Nuna (Ha-eun) – About the Village

* Nuna (Ha-eun) – About the Village (2)

“Why? What’s wrong?”

“No, nothing.”

Junseo, having showered and changed clothes before I did, spat those words out while looking at me. Was I making it too obvious? I didn’t want to worry him, but I couldn’t shake the lingering sadness about what was to come. Usually, I’d be all over Junseo, maybe even throwing in a curse word or two, but today I didn’t have the余裕 (yeoyu – composure/leeway) to act cute.

We got dressed normally this morning, without any morning wood incidents. We walked down the street flaunting our usual perverted couple vibe and distance from others, but the atmosphere was noticeably different from yesterday. Junseo was expecting to hear something important today, and I didn’t deny it. I clung to Junseo’s right arm in my slutty outfit, taking the lead. I remember exactly when and where that baldy told me to come, and since it’s a cafe I frequent, it’s a little creepy. It’s becoming clear that that baldy bastard has been watching my and my sisters’ stomping grounds.

I realized again just how important Junseo is…

Is this, like, for real, gonna fall apart?

I hope we don’t get replaced with another family…

“Nuna?”

“It’s here.”

Junseo noticed my worries again and looked down at me, but all I could do was frown and avoid his gaze. Well, duh, people were already staring. Even though it’s a cafe near a university, there are hardly any customers, and the rough-looking 아저씨s (ajeossis – middle-aged men) and women in revealing clothes are just hanging out, but I can see right through them all.

So, he’s filled this place with his underlings.

I wonder if there are people from the village here too?

Renting out an entire cafe in a university district…

He’s doing some pretty batshit crazy things…

“What do you want to drink?”

“Don’t order anything, just sit over there.”

“Huh?”

Junseo must have noticed the weird vibe of the cafe, because he looked around at first, but since he doesn’t know the full story like I do, he went straight to the idea of ordering something. He probably didn’t think that someone would have taken over the entire cafe. But I come here often, so I know. I even know which part-time workers the owner uses, so it’s hard to hold back my dislike for the guy standing in front of me right now.

“It suits you. Why don’t you just switch careers?”

“I’ve heard that more than ten times today…”

The guy snorted as if he expected me to say that, and gestured with his chin. He’s wearing this cafe’s signature dress shirt and brown apron uniform, which doesn’t suit him at all, and he’s grinding something with a machine. It sounds like he’s grinding ice, galgalgalgal (onomatopoeia for grinding sound), but the cafe is eerily silent. Plus, as if it were planned in advance, he hung a “Closed” sign on the cafe entrance with a tta-llang (onomatopoeia for bell sound), and even drew the curtains on the glass wall, creating a 밀실 (milshil – secret room).

“Ah…”

Only then did Junseo sense something was off. Not only was the door closed and the surroundings darkened by the curtains, but none of the customers reacted. They’re all acting like hired extras, staring at their laptops, reading books, or pretending to study. Among that backdrop, several men are wriggling like waves, looking this way, but they’re not getting any closer, just watching from afar, waiting for the man currently grinding ice to speak.

“Who are these people?”

“Don’t worry. They can’t lay a finger on you. Right? Gangster 아저씨 (ajeossi)?”

“It itches my throat to be called that by you. It’s you who should be trembling here, not the Doryeonnim (young master).”

He’s not wrong. I still get chills when I think about what this guy did to me. But when a giant who looks like he’s 2m tall stands there in a waitress outfit that doesn’t suit his muscles, the intimidation factor decreases. Even if he’s a bald giant wearing sunglasses, he’s less scary than the first time I saw him.

Plus, we have Junseo here, who these guys call Doryeonnim (young master). That alone guarantees our safety. Even someone like me who doesn’t know much about the village can see the loyalty in their expressions. The atmosphere completely subsided along with the actions of that bald, sunglasses-wearing bastard who bowed his head respectfully…

“Who are you?”

“Ahem, it’s been a while since Doryeonnim’s (young master’s) first birthday party. My name is Jang Mun-sang. I look forward to working with you.”

“Doryeonnim (young master)?”

「「「「「We look forward to working with you, Doryeonnim (young master)!!!!」」」」」

A very loud shout and many men rose from their seats and bowed their heads towards us. The men and women selected as extras did the same, shouting without exception before sitting back down and immersing themselves in their original tasks. Junseo was surprised by the scene, but he didn’t say anything, remaining in an ambiguous state.

“Don’t be intimidated, stand tall.”

