Chapter 08
Yoon Deok, who had brought water glasses and set them on the table, looked at the three in turn and asked.
“What would you like?”
“Auntie, we’ll have the cockle bibimbap.”
As Seonho nodded, Yoon Deok’s gaze turned to Kwon Woo.
“I’ll have the cockle bibimbap too.”
Hearing the order, Yoon Deok made a troubled face.
“Oh dear, we only have enough cockles left for two servings. One of you will have to order something else.”
A brief silence fell over the table.
Yoon Deok’s gaze shifted between Kwon Woo and Seonho.
Two men, one woman.
In this situation, one of the two men was supposed to give in.
Thinking that Kwon Woo should naturally be the one to yield in this situation, Jangmi openly signaled him with her eyes.
*You can eat plenty of delicious food in Seoul, so why not give in?*
But Kwon Woo said nothing, as if it were none of his concern.
“…”
To let him know that the restaurant had more delicious things than just cockle bibimbap, Jangmi recommended another menu item.
“Mister, their kimchi stew is also amazing here. It’s famous in Dongchon-ri!”
Even after saying that much, one might have expected him to take the hint and change his order, but Kwon Woo didn’t budge.
“I don’t like kimchi stew. I’ll have the cockle bibimbap.”
Jangmi’s lips trembled.
*This… big… dog-like human!*
She couldn’t very well tell Seonho, who had first suggested coming for cockle bibimbap, to give it up either.
Gritting her teeth, Jangmi changed her order.
“Auntie, on second thought, I’m craving meat today. I feel like chewing on something tough. I’ll switch to the spicy stir-fried pork.”
When Jangmi said she’d give up her beloved cockle bibimbap, Seonho, who couldn’t stand to let that happen, stepped in.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll have the stir-fried pork. You have the cockle bibimbap. I changed my mind after I got here anyway.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I’m not giving it up. I just feel like having something spicy.”
In the end, it was Seonho who gave up the cockle bibimbap.
Soon, the food arrived and the meal began.
On guard against Kwon Woo, Seonho deliberately steered the conversation toward topics only the two of them would know.
“It’s nice having someone to eat lunch with like this since you came back down.”
“Don’t you have anyone to eat with at the health center? There are nurses and other staff.”
“Still, eating with you tastes better.”
“Really? Then let’s do this often on days when there’s a good menu.”
“Oh, great. Let’s do that.”
As Jangmi’s gaze turned toward him, a smile immediately spread across Seonho’s face.
Seonho was three years older than Jangmi and had been known as a prodigy in this neighborhood since childhood.
Having never lost first place in his class throughout elementary, middle, and high school, he was the pride of Dongchon-ri and a living legend. Because they’d grown up in the same neighborhood, Jangmi had followed Seonho around like a shadow since she was a toddler, and Seonho had likewise looked after Jangmi affectionately, as if she were his own younger sister.
After graduating from a medical school in Seoul and becoming a doctor, Seonho had returned to the Dongchon-ri health center instead of pursuing a guaranteed future at a large hospital. He said he wanted to care for the elderly in his hometown, where he had childhood memories.
Meanwhile, Jangmi, who had left Dongchon-ri after high school to work in Seoul, had quit her job and spent nearly six months as a freeloader, looking for work in the city.
Yeongran couldn’t bear to see her daughter alone in a foreign place without a job. Unable to resist Yeongran’s pressure, Jangmi returned to Dongchon-ri, and it was Seonho who welcomed her return the most.
Their trivial, personal conversations continued, having nothing to do with Kwon Woo.
Unintentionally, Kwon Woo learned about the two’s past.
That Seonho was a doctor at the local health center, that they’d grown up close as neighborhood oppa and dongsaeng since childhood, and that Jangmi was a freeloader who’d quit her job in Seoul and come back to her hometown.
He normally had no interest in other people’s trivial personal affairs, but listening to their stories while eating the cockle bibimbap he’d secured despite the dirty looks wasn’t boring at all.
Glancing at Kwon Woo, who was listening to their conversation, Seonho asked as if he’d just remembered.
