#008
While focusing on the video flowing from the camera and wondering about the next scene, the screen suddenly went black.
“Ah! Yeonwoo-ssi, you’re here?”
“Yes, what were you watching?”
“Oh, it’s nothing special. More importantly, your hair… is it okay?”
Han Taegu made an awkward expression and spoke to Yeonwoo in a roundabout way. He seemed to be holding back laughter.
It would have been natural to be a little curious and wonder about it, but Yeonwoo was someone who had absolutely no interest in things that didn’t interest him from the start. He quickly turned his gaze elsewhere.
After blocking the laughter that kept trying to escape at the sight of Yeonwoo’s back in the screen, Kang Dojun asked Yeonwoo, who kept touching his hair as if the shortened length felt unfamiliar.
“How is it? Do you like it?”
“It’s a bit short…”
At the assessment that it was short, Kang Dojun pulled Yeonwoo’s bangs to check the length.
With his gentle eyes and white, soft face where you could almost see fine hair, his cute impression and pretty eyebrow shape, he had thought it wouldn’t be bad to show them off a little by cutting it short, but he wondered if it had been a mistake.
Kang Dojun frowned his handsome eyebrows and examined Yeonwoo as if evaluating a profound work of art. No matter how he looked at it, he didn’t think it was short—it was just cute.
“Is it very short?”
“Well, considering it’ll get hot soon, it’s just right. Thank you. Hyung, you’re good with your hands.”
At Yeonwoo’s sincere praise, Kang Dojun unnecessarily ruffled his well-groomed hair. Yeonwoo just shook his head once out of habit.
“Oh right, hyung. Please send me the photos I took earlier.”
“Sure. Give me your number.”
Kang Dojun held out his phone. Yeonwoo took the phone, pressed his number firmly, and handed it back.
“I’ll delete hyung’s number once I receive all the photos.”
“Delete?”
“Yes, I won’t tell anyone your number and I won’t contact you, so don’t worry too much.”
Contact… Kang Dojun made a displeased expression as if something bothered him. Though they had only met for two days, he had thought of him as a cute younger brother, but that younger brother had drawn a line with him first.
Of course, it was probably considerate of his position, but having a line drawn wasn’t a very pleasant feeling.
“Don’t delete it. You can contact me.”
“Really?”
Joy showed in Yeonwoo’s black pupils.
‘Wow, I got an actor’s number.’
The thought that came to his mind was extremely simple.
“Hyung, I’ll just send you survival reports. I’ll only contact you once a year so I don’t bother you.”
“…Oh, okay.”
Kang Dojun answered with a somewhat lukewarm response.
‘It wouldn’t matter if you did it often.’
Well, but the other person was simple Yeonwoo. After filming ended, he would surely forget what he said and contact him calling “hyung, hyung.”
It would be fun to tease him then by saying, “Didn’t you say only once a year?”
“Hyung, what do you want for dinner?”
“Well… the eggs were delicious at lunch. Can’t you bring some more?”
“Ah, that’s…”
Yeonwoo seemed to flinch a little. His gaze also became a bit scattered, so he seemed to be pondering what answer to give.
“Hmm? Can’t you?”
Kang Dojun smiled playfully and tapped Yeonwoo’s back of the hand teasingly.
When those sharp eyes that boasted graceful curves curved into rounds toward him, even Yeonwoo couldn’t easily refuse.
“…It’s impossible today, but next time, I’ll bring some next time.”
* * *
“Yeonwoo, you said there’s a big mart in the next village, right?”
“Yes.”
“I think we need to go there.”
“Why?”
Because the refrigerator was completely empty. Kang Dojun silently showed him the inside of the refrigerator.
“We should go grocery shopping for dinner, right?”
“We just need rice. I’ll get the side dishes.”
Yeonwoo naturally planned to get side dishes from the village residents.
“We can’t mooch off them every day. Let’s go to the mart while we’re at it.”
He heard a small mutter from behind saying “But I have been mooching every day…” but he deliberately ignored it and prepared to go out.
He saw Yeonwoo also come out and hurriedly put on his shoes. They went outside toward the car lent by the production team.
“Do you have a license?”
“Yes.”
“Then do you want to drive?”
“I’ll do that.”
He entrusted the driving to Yeonwoo, who knew the way to the mart, and got in the passenger seat to fasten his seatbelt. However, Yeonwoo just sat still in the driver’s seat without any intention of starting.
“Did you leave something behind?”
To Kang Dojun’s question, Yeonwoo also answered with a question. It was a slightly trembling voice.
“Hyung, um… the accelerator is on the right side, right?”
“…You said you have a license?”
“I do have a license.”
A drawer license he got after graduating high school. Yeonwoo looked at Kang Dojun with shaking pupils. Kang Dojun hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt.
“Get out, I’ll drive. Just tell me the directions.”
“That’s probably better, right?”
Yeonwoo jumped out of the driver’s seat as if he had been waiting for this.
In the end, Kang Dojun ended up driving, and they used the navigation to get to the mart. Yeonwoo clenched and unclenched his palms while letting out exclamations.
“Phew, I just held the steering wheel for a moment, but I’m sweating like crazy. I guess driving really isn’t for me.”
Kang Dojun let out a deflated laugh.