“Uh…”

However, although he was surprised, he didn’t seem flustered, so there was no need for me to advise him. It must be in his blood; Junseo is the type of kid who was always meant to be above others. It’s not just because he’s my younger brother that people are fawning over him, but he’s just that kind of kid. He quickly regained his composure, sat down normally on the chair in front of the counter table, took a breath, and opened his mouth.

“Jang Mun-sang-ssi (Mr. Jang).”

“Just call me Munsang. Don’t you get a sense of what kind of relationship Doryeonnim (young master) and I have from what just happened?”

“Then Munsang-a.”

‘Junseo, you crazy bastard…’

Is he clueless, or just bold? Junseo is dropping formalities within minutes of meeting him. No matter what, it’s not easy to drop formalities with someone older than you. Especially for Junseo, who was born in this country full of Confucian ideals. Nevertheless, our idiot brother committed such an outrage. The baldy bastard was surprised by that fact, his eyebrows twitching slightly. I secretly wanted to say, “He’s just like his father,” but both the baldy and I know that that word is forbidden for Junseo, so that word didn’t come out of the baldy’s mouth. Junseo’s rude mouth opened once more to the man who was asking questions as if it were natural.

“Yes, Doryeonnim (young master). Is there anything you’d like to order? We have all kinds of drinks prepared, so would you like something to drink while we talk…”

“Do you have anything I can drink from a bottle?”

“A bottle…?”

“A bottle of alcohol would be fine too.”

“We did bring a few bottles of what our guys drink from the village…”

The baldy’s face faltered once more at that question. There’s a guy in front of him ordering alcohol by the bottle at a cafe. At least he doesn’t not have it at all, and Jang Mun-sang gestures to his subordinate to bring a bottle of alcohol.

However, at this time, we still didn’t know.

Neither I, nor the baldy, nor the surrounding subordinates, had any idea how Junseo was feeling.

I never imagined my brother would be such an idiot…?!

“So, there’s something, something to talk about today, right? Uh, I know there’s a jolla (fucking/damn) important story. Uh, I know it jolla (fucking/damn) well. I’m curious about the relationship between you, these people, 할머니 (halmeoni – grandmother), that ssibaesaekki (son of a bitch), and our family. So, I came out here after calming myself down, right? But, 아저씨 (ajeossi – middle-aged man). Can I ask you something before we start talking?”

“Yes. Ask me anything.”

“Were you the one who messed with our house’s onahole (sex toy)? This, this, this jottgateun (fucking/shitty) thing.”

“Junseo…?!”

The tone that came out of Junseo’s mouth was clearly when he was angry. Even the way he smiled with a vulgar tone as if he was on the internet showed that he was pissed off.

I was taken aback by that sight.

The baldy held his breath after.

Just before he said ‘Yes’.

“You jottgateun (fucking/shitty) bastard!!!!”

“Eup?!”

───kkaenggeurang (onomatopoeia for glass breaking)!

It took several seconds for the remnants of the glass bottle to fall from the baldy and roll across the floor.

And, I heard the sound of alcohol pouring into my ear, kwalkwalkwal (onomatopoeia for pouring sound).

“Ahem… um…”

A very slight trickle of blood. Munsang didn’t react much even though his head was hit with a bottle. The people around me and I opened our mouths slightly and inhaled, quietly watching how the situation would unfold.

“I always get stuck with this kind of role… Hyung-nim (older brother) too, really… Even after death, he leaves everything to me…”

He was muttering quietly to himself. I have no idea what that means. But Junseo seemed to understand, but he didn’t give a shit and sat back down, dropping the remnants of the bottle on the floor with a ttalgeurang (onomatopoeia for something dropping).

“Doryeonnim (young master), are you hurt? There were shards flying.”

“Wipe your face first.”

“Yes.”

The baldy wiped his head with a towel that was nearby and put the ground ice in a plastic container. The hearts of me and the onlookers watching became one. We were surprised that he was allowing such an obvious outrage, as if they had been together for decades, even though they were meeting for the first time. That sense of incongruity entered everyone’s throats here and tickled something in their hearts.

“Do you two know each other?”

“No.”

“We met for the first time today.”

“What the fuck are you guys…”

I’m the one who brought him here, but I’m the one who’s surprised. Junseo still seemed upset, but he had calmed down since he swung the bottle. The baldy also wiped his head and took a steady breath, then suggested moving the table with the drink he made.

In other words, the main topic is about to begin, but…

‘It’s very different from what I expected…’

I still felt unsettled because I didn’t understand what the two of them had just done.