“You must be tired, Young-Eun. Let’s dine out tonight.”
“I asked my dad to come over tomorrow evening.”
“Oh, you did?”
“Also, my aunt and President Jeong-Sook Shin will be here too.”
“I see. Is that why you did grocery shopping at this hour?”
“I need to buy more tomorrow.”
“What time are they coming tomorrow?”
“Six in the evening.”
“Do you want me to go to the seafood market in Noryangjin tomorrow? Do you think you can handle the cooking by yourself?”
“Oppa, can you do it for me?”
“Me? I don’t know how to cook.”
Young-Eun grinned.
“I will have a helper tomorrow. She is working in the kitchen in the hospital where I work. She said she would help with the food preparation for me tomorrow.”
“That’s a huge relief.”
“She is coming around 2 pm tomorrow. Why don’t you go out and spend some time while she and I cook? Maybe you want to go to the movies or something.”
“Umm, sure.”
“Before you leave tomorrow, get me some fruits and liquor.”
“Okay.”
Young-Eun yawned while sitting on the sofa.
“You look exhausted. Let’s eat out.”
“Sounds good.”
“Are you okay? You look really tired.”
“I worked a night shift yesterday, and I didn’t take any break at work today. I was so busy.”
“Don’t you take a day off the next day after you work a night shift?”
“I had some paperwork that I had to finish by today, so I couldn’t take a day off.”
“I guess that medical doctors have a lot of administrative work on their own too, huh? Well, let’s go out and eat something.”
Young-Eun changed into more comfortable clothes, and Gun-Ho wore sneakers before going out.
They walked around TowerPalace to select a nice restaurant. When Young-Eun saw a Vietnamese restaurant, she said, “Oppa, what about that one?”
“It says Annam. I guess they are selling Vietnamese noodle soups.”
“We don’t need to go further to find another one. Let’s just eat there.”
Gun-Ho recoiled when he saw a Vietnamese noodle soup restaurant. The thought of it brought him a bad memory about his first business years ago. With the seed money that he made in Asan City, Gun-Ho had opened a Vietnamese restaurant in Noryangjin. When he knew he was losing money by running the restaurant further, he put it on the market for sale only to find out it wouldn’t sell quickly. He still remembered those old days when he worked all day long scooping the rice noodles from a boiling pot and slicing spring onions. The kitchen was almost 2 pyung large, and it was pretty small for him to work with other kitchen ladies.
“Let’s find another one.”
“Why? You don’t like pho? I like it.”
“Pho digests too quickly. You will feel hungry again soon even after you have a full bowl of pho. Let’s eat something else.”
“We can order side dishes like spring rolls. Spring rolls are very popular dishes too.”
Young-Eun dragged Gun-Ho to the restaurant called Annam. They had spring rolls which were good.
It was Saturday.
Gun-Ho’s backpack was slung over his shoulder. He decided to go mountain climbing while Young-Eun and the helper lady were cooking. He first went to a supermarket and bought some fruits, beer, Chinese liquor, and western liquor. After placing them on the table in the living room, he headed out to go mountain climbing.
“Let’s try Cheonggye Mountain. It’s close from here.”
Gun-Ho drove his Land Rover to Cheonggye Mountain. There were tons of people there since it was Saturday.
“Wow. It’s so crowded here. Let’s just climb up to Oknyeo Pike.”
Gun-Ho started walking up towards the pike. Since he didn’t exercise regularly, he was already gasping for air.
“So many people are here. All I see while climbing the mountain is the back of their head.”
Gun-Ho finally arrived at Oknyeo Pike. He could see the race track for horses in Gwacheon City.
“Are you our Mr. Class Manager?”
Gun-Ho turned around. It was one of the students in his class at the Advanced Center of Administrative Development. He was the deputy minister, not a minister.
“Oh, Mr. Minister?”
Gun-Ho called him minister even though he was a deputy minister.
“You came here by yourself, Mr. Class Manager? You just married, huh? Why are you here alone? You should have come with your wife.”
“Hahaha. She is at home cooking. We invited her father for dinner.”
“Oh, I guess she kicked you out then since you would be no use for cooking, huh?”
“Hahaha. You can say that.”
“Where are you living?”
“I’m living in Dogok Town.”
“TowerPalace?”
“That’s right. What about you, Mr. Minister? Where are you living?”
“I live in the Mido condo in Daechi Town. I’ve lived there for ten years now.”
“Oh, I see.”
“I actually came with my wife. I’d better go now then. Have fun.”
“You have a wonderful day.”
Gun-Ho looked in the direction that he went. There was an overweight middle-aged lady looking at Gun-Ho’s direction. She was wearing sunglasses. She was probably that deputy minister’s wife.
Gun-Ho came down from the mountain. He looked at his watch. He still had some time left before dinner. He went to the Education Community Center to take a sauna. When he came back home, the table was already fully set.
“The helper lady just left.”
“Really? Your father hasn’t come yet?”
“He just called when he was passing by Seoul Arts Center. He will arrive soon. Why don’t you take a shower before they arrive?”
“I took a sauna before coming home.”
“Then change your clothes.”
Young-Eun’s father arrived. He was carrying a box of fruits.
“Please come in. Welcome to our home.”
“I don’t think I can live here even though I got a chance to do so. I knew it was a high-rise building, but it’s too high for me. I feel dizzy.”
“Please have a seat over here.”
“This is very spacious. How large is it?”
“It’s 50 pyung large.”
“It is so big that it looks like a playground. Do you own it or rent it?”
“I bought it.”
“Oh, I see.”
“While they were conversing, Artist Choi and president Shin arrived together.
“Young-Eun!”
“Auntie!”
The two hugged each other. Young-Eun also gave a hug to President Shin.
“Wow, it’s huge. It looks larger than our art gallery. So he bought it, huh?”
“What about me? Am I invisible?”
Young-Eun’s father complained.
“Oh, my brother-in-law. When did you arrive?”
President Shin said hi to Young-Eun’s father as well.
“Hi.”
“Oh, please have a seat.”
Young-Eun started moving the dishes that she prepared with the helper lady from the dining table to the floor table in the living room.
When Gun-Ho stood up to help Young-Eun, Artist Choi grabbed his arm.
“Please stay put, my nephew-in-law. This is women’s work.”
Artist Choi and President Shin then stood up and helped Young-Eun with filling the table with dishes.
Three women and two men sat at the table by making a circle.
“Young-Eun, I don’t believe these are your food. It tastes too good.”
“I got help from the kitchen lady from my hospital.”
“I love this stew.”
They all enjoyed each other’s company while laughing and talking.
Artist Choi drank liquor like she drank water and said, “I now feel so relieved since my Young-Eun married a decent man. I think I can proudly tell your mother that she doesn’t have to worry about you anymore.”
Artist Choi had high alcohol tolerance.
“My brother-in-law! You are satisfied, aren’t you? You now have a very nice son.”
“Yeah, I am.”
“You are getting old, brother-in-law.”
“Not just me. You are getting old too. We are all getting old together.”
Young-Eun’s father seemed to feel great. He kept sipping his liquor while having a smile on his face.
