Heewoon grabbed cooking oil and fabric softener in his arms and placed them on the register. He also grabbed a chocolate bar that looked delicious and placed it there.
“That will be 15,800 won.”
Heewoon opened his wallet and took out the card. His heart thumped at the simple act.
“Here.”
He stared intensely as the card was swiped. However, the cashier, who had been swiping cards a few times before, looked puzzled.
“Excuse me, but this card seems to be blocked?”
“… Pardon?”
Heewoon’s eyes widened and he asked in surprise.
“I thought the machine was malfunctioning, but I guess not. Do you have another card?”
“….”
The cashier looked puzzled as Heewoon froze in place. Just then, another customer stood behind Heewoon. The cashier urged Heewoon, calling him again.
“Ah… I’ll pay in cash.”
Heewoon inserted the card back into his wallet. There were two 10,000 won bills and one 1,000 won bill in his wallet. This was all the money Heewoon had.
“Thank you. I received 20,000 won.”
“…Wait a minute. I’ll put this back.”
Heewoon took out the chocolate bar and placed it back where it was earlier. The cashier didn’t seem to mind, but Heewoon’s face flushed red.
“That will be 14,800 won, and here’s your change, 5,200 won.”
“Thank you.”
Taking the change, Heewoon quickly left the mart, almost as if he were running away.
What’s going on? Why isn’t the card working? Is it just in this store? His thoughts were tangled throughout his walk home.
“Thanks, son.”
“Yeah.”
“By the way, Heewoon. Did you send the money yet?”
“… Huh?”
Lost in thought, Heewoon asked a bit belatedly.
“You really. You must have forgotten. You were supposed to send the money on the 1st.”
“Ah, that. Well, about that… I’ll send it on the 5th.”
His mom stared at Heewoon. Heewoon quickly spoke again before worry could fill his mother’s eyes.
“My student’s mother said she had some circumstances and asked if she could send the tutoring fee on the 5th, I okayed her. I forgot about what you said, sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’ll talk to the landlord then.”
Seeing his mother speaking with a smile, Heewoon turned away. He entered his room and leaned against the wardrobe. He took out the card from his wallet and looked it over. He examined it closely to see if the magnet was damaged, but he couldn’t see anything.
Why isn’t it working? Could there have been a problem with the machine at the mart?
Heewoon kept thinking about why the card wasn’t working. Even when eating kimchi fried rice, he must have looked serious without realizing it, and his mother asked if he didn’t like it. After saying it was delicious three times, his mother seemed to feel relieved.
He cleared the table and washed the dishes. He sat next to his mother watching TV for a while and stared blankly, then they had dinner. He then got up as it was time for his private tutoring.
“I’ll be going.”
“Yeah. Take care, son.”
Heewoon held his backpack strap tightly. His heart was beating anxiously.
***
Heewoon overcame his embarrassment and tried the card a few more times. However, every time he tried, the card was reported as blocked.
Heewoon couldn’t go home because he was afraid his mother would suspect something, so he stayed at the library until it was time for his private tutoring to end. For a brief moment, he thought about visiting the students’ houses, but that would have caused too much of an inconvenience to them.
He had brought his assignment, but he couldn’t concentrate on it. Instead, he kept fidgeting with his phone, debating whether to send a message or not. Was Seo Kangwoo aware of this? Could there be some mistake in this?
In the end, he didn’t send the message. As he thought about it over and over, it had gotten too late, and he was afraid that Seo Kangwoo would be angry for contacting him at such a late hour. Even if it weren’t too late, in reality, just the act of contacting Kangwoo was already scary.
He thought it would be better to ask him in a crowded place. Since they had a class together tomorrow, he didn’t need to wait for long.
After a restless night, Heewoon woke up early. The money he had withdrawn all the money in his account to cover transportation or phone bills, totaling 6,200 won. He was walking to school about two hours early when he got a call from Seo Kangwoo.
As soon as his phone vibrated, Heewoon answered the call.
“Hello?”
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, as if he was surprised for the call to be picked up so fast.
–… Sunbae?
“Yeah.”
Heewoon stopped in his tracks and focused on the call. This was a moment he had thought about all night. While he was still contemplating what to say that wouldn’t offend Seo Kangwoo, not-so-great news reached his ears.
–I have something to do, so I won’t be going to class today. I won’t be able to have lunch with you, so make sure you eat properly.
“Ah…”
A sound like a sigh escaped from Heewoon’s lips.
–Why? Do you miss me?
The laughing voice on the other end of the line seemed to be in a good mood. Heewoon pursed his lips.
–Oh, I have to hang up. I’ll contact you later.
But the call ended. Heewoon stared blankly at his phone. If he called back, Kangwoo might get annoyed. But he needed to deposit the money tomorrow.
