PCL Ch 32

“Dinner, would you like to eat outside?”

Lim Dae-han with a red line on his back asked in a humble voice. I rolled around the bed with a dry body after washing up and raised myself up. As I looked at his back, I felt embarrassed and looked down. My face turned blue when Lim Dae-han tapped near my waist because my back and bottom were sore.

“I’ll buy you something delicious.”

“I was going to buy today…”

“You had a hard time. I’ll buy you something delicious. Let’s go out and eat.”

I was thinking about what I should eat. After some contemplation, I asked Lim Dae-han instead.

“What do you want to eat?”

Even Lim Dae-han didn’t seem to have anything special in mind. He ate noodles in the morning and planned what he would buy outside. Suddenly, he remembered that a delicious meat restaurant had been established in the apartment complex near the school’s main gate.

“Do you want to go eat meat? There’s a nice restaurant near the front door.”

“Okay.”

Lim Dae-han extended his hand to me. I stumbled to my feet after grabbing his hand. Perhaps he couldn’t control his strength, so he yanked me and tipped my body forward. Lim Dae-han, who caught me, raised only one ambiguous corner of his mouth. He also appeared to be sorry.

***

First of all, we ordered four servings. I reached out to scissors and tongs to grill the meat. However, Lim Dae-han was faster. He naturally laid the meat on the grill.

I slowly looked around the restaurant without saying anything. I thought there would be a lot of people because he said it was delicious, but even on a weekend evening, there were not that many customers. Lim Dae-han roughly lifted the hat he put on his head, brushed his hair with his finger, and put it back on.

Lim Dae-han moved his gaze out the window after casually looking at the meat being cooked with splashes of oil. Customers who had already been drinking were smoking cigarettes outside.

Maybe he also wants to smoke… I asked Lim Dae-han carefully.

“Do you also want to smoke?”

“What?”

“Oh right, you quit…”

Wasn’t that the case? Were you simply holding it out in front of me? Lim Dae-han, who was shaking his legs, placed the bean sprouts on the corner of the fire without hesitation.

“I don’t really want to smoke that much.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

I glanced out the window as I watched Lim Dae-han cut the meat into small pieces.

“What do you think about smoking?”

“Why are you asking that?”

Lim Dae-han wrinkled his forehead right away. I’m curious… Still, I couldn’t ask any more questions. I moistened my mouth with the coke we had ordered together. Lim Dae-han cut the meat into small pieces. It looked quite delicious.

“I’ll grill it too. Give it to me.”

I reached out to Lim Dae-han but was immediately rejected.

“Hey, my store is a store that sells meat.”

“It’s not even a meat restaurant.”

“It’s still in the store.”

“You don’t go there every day to eat.”

“Why do you insist on this topic?”

As soon as he raised his voice, I shut my mouth. He pouted his lips and rummaged through seasoned scallions. Lim Dae-han placed very well cooked meat in my bowl.

“No, don’t worry too much about it. That’s what I’m saying.”

“…”

“It doesn’t matter who grills the meat.”

He added “Hmm?” at the end of the sentence and asked for my approval. He tilted his head at an angle, trying to meet my gaze, and he smiled mischievously. I put the meat in my mouth after wrapping it in seasoned scallions. Actually, I wasn’t upset or anything. Sometimes I was a little surprised when Lim Dae-han used his strength or spoke a little higher. I looked at Lim Dae-han who was busy grilling meat, and I spoke up.

“Do you have a sister or brother?”

“Yeah. Older brother, older sister, little brother. I have them all.”

“There’s a lot. I only had an older brother.”

“The one I saw last time?”

I agreed with a nod. Two bowls of naengmyeon ordered were placed in front of each other just in time. Lim Dae-han poured mustard carelessly. I poured some vinegar. Lim Dae-han was bibim-naengmyeon, and I was mul-naengmyeon because I couldn’t eat spicy food. I told Lim Dae-han that I would mix the noodles and took it with me. Chopsticks scratched the bowl and made a noise I didn’t want to hear while I was mixing the noodles.

“How old are they? Your siblings?”

Lim Dae-han raised his head abruptly. Confused, I opened my eyes wide and looked at him.

“My older brother is 24, my older sister is 22, and the youngest…” 

“… ”

“5 years old.”

“Ah…”

What should I say?

I quickly recalled the expected response in my head. Your parents’ relationships must be great. You have a younger sibling. He’s still a child. Your younger brother must be adorable. Show me the picture.

“Your parents must be cute. Show me the picture.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Ah…”

I embarrassedly held out the bowl to Lim Dae-han, who reacted embarrassingly to a mistake in my words that could have been overlooked. When I picked up the chopsticks and placed them in my mouth, I was surprised because they were far spicier than I had thought.

