DMSD | Chapter 26

Goodness me, I can’t believe I just said “kids these days.” But in the next moment, Myeongeun shook his head. There’s a saying etched in a 3000-year-old Egyptian mural that goes, ‘The young people of today do not respect their elders.’ Thinking about it as humanity’s eternal homework of understanding between generations made it less despairing.

Moreover, to dismiss Kwon Jinhwan’s attitude as simply “kids these days” felt somewhat unfair to the actual kids of today.

Thanks to everyone ordering the same menu, the food arrived quickly. Myeongeun, who’d been feeling a bit off and had lost his appetite, suddenly felt a rush of hunger as the spicy pork stir-fry and hearty mini soybean paste stew were set before him. Usually cautious to eat slower than others, today he sped up, eager for a second bowl of rice.

Stuffing his mouth with rice, pork, and then a spoonful of stew, his cheeks bulging as he chewed tightly, he suddenly felt someone’s gaze and turned to look.

Jinhwan was holding his spoon, not eating his rice but watching Myeongeun like he was something fascinating.

“…”

He wanted to ask why Jinhwan was staring but there was simply no room to open his mouth. Not that he needed to ask; he knew Jinhwan was just watching him.

As Myeongeun’s face heated up a bit, Yang Section Chief noticed the pace at which his rice bowl was emptying and chimed in, “Assistant Manager Go, planning to go for an extra bowl today?”

Myeongeun just nodded vigorously at her.

“There’s nothing surprising here,” said Assistant Manager Kim, wrapping pork and rice in a perilla leaf.

“Assistant Manager Go might look slim but he’s a serious eater. He eats like that and snacks non-stop at work too, so don’t be shocked just yet.”

After she spoke, Kim stuffed the wrap in her mouth. Jinhwan, although similar to his brother Jinhyeok, was clearly different. When Jinhyeok had dined with them, he barely nibbled, surprising both Yang and Myeongeun who now watched Kim eat her wrap with gusto.

Jinhwan’s eyes returned to Myeongeun.

“I was surprised, thought you hadn’t eaten for days.”

By then, Myeongeun’s mouth was full again, leaving him unable to respond. Flustered, he bowed his head.

Jinhwan just said that and focused back on his meal.

Myeongeun stole glances at him. Jinhwan’s eating manners brought to mind the term “graceful dining.” Exactly that. Jinhwan handled his chopsticks well with his long fingers, made no slurping sounds, and avoided clinking his utensils. He seemed like a young man raised with strict dining etiquette.

As a child, Myeongeun was a picky eater and underweight for his age, but he grew plump and healthy at the Temple of All Gods. Firstly, because Grandma’s cooking suited him and secondly, Grandma was very strict about dining etiquette. He couldn’t throw tantrums or cry like at home. Hwan’s presence contributed significantly; even as a five-year-old, Jinhwan adhered strictly to dining manners. Though a bit clumsy, he managed his chopsticks well and ate whatever was given without fuss, never being loud or restless at the table, and would tidy up his dishes promptly after eating.

So, Myeongeun couldn’t fuss about the side dishes in front of Hwan and had to eat even the ones he disliked. Though he visibly showed his dislike, the child would sometimes secretly eat the carrots Myeongeun had pushed to the side of his plate.

Now, Myeongeun ate carrots well, but his chopstick skills were still not perfect. Perhaps that’s why he found people who wielded chopsticks skillfully quite attractive.

“Truly blessed with a great metabolism,” murmured Assistant Manager Kim, as Myeongeun watched Jinhwan’s elegant chopstick use from the corner of his eye.

“I’m here trying to diet every day for the wedding, failing every day, and living with guilt, while Assistant Manager Go doesn’t even know what a diet is. Eating like that and not gaining weight is quite something.”

“Definitely,” agreed Yang Section Chief.

“When you diet, men seem to lose weight easier because of different metabolism.”

“No, I’m starting to gain weight these days too,” replied Myeongeun, noting that his body was probably changing with age as he ordered another bowl of rice from a passing staff member.

Kim Assistant Manager looked at him quizzically.

