The 1st Shop Of Coffee Prince (translated)

Prologue


An indigo car of foreign make pulled up in front of the store. Mr. Hong, who had just opened the cafe, stopped his mopping and watched as a man in a beige leather jacket stepped out of the car.

"Wouldja take a look at his fashion? And damn, that's a nice car."

He had just thought to himself that the man couldn't possibly have any business around here when the man looked toward the store. No, more like glared at the store. The man looked at the shoddy sign and the plastic rose-patterned curtains covering the windows and made a face as if he couldn't believe his eyes.

"What, too tacky for you?" Mr. Hong's efforts at scowling failed to give the effect of a mean eye. Time and age had pulled his eyelids down to the effect of a southern Mongoloid. Like a hush puppy.

"Stop gawking, will ya? Giving me the creeps. Shoo, shoo. I won't sell you no coffee, see if I do."

As Mr. Hong muttered to himself, the man made a condescending face and shook his head. His expression near shouted, 'I'd rather drink cheap vending machine coffee at a bus station than drink the coffee they sell here.' Even so, the man walked toward the store. He stopped to read the 'Help Wanted' sign posted on the front glass door before stepping in.

You want to work here? You? No way. Not at your age.

"We're not open yet," —was what Mr. Hong was about to say, but before he had the chance, he had to squint his eyes. Maybe it was because the man had his back turned to the sunlight, but it seemed that there was a bright halo behind the man's head. It was so dazzling that Mr. Hong couldn't look at him properly. He missed his chance to speak, and before he knew it, the man had already taken a seat at a table by the window.

"Coffee, please."

"Oh, of course."

It was reflex. 'Damn it, that's not what I meant to say...' thought Mr. Hong as he walked into the kitchen. The cuckoo clock hanging on the wall started chiming. 11 o'clock. Now he couldn't even say that the store wasn't open yet. After all, the sign on the door did say, "Opening time: 11 o'clock."

The man was a sophisticated dandy boy rarely seen in that neighborhood. He was very clean cut and handsome. Twenty-seven? Twenty-eight? He was looking out the window with his long legs crossed. His facial features were rather sharp and cold, but he carried a rather swaggering air about him. The fabric of his pants looked like they were better fit to make women's scarves than men's pants, and his leather jacket clung to his body as if it were his skin. Not only that, but the width of the pants at the thighs looked like they were less than six inches wide. How the hell do his legs fit through that? What is he, a freak? I don't know what's with the world these days. You call that a man's leg? Damn pansy.

Mr. Hong moved his chubby roly-poly of a body to serve coffee. He set the cup in front of the dandy boy.

"Enjoy."

Dandy Boy didn't even look up. From up close, he smelled like perfume.

"What kind of a man..." thought Mr. Hong as he wrinkled his nose. Just then he felt the man's gaze and flinched. He quickly put on a smile, but Dandy Boy was looking past him toward the back. He was looking at the kitchen, the wall, the floor. He made the same expression as when he was outside the store.

What is this, a pigpen? A stable? was what his eyes said. So what? What's it to you? Stop gawking, boy. If you're a customer, just act like one and drink your coffee and get out of here. What do you think you're doing, gaping around here like that? Hey! Who do you think you are, to give me a once-over? I'm the owner! What do you keep staring for? What, you like my style, do ya?

Mr. Hong was brought out of his silent and petulant reverie by something that sparkled. Around one of Dandy Boy's hands, the one stretched out to lift the cup, was a shining watch. Mr. Hong, who had planned to go back to the kitchen, approached the man as if pulled toward him by some force.

"Uh... It doesn't... seem... like you're from around... here... ..."

The watch, which emanated a white gold light, was of famous Swiss make. Mr. Hong recognized the brand, even though he'd only ever heard about. Mr. Hong couldn't help but be a bit humbled.

"Did you come here to meet someone?"

"Yes. Aren't there any other employees?" asked Dandy Boy, turning the cup with the edge of his fingers.

"Oh, yea, there was, but he quit some time ago. That's why the sign's up over there. Looking for a part-timer."

By "some time ago," Mr. Hong meant eight months ago. There was a part-timer who ended up quitting because business was so bad. In fact, business was so bad that Mr. Hong could work all by himself and still have time left to kill, and it was difficult anyhow just to pay the rent. So he put the store on the market, but there had only been dead silence for two months. Finally, a few days ago, someone had claimed the store and signed the contract, but Mr. Hong hadn't yet told this to his family.

Roadside snack wagon, my ass. In all 39 years of my life, I've never done anything else but sell coffee.

"So, you clean the store, make the coffee, serve the coffee, and receive the money? All by yourself?"

"I've got to. What else could I do? Do you know how hard it is to find a hard-working, honest part-timer these days?"

"You're quite the multi-tasker."

"Ha ha, I do have quite a variety of talents," laughed Mr. Hong awkwardly.

"So, did you study coffee-making somewhere?"

What, you need a certificate to make coffee?

"I didn't study it anywhere, but I do have a lot of experience. I worked part-time at a coffee shop all through college. It's more familiar to me than my major was. Ha ha."

"How long have you had this store?"

"Third year this year. Location's not too good."

"So you knew that. Location's not the only thing at fault, though, is it? What was that idiom about the carpenter blaming his chisel..."

The hell are you saying, boy?

"I passed some pretty big buildings on my way here."

"Yea, last year some banks and stock companies set up shop around here. But what good did that do? That Bucks and Seattle there killed the field. Not only that, but that huge supermarket just totally shat on the small businesses nearby. See, this is what's wrong with our country. Shouldn't the people support small businesses first? Only then can the commoners' economy thrive, and only when the commoners' economy thrives can our national soccer team make it to the Sweet Sixteen, don't you think so? After all, the most important body part, be it man or country, is the lower back, don't you think? Ha ha ha!"

Dandy Boy did not laugh. Mr. Hong was embarrassed.

Dandy turned the cup another revolution with his fingertips, then inspected the saucer, the coaster, the teaspoon, and the cubed sugar by turn. Then, he lifted his cup as if sampling wine. Mr. Hong killed his breath, nervous for some reason. He didn't know why his chest felt like it was shrinking into itself. He found himself staring at Dandy Boy's lips. He knew it was strange to stare, but he couldn't tear his gaze away. Dandy Boy was barely wetting his lips with the coffee.

Mr. Hong wanted to ask, "How do you like it?" but the words crawled back down his throat. Dandy was wincing. He took it away from his lips and then tried another small gulp, and then slammed the cup down on the table as if he never wanted to see it again.

What the hell's the matter with you?

Mr. Hong started to get pissed. If nothing else, he prided himself on brewing a decent cup of coffee.

"Does the flavor not agree with your?" Mr. Hong forced a smile.

"Tastes like boiled maple leaves."

"Huh?"

"I suppose if you boil them long enough, it'd turn this color, right?" said Dandy Boy with no expression. That pissed Mr. Hong off even more. Just then the door was flung open.

"Ahjussi! Have you seen En Se?" The kid who had run in gasping and sweating was En Chan.

"Haven't seen her. Why?"

"Ah, damn it! I'm gonna go crazy! Where the hell is this damn girl hiding? You sure she didn't come here?"

"Why are you lookin' for En Se here? What, you think this is some kind of youth protection center or somethin'?" snapped Mr. Hong, who was still pissed off. But En Chan was too excited to notice his ill mood.

"Aaargh! Stupid kid. Where the hell am I going to find her?"

"What is it this time?"

"She skipped class to go to some kind of audition. Goddamn it! Just you get caught! I'll introduce her face to the toilet!" The kid's voice rang like a construction site overseer's after one too many drinks. "That reckless kid even ran off with a teacher's shoes! She's saying she only borrowed it, but who'll believe that? If you run off with something without telling, that's stealing. She's gonna learn a lesson this time!"

"Yea, well, the whole world knows if Ko En Se's got anything, she's got guts."

"Damn, where does she come from anyway! I mean, I know it's pretty strange that I myself came out of my mother's womb, but it's a damn world wonder that she did. If she wants something, she just loses her mind. Even so, sneaking into the teacher's lounge to take a teacher's shoes.... Damn!"

Mr. Hong was getting swept away by En Chan's excitement.

"Why don't you try going to the place where the auditions are? Wouldn't she be there?"

"I just came from there! Grrr!!!" En Chan stomped inside the store wearing a jumper over a Taekwondo practice suit. Even though it was almost March, it was still snowing in the early hours of the morning, and the wind was chilly. Even so, En Chan's forehead was shining with sweat. En Chan bent down to the faucet and drank the water straight from the tap. After gulping it down and burping, En Chan hand went up to wipe the mouth.

"Her audition number was 1 so she went first. Apparenly, it was a total shit-show. I have no idea why that kid who sings perfectly fine at home always messes up at auditions. It sounds like she's chanting Buddhist mantras or something. They said she gave up halfway through and ran out in despair. Her friend ran to get her, but couldn't find her."

"She's a real handful, that one."

"Anyway, if you see her, hit me up right away. Even if you have to break her legs, keep her here, ok?"

"Well, I don't know if I'll be able to restrain her, but I'll try."

"Ok, thanks." En Chan ran out before Mr. Hong could even respond. Even after En Chan's departure, the store vibrated with the energy and excitement En Chan had brought in.

"That kid...." Mr. Hong knew that behind those tough words, En Chan cared about En Se, and that that was the reason behind the frantic search. Wanting to be of some help, Mr. Hong considered calling up the PC Cafe En Se frequented. But then again, En Chan had probably checked there, too.... Suddenly the door flung open again.

"Hey, mister, you were looking for a part-timer?" Mr. Hong looked at En Chan, who he thought had already left."

"Huh? Oh... yea...."

"You should've told me earlier! Didn't you know I was looking for a part-time job?"

Suddenly, color began to circulate in En Chan's face. Black eyes twinkled in a white face. En Chan's attitude was tough and reckless, sure, but En Chan's face, at least, was that of a total pretty boy. There wasn't a single girl in the neighborhood schools who didn't know about Ko En Chan. They would crowd around the Taekwondo dojo door, even taking numbers just to get a glimpse. The kid's popularity bordered on ridiculousness.

"What's this? What's up with these qualifications? ' 5'9'' minimum height '? hmm... close 'nuff. Still growing, you see. I haven't checked recently, but I'm probably somewhere around 5'8''. It's ok if I round up, right?"

"Uh, yea. Listen—"

" 'Hot bods, hot faces, welcome.' " En Chan's face rotated under Mr. Hong's eyes as if they were cameras. "You have heard, I presume, that I was voted Hottest Face nine weeks straight on some website, right?"

"I have heard that, yes."

"You've heard it because it's true. Even if it was three years ago." En Chan kept reading the advertisement posted on the glass door line by line.

" 'Killer smiles, angelic smiles, welcome.' That's easy. Next. ' Popular with older women, welcome welcome welcome' Check. Ha ha, what is this? 'Must have special talent,' 'Must not have girlfriend,'? What's the point in being so picky? Hey mister, you setting up a talent agency? You trying to raise yourself some celebrities?"

"N-no... It's not like that..."

Actually, the content of the ad had been sent to Mr. Hong via e-mail from the new owner of the store. En Chan incredulously read off the list of qualifications. When he had first received it, Mr. Hong had been just as flabbergasted as En Chan was right now. He had also thought the same thing.

What is this, a talent agency?

"Five dollars an hour. Wh-what? Really? Lunch, dinner, AND five bucks an hour? Woah! That's, like, twice what I get now! Mister, hire me, will you? I'll start tomorrow, even! Please? Please?"

"Hey hey hey, take a closer look there. Only hiring me- "

"In other words, I've gotta be a total stud. Hmm... This job was made for me."

Mr. Hong was at a loss for words. It said on the ad in black and white that the new owner was only looking for men. Did En Chan never look in the mirror after taking a bath? It was almost sad how a twenty-four year-old girl could still be so confused about her own identity. It might even be that she really thought she was a man.

"Business must sure be pretty bad, huh? You're starting to use some strange methods."

"That's not my ad."

"Huh? Then whose it is? A different store?" En Chan suddenly gave Mr. Hong a piercing stare as she sidled up to him. She squinted her eyes and whispered, "A host bar, perhaps?"

"Hey, don't go spouting nonsense. Do they give out five an hour at a host bar?"

"Well, I meant, you know, five an hour as a cover, you know? As in, not including tips..."

"Why, would you rather work at a host bar?" a snide voice chimed in. Startled, Mr. Hong and En Chan's heads snapped up and turned toward the Dandy Boy. He was arrogantly lounging in the chair. He uncrossed his legs and stood up. He straightened his body as if to reinforce his height and walked toward them.

"Aa....aaaarrggh!!!" En Chan suddenly roared like King Kong, and Mr. Hong, whose ear had unfortunately been directly under her mouth, fell backwards onto his rear. His heart pounded and his ears rang. A pallid En Chan was staring at the Dandy Boy. Then she said incredulously,

"P-pervert c-cabbage slug man?" Dandy Boy's eyes suddenly grew violent. Then, with an expression that could not be distinguished between a sneer and a glare, he came toward her.

"What's with the practice suit? Are you demonstrating your 'superior physical strength' in street shows these days?"

"What? You son of a--"

"Or is that a flunky uniform?"

En Chan's two clenched fist came up. Twin fires burned in her eyes, and it seemed she would kick out with her foot at any second. Even Mr. Hong could understand why.

How dare he call the dignified suit of a Taekwondo master a flunky uniform? That man sure has a way with words.

"Ha, pretty cute, aren't you? Your form's not bad, either."

"Whatever are you doing here, young master, sir? Don't your holy feet hurt if they walk on such crude and un-carpeted floors?" sneered En Chan. The man didn't blink an eye at this un-En Chan-like behavior.

"It's all right, I'm wearing particularly excellent shoes. Shoes so expensive you probably couldn't own them if you died and came back to life. But shoes aside, you've been glaring at me for some time now. Hey, kid, relax those eyes, why don't you?"

"You got a problem? You want to go?"

"Go? Go where? The market? The playground? Don't fool yourself, kid. If you want to get a part-time job, you'd better fix those eyes, you little leech."

"What!"

Dandy Boy sneered and turned to Mr. Hong.

"I'm Choi Han Kyul. I signed the contract a few days ago."

"Oh... yes...." Mr. Hong found himself shaking hands with the man. Then it finally hit him as he watched Dandy Boy walk toward the kitchen. The name that the man who had come to sign the contract in the owner's stead had written was Choi Han Kyul.

"What? What's up with this, mister? What's that pervert cabbage slug saying?"

"Huh? Oh, yea... I think he's saying he's the owner of this store..."

"Whaaat? Ha! What a riot. That idiot's probably still experiencing jet lag or something."

"Well, I did sell the store."

"M-mister!! You're kidding... right?!??"













Chapter 1
One Month Earlier: En Chan's 25th Hour


< Part 1 > 7:50 PM – En Chan Buys Meat

Flowers are flowers and trees are trees, but this is pretty confusing. Are you a flower or a tree?

En Chan was gazing intently through the glass window at a painting. Sunflowers were standing in two neat rows, and a mother and child were walking between them holding hands.

You know, I've already counted all of you seven years ago. There's seventy-two of you guys. But is that seventy-two flowers or seventy-two trees? That's what so confusing.

There was a loud clanking sound. The meat shop had finally opened its doors.

“Heyyyy, Mister Ku, you were there?” wheedled En Chan as she dragged her flip-flops into the store. The distinct fragrance of a meat shop wafted into her nose. Drool began to form in her mouth.

En Chan's eyes darted around as she approached the counter. She kept her gaze, flashing with greedy lust, glued on the glass cover of the display counter. The eyes that had rationally appraised the sunflowers were now emanating a visceral, wild look. As soon as she saw the deep red of the raw meat, adrenaline began to pump through her veins.

“Did everything go well? You said you had to take care of something.” The butcher replied with a sullen look as he continued to sharpen his knives.

“What was the thing you had to do anyway?”

“....”

“It seems like the bacon meat's not selling well these days, huh mister?”

En Chan is, as some would say, a pork maniac. Just by looking at raw meat, she could see images of their respective dishes in her head. Pork cutlet, salty boiled pork, sweet and sour pork in orange sauce... Whenever she looked at pork ribs, she found herself grinding her teeth. Not only was her appetite strong, but she could also conjure up images of food in less than a second.

“You want bacon?”

“Naw, just give me some meat off the front legs. I'm going to make kimchee stew.”

The kimchee stew was, in fact, already boiling in En Chan's head. The proportionally cut kimchee, the pork meat with just the right amount of fat attached, all of this went into a thick broth and merrily bubbled and simmered. En Chan, who was swallowing the saliva that had been building up in her mouth, noticed that something was off-kilter and raised her head. Mr. Ku was being too quiet. He was sitting on the edge of the room's threshold staring blankly at the meat in the glass display case. She studied his round meatball face. He looked deflated and shriveled. A bruised meatball, then.

“Hey, mister, what's the matter? Did something happen?”

Mr. Ku, who had been staring vacantly at the meat replied in a tired voice.

“Hey, En Chan, when you look at all this meat, what do you think about?”

“Meat, you say?”

“Yea.”

“What kind of meat? This? The shanks?”

“No, just in general.”

“Beef as well as pork?”

“Stop kidding around and answer the question.”

“Even pig's feet and cow tails?”

“No! Just, just, meat! Meat in general!” shouted Mr. Ku suddenly. En Chan, who had been joking around until then threw a startled look at the butcher. But she soon recovered and jovially said as she smiled,

“Hey, what're you yelling for? Calm down, relax. It's not good for your blood pressure. Look, your face is already turning red.”

“Forget it. Forget it! You haven't got a sincere bone in your body. That's why you're still living like that!”

“Hey, don't get all sulky now. What's the matter? Did swine cholera break out somewhere again?”

“I said drop it. What could I possibly talk to you about? Just drop it.”

“Tsk tsk, let's not get all shy and sulky. Just tell me what's the matter.”

“You're not understanding what I'm saying is the matter! Just meat! Meat in general! MEAT!”

“Yea, meat! That's why I asked earlier. What kind of meat? Sirloin or ribs? I've gotta know if I'm gonna answer.”

“Arrrgh!” An incensed Mr. Ku started pulling out the meat platters from the display case and slamming them onto the counter top. The perky meat danced and jiggled on top of the trays. En Chan was dumbstruck. As she watched, she began to get heated as well. What the hell is this guy doing?

“If I say meat in general, you should understand that I'm saying meat in general! Hind legs are meat too, aren't they? Who says only sirloin and ribs are meat!” Mr. Ku began to stab the sirloin and ribs with his fingers. And every time he did, En Chan's eyes grew wider and wider and her breath grew more and more ragged.

This guy is going too far! Why's he ruining perfectly good meat?! Who's gonna eat that?! Those dirty fingernails went in nearly all the way! How was he going to sell THAT?

Then a thought came to her that brought her peace immediately.

He can't sell it. If he does, he's got no conscience. But, it'd be a shame to throw it out, so if he asks me to, I could bring myself to take it. It'd probably be all right if I grill it. But still! What's the big idea, abusing meat that so reverently offered itself up to be eaten?

“No matter how expensive, Hanwoo brand beef is still the same meat, and so's Kobe beef! Do you get it, kid? Now, I'm asking you, what do you think about when you see this meat?!”

“Meat is meat. What is there to think about?”

“Of course there there's something to think about, you idiot!”

“I-idiot?” En Chan was momentarily incensed. “Hey! Who you calling idiot? When I look at meat, all I can think about it how much I want to eat it. What else is there to think about, huh?”

“Wow, for a girl, you've got no emotions, have you?”

“What does this have to do with being a girl? You dried up old geezer bachelor!”

“You little pig! You got a problem with that? You got a problem with me being an old geezer bachelor?”

“Right back at you! You got a problem with me being born a girl?”

“You're a girl who can't even stand up for herself when people call you a guy, you moron.”

“It gets tiring after a while, all right? It's not like it happens just once or twice, it's every day! Having to explain every single time.... Damn it! You know what I mean! What's wrong with you?”

“You secretly enjoy it, don't you.”

“What? Secretly enjoy what?”

“You secretly enjoy people mistaking you for a guy. When screaming middle and high-school girls surround you and snap away with their cameras, it makes you feel good, doesn't it?”

“Hey, listen, mister, I'm no pervert! You old fart, what do you think you're doing, pouring salt on the wound?”

“Old fart? Fine, you want it to go that way, do you, huh?!”

“I don't know where you got screwed or who you got screwed by, but why are you taking your anger out on me, huh? What am I, your punching bag? You always take it out on me.”

“And what, I can't get angry? I can't get mad just because I'm a good-for-nothing who failed the Shinchon Literary Exam fourteen times?”

“What, are you proud of having failed fourteen....” En Chan trailed off. Fourteen? Oh... just yesterday the number had been thirteen! Ah. So that's why Mr. Ku's face looked like it was about to explode.

“They... announced the results, ey?” Tsk tsk, guess he failed it again.

“The dream I had was spot on. A few nights ago I dreamed that I was trapped and suffocating beneath a milk cow. The cow was suffocating me with her udders and she kept saying, 'Cut me, why don't you. Just try and cut me.' I kept struggling because I felt like I was going to pass out and die, but the next moment, I realized I was trying to cut the cow from underneath it.” Mr. Ku set the pork front leg on the chopping board and began to cut it into large pieces. “But this stupid knife wouldn't listen. It just kept kneading at the cow's skin as if it was sawing away at it or something. And the cow laughed. It laughed and kept saying, 'Cut me. Try and cut me.'”

“Must've been pretty nice, though.”

“What must've been pretty nice?”

“You like udders, don't you? Nice, big 'udders'.”

“Why you little—!”

“I know you have pictures of 'udders' posted on your bedroom wall. I mean, I can understand your liking them, but that calendar's from 1999, mister. How can you still have it up?”

“What, do you think I leave it up because of the picture? I left it up because that's the month my parents died. That's your problem. Even though you're a girl, your mind's a gutter. I don't know how you think you're qualified to teach children. If I ever have a kid, I'd never leave him under your care.”

“Ha, get married first, then talk.”

“You can have kids without getting married, you brat.”

“How? Adoption?”

“That's not what I... Whatever, talking to you makes me dizzy. Where was I?”

“The stupid dream.”

“Damn bastards. What do they know, huh? All judges are the same, you know that? The literary world is rotten to the core. It's just a playground for inbred idiots.”

“Yea. Rotten to the core. Totally,” En Chan agreed emptily, but her gaze was fixed on the chopping board. The number of meat pieces was growing. What was he trying to do, make meat hash?

“What's in a poem? Emotion. Impression. You should calmly relish each verse, and take into account even each blank space. And you've got to read it all the way so that you can enjoy the exquisite thrill of the twist at the end. These bastards only read the title and the first one or two lines and then throw it out. They don't take the duty of judging seriously enough. What does it matter if you're a famous poet or novelist if you don't know how to appreciate real art?”

“What was the title this time?”

“ 'The Infinite Hexahedron of Raw Meat'. The dripping blood, the glutinous meat, the white fat, the thick sap hidden in the hard bones. The life of the butcher who cuts this piece of raw meat into a hexahedron, his joys and sorrows, his solitude. My poem was soaked in these things.

“Is that why you kept asking me what I thought when I looked at meat?”

“Yea. When I look at all this meat....” Mr. Ku let out a deep sigh and picked up the knife that he had put down in his excitement. En Chan couldn't help wishing he'd notice how thin the pieces had already become.

“Meat, to me, if life itself. A love-hate relationship I couldn't let go of even if I wanted to. How could they not understand that profoundness?”

“Guess they must be vegetarians or something.”

“What?”

“You know, the judges might be vegetarians or something. Eating healthy's the new fad, you know?” Nonplussed, Mr. Ku stood stock still with his knife in midair. En Chan took this chance to rescue the meat.

“Eating... healthy?”

“Yea. That's why these days vegetables are more expensive than meat. Didn't you know?” She held out a fiver to pay for the meat that was now too absurdly thin to use for stew.

“Forget it.”

“What? Why?”

Mr. Ku went back into his room with a blank stare.

What is he getting all shocked for just because I suggested that the judges might be vegetarians? I was just saying it was possible.








< Part 2 > 8:50 PM: Go, Tae Kwon V, Go!


The building En Chan works in is four stories high. She works on the second floor, at the DongMoon Taekwondo dojo. The entrance is a small door on the left side of the building. The stairs are so small and cramped that an adult standing up straight would take up the whole of its space, and the floor is dusty. There's graffiti on a picture frame that is hanging on a cracking wall. Half of the frame's glass has been broken and hastily taped. In the frame is a picture of the dojo's students who had won medals in some competition. The students are smiling widely, floral wreaths around their necks. The dojo master is standing with a reserved look on his face. In every other picture, the student with the medal is a different boy or girl, but the look on the dojo master's face is changeless. Even now, after so many years, it has not changed.

En Chan picked up a gum wrapper that had fallen on the floor and then fixed the crooked picture frame. She flew over the last three steps and stepped into the dojo.

“Master!”

“Yea?” As soon as she stepped in, a kid came to tell on someone.

“Seung Kyung brought Simba with her.”

En Chan left the plastic bag of pork on top of the desk and looked around. Seung Kyung was standing with a small poodle in her arms. The other children surrounded her like an courtroom audience waiting to hear En Chan's verdict.

“Why are you guys still here? If you're done with practice you should go home.”

“We were gonna eat pizza. Why, is that illegal or something?” challenged Bong Tae Won.

Dear God, when is that little brat gonna get past puberty?

“Seung Kyung ordered pizza. She ordered yours, too, Master. Your mother's not home today, right? Seung Kyung's mother went somewhere today, too.” The speaker of this breathless explanation was the little girl named Yun Jung who had come to tell on Seung Kyung about Simba.

“Hey, I already told you, she didn't just go 'somewhere,' she went to go see a 'musical'.”

“Oh yea, musical.” Seung Kyung rolled her eyes at Yun Jung but the latter didn't seem to care.

“I felt bad for Simba because he was going to be home alone. I can play with him here until Mom comes to pick me up, right?” Even if she spoke more nicely than Bong Tae Won, there was definitely an arrogant air in her tone. What in the world is with kids today. Why should I feel intimidated by a twelve year-old girl? And En Chan couldn't even say, “How could you even think of bringing a dog into this sacred dojo?” to these kids because they were the ones who were bringing in the money.

“You'll only have 30 minutes. It's almost time for the next group's practice.”

“30 minutes is enough. The pizzas will be here soon. I ordered your favorite— bulgogi pizza.”

En Chan's eyes suddenly flashed. Ohhhh, yes! Bulgogi! But she tried her best to act aloof. She started rummaging around the desk drawers.

“Y-you guys eat...”

“Hey Seung Kyung, can Simba eat this?”

“Yea, whatever.”

The children were tempting Simba with a sausage. En Chan didn't yell at the children even though they were running around the wooden dojo floor with the dog. Usually, she would've screamed, “Hey! Knock it off!” but right now she was looking at the children with hazy eyes and saliva filling up in her mouth. Seung Kyung was looking up at En Chan with rapture in her eyes, and Tae Won was furiously glaring at En Chan. The two were rising sixth graders this year, and they fought and played like Tom and Jerry. Since Tae Won enrolled after Seung Kyung did, did that make him Tom? And En Chan is the cheese, the center of the trouble.

En Chan couldn't think of anything but dinner. She would leave the next group's practice to the dojo Master and go upstairs to her house on the roof to eat. Excellent plan.

And she'd eat pizza beforehand. Then the main course, the kimchee stew with rice, and then Mom's Pretty Pretty Salad for desert. Heh heh heh.

“Master, you're drooling,” said Seung Kyung.

“Huh? Oh...” En Chan gave a sheepish grin and wiped the saliva with her sleeve. Tae Won made a face as if to say, 'that's disgusting,' but Seung Kyung watched even this action with admiration.

“Master, did you read the e-mail I sent you?”

“You sent me an e-mail? I haven't read it yet...” En Chan wasn't too friendly with the computer. Come to think of it, she couldn't exactly remember her own e-mail address. It looked like it would be an awkward situation, but En Chan reached for the computer on the desk anyway with a forced smile.

“Sh-shall I take a look? What kind of e-mail could Seung Kyung have sent me?”

“No! No!” Seung Kyung flew to the computer and turned it off. She blocked the monitor with a face that was blushing furiously and glanced nervously at Tae Won.

“R-read it later. Oh, hey! Look! Pizza's here!” Seung Kyung skitted off and opened her pink wallet. En Chan couldn't bring herself to watch a disciple pay, so she pretended to be busy doing other things. In the middle of this act, she made eye contact with Tae Won who had been watching her.

“What?”

Tae Won gave her a look of exasperation and took off.

“That brat...”

“Master, come quickly and eat!”

“Oh, y-yea, yea, let me just.. finish this. Go ahead, eat.”

I can't just dive right in. I've got my pride as a master. She kept rummaging through the desk. But her charade didn't last longer than a few seconds. The fragrance of the pizza had come wafting into her nose. Not only that, but the children were eating so avidly and with such delightfully slurpy gusto that En Chan felt her ears would soon start drooling as well.

“M-maybe I'll try a piece,” she muttered to herself as she headed toward the children.

“Here, master,” said Seung Kyung, handing En Chan a piece she had saved especially for her. This kid was too cute.

It was right then when Tae Won said,

“Master, phone.”

“Huh?” Tae Won was pointing at the desk. Not even with his fingers, but with his chin.

En Chan, whose five sense had been totally enraptured in the pizza, only just then heard her cell phone ring. Damn it! Who the hell was it? En Chan was not just a little pissed, but there was nothing to do but pick up the phone she had left on the desk.

“Hello?”

“Obba, it's me.” (translator's note: Korean females use the familiar title “obba” to refer to older males.) Sparks flew from En Chan's eyes. Who was this prank-calling wench?! The “obba” gave it away. All throughout middle school and high school, En Chan had been chased incessantly by hormone-driven juniors with confused sexual identities, and they had all called her “obba.” Even some girls in the same grade used to pant after her calling, 'obba, obba'.

And they still haven't recovered from their delusion?!

“You've got the wrong number.” She was just about to hang up when a panicked voice said,

“Obba, it's me! En Se.”

“I can't talk right now.”

“Why?”

Why? I'll tell you why, I was just about to....

Seung Kyung was holding out a huge slice of pizza and motioning to En Chan to come and eat it. En Chan beamed at her and nodded her head.

“I'm busy right now so call me later. I'm gonna hang up now.”

“Obba, I'm in trouble! Some punk keeps bothering me.”

“What?” The pizza left En Chan's head. “What punk?!”

“I keep telling him to go away but he keeps following me. He's in front of me right now. Won't you come and help me, obba?”

“Which son of a— where are you!”

“Coffee Prince.”

The only people who could drag En Chan away from food were Mom and En Se. En Se blew her bangs out of her eyes and snatched up her jumper. She headed toward the exit with the phone against her ear.

“Why the hell are you hanging out with that kind of bastard?! And what have you been doing wandering around and not going home?!”

“I kept trying to go home, but this guy....”

“Shut up! I don't want to hear it! You're really gonna get it. Hey, Mr. Hong's there, right?”

“Mr. Hong? Yea. He's watching us from the counter.”

“Then don't move and—”

Suddenly En Chan's two legs flew through the air (“AARRGH!”) and then she promptly fell on her ass. The children all stopped eating their pizzas and turned to look at En Chan. One hand was in her jumper sleeve, the other, holding the cell phone. One knee was trying to hold her body up and the other leg was held up high in the air. From the foot of this leg dropped Simba's brown dung.

F....fu..... aaaack !! I'm going to strangle this dog!

“Obba, what's the matter? Obba?” En Se's shrill voice spilled out of the phone. The trophy cabinet began to sway. All eyes went toward the cabinet as the trophies began to fall. En Chan reflexively put out her hands.

“Umph!” She'd barely caught the trophy when, just as she was about to take a sigh of relief, the TaeKwon boy's head fell off from the top of the trophy and rolled away across the floor. En Chan gasped. En Chan could hear the children breathing. En Chan could feel their gazes filled with both anxiety and pity alike.

“When the dojo Master finds out about this...”

“Damn it...” She had to put the boy's head back on the trophy and then go wash her feet, but Seung Kyung kept wrapping gauze around her hand.

