Chapter 24

1 hour 7 minutes. 51 minutes. 38 minutes. It's been three days since I woke up in Taek-in's body. It seems that the meeting with the class president and the comfort from the adults that Woo Min-jae kindly provided were not enough to help Taek-in wake up. I was vaguely thinking of a last resort, but there was something I had to do before I could do it. I went into a famous franchise cafe and looked inside. People's eyes were on me, but I didn't pay any attention and just turned my eyes to find the person I had come to meet. I went around the first floor and found the person I promised on the second floor. I stood in front of him, but he didn't recognize me. Andy was busy putting earphones in her ears and looking at the tablet PC in his hands. I didn't say anything for fear of disturbing him, so I plopped down across from him. Only then did he raise his eyes in surprise. Then he faced me with a nervous face.

"hello."

When I greeted him, he mumbled 'Hello.' We greeted each other. It didn't take long to find him. I had the number given to Taek-in, so I called right away and made an appointment.

“Why, why... did you ask to see me?”

He asked warily, as if he was going to eat me. Anyone who sees it will think I tried to hit him. Oh, I got so angry during the fight that I tried to hit him, really.

“I just wanted to say thank you. Taekin, thank you for helping me with my work.”

He bowed his head deeply and said hello. He lifted his eyes and his guard seemed to have disappeared.

“Is Taekin okay?”

"I do not know."

“Why? Is that bad guy bothering me again?!”

“No. You don’t have to worry about that. I’m not feeling well… but I’ll get better soon.”

He wanted to ask me more, but I brought up another topic first. Taking something out of my pocket and putting it on the table was enough to distract him. Small USB. Of course, it was different from what I had taken from him.

“I erased all the contents of it, disassembled it just in case, and then burned it.”

He turned his head as if he didn't want to see my face. When I first discovered this, all I could think of was, “This guy is a crazy pervert.” I can't believe I took pictures like that without the other person's permission. Even when he told me how precious it was, I just felt a little sorry and couldn't understand how he felt. However, after hearing about this person’s occupation from Woo Min-jae, my thoughts changed. Video artist. I don't know what his job is, but if you look at his class leader's video editing, he's probably quite familiar with this job. However, the video on the USB was not edited at all. It's just a half-hidden screen. It feels like it's so precious that I can't even touch it. So I felt a little sorry this time for discarding it on my own without saying anything. Well, I still think it's a bad thing, but it doesn't change. I pushed him the USB I brought.

“Instead, when I feel lonely or distressed, I look at what’s inside.”

“... What is it?”

“Korean dramas. My mom’s BEST.”

​

 

He then looked at me with frowning eyes. Why on earth did you give this to me? He received a series of stares, picked up the bag he had left on the floor, and took out the contents on the table. There were over 20 comic books.

“This is the most fun comic book I’ve ever read. It’s really mind-blowing. When you look at it, you’ll lose your mind and laugh. And this.”

I took out a few business cards from my wallet and explained them one by one.

“This is the most delicious jokbal restaurant I’ve ever eaten. They don’t deliver and only take out, so you’ll have to go in person. And this is a 20-year-old tripe restaurant that specializes only in jjambbong, and the soup is really spicy and refreshing. “I can guarantee it. We use our own peppers. And this is a raw fish restaurant in the market where I work, so if you eat it under my name, they will give you cheap and good food.”

He listened to my explanation blankly and blinked his eyes.

“Why are you doing this to me? If you’re sorry for Min Jae-il, there’s no need for it. I have pride, too, and I’m trying to forget everything.”

“It’s not because of Woo Min-jae.”

“Then why?”

“Because you are a good person. You are a good person who deserves this kind of comfort. So there is nothing to be wary of, and you don’t have to misunderstand my intentions. You may feel bad because I am the one comforting you.”

"..."

“Oh, one more place. I haven’t tried this place yet, but it looks delicious. It’s a bakery in Hongdae, and the cake that looks like it’s black forst is so delicious…”

There were still a few more delicious restaurants left to tell, but I couldn't continue talking. He looked like he was holding back tears for some reason, so he just sat there with his mouth shut for a while.

He parted ways in front of the police station and the next evening, Woo Min-jae called.

‘It’s the airport. 'I'll be leaving the country soon.'

'huh.'

‘You’re on vacation at the end of this month, right? If you come at the right time, let's have a drink.'

'Come again?'

'Then you thought you wouldn't come?'

‘I thought you were going because of the exercise you used to do. no?'

The answer didn't come right away. Just when I thought the phone had hung up, I heard his voice again.

'that's right. 'Go take a physical test.'

'Do well and come back.'

'Kwon Hee-chan.'

'why?"

'You did enough to Taekin.'

'... know.'

