Chapter 2

2

Fishing Spot Romance (1)

It was early autumn, with cosmos flowers in full bloom swaying in the wind along the asphalt mountain road.

An old sedan, carrying two young men, struggled up the hill. The car made strange noises, as if the muffler had burst, and the front bumper was stripped of paint.

"Korea is great, with asphalt roads leading right up to the fishing spot."

"Even though this isn't a well-known fishing spot, there's already a new Genesis here."

"Really? An EQ900 limousine?"

The two young men parked their old Avante behind the Genesis.

"Damn, our bumper is all stripped, it doesn't look good. Let's park our car over by the embankment."

The young man at the wheel grumbled as he reversed the car.

"It looks like someone with some clout is here. Why would they come here instead of going to play golf?"

"Maybe they don't know this is a free fishing spot?"

The two young men parked the car and took out their fishing rods from the trunk. They were not using traditional fishing rods but rather spinning rods for lure fishing.

"I like spinning. You don't get your hands dirty with worms or maggots."

"But it's too busy. You have to move around a lot."

"It's great for losing weight. Lure fishing."

"Now that both Geun-ho and I have lost our jobs, we won't have time to get fat from the cold and hunger, right?"

"Recently, people who don't have money can't manage to stay fit and end up getting fatter."

"Hmm, then I'll get fatter too."

"Hey, Jong-seok! Two uncles are sitting in our spot."

"Damn, that's the best spot."

"Let's try the other side of the reservoir."

"I don't like that side; there are too many branches underwater."

"Then let's try the bridge above."

The two uncles, who were fishing, turned around as if they had heard the commotion. One looked to be in his mid-40s, and the other in his 60s. They didn't seem to be friends or father and son.

Judging by their presence on a weekday, they seemed to have a lot of free time, just like us.

"Uncle, are you catching a lot?"

The man in his 60s shook his head with a smile, indicating he hadn't caught anything. The man in his 40s glared at Geun-ho and Jong-seok.

"Jong-seok! They don't seem to like us. Let's go over there."

"Damn, they took our spot..."

"Hehe, we should have put up a sign at that spot. 'This area is reserved for Geun-ho and Jong-seok.'"

"Shut up! What time is it now?"

"4:40! It's almost 5."

"The best time for the fish to bite is coming. You go over there. I'll go to the side with the walnut tree."

"Let's catch a big fish for spicy fish soup!"

Geun-ho and Jong-seok had been laid off from a small factory in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, which had fewer than 20 employees. The owner started laying off people when the number of suppliers decreased. Anyway, their wages were two months overdue, and they were already planning to quit.

"If things get better, I'll put the overdue wages and severance pay into your accounts. You know my situation is tough too, right?"

The owner pleaded with Geun-ho.

For four days, they searched for jobs on job sites like Worknet and in classified ads.

Being cooped up in a room during the day was suffocating. At lunchtime, they drove around in the car parked in the basement of the exam hotel and suddenly remembered they hadn't reported the unpaid wages to the local labor office. On their way out, they met their junior, Jong-seok, at the local labor office. They quickly hit it off and decided to go to the fishing spot the next day.

"It's biting!"

Geun-ho reeled in the line on his spinning rod. The line tightened and then loosened again.

"Damn! It got away! It was a bass as big as my forearm when it jumped!"

"Bro, did you catch it?"

"It got away!"

"At least you got a bite. I haven't gotten anything!"

"Hey, the sun is setting. It's time for them to eat. They'll start biting the bait."

As Geun-ho and Jong-seok moved around the fishing spot, the 40-year-old and 60-year-old, who had been sitting quietly and fishing, got up. They began to pack up their fishing rods.

"Bro! Those uncles are leaving. Let's go over there!"

"Let's wait until they're completely gone."

"If they're leaving, they should hurry. They're taking forever."

"Looks like they didn't catch anything. They're not even lifting their nets."

"Huh? It looks like those uncles came in the Genesis limousine. What? The 40-year-old is in the driver's seat, and the 60-year-old is in the back. They must be a boss and his driver. Hehe."

"Let's focus on fishing."

"If a boss can afford a driver, why would he drive a Genesis? He should drive a Bentley."

"Let's just focus on fishing!"

Geun-ho and Jong-seok cast their lines diligently until the sun set and it got dark. They only heard the sound of the water in the empty spot, but they didn't catch any fish. Geun-ho caught a small minnow the size of his palm but released it back into the water.

"It's not going to work today. The fishing is bad."

"Fishing? Bro, you're writing a text."

"Let's drink the soju we brought and go back. I didn't bring a long-sleeved shirt, and it's getting chilly."

Geun-ho and Jong-seck sat on the grass by the embankment and spread out a mat. They took out the chicken and soju they had brought.

"Have a drink. To celebrate the fourth day of being laid off!"

"Your pinky finger still won't straighten out, huh?"

"This? It's a badge of honor. I got it from a machine at the factory. At least it's still attached, right? Bro, you have a lot of scars on your arm too!"

"I got burned a lot from handling the injection molding machine."

"Wear long sleeves when you work. Your future wife might think they look ugly."

"Do you not know how to wear long sleeves? It's so hot in the summer, how can you wear long sleeves? I can't even wear arm protectors from Daiso. Your future sister-in-law will also dislike your bent finger."

"Haha. Who would marry a guy like me? A factory worker who can't even get paid and got laid off."

"That's the same for me. All Korean women are gold diggers. Who would marry me? I'm poor, I dropped out of a local university, I'm not good-looking, I have a potbelly, and I'm getting old."

"But look at Jeong-hun from the logistics team at the factory we used to work at. He's good with women, right? He's even dated a woman who graduated from a four-year university in the quality control department, the daughter of the owner of a Korean buffet restaurant near the factory who plays the piano, and there's a rumor that he's now dating a new female employee in the accounting department."

"Is that guy normal? He's a fraud. He hasn't even paid back the 300,000 won he borrowed from me."

"Still, he's capable. For a high school graduate driving a truck at the factory, that's pretty impressive. Let's give credit where it's due, bro."

"Let's stop talking about him and drink. The taste of the soju is going down. Cheers!"

"Wow, this is killing me. Drinking soju on a moonlit night by the lake is deadly."

"That's why I suggested coming here. I come here sometimes on my own too."

"Don't come alone all the time. Call me sometimes. I'll bring the soju. You buy the chicken."

Geun-ho and Jong-seck tore into the chicken hungrily, as if they were starving.