Wednesday, 15 August 2007
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Chapter 04 Edited
Coffee Prince Original Novel
Chapter 04
Translated and Edited by Eva S.L.
Available for download at http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FAWX4710Chapter Four
What happened in Room S11?
< Part 1 >
En Chan, who had never been in the hotel before, couldn't have known that there was a row of separate villas in the back. If an employee hadn't shown her the way, she would've undoubtedly gotten lost. Room S11, which the employee had called a VIP villa, was in a forest. When the employee pressed the bell, it rang clearly. There was no answer, so she pressed it again. Even after that, it was a while before the door opened. En Chan was startled by the appearance of a bare chest, but the female employee, who seemed used to these kinds of things, simply said,
“I've brought your guest to you, sir.”
En Chan didn't know where to put her eyes.
“You've got a killer sense of fashion.”
Really? En Chan dumbly looked down at her clothes.
“Where'd you buy it? Mop shop? Rag shop?”
What the hell!
“Come in.”
The man walked back inside, drying his hair with a towel. The employee motioned for her to enter, but En Chan felt trapped. She was already fed up with the guy after one sentence, and wanted to go back. If he found out that she kind of knew the mugger and had kind of let him go on purpose, he wouldn't be nice about it. From what she'd already seen, this was a guy who didn't have even the slightest amount of tolerance. He might even report her to the police. She was nervous. She had unintentionally tricked him, and now she was here to pick up her reward? Her conscience throbbed. Not to mention, she was incredibly embarrassed. She'd seen her fair share of bare chests at the dojo, so why was she suddenly so sheepish?
“Please enter.”
“Ah, yes, thank you.” She began to shuffle inside when the man shouted from inside the room,
“Hey! Get me some coffee.”
“Yes, sir,” answered the employee before closing the door. For some reason, En Chan felt that it wasn't right with the door closed all the way, so she furtively left the door open about 10cm and then felt better about it. Even if he was tall, she thought she could take him on if she had to, but something in her told her to be cautious.
Her attic house in its entirety could probably have fit in the living room. Damn, look how big this place is. Where is this guy, anyway? The carpet, the curtains, the sofa, the table, the dressers, the lighting fixtures were all so magnificent that she felt dizzy.
“How'd you get here?”
What do you mean how did I get here?
“I took the subway.”
The man smirked. How in the world did this man manage to be such a jackass?
“I don't know if kids these days have bigger guts than they used to or if they just don't have any fear. You should've just gone on with your delivery, what'd you interfere for? What, you think you're Tae Kwon V? You wanted to get some kind of Good Citizen award? Or is it that you just can't pass up the opportunity to meddle in everybody's business? Since you've come all the way here to get paid, you probably didn't do it out of unadulterated sense of justice, right? Sit down, kiddo.”
I probably shouldn't have come here. I should've known when I got that feeling like I'd rather kill myself than come here. Damn it to hell.
How can someone who looks like a gigolo talk like such a jackass? His slanty eyes look just like Mashimaro, and his upturned nose looks like a pyramid, and his lips are so pouty he looks like Angelina Jolie. He must've gone suntanning or something 'cause his skin looks just like well cooked salmon... Ah... salmon... I want to eat some salmon.... Whatever, anyway, he just looks sleazy all around and his face pisses me off. How tall is he, about 5'9''?
“Stop pouting and sit down.”
En Chan glared at the man and then flopped onto the sofa. After discovering that the man wore nothing underneath save a towel, she got angrier and angrier. She kept telling herself that she had to get out of there quick, and kept scowling at the violet flowers that were on top of the table. She heard the man's voice coming from somewhere.
“You're a high schooler, aren't you?”
What? She whipped her head around in disbelief but couldn't see the man.
“What grade are you in? You skipping class right now? Or have you been suspended? Expelled?”
She turned her head towards the sound and saw the man's silhouette through the glass. A vague outline of his buttocks could be discerned through the opaque glass. The silhouette was skin colored! He's changing his underwear in front of somebody? What the hell is this man thinking? En Chan snapped her reddened face back and almost yelling, replied,
“NO!”
“What do you mean no? Which part is no?”
“I'm not a high schooler!”
“C'mon. A middle schooler, then?”
“No! I'm twenty-four!”
