What awaited the male participants who arrived at Jeju Airport on a morning flight were the staff members. Haeyoung, who had even his luggage taken away and was handed car keys, got into the car in bewilderment.
As soon as he got in the car, he came to his senses belatedly and let out a small laugh. Seeing that the destination was already set on the navigation, it seemed they weren’t going to the accommodation. Since they each got into different cars, they must be going to the owner of the items. Haeyoung, who had been fiddling with the item he’d put in his outer pocket, soon gripped the steering wheel.
As soon as he left the airport, palm trees that didn’t suit midwinter came into view. He’d been to Jeju Island a few years ago. The summer when Seonwoo graduated from college and he was also on vacation.
‘Was coming with hyung back then the last time?’
There was a time when he’d left impulsively, wanting to travel with him even while postponing his tutoring schedule. A moment when he was happy just for the reason of being together. While returning on the plane, they’d promised to come together again next time.
…We said we’d come together.
Haeyoung, who had been silently looking at the traffic light while gripping the steering wheel, confirmed it had turned green and stepped on the accelerator again. He hadn’t known he’d be keeping that promise to come together like this. Haeyoung fiddled with the corners of his mouth that awkwardly rose and glanced at the navigation.
The destination was soon. After passing a bus stop near the beach, a parking lot surrounded by stone walls appeared. Haeyoung parked his car in one corner of the conveniently empty parking lot and got out.
He moved his steps and entered the walkway built near the beach. Blue waves crashed against black stones, creating white foam. Receiving the sea breeze hitting his face, Haeyoung looked around for the person who would be waiting for him.
“Ah.”
It was then that a familiar face caught his eye. A short exclamation leaked from his mouth that had been exhaling only white breath. She, who had been standing with her back to the waves as if the sea breeze was fierce, also opened her eyes wide as if she’d spotted Haeyoung.
“Dain-ah.”
Haeyoung approached Dain with a deliberately playful smile. As if she hadn’t expected him to come, she froze in surprise as soon as she spotted him. Soon, what rose on her face was an even brighter emotion.
He could fully feel the sign of welcoming him from the corners of her mouth that rose in one breath.
“Is it really you?”
But the words that popped out of her mouth were somehow absurd. Looking at Dain, who was acting as if she couldn’t believe it while having a flushed face, Haeyoung readily nodded.
“It’s really me.”
At the confirmation he returned, Dain’s smiling face creaked just as it was.
“Did you expect I’d be here?”
“Of course. Didn’t you leave it for me to notice?”
Haeyoung took out the sky-blue guitar pick he’d put in his pocket. How could I not know? Dain, who had been looking at her own pick caught on his fingertips along with a voice tinged with laughter, deeply lowered her reddened face.
“I did leave it for you to notice, but….”
The mouth hidden in the scarf moved slightly.
“I didn’t know you’d choose me even knowing it was mine.”
Hearing that careful voice, Haeyoung closed his mouth.
Dain’s belonging was the item that had stood out the most when choosing belongings yesterday, before coming to Jeju Island. The familiar sky-blue pick reminded him of Dain as soon as he saw it. It probably felt familiar from the start because he’d seen her use it during performances.
As he was choosing his words on what to say, Haeyoung’s eyes took in Dain’s face with her ears and cheeks frozen red. Haeyoung abandoned what he’d been pondering and pulled out the hand he’d had in his pocket.
“Shall we go inside somewhere first? It seems cold.”
Dain ended up holding the hot pack he handed her in bewilderment. And belatedly nodding her head, she moved her steps following Haeyoung.
Though Haeyoung had taken the first step, Dain soon took the lead and guided him. She said she’d already decided where to go today. The place the two arrived at after walking a short distance was a cafe built on a hill overlooking the sea.
The cafe, which had seemed large even from outside, was spacious inside too. But there weren’t many people, so it felt rather quiet. Haeyoung, who had entered and was ordering drinks, discovered that Dain couldn’t take her eyes off the bakery display case.
“Shall we buy food too?”
At that question, she immediately nodded her head. Looking at her smiling face as if it was welcome news, Haeyoung also continued ordering.
As soon as they took their seats, what they’d ordered came out. Haeyoung lifted the cup with warm steam rising from it to his mouth and took a sip. While he was sipping his drink, Dain, who had been diligently breaking apart her scone, slightly raised her head.
Haeyoung, who had been biting the cup, raised his lowered eyelids at the question he suddenly heard.
“But how did you choose it?”
“The pick?”
“Yeah. It wasn’t that mine was the only one left, was it?”
The voice that casually asked was tinged with a slightly tense sign. Though she asked playfully, she couldn’t hide the worried light that rose on one side of her face. Haeyoung let out a hollow laugh while making eye contact with Dain like that.
