Family Meal (2)
"Let's get out of Magok District," Ahn Seong-hyeon said, as if struck by a sudden realization.
"You should've told me earlier. What the hell is this getup?"
"What, you going on a blind date? This is fine."
"We're meeting after a long time, wearing a tracksuit is a bit much, isn't it. Even if it's not a suit, I should look neat. What would Ahjussi and Ahjumma think of me?"
"What would they think? They'd just be happy to see you. Do you think my parents would judge your clothes and question your manners?"
When we were kids, we used to wander into each other's houses in our pajamas. Now, all of a sudden, you're worrying about clothes and manners. You're worrying over nothing.
'Of course, when I go visit Seong-hyeon's parents, I'll dress properly.'
As long as it's not me. This guy's problem was none of my business.
I drove with a giggle. Since it was a fair distance to my house, I had to hurry.
As we entered Olympic Boulevard, Ahn Seong-hyeon spoke.
"Do your parents know I'm coming?"
"They don't know it's you, I just said I'm bringing a friend."
"A friend... yeah, that's right."
Ahn Seong-hyeon murmured, as if touched for some reason.
I gave him a side-eye with an expression of disgust.
"Fuck, you're not gay, are you? Did you get your thing cut off while I wasn't looking?"
"...What the hell are you talking about. You see these biceps? You think I could have this size with low testosterone?"
The way he talked was so damn gym-bro. As they say, relatives do resemble each other—he'd get along great with Seora noona.
I shrugged and teased him just for the hell of it.
"You know what they say, if you use steroids your muscles get bigger but your junk shrinks......"
"Crazy. Now you're talking about drugs."
Ahn Seong-hyeon scowled and balled his fist. They say mentioning steroids is a direct hit to a gym rat's sore spot—he really looked about to throw a punch.
With a body like a macho man, it was genuinely threatening, but a snicker slipped out of my mouth anyway.
How should I put it? Trading barbs and cursing like this made me feel like I was back in the old days.
Honestly, Ahn Seong-hyeon and I had only made up in words; we hadn't been as chummy as we used to be. Even though we were hanging out now, we were both still subtly tiptoeing around each other.
In a way, that was only natural.
No matter how much we'd made up, could years of resentment really vanish in an instant? On the surface we were playing it cool, but we still needed time. Purging everything with a drink only happens in dramas.
A fair amount of time had passed by now—from the freshman meetup to the recent midterms and club activities. That stretch gradually improved things between us. My hesitation around him had mostly faded; I'd grown comfortable.
Ahn Seong-hyeon, however, still seemed to be walking on eggshells around me. That was only natural—since he was the one who'd wronged me, he'd been at a loss.
So I'd deliberately teased him and picked fights—and judging by the way he was scowling and clenching his fist, it had worked out as a decent method.
But had I taken the WWE-style taunting a little too far? Seeing how he genuinely bristled at the drug talk, it was starting to get scary. A muscleman shouldn't be making fists carelessly.
I pointed at the steering wheel to calm the guy down.
"Today's my third time driving. If I can't focus, we crash."
"...Let me out."
"You think you can?"
Unfortunately, there was nowhere to pull over even if he wanted me to.
We had to follow Olympic Boulevard to Banpo Boulevard, then all the way down Nambu Sunhwan-ro.
Ahn Seong-hyeon looked at the navigation and sighed.
"It takes almost an hour. You guys moved so far away."
"Right? Back then, we just took the elevator up and down."
Mapo District, where Ahn Seong-hyeon lived.
My family used to live there too—same apartment complex, same tower. We were on the 12th floor, his family on the 11th.
Now it was an hour's drive.
Not long after I dropped out of school, my family moved again.
Ahn Seong-hyeon said, deliberately cheerful.
"Gangnam, Dogok-dong—that's a seriously nice area. Isn't that like a super-rich neighborhood?"
"Uh... yeah, it is, right?"
I nodded awkwardly. Dogok-dong was considered a wealthy enclave even within Gangnam-gu.
Ahn Seong-hyeon was impressed.
"Your dad's skills are really something. Now that I'm older, he seems even more amazing."
"Mm. I do respect my father."
I nodded quietly.
It was true—though he's my own father, he's a truly remarkable person. He'd built himself up from nothing solely on his own abilities and settled in Seoul, in Gangnam no less.
"Does Ahjussi still do that job? What do you call it, stock... trader?"
"Nah, he's a fund manager now."
"Uh... what's the difference?"
Ahn Seong-hyeon asked with an awkward look.
But honestly, I didn't really know the details either. I just had a vague idea because it was my father's line of work.
I explained the gist of what I knew.
"They both do similar things, the difference is whether the money being handled is the company's or investors'. Well, if you get into the nitty-gritty, there are differences in goals, trading style, risk... but honestly, I don't know the details either."
"Hm. Finance really is a bit tough."
"Tell me about it."
Our major, Digital Content, was technically STEM but closer to arts and phys ed. It had nothing to do with economics. Jumping straight into financial lingo just gave me a headache.
One thing I knew for sure: after Father became a fund manager, he had more breathing room.
"I guess being a fund manager suits his temperament better than being a trader."
"That's good, then."
"Right."
