Chapter 4

7 am.

There was pink sausage in the side dish. As I was emptying my bowl of rice in the morning, wondering what kind of rice cake it was, I suddenly felt eyes on me. Her adoptive father made her mother stand still and not go into her room. When she stopped spooning, she smiled awkwardly.

“My son is eating well. Is he eating breakfast well these days?”

“I always ate breakfast... because I thought it would be a good idea to eat it.”

“Okay, hurry up and eat.”

“Do you have anything to say?”

huh? No... Taek-in's mother trailed off her words, and after a while when I ate again, she asked carefully.

“Is school okay?”

"yes."

He looked like he wanted to ask more, but he didn't say anything until I put my bag on my back and left.

“Taekin.”

I was still called an awkward name. When I turned around, she put a 50,000 won bill in my hand.

“It’s Saturday today and we’ll finish early, so come and order whatever you want.”

As I closed the door and came out, I felt dirty. I felt like I was a fraud.

Was this due to my low mood in the morning?

“Kim Taek-in.”

Hakju called me at the school gate. He simply pointed with his finger next to the latecomers who were lying down and stretching out. You do it too.

“Teacher, I have trouble sleeping...”

“That’s your problem.”

Shut up and lie down. Even as he got older, his fierce eyes never changed. I knelt down next to the latecomers, wondering why they were afraid of their teachers even though they were 30 years old. Not even a minute had passed, but my arms were already shaking. I can't do it. When I'm in this child's body, I have to eat four meals a day. After 5 minutes, my arms kept breaking and my upper body was shaking. I felt resentful toward North Korea. They're like idiots who just talk and can't even fire an arrow. Was the tunnel dug to connect a real phone? You have to use it, use it. War right now...

“You say you sleep 10 hours a day, but you can’t even handle that?”

I didn't even have the energy to raise my head, so I rolled my eyes as much as I could and looked at Hakju.

"Iknow, right."

“Do you know?”

“Of course. These days, high school students have incredible stamina. In our time, though…”

"what?"

“...Don’t tell me because it’s difficult.”

It's not like I'm going to replace it. I heard Hakju say something as if he was shocked, but it didn't reach my ears. I lowered my head, which was difficult, opened my mouth, and focused on breathing. Huff, huff, huff. Let’s hold on just a little longer, just a little longer. However, contrary to my expectations, when my upper body was lowered to the point where my face almost touched the floor, the bell rang to end self-study.

"wake up."

As soon as I heard the sound of the crane, I fell to the floor. I don't think I've ever experienced anything this difficult other than when I went to guerrilla training in the military or when I first worked in the market. No, just yesterday there was a playground where a dog was running around.

“Kim Taek-in wake up.”

Thanks to Hakju's personal recommendation, I was able to get his trembling body upright. Should I go to my homeroom teacher and tell him I’m leaving early?

“You’re in my first period class, right?”

“No way.”

Wiggle. Hakju’s eyebrows moved. You should take care of your own classes. Why are you asking me questions and getting angry?

“Let’s say that, well.”

“Kim Taek-in, you…”

Hakju looked at me with a frown, as if he had something to say, but then he shook his head and muttered.

“It’s strange.”

“I’ll go first.”

“Wait. Your class progresses faster than other classes, so we will be looking at the workbook used in supplementary classes this class. If you don’t have one, tell them to borrow one from another class.”

yes. and entered the classroom. Before sitting down, I shouted to my messy classmates.

“Hakju tells us to prepare in advance because this class will be taught using a supplementary class workbook.”

No one answered, and only a few people looked at me, but I sat down with peace of mind because I had conveyed Hakju's words. But it was not something to be relieved about. I guess I still didn't realize what kind of situation Taekin was in. The first period bell rang and Hakju came in and got angry when he saw the students' desks.

“Didn’t you hear me tell you to prepare for problems?”

Suddenly, the class leader stood up and answered.

“I didn’t hear you.”

I took a short nap and woke up when the bell rang to find that everyone was opening their textbooks.

“Kim Taek-in! Didn’t you tell me what I told you?”

