PHUW 119

Haeri’s head was a mess, so he fell asleep late at dawn. He skipped breakfast, rolled around for a long while, and when he finally got up, there was a message from that man.

–Did you sleep well?

It was a simple question, his heartbeat quickened slightly. Just as he got up, the dedicated nurse came in with soy milk as a snack. With the straw in his mouth, he paused to think about how to reply.

–I just woke up.

He typed a short answer, then double-checked for typos or mistakes before sending it. A reply came back immediately.

–Did you eat?

He explained he had skipped breakfast while sleeping, and since it wasn’t lunchtime yet, he was drinking soy milk for a snack. This time, there was only a read receipt and no reply.

‘Why even ask if you’re just going to leave me on read?’

He tossed the phone aside and sucked at the carton until it crumpled. The nurse nagged him to get up and wash, so he went into the attached shower room, and when he came back out, the nurse was at the door receiving something.

“What’s that?”

“A lunchbox.”

The nurse unpacked it on the sofa table. Not just any lunchbox, but a premium Korean beef bulgogi lunchbox.

“Oh wow, this place is really expensive. I didn’t know they even did lunchboxes.”

The nurse was impressed after reading the name printed on the chopsticks.

“You didn’t order this, did you?”

“How could I? Your guardian sent it. He said you skipped breakfast.”

He was a little taken aback. It hadn’t been being left on read. It was high-level proactive response.

The lunchbox came with two servings of rice, but the beef was enough for a family of four to throw a party and still have leftovers.

Even though she’d already eaten breakfast, the nurse was delighted, saying there was no reason not to eat an early lunch. She handed him a pair of chopsticks, and he sat on the sofa with them.

It was so good it made him want to curse. The food in the VIP ward had been very well prepared, but it still carried the distinct wholesome taste of hospital meals, which could get tiring after a while.

In contrast, the rich, oily, well-seasoned flavor of the Korean beef bulgogi was electrifying, enough to wake up his whole body. Even the side dishes were delicious. The moment he bit into them, he was reminded of the shiny wall in a large garden-style barbecue restaurant that had been recently remodeled, plastered with the restaurant’s founding history and old black-and-white photos of their humble first shop.

“I guess I like Korean beef bulgogi.”

He had never eaten it before in his life, so he was only learning this now. It wasn’t like he had never eaten expensive meals. He remembered once going with Lee Sangjin to a sushi omakase place that was exploding in popularity on Neostar, with lines out the door. It had been decently tasty for the price, but for a growing man in his twenties, the portions were far too small, and right after leaving, he had gone into a nearby snack shop to fill his still-hungry stomach.

This time was different. The lunchbox from a chaebol was truly chaebol-sized.

He stuffed himself with Korean beef bulgogi until his stomach felt like it would burst, yet the food still didn’t seem to decrease. The nurse had already put down her chopsticks and gone to the station to get digestive medicine.

What was left was neatly packed away and stored in the fridge. He planned to eat it again once it digested.

Sitting still, Haeri felt like he might get indigestion, so he grabbed his crutches and went out into the hallway.

At the nearest station, nurses and residents were gathered. Curious, he saw each of them picking up a lunchbox. It was the same kind he had just eaten. It looked like their delivery had just arrived.

“Thanks for the meal.”

The head nurse smiled and greeted him when she spotted him. Other nurses and doctors added a word each. It felt awkward to be thanked for something he hadn’t bought.

“Thanks to you, Mr. Haeri, we’re being spoiled.”

“This meat is really good. Thank you for the meal.”

“Thank you. Please tell your guardian we’re grateful too.”

Some he knew, some he didn’t. He tried to give a quick response and leave, but someone else would greet him. Thinking it must be over, he tried to pass, but someone who had already eaten came up to greet him again. It took him a while to get clear of the station.

By the time the greetings started to die down, he hurried to take refuge by the elevator.

The best part of the VIP ward was the elevator. Other wards required a wait of three or four minutes each time, but here, it came right away. With fewer people using it, he went straight down to the first floor.

He stepped out of the elevator, there was a neatly kept rear garden promenade.

It wasn’t especially refreshing, but it felt less stifling than indoors, so Haeri often killed time in this garden. As usual, he claimed his designated bench in the corner, stretched out his aching leg, and leaned back.

“So this is why people talk about chaebols. They’re on a whole different scale.”

He hadn’t realized they’d sent lunchboxes for everyone. His feelings were strange. He was a little embarrassed, but also proud.