“Master, you're bleeding.” It was only a small scratch between the thumb and index fingers that came from the encounter with the trophy's sharp edge, but nobody could stop Seung Kyung. “We have to treat it quick. If we don't, it'll keep bleeding.” Seung Kyung was even on the verge of tears. A band-aid would've been sufficient. But Seung Kyung kept wrapping the gauze around and around En Chan's hand. Eventually the gauze came all the way up to her wrist and it was stiff like a cast. Even so, En Chan couldn't blame Seung Kyung. She knew the girl hated the sight of blood. En Chan was very much aware of the fact that Seung Kyung had lost her little brother in a car accident. And also of the fact that Seung Kyung had been there to witness it.











































< Part 3 > 8:55 PM: En Chan Meets the Punk From the Land of the Crows


En Chan arrived with dried saliva on her sleeve and dried dog poo on her pants leg.

“Obba, what's wrong with your hand? Did you get hurt?”

“Ko En Se, you...” En Chan sometimes has trouble recognizing her little sister En Se. This is because En Se looks like a totally different person in the morning on her way to school. There was no doubt in En Chan's mind that En Se's school uniform was in its usual place: the subway station lockers.

“Obba, I thought I told you to stop fighting. You keep getting hurt because you always go around beating up every punk you see. Give your fist a rest every now and then.” En Se was being disgustingly sweet. En Chan knew well what the fox of a girl was up to.

In any case, did anyone have anything to eat?

“What the hell is this? This is your boyfriend? Ha, that's funny,” said an insolent voice. En Chan gave a cursory glance at the youth sitting in front of him. What the! Who is he, a punk from the land of crows (translator's note: in Korea, they liken people with dark skin to crows. The punk in this story is a dark-skinned youth; thus, punk from the land of crows.)? His skin was strikingly dark, and... dear Lord, to make things worse, his hair was frizzy to the max. That was the kiss of death.

En Chan couldn't tell whether the youth was shaking his leg because he was nervous or because he was trying to give off a tough-guy aura.

“Oh, God...” En Chan couldn't stop herself from groaning. She was leaning against the chair, but still her entire body ached. Her head felt like it was splitting apart. A part of the reason was because of the after effects of the fall, but En Chan was tired mentally as well. About 3 cm behind her right ear was a hole the size of a quarter. As she fell on the wooden floor, a piece of gum that someone had spit out had stuck to her head. Boy, if she ever caught the brainless halfwit that spit out that gum... but that wasn't the point. She should've known something bad was going to happen when Tae Won, who was usually so taciturn, made a fuss waving around a pair of scissors saying he'd cut her hair for her. As Seung Kyung wrapped her hand in gauze, Tae Won stood by and cut her hair with a strange look on his face. Goosebumps had run up and down her entire body as she heard the snip-snip of the scissors. It was almost like being in a horror movie. In the end, she had no choice but to borrow the dojo Master's neighborhood security watch hat that was hanging on the wall.

“Yo, En Se, you've got to be kidding me. You're dumping me for this wimpy jerk?” In response to the punk's snide comment, En Se stuck onto En Chan's side and put her own arm through hers. The boy's eyes grew fierce. Man, that dark face looks really terrible all twisted like that.

En Chan blew out a short breath with her mouth as she looked at the glaring youth. It was her habit to blow her hair out of her eyes like that. But the hat started to move around, so she pressed down on it.

“Obba, get rid of him for me. Seriously, I'm about to go crazy because this kid keeps bothering me. I keep telling him that I'm dating someone, but he won't believe me.”

So, this time, En Se wasn't asking En Chan to pretend to be her big brother. She was asking En Chan to pretend to be her boyfriend. The punk was right. You've got to be kidding me.

When are you going to grow up, Ko En Se. I'm your freakin' sister!

En Chan couldn't do anything but give out big sighs. Mr. Hong brought her some water.

“What's wrong with your hand? Beaking wooden boards again?”

“Don't worry about it. Hey, mister, is there anything to eat?”

“To eat? Only biscuits. You want that, at least?”

En Chan sighed. If En Se hadn't made such a fuss about this punk, she probably would've changed clothes before coming. And eaten the pizza, of course. Actually, now that she thought about it, the plastic bag full of pork she'd left on the desk was starting to worry her as well.

“Yea, I'll take that, at least.”

“What do you want to drink?”

“Oh, come on, you know...” En Chan, who had just been about to skip over drinks to save money, suddenly remembered the fact that a very strange, very dark youth was sitting in front of her. Eh. He'd probably pay for it.

“Fresh fruit juice, then. A lot of it.”

“Seems like something a fruit like you would order. Yo, En Se, are you sure you're going out with this... thing? What's wrong with you? Didn't this obba tell you? You shouldn't mess around with poor little kids like him.”

En Se snorted in reply.

“Ha, don't make me laugh. Ya, Hwang Min Dal, who says you're some kind of obba? You're nothing but a lowlife punk.”

“It's not Min Dal, it's Min Yup! Man, how can you say such bitchlike things and still be so freakin' cute?”

Ugh... I'm gonna toss my cookies.

En Se poked En Chan's side. It was a signal to hurry up and get rid of the punk. En Chan looked the youth up and down from underneath a hat too big for its wearer. As soon as Seung Kyung finished wrapping the bandages she had hastily rubbed her foot on a mop and ran out the door. She'd come here with only the thought that she had to save En Se, but now, seeing the so-called “opponent” who now sat across from her, there was nothing she could do but sigh. He couldn't even be called a punk. This was the kind of guy who would rip snot-smeared dollar bills off of elementary school kids on playgrounds. He might talk tough, but En Chan couldn't see a mean look in his eyes. Of course, he didn't seem to possess any fighting abilities either.

“Yo, is this thing a middle schooler?” sneered the youth.

“Ya! You're really starting to piss me off!” En Se had a mean streak herself. “Who the hell are you to keep referring to him as “this thing”, huh?”

En Chan didn't really enjoy watching En Se's mean side, but she was touched by the fact that her sister was standing up for family. Little brat...

“He's four years older than you! Show some respect!”

“What? This thing is four is older than me. What do you take me for, huh? You think I'm blind? This wimp couldn't be any older than, fine, a high schooler. What, did he tell you he was twenty? You fell for it, stupid! Hey! You! Listen, you bastard, tell the truth. What's your freakin' age?”

“This is why I don't like you. Why do you have to look at everything so negatively? What, you think everyone's just like you? Just because every time you open your mouth a dirty lie comes out, you think everyone else does that too? You dirty liar.”

As soon as En Se finished her snide comment, the youth lost it.

“What? You little!”

“What, what're you going to do if you keep mad dogging me like that? You gonna hit me? Fine, go head, hit me. Then let's end this once and for all.”

“This is seriously fucked up...”

Is this how high schoolers talked to each other? What, in the name of heaven, did she call me out for. It looks like it's something they could've figured out themselves...

En Chan sunk lower in her chair, leaning her head against the back of it, waiting for the fresh fruit juice to come. En Se noticed this and poked her side again.

“Obba, say something!” En Chan glared furiously at the hat. She caught En Chan's eyes and sent a message telling her to hurry up.

“Uh.. yea...”

Her throat was cracking. En Chan put her hands on her empty belly and straightened her back.

If she was going to force me to pretend to be her boyfriend, she could've at least gotten me something to eat. I can't muster up the energy to go on. At this rate...

En Chan low voice went even deeper.

“You............ what's your name?”

“What do you need to know his name for?” En Se said petulantly. En Chan looked at the youth through the brim of the hat and spoke in an even deeper voice.

“You like our En Se or something?”

“Obba, why the hell are you asking him that?”

“Your En Se? Does she belong to you or something?”

En Chan knew that he looked down on her. The first thing was height. En Chan may have been popular among middle and high school girls, but her actual physical build couldn't compete with the average guy. At 5'8'', she was only slightly thicker boned than most girls.

“Listen, kid, you're not understanding what I'm saying. That's not the point. What I'm asking is, do you or do you not...”

Right then, the fruit juice arrived. En Chan abruptly stopped her sentence and held out her arm, but it didn't move very well. The bandages were wound so tightly she couldn't get a good grip. Damn it. With no other alternative, she held out her other arm. Mr. Hong clucked his tongue. En Chan immediately gulped it down in one shot. It took less than five seconds for her to finish an entire glass of fruit juice.

“Aaaahhh.”

“Obba.”

(Burp)

“Ew, that is too gross.”

“Hey, forget all this crap. Let's just go at it,” said the impatient youth. En Se's eyes rediscovered their twinkle as she turned to En Chan. Her eyes pleaded for her sister to “go at it.” There was no doubt that that's why En Chan had been called out. Sometimes, En Chan wondered if she such a girl really was her sister. She would put her sister in the fighting ring and then parade around like the round girl, huh?

En Chan smacked her lips and wiped her mouth. She briefly considered asking for a refill.

“Hey, you deaf? I said, come outside.” The youth threw out this challenge and went outside, but En Chan didn't move.

“What don't you like about him? He's pretty manly, isn't it?”

“Ahjussi!” En Se glared at the owner. But still Mr. Hong continued with an unctuous look on his face,

“Just a few days ago you two walked right by here holding hands. You get sick of him already?”

“I've only just found out his real character.”

“What's his real character like?”

“He's a total punk. He spits in front of girls, he's got no manners, his temper's dirty as hell, and he told me he was re-taking a year of high school after graduating, but it turns out he flunked back down.”

“Ah. So that's the critical blow.”

“Seriously! He told me he went to an engineering college, but it turns out he's nothing but a punk at an engineering high school who flunked down. Total liar!”

“I don't think you're in any position to be talking about this kid going to an engineering college or an engineering high school. As if you ever do any studying!” En Se returned to pleading mode as even En Chan joined in.

“Aw man, can't you talk about stuff like that at home later? I'm really in a bad fix right now!”

“Oh, really? It's tough work, dating, isn't it? I feel sooo bad for you.”

“Studying isn't the issue here! Your little sister is about to be abducted!”

“Abducted shmabducted. He probably couldn't even hurt a fly.”

“You're saying that because you don't know. He tried to take me to his room earlier by force!”

“You know what's funny? You only consider En Chan your unni (translator's note: females call familiar older females “unni” in Korea) when you're in a fix.” Mr. Hong's retort was met with the daggers from En Se's eyes. “Brr, I'm so scared,” exaggerated Mr. Hong as he hid himself behind the counter, still smiling.

“Unni, seriously, this is the last time. I'll never ask you to do something like this again.”

En Chan gave a sigh and looked at En Se. She had asked her to do something like this around last Christmas. She considered bringing that up. But then she decided it wouldn't make a difference anyway, and so she asked a question instead.

“You've got another boy, don't you?”

“No. Seriously, no.”

“Then why do you want to get rid of that guy?”

“So I can start studying. I'm a senior in high school now. I've really got to study, you know? If I go to an arts school and study music seriously, it'll be easier for me to become a singer.”

“Really?”

“I've got to grow up now. I can't always ask you for money. When I get into college, I'm going to find work on my own and earn my own spending money. So, sis, sissy, please, just one more time?”

En Chan hadn't expected her sister to say such things. Her nose began to tingle. She'd never dreamed she'd hear such wonderful words from her sister. En Chan wanted, like a father would, nothing but for En Se to grow up healthy and not cause too much trouble. And now she was all grown up, talking about earning her own spending money... En Chan was totally touched.

“Hey, what are you saying? You're no trouble to me...”

Right then the youth stuck his head back in and shouted,

“Yo! What are you doing? Come outside! What, you scared, you little wimp?”

“No, I'm just hungry, kid.”

“What?”

“Come inside.”

“Who do you think you are to order me around? Come outside!”

“Sit. Down.”

The youth surprisingly came back inside and flopped back in his seat, seething, but without much fuss. It was because he had only just then noticed En Chan's Taekwondo practice suit. Even though she was wearing a jumper on top, on the bottom, she was still wearing her suit. The black belt probably dispelled the idea that she was simply wearing white pants.

“Listen, kid. This hyung's (translator's note: Korean males use the familiar title “hyung” to refer to older males) not in a position to beat anyone up.”

“What the hell is this shithead saying?”

At the curse word, En Chan got angry.

“Watch your mouth! Or I'm gonna rub it down with sandpaper, got it?”

“What? You little bastard!”

“I said, SHUT UP!” En Chan tried to calm down and speak in a persuasive tone. “Listen. If I beat you up, I gotta go to the police station, and if I go to the police station, I won't be able to work, do you get it? So. Let's solve this a different way.”

“Don't be spouting horse shit. Let's just fight!”

“We can do something you're actually good at.”

“Ha! Trying to be cool, huh? Do you really think I'd lose to you at anything?”

“Oh yea? Ok.” En Chan raised her head and looked for Mr. Hong. The store was still empty of customers. Man, business is really bad at this place. “Mister! Call up Sea King Palace, would you?”

“Hey, just leave it. You're gonna stink up the place.”

“C'mon, it'll be over quick.”

“I don't know. Fine. It's been a while since the last time, so I'll let it go this time, all right?”

“Yes, sir!”

Watching Mr. Hong call the Sea King Palace, En Se muttered discontentedly,

“Why can't you just eat dinner at home?” En Chan ignored her and got in the youth's face.

“Hey... you got money?”

“What, are you going to mug me? You're full of all kinds of crap, huh?”

“We're going to bet on a jja jang myun eating race. Don't you think it's only fair the loser pays for the food?”

“What? Jja jang myun? What the hell... You little wimphead want to compete against me in an eating race? Freakin... Fine. I'll give you a break. I wanted to work up that mug of yours, but I guess you don't want to get hit, huh? But! Ko En Se, you better not change your tune afterwards. You promised to be mine if I beat this guy right here right now, remember?”

“Promise? What promise?”

“Ya!”

“Fine, fine, you lying punk.” She then turned to En Chan and smiled sweetly as she said,

“Wrap it up quickly, obba, ok?”

The youth looked slightly put off when the ten bowls of jja jang myun arrived. If he had been able to see En Chan's eyes, which were hidden under the hat, shine as if they were emitting fluorescent light, he would probably have been even more disconcerted. After finishing the first bowl in 13 seconds, En Chan's face was as sunny as an angel's. She ate with her face nearly shoved into the bowl, but the area around her mouth was surprisingly clean. To En Chan, jja jang sauce around her mouth would've been a waste.

Meanwhile, the youth was going through hell shoving the noodles into his stomach, which had been significantly shrunken by nervousness and a bit of intimidation. The game seemed fair until about the third bowl. But by the fourth bowl, the gap was evident and growing wider by the minute.

“Dog food. Octopus stew. Pizza. Pork porridge.”

The first one to give up or throw up would be proclaimed the loser.

“Margarine. Cooking oil. Fried pig skin. Ox tail soup,” murmured En Se, who was sitting with her chin in her hand. The words she threw out so nonchalantly were truly disgusting.

“Oily chop suey. Smelly cheese. Hard-boiled eggs. Thick, clotted cream.”

En Se glanced at the two players who were eating like dogs. When En Chan raised her head after emptying five bowls, the youth was reaching toward the fifth bowl. His face looked like hell, but it looked like his insides felt more like hell.

“Mushy Bananas. Sharp strawberry yogurt....”

“Upghrgh!”

It may have been that En Se had gone too far. The poor youth dashed to the bathroom with his hand over his mouth. Mr. Hong called after him,

“Hey, be careful not to spill any on the floor.”





































< Part 4 > 9:55 PM : The Epic of the Ring



En Se ran off, leaving the vomiting youth behind.


“Hey, Hae Wook, where are you? Are you done with cram school? Uh huh, I'm nearby right now... Really? Ok, I'll be right there!” After hanging up, she pranced away with a smile on her face.


“Obba, I'm probably coming home pretty late tonight.”


“Ya! Ko En Se!”


The punk, spread out on the chair like a wet mop, kept making vomiting motions like a broken water pump. Still, it couldn't be helped.


After all, En Chan only had a buck fifty in her pocket to call her own.


“Sorry, kid, but a game's a game, right?”


En Chan drank cup after cup of water while the youth, who had become rather pale and haggard, paid for the jja jang myun.


“You want some water, too?” En Chan offered, but the youth only glared at her and left in a huff.


Huh. Guess that did some damage to his pride.


“It doesn't seem like he's a bad kid through and through, though, huh? At least he paid before he left.”


“Yea, that's true. Oh man, am I full,” En Chan patted her stomach as she thanked the owner and left the store. It was evening and the temperature had dropped, and the air was chilly.


Ko En Se, you little hussy. You told me you didn't have a different boy, and see how you run off!


“As the saying goes, you break your teeth on the tofu you trust. Little brat,” En Chan muttered to herself as she walked the night streets alone. “Who's Hae Wook, huh? How many guys is she dating at the same time, for cryin' out loud?” She entered the market still grumbling. She was stepping into the building where her roof apartment was when she heard a thunderous shout.


“Ko En Chan, you little rascal! How dare you leave without even a word!”


“M-m-master....” The eyebrows of the master who stood in the doorway of the dojo waggled. Suddenly, the decapitated Tae Kwon boy, the chaotic image of the children running around eating pizza all came rushing back to her.


“W-well, you see, master, um... I, uh...”


“Hey! Is that my hat? Why are you going around wearing somebody else's neighborhood watch hat?!”


“Ack!” He whipped the hat off of her head.


“You're a really strange one. It doesn't even fit you. Why would you want to wear it around?”


Who said I wanted to wear it around? It's because of the stupid hole in my hair...


It was too dark for the dojo master to tell, but En Chan still self-consciously rubbed at the side of her head.


I can't believe my head is actually cold because of that little hole. I wonder what happened to the Tae Kwon boy's head. I sure hope Seung Kyung put it back on correctly.


“Take this.”


“What is it?”


The dojo master shook the black plastic bag he held in his hand. Oh! My meat! En Chan quickly ran to receive the meat.


“I thought I told you not to go around wearing your practice suit!! You troublemaker!”


“Ow!!” If it came from the dojo master, even a single knuckle sandwich hurt like hell and make her head ring.


“Aiish, Master! What are you trying to do, put a hole in my head?”


“Don't 'aiish' me, you brat! Hurry up and go upstairs. It seemed like your mother was up there alone.”


“Yes, sir.”


“And be sure to lock up tight.”


“Yes, sir. Have a good night!”


“Yea,” said the dojo master as he ruffled En Chan's hair. The place where he had given her a knuckle sandwich still tingled.


“Agh, f....” she climbed the stairs towards her roof apartment. She passed the PC bang and the pool hall and finally reached the roof. The dojo master was the one who had arranged a room for them to live in in this old and decrepit building. It was also the dojo master who had convinced the building owner to let her family pay only the electricity and water bills. He had been marine comrades with En Chan's late father. That was the reason why En Chan's family was always in debt to the master, for the house, for the job, basically for their livelihood itself.


“I'm home.”


“Is that my little prince?”


“Did you have fun at the reunion?” En Chan, who had entered the room, saw her mother who was lying down with a facial mask on. She was, as usual, dressed elegantly in a deep plum home dress.


“A face pack as soon as you come home?”


“If I don't relax my face immediately, it'll get all rough. The wind was so cold and harsh today, it felt like all of my soft skin was going to peel off.”


“Oh, come on, aren't you exaggerating a little?”


“I'm serious! Feel it. Here.” She put En Chan's finger under the paper mask so that she could feel the skin underneath.


“Oh wow, it really is pretty rough. Kind of like sandpaper.”


“Oh my God, really?”


“Kidding, kidding!”


“That's mean! I'm upset about it anyway, don't make me feel worse.”


“What kind of mask is it?”


“Moisture replenishing. Since I can't use better make up, I have to use these more often. The only reason why my skin is this nice is because I take good care of it. Whoever heard of a woman who uses cheap forty, fifty dollar skin lotions like I do having skin this nice? At this age, I mean.”


“You're absolutely right. Madame Na has million-dollar skin, if nothing.”


“Mm it feels so nice and moist. Did you eat dinner? The salad was still in the fridge.”


“I ate before coming home.”


“What did you eat?”


“Jja jang myun.”


“Darling, I thought Mommy told you not to eat that kind of food made out of flour. It's bad for your skin.”


“It couldn't be helped today. What did you eat, Mom?”


“Italian.”


“Oh, you went to the bistro? Must've been delicious.”


En Chan's mouth forgot about the five bowls of jja jang myun and started excreting saliva again.


“It was just so-so today though. All my friends said the food tasted great and ate it all up, but I could tell. I'm pretty sure they changed the chef. The sauce just didn't taste the same.”


“Yea, you're pretty sensitive to that kind of stuff. So you were pretty disappointed, huh?”


“I just accepted it and ate without complaining. But what's this smell? Something stinks.”


“Something stinks?”


En Chan, who had been in the process of taking her jumper off, discovered the brownish yellow stain on the end of her suit top. Oh shit!


“R-really? I-I don't smell anything. What, what kind of sauce was it?”


“Sauce?”


“The, the sauce. Didn't you say it was good the last time you went there?”


“Oh, saffron foam sauce? I didn't have that today. That's with salmon.....” And so began the explanation of En Chan's mother, who had attended professional Italian cooking classes for about five weeks about ten years ago. En Chan gave a sigh of relief as she changed out of her Taekwondo clothes. If her neat-freak mother found out, she probably would've made her change outside.


Simba or Shitba, she wasn't about to let that dog it in the dojo again.


En Chan was furtively rolling up her dojo suit when her mother asked,


“What about about En Se?”


“Sh-she said she's going to be a little late...”


“Again? What's wrong with that kid? Has she got thorns on her bottom or something? Why can't she just sit down for a single hour to study? What's a high school senior doing running around outside and not studying? For crying out loud. Hand me that phone.”


En Chan gave her mother the phone and quickly ran to the bathroom. She put the dojo suit into the washing machine and stepped into the shower. The boiler was running out of hot water, and she shivered as she washed. All throughout her shower, she could hear her mother's voice on the phone. It was apparent by the way her mother's voice grew in volume and roughness that En Se was not about to listen to her mother.


“Ugh, it's like jumping into a frozen lake.”


The thin trickle of water became colder and colder. She hurried to finish and put her clothes on.


“Ah, damn it. How am I supposed to cover this up?” said En Chan worriedly as she dried her hair. She tried to cover the hole with hair, but the empty space couldn't be hidden.


“Bong Tae Won, you've got some skill with scissors. Stupid kid managed to cut so close to the surface.”


She had to do something. If she kept it like this... En Chan pulled out the medicine box from the bathroom counter. She cut a piece of gauze to about the size of the hole and taped it onto her head. She had no choice but to go around like this for a while.


En Chan came out of the bathroom when the phone rang.


“Hello? Oh, Dong Ok? Hi~”


En Chan thought to herself how bright and clear her mother's voice was as she opened the refrigerator door. Occupying the middle spot of honor was a fancy bowl covered with plastic wrap. Inside that bowl was a vegetable assortment the size of a fist, also known as, Pretty Pretty Salad.


People said that En Chan's mother's cooking skills could probably get her a job at an elegant restaurant as a chef. So there was no complaint about the flavor or taste of her cooking. En Chan didn't have any particular complaints either. The only problem was the portion. To En Chan, who wrestled and rolled around with children all day, the portion was pitifully lacking. Her mother couldn't know this and would often say,


“Oh my, En Chan, if you finish all of that, you're going to get fat. People have to eat vegetables to be healthy. Did you know? There's nothing as disgusting as a glutton. Even though I can't make soybean soup or kimchee stew, I'm excellent at making things like spaghetti and salads. Not only that, I can bake cakes and cookies, and what else? Oh yes, seafood risotto, potato soup...”


Mom's cooking was delicious. The flavor was worth all the time and money and effort put into making the food. It was just that En Chan liked traditional Korean chicken broth, bulgogi and grilled bone ribs.


“What? Ring? What ring?”


Suddenly her mother's voice rose sharply. En Chan covered up the band-aid with her hair and went into the room.


“Oh.......... who did, I did? Who said that? Oh, Jin Hyang......... oh...... oh, no no no........” Suddenly her mother got up and started pacing the room restlessly.


“Huh? O-of course. It's, it's safe with me. Uh huh. Of course.” Her mother, who had just crawled a lap around the room, started patting and sweeping the floor with her hand. En Chan looked at her mother, who was wearing an expression as if she'd burst out crying.


“What's wrong, Mom?”


“O-ok... I-I'll keep it safe. Huh? Wh-when? F-five days? My, that must be tough. Anyway, have a good time. Uh huh. Ok. Bye.” As soon as she hung up, she grabbed En Chan.


“Have you seen a ring?”


“What ring?”


“Did you see one or not? Oh my God, what am I going to do? That ring... that ring...”


“What? What about the ring?”


“I was wearing it, wearing it right here. It's a diamond ring.... It-It's gotta be around here somewhere, right? Right?”


Chapter Two

One Month Earlier: Han Kyul's 25th Hour



< Part 1 > 9:50 AM: Dong Yi Group Headquarters



Beyond the revolving door is the gleaming lobby. It is a dazzling and extravagant space that is even more magnificent once you step inside. It is spacious, warm, and clean.



“Welcome, sir. May I help you with anything?”



An amiable voice with a decorous smile. He fancied for a moment that he was still on board the airplane.



“Which floor is the president's office?”



“Are you here to see the president?”



“Haven't you heard that she had a young gigolo? That's me.”



The employee's well-trained charm broke down momentarily, but she gave a quick scan of Han Kyul's appearance. A green suede jacket, a long scarf in lieu of a tie, a pair of grey pants and a hunting cap to match. Han Kyul scrutinized the woman as well. Especially the area around her painted red lips.


“Do you... have an appointment?”



“Appointment? Did I? Hmm... I can't recall...”



“Ah, well, in that case, who should I say has come to call?”



“Her exclusive masseuse.”



“Oh... yes... of course. One moment, please. I'll confirm it immediately.” The female employee picked up the receiver and turned her body slightly.



“Tell her if it's not just the two of us, I won't meet,” said Han Kyul to the employee before he turned and leaned against the information desk to survey his surroundings. Right then, he heard footsteps. A succession of men were crossing the lobby and heading towards the elevators. He could see recognizable faces in his peripheral view.


“Y-yes...... exclusive masseuse...... Ah, yes. I understand.”


Han Kyul asked the female employee who had just hastily replaced the receiver,


“What's today?”


“Excuse me?”


“Old geezers are arriving in flocks.”


“Oh... There's a global management strategy conference today.”


“Here?”


“Yes, in the 11th floor conference room...”


“At 10 o'clock?”


“Yes.”


“Ha!”



It seems I've been played.



“The president's office is on the 23rd floor. If you take a right just after getting off of the elevator, it should be immediately...”


“Miss...” Han Kyul read her name tag and continued. “Miss Yuh Sun Ae. About 10 minutes from now, there'll be a phone call from the president's office. When it comes, please relay this message. The exclusive masseuse very suddenly developed severe finger cramps, so he had to return immediately. Also, there's absolutely no reason for you to call up ahead. Now, if you'll excuse me.”


“Ah, excuse me....” Han Kyul swiftly turned his body and escaped out of the lobby.



“You idiot. Can't you recognize bait when you see it? This is what you get for being greedy.”



He was muttering to himself as he headed toward the basement parking lot when he heard voices in the stairwell. Great. It had to be faces he knew. He had no choice but to hide behind the door.


“Should be a sight to see today, huh? A real fireworks show.”


“What's there to explode? One's fire, one's ice. They're too sly to even rub against each other. They'll probably just growl at each other for a while and it'll be over.”



“There's also one other. Han Sung hyung's mother.”



“In that case, a bigger player'll probably step up from this side. Uncle's fire, too. Fire against fire, I suppose.”



“If the representative comes, wouldn't Grandmother come as well? What do you think, hyung? Which side do you think she'd be on?”



“How should I know what she's thinking.”



“There's talk that she's called out Han Kyul. That Grandmother herself did.”



“This isn't some children's' fistfight. There's no point in increasing the headcount. The dead man's dead, and there's no law saying the oldest son has to become the representative. I don't know what the hell everyone thinks they're doing. If we keep bickering over this we're going to muck up our family's reputation. It's all so terribly vulgar.”



“If you think about it from Han Sung hyung's point of view, it's pretty unfair that he's had his rightful throne taken away from underneath him. Han Gyu hyung's not going to want to let go of this golden opportunity as long as he's got his hands on it. Look how he's even called in Han Kyul. Hey, don't you think if we wait around long enough our turn'll come too? Don't you think so, hyung?”



“I don't even want it. As long as some crazy unpredictable frog doesn't come in and hop around breaking everything, I'll be thankful for that.”



His cousins' laughter were growing fainter. Even after the laughter had gone, Han Kyul didn't move. He was standing stiffly and ridiculing himself for hiding. He finally turned his body. The stairwell was silent. He took a step down and clenched his fist. Then he cracked a smile.



Crazy unpredictable frog, huh?



When Han Kyul entered the parking lot, a white sedan pulled up and parked, incidentally, right next to Han Kyul's car. Han Kyul, who was taking out his keys, found himself meeting the eyes of the driver of the white car.


Goddamn it, what is up today?


“Well, well. If it isn't Han Kyul.”


Han Kyul lightly shook the hand Han Sung offered and said,


“Long time no see. Time hasn't been too kind to you, has it?”


“I'm not even thirty yet.”


“Let me know when you do turn thirty. I'll set up reservations for you at Silver Town retirement homes. It's the least I could do for you, hyung.”


“You never change, do you?”


Of all of Han Kyul's cousins, Han Sung was the one he was most comfortable with. When Han Sung's father died, it should've changed to be the opposite, but Han Kyul didn't act uncomfortably around Han Sung. Han Sung, for his part, treated Han Kyul the same way he had three years ago. The reason they could treat each other this way as because both were sure of what they liked and disliked, and never tried too hard to hide their opinions. In other words, they were the type of personalities that could argue and fight and still be friends.



“When did you get here?”



“I don't know. A few days ago? A few hours ago? It kind of even feels like I'm still in the plane.”



“Did you come to see Grandmother?”



“What am I, crazy? We live in the same house. Why should I come all the way here just to see her?”



“But you are crazy.”


Han Kyul snorted at Han Sung's sharp joke. Turning his car keys in his hands, he drawled,



“I got hooked.”



“You're telling me there's actually a fishing tackle capable of hooking Choi Han Kyul?”



“Is Grandma on some kind of program? Her poker face is getting better and better. A brand new car in exchange for ten minutes teatime with her.”



“Not a bad deal.”



“Well, I fell for it, hook, line, sinker. Walked right into the tiger's cave, and discovered that today's the day when all the tigers congregate to sharpen their claws together. Man oh man, I got so scared that I'm running away.”



“Is company work really that uninteresting to you?”



“Well, if it started being interesting, you and the other hyungs' lives will probably get a lot less interesting, isn't that right?”



“How would someone who does nothing but observe know?”



“I don't want to get in the middle of an old geezers' ball game.”



“You could be a cheerleader at least.”



“What for? There's so much fun to be had in the world. If you're getting tired, why don't you take a breather on the bench for a change?”



“I sense thorns in your words.”



“You can pick 'em out and listen or just let it slide out of one ear.”



“Is there no vaccine for your poison? It's getting harsher and harsher.”



“Let it be. There's nothing wrong with passing on after living life this way.”



Han Sung looked at his watch and then picked up his briefcase.



“I've got to go in now.”



“Don't use me as an excuse for being late. Nobody, not Father or Han Gyu hyung, knows I came to the company today.”



“Why don't you see them before you leave?”



“Whatever. Hey, let's get together soon, you, me and the vixen. You do know that we came back together, right?”



Han Kyul glanced expectantly at his cousin's expression but there was no change to be found. Grandma's poker face was probably a genetic trait.



“Did you know or didn't you?”



“I don't really care.”



“Ooh, so cold. So they were right when they called you ice.”



“Run along. Once you get over jet lag, give a ring.”



“To who, the vixen?”



“Senseless, silly boy.”



“All right. Get on with your work.” Han Kyul, who was getting in the car, waved at Han Sung, who was waiting for the elevator. He muttered to himself as he drove out of the parking lot,



“What the hell is wrong with the ties on every bloke I see? What, is the company giving them out or something?”




< Part 2 > Slept until 5 PM


Slept all day on an empty stomach, but no major problems.