I got up from my seat and looked at the faces of my classmates. There were some guys who shamelessly made eye contact with me, but there were more who avoided my gaze.

“Kim Taek-in, aren’t you answering?”

Instead of answering, I looked at the class president. The slight fear Taekin felt in his body was pushed aside by my anger, so he didn't do the embarrassing thing of averting my gaze. I heard Hakju calling my name again.

“I don’t think I told you.”

“Same? You don’t know what you did?”

“Yes. I did this, but I don’t know.”

He looked into my eyes for a moment and then ordered.

“Go back and lie down.”

I had not yet recovered from what happened in front of the school gate, and lying on my face again felt like death. In front of me, I could hear the teacher conducting the class using textbooks. If it were really me, I would have cut off the class president's head on the spot. But if I had done that, I would have been called to the teacher's office and received disciplinary action. The 50,000 won in my pocket that I received in the morning oppressed me like a talisman. Thanks to this, his arms were shaking. I closed my eyes and started cursing North Korea again.

Because it was Saturday, classes ended early, and I had a break from work in the evening. It was a weekend that I should have enjoyed, but it was impossible to be happy when I couldn't even move a finger. I was punished like that in the first period and slept on my stomach until the fourth period, but I couldn't recover. It still hurt to lift my arm. Honestly, it was hard to even open my eyes. I just wish this was my room. I don't have anything to do in the afternoon anyway, so why not just sleep here? Why not? I heard it when I had made up my mind and was about to fall asleep. A voice that can be clearly heard amidst the hustle and bustle of children preparing to leave school.

“...10 o’clock in Ibiza.”

“What about the room?”

“Of course we should catch it. My brother said he would set everything up for us. We just have to go.”

“Wow~ Your brother is Jinja the best.”

“Are you sure you’re renting a house? I don’t want to get robbed later if I can’t provide an alibi.”

“Fuck, do it once or twice?”

It seemed like the class leader and two of his gang were going somewhere tonight. From the feel of it, it is clearly a place to drink and have fun. Things that haven't even dried on their heads are already drinking... Well, I drank this too. Yeah, drinking isn't the problem. I just don't want them to eat that good, delicious food. All high school students in the world can drink alcohol, but you cannot. I cursed in my sleep out of resentment for experiencing hell in the first period. But the curse comes first after you sleep...

I think I just fell asleep. bang! When I woke up to the sound, there was no one in the classroom. No, there was one. The main culprit who woke me up with a bang. The dog Buddha sitting on the desk near me spat out with cold, heartless eyes.

“I can’t get off work because of you.”

bang! He kicked the leg of the desk where I was lying face down. At the same time, my heart, or rather Taekin’s heart, started pounding. Fuck, here it is again. I lowered my eyes without seeing the dog's face. To be clear, it was not my will. However, I also have my own intention in wanting to hide my flushed face.

“Aren’t you moving fast?”

This is the best!! I wanted to respond, but Taekin's body was out of my control and I couldn't even open my mouth. Thump, thump, thump... The sound of my heart was loud. I don't remember why I packed my bag and got up from my seat. Until then, I kept my head down like a criminal, but then I raised my eyes to see the dog going out the front door first. Fortunately, I was able to look straight ahead, and my heart slowed down a little.

​

"teacher."

When I called, he tried to turn his head, and at that moment he shouted loudly.

“Stay where you are!!”

As the dog stopped, I quickly poured out what I wanted to say like a rapid fire.

“Tonight at 10 o’clock, three guys from our class are going to book a room at a club and hang out! The name of the club is ㅇ…”

What was it? As I was thinking about it for a moment, the Dog Buddha tried to turn his head again. Has that bastard abandoned his past of being a bitch and given up his patience? I shouted because I was in a hurry.

“Igija! It’s a club called Igija, so make sure to catch them. Did you understand?”

And then I grabbed my bag and jumped out without even looking back. My heart was still pounding, but I felt proud.

Thanks to me, Taek-in would have won a point as an exemplary student who reported injustice. Dog Buddha, if you were a teacher, you wouldn’t just ignore a student’s deviance, right? Then it occurred to me. Wait, wasn't that guy the representative escapist who drove his car and went drinking when he was a student?!

