#61
At Han Jiwon’s words that we should get going soon, I nodded and replied that I’d get ready right away.
“Just a moment. I just need to grab my coat and bag.”
“I’ll go ahead and start the car. Take your time coming out.”
I was about to respond when I bit my lips hard. The apron I had tied on while preparing breakfast just wouldn’t come undone.
‘How on earth did this get tied?’
Having to reach behind my back and work by feel alone made it quite difficult. Usually I tied knots that were easy to undo, but today was the result of Jeon Yudam insisting he’d do it for me and getting all excited about it.
As I concentrated all my nerves on my fingertips with a deeply furrowed brow, a shadow gently fell over my head.
“Just a moment, hyung.”
A moist and cozy scent like earth after rain suddenly enveloped me. Jin Woohyeon, who had somehow approached right in front of me, stretched out both arms and gently touched the knot behind my back.
“I’ll do it for you.”
“Uh…”
When I came to my senses, I was practically embraced in his arms. Do people normally do this when tying or untying aprons?
‘There’s no way that’s normal.’
Even someone like me who’s not good at reading these kinds of atmospheres couldn’t miss the intention and goodwill contained in Jin Woohyeon’s actions. And as if to prove my guess was correct, Jin Woohyeon’s eyes looking down at me curved gently with a smile.
“Have fun, hyung.”
He added in a calm voice.
“But don’t have too much fun.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because I’ll get jealous.”
I looked up at Jin Woohyeon with eyes that couldn’t hide my amazement.
When even a little of the laughter left Jin Woohyeon’s face, his characteristic urban coldness stood out prominently. Cold and resolute, seeming to have no connection whatsoever to things like regret or lingering attachment. Should I say he seemed to have a fundamentally different temperature from the indecisive and pathetic Yoo Sanho?
For such a Jin Woohyeon to talk about jealousy.
“That’s strange.”
“Does it make you feel bad?”
“Not that, but…”
After hesitating for a moment, I answered honestly.
“I’ve never thought of myself as someone worth being jealous over. I also thought you wouldn’t care about such trivial things…”
“Ah.”
His fingertips, which had been untying the knot, slowly rubbed the back of my hand, and the hollow part between the bones on the back of my hand.
“I have a lot to say, but to summarize briefly for Sanho hyung who needs to leave soon.”
“Yeah.”
“You’re worth being jealous over. I feel quite uneasy about letting this face out into the world.”
Says the actor who makes a living with his own face.
“You’re right about me not caring about trivial things. I’ve heard that a lot and thought so myself.”
“…”
I suddenly thought that black is supposed to be an achromatic color, neither warm nor cool, but that probably wasn’t right.
A color that could burn this hot couldn’t possibly not be a warm color.
“Because Yoo Sanho isn’t something ‘trivial’ to Jin Woohyeon.”
Jin Woohyeon stepped back. He had apparently finished untying the knot and was holding the apron on his arm.
“Still, I’ll wait nicely. Be careful out there.”
Whatever our relationship was, we were currently filming a program. That meant we could date other people depending on the situation.
‘He doesn’t look like someone who gets jealous though.’
It made me a little happy that he treated me as an attractive person so naturally.
After hurriedly getting ready and going outside the dormitory, Han Jiwon was waiting for me. The car he had brought was a pristine white and sleek SUV. It looked similar to the car Bae Taeseong drives, yet somehow subtly different.
“I hate feeling cramped.”
Noticing that my gaze lingered on the car body for quite a while, he said with amusement in his voice.
“Big cars can carry a lot of stuff too.”
As if to prove his words, the back seat was packed full of luggage. Sitting in the passenger seat, I turned around to look at the boxes and bags piled up like mountains.
“What on earth are you carrying around so much stuff for? Anyone would think you’re about to move.”
“Maybe not moving, but it could be for traveling. I want to be able to just take off anywhere at any time.”
Even though he said that, he didn’t actually seem like someone who would suddenly disappear.
“We should get going now, so shall we sit properly?”
Suddenly Han Jiwon’s body leaned toward me. Flustered by the distance that disappeared in an instant, I ended up freezing stiffly.
