#24
“Hello, Sanho.”
The partner I ended up having dinner with was Han Jiwon.
I think both Han Jiwon and Bae Taeseong are good people. I was genuinely curious and wanted to get to know them better.
‘That’s why I agonized over it until the very end……’
Since there was still plenty of time until leaving the show, it seemed like there would be opportunities to date anyone. So I chose Han Jiwon, who was slightly more comfortable of the two.
“Seeing you outside gives a different feeling.”
I smiled slightly as I settled into the seat across from him.
“Right. Did you wait long?”
“No. About 10 minutes?”
He turned the menu toward me and asked,
“This place is famous for paella, but the signature dish has seafood so it might be fishy. Are mushrooms okay?”
“Yes, I like them.”
“Duck?”
“That too.”
“Do you eat tomatoes well?”
“Yes.”
While I was taking off and organizing my coat, he ordered caprese salad, mushroom paella, duck confit, and two glasses of sangria.
“My companion has allergies. Please make sure to leave out all nuts.”
Then when our eyes met, he naturally smiled softly as if it were obvious.
Han Jiwon was a beauty with refined features, among the most beautiful I’d seen in my life. If I were to express it in color, it would be a very warm and bright beige, or close to caramel.
His gentle and handsome face, along with his pleasant voice, matched his rounded personality. He was skilled with words and good at getting along with people, but he could be firm when necessary.
He was someone I wanted to be like in many ways.
“So, what did you do today?”
I snapped back to attention as I had been absentmindedly admiring his face.
“During the day?”
“Yeah. You went out with Eungi, right?”
“Yes. We took a walk and visited a temple too.”
When I mentioned that we participated in a lantern festival event and wrote wishes, Han Jiwon asked what wish I made.
If this were a private setting, I would have answered honestly, but unfortunately there were cameras positioned across from us. I smiled and shook my head.
“Usually these things don’t come true if you tell others.”
“Wow, how mean.”
Even as he said that, he didn’t ask further. He seemed to have noticed that I didn’t want to answer.
“What about hyung? You went out with Sehyeong today, right? To a palace, I think you said.”
“Yeah, we even wore hanbok? Foreigners kept asking to take pictures with us. Total hot stars.”
Aren’t there quite a lot of people walking around palaces in hanbok? There are hanbok rental shops lined up nearby. Both of them are pretty, so that might have drawn attention too……
“Want to see what we wore?”
“Yes. I’m curious.”
“Just a moment.”
Han Jiwon got up from his seat and quickly moved to sit next to me. Then he pulled out his phone to show me photos.
“Pfft.”
In the photo, Han Jiwon was wearing a gonryongpo and casually smiling with sunglasses perched on his face. Next to him, Kim Sehyeong was wearing eunuch clothes and holding a laptop in one hand. With an incredibly serious expression too.
“Hahaha, pfft. Hehehe, what is this? Out of all the clothes available, haha, and why is Sehyeong wearing eunuch clothes when hyung is the emperor…… This is really too much.”
“Hey hey, it’s a misunderstanding. This was Sehyeong’s idea? I’m only guilty of being enthroned as he ordered. He’s the real power behind the throne.”
“Ahahaha, hyung you’re really funny. This is a video too…… You even danced? Why are you so good at it……”
Every single photo was hilarious. No wonder all the foreigners asked to take pictures with them going around like that.
After laughing until tears almost came out, the food arrived. Han Jiwon served food onto my plate and said cheekily,
“This is food from the western regions. Prince, please eat comfortably.”
I was trying so hard not to laugh that my jaw tensed up and became all wrinkled. I received the plate with both hands and replied,
“Yes, royal father.”
We finished our meal in a pleasant atmosphere and had dessert too. There were quite a few dishes I was curious about, but thanks to Han Jiwon’s good appetite, we ordered everything and enjoyed the luxury of tasting just one bite of each.
“I should have taken some photos like hyung did. The temple we visited during the day was really magnificent, but thinking about it, there’s nothing memorable to keep.”
“True. Having photos makes it nice to look through them later. They’re memories.”
“What’s past is past, I guess.”
