# 2
“Real Man” Episode 2.
At that time, he saw a sign that caught Yoo Hyun’s eyes out of the window.
On the purple-lit sign, the phrase “Journey Bar” was written in cursive.
When did this store start?
It’s his first time seeing it even though he’s passing by often.
Yoo Hyun, who made the decision, slowly opened her mouth.
“Driver Kim, let me get off here.”
“Yes, I’ll be waiting.”
“No, you go in first.”
Tak.
Yoo Hyun, who got out of the car, stopped in front of the bar after sending the driver back.
He’s never entered a bar by himself.
Why are his feet suddenly attracted to it?
What’s certain is that he don’t want to go home feeling this way.
Ttallang.
Entering the bar, he saw a bartender sitting in the background of a dim space.
Surprisingly, it was not a young woman, but an old man with a white beard.
“Please give me a ride on something a little strong.”
When he chose a cocktail rather than whiskey out of curiosity, the bartender immediately showed skillful hand movements.
Holding a glass on the table, Danny’s tangy taste is excellent.
One drink.
Two drinks…….
As the empty cups piled up, the depth of his worries deepened.
He has been running to death with the goal of becoming president for 20 years and has just achieved it.
Why are the faces of people who have not been able to take care of them passing by like a lantern at a time when they have to burst a congratulatory gun with success?
Co-workers, friends, parents.
Leaving everything behind, Yoo Hyun only pursued success, and eventually made it.
If you ask if it’s the life he really wanted, it’s not.
This is because he knew that success and money were all useless because he was left alone.
The goal was achieved, but the life that he wanted was not irony.
Maybe it’s all in vain to think that we’ve been running in the wrong direction.
The glass continued to empty and Yoo Hyun’s face also flushed red.
Accordingly, Yoo Hyun’s heart shook violently.
“Did I buy the wrong one? Did I really buy the wrong one?”
Of course, no one answered Yoohyeon’s question.
Beolkeog.
The hot alcohol burned down again, stimulating the esophagus.
Yoo Hyun had no intention of stopping even though he had already exceeded his drinking capacity.
As the alcohol went in, small questions from deep inside increased.
At the same time, it caused a crack in the wall of the heart that was coldly hardened, and the wall that began to crack began to collapse rapidly.
“Sigh………”
Regret for the past came flooding in.
The wrong choices of every moment fly into the arrow and stick into the heart.
It hurts.
His heart aches so much.
“If I hadn’t done that…….”
It was after a self-help whinge with a sad expression.
The old bartender presented a new cocktail in front of Yoo Hyun without a word.
“Oh? On the house? Hiccup. Thank you.I’m craving alcohol today.”
“It will help.”
Yoo Hyun raised his head at the first loud mid-low tone.
The old bartender, who uttered confusing words, was still looking at Yoo Hyun.
It’s a burdensome look, but it’s not bad that someone was with him at this moment.
Yoo Hyun, who shrugged his shoulders, raised his glass.
“Yes, yes. I hope so.Thank you. Cheers.”
Yoo Hyun emptied the glass after making a toast to the air.
But then.
His brain is getting weird.
Soon after, his eyes twirled.
He feels like he’s out of his mind.
That was the last he remembered.
* * *
Kudangtangtang.
“Ugh.”
Yoo Hyun groaned at the great pain in his hip.
At that time, I suddenly felt my neck tight and my body rose up.
“Hey! You punk! Aren’t you going to apologize?”
Kaegkaeg.
Yoo Hyun instinctively held his hand holding his neck and exhaled his blocked breath.
He barely lifted his closed eyelids and saw a man with a rough impression in front of him.
The gold-plated molars that he sees every time he talks are very threatening.
“What is this……”
“Hey! You pushed Chanyoung. Can’t you see that?”
Following the man’s gaze, a young man with casts on both feet fell under the wheelchair on the floor.
“Oh, my. What should I do with Chanyoung who has a sore leg? Everyone! This person pushed our injured Chanyoung!”
