#5
Woo-kyung raised his eyebrows as he boasted about his achievement, and Ha-min smiled broadly, finding him cute. Compared to the mature Chae-rin and Eun-soo, Woo-kyung had a childlike quality that made him endearing.
“He thinks he’s some kind of celebrity.”
Eun-soo clicked her tongue, as if scolding the conceited Shin Woo-kyung.
“Leave him be. When else can he enjoy such things?”
Tae-in chimed in, as if familiar with this behavior.
“What! It’s true! Want to see my DMs?!”
Woo-kyung, feeling wronged, turned on his phone and thrust it in their faces, but no one looked at it. Seeing him sulk, Ha-min patted him and looked at it instead. Woo-kyung then clung to Ha-min, saying he was the only hyung he had, and proceeded to brag about all his achievements one by one.
After listening to him for a while, a group of unfamiliar people appeared in the studio.
“Hello~”
It was a similar number to our group – two women and three or four men.
“You’re here?”
Tae-in was the one who naturally greeted them. They seemed to know each other as he casually exchanged greetings. Chae-rin and Woo-kyung also waved lightly in greeting, and while Eun-soo didn’t seem as close to them as the others, she appeared to know them somewhat.
“Oppa, you’re meeting them for the first time, right?”
Noticing Ha-min’s confused reaction, Eun-soo moved closer and whispered.
“…Ah, yes.”
“They’re a band from the company Tae-in oppa contracted with. I heard he gave them songs this time. They’re really popular these days.”
“…Really?”
“They’re real celebrities. They even won first place in a survival program recently, haven’t you seen them on TV?”
“…No.”
“…You really are so far from the mundane world.”
Eun-soo muttered as if talking to herself, looking at Ha-min who was like a blank canvas.
As it was his first time seeing celebrities, Ha-min blankly stared at the people who had just entered. Perhaps because he’d been told they were celebrities, they seemed to shine more brightly. Beyond their style, they all looked beautiful and handsome. While he was watching them like a spectator:
“Hey, Song Ha-min.”
Tae-in, who looked more like a celebrity than those celebrities, beckoned to him from the center. Feeling embarrassed about joining them, Ha-min hesitated, but Tae-in grabbed and pulled him over.
“This is my closest friend.”
“Ah, is this person that friend?”
“Oh? Isn’t this that person? The one who appeared once on the composer’s broadcast and then disappeared without a trace.”
“Ah, yes, that’s right.”
“Ah—, so it’s you. Hello.”
They greeted him as if he wasn’t a stranger, somehow seeming to know him. Ha-min, feeling uncomfortable with the atmosphere, bowed deeply with a bewildered face.
“Ah, hello.”
“We’re younger than you. Please speak comfortably.”
As he greeted them respectfully, they responded even more politely.
“Ah, no, it’s fine.”
“But you look even more handsome in person.”
“Pardon…?”
“I know you from that broadcast. It’s still circulating on YouTube. They call you the legend who appeared once and vanished.”
“Excuse me…?”
Ha-min wandered like a lost person with a blank face, not understanding what they were talking about.
“Everyone was clamoring for you to appear just one more time.”
“He doesn’t know about such things.”
“Ah—. So you have no interest in this area at all.”
“Right. None at all. I just brought him to watch, so don’t say unnecessary things.”
“Okay. But it’s a shame. Your face could work for a debut.”
The girl with a piercing on her lip sincerely sighed, drawing a circle with her finger near her face. Watching Eun-soo and the others, Ha-min realized that young people these days really spoke boldly even to strangers. He wasn’t sure if he should be pleased with their direct compliments about his appearance. Feeling more uncomfortable than pleased, he just smiled awkwardly.
“He can’t. His personality isn’t suited for it. And his partner… Never mind. Forget it.”
Tae-in started to answer casually but swallowed his words. Recalling how a few years ago, he had endured what was essentially a threat from Lee Tae-rim to vacate his studio just because he had taken Ha-min out for a light live broadcast, Tae-in quickly erased the memory with a face that showed he didn’t even want to think about it.
“So you have a partner.”
“Yes. A very impressive one.”
“Oh, a wealthy noona?”
When Tae-in answered for him, interested gazes fell on Ha-min. He waved his hands with a troubled face, saying it wasn’t true, and looked reproachfully at Tae-in.
“Alright, let’s save the small talk for later. Let’s start recording.”
Thanks to the imminent filming, Ha-min was able to escape the barrage of questions. As soon as the recording started, no one acted casually. Even the children who had looked so young became dignified in front of the camera, and Tae-in had become a professional in the meantime.
