“Eat up, Hyun-ho.”
Boo Yun-hwa piled Hyun-ho’s plate high with duck meat marinated in red sauce. Hyun-ho, looking a bit better than he did yesterday, smiled as he accepted the plate.
“Thank you, Auntie.”
Tae-eun picked up her chopsticks, acutely aware of the man sitting close enough for their elbows to touch. The restaurant was bustling with weekend diners, but an awkward tension hung in the air between them.
“Ah, Doctor! How have you been? Yes, yes, please give me number two, Ji Yong-jae. Number two. Ah, thank you very much.”
Even while dining out for the first time in a while, Song Ki-seok was busy making calls to supporters, helping Ji Yong-jae’s election campaign.
Hyun-ho watched him for a moment, then placed a perilla leaf on a lettuce leaf, topped it with duck and garlic, and wrapped it into a bundle. He handed it to Tae-eun.
“Give this to your dad.”
Caught off guard, she took the lettuce wrap and awkwardly brought it to her father’s mouth. Song Ki-seok beamed and ate it in one bite.
“Wow, I wish I could have Hyun-ho as my son.”
“How about a son-in-law?”
Hyun-ho responded playfully, his eyes crinkling in a smile. Tae-eun, flustered, dropped her chopsticks. Her parents, sitting across from them, widened their eyes before clapping their hands in delight.
“Oh, we’d love that. Where else could we find such a reliable, handsome, and polite son-in-law?”
“Go ahead and take Tae-eun with you!”
Amid her parents’ noisy excitement, Tae-eun quietly picked up a new pair of chopsticks and focused on her meal. Hyun-ho leaned in close enough for their arms to touch and whispered to her.
“Will you marry me?”
Her face turned bright red. Her parents burst into laughter at the sight of their daughter blushing to her ears, while Hyun-ho filled her empty cup with soda and placed it in front of her.
Giving me the disease and then the cure, she thought, sulking and avoiding his gaze.
“Hello, everyone!”
A booming voice cut through the restaurant’s lively chatter. Everyone turned to see a stout man entering the restaurant.
“Tsk.”
Song Ki-seok clicked his tongue upon seeing Han Ju-sam. A few diners, aware that the former union president was dining here, glanced over at their table.
The current union president’s small eyes seemed to spot Song Ki-seok as well. But unperturbed, he went around shaking hands with union members dining there.
“Long time no see, what have you been up to? Been to the fields?”
Some guests, heavily drinking in a corner, recognized him and started chanting “Number one.” Tae-eun, feeling like she might choke, gulped down her soda in front of her now stiffened father.
As Han Ju-sam approached their table, her parents’ chopsticks slowed down. The restaurant’s noise gradually subsided, and the owner looked over at their table with a worried expression. Some diners even turned their chairs to openly watch.
Throughout all this, only Hyun-ho continued eating his meat calmly.
After making his rounds, Han Ju-sam finally approached Song Ki-seok and extended his thick hand.
“You’ve been so busy lately, it’s been hard to see you.”
“Oh, you know how it is. You’ve been working hard preparing for the election.”
Song Ki-seok stood up and shook the union president’s hand, even patting the back of it. Their hands bulged with visible veins.
“So, did you adopt this kid?”
Han Ju-sam pointed at Ji Hyun-ho, who was sitting with the family, and laughed. But Hyun-ho, acting as if he hadn’t heard the unwelcome guest, busied himself ordering more food for Tae-eun.
“Excuse me, could we get some more rice cakes?”
Tae-eun had been eating more rice cakes than meat, leaving none on the grill. The union president’s face hardened, showing his teeth beneath his thick upper lip.
“What’s with the attitude? Can’t a friend bring a kid to dinner?”
Boo Yun-hwa raised her voice without even glancing at the union president, then demonstratively added more meat to Hyun-ho’s plate.
“You’re just like your shameless father.”
“That’s enough!”
Han Ju-sam’s sharp voice was quickly intercepted by Song Ki-seok. Hostile gazes clashed. The restaurant had fallen silent, even conversations had ceased.
A waitress, wearing a red apron, nervously brought over the rice cakes. Hyun-ho, with a serene expression, poured the rice cakes onto the grill and stirred them with the sauce. Watching from the side, Tae-eun felt like she was suffocating.
“Brother.”
As soon as Han Ju-sam placed his hand on his shoulder, Song Ki-seok shook it off immediately.
“I’ve known you my whole life, born and raised here together. But how can you not think of helping your brother and instead side with that drifter?”
