Closed Door

“Oh-ho, where did you two go? I thought I’d die of boredom here.”

The woman lying on the worn-out sofa playing a game on her phone jumped up and greeted Sa Gongwoo entering the office.

“Went to eat at Choron’s place.”

“With Changgun together?”

“Yeah.”

As soon as Sa Gongwoo entered the office, he boiled water in the kettle and made coffee. The characteristic rich aroma of creamy coffee from packets spread throughout the office.

“Mm, coffee is best after a meal.”

Sa Gongwoo savored the aroma spreading through his nostrils and took a sip of coffee.

“And among coffees, instant from packets is the best.”

“Ugh, it smells like an old man.”

“Don’t insult personal preferences with your narrow views.”

“Well, after thirty – you’re already an uncle. And you’re thirty-two? Definitely an uncle.”

“Yeah, and you’ll be an aunt in two years.”

“Hey, you devil.”

Sa Gongwoo skillfully caught the phone flying at his nape. He could have just dodged, but then the innocent phone would have broken.

Yes, the phone is not to blame.

“Changgun! How was the food, was it delicious? You’re quite picky about food despite your size. You didn’t grumble to his face that it wasn’t tasty, did you?”

“Grandmother’s seolleongtang restaurant is a hidden gem. Choron has exactly inherited grandmother’s skill.”

“Gem… I admit.”

The huge Changgun shyly gave a thumbs up in agreement.

“Oh, if even Changgun acknowledges the restaurant as a gem, then it must really be an excellent place.”

“Delicious.”

Changgun nodded, confirming again, and after a short reflection added:

“…A grumpy grandmother’s gem.”

“What kind of grumpy grandmother’s gem? Did they serve scolding as a side dish to seolleongtang? Didn’t the grandmother die? Instead of the grandmother, was the child scolding now?”

It can’t be that someone dared to scold Changgun right to his face!

Cha Yeseung was about to admire the courage of the seolleongtang restaurant owner’s grandson when Changgun shook his head.

“Didn’t scold… but feeling like being scolded.”

“So, he scolded with his eyes? It’s rare for someone to even be able to open their eyes properly in front of your face, Changgun. This guy is really cool!”

Changgun nodded in response to Cha Yeseung’s words, who was giggling.

Indeed, it seemed like he was scolding with his eyes. He stared at us so intently the whole time we were eating that I couldn’t even raise my head and just looked at the table, consuming seolleongtang. But still, the seolleongtang and kimchi were delicious.

“Changgun ate eight portions of kimchi. In the end, he even ordered another portion of rice and ate just rice with kimchi.”

“Yes, he deserved it, deserved it. In such a situation, the fact that he only scolded with his eyes can already be considered great restraint? Does the child have a gentle nature? Otherwise, he would have already been cursing.”

“Our Choron is kind.”

Sa Gongwoo smiled with a satisfied look.

“Prickly… scary. Calls me a scammer, a thug…”

Cha Yeseung was surprised by Changgun’s unexpected statement.

“Calls you a scammer and a thug? What does that mean?”

“Ah, after grandmother’s death, it seems some not-so-virtuous people have latched onto him.”

“Oh, these guys are always so quick. I don’t understand why they so zealously cling to a child who’s not even twenty, what money can he have? The world is so cruel, so cruel.”

“Money… he had some.”

“Yes?”

“It seems Choron’s parents were talented researchers. They worked for the government, so all rights to their inventions belonged to the state, but they accumulated quite a lot of money from bonuses instead of royalties. And grandmother was quite wealthy too.”

“My goodness. Why do such rich people live on the outskirts? Especially in a world where not only monsters are scary, but people too.”

“Grandmother was a kind person. She sympathized with people rather than being wary of them. Thanks to her, many learned what warm food is. Me included.”

“So what? In the end, she still came to a bad end. Sometimes I think: maybe the most unnecessary creature in this world is human? If we had to designate the most harmful creature on Earth, wouldn’t it be humans? Maybe these monsters, which they say appeared suddenly, are Earth’s way of cleansing itself of parasites called humanity?”

“There are many evil people, but there are also many good ones. Grandmother and Roy showed me that.”

“There are too few good people compared to the evil ones. And evil influence devours the good. In the end, only evil people will survive in this world.”

Sa Gongwoo smiled weakly in response to Cha Yeseung’s pessimistic words.

“Then it’s not surprising that all kinds of parasites stuck to him.”

“Well, it’s unlikely that bad people approached him knowing exactly that he had good assets. They fleece people whether they have something or not.”

How easy a prey must a child under twenty who suddenly found himself alone seem to such people? I was in the gates and couldn’t attend the funeral, and when I came a week later, bad people had already latched onto him. He must have been in shock due to grandmother’s death, and then this on top. How broken his heart must be.