< Part 3 > Started drinking at about 7 PM


Met up with some buddies who're comfortable than most because they're not close and got smashed.

< Part 4 > The next morning, 10:50 AM: Women Trouble


Han Kyul, who had been tossing and turning, sat up so abruptly in bed that his head spun. It felt like there were 20 squirrels runnings on wheels inside his head. He grabbed his head and flopped back down.


“Ugh....”


Even his own groaning made his insides rumble. There was a voice coming from somewhere. It was probably the squirrels, having a conversation.


“My goodness, what's this?”


“Salmon salad.” The female squirrel was asking the questions, the male squirrel was answering.


“Oh, salmon! It looks delicious.”


“Please enjoy yourselves.”


When did squirrels start eating fish? Something smelled good. It wasn't the fish.


“Obba, get up. I ordered room service. Come on, get up and have breakfast.”


Something get shaking his shoulder. He wrenched an eye open and squinted even harder when an intense pink light flooded in. As he raised his gaze, he saw brown hair.


“Who the hell are you?”


“Oh, come on, obba. You want to wash up first? Are you thirsty? I'll bring you some water.”


Han Kyul, careful not to repeat the same painful mistake, sat up slowly. His insides burned and his eyelids were heavy. His head was spinning, so he pressed down hard on his temples. Now there were only 10 squirrels. He carefully turned his aching neck and looked around. A gold-embossed vanity. An antique style table and sofa, another bed. So it was his hotel room.


“Obba, here's your water.”


He saw her face smile amiably as she gave him the glass of water. Yup, he didn't know her. In any case, he took the water and drank it all off and then thought hard. Who is this?


“Oh!”


“Do you remember now?”


“You! You ended up—!”


“Good morning~”


What the hell was with this woman? He pushed away the woman who had tried to hug him and got out of bed. He stumbled a little because he was dizzy, but he soon regained his stance.


“What kind of girl can't understand after I say 'no' so many times, huh?!” Han Kyul turned around and quickly put on his pants. “Did your eardrums rot out or did your brain?”


“No matter how much you struggle, we can't change our destiny.”


“What? Desti-what?”


“I knew the moment I saw you, 'This is the one! This person is my destiny!'”


“Huh!”


“I'll be honest with you. I fell in love with you at first sight. I think I'm going to start liking you.”


As soon as he heard these words, he woke up. The blood in his heart began to freeze. Even the cute first impression he had had of her was destroyed. In fact, he now detested her like she was a sworn enemy.


Be honest with me? What's being honest? The only thing he could honestly say was that pouring alcohol into an empty stomach made his insides hurt very much. But emotions were not part of chemistry. There is no equation for them. You could never tell if they were going to change because of any little thing or whether they weren't going to change for anything. You couldn't even know what those “things” were.


“So? So what?”


“Why don't we eat first? Aren't you hungry? I'm hungry.”


Han Kyul coldly brushed off the woman who had come to put her arm through his.


“Ow!”


“I'm pretty sure I've told you about a dozen times not to touch me.”


The woman glared at him while rubbing her arm.


“What is it you want from me? Why did you ignore me when I said I didn't want you and harass me all night? What's the reason, huh? Did what I said mean nothing to you?!”


“Do you really not like me touching you?”


“Do I look like a girl? Saying I don't like it when I really do?”


“Why? Why don't you like it? I've never met a guy who doesn't like women.”


“Well, there's a first time for everything. Now hurry up and get out of my sight before things get ugly.”


Han Kyul, who was on his way to the bathroom, saw that the woman hadn't moved and said,


“Do you want me to break your body in half? Is that what you want? Just because I'm your brother's friend, you think that makes me your jackpot? Or is it money that you need? I don't have any cash, but you can take my credit card. Here. Do you want it?”


He took out his wallet from his pants pocket.


“Obba, your words are so ugly and mean.”


“You want me to call Do Hun for you? If you weren't his sister, I would've tossed you out by your hair a long time ago. I'm tempted to try it and see if you'll talk about destiny even after that, but I'm gonna pass for Do Hun's sake. Now, hurry up and get out before I call your brother.”


“Call him.”


Shockingly, the girl still stood her ground. Man, this little kid was coming out strong. What the hell gave this little brat so much confidence? Why can't you just leave when I tell you nicely?


“What are you going to say to my brother if you call? How are you going to explain me being here?”


Even as Han Kyul's eyes grew colder and colder with hatred, the woman still flounced about like a girl on a spring day picnic.


“Actually, why don't you call my mother instead? She probably won't be too angry about the fact that I slept with you. Mother-in-laws are usually pretty forgiving of their son-in-laws.”


“Did you get high yesterday?”


“What? What are you talking about?”


“It's just that I think you're still hallucinating.”


“You're one to talk. You got so smashed you can't even remember anything.”


“Shut your trap.”


Han Kyul was really pissed. The fact that he was bickering with this brat of a girl this early in the morning itself was enough to make him really really pissed.


“Even if you did the limbo naked in front of me, I wouldn't give a shit.”


“I'm sorry, but yesterday was different.”


“What are you, a con artist? Talking about destiny, love at first sight; it's that easy to lie?”


As if the last shred of her conscience was pricking her, the woman shrank back a little. She bit her lip and her eyes grew moist. He could tell what strategy she was aiming for. Heaving a sigh, he said in an even colder voice,


“I'm going to tell you one more time, so listen up. If I died and they sent me to the autopsy room, if the doctor cutting me open is a woman, I'd probably sit right up. That's just how I am. Do you understand? The only time I'd ever even touch a woman is if I'm wide awake, and I mean so wide awake I could thread a noodle through a needle. If I touched you at all during the night, I will commit suicide right here and right now. Now, if you've gotten my drift, quietly get out. If you show yourself to me ever again, I'm going to call your father at his hospital office. Got it?”


A tear dropped from her reddened eye. Han Kyul ignored this and went into the bathroom. He didn't feel anything when he saw women's tears. The only thing he might feel would be a curiosity as to whether the tear was meant to be a part of a plan or because she was truly afraid.


“Ugh... my head....”


Goddamn it! He couldn't remember anything. What if he really hadd touch her? What the hell was wrong with Do Hun? That bastard couldn't even take care of his own sister. Damn.


The more he tried to remember, the more his head throbbed, but he had to try. What he did remember was that he had left the party early and had gotten on the elevator. At first, it had been a party with only a few of his friends. But sometime during the night, the party had grown, and more and more unfamiliar faces had arrived. Do Hun's sister and her friend included. As the party ripened, total chaos broke out, and he kept hearing phrases like, “Hey, leave him. He's going to chew you up and spit you out like gum,” and “Oi, seriously, don't mess with him. You're gonna get yourself slapped.” That's when everything became irritating and annoying. All he could think of was how much he wanted to sleep when someone came and put her arm through his....


“Man, if that's not a leech, I don't know what is. How the hell did she follow me in here? There's no way I would've let her in without a fuss....”


After he finished his shower, he put on some cologne and a robe. When he entered the room drying his hair with a towel, it was empty. He thought to himself that she had finally left and began to feel relieved when he heard voices from the living room.


“Where's Choi Han Kyul?”


“May I ask who you are?”


What the hell! Where'd the whiny, crying voice go, and where did this bright and perky voice come from? Damn it!


“Oi! I can't believe you still can't understand...” Han Kyul stopped in a middle of a bellow. His mother stood in the living room. He gave a great big sigh.


“You can leave now, miss.”


“Excuse me?”


“Oh, you must be hard of hearing. Listen, miss. I'm his mother, so I come first. So get out. Do you understand me now?”


“Oh, he-hello, how are you?”


“No use greeting me now.”


“Then... I'll just... be on my way...”


The woman began to back away, face full of defiance. Han Kyul smiled bitterly.


This just kept getting better and better. What rotten luck. Women. The troubles he had with women.


He detected the fragrance of coffee and headed toward the table. Breakfast was quickly growing cold. He picked up the coffee cup and looked down at the bagel before turning his body around.


“O-obba, I'll see you later, then.”


“Wait just a minute there, young lady.”


“Yes?”


“Dear, won't you check to see if you have all the teaspoons and forks? Make sure there's nothing missing. Check thoroughly. You don't want to be the victim of a misunderstanding later, do you?”


“Wh-what? Are you talking to me?”


“No, I'm talking to my son. My goodness, are you already losing your hearing? Oh! How dare you glare at an elder like that! Looking like a hussy.”


Han Kyul ignored both the red-faced girl who stood in the doorway and his mother who sat haughtily in her chair and walked to the sofa.


“What the hell! I can't believe this!”


“You've got such awful manners. Speaking of which, let's look inside that purse of yours. Open it up and turn it upside down.”


“Why are you doing this? Are you implying that I've stolen something?”


“You say such strange things. Did I say you stole something? Is that your guilty conscience speaking? Hmm?”


“My God, I can't even believe this shit is happening.”


“You really shouldn't speak like that in front of elders. Where'd you learn your manners? (sigh) I shouldn't even bother. Darling, don't hang around such low class, inferior girls like that again, all right?”


After the door slammed shut, his mother's evil laugh pervaded the air.


“My goodness, what kind of a idiot is she? Oh, my, what fun.” His mother's childlike laughter grew louder. Han Kyul winced and when he could no longer stand the shrillness, he thrust in a question.


“How did you know about me staying here?”


“Why would I not know? I know all about the bars, the salons, the hotels, the saunas that you like to go to.”


“Do you have to make me into a mama's boy like that? If you left me alone, I would've gone home by myself. Why do you have to come all the way here to get me?”


“Do you know how many words we've spoken to each other since you've come home after three years abroad? This is the first conversation we've had since the first evening when we all had dinner together as a family. Hey, is that coffee? It smells good. Give me a cup.”


Han Kyul put a bagel and a cup of coffee in front of his mother. On a finger of the hand that brought the coffee cup to her mouth was an emerald the size of a fist. There were jewels sparkling on her ears and neck, too. Han Kyul had never seen any woman with whom such extravagance was fit so well. When she didn't make herself up, his mother looked like any other poor woman. Because she understood her own appearance and aura, she tried her best to make herself up as much as possible. She dressed herself up like a South American parrot and pasted on fake eyelashes and wore lots of jewels. And she obviously believed she sparkled.


“Who was that?”


“Nobody.”


“I trust you because your love life is usually so clean. And even if you had a problem, you wouldn't hide it right?”


“Just state the reason why you're here.”


“Sleep at home. It's frightening for me, your grandmother and your sister-in-law to sleep alone. We have two sons, but the company took one away. If I knew this was going to happen, I would've had at least two more.”


“Why don't you count Father?”


“Oh, right. That man's family too, isn't he? It's just been so long since I've last seen him.”


“I can see that it's abut time for you to go on a shopping spree. You sound like you lack energy. Why don't you take a trip to Hong Kong or something?”


“Tsk tsk, you rude boy.”


Han Kyul put down the empty cup and stood up. He tied and tightened his robe sash as he said irritably,


“I'll go home today, so you can leave now. Even a scarecrow CEO should keep her place occupied in the company.”


“I'm only there until you come to fill it, you know that right? What do I know that I would stay in that position? When are you going to join the company?”


“I told you that I wouldn't.”


Han Kyul went back into the room. This was why he had avoided meeting family members after coming back to Korea. As soon as they saw him they would all ask when he was coning into the company. This was also why he had been forcefully brought back. Two years ago, his eldest uncle had passed away, and his father had taken over the company. Suddenly, Han Kyul had become a vital person for the company. His father had tried to get him to settle down somehow, but it hadn't worked. Han Kyul didn't listen to him. He was afraid and abhorrent of the idea of jumping into that battlefield where that long and lonely war was being fought.


He had put on his pants and was putting his shirt on when his mother walked into the dressing room.


“Why?”


“I just don't want to.”


“Don't you have any ambition?”


“No.”


“Then think of it as filial duty. He's your father. Even if everyone else points his fingers at him, you, at least, should understand and help him.”


“What makes you think I'm qualified to do something like that?”


“What do you mean?”


Han Kyul closed the clasp on his belt and took out his leather jacket. He walked toward his mother.


“The entire world knows that Grandfather held Eldest Uncle's hand. Then Father and hyung took over that playing field. Imagine I joined the fray. What are people going to say? Don't you think they're going to say that we're being too greedy and that we're trying to take over everything?”


“Don't you think you're at least as qualified as your brother-in-law?”


“When did you guys drag him into this? My, aren't we quick on the uptake. This is a fine mess. Why don't we all fight over the same bowl of rice?”


“You're overreacting, dear.”


Han Kyul, who had walked past his mother into the living, put on his jacket and looked for his hat. But he could not find it anywhere. When he went back into the dressing room, his mother was standing over the vanity holding the hat.


“I heard you blew off your appointment with Grandmother.”


“She wanted to see me at the same time the CEOs were having their meetings. I'm not an idiot.”


“Tsk tsk. Seems like Grandma's bait laying wasn't skilled enough to catch a cunning raccoon.”


“You should leave now.”


“Take this.” What his mother held out was a brand new cellphone of the newest model.


“It's got a tracking device so be sure to keep it on you at all times.”


“Of course I will. Just don't tap it.” After watching Han Kyul stick the phone in his back pocket, his mother said,


“Father says he's going to marry you off.”


“What?”


“He says it's an ultimatum. You either come into the company or you get married.”


“Mother, are you hallucinating?” Han Kyul thought the idea was so ridiculous that he played it off as a joke, but for some reason there a cold chill raced down his spine.


“But it's true. I came here on your father's special commands. He says to make your decision by the end of today and report to him.”


“What the hell is this? And you didn't say anything to him while he was saying this?”


“What would I say to your father? I'm supposed to be the model wife. I have to follow my husband's commands.”


“Does Grandma know?”


“She says it's her wish to see a great-grandson who looks just like her youngest grandson, so she welcomed the idea with open arms.”


“No way! This doesn't make sense!”


“What, didn't you know that there are things in life that don't make sense?”


Seeing Han Kyul at a loss for words made his mother fall into her childlike laughter again. Han Kyul was so stunned that he felt like he couldn't breathe and that his blood wasn't flowing.


Now they were using all kinds of tricks to try and get him to come into the company. This was bullshit. He couldn't see a way out of this. So Grandma wasn't about to give him a car, she was trying to come up with ways to chase him out empty-handed. Join the company or get married? I'd rather die! Goddamn it!


Chapter Three

What is this, a rigged poker game?



< Part 1 >

Mom had come home from the reunion wearing Dong Ok ahjumma's (translator's note: in Korea, males as well as females call older women “ahjumma.” This is not familiar, but not formal either) ring. That is, she should've come back home with it. But at an unknown place at an unknown time somewhere along the way, she had lost the ring. The ring itself had been a little too large for her mother. She had been trying it on, and then had simply gotten up and left for home with it still on her hand. En Chan could understand how Ms. Dong Ok, who had to leave urgently at her mother-in-law's call, could forget, but couldn't understand why Mom couldn't have stopped her and said, “Hey, you should take your ring.”

Could her mother, who could still remember the exact details of this $4000, 2.12 carat diamond ring which had been placed on the highest shelf of the third case to the right in the B brand display area of the Shin Woo Joo Department Store where Ms. Dong Ok, together with her husband, had gone on their 22nd anniversary to buy, truly forget the fact that she was still wearing the ring? Not to mention not feel that she was no longer wearing it?!?!? Oh, my poor blood pressure. Oh, my poor weakening legs.


“Tell ahjumma.... tell her the truth... she's rich.... so......”


“No! I can't! I can't tell her!”


“What else can you do in this situation? You have to tell her that you lost it and tell her that we're going to reimburse her, and that even though we don't have the money right now, that we're going to pay her back soon. She's your friend of 30 years, she's not going to demand that you pay her back immediately.”


“No! I won't! I'd rather die! I'd rather bite down on my tongue right here and die!”


“Mom, you silly, why would you die because of something like this?”


Her mother, who had wrapped up her aching head and laid down, began to cry aloud in earnest.


“Mom, are you crying? For Pete's sakes, Mommy, don't cry.”


“If it was you, do you think you could tell someone something like that so easily, obba? Even I couldn't do it. I'd rather die before I would,” said En Se, who had been eating dinner.

“Why couldn't you? Is there another way to get out of this mess without telling?”


“There's no choice but to take out a loan from a local shark.”


“Oh God, just be quiet and eat your food.”


“Don't you remember, Mom? When Dong Ok ahjumma's family went bankrupt way back when, you were kind of mean to her. Back then, when Dong Ok ahjumma called you or came to see you you'd tell us to say you were out or you'd hide. When Dad died, I heard the other ahjummas talk among themselves saying that a person should do right when she has the chance in order to be helped later.”


Christ! Could this girl really be her sister? She'd heard the phrase “fear the ones you know” before, but how could a daughter pinpoint and attack every wound on her mother and be so mean about it?


“Serves you right for acting so stuck up when Dong Ok ahjumma was going through a hard time.”


“Ya!' En Chan rapidly crawled on her knees and put her hand over En Se's mouth. Right then, her mother, who had been lying down, abruptly stood up and flung open the closet doors. A mink coat the size of a bear slid down.


“Mom!”


“I've got to sell this.”


En Chan let go of En Se and flew to hold down her mother.


“Mom, Mom, calm down and sit down.”


“I... I can sell this at least... Your father... (sob).. your father bought it for me before he died.... It's the only thing left after selling all my... all my pearls... my ruby ring... all my jewels, it's the on-only thing left, but at least... at least I can sell this... (sobs) Oh my dear, I'm.. I'm so sorry!”


“Mommy.... d-don't cry... don't cry Mommy...” En Se began to wail, adding to the noise that her mother, who was sprawled on the floor like street market ahjumma, was making. “What do you mean you're going to sell that? You can't sell that. D-daddy b-bought it for you for your birthday. H-he was so happy when he saw you in it... He s-said it made him happy because (sob) it made him believe he'd kept his promise to let you live luxuriously.”


En Chan, who had momentarily begun wondering how much the coat would've fetched, was embarrassed. Her chest tightened painfully as En Se talked about their father while sobbing so miserably. Her father's last words came to her. Lying in a hospital bed, his body torn and bloodied from the car crash, her father had lifted a bloodied hand to hold her own, and he had said to her,


“Chan-ah, now you're the head of the family. Your mother... En Se... take care of them. I can trust you, right, Channy? I can go in peace, trusting you, right?”


It had been impossible to say no. There was nothing to be done but to promise him that she would. And she had worked and run all this way since then to keep that promise.


En Chan picked up the bear-like mink coat and hung it back up in the closet. The dry cleaning bill would be ridiculous if it somehow got dirtied.


“I'll figure something out.”


“Wh-what could you possibly do?”


“Unni, do you have money stashed away somewhere?” How could I, you little brat! Do you know how much money you took from me to buy bags and shoes and clothes?


“Well... kind of...”


“What! Really? Well, why are you telling us that now? What, you didn't want to give it away? You cheapskate. I thought as much. Shoot, I feel all stupid for crying. Mom, don't worry, obba's going to take care of it.”


“Huh? Really?”


She didn't tell them that there was only $420 dollars in the bank. She also didn't tell them that she was planning to meet Ms. Dong Ok, who had said she'd come around to pick up the ring in five days, by herself and plead with her. She simply told them, both hands clenching into fists,


“I didn't tell you because I wanted Mom to learn to be careful. Who do you think I am? Of course I have money. Just trust me. I'll handle it.”

< Part 2 >


Han Kyul doesn't dance or smile much, but somehow he always stands out in a crowd. There's always an atmosphere of stylishness and mysteriousness around him. It could be said that by simply entering a room, he draws attention to himself. It was as if he carried around his own colored spotlight. On rainy Seattle winter nights, you can find Han Kyul at Highway, his favorite bar, surrounded on all sides by beautiful women. All he's doing is watching the cellist play looking depressed and drinking his beer, but the beauties refuse to leave his side for several hours. When the night grows deep and he gets up from his seat, some woman will unfailingly try to take his arm. Without even a smile, he will push her away. Blonds and redheads alike.


Yu Ju saw Han Kyul fighting his way out of a swarm of women. She handed him the bottle of Miller Light she had only taken one sip from. Han Kyul, who was breathing slightly harder than usual, gulped down the beer, his Adam's apple moving up and down.


“I don't understand why you come to these kinds of clubs so often.”


“Why? Do you disapprove?” The fragrance of sweat and heat emanated from Han Kyul, who sat back down after ordering more beer. The scent was not displeasing to Yuju.


“It's not like you like to drink, and it's not like you came here with a mind to chase women.”


“Why not? I like drinking and I've a mind to chase all the women I want.”


“Really? So why...”


“So why aren't I passed out smashed, and why aren't there any women in hysterics trying to rip me off for money?”


“Well, that's not exactly what I meant. Fine. Tell me. Why aren't there?”


“Because that's the end. If I stumbled around drunk on the streets like a dog or turned my family upside down because of women problems, what would I be left with? Lock and chains, is what I'd be left with. All that stuff, I gotta do at the very end. I'm not done enjoying myself yet. I don't want to waste my youth, you know?”


“If you can control yourself like that, it might mean that youth is already over for you.”


“God, don't say such horrible things. If my youth is over, what does that make me? Middle-aged?”


“Why, are you scared?”


“Who likes getting old? Aren't you scared of getting old, Ms. Vixen?”


“Me? Sometimes... There are days when I'm afraid of tomorrow. It might be that I'm afraid that tomorrow may never come. I think that's the reason why I work so hard—so that I can forget that.”


A slim beauty walked by, leaving a fragrant trail behind her. Her long black hair came down to her waist, but her miniskirt was barely long enough to cover her buttocks. Yu Ju felt Han Kyul look at the woman. Han Kyul spoke, still looking at the woman,


“You're still all right. Even in ten, twenty years, you'll still be pretty.”


At his unexpected words, Yu Ju suddenly felt shy. It was because she knew he wasn't a man to say such things easily, and because it had been a long time since she'd heard them.


“Hmm. It feels pretty good to hear a compliment from a good looking man. I'll consider it a welcome-back gift.”


Just then, Han Kyul's friend Pak Do Hun approached them.


“Ya, what're you doing here? What do you think you're doing, hanging around out here while we're all waiting for you inside? They're all saying you blew them off.”


“What's there to do in a dark room? Makes you feel like you're trapped or something. Tell them to come outside.”


“You honestly think fifteen people are going to move just for one of you? Man, you and your ego.”


“Hello? Can't you see me?” At Yu Ju's interjection, Do Hun made a surprised face.


“Wow! It was you, nuna (translator's note: in Korea, males address familiar older females “nuna.”)? I thought this guy snagged a catch or something. But never mind that, when did you get so beautiful, nuna? Seriously! I thought there was a fairy was sitting at the bar.”


“I see you still overact. It's nice to see you, anyway. You've been well?”


“Of course. I don't even have to ask you. Your face is glowing. Did something good happen?”


“I'm just glad to be home. Hey, Han Kyul, since everyone is inside, it'd probably be better for us to go inside, too.”


“It's all right. Just you come, nuna. We didn't come here to see this jerk. We actually really don't care if he's come back to Korea or has left the Earth. But we wondered and wondered and wondered when you were coming back and...” Han Kyul abruptly cut off the banter before it got any longer by asking,


“Did hyung come?”


“Hyung? Who?” Han Kyul indicated Yu Ju with a quick glance. With that, Do Hun immediately understood and said,


“Oh..... No. Did he say he was going to come?”


“I left him a note because he was in a conference, but I guess his secretary didn't give it to him.”


Han Kyul skillfully circumvented the topic, but it looked like Yu Ju didn't believe him. When he had called, Han Sung hadn't said that he'd come, or that he wouldn't come. But Han Kyul had believed that he would. Han Sung wasn't the kind of person to waste time on lost causes, but Han Kyul had thought maybe he'd come on account of his pride. Han Kyul had wanted Han Sung to show up looking nonchalant and to sneer at the uncomfortable look on Yu Ju's face. Han Kyul wanted it to happen so that Yu Ju would be able to deal with the guilt and regret in that way, at least.


Han Kyul took the miniskirt woman into the room where Yu Ju and his friends were. Even the friends who at first looked outraged at the newcomer went wild when they saw her dance. They even called in her friends, and the party began to rage until it was about to explode. Around midnight, Yu Ju picked up her purse. Han Kyul, who had seen her sneak out, followed her.


“You're leaving already?”


“Yea. I'm kind of tired.” Han Kyul thought to himself that it had been Han Sung who Yu Ju had waited for.


“Let's go, I'll drop you off.”


“It's ok. I'll just take a cab.”


Han Kyul wordlessly took her by the wrist. It concerned him that her wrist was so thin. It reminded him of the first time he met Yu Ju. He was eight. Even then, her fingers and her wrists were very thin. At the time, if someone had asked Han Kyul what he hated most in the world, he would have said milk, the piano, and his father. He had been force-fed milk, even though he'd said it was fine if he didn't grow any more; so he hated milk. He had been forced to play the piano, even though he'd said he didn't want to become a pianist or anything; so he hated the piano. And for forcing him to do all these things against his will, he hated his father most of all.


That day, he had poured milk all over the piano, which he had played for two years. He had been beaten and humiliated in front of guests who had happened to be visiting, and banished to his room. He was so angry that he couldn't stop his tears. It was then that long-haired Yu Ju, who was taller than Han Kyul was and could play the piano better than he could, came into the room.


“Hey, do you want to be my younger brother?”


Han Kyul thought to himself that she was a very strange girl.


“If you say you will, I'll put medicine on your wounds for you.” She showed him the ointment she held in her hand. Her mouth was closed tightly as if she'd begin crying if he didn't quickly say that he would.


“Wait here. I'll bring the car around.”


“You've been drinking. We should call a substitute driver (translator's note: in Korea, if someone is too drunk to drive, a substitute driver can be hired to take the person and the person's car home.).”


“It's actually pretty entertaining to drive when you're slightly off your rocker. Don't worry, if things turn for the worse, I won't put anyone else in danger. I'll just shove my car into the river. What's the worst that could happen, other than dying? Don't you think it'd be all right to die with a cool guy like me? As a woman, I mean.”


“You're just drunk, right? You haven't gone crazy or anything?”


“What're you getting all nervous for? It's ok, I've only had a bottle of beer.”


“Still... Listen, I'll go buy some coffee from over there.”


“You don't trust me?”


“As if I could tell the almighty Choi Han Kyul that I couldn't trust him.”


“Psh.”


“I want to have some coffee too.”


“Fine, then.”


Han Kyul went to the parking lot and Yu Ju went to the convenience store on the other side of the street. He'd parked the car and was walking toward the store when Yu Ju came out holding coffee cups in both hands. Right then, a motorcycle whizzed by her. Without slowing down, the person on the motorcycle snatched the purse hanging from her wrist and sped off.


“Aaaah!” At her scream, Han Kyul sped like a bullet to Yu Ju. The cups were on the ground, and Yu Ju was standing still, dumbfounded.


“Nuna! Are you all right?”


“Ah... I....”


“Are you hurt anywhere?” Han Kyul clutched a pale and trembling Yu Ju against his chest. Right then, a scooter appeared out of nowhere and clattered its way past them.


“Ya! You son of a bitch! Stop right there!” An incredibly loud voice rang through the night street. Han Kyul read the shining letters on the back of the scooter:


“Midnight Snack Delivery”


“Let's get in the car. Can you walk?”


“I-I'm ok. I was just so startled...” As Han Kyul helped her along, Yu Ju forced a laugh and said, “Shoot, my bag... I bought that in Paris.... What a shame.”


“Women! The bag is not the problem. I'll buy you another one.”


“You promise? You can't take back your word later.”


“Did you hit your head or something? What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”


Yu Ju, who was about to get into the car, suddenly stopped. Her face went rigid and there was shock in her eyes. Han Kyul followed her line of sight and his prediction was proven right when he saw the man standing there. It was Han Sung.


“So you're coming just now, are you?”


“You're leaving?”


“We were going to, but there was a slight incident...”


Suddenly a siren blared. A patrol car was chasing the scooter chasing the motorcycle that was heading back toward them. With a cry of “Shit!” the person on the motorcycle threw Yu Ju's handbag. Han Sung found himself catching the bag, and Han Kyul reflexively began to chase after the motorcycle.


“Han Kyul!”


“Oi! Stop right there!” The thought that he had to catch the jerk had just fired Han Kyul up to sprint for the first time in a long time when the scooter clattered past him.


“Ya! Shit! There's no choice! Ya! You son of a bitch!” Han Kyul whipped the helmet off the scooter's driver and chucked it at the motorcycle. It flew in a parabola and hit the mugger square in the back. The motorcycle buckled and crashed, and the thief crumpled to the ground, but apparently he wasn't seriously injured because he stood right up and tried to pick up his motorcycle. The midnight snack delivery boy flew onto the escaping mugger. Woah. Not bad. Han Kyul walked slowly toward them, regretting that he had not been the one to catch him. He was breathing hard.


“Hah.... hah.....”


I guess I should quit smoking.


The delivery boy grabbed the thief and pulled him up by his collar. It looked like the two of them were bickering with each other. But by the time Han Kyul and the policeman arrived, the only one left was the delivery boy. The mugger had left his motorcycle and escaped in that short time. Han Sung and Yu Ju caught up with the group.


“You aren't hurt anywhere?”


At the policeman's question, the delivery boy nodded his head even though a cut on the cheekbone was bleeding. The policeman turned to Yu Ju.


“Is anything missing?”


“No.”


“Any other damage?”


“None at all. Just a little startled.”


“It'll be easy to catch him since we have his motorcycle, right? We can look it up?”


At Han Kyul's question, the policeman replied noncommittally,

“Who knows? There are so many fakes these days. It could be a stolen motorcycle. Also, there are a lot of motorcycles these days smuggled in from China, so there are lots of motorcycles that are unregistered roaming about.”


Then shouldn't the policeman chase after him? He was just here to take the victim's statement? You call that a policeman? Unbelievable!


“So you're saying you're not going to catch him?”


“Well, no, that's not what I'm saying. I'm saying that it'll be hard to. These kids are usually minors who don't have licenses.”


“For Christ's sakes! What, is that supposed to impress me?”


“Stop it.” Han Sung came over and pulled at him. Even as the policeman's face began to fall, the midnight snack delivery boy was desperately trying to put on a broken helmet.


“Hey, student over there.”


“Yes?” The policeman called the delivery boy over.


“Did you see his face?”


“It was too dark; I didn't get a good look.”


“Tsk. Ok. If you go home and find that you're injured somewhere, call up the station. We'll give you a reward or something.”


“Oh! Right.” Yu Ju came forth with her bag in her hand. “Thank you so much. It's thanks to you that I got my bag back. This isn't much, but...”


“N-no, no, it's ok. I just wanted to...”


“Hold it.” Han Kyul was glaring at the boy. Something smelled fishy. It was fishy that the mugger could escape so easily, and it was fishy that this kid would, after having interfered in other peoples' business and getting hurt, refuse to accept compensation. It was fishy that the bag was given back so easily, and it was fishy that the mugger and this kid looked about the same age. What is this, a rigged poker game?


The policeman's radio began to shriek loudly. He left to return to his DUI crackdown, and Han Sung took Yu Ju back to the car. Han Kyul grabbed the delivery boy who was trying to get back on the scooter.


“Call this number tomorrow.” He dug around in his pockets until he found a piece of paper and wrote down his number on it. “I'll take care of your reward.”


“No, really, it's fine.” The delivery boy blew the bangs out of his eyes and raised his eyebrows. He looked insulted.


“How much do you make in a month?”


“Excuse me?” Sparks appeared in his round eyes. “What are you asking me that for?”


Look at this kid. Who do you think you're dogging? Han Kyul put his desire to smack him into a snide remark.


“I'll give you a month's wage, so call me. There's no reason to let pride get in the way. It's only natural that you receive compensation.” He snorted at the 50cc scooter and asked, “Which toy store did you pick this up from?”


“What?”


“Do they even repair things like this? If they do, I'll pay for it. Call me tomorrow.” Han Kyul held out the piece of paper. In spite of a face that looked like it would rather die than accept it, a hand came out to take it. Han Kyul looked at the hand and gripped the paper tightly. The boy glared and snatched it away. Han Kyul watched the scooter clunking away and smiled mockingly.


Yea, that's right you little punk. What the hell can someone like you do? You'll get it, for sure. Little punk. I'll get the both of you!


















