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Chapter 12: I Don’t Know About That (2)
Kang Chan came home in high spirits. Yoo Hye-Sook happily welcoming him also felt nice.
“My dear son! What did you do today?”
“We went to the stream in Gapyeong, had chicken stew, and talked about all kinds of things.”
“What a wonderful teacher. I’m truly grateful for him. How did he even wash your school uniform so thoroughly? It’s so clean.”
What would she have thought of Seok Kang-Ho as a teacher if she saw them smoking cigarettes together?
Kang Chan gave a vague response, then went into his room and fell asleep.
***
Kang Chan woke up early the next day. By the time he got to the living room, breakfast had already been prepared.
“Didn’t you say we were having brunch today?”
“But what if you get hungry? Here, eat. I have to go do my makeup.”
“Do you not realize I’m here too?” Kang Dae-Kyung asked.
“Stop acting like a child. If you’re hungry, go you feed yourself!”
When Yoo Hye-Sook glared at him, Kang Dae-Kyung obediently sat down at the dining table. She had prepared soybean paste stew, napa cabbage kimchi, cucumber kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, and an unknown stir-fry dish for breakfast.
Even though Kang Chan and Yoo Hye-Sook had become a lot more comfortable around each other, he still felt awkward being around Kang Dae-Kyung, especially when they were alone like they were right now.
Let’s give it our best shot. 45 days.
Kang Chan wanted to repay them for what they had done for him, even if it was just a small gesture on his part.
“How’s your car import business coming along?”
“Well, I’m doing my best, so we’ll just have to see the results.”
Just as Kang Chan picked up some seasoned bean sprouts with a pair of chopsticks, Kang Dae-Kyung continued.
“Ah! Remember how you took the call for me previously? Because of that, I could brag about my son for the first time in my life.”
“Feel free to let me know whenever you need my help.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yes.” Kang Chan decided to put in a little more effort. “Who will be interpreting for the people coming over from the French office?”
“Why?” Kang Dae-Kyung asked.
“I think you should hire a credible interpreter, considering what happened previously.”
“Alright, I’ll be careful.”
When they were done with breakfast, they wrapped up the conversation.
“Honey! Put the dirty dishes in the sink and the leftovers in the fridge.”
“Yes, yes!”
Yoo Hye-Sook accurately deduced that they were done eating. Deep down, Kang Chan was surprised since she did that purely based on gut feeling.
After washing up, Kang Chan changed into a modest pair of pants and a T-shirt.
“Oh no, we’re late. Do my clothes and bag look good, honey?”
Yoo Hye-Sook kept grilling Kang Dae-Kyung until he finally said, ‘They look fantastic.’ They could only leave the house after hearing that from him.
When they exited the underground parking lot, Yoo Hye-Sook looked nervous and excited at the same time.
“Ah, right. Do you want to meet those people from the French office? I want to brag about you, and you can also check to see if the interpreter is doing their job right.” Kang Dae-Kyung asked his son.
“You’re giving our child a hard time! Why would you bring him along?” Yoo Hye-Sook scolded him.
“Oh? Is that so?”
Kang Chan wanted to give Kang Dae-Kyung a pleasant memory as a gift.
“I’ll go.”
“Oh no, our son is going to have to work hard. But if you go, it would take some weight off your dad’s shoulders. Isn’t that right, honey?”
“Of course. Just thinking about it makes my shoulders feel lighter.”
It was a Sunday morning so the roads were relatively empty. They got to their destination in no time. If they had known this, Kang Chan and Yoo Hye-Sook would've taken a taxi instead of asking Kang Dae-Kyung to give them a ride since he probably wanted to rest.
“Eat lots of delicious food, and brag about our son as much as you want.”
“Okay, honey. See you.”
Kang Chan was slowly getting goosebumps, so he quickly said goodbye to Kang Dae-Kyung.
They got out of the car, which was parked right in front of the restaurant.
Martin Levasseur. The restaurant was named after a street in France. It was akin to naming a restaurant ‘Masan’ or ‘Jeonju’ in Korean. That wasn’t important, though. It was just a restaurant they were having a meal at.
When Kang Chan followed Yoo Hye-Sook into the restaurant, which was rather crowded. Half of their customers were Korean, and the other half were French.
“Over here.”
Kang Chan saw a middle-aged woman sitting inside the restaurant with her hand raised to catch their attention.
‘I get why she doesn’t want to lose to her friend.’
Yoo Hye-Sook’s friend, Seong-Hee, was wearing an elegant outfit. More importantly, she looked very confident.
“It’s good to see you!”
“Hello, how are you?” Kang Chan greeted Seong-Hee.
“It’s been a while, Chan. I heard you’ve hurt yourself. Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m a lot better now.”
“Oh my! Your hand hasn’t healed?”
“No, not yet.” Kang Chan was determined to do his very best.
There was a table for four in front of a bench seat that was leaning against a wall. Kang Chan got Yoo Hye-Sook to sit on the inside, while he sat on the outside.
