Chapter 20
Episode 20. Dog Poop Philosophy
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Returning to the room with the items bought at the convenience store, Ahn Yuna was taking out the filter from the wall-mounted air conditioner.
Placing the brought items on the dining table, Taeseo said.
“Why are you taking that out? I told you it's not broken.”
“Still, just in case.”
“The air conditioner looks new, what don't you know? I'm telling you, it really doesn't smell.”
“No, actually... I bought it from a small-to-medium appliance store because I was short on money.”
“Huh? Then it's a used one?”
At the mention of it being used, Ahn Yuna was startled as if burned and babbled incoherently.
“Still, I bought the cleanest one. Really, just in case, I was trying to at least clean the filter…”
Even if it was used by someone else, I had no intention of finding fault, but seeing Ahn Yuna trying to take responsibility for everything with her own hands made me let out a hollow laugh.
“Enough of that. Let’s eat.”
“Eat?”
“Yeah. You must not have eaten since you came from work.”
“I can just eat the disposables after I go downstairs.”
At the mention of eating disposables, Taeseo’s brow furrowed.
“Why do you call it disposables when you eat it as a lunchbox? What’s the reason for calling it that?”
“Lunchboxes that have passed their sell-by date and must be removed from the shelves are all called disposables. Everyone working at a convenience store uses that term.”
“Whether someone else used it or not. You can just call it a lunchbox. Why do you call it disposables when you eat it?”
This statement was sincere.
Taeseo’s mother was a person who always said one should maintain their appearance and pay attention to what they eat and wear.
Although I wasn't the type to blindly follow my mother's words, I still tried to dress well according to her philosophy, and whenever possible, I lived by seeking out and eating good things.
Even when drinking the same type of liquor, according to that philosophy, I drank 30-year-old liquor instead of 17-year-old. My mother might not have explicitly told me to buy good liquor, but I followed her words as steadfastly as that.
To Taeseo, who had lived that way, Ahn Yuna’s referring to the food that would go into her mouth as disposables, meaning something that has become unusable and is to be thrown away, was incomprehensible.
“If you call food disposables again, I’m really kicking you out.”
“Ah, yes. I understand…”
Taeseo put two disposable rice bowls, tteokgalbi, and yukjeon into the microwave to heat.
He took the filter from Ahn Yuna, who was hesitating with it in her hands, and placed it in front of the air conditioner, then pulled the chair she had brought in front of the air conditioner to the dining table.
“Sit.”
Just then, the microwave beeped. Taeseo took out the food and laid it on the table, then took out the sesame ramen and tuna from the convenience store bag and placed them in front of Ahn Yuna.
“You said you liked sesame ramen with tuna, right? Eat up.”
Ahn Yuna looked at Taeseo as if wondering how he knew that. It was as if he had completely forgotten that she had brought him sesame ramen and tuna on the first day.
He also placed the strawberry-flavored carbonated drink that Ahn Yuna had brought at the time in front of her. Ahn Yuna’s eyes widened even further, as if that too was a favorite drink.
“You said the side dishes from Seongwoo Baekban were delicious. These are all made by that ajumma, so eat them. I can’t eat them all by myself.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you for the meal.”
Ahn Yuna got up and started filling the electric kettle with water to heat it. Taeseo watched her actions and then spoke.
“My mom, you see. She’s a ‘haljuma’.”
“Haljuma?”
“It’s between halmeoni and ajumma.”
At the word ‘haljuma’, Ahn Yuna chuckled. The trembling demeanor she had shown earlier when confronting her uncle after getting off the bus had completely vanished.
“My mom worries a lot and nags a lot. She always nags that people live according to their words.”
“I see.”
“Yes, you see. If I were to nag like my mom, don't use the word ‘disposables’ for the food you eat. It makes it sound like you eat trash and live off it.”
The reason he was nagging her, or rather interfering, was because he genuinely felt sorry that she, who was already living among trash-like people, said she was eating disposables.
“But you don’t seem to be someone who listens well to your mother’s words either.”
“What do you mean?”
“You said your mother says people live according to their words. But you don’t speak very prettily either, do you? You swear all the time.”
You’re kidding me? Taeseo looked at Ahn Yuna with disbelief.
“Hey, when did I ever swear?”
“When? Today too, I heard you put ‘ssibal’ in your mouth several times. Like an interjection.”
“No, what do you take me for?”
I swear, I wasn't the type to speak so vulgarly.
“That’s because people like your uncle won’t listen if you speak nicely.”
At that, the smile on Ahn Yuna’s face deepened.
“So it’s true that you saved me.”
This girl is really playing with me. Taeseo scowled and turned his head away from Ahn Yuna.