< Part 3 >


En Chan looked in the mirror as she put a band-aid on her face.


“Man! What a jerk!”


She had finally landed a part-time job, and lost it on the same day. The delivery was late so the customer got angry, the helmet was cracked, and the scooter that had been fine on the way to the store clattered and broke down right when the owner began to scream at her. This was all because of that that idiot, the crow of a punk that followed En Se around. She thought he'd only rip snot-smeared money from children, but he'd gone and mugged a person in the street. The moment she saw some jackass snatch a woman's purse, she had flared up and knocked him down, but when she saw his face, who else could it be but En Se's punk. Right then, she'd not only felt surprise at a familiar face, but she'd also felt pity. He'd been dumped by En Se and then had had to pay for the jja jang myun. If he had to be dragged away to a police station, his life would become too pathetic. Plus, he'd said that he was a senior in high school, and if he was really repeating a grade, it probably meant he was determined to graduate high school, at least...


“I've still got to catch that punk and teach him a lesson. What the hell is he thinking? That blockhead. Can't believe he got so nervous that he gave the bag back.”


She gave up trying to cover up the hole in her head with her hair and pushed her hat down. She was glaring from underneath the cap when another jerk's face came rising up in her mind.


“What're you looking at, jackass? Looking down on people with that prissy face. What? Toy store? What a complete jerk. I've never met a bigger bastard in my entire life. Seriously.”


How nice it would be if she could just blow it off. But she couldn't leave without taking the number of the man who didn't even know how to say thank you. She didn't know whether she should be thankful or angry that her mother's mink coat floated up in her mind. She'd soon find out.


En Chan took out the paper from her pocket. She realized only after getting home that it was actually a picture. On one side was the phone number the man had scrawled, and on the other was some smiling woman. She looked pure and pretty.


Is she his girlfriend? How could he go around giving out pictures of his girlfriend to strangers? What an unbelievable guy. Seriously, if he hadn't gone on talking about a month's wages or something, I really wouldn't have taken it. Damn it. Stupid money. Hmm... how much did he think a month's wages was?


En Chan took a deep breath and picked up her phone. A familiar piano song played over the line (translator's note: in Korea, the dial tone can be exchanged for music, much like Muzak when you're put on hold.) She was unconsciously humming along to the tune when the song was abruptly cut off and was replaced by a strange voice.


“H-hello?”


[What!]


Heavy breathing.


“Hello?”


[WHO IS THIS!]


A gruff, gravelly monstrous voice.


“Ah... I-I'm...”


[Wrong number.]


“Excuse me?”


The jerk hung up. En Chan stared at the phone in disbelief.


“What the hell! What is the deal with this jackass? Damn!”


She was angrier at herself. She hadn't known how to answer him when he asked who it was, and so she'd acted like a loser. What made her angrier, though, was the fact that she had to call back.


En Chan calmed her mind and pressed the button. The voice that cut the music off seemed to scrape at her ears as it said,


[If it's you again, I'm going to kill you.]


What kind of phone etiquette was this? En Chan scowled and said,


“I'm the person who needs to receive the compensation reward.”


[Receive what?]


“The compensation reward.” She had to be stubborn and brazen. There was no other choice. She had to put on her game face and forget the fact that doing this made her feel dirty and stupid, and she had to be stubborn.


[Oh....]


So he finally remembers.


[Scooter.]


“That's right.”


[You're going to take it?]


This jerk! I knew he was going to come out like this! Damn it!


“Well... That's not really... Well, the photo... the paper you wrote your number on is a photo... I feel like I should return that to you, too....”


God! I wish I could just blow this off. What a dirty and cheap trick!


“I-I got fired.... and the helmet cracked... Oh, and the scooter's totally trashed.”


[Ugh... my head.]


“Excuse me?”


[No, never mind, go on. So how much do you want?]


“About $4000. And something seems a bit off right now. I never asked you for it, you said you were going to give it to me. I mean, if you don't, that's the end of it, but I did get fired from my part-time job. And since you said you'd give me a month's wages or something, you should probably take responsibility....”


[Responsibility?]


“Well, not responsibility, per se, but... you told me to call, didn't you?”


There was nothing to be ashamed of, she was just receiving what she should—or so she wanted to think. Damn. If it wasn't for Dong Ok ahjumma's ring, she would've just yelled, “Listen, you total jackass, you think I did it to get money? You freakin' jerk. Jerk off!” and hung up on him.


[I didn't think you'd actually call.]


“What?”


[Fine. Come here.]


“Where's 'here'?”


There was no guarantee that he'd really give her the money if she went, but there was nothing else she could do. En Chan waited for the man's reply, torn between expectation and despair.


[Dong Yi Hotel, room S11.]




Chapter Four

What happened in Room S11?




< Part 1 >


En Chan, who had never been in the hotel before, couldn't have known that there was a row of separate villas in the back. If an employee hadn't shown her the way, she would've undoubtedly gotten lost. Room S11, which the employee had called a VIP villa, was in a forest. When the employee pressed the bell, it rang clearly. There was no answer, so she pressed it again. Even after that, it was a while before the door opened. En Chan was startled by the appearance of a bare chest, but the female employee, who seemed used to these kinds of things, simply said,


“I've brought your guest to you, sir.”


En Chan didn't know where to put her eyes.


“You've got a killer sense of fashion.”


Really? En Chan dumbly looked down at her clothes.


“Where'd you buy it? Mop shop? Rag shop?”


What the hell!


“Come in.”


The man walked back inside, drying his hair with a towel. The employee motioned for her to enter, but En Chan felt trapped. She was already fed up with the guy after one sentence, and wanted to go back. If he found out that she kind of knew the mugger and had kind of let him go on purpose, he wouldn't be nice about it. From what she'd already seen, this was a guy who didn't have even the slightest amount of tolerance. He might even report her to the police. She was nervous. She had unintentionally tricked him, and now she was here to pick up her reward? Her conscience throbbed. Not to mention, she was incredibly embarrassed. She'd seen her fair share of bare chests at the dojo, so why was she suddenly so sheepish?


“Please enter.”


“Ah, yes, thank you.” She began to shuffle inside when the man shouted from inside the room,


“Hey! Get me some coffee.”


“Yes, sir,” answered the employee before closing the door. For some reason, En Chan felt that it wasn't right with the door closed all the way, so she furtively left the door open about 10cm and then felt better about it. Even if he was tall, she thought she could take him on if she had to, but something in her told her to be cautious.


Her attic house in its entirety could probably have fit in the living room. Damn, look how big this place is. Where is this guy, anyway? The carpet, the curtains, the sofa, the table, the dressers, the lighting fixtures were all so magnificent that she felt dizzy.


“How'd you get here?”


What do you mean how did I get here?


“I took the subway.”


The man smirked. How in the world did this man manage to be such a jackass?


“I don't know if kids these days have bigger guts than they used to or if they just don't have any fear. You should've just gone on with your delivery, what'd you interfere for? What, you think you're Tae Kwon V? You wanted to get some kind of Good Citizen award? Or is it that you just can't pass up the opportunity to meddle in everybody's business? Since you've come all the way here to get paid, you probably didn't do it out of unadulterated sense of justice, right? Sit down, kiddo.”


I probably shouldn't have come here. I should've known when I got that feeling like I'd rather kill myself than come here. Damn it to hell.


How can someone who looks like a gigolo talk like such a jackass? His slanty eyes look just like Mashimaro, and his upturned nose looks like a pyramid, and his lips are so pouty he looks like Angelina Jolie. He must've gone suntanning or something 'cause his skin looks just like well cooked salmon... Ah... salmon... I want to eat some salmon.... Whatever, anyway, he just looks sleazy all around and his face pisses me off. How tall is he, about 5'9''?


“Stop pouting and sit down.”


En Chan glared at the man and then flopped onto the sofa. After discovering that the man wore nothing underneath save a towel, she got angrier and angrier. She kept telling herself that she had to get out of there quick, and kept scowling at the violet flowers that were on top of the table. She heard the man's voice coming from somewhere.


“You're a high schooler, aren't you?”


What? She whipped her head around in disbelief but couldn't see the man.


“What grade are you in? You skipping class right now? Or have you been suspended? Expelled?”


She turned her head towards the sound and saw the man's silhouette through the glass. A vague outline of his buttocks could be discerned through the opaque glass. The silhouette was skin colored! He's changing his underwear in front of somebody? What the hell is this man thinking? En Chan snapped her reddened face back and almost yelling, replied,


“NO!”


“What do you mean no? Which part is no?”


“I'm not a high schooler!”


“C'mon. A middle schooler, then?”


“No! I'm twenty-four!”


“Hey, kid, is someone deaf in here? What're you yelling about?”


Why was he still bare-chested? If he was going to put on clothes, he should've put on all his clothes. All he was wearing was a pair of jeans that rode dangerously low. What kind of fashion sense is that?!


The man crossed the living room, entered the room, and came back out before saying,


“It's a good age to be. I know, I know, you want to be treated like an adult so badly you'd even lie about your age.”


The man was putting his watch on in front of his room door. Pants and then watch? A unique way to put on clothes, that's for sure.


“If you were delivering midnight snacks, what do you do in the daytime?”


“That's none of your business.”


“Look at this kid, being all tight-assed.”


“Hey, ahjussi (translator's note: in Korea, males and females alike call older men “ahjuhssi.” This is not familiar, but it is not formal, either.), why do you keep talking to me like that? Why do you keep dissing me?”


“What? Ahjussi?”


“I know you're older than I am, but it's not cool to diss me like that, you know? You should ask me if I'm all right with you treating me so familiarly. Isn't that basic etiquette?”


“You're one to talk. Hey, breadwinner boy, may I treat you familiarly? You happy?”


“As if you haven't already been treating me like that.”


“How old is the kid who got away?”


“Twenty.”


En Chan gasped. Shit! What did I just say?


“I-I don't know. H-h-how would I know that?”


She knew by the look on his face that it was too late to recover. The sneer on his face reminded her of a Japanese inquisitioner torturing a Korean freedom fighter. Even if you should put a sword to my neck, I won't surrender! My first wish is Korean independence, my second, also, my third, also... should've been how it went, and this wasn't even something as noble as national liberation, but she'd gone ahead and.... Goddamn it! Nothing ever works out!


Still, she tried to cover up by forcing and laugh and saying,


“W-what I meant was that... he looked... about twenty... He might not be, but I'm a pretty good judge of character....”


“You'd have better luck fooling a ghost. If you were going to do it, you should've done a better job at it. Clumsy twit. You look just like a little girl, and you can't do anything right.”


Suddenly something flared up inside of her. She'd heard that phrase, “you look like a little girl” enough to make her ears bleed, but for some reason, it still really pissed her off. Why? Because... because....


...because I am a girl. I don't consciously think about it usually, and sometimes even I get confused, but I'm still a girl. But, judging by the look on his face, this mess of a human being doesn't even consider the possibility that I could be a girl. Not even a clue. Psh. Not that anything would change if he did see me as a girl. Sometimes I do wish people would see me like that.... Yea. Fine. Whatever. You think whatever you want to think, ahjussi. I'd love to see the look on your face if I up and told you right now that I'm a girl, but I don't want to. If you don't see me as a girl at all, there's no point in my telling you, “I'm actually a girl,” especially since you haven't even asked me. It's pathetic to turn myself in. Damn pathetic.


“Is the policeman in on it too, by any chance? Are you guys a scam group? Or a kid flunky for a mob? Not that I'd believe you if you said no.”


En Chan abruptly stood up.


This sad excuse of a human being was really pushing it! She felt like scrubbing his tongue with sandpaper.


She was so angry she couldn't remain sitting. Compensation reward or no, it seemed best to just run away. That's when it happened. She'd tried to whip past him, but her shoulder had collided with the cup of water the man was drinking out of.


“Ack!”


The water that should've gone into the man's mouth spilled onto his chest.


“Oh shoot!” En Chan's hand unconsciously reached out. Her exact intention was to try and wipe away the water that was flowing down the man's torso, so her hand ended up on the man's chest. But as soon as her palms felt skin, she realized that this was a very, very strange position to be in. The man looked at her, surprised, and En Chan froze. Right then, there was something like a scream.


“Oh my GOD!”


En Chan turned her head with her hand still on the man's chest. There, a woman stood with both hands covering her mouth looking scandalized.


“Wh-what the hell are you two men doing together?!?”

< Part 2 >


When he'd showed up wearing baggy jeans, a hoodie jumper and a baseball cap, Han Kyul had thought that the kid was nothing but a punk. But now that he was in a suit and tie, Han Kyul thought he didn't look half bad. Ko En Chan. He insisted he was twenty-four, but it was pushing it to say he was more than twenty-two or so. The social security number he'd written on the employment contract was probably phony as well. That's just how kids like him were. Their lives revolved around lies and deception.


He couldn't be more than 5' 7'', and had a slim frame. His skin was white, his eyes were big and round, and his lips were uncommonly red. He looked just like the lead singer of some idol group. These days, boys who looked pretty enough to be mistaken for girls were all the rage. Ko En Chan was no exception. With his mouth closed, his atmosphere was completely different. Han Kyul thought to himself, man, what a waste of a good face. Dick would be drooling if he was here.


Han Kyul kept his eye on En Chan, who was entering the restaurant. He stared at him as hard as he could so that the woman who sat across from him could feel it. Finally the woman turned her head and looked at En Chan, who had sat down at the adjacent table.


“Is it someone you know?”


“Seems that way.”


“Oh, then you should go and say hello. It's all right with me.”


Where the hell did he find such a tacky suit? Twit, if you're going to wear a suit, you should've found one that actually fit you.


“I'm considering it. I don't know if I should, though.”


“Why not?”


Because it's hella embarrassing. What is this, a 7080 concert? What's with that wide tie?


“We have an... awkward past.”


If that dumb broad hadn't gone into hysterics about being gay or whatnot, Ko En Chan would've gone straight to the police station. The stupid girl, even after having been scolded by his mother, still dropped by the hotel and harassed him, but she had been horrified by the sight of him and Ko En Chan together. When Han Kyul saw her run away with that disgusted look on her face, a light bulb had gone on in his head.


Get married? All right. Go ahead. Good luck marrying me off.


He presented Ko En Chan with a proposition. What did he think about a part-time job? Unbelievably, even after having his scam with the mugger exposed, this kid had asked for the money up front. Not only that, but he had even asked for several times the original compensation reward amount. Han Kyul even now couldn't understand what made him say he would. If he wanted to, he could've just threatened to toss him in the clinker to make him do whatever he wanted.


“What do you think about his type? I heard pretty boys are all the rage these days.”


“Well, I personally don't really...”


The woman he had a date with today was being overly quiet in order to appear mature and pure. He was so bored he wanted to yawn. Right then, he saw the waiter approaching the table En Chan was sitting at. He could read his lips: The B course, please.


“Could you excuse me a moment?”


“Oh, of course.”


Han Kyul hurried over, but the waiter had already taken the order and walked away.


“Hey! Ko En Chan, imagine seeing you here.” He made his voice bright, but his expression remained angry as he sat next to En Chan. The woman could see En Chan's front and Han Kyul's profile from where she was sitting.


“Out of all days, you had to have a date on a busy Friday afternoon? I'm busy all afternoon. What are you, a loafer?”


“Oh, shut up, kid. You, who told you you could order food?” growled Han Kyul lowering his voice as quiet as it could go.


“What, do you expect me to sit here in a place like this and just drink water? It'll seem strange, don't you think?”


“You pay for it then.”


“I only have enough for the bus.”


“That's not my problem. I've already cleared my account with you in cash. Did you bring your ID?”


“I-I told you I lost it. I applied for a replacement, but i-it hasn't arrived yet.”


“I have your picture in my cell phone, so if you're thinking of pulling anything funny, don't. If you do, I'll wallpaper the police station with your mug shot.”


“Mug shot? What the hell did I do? You should learn to trust people and think more positively. Why're you so twisted?”


“What! You little!”


“Why are you treating me like a criminal?”


“That's why I'm telling you to do it well. Anyway, what's with this suit? Is it your father's?”


“You told me to wear a suit.”


“You don't even own a suit? Oh, forget it. Let's go to Phase 1.”


“Already? I haven't even eaten yet...”


“I haven't either, kid.”


“Yea, so let's just eat first and then...” En Chan, who had stopped talking, looked over toward the woman. Han Kyul didn't turn around and kept looking at En Chan, whose eyes were blinking continually.


“What?”


“That's the woman, isn't it? The picture?”


“Picture?”


“You know, the paper you wrote your number on last time. Oh! Didn't I give that back to you?”


“Put your hand on the table.”


“Do we really have to do this?”


“What, do you think I want to?”


En Chan made a face like he'd just chewed through a unripe persimmon and lifted his hand onto the table. Han Kyul put his hand on his arm, as lovers would.


“Smile, kid.”


“Ahjussi, I am smiling.”


Han Kyul grinned. As he moved his upper body to close the space between them, En Chan's distorted smile shriveled even more.


“You're a pervert, aren't you, ahjussi?”


“You gonna mess around?”


“Do you really think this is going to work?”


“You saw as well as I did. The woman from before.”


“She was pretty...”


“Why? You interested?”


“I couldn't see any reason why Mr. Cranky should dump her. It'd probably make more sense for you to have been dumped.”


“Do you want me to hit you? Do I look like a dumbass to you?”


“No. You look like a cranky twisted pervert.”


“You little son of a...”


“Shh!”


“You'll get it later. All right. It's time. Twenty minutes from now we go onto Phase 2.”


Before getting up, Han Kyul reached out and tousled En Chan's hair. Suddenly, he flinched. This wasn't part of the plan...


Han Kyul turned away awkwardly.


“I'm very sorry. We have a lot to talk about.”


The woman already had a sour look on her face. She was at the top of the list that his mother had brought to him. That meant she came from a good household and was smart and pretty. And so he wanted to pour milk all over her. The same way he wanted to break that perfect order of black keys and white keys...


“Why don't we eat?”


Han Kyul stretched out his hand toward his water glass and felt something strange. The sensation from before revived in his fingertips and made them tingle. The sensation of the kid's black hair. It had been smooth and thin and silky. It was probably because he was still so young. Even pigs have soft hair when they're babies. But why did he ruffle his hair in the first place? Oh, it was just part of the act. Right. To make it more convincing.


Wow. Look at that kid go. He was cleaning off the plates as soon as they arrived. The appetite of a pig indeed. Moreover, a euphoric smile filled his face. Han Kyul had never seen anyone smile like that while eating alone. He gave the waiter who brought him ice cream and a tart a smile as if he'd give him his liver if he'd asked for it. He gobbled down the unbearably sweet desserts in the blink of an eye and then went on to lick his fingers. Thanks to him, the meal on this end seemed even more unbearably boring. The woman was cutting the steak that was smaller than her fist one minuscule piece at a time. She'd probably have been better off if she'd asked them to grind it for her beforehand.


“So you graduated from the business school at Washington University?”


What was this girl's name? Anyway, it seemed her female intuition was kicking into gear. He could tell by the way she began to bring up his educational background.


“I remember going in there, but I don't remember coming out.”


“Excuse me?”


“The place is too beautiful to just sit around and study.”


“I have heard that Seattle is the best place to live in the United States.”


“It's a good place to be a hermit or go into hiding. Also a good place to kill yourself. When you open your eyes in the morning, it's most probably raining, or it's so foggy that it makes you want to walk into a telephone pole and get electrocuted. Oh, but there's no need to worry. It's all good if you fill up with 16 ounces at a go, 40 times a week.”


“Fill up with what?”


“Coffee,” Han Kyul answered and raised his hand to call the waiter over to order coffee. The woman hadn't even finished a third of her meal.


“Oh, don't worry about me and take all the time you want. You don't like wasting food, right? I knew it. It's such an admirable habit.”


The face of the woman who had just been about to clear her plate grew rigid and picked her knife back up to stab at her meat. 20 minutes had already passed and the kid hadn't moved. Han Kyul glowered at En Chan who was shoveling in ice cream, but only after he'd licked the plate clean did he commence action. He knocked the glass of water over.


“Oh!!” The water spilled onto his lap and the glass shattered on the floor. As En Chan stood up, Han Kyul dashed to his side. He whipped the towel from the approaching waiter and started wiping at En Chan's thighs.


“Are you all right?” he asked with a surprised and concerned look on his face. En Chan's face that looked down at Han Kyul was a riot. It said, “What a freakin' psycho!” Han Kyul knit his eyebrows and demanded wordlessly that he begin to get his act together.


“G-get away from me! You don't have to concern yourself with me anymore. W-we're over! Bastard!” En Chan shoved Han Kyul's shoulder. This wasn't an act. It was a full-force hit. Ugh! Han Kyul stopped the groan that rose automatically to his throat. That son of a—! Anger boiled inside of him, but he focused his energy into the last part of the act. It was to shout after the damn brat, who was walking away with a satisfied face, calling agitatedly,


“Ch-Chan-ah!”


Expelling a deep sigh, Han Kyul was met with the women's cold and shocked look that was filled to the brim with suspicion. Now all that was left was the dramatic ending. Han Kyul spoke calmly as one would in a confessional.


“I'm curious as to what you think. About gays, I mean.”








< Part 3 >


Spring break had ended, so there weren't anymore morning sessions, but this was not necessarily good news. This was because the number of students signing up for Tae Kwon Do lessons was lessening by the day.


“How about curry for lunch?”


Even if she said it was for lunch, it'd probably be dinnertime by the time it was done.


En Chan glanced at her mother who was taking out vegetables from the refrigerator before rolling her pencil. The pencil, which had tiny letters pasted on the side, rolled and rolled before it stopped and read: Pork boned rib.


“Mom! It says pork boned rib!” She ran after her mother holding the pencil.


“Oh, you!” Down came the ladle.


“Ow!”


“Go and buy some potatoes.”


It'd been eight days since she'd last eaten meat. She wanted to become a cow so she could regurgitate. The steak she had eaten at that fancy restaurant appeared before her eyes. She'd run the act two more times after that, but the jerkface cheapskate had shouted at her to drink only juice, so she hadn't been able to even taste meat. When, oh when was this bizarre job going to end? Thanks to the job, she'd been able to pay for Dong Ok ahjumma's ring, but she was still sitting on a pile of debt because she'd had to borrow money from butcher Mr. Koo to pay for living expenses.


“Hey, Ko En Chan.”


Speaking of the debt, it was Mr. Koo.


“Is your mother home?”


“Yes. Why?”


“Oh, I was just going to give her this.”


“What is that?” En Chan had run into Mr. Koo in the small doorway of the staircase she'd just come down from.


“This? Walnut oil. The folks back on the farm sent it up. It's good for colds. I hear your mother's caught a cold?”


“She's all better now, though.”


“S-still, it's good to take it.”


“Really? Ok. Thank you.”


“N-no, I'll take it up. Weren't you on your way out?”


“Oh, it's ok, I'll just...”


“I said I'll take it up! G-go on, off you go.”


The man grasped the bottle as if afraid she'd take it away from him and ran up the stairs like a escapee. En Chan stood there dumbfounded. Right then, her phone rang.


“Hello?”


[Yes, this is En Se's school. I'm her homeroom teacher.]


“Huh? Oh, y-yes! Hello!”


Startled, En Chan bent to a 90 degree angle and bowed. She hadn't done anything wrong, yet her heart beat like a drum. It wasn't as if the school was the police station or anything, but still...


[This is En Se's older brother, yes?]


“Excuse me? Older brother?”


[That's what it says here in the file.]


What! Fooling around with official documents now, were we?


[I tried calling home, but it was disconnected. Did your phone number change?]


“No, it hasn't. What number did you call?”


The random call from the homeroom teacher was to ask for their mother to come to school. When asked why, the teacher's answer was exactly what she predicted: En Se had gone and made trouble again. She had created some kind of brand name club or something. If it was just that, there would be no way for the teacher to know, but there had also been reports that she had embezzled the club's membership fees. Embezzled?


“Just you wait until I get you, you stupid girl! Goddamn it! Shit! Why does my own sister have to give me trouble all my life? I'm gonna go freakin' berserk! Ko En Se, how am I going to fix you up good this time, huh? You better watch out. I'm going to smash your face in with raw eggs!”


En Chan sent messages to all of En Se's friends and ran around combing the PC bangs and parks, but she could not find Ko En Se. Eventually, she had no choice but to return to the dojo sweating buckets and boiling over with anger. On top of the desk in the dojo, there was a mountain of gifts wrapped in sparkling paper.


“What's this?”


“Some girls came and left it here. I told them they couldn't just barge in like that, but they wouldn't listen. Hmph.”


En Chan opened the gifts while Seung Kyung complained. Letters and chocolate, letters and chocolate, letters and chocolate, just chocolate...


“Who left this here?”


“Some unnis. They were wearing Dong Moon Girls' High School uniforms. They said they were your juniors.”


“When were they here? Wasn't it during class time?”


“I don't know. They were fat and ugly and looked like they were stupid, too.”


“What's the occasion? Is today my birthday?”


“It's Valentine's Day. You don't even know a thing like that, master?”


“Oh, I see. Well, whatever. Hey kids! It's lesson time. Gather 'round. Hup hup!”


“Yayyyyyyyyy!!!”


“Ten hut! Salute the flag!”


After several consecutive lessons on an empty stomach, she was exhausted. Her tongue ached from all the chocolate she had eaten from time to time. When she finished the last lesson, the sky looked yellow. Her mouth tasted sweet but her stomach ached, and her head hurt from worrying about En Se. She drank a glass of milk and had to change out of her dojo suit without a chance to take a shower. En Se's phone was still turned off. Damn stupid girl! Where was she?!



****


Having received the dojo master's permission, she stepped out of the dojo when a group of high school girls rumbled towards her.


“Sunbehnim! (translator's note: in Korea, both males and females call familiar older males and females “sunbeh” if they've gone or are going to the same school, company, or job. These younger males and females are in turn called “hubeh”s.)”


“Master! (translator's note: Here, the term “master” refers to En Chan's position as a dojo master. For those of you with dirty minds, shame on you. ;p) We're here!”


There were girls who had learned Tae Kwon Do from her before and there were girls who had been her juniors in school. En Chan, who hadn't been able to muster the energy to fend off the girls suddenly remembered and asked,


“Hey, have you seen En Se?”


“En Se? Who's En Se?”


“You know, sunbehnim's younger sister. She's a senior at our school.”


“Yea, that's her. Have you seen her?”


“No.”


“Today's Valentine's Day, so she probably went to meet her boyfriend or something.”


Boyfriend? Not that crow-faced punk?


“Sunbehnim, let's eat dinner together.”


“We'll buy you your favorite! Pork boned rib!”


“Huh? B-boned rib? N-no, no. Sorry, I can't, I'm a little busy right now.”


Goddamn it. My boned ribs. This is all your fault, Ko En Se!


“Aw, come on, master, today's Valentine's Day. Let's go to karaoke together!”


She was refusing, swallowing bitter tears, when her phone rang. She picked it up immediately thinking it could be En Se.


“Hello?”


There was no reply on the other end. Desperate, En Chan pressed her mouth against the phone and said,


“Hello? This is En Se, right? YA! Ko En Se!”


[Damn, did you swallow a steam engine or something?]


It wasn't En Se.


[My eardrums nearly burst, you brat!]


“Oh.... What is it?”


[What do you mean, what is it? What else would I be calling you for? Get here quick. You know Joshua? In front of Kang Nam University?]


“Can I go next time? I'm really busy right now. There's a bit of an emergency.”


[What? Look at the guts on this kid. Do I look like a philanthropist to you? If you've been paid, you have to work. I thought you were working out pretty well the first few times, and now you're showing your true face, huh, punk? Come here right now and give me my money back or get a job on the streets.]


Her face grew hot with rage. Many pairs of bright, curious eyes were watching En Chan's face, which had grown red from anger.


“I'm really very sorry, but I'll go next time. Today's not a good day,” said En Chan between clenched teeth.


[Why, did you break your legs goofing around?]


“No, it's not that....”


[If it's not that, come here immediately. If you don't, you're dead.]


“What? Dead? Hey, listen, mister!”


[The thumbprint on the slave contract hasn't even dried yet. You already jumping ship?]


“Are you freakin' serious? I'm in a real situation here.”


[What kind of situation could someone like you possibly be in?]


“What, someone like me can't have an honest problem....”


[Time's running out. Get here in ten minutes.]


“Shit! Just kill me, why don't you, you bastard! AAARGH!”


But he had already hung up the phone. En Chan slammed the cover down. She was so angry she couldn't stand it anymore.


“That son of a bitch! Fine! I'll go! I'll go, goddamn it!” She kicked at the wall in anger. “Just you wait, you jackass! I'm going to punch your jaw off your face!”


A chorus of adoration followed the back of En Chan who was storming off in a rage.


“You saw that? Did you see that? Oh my God, how cool!”


“Seriously, that was just too hot. So tough! So charismatic!”


“Oh, only En Chan for me! My Love Chan!”


Chapter Five

It Won't Do to Disappoint the Witch




< Part 1>


A Valentine's Day party for singles.


More like a desperate attempt by single people to participate in the national holiday for couples. Well, whatever it was, Choi Han Kyul couldn't miss this chance to raise his notoriety. He knew most of the faces at the party. There were some guys who weren't even single. If married men insisted they were single, it was the special law of the day not to try too hard to find out the truth.


“Obba, don't you know her?”


Damn it. It was Pak Do Hun's younger sister.


“You know, Sang Won Construction Company's youngest daughter. Weren't you two supposed to go on an arranged date?”


Do Hun must be taking his younger sister around everywhere he went. That half-wit.


“Hi. My name's Jang Mi Suk.”


Han Kyul looked at the seemly girl who had just greeted him and was momentarily moved. If she hadn't been the girl his mom was planning to set him up with this weekend, he might've made a move. But she was a train carrying the label, “for arranged marriage use only,” and he wasn't about to take the risk of throwing himself onto the tracks. Not to mention she was close to Pak Do Hun's leech of a sister, so no, thank you very much. He could easily imagine what those two girls had gossiped about. So he figured he'd kill two birds with one stone and smiled, pleased with himself.


“I fell for your little act, didn't I? I wasn't in the right frame of mind to figure it out at the time. It makes me sad that you'd go so far to keep me away from you, but I understand. I've heard time and time again that you're a free soul. It seems like you misunderstood me. I don't want to cage you up. So how about using me instead? It's better than having strange rumors floating around the arranged marriage circles. If the adults find out, it's going to be bad for you.”


The leech kept rubbing up against him, and he flinched in disgust. No, this wasn't a leech. This was an anaconda. The lawless animal of the Amazon that swallowed anything and everything up whole.


“Don't worry about Mi Suk. I'll figure something out.”


Putting on the gay act had to be better than being stuck with this anaconda. Han Kyul began to plan his “One show, two kills” operation. He was going to get rid of two women in just one act.


Han Kyul tsked at En Chan, who was gasping for breath from running. If he himself had walked blindfolded into a closet and pulled random clothes from its hangers, he couldn't have come up with an outfit like that. A seriously washed out pair of jeans, a mud colored corduroy shirt, an indigo jumper obviously a size too big. It wasn't as if the kid was still going through puberty, why couldn't he wear clothes that fit him? And what in the world was that hat all about?


“Ahjussi! I was going to let it slide, but...” En Chan hissed as soon as he arrived. Han Kyul ignored him and whipped off the neighborhood watch cap. Using the gap as En Chan started, Han Kyul grabbed him by the collar and slammed him into the wall. In that split second, En Chan's arm whipped between them and pressed into Han Kyul's ribs. Han Kyul was surprised at the unexpectedly quick reflexive block, but he didn't let it show. His ribs hurt from the arm digging into it. He put on a fiercer expression to mask the pain and shoved his face into En Chan's.


“You listen, and you listen good. If you don't act well this time, it's over. You got it?”


“Let go.”


“Answer me first.”


“I'll give you your money back. Just give me some time and I'll give you your money back so count me out of this fucked up show.”


“This fucked up show ends today. If we make it definite today...” Han Kyul's eyes suddenly flashed as he heard the words he himself had carelessly thrown out.


Yes! That was it! He'd make it definite today. He would come out in front of all these people. There was no way these blabbermouths were going to keep quiet, and rumors would spread everything. If those rumors somehow found their way into the old man's hear, there'd be hell to pay, but they wouldn't be able to find a woman to marry him off to for years! All right! Lucky chance!


