#Dating Novice (10)
“Hello, this is Lee Tae-in.”
Tae-in lowered his voice politely as he started the broadcast. His greeting, which began more naturally than expected, wasn’t intimidating.
“As I mentioned, today I’ll just be taking some light questions. With my friend.”
With those words, Tae-in glanced at Ha-min and gave a small nod. It meant he should look at the camera and introduce himself. Ha-min hesitated for a moment, not knowing where to look, then followed Tae-in’s eye signal, stood up, and bowed at a 90-degree angle.
“Ah, hello. I’m Song… Ha-min. N-nice to meet you.”
Not knowing how to properly introduce himself, he awkwardly blurted out words and clapped his hands a couple of times in a naive manner. Tae-in smiled slightly and officially began the broadcast.
“Wow, over 30,000 people have already joined. Did you all come to see my friend? When I did this alone last time, I don’t think this many people came—”
Tae-in continued his commentary with a playful smile and relaxed demeanor. Seeing how he didn’t hesitate or falter at all reminded Ha-min that he was indeed Tae-rim’s brother. His competent appearance in front of others, not awkward at all, seemed different from his usual casual self.
So this is what it takes to do internet broadcasts… Though Ha-min did watch Tae-in’s broadcasts, he wasn’t very interested in social media, so he only watched the first few times and didn’t really know Tae-in’s broadcasting concept. He had thought Tae-in was always playful and comfortable as usual, but he was actually more calm and mature during broadcasts.
“Ah, there are too many questions to choose from. ‘Tae-in, you’re so handsome’… Thank you. And… ‘Song Ha-min, why is your name Song Ha-min?’ they ask.”
As Tae-in read the comments and passed them along nonchalantly, Ha-min couldn’t adapt and froze like a machine that had stopped loading, blurting out whatever came to mind.
“Thank… thank you. My mother gave me that name…”
Not sure what was strange about the name “Song Ha-min,” but thinking it was some kind of compliment, he answered randomly. Since Tae-in would subtly nudge his arm whenever he needed to respond, Ha-min tried to react quickly. His face felt so hot he thought he might go crazy.
“Everyone seems curious about my friend, so I specially invited him just for today. This is probably the first and last time, as he’s uncomfortable with this kind of setting. Even today, I had to beg him to come. So please refrain from rude comments or crossing any lines.”
Tae-in continued speaking gently and made a polite request. Immediately, comments flooded in saying “Tae-in has a nice voice too.” Tae-in’s professional demeanor—neither too excited nor frivolous—was impressive.
“Since we’re friends, we’ll speak casually to each other, so please understand that too. This isn’t an official broadcast, so being too formal would feel awkward.”
While Tae-in continued his commentary with practiced skill, Ha-min sat stiffly, focusing only on the camera screen. There was also a laptop beside them showing their image, and the chat window on the screen was scrolling up rapidly.
“Hmm, the questions are coming in too fast to choose… Ah, they’re asking how long we’ve been friends… Let’s see. How old were we?”
Tae-in read the comment and naturally passed the question to Ha-min. Ha-min thought for a moment with a rigid face.
“Since elementary school… sir.”
Seeing him answer formally as if presenting to a professor, Tae-in smiled slightly and touched his shoulder, telling him to relax.
“I saw in a video that you seem close with Tae-in’s brother as well. Are the three of you close?”
Tae-in continued choosing questions and reading them calmly. Pretending to think, he then answered composedly.
“Rather than the three of us being close, my brother was very fond of Ha-min. Sometimes unusually so.”
Startled by his answer, Ha-min discreetly pushed Tae-in’s back so it wouldn’t be visible. He gave Tae-in a look as if asking why he had to say such unnecessary things.
“Now you read one.”
When Tae-in naturally turned the laptop toward him and made the suggestion, Ha-min slightly shook his head with a stiff face. “Hmzzmrr.” As he whispered quietly like a ventriloquist, Tae-in’s artificial smile grew even deeper.
Finally, pressured, Ha-min carefully watched the rapidly scrolling comments. Most were compliments like “handsome,” “cool,” but there were also several pointed questions. Comments about whether the watch photos on Instagram were couple watches, or that they had seen him with Tae-rim on the street—there were many comments linking him with Tae-rim. Since there were even comments that seemed to have closely observed him and Tae-rim more than he expected, Ha-min couldn’t hide his surprised face, and his pupils trembled.
Seeing Ha-min freeze up, Tae-in skillfully intervened again.
“There are so many comments that my friend seems to have frozen. Let me read again. Hmm… Ah, ‘Do you have a girlfriend/boyfriend?'”