Next to him, a young woman was crying like chicken poop, raising the fallen young man.
It looks like a fall on the stairs in the back.
Before he knew it, people gathered around him.
The whole situation seemed to be tightening Yoo Hyun.
“What happened?”
Something’s wrong.
He’s sure that he was drinking at the bar.
Did he get too drunk and lose his memory for a second?
Anyway, what is certain is that he has to deal with this situation right away.
“Hey, let’s talk about this.”
Pak.
“Cough, cough.”
The man growled at Yoo Hyun who was clearing his cough.
“What are you going to do? What are you going to do with our Chanyeong!”
“…….”
Yoo Hyun grasped the surrounding situation by slashing his back and smoothing his loose neck.
The man who is threatening Yoo Hyun with an aggressive look is in his late 20s at most.
“Noona, it hurts so much. Ugh…….”
“Chanyoung, what should I do with this? Oppa, I think Chanyoung got a serious leg injury. If this is the case, we have to operate again.”
When he turned his eyes, he saw a young man in a cast and a woman in her early 20s who was making a fuss next to him.
She was staring fiercely at Yoo Hyun.
It felt a bit chilly.
This is because this situation is so familiar.
The memory was so vivid.
It was a strong memory, so he thought of it clearly one by one by one.
Looks, voices, even calling names.
It was all in line with the current situation.
While Yoo Hyun was confused, the man raised his chin as if to show confidence.
For a moment, Yoo Hyun remembered the following words.
And the exact same words were heard.
“Do you know how much Chanyoung’s surgery costs? Why did you push him?”
“…….”
It was as expected.
What kind of situation is this?
Confusion came into his mind.
Déjà vu?
It was also something he didn’t know.
But.
Yoo Hyun’s eyes flashed momentarily.
‘Self-injury fraud?’
Memories of a home a long time ago flashed through his mind.
And.
What if it’s that same situation?
It was a dream, but it was also a reality.
He wanted to practice the words and actions that he had thought of countless times.
He wanted to relieve his stress.
It was that moment.
The man pointed a finger at Yoo Hyun, who was silent.
“Semi, hurry up and call the police. Looking at him, he has a bad conscience.”
“Oppa, the cost of Chanyoung’s surgery comes first than the right and wrong.”
“Well, what do you want me to do?”
“What do you mean, of course the person responsible for it should take responsibility.”
The woman stopped the man and spurred Yoo Hyun.
‘Seriously.’
Yoo Hyun, who was watching the situational drama between the two, snorted.
Now that he sees it, the awkward acting is excellent.
What if Yoo Hyun’s judgment is correct?
There was only one conclusion.
‘They’re fooling around.’
As expected, they want money.
At the same time, Yoo Hyun went out hard.
“How much do you want?”
“What? How dare a young son of a bitch like you talk down on us?”
“Stop talking nonsense and name a price. I’ll give it to you.”
The man who was looking at Yoo Hyun, who suddenly changed, opened his palm.
“Five million won.”
Only?
Five hundred was less than Yoo Hyun’s daily wage.
However, even this figure was consistent with past memories 20 years ago.
Even though it’s deja vu, it was too detailed.
Yoo Hyun, who smirked at absurd thoughts, nodded.
“I’ll give it to you. Hold on.”
In the gaze that gathered, Yoo Hyun put his hand in his pocket.
Something thick was caught.
Yoo Hyun, who was tilting his head because it felt unfamiliar, was speechless as soon as he saw the cell phone in front of his hand.
“…….”
A flip phone.
It’s a design that he’d seen only when he was a college student.
Come to think of it, the surrounding scenery seems familiar and unfamiliar.
It definitely looks like Seoul, but it’s not how Yoo Hyun remembers.
There is no restaurant to be in, and the place where tall buildings should be is an open space.
People’s clothes, passing cars, laptops displayed in windows.
Everything is likely only in past memories.
“What are you doing?”
“Hang on.”
Yoo Hyun stretched out his hand to stop the growling man and slowly opened his phone.