“Do you promise? After today you're going to rip up that contract?”


“So do it right, kid, got it?”


Han Kyul let go of En Chan's collar and pushed him inside. But he soon let out a sigh of despair. Judging from En Chan's actions, he just couldn't be sure of tonight's success. According to Han Kyul's aesthetics, En Chan's fashion sense was no better than that of Future Boy Conan. If he said that he was going out with this kid, all they were going to do was snort. There had to be some kind of standards, goddamn it!


“No choice but to trust his pretty face will take care of it....”


Han Kyul decided to bet his pot on the kid's pretty boy aura and went up onto the stage. His heart raced and an excitement he couldn't figure out took over his entire body. He was torn between the excitement that something very interesting was going to happen and a strange nervousness.


“I've gotta have a drink.”


All eyes went to the bar where Han Kyul and En Chan were sitting. Of those, a pair belonged to Pak Do Hun's anaconda sister.


“Hey, drink up.” Han Kyul handed him a tequila. En Chan, who was also wrapped up in atmosphere, dumbly took the shot. Han Kyul clinked glasses with En Chan and poured the shot into his mouth. He needed to borrow the strength of alcohol to overcome his nervousness. The kid was probably nervous as well. Han Kyul recalled the incident in Seattle when his next door neighbor, Dick, had suddenly attacked him with a kiss. The sensation itself could be said to have been nice. The only thing was, the kisser had been a six-foot-three muscle head. If Han Kyul hadn't knocked him down and become friends with him, he probably couldn't have understood homosexuality at all. But understanding it and experiencing it are two very different things.


En Chan, who had downed the tequila in one shot, was clasping his throat. His usually white face had gone purple. Han Kyul put a lemon in the kid's mouth.


“Kegkh!”


“You can't dress. You can't drink. Is there anything you're good at?” He was tsking away when an image floated up in his head. Hmm. Yea. A 540-degree roundhouse kick. That, you're pretty good at.


Just then, someone tapped Han Kyul on his arm. When he turned around, Pak Do Hun was standing there with an look of curiosity on his face.


“Who is this?” asked Do Hun, indicating En Chan with his chin. Han Kyul simply replied,


“My slave.”


“Huh?”


Do Hun was just about to ask more when a voice rang through the speakers through the microphone.


“All right, everyone. Now that we've all greeted each other, let's liven it up a little with the main event. And the main event is: Kings! Why don't we have the host and hostess of tonight's party, will Pak Do Hun and Pak Ye Rang, the incorrigible sibling pair, come up on stage? They will be tonight's Tyrant and the Witch.”


Red-faced youths went wild with whistles and cheers. The sibling pair who had reached the stage called out a man and a woman from the crowd. To Han Kyul's knowledge, the man had a fiancée and the woman, he had never seen before. The Tyrant's demand was a lap dance.


The woman ran away shrieking but the man pulled her back. He said he would do the dancing instead. It was different from what the crowd had expected, but the atmosphere grew hot. The man gyrated his hips in front of the woman in the chair and went closer to her. He undid his shirt buttons one by one and requested the woman's hand on his bare chest. He flicked his tongue as if to lick her lips, and then rubbed his narrow buttocks against the woman's lap. Lewd shouts came from here and there, and the air grew hotter and hotter. People could be heard swallowing. When Han Kyul looked over, En Chan said,


“W-water. Is there any water?”


Ha, looks like this kid's getting excited at a thing like that. Ah, youth.


“They only sell alcohol here.”


The man and woman hugged lightly as they came down the stage. They tried hard to keep their manners, but they were exchanging looks that held the promises of the coming night.


Right then, a naughty voice flowed from the microphone.


“The man I want is... Choi Han Kyul.”


Loud applause and a swarm of eyes. Han Kyul didn't move but smiled coldly at Pak Ye Rang.


“Oh, I'll mention a rule here. The Witch may not participate in the game.”


“What? What kind of rule is that?”


“The Witch has to be wicked through and through. It's no good if she falls for a guy and becomes all sappy.”


“Yea, that's true, it's no fun if the Witch acts nice.”


“Keke that's too bad.”


“All right, the man is Choi Han Kyul. Now choose the woman, Miss Witch.”


Ye Rang, who had been looking around with a sulky pout, suddenly rested her gaze somewhere. All the eyes in the room flew to where she was looking at. Han Kyul saw that at the end of that gaze was Jang Mi Suk. No way... Just then Ye Rang smiled suggestively and said,


“The second participant doesn't necessarily have to be a female, right?”


There was dead silence for about a second. Then loud cheers and a mischievous atmosphere took over.


“Now that's a real Witch!”


“It's Choi Han Kyul's welcome back home show! Hey! How 'bout a strip show?”


“That man over there.” Ye Rang pointed at En Chan. And she declared, evilly, “Kiss!”


In response to Ye Rang's look of “Go ahead, let's see if you can,” Han Kyul threw a look of “thank you.” Weren't things working out better than he'd planned? This was a hundred times better than introducing a shabbily dressed idol-star-like pretty boy and saying, “I'm gay.” Since it was a game, it wouldn't seem forced. But he had to leave an impression. He wanted people to wonder, “Hey, is that guy really gay?” and then not provide them with a direct answer. That was the best way for rumors to get spread.


A rigid-faced Han Kyul said in a low voice to En Chan,

"Show time."

As Han Kyul took the stage, the crowd went wild with clapping and shouting. Han Kyul looked toward En Chan. He hadn't moved. He was looking at him with an expression that all but shouted, "Are you completely insane?!" Han Kyul took the mike and delivered a critical blow.

"Come here."

"Oho, that's hot, Han Kyul!"
"What, are they really doing it?"

The reaction from the female crowd was explosive.

"Oh my God, look at him, he's absolutely adorable. I just want to bite him!"
"Look at those soft cheeks! I feel like I've seen him somewhere before. Hey, do you think he could be from Dong Bang Shin Gi?"

"Who's that kid? I've never seen him before?"
"I dunno. Looks like he's Han Kyul's squeeze."
"Squeeze? What, is it a girl or a guy? Damn, he's too freakin' pretty."

Somebody gave En Chan a push. Suddenly, hands from all around began pushing at him. Watching En Chan approach, Han Kyul felt a wave of apprehension himself. The only experience he had kissing men was that one time when Dick surprise attacked him. He wasn't sure he'd be able to pull it off.

His heart began to beat faster. Goddamn it, he couldn't take his eyes off of those lips. Shit. What if I throw up?

“I'd rather give your lips to that boy than give it to Mi Suk. But are you really going to do it? You're going to lose your appetite.”


If it wasn't for Ye Rang's snide comment, he was planning to settle for a kiss on the cheek. But that look on her face, that look that said, “I know it's all just an act” made him realize something. If he didn't do it right, he'd never get rid of this anaconda. It made him determined. I'm going to get rid of you. I'm going to do it right in front of you. Open your eyes wide and watch carefully, you anaconda.

En Chan got on the stage. He looked as if he'd just shat his pants. For some reason, Han Kyul wanted to burst out laughing. This situation was just too unbelievable and too ridiculous. He felt like he was going to go crazy. "Are you serious?" said the look on En Chan's face. In reply, he said aloud,

"Close your eyes."

All right, I'm just going to do it. He grabbed En Chan's head. He pressed his lips against En Chan's, who had gone completely rigid.

"What the!"
"Oh my God, they're doing it!"
"Crazy motherf-"
"What, are you serious? They're really doing it?"

Even as the wolf whistles pierced his ears, Han Kyul found himself thinking,

Huh. This kid's unexpectedly soft and smooth.

Han Kyul didn't know it, but his hand was naturally wrapping around En Chan's waist and pulling his body toward him. The hand holding his head was strengthening its grip. En Chan's body began to bend as he pulled his body forward and dipped his head back. Han Kyul didn't even realize he was beginning to turn his head and that their lips were meeting perfectly like well tuned wheels. He increased the soft movements of his lips.

The room couldn't have been more silent if someone had dropped an unpinned grenade. Everyone was frozen in shock from the unexpected passion and length of the kiss.

Han Kyul was completely immersed in what he was doing, oblivious to the situation. Suddenly, En Chan eyes were wide open and bulging. It was only then, as their eyes met, did Han Kyul realize that he had put his tongue in En Chan's mouth.




*
*Chapter Six* Want me to lend you my bubble wrap? Part I






< Part 1 >


“We need to talk. I'll see you there.”


Han Sung hated the fact that the “there” the woman spoke of still existed as “there.” Even if “there” was still “there,” it should've been erased from his memory. But “there” was still “there.” Exactly the way he remembered it.


In spite of a hundred reasons not to go, Han Sung went “there.” It wasn't because he was curious what she'd say or what kind of look she'd have on her face as she said it. It was because he was curious what kind of look he'd have on his own face and what kind of emotional reaction he'd have. He went there with this kind of rational and contemplative mindset. When he got there, she was already siting down, a Cosmopolitan bleeding red tears on the table in front of her.


“You're here.”


“Am I late?”


“Of course not. I got here early.”


Yu Ju asked Han Sung as the waiter approached,


“You'll have the same, right?”


“I'll have a Manhattan.”


They'd always ordered the same drink, a Cosmopolitan, but this time he ordered something different. He knew it was lame but he wanted to do it anyway. But it seemed that the action hadn't been as lame as he believed. Yu Ju's mouth hardened.


“Your face has gotten....”


When Han Sung looked at her, she couldn't finish her sentence. It'd been three years since they'd seen each other from this close. She still looked sophisticated and feminine. When he met her for the first time in college, he had felt that if only his mother would stop stressing the fact that she was from a good household and that it would be fine if he chose to get into a serious relationship with her, he wanted to keep meeting her. He felt from the moment he saw her that she was lovable. She wasn't pushy like his mother, and so he felt comfortable with her. He thought it was good that she didn't seem to be the working mother type. All these things still applied to her, but it was no longer comfortable or pleasant or good to be looking at Yu Ju. He couldn't even get angry anymore.


For a long time, the two of them drank their cocktails in silence.


“I heard that you're managing the company. Congratulations.”


Han Sung gave her a cold smile that resembled a snort. Yu Ju's eyebrows wrinkled and she asked in a hurt voice,


“Why are you laughing?”


“It's just entertaining to be congratulated for existing.” That was how Han Sung had lived his life. If he wasn't working, he was as good as dead. “Congratulations on being alive.”


“Isn't that something worth congratulating? Not everyone who breathes is necessarily alive.”


Han Sung looked coldly into Yu Ju's emotion-filled eyes.


“Is that what you had to see me about?”


“I wanted your permission.... no, I wanted to hear your thoughts on something. I'm thinking of working at the Dong Yi art gallery.”


Had she changed a bit? She was looking at him straight in the eyes. Yes, it could be that this was the real Han Yu Ju.


“Grandmother called me. She said she'd heard that I might be working at the Saints Department Store gallery, and asked me to fill in the empty spot she had at Dong Yi. I heard that it wasn't that she made a spot especially for me. You know better than I do that Grandmother is very warm and kind to me...”


“You meant to say the president was very warm and kind to you, didn't you?”


“Do you really have to put it like that?”


“If we no longer have a personal relationship, shouldn't we treat each other in a business-like manner?”


Her habit of biting her lips had remained the same. As if she'd all the energy she'd put into an attempt to speak calmly had been spent, emotion pervaded the face that had just a moment ago looked tranquil. Right then, there was a loud crash from somewhere in the hall. An employee had dropped the tray she had been carrying.


“Oh! I'm so sorry. It's my first time... I'm really very sorry.” A voice louder than the cups' crash was apologizing over and over. All the customers' eyes went to the tall female employee in the red skirt and white shirt. The manager appeared and the apologies continued. The small commotion quietly disappeared from Han Sung's focus and he had to face Yu Ju again. There was no trace of comfort left, only tension remained. Had he ever felt this tense meeting Han Yu Ju? It was probably because they were no more than strangers to each other now.


“Do whatever you like.”


“You don't like it though?”


“Me? Is there a reason why I shouldn't?”


“........”


“It makes no difference to me who the art gallery hires, and it make no difference to me where you work.”


“Mother... I mean, your mother probably won't like it.”


“She doesn't concern herself with the art gallery anymore. It's not something she can interfere with anymore. And that'd be my problem. It makes no difference to you what my mother...”


“Can you stop saying that?” said Yu Ju sharply. In the three years that they'd gone out and been engaged, she'd never been like this before. She'd sulked or pouted, but she'd never flashed her eyes at him, breathing raggedly and arguing with him in such a shrill voice. “Stop saying that it makes no difference to you as if you enjoy saying it. I know it doesn't make a difference, but just because it doesn't make a difference to you it doesn't mean that you can ignore me.”


“I am ignoring you.”


“Obba.”


Han Sung emptied his glass. His hand gripped the glass tightly. Something in his brain had been set off. It might have been the familiar scent, but whatever it was, it made him angry. He wanted to kill this woman who looked him so straight in the eye, who spoke so clearly and directly to him.


“If you're done talking, why don't you get up first?”


“You have an appointment?”


“Yea.”


“Here?”


“I didn't think there'd be time to move to another place.”


“Why didn't you tell me beforehand? I could have postponed... I'm sorry to have wasted your time.”


Han Sung looked away as Yu Ju stood up. He could see the back of the female employee who was washing the dishes. The way she carried the dishes looked precarious.


“Just once... You could've asked how I'm doing just once.”


Han Sung raised his eyes toward Yu Ju.


“No matter how angry you are, no matter how disappointed and hateful you feel toward me, for the sake of the times we spent together, you could ask me at least once.”


“I could. But I don't want to.”


“Why not?”


“It's a waste of time.”


“I'd forgotten. I'd forgotten how cold and unyielding your family was. How you never waste time investing in lost causes.”


“I'm glad to hear you'd forgotten.”


Yu Ju's eyes brimmed with tears at his cold reply. Still standing, she bit her lip and said in a choked voice,


“Even though I knew, I still waited. Like a fool.... How shocked and hurt he must have been when I called off the engagement, I thought to myself. I thought you'd come and find me if only because of you were angry and indignant. But you didn't even call me, not once. Even though I was going away to study abroad, you didn't ask where I was going or why. Even though I was the one who did you you wrong, you didn't even once ask me. I didn't even hope for you to stop me. I just wanted you to ask.... I wanted you to come to me and ask why we had to become like this. I wanted you to ask what kind of situation I was in, and how I felt about it!”


Her impassioned voice rang throughout the room. People were beginning to stare and the manager squirmed uncomfortably. Yu Ju was spilling tears, and Han Sung was watching her, his expression and body unmoved.


“I went to the airport.”


“What?”


“Nobody was pushing you from behind. You walked in there on your own two feet. You just... walked right on in.”


“Obba....”


“Let's stop this. I'm tired of it.”


“Tired of what? What've we done? We've only just started to—“


“Leave me now. It's time for my next appointment.”







*
*Chapter Six* Want me to lend you my bubble wrap? Part II









< Part 2 >


Yu Ju left, her eyes full of resentment. Even before the tension in the air had settled down, Director Byun from the company arrived. Han Sung was in charge of Dong Yi Group's Dong Yi Pharmaceuticals, but the rising stock attraction in the group was the venture into the food industry. The ones in charge of that department were Han Kyul's mother and older brother. But originally, the person who was meant for that position was Han Sung's late father.


“It looks like five of the directors who supported the late president are going to be discharged at the next meeting.”


“And you're one of them, I presume.”


“Yes. Also, they're preparing to pick nine more directors to strengthen their voting platform. There's talk that they're thinking of including the second son in this group of nine.”


“Han Kyul?”


“I saw him once. He resembles the late chairman the most.”


“He's a fearless and open-minded one.” And insolent and lazy and insincere to a T. Han Kyul could fit either description. It depended on which he wanted to be.


“The opinion is polarized: some are for giving him a chance, and some are skeptical of the possible results. What are you going to do about the foreign investors? It looks like the other side is going to keep interfering. Are we going to be able to see it through?”


“I'll have to gather the directors together and persuade them. Raising revenue should always be the first priority, don't you agree?”


After grandfather had died, there had been discord among the brothers. It had been arranged for Han Sung's father, who had been the eldest, to succeed as the chairman, but his brothers, led by Han Kyul's father, who was the second eldest, had protested. Han Sung planned to take back his father's rightful seat. This was why Han Sung was being carefully scrutinized and kept in check. A single mistake could ruin everything.


Even after Director Byun had left, Han Sung sat alone at the bar and drank by himself. The inside of his head was clear, but the inside of his heart was blurred. It was because of Yu Ju. Memories were moving his emotions, and even beginning to affect his rationality. I can never forgive a woman who left me. Never!


By the time he'd emptied a bottle of Chivas Regal, there were only two people in the bar. A few minutes later Han Sung witnessed a middle aged man being carried out on the back of some employee. The calves of the employee carrying a man twice her size on her back were thin.


“Are you going to be all right?”


“Oh, don't worry. I've got nothing but physical strength.”


The little fox pants as she piggy-backs a bear. Little fox, bear.... Just imagining it made him snicker. It was the effect of the alcohol. Han Sung, who had finally finished the last shot, raised his hand.


“Hey, the bill.”


“Excuse me?” the employee who had scampered over asked, her eyes opened wide. “Did you call, sir?”


“The bill.”


Han Sung took out a credit card from his wallet and pushed it toward her.


“Oh, of course.” The employee hastily turned around and her buttocks crashed into the table. Han Sung's head, which had been resting on his hand, fell listlessly onto the tabletop.


“Oh my God! S-sir! Are you all right?”


“What is it this time?”


“This gentlemen... his head...”


Han Sung, who had hit the surface forehead first, remained hunched over the table. It was more comfortable than keeping his head raised.


“I accidentally hit the table...”


“How many times do I have to tell you a day? I told you be careful! For chrissake, I can't believe this! What'd a girl like you grow up eating?”


“I told you. I've got nothing but physical strength.”


“Shuttup! Uh, sir? Sir?”


“It's all right. Just take care of the bill.”


After the manager left with the credit card, the employee said apologetically,


“Is your head all right?”


Han Sung waved his hand and raised his body. The employee, who was standing next to him, held his arm. He glanced at her to see who it was, and who else could it be but the very same female employee that had broken all the cups? She was probably the one who carried out the bear of a man, too. Why was she holding his arm? She going to carry me out too?


“It's fine.” Han Sung took his arm back and began to walk away. After about three or four steps, he realized that he was not walking straight. Apparently, he was drunker than he thought. The moment he thought that the floor was trembling, someone grabbed his arm again.


“I'll take you to the exit, sir. Would you like for me to call a substitute driver? Or would you prefer a taxi?”


Was it because she was tall? All he'd given her was his arm, but he felt supported. As if he was walking along with his arm against a brick wall.


“A substitute driver....”


“Yes, sir. It'll arrive in five minutes. And here's your credit card. May we have your signature as well?”


Even though he was quite drunk, Han Sung signed the slip and replaced his credit card in his wallet. In his wavering vision, the woman's face came into view. From up close, he could see that hers was a unique face. Short hair, round eyes, white skin. Was it because he was drunk? She looked like a boy. A pretty, red-lipped boy.


“Would you wait here please? Or would you like for me to take you to your car?”


Han Sung brushed off the woman's arm again and stumbled forward. He somehow managed to exit the bar, and the cold night air hit him. This was better. It helped clear his mind a little. He was heading toward the parking lot when his innards sent up a menacing signal. He assured himself he would be fine and turned the corner of the building. Immediately, his stomach rose up. He ended up having to empty the contents of his stomach with his head leaning against the wall. It was the first time he'd had to throw up since freshman year in college.


“I knew it. I knew this would happen.”


“Ugh!” The fist pounding on his back made his chest ring. He couldn't breathe. It hurt so badly that all his vomit seemed to pull itself back inside. Han Sung waved around his hand frantically and signalled to stop, but the pounding only grew harder.


“Just empty it all out. You'll feel much better.”


“S-stop.”


“Huh?”


“Eck!”


“Oh, water? Ok, wait a minute.” Han Sung slid to the floor, listless. He ended up sitting next to his own vomit. He felt the cold wind and heard the sound of cars. When he began to come back around, he took out his handkerchief and wiped his mouth.


“Here, water.”


After rinsing out his mouth once or twice and coughing, he felt better, and he looked around at the woman, who was moving around busily. She was taking the trash out. Then she approached him holding something in her hands.


“Are you feeling better, sir?”


It was obvious from her tone of voice that she'd had customer service training. Han Sung smiled in spite of himself.


“It looks like you're doing better. But it seems kind of dirty over there, so why don't you come sit over here?”


Han Sung followed the woman's line of vision and lifted his body. He sat on the steps on the back entrance of the store.


“You were the one who carried the man out, weren't you?”


“Oh, yes. He was very drunk. He was really heavy because he was so drunk.... I put him in a cab. I wonder if he made it home all right.”


“You've got some strength.”


“That's the problem.” The woman gave a sigh and came closer. She flopped down next to him and played around with the piece of plastic she held in her hand. It made a pop! popping sound.


“Today was my second day, and my record is already eight cups.”


“Eight cups?”


“Broken, I mean. Two broken dishes. One broken vase. The manager told me I don't have to come to work starting tomorrow.”


The woman gave out another long sigh.


“Ever since this month started, nothing's been working out. My mom lost a ring. My one and only younger sister started a brand name club and then embezzled the membership fees to enroll in a voice lesson class. Crazy brat. (sigh) I feel bad for her, if I think about it. If she was willing to go so far....”


“You want a cigarette?”


“Huh? Oh, no. If you want to smoke, that's fine, ahjussi.”


Switching from “sir” to “ahjussi” so easily, talking so nonchalantly about her own troubles in front of a complete stranger—what an interesting woman.


“The dojo keeps getting emptier and emptier and the price of meat keeps going up and up. I keep getting fired from part-time jobs, and the only thing I have now is my early morning job.”


“Early morning job?”


“Yea. But that doesn't pay much. It's delivering milk. Not to mention my bike's in bad shape, so the future looks pretty dark. The other day, the handle suddenly stopped working so I had to run all around the neighborhood until I started smelling something sweet in my nose. That day, during lessons, it started to bleed, and boy, that was a riot. Both nostrils started gushing blood, and Seung Kyung started bawling and Tae Won ran around saying he'd block it up for me. That kid. He's always got to do everything himself. It was my first nosebleed since I was in fourth grade when I went up against a wooden board.”


Went up against a wooden board?


“The worst part is that pervert cabbage slug of a bastard.... yecch! I'm not even going to think about it.”


“Cabbage slug?”


“Yea. Have you ever seen a cabbage slug? When I was a kid, I was picking cabbages was I saw one. I don't get scared or disgusted easily, but it was totally gross! And that man totally reminds me of that cabbage slug. And he's a total pervert. Crazy idiot. Damn! Stupid bastard!” She spit twice.


Even as she cursed, she didn't let go of the plastic thing in her hand. In fact, every time she cursed, the popping sound grew louder and more violent.


“Is that fun?”


“Huh? Oh, this? Bubble wrap?”


“Bubble wrap?”


“Yea. Want to try it? It's the best at getting rid of stress.”




*
*Chapter Seven* Good dogs don't bark Part I









< Part 1 >



Mr. Hong was in the middle of interviewing people for the part-time job. He had originally been doubtful that anyone could meet all of the criteria, but surprisingly the list of candidates was long. A two-round interview to choose part-timers for this mousehole of a coffee shop? The more incomprehensible thing was that the dandy model of a man had hired him as well. He'd made a face as if the coffee tasted like crap, and then he'd asked him to take over the kitchen. If that was case, Mr. Hong wondered, what was the man going to do?


Introduce yourself. Turn around. Smile. Special skills? Sing. The candidates followed along with everything he asked, as if they thought it was entertaining that the interview was as selective and demanding as an audition. As if the things they were asked to do were a piece of cake. Everyone had so much talent and showmanship it was enough to make one dizzy.


Anyway you looked at it, Dandy Boy didn't seem to Mr. Hong as the type of man who would stick around a small town cafe with no more than seven tables to its name. Could it be that he was actually a scout from some entertainment industry company?


The new owner of the cafe was refreshingly straightforward as he decided the fate of the candidates on the spot.


“You, ok.”


When he'd picked two, Mr. Hong wondered what this man planned to do, and he felt the same way again when the third was picked.


“You, ok.”


Once again, the shop was the size of a mousehole— and now there were three part-timers. He was out of his mind. Mr. Hong couldn't help but heave great big sighs. He reckoned the store wouldn't last a month.


“Mr. Hong.”


“Yes?”


“Just letting you know that we're going to have a conference at 9 am tomorrow morning.”


“C-conference?”


“We have to decide on the overall concept and image of the store, the interior design, uniforms, things like that.”


“I have to decide?”


The new owner looked at him as if he'd just said something stupid. Even Mr. Hong himself considered it an idiotic question. But he couldn't for his life understand what the new owner was talking about. Once again, the shop was the size of a mousehole— a conference about the interior design? He can just figure that out on his own.


“With the four part-timers. Do you understand what I'm saying now?”


“Ah, yes. But, four part timers? You just picked three...”


“There's Ko En Chan.”


“En Chan? Did En Chan agree to that?”


Mr. Hong recalled the incident when the two people met a few days ago. After hearing that the store had been sold to this man, En Chan had gone red-faced cursing and throwing a fit. She'd called the man a pervert, a disgusting excuse for a human being, and said that she was afraid she'd see him in nightmares to his face. Mr. Hong had never seen her face full of so much outrage. And she'd work under this guy? Not a chance.


“He's a bit short, but he's got a face the women'll go for, so we'll use him. I've been watching the area for a while, and most of the people who pass by here are salarymen and women in their twenties or thirties. Most people who'll sit in a cafe to drink coffee are women, so we'd have to assume most of our customers will be women in their twenties or thirties. Young, good-looking male employees are the best for comfortably and pleasantly dealing with the key demographics of this shop. It'll work like a charm. Ko En Chan, too. He's metrosexual.”


Er... He's not thinking Ko En Chan's a man, is he?


“That kid probably won't want to do it...”


“Did he win the lottery or something?”


“N-no, I haven't heard that.”


“Then tell him to come out. Poor breadwinners can't be choosers. If he insists that he won't, tell him that I still have the slave contract.”


“Huh??”


Slave contract? Was that something similar to a body waiver oath? In that case, was this man a loan shark?


“Is that kid in your debt too? Man, what a life that kid has.”


Mr. Hong tried his best to defend En Chan. It wouldn't do for this man to take out any of En Chan's organs just because she couldn't pay the loan back.


“I-I wonder who caused the trouble this time. Tsk tsk. The mother and the sister take turns getting into trouble and sucking the marrow of out En Chan's bones.:


Mr. Hong glanced at the new owner and went on with his plan to incite pity on her behalf.


“You know, that kid's been the head of the family since senior year in high school.”


At Mr. Hong's words, Han Kyul furrowed his eyebrows and looked at him.


“Really? What about his father?”


“The business went bankrupt and he died in a car accident, I think. The mother's pretty immature. She was raised spoiled, so she spends like a fiend, and her credit card debts are incredible. The sister's basically the same. En Chan has to stand between the two and take care of the mother, the sister, earn money for food... it's back-breaking work. Teaching little kids Tae Kwon Do barely earns the kid enough money to eat, but one accident after another makes it impossible for money to stay in the bank. Tsk tsk.”


“Aren't there any relatives?”


“I didn't ask, but probably not. That's why the kid's working so hard, you know? So cut the kid some lack. I don't know how much the debt, but En Chan's not the type to rip you off.”


“Does he really teach Tae Kwon Do? I thought he delivered snacks at night.”


“Deliver snacks? Didn't mention doing that, but it's possible. The kid's so busy it's hard to keep track. Milk delivery in the early morning, coffee sales in the market...”


“So, basically, if it'll earn him money, he'll do whatever.”


“Probably. En Chan's pretty open to everything. Not very picky. The kid'll probably do anything but steal.”


“And what would stop him from stealing, huh?”


“Ha, no, you don't know what you're talking about. En Chan's definitely not that kind of kid.”


“You never know. Anyway, tell him to come to work starting tomorrow.”


Han Kyul left Coffee Prince and headed to the company in his car. His father had called. Once the rumors about him and some man had reached his family's ears, the house had turned itself upside down. His father had bellowed up a storm, and his mother, who was quick on the uptake, had looked incredulous at his outrageous scheme. Thanks to Ko En Chan, the long list of arranged dates had tucked its tail between its legs and disappeared.


What? Pervert cabbage slug? Did that stupid kid think he enjoyed it?


Han Kyul recollected the event and gave a hollow laugh.


Admittedly, it was pretty crazy. Why the hell did it go in? Even Dick hadn't tried to put his tongue in, you bastard. So why the hell did it go in, huh? Goddamn it.


All right. I can't blame Ko En Chan for being shocked. I admit it. That's the only reason why I didn't do anything as he cursed me out. Otherwise, I would've smacked him when he threw a hissy fit outside the club.


Han Kyul turned up the music. This was not the time to be thinking of things like this. It was time to face his father, who had finally found out about his grandmother's proposal. A 300% increase in sales in three months. It'd been ten days since these talks began. Ten days ago, his grandmother had picked out a snot-sized coffee house. The sign read “Coffee Prince.”


“If you can create a 300% increase in sales in three months, you're a free man. Nobody will say anything to you if you play basketball again, travel the world, whatever.”


“Basketball at this age? Ha.”


“But if you can't—come into the company.”


“What about Father?”


“I'll talk to him.”


“Really? You're going to protect me?”


“tsk tsk, it won't do for a baby tiger to be so afraid. Are you in or out?”


“What about my car?”


“You'll probably need one if you're going to work.”


“If you don't buy me one, I'll sell all my stocks.”


“Don't go there. I don't want to see my grandson beaten to death by his own father.”


“If you buy me one, I'll give you a coupon good for 5 massages.”


“Cheapskate. Ten.”


“All right, fine. It's a deal.”


He had known that just because his grandmother said not to, his father wasn't going to stay quiet about this. But he really didn't want to go. Ever since he was a kid until now—no, now more than ever, his father was a frightening person to him. The most frightening person in the whole world...





*
*Chapter Seven* Good dogs don't bark Part II








< Part 2 >


After having burst through the door, En Chan stopped short when she saw the unfamiliar youths.


“Oh, you're here? Come sit down.”


What the hell was this? En Chan had been in a fury since she'd receive Mr. Hong's call yesterday afternoon. Hearing that the slave contract was still in existence gave her a serious migraine. He'd said he'd rip it up, that son of a! And so she'd ran all the way here, still angry.


“You can say hello to me later. First, listen to this.”


“I have something to say to you!”


“Be quiet.”


“Why the hell would I...” The man gave her a stern look. “have to... listen... to....”


En Chan, whose words had faltered increasingly, shut her mouth. His atmosphere was different than before. His eyes were sharp and serious. Before, he had seemed like a loafer—now he seemed like a working man. He looked busy holding a bunch of papers and a pen in one hand. Crap. What the hell?


“This cafe's concept is: 'Dark as a demon, hot like hell, beautiful as an angel and sweet like love.'”


Psh. As if.


“That's coffee, isn't it?” said the man wearing the black framed glasses. En Chan glanced at him and then swallowed. What? Who's this kid? Why's he so good-looking? Oh man. I can't even look at him straight in the eye.


“Your name is.... Kwon Nak Kyun. You're right, Nak Kyun. The star of a coffee shop is, of course, the coffee. We have to try our best to express the true identity of the coffee through the taste, the fragrance, and the color. And, of course, the employees.”


“The employees?” Even Mr. Hong was listening attentively. En Chan, dissatisfied, scowled at
Han Kyul with her arms crossed. Whatever he was saying, she wasn't paying attention, and was simply glaring at him, whether he noticed or not.


“The feeling, the essence of coffee should emanate from yourselves as well. In that sense, all of you are just perfect. You smell of coffee.”


“That sounds like some kind of coffee promotion slogan. Are we the Westlife of coffee? Or the Eastlife? Hee hee. So which part does that make me? The sweet part?” This time it was the blonde guy who spoke. His voice was incredibly energetic. She couldn't help but take a look at him. He was a bright blonde with huge eyes and a small face. He was the brightest, most shining man En Chan had ever seen in the flesh until today. Her tense tense helplessly relaxed. It felt like being buried in sweet cream.