Tae-in smiled brightly and looked at Ha-min’s profile. Hit by such a direct question, Ha-min unconsciously hid his arm with the wristwatch behind his back and slightly shook his head.
“…Uh, no… I don’t.”
It was Tae-in who was startled by Ha-min’s stammering answer. As if it was different from what he expected, he paused momentarily before turning back to the camera with his characteristic mischievous smile.
“For your information, I do have one.”
At Tae-in’s playful answer, the comment section was flooded with jeers and crying emojis. Tae-in continued the situation cheerfully, smiling as if he found such reactions cute. Ha-min also tried to raise the corners of his mouth to erase his stiff expression.
Thinking he couldn’t just sit there losing his composure while Tae-in was taking the broadcast seriously, Ha-min tried to add small reactions and responses. This seemed to appear even more awkward, as many people laughed, making Ha-min blush with embarrassment. At that moment, he was impressed by Tae-in, who was leading this difficult situation like a competent broadcaster. He once again felt that the sons of this family seemed to be good at everything—truly brothers who shared blood with Tae-rim.
**
The broadcast, which was expected to last about 20 minutes, gradually extended and ended only after about 40 minutes. As soon as the camera was turned off and the tension released, Ha-min’s entire body sagged. Having been so tense, he was completely exhausted. As Tae-in had said, it was just a simple broadcast, but he hadn’t realized it would be this physically demanding.
In contrast, Tae-in was fine. After the camera turned off, he casually dragged the exhausted Ha-min out, promising to buy him a meal. Entering a restaurant serving traditional Korean cuisine, Tae-in ordered a generous spread and began eating like someone who had been unleashed. Ha-min was the same. Physically tired, he scooped up large spoonfuls of rice and swallowed.
“Ah, now I feel alive.”
Apparently very hungry, Tae-in rinsed his mouth with water only after emptying two bowls of rice. Ha-min also cleaned his rice bowl and gulped down the cinnamon punch served as dessert. It was the most satisfying meal he’d had recently.
“This is way more tiring than I thought.”
Just sitting there, reading a few comments and saying a few words, yet…
“With YouTube, you can usually just record and edit, but this is live, so there are things to worry about. Good job.”
When Tae-in offered to buy not just the meal but also a drink, Ha-min politely declined while recalling Tae-in from earlier. His impressive appearance throughout the broadcast made his friend seem different.
“You could really be a celebrity, you spoke so well.”
“It’s not that impressive. I’m just not the type to get nervous, you know.”
“I had sweat running down my back.”
“But your reactions were good. Men really benefit from being handsome.”
“What are you… I couldn’t even speak properly. I was stammering… People were laughing at me.”
“They weren’t laughing at you; they were laughing because you’re cute.”
“What are you talking about?”
“They think you’re cute. Everyone has a selling point, and yours seems to be in that direction. Like, being a bit… naive?”
“Come on…”
Just as Ha-min was about to get up from his seat with an embarrassed face to avoid the conversation, Tae-in continued as if suddenly remembering something.
“But why did you do that?”
“Huh?”
“Saying you don’t have a partner. Why did you lie?”
“Ah…”
Only then did Ha-min sigh deeply as if just remembering. It was an answer that had unconsciously slipped out due to the situation, and he regretted it after saying it. It was an instinctive defense. He remembered Tae-in’s SNS with its many followers, and seeing people linking him and Tae-rim through just a watch made him afraid. Afraid that people might find out. Afraid that it might cause trouble for hyung.
“Just in case…”
“In case of what?”
“Just in case people might notice that hyung and I… are that kind of relationship.”
Seeing his worried expression, Tae-in briefly acknowledged.
“…The answer just came out before I knew it.”
“Hey, I get it. Even if you had said you had a partner, you could have pretended it was a girlfriend.”
At this light consolation, Ha-min let out a faint laugh and nodded. But the uncomfortable feeling didn’t subside. Why were there so many things to worry about? He had thought that just conveying his feelings and having them reciprocated was perfect. He thought that was everything, but relationships don’t seem to be such simple matters.
Ha-min smiled bitterly and got up from his seat first. Checking the time, he saw that dinner time had passed, and he should return home. Although there were no messages from hyung, he felt like he would be waiting at home.
On the bus ride home, there was a video link from Tae-in.
[The video is already up. The comment count is insane.]
Clicking on the video that came with the brief message, Ha-min found that his and Tae-in’s broadcast video had been uploaded, less than an hour after it ended. Finding it difficult to watch himself in the video, he didn’t press play and only checked the comments.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