  7:00 pm.

“No, no, Chung-yeon, you have to stop President Orange Shin at all costs. There’s no need for anything else. I just follow and mark Orange Shin during the second half.”

On paper, I diligently drew out what Chungyeon would do in early morning soccer tomorrow morning. Originally, I had to go out, but I couldn't go out at 7 a.m. and play soccer with my body collapsing. As expected, tomorrow was a match against the imported fruit and vegetable club 'Godangdo', a strong rival of our vegetable vendor, 'Organic', of the soccer club. There was an emergency because I, the ace of our team, was missing, so I brought in Choong-yeon as a pinch hitter. Mr. Chungyeon, who plans to set up shop here and do business in the future, eagerly accepted this opportunity to get to know other merchants, but then turned pale from nervousness.

“Can I do well?”

“You have to do well. Just chase after President Shin Orange to death. In that team, other people usually score goals, but since all goals start from President Shin’s feet, we have to block him here.”

Yep. Mr. Chungyeon nodded his head and began to memorize what I wrote on the paper. Because of this, we were having an emergency meeting at my house on Saturday, our day off. But the person I put in as another substitute showed no interest at all.

“Really? Really? Oh, fuck. I should have told you that sooner! I need to cut my hair too.”

Jiyong had been talking on the phone excitedly since earlier.

“Hey, hey, don’t worry. It’s because I don’t have time. This brother’s bullets have been piling up. What time are you going to meet?”

When I looked at him, it seemed like he was going out to a club at night. If Chung-yeon's condition was bad, he would have tried to throw that guy in, but if things continued like that, he wouldn't even be useful as a soccer ball. I really have to overcome the high sugar level this time.

“Okay. I’ll be in front of Ibiza by 10 o’clock. I’m definitely not going home today. I’ll definitely go home tomorrow morning.”

A crazy dog will appear today in Ibiza or Ibiza... Huh?

“Ibiza!!”

When I jumped up and shouted, two people looked at me in surprise.

“Boss, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, it was Ibiza. Shit.”

Why Ibiza? Jiyong hung up the phone and approached me asking. I pulled out my hair and told what happened at school.

“I have to hand it over to the class president. Why is that club called that?”

“Ibiza is the name of an island in Spain.”

“Fuck, how many islands are there in our country? Gageo Island, Wolmi Island! Anyway, I think all foreign-made islands are good.”

“That’s not it, Ibiza is famous as a place to have fun...”

“Do you want to be as famous as Wolmido?”

"..."

“I was going to rest at home today, but damn, I have to bother going.”

As soon as I sat down and grumbled, Jiyong came running up to me.

“You’re going? Are you going to Ibiza too? Really? Really?!”

“Uh. Why?”

At my answer, Jiyong twitched his lips with uncontrollable laughter.

“Why are you smiling when I’m leaving?”

“No, I just… hmm, I like the thought of being a class president and being bullied.”

I think there is another reason. I had my doubts, but the guy was so excited that he went off to call his friend and couldn't ask. Next to her, Chung-yeon looked at Ji-yong happily as if she was looking at her youngest brother.

“Jiyong is going to attract a lot of women today.”

“Probably not. The friend I’m going with may be very handsome, but he’s not very popular.”

"..."

"why?"

I asked, but he just stared at my face. Then he suddenly placed his chin on my shoulder.

“I really like President Kwon.”

What are you talking about out of nowhere? I also let him know my love.

“No matter how much you like me, if you lose the soccer match tomorrow, you won’t have any luck.”

He became thoughtful again and began to memorize the tactics written on the paper. Seeing him satisfied with his reflection, I stood up. Yes, if Taek-in can't do something to the class president with his body, he can do it when he returns to my body.

What are those clothes? Lady, I told you to wash your sneakers and wear them! Well, I'll just put some gel on my hair, okay? My ears were itching from Jiyong’s nagging all the way to the club, which was 30 minutes away. But hell was different. There was a long line in front of what kind of club it was, and a sturdy staff member was blocking people from entering at the door. It's not some kind of ride, but there's a line like that, right? Of course, I tried to go to the end of the line, but Jiyong led me to the door. Then the employee who was trying to block me with his hand looked at me and stepped aside.

