“Truly pretty. What, an actor? Singer? Something like that?”
“Thank you.”
At the word actor, Seonwoo dismissed it with thanks. He was an actor, technically. It’s just that he was an actor who didn’t act. He wondered if this could even be called being an actor, but it was also ambiguous to say it wasn’t.
“Grandma, one more bowl for me!”
At Yoonjo’s voice that interrupted at just the right moment, people’s gazes scattered in an instant. Seonwoo nibbled after that but cleanly emptied one bowl. It seemed to be because it had been a long time since he’d had food where he could feel the cook’s touch like this.
Returning on the cultivator, Seonwoo felt the bustling feeling of being among people for the first time in a while. If last time he had ridden with just Yoonjo, this time it was together with the village elders. People would give Seonwoo attention only to take it away again.
The conversation topics were diverse, as if there was so much to talk about. Starting from crops and before long reaching stories about a newly born calf. So in the countryside they raise cattle directly… Seonwoo listened with one ear and let it out the other.
The cultivator dropped people off at the village entrance and arrived in front of Yoonjo’s house. Yoonjo also helped his grandmother and grandfather get off, then parked the cultivator in the yard and hurriedly ran out. Glancing at his watch, it was 1 PM. It was a time when the sun was beating down very brightly.
“Hyung, hyung. I’ll just take a quick shower and come out. Uh… hyung, take your time washing up!”
Having said only that, Yoonjo moved his feet and slipped inside the house. He looked like an ill-tempered sparrow, but his actions were just like a squirrel. He wondered what one had to eat to become that strong and quick.
Seonwoo fiddled with the edge of the wide-brimmed straw hat and returned home. As soon as he crossed the entrance, a phone call came.
Manager Woojin
After agonizing, when he answered the phone, an excited voice was heard.
– Are you resting well, Actor Ki?
“Yees. I’m getting evenly cooked front and back in a place with clear water, good air, and hot sunlight.”
– Still, it’s not too hot there, right? Seoul is just being steamed to death. You know how hot it is today? 41 degrees. Crazy.
Opening the door and entering inside, stuffy air clung to his sticky skin soaked with sweat. Letting out a heavy sigh for a moment, Seonwoo hurriedly turned on the air conditioner. Then Yoonjo suddenly came to mind. That smile saying he’d come over often because there was no air conditioner, and words like regret about not being able to install air conditioning in the countryside house.
– How is it? Are you sleeping well?
“Sleep… it’s just okay. I hear cow mooing, rooster crowing, even mountain birds in surround sound. During the day it’s blazing sun.”
– For all that, your voice sounds good. Ah, there’s a kid living next door there. They’d be nineteen this year or so.
“They’re a twenty-year-old freshman.”
– You already met them? Wow, they already entered university? Time really flies. But they might recognize you.
Seonwoo frowned while taking off his sweat-soaked shirt. He’d never sweated this much even when exercising, because he was drenched top and bottom. Each time his sticky skin brushed his fingertips, it stuck with a squelch.
“They didn’t seem to know me.”
– Uh… really? Then I guess so. They might not know because they saw you when they were too young.
“Why? Are they my fan?”
– I’ve been your manager for a long time. My grandmother knows you pretty well because of that. She said she told the kid next door sometimes when we talked, so maybe they know?
Since Seonwoo’s actor debut was 9 years ago, Yoonjo would have been in elementary school. Then there was a high possibility they wouldn’t know.
Seonwoo responded languidly and left the room, only grabbing underwear and training pants to change into. Entering the bathroom, he roughly hung his clothes on the towel rack and rolled his stiff shoulders.
“That aside… is grandmother okay?”
– She’s steadily receiving treatment, but she’s old. Her body isn’t like before. Still, hearing your voice sound good puts my mind at ease. Are you eating your meals properly? Don’t collapse like last time again.
He was being forced to eat properly. Except for the first few days, because he was following Yoonjo around eating delicious snacks, and at night eating fruit, spending luxurious days. Compared to his life in Seoul, the current situation could be said to be much healthier.
Looking in the mirror, he still saw a haggard face. Still, his complexion looked better. Seonwoo examined his face and let out a small laugh.
“I’m just eating well. Ah, and by any chance how is Dongtae doing? I came down in a hurry so I left him at the hotel, but I’m worried…”
– I was going to ask about that. Should I bring Dongtae? If the timing’s right, I’ll go there and drop him off and come back.
Seonwoo, who was about to say no thanks, quietly listened to Woojin’s words that came charging in.
– I’m relieved because you seem to be resting. If you’re curious about anything while staying there, ask me. I go there every summer so I know some hidden spots too. Ah, and about your comeback…
“I’ll call you again. I’m going to wash up.”
Quickly pressing the call end button, Seonwoo was washing his face dry when he roughly tossed his phone outside the bathroom. His manager apparently still hadn’t given up hope. Letting out several sighs, he closed the bathroom door.
