Pig Government Official Side Story

-1-

Accumulate affection. Stack up affection layer by layer. Is this meaning perhaps just made up? Was the name originally given without any meaning? Hehe. This was the question Jeonggwan asked while helping his parents with their work, peeling grapefruit skins as usual. The movements of his dad, who was cutting the grapefruits Jeonggwan passed to him in half, and his mom, who was scooping out the inside of the halved grapefruits, simultaneously stopped.

Sensing the change in atmosphere, Jeonggwan quickly looked up at his mom and dad. His face showed disbelief, as if asking if this casual question he had thrown out was actually true. All the days he had spent proudly thinking about the meaning of his name were being negated at once, and his face showed a sense of betrayal, as if asking if this could really be true.

Thud. The grapefruit he had just picked up to peel fell weakly into the metal container full of grapefruit peels.

“… Is it true?”

“Oh, Jeonghyun’s mom. Go inside and rest.”

“Should I? Oh, my back.”

“… I asked if it’s true.”

“Does your back hurt? Should I put on a pain patch?”

“No, you need to peel the grapefruits.”

Seemingly uncomfortable with Jeonggwan’s piercing gaze demanding the truth, his parents tried their best to ignore the situation and leave. Shocked by his parents’ reaction, Jeonggwan, realizing his name might have been carelessly chosen, became like a washed cotton candy raccoon, waving his hands in the air a few times before finally raising his voice.

“I asked if it’s true!”

Jeonggwan’s angry shout echoed through the workspace. At the same time, the sound of a car entering the alley was heard, and Jeonggwan’s parents quickly left the workspace, taking off their sanitary clothes as if the sound was their savior. Thinking they were running away because they were guilty, Jeonggwan followed them out, now almost on the verge of tears, stomping his feet and breathing heavily as if demanding they quickly say it wasn’t true.

“Jeonggwan. Go quickly. Take everything off.”

“Yes, you should go now.”

However, his parents persistently pretended not to hear him and removed the sanitary clothes, plastic full-face mask, apron, rubber gloves, and other items that covered Jeonggwan from head to toe. They gestured for him to take off his boots as well, but Jeonggwan, thoroughly upset, turned his head away and stomped towards the store entrance still wearing the boots.

“You… You’re not taking off the boots? That’s the last pair!”

“We need to put Jeongwon to work when he comes, you know!”

“Hey, Jeonggwan…!”

His parents called out desperately from behind, telling him to take off the work boots and leave them in the workspace, but Jeonggwan knew that once these boots touched the asphalt road outside the store, they could never be brought back into the workspace. So, filled with a desire for revenge, he boldly opened the door and, while staring directly at his mom and dad, put one boot-clad foot onto the asphalt of the alley.

“Oh my… I can’t live like this. I can’t live.”

“You can still turn back now, Kim Jeonggwan. Come back inside.”

His dad covered his eyes, while his mom gestured seriously for him to come back, saying there was still a chance. Of course, Jeonggwan wasn’t about to obediently return. Except for his parents’ boots, these were the last ones, and the extra boots his mom had ordered from Coupang would arrive tomorrow. This meant that if the extra boots Jeonggwan was wearing got dirty, his mom and dad would have to finish peeling the grapefruits by themselves. With this thought of revenge for his 27-year-old name, Jeonggwan leaped. Both feet jumped towards the asphalt.

“… Is it okay if I come out wearing boots?”

The person most surprised by Jeonggwan’s outburst was Junjae, who was just getting out of the driver’s seat after parking his car in front of the store. Because Jeonggwan’s parents were extremely sensitive about foreign substances entering the workspace due to their handmade syrup business, Junjae had never even seen the inside of the workspace. However, he knew that people entering and leaving that place had to be covered from head to toe, and that none of the work clothes could be worn outside until they were all replaced after a certain period. Yet here was Jeonggwan, violating that important rule. Worried that Jeonggwan might get scolded, Junjae quickly approached him.

“Kim Jeonggwan! Take them off now! Your dad can wash them!”

Sure enough, the angry voice of Jeonggwan’s mom thundered from inside the store. Instead of going back in with a gasp as expected, Jeonggwan, who seemed to have fought with his parents, defiantly jumped up and down on the asphalt, as if to provoke them. Not understanding the situation, Junjae stood awkwardly watching Jeonggwan before finally grabbing his arm to calm him down. He feared that if Jeonggwan provoked them further, things would really get out of hand.

“Kim Jeonggwan! You little…!”

“This son with a carelessly given name is leaving.”

Ten seconds before war broke out, Jeonggwan spat out one last defiant remark, then hid behind Junjae before quickly running to Junjae’s car and jumping into the passenger seat. Only Junjae was left in the alley, and soon after, Jeonggwan’s mom came running out, having changed from boots to slippers, looking around while snorting as if searching for Jeonggwan.

