DS 30

Even with the new owner, the sushi restaurant was still bustling with commotion.

“Over here!”

The heat was stifling. Eun-myeong rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie. Sweat glistened on his exposed forearms.

“Yes, coming!”

Eun-myeong darted around the restaurant like a freshly caught fish.

“Why is the spicy fish soup here so spicy?”

Rushing to a table where someone was waving, he found an angry customer complaining. It was someone who had added extra hot peppers to an already spicy soup.

“I’m sorry.”

Eun-myeong quickly bowed apologetically. Then he swiftly brought a kettle and poured more broth. The next customer who called him over said:

“Why is there so little sashimi here? Bring a refill soon so we can eat with our drinks.”

Though not frequent, such customers did appear occasionally. Eun-myeong apologized and explained it wouldn’t be possible as they had already sliced everything. Instead, he refilled their corn cheese twice.

“Sit here and pour me some drinks.”

Eun-myeong’s arm was painfully grabbed while he was moving about in a daze.

Looking down, it was that perverted man from before. The one who had harassed him while asking for peppers…

“I-I’m working right now.”

“What’s wrong with taking it easy?”

His whole body tingled again. Discomfort crawled over him like a hairy caterpillar.

“Haven’t seen you in a while, when did you come back? Thought you’d shacked up with some other guy, hmm?”

Money was slipped under his apron. His skin, easily scratched even by fish bones, was painfully cut by the paper’s edge. It stings. Eun-myeong shuddered.

“You don’t need to give me this, customer.”

Eun-myeong tried to return the money quickly, but he froze when the man subtly grabbed his wrist.

“This fish restaurant is doing business wrong, you’d have crowds if you sold something else.”

While saying this, he kneaded his bottom as if it were a rice cake. He could feel other customers glancing their way. He had become a spectacle. Calling the police here would be useless. This was something Eun-myeong had to handle himself. He spoke with firm eyes:

“Customer, you can’t do this.”

Even if he lived paycheck to paycheck, he didn’t want his dignity stripped away for a few bills.

“What do you mean I can’t? Big brother just wants to have fun with you because you’re pretty.”

But the opponent was overwhelming. His breath reeked of alcohol. Eun-myeong, who had actually been terrified despite speaking up, let out a deep sigh.

“One bottle of soju here, please!”

Just then, like a savior, an order came from another table.

“I-I’m busy, so…”

Eun-myeong, who had been pleading, quickly fled. For the rest of the half-day, he was pushed around by customers, wrestled with fish, and forcibly held onto his slipping consciousness. When night fell, it started raining, and footsteps became sparse. Dusk settled, and twilight filled everywhere. Eun-myeong stayed behind with Aunt Jung-hye to clean up.

“Looks like the rain clouds are coming from up north. They say Seoul’s already flooded.”

At the word “Seoul,” that man naturally popped into Eun-myeong’s mind. He had been away from the hotel for several days now. While blankly staring outside, the restaurant phone rang.

“I’ll get it!”

Thinking it might be a delivery order, Eun-myeong quickly picked up the receiver.

“Hello, Gyeryongpo Seafood.”

He habitually prepared a notepad and pen, but the voice that came through was completely unexpected.

―Eun-myeong.

It was his sister. His eyes, which were stained from fatigue, were now wide-awake with shock.

“Noona.”

Eun-myeong straightened his back, eyes wide open.

―Have you been well? I was wondering how to contact you. Hyojin told me you’ve been working at the restaurant lately.

When asked if anything had happened, Eun-myeong quietly answered no.

“No, nothing special happened.”

Actually, that wasn’t true, but given how they’d last parted, his sister would obviously worry. Eun-myeong said he was working hard at the restaurant and had apologized profusely.

―Is that really all?

Her sister was suspicious, but Eun-myeong kept nodding.

“I’m doing well at the restaurant here. You can ask Hyojin Noona if you don’t believe me.”

He said this confidently since things would appear normal on the surface. Soon after, he heard a somewhat relieved voice.

―Thank goodness, I was so worried that thug might have hurt you.

Just hearing her voice seemed to melt away all the fatigue that had clung to his body throughout the day.

―Ah, I’m finally relieved now that we can talk. I felt awkward always borrowing colleagues’ phones, so I bought a used one.

