TGMND 56

The fried rice prepared by Yoon Ji-gu had the taste like it was from a big company. It didn’t look like it was homemade, but it was pretty good for a meal. By the time they finished lunch and were clearing the table, it started raining outside the window. It was early summer.

Yeo-woon looked out the window for a while, feeling the cool air from the air conditioner on his skin. Next to Yeo-woon, Yeong is lying face down, diligently drawing in his sketchbook with crayons. The child hummed and nodded.

“What are you drawing now, Yeong?”

“Uncle, a monster…”

Yeong drew a smiling face on the messily drawn human figure. Next to him, a small child was holding his hand. Despite calling him a monster, it was clearly revealed that he liked his uncle a lot. Yeo-woon chuckled as he followed Yoon Ji-gu’s image reflected in the window with his eyes. What was he fidgeting around for?

“Yoon Yeong…”

Yoon Ji-gu, who was lingering five steps away, asked quietly.

“Aren’t you sleepy?”

At those words, Yeong raised his head and looked at his uncle.

“Why?”

“You… you… Normally, you go to sleep right after eating. You should sleep.”

“But I’m not sleepy, why should I sleep?”

Yoon Ji-gu tried to speak at those words but pursed his lips. His gaze moved to Yeo-woon. As soon as Yeo-woon made eye contact with him, he started smiling silently. It seemed like he was still feeling awkward about himself. Yoon Ji-gu wanted to send him home as soon as possible, but his nephew was busy drawing pictures after eating lunch without going to bed, so it must be quite frustrating.

“… Hey, look at me for a second.”

“Me?”

“…”

Were they finally going to kick him out? Yeo-woon wondered what he would say. With a smile on his face, Yeo-woon stood up and followed Yoon Ji-gu closely. He led Yeo-woon to the kitchen, and when they were far enough that Yeong couldn’t hear, he muttered softly.

“Don’t play with him. That’s why he won’t sleep.”

“Huh? I was just sitting next to him.”

Yoon Ji-gu glared at him with suspicion, but it was true. Yeong filled up three pages of his sketchbook while chatting alone, and Yeo-woon sat next to him and only occasionally responded.

“… Yoon Yeong! Do you want some cookies?”

Yoon Ji-gu suddenly turned his head and called out to Yeong. The child raised his round head and his eyes lit up.

“Yeah! But my dad told me to keep an eye on my uncle because he didn’t want him to get fat and become a pig… .”

“Uncle won’t eat any.”

“Then Yeong-i want cookie!”

“You’re playing alone. I need help from the uncle next door so you can eat quickly, Yoon Yeong.”

Yeong nodded excitedly. Yoon Ji-gu hurried into the kitchen as soon as Yeong turned his head.

“Should I help with anything?”

When Yeo-woon rolled up his sleeves and showed his enthusiasm, Yoon Ji-gu openly frowned.

“No, just sit there. If you leave him like that, he’ll fall asleep soon.”

“But still, I could—”

Yeo-woon accidentally knocked over the water cup on the table while trying to remove it. Yoon Ji-gu threw a dry dishcloth on top and sighed.

“You’re in the way.”

He spoke firmly and took out the ingredients to make the dough and started mixing them in a large bowl. Seeing that he was able to do it skillfully without even looking for anything, it seemed like it wasn’t something he had only done once or twice. Feeling like a hindrance, Yeo-woon looked around the table and the kitchen. Then he noticed a printed paper on one of the chairs.

“…?”

The words ‘Daehan University, Human and Society Week 1’ were written on the printed material, which was white and crisp as if it had never been opened at all. Below that, the names of certain philosophers were also listed.

“… Is this a liberal arts class?”

Yeo-woon mumbled quietly and skimmed through the printed material. The semester had already started, so why was this labeled as week 1…? As he flipped through the ten or so pages, he looked at Yoon Ji-gu, who was busy.

“Ji-gu-ssi, do you go to Daehan University?”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t it Daehan University?”

“…How did you….”

Yoon Ji-gu closed his eyes without even hiding his shock. He was a very cautious person. Yeo-woon had never met someone like him before. He waved the printout around a few times in the air and only then did Yoon Ji-gu’s expression return to normal.

“You seem to study well, unexpectedly.”

“…Unexpectedly?”

“Since you attend Daehan University.”

“…”

Yoon Ji-gu was speechless for some reason.

“My friend retook the entrance exam to get in there.”

“…Ah.”

