He didn’t have any particular feelings about Minho. He neither disliked him nor particularly liked him, but if he had to say, it was closer to being glad to meet a friend the same age. Except for the aspects of valuing unity at random timings and being unrestrained in pushing things forward.
That bright personality was also a factor he would have viewed positively normally, but the problem was Haeyoung’s situation. He knew it couldn’t be helped since Minho wouldn’t know anything. However, thinking about having to go out again with his ex-boyfriend made him want to grab his collar and shake him, telling him to please shut his mouth. Especially if that ex-boyfriend still bothered him.
While Haeyoung was making a troubled face, Soyoon stood up from her seat and approached Sehee with a smiling face.
“Since Sehee unnie came too, then let’s go out now!”
Toward such Soyoon, Sehee said she’d just get her outerwear and pointed downstairs. With the two’s conversation as a signal, the other female cast members also stood up from their seats as if they’d been waiting. Minho drooped the corners of his mouth while watching the seats gradually emptying.
“Haeyoung-ah, you’re going out, right? It’s Christmas Eve today.”
“I don’t know.”
He wasn’t particularly drawn to it, whether it was Christmas Eve or whatever. Perhaps reading the expression when he smiled with that feeling, Minho quickly changed targets. Turning his body, this time he asked Jaehwi, who was sitting next to him drinking coffee.
“Hyung, you’re good with it, right? Let’s go to that Chinese restaurant we talked about before.”
Whether they’d decided to speak informally now, Minho brought out a voice mixed with aegyo. Though Haeyoung also looked at Jaehwi sipping his coffee cup with desperate eyes, this time too it seemed he didn’t notice his gaze. After making a blank face for a moment, he nodded with a quiet gesture.
“Should we…?”
At that ready answer, a bright light appeared on Minho’s face. Haeyoung realized the probability of going out had just broken past fifty percent. The thought passed through Haeyoung’s head that perhaps the stumbling block during the filming of this program might be none other than Kim Minho.
“Hyungnim!”
It was then. Minho asked Seonwoo, who was just coming out of his room, to go out together with everyone. Whether he had somewhere to go, his appearance was dressed as if about to leave the house, and Cha Seonwoo seemed to consider that question briefly, then turned his head to look at him.
Are you going? Even without opening his mouth to ask, Haeyoung, who had read the question in his gaze, briefly nodded his head.
“Okay.”
Seonwoo, who had confirmed his nod, also nodded toward Minho. At that reaction, Minho stood up excitedly. Watching him hurriedly run to his room saying he’d get ready quickly, Haeyoung also turned his body. If he was going out, he had to change clothes and wash up.
“But Seonwoo-ssi, weren’t you about to go out?”
“…Something did come up briefly, but it’s not important.”
Behind his back, he heard a brief conversation between Jaehwi and Seonwoo. With his answer, he heard receding footsteps. Gripping the room’s doorknob and glancing back, Seonwoo was going down the stairs while sending a message somewhere with his phone in hand.
Though he’d said it as if it were nothing, Haeyoung couldn’t help but be concerned. He even had the arrogant worry of whether Seonwoo was canceling a prior engagement to follow along because of him. However, soon after, he lightly exhaled a breath deliberately and shook his head.
The Chinese restaurant Jaehwi had mentioned before really was in this neighborhood. To be precise, it was at the end of the street you’d encounter going down the residential complex. Haeyoung got out of the car and looked up at the three-story shop.
Perhaps because it was an expensive neighborhood where wealthy people mainly resided, even the Chinese restaurant had a needlessly large and elegant exterior. The interior was the same.
Being guided into a room, a round table covered with white cloth and wide glass windows entered his view.
“The atmosphere here is nice.”
Minho, who had been looking around at the clean interior here and there, sat down with a beaming smile. Haeyoung waited briefly, then pulled out a chair and sat down together with Seonwoo, who had entered last.
On the first page of the menu were course meals prepared for lunch and dinner. Though prices weren’t listed, looking at the composition, it was cuisine Haeyoung had also seen occasionally. Following the others’ words to order the course, he also nodded without much thought.
Since he’d eaten breakfast a bit late, he wondered if he could finish it all, but it didn’t take long to realize that was a worthless concern. It was the result of overlooking that the companions were four adult men. The subtle silence that had been hovering over the table until the food came out also gradually lifted as the dishes came out one by one.
“But hyungnim, which company do you work for?”
“Just call me hyung.”
“Ah. It’s a habit. If you’re uncomfortable, I’ll call you hyung!”
Seonwoo, who had closed his mouth briefly at Minho’s question, put down the hand holding his chopsticks and spoke.
At those words, instead of showing awkwardness, Minho answered with a good-natured smile. Seonwoo also smiled back quietly while watching such Minho. Haeyoung put the blanched vegetables placed next to the abalone on the long plate into his mouth and quietly chewed while watching their conversation.
It was interesting that Minho, who had immediately started speaking informally to Jaehwi calling him hyung, hyung, was more cautious with Seonwoo. Isn’t Seonwoo hyung easier to approach than Jaehwi hyung no matter who looks at them? Haeyoung slightly tilted his head. Though he looked like a bear, compared to Jaehwi hyung, who was often expressionless so you couldn’t tell what he was thinking, Seonwoo hyung had a gentler impression and both his smile and way of speaking were soft and affectionate.
