Chapter 218: I'm Ijian -1
"...It's gloomy."
"Right? The sky is gray. Just five minutes ago, it was blazing sunny."
After getting off work early in the afternoon, out on a brief neighborhood stroll with Jiu.
The sky, which had been sunny just moments ago, had turned gray before I knew it.
I'd heard that English weather was capricious, but this was my first time experiencing it firsthand.
Staring blankly at the sky that looked like it would rain any moment, I muttered as we walked.
"Come to think of it, it's amazing."
"What is?"
"This is normal, isn't it? But it's amazing that the weather stayed nice ever since we arrived."
"I did think it wasn't as bad as I'd heard. But do you know why it was good?"
"Yeah. I know."
"Because... ah, dammit. Say you don't know."
I didn't even need to hear it to know it'd be another weird remark.
But as they say, the fist is nearer than the law.
"...What is it."
"Because I came! With two suns shining, of course it had to be sunny!"
Jiu made a flower-shaped frame with his hands and smiled brightly.
...For a moment, it really felt like the surroundings brightened, which pissed me off, but I still had to find something to nitpick.
"...Then what about now."
"Huh?"
"It's gloomy now."
"Hmm, I dunno. Maybe because it's showing its bare face."
He actually goes along with this again.
If you count accepting anything and everything, he's practically Holland-level.
Anyway, seeing Jiu giggling away.
I felt secretly relieved that he seemed to be adapting better than expected since coming to Manchester.
Honestly, it was impossible not to worry.
England, where he had absolutely no connections, and Manchester at that, not even London.
Since he came with me to a place he never would have come to if not for me.
Come to think of it, what had Jiu been relying on when he agreed to come without any hesitation?
"...The neighborhood is nice. Quiet,"
I said, looking around at the unremarkable surroundings for no reason.
Honestly, Jiu was the type to get by just fine on his own, enough that you could ask who was worrying about whom.
Still, if I neglected him with the excuse that I was in an important period too, Jiu would feel like he'd come to a deserted island.
I knew that feeling better than anyone.
For me, rather than adapting to this place myself, making sure Jiu could get by well was the priority.
After all, for me... as long as I had Jiu, I didn't need to worry about anything else.
Jiu, who had been walking beside me, took a deep breath and spoke.
"It is nice. Maybe because it's a rich neighborhood, but the people seem kind too. But it does feel a bit boring."
"...A boring feeling?"
"The neighborhood we lived in before had a lively feel, you know? People greeting each other as you passed by, randomly giving you food. It's not like that here."
I nodded at Jiu's words.
I felt it too; the neighborhood vibe was definitely different.
If Florentines felt warm and expressive, here it was kind but more reserved.
Of course, it was laughable for someone who'd only been here less than a month to make such judgments, but first impressions do count.
For Jiu, who loved chatting, Florence probably suited him better than here.
"And, most importantly."
"...?"
"There's no good restaurant. You agree?"
"...I agree."
This time, I nodded even harder.
Was it the day before yesterday? Since we'd come to England, I'd suggested we should try English food at least once, and we went together.
They said it was a pretty famous place, but... well.
I remembered Jiu's expression the moment the food came out.
The menu name was something like sardine pie, I think.
Since I knew how important food was to Jiu, I felt a little sorry.
It probably felt even worse coming from Florence, where everything tasted good no matter where you went.
As for me, I was on a diet anyway, and when I wanted something tasty I could just eat what Jiu made, so it didn't matter much to me.
But for Jiu, it must've been like losing a great pleasure, so I worried a lot.
...Which is why I'd been thinking about one thing.
"But then, if you think about it the other way, it's actually a good thing."
"The other way? How?"
When I tossed it out casually, Jiu tilted his head and looked at me.
I shrugged my shoulders and said,
"If you open a restaurant here, it'll do great business. Since everywhere else tastes bad."
"...A restaurant?"
"Yeah."
Back when we'd talked about dreams, Jiu had said it.
That his goal was to open his own restaurant someday.
I even remembered him saying he wanted to open a shop in England.
"Haha. That's true. A restaurant here would probably be a huge hit?"
"...You must be confident."
When I spoke with a hollow laugh, Jiu crossed his arms and snorted.
"Of course I'm confident. Be honest with me."
"...About what?"
"As someone who eats my cooking. Honestly, I'm pretty good, right?"
At Jiu's question, I shrugged.
No matter how much I hated to admit it, I couldn't deny his cooking skills.
"You're good."
"Right? Right?"
"Why are you asking something so obvious?"
Jiu giggled.
Then he sighed as if deep in thought and spoke.