May 29 12:29
The date is the same. But…
‘2007?’
Something is wrong.
Even when he rubbed his eyes, it was still 2007.
-Congratulations on passing the final document screening of Hansung Electronics.
The moment he checked the archived text, his hands trembled.
It was only then that he could see the long, wrinkle-free hands that were very unfamiliar to him.
Kkulkeog.
Yoohyeon gulped.
He felt goosebumps all over his body.
He was on the verge of going crazy.
Then the voice on the other side was heard.
“This bastard, this won’t do. Semi, call the police. Let’s make him eat prison rice.”
“Oppa, let’s just get the money and end it at that.”
The woman stopped the man and coldly looked at Yoo Hyun.
“Just pay for the surgery and be done with it while we’re still talking nicely. Otherwise, we’ll send you to prison.”
“You heard, right? We’ll give you 5 seconds.”
It was the moment the man opened his palm.
-I’m sorry. Could you give me a discount? I’m a student so I don’t have money.
Memories of the past that remained as severe traumas came to mind.
From then on, Yoo Hyun never reached out to others first.
He did not interfere in other people’s lives and drew a line between himself and others.
Needless to say, this incident made Yoohyeon’s individualistic tendencies stronger.
‘Just because of this?’
He found it so ridiculous that his laughter suddenly and uncontrollably leaked out.
At that time, he was scared and couldn’t get his act together, but now he can see it clearly.
It was deja vu and nabal, he unconditionally had to call out.
Yoo Hyun looked at the man in front of him with an expressionless face.
“Report it.”
“What was that, you brat? I see, okay. Do it, Semi.”
“Oppa!”
“Hey. I’ll just do it personally.”
The moment Yoo Hyun picked up the phone, the man tried to grab his wrist.
“What are you doing!”
Hwik.
Yoo Hyun was startled.
This is because his body moved more flexibly than expected and lightly avoided the touch.
What’s this?
There was no time for Yoo Hyun to be more surprised.
The angry man practically attacked him like a bull.
Watch out!
At the same time as he heard a warning sound in my head, no, he dodged to the side much faster.
He still had his phone in his hand.
The camera on the back of the phone was pointed alternately at the man and the woman.
Yoo Hyun was coldly sarcastic.
“Why? Is there any reason not to call the cops? You said that it was my fault.”
“You are so dead!”
The man loosened his clothes roughly.
His venomous eyes turned to Yoo Hyun.
He pretended to be strong, but his blinking eyes, rough breathing, gaping nostrils, and twisted corners of his lips showed his nervous psychology.
It was absurdly ridiculous.
“Why? Are you going to hit me? You’re really a thug.”
“You son of a gun!”
Yoo Hyun shouted to the surrounding area, avoiding the man running in.
“Everyone, has anyone seen me push him?”
“…….”
In this situation, talking to a large number of people would not return an answer.
It didn’t matter.
It was enough to capture this scene on camera.
It was then.
The woman said with a ferocious look.
“What are you doing! How can you say that to a sick person!”
It was a word that was very conscious of people.
Even at that moment, Yoo Hyun leisurely avoided the man who was trying to catch him.
Then he touched his body, which was out of balance.
Eok!
The man faltered with a brief scream.
Yoo Hyun glared at the woman.
He spoke in a cold voice to her, who was flinching.
“It hurts? I think you can just take off that cast. You can’t, should I do it?”
“What do you mean……”.”
“Heok. Heok.”
The woman’s embarrassed voice followed by the man’s gasps.
The young man in a wheelchair tried in vain to hide his cast, which was raised to his thigh by lowering his top.
Yoo Hyun’s eyes had already seen a fine crack in the cast inside the thigh.
Maybe it’s something that can be separated.
Yoo Hyun, who pushed the man away, slowly approached the woman.
“Prove it to me. Or I’ll really report you.”
“…….”
“You don’t think you can do it?”
The man and woman’s eyes met countless times in the changed air.