Having cleanly bathed and purified himself, Yoonjo left the house almost as if flying. As soon as he opened the door, he was briefly breathless from the hot air covering his body, but he grinned.
“Grandma, Grandpa, I’m going to hang out! I’ll come back for dinner!”
“What? Where to?”
“Just go~”
Leaving behind his grandmother who asked and his grandfather who said to just go, Yoonjo vigorously greeted them and headed straight next door. He pressed the doorbell several times but there was no response from inside. In an instant, all sorts of thoughts passed before his eyes.
Did he collapse again? Well, he did seem to have an especially hard time today. He should have refused when he said he’d help, he thought, but then. Is he some kind of paper doll? When he said his lung deflated after hitting his chest a few times last time, I should have realized… he even thought that.
Before he knew it, a wild delusion continued where Seonwoo had collapsed and was on the living room floor. In the end, Yoonjo couldn’t stand it and opened the gate wide. Crossing the yard with quick steps, Yoonjo turned the front door handle. The door opened easily as if it hadn’t been locked from the start.
“Hyung! Did hyung collapse again?!”
Urgently entering the house, Yoonjo loudly called out his name again to find Seonwoo.
“Seonwoo hyung! Hyung!”
“…Why are you calling me?”
Turning his head, he saw Seonwoo coming out of the bathroom shaking his hair. He slightly tilted his head while looking at Yoonjo standing awkwardly in the living room.
“…Trespassing?”
“Uh uh uh uh? No, no! I thought hyung collapsed again…!”
Who are you treating like a living corpse? Seonwoo narrowed his eyes at Yoonjo’s mumbling but soon stopped. Since there was a track record of a few times, it would be strange to retort to those words too.
“Sit over there. I just need to change clothes. You said you’ve never driven before, right?”
Shaking his wet hair roughly, he was wearing only training pants. Compared to his slightly tanned arms, the place where his well-built abs were located looked exceptionally white. The not-quite-dry moisture slowly flowed down as if licking his skin. Each time he breathed, his abs stood out.
Wow… Those abs are insane. Are all celebrities like that? Yoonjo, who was unknowingly tapping his own stomach, barely came to his senses at Seonwoo’s question as he put on a t-shirt.
“Have you driven before?”
“Yes? Huh? No? Yes?”
“Is it yes or no?”
“Of course I have!”
At Seonwoo’s question asking when, Yoonjo unnecessarily became timid and looked at the floor. Because the sunlight was beating in, he could see dust floating hazily. As he kept his gaze there, he started breaking down the floor into nano units. The floor was subtly dirty. Does that hyung not even clean? Does he not know where the cleaning tools are…
Trying to concentrate on other things, Yoonjo casually replied.
“I drove when I got my driver’s license. How would I get a license without driving even once?”
“…I see. Namhang’s best driver counts the practice when getting a license as driving.”
“If I held the steering wheel, it’s driving.”
“Wow~ Then Yoonjo must drive regular cars well too, not just cultivators.”
“……”
“Best driver-ssi.”
Unnecessarily pushing the floor with his foot, Yoonjo suddenly lifted his head at Seonwoo’s last words and scrunched up his face. That face looked like a petty pufferfish, so Seonwoo had to firmly hold back the laughter trying to burst out. At a glance, the tips of Yoonjo’s ears were turning bright red.
Seeing Seonwoo’s lips trembling, Yoonjo’s face contorted even more bizarrely. Why does that hyung tease people once in a while like this?
“Hyung.”
“Mm?”
“Since I’ve trespassed anyway, should I burst the other lung too?”
“What are you doing not going out? Let’s hurry and go for driving practice.”
Seonwoo, who opened the front door wide, waved his hand saying let’s go out. Yoonjo, who stuck out his lips, followed behind Seonwoo. Hearing the sound of Yoonjo’s footsteps following behind, Seonwoo had to briefly think that if he got properly hit by those hands, his lung might really burst while he was alive.
The sleek black car was parked not far from Seonwoo’s house. It was a car that looked expensive at a glance. Yoonjo, who had been making shade with both hands on the heavily tinted window, lifted his head at the sound of the lock releasing. Seonwoo was on the driver’s side.
“Why are you over there? You should come to this side.”
“Whoa, are you really going to teach me to drive?”
“I’m pretty sure I said I’d teach you… I guess I look like a liar.”
Yoonjo, who blinked, answered fumblingly.
“Still, this looks really expensive… and I don’t have insurance…”
“Does the cultivator have insurance?”
“Of course it does! The world has gotten so much better now. Ah, of course you can only get compensation if you have an accident while driving on the road. If you get hurt while working in the fields, you leave without even getting money for the road to the afterlife, but… anyway, it has it. That, insurance!”
“Hmm…”
As if he had thought there wouldn’t be any, an awkward look appeared on Seonwoo’s face. Yoonjo hesitated, not knowing what he did wrong, then slyly said.
