DP Episode 7

Deep Pivot Episode 7

A row of old villas lined the steep slope in the residential area. Under the stairs, three elderly people were carefully picking dried anchovies out of a woven basket.

The streetlamp, its bulb shattered and unrepaired, had been in that state for a long time. One of the elderly women looked at the emergency device attached to the lamp with a curious expression.

“Does that thing actually work?”

“That? Of course, it does, why wouldn’t it?”

The elderly man, turning his head in the direction she pointed, chuckled in response.

“I saw it last time, it seemed like it wasn’t working. Remember? Some kid got in trouble for pushing it the wrong way when he was playing. But since nothing happened, I guess it wasn’t working at all.”

Emergency bells were installed throughout, ready to sound the alarm in cases of gate explosions or appearances of monsters. Devices that are activated send signals from police stations to fire departments and central disaster centers, ensuring rapid deployment of responders.

“Wasn’t it the newly elected mayor who said they’d replace all those devices?”

“Oh, that was a while ago… They must have replaced them all by now.”

“Was that one also replaced then? Even though it looks so worn out?”

The elderly residents didn’t know that the devices in their neighborhood were old models developed over ten years ago. When monsters are nearby, newly installed city sensors sound alarms and lead people to safety in shelters.

It had been a long time since the regular device inspection officers had been seen. Despite being situated in a lower area than other districts, Zone 3, also known as the Moon District, is unfortunately prone to flooding. Adding to the vulnerability, this district is remarkably lacking in protective gates.

“Oh, we have a lovely student here.”

“Hello.”

Among them, at the bottom, was Yeon-woo’s basement studio in the old three-story villa.

“School’s already over.”

“Here, pretty student, have this. It was taken out a little while ago, so it’s still cool.”

An elderly woman who had transferred the anchovies she held in her hand to an empty basket offered Yeon-woo a moistened banana milk.

The elders always seemed eager to give something when they saw someone. Refusing every time wasn’t polite, so receiving once or twice had become a routine.

“Thank you.”

After receiving the milk and bowing in thanks, Yeon-woo paused for a moment, shielding his eyes from the piercing sunlight. Seeing the intense heat and the damp air, it seemed that the summer monsoon would begin soon.

“Student Yeon-woo!”
[TL/N: The person is using honorifics]

A middle-aged woman hanging laundry on the second-floor railing waved to Yeon-woo. Yeon-woo smiled and greeted her.

“Hello.”

Choi Jeong-sook, who ran the entire third-floor villa as a boarding house, was one of the relatively wealthy individuals in the neighborhood, relatively being the operative word. Although neighbors envied the boarding fees that fell into her hands every month, thinking they were enough to make a living, the reality was that the old villa was a constant source of problems, with repairs that seemed endless.

However, they couldn’t afford to sell the house and move. Even if they sold a few of the houses here, they couldn’t even buy a single studio apartment in another area. Unless a gate exploded dramatically and there was a reason to redevelop, the neighborhood had no redevelopment potential, so property values were practically at rock bottom.

“Already back? How was school?”

“I left early today because I had something to do.”

After paying the boarding fees every month, there was hardly anything left after covering her daughter’s education expenses, clothing, pocket money, and various other expenses. Moreover, with her daughter starting high school this year, the leaks in the budget had doubled.

So, what other sharp moves could there be in life? Only living tenaciously. She was meticulous about collecting every penny of the boarding fee and the interest if the tenant fell behind even for a day.

“Oh, what did they say about the guide inspection?”

“Yes.”

“Are you feeling better? How are the people at the center treating you?”

“Yes, everyone is kind.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

Such tranquility seemed to make Yeon-woo infinitely weaker. It could be because of Yeon-woo’s harsh circumstances, but it might also be because she liked their polite and neat demeanor, unlike boys of her age.

As Jeong-sook shook off the rusted clothes onto the rusty drying rack, she slapped her forehead as if she had just remembered something she had forgotten.

“Hey, look at yourself, mom. Yeon-woo, come up here for a moment! I have something for you.”

Yeon-woo, who was about to enter the house, looked up at the second floor with a puzzled expression. Jeong-sook pretended to eat something and whispered, “Side dishes,” gesturing for Yeon-woo to come closer.

“Sun-ae keeps going on about how much she wants pork cutlet, so there’s a lot of leftover side dishes. Originally, side dishes are more expensive, but she doesn’t even know that.”

When Yeon-woo came up, Jeong-sook hastily put away the remaining laundry, gesturing for him to come closer as she opened the front door.

“Hey, Sun-ae! Come out for a bit!”

With Yeon-woo standing awkwardly in the entryway, Jeong-sook yelled into the room.

“Choi Sun-ae!”

“Why do you keep calling me? I’m busy.”

With the sound of a rolling chair, short-haired Sun-ae appeared. The chair, hooked on the threshold, was gently swaying. Sun-ae’s eyes widened when she spotted Yeon-woo.

“Oh.”

“Your Yeon-woo oppa (Older male friend) is here. Remember you asked me to let you know when he came?”

Sun-ae, who had jumped up from her chair, quickly unraveled the hair roll on her bangs.

“When did I! Mom, what strange thing are you talking about… Hello, oppa…”

Yeon-woo awkwardly smiled and shook hands slightly. Sun-ae, busy tidying her bangs with one hand, tucked her hair behind her ear and glanced down.

