#57
After completing two schedules, hunger naturally crept in. By the time they had walked quite a distance toward the famous restaurant that had been arranged in advance, people gradually began to gather.
Everyone was shouting Imun’s name loudly in a similar way, but what was slightly different was that the camera shutter sounds were constant.
These people seemed to be his fans rather than mere onlookers. Recalling the memory of the fan signing event that had only been embarrassing, Hajun scratched his cheek.
“There seem to be a lot more of your fans than before. How do they all know where to come?”
“Well… fans communicate a lot with each other in various ways.”
“I was a bit amazed seeing this at the fan signing too, but… those people over there aren’t part of the production team, right?”
There were quite a few people holding cameras that were clearly professional. “They’re our precious fairy fansite masters.” “Ah… they’re fairies, I see.” The moment he smiled as if he understood Imun’s answer, flashes went off simultaneously from all directions.
This situation, so unfamiliar to him, seemed all too familiar to Imun. “You’re doing well, Seo Imun.” He was in the middle of teasing him by poking his side with his elbow when a tteokbokki smell that stimulated his nostrils came on the breeze.
“Oh, that smells good.”
Since he was always busy eating chicken whenever he went to Koreatown, tteokbokki was always relegated to the back burner. While instinctively sniffing, he spotted a food cart across the street, not too far away.
Is it over there? While he was looking at what might be the source of the smell, Imun snickered and stopped walking. “Hyung, just a moment.” After having a brief conversation with the production team, he returned with a bright expression.
“Shall we just have lunch over there?”
“You… did you go into my mind?”
“Not really… I just read what was written on your face?”
“It says right here, ‘I want tteokbokki.'” Glaring at Imun who was pointing at his face with his index finger, Hajun slightly brushed his cheek. Is it that obvious? Although he was being teased, he was immensely happy with his suggestion.
“No, that’s wrong. It probably says, ‘I want tteokbokki and fish cake.'”
*
Unable to bear the spicy taste, he panted heavily. How can he eat like that? Just as he was watching Imun, who was picking up two pieces of tteokbokki at once, as if he were a strange creature, Imun seemed to notice his gaze and raised one eyebrow.
“Why are you… looking at me like that?”
“…I was just thinking you eat well. Do you like tteokbokki too?”
“Haha… sort of. Why?”
“Hmm, no… just wondering.”
Just as he licked his lips, which were even stinging, he had the illusion that Imun’s eyes trembled. His action of staring at his chin without even moving his hand was quite perplexing.
“What, is there something on my face?” “Of course not.” Imun shook his head nonchalantly and turned his eyes to the food. His speed of eating tteokbokki was incomparably faster than before.
“Were you really hungry? Eat slowly. No one’s going to take it away from you.”
“No, it’s just. It’s delicious. Why can’t you eat it properly, hyung?”
“Ah… I think I’ve become unable to eat spicy things well. Even one of the chickens you ordered for me before… was spicy and a bit difficult.”
He became slightly depressed, feeling like although his heart was Korean, his palate had completely changed. “Still, compared to Mari or Grandmother, I eat spicy food pretty well.” Just as he was putting fish cake in his mouth and adding this awkward addendum, Imun kindly patted his shoulder as if to tell him not to worry.
“No, this is a bit spicy for me too.” Even though he was eating as if it wasn’t spicy at all to anyone watching. Hajun was staring at Imun with bleary eyes as he stuck out his tongue and fanned himself a beat late, when Imun offered him fish cake broth with an embarrassed expression.
“Try drinking some of this at least.”
He warmed his fingertips with the hot paper cup and took a sip of the broth. Whether all the factories they sourced ingredients from were similar or not, the taste was not much different from before. Just as he was bringing the cup to his mouth again, deeply immersed in the unique savory taste of fish cake broth.
‘Fish cake broth with tteokbokki!’
The words his mother used to say habitually flashed through his mind. After smiling momentarily at the nostalgic memory, he hastily put down the paper cup on the counter. Without even a moment to hold back, tears fell plop by plop.
“Oh… why is this happening?”
Like a burst dam, the liquid wouldn’t stop no matter how much he wiped it away. The uncontrollable physiological reaction was only bewildering.
“Don’t wipe so hard. It hurts.”
After blankly looking at Imun who grabbed his hand to stop him, he quickly lowered his gaze. He wondered how absurd he must have looked, suddenly crying while eating tteokbokki. “Ah, okay.” While wiping his eyes again with an awkward smile, Imun’s fingertips carefully approached.
