Assistant Manager Kim Hates Idols
SS Chapter 11: Kim Hyoil's Old Story
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TL: FoodieMonster007
Kim Hyoil opened his phone during break and saw a text. He was used to her lack of a greeting. His sister always insisted texts should be short and to the point.
Noona [Are your midterms over?]
Noona [Can you skip evening self-study if you say your family called you?]
Noona [Agh]
Noona [I guess I was the only one forced to do evening self-study]
Me [They ended a while ago]
Me [I can just go home]
Me [Evening self-study isn't mandatory]
He could almost hear the resentment in his sister's voice. His sister had often been called home because of family discord, which granted her a certain freedom. Neither of them ever brought that up.
Me [Why?]
Noona [Let's go get Yeopjeon Tteokbokki]
Noona [The world will end if I don't eat something spicy today]
Spicy Yeopjeon Tteokbokki, of all things. Something must have happened at her company.
The bell rang just as he was about to agree. Kim Hyoil's fingers flew across the screen.
Me [My class is starting now]
He found math class boring but managed to stay focused without dozing off. Kim Hyoil couldn't check her reply until the next break.
Noona [Text me your dismissal time as soon as you see this.]
Noona [I'm going to make sure the tteokbokki shop owner gets to go home early today]
Grim determination filled every letter and character. He replied obediently.
His teacher looked worried when he said he was leaving without doing self-study. The teacher cautiously asked if something was wrong. The teacher's face relaxed when Kim Hyoil explained his sister had called.
"I guess she thought there was trouble at home again today."
Kim Hyoil explained the small incident to his sister as he tied an apron around his neck.
His sister had arrived first and already placed their order.
"Did something happen recently? You didn't tell me anything."
Kim Hyoil held up his hands, sensing his sister's nerves immediately fray. In fact, he had rushed home not long ago after a call to the teachers' office. The issue was fresh, not even a week old.
His sister had told him to call her when things like that happened, but he hadn't.
What's the point of reporting every single incident that occurs day after day? Once they pass, they all become trivial.
Kim Hyoil had truly almost forgotten what happened that day.
"I can't bring myself to believe a word you say."
His sister clicked her tongue.
"What are you going to do if you don't believe me?"
"That's what's so frustrating!"
The food arrived quickly, as if sensing his sister's frustration. Steamed eggs, rice balls, and fried snacks soon filled the entire table.
"Why'd you order so much?"
"I got the small tteokbokki."
"The small is for two people…"
Kim Hyoil glanced between the menu and the bowl of tteokbokki before him.
His sister ignored Kim Hyoil's point. She busily placed chopsticks in front of her younger brother. Kim Hyoil had reached for napkins first, but he was a step too late.
"Isn't this too much?"
"If you're full, just leave it."
Though they grew up in the same house, the two were raised a little differently. If his sister had no appetite, she wouldn't touch her food. She hated the feeling of forcing food down. Instead, she would find something delicious and make it her soul food. She relieved stress cheaply and quickly by eating when she felt down or things weren't going her way.
Kim Hyoil hated wasting food. He disliked being hungry more than an upset stomach. Fortunately, he was naturally healthy, so he never got sick from overeating or consuming something slightly off. His easygoing personality probably helped too.
When they met, his sister always ordered more food than there were people. She wanted her younger brother, who would eat anything, to have some variety.
Kim Hyoil ate diligently, hating to see food go to waste. It wasn't forced. A growing teenage boy welcomed anything edible. It was no exaggeration to say his sister was responsible for half his height.
After Kim Hyoil deftly made the rice balls, they started making small talk.
Something was definitely up with his sister.
"I want to kill that bastard team leader…"
"What did the team leader do today?"
"He was being a team leader."
A sigh escaped her, heavy enough to collapse the shop floor. His sister pressed her temples to suppress her anger, then looked at Kim Hyoil's school uniform and corrected herself.
"Killing him… is too unethical. I just want to pour tteokbokki sauce in his eyes."
"That's more horrifying."
"I'm letting him live, aren't I? Any more mercy than this will only create a vicious cycle."
"Are all bosses like that?"
"If I say they are, are you going to look for a different career path besides business administration?"
"I already submitted my desired major."
"This is also a problem. Does it make sense to tell kids who just started high school that they need to decide their college major already just to fill out their student records?"
His fuming sister ordered another soda. They moved dishes to make space for the small can and a glass of ice.
"It costs 2,500 won…" Kim Hyoil muttered, looking at the menu.
Spending money like this feels completely unfamiliar.
"If you can relieve your stress for 2,500 won, that's cheap. Isn't it a relief that this isn't some resentment that money can't solve?"
His sister poured the soda into the glass.
