NOTICE: Please, PLEASE. If you happen to come across an error (whether it's spelling, grammar, etc...) or if there is something you don't understand (whether it's the plot or character POVs) please let me know. I will gladly be making corrections and clarifying any mishaps. Ofc, I am only human, so I can't truly see every little mistake I make, so I would appreciate it if you did point it out, thanks!
-
Blue moon.
A pub with a quiet atmosphere. It was the first pub with this sort of atmosphere that Jaewoo had ever been to. If it had been the him in his previous life, he might have hesitated at the entrance and returned. He didn't like this kind of atmosphere. He preferred a more affordable, boisterous bar.
Jaewoo took a deep breath and went inside. The interior wasn't very big. There was a long bar and a few tables.
"Welcome." When Jaewoo entered, a man who was examining the glass at the bar greeted him. He looked like a tall, mature man with a warm appearance.
"Hello."
"I haven't seen you around here," the man smiled and said.
"Sorry, but I am not a customer."
"Then?"
"Yoo Hyeonjin. I came to work as his substitute." At Jaewoo's confident words, the man widened his eyes.
"What happened to Hyeonjin?"
He asked this because he knew Hyeonjin. He was the type to somehow come out and work even if he was sick.
"He wasn't feeling well. I came out of necessity."
"Huh. Can I call him for a second?"
"Don't you think he's sleeping?"
"I have to check for myself, though."
Jaewoo frowned at those words. Don't answer the phone! If he receives the call, judging by his personality, he might come running here. Jaewoo hopes the man's phone is broken somehow. He stared at the phone tenaciously but to no avail.
The man picked up his phone and called Hyeonjin. Was it because the bar was so quiet? Jaewoo could hear the voice on the other side of the phone too.
"Hyeonjin, are you hurt?" (T/n: he could be saying "Hyeonjin, are you in pain?" or "Hyeonjin, is it painful?" but I'll stick to this translation.)
It was a friendly voice that seemed to be worried about Hyeonjin. Hearing that voice made Jaewoo feel relieved. Still, he hopes more people worry for him.
"Yeah, what? No, Hyeonjin. Hyeonjin?"
The man who had been talking on the phone for a while looked down at the phone with a puzzled expression. Then he looked at Jaewoo and said, "Hyeonjin said he would come right away. Didn't you agree to take over his shift?"
"It was agreed upon."
There was doubt in the man's eyes. Jaewoo tried to look as calm as possible and took out his phone. I have to tell Hyeonjin to not come back and to rest. He paused for a moment.
"By any chance, could you give me Hyeonjin's phone number?"
"What?"
"I don't have his phone number..."
The man's suspicion deepened. A substitute? Do you both know each other? But why won't you have even his phone number? Jaewoo tried avoiding his gaze.
"Could you please put in a number?"
"I can't give away his number without the consent of the person concerned."
"But I know him?"
"How could I believe that?"
While the man and Jaewoo were arguing, the bell on the door of the bar rang.
Jingle.
Then Hyeonjin came in panting.
"I'm really sorry. I'm late."
"It's fine, even I'm late once in a while. By the way, Hyeonjin, do you really know this person?"
Then the man pointed at Jaewoo with his finger. At those words, Hyeonjin straightened his back and looked at Jaewoo in silence. Jaewoo was nervous for a moment. Afraid that Hyeonjin would call him a stranger. However, what he said was different from what was expected.
"Yes, he's someone I know."
"Who is he? A friend?"
At those words, Hyeonjin couldn't help but hesitate. It was because he still couldn't find the words to define the relationship between the two. So Jaewoo spat out the only words he could definitively say.
"I am his landlord."
"What?"
"The landlord."
Why does a landlord come to a tenant's part-time job? The man stopped thinking for a moment. This was because the relationship between the two was not understood. So without realizing it, the man looked at Jaewoo who awkwardly scratched the nape of his neck, and answered, "Hello, I am Hyeonjin's landlord."
Really?
"Haha?"
The man laughed in amazement.
"I'll change my clothes and come right back."
While Hyeonjin went to change clothes. Jaewoo hesitated and then sat down at one of the tables.
"Since Hyeonjin is here. I don't need a part-time substitute now, right?"
The man said that, but Jaewoo was confident.
"I am a customer this time."
"...Did you come alone?"
"Yes."
"Then just sit at the bar."
"Shall I?"
Jaewoo moved right away from the table. Then he looked through the menu and found the only drink with a name he knew.
"Here, give me this."
"Sure." The man immediately started brewing the alcohol. And just as Jaewoo was about to take a sip, Hyeonjin came out. His eyes still looked wet and red-rimmed from how much he cried.
The man noticed and asked in surprise, "What's wrong with your eyes?" The man belatedly asked in surprise.
"It's nothing."
"You say it's nothing, but why are your eyes like that?"
"Sanghoon hyung."
Hyeonjin shook his head as a means of saying not to ask anymore. The man, Sanghoon, was curious about it but kept his mouth shut. It was because he knew that once Hyeonjin shut his mouth, he wouldn't talk again.
