Love Me More

Chapter 10

Si-yul’s body ached from walking all day. He stood under hot water for a while before finishing his shower and coming out. Kwon Yuwon’s condition was exactly the same as when Si-yul had left the room. He had probably spent the entire day lying there, wrapped in his blanket like a cocoon, without eating anything. Even without watching him, it was painfully obvious.

When Si-yul sat nearby and turned on the fan, Yuwon peeked out with just his head and looked at him. His eyes were lifeless. Well, how could he have any energy when there was nothing in his stomach? Si-yul clicked his tongue and smacked Yuwon’s bottom loudly, like a mother in a drama, then took out triangle kimbap and cup noodles from his bag. He had bought them by sacrificing his bus fare and overworking his legs.

“Eat this.”

“I don’t have an appetite…”

“Eat anyway. You need to eat to live.”

Si-yul unwrapped the triangle kimbap himself and held it to Yuwon’s mouth. With a reluctant expression, he opened his mouth and took a bite. Si-yul then put the kimbap in Yuwon’s hand. Only then did he chew and swallow, munching slowly.

“Yuwon, I found a job.”

Yuwon suddenly raised his head, stopping mid-bite. He stared at Si-yul with wide eyes, as if he had heard something unbelievable.

“Why are you working?! Just wait a little longer…”

As he shouted with food in his mouth, rice grains flew everywhere, sticking to Si-yul’s cheek. Si-yul covered Yuwon’s mouth with one hand and removed the rice grains with the other.

“I’m not quitting the delivery job completely. I just got this to put out the urgent fire. We don’t know when they’ll take us back, so we can’t just sit around sucking our thumbs.”

“But still… You know. No matter how much you work, you won’t earn as much as we did with deliveries.”

Yuwon’s voice dropped, dejected. The hand holding the kimbap fell limp. Si-yul shrugged and poured bottled water into the kettle.

“It’s just temporary. Until we can do deliveries again.”

He omitted mentioning that he had to repay Woo Hyun-se or that the scary man had introduced him to the job. If he told Yuwon, he could already see him shaking Si-yul vigorously, making a fuss about how he couldn’t trust anyone in the world but Si-yul, and demanding that he quit immediately.

“Where are you working?”

“A bar. Just as a waiter. It’s not what you’re imagining. They just sell drinks, legitimately. There’s even a stage and a piano.”

As Yuwon was about to start nagging again, Si-yul quickly cut him off. Yuwon still didn’t seem convinced. When was he ever? Si-yul had always been someone Yuwon couldn’t fully trust.

“It’s true. If you don’t believe me, come and see for yourself later.”

Yuwon grumbled, seemingly unsatisfied with Si-yul working, and curled up like a caterpillar, burrowing into his blanket again. It’s all my fault, because I couldn’t handle things properly, now Si-yul is suffering the consequences, I’m the most useless trash in the world… He seemed ready to dig all the way to the other side of the Earth.

Thinking he should stop this at some point, Si-yul flopped his body onto the bulging blanket. A long, muffled groan came from under the heavy weight.

“You’re heavy…”

“Kwon Yuwon, I can’t live without you.”

“…”

“So stop saying weird things and let’s eat ramen. The water’s boiling.”

Right on cue, the kettle whistled. As Si-yul got up, Yuwon remained curled up for a while before slowly rising. He might have cried a bit in the meantime, as the whites of his eyes visible through the blanket covering his head were tinged with red.

“I’ll wash up before eating.”

“Good thing I didn’t add water yet. Go wash up. Let’s eat together.”

Finally seeming to come to his senses, Yuwon nodded and staggered to the bathroom. Si-yul turned on the TV while waiting for Yuwon to come out. A drama he had left unfinished before was on, so he left it on that channel and unwrapped the cup noodles.

A buzzing phone vibration cut through the drama dialogue. Wondering who would be calling at this hour, Si-yul quickly picked up his phone. Seeing the name on the screen, he gasped and swiftly swiped to reject the call.

It was Woo Hyun-se. Why was this guy calling again? Si-yul looked towards the bathroom, pressing down on his pounding heart as if he had committed a crime. There was no reaction; Yuwon hadn’t heard. If it had been a ringtone, Yuwon would surely have poked his head out of the bathroom and asked who it was.

“I’m going out for a bit!”

“Where are you going?”

“Just to buy something to drink!”

Si-yul jumped up, hastily shoved his feet into his sneakers, and left the inn. It was a narrow alley dimly lit by streetlights and the neon sign of the inn. He turned the ringtone volume down low and held the phone up to eye level. Though he didn’t know Woo Hyun-se well, he had a strong feeling he would call again.

Sure enough, the screen lit up with that name. Si-yul hurriedly left the alley and turned onto the main street. Only then did he press the answer button.

“Hello?”

“Why do you always not answer the first call?”

Woo Hyun-se never greeted properly. He went straight to the point, bluntly. He’d never make it as a pitcher. He’d throw nothing but fastballs, no breaking balls or anything else.

“I was about to answer, but it got cut off.”

“How was the interview?”

“It ended quickly. The manager told me to start tomorrow.”

“Does the job seem doable?”

Before he knew it, Si-yul had arrived in front of a convenience store. He sat on a chair and pressed the phone close to his ear. Maybe because it was night, the sound was stronger. As before, talking with Woo Hyun-se felt like dropping a pebble into a puddle, with the ripples reaching even his other ear. Si-yul fiddled with his earlobe, feeling ticklish.