GLUG GLUG!
She looked ready to hand the cup to Kim Hyoil, so he quickly snatched the can from her. As expected, the can was nearly empty.
"Give it. I'll drink it."
"You should at least get 2,000 won worth of stress relief out of it."
"Geez, thanks."
His sister let out a dry, absurd laugh.
The tteokbokki wasn't very spicy. She had ordered a moderate flavor despite all her threats. Thanks to her, he simply had a delicious meal instead of witnessing a hellfire show.
Their second stop was different from usual. They usually went to a cafe, but he followed his sister when she led him to the riverbank.
"The Han River? Why?"
"The view is wide open. Isn't it refreshing?"
Kim Hyoil supposed it was. He walked beside his sister without complaint. It was the perfect way to walk and digest their food.
The city center lay far across the river. The gentle sound of water flowed beneath the sparkling city lights. A cool breeze blew the entire time they walked.
His sister looked at the yellow lights adorning the buildings and said, "Those poor office workers, stuck in their offices, unable to go home."
Her lament sounded like a line of poetry.
Kim Hyoil, who had been silent, asked, "Should we have gotten the sauce to-go from the tteokbokki place?"
"Why the sauce?"
"So you can pour it in your team leader's eyes tomorrow."
His sister burst out laughing at his enthusiastic support. Her younger brother seemed gentle, but sometimes he acted like a bulldozer. Kim Hyoil mostly acted this way out of consideration for others. He was likely just trying to lighten his sister's mood now, too.
"You're right. You only live once, I should at least try splashing tteokbokki sauce on my boss's face."
"You'll use the spicy kind, right?"
"Wasn't there a 'Flavor of Revolution' or something?"
"If you accomplish such a great feat, maybe they'll create one in your name?"
Their silly conversation flowed endlessly. Trading meaningless jokes, they could chat like any ordinary brother and sister. There was no need to pretend to be mature, nor did they have to feel sorry for each other. Their hearts felt as light as their hair fluttering in the wind. They just had to look forward, walk, and laugh.
"Do you come to the Han River often?"
"Sometimes. It's quiet and nice. I come here with my friends for a can of beer, or to eat ramen."
"I see."
"You don't come here?"
"I don't really have a reason to come all the way out here."
"True, my coworkers also find it strange that someone from Seoul would go out of their way to come to the Han River."
The riverside at night was as tranquil as his sister had said. There were quite a few people, and bicycles kept passing by, but it wasn't noisy. The darkness brought a sense of calm.
"If you ever feel too suffocated, come here to get some fresh air. A short walk is surprisingly effective."
"It's fine. My commute to and from school is enough of a walk."
"You walk to school?!"
He winced at her sharp reaction. The conversation snapped back to reality.
"I didn't even think of that. Right, there's no way Dad would give you money for transportation…"
"You don't need to think about it. It's my business."
"Bullshit. How much is your monthly transportation fee? I'll send it to you every month."
"It's fine. Anyone would think it's a two-hour round trip."
"Who walks for over 30 minutes these days? Especially a high school student at the crack of dawn. Do you think there's a huge difference between a one-and-a-half-hour round trip and two hours?"
"I'm really fine. It's more comfortable for me to leave home early anyway."
"Even if you leave early, take the bus and rest at school."
His sister stubbornly sat on a bench and increased her automatic transfer amount. Kim Hyoil grumbled, but it was no use.
The powerless Kim Hyoil gave up his resistance and sat beside her when she told him to save the bus fare and buy a hamburger from the school store with any leftover money.
"You keep spending money."
"You might not know this, but an office worker has more financial power than you can imagine."
Would that apply to someone who became independent with nothing?
Kim Hyoil thought not. This was especially true since his sister had just started her career.
Weren't their mother and father, who both worked, so sensitive about the few pennies they spent on their children?
Kim Wonju, on the other hand, felt firsthand how a monthly salary could change a person's life. She could look up the market price of their parents' real estate. She could guess the amount of money they spent while neglecting Kim Wonju and Kim Hyoil. This made their parents more detestable and Kim Hyoil more pitiful. Some things were more problematic the more one knew.
The heavy atmosphere prompted them to get up.
"Want to go up there?"
His sister pointed to the bridge above them.
They found a ramp and walked up. The night view of Seoul, split by the Han River, filled their vision. Orange light bathed the walkway and the bridge's frame.
A strong river breeze blew. His sister was right. He felt like he could finally breathe. The cool wind seemed to circulate deep into his lungs.
Sometimes, when things are tough… though I still can't tell my sister. When I want to walk somewhere other than home, when I need time to clear my head. It would be nice to come here.
Kim Hyoil engraved the new memory in his mind and followed his sister across the long bridge.