It's nice to be reminded of the old days
Starting with Hyeonseong and Myeongsu, many families living in the neighborhood visited the house to greet Grandma on New Year's Day.
It was only towards evening when the number of visitors began to decrease, and only then did I find a comfortable position and stretch my body.
But suddenly the doorbell rang again, and Myeongsu and Hyeonseong, who had left earlier, came in.
"What is it?"
When I greeted him rudely and dryly, Myeongsu's face crumpled strangely.
"What the heck? I came here to have a drink. Grandma! Can I borrow Moo-hyuk?"
When Myeongsu shouted, the old woman came out of the bedroom and said.
"Oh! Let's go right now! It's starting to get noisy."
Instead of stopping me, the old lady pushed me from behind.
"Hey, Grandma!"
"Go out and play with Myeongsu and Hyeonseong! Grandma needs some rest too."
Seeing her looking so tired, I couldn't say anything in response and had no choice but to go out with my friends.
"Where are you going?"
"How about grilled clams for the first time in a while? It's hard to find them in Seoul."
Hyunseong quietly nodded in agreement with Myeongsu's suggestion.
My ears perked up at the mention of grilled clams.
"Let's go to the gravel yard after a long time."
The gravel yard in Yeongdo was a place I often went with my friends when I was young.
As Myeongsu said, it wouldn't be a bad idea to go there after a long time.
Since it was a short distance, my friends decided to ride with me in my car.
"Have the security guards wait outside, and only Director Ma can move. I want to eat quietly with my friends."
"Yes, boss."
The bodyguards followed me from a distance, and I walked naturally towards the gravel yard.
"Hey! Where are you going?"
At that time, Myeongsu called out to me as I was going ahead.
"Why? Not this way?"
"Have you really never been here before? When Typhoon Maemi came a few years ago, everything here was blown away. So they completely tore it down and moved it all the way up to the clam grill village."
"Really? How did you know that?"
"What are you talking about? Have you forgotten that I am a member of the National Assembly?"
I walked along, bickering with Myeongsu.
The Taejongdae beach was covered with pebbles. Every time I walked, the pebbles made a pleasant sound.
That's why it was called Jagalmadang, and there were many clam grill stalls along the pebbles on the beach.
Advertisements
"I was planning to reorganize here anyway, but thanks to you, I ended up pushing everything away easily. It's changed quite a bit. Come this way."
I moved following Myeongsu.
I hadn't even walked a few steps when I saw the light of a sign that said "Original Grilled Clam Village."
"They really moved everything."
"Why would I lie? All the original food stalls have moved in here."
As we passed the entrance and continued on, there were clam grill restaurants lined up on both sides.
"Is Seok's aunt still doing business?"
"Oh, I heard that you and Seok are doing business together. Then shall we go there?"
"That's good. Let's go there to see my aunt's face for the first time in a while and also to increase sales."
Myeongsu nodded and gestured as he took the lead.
In front of the store, there were middle-aged men and women shouting something, and inside the store, it was bustling with customers.
It seemed like people like us came to eat grilled clams with friends or family who had come back to their hometown on New Year's Day.
Although the atmosphere was generally noisy, there was no solicitation of customers towards us whatsoever.
"You're not even soliciting customers?"
"No way. You must recognize me and not do it. I'm a member of the National Assembly."
Myeongsu paused for a moment, placed both hands on his hips, and stuck out his stomach.
Anyway, he nodded while tapping Myeongsu's chin with his knee.
"Aren't you ashamed of doing that on the street as a member of the National Assembly? So, how far will you go?"
"They all come and go."
As we went a little further inside, we saw a sign that said 'Seokine' at the innermost part.
At that moment, Hyunseong, who had been quiet until then, looked around and blurted out a word.
"······The location isn't very good. Isn't that bad for business?"
Perhaps he was worried because he saw the store's location, which was directly opposite the entrance.
"That's true, but the store location changes every two years through a lottery, so it's just luck."
At the sound of our voices, a familiar woman who had been dozing off in front of the store opened her eyes.
He stared blankly at us for a while, perhaps still half asleep, before quickly getting up from his seat in surprise.
Then he got up and ran to Myeongsu.
"Wow, who is this? Is this the congressman's child?"
"Auntie! It's been a while. How have you been?"
"I hope you're doing well. Oh my, I've seen you on TV a lot, so you look familiar. You haven't changed since you were young, you haven't······."
