Planning
“So… you’re saying more and more people keep showing up, and that’s what’s bothering you?”
Whether it was a real question or just muttering to himself, my senior was mumbling under his breath.
“You can’t exactly tell them the place is too small now and they should stop coming. So what do you do… It’s a problem.”
He nodded, still murmuring to himself.
“And the aunties pool money every time they come, right? How much are we talking?”
I shook my head.
“I don’t know. Yunchae manages all of it. It’s her house, after all. Roughly fifty thousand won a head, from what I could tell. There’s no set amount, so some give more, some give less…”
My senior’s eyes lit up.
“Twenty people… that’s a million won. One lecture, a million won…”
He set his spoon down on his tray and sank into thought. I’d only meant for him to listen lightly to my troubles, but now he looked more serious about it than I was. I found myself thinking, Ah… maybe I shouldn’t have said anything.
We finished our meal in a rough sort of way and stepped outside. Senior Yongjin steered me along, bought me a coffee, and sat us down on a bench with a grave expression on his face.
“Honestly, the fix is easy enough. But I’d like to get a closer look at the situation first. Would that be all right?”
I turned to him.
“You can fix it?”
He nodded.
“Either do it over both days of the weekend, or split it into lunch and evening sessions. The problem is, that’s only a stopgap.”
Ah. Why hadn’t I thought of that myself?
“If I can see exactly what we’re dealing with for myself, I think I can come up with a better solution.”
I didn’t doubt a word of it. I knew full well that when it came to finding answers for this kind of mess, Yongjin was second to none. He took a sip of his coffee and said,
“That… Yunchae. Does she actually believe you’re some kind of Jisin? The aunties seem to think so too, don’t they?”
I shook my head.
“I’m not sure myself. Yunchae’s whole attitude has shifted so suddenly that I can’t tell if it’s genuine. And for the aunties, I don’t think it even matters whether I’m replacing Yunchae’s Jusin or not. They just seem to come to hear the stories. They may have started out looking for a shaman, but now it’s more like they come to listen to me, relate to what I say… the way people watch a drama and get that secondhand satisfaction, that catharsis.”
Yongjin’s eyes lit up again. He thought for a long while, then nodded.
“Anyone who’s heard you speak would understand. How gripping your stories are—how they strike people right in the heart.”
I gave a short laugh, embarrassed. I had always been confident in my ability to hold people’s eyes and ears, but hearing the word “heart” made me oddly self-conscious. Yongjin kept nodding, then said,
“All right. Before the weekend, I’ll talk to Yunchae myself. And this weekend, I’ll come sit in.”
I couldn’t quite understand why he was throwing himself into this so eagerly—but at the same time, the thought of someone sharing the weight of it filled me with gratitude.
On Friday a text came from Yunchae, asking me to come to her house. I had no reason to refuse, and after a few days without seeing her I was missing her anyway, so the moment class ended I went straight over.
When I stepped into Yunchae’s house, Yongjin was already there. The unexpected company startled me for a second, but given that I’d gone to him for advice, it made sense. Yunchae brought out tea, and the three of us sat in a circle and started talking.
“Following Yongjin’s suggestion, we decided to hold gatherings over the next two days—tomorrow and the day after. I’ve already contacted the aunties.”
Yunchae spoke with the same blank face as always. No honorifics for me. Yongjin set down his teacup.
“Well… this is how I came to hear about your situation. If it makes you uncomfortable, I’m sorry.”
Yunchae looked at him.
“I just didn’t bring it up. I wasn’t trying to hide it. It doesn’t matter. I’m not doing shaman work anymore anyway. It’s just…”
She turned to me.
“I feel bad for dumping my burden onto Donghyun.”
Yongjin nodded.
“Right. If you handed off a burden, you pay a fitting price for it.”
He looked from me to Yunchae and back as he went on.
“So I’ve been thinking… This guy has always had a gift for winding people around his finger. He’s good with words, sure—but from where I’m standing, that talent is something he was born with.”
The atmosphere shifted, strange and charged—like we were conspiring for a revolution.
“On top of that, Yunchae, you’ve already set the mood. As far as I’m concerned, this is the perfect situation.”
I fumbled into the conversation, flustered.
“P-perfect situation for what?”
Yongjin looked at me.
“The way I see it, even if we leave things alone, word about you will ride the aunties’ mouths and spread. Then even more people will start showing up than there are now…”
Yunchae and I just stared at his face in silence. Yongjin smiled at the two of us.
“But I’m the type who can’t get a proper read on a situation until I see it with my own eyes. Anyway, I’ll be here tomorrow. Once I’ve watched how things go, I’ll lay out everything I have in mind.”
He drained his tea in a hurry and stood. Looking around the living room, he said,
“Smells like incense, but there’s none of the sacred gear you’d expect in a shaman’s house…?”
Yunchae lifted her head.
“I told you—I’m not doing that work anymore.”
Yongjin nodded.
“Got it. We’ll talk tomorrow either way.”
He picked up the bag he’d left to one side and went out. Once he was gone, I turned to Yunchae.
“Sorry… I was worried in my own way, so I told Senior Yongjin. I wanted some kind of help…”
She shook her head.
“No. You did well. At the very least, Yongjin came up with a temporary solution for us.”
Her expression had changed from when Yongjin was still here.
“You’ll… stay the night today, won’t you?”
I smiled. If she would only let me…
“Is that all right?”
Yunchae rose slowly from her seat and began to undress.
“What do you mean, all right or not all right? It’s up to Jisin. I’m someone Jisin can do whatever he wants with.”
She stripped down completely—bra and panties gone—and came toward me.
“I want to as well.”
She pressed her mouth to mine. It was intoxicating. I drew her lightly into my arms and cupped her breast. So soft. I was sure I’d never felt a texture like that in my life. I sucked on the tongue she offered for a long time, and I could feel her sweet saliva slipping into my mouth.
We had sex again that day. Yunchae was growing a little bolder each time—getting worked up, starting to feel it. She no longer frowned when I pushed into her, and she had begun to make sounds. Those soft moans of hers drove me wild; that sound alone was enough to make me love her.
Afterward we lay holding each other. I was stroking her chest; she was playing idly with me. Neither of us was asleep, and neither of us was saying a word. It was Yunchae who finally broke the silence.
“Can we trust Yongjin? Even though we’re in the same club, I’ve barely spoken with him a handful of times, so I don’t feel like I know him. Then again, I don’t really have anyone close to me to begin with.”
I smiled.
“He schemes a lot, but he isn’t the kind of person who means anyone harm. He’s sharp on his feet, and he’s exceptionally good at planning things out.”
Yunchae lifted her head and looked at my face. There was a smile on it that she didn’t often show people.
“You have more insight than I expected. I thought you were just an innocent sort—but you’re a terrifying man who always sees straight through things.”
I only smiled, without answering. She rested her face against my chest.
“I always thought you weren’t ordinary. If he’s someone you trust, then I can trust him without question as well.”
In a low voice, almost to myself, I said,
“Even if I said otherwise—what do I have that anyone would bother scamming me for? No money, no fancy family. All I’ve got is this shabby body of mine.”
A sigh mixed into Yunchae’s voice.
“I’m the same. We don’t have anything to lose.”
A sudden sadness came over me. I wasn’t the only one who felt it—the air in the room grew heavy all at once. In our silence, the night deepened.