“Well, to each his own in due time...” Why are you looking this way? I still have a lot to say to you, ahjussi. You just wait. Oh, you just wait.


“I feel like Ha Rim is just right for hot coffee.”


“Heh, really? My hands and feet are usually pretty cold.”


“Your essence is, I mean. I especially like that hair of yours. Speaking of which, I'd like for Ha Rim and Sun Ki to be in charge of uniforms. The two of you go out and take pictures of uniforms you like.”


“We can pick whatever we want?”


“You'll be the ones wearing it.”


“Is it ok even if they're expensive?”


“Just take pictures for now. I'll pick from among your choices tomorrow. All right, No Sun Ki?”


The man nodding his head wordlessly stood right next to En Chan. But En Chan didn't dare look at him. What she'd seen by slightly turning her head had made her heart beat like a drum. That shining black hair. Oh, for the love of God! Could this be a human being? His nose was art. He was like a sculpture. This must be what it's like to look at a movie star, she thought. From which star did these three gorgeous musketeers come from?


“The man who'll be taking care of the interior will be here in ten minutes. Be here to meet him, Mr. Hong.”


“Huh? Me?”


“Oh, and Nak Kyun as well. I've already told him generally what kind of feeling I want, so he'll be here with a few samples. Just choose from those. I'm leaving it to the two of you.”


En Chan couldn't get a grip on the situation. Until the man said,


“Follow me.”


Who? Me?


“When you're done with what you're assigned to, you can go home and come back to work by 9 am tomorrow. If you don't think you can handle working here, I'll get the point if you just don't show up tomorrow, so don't be annoying and call me or anything like that. What are you doing? Let's go, Ko En Chan. Follow me.”


And then he was gone with the wind. Everyone stood around slightly dumbfounded when the blonde gave a killer smile.


“I have no idea what that guy's talking about. Ko En Chan? I'm Jin Ha Rim. Nice to meet you.”


“Er.. yea...”


“Let's get to meet everyone. I think he said your name was Nak Kyun? And you're No Sun Ki, right? How old is everyone? I was born in '86.”


“'86.”


“'84.”


“'83.”


Everyone immediately looked at En Chan as if they couldn't believe it. She laughed awkwardly and tried to deal with the situation somehow. “J-just act comfortably around me. It's ok.”


“Channy, see me for a minute,” said Mr. Hong with a look on his face. She stood up unsteadily when the door sounded.


“Are you coming or what?”


Why am I so popular today?


“Let's talk later,” said Mr. Hong. Then he whispered in her ear, “By the way... you were a guy?”


En Chan's eyes grew intensely round. Mr. Hong was looking at her with a worried look on his face. That was the reality of it. The new owner was looking for male part-timers, and he still believed that she was a man, and she still hadn't told him that she was actually a girl.


When she went outside, he was smoking a cigarette in front of a shiny car. Watching him blow out smoke made her angry. The scene from two weeks ago overlapped in her head and made it feel like it was going to burst.


“Ahjussi!!” En Chan stomped over to him belligerently. “Slave contract? Why is that still in existence!”


He, as always, smiled infuriatingly and then tossed the cigarette away.


“Ahjussi! Just where do you think you're throwing that?”


“It doesn't exist.”


“What?”


“The slave contract. It doesn't exist. Are you going to work or not?”


“I won't.”


“Why not?”


“You're honestly asking me? We agreed after the Valentine's Day incident. We agreed that even if we should pass each other on the street we would act like we didn't know each other.”


“Then we can just act like we don't know each other.”


“I don't want to work under you. I feel like throwing up when I even look at your face. Yecch!”


“Man, you talk too much. You're still sulking about the little prank I pulled? What a girl. A guy should be more laid back.”


“A prank? You call shoving your tongue in my mouth a prank?”


“Son of a! Why don't you just use a megaphone?”


The two of them stood fuming at each other, red-faced.


“Do you know how much I suffer from nightmares of that incident?”


“What kind of guy are you, to make such a big fuss about nothing? It's not like it'll kill you or anything.”


“That's what scares me more. If I died, I wouldn't have any more nightmares. Damn it.”


“Fine, let's just forget about it. What am I doing with a kid like you.... Go. Just leave.”


Watching Han Kyul get into the car, En Chan felt something like a stab. Uh oh, this isn't right, she thought. She had just kicked away a golden part-time job opportunity that had rolled in on its own. Only then did she remember that the dojo master had told her that the dojo was closing its doors starting next month. The dojo's situation was so bad that he was planning to go down to the countryside to farm. The big new dojo that opened nearby had too big of an effect on enrollment numbers. Even so, how could he close the dojo? He had said that he'd search for a new dojo for her to go, but it still felt like the sky was crashing down around her. And in that crash, a string of hope had let itself down toward her, and she was kicking it away. Shoot! Pride didn't provide food, did it? Damn!


“Then I'm not a criminal who works with muggers anymore?”


Han Kyul stopped in the middle of getting in his car. En Chan avoided his gaze and got into the car. Getting in the car after her, Han Kyul said,


“I'm going to put up security cameras.”


“You think I'm going to steal money from the cash register or something?”


“Of course.”


Tsk tsk. What's with this guy and trusting people?”


“Where are we going?”


“Bone China.”


“What is that?”


“You'll see.”




*
*Chapter Seven* Good dogs don't bark Part III






En Chan was impressed by the elegance of the car seat as she put on her safety belt.


“So what happened to the arranged dates? Do you still go on them?”


“Why do you care?”


“I'm just curious. It'd be sad if there's no result after all that.”


“Why'd it be sad for you? You got your money, didn't you?”


“Psh. What do you take me for? You think I only did it for the money? I felt bad for you, having to get married to someone you don't even like, and it's not even the JoSeon period or anything. I wanted to be of some help since you were in a tight spot and – aaaaahhhh!” En Chan was surprised by the sudden swerving of the car. A white car in the next lane had cut in front of them without so much as a signal.


“Check out this mother!”


“Ahjussi, honk your horn!”


But it was hot-tempered En Chan who reached out her arm to push at the horn. Honk honk hooonk!


“Ya! Stay still!”


“He went into that lane. Wow, look at him, moving around like a weasel. Are you going to take that, ahjussi? Show him what you've got!”


“You shouldn't have messed around while driving. Let's see what you got.”


“The light changed! Hurry! Hurry!”


Han Kyul's indigo sportscar sprung forward and slid precariously in front of the white car. But the driver behind them, who apparently had become just as incensed, immediately changed lanes and stuck by them.


“All right, let's go, boy!”


“Aw man! He's getting ahead of us! Go to the side! The side!”


Han Kyul moved to the fourth lane and raced ahead. He then changed lanes again and got in front of the white car.


“Yes!”


“All right!”


“You won't even be able to see my rear headlights!” Han Kyul slammed down on his accelerator and zoomed past the yellow light. En Chan whipped her head around and saw that the white car was stuck at the light behind them and screamed,


“All right!”


“Jackass. Follow me if you can.”


The two of them jumped around and high-fived each other so much that the car body itself shook and they laughed gleefully.


“Man, that guy's probably real pissed. Whew! That felt good.”


“Hey kid, you're really that excited?”


“Aren't you excited? We won, didn't we?”


“How can a kid be so easily pleased?”


“Psh. Like you didn't have fun.”


“It's nothing to get excited about. It was a matter of fact that I should win.”


En Chan's mouth opened in disbelief and Han Kyul looked straight ahead with a nonchalant look on his face. After fifteen minutes of silence had ensued, they finally arrived at a building. It was a professional tableware store.


“Wow!”


En Chan's eyes grew huge as she exclaimed upon one magnificent bowl after another. It felt as though she was in a museum. The lighting was bright and there was calm music playing. The customers who'd come to look at bowls muffled even their own footsteps and walked slowly around as if they were pilgrims in a holy place.


“Hey, Physical Strength Boy! Don't stand there looking dumb, come here and choose.”


“Choose what?”


“What do you mean what? Coffee cups.”


“Oh. Hey, when are we going to eat? I'm hungry.”


“It's only ten o'clock, you ringworm.”


“I didn't get any breakfast. Mostly.”


“What do you mean by mostly? Did you eat or didn't you?”


“I only ate one row of kimbab and two hard-boiled eggs.”


“Tsk tsk. How so very hungry you must be.”


“Oh, and a glass of milk.”


Han Kyul, who had lifted a cup to look at it, gave a incredulous smirk and walked away. En Chan clutched her growling belly and ambled after him.


How can I choose when they're all so pretty and magnificent? It was too big of a task for En Chan. She knew she had a regrettable history of breaking dishes, so she was extra careful. It was nice to look at them, but she was afraid of walking between the displays. But Han Kyul walked ahead unhesitatingly. She'd never seen him so serious.


So he's been here often, huh? I didn't even know a place like this existed. How much are these if I break them anyway?


En Chan picked up the dish that he'd studied and set down. Two stewardess-like employees in black business dresses were following him around. If he asked a question, a red-lipsticked mouth would smile brightly and answer him with a friendly tone. En Chan lagged behind so as not to interfere with him and the two employees.


Elegantly dressed women were looking at dishes here and there, and newlyweds could be spotted every now and then. In their midst, En Chan stood out, walking with her hands behind her back. En Chan felt the gaze of ahjummas and young women being targeted towards her. If she happened to meet the eyes of any of these women, they'd give her a sheepish smile. Then En Chan would turn her head as if she hadn't seen.


“What're you doing there? Come here for a minute.”


Of course you're going to stand out if you're wearing a bright red shirt and a huge black necktie. It's not even like you're short. You might as well be shouting, look at me, look at me! The guy thinks he's some kind of model.


“What kind of color do you like?”


“Color? I like all of them.”


“This one or this one?”


“They're both pretty nice.”


“Geraniums or rosemaries?”


“Which one is the geraniums?”


“Forget it. Go pick out teaspoons or something.”


She was banished to the spoon section. There was a plethora of small, shining teaspoons. She studied them for a while, but, as expected, it was too difficult for her.


They're all so pretty.


When she got tired of looking around, she looked for him. His face, as he studied the coffee cup, looked as keen and serious as that of a chinaware appraiser. So it seemed he was unexpectedly attentive to detail. She saw that he was speaking to the employees about something. Curious, she snuck closer and listened.


“This one's quite heavy.”


As soon as he ended his sentence the employee replied,


“This one's a bit lighter than that one. It's lighter, yet durable, and it's very good at trapping heat. This is part of the new line that just came out. The design is very exotic, so it's very popular.”


“Morrocan style, I see.”


“Oh, so you know? You must be very knowledgeable about bone chinaware.” The employee giggled.


“Designwise I like Hermes better, but Aynsley's got better colors. Porcealin is too antique...”


“Ahjussi.”


“Ack!” En Chan, who had appeared out of nowhere, grabbed Han Kyul's arm. “YA! You nearly gave me a heart attack!”


“Ahjussi, did you see the price tags? You thought it was $12, right? Man, what kind of coffee cup.... Ok, don't be shocked or anything, ahjussi. That cup is $120.” En Chan put up one and two fingers on either hand and repeated in a quiet voice, “One-two-zero.”


“Did you pick out the spoons?”


“Huh? Oh, no, I didn't.”


“(sigh) Why oh why did I bring you along, huh?!” He strode over and rapidly picked up spoons, forks, dishes and glass tumblers. Apparently he likes dishes better than women.


En Chan caught her breath whenever he pointed at something. Even using her slow arithmetic, the sum was an incredible number. After a few minutes, she gave up even tryng to calculate the cost.


She stared dumbly at him as he replaced his credit card into his wallet at the counter. The words she'd meant to keep in her head popped out on its own.


“Ahjussi.”


“You should call me sajangnim (translator's note: “sa jang” is the owner / CEO / director / president of some store / office / company.) now, kid. Even if it's a bit embarrassing.”


“Sajangnim ahjussi.”


“Take out ahjussi.”


“Sanjangnim.”


“What?”


“Are you really that rich?”


“Let's go get lunch.”


All right! Food!




*
*Chapter Eight* Espresso Part I








< Part 1 >


Han Kyul, whose face had become as red as his shirt, didn't know where to let out his anger, and so he continued to fume. Maybe it'd be a good idea to get him something to break or some balloons to pop. It was pretty obvious now that he was a hot-tempered guy. En Chan decided to be his Red Cross volunteer before the man died of his anger.


“Oh, man, my eye. I hope I don't lose my sight because of this.”


“Shuttup. Keep your mouth closed. I'm just about ready to explode.”


“I don't get it. I'm the one who got hit, so why are you the one getting so angry? I mean, it's the other guy's fault a hundred times over, but I could've handled it on my own—“


“Ya! You could've handled it on your own, huh!? So why do you look like a freakin' raccoon?!”


“Lordy. You don't know what you're talking about, ahjussi. People like me can't run around doing roundhouse kicks whenever we want to, you know?”


“You've got to be kidding me. Tell me the truth. Your becoming a Tae Kwon Do master—who'd you have to sleep with to get that?”


This man is really pushing it! Grrr... All right, it's ok, get let it slide, let it slide, let it— NO! I can't let it slide!


“What the hell do you mean, who'd I have to sleep with!?”


“I'm in a foul mood, so don't mess with me right now, kid.”


Even so, it seemed he was in a better mood than before. His skin color had gone closer to normal. But no matter how much she thought about it, she couldn't figure out why he was in such a foul mood, or why he had gotten so angry. Well, admittedly, he was bad-tempered all the time.


“You ok?”


“Yes.”


“Yes, what do you mean yes? There's going to be a huge bruise on that creamy skin of yours by tomorrow. Thank God we don't open until next month. There's no way we can do business with a face like that.


Psh. And I thought he was actually worried about it. So he was worrying about his own business, eh?


“If you couldn't fight back, at least you should've avoided the hit. Among all the Tae Kwon Do masters I've seen, you're the first one to wipe out like that.”


“How many Tae Kwon Do masters do you know anyway?”


“One.”


“Psh.”


“You're short, your legs are short, man, what a drag. And there're children who come to learn from you?”


I'm tall for a girl!


“Psh.”


“Psh? Who do you think you're 'psh'-ing?”


“Relatively to my height, my legs are pretty long, if you don't mind.”


“Pretty long my ass. It's not more than half my leg length.”


“Seriously, what the hell is your prob—”


Han Kyul was saved by his cell phone bell. If it hadn't rung, she had planned to put him on the news tonight.


“What?”


What manners. Apparently, this was the way he answered all his calls.


[Your big brother.]


“Han Kyu?”


[Haha what're you getting all nervous for? It's me.]


“Goddamn it, do you want to die?”


Even his friends didn't seem normal. Laughter rang through the car phone speakers. It was a very irritating laugh.


“What kind of trouble are you thinking of cooking up this time? I'm busy.”


[No matter how busy you are, you probably won't be able to resist this.]


“I'm not falling for it, punk. Hang up.”


[Yo! Yo! Miss World.]


“What? You expect me to beli—really?”


[All live. Seung Soo says it's his junior from someplace or another, and she went out for the Miss World contest last year. He said she's bringing friends, so get here quick, dude.]


“Where?”


[Seung Soo's summer house.]


“What? JeJuDo?”


[Hey, think about it before you hang up. Bomb body and intelligence.]


“.......”


[You're coming, right?]


“What time's the flight?”


En Chan's mouth sprung open at the way things were playing out. She couldn't say a word even when the man stopped his car at the curb. What kind of absurd situation was this?!?


“Yo, get out.”


She was so dumbfounded she couldn't say a word. When she simply blinked her eyes, he even opened the door for her. Owner or no, she wanted to take this guy and!


“Take a cab.”


“What?”


“Or the bus.”


“What about lunch?”


“Eat it on your own.”


“Ahjussi! A-ahjussi!!”


En Chan was pitilessly thrown out onto the curb. It was no use screaming\ at the car that was getting farther and farther away. It only made her hungrier.




*
*Chapter Eight* Espresso Part II



< Part 2 >


It's a good thing that En Se has a dream in life. Even so, sometimes I can't help but lament the fact that her dream is to become a singer—something much like a cloud in the sky. I try to think about it positively: “she's passionate enough about it to use her friends' money to register into a voice lesson hakwon.” But even so, I can't help but heave a sigh, wishing she'd had told me about it beforehand. Anyhow, En Se seems like she's working hard towards something for the first time in her life, and Mom's recovered enough energy to take a long time to make delicious spaghetti. Even so, I can't help but regret the fact that the portions of that delicious spaghetti were about the size of a hand. I regret it so much I feel like crying.


En Chan dragged her secondhand bicycle to its place and went up the stairs. She washed and ate breakfast before coming back out to deliver coffee to the market vendors. After three years of doing this, she'd already memorized each regular's coffee drinking time and taste preference. On her way back from her deliveries, she ran into Mr. Ku, the butcher.


“It's good to be young, eh? Just yesterday it looked like a chestnut, and now it's all gone.”


“It doesn't matter what anyone says, meat is the best answer.”


“A girl getting into fights... I can only imagine how much your mother suffered raising you.”


“I already told you. He went by like a lightning bolt. There was no time for me to react.”


“I heard Seung Kyung brought you an entire box of eggs.”


“It looks like we're going to live off of eggs for a while. Tae Won said he feels humiliated that his Tae Kwon Do master's going around getting beaten up. Man, I just can't seem to get along with him, even to the end, huh?”


“It's because you're too close to Seung Kyung.”


“Huh?”


“You've got as much sense as a box of fermented beans. Tae Won likes Seung Kyung, didn't you know?”


“Yea, I knew that.”


“And you still don't get it? You know that Seung Kyung likes you, right?”


“Yea, I knew that too. What does that—what? Oh come on, jealousy? They're in elementary school!”


“These days, even kindergarteners give each other couple rings.”


“I mean, come on! I'm an adult, you know. And.... No, no, it doesn't make sense. Ahjussi, I'm a girl.”


“My point exactly. If you're a girl, you should act like one. Anyhoo, hey, you. I hear you're going to be working at Coffee Prince.”


“And how did you find that out?”


“What are you planning to do? I hear the new owner is a real strange one. I hear he's working on a pretty-boy project or something.”


She'd forgotten that Mr. Ku and Mr. Hong were drinking buddies.


“I mean, we don't care much whether you're a girl or a boy, but it's not the same with that guy. It seems like his plan is to target the women who come to drink coffee by using good looking boys, you know?”


“Oh!! I see!”


“This isn't the time to shout eureka. Seriously, what are you planning to do?”


“I'm going to try sticking it out.”


“And what if you get caught?”


“It's not like he's going to report me to the police or anything.”


“Well, you've got some guts. Even if you do have a flat, volume-less, sadly boyish body, you'll get found out sooner or later. Men and women are different. Don't ask how. I get confused when I look at you.”


“You think I don't get confused when I look at your body, ahjussi? Do you tell apart men and women by the gut flab? Or the butt that hangs down to the calves?” En Chan attacked, not giving in to a word he said. The knife repeatedly slammed down on the chopping board. En Chan took a step back and said lightly, “Mr. Hong didn't realize for an entire year. And the only reason he ever found out was because he saw me coming out of the women's restroom and threw a fit. All I have to do is be careful of the bathroom.”


“I'm seriously worried about you.”


“It's five bucks an hour—five bucks. You think part-time jobs like that are easy to find? Keep the secret, please.”


“He can afford to give out that much? Hong worked by himself and couldn't raise enough to pay his rent. How much can you make from a snot-sized coffee shop to be using four part-timers? And I heard he asked Hong to stay. How much money is that per month for labor? How's he going to handle all of that? Mark my words, it'll be over in a month.”


“Ahjussi, are you praying for us to fail right now?”


“Ya, that's not what I—”


“Ack, whatever. Putting me in a bad mood so early in the morning....”


“Hey! Don't just leave! I'll give you meat for some stew, take it.”


“Forget it.”


“You're sulking?”


“What do you take me for, a kid?”


“Girls sulk a lot.”


“Hey, get rid of those prejudices. That's why you can't get married. Why are you giving me the meat anyway?”


“Oh, ah, just because. Hey, take good care of your mother. She must be tired these days, her face doesn't look so good.”


“Don't worry about it. My mom's skin is much lovelier than mine.”


Even as she returned home carrying the meat, her mind was heavy with the words Mr. Ku had said about it ending in a month. No matter how many times she punched the numbers into a calculator after she'd returned home, the only conclusion she could come to was that Mr. Ku was right. Not only that, but the absurdly expensive coffee cups, the first-class interior remodeling seemed themselves an omen to the store's closing.



What exactly was the man thinking? Did he think at all?


Even though she usually didn't bother with worries, En Chan's head hurt. She wanted to hurry up and meet the man so she could ask, but he was nowhere to be seen. He'd left a whole bunch of instructions and disappeared with Mr. Hong. Something about finding the flavor of Coffee Prince?


The four 5-dollars-an-hour part-timers gathered around to come up with ideas for the flyers they were going to pass out. En Chan was the one to ask.


“Yea, ok, so, do you think we're going to be able to get paid?”


“He probably started this because he had some money. Also, he's probably investing in this because he has some kind of plan. His CPU didn't seem too bad. Do you really think he would've picked four part-timers if he didn't even have a plan?” said Nak Kyun.


“CPU? What's that?”


Nak Kyun knocked on En Chan's head.


“Oh, head? Well, he didn't seem all that smart, either. He's only obsessed with his outer appearance.”


“Didn't you see his car? Do you know how many hundred thousand dollars it's worth?”


“Hundred thousands?”


“Man, I'd love to try on that Hugo Boss leather jacket he wears around. His watch, though, is a bit too old-people style for me. Anyway, from shoes to wallet, they're all brand names, so the money he's pouring into this store is probably the price of gum. This kind of tiny shop is probably just a hobby or something. He probably considers it a game of jacks,” said blonde Ha Rim. No matter how mean the things he said were, he was still so very cute. Sun Ki wordlessly emanated charisma as he sampled coffee. That was part of today's tasks too, to sample each of the coffee that the owner had blended before leaving and to appraise them.


“The price of gum? Is gum made out of gold in your neighborhood?”


“I said for our owner. Did I say for me?”


“In that case, what does that make us, who work in the store that costs as much as gum? Gum wrappers?”


“What's the point in asking? We're just servants. What, did you think we were doing something grand here? You pretend to be pretty smart, and you still don't know that, huh?”


“You may be a servant, but we're employees. Employees who provide established services and receive fixed pay. We're not here to goof around and kill time like you, all right?”


“What? Forget it. Let's drop it. What a tightass.”


Even as Ha Rim and Nak Kyun began to quarrel in what became an increasingly dangerous mood, En Chan was immersed in her own thoughts.


“Will it be ok then?”


It might be all right if the owner really was that rich. When she thought of that incredible hotel room, she could believe that this coffee house was just a game to him.


“Hey, do you want to take a look at this? They're pictures we took yesterday. Which one do you like, hyung?” an affectionate Ha Rim held out his cell phone. On the screen were pictures of Ha Rim and Sun Ki modeling uniforms. They looked good in whatever they wore, just like real models. En Chan swallowed a small gasp as she looked at the pictures. It was because she felt a stab in her conscience.


Is it really all right for me to participate in this pretty-boy project? I'm actually pretty short, and all those pictures that got me voted hottest face were photoshopped by En Se... Hmm...



*
*Chapter Eight* Espresso Part III







< Part 3 >


The best way to ensure the most efficient development of the employees' abilities is to give them a sense of ownership. In other words, make them feel that the store is their own. To do this, one must make clear the details of the trade and to open up the doors of discussion in order to encourage participation in the management of the store. This was the philosophy that Han Kyul worked out of, and he looked proudly upon the employees of Coffee Prince who were earnestly offering their suggestions.


“I'm telling you, red is too flashy. White is the best. It's nice and safe.”


“You know what you're talking about, old man. Since the new interior atmosphere is calm, we should stand out more. I mean, come on, to be honest, coffee tastes pretty much the same everywhere, doesn't it? We can't catch up to the Star or the Seattle Brand up by the intersection, so we should consider other methods of attack. The reason why sajangnim chose us was because he wanted to reap the benefits of our good looks, isn't that right, sajangnim?”


“Using your faces isn't enough. If that was the only thing I needed, I would've used mannequins.”


“You mean we need to provide good service as well? Well, duh, everyone knows employees have to be friendly.”


“One more thing. We need sex appeal.”


“Huh?”


“So that they want to keep coming back. Now that would be reaping the benefit of having chosen you all. Now, let's continue. Nak Kyun, what color do you like?”


“Black or white. I like clean colors.”


“What about you, Sun Ki?”


“I don't really have a preference...”


Everyone's answer seemed to represent their personalities. Would Ko En Chan maybe say pink? If Ko En Chan wore a pink shirt, he'd look like cotton candy. Han Kyul found himself smiling as he imagined the scene and felt a stab. It was because he'd suddenly been reminded of the Valentine's Day nightmare. But the person himself was too busy eating meat.


“Ya, Ko En Chan.”


Everyone turned their heads toward Ko En Chan, who was sitting at the end of the table, but she was not in a situation to answer. Her mouth was full of pork boned rib, and all she could do was blink his big eyes at everyone. Who knows how many servings he'd eaten all by himself? thought Han Kyul. How am I supposed to handle this kid's appetite from here on out? I'd probably be better off raising a cow.


“Yeth?”


“Forget it. Eat. Let's decide amongst ourselves. So, Ha Rim's the only one for red, right?” Ha Rim stabbed his finger into the side of En Chan, who was busy chewing. Not knowing what for, she raised a hand that held a pepper.


“Ok, two people. White, then.”


When Mr. Hong raised his hand, Nak Kyun followed, and even Sun Ki raised his hand. The fact that Sun Ki, who was usually quiet and inexpressive of his opinions, had raised his hand meant that he truly disliked the idea of red uniforms.


“Aw, man! Red is good, you guys. Y'all are all too sissy. Sajangnim, I'll wear red by myself.”


“If you really want to wear it, you can go ahead.”


“Really? It's ok?”


“Why not? It's not like this is school or anything. Oh, by the way, where did you say you went to school?”


“I told you I'm taking a post-graduate year. Nak Kyun's taken time off of school and... what did you say you did, Sun Ki?”


“I'm just....”


Right then a cell phone rang. Everyone dug around in their pockets to check their cell phones, but the ringing didn't stop. Everyone looked at En Chan.


“Hyung, phone.”


“Huh?”


She shoved a wrap into her mouth with one hand while taking the phone out with the other. En Chan turned off the phone without even looking to see who it was.


“Why didn't you pick up? Who is it?”


“That kid doesn't pick up the phone when he eats.” Everyone seemed satisfied by Mr. Hong's explanation.


“Hey, everyone, dig in, before En Chan shovels it all in. Sajangnim, why don't you take a drink?”


Han Kyul held out his glass and received the soju. A merry atmosphere passed the cup around. Everyone was more than willing to lay one back. Sun Ki didn't eat much meat, but never passed up alcohol, and Ha Rim's face had gone red after two shots, making his yellow hair look even more yellow. Nak Kyun's clean-cut drinking manners made him seem rather mature.


“Ahjussi, you're married, right?”


“With two kids.”


Ha Rim, drunk off of three shots, became rather talkative and laughed a lot. The boy had a very cute, affectionate side to him.


“Sajangnim probably isn't married yet. Do you have a girlfriend?”


“Why, you want to introduce me to one?”


“Haha. A stud like you, there are probably gorgeous babes hanging all over you, am I right?”


“I don't keep girlfriends. I can't even keep pets, how am I to keep a woman?”


Right then, Ko En Chan's thunderous voice rang out,


“Ahjumma! Could you change the pan here? And three more servings of boned rib! And kimchee!”


After the pan was exchanged and the meat was grilling, En Chan gulped down the kimchee water. Han Kyul had never seen anyone eat so well.


“Hey, you're not eating that?”


“This? It fell on the table.”


“It's all right, give it to me.”


She would even eat meat that had fallen on the table. Right then, a mischievous look came over Ha Rim's face.


“Oops!” He dropped a piece of meat on the floor. “Oh, what a shame. Better throw it away.”


En Chan held out her chopsticks.


“Hey, what do you mean you're going to throw it away. Give it here. It'll be all right if I grill it again.”


Ha Rim snickered and handed the meat over. And then with a smile that had probably melted not a few girls' hearts, he whispered,


“You saw that, right, sajangnim? That hyung, he'll probably eat anything as long as it doesn't have dirt on it. This afternoon, we ordered triple servings of jja jang myun, and Sun Ki left some, right? And this hyung took that bowl and wiped it clean, all the way to the sauce. I've never seen anyone with such a strong constitution.”


Everyone was looking at En Chan with wonder when Mr. Hong said,


“That kid was the lone survivor when his class went on their class trip. They ate some kind of bad seafood, and the legendary boy who walked away clean when everyone else was laid up in the hospital with food poisoning is this kid right here. His friends were all groaning in hospital beds, and this kid's was sitting down mixing an entire pot of rice with side dishes and eating it all up by himself.”


Everyone nodded their heads. Han Kyul said to a snickering Ha Rim,


“Hey, keep a close watch on him. Make sure he doesn't eat the coffee cups or anything.”


Ha Rim burst out laughing, and even Nak Kyun cracked a smile, but Sun Ki was, as usual, expressionless as he emptied the soju bottle. It was part of his attractiveness, and it was one of the reasons why he'd picked out Sun Ki. He didn't say much, but he wasn't unapproachable, he didn't smile much but he didn't seem cold, and no matter how much you looked at him, you still couldn't figure out what lay inside of him. Han Kyul knew from the moment he'd seen Sun Ki that this was an attractive guy.


The mood had ripened considerably when Ha Rim began to grope at Mr. Hong.


“Hey hey, what's wrong with this kid? Hey, how much have you had to drink?”


“Heh, ahjussi.”


Smack!


Everyone looked shocked and horrified.


“You stupid moron! Where do you think you're putting your lips, huh? Ya!”


While Mr. Hong was furiously scrubbing at his cheek, everyone else stopped what he was doing and continued to watch Ha Rim's actions, shocked. Ha Rim, unfazed, went on smiling and crawled sideways. As if he'd felt that Nak Kyun was not a kid to mess with, he threw himself onto Sun Ki. Sun Ki pushed away Ha Rim's approaching chest, but it was no use. Ha Rim managed to hold onto Sun Ki's head and kiss his cheek. He moved onto his next target.


“Damn, that kid's drinking habit is real erotic, ain't it? I bet he's gotten more than one girl in trouble.”


“He doesn't get them in trouble, he gets himself in trouble. He digs his own freakin' grave.”


En Chan too busy grilling meat to pay attention to what was going on next to her. When she saw that Ha Rim had sidled up right next to her, she gave a start. Han Kyul found himself looking at En Chan's white and creamy face. Both cheeks had been dyed a soft pink from the heat of the fire and the influence of alcohol. For some reason, Han Kyul felt displeased. He wanted to jerk back the head of Ha Rim, who was approaching En Chan.


“Mrmgmm hyung....”


“Hmm?” The moment En Chan turned around, Ha Rim put out his lips.


“Ewp!” Their lips collided. Everyone went rigid with shock, and even Ha Rim's eyes went wide with surprise. Han Kyul wanted to smack him upside the head. For some annoying reason, he felt angry. He didn't want to see the two of them next to each other. His head kept saying, 'hey, this isn't right,' but his heart kept saying, 'those lips are MINE!' It was an extremely frustrating feeling.


“Ya! You little!” En Chan's angry voice rang as Ha Rim was flung backwards. En Chan's palm had smacked away Ha Rim's face.


“O-ow...”


“Where the hell do you think you're putting your freakin' lips, you moron! If you're gonna be drunk, be drunk nicely!”


“Chan-ah?”


“What!”


“Meat's burning.”


With that, the episode was over. En Chan, who had shouted so loudly everyone in the restaurant had turned around to look, sat right back down like nothing happened and flipped over the meat. Han Kyul lost his appetite. He felt like ripping out his own hair.