“Hey, kid, is someone deaf in here? What're you yelling about?”
Why was he still bare-chested? If he was going to put on clothes, he should've put on all his clothes. All he was wearing was a pair of jeans that rode dangerously low. What kind of fashion sense is that?!
The man crossed the living room, entered the room, and came back out before saying,
“It's a good age to be. I know, I know, you want to be treated like an adult so badly you'd even lie about your age.”
The man was putting his watch on in front of his room door. Pants and then watch? A unique way to put on clothes, that's for sure.
“If you were delivering midnight snacks, what do you do in the daytime?”
“That's none of your business.”
“Look at this kid, being all tight-assed.”
“Hey, ahjussi (translator's note: in Korea, males and females alike call older men “ahjuhssi.” This is not familiar, but it is not formal, either.), why do you keep talking to me like that? Why do you keep dissing me?”
“What? Ahjussi?”
“I know you're older than I am, but it's not cool to diss me like that, you know? You should ask me if I'm all right with you treating me so familiarly. Isn't that basic etiquette?”
“You're one to talk. Hey, breadwinner boy, may I treat you familiarly? You happy?”
“As if you haven't already been treating me like that.”
“How old is the kid who got away?”
“Twenty.”
En Chan gasped. Shit! What did I just say?
“I-I don't know. H-h-how would I know that?”
She knew by the look on his face that it was too late to recover. The sneer on his face reminded her of a Japanese inquisitioner torturing a Korean freedom fighter. Even if you should put a sword to my neck, I won't surrender! My first wish is Korean independence, my second, also, my third, also... should've been how it went, and this wasn't even something as noble as national liberation, but she'd gone ahead and.... Goddamn it! Nothing ever works out!
Still, she tried to cover up by forcing and laugh and saying,
“W-what I meant was that... he looked... about twenty... He might not be, but I'm a pretty good judge of character....”
“You'd have better luck fooling a ghost. If you were going to do it, you should've done a better job at it. Clumsy twit. You look just like a little girl, and you can't do anything right.”
Suddenly something flared up inside of her. She'd heard that phrase, “you look like a little girl” enough to make her ears bleed, but for some reason, it still really pissed her off. Why? Because... because....
...because I am a girl. I don't consciously think about it usually, and sometimes even I get confused, but I'm still a girl. But, judging by the look on his face, this mess of a human being doesn't even consider the possibility that I could be a girl. Not even a clue. Psh. Not that anything would change if he did see me as a girl. Sometimes I do wish people would see me like that.... Yea. Fine. Whatever. You think whatever you want to think, ahjussi. I'd love to see the look on your face if I up and told you right now that I'm a girl, but I don't want to. If you don't see me as a girl at all, there's no point in my telling you, “I'm actually a girl,” especially since you haven't even asked me. It's pathetic to turn myself in. Damn pathetic.
“Is the policeman in on it too, by any chance? Are you guys a scam group? Or a kid flunky for a mob? Not that I'd believe you if you said no.”
En Chan abruptly stood up.
This sad excuse of a human being was really pushing it! She felt like scrubbing his tongue with sandpaper.
She was so angry she couldn't remain sitting. Compensation reward or no, it seemed best to just run away. That's when it happened. She'd tried to whip past him, but her shoulder had collided with the cup of water the man was drinking out of.
“Ack!”
The water that should've gone into the man's mouth spilled onto his chest.
“Oh shoot!” En Chan's hand unconsciously reached out. Her exact intention was to try and wipe away the water that was flowing down the man's torso, so her hand ended up on the man's chest. But as soon as her palms felt skin, she realized that this was a very, very strange position to be in. The man looked at her, surprised, and En Chan froze. Right then, there was something like a scream.
“Oh my GOD!”
En Chan turned her head with her hand still on the man's chest. There, a woman stood with both hands covering her mouth looking scandalized.
“Wh-what the hell are you two men doing together?!?”
< Part 2 >
When he'd showed up wearing baggy jeans, a hoodie jumper and a baseball cap, Han Kyul had thought that the kid was nothing but a punk. But now that he was in a suit and tie, Han Kyul thought he didn't look half bad. Ko En Chan. He insisted he was twenty-four, but it was pushing it to say he was more than twenty-two or so. The social security number he'd written on the employment contract was probably phony as well. That's just how kids like him were. Their lives revolved around lies and deception.
