehyun, who let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded, held out the small glass containing transparent liquid. The liquor I drank again was still only bitter.
“What about you.”
“Me?”
“What about you.”
“What do you mean.”
“Even if I ask, you seem like you won’t tell me. You absolutely never talk about yourself.”
It wasn’t wrong. I wouldn’t lie to questions I couldn’t answer, but I had no intention of answering either.
“What are you curious about?”
“Just everything.”
‘Just everything.’ Should I be happy about this or not? For the great Kang Sehyun to want to know about me was an honor, but I also didn’t like anyone asking about me in detail.
Kang Sehyun, who casually said something that only new lovers would say, filled his glass again. It was already the third glass.
“Then you answer first. You just glossed over it.”
“My family?”
“Yeah. Is it a company I’d recognize if I heard it?”
“……We just do various businesses. Both domestic and overseas.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Kang Sehyun, who nodded, acted like he’d tell everything but ultimately didn’t give an exact answer. I was the one who said from the beginning he didn’t have to say if he didn’t want to, and I had no intention of prying into someone who clearly didn’t want to talk.
“For someone like that, a place like this is a bit much. I should repay you with something better.”
“It’s fine.”
At my words thrown out like a joke, Kang Sehyun became serious. His eyes looking at me were so sincere that I became awkward instead.
“Okay. Then tell me what you’re curious about me. It’s a bit awkward since this is the first time asking and answering so openly like this, but I’ll give you special treatment.”
Fortunately, the atmosphere quickly became okay.
“Family relations.”
“I thought you’d ask my blood type first. You were curious about that?”
“Hurry up.”
“Mom. Dad. Hyung. And me.”
“Hyung? That’s unexpected. I somehow thought you’d be the eldest.”
“Why?”
“Just a feeling. You’re cautious. About everything.”
Kang Sehyun knew other people quite accurately.
