BOREDOM 2

Tomorrow, the story of Jaeyoung hitting on him and getting shot down would probably be on the employees’ lips. Guessing that Jaeyoung wouldn’t be in a good mood for a while, I shifted my gaze from the rear of Kwon Taeshin’s car as it grew distant, its red lights blinking.

The next day, Jaeyoung was absent from work without notice.

It seemed he was thoroughly embarrassed about being rejected by Kwon Taeshin. Hearing the other waiters gleefully pick him apart, chew him up, and savor the details, it was understandable. They said he had deliberately spilled a drink on the front of his pants and then, under the pretext of wiping it off, had groped his thigh and blatantly made a pass at him. Kwon Taeshin had apparently given him a public dressing-down for his actions.

“Kwon Taeshin said, ‘Fuck, you think I come to a place like this to get sexually harassed by a guy like you?’ The manager immediately called Yoo Jaeyoung over and chewed him out.”

“The atmosphere got fucked up yesterday because of that bastard. The manager was pissed the whole time, saying he’ll fire every last one of us if we cause problems like that.”

“Ha, honestly, that Jaeyoung kid needs to know his place. Who does he think he is to be hitting on Kwon Taeshin? Don’t you know how much Kwon Taeshin cares about looks? The kids Kwon Taeshin has bought so far are one of two types. Either fucking pretty or fucking handsome.”

“Why, Yoo Jaeyoung is quite easy on the eyes, isn’t he? He’s popular with the young girls.”

“He’s not in the same league as Kwon Taeshin.”

“Anyone who saw you would think Kwon Taeshin was your friend, you know?”

Eating the fish-shaped pastry the manager had bought, I let the other employees’ chatter go in one ear and out the other. Perhaps because it was the first fish-shaped pastry of the year, it was warm, sweet, and incredibly delicious.

“Maybe because Jaeyoung pulled that stunt, Kwon Taeshin left alone yesterday?”

“You think he was really alone? He must have left because he had someone to meet.”

“True, for someone like Kwon Taeshin, there are probably dozens of people who’d come running barefoot if he called at 3 in the morning.”

“There are probably hundreds of kids who stay up all night waiting for Kwon Taeshin to call.”

The employees, who had been going on and on about Kwon Taeshin without getting tired of it, suddenly fell silent. The manager was approaching from over there. Since they would get a severe scolding if they were caught gossiping about a customer in detail, everyone hurriedly stuffed the pastry into their mouths and dispersed. I, too, folded the empty bag and got up from my seat. Then I gave a slight bow to the manager and quickly went out to the parking lot.

It had seemed stuffy when I was inside, but it was chilly when I came out. At the tail end of a long summer, the autumn that had been so hard to reach was already about to pass, and the air had the scent of winter. Then again, thinking that back in the day, it would have snowed in November, I took off the uncomfortable jacket and put on a lightweight padded vest over my shirt. It was a threadbare piece of clothing with the duck down clumped in one place, so much so that it was leaking out through the pinholes. Seeing it, the parking chief made a comment.

“What’s with those clothes of yours?”

Instead of answering, I brushed off the white, lint-like duck down. That only made more of it fall out.

“Clothes don’t even cost that much, go buy yourself one.”

The nagging about my untidy attire was longer than I expected. I pretended not to hear and snorted inwardly. If you want to tell me to buy clothes, then give me the money. Even if I bought new clothes anyway, I’d give them to my younger siblings, not wear them myself. It’s not like I dealt with customers, and I just went back and forth in the parking lot at night, so I didn’t see why I had to pay attention to my attire. I was doing my duty as an employee just by wearing the uniform, which had thrown all semblance of warmth to the dogs.

From 9 p.m., customers began to arrive at the club one by one. It was a weekday, so it got busy early. Before it was even 12 o’clock, parking lot 1 was completely full, so I quickly opened parking lot 2. Then, as I was hurrying back to the club, I paused at the vibration of my phone. I took out my phone for a moment to check, and a message sent by my youngest sibling, Wonyoung, had arrived.

