IH Ch 56

Chapter 56

…Still, I gave you food and even cake. Each time, the portions were decent too.

Jae-i, who had been silently watching Dohwa happily eating bibimbap with a tightly gripped spoon, looked up when he felt a gaze. He saw an elderly woman approaching with a large bowl in each hand. Despite her small and slender frame, her steps were steady and unwavering. She placed the bowls in front of the two of them. Though perhaps not as hearty as the bibimbap, the portions of janchiguksu** were certainly enough for two people.

“I was going to mix it, but there was broth, so I left it. There weren’t many dumplings, so just have this.”

“……”

The elderly woman wiped her hands roughly on her apron and went back outside. Dohwa watched as the other two elderly women joined her to sit on the platform, then looked at the bowl of janchiguksu placed in front of him. It looked delicious.

“Is this place a hidden gem or something?”

“……”

Getting no response, Dohwa looked up and saw that Hwang Jae-i’s expression as he faced the bowl of noodles was anything but reverent. His face twisted slightly, clearly reluctant. Seeing this, Dohwa said,

“If you don’t eat this, won’t they scold you?”

At those words, the frown between Jae-i’s handsome brows deepened. Even as Jae-i glared at him with an expression full of irritation, Dohwa feigned ignorance, picked up his chopsticks, mixed the noodles, and took a big bite. His eyes lit up the moment it entered his mouth. It went down smoothly, without needing to chew.

Watching him practically bury his face in the bowl to devour it, Jae-i couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong with him, but still glanced down at the noodles in front of him. With all the ingredients packed in, the dish showed care and thought. Jae-i recalled the image of the three elderly women bustling around in the kitchen to prepare it and finally picked up his chopsticks. After just one bite, he blinked in surprise.

“……”

And then he picked up a larger portion.

—

The amount, which looked to be at least seven servings, was emptied in no time.

Dohwa ate a lot, but so did Jae-i. They even finished all the broth in the janchiguksu. That’s when Dohwa realized—Jae-i liked food like this. If they ended up eating together again sometime, he thought he should suggest noodles. With that thought, Dohwa stepped out of the store. The elderly women, peeling sweet potato stalks one by one, didn’t even glance at him. After some hesitation, Dohwa cautiously opened his mouth.

“Thank you for the meal. How much is it?”

Even as he asked, Dohwa glanced behind him. Jae-i, with one hand in his pocket, was walking out lazily. Catching Dohwa’s uncertain glance, Jae-i looked indifferent as if asking, “What?”

Then one of the elderly women replied casually,

“It’s fine. Just go.”

“Huh? Just go?”

“We just shared some of what we were eating. No need for money. Go on.”

Anyone could tell that was food meant for sale. It had been delicious and filling. After eating so well, it didn’t feel right to leave without paying.

Flustered, Dohwa mumbled, “But still…” and turned toward Jae-i. Since Dohwa didn’t have any money, he’d need Jae-i’s wallet to pay. With a look that said, Do something about this, he stared at Jae-i. Only then did Jae-i move.

The elderly woman, seated beside the platform, finally lifted her gaze to the large figure in front of her.

“It feels wrong to eat so well and just leave. How much is it?”

“……”

The elderly woman didn’t seem inclined to answer. She just stared at Jae-i for a moment before suddenly asking,

“Why did you come here?”

“……”

“You didn’t come looking for a place to die, did you?”

He hadn’t expected a question like why are you here, let alone mention of dying. Jae-i was left speechless. Not knowing what she meant by such words, he stayed quiet, and Dohwa stepped forward.

“We came to see the ocean.”

Even though Dohwa felt it wasn’t really his place to speak, he couldn’t stay silent. A place to die? Why say something like that? Grabbing Jae-i’s arm, Dohwa said,

“We’re not here to die, okay?”

Who comes to such a beautiful seaside place with the intention of dying?

It had felt nice just a moment ago—good food, delicious noodles—but now it was tainted with unease. The elderly woman, staring intently at Dohwa’s darkened face, put down the sweet potato stalk she was holding.

“Sometimes, people come here thinking it’s a good place to die. They say they’re staying for a few nights and then… they light charcoal briquettes or drink strange things and make a mess of it all.”

“……”

“They might be done once they die, but what about the people living here? Who’s supposed to clean up after that?”

Letting out a deep sigh, the elderly woman turned her back to them.

“Young people who come here have done that so often that I can’t help but be suspicious. That’s why I asked—don’t take it personally. You can go now. If you head up that hill, there’s a coffee shop. If you want to spend money, go there.”

