PSY CH 6

Jooyoung returned to the pawnshop and greeted the customers as usual. But every now and then, the image of the door slamming shut in front of him would pop into his mind, souring his mood. The way Dohyun had carelessly tossed the envelope his Grandpa had given him into the drawer, and this kind of cold rejection, he had lost count of how many times it had happened already.

No matter how much Dohyun might dislike him, was it really right to treat another person’s goodwill like that?

“…So childish.”

Jooyoung muttered to himself and slumped over the desk. Since things had turned out like this, he decided to just avoid getting any more entangled with Dohyun. His Grandpa’s request still weighed on his mind, but with the way Dohyun was acting, Jooyoung felt like there was nothing more he could do.

Why were his Grandpa and Aunt so concerned about Dohyun, anyway?

Was it because he lived alone, away from his parents? Or maybe it was because his Grandpa, who used to live with him, had passed away not long ago? 

Jooyoung absentmindedly pressed the calculator with his finger as he sank deeper into his thoughts. The clicking sound echoed through the silence.

Now that he thought about it…

Dohyun had been shirtless earlier. He was probably at home, but for someone who usually insisted on wearing long sleeves even in hot weather, it was strange to see him like that.

Jooyoung had accidentally seen Dohyun’s bare skin earlier. His sun-kissed upper body was large and muscular, filled with dense, firm muscle. But what caught Jooyoung’s attention wasn’t his toned body. 

“…Did I see that wrong?”

There were scars on his arm.

It had been a quick glance, so he couldn’t be sure, but there were several scars of a different color. 

Jooyoung absentmindedly brushed his hair out of his face as he tried to recall. Did Dohyun’s skin always have those marks when they were kids?

Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from a distance. 

Jooyoung stopped his thoughts and sat up from his slouched position. There were other offices on the 4th floor, so even though he heard footsteps, it didn’t necessarily mean it was a customer for the pawnshop. But somehow, it felt like the footsteps were going to come this way. 

As expected, someone appeared, walking through the wide-open iron gate. It was a woman he vaguely recognized. 

“Welcome.”

The woman ignored Jooyoung’s greeting, busy rummaging through her bag with an irritated expression. 

“How much can I get for this?”

She placed an item on the tray in front of the counter. It was a pair of earrings, encrusted with jewels and bearing the logo of a famous luxury brand. 

Jooyoung glanced at the woman. She ran her hand repeatedly through her hair, the long strands swaying as she did. 

While many customers came in to pawn jewelry, it was rare for someone to bring in a luxury item like this. His Grandpa couldn’t tell the difference between real and fake goods, so he had advised Jooyoung not to take in such items. It was advice that had slipped his mind since no one had brought in anything but gold or electronics until now.

But perhaps it was a coincidence. This brand was one Jooyoung knew very well.

“…”

As the memory resurfaced, Jooyoung shook his head lightly. He then took the earrings and examined them closely. It didn’t take long. It was a product that was in high demand, so Jooyoung was very familiar with it. 

Occasionally, customers would come to the store and ask if the item was genuine, likely because a lot of knock offs were circulating on the market. When that happened, they would politely decline by saying that they couldn’t authenticate the product. But the truth was, most of the time, the staff could tell whether it was real or not just by looking at it.

After checking the engraving, Jooyoung placed the earrings back down. Then, almost immediately, the woman asked.

“Is it fake?”

It wasn’t poorly made, but it wasn’t the real thing.

“Ugh, damn…”

Reading the silence in Jooyoung’s expression, the woman rubbed her face with her hands. It seemed as though her last hope had crumbled, and she let out a heavy sigh.

As if to tell him to take it back, she pushed the tray away, but just then, her phone vibrated. After ignoring the vibrations for a while, the woman finally cursed under her breath and picked up the call. 

“What?!”

Her dry hand roughly rubbed her forehead before she snapped,

“No, you said by next week! You said there was no rush!”

“…”

“How could I get that money right away?” 

“…”

“Ugh, damn it. Fine. I said FINE! I’ll hang up.” 