Lim Dae-han placed a cup in front of me and poured water into it. He was a little embarrassed, a little quick-tempered, and a little violent, but these minor details were very kind. When I looked up at him, he smiled and bit his lips before slurping the noodles.

Even after eating, the sun was still shining brightly. Summer days were far too long. We took a short walk while sucking on ice cream. We returned to the school’s back door by walking through the playground. Even on a weekend, there were a lot of people there. People studying in the nearby library came out to cool off, and some locals came out to exercise.

I ate the ice cream and squinted my eyes.

“It’s hot.”

When I muttered to myself, Dae-han placed a fan next to my face and shook it gently. Then for no reason, my heart swelled up and it got hotter. My stomach was full, and the summer evening was hot, but the light was vibrant. The rumbling and crying bugs also sounded good for no apparent reason. It would be better if there were no flying bugs in the sky. Still, it wasn’t too bad if Lim Dae-han shook the fan and kicked out the bugs.

Feeling excited for no reason, I tapped Lim Dae-han’s forearm with my shoulder. Lim Dae-han then caressed my cheek with his hand holding a fan to make me feel better.

Was dating always this good?

I couldn’t control my facial expressions, so I pouted and smiled for no apparent reason. I took out the ice cream stick that Lim Dae-han had bitten.

“I’ll take it.”

Then, with two ice cream sticks in my hand, I bravely made my way to the back door. Honestly, there was an uphill road on the way to the back gate, but there was nothing wrong with that.

***

I returned home later than I thought.  I returned home at 11 p.m. after going for a walk and studying a little more at Lim Dae-han’s house, then kissing several times. Still, if you include the time it takes to pack up at the library and return home, I don’t think it’s too late. Although it was not yet time to sleep, all of the lights in the house were turned off. The light leaked through the door gap of my parent’s and brother’s room. I carefully said, “I’m back,” and entered my room.

I lied down on the bed and turned on the air conditioner. I used the remote control to adjust the temperature and turn on the fan. I replied to Lim Dae-han’s message telling me to go home safely with my toes tilted. A pop-up came in. It was Jung Ji-pil.

Jung Ji-pil: [Ki Young-ah] 11:16 pm

Jung Ji-pil: [No matter how much I think about it, I don’t understand. So I’m asking just in case] 11:16 pm

Jung Ji-pil: [With Dae-han…] 11:17 pm

Jung Ji-pil: [Are you dating?] 11:17 pm

“Wha, what…”

I was so startled that my own words came out. My heart was beating so fast it felt like it was coming out of my mouth. I bit my lip and sent a reply.

Me: [?] 11:19 pm

Me: [No, I don’t know what you’re talking about, you punk… I am in the library…] 11:19 pm

Jung Ji-pil: [I was on the phone at the library when I noticed you at the playground. Nevermind…] 11:20 pm

Jung Ji-pil: [I’ll see you tomorrow] 11:21 pm

Jung Ji-pil: [With Lim Dae-han] 11:21 pm

I called Lim Dae-han as soon as I saw the message. Lim Dae-han answered the phone as soon as the connection sound was heard. I could hear cars moving on the road beyond his voice. He seems to be on his way back home.

“Dae-han-ah, you, Jung Ji-pil… No…”

– Jung Ji-pil contacted me.

“…What?”

– He was cursing.

“What?”

– Do you want me to read it?

“Yeah.”

Lim Dae-han’s voice faded for a moment. There was a sound of tapping the screen.

– You bully bastard, you seduced an innocent Ki Young-hyun.  I’d noticed it since he kept tapping me in class. I’m going to report to the school violence committee and scold you, just you wait and see.

It was Jung Ji-pil’s tone no matter who heard it. “Ahh.” I ripped my hair out with a dying sound. I bit my lower lip before finally letting out my voice. I was cautious.

“I’m going to see Jung Ji-pil tomorrow.”

– See him.

“No, I said we’d see him together.”

– What?

“…”

– Okay.

Lim Dae-han’s voice was frighteningly calm. I’m sure everyone knows but was I the only one who finds the current situation strange? Were they doing hidden cameras? I couldn’t figure out what was going on, so my thoughts became jumbled. However, Lim Dae-han hung up the phone after saying, “Sleep well. I’ll pick you up tomorrow.” What do you mean sleep well? Tonight was a gloomy night.

***

Mul-naengmyeon (Korean cold noodles soup)

Bibim-naengmyeon (Korean Spicy Cold Noodles)