“No, is this really fun and making you laugh because it’s funny? This is absurd.”
“You’re saying my words are absurd?”
This time an even more shocking answer came back.
“……You didn’t know?”
“Not at all. I still don’t know even now.”
Watching Gye Sajun answer like a news anchor in a low, serious voice, Woojae shook his head.
“Just live without knowing. I don’t even have the nerve to explain it to you.”
It wasn’t a problem he could solve at his level. Gye Sajun was like a robot with a screw loose. Are all chaebol heirs like this? But then he recalled the fact that he’d had perfectly normal conversations with Minwook and Yeonju. That bastard was definitely a weirdo. Sajun also seemed to give up on getting anything out of Woojae and changed the subject.
“So what did you decide to eat with Bang Minwook?”
This time it was truly a welcome question.
***
“You decided to eat this?”
“Yeah. That bastard chose the restaurant himself, spouting bullshit about experiencing common people’s culture or whatever.”
Woojae answered caustically as he entered the address into the navigation system built into the car. He hadn’t actually said it quite like that, but that’s how it sounded to his ears. Wanting to go to a place he’d seen in a drama.
The restaurant Minwook had chosen after much deliberation was quite far from school. About 40 minutes by car? By public transportation it would take 2 hours. If it weren’t for Minwook, he wouldn’t have even dared to go there to eat.
The reason Woojae didn’t refuse was also because he knew this restaurant. It was near his family home. It was a restaurant he liked too. Originally he’d planned to let Minwook sleep over since they’d be near his house anyway, but it would be difficult to have Gye Sajun stay over. They weren’t that close.
Sajun looked at the restaurant name entered in the navigation and muttered lowly.
“‘Yeontan Yachae Gop…… chang’?”
Sajun was muttering the words in an awkward tone as if reading a foreign language. Woojae shook his head. Now it was just funny. Not absurd, but genuinely funny. Not knowing what yachae gopchang is. He must have lived locked up. Woojae arbitrarily fabricated Sajun’s childhood. Though it was a guess close to the truth.
“Right.”
“It must be a dish with vegetables in it.”
Sajun was trying to act casual with his voice, but his expression was not at all. His profile sitting in the driver’s seat was serious. You’d think he was going to a battlefield. Woojae, feeling a bit better, decided to tease him.
“Do you know what gopchang is?”
“Chang…… Intestines?”
Not bad…… A more decent answer than expected came out. It was disappointing enough. He wanted to tease him more. Woojae smacked his lips and coolly praised Sajun.
“You’re good at deduction?”
“Are you complimenting me?”
Of course, from the listener’s perspective, it was a tone that could be suspicious. They didn’t communicate well with each other anyway. Woojae made a deflated laugh and denied it.
“Then would I be being sarcastic?”
“Your words are difficult, so I have to check again.”
“People might think you’re a foreigner.”
They really couldn’t communicate almost to that degree. It was amazing how they couldn’t understand each other when speaking the same language. Being alone with him felt like being the slaves at the moment when the Tower of Babel collapsed. Can’t understand what he’s saying. Woojae fastened his seatbelt tightly and sat more comfortably.
“Let’s go.”
“Okay.”
The car drove for quite a long time before arriving at a shabby shop. I thought he couldn’t drive, but he’s pretty good. The shop was such an old establishment that it was embarrassing to bring an expensive car. There was no separate parking space, so they had to park on the street.
“You can park here!”
The owner, who happened to be outside the shop, showed them where to park. After parking the car in the shabby space next to the shop and getting out, the familiar neighborhood scenery came into view. Really unsuited to Gye Sajun’s background.
Woojae quickly secured a table and planted his butt on a blue plastic chair. Seeing Sajun awkwardly sit on the red chair across from him made him feel a bit better.
Had he ever thought about sitting on a cheap plastic chair? Seeing Sajun showing a somewhat passive attitude in front of an experience he was having for the first time in his life made him feel oddly comfortable, like a player in a home game. This is my turf. Woojae raised his right hand and placed an order to the owner inside.
“Boss, three servings of yagop, please. Make it spicy.”
“Yagop? That’s Isaac’s son.”
Woojae reconsidered Sajun’s words and bit his lip hard. It was a futile effort.
“Kheuhheuk……”
The unexpected laughter burst out helplessly like water from an opened dam. It was even more so because Isaac was the son who was offered as a human sacrifice. The idea was so bizarre he couldn’t hold back his laughter. He’d seen people think of yachae gopchang when hearing yagop, but never the reverse.