“I haven’t tried it yet… But why are you asking about this?”

“I introduced you to the job, so of course I should ask. If there’s something wrong with you, it’ll reflect badly on me.”

“You could have asked by text…”

“Too bothersome.”

Si-yul, on the contrary, was more comfortable with texting. Except for Yuwon, trying to call anyone else made his palms sweat. Even now, his palm was getting moist, so he switched the phone to his other hand and rubbed his empty hand on his thigh.

“Work hard. You have to pay back the money.”

“Then, should I give you my entire first paycheck?”

“Well…”

“Um… Could you let me pay in installments?”

At the very least, he and Yuwon needed to feed themselves. Despite his desperate plea, all he got in response was a soft chuckle.

“We’ll see how you do.”

“Yes…”

What more could he hope for? After Si-yul’s dejected response, the other end left only a lingering laugh before hanging up. There was no greeting when answering or any indication of ending the call. Muttering about what an arbitrary person he was, Si-yul trudged into the convenience store.

Thinking he needed to buy something to avoid arousing Yuwon’s suspicion, he chose a cheap drink that came with a buy-one-get-one-free deal. As he placed it on the counter, a ‘ding-dong’ notification sound arrived. Assuming it was Yuwon asking where he was and urging him to come back quickly, he tapped the notification.

[6-month installment plan. Interest included]

At first, he thought it was spam. Then he saw the name at the top. The name Woo Hyun-se had saved for himself was just “Woo Hyun-se,” and the profile picture was the default. Despite having met only a handful of times, his personality was evident even in his profile.

Si-yul’s lips twitched into a smile. Before he could reply asking why not make it interest-free while he was at it, the clerk waiting at the counter scanned the barcode. The beep brought him back to his senses, and he finished paying first.

[Thank you]

[But isn’t 6 months interest-free standard these days?]

[And could you possibly change it to 24 months?]

Though he sent the replies diligently after leaving the convenience store, the number 1 next to the chat didn’t disappear immediately. Si-yul put the drinks in his hoodie pocket, which was like a kangaroo pouch, and walked briskly. His lips kept curling up into a smile, and as he thought about it quietly, he realized this person was quite unique.

At first, he was scared. He thought he was going to die. The second and third meetings weren’t particularly pleasant either. On top of that, even though Si-yul was barely scraping by, the man demanded repayment. Giving him a job like giving medicine after causing an illness.

And yet.

“How strange.”

Si-yul’s head tilted this way and that. Perhaps the strange one wasn’t Woo Hyun-se, but himself. Although he was still frightening and inscrutable, Si-yul no longer felt the same aversion as before. Rather, his assessment kept leaning towards the possibility that he might actually be an okay person.

* * *

The work at the bar wasn’t difficult. There was some struggle at first having to memorize the menu, but his brain wasn’t too bad, and he quickly became familiar with it. Although he still felt dizzy sometimes looking at the list of foreign liquors that twisted his tongue, there hadn’t been any major mistakes in the past few days.

It was a good workplace. People were kind, and above all, there was no workplace hierarchy bullying. Compared to when he worked at a restaurant before, where he endured all sorts of mistreatment before quitting, this place was like heaven. Moreover, they provided dinner. Chef Park, who worked in the kitchen, had an excellent knack for fattening people up.

Si-yul’s job was simple. Sweeping, cleaning, taking orders, inputting orders, serving food, and when the kitchen was busy, he helped with kitchen assistant work too. It was minor tasks anyone could do, like preparing herbs or washing dishes.

His body was much more tired than when he was doing deliveries, but his mind was at ease. He wasn’t being chased or worried about getting caught. After all, it was a legal job. If possible, Si-yul wanted to work here for a long time. Although Yuwon would squint his eyes or sulk every time Si-yul left for work.

Today, perhaps because it was a weekday and it was raining, there weren’t many customers. Even the one table they had just left. As the hall emptied, the piano melody abruptly stopped. Yang Hye-na, who had just taken her hands off the keys, stretched her arms high above her head with a long yawn. She even added a groaning sound, “Ughh.”

“It’s quiet today.”

“Must be because of the rain.”

It was a shame, as the sound of rain had blended well with the piano melody. Si-yul cleared the messy table and came back. Hye-na had already moved to the bar and was chatting and playing with the bartender. The manager, who had been leaning on the counter with her elbows, hunched over, looked around the empty hall and approached the bar.

“Yeah. Check the weather forecast. When is the rain supposed to stop?”

“I checked earlier, and it said it would stop around dawn.”

The bartender quickly answered while wiping water off a glass. Si-yul finished organizing the dishes and came out. The rain pouring outside had gotten heavier since he came to work, with no signs of letting up. The force with which it hit the windows was fierce; how many customers would brave this downpour to come? It seemed like business for the day was over.

“Should we just close early?”

The manager scratched her chin and rolled her eyes. Chef Park, who had been preparing ingredients in the kitchen, suddenly poked his head out. His usually stern eyes sparkled like a child’s at the possibility of leaving work early.

“Are we leaving early today?”

“I’m thinking about it… It doesn’t look like any more customers will come.”

Everyone started to get excited at the prospect of leaving early. Si-yul was no exception. As he stared at the manager’s face, eagerly awaiting her decision, the bell on the door jingled. Everyone’s gaze turned towards the door, wondering who could be shattering their hopes.