He couldn't be more than 5' 7'', and had a slim frame. His skin was white, his eyes were big and round, and his lips were uncommonly red. He looked just like the lead singer of some idol group. These days, boys who looked pretty enough to be mistaken for girls were all the rage. Ko En Chan was no exception. With his mouth closed, his atmosphere was completely different. Han Kyul thought to himself, man, what a waste of a good face. Dick would be drooling if he was here.
Han Kyul kept his eye on En Chan, who was entering the restaurant. He stared at him as hard as he could so that the woman who sat across from him could feel it. Finally the woman turned her head and looked at En Chan, who had sat down at the adjacent table.
“Is it someone you know?”
“Seems that way.”
“Oh, then you should go and say hello. It's all right with me.”
Where the hell did he find such a tacky suit? Twit, if you're going to wear a suit, you should've found one that actually fit you.
“I'm considering it. I don't know if I should, though.”
“Why not?”
Because it's hella embarrassing. What is this, a 7080 concert? What's with that wide tie?
“We have an... awkward past.”
If that dumb broad hadn't gone into hysterics about being gay or whatnot, Ko En Chan would've gone straight to the police station. The stupid girl, even after having been scolded by his mother, still dropped by the hotel and harassed him, but she had been horrified by the sight of him and Ko En Chan together. When Han Kyul saw her run away with that disgusted look on her face, a light bulb had gone on in his head.
Get married? All right. Go ahead. Good luck marrying me off.
He presented Ko En Chan with a proposition. What did he think about a part-time job? Unbelievably, even after having his scam with the mugger exposed, this kid had asked for the money up front. Not only that, but he had even asked for several times the original compensation reward amount. Han Kyul even now couldn't understand what made him say he would. If he wanted to, he could've just threatened to toss him in the clinker to make him do whatever he wanted.
“What do you think about his type? I heard pretty boys are all the rage these days.”
“Well, I personally don't really...”
The woman he had a date with today was being overly quiet in order to appear mature and pure. He was so bored he wanted to yawn. Right then, he saw the waiter approaching the table En Chan was sitting at. He could read his lips: The B course, please.
“Could you excuse me a moment?”
“Oh, of course.”
Han Kyul hurried over, but the waiter had already taken the order and walked away.
“Hey! Ko En Chan, imagine seeing you here.” He made his voice bright, but his expression remained angry as he sat next to En Chan. The woman could see En Chan's front and Han Kyul's profile from where she was sitting.
“Out of all days, you had to have a date on a busy Friday afternoon? I'm busy all afternoon. What are you, a loafer?”
“Oh, shut up, kid. You, who told you you could order food?” growled Han Kyul lowering his voice as quiet as it could go.
“What, do you expect me to sit here in a place like this and just drink water? It'll seem strange, don't you think?”
“You pay for it then.”
“I only have enough for the bus.”
“That's not my problem. I've already cleared my account with you in cash. Did you bring your ID?”
“I-I told you I lost it. I applied for a replacement, but i-it hasn't arrived yet.”
“I have your picture in my cell phone, so if you're thinking of pulling anything funny, don't. If you do, I'll wallpaper the police station with your mug shot.”
“Mug shot? What the hell did I do? You should learn to trust people and think more positively. Why're you so twisted?”
“What! You little!”
“Why are you treating me like a criminal?”
“That's why I'm telling you to do it well. Anyway, what's with this suit? Is it your father's?”
“You told me to wear a suit.”
“You don't even own a suit? Oh, forget it. Let's go to Phase 1.”
“Already? I haven't even eaten yet...”
“I haven't either, kid.”
“Yea, so let's just eat first and then...” En Chan, who had stopped talking, looked over toward the woman. Han Kyul didn't turn around and kept looking at En Chan, whose eyes were blinking continually.
“What?”
“That's the woman, isn't it? The picture?”
“Picture?”
“You know, the paper you wrote your number on last time. Oh! Didn't I give that back to you?”
“Put your hand on the table.”
“Do we really have to do this?”
“What, do you think I want to?”
En Chan made a face like he'd just chewed through a unripe persimmon and lifted his hand onto the table. Han Kyul put his hand on his arm, as lovers would.