While the mother recognized Myeongsu right away and shook his hand to greet him, Hyeonseong and I stared at each other for a long time before realizing who it was.
"Are you Mu-hyeok and Hyeon-seong? Oh my! I don't recognize you anymore! You're all grown up, all grown up. Jin-seok! Come out and look! Mu-hyeok, the guy you like so much, is here!"
The young man who was grilling clams for the customers inside turned his head toward the entrance at the sound of the woman's voice.
It was the same big Jeong Jin-seok as when he was young. Jeong Jin-seok stopped his hand and looked at me without saying anything.
Even the fact that he was tilting his head seemed to indicate that he was still hesitant.
Advertisements
It was a natural reaction, since there was quite an age difference between us.
But that worry was short-lived, as the guy beamed with delight and showed off his joy.
The little boy who used to follow us around like that, calling us "Haengnim, Haengnim" when he was little, is already so grown up.
"Your Majesty!"
Jeong Jin-seok apologized to the guests and ran towards us.
"Is Muhyeok your master? Is our Muhyeok your master?"
The big, distracting guy had a deep, low voice. But the words he spoke were no different from before.
"Jinseok is all grown up. Do you recognize me?"
"Harmony! There's no way I wouldn't recognize our Muhyuk Ham. Next to him is Hyunseong Ham. I'll know Myeongsu Ham just by looking at his face."
Hyunseong nodded quietly, and Myeongsu raised the corners of his lips and played around with Jeong Jinseok while putting his arm around his shoulder.
"I don't know when that little boy grew up so much and now helps his mom with her work. When I was at an event at Busan Station, I was wearing my military uniform."
"Yes. Didn't I see you briefly when I was on my last year's vacation? I told you that I was wondering. That famous Ham is a member of the National Assembly. I can't believe it at all······."
"What? Hey! What's wrong with me?"
"To be honest, out of all the people here, the most······."
"This little bastard!"
Not only I, but even Hyeonseong laughed out loud at the banter between the two.
"Guys, let's go inside first. I'll give you a thorough service."
"Okay! Come on in. I'll pick out some fresh ones and bring them to you! Just come in and take a look."
Jeong Jin-seok guided us to the innermost spot with a view of the ocean.
"Please wait a moment. I'm going to bring some of the best ones. First, I'll finish grilling the other guests' portions······."
"Jinseok, go and work. Don't worry about us too much."
"That guy······."
He waved his hand towards Jeong Jin-seok, who was looking regretful.
Then, as if his regret was a lie, he quickly went to another table and picked up a pair of tongs and scissors.
Then he said in a sad voice.
"Oh my! Ladies and gentlemen! I'm sorry! It's been a while since our close friends came! I'll buy you a free bottle of drink, so please look at me nicely."
I chuckled at the sight of Jeong Jin-seok like that. That guy has really grown up.
"What about alcohol? Soju or beer?"
Myeongsu asked as he naturally walked towards the store refrigerator, and I nodded.
"Do you have any other drinks?"
"No! I was just asking out of courtesy!"
Myeongsu confidently brought in soju and beer and shouted at the woman preparing food in the kitchen.
"Auntie! Give me some Tsukidashi! I'm so hungry!"
The woman poked her head out of the kitchen and answered Myeongsu's words.
"Wait a minute! What's the rush? I thought you were becoming more human, Congressman, but you're still the same!"
Advertisements
"Ha, Auntie, you're right. I guess you've never heard the saying that when a person changes, they die."
Myeongsu answered wittily and poured soju and beer into a beer glass. In an instant, three glasses of alcohol were downed.
"Let's have a drink first."
Myeongsu offered us each a glass, then lifted his own glass and held it out to us.
Hyunseong and I also raised our glasses and clinked them with the glasses Myeongsu offered us.
"Ugh! Great! What a great day today. Great friends! Great drinks! And this atmosphere with the ocean view! I'm already getting drunk."
In response to Myeongsu's endless nonsense, Hyeonseong put down his glass and blurted out a word.
"You must be really drunk already. What do you see of the ocean? It's so dark that you can't see anything."
"What? You're dead. Give me the glass, Inma. Double the soju, double."
As I watched the two bickering, old memories came to mind. I found myself laughing out loud.
After laughing like that for a while, he spoke to the kids in a voice full of laughter.