Usually, he would have hoped that Kangwoo wouldn’t contact him, but today he anxiously waited for his call. Even during the lecture, he couldn’t concentrate and kept searching for part-time jobs. However, no matter how hard he looked, he couldn’t find any place that offered a large sum of money upfront. He had posted an ad on a tutoring website, but getting one or two students wouldn’t immediately solve his problem.
The call Heewoon had been waiting for finally came around the time he was getting tired. After dinner, he was getting ready to fake going for tutoring when he suddenly got the call.
[Come here. Now.]
The address Seo Kangwoo sent was a hotel in Gangnam.
To get to Gangnam from here….
He would need to take two buses. That would be 2,600 won. And another 2,600 won on the way back.
“Mom, I’m going to class.”
“Yeah, take care.”
His mother, who had been lying down, waved her hand. Heewoon left the house and headed for the bus stop.
The card Kangwoo had told him to use. So if he just told him about it, Kangwoo would solve his problem quickly.
***
“What took you so long?”
Kangwoo opened the door and frowned slightly. Heewoon felt Kangwoo’s hand tugging his arm, pulling him in as he apologized and gauged Kangwoo’s mood. Kangwoo’s hand brushed over Heewoon’s nervously stiff hair a couple of times.
“Earlier this morning, did you miss me?”
A soft voice whispered in his ear. Heewoon’s hands fidgeted between his body and Kangwoo’s. Would it be better to say that he did? Would that make Kangwoo feel better? While pondering this, Kangwoo’s voice, tinged with laughter, reached him.
“Or did you have something to say to me?”
Hee-woon’s eyes widened. Laughing lightly, Kangwoo released Heewoon from his embrace and walked over to the sofa. He was wearing a robe, as if he had finished showering.
“Sunbae, do you want something to eat?”
He opened the menu on the table and asked. Heewoon, who had been standing still at the door, finally started walking over slowly.
“I’ve had dinner.”
“I see. Then I’ll eat alone. Is that alright?”
“Yeah.”
Heewoon clenched and unclenched his fist while watching Kangwoo order room service, not knowing what to do. The suite room was so spacious that his eyes couldn’t reach the whole span of it.
The room service call went on for a long time. Kangwoo seemed to be ordering many things. After Kangwoo hung up, Heewoon finally found the courage to speak.
“That…”
It wasn’t so soft that he wouldn’t have heard him, but Seo Kangwoo turned his head away as if he hadn’t heard, gazing at the night view. Heewoon took a few steps closer to the sofa, shaped like ‘ㄱ’.
“You see…”
This time too, Seo Kangwoo still didn’t respond.
After being ignored twice, Heewoon’s courage waned. Heewoon pursed his lips as he stared at the back of the sofa.
“Ah.”
Heewoon let out a small sound as if he had realized something.
“Kangwoo.”
“Yes.”
This time an answer came. He didn’t even have time to think how childish Kangwoo was, words burst out impatiently from his mouth.
“Kangwoo, yesterday…”
Kangwoo turned his head and gestured for Heewoon to sit down. Heewoon sat down on the sofa and continued speaking.
“I used the card you gave me, and…”
Heewoon hesitated. What if Seo Kangwoo misunderstood and got angry if he mentioned the card was a blocked one? He was worried.
Why would I give you a blocked card? What do you think I am? If Heewoon said it wrongly, Kangwoo might lift his hand. Or he might become the subject of Kangwoo’s anger because he offended him.
“Yes.”
Kangwoo’s voice was soft as if indicating that he was listening.
“That… the card you gave me was blocked, so…”
While saying that, his saliva slipped out and he looked ridiculous. Kangwoo looked at Heewoon and nodded his head.
“Ah, I thought you were going to talk about something else.”
Heewoon was a little relieved to hear Kangwoo say that casually. However, his expression changed at Kangwoo’s next words.
“Because it was blocked.”
“…Why?”
The question slipped through Heewoon’s slightly parted lips.
Leaning back loosely on the sofa, Kangwoo observed Heewoon. He casually crossed his legs and said in a calm manner.
“I gave you the card for you to quit your job, right?”
“But the job. I quit.”
Heewoon’s voice grew a bit louder. Kangwoo, who had been scrutinizing Heewoon, stood up from the sofa and nonchalantly brushed it off.
“It’s not that you quit. You were cut off.”
Heewoon blankly stared at Kangwoo’s back as he walked towards the entrance. Kangwoo brought indoor slippers from the entrance and placed them in front of Heewoon, lightly tapping them.
“Since these are placed in front of the door, you should be wearing them, right?”
“…”
“Do you need me to put them on you?”
Kangwoo tilted his head and asked playfully. What Heewoon had been so concerned about from yesterday until today seemed trivial to Seo Kangwoo.
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