Maybe this was how a class president felt when his parents bought hamburger sets for everyone. Usually loudmouthed kids suddenly acted awkward. It would have been better if they’d just stayed shameless, but doing things they never did before only made them annoying.

“They deserved it.”

He had never in his life experienced such a flood of praise and thanks, and only now did he understand. He also realized why kids who weren’t anything special themselves strutted around at school, just because their mom and dad cared about their grades, or why some stunted idiot who happened to know an important person acted so arrogant.

Having someone powerful at your back, and that someone being truly formidable, felt better than expected. Haeri suddenlyRead on felt confident for no reason.

It was ridiculous, at dawn he had been nauseated to death, vowing grimly that he had no choice but to cling to that man, playing the tragic lead in his own head. Embarrassed, he rubbed under his nose and pulled out his phone. He had been greeted, so he ought to pass it on.

–I received the lunchbox well. It was really delicious. Thank you. Others also said to pass along their thanks.

He checked twice for mistakes before sending. The reply came immediately.

–Good. If there’s anything else you want to eat, contact me anytime. I’ll send it.

He started typing that it was fine since there was still bulgogi left, then erased it. What if he declined and Jeong Mok took it at face value?

–Yes. I will. Thank you.

Even if it felt a little shameless, if someone offered to buy him food, he should take it. The man had said he could do whatever he wanted, after all. Even if not sincere, this much was fine.

He thought the short exchange was over. But it wasn’t.

–Then have a good afternoon.

It was an ordinary greeting. But Haeri was more flustered than when he had received the “Did you sleep well?” message that morning.

In his life, he had never once exchanged such corny greetings. Normally it ended with a “Haha” and then nothing, or a curt “Yeah” or else just abruptly cut off. All [stolen content]his friends were like that. Lee Sangjin was no different. Not that he had never seen this kind of thing before.

Even the rough, mouthy punks, when flirting or actually dating, would act cute, pitiful, or gentle. When Haeri happened to witness such scenes, he always frowned like he was seeing the most disgusting sight in the world.

He had long known that such idiotic habits weren’t bound by gender. But now he realized they weren’t bound by age or social standing either.

‘Compared to those bastards’ revolting tricks, this is normal.’

The problem was that Haeri himself had no immunity to this kind of saccharine nonsense.

“Damn. What do I even reply?”

He couldn’t just ignore it. This was someone he needed to stay on good terms with, no matter what. And at the very least, because of the lunchbox, he didn’t want to snub him and risk offense.

The content was simple. Just wish him a good afternoon too. But the title of address was the problem. He couldn’t think of what to use. Guardian? Hyung-nim? Both felt awkward and wrong.

After much thought, he settled on “I hope Vice Chairmanhas a good afternoon too.”

“Ha.”

Sending something so trivial had actually made him nervous, and afterward he felt a bit drained. Breathing out as the quiet breeze of the garden brushed him, Haeri opened Neostar on his old account.

Chief Ahn had told him not to contact anyone. It could be dangerous. Haeri had answered [unauthorized copy]that with Lee Sangjin dead, there wasn’t anyone he particularly needed to contact anyway. But checking messages others had sent should be fine.

The only mutual private follows were Sangjin, Sangjin’s girlfriend, and three or four friends he had met while working part-time. Aside from that, the accounts he subscribed to were mostly big shops or brand official accounts.

Messages had piled up. Most were simple check-ins, asking what he was up to these days, meaningless “let’s meet when we have time” kinds of notes. But one person’s message stood out.

It was from the mall owner where he had taken a fitting shot right before the accident. The owner said he liked the fitting cut and asked if Haeri wanted to do more.

The first message had arrived about a month ago. After that, messages had kept coming every three or four days, urging him to get in touch. When he first saw them, he had felt a little thrilled, thinking maybe he could make a living this way. But the relentless string of messages felt ominous. It was stalker-like.

“What is this guy doing?”

He blocked him on the spot.

Later, digging through the inbox, he found the next sender was Sangjin’s girlfriend. They had never exchanged phone numbers, but sometimes, when she couldn’t reach Sangjin, she had messaged Haeri through Neostar to ask if he was with him.

–Are you together?

Even though it was an abrupt opening, Haeri knew it was about Sangjin’s whereabouts. The date was the night of the accident. Sangjin was already dead, and Haeri, who had witnessed it, had been running for his life.

–Why are both of you not answering?

–What are you doing?

–At a bar?

–With a girl?

–If I catch him, he’s dead. Ahn Haeri, you won’t be safe either. Fuck, you’re both dead.

He wasn’t able to read further because it was too painful.