*
*Chapter Eight* Espresso Part IV






< Part 4 >



By the time Han Kyul led his part out of the restaurant, it was past ten o'clock. As he walked alongside Mr. Hong, he looked at the four youths ambling ahead. Ko En Chan, who'd finished up the meal with more rice and noodles, Jin Ha Rim, who looked happy-go-lucky even after being hit, Kwon Nak Kyun, who'd loosened up a bit and was starting to answer attempts at conversation, and No Sun Ki, who'd maintained his silent aura even as women in the restaurant had fallen over themselves drooling at him. All four had such distinctive personalities that the future worried him. Initially, he'd thought running a snot-sized coffee house would be a piece of cake...


Han Kyul took the party to a cafe on the intersection. He then forced all of them to try six different cups of coffee.


“You tried the coffee I blended this afternoon, right? How'd it taste?”


“Oh, that. En Chan hyung had four cups of that. He said it wasn't filling enough.”


Ha Rim, who'd intercepted the answer, fell over sniggering, his hand clutching his stomach. Nak Kyun, who gave him an exasperated look, answered,


“I'd never tasted it before.”


“And?”


“It was kind of... rough, kind of scratchy, and it kind of made my tongue numb.”


“What about you, Sun Ki? Had you had it before?”


“Yes.”


“How'd the taste compare?”


“I'm not too sure. But...”


“But?”


“My mouth leans toward heavier tastes....”


“So it didn't fit?”


“Well, not exactly, but I like a fuller, more woody taste.”


“Why do you want to know these things anyway, sajangnim? You keep telling us to try coffee, and so we keep trying coffee because you tell us to, but what's the point of part-timers knowing that kind of stuff? Isn't it enough for the person who makes the coffee to know? I'm sure Mr. Coffee here's going to take care of it. Isn't that right, ahjussi?” Ha Rim slurred as he pushed his face into Mr. Hong's.


“Hey hey, you're making me sick. Get off.”


“Yo, Tae Kwon V, what about you?” En Chan, who had been swirling around the foam in the caramel macchiato, lifted her head. Her eyes were wide, like a tadpole who'd been caught goofing around.


“W-what?”


“How was the espresso?”


“Oh, that... It was bitter...”


“You drank four cups of the stuff and that's all you have to say about it?”


“It was strong, too... and... oh! I can't sleep.”


“What?”


“These days, I kept feeling sleepy after lunch, but after drinking that stuff, I couldn't sleep. Did you put in some kind of ingredient that keeps your eyes open?”


“So did you open your eyes to your faults?”


“Open my eyes to my faults? Why would I have to open my eyes to my faults? If anything, Mr. Cranky—I mean, sajangnim should be the one to open his eyes to his faults.”


“What did you say? What did I ever do wrong?” Han Kyul, who'd been thoughtlessly retorting saw En Chan's meaning-filled eyes and flared up. Noticing that En Chan was glaring, incensed, the four remaining individuals looked at Han Kyul curiously. Han Kyul bunched up his eyebrows and glared at En Chan. Judging from the look in his eyes, he's definitely thinking about the Valentine's Day incident. What the hell is this kid planning to say? He's not planning to blab about that right now, is he? “If you say anything ridiculous, you're going to die.”


“Man, you keep saying 'you're going to die'. Even if I am a part-timer, I have rights, don't I? If you keep talking that way....”


“What? You gonna keep being belligerent, kid?”


“Wow! Seriously! When did I act belligerent? Hey, raise your hand if you think I was being belligerent! No one? No one? See! You think being sajang makes you God or something? You think it gives you the right to look down on part-timers? Huh?”


“Ya, stop it, Ko En Chan,” entreated Mr. Hong as En Chan's eyes grew wide with excitement.


“Hey, ajuhssi, it's just getting good, so don't talk 'em out of i. Watching people fight is the best entertainment in the world.”


“You kids! you should be thinking of how to stop this!”


“As the saying goes, paintings and fights should be appreciated from a distance.”


Seeing that even Nak Kyun had begun to smile, Han Kyul shut his mouth. If he got swept away by Ko En Chan's pace, it was only a matter of time before he ruined his image. Just talking to that kid got him all riled up. He was just going to ignore him.


Han Kyul took a sip of his cafe au lait and then began in a officious voice,


“It'll be good for you to do some studying as well, Mr. Hong. To my knowledge, the closest barista training facility is in Shin Sa Dong. If you've a mind to continue selling coffee, it'd be a good idea to get a certificate. To be frank, your coffee as of right now is low class.”


Mr. Hong blushed and laughed awkwardly.


“It's not low class. It used to be so popular back in the day.... Just ten years ago, female college students would line up to drink the coffee I made. Didn't I mention before? Oh, right, Channy, you know, right? I told you how I met my wife.”


“Yes. But what's a barista?”


“I-I'm not sure either. I've never heard of the word.”


This was unbelievable. A man who'd been in the coffee business for over ten years didn't even know what a barista was. He hadn't studied at all, eh? That's why there was no growth.


“Find out about it, then. There are books written on the subject too.”


Mr. Hong's face went rigid with embarassment, but Han Kyul pretended not to have seen. He wasn't going to see these people after three months, anyway. Even if he was to see them again, Han Kyul wasn't the type of person to stomach talking pretty.


“Three months from now, sales will have gone up 300%. I'll make that happen, so you can take over from there, Mr. Hong. As long as we haven't fallen flat on our faces, you'll probably be able to carry on with these members right here.”


“What do you mean? You're only going to be here for three months?”


At Nak Kyun's question, everyone looked at Han Kyul with expressions that said they had no clue what was going on. Han Kyul made a cocky face and nodded his head.


“Why?”


Han Kyul turned to En Chan, who was glaring at him. Her gaze was full of condemnation. What is it this time? What the hell is this kid's problem?


“I made a bet with a certain person,” answered Han Kyul, looking En Chan straight in the eye. “I said I'd raise sales 300% in three months. I did it because it was the only way I could get some peace and quiet. That's why I picked you guys. You don't have to worry, though, Mr. Hong, even if sales do jump 300%, I'll sell you the store back at the price I bought it at.”


“What? How can you talk like that?!” shouted En Chan. “Who the hell do you think you are, talking about raising sales 300%! What a total jackass!”


“What? You parasite, are you done talking or do you have more to say?!”


“Ya! Ko En Chan, what's wrong with you!”


“Let go, ahjussi, let GO! Damn! You pervert cabbage slug! You think you're all that, huh? Just a month ago, you were nothing but a good-for-nothing loafer, so don't be looking down on people just because you've got some money, all right? 300%? 300%? That's not talent, that's money'll-take-care-of-everything bullshit! You think Mr. Hong's not as good as you are? What? Low class? Who the hell you calling low class, huh, punk? Who the hell are you to be judging other people! You're garbage! Nothing but garbage!”




*
*Chapter Nine* There's no such thing as Vienna Coffee in Vienna Part I



< Part 1 >


You want to die with your head smashed against the wall or with your nose smashed against a plate? I don't want either. I have to go on living. I have to pay for En Se's hakwon fees and I have to pay off the bank loan, and I have to pay off a lot of loans we had to take out here and there. Fine. You want to beg for forgiveness on your knees or do you want to write out an apology? I don't want either. I don't want to beg on my knees and I really don't want to write anything. Can I just stand on my head?


En Chan, who'd spent the entire night conversing with God, went to work with her head hanging low. Even if the sajang was a piece of garbage, she shouldn't have kicked away a golden part-time job.... She must've lost it for a moment. All she had to do was to put up with it for a little while longer.


En Chan glanced around at the construction taking place in the coffee shop before greeting Mr. Hong, who as coming out of the kitchen.


“What's with that face? Did the almighty En Chan stay up all night worrying just because she opened her big mouth?”


“I couldn't sleep.”


“Aren't you the kid who'll fall asleep if someone so much as pressed their finger against her head?”


“It's probably that damned coffee. What about loafer man?”


“Looks like he's not coming out today.”


“Did he say... anything...?”


“Not really. Hey, the flyers will be here from the printshop in a bit, so hand 'em out. There's Nak Kyun. You know, that sajang's not such a bad guy.”


“Why do you say?”


“I told him you were weak on alcohol and spouting nonsense, to cut you some slack because you were delirious and he said—“


“And he said?”


“That's he'd tame you.”


“Huh? Tame me?”


“Something about knowing how to tame unruly dogs.”


“What? Dog? He's saying I'm a dog?”


“Oh, hey, Nak Kyun. You're right on the dot, eh? It's exactly 9 o'clock.”


“Good morning. Did you sleep well, hyung? Ha, your eyelids look funny. Your eyes got really big.”


Well, something had changed since yesterday, because these guys are treating me differently. Ha Rim, of course, but even Nak Kyun, who used to act like a taciturn gentleman began to smile and make conversation, and even Sun Ki sent out his rare killer smile. Ugh, my heart! I should feel like this is heaven, mixed between these three gorgeous men, but why oh why and I so sleepy?


Mr. Hong began working up a storm trying to fix his “low class” coffee, and En Chan and Sun Ki went out to hand out flyers. Knowing that Ha Rim and Sun Ki had a shaky relationship, the others deliberately made them a team, with the intention to get them to become closer by working together.


“Hey, isn't that Channy obba?”


“Oh! Obba!”


The girls who ran over waving their hands were En Se and her friends.


“Ko En Se, you brat! What are you doing skipping school and messing around?”


“Obba, it's Saturday.”


“Even if it is Saturday, you should be studying!”


“God, stop screaming.”


“It's still early in the school year, so we don't have to study too much. Anyway, obba, what are you doing here? Can we help you with anything?”


“Oh my Gosh, obba, do you work here? Wow, you're so handsome!”


The high school girls who'd taken away the flyers jumped around screaming.


“Who's this obba? Damn, he's FINE!”


“Your picture came out pretty well, obba. Hey, who's this?” The eyes of all the girls flew straight to Sun Ki. Immediately, all phones flipped out in unison and began to take pictures. En Se not excluded. Sun Ki, who'd suddenly become the center of a new fan club, was poker-faced. He didn't even look flustered or seem bothered.


“Unni, you know that obba's phone number, right?” En Se whispered. En Chan, horrified, put her hand over En Se's mouth.


“Hey! Call me obba!” En Chan pried the girls away and drove them off with En Se. She couldn't know when they'd start blabbing about her being an unni, or talk about Dong Moon Girls' High School. Her heart raced. Sun Ki looked indifferent.


Everyone had gathered at the store to eat lunch when the sky began to cloud over. Ha Rim and Nak Kyun, far from becoming friendly, didn't so much as say a word to each other. It was obvious that even though they hadn't used their fists, they'd gotten in a fight. She was contemplating ways to get them to speak to each other when a motorcycle pulled up in front of the store.


“Hey, it's that kid....” En Chan, who'd turned around at Mr. Hong's words, jumped up at the sight of a familiar face.


“Hey! Mugger boy!” The guy got off his motorcycle when En Chan shouted at him. His size was one thing, his dark face and sharp glare made the whole room feel uneasy.


“Hey, Chan,”


“It's all right.”


En Chan came out of the store and stood across from the guy. Raindrops began to fall.


“Long time no see, buddy! Woah! Nice motorcycle. Didja buy it or didja steal it again?”


For some reason the guy looked pissed off.


“Hey, try to live nice, all right? If I catch you mugging someone again, I'm going to report you to the cops, got it?”


“Do whatever the fuck you want.”


“Oh man, this kid still hasn't learned. Hey, if you keep living this way, you're going to end up dying alone and sad in an empty room somewhere, or go in and out of prisons all your life. Or end your life on a backstreet somewhere. That'd be too pathetic, don't you think?”


“I didn't come here to listen to Mr. Principal deliver a harangue.”


“Wow! You even know how to use the word “harangue,” huh? You're smarter than you look.”


“Stop yappin' and let's stick it.”


“It's not like we're magnets or anything to stick. I thought I already told you. This precious body is the body of a sacred dojo master, so I can't go around punching people outside the dojo. It's not the way of the martial artist.”


“Then just get hit!” Suddenly the guy flung his fist out. She somehow managed to dodge it, but a little slower and she would've had another dark circle around her eye to worry about. She didn't know what about, but he was pretty pissed about something. It didn't look like he was going to back away with an eating contest this time. Is that so? All right, fine.


“Hey, you still chasing En Se's tail? Is that what this is about?”


“I don't give a fuck about En Se or anything, let's just go, goddamn it!”


“What, are you trying to ruin my livelihood? I've got a chance to make a living using my face, you moron. Hey, let's just settle this with that.”


“I won't do eating, asshole.”


“Man, again with that cursing. Fine. I'm in a pretty sour mood myself, so let's have a go. One condition, we're going to settle it with that.”


En Chan was pointing at an arcade game located about 10 meters away from where they were standing. It was a worn out punching game.


“The person who gets the higher score wins. One shot. All right? No more bitching even if you lose.”


“Speak for yourself, jackass.”


“Promise me, man to ma—I mean, human being to human being.”


En Chan held out her hand to shake, but the jerk simply spit in her palm and walked ahead of her. He even put the coins in himself. She let the guy hit first. The guy put his entire body into his punch, but En Chan hit quick and strong. No need to say, it was En Chan's victory. After looking at the machine as if he couldn't believe it, the guy backed away surprisingly without a fuss. It was a battle of the fists after all, and he couldn't help but admit defeat. He pouted, as if his pride had been hurt. He scowled wordlessly, but he didn't make anymore stubborn arguments.


Tsk tsk. Listen, kid. I've gone up against this old metal heap for the last four years. I know it to a T. You can try a hundred days in a row, see if you can beat me. Half-wit.


En Chan smiled sweetly as she waved at the motorcycle that was fading out of sight and came back into the store.


“Hey, guys, it's raining. We should probably pass these out quickly.”






*
*Chapter Nine* There's no such thing as Vienna Coffee in Vienna Part II




< Part 2 >


Pleasant atmosphere, delicious coffee, cheerful service from gorgeous employees... the game was basically won. When he thought of the pitiful number from before, raising sales not three but even five times wasn't out of the question. Han Kyul was full of confidence and was even beginning to feel excited. At first, he'd only thought of the cafe as a chance to do away with the pressure from home, but now he felt that he'd feel rather good if he succeeded. Having studied this and that from here and there would've proven to have been a good investment.


After playing poker well into the early hours of the morning, Han Kyul woke up in the afternoon and unhappily ran right into his elder brother. He had been pouring coffee in his underwear since he'd just woken up. His brother, who had been coming up the stairs, flared up.


“You punk!”


This was why he didn't want to come home.


“You're walking around looking like that when you know your sister-in-law's in the house?!”


Han Kyul picked up his coffee and ambled back into his room. The second floor was divided into Han Kyul's living space and his brother's living space, separated by a living room and a kitchen. The left side belonged to Han Kyul and the right side belonged to his older brother and his wife. All that Han Kyul's room contained was an elevated bed, a long blue-grey sofa, and a hanging flatscreen TV. You could do three consecutive cartwheels in the space that was left.


“Hey you, sit down for a minute.”


“If you're going to lecture me, forget it. I heard enough when I got called to the company by Father yesterday.”


“If I tell you to sit down, just sit down.”


Han Kyul, drinking his coffee, sat at the edge of the sofa where his elder brother was sitting.


“How long are you going to run around like that? Stop goofing off and come help Father.”


“Didn't you hear? I'm a proud owner of a business now. I'm so busy my eyeballs spin.”


“Don't you realize what Grandmother's trying to do? She's baiting you, trying to get you to look at yourself and all the talent you have. Don't waste three months on this stupid test and come develop your skills in the company.”


“Regardless of what Grandma meant to do, I'm going to do what I want. You guys are doing fine, even getting our brother-in-law involved. What's the matter with you and Father? I'm just one person, can't I just live my life? Do you really have to push me into this ugly battle with a musket in my hand?”


“Listen, kid, Father's in a bad spot right now.”


“From the way you're speaking, people will take me to be Midas or something. You've probably received the reports of how I fooled around in America. I didn't study. At all. I went partying every night and chased tail as often as I could. Who's going to even blink if I throw myself into this stupid company?”


“Chris Choi.”


Han Kyul looked at his brother, startled. Seeing his brother's sincere gaze, he turned his head.


“Winner of the Mutual Fund Investment Game sponsored by Morgan Stanley.”


“That was just.... damn it, how'd you find out?”


“When Grandfather favored you, there was a reason for it. Do you remember what he used to ask us when he was bored? If you only have a dollar, and you want to buy a pair of skates that costs $100, what do you do? He used to ask that everytime our cousins came over to visit. Do you remember what you said then?”


“Don't know. Can't remember.”


“You said that Grandmother would buy it for you since your birthday wasn't too far away. So you'd spend the dollar on the helicopter toy that you wanted.”


“My answer was that simple?”


“Well, Grandfather liked it. He said you were a kid who wouldn't let go of the dollar or the skates. Even if you have no interest in the company, Grandfather was always considering you. I heard that every time people gathered around to drink, he'd say to everyone's face that the only person worthy of being his successor was “Choi Han Kyul and no one else,” and kill the mood. All the uncles and cousins and even the stockholders know this. That's why we need you right now.”


“Father didn't like it. Don't you know? He was scared that Grandfather would bypass him and make me his successor. Uncle hated it more. When I graduated from high school, he said if I even thought about taking over the company, I'd better be prepared to be standing alone in the desert without even a gun, that the company was a world where you couldn't trust anyone.”


“You mean he said that to a kid? So what? You're saying you're too scared to come into the company?”


Han Kyul finished off his coffee and stood up.


“I have to shower. I've got someplace to go.”


“Han Sung's movements are pretty worrisome.”


“It has nothing to do with me.”


“Idiot, Father might have to go under investigation!”


“For what? Tax evasion? Slush fund? There's quite a number of things, really.”


“Ya!”


“Isn't it something we had to overcome when Uncle died? Uncle took up the gun, Father pulled out, and Uncle died from that, and somehow in all the chaos Father ended up in charge of the company. When you look at it like that, it's not hard to understand Han Sung hyung.”


“You brat! Whose side are you on anyway? I know you and Han Sung stuck around together, did you go over to his side?”


Han Kyul stopped in front of the bathroom door. He looked at his angry brother and said in an accusing voice,


“What are we, children? Talking about sides. If we're all in the same pan, we're all in the same pan together.”


“What's that supposed to mean?”


“We all share the same blood, don't we?”


Except for me.


Han Kyul came into the bathroom and turned the shower on. His head felt hot. His chest felt tight as if a sumo wrestler was pressing down on it. The words in his memory rang throughout his head.


“Don't you even feel sorry for him? Why do you have to be so frightening to him?”


“He should be thankful that we brought him in and took care of him. We picked him up from the countryside where he was a regular little dirtball, and now look at him. He doesn't even know what gratitude is.”


“Gratitude? What gratitude? He's just a boy. What sin has he committed? The adults are the ones to blame...”


It was the sound of his parents arguing. He'd accidentally overheard them and had finally figured out why there were no pictures of his first birthday. Choi Han Kyul had been adopted. He'd been adopted from some orphanage in the countryside.









*
*Chapter Nine* There's no such thing as Vienna Coffee in Vienna Part III



< Part 3 >



“Press down harder when you're tempering it. You have to press down with approximately 13.5 kg of pressure if you want the proper taste.”


“It seems you've had some training from somewhere, huh, sajangnim?”


“One of my friends back in the States was a barista. I learned a bit about coffee from him.”


Han Kyul, who'd made his appearance in the store late in the afternoon, had gathered the employees around and had begun to explain. Outside, the spring rain was drizzling down.


“But there's one person missing. Where's the parasite?”


“He went to pass out flyers and hasn't returned. Hey, No Sun Ki, weren't you with him?”


“We were heading back when he said he had to see about something...”


“Leave him. He's probably holed up somewhere eating something.”


Han Kyul gave demonstrations in a hastily cleared up kitchen. The strong smell of coffee permeated the entire place. The sound of the rain and the fragrance of coffee blended well to make a pleasant atmosphere.


“What about the coffee cups?”


“Always keep them warm.”


“Of course.”


Han Kyul took out a glass cup and poured sugar and coffee before added foamed cream to the top.


“Now, this is Vienna Coffee. Don't stir it with a spoon. That's an insult to Vienna Coffee. Just drink it.”


The three pretty boys tasted their first ever cup of Vienna Coffee and was unstingy with their praise. Mr. Hong looked put out, but Han Kyul decided to push on ahead. It seemed to be stimulating the man. Perhaps he was practicing at home; Mr. Hong's coffee tasted better and better. It made Han Kyul proud to see effort showing.


When he sent everyone home and closed up the shop, it was already dinnertime. He really didn't want to eat dinner at home. If he met up with his friends, drinking was inevitable, but he didn't feel like going clubbing tonight. It looked he had no choice but to go to the hotel. Maybe he'd eat dinner and then read a book...


Han Kyul stretched out his hand to turn up the volume. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel while singing along to Katty B's “Let's Hear it For the Boys.” The hard rain on his windshield and the quick beat of the song mixed together and reminded him of strong Jamaican Rum. He felt like having a glass before eating dinner. He was thinking, “and maybe a hot bath, too....” when suddenly a black figure jumped out in front of his car. An alarmed Han Kyul quickly stepped on the brakes. His heart was beating like a drum. He looked in front of his car, breathing fast, but he couldn't see anything.


He hadn't hit anyone had he? If he had, he hadn't felt it...


When Han Kyul came out of his car shaking, the person who'd been squatting on the ground lifted his head. He was gathering up something in the light of the headlights.


“Oh, I'm so sorry, I'm really very sorry.” The lifted head was illuminated by the headlights.


“Are you all ri—... YA!”


The moment he saw the face, relief and anger rushed into him.


“Huh? Sajangnim? Were you on your way home?”


“If you're going to kill yourself, do it decently! Don't jump out in front of a fucking car!”


“Who said anything me killing myself?”


Han Kyul felt angry that he'd been so alarmed. He pulled En Chan's hair.


“Come here you little brat. You deserve to learn a lesson.” Han Kyul put him in a headlock and showered knuckle sandwiches on his head.


“OW!”


“Is this a demonstration of your “physical strength”? Huh? You make a bet with someone to see who'd win, the car or you? HUH?”


“Ow ow ow oww!! Damn it! It HURTS!”




*
*Chapter Ten* Lemon Coffee for Hangovers Part I






< Part 1 >


“Your hair is silky, you've got no mustache... Hey, do this with your neck.”


En Chan looked at Han Kyul, startled. Without time to react, her chin was pushed upwards.


“And you've got no Adam's apple.”


“W-what's that?”


“Hey... are you really a boy?”


En Chan's mouth hung open, her face frozen as she looked at him.


“Looks like this kid's ready to be belligerent again. Why, you want to have a go? Well, even if we do, let's eat first.”


En Chan couldn't breathe the entire time they were climbing up the wooden stairs. She looked ahead at the man walking in front of her and her heart raced. She felt like she was going to die of a heart problem. Lying sure seemed bad for the body. Run away.


“Yo, don't be a slow poke and hurry up,” he shouted as he held open the door to room S11. Damn it. That five bucks an hour is holding me back by my ankles.


A pleasant warmth greeted her as she stepped inside. Room S11 seemed to be always waiting for him to return. It made her wonder.


Is this where he lives?


“Wash up.”


“Excuse me?”


“Aren't you going to wash up? You're going to eat looking like a drowned rat?”


“It's all right. It'll dry off naturally in a little while.”


The man heaved a sigh as he opened his dresser and muttered,


“Man, the kid's too freakin' small. Here, wear this.”


“Oh, it's fine. Why would I wear something that belongs to you?”


“Don't talk back and go wash up.”


A black shirt and a pair of khaki pants, a pair of underwear still in its wrapper came flying at her. She had no intention at all of wearing men's underwear, but she did feel like using the restroom. She had to pee.


Given no choice, she took the clothes and went to the bathroom. She locked the door and hurriedly took care of her business. She looked around and saw that the bathroom was not a little impressive. The bathroom in her own home was always chilly, the water pressure was terrible, and the floor was so cold it was a pain to clean. No matter how much the years had trained her to be used to those conditions, she still felt it was a shame to leave without having taken advantage of such a warm and comfortable bathroom. After checking once again that the door was closed, En Chan boldly stepped into the shower.


“What's this? Why are there so many shampoos?”


En Chan lifted up each of the many bottles that lay around the shower area. All the writing on them were squiggly lines, so she couldn't know how each was supposed to be used. All she could recognize was the word, 'shampoo.' Well, she didn't need to know anything else, so there was no point in trying to figure it out, right?


“Ahh, this feels good.”


After washing her hair and finishing her shower, En Chan wrapped her body in a towel that was as big as she was and dried her hair with a smaller towel. After drying off, she lifted up her own sopping clothes, but they were too wet to wear comfortably. Fortunately, her underclothes weren't wet. When En Chan came out of the bathroom, the doorbell rang. En Chan folded the sleeves and legs of the shirt and pants and moved toward the sound. It miffed her that the pants waist fit her perfectly. To think that a man could have a 28 inch waist, the same size as she! What a turnoff, seriously.


“You done washing?”


This was the smell of steak.


“You used to wear these pants back in high school, right?”


“I graduated high school a long time ago. Why would I still be wearing pants from back then?”


“Then they're too small for you to wear now?”


“Hey kid, if you want the pants, just say so. Don't beat around the bush just because of a pair of pants. I don't want to wear something you've worn anyway, so take it.”


“Where are you going?”


“To wash my hands.”


“I can start eating first?”


“If I say no, would you be able to wait?”


“Well... if you said to wait...”


“I'm not a sadist. Eat.”


En Chan excitedly raised her fork and knife. Delicious and expensive looking food covered an intensely white tabletop. But she didn't worry about what to eat first. She was going to eat it all anyway.


“Mmmm this is killer. What is this, calf meat? It's so tender.”


She was slurping down the pasta with a hint of garlic when he returned. Tsking away as he poured out wine he said,


“If that's not the way a beggar eats, I don't know what is.”


Even being subject to these words, En Chan smiled happily as she ate her food. She drained every cup of wine he poured out for her.


“If you get drunk and start rebelling again, you're dead.”


En Chan, her mouth full of meat, shook her head. How could she rebel against he who gave her her daily bread?


“Where did this come from? Does the hotel give this out for free for their visitors?”


“No such thing as a free lunch in this world. This is all money.”


In that case, this was sure to be extremely expensive. Maybe she should take it a little more slowly.


“It's from the Italian restaurant in this hotel. My Ex-Wife's Secret Recipe. Have you heard of it?”


En Chan, her mouth full of fresh, crispy salad, shook her head again.


“The chef is Italian. The sajang of this hotel tried his cooking in Italy and was blown over, so he brought the chef here. It's French-Italian style. It's pretty good, huh? A mouth like yours probably never tasted anything like it.


“What was the name? Something wife? I can't remember, it was too long.”


“My Ex-Wife's Secret Recipe.”


“That's the name of the restaurant?”


“Yea, if you translate it, probably.”


“Probably? Heh, you're not sure either, are you sajangnim? You can't speak English well either, can you? Did you take a vow of silence while you were studying in America or something?”


“Just eat your food.”


She dunked her bread in the steak sauce and finished off with an apple mousse. But something was strange. Usually when she ate, she got energetic, but right now, she was getting more and more languid. It wasn't a bad feeling; in fact, it was extremely comfortable and plesant.


En Chan held out her emptied glass. Han Kyul, who was still in the middle of his meal, poured her more wine.


“Look at that posture. Sit up straight when you eat.” En Chan lifted up her legs onto the chair and sat Indian-legged.


“I'm done eating anyway.”


“What's with that expression on your face?”


“What's wrong with it?”


“It looks like the face of a sacrificial pig.”


“Man, you talk so mean. I can't understand why women follow you around. It's probably the money, isn't it? But you don't want to get married, sajangnim? The women who came out for the arranged dates all looked pretty good to me. Oh! Do you have a woman stashed away somehwere?”


“You don't talk so pretty either. A woman stashed away somewhere? Is a woman a piece of luggage, to stash away?”


En Chan smacked her lips as she drank the sweet wine. After tucking so much away, she began to feel a little dizzy. I should get home before I get any looser...


“That woman back then was pretty good-looking too, just a little loud and annoying.”


“I don't know which woman you're talking about, but all women are loud and annoying.”


“Oh, I know! You're a misogynist, aren't you?”


“Do you even know what you're yapping about?”


“I know. A misogynist hates women, right?”


“Why would I hate women? If I hated women, how would I deal with thinking about sex every 30 seconds?”



*
*Chapter Ten* Lemon Coffee for Hangovers Part II







< Part 2 >


En Chan picked up her wine glass and prowled around the living room. Fancy cabinets, a built-in aquarium, a landscape painting of spring, a huge flower vase...


“Tell him to do whatever he wants. When did Father ever ask my permission for anything?”


[Baby.]


“Grandfather handed it down to me. Why won't you let me use it the way I want to? You just try blocking off the account. I'm going to sell off all the land and stocks I own.”


[Just come home to sleep, please?]


“If I'm only going to sleep there, what's the point of my going home? Father doesn't want to see me either.”


[Are you going to keep being stubborn? Father's worried about you too.]


“I'm sure he is.”


[If you make Grandmother wait any longer, you're a bad grandson.]


“Whew... seriously.”


[Sleep there for tonight, but after that, come home. Mommy will talk to the others for you. All right, my son?]


“Even if I do go into the house, I'm only going to sleep there. Don't change your tune later.”


[My son is such a good little child.]


“I'm hanging up now.”


Han Kyul, who'd thrown his phone down on the bed, heaved a huge sigh. If he went back into the house, he'd probably end up fighting with his father and brother about every little insignificant thing, and even though she wouldn't say anything, he'd have to endure his grandmother's gaze that said she'd like for him to come into the company, and he'd even have to deal with the haughty looks that his sister-in-law, who was the daughter of a hoity toity household, would give him. He just couldn't figure out why he had to go back into that house.


“Damn it, I should just move out of that house,” muttered Han Kyul as he crossed the living room to get to the dining room. “Hey, it's getting late. Stop drinking and...” The dining room was empty. When he came back out to the living room, he discovered En Chan, who was lying on the sofa.


“Ya.”


There was no answer.


“Ya. YA!”


Only when he shouted in his ear and shook his shoulder did his eyes flutter open.


“I'm really sleepy. Can I just take a little nap here?”


“That's why I told you to take it easy on the wine.”


“I'll just take a two hour nap.”


“Ya, go home and sleep. Come on, get up.”


“Don't be so cruel. Just two hours. Promise.”


Han Kyul looked incredulously at En Chan, who'd fallen asleep with his body scrunched up.


“This kid really does as he wants.”


“You have to wake me up in two hours. You have to....”


“Hey, do you know how much it costs to sleep here? You have to pay half of it, ok?”


“I have to deliver milk... I have to sell coffee...”


“Ya...”


“One shot of milk for the vegetable vendor, two sugar cubes. Two shots of cream for the fish vendor, two sugar cubes. Straight black for the side dish vendor. The shoe store....”


Han Kyul looked down at En Chan, who'd fallen asleep mumbling to himself. A minute hadn't even passed when his breath told of deep sleep.


“Totally knocked out, huh?”


He was turning around when he saw the fliers laid out individually on the pearl-colored coffee table. He'd told him to throw them out, but it seemed he was determined to dry them and pass them out again.


“I don't know if this kid's an idiot or just innocent. Well, it's the same thing, I guess...”


Han Kyul brought a blanket and pulled it over En Chan. En Chan, who slept so sweetly that he wasn't even moving, looked so cute to Han Kyul. Is this what it would feel like to have a younger brother? As Han Kyul carefully tucked En Chan into the blanket, he felt so touched that his heart ached.


How creamy this boy's skin is. Look at all that baby hair. How could he not have a mustache at all? Probably stunted growth. It was probably because he didn't get to eat much growing up. That's why he eats like he's possessed. There are some kids who develop late, I guess. Even so, how can a guy's skin be so....


Han Kyul's hand moved on its own to En Chan's cheek. Just before his fingers touched skin, he snatched his hand back. Somehow it managed to skim En Chan's hair. It was the same as last time, that sensation.... He felt the electricity running through him again. Startled, he tousled En Chan's hair roughly.


“He won't even wake up, this sleep fiend.”




*
*Chapter Ten* Lemon Coffee for Hangovers Part III



< Part 3 >


No. No, it's me. I'm F4. Ha Rim, Nak Kyun, Sun Ki, and me. Not sajangnim.... hey! What are you doing? Why are you trying to take my clothes off? Damn it, I'm telling you, I'm part of F4! Let go! Let go!


