-11

a.n: I made this into two shots. some of you might've read the first chapter, but I made slight changes :) thank you :* Plz enjoy.

The weather in the middle of June in Japan never ceased to fail everyone. The clouds almost cried every evening until in the middle of the night, making the way home for the salarymen difficult. Even though they brought umbrella or raincoat with them, the wetness still annoying. There wasn’t any safe bet for them: if they wanted to wash their clothes, it wouldn’t be dry the next day. But if they didn’t wash their clothes, at the end of the week, they wouldn’t have any clean clothes to wear to go to work.

Seunghyun loved to hear the sound of the falling water. If there wasn’t any customer, he would just sit and hear nature sound from the so-called kitchen. It had been his tenth month in Japan and almost his fifth month in Osaka –and also working in the small restaurant near the train station. If he heard the sound of water drops collided with the roof, he would miss his mother who always be beside him, comforting him because he was afraid of the sound of thunder that appeared sometimes between the sounds of the rain.

He was an ordinary man, trying to find out the meaning of life after the unending slaps and hits he received from his father. He was a failure, his father said, because the older man heard him confessing that he was more interested in guys rather than hundreds of beautiful girls his father offered at him. Seunghyun huffed a bitter weak laugh. He touched the healing scar on his left brow, a last mark left by his father before his only son decided to get out from the house.

The scar on his body might heal, but not the scar on his heart.

Without looking back, he took his luggage and went out from the house. His mother’s plea didn’t change his mind to take separate way from his father. In his mind, if his father truly loved him, he would accept whatever his son’s choice. His father’s ego was big, but Seunghyun’s was even bigger. The young blood in his body made him boldly taking the risk without thinking about the consequences.

He was alone and he was not used with the loneliness. He only had a few money left on his account after living here and there, hiding from his father and being a leech for his friends. Despite his hard effort to find a job, they always rejected him. The last job he had was a cashier at inconvenience store, but he was fired because they found a student who was willed to be paid lower than Seunghyun.

With the money left, he decided to go to Japan. With his friend’s help, Youngbae, he finally got a job helping a small restaurant to clean the table, wash the dishes –all the small errands he could do. Even though the payment wasn’t that good, Seunghyun got a free bowl of curry rice every night.

He lived with Youngbae, who worked as a trader in downtown. He couldn’t pay his share for the apartment yet, but he made sure that he helped Youngbae with cooking and cleaning the apartment. The black haired man didn’t have his own room and everyday he had to tidy up the futon. Slowly but sure, he picked up his scattered life and for the first time in six month living a life of a leech, he paid some to Youngbae, even he insisted Seunghyun to save the money for his own.

It’s raining harder than before and Seunghyun stood up from his chair. When it was raining like this, the small restaurant would be almost empty. He sighed heavily. The specialty of this restaurant was curry rice. Sure it would be served when it was warm, but people needed something like soup to warm their body in the middle of the cold weather, and curry rice wasn’t helping that much.

“Haaaa—i! Welcome to the restaurant!”

Seunghyun’s ears stood up upon hearing the greeting his Boss said to the incoming customer. He immediately washed his hands and started to wear plastic gloves. He smiled. Even it had been his third week helping in the kitchen, it was still like his first time to do another task and his heart beat faster than ever. His boss said that he could help in the kitchen because they found another worker to do his previous tasks. Besides, the boss found out that he could cook when he sneakily made something in the kitchen after hours.

“Oh, you again?”

Seunghyun couldn’t contain himself to not peeking from the small gap between the kitchen and the tables when he heard his boss talking in Korean with a person beside him. Seunghyun immediately took off his plastic gloves and fished out his phone to look at the screen.

June, 16th

20:00.

That man again, Seunghyun smiled.

He put back the phone hastily and was about to wear his plastic gloves again. But then he realized that it was always his boss who served that particular customer since he started to work at the restaurant, so he didn’t bother to put his gloves on again.

Then his boss entered the kitchen and Seunghyun just stood up at the corner, tailing his boss’ movements with his eyes. Like a surgeon would do, his boss would wear the gloves gracefully. He took the rice to the plate and then poured curry into it. Unlike the other customers that got their curry on top of their rice, Seunghyun found out that his boss would put the curry around the rice just for that man, making the white hot rice free from anything but fukujinzuke.

After that, his boss pour a cold Korean Barley Tea for him, which wasn’t on the menu. His boss had a jug only for himself stored in the refrigerator and he didn’t share it to anyone but Seunghyun and that man. Seunghyun wanted to tell his boss to serve a hot tea instead of the cold one because of the weather, but he swallowed back his words remembering that it was almost a ritual for that man.

The last thing his boss would do was taking a bucket of vanilla ice cream from the freezer, took one scoop and added sprinkle on top of it; which wasn’t on the menu either. Seunghyun folded his arms on his chest. How could his boss treat this man differently from the other customers? What was so special about him?

His boss lifted up the tray and brought it to the table in the middle. That man also sat on the same table as far as Seunghyun could remember. His boss sat in front of the man and hugged the tray after setting all the dishes in front of him.

“Hyung, you shouldn’t sit here,” he smiled weakly at Seunghyun’s boss, “It’s time.”

