#049
‘Hm? It feels like a cool breeze is blowing from somewhere.’
Feeling the coolness in his sleep, Shin Gihyeon blinked and opened his eyes faintly. Then, seeing the face in front of him, he unconsciously let out a scream, “Wah!”
“My ears hurt, you little brat!”
It was someone he had briefly become acquainted with a few months ago when he went in looking for bandages and disinfectant.
“Who… who. Ah, Grandma Kyeong-i. Hello.”
“Why are you sleeping all sweaty? Is the air conditioner just for decoration?”
Shin Gihyeon hurriedly sat up and greeted her without even having time to collect himself. Grandma Kyeong-i looked around and asked him.
“Our dummy went out again, didn’t he?”
“Yes… yes. He said he was going to the apiary for a bit.”
“Tsk tsk, coming back after so long and not even playing with grandma. He’s all grown up now!?”
Even a healthy twenty-five-year-old adult man was no different from a baby to a grandmother approaching eighty.
She naturally headed straight to the kitchen. Since Cheolsu was using this as his hideout every weekend, there were several side dishes he had brought from his family’s side dish shop.
Still not satisfied, she added the side dishes she had brought and told Shin Gihyeon.
“When the kid comes back later, use these to prepare dinner.”
“We could cook for ourselves… thank you.”
“What? Do all Seoul bachelors know how to cook well? Only our kid is a dummy, a dummy.”
Shin Gihyeon thought about the intention behind the question. Seoul bachelor… The Seoul bachelor Grandma Kyeong-i had seen was sunbae-nim, or perhaps Grace?
The thought that it was definitely sunbae-nim dominated his mind.
“That guy even made bread with a rice cooker, is that possible for you too?”
“…If there’s a recipe, wouldn’t it be possible? But sunbae-nim made bread too? It wasn’t shown on the broadcast.”
“That kid begged him to make it again. That, that… his habits just got worse. Ugh, tsk.”
Yeonwoo asked him to make bread? And sunbae-nim actually made it for him? In such a backward environment without even an oven? He’s really fallen hard.
Grandma Kyeong-i patted the shoulder of Shin Gihyeon, who was lost in thought.
“You must be having a hard time too, appearing on broadcasts?”
“Ah, I’m originally a celebrity…”
“What!? You’re someone who originally appears on TV?”
“Yes.”
…Do I not look like one?
“Oh my. I thought for sure you were a friend who came from Seoul to visit our kid. So you came to film last time too?”
“Yes.”
“Goodness. Then last time…”
Shin Gihyeon became Grandma Kyeong-i’s conversation partner for quite a while. She naturally made instant coffee and drank it as if it were her own house, showing no intention of leaving.
“Hyung-ah is back.”
In the middle of this, at the welcome sound of the front door opening, Shin Gihyeon jumped up and went to greet Yeonwoo.
“Why are you just getting back now?”
“I chatted a bit at Grandpa Beom’s store. Were there any strange people?”
“What? Are you calling grandma a strange person right now?”
“Oh, grandma’s here.”
Yeonwoo, who had been taking off his shoes, stopped and looked ahead. Then he immediately ran to grandma and hugged her tightly.
“Ow ow, you’re heavy, you brat! Won’t you let go?”
“I just went to the house across the street but you weren’t there, but you were here. I missed you.”
“Hey, take off your shoes before coming in.”
“It’s my house, what does it matter?”
He didn’t give in to Shin Gihyeon’s nagging. If there was a priority to things, welcoming Grandma Kyeong-i came before taking off shoes.
“Grandma, eat dinner with us before you go.”
“I’m going to eat at Suni’s place. You guys figure out your own food! And you should take off your shoes before coming in! What kind of dummy tracks dirt all over the house? Geez, you brat.”
Even when welcomed, she said no. Yeonwoo grumbled as he kicked off his shoes, but when he saw Grandma Kyeong-i’s eyes widen, he pouted and neatly arranged them.
