As expected, you can’t judge a person by their outward appearance alone. Ian quietly grabbed the edge of Ganghyuk’s sleeve while repeating this newly realized truth to himself.
“I’m a little worried. There are people like me who try to repay the kindness they’ve received somehow, but there are also many people who just take what they can get and then wipe their mouths clean.”
The smile in Ganghyuk’s eyes deepened. Had he ever received this kind of worry in his life? Probably not before, and it seemed like he wouldn’t in the future either. He became curious about what kind of thoughts were going through that small head to make him worry like this.
“How admirable. You’re even worrying about me.”
“I’ll repay that 1 billion won somehow no matter what. I’m still young, so I can do anything.”
“That statement seems a bit dangerous.”
At the words that he could do anything, Ganghyuk chuckled and pinched Ian’s soft cheek once before letting go. The soft, pillowy texture reminded him of rice cake.
“You’re the only one who cares about me like this, so stop with the strange imagination. When are you starting the soup restaurant business?”
You’re the only one. At those words that rang especially loud, Ian touched his reddened ears and opened his mouth.
“Um… shouldn’t we write up a contract first? What if I just say things with my mouth and then don’t keep my promise later?”
“You’re really funny.”
Ian just blinked his eyes while watching Ganghyuk, who was now laughing with chuckling sounds. It wasn’t something he said to be funny at all, but seeing Ganghyuk laugh until his eyes curved made his heart flutter again. A sensation different from pain kept disturbing Ian’s mind.
The initially expressionless and cold atmosphere had largely disappeared now. His heart beat faster at the pupils that became subtly warmer whenever Ganghyuk looked at him.
Worried that he might have difficulty breathing if he wasn’t careful, he pressed his palm firmly against his chest. He felt like the roundly curved corners of Ganghyuk’s eyes and his smoothly raised lips would remain in his memory for a long time, making his face burn.
And Ian’s prediction was right on the mark. From that night on, whenever he was about to fall asleep, Ganghyuk’s smiling face would always come to mind.
ლ
“This contract is for the purpose of Party A paying a portion of the profits from ‘Hoho Soup Restaurant’ operated by Party A to Party B.”
Ian, who had been carefully reading aloud the contract Ganghyuk handed him, tilted his head in puzzlement. Although he didn’t know much about legal terminology, he knew to some extent about the relationship between Party A and Party B.
If they were to examine the circumstances that led to this contract, Ganghyuk should be Party A, but the name written next to Party A wasn’t Ganghyuk—it was him. Ganghyuk’s name was specified next to Party B.
“I’m Party A?”
“Why? Don’t like it? Should I make you Party B?”
“Um, no.”
It was a little strange, but what’s good is good. Although this was a contract being written to repay the kindness he’d received from Ganghyuk, if he was being made Party A, he didn’t particularly want to be Party B.
Without even realizing it, Ian was absorbing Ganghyuk’s kindness like a sponge. It was thanks to growing up receiving so much love from his grandfather. Not only his grandfather but also the elderly people in the neighborhood had adored Ian and given him generous affection, so he quickly became accustomed to it.
“This is my first time writing a contract, it’s so fascinating.”
Ian exclaimed in admiration while scratching the bridge of his nose with the tip of the pen he held. The content written in the contract was easy enough for even Ian to understand, with all the difficult terms broken down. However, one clause bothered him.
“Ah, but this is a little confusing. ‘Party B may request access to accounting materials related to profit calculation, and Party A shall faithfully comply with this.’ What does this mean?”
“It means if I ask to see something like a household account book, you have to show it to me obediently.”
“Ahh.”
At Ganghyuk’s answer, Ian nodded and read through the remaining clauses. They were all contents that had been discussed verbally with Ganghyuk yesterday.
In the final signature section, Ganghyuk’s name and signature were already written. Ian also uncapped his pen and wrote his name on the contract. Since he didn’t have a signature yet, after some deliberation, he wrote his name in three clear characters with neat handwriting.
There were two copies of the contract with identical content. After signing each one, he felt a sense of pride. Ian handed one of the two contracts to Ganghyuk while smiling so wide his cheeks rose.
“I’m done.”
“Good job.”
Ganghyuk received the contract and folded it into quarters. The contract was just a formality anyway. It didn’t matter even if Ian didn’t give him a single penny going forward.
This wasn’t work being done for the purpose of making money. As for the money spent on Ian, he could just extract profits later using this building and land.
“You’re opening the restaurant from today?”
“Actually from tomorrow. Today I’m going to clear away all the dust that’s accumulated and wash all the kitchen dishes. For a food establishment, cleanliness is life.”
“Alright, work hard. I have to go out for work.”
While checking the time on his wristwatch, Ganghyuk got up from his seat. He carefully tucked the contract into his jacket.
Ian looked at Ganghyuk with regretful eyes. At some point, he had become accustomed to having Ganghyuk by his side. Perhaps because they were living together in the same house, he felt like he’d grown much closer to him.
“Have a good day. By any chance, what time will you be coming home?”
“Why do you ask?”
Ganghyuk, who had been taking out and putting on his dress shoes, only lifted his eyes smoothly. Ian took out a shoehorn from inside the shoe cabinet and handed it to Ganghyuk as he spoke.
“Because I want to eat dinner together. I’ll make you something delicious.”
“Let’s see. Probably around 8?”
8 o’clock was a bit late for dinner, but Ian decided to wait. Anyway, after working at the restaurant all day today, he would finish late too.
“Okay. I’ll be waiting.”
Ganghyuk, who had been returning the shoehorn to Ian, paused for a moment. It was the first time hearing such words, so it felt unfamiliar but quite refreshing.
“I’ll be back.”
When he responded as if playing along, his gaze lingered for a while on the cheeks that quickly reddened. After opening the front door and leaving, a smile like a breeze hovered around Ganghyuk’s lips.
ლ
“Oh, my back.”
Ian tapped his aching back with his clenched fist. If the restaurant had been just a little bigger, he might not have been able to finish all the work today.
He had to rinse out the rag several times because of how much dust had accumulated. While catching his breath, he looked around the now much cleaner interior of the restaurant.
But unavoidably, it still showed signs of age. The floor had stains and scratch marks over the coating that had been reapplied multiple times, the wallpaper had become yellowish with moisture stains seeping in here and there, and parts of the menu board’s originally black letters had turned bluish.
Moreover, the wooden chairs and tables had corners worn smooth from use. Some of them wobbled in their legs when he cleaned them—they were so precarious they might break if someone sat on them wrong.
“I should replace the fluorescent lights too, right?”
The fluorescent lights on the ceiling would emit bright light and then occasionally grow dim and flicker. Ian brought over a notepad and organized the parts that needed more work.
“It’d be better to take down the calendar too, and should I just get rid of the TV?”
The large calendar where the words “Hyoseong Oriental Medicine Clinic” caught the eye more than the dates would look cleaner if removed, but when it came time to actually remove the TV, he hesitated a little.
This was because he remembered the image of his grandfather’s back as he always watched news and trot music programs on that TV when there were no customers.
“Elderly people say food tastes better when there’s a TV. I’ll put that on hold for now.”
Come to think of it, the TV was a gift from Okjeong. She said her son had bought her a new TV and donated the one she’d been using to the restaurant. Grandfather had naturally accepted it, saying it was good.
“The cleaning is done, so now I need to try making the soup…”
Before the beads of sweat on his forehead could even dry, Ian looked for the next task. While cleanliness was important for a food establishment, the taste of the food was most important above all. Cleanliness was just a basic element that had to be in place.
