* * *
“Who the heck is that?”
The owner asked curiously. I frowned while cleaning the table.
“He’s your friend, right, Hyunoh?”
“No.”
“He talks to you often. He’s been coming to the barbecue shop for about a week now, hasn’t he? What’s up with that? I don’t mind since it’s good for business, but still.”
“I don’t know.”
I didn’t want to know. What did I care about Kim Chanyi’s intentions?
I wished someone would just get him out of my sight.
Kim Chanyi came to our shop every day just before closing time.
He always came alone but ordered enough for two.
He would eat it all and leave quietly.
At first, he would occasionally talk to me.
“Hyunoh, do you work here every day? Hyunoh, do you live nearby? Hyunoh, Hyunoh, Hyunoh….”
Eventually, I exploded.
I told him that if he spoke to me again, I would shove a mop in his face.
I also said that if he apologized one more time, I’d kill him.
Kim Chanyi started to say “So—” but clamped his mouth shut.
His eyes, resembling a rabbit’s, wavered.
His face might have inspired a protective instinct in others, but it made me want to hit him over the head with a raw carrot.
Since then, Kim Chanyi just watched me without speaking.
Whenever our eyes met, he would quickly look away and pretend to eat his meat.
I felt like a monkey in a zoo.
Closing time was approaching.
He must be tired of eating the same dish every day.
I approached Kim Chanyi, who was eating galbi again, and said,
“It’s closing time.”
“Oh, sorry. The meat is delicious. I’ll leave now.”
He must be crazy.
What was he even doing?
Was he trying to play a joke on me?
Kim Chanyi got up and went to the counter.
The owner told me to handle the payment since he was busy in the kitchen.
I accepted Kim Chanyi’s card with a sour expression.
He popped a peppermint candy into his mouth.
“Do you need a receipt?”
“No, throw it away.”
“Here you go.”
With an unfriendly expression, I handed his card back.
“Goodbye.”
Kim Chanyi bowed his head slightly.
I felt a surge of anger.
Unable to hold back, I shouted at his retreating back.
“Hey. How long are you going to keep this up?”
Kim Chanyi flinched in surprise and turned to look at me, his face turning red in an instant.
“Are you protesting because I didn’t give you my number?”
“No, it’s not that….”
“Then what is it?”
“The meat is delicious.”
Kim Chanyi tightly gripped the strap of his crossbody bag.
“Do you have a death wish?”
My raised voice made the owner peek out from the kitchen.
“Hyunoh. Take it outside if you’re going to fight. There are still customers here.”
“Ah, sorry. You, come with me.”
I walked out briskly, with Kim Chanyi trailing behind.
The humid early summer night air was thick.
I didn’t smoke, but at that moment, I understood why people did.
“Explain why you keep coming here.”
“Well then…”
Kim Chanyi looked at me with a face as red as a beet. I avoided his gaze.
“Because I wanted to see you.”
“Who exactly? The boss? No way. She’s married. Yoon Ah? Yoon Ah has a boyfriend.”
“No, it’s not that.”
“Then what?”
“You.”
“What did you say?”
What the hell is he talking about?
My eyebrows furrowed involuntarily.
Kim Chanyi spoke in a shy voice.
“Hyunoh, I come because I want to see you.”
I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
I didn’t know how to respond.
I couldn’t understand what Kim Chanyi was saying.
Is this guy really crazy?
“Did I bully you a lot in high school? Sorry, but I don’t really remember.”
“Huh? No, you didn’t.”
“Are you holding a grudge and trying to mess with me now?”
“What are you talking about? You were so kind to me, Hyunoh.”
Right, I used to be a decent person in high school.
“There was no one as nice as you in our class.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
“I’m just so happy to see you again. I didn’t know it would make you so uncomfortable. But now I won’t even talk to you…”
“But you keep staring at me.”
Kim Chanyi flinched and opened his eyes wide.
His eyes were so big and clear, it looked like they might just pop out.
“I did that? I didn’t realize. Sorry.”
“So stop coming. Got it?”
By now, Kim Chanyi should back off.
“But, Hyunoh.”
“What, why.”
“I still want to come see you.”
This is unbelievable.
“Why have you become like this?”
Where did that gentle and soft Kim Chanyi go?
“No matter how much I try, it seems like you don’t want to get close to me. So isn’t it more reasonable for me to do what I want? Besides, I’m also helping increase the shop’s sales.”
“You crazy bastard…”
The words in my mind slipped out.
“Sorry. I won’t even look at you anymore. I’ll just eat the meat and leave.”
“Get lost.”
I turned around and went back into the shop.
I tried to recall high school, something I had intentionally forgotten.
Was Kim Chanyi this stubborn back then?
He was a bit peculiar, I think.
People used to call him an otaku.
I don’t remember well.
He was always buried in something at his desk during breaks.
I slumped into a chair and let out a deep sigh.
The boss peeked in and asked.
“What is it? Why does he come every day?”
I stared blankly at the boss.
“He says the meat here is delicious…”
“Ah, I see.”
The boss shrugged.
* * *
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