“Mm, that’s right. What’s important is what we do going forward.”
I was carefully scooping lemon Boston cream cake into my mouth when Han Jiwon, who had cleanly finished the pumpkin pie I left behind, tapped my shoulder.
“Look here, Sanho?”
Click. A cheerful sound rang out. My slightly dazed expression and Han Jiwon’s bright smile were captured together on screen.
“……You should have said something before taking it!”
“I did say something. I said ‘look here.'”
“Not that…… I’m looking somewhere weird. Only hyung came out pretty.”
“That’s not true. You’re cute even when you’re distracted.”
“……”
“If you really want, should we take another?”
We took three or four more photos. Unlike me, who was awkward since I’m not used to taking selfies, Han Jiwon looked very skilled.
I thought the first silly photo would be deleted, but instead of deleting it, he slipped his phone into his pocket.
“Ah, that was good. I have to show this to Bae Taeseong.”
“Why would you show that to Taeseong hyung……”
“Why? To tease Bae Taeseong-ssi, who’s probably at home feeling lonely after not being chosen by you, setting frying pans on fire.”
He smiled with his eyes gently curved.
“He definitely would have picked you. Though you’re next to me right now?”
His expression was infinitely proud. He’s mature at other times, but becomes secretly childish only when it involves Bae Taeseong.
“By the way, this was basically like being chosen first, so can I think that picking me means you’re opening up some possibility?”
“Huh?”
I asked in confusion as I was poking a cherry in the Black Forest cake with my fork.
“Does it work that way?”
“Doesn’t it? This isn’t a reunion program. They even set up the stage for us to meet other people, so we can size each other up.”
Han Jiwon asked in a playful tone,
“Am I not your type?”
“Oh, no, no. It’s not that you’re not my type.”
“Or are you usually so popular that this level of flirting doesn’t even register?”
“……I’m popular? Me?”
“I think you would be.”
I laughed and waved my hands dismissively.
“Come on. How could I be popular? Don’t stroke my ego just because we’re on a date.”
“Our Sanho must not have mirrors at home……”
What are you talking about, what house doesn’t have mirrors? Of course, due to real estate issues, I don’t have a full-length mirror.
“Then what about someone like Taeseong?”
Why is Bae Taeseong suddenly being brought up?
I looked at Han Jiwon wondering if he was seriously recommending him, and while he still had a smiling face, there was something serious about it. Though he mentioned it casually, he meant it seriously.
“I’m not saying this because he’s my ex…… Even though he looks a bit rough and coarse, he treats you well once you open your heart to him. He may be clumsy, but he’s loyal. He doesn’t do unreasonable things.”
“……”
He tilted his head and continued,
“Whichever of us two you choose would probably be more affectionate than your ex. Don’t you think?”
“……Jiwon hyung.”
“Sorry. I wasn’t trying to pry specifically, but after eliminating all the possibilities, the answer became so clear I couldn’t help but know. I pretty much figured it out from when we went to the emergency room.”
That would be natural. From his perspective, the people suspected of being my ex were only Choi Eungi and Lee Chan, and Eungi and I were perfectly comfortable being together in the kitchen.
I had also expected that he would know about the situation between me and Lee Chan, but knowing tacitly and speaking about it directly felt completely different.
After hesitating for a long while, I eventually had no choice but to speak as if making excuses.
“Since we’ve broken up now, I think it can’t be helped. He has no feelings for me, but he also knows I still have lingering feelings for him, so…… he’s deliberately being more cold on purpose. He can’t give false hope to someone he’ll never be with again.”
“You think that way?”
“I want to think that way.”
I answered while fidgeting with my fork.
“If I think that way…… wouldn’t it hurt a little less, hyung?”
“……”
“I said this to Taeseong hyung too. But still, there were moments when he was affectionate to me.”
“I can’t imagine it.”
“Of course. It hasn’t even been a week since we entered the show. But we.”
Lee Chan and Yoo Sanho.
“Spent countless seasons together.”
We went through the four seasons as lovers more than ten times, and as friends more than ten times again.
So even that Lee Chan who was like a bitter winter wind, there were days when he was as warm as new spring.
Definitely.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