First of all, Seonwoo often drew smiles on his face. When laughter formed around his pretty eyes, Haeyoung had to reflexively flinch and clench his curling fingers even at a smile he’d seen countless times. If it was that a person was born too splendidly so it was rather hard to approach, he could understand that.
Seonwoo, who had naturally passed over Minho’s question, asked back.
“Minho-ssi, you said you’re a model.”
“Yes. I don’t belong anywhere, just as a freelancer. Sometimes I get contacts and accept them, but I mainly work with hyungnims I’ve worked with before.”
“That’s cool.”
“Cool… hyung is cooler. Wahaha. I’m not lying, when hyung came in, I thought you worked in the entertainment industry because of your aura.”
Toward Minho chattering away, Seonwoo occasionally smiled and responded, “no way.” He who had been talking about work and various everyday stories finally threw a topic hiding a sharp blade at the table.
“Tomorrow’s the date, right? How is everyone feeling?”
Though he was smiling brightly, it was the moment the outline of the question he’d been wanting to throw all along took shape. Minho subtly glanced at Seonwoo while leading the conversation.
There probably wasn’t anyone at this table who didn’t know why he was bringing up such a question. Though he briefly thought that Jaehwi, who was still drinking clear soup with an expressionless face, might not know… Anyway, his interest would be occupied by Soyoon, and therefore the person he was most concerned about now would be Seonwoo, who would be going on a date with her tomorrow.
Haeyoung, who had been about to pick up the abalone and bring it to his mouth, hesitated and opened his mouth instead.
“I think it’ll be fun.”
“Haeyoung, you’re going on a date with Sehee noona, right? How is it? Is it okay?”
The question of whether it was okay was ambiguous. It wasn’t clear whether he was asking about his feelings or asking if he liked the other person. Likewise, instead of bringing out the ambiguous answer of “it’s okay,” Haeyoung readily nodded without giving his gaze to the side where Seonwoo was sitting.
“I like it.”
“Ooh…!”
A playful smile hung on Minho’s face. Seeing him look truly pleased, it seemed he was thinking things like one competitor had been reduced. Watching the face that straightforwardly revealed what he was thinking, Haeyoung eventually let out a deflating laugh. Though there were many times he felt the urge to cover his mouth, still, there were generally cute aspects.
“What about hyung?”
With that smiling face as is, he slightly leaned his body toward Seonwoo. Isn’t that blatantly probing rather than subtle at that level? Haeyoung, who had lightly shaken his head, gave his gaze to the soup Jaehwi was diligently eating.
“Me too.”
Seonwoo answered perfunctorily while reaching out his hand to turn the turntable placed in the middle of the table. Only after confirming Haeyoung ladling the soup that had come in front of him did he turn his head again to look at Minho.
“It’s fine.”
It was an ambiguous answer to an ambiguous question. However, there was no missing that it contained a positive sign within it.
Haeyoung showed no reaction and lifted his plate to swallow the clear broth, Jaehwi nodded as if he felt the same, and Minho looked a bit tense but made an effort to put on a calm face while hiding his sullen expression. Seonwoo, who had been smiling as if nothing happened, took his gaze off him and asked Jaehwi.
“You work at NL Soft, you said. Then you must be busy recently.”
At the question directed at him, Jaehwi awkwardly raised his head while stopping what he was eating. Haeyoung, who didn’t know much about corporate movements after graduating from university, didn’t understand the conversation and diligently transported the remaining soup to his mouth.
“Would I have things to do? I’m a developer. And these days it’s mainly remote work.”
Perhaps because work talk had come up, Jaehwi had shaken off his usual blank air and had quite clear eyes. Seeing him say something about preparing something, he wondered if they were preparing for going public or something. Though he had no interest in the flow of conversation, for Haeyoung, who was seeing Seonwoo talk about work at a meal for the first time, it felt strange.
‘Was hyung originally like that…’
Whenever he discovered aspects about him he didn’t know, he somehow felt odd. However, Haeyoung, who had finished his meal without showing it, looked around for the wet wipes he’d placed at the edge of the table.
“Here.”
“Oh…, thanks.”
Even while talking with Jaehwi, Seonwoo naturally handed over the tissues placed leaning toward his side. Receiving it and wiping his mouth, Haeyoung raised his head. Minho sitting across from him was blinking his eyes and diligently listening to their conversation.
Though it was clear this wasn’t the kind of meal Minho had wanted, his attitude of listening well was quite funny. Cute kid. Haeyoung quite liked him making a carefree face so quickly even though he hadn’t obtained any of the answers he wanted.
After even dessert came out, the meal was wrapped up. Next to Minho giving a thumbs up saying it was delicious, Jaehwi also had a satisfied face. Thinking he should do the studying he’d put off when he returned home since tomorrow was the date day, Haeyoung stood up from his seat. Cha Seonwoo paid the bill as if it were natural.