'It's okay to know. 'I have to go.'

​

 

Actually, it's a lie. I didn't do enough. So now I'm here to do the last thing. I held a large box and rang the doorbell of room 406. I thought my mother must be there. It will soon be time for Taek-in to open his eyes, even if it is just a few tens of minutes. I believe you quit your job because of that. It is clear that Taek-in is probably contemplating on his own whether he should be admitted to the hospital. A moment later, as I expected, the door opened and Taek-in and her mother greeted me. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot as if she had been crying. hello. She nodded and held out the box she had brought as an excuse.

She said, “I brought you some peppers and vegetables. Enjoy.”

"thank you."

“And I have something to tell you.”

“Now?”

yes. I nodded and stood guard at the door. With no choice, her mother led me into the house. I came into a place that was now as familiar as my own and sat down with her mother.

“Tea is ready. Please sit down, Mother.”

Fortunately, my mother sat in front of me without any objection, probably because I had praised her several times when she was a foreigner.

She said, "Actually, I don't know if Taek-in will wake up soon, so I won't say a long story..."

“Is that so? I heard that the time it takes to wake up is getting shorter and shorter these days. He contacted me saying that he will soon be back to normal. He said I shouldn’t be disappointed because I will go back to the way I was before and I won’t remember anything either.”

“Did our Taekin say that? She really said she would come back?”

yes. I nodded loudly. Taek-in's mother was unable to speak as her cries seemed to have reached her throat. I waited for the other person to calm down for a moment and then brought up another reason for coming here.

“I heard from Taek-in that you quit your job? Do you have any plans to do something else?”

“Is this work?”

"Yes. A place I know is hiring employees, and Taek-in reminds me of his mother. It's the biggest company in the market called XX Fruits and Vegetables. The pay is good and the benefits are good. It's a wholesale market, but this place comes to work at 9 and cuts at 6. "It would be better than the supermarket for Taek-in to take care of me since I'm leaving work."

"..."

“You have to go through an interview first, but I said it well. Did you see the pose test at the supermarket? If you do that, you can work.”

Taek-in's mother just held the business card I gave her in her hand and looked down for a long time, but didn't say anything.

“Do you not like it? Do you hate it because it’s the market?”

“No, that’s not it… I’m thankful.”

She swallowed something stuck in her throat and handed me her business card again.

“Thank you. Taek-in helped me too and thought of me as well. However, someone else had already suggested a job, so I decided to go for it. Still, thank you for offering such a suggestion to someone like me.”

Taek-in's mother thanked her several times. When I thought it was a good thing that I was already doing something else, she added.

“I am so grateful that the position that Teacher Chekyuk found was too much for me...”

“Physical education teacher? Woo Minjae?”

“Yes, Mr. Wu. By the way, he was friends with him, right? He looked for me for a job.”

"..."

“Everyone is helping me like this, so now all I have to do is Taekin wake up.”

Her mother let out a low sigh of her own. I looked at her sad face and opened her mouth.

“It may sound like meddling, but when Taekin wakes up later, please let him do whatever he wants.”

“Do you…want to do it?”

“Cooking.”

Her mother looked down with worried eyes as if she already knew.

"I've been working as a mayor since I was in high school. I didn't do it because I liked it, but now I don't regret it. I actually think I did a good job. I didn't go to college, but my friends who went to college now are jealous of me. If there's something they want to do, Even if you don't go to college or a regular high school, I think it's worth a try. When Taekin wakes up, let him do whatever he wants."

Her mother's eyes wavered, but she quickly nodded her head.

“When you wake up… as long as you wake up, I’ll let you do whatever you want.”

“And later, when you make kimchi, it would be nice if you give me just one packet. The kimchi was really delicious.”

“I can give you that any time... have you tried my kimchi?”

“Of course, every day...”

“?”

“...Taekin secretly brought it to me.”

Ah, Taek-in. Only then did my mother smile faintly.

“He praised me for being a good brother, and I guess he really likes it. I’ll prepare other side dishes for him, too. But I haven’t been able to make anything these days, so…”

“Later. Please give it to me later when Taekin wakes up.”

As Taek-in spoke, his mother’s expression became gloomy again. I looked at the room where Taek-in was lying.

“Can I come in and take a look?”

“Do you want to?”

She stood up as if her mother was guiding her. I followed him to the door and asked as if I had remembered something before going in.

“Has Taekin ever gone to a foreign beach?”

“Foreign? Oh, I went to Saipan with my family when I was in elementary school. Why?”

“I guess Taekin really liked it there.”

“Really? You say that? ... At that time, I was close with the child’s father and the child was very active...”