“Assistant Manager, it kind of feels like you’re feeding me.”

“It’s not like that,” Myeongeun waved off.

“I’m not getting married or anything. If I gain weight, I gain weight.”

As he joked with Kim about treating her to a meal of large intestines and soju after her successful wedding next year:

“…Annoying, really.”

Startled, Myeongeun looked at Jinhwan, who, for some reason, looked upset and had put his chopsticks down. He then spoke to the staff member who brought Myeongeun’s rice.

“Bring a bottle of soju and a glass, please.”

Six pairs of eyes widened at Jinhwan.

“No, Jinhwan,” Myeongeun tugged at his sleeve, wary of their colleagues’ reactions.

“You can’t drink during work hours.”

But Jinhwan just requested briefly, “Please,” and glanced at Yang Section Chief.

“I won’t drink it, so no worries.”

Without even asking why he ordered it, Yang nodded coolly.

“If you’re not drinking, then it’s fine.”

Yang told Myeongeun to exclude it from the receipt before returning to her meal, and everyone else’s attention scattered.

However, Myeongeun knew some were still focused on Jinhwan. He felt uneasy as he opened his new bowl of rice while watching Jinhwan.

The staff left a bottle of soju and a glass. Jinhwan opened the bottle, poured a glass, and placed it next to his rice bowl. That was it. He didn’t drink or pour more as he had said.

Myeongeun guessed Jinhwan might be dealing with a persistent or strong unseen presence that only he could see, asking for a drink. Whether it was a clingy spirit, a powerful ghost beyond his control, or just a fortunate spirit that approached him unaware, Jinhwan had offered a drink to some entity.

A ghost here…?

For a moment, Myeongeun shuddered inside. Why just a moment? Because he needed to quickly think of a plausible explanation to cover for Jinhwan.

Yang Section Chief and Supervisor Yu lost interest, but the other three were puzzled by Jinhwan’s actions. While it might be best to let the silence naturally lead to forgetting, Myeongeun prepared for any sudden questions like ‘Why did he do that?’

Despite his efforts, no suitable excuse came to mind. The best he could think of was that Jinhwan might want to smell alcohol during his abstinence, but saying that could spread rumors of alcoholism related to the company’s owner’s third son.

Oh, what to do.

As Myeongeun pondered this with his second bowl of rice in front of him, losing his appetite:

“Assistant Manager.”

He quickly looked up at Jinhwan’s voice.

“Yes?”

Jinhwan glanced down and asked, “Are you going to eat all of that?”

Following his gaze to his bowl of rice, Myeongeun replied, “…Want some?”

Before he could finish, Jinhwan pulled out a new spoon and scooped up most of the rice from Myeongeun’s bowl.

Staring at his now half-empty bowl, Myeongeun felt a bit choked up.

Somebody’s trying to fix their mistakes at the expense of my appetite, while the actual troublemaker just helps themselves to my food, leaving barely two bites left!

After finishing those last two bites and seeing the empty bowl, his irritation grew. He couldn’t ask for the rice back, so he just glanced quietly at Jinhwan. Remembering Jinhwan’s older brother, Jinhyeon, who had claimed, ‘I never eat food given by others,’ he thought:

So, food taken from others is okay, huh?

He snorted internally.

They waited for the slowest eater, Supervisor Yu, to finish before all got up.

“Let’s have a coffee before heading back,” Manager Lee suggested as they began to leave, with Myeongeun and Yang Section Chief being the last to get up.

“Ah, look at this,” Yang paused, pointing at a plate on the table.

“Picky eater, huh? Jinhwan is quite cute.”

After Myeongeun, left alone, collected the corporate card and receipt, he paused to look at Jinhwan’s plate of stir-fried pork.

Only carrots remained piled up.

“I’ll pay for the soju separately.”

He asked the staff to exclude it from the receipt and paid for the soju with his own card.

Phew, that’s for eating the carrots for me when we were kids.

He chuckled softly, pocketing the receipt. They decided to have coffee on the first floor of the office building and walked there together.

Walking beside Jinhwan, Myeongeun suddenly became curious.