Chapter 563 (1/2)
Geunsoo opened the door to the shabby-looking Soondae-gukbap restaurant, the place of his appointment. Two flies buzzed past his ears. The electric fans installed on the two walls of the restaurant made pitiful noises as the fans rotated around. There didn’t seem to be any air conditioning. An alleyway split this part of the area into a forest of buildings and a shanty town. Perhaps Seoul was built to show what the gap between the rich and poor was like?
“Over here!”
He saw someone wave from one of the seats inside. Geunsoo smiled and walked over.
“I’m honored that journalist Kim Dongwook has called for me, but isn’t this too shabby for an interview?”
“Should we meet in a high-class restaurant next time then?”
“I was just joking, hyung. So this is the restaurant you come to a lot, huh.”
“You won’t know when this place will disappear.”
The lady chopping up spring onions at the table in front of the TV said ‘bullshit’ in a loud voice as though she had heard what Dongwook just said.
“See that? I’m one of the main sources of income here, and yet that’s the treatment I get.”
“Your job is to get sworn at though.”
“Right. Journalists get sworn at by others. Only then can they live a plentiful life. Journalist Awards and things like that aren’t that good since most people that get them are probably injured. Receiving back-hand money and treats to meals while writing is the splendid standard of a journalist. Oh, you haven’t eaten yet, have you?”
Dongwook shouted ‘one gukbap please!’ in a loud voice. A reply came from the kitchen, saying ‘shur’. It seemed that the owner here was quite old.
“I heard you’re doing a movie?”
“There was no official announcement, so I’m surprised that you know about it already.”
“Of course I do. Your president told me everything so that I can release articles at the right time.”
“Oh, my president? What does your president do?”
“My boss? I’m guessing he must be looking at some papers while drinking some tea for his health?”
“What a coincidence. My president should be doing business while drinking tea now too. Is that tea perhaps red ginseng tea?”
“What a coincidence indeed. My boss likes red ginseng tea too. He likes to smoke and drink but drinks red ginseng tea for his health. How romantic is that? Moreover, he is so patriotic that he likes to buy alcohol and cigarettes, the two most taxed items in the country. He’s the taxpayer of the year.”
Geunsoo laughed silently. Junmin did say things like that from time to time; that he looked after his health in order to drink and smoke.
“I haven’t seen you lately at the company. Where have you been?”
“Our president Lee Junmin is quite picky, you know? He instructed me to do so many things that I haven’t had time to come to the company. I wonder why I joined JA in the first place. I should’ve just stuck to internet writing.”
“Who was it that liked it when he got a fat paycheck and even an office-tel to live in?”
“That, I must agree. Though, I don’t like how I have to leave the house to smoke.”
“Why don’t you take this opportunity to quit?”
“Why don’t you tell me to die instead? It’s too cruel to tell me to quit smoking when even the strong president Lee can’t do that.”
Just as Dongwook grabbed the cigarette he placed on his ear, the soondae-gukbap came out. Just looking at that steaming food made Geunsoo sweat.
“Try eating it without the additional condiments. It’s really good. Even Maru, who has childish tastes, emptied it in one go, so don’t worry about the smell.”
“Maru might be a kid, but I’m not sure about him having childish tastes.”
“Is that so? Well, I guess that’s true. I subconsciously end up ordering a bottle of rice wine if I eat gukbap with him. If I do, he puts out his glass so boldly. It’s flabbergasting. But what’s even more absurd is that I end up pouring one for him. I want to see him drunk once, but I’ve never gotten the chance.”
“Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Maru drunk. I had a chance to drink with him a few days ago, but his facial color didn’t change at all.”
“Hey, you leaving me out like that? Are actors bullying journalists or what?”
“Suyeon was there too. Should I have called you?”
“She was there too? Then forget it. I’m a bit scared of her.”
“Isn’t ‘scared’ going a little too far even though we belong to the same company?”
“Like you haven’t said the same thing until a while ago. How’s it these days?”
“How’s what these days?”
“What do you mean what? I’m talking about your progress. If you’re going to date someone in the company, then tell me beforehand. Oh, also the marriage announcement.”
“If you keep doing this, I’ll just leave, okay?”
“There you go again. It’s not like you are completely opposed to it.”
“Family members shouldn’t do that.”
“Tell me honestly. Do you really have no thoughts about it at all?”
“At this current state, well, I just got an uncute little sister.”
“You never know what might happen between a man and a woman. Little sister this, little sister that might eventually become honey this, honey that.”
“Why are you doing this to me? Hey, you seemed to be meeting that other journalist frequently these days.”
“That other journalist? Who?”
“Miss Choi Miyeon from Sharon, was it? The pretty journalist who’s wasted on you.”
“Her? Don’t make me laugh. She’s a junior of mine, and I’m hanging out with her only because of some headaching matters. After that’s done, I’m not going to meet her again.”
“A certain someone said that junior this, junior that will become honey this, honey that.”
“Sheesh. Do the people at JA drink olive oil for breakfast? Why are they so good with their tongues?”
“You aren’t better off. I mean, you belong to JA too.”
They stopped talking and Geunsoo focused on eating for a while. He didn’t add any additional condiments, but the savory taste filled his mouth.
“How about some drinks to go with it?”
“I brought my car, so I can’t. Didn’t you bring your car as well?”
“I’ll be the only one drinking then, so take me home later.”
“What about the opposite?”
“What a cruel guy.”
“I can say the same thing to you. Also, drinking when the sun is still high up in the sky is a bit, you know. Plus, looking for alcohol when you aren’t supposed to be drinking is negligence of duty.”
“It’s already well-known in the industry that drinking one glass increases business efficiency. Even a renowned medical journal talked about it.”
“Which medical journal?”
“Kim Dongwook medical journal.”
“What a quack medical journal.”
After finishing off the food, Geunsoo made two cups of stick coffee before coming back to the table. After giving one to Dongwook, he drank a sip.
“But hey, what are you really doing these days? I feel like it’s even harder to see you than when you weren’t in JA.”
“I told you. The president has me do a lot of things.”
“Junmin-seonbae told me the opposite though.”