episode_0058

We left early in the morning and arrived at Chinatown hungry. In order to explore the mysterious streets, I needed to have a full stomach. On the Chinese street in Chinatown, there were many shops filled with the smell of food.

“Let’s start with the Chinese restaurant.”

Sarah said to me while looking around. I had the same thought. Since I came to Chinatown, I wanted to go to a Chinese restaurant.

There were countless Chinese restaurants on Junghwa Street. Among them, there was one building that caught our eye.

It was a two-story store built with bricks and giving off an old-fashioned atmosphere. Even though it wasn’t lunch time yet, the restaurant was very crowded. There were customers waiting in line outside.

“Hey, looks like a good restaurant over there.”

“I have to wait in line. Do you want to go there?”

“Let’s go.”

I was curious why there was a line in front of the store because it was so delicious. Sarah and I waited in line and entered the store. The employee sitting at the counter showed us to our seats.

“Welcome. It is twelve and a half points. How many people are in your group?”

“There are two of us.”

“There are seats available if you go up to the 2nd floor.”

It was a store large enough to occupy an entire two-story building.

We went up to the second floor and sat at a table by the window. The waiter came to us while we were looking at the menu and took our order.

“I will help you with your order.”

“Two black bean noodles and sweet and sour pork, please.”

As I sat at the table and waited, the dishes I ordered came out. Inside the store, female customers were taking pictures with their cell phones before eating the dishes. I quietly asked Sarah before eating the dish.

“Sera, don’t you take pictures of food?”

“I don’t use SNS.”

We don’t really use social media or anything like that, so we didn’t take pictures of the dishes.

Sarah and I each tasted our dishes. As soon as I took a bite of Jjajangmyeon, I felt the same way. The chewy texture of the noodles was incomparable to that of local Chinese restaurants.

“Delicious.”

“It’s okay.”

It was worth waiting in line. We enjoyed our meal as if we were on a trip. But at some point, eating became uncomfortable. I could feel eyes staring at us from nearby.

Sarah spoke to me.

“Jinwoo. That old lady has been looking at us since a while ago?”

I slowly turned my head and looked behind me. An elderly woman who worked as a store employee was staring at us from behind. It was an old woman with graying white hair and a stooped waist. The face was full of wrinkles.

“Aren’t you looking at me because you’re curious? Just by looking at your face, you are a foreigner.”

“But you’re still looking at me too persistently. I can’t eat because I’m so worried.”

When I walked around with Sarah, who is of mixed race, people around me sometimes stared. However, the grandmother’s gaze was too persistent to say that she was looking at it out of curiosity.

“Hey.”

Sarah couldn’t bear it any longer and called her grandmother.

Grandma came up to us.

“Grandma. Why do you keep looking at us from earlier?”

The grandmother glanced at us and opened her mouth.

“There’s something I want to ask you guys. He looks young. Could he be a student?”

“Yes.”

“So the students came here to have fun? Any adults came with you?”

Are you guys here to have fun? As soon as I heard the question, I couldn’t help but feel wary. This wasn’t even my neighborhood, it was a place I had traveled to. If I was suddenly asked a question about my group by a stranger, it was difficult to answer carelessly.

These days, it was a world where even the elderly had to be careful, unless they were family members.

I asked my grandmother back.

“Why do you ask that?”

“No… . Don’t get me wrong. These days, children sometimes go missing in this neighborhood. Kids who look just like you. Was there an adult who came with you?”

“There is. I came with my parents. We came here to have a quick meal separately.”

“I see.”

Just in case, I told them I came with my parents. Grandma nodded. The way my grandmother looked at us as if she was scanning us was very disturbing.

But my grandmother had a reason for talking to us. This was because a disappearance case had recently occurred in Chinatown. From what I heard, it seemed like kids around our age were missing.

“Grandma. What happened to the missing kids?”

“There is no news from any of those kids. Last week, a young wife and daughter who live here had an accident. You guys better be careful too.”

“I will be careful.”

“Okay… . Don’t go out at night. Because there are also bad rumors going around.”

It was when I was about to ask my grandmother about a bad rumor.

Suddenly there was someone approaching us.

“What are you talking to the customer now?”

A woman’s voice echoed sharply inside the store. The grandmother who was talking to me started shaking as soon as she heard the woman’s voice.

“Ah, boss… .”

“I just asked. What were you talking about?”

“It’s no big deal. I told the kids to be careful.”

The female manager of the store appeared and was glaring at the old lady employee.

The attention of the surrounding guests was focused on the female manager.