“It’s my house, why…”
‘Cute.’
Shin Gihyeon, emboldened, pointed to the dirt-covered floor and gave orders.
“Clean this too.”
“Leave it, I’ll clean it later.”
“Hey!”
“…Okay, okay. I’ll do it. I just have to do it, right?”
At Grandma Kyeong-i’s single word, he sulked and silently went to get a rag. Though he had borrowed grandma’s power, it was one of the few moments Shin Gihyeon had won against Yeonwoo.
“You’re leaving already? I told you to eat dinner before going.”
Yeonwoo held onto her as she prepared to leave.
“I’m eating with Suni. You eat quickly too and go to sleep early.”
Having taken the bus to the countryside early in the morning, walked around the village, and worked at the apiary, the moon was already rising.
“Yes, see you tomorrow.”
“Get home safely.”
Shin Gihyeon glanced at Yeonwoo’s drooping shoulders.
There was a reason Grandma Kyeong-i had stayed here, even chatting with him.
Yeonwoo might have felt disappointed that she was leaving right after he arrived, but grandma had waited for him for an hour and a half.
‘He’s loved.’
They finished the day satisfyingly with the side dishes Grandma Kyeong-i had given them. Shin Gihyeon tapped Yeonwoo, who kept looking at his phone.
“What have you been doing since earlier?”
“There’s no reply.”
“Reply?”
“He read it though. The filming should be over by now too.”
There was no reply from Kang Dojun. The conversation had ended with the photo Yeonwoo sent earlier.
“It’s fine. He must be busy.”
“I guess so.”
This was strange. It had never been like this before. It was the first time, so it felt awkward and unfamiliar. Yeonwoo let out a short sigh and decided to focus his mind elsewhere, sensing he might spend the whole night clutching his phone.
He turned off his phone completely to take his eyes off it. He chose this drastic measure to restrain himself since he couldn’t stop checking every time it vibrated.
“But where do I sleep?”
“You slept earlier.”
“That was a nap.”
Speaking in a sulky voice to Shin Gihyeon who was looking for a place to sleep, something seemed to occur to him as his black eyes sparkled.
There was a ritual-like event he did when friends came to visit his house. He couldn’t do it last time because they were filming, but if you couldn’t do something yesterday, you could do it today.
“Let’s play games!”
Shin Gihyeon asked nervously.
“…Sleep?”
“I can sleep tomorrow.”
Would you die from not sleeping for one day? If you can’t sleep today, you can sleep tomorrow!
Shin Gihyeon’s long night began.
* * *
“Good work! Sunbae-nim, will you come to the after-party?”
After filming ended, a fellow actor asked Kang Dojun. He would refuse as usual. Expecting the answer in advance, he asked without much expectation.
Kang Dojun drooped his eyebrows before answering.
“That sounds good.”
“Yes. Then I’ll see you at the next filming… what?”
“Should I go to *** Restaurant?”
“Uh… yes.”
“Then I’ll see you later.”
The fellow actor watched Kang Dojun leisurely get into his SUV and disappear. Another colleague tapped his back.
“Rejected again today?”
“…He said he’s coming.”
“Really, would it kill him to come once? He’s really showing off how expensive he is.”
“He said he’s coming.”
“Does he think he’s on a different level from us? …Huh? He’s coming?”
Who? Kang Dojun? To an after-party?
“Really going to *** Restaurant?”
“Yeah.”
Park Daeho looked at Kang Dojun with a puzzled expression.
“What’s gotten into you?”
“What would I do if I went home?”
Yeonwoo isn’t even there. Just having spent a few weeks together, the silence that would greet him at home already felt awkward. He already couldn’t adjust to the house without him.
He turned his gaze to the darkened window outside.
“You’re going to drink too?”
“I suppose so.”
That’s what after-parties are for.
Park Daeho nodded.
