#011
“Grandma!”
Lee Yeonwoo shouted out to greet Grandma Kyeong-i, though with a different meaning than he had for Grandma Suni.
“Aiyu, you don’t need to shout so loud, I can hear you.”
“Return the ingredients from our house!”
Grandma Kyeong-i said while picking at her ear.
“Just talking won’t do. How about you return the eggs from our house first?”
Yeonwoo bit his lip tightly, thinking of the omelet rice that had already gone into his stomach.
Meanwhile, Kang Dojun checked whether he had keys in his pocket. Since he had locked up before leaving, there was no chance of being robbed again. No, more than that, there was nothing left to steal anymore.
Grandma Kyeong-i looked at Kang Dojun and grinned as she spoke.
“Well, well, who is this? The Seoul bachelor, isn’t it? So, have you experienced the warmth of the countryside?”
“…Thanks to you.”
Kang Dojun also forced a smile, not wanting to back down.
“That stealing thing looked quite interesting.”
At his words, Grandma Kyeong-i looked a bit surprised before bursting into hearty laughter.
“Hahaha! You’ve really become a person of this village. Alright, if you can do it, give it a try.”
“Yes, I’ll visit you tonight.”
He announced the time as if throwing down a challenge for stealing.
“Haha! I’ll be looking forward to it. Now hurry up and do the calculations!”
Fortunately, the items Grandma Kyeong-i had taken had prices written on them, so they easily finished the calculations and she left.
Yeonwoo spoke to Kang Dojun with a disgruntled look.
“Stealing should be done by surprise for the real thrill, but what are you going to do after telling her the time?”
“You told me to move intelligently, right? Today is just a warning, the real move is tomorrow.”
Kang Dojun was a quick learner. Yeonwoo looked up at him with eyes full of respect.
“Hyung, since we’re a team, you must call me when you go stealing.”
Looking at him now, it seemed like he was harboring some strange anticipation about this stealing business. It was quite puzzling whether he should like this or not.
Even if they were going to steal, Kang Dojun’s purpose was ultimately to retrieve the food ingredients they had been robbed of.
With each of them dreaming of their own stealing adventures, they went about their store work.
The store work was, as Yeonwoo had said, much easier than farming. Most items had prices written on them, and unlike with Grandma Suni, there were no particular exceptions and things flowed smoothly.
Customers came to buy things, but most of them visited to watch the filming and chat.
When people visited, Yeonwoo would introduce them to Kang Dojun. It felt like he had now become acquainted with almost everyone in this village.
Around evening, as it grew dim and the sun set, Grandpa Beom returned.
After exchanging greetings, they went back to the house where Yeonwoo prepared dinner. It was a very simple meal – just instant ramen brought from Grandpa Beom’s store.
It couldn’t be helped. There were no ingredients left in the house.
While they were eating ramen, Grandma Kyeong-i visited again. Yeonwoo spoke with a crooked tone.
“What is it? There’s nothing to steal right now. Should I make you some coffee?”
Looking closely, while Yeonwoo seemed to lack manners, he also had respectful aspects. He never turned away customers empty-handed.
Kang Dojun had the somewhat random thought that maybe she had come to spy on them since they were planning to visit her for stealing tonight.
But both were wrong. Grandma Kyeong-i approached the two eating ramen and scolded them.
“What’s this, ramen for dinner? This will ruin your health completely! Yeonwoo, you little rascal, you’re feeding ramen to the bachelor from Seoul?”
“There’s nothing to eat at home!”
“If there’s nothing, you should have come to me! You usually come running over just fine. You’re just like a tree frog, a tree frog.”
Grandma Kyeong-i smacked Yeonwoo’s back, then unpacked the side dishes she had brought one by one and set them on the table. Yeonwoo looked at her with touched eyes.
“Grandma.”
Even Kang Dojun looked at her with slightly emotional eyes.
“Thank you.”
“Aiyu, what for. Just hurry up and eat! You have rice at home, right?”
