Chapter 96
Soo-ho’s booming voice came through the closed door, announcing dinner time. When Seo-jung entered the kitchen after coming downstairs to the first floor, he saw the other cast members already seated.
“Seo-jung, come sit down and eat quickly,” Ji-yoon said.
“I will, noona.”
Although Seo-jung immediately responded to Ji-yoon’s gesture, he found it difficult to sit down right away. This was due to the seating arrangement. Perhaps coming down a bit late was the problem. With all the other cast members already seated, there was only one seat left – directly across from Cha Yoon.
“Seo-jung, what are you doing? Sit down quickly,” Sae-young, who was sitting next to the empty chair, urged again, even pulling out the chair for him.
As Seo-jung glanced around, he saw Cha Yoon looking at him silently. Seo-jung licked the corner of his lips. There was no choice since only one seat was left. Seo-jung had no option but to sit across from Cha Yoon.
As if they had been waiting for Seo-jung to sit down, all the cast members started their dinner. Seo-jung picked up his spoon along with the others but paused momentarily when he saw the contents of the soup bowl. The dinner menu was bean sprout soup, the same as what had been left at his house.
As he was staring blankly at the clear soup containing only bean sprouts, green onions, chili, and garlic, Min-wook’s voice was heard from a bit further away.
“The more I eat, the more I feel that Cha Yoon is the best cook among us. Today’s bean sprout soup is amazing. It feels like my hangover is completely gone.”
“Totally agree. I think this is the most delicious tomato and egg stir-fry I’ve ever had.”
“Well, sensitive people are usually good at cooking, right?”
In response to Min-wook and Sae-young’s comments, Joo-ah lightly shook her head and gave a compliment that sounded more like an insult, as if they were friends of 20 years.
“The braised short ribs Yoon hyung made that time were really delicious too…”
“Braised short ribs? Ah, on the day he said he had dinner plans? That was really delicious.”
Soo-ho, slurping his bean sprout soup, remembered the braised short ribs they had eaten two days ago and his eyes sparkled. Min-wook nodded in agreement and suddenly seemed to remember something, turning his gaze to the two of them.
“Come to think of it, Seo-jung didn’t come that day, so he never got to eat it in the end.”
“Yoon hyung didn’t eat either, right? He waited to eat with Seo-jung hyung and ended up skipping dinner.”
“I remember that too. He kept saying he would definitely eat with Seo-jung, so we shouldn’t ask him to eat together.”
I thought Cha Yoon was some kind of parrot then. Laughter flowed from the cast members’ mouths, as if agreeing with Woo-jun’s words. Seo-jung must be disappointed he didn’t get to eat it. It was really delicious. Yeah, it was the best braised short ribs I’ve ever had. Among the people chatting casually, only Seo-jung couldn’t laugh.
Dinner plans with Cha Yoon? And what was this about him skipping dinner waiting for him? To resolve his questions about these stories he was hearing for the first time, Seo-jung turned his gaze towards Cha Yoon. As soon as Seo-jung’s eyes landed on him, Cha Yoon, who had been just listening until then, opened his mouth as if to answer Seo-jung’s curiosity.
“You don’t know that I waited for you, hyung. I just lied because I wanted to eat with you.”
He picked up the plate of tomato and egg stir-fry in front of him.
“You don’t need to feel disappointed. I’ll make it for you anytime if you want.”
“…”
“They say tomatoes and eggs are good for hangovers.”
Eat it with rice. Cha Yoon naturally placed the plate right in front of Seo-jung. At the sound of the plate touching the table, Seo-jung’s hand trembled slightly. It was quite a meaningful conversation, enough to capture all of Seo-jung’s attention.
“What’s this, when did you two become so close again?”
“They say lovers’ quarrels are like cutting water with a knife. Seeing this, there’s nothing wrong with that old saying.”
But it seemed only Seo-jung found these words strange, as playful voices continued to emerge from beside him.
“Yoon hyung, when you make braised short ribs for Seo-jung hyung, can you make some for me too?”
“Is that possible?”
Cha Yoon cut him off without even blinking. At this immediate response, Soo-ho blinked for about three seconds before making a sulky face and starting to whine.
“What’s this, why only me? You said you’d make it anytime for Seo-jung hyung!”
“What are you talking about?”
“What?”
“It’s not that it’s only not possible for you, it’s just that it’s only possible for Seo-jung hyung.”
Having cleanly cleared up the misunderstanding, Cha Yoon tapped the plate in front of Seo-jung. It was the plate he had just placed there moments ago.
“What are you doing, not eating?”
“…Ah.”
“This doesn’t taste good when it gets cold. Eat quickly.”
