#047
“Excuse me, you’re Lee Yeonwoo, right? Could you take just one photo with us?”
The other party also seemed to have no intention of causing a commotion, as they quietly whispered to Yeonwoo while looking around at the people nearby.
Yeonwoo couldn’t say anything, as if glue had been stuck to his mouth. He was so nervous he couldn’t even think to swallow the hot dog he had in his mouth.
“Excuse me? Excuse me.”
“Ah, hello. The kid’s too busy eating to pay attention. If it’s okay with you, I could take the photo for you instead.”
After coming out of the bathroom, Shin Gihyeon had been looking for Yeonwoo when he grasped the situation and hurried over.
He slightly lowered the sunglasses he was wearing to show his face, then pulled up Yeonwoo’s mask. There was sugar powder around his mouth from eating the hot dog, but that wasn’t the urgent matter.
“Gasp! Sh… Shin Gi…”
“Hey, be quiet! Then, could we get just one photo please?”
“Yes, yes, of course.”
Yeonwoo seemed flustered as he sat still on the bench and looked up at Shin Gihyeon as if sending a rescue request. Gihyeon looked busy taking photos with the fans.
Feeling like he should do something, he got up from the bench and stared blankly at them.
Now Shin Gihyeon was giving autographs on top of taking photos. Then, noticing Yeonwoo’s gaze, he snatched one of the hot dogs from his hand and said,
“We’ll be late for the bus. Let’s go quickly.”
“Could… Yeonwoo-ssi also give us an autograph just once?”
These days even autographs were modern. Yeonwoo blinked at the sight of a woman holding out her phone’s notepad, asking him to sign with a pen since she had no paper.
‘Me? What am I that they’d want that?’ He took the pen in confusion and moved his hand. Even while doing so, he couldn’t shake the thought ‘Is this right?’
He wasn’t even a celebrity, what autograph…
“Where are you heading?”
“Home.”
“Are you returning after having fun in Seoul?”
“Um, yes.”
After finishing the autograph and handing back the phone, they bowed their heads.
“Thank you!”
He had only given one autograph and answered questions, yet received thanks. Wasn’t the equivalent exchange too skewed?
No, wait. They had secretly taken photos without permission and approached him, interrupting his hot dog eating time, so he should receive an apology instead. That’s right.
“Sorry for approaching you out of nowhere. We took the photo to zoom in and see if it was really Yeonwoo… We deleted it right away. Ah, really thank you so much. I’ll only keep the autograph for personal collection.”
Yeonwoo stared blankly at the person in front of him. Unlike the people who had visited the countryside and approached him without permission, this was a sensible person he could somewhat communicate with.
Realization comes from the most trivial things. Right, there are various types of people in the world. If there are people like this, there are also people like that.
Suddenly, confidence bubbled up inside him.
“You can post it. Should I take a photo for you too?”
“Huh? Oh… if you would, thank you.”
“Gihyeon-ah, do you want to be in it too?”
“I don’t mind…”
Shin Gihyeon looked at Yeonwoo with bewildered eyes.
Whatever wind had blown through him, Yeonwoo, who had been unable to react to people approaching him and had only been rolling his eyes meekly, was now being proactive.
He really was unpredictable.
After taking a group shot, Yeonwoo even showed the kindness of offering handshakes.
“We’ll be going now.”
“Ah, yes! Thank you.”
Stuffing the hot dog in his mouth in big bites and walking toward the bus, his steps looked incredibly refreshed.
“What’s with you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Was the medicine too strong after all?”
“I don’t need to take medicine anymore. I think I’m all better now!”
Yeonwoo saying this even looked relieved.
Shin Gihyeon quietly clicked his tongue.
‘There he goes getting ahead of himself again.’
“Still, finish taking what was prescribed.”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Hurry up and get on.”
Yeonwoo grinned and pushed Shin Gihyeon into the bus.
‘That little puppy…!’
It was ridiculous how he didn’t know to be wary of people and acted like he’d give his liver and gallbladder to anyone who was just a little nice to him. Shin Gihyeon resolved that he’d have to pick a day to lecture him sometime.
