NTH 6

“What is that?”

“Come on, don’t pretend you don’t know. A host bar. There are tons of handsome hyungs there. With looks like yours, you’d get a lot of requests, so you’d be raking in the money.”

At this point, Jeha’s patience ran out and he snapped.

“It’s not that!”

“It’s okay, I understand. Being a host might not be such a bad job, but it’s a bit hard to talk about it proudly anywhere.”

“Stop talking nonsense. I am, someone who teaches.”

“What do you teach? Physical pleasure?”

“Hah….”

Jeha let out a long sigh.

“English.”

“English? Where?”

“At a university.”

“What? A university? Then you’re a professor?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“I said so.”

Nana, who had been wearing a shocked expression, suddenly burst out laughing, “Pfft.” As Jeha stared at him with a sullen face, Nana waved his hands dismissively.

“No, it’s just so funny. A professor with this face and this body? A pro-fes-sor?”

“What’s so funny about that?”

“I wonder if the kids can even concentrate while looking at you. Shouldn’t you wear a mask or something when you teach?”

“…….”

“And anyone would want to learn sex from you more than English….”

“Hey.”

At Jeha’s fierce expression, Nana giggled and slurped up the innocent jjamppong.

Nana ate even more than he had expected. Even after Jeha was full and put down his chopsticks, Nana continued to stuff himself for a good while longer. Seeing him start to look like he was forcing himself to eat, Jeha stopped him.

“It’s okay to leave some, so stop eating if you’re full.”

“What are you talking about? You have to eat when there’s food. Don’t you know the word ‘storage’?”

“A person isn’t a car, how can you store food in your body?”

“I can. If I fill it all the way up to my esophagus, I can last for two days.”

Now, Nana seemed to be mechanically moving his spoon and chopsticks, without even tasting the food. Jeha, who was watching him quietly, asked in a low voice.

“Are you really that broke?”

Nana nodded with the spoon in his mouth.

“Yeah.”

“If you got a part-time job, you’d at least not have to starve.”

“No place will hire me.”

“Why not?”

“A person like you wouldn’t understand even if I told you.”

“What kind of person am I?”

“A person who looks like he’s never known hardship or hunger in his life. I’ve given you your thing, so we won’t be seeing each other again, so what’s the point of telling you in detail about myself.”

There was nothing wrong with his words, no matter how you looked at them. And yet, Jeha did not feel like nodding in agreement.

When he practically dragged Nana, who was on the verge of actually stuffing his esophagus with food, out to the lobby, it was raining outside.

“Ah. It’s raining.”

“Do you have an umbrella?”

“You think I would?”

Nana made a sullen face, tapping the floor with the tip of his worn-out sneakers. Thinking he would probably not see him again, Jeha decided to do one last favor.

“Where’s your house? I’ll drive you.”

“Huh? Really?”

“Yeah. It’s pathetic to see you so down just because you don’t have one umbrella.”

“It’s not because of the umbrella. I don’t mind just getting wet in that kind of rain.”

“Then why are you like that?”

“When it rains, water leaks through the ceiling of my house. I was just thinking the mold will grow even more.”

Nana stared blankly at the rainy street through the lobby’s glass window. The blue bruise on his small face was even more prominent against his white skin.

I feel like I’ve seen this before. A sense of déjà vu washed over him, and Jeha unconsciously furrowed his brow.

“Let’s go. You said you’d take me. Where’s your car?”

As Nana turned to Jeha with a nonchalant expression, Jeha wordlessly started walking toward the underground parking garage.

Arriving in front of Jeha’s car, Nana opened and closed his mouth a few times before finally managing to speak.

“Is this really your car?”

“Yes.”

“Really? For real?”

“Why, is something wrong?”

“What kind of professor drives a car like this! Don’t professors usually walk?”

“What kind of prejudice is that? Why do you think that?”

“Professors don’t make much money. A school isn’t a place that makes money, so there’s no way they’d get a high salary. Aren’t professors just weak, bespectacled losers who just like to study and have no interest in money?”

The image of a professor in Nana’s head was so distorted that Jeha could not help but laugh out loud. Regardless, Nana was busy scurrying around the car, looking at it.

“Wow. I thought things like this were only in car showrooms.”

“Really? I see them quite often when I’m driving around.”

“You must live in a rich neighborhood. There isn’t a single foreign car in my neighborhood. There’s no place to park them either. But you bought this on an installment plan, right? Phew. Your back must be breaking, having to pay the installments, maintenance costs, and gas.”

He looked like he might have a heart attack if Jeha told him that far from an installment plan, he owned another sports car of a similar price range.

Jeha, without a word, opened the passenger door and pushed Nana in. As Jeha got into the driver’s seat, Nana, clutching his backpack on his lap, turned his head toward him.

“Hey, you’re actually working two jobs, right?”

“What are you going on about now?”