“Please come in.”

Jiyong and her friend followed behind me with excited faces. I looked at the two and asked.

“Did you make a reservation in advance?”

My friend tried to say something, but Jiyong quickly changed the topic.

“The important thing is that you came in. Take a walk around with us and find the class leader.”

I wanted to refuse Jiyong's help, but the inside was much larger than I thought. Under the two-story high ceiling, people danced under the lights that were spinning so hard that it hurt the eyes. In front, there was a screen that filled the wall and two men were DJing in front. It was noisy and complicated. I looked around the first floor, confirmed that what appeared to be a room was empty, and looked at the stairs on the right leading up to the second floor. On the second floor, there was a hole in one side of the wall like a railing, and inside it was what appeared to be a room. As I headed straight for the stairs, Jiyong grabbed my arm.

“Let’s start from the first floor.”

“He’s in the room on the second floor.”

I shook off Jiyong and went to the stairs. Then there was another person guarding it in front of him. Are only people who have reservations going here? I thought he would give me some money if I stopped him, but the employee looked at my face and just let me go up. What, anyone can climb...

“Boss bro!”

Jiyong, who was stopped by the staff, desperately called me. He pointed at me and spoke eagerly to the employee.

“We’re part of the group. We’re part of the group. Boss, tell me quickly.”

The employee looked up at me.

“I’m part of the group. But you can just hang out there. I think I can find it on my own.”

​

 

Jiyong's expression when he turned around was that of an independence fighter who had lost his country, but he didn't care and went up to the second floor. That guy usually looks like that even if we eat before him. I wanted to quickly find the class president and go home. So I opened the door to each room and checked. I checked the faces one by one, regardless of the fact that there were men and women mixed up, and when there were only a few doors left, I found the face I wanted. The class president, Friend 1, and Friend 2, all dressed up, were raising drinks and toasting with three women.

bang!

I closed the door hard behind me.

"What are you?"

The class leader asked, but he ignored it and sat in the spare seat at the end of the sofa. Looking at the table, the large fruit snack was barely touched, and the liquor was already half empty. Young people should take vitamins. Instead, I reached out and put a cherry in my mouth. 'Fuck, what is that guy?' 'Do you know someone?' The three of them looked at each other in confusion and seemed to have concluded that no one knew.

“What are you?!”

Friend 2, who was sitting right next to me, asked and I looked at him and gave him a cherry pit in my mouth as a gift. Tsk! The seed hit Friend 2's top and fell.

“Fuck you! You bastard!”

I heard swearing, but I still ignored them. Rather, I looked at the three of them in a comfortable position and chewed the cherry. Without saying a word, I made eye contact with each person and spat out the seeds again. Tuk.

“What are you?”

The class president still speaks informally, but his title has been changed to you. The sound of him rolling his head could be heard up to here. Since he suddenly came in and acted so shamelessly, isn't there something he believes in? And that's it. After all, those who have a tendency to be stabbed are really scared. While he was thinking about me, he turned his attention to the three women across from him. As he grinned at one woman, the other woman's face turned red.

"it's fun?"

When I asked, the three women just rolled their eyes and looked at each other without answering. I spoke in a friendly voice that works well with women.

“You know who you need to be most careful of in the club? A psychotic person who drinks and takes drugs, a petty thief who pretends to talk to you and steals things, a pervert who touches your body without permission, and these guys.”

I pointed at the class president and his group with my thumb. The guys immediately started swearing, but the women were already looking at the three of them and me alternately with wary eyes.

“Why these people?”

"minor."

The women's eyes widened. The voices of the three guys swearing next to me suddenly stopped.