“Where did that boy go?”

“… Hello.”

“Oh, you’re here?”

Sensing the unusual situation, Junjae tensed his jaw to keep from turning his head towards the car where Jeonggwan was hiding.

“That little… he’s become so naughty…”

“… Have you two had lunch?”

Junjae tried to distract Jeonggwan’s parents with a different topic, fidgeting, but he wasn’t the type to speak sweetly even to his own parents, let alone someone else’s.

“… Are those your shoes?”

“… Ah.”

An awkward silence fell over the alley.

* * *

[Boots delivered successfully.]

Junjae glanced up at Jeonggwan, who was busily moving around the kitchen saying he was making meringue cookies, then checked the message from Secretary Oh before turning off his phone screen. Although he understood Jeonggwan’s grand plan of making his parents exercise for their health, he had just delivered a box of sanitary boots for a more peaceful Kim household.

It was amusing that the reason for Jeonggwan’s sulking was because of his name. Junjae couldn’t help but let a smile creep onto his face. He understood how upset Jeonggwan must be, having been satisfied with the meaning of his unique name only to find out it wasn’t true, but he still found Jeonggwan’s sulking cute. Although Jeonggwan seemed to be in a better mood now, excited about making meringue cookies, Junjae turned his phone back on, wanting to cheer him up completely.

“Are the cookies done?”

“Yeah. Try them. They taste best with chocolate.”

“… It’s sweet.”

“It’s delicious because it’s sweet, right?”

It was sweet because it was sweet, but Jeonggwan’s expectant look demanded a proper answer, so Junjae nodded with an indulgent smile. Jeonggwan, his mood seemingly improved by the sweet treat, was now humming a tune while inhaling the meringue cookies. Worried that eating so quickly might cause problems despite how easily they melt in the mouth, Junjae briefly held Jeonggwan’s hand.

“I looked it up, and the meaning of ‘goe-da’ is actually pretty nice.”

“… What? You talked to my dad again, didn’t you?”

“…”

He hadn’t called, but he had received one text message.

[I was so happy looking at cute Jeonggwan that I had a drink before going to register his birth, and in my drunken state, I wrote ‘Jeonggwan’ instead of ‘Jeonggyun’. When the civil service worker asked about the Chinese characters, unsure, I told them it was a Korean name. So they thought it must be correct and entered it that way. What could I do? It was already registered like that. Jeonggwan’s mom and I spent days thinking of a meaning for Jeonggwan’s name.]

Even Jeonggwan’s name was given in an extraordinary way. It wasn’t even carelessly chosen, but a mistake. Junjae found even this story incredibly endearing. Of course, Jeonggwan must have experienced a fair amount of stress because of his name since childhood, but wasn’t the meaning his parents came up with after days of deliberation quite wonderful? “Accumulating affection layer by layer” – it suited Jeonggwan perfectly. Moreover, when he looked it up earlier, he was surprised to find:

“In old language, there’s also a word ‘goe-da’ that means to especially cherish and love.”

“… Really?”

“Yes.”

“… The pronunciation is weird, but the meaning is nice.”

Why, the pronunciation is good too. It becomes really special and cool the more you say it. Junjae stroked Jeonggwan’s forehead. However, Jeonggwan seemed to think these were just words to make him feel better, and he pushed out his lower lip.

“I may not show it, but… I wanted a name like Jeongwon or Jeongyun too.”

Of course, not being in Jeonggwan’s shoes, it might be easy for Junjae to say his name was cool. But unfortunately, Junjae’s name was Junjae, and rather than trying to comfort him with hypotheticals, he wanted to say something that would genuinely make Jeonggwan feel better.

“Why, didn’t you say last time that the leftover macaron shells taste better?”

“Hyung. I don’t think that comparison really works.”

“Ah, yeah.”

Seeing Jeonggwan’s expression that clearly said that analogy really didn’t work, Junjae quickly agreed that he thought so too and pulled Jeonggwan into a hug.

“Your parents feel really sorry.”

“…”

“And when you told us the meaning of your name, everyone, including me, agreed. It’s because you really are that kind of person, so the meaning of your name suits you well.”

“… You felt that way too?”

“Of course. I had a hunch from your name that you were my destiny.”

What are you saying? Jeonggwan chuckled, lifting his head slightly from Junjae’s chest before bumping it back down as he hugged him. Junjae had conveyed his parents’ feelings and was trying to cheer him up, and already, Jeonggwan’s slight upset had vanished. He also felt that Junjae had become much smoother with his words. Junjae used to preface everything with as much silence as he could muster before carefully speaking, but now, after dating for four years, he was speaking fluently without hesitation. It seemed they were really becoming more and more alike.