"Ok got it. Take this." Sanghoon got an ice pack and handed it to him. Hyeonjin accepted it and saw Jaewoo just as he was about to take a sip of his drink.
"You're not leaving yet?"
His tone was brusque, but oddly, it felt less harsh than before. "Yeah, I'm going to have a drink for a bit." Jaewoo smiled bashfully and raised his glass.
"That's a strong drink."
"I'm a heavy drinker."
So far, no one has ever beaten Jaewoo in terms of alcohol. So, Jaewoo let his guard down, forgetting that this body was not his original body.
"Wow, this is so sweet it's delicious. One more drink please!"
"Yes, sir."
Jaewoo took the next cocktail and drank it.
Two cocktails later, his head hit the surface of the bar.
"Are you alright?"
Surprised, Sanghoon asked, and Jaewoo answered, "Don't worry about it."
His voice alone didn't make him sound like a drunk.
"One more drink." Then he wriggled his hands and raised his index finger.
"Why don't you order with your face up first." He asked just in case, and just like last time, Jaewoo responded with another wild answer. "What. I am holding my face."
No, you're banging your forehead against the bar. Sanghoon laughed in second-hand embarrassment. And he thought Jaewoo was a heavy drinker! He looked at him, wondering what to do when he found Hyeonjin dealing with a customer on the other side. Come to think of it, he was the landlord. This doesn't seem like such a simple relationship, though.
Sanghoon gestured for Hyeonjin to come.
"What's wrong?"
"This guy, he got drunk and passed out." At his words, Hyeonjin looked down at Jaewoo.
"I am not drunk."
However, his forehead was still attached to the bar and was moments away from falling off. Hyeonjin, who was looking over at Jaewoo, put his hand under his forehead and raised his neck. Because of that, Jaewoo's skin came in contact with his, but it didn't feel as terrible as before.
Jaewoo's forehead was red from how hard he hit it. Hyeonjin was about to call Jaewoo when he realized he didn't know how to call him. He hesitated for a moment and then called him by his name.
"Mr. Jaewoo."
The name that had popped out of his mouth subtly lingered on the tip of his tongue. Jaewoo. Jawoo.
However, Jaewoo was angry and his puppy eyes opened wide. "What is Mr. Jaewoo, Mr Jaewoo!"
Does he hate being called names? After hesitating for a moment, he continued, "Call me hyung!*" (T/n: pretty sure you guys know what hyung is, but just making sure you know that he means older brother, as a friend ofc.)
Hyeonjin was silent for a moment. Isn't hyung a very friendly title? That's what he had thought, but Jaewoo stubbornly insisted on the hyung title.
"Hyung! Hyung! Hyung!"
At the sound of Jaewoo's voice, the other guests looked his way and laughed. A drunkard is a drunkard, but his appearance is clean and his actions are cute, so it seems that the people watched just to laugh. Fortunately, no one protested against him.
"Yes, Hyung." Hyeonjin eventually gave up on Jaewoo's stubbornness.
"Okay, call me hyung." Jaewoo reached out to stroke and sweep back Hyeonjin's hair. Seeing this, Sanghoon was taken aback, but Hyeonjiin acted indifferently.
'He usually hates being touched!' Sanghoon made a surprised expression. Seeing him like that, Hyeonjin pleaded for his understanding.
"Can I lay him down in the break room for now?"
"Yeah, that would be better. But he's your landlord, do you really need to take care of him like that?" Sanghoon realized while talking that maybe he was taking care of him precisely because he was his landlord! In today's society, landlords are seen as gods. There was nothing wrong with wanting to look good. That might be why he seemed so patient with their skinship.
Meanwhile, Hyeonjin carried Jaewoo up and supported him.
'He's lighter than I thought.' He already looked thin from the outside, but he was incredibly light as if he had no muscles in his body. When he took him to the break room, he fell asleep almost immediately. Hyeonjin covered him with a blanket and went back to his busy work like always. Jaewoo didn't wake up even after his shift was over.
"Hey, what are you going to do with him? Will he spend the night here? No matter how much I try, he won't wake up."
"Since we live in the same complex, I'll take him."
"How will you take him?"
"I think I should carry him."
'You're going to carry a grown man on your back?' Sanghoon thought in fright.
"You'll hurt your back!"
"He was light."
"Even if he is light, he's an adult man! He's average weight."
"I'll be okay. I'm strong," Hyeonjin said and, with the help of Sanghoon, placed Jaewoo on his back.
"Thank you for your effort.*" (T/n: Hyeonjin is originally saying '수고하셨습니다' which directly translates to what I put. However, I don't think there is an English version of this. People use this phrase after a shift at work or right before leaving the office. To sum it up, it's just a means of saying 'thank you for your hard work today'.)
"Hey, you too, go well."
He left the bar and walked back home slowly. It would be nice to take a taxi, but that would cost a lot of money, so Hyeonjin walked as usual. It was a cold day, but Jaewoo was warm. After walking for a while, something cold touched Hyeonjin's cheek.
"Mmm."
It seemed that Jaewoo had just woken up.
"Who's this?"
"Are you awake?"
When Hyeonjin said that and put Jaewoo down, he staggered and stood there.
