Monsieur Park by Amber
Chapter 2
2. Sized doesn't matter
"I should just go on a blind
date."
Said Jo Youngsun from business department.
She stopped fixing her lipstick and sighed deeply.
"Why? Don't you have a
boyfriend?"
Youngsun glared at Soonmi who asked innocently.
"He's too young and he's not capable.
A man gets stable when they are at least 30. And my future is pretty unstable.
And my mom is keep pressuring me to get marry."
"Mmm. I thought you guys really liked
each other."
"You can't really do anything only with
your feeling.... I'm nearly 30.... And there is a saying that when the poverty
comes through the front gate, love goes out of the back gate." (I have no
idea what this means...)
Lee Soonmi who is a beginner in social
life didn't want to admit it. She wanted to say something, but she didn't want
to get hated by the seniors. She just decided to leave early.
"Then I'll leave first. See you
tomorrow. Youngsun ssi, Kyungmee ssi."
"See you tomorrow."
Soonmi left with light footsteps. Youngsun
and Kyungmee continued there chatting.
"By the way....."
Kyungmee opened her mouth.
"How old is Soonmi ssi?"
"I think she just became 20 this
year."
"Then why is she not saying our last
name when she calls us?"
Kyungmee's tone became sharp.
"She's the youngest and why is she
calling just by our names. Does she think it's everything when she just add 'ssi' at
the end?" (I guess Soonmi needs to call them like Kim Kyungmee ssi....)
"Ah, stress. Stress."
Youngsun sighed while she was putting some
more powder on her face.
"Someday I will say something. That
stupid Monsieur Park was giving us stress, and I can't stand this youngster
looking down on me."
"Everything is sick. Really."
Kyungmee sighed deeply. They are 28 years
old. And since few years ago, they've been hearing their friends getting
married and beginning of this year that number just multiplied. Friends who
already got married are keeping telling her to get married. They were saying if
you get older, your worthy goes down.
They both knew they were not a successful
career woman. They are single and independent from their parents, and after
they graduated from college, they never asked their parents for money. But they
were not a successful career woman.
Neither they went to 4 year university nor
were they employed in a big company. They were just aging without doing
anything, and now their concern is worrying about their future if they can stay
at this company longer.
"This man I'm going to see during the
blind date is a very religious Catholic."
"Oh no. Isn't your family
Buddhist?"
"I know. That's what's holding me
back. If I change my religion, my grandma will get so mad. And there is long
way to go until I get married to my boyfriend. And blind date conditions are
too picky. And I'm getting old and I barely have $20,000 in my saving. And all
of my colleagues are getting married."
They were chatting and Younsun's phone
rang suddenly.
"Hello?"
She fixed her voice little bit. It was her
boyfriend. For a while she just said sure, sure, and her face got darker.
"Really? You have a lot of work?
Okay.... There is no choice then... Let's postponed it. See you next
time."
Youngsun hung up the phone with a long
face. Kyungmee asked right next to her.
"Did your plan get cancelled?"
"Yeah...."
"It's happening pretty often these
days."
"Yeah..."
Kyungmee pulled depressed Youngsun's arm
and said.
"Today is too gloomy. Should we go
out and grab a drink?"
"Should we?"
"Yes."
Thanks to bright Kyungmee's voice Youngsun
started to smile too. When they were on the street to look for a good place to
drink, they saw a familiar back.
Youngsun said,
"Isn't that.... D.P.?" (Director
Park)
"You're right."
Kyungmee was looking at that back too.
Both of them were squinting their eyes. The back was just like what they saw it
in the company earlier, he was still wearing a suit with laundry mark, and he was
squatting in the dark ally. He was so focused on something that he didn't know
these two pairs of eyes were staring at him.
"Direc..."
When she was trying to call him, suddenly
he stood up and started to run. It was first time they saw him that fast.
Youngsun froze while her hand was still reaching out to him. The thing that
Director Park was aiming for was sushi restaurant fish tank. This one glowing halibut came up from the water. He didn't miss this chance and snatched away
the halibut. It happened less than one second. He was like an agile tiger.
"That son of a bitch again!"
Hearing the owner of sushi restaurant
scream, Director Park looked back and gave him the smile of victory. And he
started to run like a speed of light. Because he was so focused on his halibut,
he did not see these two women while he was passing by them.
Two women just froze and could not moved.
Somewhere there was a wind blowing their hair.
"Just now....."
After a while Youngsun opened her mouth.
"Did we just see D.P. snatching away
a fish and ran off?"
"I think so...."
Kyungmee answered. They both looked at the
sushi restaurant. That place was an expensive place where they only sell wild
growth sea food. Inside the fish tank, it was full of healthy strong fish
swimming around the tank. Because they are too healthy and strong, sometimes
they go out of fish tank by jumping too high.