“What’s wrong? Is it like religious food or something?”
“Ah, this is so fucking funny……”
“Did I say something absurd again this time?”
“It’s funny, you crazy bastard……”
Woojae was almost crying. Crazy, calling it religious food. Thinking of a pastor shouting “three servings!” while distributing communion during worship, his laughter wouldn’t stop. Thinking about it, it was a grotesque and cruel scene, but that made it funnier. He’d have to take back his praise about being good at deduction.
“Heueuk, heuk, puhak, haak, uk……”
Woojae let out laughter that sounded like crying. He’d held back because it hurt his pride to laugh loudly, but now he was making strange sounds. Sajun kept tilting his head, trying to read Woojae’s mood. He looked like a stupid large dog. If someone else had misunderstood, he would have scolded them and been done with it, but seeing Sajun, who always acted so haughty and pretentious, being like this was quite amusing.
“Ah, seriously…… How embarrassing.”
Woojae wiped away tears he didn’t know when they’d formed, his face still bearing traces of laughter. He felt Sajun staring at him intently, but he didn’t want to make excuses like he hadn’t been crying. If he doesn’t know this too, he’s an idiot.
“Are you Christian?”
At the sudden curiosity, Woojae asked Sajun with chuckles. Sajun, looking embarrassed and troubled, continued as if making excuses.
“No. It’s like classical literature, you know. This much is general knowledge.”
Such pride…… While Woojae was gathering up the laughter that kept escaping, the side dishes that came out were laid on the table. On a grill with shiny foil, bright red and glossy yachae gopchang was piled up. A savory and spicy smell that stimulated his salivary glands wafted to Woojae’s nose. It was a tempting smell that came from a familiar taste.
“Ah, this is gonna be so fucking delicious. I wanted to eat this so much.”
Glass noodles soaked in spicy seasoning, vegetables full of flavor, and most importantly, the intestines were being stir-fried in an appetizing manner. Sajun was staring intently at the table with eyes seeing something unfamiliar. Since it came out pre-cooked, he could eat it right away, but Woojae liked intestines a bit charred, so he let it cook a little longer.
“So…… how do you eat this?”
Starting with the question from Sajun, who had unfamiliar food before him for the first time in his life, a very important time of explanation arrived.
***
“Ah, that was delicious.”
The fullness that came as a natural course after the battle-like meal made Woojae generous. Right now, no matter what shitty things Sajun said, it felt like he could take it in good spirits. Although massive bleeding was expected in his bank account due to the keys and MT, showing a chaebol bastard who didn’t even know what yachae gopchang was the taste of commoners made him feel proud for no reason.
“It’s delicious, right?”
Woojae asked like a child showing off a toy. Sajun ate the food without any fussing, unexpectedly. After finishing even the fried rice and wiping his lips with tissue—there was almost nothing on them—Woojae looked at him with somewhat curious eyes. Did it suit his taste? Sajun answered while emptying his water cup.
“It’s spicy.”
“How is this spicy! So weak……”
“Must be nice to have a strong tongue.”
Of course, he’d ordered it spicy, but to him it was moderately spicy. Normally he was in the habit of asking the other person if they could eat spicy food, but somehow he hadn’t been able to ask Sajun even that basic question. Was he too lacking in manners? Woojae felt a bit sorry belatedly and surreptitiously pushed the fruit salad covered in mayonnaise—commonly called sarada—in front of him.
“If it’s spicy, eat some of this.”
“What is this?”
“It’s called sarada, and it’s better than you’d think. Back when my dad……”
Used to make it often—Woojae, who’d recalled up to that point, closed his mouth and swallowed.
Sajun silently began chewing an apple mixed in thick white stuff, using his chopsticks properly. Thanks to his good table manners, the shabby gopchang restaurant looked like a high-class Korean restaurant. This could be called the young master effect. After cleanly swallowing what was in his mouth, Sajun slowly began.
“I heard birds can’t feel spice, so are you a baby bird then?”
“How dare you call me a baby bird!”
His mood had become acrid and gloomy from saying unnecessary things, but at the timely arrival of the ‘baby bird’ talk, Woojae burst out angrily. But even to his own ears, it wasn’t an unpleasant voice. It was mixed with laughter. To think he’d be exchanging jokes with Gye Sajun like this—what an absurd thing.
“I thought you’d have a cat’s tongue.”
“Why would I?”
“You’re like a cat.”
Following baby bird came cat talk. Woojae, in a good mood because his stomach was full, let out a deflating laugh and answered.