“No matter how I think about it, it’s impossible to maintain a car like this on a professor’s salary. A professor by day, and by night, hot nights with chaebol noonas at a host bar…, Ouch!”

Jeha stretched out his long arm, pinched Nana’s unbruised right cheek, and fastened his seatbelt for him.

“Stop with the nonsense and just tell me which way your house is.”

“Near Haengseong Station on Line 7. By bus, you have to take the 1503 and go all the way to the last stop.”

It was an area that was almost hard to consider as part of Seoul, taking nearly an hour even without traffic. From here, it took less than 15 minutes to Jeha’s apartment, so this was the first time in this life that Kwon Jeha was meddling in such a big and useless way.

But having said it, he could not take it back. Jeha started the car without a word.

Nana opened his eyes to the feeling of something lightly brushing against his cheek. He was dazed, not knowing when or where he had fallen asleep, and tilted his head when he saw Kwon Jeha clearing his throat with a slightly embarrassed expression.

“Ahem, this is the medicine.”

Jeha showed the tube of ointment in his left hand to Nana.

“It’s for the bruise. Apply it two or three times a day, like I’m doing now.”

As Nana stared blankly, still half-asleep, Jeha finished spreading the ointment on his cheek. Nana winced slightly and let out a low groan as if he felt a sting.

“Eumm….”

It was still raining outside, and the sound of raindrops pattering on the car roof could be heard. Jeha took out a different kind of ointment.

“Apply this to the cut on your lip.”

Jeha carefully applied the ointment to the wound next to his lip, then closed the cap and handed it to Nana. Nana, after taking them and putting them in the front pocket of his backpack, stared at Jeha’s face.

“You know. Are you always this nice to everyone?”

“Why are you curious about that?”

“It’s strange. I’m a thief who stole your things three times, and the only thing I’ve returned is that one hard drive.”

“And.”

“To a person like that, you’ve bought me two meals, given me a ride because it’s raining, and even bought me medicine because I’m hurt.”

“So?”

“It’s very suspicious. Are you trying to make me trust you like this and then sell me off somewhere?”

“What a way of thinking. Where would I sell a guy who can only steal?”

“No matter how much of a bum I am, a human body will always sell for money. I’m even going so far as to steal just to avoid being sold to a terrible place right now.”

“What? What on earth does that mean?”

As Jeha asked with a frown, Nana replied hastily with a look of realization.

“No, it’s nothing. Just some nonsense. By the way, when did I fall asleep?”

“You were snoring less than five minutes after we started.”

“That’s not my fault, it’s your car’s problem. This seat is just so comfortable, perfect for falling asleep. But when did you buy the ointment?”

“Just a moment ago. While I was waiting for you to wake up.”

As Jeha pointed to the pharmacy in the shopping building across the street, Nana nodded.

“Thanks. I’ll use it well. Anyway, the car can’t go up from here, so I have to get off and walk.”

“I’ll get you an umbrella from the trunk, so use it.”

“It’s okay. It’s a short walk. I have a hat on too. Hey, thanks for everything. I’m sorry I could only return one of the things I stole.”

Jeha silently bit his lip. The only sound in the car was the wipers wiping the windshield. After a few seconds, Jeha opened his mouth.

“Don’t pick up and smoke cigarette butts that other people have thrown away. You’ll get sick. Seeing you cough back then, your lungs don’t seem to be in good shape either.”

“Then what should I do? I want to smoke, but I have no money.”

“Then just quit.”

“You’re a smoker yourself, so why are you only saying that to me?”

“I quit when I became a professor. I didn’t want the students to see me smoking.”

“Then why does a person like that carry a lighter?”

Nana remembered Jeha handing him a lighter. Jeha took that very lighter out of his pocket.

“I still haven’t been able to break the habit of carrying it in my pocket.”

“If you’ve quit smoking, you don’t need that anymore, do you?”

“Right.”

“Then give it to me.”

“What?”

“You said you don’t need it. Give it to me.”

“Why?”

“It looks expensive, so I want it. Can’t you give it to me?”

Nana had an expression like a small child wanting a toy. Jeha hesitated for a moment before placing the lighter on Nana’s outstretched hands.

“Wow….”

Nana’s expression brightened. He quickly stuffed the lighter into his pocket, as if afraid Jeha would take it back. Then he unbuckled his seatbelt.

“Thanks. I promise I’ll never steal your things, even if we happen to meet again.”

He probably meant it as a joke, but Jeha did not find it funny at all.

He also felt no urge to lecture Nana with the kind of old-fashioned words his usual self would have said, like ‘stealing is bad,’ or ‘from now on, earn money through honest labor.’

He just felt, unusually, a sense of emptiness and void.

“I’m going. Take care!”

Nana gave a slight smile, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and got out of the car. He quickly ran into the alley between the buildings.

Jeha just stared through the rain-spattered car window until Nana’s figure had completely disappeared.