"You can drink at a club with a high school student and get their number. But isn't it embarrassing? Go to school by 7:30 every morning, run to the cafeteria at 12 o'clock to eat first, stay behind to study on your own, and go to the academy until 11 at night. My boyfriend is studying at school. I got scolded by the teacher for dozing off in math class. I took a paper test in English class and got a perfect score. I'll get reports like this every day on KakaoTalk. If I say I want to see you now, I'll get a reply like this. No, my homeroom teacher will never. They don't make you leave school early. Do you know what's even more embarrassing? Now when these kids go to school, they talk all day long about having hooked up with older girls, passing around your number, passing around photos, and being treated like heroes. It's instantaneous for your face to become known to high school students. “She’s a slut who gets picked on even by high school students.”

The women suddenly stood up from their seats at the same time.

“Hey, you guys are in high school? Huh?”

One woman asked, but none of the three could answer. While I was avoiding the women's eyes, the class president glared at me. Fuck you, you're dead. He warned me with his mouth.

“Oh my, they really must be high school students. I’m so annoyed, really!”

As soon as the women left, the class leader and his group also jumped up from their seats.

“Fuck, what are you?!”

"A bastard, do you want to die?"

“Why are there all these guys?”

The three of them were swearing, and friend 2 next to me raised his arm as if he was going to hit me. I ignored him and took off the underwear he was wearing. Friend 2 looked like he was going to swing his fist at me at any moment, but he didn't move. He just looked at me with his arms raised. I put down next to me the old room that Jiyong had been crying and begging me to burn. The black short-sleeved shirt worn underneath is also a slouchy T-shirt worn at work. But their eyes were only focused on my arm.

​

 

It was very comfortable at times like this to have tattoos covering everything from my wrists to the parts covered by my shirt. Because young people are scared by tattoos, they flinch. I took off my clothes and sat down in a comfortable position. Saetun didn't say anything the other day and just looked at me. The guys have definitely turned into a watchful eye. I guess I've finally figured out that the guy who came in out of nowhere and kicked out the women is not someone to be trifled with.

“Hey, call the staff.”

When someone spoke, one person tried to ring a nearby employee's bell. But I reached out to the table first. I pulled out the ice bucket and poured the ice all over my shirt. C’mon! After the sound of ice pouring, he opened his mouth.

“If minors are allowed in these days, how many days will the store be shut down?”

As I said it to myself, my hand that was about to press the employee call button stopped. I could feel the three looking at each other. The class leader said that for a moment.

“Fuck, you think we come here once or twice? The owner here knows my brother well. Do you think he’ll even blink no matter what you say?”

“This is why they call you guys with no blood on your head.”

"what?"

“Call the boss. It’s easier for me. I’ll call the police right away. If we upset this place, who will be in the most trouble? The owner of the store? You? No, it’s your brother. Your brother, who is caught in the middle, is responsible for everything. “Situations will come. No matter how good of a brother you are, he would have given you a room at a bar and said something to you, right? Don’t cause trouble.”

The class leader's eyes wavered.

“What are you?”

“They told me in advance.”

I stood up, letting out my words regardless of his question. Holding a shirt wrapped in ice in one hand, I stood in front of the door to prevent them from jumping out.

“If you hit it with cold ice, there will be less bruising, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

what?! I pointed in front of me to the three people who were shouting the same thing.

“If you don’t want to get hit, lie down.”

It is true that everyone has one talent. No matter how trivial that talent is, I'm better at it than others, right? It's about admitting it to yourself. In my case, it was physical work. Since middle school, I couldn't study and just hung out with my friends and fought, so I was confident that I would win no matter who I got into. Skills are important in fighting, but you can easily defeat your opponent with just savvy and confidence. So, as an example, I hit one guy a few times and the three of them immediately looked down.

“Ugh…”

Only 20 minutes had passed since they fell down, and a cry came out of their mouths.

“Student in one, study in two.”

My words caught my breath. And I did push-ups while feeling like I was about to die.

“Ha, student... ugh, go, study... haa...”

“Who wants to stop?”

All three looked up at me at the same time. He told me again while looking at his pleading eyes.

“Student in one, study in two.”

“I’m sorry. I won’t come back again, okay?”

Friend 1 said in tears. As a guy who was the first to bow down after seeing his class leader get hit, he was the first to apologize.