Then she resumed peeling sweet potato stalks. Dohwa hesitated.

This place was so beautiful and peaceful—people really came here just to die?

Dohwa couldn’t understand it, but the elderly woman clearly had nothing more to say. Her hands continued moving in a mechanical rhythm. Feeling that lingering any longer would only make them a bother, Dohwa quietly stepped back. Then he decided to look for the café she mentioned.

Next to the grocery store was a narrow path. As he walked up it, he spotted a quaint building. When Dohwa stood still and stared at it, Jae-i passed by without a word. Dohwa grabbed the hem of his sleeve and pointed toward the café.

“Let’s check that place out too.”

Jae-i didn’t even respond. Seeing his indifferent face, Dohwa tugged at his sleeve again.

“There’s nothing else to do here anyway.”

With a brief sigh, Jae-i stepped onto the narrow path. His long legs carried him up the hill in quick strides, and Dohwa followed, gazing at his broad back.

“……”

It had been Hwang Jae-i who first suggested they go to the ocean.

It would have made sense to wonder why he suddenly brought up the ocean, but Dohwa had pretended to like the idea—because he did want to see the sea, and because Jae-i looked tired.

The situation with Pungjin was going to be noisy for a while. It was uncertain how many days that would last. Even if one wanted to ignore it, it wouldn’t be easy for the person at the center of it all. The sea they saw with their own eyes had been breathtakingly beautiful. But perhaps Jae-i had needed that beauty even more than Dohwa did. Thinking this, Dohwa quickened his pace.

—

The café looked even nicer up close than it had from afar.

In front of the small, cottage-like building was a charming flower bed, and on the green-painted door hung a colorful wooden sign that read “Open.” The interior was filled with all sorts of adorable trinkets. A young boy, around ten years old, sat alone inside.

Seated by the inner window drawing, the child’s eyes grew wide as he saw the two enter.

“…Customers!”

He shouted in surprise, then quickly covered his mouth with his hand. Slowly, he rose from the table.

“You are customers, right? You’re not just passing by from nearby—you’re here for coffee, right? We also have fruit syrup juice. Oh! There’s tteok, too. My mom made it—it’s really good! And also… this one’s mine, but do you want it?”

He held out a candy in his paint-stained hand.

“……”

His hopeful gaze made it impossible to just stand there. Dohwa looked up at Jae-i. What do I do in situations like this?—that’s what his eyes were asking. With a long sigh, Jae-i walked to a table farther away from the child and sat down. Seeing this, Dohwa sighed, Oh dear.

As he walked over to the boy, fiddling with the mask he had put back on while climbing the hill, Dohwa took the candy and said thank you. The boy beamed and chattered cheerfully, resting his hands on the table and chair.

“Just stay seated—I’ll call my mom. She went to pick flowers up the back hill since she thought no one would come today. But I knew someone would! I even told her. See? I was right!”

Clearly thrilled that he’d been right, the boy spoke excitedly, and Dohwa nodded. Glancing at Jae-i, who sat in a corner with his chin resting on his hand, Dohwa whispered,

“We’ll just wait here. No need to call your mom. We have plenty of time.”

“How could I not? I told her I was sure we’d have customers today.”

Clicking his tongue, the boy slowly sat back down with his hands on the table. Noticing the stiffness in his left leg, Dohwa stepped back as the boy pulled out his phone. He then spotted crutches resting under the boy’s seat that he hadn’t seen before. Returning to the seat beside Jae-i, Dohwa handed him the candy he’d received.

“Here, have it.”

Jae-i tilted his head slightly and looked at Dohwa.

Meeting his calm expression as if asking Why?, Jae-i finally opened his mouth.

“Do you think we’re here on a vacation or something?”

“Aren’t we?”

“……”

Seeing the genuinely puzzled look in Dohwa’s eyes, Jae-i closed his own. It wasn’t as though he could say no, because the truth was—they had no real reason or purpose for being here in the first place. He just hadn’t wanted to stay home. If he had, the phone would keep ringing, and if he ignored it, someone from the guild would come looking for him.

Because it was his own mess, everyone was out there trying to clean it up. To just vanish like this was irresponsible. He knew that. And yet, he had come here—to Pohang. That’s why being asked if they were here for fun felt… absurd.

 

**Janchiguksu (잔치국수) is a traditional Korean noodle dish. Janchiguksu (literally “banquet noodles”) is a warm noodle soup made with thin wheat noodles in a light anchovy or beef broth, often garnished with egg, vegetables, and seaweed. It’s traditionally served at celebrations like weddings or birthdays—hence the name “banquet noodles.”

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