“You should stop doing this, Dongsaeng-ah,” the older man stood up and patted the shoulder of the customer, who Seunghyun found out was younger than his boss. “It’s been almost a year.”

“Apparently a year is not enough to heal myself,” he twirled the spoon in front of him while looking blankly at it.

“You must forgive yourself.”

“Forgive my ,” he laughed bitterly while looking at the man in front of him.

Seunghyun saw his boss made circles on his dongsaeng’s back before going back to the kitchen and sat behind the counter. Including him, there were only three customer who were eating in the restaurant. He looked at his boss who was staring at the man. Unwillingly, Seunghyun also did the same.

The man always wear a black suit every time he came to the restaurant, brought a bouquet of rose with him and then would get wasted, and stayed until the restaurant closed. His boss would call a cab for him and sent him home because he couldn’t take care of himself. Although it had been his sixth time Seunghyun saw him, Seunghyun never knew his name. He eavesdropped his boss conversation one time and found out that man was left by his lover.

A heartbroken person like me.

Could we mend each other’s heart then?

Realizing something, Seunghyun took out again his phone and read the time.

20:13

Two minutes before his ritual.

What amazed Seunghyun was he would eat the dishes at exactly fifteen minutes past eight, no more and no less. After that time, vanished all the sadness on his face and he would eat the curry wholeheartedly. He would smile time to time while taking a glance to the seat in front of him, as if there was someone sitting.

Then there was another question popped up from his head. That man would not eat the vanilla ice cream at all and it made Seunghyun furious. As a person who loved vanilla ice cream and in the verge of bankruptcy, wasting any food was a big no-no for him. He turned his head to the right to look at his boss and snickered. Why his boss kept giving him the vanilla ice cream even though he knew that the customer wouldn’t eat that? Better give it to me, I will eat it happily. The thought of stopping his boss giving the vanilla ice cream to his dongsaeng crossed his mind once, but then he remembered that the man got special treatments from his boss anyway.

After finishing his curry rice and barley tea, he would ask for two bottles of soju and again, no more no less. Seunghyun snickered. That man was a light-drinker and one bottle of soju could make him drunk, let alone two bottles. But even on his drunk state, he wouldn’t forget to drink the other straight from the bottle. He would lift up his chin, loosen his necktie and with his plump lips he kissed the mouth of the bottle. His Adam’s apple would move up and down and some of the soju would escape from his mouth down to his long neck.

And at that very specific scene, Seunghyun lost his mind.

Seunghyun wanted to be the bottle.

Seunghyun was aware that the man inherited the ‘authentic Korean face’ –or so he called. A pair of small eyes and chiseled jawline were two of the characteristics. Overall, he is cute, Seunghyun thought. Seunghyun never saw that man smiled but he bet that his eyes would disappear just like Youngbae’s.

“Hey, Jiyong!”

Speak about the devil and it shall come, Seunghyun said inwardly. He saw Youngbae’s head appeared between the red curtains his boss put at the entrance. His boss just lifted his right hand as the answer of Youngbae’s greeting.

“Again?” Youngbae pointed out the man who was drinking the soju with his gaze and his boss nodded.

“As usual,” his boss replied his roommate shortly.

Seunghyun furrowed his eyebrows. Youngbae never told him that he knew the special customer of the restaurant. But then he realized that it was the first time the four of them –well, plus the man- met together in one place. Seunghyun made a mental note that he would ask Youngbae about the man, because he didn’t have the nerve to ask his boss.

Youngbae just went away without saying anything after the short talk, unlike the other days. Youngbae usually stopped by to greet his friend Jiyong, the owner of the restaurant and Seunghyun. But being a timid person Seunghyun was, he was naturally left out from the conversation. His roommate would order a caramelized fried sweet potato and then stayed for a good thirty minutes before excusing himself. He didn’t wait for Seunghyun because he knew Seunghyun would come home late.

Then a loud sound of glasses shattered in the floor was heard. Both of Seunghyun and his boss looked at the source of the noise. The special customer’s table! Seunghyun screamed in his head. He was about to take the broom and towel when a man moved faster than him. Takahashi Minami or Taka-kun, the new employee at the restaurant quickly cleaned up the mess. Seunghyun was relieved that the man was sleeping with his head on the table and it seemed that he wasn’t wounded.

“It’s only soju bottle, Boss,” said Taka-kun.

“Ah…”

“He’s okay. I think…” Taka-kun glanced at the man. “If you always fulfill his wish, he won’t be better.”

“I know. But what should I do, Taka-kun?”

“I don’t know, Boss. It’s also painful to me to see him like that.”

True. What could be the source of his craziness? Seunghyun thought.

Taking small steps forward, he went to the special table when he saw that the other customers went to the cashier and paid their bill. After all, he should make sure that there was not any other customer left. He took a glance at his boss and Taka, but they were busy even to pay attention at the man he was about to meet. Moreover, his boss would clean up the restaurant first before he took care of the special man.

Seunghyun took a seat in front of the man. His right was glued to the table with mouth slightly opened, face almost as red as tomato and weird smell came out from him: a mix of curry and soju smell. Seunghyun shook his head in disbelief, thinking just how heavy the burden was for him to be wasted like this without companion.