“Smile, kid.”
“Ahjussi, I am smiling.”
Han Kyul grinned. As he moved his upper body to close the space between them, En Chan's distorted smile shriveled even more.
“You're a pervert, aren't you, ahjussi?”
“You gonna mess around?”
“Do you really think this is going to work?”
“You saw as well as I did. The woman from before.”
“She was pretty...”
“Why? You interested?”
“I couldn't see any reason why Mr. Cranky should dump her. It'd probably make more sense for you to have been dumped.”
“Do you want me to hit you? Do I look like a dumbass to you?”
“No. You look like a cranky twisted pervert.”
“You little son of a...”
“Shh!”
“You'll get it later. All right. It's time. Twenty minutes from now we go onto Phase 2.”
Before getting up, Han Kyul reached out and tousled En Chan's hair. Suddenly, he flinched. This wasn't part of the plan...
Han Kyul turned away awkwardly.
“I'm very sorry. We have a lot to talk about.”
The woman already had a sour look on her face. She was at the top of the list that his mother had brought to him. That meant she came from a good household and was smart and pretty. And so he wanted to pour milk all over her. The same way he wanted to break that perfect order of black keys and white keys...
“Why don't we eat?”
Han Kyul stretched out his hand toward his water glass and felt something strange. The sensation from before revived in his fingertips and made them tingle. The sensation of the kid's black hair. It had been smooth and thin and silky. It was probably because he was still so young. Even pigs have soft hair when they're babies. But why did he ruffle his hair in the first place? Oh, it was just part of the act. Right. To make it more convincing.
Wow. Look at that kid go. He was cleaning off the plates as soon as they arrived. The appetite of a pig indeed. Moreover, a euphoric smile filled his face. Han Kyul had never seen anyone smile like that while eating alone. He gave the waiter who brought him ice cream and a tart a smile as if he'd give him his liver if he'd asked for it. He gobbled down the unbearably sweet desserts in the blink of an eye and then went on to lick his fingers. Thanks to him, the meal on this end seemed even more unbearably boring. The woman was cutting the steak that was smaller than her fist one minuscule piece at a time. She'd probably have been better off if she'd asked them to grind it for her beforehand.
“So you graduated from the business school at Washington University?”
What was this girl's name? Anyway, it seemed her female intuition was kicking into gear. He could tell by the way she began to bring up his educational background.
“I remember going in there, but I don't remember coming out.”
“Excuse me?”
“The place is too beautiful to just sit around and study.”
“I have heard that Seattle is the best place to live in the United States.”
“It's a good place to be a hermit or go into hiding. Also a good place to kill yourself. When you open your eyes in the morning, it's most probably raining, or it's so foggy that it makes you want to walk into a telephone pole and get electrocuted. Oh, but there's no need to worry. It's all good if you fill up with 16 ounces at a go, 40 times a week.”
“Fill up with what?”
“Coffee,” Han Kyul answered and raised his hand to call the waiter over to order coffee. The woman hadn't even finished a third of her meal.
“Oh, don't worry about me and take all the time you want. You don't like wasting food, right? I knew it. It's such an admirable habit.”
The face of the woman who had just been about to clear her plate grew rigid and picked her knife back up to stab at her meat. 20 minutes had already passed and the kid hadn't moved. Han Kyul glowered at En Chan who was shoveling in ice cream, but only after he'd licked the plate clean did he commence action. He knocked the glass of water over.
“Oh!!” The water spilled onto his lap and the glass shattered on the floor. As En Chan stood up, Han Kyul dashed to his side. He whipped the towel from the approaching waiter and started wiping at En Chan's thighs.
“Are you all right?” he asked with a surprised and concerned look on his face. En Chan's face that looked down at Han Kyul was a riot. It said, “What a freakin' psycho!” Han Kyul knit his eyebrows and demanded wordlessly that he begin to get his act together.
“G-get away from me! You don't have to concern yourself with me anymore. W-we're over! Bastard!” En Chan shoved Han Kyul's shoulder. This wasn't an act. It was a full-force hit. Ugh! Han Kyul stopped the groan that rose automatically to his throat. That son of a—! Anger boiled inside of him, but he focused his energy into the last part of the act. It was to shout after the damn brat, who was walking away with a satisfied face, calling agitatedly,
“Ch-Chan-ah!”
