#50
“Hyung! What are you doing?”
“I’m eating. You?”
“I’m at a photoshoot. Just on a short break.”
Hajun snorted in disbelief as he shoved cereal into his mouth. “How many photoshoots are you doing when your activities are almost over?” When he grumbled that it must be over ten from what he’d heard so far, Imun whimpered that he was about to die too.
It seemed like work was piling up with the year-end approaching. “TV shows, three or four stage performances, season greetings…” Though Hajun didn’t understand what all of it meant, he could tell Imun was quite busy. He was agreeing with Imun’s complaints while emptying his bowl when—
“But still, I’m so happy I’ll get to see you soon, hyung. I wish time would pass more quickly.”
Here we go again. Hajun fidgeted with his earlobe and awkwardly replied, “Yeah, me too,” when the doorbell rang loudly. It was a visit much earlier than the scheduled time. Almost simultaneously with Hajun’s startled turn, Mari peeked her face into the kitchen.
“Hajuuuuun!”
“Just a second.” He hurriedly told Imun and quickly put his phone down on the table.
“Sorry, were you on a call?”
“Yeah, well… Why are you here so early? I haven’t even properly cleaned the house yet… Where’s your friend?”
“I knew you’d be like this! I came early on purpose so you wouldn’t worry too much. Say hello! This is Hana.”
With cheerful footsteps, a girl around Mari’s age appeared. With bright red cheeks and eyes darting around, she seemed quite shy.
This makes it look like I’m the one who wanted to meet her. Hajun bit his lip as he awkwardly stared at Hana, who was fidgeting nervously. No matter how unsociable he was, he couldn’t be standoffish to Mari’s friend.
“Hi… I’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Kyaa!” As soon as he finished speaking, she let out a high-pitched squeal and dragged Mari to the living room. “Just give us a minute.” “Why, what are you going to say?” “Just, for a moment.” After a brief tussle, Hana seemed to successfully separate from Mari and returned to the kitchen alone.
Hajun just blinked quietly, feeling awkward at being suddenly left alone with her. What on earth does she want to say? He was tense, trying to figure out why she wanted to see him, when—
“He-Hello… Ha-Ha-Hajun oppa!”
“Huh?”
His ears perked up at the unexpected “oppa.” Mari always called him by his name, and since coming to Japan, he hadn’t been called “oppa” by even passing kids.
Right, she’s Korean. Recalling that information about her, he started to brighten up a moment late but then immediately stiffened as a bad feeling crept over him.
A high school girl who recently immigrated from Korea and likes Saha, Mari’s favorite idol. And himself, who doesn’t really hide his friendship with Imun on livestreams. With a sinking feeling, he stared at her intently. Hana clasped her hands in front of her chest and her eyes sparkled.
“You’re Gangha, aren’t you?!”
“Uh… um, yeah.”
“My bias is Imun… ah, sorry, I mean Imun oppa! I’ve been your fan since I found out about you through Imun oppa’s friend! But to think you’re really Mari’s cousin! I… I really like you!”
Unfortunately, Hana didn’t seem as single-mindedly devoted to Saha as Mari was. “I’m so grateful to meet you today!” Before he could react, she bowed deeply, and he hurriedly stopped her.
From what she said, she didn’t seem like she’d make any awkward requests about Imun or Saha. It was a relief that his worst assumptions were wrong, even if his identity had been exposed.
She seemed polite, bright, and even had similar interests. She’s definitely approved as Mari’s friend.
Imun, she says she’s your fan. Glancing at his phone and exhaling in relief, he firmly closed his mouth. He couldn’t keep Imun waiting indefinitely.
“You haven’t told Mari that I’m friends with Imun, right? Later… I’ll tell her myself when the time is right, so please keep it a secret.”
“What? Yes! Of course! I suspected as much since Mari doesn’t know anything. By the way, oppa… if, if it’s okay, could you maybe give me your phone number?!”
“Huh? …Why?”
“What?! Oh! I, well, I… I… I’m almost an adult! This might be sudden, but I’ve thought about this a lot before asking… Would you possibly consider da-da-dating me?!”
The first confession he’d ever received was nothing but bewildering. He felt awkward just talking to women, let alone having a girlfriend. It was a realm he’d never even imagined.
If she were a complete stranger, he could flatly refuse, but the problem was that she was Mari’s friend. While racking his brain for a way to overcome this crisis, his eyes unconsciously drifted to his phone.
