#88
“Ugh, my head…”
The next morning, the first things to greet me when I came to my senses were a headache and thirst.
‘I drank more than I thought.’
Besides the whiskey I had drunk while exchanging questions, I had quite a bit to drink while talking with others and going with the atmosphere. Because soju, beer, and finally even Hallabong makgeolli made an appearance, I ended up mixing all kinds of alcohol.
Even after forcing myself to get up and wash, I felt somehow dazed. As I stood blankly in the hallway with my mind not fully present, Bae Taeseong, who was passing by, spotted me and strode over.
“Good grief. Anyone who saw you would think you drank all the alcohol yesterday.”
In fact, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Bae Taeseong and Han Jiwon had drunk half the whiskey yesterday. Especially at the end, the two were engaged in a battle of wills, going back and forth, so it was literally gone in an instant.
Bae Taeseong took the towel I was holding and dried my wet hair. I quietly accepted his touch and asked,
“Hyung, you drank that much but you’re okay?”
“This much doesn’t even register with my liver.”
“Amazing…”
“It’s not like being good at drinking is something to brag about. It’s common for athletes to drink by the case together.”
Bae Taeseong, who added like a nagging remark that I shouldn’t drink like that, stretched his body over the stair railing and raised his voice.
“Jin Woohyeon. Heat up some soup. Sanho’s awake.”
“Soup?”
“He bought some and made it, saying your stomach would be upset. Really, such devotion…”
Bae Taeseong, who had been looking at me quietly, added,
“That’s what it takes to shake your heart.”
“……”
“Don’t misunderstand. Rather than jealousy, it’s… well, I don’t know.”
He pondered for a moment and then hummed thoughtfully.
“Let’s call it relief. If I had to express it, that’s what it is.”
“Relief?”
“As you know, it was a first meeting that could be misunderstood.”
“Misunderstanding… ah.”
Only then did I realize why Bae Taeseong’s reaction had been subtle when Jin Woohyeon first joined. When I had returned from spending my heat cycle outside, I had first met Jin Woohyeon with traces of pheromones practically saturating my entire body.
Since I hadn’t told him exactly what had happened, it wasn’t strange for him to think suspiciously.
“I don’t think badly of it now.”
Bae Taeseong gestured toward the stairs, suggesting we go down.
“Since you seem to have a harder time because he’s here, it worked out well instead.”
When I looked up at him quietly, Bae Taeseong tilted his head.
“Why? What? Did I say something I shouldn’t have?”
“No…”
When I entered the dining room, there were others besides me who needed hangover relief. Hwang Yeonwoo and Kim Sehyeong, sitting side by side, were eating with their noses practically buried in their soup bowls.
“Wow, this is good.”
Hwang Yeonwoo, who had cleanly finished every last drop, sighed deeply saying he could live now.
“I thought only Sanho hyung was good at cooking, but Woohyeon hyung is also a master. Don’t you two have any thoughts about going out and doing cooking shows together?”
Then Jin Woohyeon pushed the freshly made fried egg in front of me and answered,
“Isn’t it too cruel to tell someone whose job is cooking to stand in the kitchen again after work? If we’re going to do it, I’ll do it alone.”
“That’s what he says, Sanho hyung. What do you think?”
I stared at Jin Woohyeon with a spoon in my mouth. Jin Woohyeon spoke faster than I could ask if he really planned to do that after leaving here.
“I think it’s just one more thing added to the hundred things we could do together. We’ll do it if you want, or not if you don’t.”
Jin Woohyeon again naturally handed the choice to me, as if what I wanted was the core of our relationship.
Looking at him like that, I would realize that what I expected through him wasn’t just simple romance.
I wanted to go to a wider world through Jin Woohyeon. He liked me and was devoted enough that he would surely give me more than I hoped for.
However, I didn’t want to stop there. Because I knew how vain and unfair one-sided relationships were. So just as Jin Woohyeon’s affection had been to me, I hoped my sincerity would also become support and healing for him.
You lead me, I walk alongside you, and someday I pull you along. Could I live such warm days with you like that?
After soothing my stomach with warm soup, I felt much more alive. However, the headache would need a little more time to disappear.
When I frowned and rubbed my temples firmly, Bae Taeseong, who was pouring hot water into a mug, asked,
“Still have a headache?”
Jin Woohyeon touched my forehead and asked in a serious tone,
“What should we do? The painkiller just ran out from the emergency medicine. Want to go upstairs and sleep a bit more after eating? I’ll go to the pharmacy in the meantime.”
“It’s not that bad. Usually it gets better after morning passes. And we’re all supposed to go out together in the afternoon anyway. If you’re going, let’s go together.”