Expelling a deep sigh, Han Kyul was met with the women's cold and shocked look that was filled to the brim with suspicion. Now all that was left was the dramatic ending. Han Kyul spoke calmly as one would in a confessional.
“I'm curious as to what you think. About gays, I mean.”
< Part 3 >
Spring break had ended, so there weren't anymore morning sessions, but this was not necessarily good news. This was because the number of students signing up for Tae Kwon Do lessons was lessening by the day.
“How about curry for lunch?”
Even if she said it was for lunch, it'd probably be dinnertime by the time it was done.
En Chan glanced at her mother who was taking out vegetables from the refrigerator before rolling her pencil. The pencil, which had tiny letters pasted on the side, rolled and rolled before it stopped and read: Pork boned rib.
“Mom! It says pork boned rib!” She ran after her mother holding the pencil.
“Oh, you!” Down came the ladle.
“Ow!”
“Go and buy some potatoes.”
It'd been eight days since she'd last eaten meat. She wanted to become a cow so she could regurgitate. The steak she had eaten at that fancy restaurant appeared before her eyes. She'd run the act two more times after that, but the jerkface cheapskate had shouted at her to drink only juice, so she hadn't been able to even taste meat. When, oh when was this bizarre job going to end? Thanks to the job, she'd been able to pay for Dong Ok ahjumma's ring, but she was still sitting on a pile of debt because she'd had to borrow money from butcher Mr. Koo to pay for living expenses.
“Hey, Ko En Chan.”
Speaking of the debt, it was Mr. Koo.
“Is your mother home?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Oh, I was just going to give her this.”
“What is that?” En Chan had run into Mr. Koo in the small doorway of the staircase she'd just come down from.
“This? Walnut oil. The folks back on the farm sent it up. It's good for colds. I hear your mother's caught a cold?”
“She's all better now, though.”
“S-still, it's good to take it.”
“Really? Ok. Thank you.”
“N-no, I'll take it up. Weren't you on your way out?”
“Oh, it's ok, I'll just...”
“I said I'll take it up! G-go on, off you go.”
The man grasped the bottle as if afraid she'd take it away from him and ran up the stairs like a escapee. En Chan stood there dumbfounded. Right then, her phone rang.
“Hello?”
[Yes, this is En Se's school. I'm her homeroom teacher.]
“Huh? Oh, y-yes! Hello!”
Startled, En Chan bent to a 90 degree angle and bowed. She hadn't done anything wrong, yet her heart beat like a drum. It wasn't as if the school was the police station or anything, but still...
[This is En Se's older brother, yes?]
“Excuse me? Older brother?”
[That's what it says here in the file.]
What! Fooling around with official documents now, were we?
[I tried calling home, but it was disconnected. Did your phone number change?]
“No, it hasn't. What number did you call?”
The random call from the homeroom teacher was to ask for their mother to come to school. When asked why, the teacher's answer was exactly what she predicted: En Se had gone and made trouble again. She had created some kind of brand name club or something. If it was just that, there would be no way for the teacher to know, but there had also been reports that she had embezzled the club's membership fees. Embezzled?
“Just you wait until I get you, you stupid girl! Goddamn it! Shit! Why does my own sister have to give me trouble all my life? I'm gonna go freakin' berserk! Ko En Se, how am I going to fix you up good this time, huh? You better watch out. I'm going to smash your face in with raw eggs!”
En Chan sent messages to all of En Se's friends and ran around combing the PC bangs and parks, but she could not find Ko En Se. Eventually, she had no choice but to return to the dojo sweating buckets and boiling over with anger. On top of the desk in the dojo, there was a mountain of gifts wrapped in sparkling paper.
“What's this?”
“Some girls came and left it here. I told them they couldn't just barge in like that, but they wouldn't listen. Hmph.”
En Chan opened the gifts while Seung Kyung complained. Letters and chocolate, letters and chocolate, letters and chocolate, just chocolate...
“Who left this here?”
“Some unnis. They were wearing Dong Moon Girls' High School uniforms. They said they were your juniors.”
“When were they here? Wasn't it during class time?”
“I don't know. They were fat and ugly and looked like they were stupid, too.”
