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Episode 9
Aside from friends from his hometown, Yoon Yeon-woo had almost no one he could call a friend.
If he had to name any, it would be maybe a military buddy living in Bucheon?
So on his days off from work, he usually stayed home watching movies or reading web novels.
That was all there was to do.
Still, sometimes, his friends would come up to visit.
He didn’t show it off, but to be honest, he felt happy on those days.
He’d feel inexplicably happy, his drinks would taste a bit more special, and he’d find himself wishing those country bumpkins would stay a little longer.
The first time they came, watching them struggle with the subway and buses was hilarious.
They were amazed by the rotating (?) doors opening.
They said even compared to the cities they knew like Gwangju, Mokpo, or Yeosu, there were so many more people here, and they once got lost together at some station.
When they parted, he acted cool, as if he was just seeing them off, but he actually felt a bit sad.
That’s how special they were to Yoon Yeon-woo.
They were a bit lacking, so they still hadn’t managed to get married or have proper relationships.
But he wasn’t in a position to talk about others, so he didn’t bring it up.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah? What kind of ‘yeah’ is that? Where are you? Finally up?”
It was Jang Hoe-cheon’s voice.
“Yeah.”
“Huh? Were you turned into a fish in your dream, you fish?”
“What kind of joke is that?”
“No, so have you eaten? If not, wanna meet up with the guys? I asked Seung-tae, he said he can’t on weekends because of freelance work. Turns out Yuna came down too.”
It seemed the weekend plan had been moved up. Couldn’t be helped.
“I just made stir-fried pork. Well, it’s fine. I’ll come out.”
“Yeah, come out then. I’ll pick you up in the car.”
Click. The call ended.
You’d think he’d get mad if you just kept saying “yeah,” but Jang Hoe-cheon wasn’t like that.
He had used up all his anger back in their school days.
It was the kind of behavior only possible because they were best friends.
“Hmm… then what should I do with this?”
He first took the stir-fried pork out of the pan and put it in a bowl.
He placed a perfectly fitting silicone cover on top to keep it warm.
[It’s stir-fried pork. Enjoy your meal.]
“This should do it.”
After sticking the yellow Post-it note with that written on it, he grabbed his outerwear and went outside.
I hope you enjoy it.
Outside, a car was waiting in front. Anyone could tell it was Jang Hoe-cheon’s car.
“What’s this, isn’t this your dream car you’ve wanted since you were a kid?”
“Yeah.”
The guy giving a one-word answer, just like Yeon-woo did earlier.
Seems he’s trying to get even. He learns fast, but he’s still clumsy.
His demeanor was completely different from the one he showed in society, but Yoon Yeon-woo was absolutely committed to teasing his friend.
“Was it a Trans■former? This car, you always said you wanted that yellow car from the movies since you were little.”
“Yeah…”
“What was the name of that car again…”
There’s a method for times like this.
Bring up a topic the other person can’t resist talking about.
Especially something they like.
“Ca, Ca…”
Gulp.
Jang Hoe-cheon swallowed dryly, looking frustrated.
Kaiser, or something?”
“Ah! Ka■ro! Ka■ro, Inma!”
Once he got the name wrong, the guy got angry.
“Right! Kamiro!”
“It’s Car, you bastard!”
Kikki.
Yeon-woo laughed, and Jang Hoe-cheon finally realized his intention and let out a deep sigh.
“I should’ve known. Ugh! Just get in.”
As if admitting defeat, he raised both hands and beep! opened the door. Then, like wings, the door rose upwards.
Impressive.
The flashy yellow body was sleek and well-proportioned.
The long black accent on the hood was beautiful.
Ho oh—
The sound escaped me without realizing. I looked it over.
The tires were full of moisture as if it had just been washed.
Did you clean it until it sparkled because you wanted to show off?
Well then, I can’t just obediently be impressed.
“Wow, was it a plane? Can it flap like a bird?”
A sudden, irrelevant comment.
As if expecting it, the guy also answered nonchalantly.
“I told you not to be such a country bumpkin. It’s a helicopter, man.”
“No, that doesn’t make sense.”
“Ah, screw it. Let’s just go.”
Endless teasing and selective seriousness.
Yoon Yeon-woo got into his friend’s dream car, the Caro, and headed to where Park Seung-tae was.
‘It’s quieter than I thought.’
I thought it might be too loud for the countryside, but it seemed like it had been tuned to not be noisy.
It was good that there was no popcorn-popping sound.
What do friends usually do when they all get together?
There are typically three scenarios.
They get together and drink.
They drink and go to a PC bang.
Or they drink and go play pool or bowling.
So it’s all about drinking in the end, right?
Well, are women any different?
I don’t know well, but since people live similarly, it’s probably about the same.
Anyway, when friends gather, that many stories tend to burst out.
One guy did just that.
Actually, the gender is female, so not a ‘guy,’ but…
“That son of a bitch!”
This one, no matter how you look at it, is a ‘guy.’
” Yoon-ah, your swearing is getting worse the more I see you?”
“What are you talking about, I was holding back in front of you guys.”
“Yeah, but for holding back… you were pretty rough even back in our school days?”
– XX!
– Mouth, moment of silence.
– What a X, seriously!
Etc. I still remember the famous quotes left by Jo Yoon-ah.
Holding back?
That’s even more shocking.
“No! But that bastard stole my project! That son of a bitch!”
“That guy is a complete lowlife!”
Usually, Jang Hoe-cheon played the role of stopping Jo Yoon-ah explosions.
It was the same now.