Still, we have to get it out now. I left her mother behind and went into her room. Her familiar face was lying there. I pulled out a chair and sat down next to the bed. And Taekin held my hand. It's funny, but I've never forced someone else to hold my hand. I thought about doing it right away when I realized it, but I needed to mentally prepare. I needed to be prepared to sincerely tell Taek-in to come out to this world. I held his hand in silence for a moment and then took off the cool sleeves I wore to cover the tattoo on one arm. The tattoo appears to be densely packed, but if you look closely, there are still several empty areas. There are many different types of tattoos. The largest one is the first one, with a snake wrapped around a cross made of swords, and a long sentence written in curly English around it. Of course I don't know what it means. I just chose it because it was cool.

"This is my first tattoo when I was in high school. One of my friends knew an older brother who got tattoos. I went to that store a few times with my friends, and everyone was talking about getting a tattoo. Actually, I didn't really want to get one. But if I did, my mom would I knew I would be hurt, so I did something big like this. It wasn't my fault at all, but I think I just blamed my unhappiness on my mother, who was the most easy-going person at the time. I spewed out harsh words to her, got a tattoo, and didn't study. I only chose things that would upset me. There was a time when I didn't go home for a few days. I ran away from home unintentionally, but later I just couldn't go home. At that time, someone I didn't know told me to go home because he was worried about my mom. I wore my school uniform and walked around like that for a few days, and it turned out that I ran away from home. Thinking about it now, I think it was that one insignificant word that made me go back home. I got scolded by my mother a lot for that and got caught by my uncle and had to work at the market, but I still had my uncle who would catch me and scold me, so at least I didn't do anything like that after that. I guess I was lucky. At the time, I didn't know how lucky I was. It's not often that I have a mother who takes responsibility for me to the end, and adults around me who care about me and try to correct me. That's the case with the other tattoos here."

I twisted my arm as if to show it.

"Every time I had an accident, I engraved it one by one. So that I wouldn't do it next time and I wouldn't forget it. After the accident, I was so pathetic. It was so bad that I wanted to just kill myself and let it all go. But no, I was ashamed of myself. “Even if it’s pathetic, you can start again. As long as you don’t let me go.”

I quietly looked at the person who had no reaction.

“You shouldn’t let go of you either. There is someone who cares about you and is waiting for you. A good mother like that. I know, there weren’t any adults around to discuss your problems and get help. I’m sorry for not being there for you when you needed it. It’s late, but "I'll be the adult who will catch you right now, so get up."

I held his hand tightly and shouted lowly.

“You can go to the damn beach with money and take your mother back. Open your eyes, kid. Kim Taek-in, won’t you wake up quickly? Huh?!”

I was holding the high school student's hand so hard, but I couldn't hear him moaning in pain. It just wriggled. Hands, head, and eyelids. After a while, Taekin's eyes, which had been closed, slowly opened.

The best day of the year. It's vacation. The day before the vacation, I was twice as busy as other times because I was pulling out supplies in advance, sending them to companies, and selling them. So, the work that was almost done at 4 a.m. was barely finished until after 6 a.m. Everyone was exhausted, but both Chungyeon and Jiyong had smiles on their faces because they were on vacation for three days starting today.

“Chungyeon, please let me know when you go to the camping site. I’m going to go out with my friends next time.”

“Yes, that’s right. You should also go to the water park and have a good time.”

It is said that Chung-yeon goes to a camping site with her family during her vacation, and Ji-yong sets aside a day to go to a water park. The two were chatting excitedly about their vacation and then asked me.

“Boss, are you really not going anywhere?”

“I’m not going.”

“President Kwon. Would you like to have a meal with my family on the last day of vacation?”

“I don’t like it.”

Chungyeon was embarrassed by my firmness, and Jiyong was displeased.

“Oh, kinda! Are you really going to stay home all vacation? Really?”

It was like that. My vacation plan is to stay home. I wasn't planning on meeting anyone. I am not doing anything, and I plan to do nothing even more fiercely.

“I won’t. So, you two, don’t ever think of contacting me. I’m going to spend four days just eating, sleeping, and breathing…”

Tiring, I received a text message. Who is it this early in the morning?

[Heechan said you were on vacation? Great. You know that tomorrow is Namsu’s birthday, right? We decided to get together tonight. No one else may know, but you must come out.]

... shit.

“I’m just going to drink my friend’s birthday wine and not do anything else. Really.”

I announced the changed plan and checked with the two people one more time.

“Unless your life is in danger, don’t ever call me. No, if your life is in danger, call 119. We won’t know each other for four days. Even if you see me, don’t even say hello and just pass by.”

If you contact me while on vacation, I won't let you go. I conveyed it with my eyes, and only then did Chungyeon nod her head. But Jiyong couldn’t let go of his attachment to me.

