Chapter 140
Kim Dong-san took a deep breath and exhaled. It was as hard to breathe as when he first held his crush’s hand.
“How… How did this happen…”
He couldn’t hide his shock as he looked at the car in front of him.
Kim Dong-san had always thought Geon-woo was a bit odd. He considered him someone whose thoughts were impossible to read, and in a way, difficult to befriend. Whether something good or bad happened, he would just grin.
“You should have… given me some warning…”
Crouched in the back seat of the car, Kim Dong-san muttered to himself like a madman. He kept looking for Geon-woo, who wasn’t even there.
“What did you say?”
When a dignified voice flowed from the driver’s seat, Kim Dong-san, who had been wandering in a daze, sat up straight and answered.
“Oh, it’s nothing… Mr. Mitchell…”
A little while ago, Kim Dong-san had contacted Geon-woo. Since he was returning to Korea soon, he reached out hoping to meet on his last visit to LA today.
After dropping off his crush, he casually contacted Geon-woo on his way back to his accommodation. Geon-woo readily agreed. When Kim Dong-san told him his location, Geon-woo said he’d come right away to pick him up, and Kim Dong-san agreed without thinking much of it. He really didn’t think anything of it.
Geon-woo wasn’t in the car that arrived to pick up Kim Dong-san. He had naturally assumed it would be Geon-woo, but surprisingly, it was Mitchell Cronenwirth who came to get him.
“I didn’t know… our Geon-woo… was close with you, Mr. Mitchell.”
Kim Dong-san spoke with difficulty in the awkward atmosphere. When he had mentioned Mitchell before, Geon-woo hadn’t even hinted that they knew each other.
“I thought you’d know since it’s been quite exposed in the media.”
The fact that they’re close is now widely known not just in Hollywood but also in Korea. There are still occasional speculative articles digging into Geon-woo and Mitchell’s relationship, but Kim Dong-san was completely unaware.
“I hardly use the internet and I’m not interested in celebrities. But, but I do watch movies. I’ve seen all the movies you’ve been in, Mr. Mitchell. I’m a huge fan!”
“Thank you.”
To Kim Dong-san, Mitchell’s brief thanks sounded like popping champagne. He felt thoroughly intoxicated even though he hadn’t actually drunk anything. His face was flushed with excitement.
“By the way…”
“Yes!”
As soon as Mitchell opened his mouth, Kim Dong-san resumed an attentive posture. However, unlike Kim Dong-san’s excited mood, Mitchell’s voice was slightly subdued.
“Why did you say ‘our Geon-woo’?”
“…Pardon?”
“You just said ‘our Geon-woo’, didn’t you?”
Kim Dong-san didn’t even realize he had said that. He wasn’t confident in English conversation. While he could easily read and interpret medical books in English, he wasn’t as fluent in conversation as Geon-woo. He was the type to freeze up before even opening his mouth. He found it much easier to write in English instead.
“Did I say that? Oh, ah. I guess I did…”
It seemed he had caused a misunderstanding by first thinking of what he wanted to say in Korean and then translating it to English. He had also made a basic mistake due to being very nervous in front of Mitchell.
“You must be close.”
Since it was true that he was close with Geon-woo, and because he wanted to become friendlier with Mitchell, he quickly answered.
“Yes, that’s right. When Geon-woo lived in Korea, we hung out together every day. Haha.”
Kim Dong-san smiled broadly, hoping his connection with Mitchell would last longer.
“I see.”
Meanwhile, the car quickly drove towards its destination. Large, luxurious mansions began to appear one by one. It was Beverly Hills, which he had only heard about.
The car carrying the two of them drove between the luxurious mansions and along a long, narrow road. While admiring the grand iron gates, they were suddenly climbing a hill road. Even then, Kim Dong-san couldn’t grasp the situation.
“Um, where are we…”
“Oh, didn’t Geon-woo tell you? This is my house.”
Geon-woo could be seen waving in front of a mansion that could only be described as a palace. Kim Dong-san made a strange sound, hiccupping.
How could this be? Coming to Mitchell Cronenwirth’s house!
“Next time, contact me earlier.”
Geon-woo chided Kim Dong-san as he opened the car door for him. Kim Dong-san couldn’t believe it even as he looked at his old friend smiling brightly.
Why on earth was the meeting place with Geon-woo at Mitchell’s house?!
“If you had gone back to Korea without seeing my face, I would have been really upset… Hey, close your mouth.”
At the sound of chuckling laughter, Kim Dong-san finally closed his gaping mouth. Mitchell, who had turned off the engine and gotten out of the car, stood next to Geon-woo and put his arm around his shoulder. As Geon-woo smiled, Mitchell smiled too. Seeing this amazing sight, Kim Dong-san unconsciously blurted out a curse.
“Shit, they really are close…”
Geon-woo pulled Kim Dong-san, who was covering his mouth in awe. Even as they entered the house, Kim Dong-san continued to make dumbfounded noises. Geon-woo had only learned that Kim Dong-san was a fan of Mitchell last time. He thought he would be surprised, but his reaction was more intense than expected, which was amusing.
“When’s your flight?”