There was no dating schedule today, but that didn’t mean we wouldn’t do anything. Around noon there was an individual interview schedule, and we had decided to eat lunch together near the sea. After that, we had been told we could freely have conversations with whoever we wanted, so I had also planned to find a suitable cafe with Jin Woohyeon.
‘Only two days left until the final decision.’
My heart was already firm, so there was no room for worry. Yet somehow, some inexplicably unsettled feeling remained.
While I was lost in thought, unable to understand the reason for this ambiguous feeling lodged around my solar plexus, Kim Sehyeong, who had finished eating, asked Bae Taeseong,
“But what are you doing, hyung?”
Bae Taeseong stirred the contents of his mug with a spoon.
“Making a hangover relief drink. Honey tea.”
“You said you don’t have a hangover, hyung.”
“Yeah. I don’t have a hangover.”
“Then why are you making hangover relief?”
“Because there’s a hangover?”
“No, you just said you don’t have a hangover.”
Hwang Yeonwoo bumped Kim Sehyeong’s shoulder with his own and laughed.
“The subject needs to change. Bae Taeseong hyung doesn’t have a hangover, but Han Jiwon hyung does have a hangover, like that.”
“Ah.”
When everyone sitting at the table, including me, looked at Bae Taeseong, he ruffled his hair with his rough hands and said gruffly,
“Why? Is there a problem? I fed him half of it, so I’m trying to take responsibility.”
“There isn’t…”
“If you look closely, that hyung is also secretly affectionate.”
“The problem is he goes back and forth. Affectionate, then fighting, then affectionate, then fighting.”
Jin Woohyeon giggled and asked,
“Instead of just taking responsibility for the hangover, wouldn’t taking responsibility for Jiwon hyung be good too?”
“That’s not good.”
Bae Taeseong replied while lifting his mug.
“Regardless of having confidence to meet again, we’ve broken up twice. Both times Han Jiwon said let’s break up. So what more am I supposed to take responsibility for?”
Last night, Choi Eungi’s words about having no intention of meeting again naturally came to mind. He had also said that Jeon Yudam needed responsibility.
Then did that mean Bae Taeseong was just waiting for Han Jiwon to extend his hand to him?
“Han Jiwon needs faith and conviction, and I need regulations and distinctions.”
It was amazing. Bae Taeseong had always believed that emotions were sufficient with faith and conviction, and Han Jiwon had always thought he needed to check and distinguish his feelings in very detailed units.
The two people who had always fought because of that now had to face their own hearts according to the way of the other person they had never been able to understand.
I thought while watching the back of Bae Taeseong returning to his room with slightly cooled honey tea. Perhaps through this incident, the two might become much closer than before.
‘I don’t know about getting back together…’
At least they would be able to understand each other’s ways better. Whether they broke up or not, it was fortunate for two people who cherished each other.
* * *
My prediction that I’d be fine by afternoon was spectacularly wrong. The headache, not that severe but just enough to get on my nerves, continued until midday.
Eventually, Jin Woohyeon took me to a small private cafe and said he would go buy medicine.
“This place brings coffee directly to you, so sit here and wait. I’ll buy medicine on my way back from the interview.”
Gentle hands lightly brushed my forehead and cheek before falling away.
“I’ll be back soon.”
“Take your time.”
I lightly grasped his hand and let it go while smiling.
“The ocean view is nice and the atmosphere is good, so waiting won’t be boring. How did you know about a place like this?”
“I asked my manager hyung. I said I was going with hyung and asked if there were any places he could recommend. Then he went around the area and scouted out a good place for us.”
“…Your manager is in Jeju Island too?”
Do celebrities normally have managers following them around like that? If so, it seemed like he hadn’t come to Fukuoka. Similarly, An Lei, who should have an agency, also seemed to be going around alone.
“Not really. He apparently came down to Jeju Island briefly for work.”
Since the individual interview time was approaching, we couldn’t continue the conversation. Even though we knew he would return, the two of us exchanged glances full of regret.
“I’ll be back, hyung.”
“Take your time.”
After he left the cafe, the yuzu tea I had ordered came out. The face of the employee about to get off work was very bright.
“Oh? The owner came personally. I thought Yuji unni would come out instead since the owner caught a cold.”
“It was manageable to work, so I told Yuji to rest.”
“But your voice is completely gone…”
It was the moment when I felt the hoarse voice coming from somewhere was familiar.
“Yoo Sanho-ssi.”
A man with an irritable impression sat across from me, then took out a business card from his inner pocket and handed it to me.
“I’m Jin Woohyeon’s manager. Please spare me some time.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