“What's the occasion? Is today my birthday?”
“It's Valentine's Day. You don't even know a thing like that, master?”
“Oh, I see. Well, whatever. Hey kids! It's lesson time. Gather 'round. Hup hup!”
“Yayyyyyyyyy!!!”
“Ten hut! Salute the flag!”
After several consecutive lessons on an empty stomach, she was exhausted. Her tongue ached from all the chocolate she had eaten from time to time. When she finished the last lesson, the sky looked yellow. Her mouth tasted sweet but her stomach ached, and her head hurt from worrying about En Se. She drank a glass of milk and had to change out of her dojo suit without a chance to take a shower. En Se's phone was still turned off. Damn stupid girl! Where was she?!
****
Having received the dojo master's permission, she stepped out of the dojo when a group of high school girls rumbled towards her.
“Sunbehnim! (translator's note: in Korea, both males and females call familiar older males and females “sunbeh” if they've gone or are going to the same school, company, or job. These younger males and females are in turn called “hubeh”s.)”
“Master! (translator's note: Here, the term “master” refers to En Chan's position as a dojo master. For those of you with dirty minds, shame on you. ;p) We're here!”
There were girls who had learned Tae Kwon Do from her before and there were girls who had been her juniors in school. En Chan, who hadn't been able to muster the energy to fend off the girls suddenly remembered and asked,
“Hey, have you seen En Se?”
“En Se? Who's En Se?”
“You know, sunbehnim's younger sister. She's a senior at our school.”
“Yea, that's her. Have you seen her?”
“No.”
“Today's Valentine's Day, so she probably went to meet her boyfriend or something.”
Boyfriend? Not that crow-faced punk?
“Sunbehnim, let's eat dinner together.”
“We'll buy you your favorite! Pork boned rib!”
“Huh? B-boned rib? N-no, no. Sorry, I can't, I'm a little busy right now.”
Goddamn it. My boned ribs. This is all your fault, Ko En Se!
“Aw, come on, master, today's Valentine's Day. Let's go to karaoke together!”
She was refusing, swallowing bitter tears, when her phone rang. She picked it up immediately thinking it could be En Se.
“Hello?”
There was no reply on the other end. Desperate, En Chan pressed her mouth against the phone and said,
“Hello? This is En Se, right? YA! Ko En Se!”
[Damn, did you swallow a steam engine or something?]
It wasn't En Se.
[My eardrums nearly burst, you brat!]
“Oh.... What is it?”
[What do you mean, what is it? What else would I be calling you for? Get here quick. You know Joshua? In front of Kang Nam University?]
“Can I go next time? I'm really busy right now. There's a bit of an emergency.”
[What? Look at the guts on this kid. Do I look like a philanthropist to you? If you've been paid, you have to work. I thought you were working out pretty well the first few times, and now you're showing your true face, huh, punk? Come here right now and give me my money back or get a job on the streets.]
Her face grew hot with rage. Many pairs of bright, curious eyes were watching En Chan's face, which had grown red from anger.
“I'm really very sorry, but I'll go next time. Today's not a good day,” said En Chan between clenched teeth.
[Why, did you break your legs goofing around?]
“No, it's not that....”
[If it's not that, come here immediately. If you don't, you're dead.]
“What? Dead? Hey, listen, mister!”
[The thumbprint on the slave contract hasn't even dried yet. You already jumping ship?]
“Are you freakin' serious? I'm in a real situation here.”
[What kind of situation could someone like you possibly be in?]
“What, someone like me can't have an honest problem....”
[Time's running out. Get here in ten minutes.]
“Shit! Just kill me, why don't you, you bastard! AAARGH!”
But he had already hung up the phone. En Chan slammed the cover down. She was so angry she couldn't stand it anymore.
“That son of a bitch! Fine! I'll go! I'll go, goddamn it!” She kicked at the wall in anger. “Just you wait, you jackass! I'm going to punch your jaw off your face!”
A chorus of adoration followed the back of En Chan who was storming off in a rage.
“You saw that? Did you see that? Oh my God, how cool!”
“Seriously, that was just too hot. So tough! So charismatic!”
“Oh, only En Chan for me! My Love Chan!”
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Comments (4)
thanks so much for all your hard work!