"It is my dream. Not big, but small. Opening my own shop and seeing people enjoy my food. Honestly, I think about it every day."
"What?"
"What to make the signature menu, what style the interior should be, how many tables to put out, stuff like that. Even when I don't feel like studying, I feel energized just imagining that stuff. Daydreaming is fun, you know?"
Daydreaming, he says.
Looking at a puppy taking a walk with its owner across the street, I asked,
"Then, hypothetically, if you opened a restaurant in this neighborhood, what would the menu be?"
"Here? Hmm, well."
Jiu put on a playful expression, thought for a moment, and answered.
"I think a fusion Korean food concept would work best. I realized while studying that Italian cuisine and Korean cuisine actually have a lot of similarities, so they can be combined if you try. For example..."
...Hmm.
Maybe I shouldn't have asked.
Jiu was already talkative, but when the conversation turned to his expertise, his speech speed reached nearly rapper-level.
It was hard to keep up with everything, but well, since Jiu said so, I just nodded along.
To my eyes, all I could see was Jiu looking completely thrilled just from talking.
"Wow, honestly, even though it's my own idea, it's amazing. There's no way this could fail, right? Am I a genius?"
"...I'm jealous. Of your confidence."
"No, objectively speaking. Doesn't it make your mouth water just hearing about it?"
"...I don't think it'd be bad."
"It's not just 'not bad.' This is guaranteed to be a hit," Jiu said, clenching his fist as if frustrated.
He makes a fuss even when I agree with him.
"Ahh, what a shame. It's a guaranteed success, but I can't do it because I'm not ready. What if someone steals this idea?"
"...Who would steal that."
"Are you saying my idea is mediocre?"
"...No. I mean, it's an idea that even if someone wanted to steal, they wouldn't dare try to copy, so it can't be stolen."
"Right? That's what I mean?"
Jiu's hand, which had risen near his head, came back down.
Thanks to Jiu, I felt like my improvisational skills were improving.
Jiu let out a sigh and spoke.
"Haa. It'd be fun. It might be the distant future, but I'll work and study hard with that goal. Then maybe someday I'll hear people call me Chef too."
...This guy is such an honestly foolish fool.
The person who could make that dream come true right away was right beside him.
Well.
It was just like Jiu not to ask for help first, even as empty words.
He had such a wide soft spot for others that he only helped people, never thinking about receiving help himself.
But that's exactly what made me want to help him more.
Always receiving help is harder than you'd think.
I wanted to be in the position of the giver sometimes, too.
"...But thinking about it."
"Hmm?"
"You know."
Jiu pouted, scratching his cheek as he spoke.
"The rent here must be crazy expensive. When we signed the lease for the house last time, I was shocked and looked it up. They say England is one of the countries with the most expensive housing prices in the world."
"...So?"
"What do you mean 'so'? I'm asking if you'll be okay."
At Jiu's timid tone, I deliberately replied as if baffled.
"I'm Ijian."
"..."
"All I have is money."
"...Ugh. So crass."
Even as I said it, it was crass.
I shrugged my shoulders and spoke.
"And I told you, it's an investment. You just need to do well."
"...What if we fail."
"You'll have to work hard so we don't."
"But even if we work hard, we might fail. I don't know much about it, but that's how this industry is."
"Then you just have to do well."
"...You wanna die?"
Seeing Jiu's face with his lips pouted out, a laugh burst out of me before I knew it.
"I think it'll go well. I've eaten plenty of good food here and there during away matches, you know."
"...But."
"But..."
Hmm.
I took a breath and spoke.
"No matter what I eat, yours is the tastiest."
"...Tch. Who taught you to lie like that?"
"It's not a lie."
"Whatever. Who do you think would like hearing that?"
Still pouting, Jiu started walking ahead.
It really wasn't a lie.
Even though I complimented him, he scolded me.
Shaking my head, I followed behind Jiu, but seeing his back, I quietly smiled.
Pitter-patter.
His steps were light; the reason was that anyone could see he looked happy enough to fly away.
"Hey, hey. Walk with me."
"Hurry up, slowpoke."
"And tell me later if it really looks like we'll fail. I'll call the guys and we'll bail."
"Shut up, you fool. We won't fail."
"Hmph. Calling me a fool. That mouth of yours to your investor..."
"...Are you pulling rank on me right now?"
"I'm allowed to sometimes, aren't I?"
"...Damn. I've got nothing to say."
Jiu pouting with his lips out like that looked especially good today.
As I said before, helping Jiu seems to be something I do because I like it.
Thinking about pulling rank on Jiu in the future, I was already feeling excited.