RSL Ch 110

‘Well, then everyone will think I’m crazy?’

‘It’s okay. You’ve always done some crazy things, so they’ll understand quickly.’

After rinsing her mouth with water, she casually set down his glass. Jae-yi, who had been staring at Kay, let out a soft, deflated laugh.

‘Kay, you really have a knack for comforting people, huh?’

‘I’ve never heard that before in my life. So, is that it for the story about the rain boots-wearing Han Jae-yi? There’s nothing more?’

She looked at Jae-yi with a hint of disappointment.

‘Yeah. That’s all.’

‘It’s nice that the cause and expected outcome, as well as the direction of the incident, are clear. It was a pleasant consultation. When are you going to tell your fiancée?”

‘I’m thinking of visiting her after work today.’

Whee-.

Kay whistled and half-jokingly teased him.

‘Good luck, buddy. Just take it if you get slapped.’

‘She’s not that kind of person. That’s why I feel even worse.’

Somewhere in Jae-yi’s smile, there was a heavy sense of guilt. She didn’t know the details, but she felt it must be quite an awkward situation for him. If he took a sick day tomorrow, she’d have to understand. She thought she could just say that he must have had a bad stomach because of the food he ate the day before. That way, they wouldn’t come to this ridiculous restaurant anymore.

The next day, Kay’s expectations were slightly off. Jae-yi came to work just fine. He took a vacation exactly five days later. And a week after that, he submitted his resignation.

***

By the afternoon, the snow began to melt. Seo-jin’s condition had improved significantly. His fever had completely subsided, and his voice had returned to some extent. He thought it might have just been a body ache, not a cold.

Jae-yi prepared dinner for him. Recently, Seo-jin had shown a growing interest in cooking, so Jae-yi had to take over the kitchen before he declared he would do something. Of course, he loved Seo-jin and could enjoy any dish he made, but the sweet and sour pork he attempted last month was truly beyond imagination.

“That’s strange. I did everything you told me to.”

The measurements were accurate, but dishes like sweet and sour pork required cooking skills that went beyond that. From selecting the meat to the feel of frying, it was a menu that was quite challenging for a beginner.

Fundamentally, he lacked an understanding of tender and delicious fried dishes. As Jae-yi chewed on the pork that had hardened like concrete, he vowed never to complain about wanting Chinese food in front of him again. Still, he finished it all. It was a dish made with a whole day’s effort by none other than Woo Seo-jin, so he couldn’t throw it away.

“What are you going to make? There’s nothing in the fridge.”

“There’s that Hanwoo(Korean beef) set we got as a gift in the freezer.”

“What are you going to do with that?”

“Braised short ribs.”

“What?”

Seo-jin looked shocked, staring blankly at Jae-yi. His expression seemed to ask if he was really going to whip up such a grand dish right now.

“Here. I have the recipe. Don’t worry.”

Waving his phone to reassure Seo-jin, Jae-yi pointed out a few pieces of raw ribs submerged in cold water behind him. They had already lost quite a bit of blood.

“It should taste good, but how about just eating ramen?”

“You don’t like that.”

Seo-jin, who couldn’t handle spicy food, preferred Korean dishes with soy sauce. In fact, braised short ribs were simple as long as the seasoning didn’t fail. You just had to put it in the rice cooker and wait. By the time they finished watching a movie together, dinner would be ready.

“Then I’ll go wash up.”

Seo-jin headed to the bathroom, saying he smelled because he hadn’t showered since yesterday. Jae-yi didn’t know what smell he was talking about, but he let him go.

Using the various measuring cups Seo-jin had prepared, Jae-yi made the marinade. He marinated the meat and went to change his clothes. He couldn’t find the black t-shirt he often wore, so he rummaged around. Eventually, he even ended up in the bathroom where Seo-jin was, earning a scolding.

“Get out. You know I’m in here, so why do you just come in?”

Jae-yi couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity. They had seen everything there was to see, and they were already married, so what did it matter? Feeling a bit rebellious, he leaned against the bathroom wall and stared at Seo-jin. As he washed his hair in the shower booth, Seo-jin started nagging him again. It was hard to hear over the sound of the water.

“What?”

Jae-yi leaned closer to the glass to tease him. Seo-jin’s naked body was obscured by the foggy steam. Seo-jin quickly rinsed the foam off his head and slightly opened the shower door.