“And how could you put up banners all over town badmouthing your brother?”
Song Ki-seok stepped forward, eyes wide with anger. Han Ju-sam puffed out his chest like a pigeon, snickering.
“You’ve served three terms as president, can’t I have a turn? How could you stand it all this time, teaming up with Ji Yong-jae to create public opinion against me and trying to oust me?”
“By throwing money around?”
The mention of money made the restaurant go cold. While Tae-eun wondered if any of the diners had received 50,000 won, Hyun-ho transferred the cooked rice cakes to her plate.
“Eat.”
“Throwing money around? Who said anything about throwing money around?”
Han Ju-sam’s face turned red with anger as he yelled, veins bulging on his forehead. His accusing finger, initially pointed at Song Ki-seok, soon shifted toward Hyun-ho.
“Did that punk say that?”
Hyun-ho raised an eyebrow at the rude gesture. It was the first sign of change in his expression since Han Ju-sam had entered the restaurant.
“Me?”
“Look at this! The young brat is staring at me with those wide eyes, acting all shameless! This is Ji Yong-jae’s son, everyone!”
The union president’s face turned a deep, angry red, as if it might burst. But Hyun-ho merely let out a faint chuckle and turned down the heat on the grill to prevent the duck from burning.
“Aren’t you going to control your brat?”
Even Tae-eun got dragged into the fray. As soon as she was mentioned, Song Ki-seok’s face flushed with anger.
“Roaming around at night with a shady guy, spying on me while I’m campaigning! And then following this disrespectful punk around, no wonder you got fired from your job!”
“You little punk! Have you said enough?”
Song Ki-seok grabbed Han Ju-sam by the collar and shouted furiously. At the same time, Hyun-ho stood up and approached them.
“Calm down, Uncle.”
His gentle voice was completely out of place in the heated situation. His large hand enveloped Song Ki-seok’s wrinkled one.
“I’ll handle this.”
As Song Ki-seok let go, Hyun-ho’s large frame stepped between the two middle-aged men. Han Ju-sam’s nose was almost touching Hyun-ho’s solid chest.
“If you have a problem with me, talk to me directly. Why drag innocent people into this?”
The man glared down at the union president with an intense, dangerous aura, as if he might do something drastic if provoked.
Tae-eun, now the innocent party, swallowed nervously, watching Han Ju-sam’s clenched fist. She feared it might fly at Hyun-ho.
“Fine, you spoke well!”
The union president removed his gold wristwatch and lifted his chin. His finger started pointing again.
“Do you think I don’t know you’ve been following me? Changing cars every day and tailing me, do you know how many times I’ve let it slide?”
“Do you really think I’ve been following you every day?”
Hyun-ho furrowed his brow and tilted his head in mock confusion, enough to irritate Han Ju-sam further.
“How can you be so sure it’s me?”
“Do you think I’m playing games with you?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never done such a thing.”
Hyun-ho forcibly pulled down the finger poking at his chin. His hand, just as it had restrained Song Ki-seok earlier, now gripped Han Ju-sam’s wrist.
Tae-eun, sitting nearby, saw the union president’s hand turning pale.
“Have you ever considered that it might not be me following you, but someone else?”
Han Ju-sam’s mouth opened and closed without a sound. Pain shot up his wrist, feeling like it might snap.
“Like the election commission, for example.”
His eyes widened in shock, and a suppressed groan escaped his lips.
“Ugh…”
The national union president election was under the jurisdiction of the election commission. If someone had reported Han Ju-sam’s corrupt activities to them, it was entirely possible.
And that “someone” could very well be Hyun-ho.
“Why don’t you check with them?”
Hyun-ho carefully re-fastened the wristwatch on Han Ju-sam’s wrist. The swollen wrist bore a bright red mark, and his hand remained pale and bloodless.
Leaving the dazed union president behind, Hyun-ho returned to his seat. He glanced at the grill and then spoke calmly.
“How many servings of fried rice should we order? Four?”
In the deathly quiet restaurant, his voice echoed. Tae-eun, seeing her parents too stunned to respond, answered for them.
“Just three. I ate a lot of rice cakes, so I’m full.”
“Okay. Excuse me, three servings of fried rice, please.”
The group that had been chanting “Number one” quietly helped Han Ju-sam out of the restaurant. None of them looked at the table where Hyun-ho was sitting.
Tae-eun noticed that the man’s still pale hand was trembling slightly.
🍉🍉🍉