If I had to classify it, it was closer to fear than excitement. It’s not that I think badly of him, but Han Jiwon is still an Alpha after all.
“I’m not trying to do anything, so don’t worry.”
Click. At the sound of the seatbelt buckle fastening, I let out the breath I’d been holding.
“It would be easier to just think of today as having fun all day long.”
Hearing that, I carefully asked a question.
“How did you feel when Chan said he chose you?”
Han Jiwon’s cheerful voice continued.
“I thought it was a good opportunity. After all, the matching was successful, right? I wanted to go out with you, and Taeseong knew that so he nominated you for me.”
“A good opportunity…”
“Yeah. To look at my feelings in more detailed meaning and gauge how strong they are, I need to directly encounter various situations.”
He really is calm and mature. I was thinking that when—
“But it is pretty annoying.”
“Annoy… what did you say?”
The nuance of the words that came from his pretty face was so incongruous. I turned to look at him with wide eyes.
“The fact that I’m the rival with the least sense of tension—how could that not be annoying? It feels like being ignored as an Alpha.”
Han Jiwon’s smiling face was truly beautiful, and exactly that scary.
“Ah. Lee Chan, really…”
“…”
“Of course I won’t use you to restore my pride, so don’t worry, Sanho.”
“I know. I know you’re not that kind of person, hyung.”
“Still, let’s have fun.”
I nodded with a bright smile.
“Sounds good. Where are we going?”
He gently turned the steering wheel and asked back.
“Do you like movies?”
* * *
When he said we were going to see a movie, I thought we’d go to a movie theater, but the place he brought me to was some residential-commercial officetel.
“Is this your place, hyung?”
“No. I rented it. It’s like a kind of space rental. Since we need to film too, I thought this would be more convenient.”
The studio-like, cozily decorated one-room was fully prepared for comfortable movie watching.
“How did you know about a place like this?”
“Taeseong hates crowded places. I’m not too fond of jostling around in crowds either.”
Han Jiwon shrugged and asked.
“Do you have a favorite genre? Let’s watch something you like.”
“Uh…”
Instead of answering right away, I glanced at him to gauge his reaction.
“Is there anything you can’t watch?”
“Me? I think I watch most things. As long as it’s not too disgusting. Why?”
“No, it’s just…”
After hemming and hawing for a while, I said timidly.
“I watch zombie movies a lot. Or dystopian fantasy.”
Movies with hopeless backgrounds or things that can’t die even when they should, crawling around everywhere, naturally tend to be polarizing. So it was a bit awkward to recommend my taste anywhere. The other person might not like it.
“Really? Let’s see what there is.”
However, Han Jiwon operated the remote with an unconcerned attitude and began browsing through the OTT site. It was Dwing, the affiliated site of DBS where ‘Can Love Be Transferred Too?’ would air.
“Should we pick from foreign movies… Oh, how about this? It’s a series. Have you seen it? It’s based on a novel.”
“I only saw the first one in theaters. I stopped watching the second one partway through.”
“I haven’t seen it. Should we watch the second one then?”
That movie really has zombies in the second part. I know the content because I read the original novel all the way through, and a popular supporting character even dies after getting infected with a virus.
“You don’t have to force yourself. I like dystopian stuff too. I’ve been meaning to watch it sometime.”
“Sounds good.”
I finally burst into laughter and nodded.
“Let’s watch it together.”
After popping microwave popcorn and opening a can of cola, we settled on the plush sofa and the movie began.
A ruined city destroyed by war and disaster. The protagonist and their companions began earnestly struggling to survive while avoiding zombies infected with a virus.
Watching the beginning, I realized why I had stopped watching the second part. The movie was quite boring. After about 20 minutes, the scene transitions became slow, and sections that dragged on without much progress gradually appeared.
I wasn’t the only one who thought so—a bored expression began to gradually appear on Han Jiwon’s face as well.
Then finally, with the screen in front of us, our gazes met directly.
“Sanho.”
He asked with a slightly mischievous smile.
“What do you think would happen if someone you love became a zombie?”
It was an attitude of suggesting we chat since the movie was boring.
“Do you think you could kill them?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