* * *
“The bus is in 30 minutes…”
Shin Gihyeon muttered in dismay. Just arriving at the intercity bus terminal and waiting for the bus to the village took quite a bit of time.
Not to mention transfers, the bus intervals were basically 40 minutes. Waiting for a bus in the blazing sun was torture.
“Can’t we take a taxi?”
“30 minutes will pass in no time, right?”
“What do you mean in no time? Isn’t there a convenience store or cafe around here? Let’s go inside and sit for a bit. I’m going to roast to death at this rate.”
He took off the bucket hat he was wearing and used it as a fan instead. Yeonwoo also seemed to be suffocating in the hot weather as he pulled his mask down and tilted his cap up slightly. Even so, he was stubborn.
“People don’t die that easily. Wait a bit, it’ll get cool soon.”
“When?”
“In about 30 minutes.”
He meant it would get cool in 30 minutes when they got on the bus.
Shin Gihyeon eventually gave up and surrendered to the heat. Yeonwoo seemed to find something amusing as he kept raising the corners of his mouth while tapping on his phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Texting with hyung.”
“Sunbae-nim? What did he say?”
“He hasn’t replied? I’m just sending him messages. That we’re almost there.”
Why bother? He frowned. Now that he looked at it… did Yeonwoo have feelings too? His personality was so hard to read that it was puzzling. So he asked directly.
“Do you like sunbae-nim?”
“Yeah!”
The way he answered without a moment’s hesitation, even squinting his eyes, was quite a sight. The sunlight shone brightly on him without any consideration.
Shin Gihyeon bit his lips lightly. It seemed obvious he had misunderstood and thought he was asking about liking him as a human being. That’s not what he meant to ask…
‘Well, does it matter.’
It was their problem anyway, so he didn’t plan to get heavily involved. For now, it was hot, and with the noisy cicada sounds continuously assaulting his ears, he stretched his body back and shouted toward the sky.
“Aaah-. When is the bus coming!”
He came to the countryside for nothing.
* * *
Arriving at his home after a long time, Yeonwoo flung the door open and shouted.
“I’m back!”
“There’s no one here, why are you shouting… Who’s there?”
Shin Gihyeon, who was following behind, couldn’t continue speaking at the sight of the living room.
“Welcome back.”
“Hello! I’m Choi Seongwoo, Sehyeon’s friend!”
Cheolsu, who had come down to the countryside for the weekend and occupied Yeonwoo’s empty house like a hideout, was in the middle of an intense battle with a game console connected to the TV and greeted without even turning around to look at the entrance.
His friend Choi Seongwoo jumped up and tapped Cheolsu, but he didn’t budge.
“Hey.”
An adult came but you won’t even greet them? Yeonwoo quickly ran over and unplugged all the cables connected to the TV.
“Argh! Yeon, right now… Uh… oh oh, it’s Shin Gihyeon. Whoa, wait. Let me wash my face. Just let me wash my face and come back! Th… Gihyeon hyung-nim! Please sit here.”
“…Yes.”
Shin Gihyeon sat where Cheolsu guided him. He was even guided to sit on the floor since there wasn’t even a sofa. He gave Yeonwoo a look asking him to explain what this situation was about.
“Yeah, since the house was going to be empty for a while, I told them to come play. I’m going to send them away now.”
“Hyung, it’s been a while. But this person is…”
“My friend.”
Choi Seongwoo’s eyes widened so much they looked like they might pop out. He looked at Yeonwoo with a gaze full of awe.
“Wow, hyung, you’ve basically become a celebrity. Really. Should I get an autograph or something?”
While saying this, he rummaged around for paper and a pen and held them out to Shin Gihyeon.
“Um… excuse me. Could I get an autograph…”
Yeonwoo snatched the paper away and handed it back to Choi Seongwoo himself.
“Dude, the homeowner’s back, so stop that and get out quickly.”
Choi Seongwoo, who occasionally came down to the countryside to play following his best friend Cheolsu, had some acquaintance with Yeonwoo too. A whining tone naturally slipped out.
