Although the earthenware pot still had soup rice full to the brim, it was clear he was trying to hurry and leave because of the men. Ian bit his lip feeling upset.
Operating the soup rice restaurant upholding his grandfather’s will was for people like this. Because he too wanted to carry on his grandfather’s heart of wishing them to eat their fill of carefully cooked food, even if just one meal.
“Grandfather, just a moment.”
Taking the money, Ian hurriedly took out a to-go container. He meticulously packed soup rice that was easily enough for two servings so the broth wouldn’t spill and handed it to the old man.
“Heat it up and eat it at home. I put in a lot of fresh kimchi too.”
“I feel so bad about this…”
“You couldn’t eat your meal properly. Grandfather definitely would have done this too.”
“…Thank you, son.”
At the term of endearment calling him “son” like his deceased grandfather, Ian smiled brightly to hide his reddening eyes.
Even in the cold weather, his hands that had gone around picking up waste paper all day were swollen bright red to a pitiful degree. After watching the grandfather take the packed soup rice and leave the shop, Ian placed the earthenware pots that were already boiling vigorously onto the tray.
Because other customers were suffering due to those men, it seemed he should make them eat quickly and leave. Carrying the tray that was quite heavy with the rice bowls loaded on it, he headed toward the table where the men were.
“The soup rice is ready.”
As soon as he set the tray down on the table, the voices that had been noisily chattering until just moments ago abruptly cut off all at once. At the gaze persistently scanning over his face and neck, Ian put strength into the corners of his mouth to avoid showing signs of being shaken.
The table wasn’t large in size, and the men’s builds were exceptionally big. While being as careful as possible not to let his body touch the men’s, he moved the earthenware pots one by one from the tray to the table.
But the men sitting on both sides subtly rubbed their forearms against Ian’s thighs as if brushing past them. Although they were movements of picking up water glasses and eating fresh kimchi with chopsticks, their gestures were particularly exaggerated.
Ian’s hands began to tremble finely. He got goosebumps, horrified by others’ body heat touching him through the fabric.
The men’s atmosphere was exactly reminiscent of Hongdo and his subordinates. He could sense the particular sleaziness of people who made low-quality violence their trade. After setting down the last rice bowl, Ian quickly hugged the empty tray to his chest.
“Enjoy your meal.”
Not wanting to even make eye contact, he roughly looked only at the table as he gave his greeting, then was about to turn around.
“This kid seems like he should be selling something other than soup rice.”
“Look at how only his ass got fat. It’s amazing.”
“How can his skin be so white? If he leaves a little one behind, that’d be jackpot, wouldn’t it?”
“Hurry up and eat. You didn’t forget how many houses we need to hit today, did you?”
The one who cut off the increasingly crossing-the-line sexual harassment was one man. However, as he too hadn’t sincerely stopped them, he openly stared at Ian’s flushed face and giggled.
Ian gritted his teeth and returned to the kitchen. Because it was an open kitchen with a hole in the middle, he couldn’t completely escape the men’s gazes, so he drank a glass of water.
Even as the cold water went down his esophagus, the trembling didn’t subside. They definitely weren’t people from this neighborhood, so he didn’t understand why they’d come all the way to this place in the corner to eat lunch.
He hoped they’d just unluckily visited this shop today, but he had a bad feeling. He fidgeted with the cell phone in his apron pocket, falling into anguish.
He was confused about whether what he was experiencing now qualified as “anything happening” that warranted contacting Ganghyuk. The atmosphere of fear the men were creating and the sexual harassment were uncomfortable and frightening, but he thought if they were just passing customers, it would be better to just let them leave as is.
Normally when there were customers, he would go out to the dining area to check if anything was lacking, but right now he wasn’t in the right state of mind for that. Ian hoped the men would slurp down their soup rice and leave.
“Hey, here. The check.”
Whether his wish reached them, in less than ten minutes the men called out to Ian in loud voices. Ian, who took a small deep breath, fidgeted with his apron and went out to the dining area.
All the earthenware pots were cleanly emptied. One man who was picking out food debris stuck in his teeth with his yellowish pinky nail looked at Ian and grinned.
“Running the business alone? Admirable for such a young age.”
A gaze full of sexual intent unpleasantly swept over his face and body. Ian spoke of the amount the men needed to pay with a deliberately calm face.
“The total is twenty thousand won.”
“The portions are generous and the price is cheap too. The taste is also really excellent with the rich broth. Did you put something in here?”
He hoped they would quickly pay and leave, but the man seemed to have no intention of obediently settling the bill. As if the meat stuck in his teeth wasn’t coming out well, he made slurping sounds and gestured at the earthenware pot with his eyes.
It was a compliment, but it didn’t make him happy at all. Cold sweat flowed down his lower back as the incident with Hongdo kept trying to come to mind.
“No answer, why. Where’s the owner? How can you train a part-timer like this? To do this while running a food business is unconscionable.”
The man seemed to find arguing with Ian entertaining. The others weren’t much different either. While standing close, they scanned Ian with chilling gazes and giggled among themselves.
Ian put his hand into his pocket. If the situation got worse, it would be better to take measures, whether contacting Ganghyuk or reporting to 112. Because it was difficult for Ian alone to deal with not one but four men.
It would be a lie to say there hadn’t been difficult incidents while running the business until now, but because the majority of customers were neighborhood adults who had watched over Ian since he was young, he’d never been picked on like this before.
When he stepped backwards with a pale face and took out his cell phone, the man who had been scowling laughed as if amused. The scar on his face twisted grotesquely.
“What, you’re going to report us? Is it report-worthy that a customer gave a word of admonishment to a part-timer for unfriendly service?”
“Hey, kids these days are scary. They make a fuss calling it sexual harassment or violence over nothing.”
“They all need to get beaten to death to come to their senses. For bad manners, beating is the medicine. Hang them upside down and give them a good club massage. They’ll bow their waist submissively at even the letter ‘ye’ of courtesy, won’t they?”
Ian’s fingertips that were pressing 112 hesitated. It was certainly an ambiguous situation to report. He also didn’t feel inclined to say he’d been sexually harassed. No matter how much he thought about it, just enduring seemed to be the answer, so Ian put his cell phone back into his pocket.
“20,000 won, please pay.”
These kinds of bastards enjoyed it more if you reacted. Hongdo was like that, and so were the punks who bullied Ian when he went to school.
When he hardened his expression and asked for the money, the men all rose from their seats at once. The old chairs scraped against the floor making a loud noise. Goosebumps rose on his arms, but Ian widened his eyes to avoid showing it.
“Here.”
One of the men took out two 10,000 won bills from his wallet and waved them. When Ian approached and grasped the bills in his hand, the man pulled his arm back.
Ian, who lost his center of balance, staggered and reflexively placed his hand on the man’s shoulder. Because the man happened to be sitting with his legs spread wide apart, as his upper body tilted, he ended up standing close to the man’s crotch.
Startled, Ian immediately tried to straighten his body, but the man wrapped his thick arm around Ian. His waist throbbed from the brutish strength.
“C-customer……!”
At the creepy sensation touching his thigh, Ian struggled to break free, and the man let him go obediently. Only after surreptitiously groping Ian’s buttocks.
Ian’s complexion turned deathly pale. Though he’d gotten better while living with Ganghyuk, not much time had passed since the day he was kidnapped by Hongdo and suffered a terrible ordeal.
