Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols

My home.

 

Actually, it was not difficult to answer.

 

I could just say, ‘I ended up getting kicked out of my house.’

 

But when I thought about the look on Park Joowoo’s face when he misunderstood that I couldn’t go to college because I didn’t have money, I hesitated.

 

There was nothing better than changing the subject to gloss over awkward moments.

 

I cut a donggrangttaeng in half and put it on Park Joowoo’s plate and asked.

 

“What about you?”

 

“Huh?”

 

“Why didn’t you go home?”

 

If it were Lee Cheonghyeon, he’d say, ‘I asked first!’ and nitpicked on me, but Park Joowoo wasn’t like that.

 

Sure enough, he picked up the halved donggrangttaeng with his chopsticks, pick it up and put it down repeatedly, and then finally opened his mouth.

 

“…Well, I feel like holidays are days that should be spent with family.”

 

That was a strange thing to say, considering he hadn’t gone home and stayed at the dorm.

 

Perhaps noticing my confusion, Park Joowoo continued.

 

“I lived at my aunt’s place. It’s been about 10 years, I think…”

 

This was the first time I’d heard this.

 

Now that I thought about it, Park Joowoo’s family story had never come up in any of Spark’s usual TMI conversations.

 

There must be a reason he didn’t mention his parents, so I didn’t press him on it.

 

Instead, I asked trivial questions, pretending it was no big deal.

 

“How many people do you have in your family?”

 

“Four. My aunt, uncle, hyung, and noona….”

 

“So, you were the youngest at your aunt’s house. Must be tiring looking after two dongsaengs here, huh?”

 

“No, I actually enjoy the noise and bustle.”

 

Park Joowoo had a smile on his face as he said that. It seemed his life at his aunt’s house wasn’t all that bad.

 

‘Maybe it’s not that he’s avoiding going home because it’s uncomfortable, but rather, he’s choosing not to go to be considerate of them.’

 

Just as that thought crossed my mind, Park Joowoo spoke again.

 

“After living off of someone for a long time, I just feel like I should give them space on days like this.”

 

“…I guess that makes sense.”

 

The sound of pancakes being fried filled the quiet kitchen like BGM.

 

I felt awkward. I hadn’t expected such a heavy conversation to come up so suddenly.

 

I knew the feeling of being a burden all too well.

 

I’d been living in a place I got with money my sister lent me, after all.

 

But the thought of not having anyone to meet on holidays felt kind of sad. At least I met my sister whenever I had a break from work.

 

I sighed inwardly.

 

I hesitated for a moment and then said while flipping the skewered pancake.

 

“I didn’t go home because I’m not really close with my family.”

 

Geez, now that I heard his reason, I couldn’t avoid it.

 

“It’s not that things are bad, it just feels awkward. That’s why I didn’t go.”

 

Park Joowoo, who was laying a new sheet of kitchen paper on the plate, opened his eyes wide and looked at me.

 

Even though I’d phrased it vaguely so that there wouldn’t be another major misunderstanding, he seemed quite surprised.

 

“…Did you have a fight?”

 

“It wasn’t that serious. I just took the opportunity to move out when I became an adult.”

 

They say to speak straight even if your mouth is crooked. I didn’t have a fight with my family; I was one-sidedly beaten up. It was 100% their fault.

 

“That’s why you never called them…?”

 

“How did you know?”

 

“When we all get our phones once in a while… you’re the only one who doesn’t call anyone.”

 

At UA, they gave us our personal phones for about 30 minutes once a month to check in with our families.

 

During that time, the guys would contact their families.

 

Someone like Jeong Seongbin, who had a ton of friends, had to make the most of those 30 minutes.

 

So, what I did during that time…

 

‘What else? I just zoned out.’

 

I mean, I could ask the manager for my phone whenever I needed it, and I didn’t have anyone to call, so there was nothing for me to do.

 

I wasn’t into stocks or anything like that, so even when I had my phone, there wasn’t much for me to check.

 

“I didn’t realize you were watching.”

 

“I just happened to notice it. … I’m sorry if it offended you.”

 

“No. I am just a little surprised.”

 

Actually, I was really surprised.

 

I thought everyone would be too dazzled by the phones they hadn’t seen in 30 days to even notice me.

 

I’d been too complacent. I didn’t want to stand out for no reason, so next time I should at least pretend to take a survey call or something.

 

“Who do you usually call?”

 

“My aunt. Or… hyung or noona?”

 

“What’s this? Why are you excluding your uncle?”

 

Park Joowoo smiled slightly at my words. It certainly seemed like his relationship with his aunt’s family wasn’t bad.

 

“Next time, I’ll call my uncle, too.”

 

“Yeah. And make sure you tell him you ate some tofu donggeurangttaeng.”

 

With that light-hearted conversation, we ended our meal party.

 

After spending most of the day in the kitchen, we had a basket full of fried goodies, neatly packed side dishes in three containers, and…

 

“Joowoo.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

“The dishes… Will we be able to finish them today?”

 

…There was a huge amount of dishes left to wash.

 

I looked at the frying pan soaked in oil and pulled out a kitchen towel with a heavy heart.

 

* * *

 

“Ha…”

 

After two long hours of dishwashing, Park Joowoo and I were freed from the cleaning up duty.

