Chapter 71
As the drinking session went on, the alcohol they had brought started to run out one by one. Min-wook swirled the wine bottle, estimating the remaining amount, then downed the last bit of wine in one gulp. Seo-jung chuckled as he watched Min-wook wipe his mouth, then noticed Min-ha nodding off.
“Shall we clean up and head in? I don’t think anyone will drink anymore.”
“Sure, let’s do that.”
Gong Min-wook readily agreed to Ki Seo-jung’s suggestion and stood up. Since Seo-jung and Min-wook were the only ones still sober, they quickly started tidying up the living room. Yeo Ji-yoon, who had been sitting on the floor, got up with a flushed face, offering to help, but Seo-jung shook his head.
“Ji-yoon, Min-wook hyung and I can clean up here. Could you just take the others inside? Da-bin and the rest are quite drunk.”
“Okay, I’ll wake them up and get them inside.”
As everyone moved according to their assigned roles, the living room was soon cleaned up. After finishing, Seo-jung and Min-wook went up to the second floor together and found themselves in front of their respective room doors.
“Whew, I’m tired after cleaning up. Thanks for your help, Seo-jung.”
“You too, hyung. Let’s go to sleep.”
Min-wook waved his hand at Seo-jung’s greeting and entered his room. Only after hearing the door close did Seo-jung turn around.
As he grabbed the doorknob, he felt the delayed fatigue washing over him. I should sleep quickly, he thought. Just as he opened the door, blinking his tired eyes deeply:
“Ah.”
Seo-jung couldn’t help but freeze. In the room lit only by an orange mood lamp, he found Cha Yoon sitting cross-legged on his bed, glaring at him.
Even though he had experienced a similar situation before, he couldn’t help but be startled. It would be strange not to be surprised by such a horror movie-like visual.
The only difference from last time was that he didn’t make the mistake of speaking out of surprise. Seo-jung pressed his lips tightly and tried to ignore Cha Yoon, who was visibly displeased. Or at least, he tried to.
“Excuse me.”
Seo-jung had to stop at Cha Yoon’s call. Swallowing a sigh, Seo-jung turned to face him.
As soon as their eyes met, Cha Yoon got up and approached him in one stride. They were close enough for Seo-jung to smell the faint scent of body lotion. Seo-jung frowned and stepped back, but couldn’t achieve his goal. The quick-witted Cha Yoon closed the distance again.
Even if he tried to move again, the outcome was predictable. Giving up on creating distance, Seo-jung stood still, silently looking at Cha Yoon as if asking what was going on. Cha Yoon, standing face to face, did the same.
In the silence of the early morning, as the two continued their standoff, it was Cha Yoon who spoke first. After all, it’s the thirsty one who digs the well.
“Don’t you have anything to say to me?”
“No, I don’t.”
Cha Yoon let out a hollow laugh at the quick response. “Wow, really? After behaving like that at the drinking session today, you have nothing to say to me?” He asked again, as if dumbfounded.
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“Think a bit before you answer, won’t you? There must be something.”
Cha Yoon, determined to hear ‘that story’ from Ki Seo-jung’s own mouth, kept pressing. As the unproductive conversation continued, Seo-jung rubbed his eyes tiredly.
“Is this because you’re embarrassed about getting caught sneaking a look at my phone while drinking today? If that’s the case, I’ll just forget about it, so go to sleep.”
Originally, turning on the phone camera was meant as a kind of warning to behave. Seo-jung hadn’t wished for it to go that far, but Cha Yoon had retreated to his room, and as a result, the phone snooping had stopped. From Seo-jung’s perspective, there was nothing more to desire.
But from Cha Yoon’s standpoint, who had been embarrassed, their thoughts might differ, so Seo-jung had said this. He meant to say that he had long forgotten about it, so stop bothering people and just go to sleep.
However, Cha Yoon seemed to have interpreted it differently. His face turned red as he immediately raised his voice.
“What are you talking about all of a sudden? That’s not what I was going to say!”
He went on about how that topic was irrelevant here, asking if it was Seo-jung’s hobby to say useless things. Seo-jung half-listened to Cha Yoon’s outburst, waiting for him to stop talking.
And after a moment, Cha Yoon’s incessant voice ceased, replaced by the sound of heavy breathing. Only then did Seo-jung, who had been silent all along, open his mouth.
“Then what is it? It seems like you have something to say, so just say it quickly. Don’t try to push it onto me.”
Cha Yoon’s eyebrows twitched. It was because of Seo-jung’s tone, which was clearly annoyed to anyone listening. His attitude of wanting to end the conversation with Cha Yoon quickly was not pleasing at all.
He would joke around just fine with others, but always acted this way only towards him. Unable to tolerate Seo-jung’s attitude any longer, Cha Yoon snapped.
“Could you be less obvious?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. What am I being obvious about?”
Ah, so you’re going to play dumb. Seeing Seo-jung feign ignorance, the corners of Cha Yoon’s mouth twisted upwards.
