Goldfish Fishing
Goldfish Fishing
I never imagined the first time I'd see someone off at Incheon International Airport would be like this.
Even back when we were just dating, A-ra went overseas often,
but since we'd been dating in secret, I'd never even dreamed of seeing her off at the airport...
"Still, I'm glad your manager unnie is going with you."
"You were worried~ There's no way your noona would go abroad alone, silly."
Well, of course a star of A-ra's caliber wouldn't travel overseas alone, even unofficially.
Looking back on how I'd agonized with worry without knowing that, it made me laugh.
"Travel safely. And don't eat too much just because the food's good."
"I can't?"
A-ra tilted her head adorably and smiled.
It was the kind of beautiful smile that made me want to ditch school entirely and fly off to France with her.
"It's not that you can't, it's just that I feel uneasy not being by your side."
What kind of company was Bugatti, anyway, that they'd summon a customer to travel overseas like that?
It was hard to find any proper information about it online...
Well... it wasn't like there'd be a review of someone's experience buying a 3 billion won car floating around.
People who bought cars like that wouldn't usually share their experiences.
"I'm not a child, you know. Don't worry—if anything, it's you I'm worried about."
"I'm not a child either, you know?"
"You're a child to me."
It seemed the formula 'younger = child' was firmly established in A-ra's mind.
Was that why she showed such boundless gentleness toward Eun-ji, even though he was also a guy, just because Eun-ji was younger?
"Alright then, noona's off. See you in a week."
"Have a safe trip."
I handed A-ra the carrier I'd been holding.
She pressed the button on the handle, extended it one more notch, and then gently stroked my hair.
"Lock the doors properly, and don't go outside recklessly... got it?"
"Got it. I'll invite Jeong Hwan-yi and Lee Min-ho over to hang out."
"That does put my mind at ease a little."
They were both guys, but they were famous at both school and the agency for their uncommonly bold nerve and stamina.
Especially Lee Min-ho—he was called a tireless stamina monster.
Maybe that was why, whenever I told her I was with those two,
A-ra's worries tended to ease a bit.
I waved my hand widely as I watched A-ra's figure grow smaller in the distance.
A-ra saw me waving and waved back just as widely.
"Hoo..."
Once she'd gone through the departure gate and out of sight, for some reason a long sigh escaped me and I began to feel a hollow emptiness.
It was the same feeling I got whenever A-ra went far away for a shoot.
Was this what loneliness felt like?
Since I'd come all the way to the airport anyway, I figured I might as well grab lunch here before heading home.
I'd spotted a food court earlier.
***
"Seong-hwan, want to grill up some meat out on the terrace?"
"Meat?"
I was sunk into the sofa, my head buried, when Jeong Hwan-yi spoke to me while flipping through TV channels.
It felt like we ate meat every time I turned around, so I was getting a little sick of it.
"Well, have we got anything else decent to eat?"
"Umm..."
"Or what about... fish... or shellfish..."
"Fish... ah, now that you mention it..."
Recently, a big fishing cafe had opened up in the building right in front of our place.
I'd heard it was bigger than the place A-ra and I had gone to before.
You could take your catch home, but the entry fee was higher,
and I'd heard they had lobster too, just like the place A-ra and I went to.
"Since we're bored, want to check out a fishing cafe?"
"Huh? Seong-hwan, you know how to fish?"
Jeong Hwan-yi looked surprised and mimed casting a fishing rod.
This guy... judging by his posture, he'd done this quite a bit.
As expected, the son of a seafood center owner...!
"I went once before with A-ra Noona."
I told them about the time I'd gone on a date with A-ra and caught some fish. We hadn't managed to catch a lobster, but it had been pretty fun.
"A fishing cafe... not bad. We wouldn't have to go far."
"Right? No need to head all the way out to a river or the sea."
A river or the sea.
When you thought about it, those were the perfect places for something to happen if a bunch of guys went alone.
I'd heard that when A-ra had gone to the beach with the members before, Yeji had fallen into the water and gotten a little hurt.
They said it had almost been a big accident.
Whereas fishing cafes were in the city, and I thought the fact that they were indoors was really great.
On top of that, they were generally places where couples enjoyed dates, so no weirdos would be hanging around.
"I'd been feeling a little restless lately—been a while since I've had a fishing rod in my hands."
"Lee Min-ho, you like fishing too?"
"Used to go a lot with my older sisters when I was little."
Lee Min-ho explained that he had an older sister with a significant age gap who liked fishing, so they'd gone together often.
Whether it rose to the level of a hobby or not, he said he even had expensive fishing rods at home.
"Bringing your own rod is forbidden. You can't have a gear advantage on top of that."
"Fine~ I'm confident I could beat you even with a smelt fishing rod."
