French Cup: A Neighborhood Story

Chapter 60: -Gyeong-Wan- Tuna Cat Treats

I was staring past the person in front of me. The tropical fish were making their rounds, swimming in their familiar pattern. There were bubbles in there, redirecting them into their current pattern. The clown fish were hiding, but they'd be out when there was less foot traffic. How many people would stop to look at them? 

Judging from how angry Matsuda-san was in front of me, not many. Too many people here were his friends and work colleagues. Still, the word "clown". I couldn't help but associate clown fish with drag queens. They were shy and not always out, but when they were you could see their orange and white colors from across the room.

"My wife told me the movie theater down the street is playing 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'. It's Christmas Eve. I thought it would be good to let my wife and sons go to see it. I will be working. But, those people in front of the theater! Carrying on like that! It's just like before! No regard for others!" His fingers were twitching together, his mustache twitching, too. Such was his anger. 

My mind was on Kazuya's gentle touch this morning, showing me how to cut the baker's chocolate correctly. His smile at me, the calmness in his eyes. His steady hands on my hand, pressing down on the chocolate just enough that it would break apart... The little wiggle of the knife before he pressed, wedging into the block...

"Those people were singing! It's the middle of the day!"

They were singing. Was he the Grinch? Mad at the Whos for singing?

"They were dressed up again, like the zombies who ruined your 5K Run! Why wasn't anything done about this? My wife and sons want to see the movie! They can't go see the movie when they're- they're-"

"What did they look like, Matsuda-san?" Was I teasing him? I'd heard him perfectly clear. What was I doing? Fed up, maybe. Having to listen to him. It was so early, that I was the only one here at the desk. "I'm not clear about it." Wasting his time like he was wasting mine.

"They were- the two singing in front of the theater! One was dressed in a long black gown, a man! Singing with a man's voice! The other was dressed in a man's suit, but singing with a girl's voice!"

My brow creased at him. Something was lining up, and I didn't like it. Memories of a few days ago... "Did the woman in the gown have hair down to her feet?" Trying to get more. It couldn't be. But it had to be. Thinking more about it, it couldn't be anyone else. 

"It was a man! Yes, he had hair down to his feet! How ridiculous is that?! Dressed like that out in the open, where there's children!"

"Oh, I think that's my-"

"It's perverted, is what it is! That's a children's movie! They're making perverted things out of a children's movie!" His finger gestured at me, and it was like electricity.

Had he... 

I leaned in on the desk. There was no way to control myself. After everything I'd seen with him being here and experienced. The list went on in my head. And now... I found myself sneering at him like a wolf. 

"Those are my friends," I said quietly to him, no second thought. "I advise you to stop talking about them. They don't want you or your family at that movie. Call my friends perverted again."

That was the final straw. An invisible line had been crossed. 

His face turned more than sour, and strangely I felt nothing about it. There was no fear there, not even a surprise that there wasn't. When had I lost that fear? I'd just told him... It was dawning on me what I'd just told him, but there still wasn't any fear. My own face didn't change, ready to attack him if he said one more word.