"We should....."
"Yeah...."
Kyungmee said with stuffed look.
".......go drink."
"......Yeah."
They turned and walked wobbly to street
full of bars. It was already dark future for those unmarried women in Korean,
but their boss's action made it even darker.
Taeyoung worked overtime to finish his work. He got out of the office with a headache.
I think I was staring at the monitor for too
long. This pain isn't going away. Thinking of buying a pain killer, he went to a
different side of street to go to the pharmacy. He should stop by at the
pharmacy first and go to the subway station.
Just as he came out of the pharmacy, he
saw a familiar shadow of a person walking rocking his body. He stopped putting
his medicine bag inside of his bag and frowned. As the shadow came closer to the
street light, he noticed not only that person was familiar, it was a person who
he sees every day. That person was Director Park.
'.....Something seems off.'
Taeyoung frowned. A man who was bouncing
on his way had a smile on his face holding something flapping. It was very hard
thing to see at 10:30 PM in the middle of the city. That was an alive fish.
"What the...."
Taeyoung dropped his medicine bag. As
Director Park run faster, the fish was flapping faster like it's asking for oxygen.
It was something scarily suited well with him and at the same time was very creepy.
"Di...Director Park?"
"Huh? Were you still here?"
"You are the one who told me to stay
and finish....! No never mind. What is that?"
He tried his best to keep his calm and
pointed at the fish that he was holding.
"You definitely left work as soon as
the clock hit 6 o'clock."
"Ah, I did."
"It's not 'Ah, I did.'!"
Taeyoung seriously wanted to choke him.
But that 'breathing healthy fish' was creeping him out. Director Park had a sad
expression.
"It took me four and a half hour to
catch this wild halibut to eat it raw."
"Then you spent this whole hours
looking for that wild halibut in the city?"
Taeyoung calmed himself down and thought
that Director Park might be an epicurean.
"Even so, what are you gonna do with
a living thing?"
"Ahhh, no. I didn't go buy
this."
He said it with his finger swinging.
"I ambushed near the sushi
restaurant and waited until this guy popped out. The wild ones are pretty
strong, so sometimes they pop out of the tank."
"......Pardon?"
"What I'm saying is."
Director Park said it bravery
"When you wait for like four hours,
if you are lucky these guys pop out of the tank. Today was my lucky day. There
are days when I can't get anything."
"A person like you....."
Taeyoung suddenly felt light headed. This
guy was satisfied for getting a free 50 dollar worth wild halibut. The halibut
started lose strength and Director Park hurried his pace.
"Oh no, you can't die. I should get
going."
"You...live nearby?"
"Yeah, it's only one block away from
the company. I purposely got that place."
There was a sound of thunder, and drop of
water started fall down from sky. Suddenly a beam of light appeared in the
sky and the place got really dark fast.
"Oh no, I should get going. Then see
you Assistant Manager Kim."
He started to run carrying his halibut
preciously. The halibut was breathing in Director Park's embrace. If it could
talk, it probably said I don't want to get eaten by this kind of a guy.
Taeyoung was just blankly started at Director Park's back and suddenly he
called him.
"Wait Director Park!"
"Huh?"
He stopped and turned back. Taeyoung
awkwardly asked him.
"Can you... let me borrow an
umbrella?"
"Umbrella?"
"You said you live nearby.... I'll
give it back to you tomorrow at work."
"....You are not aiming for my sliced raw fish right?"
".....No I'm not."
Taeyoung just glared at him by saying I'm
not going to that kind of shit. Director Park was thinking for a while and
allowed him with very annoyed face.
"Then follow me."
Park Changsup's house was a very normal
apartment. Taeyoung was drying his drenched hair and the drops of water was
falling on the floor. Director Park was busy looking for his keys in his bag.
"Did I left it at work..."
"You don't have your keys?"
"My halibut please keep your
breath."
He was worrying more about his dying
halibut than losing his keys. He was thinking for a second and tried to turn his
door knob. The door just opened without any resistant. He shouted like he
found a new achievement.
"Good. I didn't lock my door!"
"....It's not supposed to be
good!"
"We can go in anyway."
"What if a thief left it open?"
"Ah don't worry about that."
Taeyoung said it with a suspicious voice,
but Director Park proudly opened the door. Taeyoung just awkwardly went inside.
Director Park was looking for the switch in the dark. The switch was probably
right next to the door and because he was holding the halibut in one hand, he
couldn't find the switch well. He was leaning forward to find his switch, and
Taeyoung was right behind him. His butt was sticking out too much that it was
touching Taeyoung's groin area. That surprised him.
"Wha..what are you doing?"
"Huh? What?"
