“Then for today, instead of driving, do you want to go to that beach over there?”
At the unexpected suggestion, Seonwoo frowned as if thinking for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders. The sunlight was too strong, making it difficult to sit in front here, so he just wanted to go inside somewhere quickly.
“Let’s go anywhere for now.”
He opened the car door and got in, but the inside of the car that had been heated all morning was like a steamer. Hurriedly opening the door and turning on the air conditioner, Seonwoo started the car as soon as Yoonjo got in.
Yoonjo, who belatedly fastened his seatbelt, laughed “hehe” and wiggled his fingers. Seeing this out of the corner of his eye, Seonwoo suddenly asked.
“Are you excited? Even though you can’t drive?”
“It’s good to go out anywhere.”
Before long, as the hot air escaped, Seonwoo closed the windows and lowered the air conditioner temperature a bit more. The wide-open country road had no notable cars, so they drove smoothly.
Between the rapidly passing scenery, well-ripened crops could also be seen. Grinning happily for no reason, Yoonjo suddenly felt something strange. What does that hyung trust about me to treat me so well? The first impression was really the worst.
“I have something I’m curious about, can I ask?”
“You have a lot of curiosities…”
Thinking the muttered words might be a reprimand, Yoonjo’s face was about to crumple when Seonwoo opened his mouth as if to say don’t misunderstand. His low voice flew and stuck to Yoonjo’s ear.
“I was just thinking everyone at that age is like that. Ask. Everything you’re curious about.”
“What do you see in me to treat me so well, hyung? Um… when I first saw you, I hit the back of your head really hard and kept hitting your back. Ah, come to think of it, is your back okay? When I saw you take off your clothes earlier, there didn’t seem to be anything major, you put the cooling sheet on well, right?”
The conversation was about to go off on a tangent again, so Seonwoo interrupted as soon as Yoonjo’s words ended.
“My back is fine, and I put the cooling sheet on well. Your hand technique was so spicy that night I could’ve eaten rice without side dishes and it would’ve been seasoned enough.”
“Wow… that’s really a dad joke…”
“…Anyway. Treating you well is…”
Unnecessarily nervous, Yoonjo stared intently at Seonwoo’s profile with both hands tightly clenched. His gaze was directed forward, but somehow it seemed like he was also looking at Yoonjo out of the corner of his eye. Soon Seonwoo’s well-shaped lips opened.
“You gave me watermelon.”
“…What.”
“You also gave me melons, let me eat the mid-morning snack. Thanks to you, I’m eating meals well.”
Is this kind of like that? A person who gives you food is a good person? Yoonjo opened his eyes wide and pulled down the corners of his mouth loosely. His lips naturally ended up protruding.
“Hyung is really an easy person. You’d follow if given candy.”
“I don’t like candy, I’ll go with beer.”
“Huh? That’s unexpected. I thought you’d only drink liquor or wine.”
Are you really my fan? Seonwoo lazily responded, recalling his conversation with his manager.
“I hate them. Liquor is too strong and wine is too bitter. Beer or soju is just right.”
“I thought you said you liked wine…”
Hearing Yoonjo’s barely audible muttering, Seonwoo slightly narrowed his eyes. A fan. It seems like he’s a fan. Even if not that, he at least seems to know what kind of person Seonwoo is, but looking at his actions, he also seemed to treat him like someone he didn’t know.
Are you really my fan? A few years ago, in some magazine interview when asked what kind of alcohol he liked, he had answered wine. Even back then he liked wine, so it wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t the case now though. Of course, that alone wasn’t enough evidence. Looking at Yoonjo’s usual behavior, he also seemed to treat him like someone he didn’t know.
Usually fans can’t do anything because they’re excited just being next to you, but Yoonjo said everything he wanted to say regardless. It’s not that there were no excited actions at all, but that level could be dismissed as a reaction to seeing a handsome person.
Does he know, or doesn’t he know?
Suddenly Seonwoo became curious about Yoonjo.
Only after driving exactly 35 more minutes from the village did Seonwoo’s car stop. He glanced at Yoonjo bouncing excitedly next to him, then tried to unfasten his seatbelt and get out. He might have already gotten out if it weren’t for Yoonjo who couldn’t get out because he couldn’t press the belt button properly.
“…What are you doing?”
“Why won’t this come off? Isn’t this the button? Strange…”
Yoonjo, who was pressing the button repeatedly, raised his head at the shadow falling over him. Before he knew it, Seonwoo had come close. He pulled the seatbelt extending over Yoonjo’s shoulder, then pressed the button with a light gesture.
“It’s undone.”
It felt like breath touched his ear. Yoonjo stiffened his body and rolled his eyes around, then barely managed to nod his head.
“Thank… you?”
