Yuncheol's Enlistment Notice (Feat. Hello, Auntie)

I came home after finishing lectures as usual and lay down staring at the ceiling.

The threesome with Hyeonsu and his sister a few days earlier kept replaying in my head. Ever since, Hyeona had called me several times, pestering me to come over and hang out. The pleasure at the pension must have been too good for her. I had plenty of sex partners, but for Hyeona it was just her older brother and me. I only managed to calm her down by promising I'd visit soon.

And today was the day Yuncheol had gathered his friends, saying he'd treat us all to drinks. I still had some time left, so I was resting in my studio apartment. A glance at the clock showed about ten minutes remaining. The meeting place was right in front of the school—only a five-minute walk from my place.

"Guess I should get up."

I threw on a jacket, pulled on a hat, and stepped out the front door. The late-autumn chill made me hunch my shoulders.

"Man, it's cold."

After about five minutes of walking I arrived at the meeting spot.

Inside, Yuncheol, Hyeonsu, and a few other friends were already waiting. The moment I opened the door, Hyeonsu started yelling for me to hurry up.

"Figures the guy who lives closest is always the last one here."

"What do you mean last? There's still a minute left."

I shot back as I took a seat.

"Hey, Minwoo, you okay with makgeolli? Knock one back. We already started."

Yuncheol filled a glass and held it out.

"Makgeolli’s great. But a rich bastard like you ought to be buying us whiskey at least."

"Then don’t drink it."

"Nah. Truth is I actually like makgeolli."

I took the bowl and drained it in one long pull. The sweet, lightly fizzy liquid sliding down ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠my throat felt cool and electric.

"Ahh. Perfect. Nothing beats makgeolli."

Yuncheol refilled my empty glass.

"So what’s the occasion? You’re treating?"

I was more curious about why he’d called everyone together. We grabbed drinks now and then, but this was the first time he’d summoned us by announcing he was buying from the start. Yuncheol paused for a moment. The others must have been wondering the same thing; every pair of eyes locked onto his mouth.

"Actually… I’m going to the army."

"What? The army? You’re enlisting?"

I stared at him in shock.

"Yeah. Kept putting it off, then the enlistment notice finally came. Physical’s all done."

"Dude, why didn’t you say anything sooner?"

"Everyone goes eventually. What’s the point of announcing it early? I’m just going in."

Yuncheol guzzled more makgeolli.

"Did you break up with your girlfriend or something?"

"No. I just kept delaying and figured if I waited any longer it’d get even worse, so I decided to go this time."

"So when do you ship out?"

"Three days from now."

"Holy shit, that’s soon. No time for a trip or anything."

"You guys should stop delaying too. When the notice comes, just go."

"We’ll handle our own shit. Tonight we drink till our noses are crooked."

I refilled the empty glasses and raised mine high.

"To Yuncheol’s enlistment."

"To Yuncheol!"

"To Yuncheol!"

We knocked back makgeolli one after another. The drinking went on for a long while. Eventually we left the makgeolli place and moved to a beer hall, where we poured beer into ourselves until our stomachs felt ready to burst. A few friends mixed drinks, got headaches, and headed home early. That left Jaehun, Yuncheol, and me to finish off the rest of the beer. By the time we stumbled out of the beer hall, Yuncheol was so drunk he could barely stand.

"Ah, fuck… you bastards better hurry up and enlist too, got it? And Jaehun—while I’m gone, stockpile a ton of porn for me!"

His tongue was so thick the words barely came out straight.

"Minwoo, piggyback this asshole for me."

"Got it."

Jaehun lived in the same apartment complex, so he was going to take Yuncheol home himself. Carrying a drunk guy on your back, though, turned out to be brutal work. Jaehun was just as wasted. After only a few steps he collapsed under the weight.

"Damn, this guy’s heavy as hell. No good. Minwoo, help me haul him."

"Alright. Let’s get him up first."

We each draped one of Yuncheol’s arms over our necks and finally managed to start walking. At that moment I still had no idea what was about to happen—that delivering Yuncheol home meant his mother would see me, and that she already knew my face.

The road home was pure misery. Yuncheol belted out songs at the top of his lungs and kept yelling for one more round. We ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠finally reached the apartment entrance. We’d tried to catch a taxi earlier, but Yuncheol kept throwing up, so walking had been our only option.

"Jaehun… Minwoo… when I enlist… you promised you’d come see me off… don’t forget, got it?"

"We know. We’ll be there that day, so shut your mouth already."

After more walking we finally stood in front of Yuncheol’s front door. Jaehun quickly pressed the doorbell.

Ding-dong.

"Hey… where’re we… this place…"

"Pull yourself together. This is your house."

The door opened. Through the gap Yuncheol’s mother slowly came into view.

Oh right. I shouldn’t be here.

I wasn’t supposed to run into Yuncheol’s mom… Only now did the alcohol burn off and my mind snap clear.

"Oh my, Jaehun. Yuncheol really drank a lot, didn’t he. And next to him…"

Yuncheol’s mother looked at me and froze for a second. Mouth half open, she stared at me for a long moment before managing a single sentence.