“Yes.”
The difference in emotion between being kind ten times and mean once, versus being mean ten times and kind once – he felt that difference in impact.
But that didn’t mean the plan would change. Yeonwoo spoke with a stubborn expression.
“But we’re still going to steal.”
He got smacked on the back once more.
“I know, so eat first and then do it! You stubborn thing. Tsk, bachelor, you eat up too!”
“…Yes.”
Looking closely at the generous side dishes Grandma Kyeong-i had brought, they appeared to be made from the ingredients they had bought the night before.
Kang Dojun felt that fuzzy feeling again as he munched on the food.
“PD-nim.”
After dinner, while Kang Dojun went to wash up, Yeonwoo quietly sought out PD Han Taegu.
“Yes, Yeonwoo-ssi.”
Han Taegu, who was checking today’s recording, looked up at him. Yeonwoo fidgeted with his lips before speaking.
“Do I not need to help with work tomorrow?”
“Of course! Yeonwoo-ssi must have been tired with the filming schedule suddenly extending, so rest well.”
Han Taegu confidently promised that he absolutely wouldn’t call him tomorrow. It was useless consideration.
Yeonwoo’s lips jutted out. After using him to the fullest, now they were telling him to rest because he wasn’t needed? Setting aside the appearance fee, the fact that his utility value was decreasing felt disgusting.
Yeonwoo asked once more, sullenly.
“…Really?”
“Of course!”
“I’m going far away tomorrow? Don’t come looking for me?”
“Getting some fresh air is good too.”
Only after receiving several confirmations did Yeonwoo realize that he truly wasn’t needed.
“Yes. Do that then.”
Yeonwoo quickly gave up and left, making an angry resolution that if they dared to look for him tomorrow, he’d see about that.
Then, before entering his room, he peeked at the room where Kang Dojun was staying. When he slightly opened the door, he could see him reading a book.
“Aren’t you going to sleep?”
“I’ll read a bit more and then sleep. You sleep first.”
“Hyung, if you need me tomorrow, you can contact me.”
Kang Dojun, who had been answering while looking at his book, looked at Yeonwoo at this unexpected remark. Perhaps feeling embarrassed himself, Yeonwoo added,
“It’s just, you know, just saying.”
Kang Dojun put down his book completely and stared intently at Yeonwoo.
His lips were sticking out again like a habit – he seemed thoroughly sulky. No, was he sulking? About what? About saying ‘if you need me tomorrow, you can contact me’? …Ah, I see.
Having quickly found the answer, he narrowed his eyes and languidly nodded.
“I will.”
Whether Yeonwoo liked his response, an arc finally formed over his previously pouting lips.
“I’ll be going then! Hyung, sleep well too.”
“Yeah, sleep well.”
Forgetting that Kang Dojun had said he’d read a bit more before sleeping, he dutifully turned off the lights and left. Kang Dojun chuckled and checked the time on his phone screen. Since it was late at night, it wouldn’t be bad to sleep now.
After putting down the script, he lay down and closed his eyes. He ended his day using the clattering sounds coming from Yeonwoo’s room – whatever he was plotting – as a lullaby.
And the storm hit the next morning without any warning.
In the quiet rural village, a man entered the yard of a house with a blue roof. The man took off his sunglasses and gave a friendly greeting.
“Hello. I’m guest actor Shin Gihyeon, here to see sunbae Dojun. Please take care of me.”
[Kang Dojun went to countryside for variety show filming for recovery]
Is it real that we won’t be able to see our Dojun’s face in Seoul for a while?ㅠㅜㅠㅠㅜㅠ At least he should be breathing in the same region, but anyway. Anyway. Just thinking about Kang Dojun enchanting the countryside people with that face makes me breathless.ㅠㅠ Should I go and provide security for him?
[Our Dojun? Is my boyfriend your friend?]
└Ah;;;;; Please control yourself.
└ㅈㅅㅋㅋㅋㅋJust kidding lolㅋ
[Is your job security guard?]