Despite Cha Yoon’s strange response, no one except the person directly involved found his words odd. Ah, no, except for exactly two people.
Cha Yoon, have you finally come to your senses? Joo-ah, glancing sideways at Cha Yoon and Seo-jung, unconsciously raised the corners of her mouth. She felt as if she had moved about ten steps away from the gloomy future she had imagined.
Do well, Cha Yoon. If you come to your senses, I can live too. Just as she was returning her gaze to its original position while cheering in her own way, Joo-ah’s eyes met with the person sitting across from her. It was Da-bin.
“…”
“…”
Da-bin, who had slowly closed and opened her eyes while maintaining eye contact with Joo-ah, soon turned her head. It was towards where Joo-ah’s gaze had been directed just moments ago. She seemed to be observing the two of them, but quickly turned her head back towards Joo-ah.
Joo-ah swallowed dryly at the intense gaze fixed on her. How much time passed like that? Da-bin began to silently curl her lips into a smile.
‘I guess we’ll have something to talk about later, just the two of us, right?’
As if that was all she had to say, Da-bin flashed a smile and turned her attention to Woo-jun, who was speaking to her. What’s this…? Joo-ah, left alone, blinked with a dumbfounded expression.
“Da-bin unni, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Joo-ah, who remained frozen, must have looked strange because Min-ha, sitting next to her, poked her repeatedly. Joo-ah shook her head and picked up her spoon. Thoughts later, let’s eat first.
***
The cast members gathered around the long dining table finished their dinner, each carrying different feelings. Empty plates were cleared away and tangerines were placed as dessert.
“These tangerines are green but surprisingly delicious.”
“Yeah, they’re super refreshing.”
Among the cast members chatting while eating the green tangerines, only Seo-jung couldn’t focus on the atmosphere.
The reason was entirely due to Cha Yoon. Throughout the meal, he would pass the water glass like a bullet whenever Seo-jung merely licked his lips, and when Seo-jung reached out to pick up side dishes, Cha Yoon would place the plate right in front of him as if reading his mind. On top of that, he would look at Seo-jung with a confident expression, his eyes sparkling. It was as if “How about that? I did well, right? You’re falling for me, aren’t you?” was written on his forehead.
While watching Cha Yoon behave like this, Ji-yoon jokingly said, “Cha Yoon is like some kind of waiter,” but he didn’t stop his actions.
Seo-jung emptied the water glass in front of him. Now that dinner was over, surely there wouldn’t be any more incidents like before. Seo-jung thought this, not knowing what was to come.
Meanwhile, Cha Yoon, who usually doesn’t like sour things, surprisingly reached for a tangerine. He kneaded the tangerine, which looked relatively tiny compared to his large hands, a few times before starting to peel it.
The flesh of the peeled tangerine was orange, unlike its exterior. Cha Yoon stared at the tangerine with its white surface raised for a moment, then glanced at Seo-jung in front of him.
Just then, as Seo-jung turned his head towards Sae-young who was calling him, their eyes met briefly. Cha Yoon blinked a couple of times before quickly lowering his gaze. Then, with his lips slightly parted, he began to fiddle with the small tangerine in his large hand. It was the expression Cha Yoon made when he was fully concentrated.
Seo-jung tried to ignore his wandering gaze and continued talking with Sae-young. Just as their lengthy conversation was coming to an end, Cha Yoon’s voice saying, “Ah, it’s done,” was heard, followed by Soo-ho’s voice mixed with admiration.
“Wow, what’s that?”
Even Sae-young, who had been talking with Seo-jung, let out a surprised voice as if she had discovered something. Finally, Seo-jung’s instinct overcame his reason. He turned his head towards the sound.
The first thing that caught his eye was the pile of white threads in front of Cha Yoon. Then, the tangerine peel placed to one side and the adorably small tangerine on Cha Yoon’s hand came into view one after another. Only then did he realize the identity of what was piled on the table. It was the white pith from the tangerine.
“I’ve never seen a tangerine peeled so cleanly…”
“Sae-young noona thinks so too? Me neither. Cha Yoon hyung, shouldn’t you get a certificate for this level of skill?”
“It’s not that big of a deal.”
Although Cha Yoon pretended to be nonchalant at the praising words, he couldn’t hide the corners of his mouth rising. After clearing his throat with a “hmm,” Cha Yoon stretched out his hand.
“Here.”
As Seo-jung just stared at the cleanly peeled tangerine suddenly delivered right in front of him, Cha Yoon waved his hand unnecessarily.
“You don’t eat them because you don’t like the white parts, right? So eat this.”
At Cha Yoon’s following words, Seo-jung became even more unable to move. It was something that the current 22-year-old Cha Yoon, before they started dating, wouldn’t know.
