DS 33

After that day, Jjang-ja frequented the sushi restaurant at every opportunity. He came and went as if it were his own house. It seemed like the doorstep would wear away soon.

“Hey, bring me food.”

He would call for Eun-myeong to serve him food as if he had made reservations. It was maddening, especially when they were already busy enough to die.

If they refused, they worried he might harm the other customers, so they quietly served him spicy fish soup with ramen. Jjang-ja would eat everything in sight and drink soju excessively. He was just like a thug,  never paying his tabs. To make matters worse, when drunk, he’d constantly pick fights with the other customers. He seemed like someone who collected and committed every possible bad deed.

“You little piece of shit, are you disrespecting me?”

Even now, he’d grabbed a customer, threatening them while bragging about how his father was the best gangster in the neighborhood, asking if they knew who built this restaurant.

“Hyung, stop it.”

Eun-myeong quickly tried to stop him, desperately trying to loosen Jjang-ja’s grip on the customer’s collar.

“What’s wrong with this person?” The customer asked, bewildered. His eyes behind his glasses trembled with fear.

All the customer had done was comment that the restaurant was more worn down than expected. But suddenly, Jjang-ja had flared up and latched onto the customer. It took almost all the uncles in the restaurant to finally restrain Jjang-ja.

“I’m sorry, I’m really sorry.” Eun-myeong repeatedly bowed and apologized to the customer. “Next time you come, I’ll definitely serve you scallops on the house. I’m really sorry.”

The customer muttered about seeing quite a sight while dusting off his clothes. Then he fled the restaurant in a hurry.

Though not comparable to that man, Jjang-ja was quite tall too. Though thin, his shoulders were broad, and he had a strangely decadent air about him. You could say he gave off the impression of someone living without a care for tomorrow.

It was impossible to not be afraid of him. Eun-myeong completely understood the customer’s feelings.

However, Jjang-ja’s reckless behavior didn’t stop there.

“Shit, I need to go play pool with the guys but I’ve got no cash, damn it.”

He even tried to take money from the cash register at will. Finally unable to bear it anymore, Aunt Jung-hye screamed.

“You bastard, how dare you touch that!”

She came out with a broom and started beating Jjang-ja furiously. Even the bespectacled customer, who was quite sturdy with his plump belly, had fearfully avoided confrontation. Yet, Aunt Jung-hye faced him without hesitation.

“Has this woman finally gone crazy? What the hell?”

For Aunt Jung-hye, this was an outburst after enduring for so long. Because of this walking time bomb named Jjang-ja, the restaurant was about to go bankrupt. Even now, as the atmosphere turned sour, customers were quietly getting up to leave while checking others’ reactions. You could almost hear the sound of sales dropping.

” Jjang-ja hyung.”

Worried that Jjang-ja, who acted like a bastard regardless of age or gender, might harm Aunt Jung-hye, Eun-myeong quickly stepped in front of her.

“Please stop, this isn’t your family’s place anymore.”

This was the maximum courage Eun-myeong could muster. Immediately, Jjang-ja got in Eun-myeong’s face.

“Are you enjoying life?!”

His strong hand painfully grabbed the back of Eun-myeong’s head.

“You worthless beggar, you’ve been getting cocky lately!  Know your place!”

Jjang-ja raised his fist. This was expected from the moment of standing up to him. Thinking he was about to get hit, Eun-myeong tightly closed his eyes.

There was a sliding sound as the shop door opened with a whoosh. Somehow, the atmosphere in the store turned chilly. Eun-myeong unconsciously sniffed the air. Then slowly opened his eyes. This scent, could it be…

“What’s going on here?”

The voice that followed confirmed his suspicions. As they say, what you fear might come true.  It was indeed him.

“Who’s this old fart?”

Jjang-ja released his grip on Eun-myeong’s hair. Then, stuffing his hands into both pants pockets, he tilted his head to the side.

“An old fart.”

The man removed his jacket from his torso while taking the cigarette from his lips, using just his middle finger and thumb as usual. He was wearing a dark brown vest that tightly hugged his chest, and seemingly feeling constricted, he reached for one of the buttons.

“The baby that was touching the old man’s dick before has gotten a taste for men now?”

The button popped open under his hand with a snap. Eun-myeong’s face grew hot, and he quickly shook his head.

“No, that’s not it…”

“What nonsense is this? Has this old fart gone senile?”

Jjang-ja was enraged beyond control. Unable to contain his rage, he lunged at the man and grabbed his collar. However, since the man was significantly taller, Jjang-ja’s face was lifted upward.

“Why would I leave perfectly good women for something like that?”