└ㄱㅆ: I’m unemployed
[Countryside recovery? Our Dojun hyung is healthy, you idiot]
└It’s just a figure of speech;;; Ah seriously, attention seeker;;
[Kang Dojun variety show guest ㅅㄱㅎ appears hot!]
That’s what I’m talking about.
[???????]
[Who is ㅅㄱㅎ?]
└You know, that guy who follows Kang Dojun around like crazy.
└What, a sasaeng? That’s disgusting;;;;
└You really don’t know????
└Look up Kang Dojun’s works. There are many overlapping works with ㅅㄱㅎ.
└Don’t insult Gihyeon oppa ㅠㅠ He’s just a real fan of actor Kang Dojun ㅠㅠㅠㅠ
└Ah, I know Shin Gihyeon.
[Please stop spreading rumors. Delete your post.]
└What rumors nonsense; it’s not~^_^
└Delete it
└ㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗㅗ You delete it yourself, you traitor.
[I’m a variety show staff member there, ㅅㄱㅎ as guest is correct.]
└ㅋㅋㅋ Another staff wannabe appeared ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└One more thing to say – where Kang Dojun is staying, the landlord there is ㄸㄹㅇ.
└Holy shit ㅠㅠ Really? What about our Dojun ㅠㅠㅜ
└It’s not the crazy kind of ㄸㄹㅇ, but subtly has madness.
└You believe this? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[I’m the ㄱㄷㅈ variety show filming staff who commented earlier (ㅍㅇ) hot!]
Since I got a lot of upvotes, I’m encouraged to write a post too. It’s going to be deleted soon so read quickly. Everyone’s been curious, so first, the guest is ㅅㄱㅎ for sure, and the landlord is… how should I put it… He’s in his 20s and just a bit strange ㅋ But ㄱㄷㅈ is getting along well, so please stop with the rumors.
[Delete it]
└ㅇㄴ The delete troll came here again, don’t you have anything to do ㅅㅂ
└If you’re really staff, spill more tea. You expect us to believe this kind of post? ㅋ
└ㄱㅆ. If you don’t want to believe it, then don’t. Anyway, I can’t say much more.
└What’s the landlord’s personality like? Is he bullying our Dojun hyung?
└ㅋㅋ As if Kang Dojun would just sit still. He’s got a strong spirit so he won’t be easily pushed around, good luck~
└ㄱㅆ. Personality? You have to experience it yourself to know. Watch the broadcast when it comes out. And ㄱㄷㅈ seemed to like the landlord?
└ㅅㅂ Is the landlord a woman?
└ㄴㄴ Male
└Ah, what is this bastard thinking… ㄲㅈㄹ
[The landlord is in his 20s? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ I bet some agency pulled strings again.]
└2222222
└Kang Dojun likes the landlord? ㅋ Staff wannabe confirmed, right? Kang Dojun acts cold even to ㅅㄱㅎ who’s worked on several projects with him?
└ㄱㅆ. That’s why I’m telling you to watch the broadcast and confirm it. I can’t say anything more.
└Duh, you can’t say anything more~ ㅋㅋ After saying everything you wanted to say, now you have nothing left to say so you’re acting like this? ㅋㅋㅋㅋ Sure, sure, don’t say anything~ I don’t believe you either ㅋ
Korean Internet Slang:
ㅠㅠ, ㅜㅜ – Crying emoticons
ㅋㅋㅋ – Laughter (like “lol”)
ㅈㅅ – Sorry (죄송)
ㅂㅅ – Idiot/fool
ㅗㅗㅗ – Middle finger gesture
ㅍㅇ – Proof (증명)
유유 – Rumors/gossip (유언비어)
ㄱㅆ – Expression of frustration/annoyance
ㄲㅈㄹ – Vulgar expression (강제삽입)
ㅅㅂ – Profanity (시발)
ㅇㄴ – No way (아니)
ㄴㄴ – No no
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