"Hyeonjin, it's Hyeonjin!" Jaewoo shouted while pointing his finger at him.
"It's dawn. Be quiet."
"Okay. Quiet. By the way, Hyeonjin, I have a good idea, listen." Jaewoo came closer and whispered in his ear. Maybe it was because of the alcohol that he smelled sweet.
"I mean I have some money. So, can I pay off your debt?"
If Jaewoo was sober, he would have never said that. But now he was drunk, and he wasn't in the right mindset.
"Why?" While asking back, Hyeonjin looked pale. An unpleasant feeling began to seep into him. People did not seem to change after all. What did he expect? He felt dizzy. Hyeonjin had a rough idea of what Jaewoo wanted to say.
"You want me to sell my body to you?" It was a dirty word to say. However, it also seemed to be what Jaewoo was aiming for all this time. But the response he expected was different.
"Who's selling what!" Jaewoo patted Hyeonjin on the back with a frightened expression. He felt pain in his back from how hard he pounded.
"You have to! Cherish! Your body!" Even though they were groundless words, Hyeonjin was comforted by them.
"Then why?" Hyeonjin asked with a genuinely puzzled expression. There was nothing Jaewoo would want from him other than his body. In fact, he didn't even know why he wanted his body. His palm had thick calluses from work, and his untrimmed hair was messy. He tried to dress as neatly as possible, but his clothes were always worn out. Hyeonjin never thought he had a good appearance that would be appealing to others.
Sanghoon always told Hyeonjin to be confident in his appearance, but it was difficult. So why was Jaewoo doing this?
"Are you feeling sympathetic?"
That was also an unpleasant feeling. Strangely, he didn't want to be sympathized by Jaewoo.
"Sympathy?" Jaewoo desperately shook his drunken head. Sympathy or pity? Since Hyeonjin was affectionate and pitiful, he probably would have felt that feeling.
"If that's the case, that's enough." The tone that seemed to be getting warmer went back to its normal cold tone.
"No need," Hyeonjin spoke again and walked silently. Jaewoo watched Hyeonjin go and sat down. He covered his mouth with his hand. He made a mistake.
As he was sitting staring blankly at the floor, Hyeonjin, who was leading him, walked back.
"Get up."
"Uh?"
"Are you going to spend the night on the floor?"
Hyeonjin grabbed Jaewoo's hand and pulled him up. Still, seeing that he didn't throw him away, it seemed that he hadn't completely lost his temper. 'Thank God,' Jaewoo thought and started walking down the road.
Thump. Thump. Seeing that he almost hit his head on the telephone pole, Hyeonjin reached out to grab Jaewoo's hand. Then, he stumbled but walked just fine on his own. So it took longer than usual to arrive home.
Hyeonjin saw Jaewoo crawling into his room and sitting down on the floor to rest. However, the door, which was supposed to be closed, reopened shortly after.
"Let's sleep together."
What is this person talking about now? Hyeonjin was stunned and looked at Jaewoo, but he didn't seem to notice. He has been gesturing and gesticulating.
"Hurry!"
Hyeonjin got up and pushed Jaewoo back into the room and closed the door behind him. Next time, he'll try not to let him drink. After drinking two glasses of strong alcohol, the drunkard became irritable. If he was such a lightweight, he should have avoided it.
"I'm going to use the kitchen for a bit."
The answer came back quickly.
"Yes, use it, use it."
Hyeonjin let out a small sigh and hesitated before going into the kitchen. It's been a while since he started living here, but it was the first time he's been in here. There was still some time before he went back to work.
When he opened the refrigerator, there were some bean sprouts inside. There were also anchovies for making soup in the freezer. He wondered if there was anything else, but other than that, there were only dry side dishes, vegetables, and frozen pork.
He wasn't as good at cooking as Jaewoo, but Hyeonjin could pretty much do anything. First, he boiled the water and three in a few anchovies with the heads and intestines removed. Seeing that the soup had thickened to some extent, he carefully added the trimmed bean sprouts. Looking at the boiling soup, he pondered over what had just happened.
Jaewoo said enough unpleasant things, and it was over when he went back to talk about the past. But why is he still here? He didn't know himself.
Hyeonjin seasoned the boiling soup with salt for the last time. The taste was a bit bland, but he didn't think it was bad. The bean sprout soup was successfully completed. Maybe it was because he was busy that he didn't get to eat dinner properly. He was hungry.
If he was hungry, he could turn on the rice cooker and eat some rice. He couldn't get angry at Jaewoo when he was looking like that. He tasted the bean sprout soup. Then he went outside and washed his hair and face with cold water.
It was time to get back to work.
***
End of Chapter 1 (Part 6)
Note: Sooo... life happened.
I'm incredibly sorry for making you guys wait so long for a translation. I just started school and I've been so busy I haven't even had time to shower (that's a stretch, but really, I've had no time). With school demanding my presence 25/8, I basically live and breathe assignments (pls help).
Since final exams will be over this week, hopefully I can pick up the pace on my translations. Please don't think that I dropped this novel, because if I did, I would have notified you guys. So, I'll see when I can update this next (hopefully soon!)