“He said he reported to the management and they successfully arrested that person, but it seems it was someone who pretended to be an acquaintance from the past.”

“Really ‘timely’. No, the method is obvious, of course, but why exactly… Oh, this is an ideal situation for this. And you? Weren’t you accidentally taken for a scammer?”

“…”

“Sa Gongwoo, scammer. Me, scammer’s friend – thug.”

Instead of the silent Sa Gongwoo, Changgun explained the situation. Although it was a combination of short words, Cha Yeseung habitually quickly grasped the essence. Her gaze became cold. It was a gaze looking at something pitiful.

“You’re considered a scammer? And you still haven’t been able to correct this misunderstanding? Then why have you been going there for a whole week morning and evening to eat seolleongtang? What nonsense have you been doing all this time?”

“Hey, how is this nonsense? It’s all to become friends…”

“This is nonsense. You should have dispelled the misunderstanding and explained that you’re not a scammer, and your connection from the past is real. Why are you eating seolleongtang day and night to become friends again? Are you Kim Chomji?”

(tl/n: Kim Chomji is the main character of a famous Korean story “Happy Day”. This character became a symbol of a poor, unfortunate person in Korean culture. In this context, the phrase sounds like an ironic comment on Sa Gongwoo’s failure.)

“Hey, how dare you address your elder informally?”

“Shut up, pathetic fool. You can’t even persuade one child, although your tongue is well-hung, you just keep eating seolleongtang.”

Sa Gongwoo closed his mouth under Cha Yeseung’s cold criticism.

“And you’re good, you keep going there and eating seolleongtang, even when you’re considered a scammer.”

Sa Gongwoo began to meaninglessly scratch the old sofa with his nails.

“He doesn’t remember you at all? No memories from the past? How you played with him in childhood or did something together? How old was he then? If it wasn’t a time when he was very young, he should remember something, right?”

“It seems the child has become more sensitive due to emotional shocks. It seems he rejects people in general, whether strangers or acquaintances, and tries not to show it. By his appearance, he resembles a person who is tired of people, has been burned by relationships and disappointed in the world as if he had lived in suffering for more than ten years.”

“And you didn’t even try to talk about it? Oh, this is so maddening.”

“But still, he’s doing well, holding up on his own.”

When he was little, he cried a lot and laughed a lot. He was very shy, but as soon as he got used to someone, he immediately became close without any caution.

He was such an obedient, cheerful, and kind child.

I was worried that, raised by grandmother’s example, he would only give to others, demanding nothing in return. Now that grandmother is gone, he should think about himself first, but what if he hasn’t learned to do that?

I found out about grandmother’s death late and immediately ran there, worried. And as it turned out, those devils had already been there. Contrary to my fears, the child was holding up well on his own, but in these short days, he seems to have suffered so much in solitude that he became prickly, like a hedgehog with its spines out.

This sight evoked sympathy, but at the same time, I felt pride and tenderness at how he tried to protect himself.

“Hey, Sa Gongwoo. Wake up. Now is not the time to sit and be moved. I’m telling you, stop just going there and eating seolleongtang. By the way, did you leave your terminal? I saw a call came from that asshole.”

“What kind of ‘asshole’ is that?”

“An asshole is called an asshole, what else? For this asshole, even ‘son of a bitch’ is too good. It’s a pity for dogs to be compared to this bastard.”

“Agreed.”

Changgun, who was sitting nearby so quietly that he was almost inaudible, imperceptibly nodded in response to Cha Yeseung’s words.

“If it’s a call from the asshole, then it’s time to prepare for entering the gates. A week is already a long rest. I wonder where they’ll send us this time. I want to just rest and eat, but there’s no money. Although no matter how many gates I pass, I still don’t earn like others. There’s no money, no leftovers, no satisfaction. My fate is to wipe this asshole’s ass until I die. Life is shit.”

Cha Yeseung, cursing, sprawled on the sofa.

Sa Gongwoo checked his terminal. As Cha Yeseung said, a call had come.

“Looks like we have to go. Where are the others?”

“Cholsu said he went to look at some singers, and when the call came, I sent the monk to bring him, so now…”

Before she could finish saying “they should come,” the office door swung open with a bang, and two men entered.

“I could have gotten an autograph! There were only 672 people left until my turn! Why! Why can’t I be happy?”

Behind the young man who was shouting “Waaah,” stood a bald man in gray monastic clothes who, with a kind smile, said “Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva” as support.

(tl/n: Avalokitesvara is one of the most revered bodhisattvas in the Buddhist tradition, especially in Mahayana. The name Avalokitesvara translates as “The Lord Who Looks Down with Compassion” or “The Lord Who Looks with Compassion.” He embodies the compassion of all Buddhas, and it is believed that he helps all living beings seeking liberation from suffering.)