“Well, he’s graduated now. What’s your major?”

After a long pause, Yoon Ji-gu’s dark eyebrows twitched as he asked,

“…Do you really not know?”

“Huh? How would I know that?”

When Yeo-woon asked as if it were absurd, Yoon Ji-gu shook his head and said, ‘Right.’

“…It’s a business department.”

“Wow, then you must have a lot of studying and exams. Didn’t you say you take all your classes in one day?”

He remembered hearing that from Yoon Ji-gu’s oldest brother when they met. Yoon Ji-gu mentioned that he scheduled all his classes for one day, making Yeo-woon think he was very good at registering for courses. Though he worried a bit about exam periods, he figured that if Yoon Ji-gu got into Daehan University, there was no need for concern. He would manage well on his own.

“By the way, I heard there’s a good kimchi hangover soup place near Daehan University.”

“That place is dirty.”

“I see…”

Actually, he didn’t know much about that area. He was just trying to make a connection. How did he know this? After pondering for a while, Yeo-woon remembered a review on a map app.

Kimchi Hangover Soup, Daehan University Branch

★★★★★ I stayed up all night and was craving hangover soup haha.

“…?”

Oh, right. It was from someone who used to frequent the restaurants near Daehan University and left reviews on Cafe Earth. Despite the distance, this person managed to write a month’s worth of negative reviews for the cafe. It must have been a coincidence. People commute to Daehan University from far away; distance wasn’t an issue. Maybe they just didn’t like the coffee.

Yeo-woon muttered to himself and then raised his head. Yoon Ji-gu was staring at Yeo-woon.

“Why?”

“… No, because you keep mumbling.”

“Ah…”

This bad habit of his needs to be fixed. He had been told off about it several times recently.

“Sorry if I was being noisy. It’s just a habit.”

Yeo-woon awkwardly smiled with his mouth tightly shut, and Yoon Ji-gu just looked at him with a strange expression. Yeo-woon wanted to point out the white flour on Yoon Ji-gu’s cheek, but he missed his chance as an announcement blared over the speakers.

-This is a notice from the management office. The owner of the silver vehicle with plate number 6338, please move your car that is blocking the entrance to another location. Once again, the owner of the silver vehicle with plate number 6338…

“6338 again?”

Yeo-woon remembered hearing the same announcement last week. It seemed like the same vehicle with that number parked weirdly and prompted an announcement at least a couple of times a week. If he could remember the vehicle number, it was a significant issue. A silver Audi, 6338. Sometimes it was parked so tightly at the entrance that Yeo-woon himself had been inconvenienced by it.

“Who is it, seriously. Why do they park like that all the time? Right?”

Yeo-woon grumbled. Yoon Ji-gu blinked at him, then washed his dough-covered hands before quietly picking up his phone. Yeo-woon thought he might be about to take a picture of his lovingly made dough.

“… Uh, hello?”

“…?”

Contrary to Yeo-woon’s expectations, Yoon Ji-gu suddenly called somewhere.

“Yeah. Mom, where are you now?”

… Mom?

“You’re hanging out there again? …No, don’t hang up. There was an announcement asking to move your car. Why do you always park there? There are spots next to the cafe too.”

“…!”

“What do you mean, that spot’s wider…. Last weekend, you also parked weirdly at night. There was an announcement then too. …No, I’m not arguing…”

Sh-sh-sh-shiiit…!

‘Why do they always park like that, right?’

I’m doomed! Yeo-woon felt all the blood drain from his body. Yeo-woon was overwhelmed with the urge to take back the words he had uttered just a minute ago. Yeo-woon waited for Yoon Ji-gu to hang up and came up with an excuse.

“Anyway, move your car and go.”

Yoon Ji-gu hung up the phone. Yeo-woon took a deep breath and opened his mouth to try to sum up what I had said as best as he could.

“There really aren’t many parking spots around here…!”

Seeing Yeo-woon’s rarely tense appearance, Yoon Ji-gu let out a small snort of laughter.

“It’s okay. There are lots of parking spots, but she’s too lazy to go into the parking lot.”

Yoon Ji-gu didn’t seem to care much about what Yeo-woon had said, but it weighed heavily on Yeo-woon’s mind. He had insulted his family, and worse, his mother. While Yeo-woon sat nervously, Yoon Ji-gu calmly put the dough in the fridge and checked his phone, without paying attention to Yeo-woon’s restlessness. It seemed like he was communicating with his mother who was coming to pick up the car.