It was a female boss wearing a tight one-piece dress. The body was completely exposed through the clothes. Behind the female manager, a young man dressed as an employee stood silently.

The lady boss frowned and questioned the grandmother.

“Why do stores tell you to be careful? I heard you talking about an accident earlier. It’s inconvenient for guests to eat.”

“Sorry… . I told them because they were like my grandchildren. Sorry, boss.”

The employee’s grandmother bowed down and apologized to the female boss. Actually, what my grandmother said so far wasn’t something worth saying at a restaurant. Because of the story the grandmother was telling, the guests around us were paying attention to us while eating their food.

“You just need to know. Go to the kitchen and do some work.”

“Okay.”

The female president waved her hand. As the grandmother left for the kitchen, the lady boss spoke to us with an apologetic expression.

“I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable during your meal. Our store employee made a mistake.”

“It’s okay. Sarah, are you okay too?”

“Yes.”

We were fine. I wasn’t particularly harmed, I just heard about an accident that happened on the street recently. I became interested after hearing about the disappearance accident. I spoke to the lady boss instead of the grandmother who had left.

“But what does it mean that there are bad rumors going around? That’s what grandma said earlier.”

“It’s a rumor about missing kids. There are rumors that those kids were trafficked.”

“Aha… .”

“We are also very worried. If strange rumors spread around the neighborhood, customers will stop.”

“I think business is still going well here.”

“If you keep buying it, you never know. I’ll leave the bad stories here.”

The lady boss sighed and looked at us.

“Are those students? You look young.”

“Yes.”

The lady boss met me face to face.

After scanning my face, the female manager sighed and then stared at me.

“Huh? however… .”

“Yes?”

“The customer’s face looks nice. By any chance, what is your name? My name is Min Suyoung.”

I suddenly received a compliment on my appearance.

The female manager of the store was showing interest in me.

“This is Jinwoo.”

“Oh my! Your name is Jinwoo? It looks cute.”

The female Chinese boss smiled as she looked at me. The female manager, who appeared to be in her late 20s, was overflowing with mature charm. The tight-fitting uniform that caught the man’s attention.

“Would you like your sister to play with you after you finish the store in the evening? There’s a lot to see here.”

“It’s okay.”

“Ah, don’t hesitate.”

I had no idea that I would even receive an offer from the female boss to hang out with me. She was a very active woman. Didn’t they just kick out the old lady waiter because she was disturbing the customers? Now it was the female boss who was putting a burden on me.

It was right then.

Sarah opened her mouth.

“Stop it, lady.”

“Yes… ?”

“You won’t be able to eat.”

A cool voice flowed from Sarah’s mouth.

The lady boss who was trying to put her hand on my shoulder stopped.

“You can’t eat? Did I do something unsavory? I praised him because he seemed like a cute younger brother.”

“Stop being annoying and just go away. Do you have no conscience when it comes to older women? This is ridiculous.”

“No… This is ridiculous.”

Sarah’s tone became sharper.

The female president no longer spoke softly.

“Why are you speaking like that? Are you dating a male student?”

There was silence for a moment.

We weren’t really dating. Although we weren’t dating, there was no reason for the female boss to interrupt our meal. It was the moment when I was about to directly tell the female boss that I was being disturbed.

Sarah smiled and opened her mouth.

“Yes, we are a couple.”

“… … ?”

An unusual sound was heard.

Are we a couple?

Sarah asked me in a voice full of charm.

“Right? Baby.”

Sarah, who was always calm, spoke in a voice filled with charm.

I was very embarrassed. It felt like honey was dripping from the name he called me. If we didn’t agree here, it would create an awkward atmosphere. After thinking about it, I decided to pretend to be a couple.

“… Uh.”

I answered.

The female president clicked her tongue and stepped back.

“What is it? Were you a couple? Please tell me quickly.”

“You wouldn’t know it if you saw it?”

Sarah smiled naturally as she linked her arms with me.

“What a waste.”

The lady boss licked her lips with her tongue and disappeared into the kitchen. The young employee behind her silently followed the female boss. All things that interfere with eating have disappeared. We finished the meal by eating the dishes we ordered.

“Baby, let’s go out.”

We paid for our meal and left the store.

Once outside, we unwrapped our arms. There was no need to act like a couple anymore. There was no need to act as a couple in the first place. Still, thanks to Sarah’s help, I was able to shake off the female boss.

“Thank you for your help.”

“Thank you baby.”

Even after I left the store, Sarah’s nickname for me did not change for the time being.