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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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Gang-so shook his head.
It was common for Kkorong to wander into Gang-so’s room, and it was impossible for Kkorong to open the refrigerator door by itself.
‘Seriously! Out of all things to suspect, I’m suspecting Kkorong?’
Even if Kkorong somehow managed to open the refrigerator door, there was no way he wouldn’t have noticed the sound.
And Kkorong’s energy would have been left on the roll cake packaging!
Gang-so chuckled at his own absurd thoughts.
That afternoon.
As soon as it turned 3 o’clock, Gang-so rushed to Lee Hyuk Bakery.
It was to buy the special cream roll cake.
“Welcome— Ah! It’s the young man from Yang Chun Gak!”
Lee Hyuk greeted him warmly.
“Is the special cream roll cake still available?”
“Ah, if it’s that, there’s one left.”
“That’s a relief!”
Gang-so quickly picked up the roll cake and placed it on the counter.
But as Lee Hyuk was calculating the price, he hesitated and asked,
“Young man, have you ever confessed to a woman you like?”
Gang-so thought he misheard.
“Excuse me, did you just ask if I’ve ever confessed to a woman I like?”
“Yes.”
Lee Hyuk nodded, and now that he looked closely, his face seemed more haggard than yesterday.
Though it was still a chubby, round face.
Lee Hyuk lowered his head.
“Ah, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked.”
“It’s okay. You always give me delicious bread, I can listen to your worries.”
“…”
“Or, you could come to Yang Chun Gak and talk to Soon-tae. He’s a more capable man than you think.”
“I’ll… think about it.”
Gang-so paid and left Lee Hyuk Bakery. And he glanced at Lee Hyuk.
He seemed like a rather passive man.
‘I’m not sure if he’s passive or just dense…’
When Gang-so returned to Yang Chun Gak, Yoo Soon-tae was watching TV, sitting on a chair.
“You’re back?”
“Were you watching TV?”
“What else would an old man like me do for fun besides watch TV?”
“You’re only thirty-five, but you talk like an old man.”
“I have a kid, so of course, I’m an old man, not a young bachelor.”
“Is that so?”
Gang-so smiled and handed him the roll cake.
“Let’s eat this together.”
Yoo Soon-tae waved his hand.
“No, you eat it. I know how much you like it, why would I take it from you?”
“Then I’m grateful.”
Gang-so quickly put the roll cake in the refrigerator in his room.
“Ah, but Soon-tae, about the owner of Lee Hyuk Bakery…”
“…?”
“He asked me if I’ve ever confessed to a woman I like.”
“What? Hyungnim did?”
“Yeah, so I was wondering if you knew anything.”
“Well.”
Yoo Soon-tae scratched his chin.
“That’s unusual. He said he wasn’t interested in women, but now he’s asking if I’ve confessed to a woman I like… I wonder what kind of woman shook his heart like that.”
Gang-so sat down and asked,
“He said he wasn’t interested in women?”
“There’s this local merchants’ association meeting. I casually asked him back then what his ideal type was.”
“I see.”
Gang-so nodded.
“Ah, by the way, how old is the bakery owner? You call him ‘hyungnim’, so he must be quite old, isn’t he?”
“Ah, he’s thirty-seven.”
“…He’s only two years older than us?”
“Yeah.”
“…I thought he was in his mid-forties.”
“He looks a bit older because he’s overweight. Anyway, they say spring is the season of love, and spring must be spring, huh?”
That evening, Lee Hyuk visited Yang Chun Gak.
To be precise, it was 8 PM.
He came right before closing time.
“Hyungnim! Welcome!”
“Sorry for coming so late.”
“Don’t mention it.”
Yoo Soon-tae greeted him, and Lee Hyuk sat down on the chair Yoo Soon-tae pulled out for him.
“I’d like some soju and a bowl of jjampong.”
“Alright.”
Yoo Soon-tae went to the kitchen and made a bowl of jjampong, and Gang-so quickly set the table in front of Lee Hyuk.
A little while later, the food arrived, and Lee Hyuk started eating his jjampong without saying a word.
And as he was about to open the soju bottle, Yoo Soon-tae quickly grabbed it.
“Let me pour you a drink.”
“Okay, let me have a drink poured by Mr. Yoo!”
Glug, glug, glug.
The soju glass was filled.
Lee Hyuk drank the soju, and after the bottle was almost empty, he finally opened his mouth.
It seemed that he couldn’t bring himself to speak until he had some alcohol in him.
“Mr. Yoo, how did you confess to your wife?”
“Huh?”
Yoo Soon-tae’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he had a shy expression on his face.
“She was the younger sister of a co-worker I knew. We met a few times through that introduction, and I thought she was a good woman…”
“And?”
“One snowy night… I asked her if she wanted to come in and have ramen.”
“I envy you… having the courage to confess like that.”
Gang-so couldn’t understand.
“How can ‘come in and have ramen’ be a confession?”
“Well… that’s because…”
Yoo Soon-tae explained.
“Imagine this. A young man and woman are walking down a snowy road. The weather is cold, it’s snowing… and in that situation, if you ask ‘do you want to come in and have some ramen’, of course, they’ll go inside the house… Ah, let’s stop the explanation there.”
Yoo Soon-tae waved his hands, his face flushed.
“…I understand what kind of explanation you’re trying to give.”
Fortunately, Gang-so wasn’t so naive or slow-witted that he couldn’t understand what Yoo Soon-tae was trying to say.