"And next to him… a-a friend I haven’t met before?"

She was pretending we’d never seen each other.

"Ah, this is Minwoo. The three of us are the closest."

Jaehun introduced me in a rush. I greeted her as well.

"Hello. I’m Kang Minwoo."

"R-right. First time meeting Minwoo."

Both of us were terrible actors. Yuncheol’s mother looked like her head was spinning. The image of me standing next to Jaehun’s mother… the fact that her own lover had been caught by me… all those shameless sex stories she’d spilled without a second thought. The same memories must have been flashing through her mind. From her perspective, seeing me standing right beside Jaehun right now had to be a massive shock. I wondered how she saw me. Part of me was curious. But I held her secrets too—the man in the hotel parking lot, and that other young guy I’d spotted in the park.

"Hey… you guys… on the day I go in… come to my place… we’ll go together…"

"We know. You’re wasted. Get inside already."

Jaehun shoved Yuncheol through the doorway.

"You’re going with him on enlistment day?"

Yuncheol’s mother asked.

"Yes. We’re planning to see him off together."

"Alright. Then come by that morning. Auntie will drive us all."

"Yes, ma’am."

"Want something to drink?"

"No, we’ll be going."

Jaehun said goodbye and shot me a look that said let’s get out of here.

"Take care."

When I spoke, our eyes met. She squinted slightly and gave a small nod, as if to say this was our secret.

After seeing Jaehun off, I returned to my studio, washed up roughly, and collapsed into bed. Yuncheol’s mother’s startled face kept floating up. She’d been so flustered her acting had been painfully clumsy. And unlike the sexy figure I’d seen outside, at home she’d looked completely ordinary and plain.

I sent a text to Jaehun’s mother.

We traded filthy talk for a long time, sending each other photos of ourselves with our underwear off.

Today was the day we were supposed to take Yuncheol to the base. When I woke up I must have debated a hundred times whether to go or not. Something told me running into Yuncheol’s mother again would be a bad idea. But I’d already promised, so there was no way out. If I bailed, Jaehun would definitely lose his mind.

"Ah, whatever. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Auntie Myeong-hui said it’d be fine, so…"

I got up, showered, and dressed neatly. I even dabbed on the cologne I usually saved for special occasions, then left the apartment. Lost in thought as I walked, I soon found myself at Yuncheol’s building. In the parking lot, Yuncheol’s mother and Yuncheol were already waiting.

"Hello."

"Ah. Minwoo, you’re here."

I greeted Yuncheol’s mother first. She looked a little flustered and gave me an awkward smile. She was wearing a black long skirt and a red knit cardigan, and the combination looked surprisingly sexy. I’d already known how sexy Yuncheol’s mother could be. In particular, her slender ankles and the pale feet I’d glimpsed inside her sandals had burned themselves into my memory. Today those same slender ankles peeking from under the skirt were just as beautiful.

"Hey, where’s Jaehun?"

Yuncheol asked, a bag of snacks in his hand.

"We’ve still got time. He’ll be here soon."

"I got my hair cut. Wanna see?"

He pulled off his hat and showed me the short buzz cut.

"Looks good on you."

"Come on, let’s wait in the car."

Yuncheol’s mother kept offering that same awkward smile as she spoke. Yuncheol climbed into the passenger seat; I took the back seat behind the driver. A little later Jaehun joined us.

"Alright, we’re off."

The car ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pulled out of the apartment complex and headed for the highway.

"Hey, ease up on the snacks."

Jaehun finally snapped at Yuncheol, who’d been scattering crumbs and tearing through bag after bag.

"Once I’m in the army I won’t get any. Gotta stuff myself now while I can."

"Yeah, fair enough. Go crazy."

Jaehun gave up, leaned back against the seat, and started a game on his phone. Looking at them, they were the same kind of idiot—one obsessed with snacks, the other with games.

The car merged onto the highway and picked up speed. Yuncheol’s mother was a solid driver.

"You’re a really good driver, Auntie."

I spoke first, trying to break the awkward silence.

"You think so? Maybe because I’ve been doing it so long. I don’t really notice."

"No, you look really comfortable behind the wheel. Look next to you—Jaehun’s already asleep."

Jaehun was snoring with the game still open on his phone.

"Hehe. Well, thanks, Minwoo."

After a long stretch of highway the car finally pulled into a rest stop.

"Jaehun, let’s go buy more snacks."

"Dude, snacks again? Ugh. Fine, let’s go. Minwoo, you coming?"

"Nah, I’ll just stay here. You two go. Auntie, you can go too."

"I’ll stay in the car as well. Yuncheol, Jaehun—you two go."

She handed Yuncheol a credit card. He took it and headed off with Jaehun to buy snacks. Silence filled the car. Someone needed to speak first if the awkwardness was going to disappear, but neither of us seemed to know what to say or how to start. After a moment, Yuncheol’s mother broke the quiet.

"Minwoo… can Auntie talk with you for a bit?"