“Get out. I’m going to shave.”

Ah, so that’s why he was being so sensitive. Humans are such interesting creatures. They’ve gone so far as to do everything, but they don’t want to show off the hair on their bodies. Jae-yi felt a desire to tease him more, but he decided to step out. Since Seo-jin’s condition wasn’t fully recovered yet, he didn’t want to waste energy on unnecessary things.

“See, you should just get waxed.”

Jae-yi muttered as he closed the bathroom door and stepped outside. In his hand was the t-shirt he had been looking for. He changed clothes and tidied up a bit. Neither of them had a messy personality, so the house was always clean, but with one more person added to the place he had lived alone, storage space naturally became a bit tight.

Especially Seo-jin’s books were a problem. He had been gradually bringing back books he had stored in the warehouse at his family home every time he visited, and as they piled up, the bookshelf became insufficient. Since they had to move anyway, it would be better to move them all at once, but the new house was quite far away, which was a problem. It seemed more efficient to leave them here and ask a moving company to help when it was time to move.

Jae-yi picked up the various books that were scattered on the kitchen, bedroom, and sofa and headed to the study. Most of them were classics like Sartre’s “Nausea” and Camus’s “The Plague.” Seo-jin mainly liked novels and was a reader who wasn’t swayed at all by modern books on how to get rich. He enjoyed buying his favorite works in three versions: Korean, English, and German, and comparing them with the original texts.

Whenever he had a spare moment, he would open a book instead of his phone. There were always one or two paperbacks in the carry-on bag he took with him. How could a pilot reading classic novels in the crew room not be charming? But it was too late to raise his hand now. This man had already had someone else for 17 years.

“Don’t you have to cook rice? I’ll do it.”

Seo-jin appeared, drying his still-damp hair.

“We need to steam the meat in the rice cooker. Let’s just heat the rice in the microwave.”

“Ah.”

Seo-jin looked disappointed. He wanted to contribute something but had his chance taken away. He was really good at cooking rice, if nothing else. Jae-yi went to check on the marinated meat in the fridge. At that moment, Seo-jin’s phone rang.

He looked at it suspiciously, wondering if it was a call from the company even though it wasn’t a standby day. Sure enough, it was a message from the operations manager. He knew he was off, but they asked if he could take one flight tomorrow morning if possible. It seemed the runway cleaning was done since the snow had stopped.

When Seo-jin turned around, Jae-yi shook his head firmly. Thanks to the flights canceled due to the heavy snow, he had three days off, so why would he step in to help? He sent a look that said he should refuse, as he might get sick again.

“Where’s the destination?”

Seo-jin’s insistence on asking that made Jae-yi cross his arms, as if to say he would wait and see.

“Rome? Ah….”

It was a city that was sacred to both of them, but some things just couldn’t happen. Seo-jin smiled and expressed his refusal.

“I think that would be difficult. I’m on sick leave. You’ll find someone quickly since it’s a short flight.”

With a look that said, “Is that enough?” Seo-jin hung up the phone. Still, Jae-yi didn’t uncross his arms.

“Why do you keep accepting those calls? Everyone keeps looking for you because you keep saying yes.”

“It’s Rome. I’ve said before that going there is always welcome. So I guess that’s why they called.”

It seemed there was indeed a reason for suddenly calling someone who was sick. Seo-jin smiled slightly and plugged his phone back into the charger on the table. Jae-yi looked at the marinated meat again with a thoughtful expression. But soon, one corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Rome is always welcome, huh.

Of course, he knew the reason. Rome was special to Jae-yi too. The Santa Marinella beach they walked together early in the morning and the wine they drank to the point of intoxication in their hotel room had already made it onto their list of memories. He would re-number it and gift it to him on some future wedding anniversary.

Number 1: Our first kiss.

The day he came to Rome to clarify his feelings for Seo-jin. He still couldn’t forget the taste of that Sangiovese wine that had given him courage at the last moment. His body was dying from fatigue and lack of sleep, but his heart was racing so fast. He could understand the circumstances of those who died young. They must have all fallen into a terrible love.

***

Fiumicino Airport was hot. Visiting Rome in the middle of summer was considered a bit foolish. Jae-yi parked the car anywhere and downed a bottle of water he had stored in the trunk. When he checked his reflection in the side mirror, he looked a mess.