‘Right, Dojun needs to socialize too.’
Life wasn’t over just because you made good money. Since humans are social animals, they need to form relationships with various people, but Kang Dojun was clumsy at that.
He used to reluctantly go out when he was a rookie, but once he made a name for himself as an actor to some degree, thinking he could refuse now, he completely cut off his attendance.
That’s why Park Daeho liked Kang Dojun’s current behavior.
‘Drink to your heart’s content, I’ll make sure to get you home safely.’
As long as he didn’t cause problems, what couldn’t he do? He wore a proud smile while driving.
“What do you usually do on holidays?”
“Nothing different from others.”
“How much can you drink?”
“I don’t like alcohol, so I haven’t tested it.”
The fellow actors’ questions focused on Kang Dojun. He was called a unicorn because he was rarely seen at company dinners.
Even actors who had cursed him behind his back for being pretentious quietly asked questions they were curious about, testing the waters at this rare opportunity.
The man they encountered at the dinner table wasn’t pretentious, nor did he act badly. He personally got utensils and poured water for others. He even grilled meat.
He also answered their questions earnestly without finding them annoying or ignoring them.
When he thought about it, it wasn’t particularly surprising. He had never acted high and mighty on set either and was always polite to others.
‘He might not like company dinners. He said he doesn’t like alcohol either.’
He captured his fellow actors’ hearts with small but thoughtful actions. They even felt sorry for consistently inviting him to drinking sessions.
Among them, one actor who had been hesitating to ask a question poured alcohol into Kang Dojun’s glass and spoke up.
“I’ve been enjoying the variety show you appeared in recently. That… Yeonwoo-ssi? You seemed really close on screen. Do you still keep in touch?”
Occasionally on SNS, sighting reports would be posted. They might think it was strange to be curious about such things, but this was about ‘that’ Kang Dojun’s recent status.
What kind of answer would he give? Everyone’s gaze focused intently on him.
“Why are you curious about that?”
…Huh. They hadn’t expected this reaction.
With his gorgeous and sharp appearance, he wasn’t easy to approach, and when his sharp behavior was added to it, a sudden distance was created.
The questioner swallowed nervously.
“Ah… that, it was just curiosity! Haha. It’s rude to ask about private life, right? I’m sorry.”
Kang Dojun suddenly came to his senses at his apology.
He unconsciously became sensitive about anything related to Yeonwoo. The degree had worsened since he became aware that he liked him.
While telling himself to put it away, put it away, he was stuck, hesitating this way and that. It was pathetic.
“No. I was being oversensitive. I’m sorry.”
Kang Dojun offered an apology and left his seat with the excuse of getting some air because he had drunk too much.
He also appropriately responded to Park Daeho’s questioning look from another table about where he was going.
The muggy air of a midsummer night enveloped him. He unnecessarily took out his phone and ruminated over the texts he had exchanged with Yeonwoo.
The conversation had ended with the photo Yeonwoo sent.
‘I should have replied.’
He scrolled up to read through all their previous conversations. Most of the time, he had asked the questions. What are you doing today? Did you eat? Such trivial things.
It wouldn’t kill him to not send messages for a day, but seeing the record of daily messages, a chuckle escaped.
After repeatedly turning the screen on and off, he input the eleven-digit number he had memorized on the keypad.
The customer’s phone is turned off, so after the beep…
His stomach felt acidic. Though he had never put a cigarette to his mouth in his life, his throat felt blocked as if he had choked on something. His head felt filled with acrid smoke.
Unrequited love was truly difficult. Even while resolving to give up, he would desperately run his happiness circuit to find hope even in places where there was no possibility.
Even at the other person’s faint breath, he would be at a loss and float around in the air like a feather.
That feather sometimes soared endlessly high into the sky, and sometimes plummeted down below ground, deep underground, even below that.
“Looks like you’re having fun.”
It’s all pointless. Everything. Even these worries.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