“I really won’t come. I won’t even come near here, so just let me go.”

Friend 2 also pleaded. The class president kept his mouth shut until the end, perhaps out of pride, but after doing a few more push-ups, he couldn't hold back and screamed.

“Who are you? Why are you doing this to us?”

I still stood with my back to the door and gave orders to friends 1 and 2.

“You two wake up.”

The two quickly got up, but stopped in the middle of getting up. But I couldn't pay attention to them because I was busy talking to the class president.

“Student in one, study in two.”

“Ac, why...”

“If you don’t like it, go for it.”

​

 

“...Ha, student... Ugh, go, study...”

The class leader was panting, lowered his head, and barely did one push-up. Looking at his arms shaking, I think it will be quite difficult to lift cutlery tomorrow morning. But this is no problem. It still warms my heart when I think about how I came home today as a high school student and couldn't even hold a spoon properly. Fuck you, I won’t let you lift a spoon for 100 years. I tried to get him to do push-ups one more time, but I felt something strange behind my back.

Only then did I notice Friends 1 and 2 standing up and looking behind me with expressions of shock and fear. what? I turned my head. And seeing the person standing in front of the open door, Friends 1 and 2 became one and opened their eyes and mouths. A 190cm tall man was staring at me. It was a dog Buddha. thud! My heart plummeted. Perhaps because of the experience of my heart pounding every time I saw the Dog Buddha in Taek-in's body, my heart also reacted particularly loudly. But that's because I was surprised. Anyway, why is the Dog Buddha here?!

“How did you…”

I blurted out something without realizing it, but then quickly shut my mouth. He moved his eyebrows slightly, but I quickly turned around. The class president and his group were as frozen as statues with their soulless faces upon the teacher's appearance. Their shaking eyes shouted: Fucked! When I saw it, my surprise at the appearance of the Dog Buddha shifted to Han Chinese. iced coffee! Okay, you guys are dead now. Since you were caught drinking alcohol by a teacher and hanging out at a club, you guys are completely dead...

“You guys go.”

Okay, go... What?! I looked back at the Buddha to hear the sound of the wind. What kind of bullshit is this? But before I could protest, the class president and friends 1 and 2 ran away at the speed of light, as if escaping hell. Before I had time to catch them, the door closed and the dog came inside. I just stared at him with my mouth half-open.

“Why, why did you just send it?...?”

“Why can’t I just let it go?”

The guy asked and then stared at me as if I was the culprit who had committed the derailment. I also opened my eyes wide and glared back with a strong gaze.

“Why? Well, you...”

Because I'm a teacher. As I was about to speak, I realized my situation. Oh, that guy hasn't seen me in 12 years. He's never even spoken to me, so he probably doesn't even remember my face, damn it.

“What about me? Kwon Hee-chan.”

Stop. I turned my body towards the door.

“Do you remember me?”

“I see you remember me too.”

“Well then. You’re a dog.”

“I’m honored that you remember me.”

It's just the words, the expression on his face says, 'It doesn't matter whether I remember or not.' It was. I felt it at school too, but he was very different from the guy I remember from my school days. He was expressionless, dry, and when interacting with people, it felt like he was standing a few steps away and watching crookedly. I think I used to laugh a lot.

“I am truly honored.”

I also threw away empty words and stared at him blankly, then suddenly came to my senses. I was in a position where I had to drink with that guy, build a friendship with him, and then ask Taek-in to take good care of him. He quickly changed his expression and asked.

​

 

"It's nice to meet you. It's fate that we met like this, so let's have a drink together..."

"no."

It was harsh. Is it okay for Buddha to change like this? I tried to be as gentle as possible and let my feelings be known.

“You’ve lost your temper.”

“Do you know my name and say things like that?”

“It’s your name...”

"What?"

“...By the way, why did you just send the kids away?”

Damn it, what does it mean for a dog to know the name of a dog? I changed the subject and pointed at the alcohol and cigarettes on the table.

“Look, the student is drinking and smoking. What if we just let these guys go?”

“Why are you tormenting the dogs?”