No wonder, he had worked late into the night yesterday to finish up some tasks. After spending about a week in a zombie state, he had a mountain of work to do. Now that he had a bit of breathing room, he was cramming all sorts of precedents into his head. Unfortunately, there was only one case that was usable as output.

After annotating and sending an email to his assistant, he drove straight here. His shirt was wrinkled from not being ironed, and his disheveled hair covered his forehead. He pulled down his tie and took a drag from a cigarette. His phone, which was in his pocket, rang. It seemed he had arrived.

‘Are you out?’

He asked abruptly without any greeting. He was curious about where he was. From a distance, he spotted Seo-jin’s profile as he was about to exit the terminal.

‘Do you see the bus stop next to you?’

Just then, an airport bus passed by Seo-jin. He quickly turned around.

‘That’s not it.’

It was only then that Seo-jin, turning his body in the right direction, spotted Jae-yi. A momentary look of joy flickered across his face before he slowly walked over. Standing in front of Jae-yi, who was smoking a cigarette while wearing sunglasses, he chuckled softly.

‘What’s with the tie?’

As he said this, he casually took a cigarette from Jae-yi’s pack.

‘Oh, this? I worked late yesterday and ended up smoking all night. I quit within eleven hours.’

‘You drove all the way here?’

‘Yeah.’

‘You’re crazy.’

‘Did you just realize that?’

His incredulous laughter sparkled in the sunlight. The usual conversation flowed between them. Nothing had changed, but both of them knew there were conversations they could no longer avoid.

A few days ago, Jae-yi had ended his relationship with Gisella. It wasn’t solely because he was told not to see Seo-jin. Even without that, marriage was already out of the question. It was ridiculous to suggest they should try to live well again after everything that had happened. It was absurd to think that someone who couldn’t even grasp his own feelings could spend a lifetime with someone else.

Thus, his relationship with her came to an end after a year, and after thinking for a day and a half, Jae-yi called Seo-jin.

‘Come to Rome, in two days.’

In truth, he hadn’t decided what to do yet. He thought that if he just went and saw Seo-jin’s face, he might be able to come to a conclusion. However, Seo-jin’s invitation, as if he had been waiting for it, complicated his feelings even more.

Regardless, seeing him made his heart race. Yes, that was true. But this had always been the case for the past fifteen years. It had always felt the same since the first time they met. He had even felt proud of himself for ‘discovering’ him. So, weren’t they best friends? When he said no, he had nothing more to say. It was utterly incomprehensible.

Their eyes met as Seo-jin sat in the passenger seat, rolling down the window and feeling the summer breeze. Seo-jin squinted his eyes and smiled as if asking what he was thinking. Jae-yi could vividly imagine Seo-jin’s expression twisting in confusion once he revealed his thoughts. For example, he was imagining what it would be like to kiss him.

Seeing it unfold so naturally made it seem like it wasn’t impossible. No, in fact, he wanted to try. He didn’t know how many imaginations and hypotheses he had overturned and rebuilt to get to this point. Now, only one question remained in the ruins of everything that had collapsed.

Were we really friends?

He was curious about Seo-jin’s reaction to that question. Perhaps because he already had the answer he wanted, he felt extremely nervous. He was also anxious that Seo-jin might hide the truth. What if he got angry and asked why he was asking such things?

He prepared himself with all sorts of imaginations, but nothing was ready. Now that the egg had cracked, even trivial words felt like they would pierce him and make blood flow. He unconsciously kept clenching and unclenching his fists.

As they entered the city, the number of vehicles increased. The road leading past the massive Colosseum to the train station was congested. The city, once the crossroads of all the world’s roads, was still packed with tourists from all over the globe.

It had been a while since Jae-yi had been to Rome. Unless he took a vacation, there was no reason to visit. He had come here a few times when he was younger, jokingly claiming he would hunt for girls with Seo-jin.

Of course, that was just an excuse, and when they actually came, neither of them was interested in anyone else. They simply enjoyed each other’s company and didn’t feel the need to meet anyone else.

Now that he thought about it, he had lived deceiving himself in many ways. The times he had insisted on going to see Seo-jin and trying various things were all just excuses. He simply liked being with him. Thinking back to how he had racked his brain to come up with clever and fun ideas without realizing that made him chuckle.

Just as Gisella had said, the evidence was overwhelming.