“LET GO!” En Chan, who'd jumped up like a frog, opened her sleep-filled eyes and looked around her surroundings. “Where am I? Oh crap! Milk!”


Her knee crashed into the coffee table as she sprang up and knocked over chairs and picked them back up as she whirled around the living room.


“My clothes! My socks! Damn it!”


She ran around, but all she found was her jumper hanging on a clothes hanger.


“I told him to wake me up after two hours!”


“Ya.”


En Chan jumped and looked behind her.


“D-did I wake you up? I didn't mean to.”


“How's your stomach?”


She told herself she should be grateful that he was wearing boxers, at least. This was his territory after all.


“My stomach's fine but my head kind of hurts....”


“Well, you drank after eating like that, so it's no surprise your stomach's doing all right.”


He came out and went into the dining room. Her gaze went to his lean back and hairy legs. And his waist. Damn, how could his waist be so smooth looking?


“I-I gotta go.”


“Wait.”


“No, seriously, I gotta go deliver milk. I'm late—“


He came out holding a cup full of something.


“Drink this.”


“What is it?”


En Chan, who'd taken the cup, took a smell and looked at the color and crinkled her nose.


“Coffee?”


“It's good for hangovers, so drink it up. Drink it up and close the door quietly as you leave. I'm going to go back to sleep.”


Having handed her the cup, he went back into his room. The fragrance and color both said it was coffee, so she couldn't believe that it would be good for hangovers. Still, she thought of him getting up so early in the morning to prepare something for her, so she put it to her lips. It was coffee, but it was very sweet and slightly sour.


After quietly leaving room S11, En Chan took a taxi straight to the milk delivery center. She arrived ten minutes late and went straight to deliveries. By the time she'd finished her deliveries, she was starving.


“Damn, I'm hungry. I should probably go home and eat some breakfast.”


En Chan, who was pedaling her rusty bicycle past Coffee Prince, saw that the light was one. Since it was still before dawn and dark, the light seemed even brighter than usual.


Huh? Did someone already come into work?


She parked her bike next to the store and opened the glass doors, but the door was locked and it did not open. W-was it a thief? No. A thief wouldn't steal with the lights on. Or the door locked. No, no, you never knew. Thieves these days had guts.


She was worrying what she should do when she saw a blonde head appear.


“What!” En Chan pounded on the glass door and called to Ha Rim. Ha Rim, who turned around, was holding a pack of ramen in his hand.


“Hyung! What are you doing here so early?”


“You're one to talk. What are you doing here?”


After entering the store, En Chan looked in surprise at the Styrofoam and blanket that lay on the floor.


“You slept here?”


“Yea, but don't worry about it. Oh, goody. Hyung, I'm hungry, feed me.”


Swept away by a pleading Ha Rim, she found herself taking him to a restaurant.


“Ahjumma, two blood clot stews, please.”


“Give us lots of clot chunks! And rice!”


“What an EnChanstic order.”


“What? What-stic?”


“It's a new word we came up with recently. EnChanstic. EnChanly, EnChanically. The word can be used in a wide range of situations. It can be used to describe the act of shoving as many, more, or as big a thing as you can into a space that couldn't otherwise physically handle it, or not feeling anything even after having bruised and scratched yourself breaking and bumping into everything that lay in a 2 meter radius of yourself.”


“Hey, what's the big idea, making up words like that? Am I really that eccentric? Hey, wouldn't you say that our sajang is stranger than I am?”


En Chan's eyes shone as she snapped her fingers together.


“HanKyulious. Hankyulistic. What do you think this means? It means you're a small-minded cheapskate who looks down on people just because you've got some money, and you act like you're all that and—“


“But he really is all that.”


“Looking good isn't everything. You should be good mentally as well. You just don't know it yet. The man is a real pessimist.”


The soup arrived as she spoke. She turned the rice bowl upside down and mixed it furiously with her spoon. She first tasted the hot broth and then shoveled the cabbage leaves into her mouth.


“Ow, hot!”


“You know, hyung, you look just like a girl, but you eat like a sumo wrestler.”


En Chan, who had ignored him and was tucking in so avidly that she was sweating rain, threw a casual glance at Ha Rim and then ordered another bowl of rice.


“Ahjumma, don't forget to add the radish kimchee!”


After having placed her order, En Chan tried to remember the important thing she had thought to talk about. Oh!


“Yo, it slipped my mind for a while, but you better tell me the truth. Why are you sleeping on the floor of the store? What about your house? Did something happen with your family?”


“Nothing happened. I'm just camping.”


“It's not even summer, don't give me that crap about camping. If you don't tell me the truth straight out, I'm going to tell on you to that small-minded cheapskate.”


“Come on, are you really going to betray me like that?”


“So tell me the truth. We're a family now, eating out of the same rice pot. We should help each other, don't you agree?”


“You're a regular Schweitzer.”


“Don't be a smartass.”


En Chan poured the radish kimchee juice all over the second bowl of rice. She mixed it thoroughly with her spoon as she grilled Ha Rim. He finally said,


“I left home.”


“Why?”


“I just didn't like it.”


“You didn't like what? The wallpaper? The carpeting? You didn't like what?”


“Man, don't grill me like that.”


“So just tell me everything.”


“I left home because my father kept telling me to go to a school I didn't want to go to. It's the same old story. I wanted to go to art school, my father wanted me to go to med school. I got into the art school a few months back, but he wouldn't pay for the tuition. I started working part-time at a construction site, but then I hurt my legs while working. In the six weeks that I hobbled around on crutches, my chances at being able to go to school went bye bye.”


“So that's when you left home?”


“I come and go. It's been, what, two months this time? I have a friend who lives alone, but he recently got a girlfriend, and he keeps dropping hints. That unloyal bastard.”


“Ya, still, you have to come to terms with your father somehow. If you leave home, you're the one who suffers, right? You're cold, you're hungry, you're lonely. You want to be a bum at that age?”


“I'm telling you, there's no way of getting through to my old man. He won't even give me any other alternatives. It's just doctor doctor doctor.”


“What do you want to become?”


“An art director. You know, when you watch a movie, the screen comes to life because of the wallpaper or the small props on the set? When I see that, I feel like an art director is so much cooler than actors or film directors. It gives off the feeling of being a supporting strength without saying too much. Like charisma.”


She'd thought he was just a smiling, senseless airhead, but surprisingly, his answer was clear and direct. En Chan looked at him in a new light.


“Does your father know that you're here?”


“If I tell him that, what's the point of leaving home? You have to go undercover completely without letting on whether you're alive or dead if you want them to realize what a precious son you are.”


“Go undercover? Who do you think you are, Osama bin Laden?!” said En Chan as she smacked Ha Rim's head with her spoon.


“Damn, why are you hitting me? I'm eating here.”


“Oh, right. Go ahead.”


As if to apologize for disrupting his meal, En Chan picked up a precious chunk of clot and put it into his bowl. Watching him smile happily made her feel happy. Is this the feeling mothers felt when they fed their children?


“Wow, I'm full. I'm so full I can't even go back to sleep. Hyung, let's go to the sauna.”


“Huh? Oh... I-I already washed. I took a shower in the morning.”


“You call that face washed?”


“You go by yourself. I have to go sell coffee and go home so I can get ready to come back to work.”


“In that case.”


Ha Rim held out a hand. En Chan paid for the food and emptied her pockets to hand over some money to Ha Rim for the sauna fee. Hearing that Ha Rim was going to be sleeping in the store made her worry. They hadn't known each other for very long, but he already felt like a younger brother to her. She hoped he wasn't going to catch a cold or anything....




*
*Chapter Eleven* This is how our store has changed Part I




< Part 1 >


When you get to the top of the wooden stairs, the first thing that catches your eye is the red mailbox. On the top of a long pole is a mailbox shaped like a little house. Written on the house in white paint is the word, “Hi!”


On either side of the front doors are big glass panes, so if you looked at the store from the front, you could see the entire interior. The lighting is a soft gold and the floors are the color of water. The walls are green. The tables and chairs are coffee colored with thin stripes, and the cushions are ivory colored. There are two tables on either side of the windows, and two more tables by the right wall. All in all, there are six tables. Once you enter the store, you can see the kitchen and the counter; to the left of that is the bathroom, and between the bathroom and the tables is a notebook computer (that used to belong to the sajang) and a mini garden. Not only does the garden feature flowers, but there is also a small fountain with fish and a small wooden boat. On the green blackboard hanging on the wall is today's special menu. Below that are small glass vases for purple narcissus flowers, but the white and black stones inside are not to be mixed. This is because the small-minded cheapskate sajang gets pissy when they are.


They decided to hold a free sampling party on opening day. En Chan and Sun Ki set up a small table in front of the store and offered coffee to the passers by.


“We just opened today. Please come visit us soon!”


Even though En Chan held out the cups with a small, everyone flocked to Sun Ki. It should be a matter of course for the place to be crowded with the sajang's customers on opening day, but there is none of that. People walking by would stand stand in line to get free coffee, but there was no one who was willing to pay to drink it inside. Busy with I-don't-know-what, they all just glance at the sign and pass by.


“I get a bad feeling that this is because we didn't offer sacrifices to the gods,” En Chan muttered, looking at the salarymen and women who had come out for lunchtime. “We need to get these people to become customers. We should've gotten a pig's head and offered spirits to the gods. We should've done the whole stuffing the pig's nose with bills and passing around rice cakes to neighboring business things so that we can draw some attention, you know? As long as we were born Korean, we should follow the traditions of our heritage. Even if he went to school in America. Doesn't he eat kimchee? If he's going to eat kimchee, there's no excuse. Don't you think so?”


Sun Ki didn't reply. He was too busy handing out coffee to the female bank employees and the herd of female high schoolers that En Se had brought with her. According to her, En Se had come to help out with the opening, but all she was doing was sticking right next to Sun Ki. Without a single thought to help her sister. Tsk.


“Man, I'm hungry.”


Right then, a compact car pulled up in front of the store. It was almost embarassing to call the color white, what with all the scratches and the dents. Out of this car came Mr. Ku.


“Tsk tsk, he really should consider getting a new car.”


“Hey, Chan!”


“You came? Wow, you shouldn't have...”


En Chan carried the orchid that Mr. Ku had brought into the store.


“Ahjussi, you have to buy the most expensive thing we have here, ok?”


“Hey, is this the same store as before? It looks nice.”


En Chan put in an order for an iced Mocha Java through the kitchen and went toward Mr. Ku's table.


“You should've gotten your hair done before you came.”


“Why? Does it look funny?”


“Well, not really, but a lot of women come here.”


“Oh!”


Mr. Ku, who'd only just seen the crowded table outside looked regretful.


“Well, it's not like cutting my hair's going to help me with any of those young women. Is that guy your sajang?”


Han Kyul was on the phone by the counter.


“He's a lot younger than I imagined. Looks like the type to throw money around. How old is he anyway?”


“I don't know. Probably not thirty yet.”


“What do these kids grow up eating? They're so tall. Everyone's a celebrity these days. Hey, you doing all right so far? You haven't been found out?”


“Shh!” En Chan's eye, which was looking around nervously, met with Han Kyul's, which was looking in her direction. Feeling a stab, she quickly said in a loud voice,


“Thank you for visiting! We'll do our best!” She bowed at a 90 degree angle and walked away from the table. Han Kyul approached her and said,


“What is this, a Chinese restaurant? Lower your voice.”


“Yes, sir!”


“You little...”


En Chan gave a quick smile and ran toward the door. There, she ran into someone who was walking in.


“Ack!”


She squinted at the person in pain and surprise. She met the eyes of a man who looked quite smart.


“Oh, I'm very sorry. W-welcome.” She returned to her employee manners and greeted him. “I'll show you to your table. This way, please.”


The size of the place didn't warrant her guidance, but keeping her manners, she began to lead him.


“No, it's all right. I don't have much time......” The man trailed off, and looked at her with wide eyes. En Chan recognized him as well and smiled brightly. Until she soon remembered that she should not be glad to see this person. Oh my God! It was the man from before!


“B-bubble.. wrap....” A slight smile rose on the man's face then. En Chan took this to mean that he remembered and recognized her and trembled in fear. This man knew her sex. If he by chance should call her, “miss,” everything would be ruined.


“Hey, how'd you find out?”


“I heard from Grandmother. It's very cozy and nice.”


“It's just a child's game. Sit down.”


Uh oh! He even knew the sajang! En Chan balked and began to back away.


“What's that outside? Did you come here to confess your love to me?”


“Presents on opening day are meant to signify flame-like success.”


“Ha, how so like you, hyung.”


There was a five-tiered flower wreath by the front glass door. A wreath full of bright red roses, nonetheless.


“Hey, Ko En Chan, where's Ha Rim?”


En Chan, who was trying to sneak away, was caught in the act and called.


“I-I don't know. Probably the bathroom.”


“When Ha Rim comes out...” Han Kyul cut his words short and his face suddenly grew bright.


“Han Yu Ju!”



*
*Chapter Eleven* This is how our store has changed Part II



< Part 2 >


A lovely woman was standing by the entrance. She looked splendidly stylish in a purple trench coat. Her waist was willowy and her ankles were slender. Her curled long hair and fresh features made her seem pure and innocent. But En Chan had seen this woman somewhere before as well.


Trying to hide her face somehow, she ran over to Mr. Ku.


“H-how's the coffee?”


“Ya, what's with this unctuous cream?”


“Th-that's what makes it tastes so good.”


While pretending to talk to the ahjussi, En Chan watched the movements around Han Kyul. For some reason, the atmosphere was strange. Han Kyul smiled as happily as someone who'd found money lying on the street, but the bubble wrap man and the woman looked awkward. It seemed as though they knew each other, but their expressions were lukewarm.


“S-so you came too, obba?”


“Yea.”


Han Kyul, as if trying to cover for Han Sung's stiff answer, asked in an un-Han Kyul-likely bright voice,


“How did you find out?”


“I heard from Do Hun.”


“And how did that guy find out, I wonder? I didn't tell any of my friends.”


“Ye Rang knew, too. We were going to come together, but something came up and she couldn't make it. Actually, she had to go to the dentist to pull out her wisdom teeth. She told me not to tell you, though. She said it was embarrassing.”


“Please, don't even mention that girl's name. I don't even want to know.”


“Why? She's cute. She seemed real busy dating these days. Oh, by the way, take this. Congratulations on your opening.”


Yu Ju held out a present box decorated with something like seed pearls.


“Wow, opening day sure is nice. Even Han Yu Ju comes to my door bearing gifts.”


“It's nothing. It's just a wreath. It's a show of my skills—or the lack thereof.”


“Really? Let's take a look, shall we? What does something made with Han Yu Ju's skill look like?”


A red star came out of the present box. It was a star made out of a fruit that looked like cherries.


“Red here, too, huh? For a 'flame-like success'? Looks like the two of you connected today.”


En Chan's gaze followed Han Kyul's movements as he took and hung the wreath on the glass door and smiled, satisfied. The space hadn't seemed empty before, but now that the wreath was there, the it made the area look much prettier and more charming. But for some reason, seeing him smile like that at a woman made her feel bad. What's so hard about making a stupid thing like that?


“Since you're here, you should taste the coffee, at least. Sit down.”


“I've got to go. I have a conference.”


The expression on Yu Ju, who'd been about to sit, went rigid.


“Ooh, I see how to is, Choi Han Sung. The stupid conferences you have night and day are more important than my store's opening day, huh?”


What the hell is that guy talking about? Of course a conference is more important, you stupid sajang.


“Ya, I should go. If I leave the store for too long, I'll lose customers.”


Mr. Ku made started to leave. En Chan, alarmed that her subterfuge was moving, held him down.


“Hey, sit down for a little while longer. It's not like you have a lot of customers anyway.”


“Listen, sonny, just because there aren't a lot of customers, it's no excuse for an owner to be fooling around in a tea house. That'd be the end of it.”


“Tea house? This is Coffee Prince, where coffee princes work.”


“Princes and one maidservant, probably.”


“Ahjussi!”


Startling herself with her own shout, En Chan hardened. The bubble wrap man who'd been on his way out looked her way. En Chan, who'd been breathlessly frozen, stood up abruptly and bowed.


“H-have a good day!”


“God, what a ham.”


En Chan, disregarding Han Kyul's grumbling, skittered out.


“Hey! Where do you think you're going?”


“To hand out free coffee!” En Chan shouted.


She grabbed the bubble wrap man in front of his luxury vehicle which was parked in front of the store.


“Um, excuse me...”


When Han Sung looked at her, she found herself speechless.


“W-wait just a minute. Don't leave, ok?”


En Chan went back to Sun Ki's table, which had quieted down considerably, and poured some coffee into a paper cup. She handed the waiting man the coffee and made a desperate face.


“Please drink this and don't get me into trouble, please?”


“Miss...”


“Shh!!” En Chan hurriedly put her hand over the man's mouth. Her action caused the cup in his hand to sway and coffee spattered on the man's suit.


“Ooh my God, what have I done? I'm so sorry. I'm really very very sorry.”


En Chan pulled her shirt out of her pants waist and began to wipe at the coffee.


“Stop. It's fine.”


“I'm really sorry. I'll pay for your dry cleaning bill.”


“You're the miss I met at Da Soop?”


“Oh, please, don't say that....” En Chan stopped her hand from going back up to the man's mouth and whispered, “Don't call me miss. Right now I'm... well, anyway, I'm in a bit of a situation here, so right now, I'm a man.”


The man knit his eyebrows. Soon, he nodded his head to indicate that he'd understood. She'd thought he looked pretty smart. Guess he was quick on the uptake.


“It's pretty surprising that Han Kyul fell for it. He's got a good eye, that guy.”


“That's probably because when I first met him I was in the middle of a roundhouse kick. Oh! Wait, you were there, weren't you? With that other lady. Oh, now I remember. That lady's the one who almost got mugged, and she's the one who was with you at Da Soop, right?”


“Oh, now I see that you're the scooter boy.”


“Yea! That was me! You thought I was a boy then, right?”


The man nodded his head. He then looked her up and down as if fascinated. En Chan felt a bit shy and blushed.


“You look like a boy right now, too.”


“I've rarely ever looked like a girl....”


“Then I was lucky enough to catch one of those 'rarely''s.”


“Well, lucky's probably not the right word....”


“By 'don't get me into trouble' you mean keep our meeting at Da Soop a secret from Han Kyul, yes?”


“Wow! You really are very smart!”


“Hmm. I'll think about it?”


“E-excuse me?”


Expressionless, the man climbed into his car. En Chan, who'd thought that things were working out pretty good, dumbly gazed at the man as if stabbed in the back. The car window slid down.


“I think it should be a double contract. I have to keep some parts of that night secret too.”


“Oh! I-I won't tell anyone. I didn't see anything. I didn't see you stumbling around drunk, and I didn't see you throw up, either.”


“Well, now.”


The man smiled and left. A double contract, huh? He didn't even shake on it. Damn.




*
*Chapter Eleven* This is how our store has changed Part III




< Part 3 >


The dojo, which had begun to clear out since a week ago, had finally closed its doors yesterday. During the goodbyes, Seung Kyung had cried, and Tae Won had grilled En Chan about when the dojo was goig to open its doors again, and what she was planning to do now. There had even been a small farewell party with the high school and regular session masters. The inside of En Chan's head felt tangled as she ended up having to take the dojo master, who'd gotten drunk off of two beers, back to his home.


“There's no place in this goddamn city for a man to work or to play. If you're going to get old, you got to have money at least, or if you don't have money, don't get old!” This was the dojo master's final farewell.


The morning after sending off someone who'd been like a father to her was gloomy. She'd eaten breakfast and was getting ready to go to work when she heard rustling sounds from the master bedroom. Her mother started as she opened the door.


“Mother!”


“What? Why?”


“What's that?”


En Chan slit her eyes and dug into her mother's side, snatching up a water drop patterned scarf.


“I haven't seen this before. Did you buy it again? What the!”


En Chan, who'd seen the label, began yelling at her mom.


“B-bulga—when did you buy this?!”


“This is just... well, it's spring and...”


“Man! I just don't believe this! You promised me you wouldn't use the credit card again. And now you go and do this again. Where's the receipt? Which department store did you buy this at?”


“I-I didn't buy that, it's—“


“Another present? I'm not falling for it again. I know that you don't have any friends left who'd buy you something like this, so tell me the truth. Where did you buy this?”


Her mother suddenly made a face as if she'd begin sobbing. En Chan began to think maybe she was being too harsh, but hurriedly firmed her stance. If she let it go now, she'd begin to buy handbags and shoes and home appliances, and there'd be no stopping her. Think back to when Dad died. Mom had gone shop-crazy from the loneliness. They hadn't had enough money to afford even a one-room apartment, and still she'd bought everything she'd laid her eyes on. If it hadn't been for their uncle, who had since immigrated to Canada, things would have turned out very badly. Now that even their uncle had gotten sick of them and immigrated to Canada, there was no one left to beg.


“Aren't you being too harsh on me? How can you say such things to your own mother?”


“Even if I'm being too harsh, it can't be helped. Who's going to end up having to pay off all our debts other than me? If you were going to buy this, you could've at the very least asked me before buying it. How could you do this when you know the dojo's was closing down and that times were getting hard? What am I, this family's workhorse?”


En Chan felt a sob coming as well, so she took a deep breath.


“Hand over the card. When did you make a new one anyway?”


“Mr. Ku bought her that,” said En Se, who had come out from the bathroom. “He gave it to her yesterday. You don't even know, so don't overreact.”


“What? Mr. Ku? The butcher?”


“Yea, you dumbass. Does it feel good to rip Mom apart like that so early in the morning? Now that you're making some money, you think you're the shit, huh? You don't even see your own mother who gave birth to you or your own sister, right? Who died and made you God? I can't stand how dirty and cheap you are.”


En Chan's bottom part of her throat went cold and her face got hot. En Chan helplessly looked at her mother.


“M-mom...”


She felt torn apart when her mother replied by turning over onto her side.


“Mom, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Don't get mad, huh? Man, why did I do that? I must not have eaten enough for breakfast. I-I mean, I must have eaten too much. Maybe it's indigestion. Yea, it's probably indigestion. You know I don't get indigestion very often, but when I do, I go crazy and say wild things. You know that, don't you Mommy? Huh?”


“Tsk tsk. Hey, just hand over some cash. I have to go buy study-aids.”


Even after En Se had left, En Chan continued her one-woman show.


“Hey, Mom, here's an idea—why don't you just hit me? Huh? I deserve it. Here. Hit me. Please?”


“How could I hit ever you... There's not one spot on you I'd ever want to hit.”


Whew. Finally, she's not angry anymore.


“There's a lot of spots you could hit. You could hit my belly, you could hit my butt, you could hit my calves, you can hit lots of places—“


Her mother, who'd gotten up abruptly, lightly slapped En Chan's thighs.


“If you ever say you're a workhorse again, I'm really....”


En Chan hurriedly embraced her mother and soothed her.


“Ok, ok. I won't ever do it again. If I do it again, I'm not Ko En Chan, I'll be Low En Chan, ok? Don't be mad, Mommy. Don't be mad.”


She'd finally managed to get a smile from her mother, but something felt off when she left the house. Why would butcher Ku buy her mother such an expensive gift? Did he want to ask me a favor or something?




*
*Chapter Eleven* This is how our store has changed Part IV




< Part 4 >


It was a day warm enough to merit the highest recorded temperature in 30 years. The weather was beautiful as if summer, not spring, had come. The sun, the wind, the flowers, everything was beautiful—but there was nothing to do. Mr. Hong, in his kitchen, Ha Rim under the parasol outside the store, Sun Ki in a chair in the farthest corner of the room, everyone was d.o.z.i.n.g.o.f.f. !


“Hey, Nak Kyun.”


“Yes?”


“When was the last time we had a customer?”


“Fourteen hours ago.”


“Ah. I see.”


Standing in the doorway, En Chan snickered at Ha Rim, who had been woken up by a car's horn. Ha Rim yawned as he made his way to her.


“My entire body feels heavy. There's not a single place that isn't sore.”


En Chan, wary of what lay behind her, said in a low voice,


“Don't you miss a warm room and a soft, comfortable bed? Not everyone can be a bum. Go home already.”


“Why couldn't it have been soft sofas? What's with the wooden chairs, huh? Damn. Oh man, I feel like going to the sauna.”


“You talk about going to th sauna every day. You sound like a middle-aged man.”


“Hey, hyung. You up for a game of basketball?”


“Why basketball all of a sudden?”


“There's a court right around here. Let's go play for 30 minutes. We can wake ourselves up and lunch will taste even better. Well, it always tastes good for you, though, huh, hyung? What do you think?”


“It's working hours... What if the sajang comes?”


“We can just say we went to the market.”


“Shall we?”


En Chan felt pretty heavy herself, not to mention depressed from having said such terrible things to her mother in the morning.


“You think it'd be all right for us to leave Mr. Hong here?”


“Well, either Sun Ki hyung or Nak Kyun should stay behind, since you're no match for me.”


En Chan raised her eyebrow and shot Ha Rim a look.


“And why not?”


“Think about the difference in our muscle makeup. You're all flab, hyung. You don't work out, do you?”


“What do you take me for, huh? As a matter of fact, I... forget it. Victory doesn't come from words. Let's bet on it.”


“What? Really?”


“Yea. Let's bet lunch.”


“Man, you and your food. Beer and karaoke.”


“Fine.”


And so En Chan put her pride on the line and went to play basketball with Ha Rim. When they got to the courts, a few male students had just finished their game and was about to head back. En Chan borrowed their ball and began a one-on-one game with Ha Rim. En Chan had been good enough in basketball to have been chosen as a representative back in middle school. Of course, that had been among girls.


“Hey, you've got some skills.”


“You little brat, you making fun of your hyung? You just prepare to pay up.”


En Chan dribbled low to get past Ha Rim's defense and made a basket. Ha Rim's legs were long, and he strode across the basketball court. Before she knew it, he'd whipped past her and jump shot! Young men really are pretty quick, thought En Chan. Right then, a motorcycle approached the courts. En Chan, who'd bent down in preparation to shoot, straighten her back to look at the motorcycle.


“What? It's that kid again.”


The punk from the land of the crows. Everytime she'd just about forgotten about him, he showed up.


Huh. I might just get attached to this punk.


“Hey, it's good you're here. You, be on my team.”


“Hyung, that's not fair.”


“I'm getting old. I'm going to sit down and take a breather, so you play against this kid,” said En Chan to a protesting Ha Rim before tapping the punk's arm.


“Hey. You. You play ball? You're playing in my stead, so do a good job. I've got a bet riding on this game. All right?”


“Who said I was here to play basketball?! This time, let's go at it, fist against fist, bitch!”


“Bitch nothing. If you don't play ball, I won't fight you.”


“What, you little asshole!”


En Chan pushed the outraged punk's chest away with her fingertips.


“I hear you're not even chasing after En Se anymore. I hear you have a new girlfiend. Did I hear wrong?”


“Th-th is has nothing to do with En Se.”


“So why do I have to fight you, huh? Not to mention, you've lost to me twice already. If you want to fight a champion, you've got to prove you're worth it. Kind of like a player's fee. Don't you agree?”


She forcefully pulled the kid's arm and handed him the basketball.


“Hey, you can't lose, all right? This is a man-to-man battle with pride riding on the line. Step all over that slimy blonde, ok?”


She pushed him and was walking away when suddenly something struck her behind the head.


“Ow!”







Who the hell! was what she didn't say as she turned around, and good that she didn't, either. The sajang was standing with his legs apart. He looked fantastic, as usual. Black pants and black shirt, and a grey jacket on top. He didn't wear a tie, and three of his shirt buttons were turned loose.


“What a Hankyulistic look.”


“What the hell are you saying, you moron! Hey kid, if you wanted to goof off, you should've gone off on your own. Why'd you lure Ha Rim to play hooky with you?!”


“There weren't any customers, and...”


“If there aren't any customers, you should've gone out and dragged them in. You've got a long way to go, kid, a long long way.”


“Hey, come on, don't be like that. Why don't you join us for a game?”


“What? What the hell are you—don't you smile at me, kid.”


“Just 30 minutes. If you play, I'll stand on the side of the road and display my killer smile while dancing like an idiot.”


“What? Dance like an idiot on the side of the road? Ha. Sounds amusing. You swear it?”


“Well, not for nothing. The loser has to. Ok?”


“Ok. You're dead.”


Han Kyul rolled up his sleeves. Why were men so damn simple?


“Who's that punk?”


“He's En Chan hyung's partner. You and I are a team, sajangnim.”


Han Kyul knit his eyebrows and stared at the punk from the land of crows. En Chan felt a sudden stab and so she took the ball and began to dribble it.


“The game has started!”


Simple-minded Han Kyul forgot about the mugger and focused on the game. The mugger boy forgot about the duel and focused on the game. The game went on past 30 minutes, and En Chan sweat until even her underclothes were soaked. I guess it's about time I go eat some dog soup. Man, all this precious soup sweating out of me!




En Chan dropped to the floor, exhausted. Breathing raggedly, she yelled, irritated,


“Aaaarggggh!!!”


How could this happen?! She'd! Lost!


“Ha, ha, you gonna dance,” said Han Kyul, who was breathing shallowly.


“Earragggh!!”


She flopped onto the ground, arms and legs splayed apart. Right then she heard the sound of a motorcycle. En Chan, who'd sat right back up, saw that the punk from the land of crows was getting farther and farther away.


“Hey! You running away?!”


Good game. See you later. How hard was that to say? Did losing hurt his pride? That kid's getting pretty cute, ey?


“Ya! Ya!”


The sajang rushed up in her face. She flinched at his threatening expression.


“That punk! That's punk's that punk, isn't he?!”


Uh oh.


“Wh-who? I-I don't know what you're talking about—ohhh hey! Ha Rim! You going to wash off? Let's go together.”


En Chan jumped up and ran like lightning. She even passed Ha Rim and arrived at the faucet ahead of him. She turned on the tap and shoved her head under the water.


“What's wrong with sajangnim?” asked Ha Rim, watching the sajang approach. En Chan, who could see the sajang through her spread apart legs, sent up a prayer.


Dear God, please shower down the potion of forgetfulness. Please erase that punk's face from our sajangnim's head. Please.


Having reached En Chan's side, Han Kyul turned on the water and washed his face. When he saw that En Chan, who was bowing her head, hadn't moved, he simply said,


“Stop it. You'll catch a cold.”


She washed her face and wrung out her hair. The water kept dripping and soaked even her outer clothes.


Oh shit! I can't get my clothes wet!


After landing the job in the store, she'd began wrapping her chest with a large bandage, as a precaution, but if her shirt got wet, even that was sure to show. En Chan didn't know what else to do, so she remained with her head bowed over the sink, water dripping off of her. Right then, a handkerchief appeared before her eyes.


“If you couldn't handle it, what'd you wash your hair for? You always act first and think later, don't you? You airhead. You want to be called a no-brain in addition to being called a parasite?”


The handkerchief was way too small to even think about drying her hair off with it, but even so, she was extremely touched. She used the handkerchief to wipe off some of the water and stood up. She heard Ha Rim snickering from her side.


“Ooh, even sexier when he's wet! Very 'EnChanting.” I'm going to have to add this one. A man who oozes enough sex appeal to even melt other men.”


“Ya! Sh-shut up! Whose fault do you think this is?”


“Aw man, if you were going to take the blame for it, you should've just taken it all the way. Sajangnim, I'm very sorry. Playing basketball was my idea. But hey, you got to move around for the first time in a while, right? Wow, you had mad skills back there! Those amazing assists especially were the best. I bow down to you.”


“Let's go. We've got ourselves a dance to watch.”


Before walking away, Han Kyul put his hand out toward En Chan. It was just a moment, but his hand touched her chin before falling away. It was an action intended to wipe away a drop of water, but something was strange. En Chan stopped short, her hand holding the handkerchief still up by her hair.


Why did he wipe it off? It's my chin. But my heart, my heart is racing. It's been pumping just fine for 24 years, but I've never heard it make this kind of sound before. She could hear the sound ringing through the inside of her ear.


Thump thump, thump thump, thump thump, thump thump.