“How have you guys not changed a single bit?”
“I haven’t changed a ‘tole’ (at all).”
“Seung-tae, you’ve changed too much…”
My mind reeled from the fundamentally flawed Korean-Japanese mix.
Park Seung-tae.
Ever since he was interested in Japanese, he majored in Japanese language in college. After getting a job in the publishing industry and going through various things, he now works freelance as a Japanese translator.
This friend was the type who often stayed holed up at home even in the past.
So even when Yeon-woo called, he didn’t come up often.
He’d occasionally appear on messaging apps recommending anime for the season or light novels.
Since guys usually don’t call or message much except in group chats, I didn’t know, but this guy…
“Jettaini (Absolutely) not, though?”
Not only had his speech changed, but he had also shaved his head completely.
He’d gained a little weight too.
Still, he used to have a decent face, but…
To anyone else, he looked like a private first class enlisting tomorrow.
Since he already completed his military service, was he planning to become a non-commissioned officer or something?
“Hey, what’s with your hair?”
“Ah, I cut it because it was annoying. (Why)?”
“It was pretty severe hair loss, so I shaved it. I shaved it for him.”
“…”
Jang Hoe-cheon cut in and explained bluntly, while Park Seung-tae remained silent.
“So you lost your mind over it?”
Back in their school days, this guy had a phrase he always lived by:
– I have more hair follicles than you guys, so I’ll absolutely never go bald, you jerks~. Especially you, Yeon-woo, take special care of it! Man!
Especially pointing me out.
But that same guy was the first to go bald and shave his head?
This is clearly…
A request to be teased, right?
Still, you can’t do that to a friend who’s clearly hurt.
“Hang in there.”
Pat pat.
Huh? I tried to put my hand on his shoulder, but it slipped.
I had no choice but to stroke Park Seung-tae’s rough head (How can hair be like this?).
It felt like the sensation two days after not shaving.
Seeing that, Poof! Jo Yoon-ah,, who had been cursing her former boss, burst out.
“Hahaha!”
Then she tried to hold back her laughter, her lips quivering.
“Huh, (Don’t make me laugh)…”
“Ah! It’s been a while since I laughed so hard. Anyway, I quit because I hated that bastard, but why did you come down, oppa? Weren’t you doing pretty well?”
Seemed like they were getting to the main point.
Jo Yoon-ah asked while chewing on dried squid dipped in sauce.
Then the playful gazes of the guys turned to Yeon-woo.
“I just got tired and wanted to rest a bit. And something I wanted to do came up. Ah, is it ‘work’? More like a hobby, maybe.”
They nodded briefly at the word ‘tired,’ but at the words ‘something I wanted to do,’ the eyes of all three widened simultaneously.
“Oh? Oppa found that?”
“Wow! Finally found it, you jerk!
(Really)?”
“Yeah, I found it.”
Feeling awkward, Yeon-woo laughed softly, “Ahaha,” and emptied his glass.
“Then you should’ve said so sooner!”
Thump!
Jang Hoe-cheon grabbed his shoulders and shook him vigorously.
He seemed pleased.
“Seriously. You should’ve told us something like that earlier.”
“Hey! My, my concept is ruined!”
“Huh?”
My head was shaking so much I could barely speak.
“Oh, I’m curious. What is it?”
Slap!
As if finding him bothersome, Jo Yoon-ah roughly slapped away Jang Hoe-cheon’s hands.
Then she looked straight into Yeon-woo’s eyes, now freed from his grasp, and asked.
“It’s just something simple. I’m thinking of trying cooking.”
“Huh? Cooking? That’s simpler than I thought, isn’t it?”
I didn’t expect the word ‘cooking’ to come out.
“Cooking is good. It’s a skill you can use for life. That’s a relief. To be honest, I was curious but also a little worried about what would happen to you, oppa.”
Usually, if you have nothing you want to do, you lack vitality for life.
In extreme cases, people leave the world early.
She was worried about that.
What a relief.
Brushing off her chest, Jo Yoon-ah smiled, and this time Jang Hoe-cheon asked.
“So, are you going to live at your parents’ house and study cooking now?”
“No, not that. You know the countryside house our grandfather used to live in, where we often played as kids? I decided to live there.”
“What?!”
“No, you said your concept was ruined.”
“Ah,(sorry).”
Was it really your concept?
Anyway, he continued.
“So I went to see the countryside house earlier. There were some things that needed fixing.”
“Ah, right. It was already an old building when we went as kids. So you’re remodeling it? That’ll cost quite a bit.”
It was an interesting topic.
Now that they were all at that age, they were starting to get a little interested in land or buildings.
Especially since a guy they thought would live up in the city forever suddenly returned to his hometown to remodel a countryside house—they couldn’t not be interested.
“Well, I have enough money to remodel, rest, and play for a bit.”
“Right, it’s time for you to rest too, oppa. If you miss the timing to rest, you might end up working all the time without properly resting.”
Jo Yoon-ah smiled faintly.
Looking at her, I suddenly thought of her older brother, Jo Hyun-jun
“By the way, when did that guy get married? Did you guys know?”
“They didn’t have a wedding because it costs too much, and he said he really didn’t want to lose that older sister … or something like that. Anyway, yeah.”
The corner of Jo Yoon-ah’s mouth, which had been smiling, drooped slightly.
She seemed to not want to talk about it more.
“Oh, right! Oppa, since we’re all together after so long, how about trying the band again?”
Then, instantly changing her expression, Jo Yoon-ah’s asked.
Band? An unexpected word.