"Oh, I'm going crazy. Sometimes I get confused whether you two are friends or enemies. It's nice to see you still doing that now that you're grown up, because it reminds me of the old days."
I turned my head and looked at the dark beach.
As no light came in, I couldn't see anything, just like Hyunseong said.
"I can't see it, but the cool winter breeze and the sound of the waves remind me of my childhood, and I'm intoxicated by the atmosphere. Today, at least, I'm going to be comfortable."
Hyunseong clicked his tongue slightly and Myeongsu smiled proudly.
After seeing that sight, he turned his head again and looked towards the sea.
Because of the location, the sound of waves could be heard gently.
The sea breeze that brushed my nose was full of a familiar smell.
It had been so long ago that even the memories were vague, but the smell was etched into my memory.
At that time, the lady brought out seafood such as abalone and sea cucumber along with side dishes, and even octopus stew.
"Anna. Just stay with this for now."
"Oh! Aunt, it's been a while since I've seen Tangtang."
Myeongsu, who loves Tangtang-i, picked up his spoon, licking his lips.
I also picked up the spoon without saying a word, scooped up a spoonful, and put it in my mouth.
I felt strangely good because I could feel the texture moving in my mouth.
"What! Where did you put the spoon first!"
Myeongsu was startled and scooped some up with a spoon and put it in his mouth.
"Huh, this is the taste. You can't really get this taste in Seoul."
I nodded to Myeongsu's words and poured a drink into my glass.
Today was a day when I felt like drinking soju. When I'm with friends, I crave soju more than expensive alcohol.
This time, I drank a glass of soju and picked up a sea squirt and put it in my mouth.
I felt like all my worries were disappearing as the scent of the sea filled my mouth.
"Hey, why are you eating all by yourself like that?"
"Just eat whatever you want. It's funny to toast every time like kids do."
Advertisements
"I'm a kid, right? Are you going to be salty? Come on, cheers!"
As I was drinking like that and finishing all the food my aunt had brought out, Jeong Jin-seok brought a full set of clams and placed them on the chair.
"Guys, I'll bake this for you."
Myeongsu snatched the tongs and scissors from Jeong Jinseok's hands as he placed the clams on a grill over charcoal.
"Okay. I'll grill this. This isn't something you should ask your younger sibling to do."
"Hey! Myeongsu Ham, is it true that you've become a real person?"
"Wow! That's annoying. Now that you're all grown up, you're still acting like a dog to your brother?"
I spoke to Jeong Jin-seok, who was standing there blankly with his tongs and scissors taken away.
"If you're done, you should sit down too. Is this your first time drinking together?"
"Yes, sir. This is your first time."
Jeong Jin-seok quickly sat down on the chair. Then, he waited with both hands holding the soju glasses.
He smiled at her and filled her glass with affection until it almost overflowed.
Jeong Jin-seok turned his head, emptied his glass of soju in one go, and handed the glass to me.
"This time, I will buy our Muhyuk a drink."
As he accepted the glass, Jeong Jin-seok also filled his glass and poured it.
My hand stopped just before it was about to overflow.
"This is my love, sir!"
Anyway, I drank the drink he gave me in one gulp and then put the glass down.
"Now let's each eat. I'll also hear how you live."
"Yes, sir."
While the oysters were grilling golden brown on the grill, I continued drinking while listening to Jeong Jin-seok's story.
"I have nothing to do, so I came down to help my mother. I guess I'm not the type of person who should live in Seoul."
I nodded when I heard that he got a job at a small to medium-sized company in Seoul, but couldn't adapt and left after a year.
"Yeah. It's hard to adjust to Seoul. But you should have at least contacted your hyungs."
"Hey! It's been a while since I've seen you, so why are you contacting me without any clue? Do people have a conscience?"
Jeong Jin-seok, who was excited, picked up a pair of tongs and scissors.
Then he cut the cooked scallops with scissors and placed them on my plate.
"Okay, sir. Try this! It's well cooked."
I nodded as I put the grilled clams that Jeong Jin-seok cut into my mouth.
I spoke as if responding to Jeong Jin-seok, who was looking at me with expectant eyes.
"As expected, the grilled clams here are the best."
"Harmony. I picked the fresh ones."
We drank and talked all night long.
< It's nice to remember the old days > End
< A lot has changed here too >
Advertisements