“No matter how many times I call her, she doesn’t answer. She’s wearing a headset again, probably playing a game…”

“What game? I didn’t play any games! I was studying, so I didn’t hear.”

“Oh? Such nonsense. What studying? Yeon-woo, take a look at her. She’s been glaring like she’s about to go into battle or something.”

“Oh, Mom!”

Whether Sun-ae was annoyed or not, Jeong-sook, who had taken out the side dishes from the refrigerator with diligence this time, was busy taking out something else from the cupboard. She carefully placed them in a paper bag and handed them to Yeon-woo.

“At the bottom is fern, the two below are fish cake stir-fry. The top one is braised tofu. Eat them all by tomorrow since they’ll go bad quickly.”

“Thank you. I’ll enjoy them.”

“This soap came as a gift last holiday, but Sun-ae doesn’t use it. Your Shampoo ran out too, right? Use this.”

“Thank you.”

“Oh, is there anything else I should give you? I feel like I missed something… I’ve been so busy lately.”

Jeong-sook laughed, feeling restless for not being able to take care of everything when it came to Yeon-woo. She gave soap, shampoo, and… oh, did he need rice? Yeon-woo, stopping Jeong-sook’s hands that were moving to fetch something else, smiled and declined.

“It’s okay. There’s still plenty of rice. I’m already overflowing with gratitude for everything you provide.”

Even though the rice container had been empty for a while, he didn’t have the courage to ask directly for more. Especially since he was already falling behind on rent every month.

“It’s okay. I don’t use it anyway. Pay it all off later. What is that, guide training camp? You said you can get a basic salary if you go in there?”

“Oh, right. But I think I might skip the training and start working right away. That way, I can earn money faster.”

Yeon-woo delivered some hopeful news for once. Jeong-sook patted his back and congratulated him.

“Hurry inside. As soon as you come in, put the side dishes in the refrigerator. They might spoil quickly because it’s hot.”

“Thank you so much.”

Yeon-woo nodded in greeting and turned away.

Ah! I told you in advance, when did I ever tell you to call him ‘oppa’ in front of me? Look at you, glaring like that. Hey, am I some kind of prophet? If I had known Yeon-woo was coming, I would have rolled out the red carpet. How can I live like this with you? Ah, what’s this, wearing a ‘desperate’ look in front of ‘oppa’… Ugh, it’s annoying, really.

Yeon-woo went down the stairs, listened to the conversation behind the closed door, opened the water meter box and took out the key from inside. The glass door, taped over the broken part with yellow packing tape, creaked open.

A warm and humid breeze rushed in. Yeon-woo took off his shoes and quickly stepped into the cramped space, where it felt like a few adult men lying down would fill it up.

Following the landlady’s instructions, he opened the refrigerator first and filled it with side dishes. He immediately drank the banana milk that Grandma had given him, sticking a straw into it as it had been rolling around in the refrigerator. He hung up the clothes he had casually thrown off in the morning and washed his casual clothes in the basin.

A faint sunlight filtered through the dusty window. Occasionally, specks of dust fluttered inside the old mosquito netting along with the footsteps of someone passing by. Yeon-woo gave up on ventilation and closed the window. Even if the house got humid, he couldn’t open the windows during busy times when people were passing by.

Slurp. The banana milk that had been filling his mouth now revealed the bottom of the container. He rarely spent time like this at home. Normally, he would be at school at this time, and even in the evenings and weekends, he was always busy with part-time jobs.

In a room with only a small floor desk, a few textbooks, and a neatly folded blanket in the corner, there seemed to be nothing to pass the time. As he was left alone in the emptiness, the memories he had been trying to forget flooded in. Leaning against the unfolded blanket, Yeon-woo lay down and covered his face with both hands.

“What should I do…”

His whispered soliloquy, unheard by anyone, was drowned out by his deep sigh.

I kissed him, that person.

【Ji Seo-joon】.

As Yeon-woo walked home, his heart, which had just calmed down, began to beat rapidly again. Thud, thud, thud. The loud sound of the monitoring machine, ringing in sync with the increasing heartbeat, was an added bonus, like an auditory hallucination.

People must become fools when consecutive miracles that they never dared to dream of happen. To see, hold, touch the person he had never even dreamed of seeing again, let alone in front of him, and kiss them.

He gently touched my lips. More lasting than the sensation of his touch was the warmth and breath I felt from his nose and his voice.

“Sigh.”

Just the thought made his body tense up. Turning over, Yeon-woo buried his face in the blanket and tightly gripped the corner of the pillow.

I feel like I’m going to die… It’s so embarrassing.

His body, sprawled out on the crumpled blanket, jerked up. Why did his nose have to bleed at that moment? Why in front of him…

‘It was the best kiss I’ve had recently.’

But how could he say such words with such a face and act like nothing happened? If he had hesitated, it wouldn’t have been a nosebleed, but his heart bursting out, and he would have died.

He didn’t make a good impression the first time they met, and now, with a nosebleed, he left an even worse impression. It seems he is destined to continue being a fool in front of Ji Seo-joon.

Hugging his knees and crouching down, Yeon-woo’s ears and neck turned bright red.