「At the convenience store nearby」

I was flustered and looked around. The convenience store nearby, which one was he talking about? Remembering that there was a convenience store at the intersection a little farther from the club, I hurried there. Fortunately, my youngest was standing in front of it, loitering and looking at his phone.

“Little bro!”

“Big brother.”

My youngest, who acknowledged me, was still wearing his school uniform. It seemed he had come to see me on his way home after his academy class ended. Since it was almost 11 o’clock, I couldn’t welcome the unexpected meeting. Instead, I frowned and scolded him.

“Lee Wonyoung, when your evening study session is over, you should go straight home. What are you doing wandering around a place like this?”

My youngest, who had just barely turned fifteen, stuck out his lip.

“But it’s already been several days since I’ve said a single word to you, big brother.”

Feeling sorry, I rubbed the back of my neck with my hand. My youngest, who had originally been left in the care of our grandmother’s house, had been very lonely after coming up to Seoul. It was only natural, since his grandmother who had taken such tender care of him had passed away and he had come to a strange place.

“Sorry, I’ve been tired from working lately…”

I knew I should be spending more time with him, but since I was working at night to support my two younger siblings by myself, I had no spare time. I couldn’t tell him that and started to rummage through my pockets.

“I just slipped out for a moment so I can’t stay long. I’ll give you some allowance instead.”

“It’s okay, I didn’t come to ask for allowance.”

Having said that, my youngest took something out of his bag and shoved it into my pocket. I saw that it was a cream-filled bun.

“Big brother, you haven’t been eating properly lately. Eat this at least.”

“You should have eaten it. You like this bun, don’t you?”

“I’m giving it to you because I like it.”

My youngest, saying so with his cheeks flushed red from the cold wind, was both admirable and pitiable. I wish he had been born into a more affluent family. Then he would have grown up being doted on like a precious child. Thinking that he was suffering hardships he shouldn’t have to because he was born into a poor and difficult family, I felt sorry even though I hadn’t given birth to him.

“I’ll give you taxi fare, so take a taxi home.”

“It’s okay. The buses haven’t stopped running yet.”

“Don’t say that, just take it.”

“No, it’s expensive. I wouldn’t have even come to see you, big brother, if I was going to take a taxi.”

After bickering for a while, I yielded to my youngest’s insistence that he could take the bus.

“Alright, then I’ll tell Wonho to come out and meet you.”

“That bastard will probably say he’s busy with his own studies.”

I gave my youngest, who was speaking crudely, a flick on the forehead.

“Is that any way to talk about your older brother?”

“Ow!”

My youngest, clutching his forehead, glared and grumbled.

“A brother is only a brother when he acts like one. Big brother, don’t you hate Lee Wonho for just leeching off of you?”

When Wonho, the second child, said he wanted to go to medical school, it was my youngest who had vehemently opposed him. After saying, “What medical school for a dirt-spoon like us,” and having a huge fight with Wonho, he still hadn’t reconciled with him.

“I’m going to get a job right after I graduate from middle school.”

My youngest acted as if he were all grown up. That attitude was proof that he was still immature, so I clicked my tongue and shook my head.

“Not a chance. I’m going to send you not just to high school, but all the way through college.”

“No, I want to earn money quickly so that I won’t make you suffer, big brother.”

“How can someone who only graduated from middle school earn money? To make big money, you have to study hard like Wonho and go to a good university.”

“After I go to a good university, what about you, big brother? You’ll have aged terribly from looking after us.”

When I tried to flick his forehead one more time, my youngest quickly dodged. Instead of flicking him, I smiled and tousled his short bob. My youngest, who had been yelling “stop it” at my rough touch, finally burst into peals of laughter. The sound of his laughter was clear and cheerful.

I wanted to stay like this with my youngest forever, but it was getting late. Worried that the buses would stop running, I hurried him on his way.