The woman slammed her phone down and said to Jooyoung, “Give it to me.” It was clear she wanted the earrings back. Every time she ran her hand through her hair, her eyes, which were nearly on the verge of tears, would briefly show, with red veins clearly visible in her sclera. 

In that moment, Jooyoung impulsively opened the cash box.

He took ten 50,000-won bills from the full stack of cash, the bills and coins jingling together. 

“I can give you up to 500,000 won, with a 1.66% monthly interest rate. If you’re two payments late, it’ll be forfeited.”

As he held out the money in a basket, the woman stared at it blankly. She stared at the money for a long while before suddenly lifting her head sharply. 

“Isn’t it a knock off?”

“It’s authentic.”

At Jooyoung’s calm tone, the woman seemed even more flustered. Her eyelids fluttered rapidly, and her eyes were too unsteady, darting around as if lost, like a drifting ship.

After a long pause, she slowly reached out and grabbed the money. Her movements were rough as she shoved the bills into her bag, and without a word, she turned and left the pawnshop.

“…”

Jooyoung listened to her footsteps fade into the distance as he collected the earrings she’d left behind. As with all valuables, he carefully placed them in the safe.

It wasn’t something that could be solved with just 500,000 won. It was lucky if it could put out the immediate fire, but it was just a temporary measure anyway.

However, with the woman in front of him, grinding her lower lip in frustration as she wondered how to come up with the money immediately, Jooyoung couldn’t bring himself to say, ‘It’s fake.’ Helping her in this small way felt like the better choice—after all, 500,000 won wasn’t a large amount for him.

Jooyoung continued writing in the ledger, his expressionless face showing no sense of satisfaction from having helped someone.

Then a sound came from outside—a dull thud. He thought it might be another visitor, but when no one entered, he tilted his head in confusion and stepped outside to check.

“…Huh?”

A shopping bag was beneath the metal door, which had a rough wooden block used as a doorstop. Inside was a clear container that had clearly been washed and dried thoroughly. The sound he had heard earlier must have been from the container hitting the ground.

Crouching down, Jooyoung opened the shopping bag. The transparent container was spotless, gleaming as if it had just been bought. 

But behind the neatly stacked containers was a folded envelope. Was it money? He thought, reaching into the bag and pulling out the stiff envelope. As he opened it, he found Onnuri^[1] gift certificates and a crumpled, folded note.

[I’ll eat it well. Thank you.]

The handwriting was uneven, a little rough around the edges.

Jooyoung lifted his head. The hallway was silent, with no sign of anyone having passed through. The only sound was the occasional breeze coming through the open window.

“…”

He read the note again. It was a simple note, but it carried the image of a younger Dohyun—the boy from the past who he thought was long gone. Maybe that’s why he couldn’t take his eyes off the note.

Dohyun had always been a troublemaker, but he was innocent in his own way. He didn’t know how to hide his feelings and, no matter how much Jooyoung would snap at him or get annoyed, he would become discouraged for a moment, but then immediately return to pestering him.

He’d sulk, but he never really knew how to be truly angry. And that made him an easy friend for Jooyoung.

But now… why was he treating Jooyoung with such a sharp attitude? He seemed like a completely different person.

Jooyoung stared blankly at the empty hallway.

***

Since the morning, there had been a commotion in front of the building. A blue 1-ton truck was parked on the road, and men were loading goods onto it. 

“Hey, lay it down like that, lay it down!”

Just then, the traffic light changed. Jooyoung, who had just gotten off the bus, crossed the crosswalk at a quick pace. Water had pooled in every corner of the road, a result of the rain that had fallen the previous night. Jooyoung walked carefully, avoiding the puddles, and only after crossing the entire crosswalk did he realize that the person standing by the truck bed was Dohyun. 

“I can do it myself.”

“That’s fine.”

The man outside, who had been supporting the items, spoke apologetically. Dohyun secured the goods with a belt, then meticulously covered them with a net before hopping off the truck. The loading seemed to be finished.

“Oh, it’s hot.”

As if waiting for that moment, the man handed Dohyun a towel he had been carrying around his waist. Dohyun was wearing a half-zip windbreaker in the 33-degree Celsius heat, and his neck and back were soaked with sweat.