“Hyuuung, can’t we stay a little longer? This is my first time meeting a celebrity.”
Cheolsu, who had finished brushing his teeth and washing his face, scoffed.
“What? Then you’ve never seen Kang Dojun hyung-nim in person either?”
“No.”
“Pfft, country bumpkin.”
“I don’t want to hear that from you.”
Yeonwoo chased the two toward the front door. They cried out, not wanting to leave.
“Cheolsu and Yuri. Get out quickly.”
“Wait, who’s Yuri! Hold on… Hyung, then let me just take some snacks.”
Wanting to exchange even one more word with the celebrity Shin Gihyeon, he brought up various excuses to refuse. Yeonwoo, who noticed this fact, wouldn’t just let it slide.
“Why are you taking snacks from someone else’s house?”
“I’m the one who bought them yesterday.”
“Tsk! If it’s in my house, it’s all mine. Anyway, get out. Everyone out.”
“Aaah, Yeon! How can that be! We’re the ones who bought it!”
“Shut up.”
Shin Gihyeon watched this scene intently. There was one word that came to mind.
Dictator.
The two stubbornly shouted that they wanted to play just a little longer, but were cleanly ignored. Yeonwoo, who had succeeded in kicking them out, looked relieved.
“…Then why did you invite them?”
“When you leave the house empty for a long time, it fills up with negative energy, so I call the kids to purify it with positive energy. They’re happy to have a hideout, good for the sister, good for the brother-in-law.”
He wasn’t even a shaman but was quite serious about ghosts.
“Gihyeon-ah, want some snacks? Let’s eat these and go to the apiary.”
“I don’t like bees. Can’t I just stay here?”
Yeonwoo’s eyes sparkled as he was choosing among the snacks the kids had bought.
“Didn’t you come here to have fun?”
“That’s right.”
“Then you have to experience things! I’ll show you around the apiary. Get ready quickly.”
As soon as he arrived, he was about to be dragged outside without even unpacking. What was with this guy’s stamina? Even after taking a long bus ride, he looked energetic. Did he even know the word ‘tired’?
‘Ah, I really came here for nothing.’
They say when you leave home, you suffer like a dog. That was exactly it. What whim had possessed him to follow Yeonwoo all the way to the countryside? If he could, he wanted to go back to the past.
But what was done was done, so he eventually sighed and got up from his seat. He’d be going back tomorrow anyway, so he’d just endure one day, just one day.
“At least let me unpack first.”
“Okay, put it in that room over there.”
Still, having been here once a few months ago, his body remembered the place. Just as he was about to enter the bedroom,
“You… what did you just do?”
“Huh?”
Yeonwoo asked with a voice full of bewilderment. He even stopped eating his snack and looked at Shin Gihyeon with fearful eyes.
“Why?”
Why was he acting like that again? Geez, it wasn’t the first or second time he was being weird. He tried to ignore it and start walking again, but Yeonwoo kept grabbing him.
“Get your foot off quickly!”
“What?”
Shin Gihyeon frowned and looked down at his feet.
‘There’s nothing there?’
Ah, could it be… Shin Gihyeon lifted both feet and stepped onto the threshold. Then he slyly observed Yeonwoo’s reaction. His gentle eyes grew even rounder.
…That scaredy-cat, really.
[(Photo)(Photo)(Photo)
Yuri_choi **Rest stop!
#RandomEncounter #ShinGihyeon #LeeYeonwoo #RuralConquest #**RestStop #Autograph #Photo #WhereAreYouGoing]
2sky OMG, what are youã… ã… ã… ã… ã… ã…
â””Yuri_choi My life is complete. Both of them are so handsome and cute in real life. Photos can’t capture it all. So freaking cute and kind and everythingã…
brave_kang What’s with the autographã…‹ã…‹
â””Yuri_choi So freaking cuteã…‹ã…‹ã…‹He stuffed bees into every circle in the nameã…‹ã…‹ã…‹Even the drawing is preciousã…‹ã…‹ã…‹
luv_j_h **Rest stop? Wait right there. I’m coming now
â””Yuri_choi Yep~ The bus leftã…‹ã…‹
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