Geon-woo asked Kim Dong-san in English. Noticing that English was being used out of consideration for Mitchell, Kim Dong-san quickly answered in English as well.
“Day after tomorrow. Tomorrow is for packing.”
Though not fluent, with grammatical errors and limited vocabulary, there was no problem in communication.
“So this is really Mr. Mitchell’s house?”
Kim Dong-san, seated on the living room sofa, looked around. His mouth remained wide open for a long time, to the point where his lips were starting to cramp.
“Yeah. Due to circumstances, I’m staying at Mitchell’s place.”
“Huh. Huh huh. Huh.”
The sanity he had tried so hard to regain slipped away again.
Geon-woo left Kim Dong-san alone for a moment and went to the kitchen. He wanted to bring out the food that the helpers had prepared earlier. However, Mitchell was already occupying the kitchen.
Geon-woo had invited Kim Dong-san to the house, so he naturally wanted to do everything himself. He was grateful that Mitchell had personally picked up Kim Dong-san, and now he was even taking care of the kitchen duties.
“Hmm.”
Although Mitchell was always kind, today he seemed unusually tender. Geon-woo scratched his neck unnecessarily as he stood beside Mitchell.
Is this what he meant by showing love?
The conversation had ended abruptly due to Kim Dong-san’s sudden call. He couldn’t just send away a friend who was leaving for Korea in a few days, so he hadn’t been able to properly conclude their talk.
Though they hadn’t tied up loose ends, it seemed unnecessary to bring up the conversation again. Geon-woo assumed on his own that this must be what Mitchell’s show of love felt like.
…Huh? But Mitchell was always like this….
“Why are you taking out so many glasses?”
Lost in thought, he had taken out five glasses. Geon-woo smiled awkwardly as he put two glasses back in their place.
Not too late in the evening, the drinking session began.
Beer, wine, whiskey, and even soju, which Geon-woo had specially prepared, were placed on the living room table. There was also an abundance of side dishes, too much for just the three of them.
Kim Dong-san sat in the center of the sofa, with Geon-woo sitting diagonally from him. Mitchell sat right next to Geon-woo.
The conversation was mainly between Geon-woo and Kim Dong-san, while Mitchell quietly listened beside them. When Geon-woo spoke, Mitchell would nod slightly in response.
Kim Dong-san, who had been extremely nervous at first, found himself speaking more freely as the alcohol took effect. He even started addressing Mitchell directly and pouring drinks for him.
Mitchell was more taciturn than Kim Dong-san had imagined, but he didn’t seem to dislike the gathering. Mitchell often smiled, especially when Geon-woo said something odd. Just looking at his eyes, it felt like watching a real-time Mitchell melodrama.
“I was planning to stay in another city for a while. Your timing was good. Otherwise, I might not have seen you before you went back to Korea.”
“Another city? Where?”
Kim Dong-san downed the rest of his beer and speared two sausages with his fork at once. He asked while stuffing them into his mouth.
“Together?”
“Yeah. We were planning to rest together in Miami before coming back. Things are about to get busy soon.”
The casting for “Mirror Match” was in its final stages, and the set was being built. The film preparations were progressing smoothly and quickly.
“Oho.”
Kim Dong-san naturally thought of filming when Geon-woo mentioned getting busy. Looking at Mitchell and Geon-woo sitting side by side, he wondered if they might be working on the same movie.
‘Is that why they’re so close?’
In fact, Kim Dong-san had noticed several strange things since earlier. Both Mitchell and Geon-woo engaged in casual skinship with each other and exchanged affectionate glances. If one of them had been of a different gender, it would have been natural to assume they were lovers. Of course, Kim Dong-san’s imagination had its limits.
‘I guess things are a bit different in America?’
Although his conclusion went in an odd direction, there was no one to correct him.
“Ah, we’re out of alcohol. Just a moment…”
“I’ll get it. I should put more in the fridge,”
Mitchell pressed down on Geon-woo’s shoulder as he tried to stand up. Without being asked, he also cleared away empty bottles and replenished the depleted food.
Geon-woo bit his lip unnecessarily as he watched Mitchell’s retreating figure entering the pantry. Although Mitchell was acting as usual, each of his actions seemed different today.
From pouring wine for him first, to turning his posture completely towards him, resulting in their knees slightly touching, to the thoughtfulness of serving his favorite foods on the plate in front. Even the way he brushed his thigh, pretending to dust off his clothes, felt strangely intimate.
Actions he hadn’t been conscious of before suddenly hit him hard. How could he not be intoxicated by such an affectionate Mitchell? Geon-woo rubbed his face with his hands, trying to hide his increasingly flushed cheeks.
Kim Dong-san was rambling on about something, but it didn’t register in Geon-woo’s ears. He was repeating what he had said for the fifth time anyway, so it didn’t matter whether he listened or not.
He kept saying weird things about how everyone in America was so touchy-feely.
Geon-woo ignored the thoroughly drunk Kim Dong-san and discreetly turned his gaze towards Mitchell. Their eyes met immediately. Mitchell, who had been looking this way for who knows how long, tilted his wine glass without taking his eyes off Geon-woo. As the purple wine decreased, Mitchell’s eyes drew a deeper curve.