He somehow understood the man’s feeling because he was on the same condition as him: drinking to forget all the complicated things in life. Before meeting Youngbae, his life was miserable. If Youngbae didn’t answer his call at that night and didn’t agree to help him, Seunghyun was sure that knife was the last “resort” to get away from the problems he had. Youngbae was his lifesaver.

But if Youngbae knows you and can’t help you, just how big is your problem?

Seunghyun then heard sobs from the man and he was surprised. He mumbled something that Seunghyun didn’t grasp the meaning because it was a mix between Japanese and Korean.

“Do-n’t go…” the man said and all of a sudden got up from his previous position.

Seunghyun bounced back, surprised at the sudden movement. His hand was holding a bouquet of flower and with heavy lidded eyes, he stared at Seunghyun. He blinked for a few times before giving Seunghyun a weird smile-irk? It wasn’t a smile nor a smirk, but Seunghyun found it was cute rather than weird.

He gave Seunghyun the bouquet, but then his hands were too weak to wait for Seunghyun to take it, so he just put it in front of Seunghyun, and then gave Seunghyun the cute smile again.

“Do you also li—hick-ke roses?”

His brows raised at the question and Seunghyun wanted to ask why he said ‘also’, but he saved the question first and ask him another.

“What is your name?”

He giggled. “I am Daesung. You’re hand -hick- some.” He giggled again, but now he cutely tilted his head to the left, making Seunghyun’s heart missed a beat. “Do you want –hick- to be my boy –hick- friend?”

Seunghyun mouth gaped at the sudden question. It was so sudden that Seunghyun just want to throw the bouquet at the man. But he remembered that the man –Daesung- was not in his right mind. So Seunghyun decided to follow the game.

“But you don’t know my name yet.”

“Tell me.”

“Seunghyun.”

“SEUNGHYUN!” He shouted. Seunghyun shushed him while looking at the cashier. Jiyong and Taka turned his head to look at the table, surprised at the sudden shout. Their eyes became bigger at first, but then they were back to clean the mess in the kitchen. Seunghyun felt guilty not to help them cleaning, but he promised that he would do their part tomorrow and let them go back earlier than him.

“Would you please calm down?”

“You have to be –hick- my boyfriend. Because you have accepted the –hick- flower.”

“How come?”

“Because by –hick- accepting the flower, you also accepted the –hick- my love!”

Seunghyun couldn’t help but to laugh at the hiccups and the silly reason. But then the man puffed his cheeks in annoyance and Seunghyun laughed even louder.

“Meanie! I hate you, Seunghyun.”

It was a good fifteen seconds of silence before a loud clang was heard from the kitchen. It seemed that Taka dropped something while cleaning. Seunghyun thought that there were thousands knives stabbed his heart when he heard last sentence from the brunette man in front of him. He caressed his left chest but the pain lingered. He wanted to cry, so he stood up and looked at Daesung with a feeling that he couldn’t describe himself. It was weird and it was more painful than the slaps he received from his father.

Daesung looked at him with sad eyes before he passed out.

***

Days passed and the sweater weather had gone. Everybody changed their attires to thin ones as they would face the sunny weather ahead. Seunghyun stayed in the kitchen while sometimes tried to steal moments to take a look at his phone, reading the time stated. It was the time for the man who gave him flower last month to come at the restaurant.

The person who allegedly be my boyfriend now.

Seunghyun craned up his head when his boss greeted someone that would come to the restaurant at the same time. Seunghyun wanted to see the person, but he needed to do his job first. Seunghyun put the curry rice on the table for Taka to serve the curry for the other customer. The chef set his ears to eavesdrop whatever he could from the conversation between Jiyong and Daesung by getting closer to the partition between kitchen and cashier, but he wasn’t able to hear anything. Judging from their body movements, they were arguing about something. He snickered and wiped his hands to his apron. Then when Seunghyun heard footsteps towards the kitchen, he stepped aside –his boss would prepare the meals for Daesung.

Had nothing to do anymore at the kitchen, he walked out from it to see Daesung. He already seated on table number seven. Lucky number seven, but he doesn’t seem to be lucky, Seunghyun said in his head. He wore three pieces, but he had taken off his black blazer, leaving him only on his black vest and white shirt that hugged his body well.

How can that beautiful person be alone and look sad every time I saw him?

Then he remembered something; Daesung had asked him to be his boyfriend. Oh, I won’t mind, though, Seunghyun giggled at his own thought. Will he still remember what he said when he was drunk last month? Seunghyun took something from his pocket.

20:10

Five minutes more.

The corners of Seunghyun lips arched up when he saw the time on the screen of his phone. He observed the sober Daesung before he ate the meal. Not like the other previous visits, he suddenly took a small spoon beside the ice cream and from afar, it seemed like he played with the ice cream before he the spoon. After it, he put down the spoon and resting his head in his palm while sometimes massaging his own temple.

Seunghyun tried to approach him, but because it was still working hours for him, he took a small towel with him and pretended to clean the tables near Daesung’s