His face felt strangely hot, and his neck and ears were burning.
Ahn Yuna also averted her gaze from Taeseo and poured boiling water from the electric kettle into two cups of ramen.
“Like you said, I actually love eating sesame ramen with tuna the most. I also love eating it with strawberry-flavored Welch’s. There are a few great combinations for convenience store food, and this is the best combination for me.”
Ahn Yuna sat opposite him at the dining table, which was only 1m wide, and looked at Taeseo with a happy expression, as if she had received a lavish feast.
“If you like it, eat your fill.”
Ahn Yuna held the cup noodle containers with both hands and said while waiting for the ramen to cook.
“You can just say you’re eating, why do you say ‘eat your fill’?”
“Who are you to nag? Are you my mom?”
“Are you nagging me because you’re my dad?”
“Don’t talk back so much.”
Taeseo pushed the plate of yukjeon in front of Ahn Yuna.
“Eat the meat.”
After pushing the tteokgalbi in front of Ahn Yuna, following the yukjeon plate, he said with an intentionally indifferent expression.
“Protein is the best for healing wounds.”
Ahn Yuna picked up a piece of yukjeon with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth. Taeseo watched her chew with her small mouth as if mesmerized, but when their eyes met, he scowled again.
“Shit. You really messed it up.”
“What? The meat?”
“Your face. What is that on a girl’s face?”
In Taeseo’s eyes, Ahn Yuna’s fair face was the most harmonious and beautiful face he had ever seen on a woman.
With a face like that, there would be many ways to live comfortably without working hard for money, yet to have such a valuable face ruined like this…
“Eat more meat to heal your wounds quickly. Ah, shit. Just give me the ramen and you eat the meat with rice.”
As Taeseo reached out as if to snatch the ramen, Ahn Yuna quickly clutched her cup noodles with both hands.
“I can eat both the rice and the ramen. I eat a lot.”
“Uh, uh, yeah. You can leave the ramen if you want, but focus on the meat.”
Ahn Yuna averted her gaze from Taeseo, looking embarrassed. Then, she raised the hand that had been holding the cup noodles and felt the stitched wound on her forehead.
“Is it very noticeable? I thought it wasn’t visible because of my hair…”
“If it bothers you, eat more meat. Scars bother you for life, so just eat the meat without complaining.”
“Ah, yes…”
Ahn Yuna, with her head bowed, picked up a piece of yukjeon and chewed, her earlobes turning as red as Taeseo’s cheeks.
\ \ *
Hyunwoo got into Taeseo’s car heading to Seongwoo Baekban.
“You’re going to the Baekban place again today, right?”
“Yeah.”
Although there was a cafeteria next to the golf course construction site, Taeseo never set foot there, where Namgyeong Development employees ate.
Even if eating among the workers at the site was one thing, Taeseo didn’t like the idea of scooping food buffet-style.
“I’ve bought myself ten days, at least…”
Watching Taeseo drive while muttering to himself, Hyunwoo tilted his head.
“What do you mean you’ve bought yourself ten days?”
“Ah. Ahn Yuna’s uncle.”
“Ahn Yuna’s uncle?”
“Yeah. I’m supposed to contact him in ten days about the rent.”
“It’s about the rent, right? Perhaps you’re negotiating land acquisition through him…”
To Hyunwoo, who had grown up properly, the idea of negotiating land compensation with such a scoundrel seemed unpleasant.
“I’ll look into it first.”
Even if it was just for the rent, Ahn Yuna’s uncle would come to see Taeseo, and it was as good as having made an appointment to meet.
Taeseo planned to gather information about Ahn Yuna’s family during that time.
Information superiority is an indispensable element for gaining an advantageous position in negotiations, and going to Seongwoo Baekban was for that reason.
In any case, Namgyeong held the purse strings, and since he was there as a representative of Namgyeong, Taeseo’s goal was to resolve the matter quickly.
Taeseo parked his car in front of Seongwoo Baekban, opened the restaurant door, and went inside. To his surprise, he was greeted not by the restaurant owner, but by her husband.
“I thought you might come today, and you’re here. It’s hot, so come in and get some cool air.”
Taeseo looked at him with a displeased gaze. He had been embarrassed once when the man had put food served to customers into a takeout container, so he was inwardly uneasy about him being at the restaurant counter.
The restaurant owner’s husband, unconcerned by Taeseo’s expression, brought water and placed it on the table where Taeseo and Hyunwoo were sitting.
“First, gulp down some cold water.”
As Hyunwoo poured the chilled barley tea into the cups, the restaurant owner’s husband hovered around the table as if he had something to say.
“Excuse me… you guys work for Namgyeong Development, right?”