The hand that silently wiped his eyes was indescribably affectionate and gentle. The moment he raised his head as if to say that was enough, he met Imun’s kind eyes.
“I’m sorry… suddenly, those old memories-“
“You don’t have to explain. It’s okay.”
Before he could finish speaking, he was abruptly embraced by him. The more he tried to escape from his arms, the more forcefully Imun held him, as if he couldn’t let go.
“It’s okay. Hyung, it’s okay.”
Along with the hand patting his back, warm comfort poured out. It was instantaneous that the tears he had barely suppressed burst forth again. After a few futile attempts at resistance, he obediently buried his face in Imun’s shoulder.
After crying his eyes out until there were no more tears left to come out, the intense emotions naturally subsided. Shortly after awkwardly pushing his body away, Hajun’s face turned pale.
Ah, I’m ruined. Only then did he recognize the gazes around them and the cameras for filming. He felt dizzy from embarrassment.
“Hyung, hyung.” While repeatedly clearing his throat unnecessarily, ignoring Imun who kept talking to him, a whining protest flew his way.
“Where do you… keep looking?”
The hand that gently held his cheeks to prevent him from looking elsewhere was quite firm. At the end of his gaze, which he slowly turned with a deep sigh, Imun filled his vision with his eyes beautifully curved.
“Let… let go of this.” As he vigorously moved his lips, which were protruding from being pressed by both hands, Imun giggled while shaking his shoulders.
“Are you done crying?”
“Uh…”
“Today when hyung was crying, I’m glad I was by your side.”
Imun comforting him through the phone a few months ago reflexively came to mind. Compared to that time when he had cried like a child while knowing Imun was listening clearly, this level of embarrassment was nothing.
“Thanks for… comforting me. Now and… back then.”
“When, when hyung was sobbing alone on the street?”
“When did I! And I wasn’t crying on the street back then either?!”
“But you did cry, right?”
While he was mumbling, unable to speak, Imun’s teasing continued regardless. The production staff covering their mouths and shaking their bodies seemed as if they were trying to hold back laughter.
His nape stiffened instantly at the behavior of publicly mentioning his embarrassing past. You should be embarrassed in front of people too! He swatted away the hands still holding his cheeks and strongly embraced Imun.
“Huh? What is this? A reward?”
“It’s, it’s not like that-!”
“This isn’t the end, right? Hyung, why are your arms so weak?”
“You, huh? All you think about is teasing!”
Far from a shy reaction, all he got was begging to be hugged harder. “Get off!” While struggling to detach him after changing his mind, his hand was suddenly grabbed.
“Shall we go now?” Imun was smiling brightly but didn’t let go of his hand. “Ah, you, really!” While resenting the shameless man who didn’t even think about others’ gazes, he kicked his shin with all his might.
*
They decided to take a short break before moving to the next location. “Rest while cooling your eyes.” Hajun accepted the cold water bottle Imun handed him and looked at his face with his phone.
As Imun had said, his eyes were slightly swollen. You really have a keen eye for detail. He put the water bottle to his eyes while watching Imun’s back as he was already walking toward the production team.
“You must be tired from filming all day.” While Imun was greeting the filming crew with a smile all over his face, the camera director gazed at him sharply.
On The Sky members had a good reputation among staff due to their friendliness proportional to their popularity. Imun was famous for being the most polite member among them.
But today, he seemed like an ordinary boy. The sight of him playing with his friend while smiling brightly was so natural it was admirable. If someone who knew nothing saw this, they might mistakenly think his current calm demeanor was an act.
Shaking off the absurd imagination, he welcomed today’s protagonist with open arms. “Imun, you’re here?” “It’s been a while, Director.” He was in the middle of discussing filming-related matters with him for quite some time.
“Director, earlier… did you film the scene where Gangha-nim was crying too?”
“Yes…?”
“Yes, of course. Excuse me, Writer. I have something to talk about, do you have a moment?”
The youngest writer who was resting at a distance from the two startled and shook her body. Like earlier, why is he doing this? She was curious why the top star, who seemed too intimidated to even make eye contact, kept trying to talk to her.
Around the time she followed Imun and was a few steps away from the production team group, he smiled even more brightly.
“Writer, actually, I have a favor to ask you.”
“What… is it?”
“What just happened in front of the food cart… could you talk to the PD about editing it out of the broadcast?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