"Friend's birthday party? Where are you drinking it? You don't plan on drinking it at the club? If the boss hyung goes to the club with me..."

“The only place I’ll go with you is to deliver XX food, so shut up.”

Jiyong turned his head and abused Mr. Woo. Why is that bastard so upset that he can't take me to the club? how?

“But you still have to eat, right? Aren’t you tired of ordering out food every day?”

“There are a lot of side dishes. You don’t have to order them.”

many. It's overflowing, to say the least. Chungyeon understood what I meant right away.

“Ah, Taek-in said her mother brings her side dishes every day?”

“Yes. The new place to work seems to be a very good one. He was excited.”

That's good, that's good. Mr. Chungyeon was happy about it as if it were his own work. Jiyong was also happy about this and then asked.

“By the way, Taekin said he would also bring me some bread?”

“Yes. They seem excited because their mother enrolled them in the academy right away.”

“It’s been about a week since you woke up, right? You never ask me again about things I don’t remember?”

“It’s strange. I guess that’s why he went to the hospital.”

But going to the hospital is not something you will remember. Because that's my memory.

“I guess I’m still confused and bewildered, but since I quit school and have no one to talk to about the time I spent here and there, I think I’m just taking it as amnesia.”

“But you said the class leader came and begged? Their father came with them and got down on his knees. Don’t you suspect it’s strange?”

did. He came to me and was worried, saying he didn't know what happened while he lost his memory. If you receive an apple, you will dance happily. It's useless for a young person to worry.

“I guess I’ll give up soon because there’s no one to tell me in detail if I suspect it.”

I added, looking at the two people.

“So we just need to keep our mouths shut.”

“There’s one more person.”

"..."

“Minjae. You know him. By the way, why isn’t Minjae coming? He has to come to the next match.”

I want to know too. Why isn't that guy coming? But there was something more important than that now.

“I’m in the next match, so what does Woo Min-jae have to do with it? Huh?”

“Ah, well… the boss hyung is good too, but…”

“Good, but good? Good, but what?”

Jiyong muttered, avoiding his gaze at my urging.

“What if I do well? I get sent off for a foul before the first half of the game is over.”

“Ssssssssssssssssssssssss do I do it because I want to play foul? Everyone is just holding on to me! Don’t you look like you have a temper?”

Chungyeon, who was next to him, took Jiyong’s side.

“But President Kwon and Minjae never foul no matter how many times they tackle you.”

“Mr. Lee... So you’re saying Woo Min-jae is better than me right now? Huh?”

“I’m better than you.”

As I was pushing the two people, I suddenly froze when I heard a voice behind me. Jiyong and Chungyeon reacted before me.

“Huh?! It’s Minjae!!”

“Minjae, you’re here!”

An enthusiastic welcome was heard from the two people. Only then did I slowly turn my head. It was the real Woo Min-jae. He was standing in front of our store door. The guy who said he was in Canada came out of nowhere at this early morning. He looked at me between the two cheering employees. nice to meet. I should have said hello, but I couldn't open my mouth.

“I’m on my way from the airport.”

He asked me, answering the two people's questions.

"busy?"

“Well, kinda.”

Not busy at all. But the answer came out like this.

“Hey, we’re done with all our busy work.”

Of course, Jiyong, who was clueless, said it all. As I stood there indifferently, Chungyeon noticed and left, saying she was going to the warehouse with Jiyong. After the two people left, I sat down and pointed to a sofa on one side.

"sit down."

“You’re going on vacation starting tomorrow, right?”

"huh."

“Kwon Hee-chan?”

"why?"

“Are you mad at me?”

"no."

“But why aren’t you looking at me?”

Only then did I look up from my desk. But strangely, it was difficult to make eye contact. Why do you do that? Why is it so hot here again?

“Did you do well on the physical fitness test?”

"huh."

“It’s good. I get to do what I want again.”

"well."

Well, what else? When I frowned, he shrugged and added,

“The club asked me to come back, but I refused.”

“You refused? Your shoulder is fine too? Why?”

Instead of answering, he quietly looked into my eyes. I wanted to close my eyes again, but I forced myself to hold back.

“Why refuse...”

"I miss you."

"...what?"

“I just kept thinking about you.”

"..."

Fortunately, he looked away. He looked around the inside of the store and asked lightly.

“What do we do on vacation? Should we spend it together?”

“Well, something like that.”

Woo Min-jae said something. But I don't remember. All I remember is Woo Min-jae grinning in front of me like he did when he was in high school. Oh yeah. I laughed like this. His heart was pounding like it was going to explode, and his chest was so hot. And as I saw him smiling, something hit my head. Oh, fuck. I guess I like Woo Minjae.