There were three girls at the next table that looked half-Korean and half-French. One of them was so attractive that she caught Kang Chan’s eye. She looked just like a sexy Barbie doll.
Kim Seong-Hee and Yoo Hye-Sook had been friends for twenty years. Her husband worked in finance, and her son’s name was Bang Dae-Shik. He was a skinny and high-strung bespectacled boy of medium stature. He was a senior at Daesan Foreign Language High School. Kang Chan promptly gathered the other party’s characteristics.
“The tiger moms[1] have recently organized a private tutoring class. I’ll save you a spot, so make sure you send Chan there.”
Kim Seong-Hee shook her index finger, like a parent who was criticizing a student with poor grades. She was conceited.
“How are his grades in English?”
“Not bad.”
“Not bad? Get your act together! If he’s attending a regular high school instead of a foreign language one, he should be the top student in his school. Oh my, I get so frustrated whenever I look at you.”
Like Heo Eun-Sil, Bang Dae-Shik was looking down on Kang Chan.
Do you want me to teach you a lesson like what I did to her?
Kang Chan tried his best to calm himself down by looking at Yoo Hye-Sook. After seeing her drooping shoulders, Kang Chan felt so bad for her that he even pitied her.
To Yoo Hye-Sook’s disappointment, it was a brunch buffet. Furthermore, all the servers were Koreans. Regardless of how much she wanted to show off Kang Chan’s proficiency in French, she didn’t have any opportunity to do so. If they were having an à la carte dinner, they would at least be able to call for the manager and elegantly place their order in French.
“Monsieur!”
Kim Seong-Hee spoke in a conceited way even when she called out to an employee who was obviously Korean.
“Bring me another glass of water.”
The best part was she asked for a glass of water in Korean.
“My son goes to a foreign language high school, so he already knows how to say some simple words in French. He has only been there for a month, but he can already introduce himself. Why else do you think I picked such a restaurant? The children will put in as much effort as the mothers put into them. I’m telling you, this is very important!”
“My son speaks French too.” Yoo Hye-Sook finally got in a word.
“Oh? Which hagwon does he go to? Daechi-dong? Cheongdam-dong? Did he take private classes? Oh my! Oh my! My son is learning from a French student who was introduced to us by the French embassy. Where is Chan learning from?”
“He learned it on his own from the internet…”
“What?”
Kim Seong-Hee and Bang Dae-Shik openly laughed at them.
Yoo Hye-Sook glanced at Kang Chan. She looked crestfallen. There was anger, frustration, and emptiness in her eyes. She had been looking forward to this day for so long, but it wasn’t turning out the way she thought it would.
‘Tsk. Should I order something special instead?’
It was so childish. Not to mention, that was a level of proficiency even Bang Dae-Shik would be able to do as well.
While Kang Chan was briefly agonizing over what to do, he kept overhearing the conversation going on at the next table, which had initially caught his attention. Perhaps it was because he didn’t want to hear how conceited Kim Seong-Hee was when she spoke.
Even though all the ladies at the next table were mixed, two of them looked French, and the other one looked Korean. The issue here was their conversation. The girls cleverly mixed Korean and French the entire time they were talking about doing the deed.
The Barbie doll talked about how the guy she met two nights ago was worn out after doing it only twice, and how when she slept with a black guy, he was so good in bed that they stayed up all night. She wasn’t shy about it at all.
The three girls were completely carried away. They had attractive blonde hair, blue deep-set eyes, defined features, and mannequin-like figures. But their conversation was akin to a detailed report of a depraved Barbie doll’s nightlife. Even though people in France were open-minded enough to have open marriages, it was rare to find degenerates like these girls.
Kang Chan looked at them speechlessly.
“Don’t tell me he understands what we’re saying.” The Barbie doll remarked in French while looking straight at Kang Chan.
Speechless, Kang Chan could only smirk at her.
“You understood what we’re saying?”
“I didn’t eavesdrop on purpose. It simply caught my attention because the conversation here was boring. I’m sorry if I offended you.”
The three girls stared at him, amazed by his proficiency in French.
That wasn’t all. Kim Seong-Hee and Bang Dae-Shik also shifted their gazes between Kang Chan and the Barbie doll with blank looks on their faces.
The Barbie doll seemed fascinated by Kang Chan. “You’re good at French, huh. Do you live here?”
“Oh no, it’s not what you’re thinking. This is a family brunch type of situation.”
The Barbie doll stole a glance at Yoo Hye-Sook, then winked at him.
“The imbecile across from me can barely introduce himself, while the other two women can’t speak French at all, so you don’t have to greet them.” Kang Chan told her.
That level of French was what Yoo Hye-Sook wanted to show off. And he was even easily carrying out a conversation in French with a dazzling French beauty. She promptly remarked, ‘My son learned French on the internet. He must be a genius,’ and talked about how Kang Chan helped his father when he received a call from France. She bragged about her son, looking proud.
The Barbie doll could understand Korean. She looked at Kang Chan and smiled meaningfully at him when she saw how proud Yoo Hye-Sook was of him.