“And you wouldn’t ask just anyone to come in and have ramen.”
“Of course not! Despite my appearance, I’m a romantic at heart.”
Yoo Soon-tae coughed and turned his attention to Lee Hyuk, who was slightly left out of the conversation.
“Ahem, ahem. I’m curious, though. Who is this woman who has captured your heart?”
“Huh? How did you know that I like someone?”
He would be an idiot if he didn’t know. Yoo Soon-tae smiled.
“So, who is it?”
“Actually… she’s a regular at my bakery, she’s pretty, kind… and her cute smile is my ideal type.”
“Do you know her name?”
“Yes, I do. It’s Baek Hyun-mi… I’ve liked her for over three months now.”
“But why haven’t you confessed yet?”
At Yoo Soon-tae’s question, Lee Hyuk sighed and poured the rest of the soju into his glass and drank it all in one go.
“Honestly, I know what I look like. I’m obese and shy, and I’m not exactly handsome… My bakery is rented, and all I have is my baking skills.”
“Hyungnim…”
“What if I confess and get rejected? Hyun-mi would be embarrassed and stop coming to my bakery, right?”
In other words, he was saying that he was too unattractive, so he would definitely be rejected if he confessed, and he was afraid of not being able to see the woman he liked anymore if that happened, so he couldn’t confess.
Gang-so clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘He’s a timid man.’
At the same time, he understood his feelings.
‘He seems like a decent man in my eyes, so why is his self-esteem so low?’
Just then, Yoo Soon-tae said,
“We should have a drink too! I’ll fry up some tangsuyuk!”
Yoo Soon-tae got up and fried some tangsuyuk as a snack, and Gang-so went to the door and put up the ‘closed’ sign.
Yoo Soon-tae brought out the tangsuyuk and three bottles of soju, and Gang-so quickly set the table with chopsticks and glasses.
The three men’s drinking party officially began.
They exchanged drinks and started listening to Lee Hyuk’s story.
“Actually! I wasn’t always like this… When I was in high school…”
As they say, drunken words speak the sober heart, and Lee Hyuk’s story poured out.
“There was this really, really pretty girl! So I confessed to her!”
“And? Hyungnim? What happened?”
“She said, she appreciated my courage for confessing, but did I really think I was worthy of her…?”
“So you were rejected? Hyungnim?”
“Yes! I was rejected!”
Lee Hyuk continued to complain with his slurred speech.
“But you know what! She was talking about me with her friends.”
“What did she say?”
At Gang-so’s question, Lee Hyuk chuckled.
“She was annoyed! She said, where have all the handsome men gone, and why is there only an ugly pig around!”
“What? She said that?!”
“What a mean woman!”
“That I was disgusting for confessing to her… Damn it!”
Lee Hyuk took another drink.
“Disgusting… she said…”
Gang-so seemed to understand why Lee Hyuk’s self-esteem was so low. The words of that girl were etched in his mind and had become a scar.
A deep, unhealed wound.
Gang-so felt pity.
‘Why did his first confession have to be to such a woman…’
But he couldn’t just let him stay trapped in that trauma.
“But how can I confess to Hyun-mi? Damn it! Damn it! Dam—”
Thud.
Lee Hyuk’s forehead crashed onto the table.
He had finally succumbed to the alcohol.
“Hyungnim! Hyungnim! How can you be drunk already?!”
He didn’t move, no matter how much they shook him. Yoo Soon-tae’s face was filled with dismay.
“Oh, what should we do?”
“Don’t worry. He can sleep in my room.”
“Will that be okay?”
“It’s fine.”
“But still… To think Hyungnim had such a past! So that’s why he’s so timid! Wow! That woman was really terrible!”
“I agree.”
Gang-so looked at Lee Hyuk’s face.
He knew how serious lovesickness could be.
He had seen a man die from lovesickness in Sichuan and learned that it was actually possible.
‘If I can no longer eat the special cream roll cake… that would be quite sad.’
Even if it was nothing for Lee Hyuk to remember that Gang-so came twice a month to buy the special cream roll cake and set one aside for him, Gang-so was very grateful for that gesture.
That’s how much the special cream roll cake meant to Gang-so.
To repay the favor, Gang-so decided to do something for Lee Hyuk.
“So what do you think we should do? Do you think we should help him confess?”
“Of course. Hyungnim is suffering so much…”
“So, do you have a plan?”
After pondering for a moment at Gang-so’s question, Yoo Soon-tae said,
“Actually, my wife is the expert on relationship advice. Let’s discuss it with her tomorrow.”
“Alright.”
Gang-so picked up Lee Hyuk, slung him over his shoulder, and despite Lee Hyuk’s large build, carried him effortlessly to his room and laid him down on the bed.
The next day.
When Lee Hyuk woke up, he found himself facing an unfamiliar ceiling.
“Huh!”
He sat up in surprise, and he remembered last night.
‘I was discussing my worries with Mr. Yoo, wasn’t I?’
And he had a drink, then another, and then…
‘So this is… Yang Chun Gak?’
But then he saw a strange sight before his eyes.
Gang-so was standing in front of the open refrigerator with a dumbfounded expression.
His face looked so devastated that he couldn’t help but ask,
“…Young man? Why the long face so early in the morning?”
“It’s gone again.”
“What’s gone?”
“The… special cream roll cake that I put in the refrigerator.”
Now that he looked, only the roll cake packaging was left in the refrigerator.
Gang-so clenched his fist in frustration.
Crack-!
“I will find the culprit!”
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