Truthfully, now I could nod and smile like this, but for a long time I'd felt deeply sorry toward my father. Because the reason he'd moved from his old job to fund manager was me.
Originally, my father was a prop trader who managed the company's funds and generated profits. And a pretty damn good one at that.
But the job kept him so busy he couldn't pay much attention to home, and right around then, my bullying incident blew up.
He was so shocked that, worried about my condition, he first moved us. And to spend a little more time on me, he switched his occupation to fund manager. Both the move and the career change were entirely because of me.
So I'd felt terribly sorry for a long time... but now I deliberately didn't dwell on it. Dwelling on it couldn't turn back time, and Father himself seemed satisfied with his current work. Truth be told, when Father worked as a prop trader, he was always stressed and edgy, so it was hard to even talk to him. Compared to that, now he was remarkably relaxed.
We were gradually getting closer to home.
"Whoa, what's with this neighborhood, everything's so flashy? I see tons of expensive cars."
There were certainly a lot of pricey-looking cars. Since I had zero interest in cars, I just vaguely registered them as expensive, but Ahn Seong-hyeon's eyes lit up like he saw things differently. Now that I thought about it, Seong-hyeon's father had worked at Mirae Motors.
Ahn Seong-hyeon looked at me with new eyes.
"Didn't you tell Yu-bam Noona that a rich noona is the best? But aren't you actually the richer one?"
Since that was something I didn't want to hear, I immediately shot it down.
"What are you talking about. Can't you see my car's a Sonata? And my parents are the rich ones, I mean... well, I have my own saved-up money too, but anyway, Bam Noona's spending is on a whole different level from mine."
"Is that so?"
"Right. Who hands out a free latest-model tablet just for joining a club? And later, take a look at Bam Noona's outfits. They're no joke."
I often checked out things like women's fashion magazines online. I had absolutely no inherent fashion sense, so I used them as reference when drawing female characters, and thanks to that, I could recognize the clothes Bam Noona wore.
Bam Noona's outfits, just the basics cost a few hundred thousand won. Adding accessories like bracelets and necklaces, I couldn't even guess the total.
Anyway, I kept rambling, as if making excuses.
"I'm not on the level to compare with Bam Noona. And the real wealthy neighborhood is Te-buk, you know?"
"Te-buk?"
"Yeah, they divide the area by Teheran-ro into Te-buk and Te-nam. And Te-buk has that real old-money feel."
Truthfully, I didn't really know much about it either. I'd just heard it somewhere. That Te-buk is where the true old-money families live, and Te-nam is where the self-made people settle.
What would I know just because I lived in a nice area? I'd spent five years holed up in my room. Honestly, the whole rich-or-not thing didn't really hit me. It was more like, oh, my family's doing well, that kind of feeling.
So that's probably why I felt even more embarrassed. Someone who used to live in the same neighborhood was suddenly going on about how I was rich and all. I was just me.
But it seemed to show.
Ahn Seong-hyeon looked at me with a curious expression and asked.
"Cheol-jin, are you embarrassed?"
"...Shut up."
"Pfft. Okay, I'll stop."
"......."
Should I have kept things more awkward with this bastard...
Anyway, it finally felt a little more comfortable, like old times. From now on, I was going to openly fucking give him hell. Brace yourself.
*
When we arrived home, my mother greeted us with overwhelming enthusiasm.
"Son, you came!?"
She must have been cooking, because she came running with an apron on. The moment she saw me, she hugged me and gave me hearty slaps on the back, scolding me.
"Son, come by more often! I even bought you a car, but it's so damn hard to see your face!"
"Heh. Ah, okay. I'll come often."
"Really? If you don't come, Mom will come find you!"
"For real. I'll come often."
'Actually, I'd told Mother not to come to my studio apartment. It was a bit of an unfilial thing to say, but if I didn't, she'd probably stop by every week. And if by some chance she caught me with Areum or Hana... just thinking about it made my head spin.'
"Oh my? Who's this?"
Spotting Ahn Seong-hyeon a beat later, my mother's eyes went wide.
"Is that Seong-hyeon? Or not?"
"Ah, hello. It's been a long time."
"Oh my, oh my! It really is Seong-hyeon! I almost didn't recognize you, kid!"
Despite her words, the fact that she recognized him at a glance proved she had a sharp eye. His appearance had changed drastically.
'Come to think of it, I'd recognized the guy at a glance too.'
How should I put it... his height and build had completely transformed, but his face was recognizable right away. It gave off exactly the 'Ahn Seong-hyeon' vibe.
"Oh my, oh my."
She was so surprised she couldn't calm down easily and kept exclaiming 'oh my.'
I pushed Mother's back and went inside the house.
"Mother, we're hungry. Let's go in and talk."
"Ah, look at me. Come in quickly. Honey, Seong-hyeon's here, Seong-hyeon's here!"
Mother went inside and called for Father. She was always so cheerful and bright, my mother.
Seong-hyeon chuckled and said.
"Your mother's still the same."
"Right?"
A smile naturally spread across my lips too.
With a mother like that, there was no way I could stay stuck in depression. Maybe my mother was the number one reason I was pulled back out into the world.
Coming home after a long time, I felt full even without eating.
Grumble.......
Hmm, maybe not?