“Go on, hurry. I’ll tell Wonho, so contact me when you get on the bus.”

My youngest said he would get going and turned around, but his figure looked particularly cold from behind. Thinking it was because he didn’t have a coat, I took off my vest, which was no better than a rag, and gave it to him. And then I had another round of bickering with my youngest who resisted wearing it.

Having reluctantly put on the vest, my youngest crossed the crosswalk and headed for the brightly lit bus stop. Just then, the bus home arrived, and he quickly boarded it. As I waved back at my youngest who was waving from the bus, I heard a tinkling sound from behind me.

Thinking someone was coming out of the convenience store, I quickly stepped aside. Yet, there was no sign of anyone passing. Wondering if I was blocking the way, I looked behind me. An unexpected person was standing there.

It was Kwon Taeshin. Perhaps he had something to buy at the convenience store; he was standing there looking this way, wearing a single cardigan over a completely unbuttoned shirt.

“……”

“……”

A moment of silence passed, and I greeted him in my confusion.

“Hello.”

He was a familiar customer, so I acknowledged him without thinking. Kwon Taeshin probably didn’t know me, but seeing my uniform, he must have figured I was a Zeus employee. He stood there with narrowed eyes, then took out a pack of cigarettes he had just bought and put one in his mouth. At that sight, I reflexively searched inside my clothes. It was the club’s policy to immediately light a customer’s cigarette if they put one in their mouth.

However, since the cream-filled bun was crammed into my bulging pocket, I had to take that out first. I shifted the squashed bun to my left hand and was about to find and take out a disposable lighter with my right hand when Kwon Taeshin shook his head.

“Cigarettes, I’m in the middle of quitting.”

Did a person who was quitting smoking come to a convenience store to buy cigarettes? Well, figuring that could be possible, I said, “Ah, yes,” and pulled my hand out of my pocket. Then I saw him chewing on the filter of the unlit cigarette.

A certain warmth left behind by my youngest had not yet faded. My heart, warmed up, was generously swollen. Because of that, I meddled in a way I usually wouldn’t.

“You’ll hurt your teeth if you chew on something like that.”

Kwon Taeshin did not take offense at my words. With his usual expressionless face, he replied languidly.

“…I’m feeling hungry.”

Hearing the words he muttered, barely audible in his slow manner of speaking, I readily offered the cream-filled bun in my hand.

“If you’re hungry, would you like to eat this?”

Now that I held it out, I saw that the side of the cream-filled bun had burst open. Feeling embarrassed, I pulled at the crumpled wrapper of the bun. Even so, the cream looked like a clumpy mess, and the thought belatedly occurred to me that Kwon Taeshin probably wouldn’t eat something like this.

Sure enough, he let out a small laugh and refused, “It’s okay.” Then he added a strange remark.

“It’s not that I’m hungry.”

Doesn’t feeling hungry mean that you are hungry? I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t disappointed and put the cream-filled bun away. Then I gave a slight bow, turned around, and started walking back to the club.

As I took the lead with quick, short steps, I had to fight the feeling of wanting to look back. I felt that if I turned around, I would see Kwon Taeshin following me, blowing out cigarette smoke. Ah, he said he was quitting smoking, so I guess there wouldn’t be any smoke.

Without the cigarette smoke, he had some kind of nice smell on him. It was the fragrance that had wafted inside his car. I sniffed and tried to retrace my memory. Spicy yet soft… subtle yet deep… what on earth is this scent?

The scent that lingered at the tip of my nose was neither the smell of flowers nor the smell of the forest. My nose tickled at the unfamiliar scent that seemed like I had smelled it before. I fiddled with the tip of my nose and pondered deeply, but I couldn’t figure out what this scent was at all. It was extremely annoying as I still couldn’t remember it even after arriving at the club and starting to work while avoiding the parking chief’s eyes. In the end, I twisted my nose and forcibly chased the scent away.