“I chose first, Lee Dain.”
At the addition that he’d won first place in rock-paper-scissors, Dain’s light brown eyes wavered. As if she’d heard unexpected words, her eyes blinked rapidly. Haeyoung, who had been leaning his body against the back of the chair, leaned his upper body forward.
“I mean, today is the last date.”
At the voice that flowed out calmly, Dain flinched and shook her shoulders. Her gaze, which had held expectations somewhere, turned heavily downward.
“Last….”
It was a word that left no room to expect what came after. Toward her, who muttered while watching the edge of the table, Haeyoung nodded.
“That’s why I chose you. Because I wanted to talk with you.”
Though it was still a voice tinged with playfulness, it was a voice that had become much calmer than before. Haeyoung continued speaking gently, following the gaze of the person who wasn’t looking at him.
“I told you before that I thought you were cool.”
“…….”
“I meant it. I learned a lot listening to your words. Ah, right. You also made me a sandwich saying I looked depressed. I was really touched by that, Dain-ah.”
He, who had slightly raised the corners of his mouth, propped his chin while leaning against the chair’s armrest. The sky, which had been cloudy, brightened as the day cleared. The midday sunlight also poured in through the large window next to the table where the two were sitting.
A month had already passed since they’d lived together for the program filming. There had been many things to be grateful for during that time, and he’d learned a lot while living with various people. That’s why Haeyoung had chosen her as his last date partner.
“I wanted to say thank you.”
At the sincere greeting, her mouth closed tightly. The line her lips drew gradually sank downward.
“Can I ask you just one thing?”
Dain asked, slowly raising her eyelids. At that careful attitude, this time it was Haeyoung who closed his mouth. But as if it were natural, he raised his eyebrows and readily nodded.
“Do you happen to have someone your heart leans toward?”
At the question that came back, an awkward smile hung on the corners of his mouth.
Unless he was a fool, he couldn’t not know what feelings were embedded in the words she was asking. Whether shallow or deep, it was an emotion that couldn’t be entirely welcome for Haeyoung. But he also couldn’t treat lightly the goodwill another person offered.
He could speak indirectly, or carefully change the topic. But instead of doing that, Haeyoung slowly nodded his head.
“Yes, there is.”
For having carefully chosen his words, the answer that came out was simply short.
“…I see.”
Dain’s reply was also quite fast. She, who had been hesitating, made eye contact with Haeyoung, who was looking at her. The time they exchanged gazes was short.
“You must like them a lot, huh?”
At the playful voice that popped out of her mouth, the atmosphere that had been flowing subtly broke in one breath. Matching Dain’s effort, Haeyoung also showed a deliberately mischievous smile.
“That’s why I’m going a bit crazy these days.”
It was an intense expression heard from his mouth for the first time. Dain, who opened her eyes wide, soon let out a light laugh aloud. While meeting her gaze and smiling with narrowed eyes, one corner of Haeyoung’s heart was still heavy.
If he could have liked moderately, it wouldn’t have been this hard. But Cha Seonwoo had been his entire world from some point on. Why does the person who was his entire life become only a part when giving up?
The empty space left by the missing part felt lonely, and tears had pooled in that place instead for several months. The evidence that he still hadn’t forgotten him even a little was so vivid that Haeyoung felt a bit drained.
Breaking the silence that had suddenly arrived, Dain changed the subject.
“Shall we move to the next course now?”
“Shall we? Where are we going?”
“It’s a secret. But look forward to it, they said it’s a super famous restaurant that only an extreme minority of people in the know are aware of.”
“How can it be super famous when only an extreme minority knows about it?”
“…They said it’s a real restaurant recommended by Jeju Island people.”
At the trivial point, Dain scrunched her nose bridge and glared at him without malice. Haeyoung got up from his seat and left the cafe following her. And even while moving by car, he didn’t stop speaking to her playfully.
“Dain-ah, let me guess. They serve bread there too.”
“Hey, I don’t only eat bread all the time, okay? Bread is… served though.”
At what Dain timidly added, Haeyoung burst out laughing.
“Anyway, it’s a secret! Stop talking and follow me.”
She glared sharply and lightly poked Haeyoung’s arm. He still couldn’t stop giggling and nodded his head.
The reason he chose Dain as his last date partner was because, as he’d told her, this was the ‘last.’ He’d conveyed everything that needed to be conveyed before the final choice. Above all, he’d wanted to say thank you, but thanks to Dain, who had been considerate of him until the end, one more thing to be grateful for had increased.
Though he felt momentarily sorry to Hajin for having only dates that weren’t date-like, he had no regrets. While conversing with Dain, his head had also been organized a bit.
Picturing Seonwoo’s face, who would be on a date with someone else, Haeyoung got into the car he’d parked.