 

As soon as we finished cleaning up, we closed all the windows we had opened for ventilation and took refuge in a cafe near our dorm.

 

I thought there wouldn’t be many places open since it was the holiday, but I was wrong. I didn’t know because I always rested at home after the ancestral rites.

 

Park Joowoo and I ordered a yogurt smoothie each and sat on the terrace.

 

As I was inhaling down my smoothie to relieve my sore throat from the long hours of cooking, Park Joowo asked me.

 

“Is that… to prevent your teeth from staining too?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Wow…”

 

Park Joowoo let out an exclamation that I couldn’t understand.

 

I thought he was being sarcastic, but his expression seemed to say, ‘I’m genuinely impressed.’ Fine, I’ll let it slide this time.

 

“You worked hard today. Preparing food for the ancestral rites is no easy feat, really.”

 

“No. But you must be tired too, hyung… I’ll buy you some on New Year’s Day.”

 

“I’d like it but my heart doesn’t like that.”

 

If it were someone else, I would have said, ‘Why go through the hassle? Just buy it.’

 

But when it was my own task, it was a different story.

 

“Well, I might not have a choice, though.”

 

“Why not?”

 

“Prices have gone up too much…”

 

I was shocked when I went to buy some green onions.

 

Though it was cheaper than nine years ago, the price for one bunch still startled me.

 

I learned once again that memories tend to be glorified with time.

 

I had briefly considered buying some meat too, but that idea quickly evaporated.

 

“It’s a good thing I only bought apples and pears. IIf I had bought chestnuts and persimmons too, I wouldn’t be enjoying these yogurt smoothies today.”

 

“…It’s because of the holiday, right?”

 

“Yeah. But prices don’t really drop even after the holiday is over.”

 

“My aunt always said that.”

 

Park Joowoo laughed silently. He seemed to be recalling holiday memories.

 

Though he was being cautious, it seemed the atmosphere at his aunt’s house was pretty harmonious, just as I had thought.

 

As I thought this far, I felt a bit sorry for Park Joowoo, who probably didn’t get to eat much of the holiday food.

 

“I should have made japchae too.”

 

The regret slipped out of my mouth without thinking. Park Joowoo, who had sharp ears, caught it and asked.

 

“Hyung, do you know how to make japchae?”

 

“I can. Though I can’t guarantee that it’ll be delicious. I didn’t make it this time because it’s high in calories…”

 

“Ah…”

 

I wished I had made at least a small portion for these guys to eat.

 

As we were talking about how much the radish cost this time and how the pancakes were bland because they weren’t seasoned, I suddenly felt a burning sensation on the side of my face.

 

When I turned my head, the ladies in the next seat were staring at us.

 

I hurriedly avoided their gaze, bent my upper body, and asked Park Joowoo:

 

“…Was my voice too loud?”

 

Even if there weren’t that many people around, It wasn’t polite to be loud in a space shared by others.

 

Fortunately, Park Joowoo shook his head.

 

If that guy who preferred quiet said that, that meant I wasn’t being a nuisance.

 

Perhaps sensing my self-consciousness, the ladies soon turned their attention away.

 

Instead, I could hear their conversation, which had briefly paused, resumed.

 

“Unnie, where did you buy songpyeon this year?”

 

“You know that rice cake shop under the apartment complex? I bought it here.”

 

“Unnie, you buy it from there every year.”

 

Aha.

 

It seemed they overheard two young men sitting stiffly like blanched spinach, talking about the same topics as them.

 

If I were them, if there were two elementary school kids in the next seat sipping misutgaru and chatting about stuff like…

 

‘Do you think the new student recruitment will go well this year?’

 

‘I’m not sure. We might not be able to fill the quota.’

 

…If I heard a conversation like that, I’d naturally stare too.

 

“…Should we buy some songpyeon too?”

 

“I’d like that.”

 

Feeling somewhat embarrassed, I gathered my things with Park Joowoo and we quietly slipped out of the cafe.

 

* * *

 

Although many quick shoppers had already bought their share, Park Joowoo and I still managed to successfully purchase some songpyeon.

 

After enjoying the pancakes and songpyeon, we headed to the Han River at 10 PM to burn off the calories—just eating five of them was equivalent to a bowl of rice in calories.

 

If you eat, you must run.

 

With the gym closed for the holiday, running along the Han River was our only option.

 

As I was warming up, prepared to run for about 2 hours, a phone rang. Park Joowoo took out his personal phone, which he had received as a gift for the holiday.

 

“Uh…”

 

Park Joowoo paused after checking the screen.

 

“What? Is it one of those survey calls?”

 

“No, it’s a call from my aunt… Hyung, is it okay if I take this call…?”

 

“Why are you asking me for permission? Answer it quickly!”

 

Making an elder wait on the line? If it were Manager Nam calling, he’d have yelled at me the moment I picked up the phone.

 

‘Assistant Manager Kim! Did you put your phone away to make a soup pot?! Why didn’t you answer right away!!’

 

‘Assistant Manager Kim, what were you doing not picking up? What if it was something super important?’

 

…I’d heard such words once or twice.

 

Those calls weren’t even work-related. The reasons varied, but I didn’t want to recall them all.

 

I urged Park Joowoo, asking why he wasn’t answering already.

 

Yielding to my prodding, Park Joowoo reluctantly answered the phone.