“Just think of it as making a middle-aged woman happy. I’ll return the favor in the future if I get the chance to do so.”
“Sounds good. I’m Michelle. This is Cecil and Cindy.”
“Kang Chan.”
When the Barbie doll introduced herself and the other two girls, he simply replied with his name.
“Come on, we’ll help you out. I think it’s going to give you the upper hand. What do you think? Wouldn’t it be fun to ridicule the imbecile?”
“It’s a hassle.”
The Barbie doll bit her lip, then said, “You’re very charming. Do you want to meet with me tonight?”
“Woah!” Michelle’s two friends next to her exclaimed. Yoo Hye-Sook would curse France for the rest of her life if she were to understand their conversation. Luckily, she seemed a little more excited.
“I’m good.”
“Why? You seem like a fun guy. What do you say?”
“Tsk!”
He wasn’t Smithen’s reincarnation. The funny thing was that the two girls next to her were looking at Kang Chan while swallowing hard.
“Here’s the deal. The three of us will go all out to make you look good in front of your family, and in return, you’ll bring it tonight. Sounds good?”
These girls…?
Kang Chan didn’t have time to be mad or stop them. The Barbie doll leaped to her feet and stood behind Kang Chan, while the other two stood at his side each. At that moment, everyone in the restaurant immediately looked at Kang Chan’s table.
“You must be proud to have such a wonderful son. He’s so fluent in French that it seemed as though he had lived In France. I’m Michelle. This is Cecil, and this is Cindy.” She deliberately spoke very fast in French.
Meanwhile, Michelle was pressing her chest against the back of Kang Chan’s head. Puzzled, Kim Seong-Hee looked at Bang Dae-Shik.
“I think they’re saying hi to us…?” Bang Dae-Shik looked equally puzzled.
The sly and evil Michelle blinked innocently, shifting her gaze among the three people, as though she was wondering why they didn’t react.
“Dear, what is she saying?” Yoo Hye-Sook smiled innocently at Michelle as she asked Kang Chan.
“She just wants to say hi because she had fun talking to me. Her name is Michelle.”
The Barbie doll nodded and said hello to Yoo Hye-Sook.
“This is Cecil, and she’s Cindy.”
“Oh my, I see. Tell them I said hi.”
Kang Chan turned around and looked at Michelle. And then he leaned his upper body away from the chair. Her bare chest within her blouse was right in front of his face.
“Thank you. I think that’s enough, so let’s stop here.”
“Hey, that’s a breach of contract. Give me your number. If you don’t give it to me, I will speak in Korean from now on and humiliate you.”
Kang Chan clenched his teeth and forced a smile.
“Let’s stop here.”
“This is your last chance. I’m feeling hot. Make up your mind fast or you’re going to regret it.”
Kang Chan almost dragged her out of there, but he held it in with his superhuman will. He was fighting a losing battle today. He had no way out because Yoo Hye-Sook was being held hostage. Kang Chan continued forcing a smile and gave her his number. After Michelle saved it, she suddenly leaned her head closer.
“Why are you so old-fashioned? I’m just saying hi, darling.”
Smooch. Smooch.
When Michelle gave Kang Chan a ‘la bise’[2] greeting, the other two girls smiled delightedly, yet insidiously, and greeted him too.
“You didn’t give me the wrong number, right?”
“Tsk, I don’t do things like that.”
“Alright, then. I’m going now. We’re looking forward to seeing you later!”
As soon as the three girls left, everyone else looked away and resumed what they were doing.
“Hye-Sook, which site did Chan use to learn French?”
“I’m not sure. He found it on his own, so I don’t know.”
Kim Seong-Hee looked at Kang Chan, her eyes filled with envy and jealousy.
“I just bought a French grammar book and studied it, and I looked for French sites and chat rooms.” Kang Chan told her.
Kim Seong-Hee glared at Bang Dae-Shik as though she was going to lecture him hard. The flames raging in her eyes seemed about to spread to her bangs at any moment.
“Dae-Shik! You need more French classes.”
Bang Dae-Shik pursed his lips, looking as if he was about to cry.
After brunch, Kim Seong-Hee left first.
“Son! I’m sooooo happy.”
Yoo Hye-Sook’s smile reminded him of Snow White, but Kang Chan couldn’t even react because she linked arms with him. The feeling of his mother clinging onto his right arm and leaning on him made him feel warm and fuzzy.
When she turned to look at Kang Chan, she was looking up at him with the happiest face in the world.
“Were you okay today?”
“Of course! I think I’ll even walk home from here.”
Yoo Hye-Sook was actually skipping down the street.
It must have been a good memory, right?
Kang Chan hoped that was the case.
‘Thank you. And I’m sorry.”
1. The original term used in Korean is ‘pig mom(s)’, which refers to mothers who spare no effort in trying to improve their children’s grades by grouping them together for private tutoring sessions. They strategize, lobby, and gain access to and negotiate with the best tutors. ☜
2. Traditional French way of greeting someone by ‘kissing’ them on both cheeks, without the lips actually touching the cheek. ☜