“You should have said you couldn’t do it from the start. Then I wouldn’t have asked you to.”
“I thought I could do it if I was pressed to.”
“Anything?”
“Yes.”
He glanced at Yeonwoo, who was wiping his hands on his pants in amazement. It was obvious without looking. He had probably lived his entire life that way.
And somehow, he had managed. Whether it was a bad result or a good result.
Kang Dojun thought that was Yeonwoo’s charm. Though they hadn’t even met for a week, he was like a cute younger brother. He didn’t want to make him lose that charm.
It was a very natural emotion that any human would feel.
It was the same emotion as not wanting to teach dirty things to an innocent child, not wanting to splash filth on a pure white and clean wall, and not wanting to force evil upon good.
Probably all the elders in the village had the same thoughts as him.
That’s why they found the kid so endearing, giving him side dishes every day, taking care of him, and all the teasing they did was filled with affection.
“If there’s anything you can’t do, tell me. I’ll do it for you.”
So this meant: continue living like that. Confident, innocent, outgoing, and as a pure child who doesn’t know the ways of the world.
“Wow, really? Then the bathroom light seems like it’s about to burn out. Could hyung fix it for me?”
“Pfft, sure.”
And the child naturally accepted their affection.
While laughing and chatting, they arrived at their destination before they knew it. Kang Dojun turned on the blinker and asked.
“Is this the right place?”
“Yes, this is it. But hyung, what are you going to buy?”
“What do you want for dinner?”
Hmm, Yeonwoo let out a low groan and thought deeply before saying.
“How about pork belly?”
“Good. What else?”
“I want to choose when we get there.”
“Let’s do that.”
They got out of the car and entered the mart. Though it was called a big mart, it was big compared to the village where Yeonwoo lived. There were no carts, only shopping baskets arranged.
Kang Dojun grabbed a shopping basket and followed Yeonwoo, who had excitedly run ahead first, thrilled by the mart after a long time.
“Hyung, hyung. Let’s buy this too.”
“Okay.”
“Do you like this snack?”
“Put it in.”
“This one’s delicious too.”
“That too.”
As various items were stacked up by Yeonwoo’s hands, there was no more space in the shopping basket Kang Dojun was holding. They couldn’t even put in the main menu for dinner. Yeonwoo shopped while carrying snacks that wouldn’t fit in the basket in his arms.
After choosing meat, mushrooms, pickled radish, and the bathroom light bulb and other necessities, they headed to the checkout.
Yeonwoo naturally tried to pay by taking out crumpled bills from his pocket, but it was thwarted when Kang Dojun handed his card to the employee.
“I was going to pay.”
“The PD gave it to me. It’s a corporate card.”
“Huh, really?”
Yeonwoo looked down sadly. He was filled with regret that he should have bought more if he had known.
“Is there anything else you want to buy? Go get it, I’ll wait.”
Kang Dojun understood his feelings well. Yeonwoo ran to the snack section, grabbed a few more items, and brought them to the checkout.
He wanted to buy alcohol, but he decided to try his best to refrain, remembering Kang Dojun’s words on the first day: “Alcohol during filming is a bit…”
* * *
After returning home, eating a late dinner, and finishing his shower, Kang Dojun lay on his blanket and organized tomorrow’s tasks in his head.
‘Right, the photos.’
He had promised to send photos to Yeonwoo. He fiddled with his phone and checked his gallery.
Photos taken with him, photos taken with Grandpa Jongsu, and among them were plenty of photos whose subject was unclear.
As he tapped the screen to flip through them, he found several photos that made him frown.
‘Why on earth did he take photos of wasp corpses?’
He could see Yeonwoo making a V-sign next to a wasp corpse, smiling innocently. His incomprehensible antics now made him laugh first.
After looking through the rest of the photos, he looked for Yeonwoo’s contact information that he had saved to send the photos.
[Lee Yeonwoo. 25. Beekeeper]
It wasn’t hard to find. It was a very simple self-introduction saving method.
Kang Dojun unconsciously raised the corners of his mouth, then suddenly wondered if he might have saved himself as “Kang Dojun. 27. Actor” and felt a bit choked up.
Then he thought, so what if he saved it like that? and tried to deny it before sending the photos. As soon as he sent the photos, the number 1 next to it immediately disappeared and a reply came.
It was a very Yeonwoo-like emoticon of a bee with heart-shaped eyes saying thank you.
He touched Yeonwoo’s name to check his profile picture. Unlike taking many photos, his profile was the same basic background as his own.
‘Well, he doesn’t seem like he’d be interested in this kind of thing.’
Kang Dojun was suddenly startled. Without realizing it, he had been evaluating Yeonwoo and finding him cute. It was a very bewildering emotion.
[Lee Yeonwoo. 25. Beekeeper]
He stared blankly at the saved contact information and felt his mood sink as if a line had been drawn for no reason. He erased the name field and wrote something new.
[Younger brother]
Since they had only met for two days, the term “younger brother” would still feel unfamiliar.
Yeonwoo. He reflected on his name. Was it a bit stiff…?
It felt too early to call him younger brother, and somehow awkward to call him Yeonwoo.
[Yeonwoo]
Just two characters of his name. Not a title that would suggest a close relationship, but not distant either.
Yes, this relationship seemed appropriate for now.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
