The Best of Tomorrow [ 내일의 으뜸]

Chapter 27

I caught my breath. I looked up and saw a lit sign. Ryu Geun Deok Potato Soup. I rolled my head and came to a restaurant run by Sunjae's parents.

Imsol, is this your limit?

He took a deep breath and tugged at the door.

My mother, who was filling the cutlery case, looked up and looked at me. I smiled good-naturedly. I thought it was like the laughter of a man who had come to preach a religion that he shouldn't believe in. What if you don't remember me, then I'll ask for a bowl of haejang soup first, and just as I was thinking about it, my mother greeted me as if she remembered me.

"Sunjae, you have a similar taste to me, don't you?"

"Huh? Yes, hello."

He bowed his head in greeting.

"Are you here to eat?"

"Oh, no, I'm passing by......."

I stopped by on my way by, I thought this was a good pillow, but there were a lot of them by chance, so I came to give it to you, I asked you to keep all this a secret from Sunjae, and I was going to say that, but there were no customers in the restaurant I looked around. Sunjae's mother looked at me with a smile as I didn't finish speaking.

"Yes, give me a bowl of bone soup."

He smiled and sat down in the corner. I remembered the time I had placed the spoon and chopsticks in front of me and then put them straight, so I put the ends side by side. It wasn't a big deal, but I smirked and lowered the corners of my mouth. Like last time, Baek In-hyuk and Sunjae might suddenly swoop in, so I should eat quickly and leave.

A bowl of bone soup came up on the table. "Enjoy it," she said, turning and grabbing her mother.

"Do you need anything?"

"Yes? Oh, this."

He held out a black plastic bag. I was nervous, so I kept fiddling with it, and the handle was crumpled. Sonjae's mother didn't hand over the plastic bag, but examined the outside of the bag that was sticking out of the blunt stuff.

"What is this?"

"It's a pillow, and it's a good way to sleep."

The sudden pillow gift made Sonjae's mother look a little confused. I wondered if it was because he resembled his mother that he didn't accept gifts easily, so he just kept staring at the plastic bag and didn't accept it. I have to pass this on somehow.

"That...... My uncle ran a pillow factory, and it went bankrupt. That's why I have so many of them at home......."

"Uncle?"

"Yes, so you don't have to feel pressured."

He smiled awkwardly and pushed the envelope further forward. Sonjae's mother said, "Oh, what should I do?" and thanked her for bringing it to her first.

"Please keep it a secret from Sonjae that I brought this with you."

Her mother's face became quite serious. He seemed to be thinking about a lot of things. My uncle's factory is ruined, this sentence was the face that never left my head. Sunjae's mother, who had been stretching her voice as if she was choosing her words, nodded in agreement. I thanked him and picked up his spoon. Now that I had finished my work, it was time to quickly empty my bowl and leave.

As I was chewing on the pods, my phone vibrated. I took it out of my pocket and checked it to find a message. He pursed his lips and opened the message.

[Hi, I'm Sonjae.]

He cleared his throat and hurriedly covered his mouth. He hid his face and looked around. It was just my mother and me in the cafeteria. No way, Sonjae's mother also looked at the kitchen, wondering if it was a bamboo forest or something, just like Baek In-hyuk. There was a snip, a snip, a digging.