Laughter leaked out at the cracked voice. Instead of answering, Seonwoo slipped out of the car. The tip of Yoonjo’s ear, seen in passing, was heated bright red, and his face was full of embarrassment. It felt 2% lacking to be a fan’s reaction. Seonwoo leaned against the car door and waited for Yoonjo. Before long, Yoonjo crawled out of the car slowly. With his head deeply bowed. The tips of his ears were still red, so Seonwoo burst into laughter without realizing it.
After exactly 5 more minutes, Yoonjo returned to normal. The incident from a moment ago didn’t seem to be in his head at all. Yoonjo walked across the plain with sparse grass, shaking out the sand that had gotten into the slippers he wore out.
To call it a beach, the sea looked far away, and above all, there wasn’t a single person. No matter how rural it was, it didn’t make sense for there to be no one during summer vacation season.
“Is this the right way?”
Seonwoo, who was following behind Yoonjo, asked while removing a pebble that had gotten caught in his sneakers.
“Um… we just need to go a bit more from here. It comes out if you go around the rocks.”
“Is it like a hidden spot or something?”
“Kind of… It is. When I was young, Grandpa told me about it. He said he heard about it from his grandfather too. It’s like a secret place.”
“Is it okay to bring me to a place like that? This seems kind of like a family secret.”
Grandfather had whispered to Yoonjo when telling him about the beach to bring someone there later if there was someone he wanted to impress. Since Yoonjo brought Seonwoo here following those words, there was no problem. That said, he wasn’t clueless enough to tell Seonwoo the truth directly.
“What secret about going to a beach… Anyone can just enjoy it.”
Walking trudge trudge, Yoonjo held out his hand toward Seonwoo following behind him.
“The rocks here are a bit sharp so you need to be careful. Hold on.”
Seonwoo, who alternated between looking at the outstretched hand and the brightly smiling Yoonjo, reluctantly placed his fingertips lightly on it. Then Yoonjo put strength into it and gripped Seonwoo’s hand. Just as he thought his arm was being pulled, in an instant their eye levels matched. Yoonjo, who had come right up to his nose, grinned and said.
“Be careful.”
That smile was quite different from the expressions of people who only looked at gains and losses, commonly seen in Seonwoo’s world. When the bright sunlight touched Yoonjo’s face, it seemed to sparkle. Seonwoo looked at Yoonjo’s face then composed his expression. For Seonwoo who had a long acting career, not letting thoughts show on his face wasn’t difficult.
“Thank you.”
When Seonwoo slightly lowered his eyes, his long eyelashes touched his cheeks, creating long shadows. He looked like a cat basking in the lazy afternoon sunlight. Only then did Yoonjo realize again. Ki Seonwoo was indeed an actor. A freaking handsome actor at that. So amazing it made you wonder if the god of acting had descended to earth.
Yoonjo, who barely got down to the ground, helped Seonwoo who was following. Once Seonwoo also safely got down to the ground, Yoonjo spread both hands and said with a “ta-da~” feeling.
“Welcome to the Ji family’s private beach!”
The place they arrived at was a narrow beach with a sandy shore at most big enough for five people to stand. It was narrow even though it was currently low tide. At high tide, it would disappear without a trace. Yoonjo familiarly kicked off his slippers and crossed both arms to take off his shirt, then hesitated.
His moderately tanned, healthy-looking body was fully revealed. Whenever his back moved, the well-built muscles rippled. Yoonjo glanced around as if watching for something, then in the end didn’t take off his clothes. Instead, he slipped off his pants and tossed them onto a nearby rock, then gestured to Seonwoo.
“Let’s go in, hyung!”
“I appreciate the offer, but I’ll just dip my feet.”
“What, coming all the way here… Then just hold my phone for me. I’m going to swim a bit!”
If he had a tail, it would surely be wagging vigorously right now. Seonwoo waved his hand readily and also took off his sneakers and socks to slightly dip his feet.
The cool seawater fully wrapped around his ankles. The midday sunlight sparkled finely like broken glass over the blue sea. Perhaps there were no islands nearby, as the horizon was clear. The only noise was the gentle sound of waves washing sand away and the sound of birds crying steadily from somewhere.
No, one more.
Ji Yoonjo swimming and splashing like a fish in water all the way to that distant place.
Taking in the splish-splash sounds, Seonwoo wiggled his toes. Slightly rough sand dug in between his toes. Swish, swish. Then Seonwoo raised his head and returned a greeting to Yoonjo who was waving from not far away.
“Hyung, I’m coming back there!”
Yoonjo gradually approached toward Seonwoo. Each time his hand cut through the surface of the blue sea, the light caught in the water droplets scattered and spread. Yoonjo’s face, having approached close enough to see with the eyes, was wet like a smooth pebble pulled from a clear stream.
Seonwoo, who pulled his gaze away from Yoonjo and slightly lowered his eyes, muttered while unknowingly sweeping his hair back.
“Ki Seonwoo hasn’t come to his senses yet.”
It resembled a warning toward himself.