If it were Imun, he would have navigated the situation without showing any sign of being flustered. But with his own poor improvisation skills, he could only think of obvious excuses.
Whatever happens, I need to reject her clearly. Gathering all the acting cells in his body, he put on the most apologetic expression he could.
“I’m sorry, I really appreciate your feelings… but I have a girlfriend. Oh, please keep this a secret from Mari too. Well, anyway, that’s why I can’t give you my number either. My girlfriend would get angry if she found out.”
“Yes, yes! Actually… I kind of expected that! There’s no way you wouldn’t have a girlfriend! Um… yes! I just wanted to confess properly and get rejected properly. Could I… maybe take just one picture with you?”
He could hear the trembling in her seemingly nonchalant voice. No matter what excuse he made, the fact that he had trampled on her pure feelings wouldn’t change.
He didn’t want to reject her final request, for which she must have summoned great courage to confess. With an awkward smile, Hajun accepted her phone.
“…Of course, I’ll take as many as you want. You can brag to your friends and even post them online.”
After taking a couple of selfies together, Hana bowed politely again and left the kitchen. He could unintentionally hear her and Mari whispering in the living room.
This isn’t going to work here. Relieved that the call hadn’t been disconnected, he hurriedly went to his room.
“Sorry. Did you wait long?”
“Girlfriend? Hyung, do you have a girlfriend I don’t know about?”
As soon as he resumed the call, a quick interrogation flew at him. Hearing the somehow sharp tone, he automatically felt intimidated.
“What girlfriend? I didn’t know how to answer… I should have been more roundabout. Sorry about that…”
“Still, I couldn’t date Mari’s friend.” He slumped onto the bed with mixed feelings and checked the call connection status.
It wasn’t disconnected, but Imun didn’t make even a breath sound for a long time. After waiting until he was tired and calling “Imun?” several times, Imun finally laughed briefly as if deflated.
“…You said the right thing. It’s better than leaving any room for misunderstanding.”
“Really? That’s a relief then…”
“…Hyung, if you ever get a girlfriend without telling me, I’ll be really hurt. Even earlier… I was really surprised. If you’re going to date someone, tell me first, or no. Hyung, friendship over love, right? Answer me quickly.”
“That’s… I’m not sure. I’ve never been in love, so… I can’t compare.”
“Do you really need to compare to know? Just say it even if you don’t mean it.” While playfully going along with his sweet aegyo, Hajun half-opened his eyes.
Despite knowing how shy Hajun was, Imun’s apparent distress seemed suspicious. Is he teasing me again? The more he resisted giving the answer Imun wanted, the more dramatic Imun became.
“Don’t tell me… hyung, no. Don’t tell me your heart wavered because of that confession? Don’t even think about Mari’s friend. Dating a high school girl is a crime. Even if she confesses again next year when she’s an adult, you absolutely must not accept.”
“…You should be careful too! At the fan signing, I saw so many student fans who liked you! If you ever get involved in a scandal, it’ll be straight to jail!”
He was beyond dumbfounded that Imun was treating him like a potential criminal. “Seriously, don’t say such nonsense!” When he shouted angrily, Imun also muttered resentfully, “Like at the previous fan signing…” and then closed his mouth.
“What about the fan signing?”
“Haha, it’s nothing. By the way, hyung, I waited so nicely and patiently… Can we video call?”
“I was wondering why you hadn’t asked yet.”
He had already felt bad for making Imun wait for so long. Without protest, he requested a video call, and within seconds of connecting, he couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration.
He said he was at a photoshoot. With a neat hairstyle, black suit, and even a tie, Imun looked like a professional model. He was thankful he’d at least made himself look presentable for his guests; otherwise, he sensed he would have found himself in another embarrassing situation.
“…But is it okay for you to talk this long?”
“I do need to go soon.”
“Then let’s video call in the evening. Everyone looks busy… I don’t want people giving you looks.”
While Hajun was peeking at the busy photoshoot scene over Imun’s shoulder, Imun smiled, wrinkling the bridge of his nose.
“Hmm… just one thing then. Hyung, have you booked a hotel for your stay in Korea yet?”
“I’ve got the flight, but not the hotel yet. I should book one soon.”
“Since we’ll be out shooting all day, the hotel will just be a place to store your luggage. It would be a bit much to drag your suitcase around to all the filming locations.”
“Well, can’t be helped.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