Eun-myeong’s inner thighs trembled. He knew he should stop them, but his body wouldn’t move. His scalp was tingling, and all the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

“Who the fuck are you turning into a gay, you bastard?”

The man’s pupils rolled halfway in their sockets. He looked down at Jjang-ja as if measuring something. His black eyes glowed like a cat’s.

“Do you know who I am? If my father finds out, you’re fucking dea-“

“I see.”

The man sighed knowingly, as though he’d figured something out. Jjang-ja’s vulgar words were cut short.

“So, you’re the one who knows about the fish restaurant owner’s secrets?”

“What, what secrets?”

The man, who had treated people like filth, bit his lower lip. His eyes held a strange amusement. From what Eun-myeong had observed of the man so far, he knew this wasn’t just a simple smile. It was mockery. Afraid of the man’s interest in the situation, Eun-myeong jumped forward like a button had been pressed.

“Hyung, please…”

Eun-myeong moved forward as if in a trance. Even with his steps tangling and knees weakening, he struggled toward Jjang-ja. He quickly grabbed Jjang-ja’s thin arm.

“Jjang-ja hyung, please stop…”

“Get your hands off me, you beggar!”

Jjang-ja raised his fist and struck Eun-myeong’s forehead with a thud. It felt like his head was being crushed. Eun-myeong staggered. The pain brought tears to his eyes.

“Ugh!”

Eun-myeong was thrown sideways. As he lay fallen on the table, looking up, he wasn’t sure why he noticed the man’s frowning face before Jjang-ja’s fierce expression.

“Is this bastard acting up because he hasn’t been beaten enough lately?”

Jjang-ja, seemingly needing to vent his anger, raised a liquor bottle and smashed it against the table’s edge. Crash! The glass bottle shattered with a sharp sound.

Screams erupted from around them. The sharply broken edges, like alligator teeth, reflected the electric light with a dangerous silver gleam.

Now I’m really going to get hit. Eun-myeong tightly closed his eyes. But no matter how long he waited, no pain came. Instead, he heard a terrible scream from in front of him.

“Aaaaagh!”

At that horrific sound, Eun-myeong’s body trembled, and he slowly opened his eyes.

“Why are kids so ill-mannered these days?”

Jjang-ja’s head was yanked back, his unusually pointed chin protruding. The soju bottle fell from his trembling hand and shattered on the restaurant floor with a crash. Glass shards scattered everywhere.

“Let go, let go, you bastard!”

Wondering why he was acting like that, Eun-myeong saw that the man had grabbed Jjang-ja’s hair. The scalp looked like it would tear off, appearing as red as raw fish.

“Bastard?”

The man chuckled, with a cigarette between his lips. Then, he took out his cigarette and pressed its red-hot end against Jjang-ja’s forehead. There was a sizzling sound as he ground it out.

“Aagh!”

A terrible scream echoed throughout the restaurant.

“Fuck!”

Jjang-ja clutched his forehead and staggered after he let go. The man calmly put another cigarette in his mouth. He threw a silver lighter to the ground.

“Light it.”

He kicked the alligator Zippo lighter with his shoe, making a sharp sound. The lighter spun around and stopped after hitting Jjang-ja’s foot precisely.

“Aagh, it fucking hurts!”

But seeming to have no time to feel that, Jjang-ja continued to cause chaos, pounding the table with his fists. His phone fell out of his pocket, and his shoes nearly came off.

“What… what should I do…”

Eun-myeong dragged his feet backward in fear. His body was trembling. What should I do, should I call the police…

A slight crease appeared between the man’s brows. “Didn’t you hear me?”

He pulled up his suit pants, covering his thighs, bent his knees, and lowered his gaze. “I told you to light it, you fucking bastard.”

He spoke slowly with his elbow resting on his thigh. “Do I need to put another hole in your head for it to work properly?”

Seeming to reach the limits of his patience, the man pressed his eyebrows with his thumb. He appeared to be pushing back his temper. “Pick up the lighter and come here. This is the last time I’ll ask nicely.”

Screaming and expressing his pain, Jjang-ja crawled on all fours like a dog toward the man.

With trembling hands, he tried to light the cigarette. Click, click, click. After several failed attempts, he barely managed to get it lit.

“Yes, like that.”

The man squinted one eyebrow while inhaling deeply from his cigarette.

“See, you can do it well.”

As if patting him on the back for a job well done, he slapped Jjang-ja’s cheek a couple of times with his thick hand. The slapping sound cut through the deafening silence.

Jjang-ja’s hands shook violently. His strength was completely drained. Soon, the lighter bounced out of his hands.