Come to think of it, Noona’s phone was with the man… Then another word caught his attention. Colleagues? Which colleagues was she referring to?

“Where are you staying now, Noona?”

A long sigh was heard in response.

―Eun-myeong, that gangster found me a job at a capital firm. To pay off my debt by working. There’s a dormitory next to the company, so I moved in and I think I’ll be staying here.

Eun-myeong’s eyes grew as big as saucers at the unexpected news. His face immediately lit up.

“Really?”

Aunt Jung-hye, who was heading to the kitchen with a cleaning cloth, came over asking “What happened?Who is it?”

Eun-myeong answered with a broad smile, “It’s Eun-joo Noona.”

“What?”

Aunt Jung-hye leaned in, asking to hear the voice too.

“You rascal! Thought you’d run away abandoning your sibling.”

―Auntie, what do you mean run away? I’ve totally made it. Now I wear a nice uniform and work at a proper workplace.

“You bad girl, not even calling your auntie once.”

Aunt Jung-hye’s eyes welled up with tears, which she quickly wiped with her floral top.

―I’ll buy some pears and visit the store soon.

“Huh, eat the pears yourself and bring me some melon.”

They could hear his sister’s soft laughter. The call ended in a cheerful atmosphere after a busy day at the restaurant. Eun-myeong hummed a completely off-tune melody while sorting chopsticks into holders.

“Hmm, hmm, hmm.”

He had thought he’d forgotten about someone like him since he hadn’t shown his face in Seoul, but he never imagined he would even find a job for his sister. His sister was taken care of, and now he just needed to work hard to pay off the debt. Thinking things were working out smoothly, Eun-myeong swayed his shoulders side to side.

“Hey, what’s this about Eun-joo suddenly getting a job when there was no news from her?”

Eun-myeong grinned at Aunt Jung-hye’s question. His mouth itched to speak.

“Well…”

But is it okay to tell?

After hesitating, he carefully began. After all, Aunt Jung-hye had looked after him and his sister since they were young, and was practically the only one who had worried with him about his missing sister.

“She says it’s a place that the boss who used to come to our restaurant found for her.”

“That good-for-nothing thug?”

Eun-myeong shrank his neck at the immediate curse. Well, while he wasn’t exactly not a bad person, and while he wasn’t exactly not a gangster, that might not be all there was to him.

“Yes, he, he even made sure I ate well.”

Despite his words, Aunt Jung-hye’s face showed disbelief.

“When I said I had nowhere to go, he even let me stay at his house.”

“What? Well, I never! He seemed like someone who wouldn’t bat an eye even if his own grandfather died.”

“Yes, he let me take baths, and called a doctor when I was sick.”

As he spoke, he got increasingly excited without realizing it.

“He even bought me clothes since I had nothing to wear.”

Though the underwear was a complete mess. He swallowed the latter part without voicing it. They were all too sexy and colorful, not even fit to be used as cleaning rags.

“Aish, if you were my daughter, I wouldn’t let you near such a man even if mud got in my eyes.”

The aunt wiped away tears while scrubbing the store’s door. The rain had left many dirty marks on it.

“Though I wonder if it might be better for you siblings to improve your lot in life even that way.”

Eun-myeong looked toward the store door while holding chopsticks. He was puzzled by what the aunt meant.

“It’s pitiful to think that even a smart girl like Eun-joo would meet such a man.”

There was that kind of talk again. Just as he was about to deny it, the sound of shoe heels approached from outside. A pitch-black silhouette was cast through the closed door. Someone whose massive shadow Eun-myeong could easily recognize. It was him.

“Ah…”

Aunt Jung-hye quickly backed away, clutching her chest at the shadow that appeared like a black goblin.

“Oh my goodness! My heart nearly stopped.”

The door slid open with a rattle as the man entered. His eyes, which Eun-myeong hadn’t seen in so long, looked down at him.

“Is the restaurant still open?”

He could see the rain pouring behind him. It was like being in a forest of rain. Eun-myeong’s lips moved with a somehow cozy feeling.

“Wel…come.”

This reminded him of when he had first met the man. That day when he had secretly applied medicine to the king crab.

“What would you like?”

The man murmured softly. His resonant voice seemed to fill the entire restaurant.

“Whatever you’re good at.”