“Today, after we all revealed our ages, you started speaking informally and calling everyone younger than you by name. But with me, you still use formal speech and call me ‘Cha Yoon-ssi’, right? If this isn’t showing your discomfort and discriminating against me, then what is it?”
“…”
“You told me to behave because there are cameras, right? Is that all? Didn’t you also say not to make others uncomfortable? Don’t you think what you’re doing is pretty similar to what I did? By only calling me ‘Cha Yoon-ssi’ and using formal speech, it makes people wonder if there’s something between us, and it makes everyone around us uncomfortable too.”
“…”
“If you scolded me like that, shouldn’t you also behave properly? Don’t you agree?”
Although he brought up other cast members he didn’t really care about, his main point was clear. He wanted Seo-jung to speak to him informally and use a more affectionate term of address. For example, like the ‘Yoon-ah’ he had called out in his sleep. Suddenly remembering the embarrassing term of address, Cha Yoon deliberately frowned to manage his expression, afraid his lips might curl up inappropriately for the mood.
Meanwhile, Seo-jung’s fists clenched tightly. He was reminded of Cha Yoon’s reaction when he woke up from his long sleep after the accident. The image of him shouting not to call him that way with an icy expression.
That was also why he used a “formal term of address” that others might find strange. He didn’t want to see the cold reaction that would come if he called him “Yoon-ah.” He didn’t want to be hurt anymore. But Cha Yoon, unaware of this fact, was complaining about discrimination.
Words almost spilled out, asking if he had forgotten everything he had said before. Seo-jung’s lips quivered as if he was about to burst out.
But would anything change by saying this? It would only prolong the conversation meaninglessly. He ended up closing his mouth that had been about to open, swallowing all the words that had risen to his throat.
In fact, he found himself a bit ridiculous. How many times had he promised himself that he would no longer care about Cha Yoon, that he would sort out all his feelings for him? But every time he faced his true feelings, they were completely opposite.
When would he be able to break this tiresome emotional chain? Or rather, did he even want to break it? Feeling the stinging pain of his nails digging into his palms, Seo-jung opened his mouth.
“I see.”
Cha Yoon felt deflated by the response that came after a long pause.
“‘I see’? What kind of answer is that?”
“I’m acknowledging that, as you said, repeating this situation could make the other cast members uncomfortable.”
Acknowledge. At that word, Cha Yoon’s frown eased slightly. Admitting one’s mistake was tantamount to saying they wouldn’t act that way in the future. He asked in a slightly softer voice.
“So, what are you going to do now? Are you going to stop calling me ‘Cha Yoon-ssi’ and…”
“But don’t you think that if you didn’t act this way, no one would care? Or is it just me who thinks that?”
“What did you say?”
It was annoying enough to be shut down, but what came out of Ki Seo-jung’s mouth was complete nonsense. Cha Yoon raised his voice in disbelief.
“I mean, let’s not bother each other from now on. If we don’t get involved, I won’t have to call you or talk to you. There won’t be any problems, right?”
Don’t you agree? Seo-jung shrugged, seeking agreement. After hearing Seo-jung’s words, Cha Yoon blinked a couple of times and then suddenly burst into laughter. It was a laugh devoid of any joy.
“So, you’re saying we should just treat each other like we don’t exist from now on, is that it?”
“Yes.”
The answer came without hesitation, and Cha Yoon let out another hollow laugh. He was literally dumbfounded. But however Seo-jung interpreted that laugh, he also raised the corners of his mouth. He felt the same way. His lips were curled, but there was no hint of a smile in his eyes.
“Think about it. Isn’t that what you wanted when you first met me at the hospital? To not get involved anymore and pretend not to know each other. I feel the same way as you. I want to go through the X House without getting more involved with you, just like strangers.”
“…”
“I won’t care what you do. So, you stop caring about me too.”
“…”
“I mean, let’s not waste energy and get tired over nothing. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
Believing he had made himself clear enough, Seo-jung stepped back slightly.
“Since we’re done talking, I’m going to sleep now. You should go to sleep too, quickly.”
After offering just that much courtesy, Seo-jung turned around. He was about to walk towards his bed.
From behind, he heard Cha Yoon’s voice, slightly lower than usual.
“Do you dislike me that much?”
Seo-jung paused for a moment, then turned to Cha Yoon and chuckled.
“Why would I dislike you?”
“…”
“I don’t have any feelings for you. I don’t dislike you, and I don’t like you. It’s like that, isn’t it? Why would I have such feelings for someone who has nothing to do with me?”
Seo-jung nodded slightly as if asking if his answer was sufficient. Despite his gesture seeking agreement, Cha Yoon just stood there silently. After taking in this sight for a moment, Seo-jung lay down on his bed.
The blanket rustled each time Seo-jung moved. After this small noise, the room became quiet as a mouse.
In the room where only faint breathing could be heard, Cha Yoon stood in the same spot for a long time, unable to move.