Bullying?! Ha... I was so shocked that I laughed out loud.

“Didn’t you hear me? They’re high school students? I didn’t bully them, I scolded them harshly.”

I protested against the injustice, but the guy turned away without replying.

“If you have nothing to say, I’ll go first.”

"for a moment."

He just turned his head slightly as if he was annoyed. My pride was hurt, but I held it down and asked.

"It's fate that we met like this, but please give me your phone number..."

“Do you need money?”

“What? No.”

“Then why are you so rude?”

I forced my smile to disappear and took a step back.

“I have some loans left at the bank, but I’m making enough money right now so it’s not a problem. Even if I need money, I’m not going to ask a classmate I haven’t seen in 10 years to borrow it all, damn it.”

“If it’s not for the money, why are you pretending to be close to a classmate whose name you don’t even know, whom you just met after 10 years?”

"...."

“I have no intention of providing insurance or multi-level marketing at all. Can I go now?”

He asked sarcastically and left right away without paying any attention to my answer. Ah, why is that kid so unlucky? The thorns sprouted all over his body and he was so picky that he said, “Go away, hedgehog.” Did you get scammed or something? Have your parents passed away?

“My parents passed away.”

"what?!"

Sunday night. I met a high school classmate who came to visit the early morning market. Actually, he recognized me. I had no idea when he said my name, and then I just remembered that he was a vaguely familiar face. We were in the same class in our second year of high school. I asked because my ears were interested in what he said. Do you know the news about Dog Buddha?

“Maybe it was the end of last year? I received a group text message saying that my parents had passed away, so I went there. Before that, I stayed abroad, so I came to Korea for the first time in a few years because of my parents’ funeral. It was unfortunate.”

“Which of your parents passed away?”

“Both of you. It was an accident.”

"..."

“They said the reason I stayed abroad was because I didn’t have a good relationship with my parents. That must have been why I was so shocked. After that, I gave up my life abroad and came back to Korea. At the end-of-year reunion, the dog gave me food and alcohol at the hotel. “Thank you for coming to offer condolences. But why is he asking?”

uh? I just... I was vague about it, but then I confessed it honestly.

“I met him by chance and he was very rude. He was Buddha, right?”

My classmate smiled awkwardly and nodded her head. It was Buddha.

“It must have been a huge shock because our parents passed away so suddenly. And she inherited all that wealth. I guess there were a lot of people asking us to do something for them since we had so much money at our age.”

Even so, he misunderstood me as a beggar... well, I also approached him with a different purpose, so I have nothing to say.

“But you succeeded too.”

“What are you talking about? I just wanted to let you go.”

“Isn’t it difficult to open a store here? Unless you inherited money from your parents, everyone else works at a company like me and only now becomes an assistant manager, but you have completely established yourself. You worked at the market when you were in school, and you are truly amazing.”

I told him it wasn't a big deal, but he only said what he said.

“When I meet with the kids, they sometimes talk about you, and they’re all wondering when you’ll appear on TV.”

“TV? You thought I would become a criminal and be on the news?”

When I got angry, my classmate shook his head in embarrassment.

“No. Like dramas or movies...”

“What bullshit. Okay, you came to work?”

“Huh? Huh.”

I picked up the phone and called my favorite raw fish restaurant in the market.

“It’s me, Auntie. I’m going to visit a friend right now, so please treat me well with the raw fish that came in today. Yes, yes, I understand.”

Suddenly, I hung up the phone, found a business card in the drawer, and handed it to my classmate.

“If you go to the raw fish restaurants, it’s the third place. If you say you’re President Kwon’s friend, he’ll give it to you at a low price.”

He couldn't close his mouth as if he hadn't even thought about it. He thanked me several times and was about to return to his bored waiting group, but he stopped and looked back at me.

“By the way, we have a reunion next week. I don’t know your number, so I haven’t heard from you in a while, but if you’re interested in coming…”

“Is the Dog Buddha coming too?”

"Maybe he'll come? Since all the people he's close with come out..."

It rattled. I handed him my business card.

“Be sure to contact me.”