Watching this scene from his seat, Ha-min suddenly felt strange. Seeing Tae-in, whom he had met as a very young child, who used to groan and lie in bed almost every day, now healthily doing his job, made him feel touched. Because of this, Ha-min could feel even more acutely how neglectful he had been of the people around him. He felt somewhat pathetic that he was seeing his childhood friend’s grown-up self for the first time.
**
Today, Ha-min decided not to bring up his phone, intending to let Tae-in vent fully. Though he was worried, he believed that hyung would understand since it was just one day, not an overnight stay. As Tae-in said, he believed there was that much trust.
After the rather long recording ended, they all headed to a nearby meat restaurant that had been reserved. Tae-in, who had reserved a private room without other disturbances, was extremely excited, saying they should eat to their heart’s content today. Seeing his unusually excited appearance, Ha-min couldn’t help but smile.
“Tae-in oppa is completely excited.”
Feeling this too, Eun-soo remarked while watching Tae-in excitedly exchanging drinks with the others.
“He does look that way.”
Ha-min also added a word as if agreeing, and Eun-soo nodded.
“Yes. It’s been a while since I’ve seen him this excited.”
“Really?”
“Maybe it’s because you’re hanging out with him.”
“Me?”
“He’s been complaining so much. That you won’t hang out with him.”
“He has a lot of friends anyway.”
“Friends? Tae-in oppa?”
At Ha-min’s casually dropped words, Eun-soo asked with a puzzled face.
“Does Tae-in oppa have many friends? Those guys, and the department students, and the club members…”
“What? You call yourself his best friend and you don’t even know that?”
Looking at him as if it was strange, Ha-min was momentarily speechless at her words.
“Tae-in oppa, despite how he appears, is extremely guarded.”
“…”
“Although he seems to get along well with everyone, I bet there are few people he considers close. Why do you think he’s a rich young master?”
“…No. Tae-in has a good personality too…”
“Plus, with Tae-in oppa’s background and advantages, many people approach him with ulterior motives. That’s why he doesn’t easily consider people as his own. You’re the only one he introduces as his friend anywhere.”
Ha-min’s lips parted with a slightly dazed expression. He hadn’t thought about this even once since reconnecting with Tae-in. He had thought that the sensitive Tae-in from childhood was gone.
“He’s talked so much about how you were the only one who was his friend when he was sick back then.”
“…That was when we were children.”
“He must have been very grateful. So play with him once in a while.”
Eun-soo spoke casually, pointing at Lee Tae-in with her chopsticks.
“What are you two talking about? Were you gossiping about me?”
Feeling their subtle gazes, Tae-in sat down next to Ha-min and asked suspiciously.
“Wow. You’re like a ghost, seriously.”
As Eun-soo responded with a surprised face, Tae-in’s face twitched with displeasure.
“Really?”
“No.”
“I think Ha Eun-soo was talking about me.”
Ha-min smiled and shook his head, saying it wasn’t true. Then he poured a drink into Tae-in’s glass and clinked it, suggesting they have a drink. Seeing Tae-in’s excited face as he gulped it down after toasting, Ha-min shook his head as if there was no helping him.
“You shouldn’t drink often.”
Perhaps because the childhood story had come up, seeing him drink so freely reminded Ha-min of something.
“Why?”
As Tae-in, who had just put a piece of meat in his mouth as a side dish, asked back, Ha-min spoke with concern.
“Why? Drinking a lot is bad for your body.”
“Are you worried about me?”
“You should avoid things that are bad for your body.”
“This much is fine. Even during my last regular check-up, the doctor told me not to worry because I was fine.”
“I see.”
“Well. These days you’re not interested in me at all.”
“That’s not true…”
As Ha-min faltered, looking flustered, Tae-in chuckled.
“I’m just kidding, kidding.”
“…It’s really not true.”
“I know, dude.”
Tae-in playfully placed his arm on Ha-min’s shoulder.
“I was a bit disappointed, but whatever. Do you think I’d really hold a grudge over something like that?”
“…No. I think I’ve been… a bit thoughtless too…”
“It’s not like I don’t know how much hyung cherishes you. It’s just, recently for no reason…”
Tae-in smiled bitterly and tapped his glass with his finger.
“I think I’ll go to America after graduation.”
“…Huh?”
At the completely unexpected words, Ha-min’s eyes widened. It was the first time he had heard this.
“My parents told me to come back right after graduation.”
“Ah… Do you have to go?”
“They know all about my fuss over music. I think I’ll have to stay there for a while.”
“…I didn’t know. Why are you telling me this now?”
“Just, you know. It’s not a big deal…”
“…”
“They said they’ll allow my personal broadcasting and company contract in exchange for going to America.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