“Have those thugs who came to bother you before come back?”
“Oh, the guys who came through that real estate guy Mr. Kim?”
“Yeah. They said most of the other land for the resort was already contracted and only your cafe was left, and they threatened you to sell.”
“Mom chased them away by sprinkling a scoop of salt. She also reported them to the police, so they’ve been patrolling near our cafe regularly lately.”
“When Auntie goes out for work, you’re all alone at the cafe. If you see anyone suspicious, call me right away.”
Then he cast another glance at Kwon Woo.
As if to let him know, ‘I’m the one protecting this woman.’
Kwon Woo raised his water glass and took a sip. His face was indifferent, as if it wasn’t worth responding to.
Jangmi was too engrossed in her meal to notice the subtle tension between the two.
“Oppa, you’re not even free. Are you going to just leave your patients and come running in the middle of your work?”
“Of course I would.”
Grateful that he’d at least say that much, Jangmi curved her lips softly.
“Don’t worry. I’m not the type to be taken down so easily. If things get hairy, I’ll just strike their vital spot.”
Jangmi mimed kicking.
Seonho chuckled.
“Yeah, do that if it comes to it.”
Even though they were sitting at the same table, the conversation between the two continued exclusively.
The outsider, completely excluded from the conversation, Kwon Woo kept drinking water while listening to them, and soon his glass was empty.
Setting down his empty glass, Kwon Woo gestured with his chin toward the water pitcher in front of Seonho.
“Could you pass that water pitcher?”
Somehow not wanting to do what he asked so readily, Seonho glanced down at the pitcher.
Then he looked at Kwon Woo.
“Get it yourself. It’s within arm’s reach.”
Jangmi, who had been happily enjoying her cockle bibimbap, also stopped eating at the tension between the two.
Why did the atmosphere suddenly change like this?
Earlier, when Jangmi’s glass was empty, Seonho had refilled it before she even asked.
Yet now, Seonho was refusing to even hand over the pitcher right in front of him.
‘Is this because he gave up the cockle bibimbap earlier?’
Jangmi slowed her spoon and looked back and forth between the two.
“Someone refills it before it’s even empty, and now someone refuses to even hand over a pitcher. Do you maybe have a thing for the Eunhasu Cafe girl?”
A moment of silence fell over the table.
Seonho’s face turned red up to his ears at having his feelings exposed.
‘He definitely likes her.’
Kwon Woo concluded that his intuition had been right.
Jangmi was equally flustered by the sudden remark.
Caught in the tense atmosphere between the two men, she choked on her water.
“Keuk, keuk!”
*What is this guy saying out of nowhere in the middle of a meal! Why did the conversation suddenly jump like that!*
Looking at Seonho, his face was bright red.
Sensing the awkward turn of the atmosphere, Jangmi quickly changed the subject.
“Hey, I’m not the ‘Eunhasu Cafe girl,’ I have a name. Na Jangmi.”
“That’s right, Na Jangmi-ssi. Do you have feelings for this ‘oppa’ here too? From what I can see, this ‘oppa’ seems to.”
At 26 years of living as a lifelong singleton, this was the first time she’d encountered such a situation.
Was this something only those who’d tasted meat knew, and those who’d dated knew?
Jangmi couldn’t think of a proper response to avoid the awkwardness.
Just then, Seonho picked up the pitcher.
Then he began pouring water into Kwon Woo’s empty glass.
Filling it to the brim, as if it might overflow.
Even when water splashed onto his sleeve, he didn’t stop.
“There. I’ve poured your water.”
Seonho forced a smile.
“Now close that mouth of yours.”
Kwon Woo looked down at the brimming glass.
The water sloshed precariously, ready to spill at the slightest touch—just like Seonho’s heart.
But the target of that heart, Jangmi, was different.
Unlike Seonho, whose neck was flushed red, Jangmi was just flustered by the awkward situation, showing no signs of shyness.
Kwon Woo curled the corner of his mouth.
“Judging by her reaction, it’s one-sided. She doesn’t seem to feel the same.”
Having flustered both of them, Kwon Woo calmly continued his meal.