"Ugh... you're that confident about it...?"
Since I'd only been fishing once before, the composure radiating from Lee Min-ho only made me nervous.
We hadn't even set the stakes yet and I was already anxious.
"So? What's the bet?"
"How about the loser pays for the sashimi, lobster, and king crab?"
A single bet that looked like it would cost at least 300,000 won.
Still, since it was a bet paying for food, it wasn't exactly gambling.
"Okay. Only first place doesn't pay? Or last place pays for everything?"
"Let's make it last place pays for everything."
"Umm... this month's living expenses have a bit of..."
Jeong Hwan-yi pulled out his phone with a troubled expression and checked his account.
For some reason, a little smile that looked oddly happy was visible on his face too.
What's this?
What was he so pleased about?
"How long has it been since you got paid and your living expenses are already tight?"
"Actually... I just signed a contract for a used car."
"Huh? A used car? You finally signed?"
Apparently Lee Min-ho hadn't known either—he bolted upright from where he'd been lying on the floor and climbed onto the sofa where Jeong Hwan-yi was sitting.
He looked shocked at the news that Jeong Hwan-yi, who'd said he was saving up money, had bought a car.
"What is it, what'd you get?"
"A Ray."
"A Ray? That boxy car?"
"Yeah. I'm planning to modify it for chabak and drive around in it."
Chabak—did he mean car camping?
This guy Jeong Hwan-yi had subtly old-fashioned tastes, I'd give him that.
*
"Ugh... why am I the only one not catching anything?"
"Looks like the fish just don't like you."
I glared at Jeong Hwan-yi as he said something ridiculous, like a baby squirrel scowling at someone.
He just snorted, turned his attention back to his own rod, and started concentrating.
While the two of them had been hauling in fish for a while, I hadn't had a single bite.
Same rod, same bait...
And on top of that, we were casting our lines right next to each other, yet not a single fish was biting for me.
What on earth was different?
"Ugh... fish... please, just get caught."
"See, I told you—people who can't catch them just can't catch them. Just give up and pay for our king crab... huh?"
At Lee Min-ho's words, I'd hung my head low and was about to let out a sigh
when suddenly the tip of my rod began to twitch wildly.
"Oh. Did I catch something?"
"What are you doing? Pull it in, quickly!"
I'd been spacing out, confused whether this was a dream or reality, when Lee Min-ho told me in a slightly raised voice to reel it in.
Seriously, how could a guy's voice be this loud?
I almost lost it because I couldn't secure it properly with the landing net, but thanks to my frantic effort, I succeeded in capturing the fish.
When the fish had been splashing around, I'd thought it must be huge, but once it came out, there was just this tiny little thing hanging on the line.
"What the heck is this..."
"It's a goldfish."
No, anyone could see it was a goldfish—but the question was why there was a goldfish in a fishing cafe.
You couldn't even eat these things if you took them home.
"Didn't you say you were going to raise goldfish? Why not raise this little guy?"
"I meant guppies. I looked into it, and goldfish need their water changed frequently—it's a lot of work."
I'd seen videos of people keeping thousand-won goldfish in a one-gallon tank with expensive external canister filters attached, but I'd decided the ongoing maintenance was too much for me.
It looked several times harder than raising Lil' One, which made me feel something like reverence for people who did it.
"Anyway, today's loser is you, Seong-hwan."
"Where do we buy the king crab?"
"...From Jeong Hwan-yi's seafood center..."
"Kkh... how great is it when your friends buy stuff from your family?"
Jeong Hwan-yi's family's seafood center had a good reputation for king crab, so that was really the only place to go anyway.
Plus, they always threw in generous extras, and wasn't it a good thing to give them more business?
"Hoo... a goldfish..."
"Still, at least you caught one, so that's a relief. We did pay good money to get in here."
"If I was only going to catch this one, I'd have been better off not catching anything at all."
The two of them had caught things like fragrant carp or regular carp that looked satisfying to reel in, so of course they'd say that.
Wasn't I the only one going home without having felt the thrill of a real catch?
"Next time, instead of a fishing cafe, let's hit up a net-pen fishing spot or something."
"A net-pen fishing spot? What kind of place is that?"
"Similar to a fishing cafe, but on a bigger scale."
Apparently it was a place that recreated an environment close to river fishing, where you fished for the fish they'd released there.
Hmm... that sounded like it could be pretty fun.
"Even so, Seong-hwan, you'd probably just end up catching something like a single rockfish again."
"What's a rockfish."
"Hey, enough teasing him. He's our loyal king crab customer, after all."
Pretending to defend me while whacking me over the back of the head, Jeong Hwan-yi laughed loudly, and Lee Min-ho laughed loudly too.
Teasing me just because I couldn't catch many fish—could life get any more pitiful than this?