"Are….are you seducing me right
now?"
Taeyoung's voice was very shaky. Soon
after the light turned on. Because of the sudden light, he felt like his eyes
were burning. He frowned. And Director Park just went inside without any
hesitant, he quickly went through the living room and went straight to the
kitchen. He turned the water on and collected in the sink.
"What are you doing? Come in."
Taeyoung's face got really red. The mirror
that was hanging right front of the door reflected exactly how he looked. He
thought he purposely didn't turn on the light and secretly pressed on him. He
didn't want to show his blushed face, so he quickly took off his shoes and
followed Director Park.
"Sit first. Look at that lightening.
I don't think it's gonna stop anytime soon. Then there is no choice. I'll give
you change of clothes wait until the rain stops."
"Okay...."
He said with an annoyed face, but it
seemed like even Director Park didn't want to stay by himself in this gloomy
night. He was busy preparing to cut the fish, taking out some liquor cups, and
going through his refrigerator.
Because Taeyoung was just standing
dripping water on the floor, Director Park gave him his clothes carelessly. The
clothes were too short and too tight on him, but he didn't complain at all.
"Then, shall I start."
Director Park was cracking his fingers and neck to get ready. It
was a professional world. He was holding a very sharp kitchen knife and was
wearing this cute pink apron. The halibut had his gill wide open and breathing
his last breathe. Looking at the halibut’s blurring eyes, Director Park had
this evil smile on him. Bang- there was a sound and the halibut’s head and the
body get completely separated. He said it with seriousness.
“Your death is…. worthy.”
He took a position like a cutter. Taeyoung was standing behind him
almost collapse while he was changing.
After that it was a world of an amazing cutting skill. The knife
separated the body with the fast speed. He roughly peeled off the skin and cut
the body into half. Ripping out the intestine with a laugh was like a scene of
Chuckey’s madness in the movie.
There were drops of blood on the floor and sound of flesh getting
sliced. Silently watching that scene somehow gave him a chill. The determine
face of Director Park saying ‘I’ll definitely eat you’ was too obvious. He was
like a person who starved for three days.
“I’m done!”
He stick his knife through his cutter board after he did the
cutter pose again. He smiled and brought out a plate, and split the wooden
chopstick. Taeyoung just stared at the floor. This house didn’t even have a
table or something. He was hosting a guest by just putting some pickled radish,
liquor cup, and some alcohol on the floor. The only thing that looked expensive
was the plate full of pinkish sliced raw fish.
“….It looks good.”
“Don’t eat too much. I’m specially giving you this just because it’s
raining. This is really expensive because it’s a wild one. If you go to a
professional place, they’ll ask like $100 to $150.”
“….I’ll get sick by eating this.”
“Here, your cup.”
Director Park gave him the cup. It was a very cheap looking paper
cup compare to the dish. He poured some soju in the empty cup and gave him the
cup to pour it for him too. Taeyoung poured soju in his cup without saying
anything.
Director Park drank soju and putted a piece of slices into his mouth
at the same time. His face was full of happiness. His drenched wet hair was
weighing it down, so he was like a high school boy with a bang. He looked
younger than before. The look of tasting the fish by closing his eyes looked
like a child enjoying his sweet candy. He looked very happy and innocent.
“Drink with free sliced raw fish is much better than a sumptuous
feast.”
He took another piece and looked unfortunate that the piece
disappeared fast in his mouth.
“Only if there was a woman pouring drinks for me.”
Taeyoung was quietly drinking and his expression got harden little
bit. He quietly put down his cup and asked.
“Do you…. like women that much?”
“Of course. It’s better when they are young and pretty. What kind
of men don’t like women?”
“….That’s true. But I think you are little overboard.”
“Me? How?”
He lean his head to one side of his shoulder like he didn’t
understand what Taeyoung was saying. His tall but short nose made wrinkles and
approached Taeyoung. Taeyoung blankly stared at him and woke up. Somehow he
felt very stuffy.
‘Am I getting drunk…’
He was getting hot for no reason. He was fanning with his hand.
Outside was pouring so there was no reason to get hot.
“You….don’t really have a good reputation among the female
employees. How about controlling yourself a little bit. Like talking to them….,
touching their hands…, or asking them to go to a business trip with you….”
“Haaaaaah~~”
It seemed like he wasn’t listening at all, and he just poured his
drink again. He seems like he’s a light weight. His face was already getting
red.
“Dose wamen atully rike it.” (Those women actually like it.)
“Everybody knows they don’t.”
“I’m tilling youuuu. Dhey rike it.” (I’m telling you. They like
it.)
He was blinking his big eyes. His usual buttery eyes were slightly
loose, and now it looked like a child’s eyes. It made him look innocent.
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