# Chapter 23
“Huh? When did you get here?”
As Mo Eunje entered the house, Tae Igyeol was sitting on the living room sofa, elegantly reading a book. It was Mo Eunje’s first short story collection, “Castella and Gumbo.” Tae Igyeol particularly liked that book. If he had to guess, Tae Igyeol had probably read it many more times than Mo Eunje, the creator who had gone through countless revisions.
“Thirty minutes ago.”
That made sense. Though he hadn’t come out, Tae Igyeol hadn’t broken his principle of arriving 15 minutes before the appointed time.
“Then why didn’t you come out?”
“Aren’t you still getting ready? If you were ready, you would have called me.”
Looking closely, Tae Igyeol had an incredible talent for getting out of bothersome situations. As it was, Eunje was about to call and ask where he was, thinking they would start grilling meat right away once he brought out the alcohol.
“Huh? Why is this drawn?”
The blackout curtains were covering the windows that looked out to both the rooftop terrace and the living room. Since Mo Eunje himself had definitely pulled them back to let in natural light during the day, it was obvious who the culprit was without asking. Mo Eunje pulled the curtains back again, shaking his head at Tae Igyeol’s meticulousness.
“Where’s the ice box?”
“In the kitchen veranda.”
Tae Igyeol, who had placed the book on the table in front of the sofa, went to get the ice box from the kitchen veranda. The plan was to transfer the alcohol into the ice box to avoid the hassle of going back and forth. Mo Eunje opened the kimchi refrigerator door. He had put the alcohol that Ban Hajun brought earlier directly into the kimchi refrigerator.
“I’ll bring the cups, so can you pack the ice packs and alcohol?”
“Yeah.”
Mo Eunje gathered cups considering each person’s preferred drink. Rather than thoughtlessly bringing extras, he was determined not to allow even one unnecessary cup to minimize dishwashing. Although he’d put them in the dishwasher after use, he believed in minimizing dirty dishes.
“You carry this. I’ll carry that.”
Mo Eunje handed the tray of cups to Tae Igyeol. But Tae Igyeol didn’t take it and snorted dismissively. Mo Eunje was trying to be considerate since Tae Igyeol had just come from the gym, but his rude response was exasperating.
Slightly wounded in his pride, Mo Eunje forcibly passed off the tray and tried to lift the ice box. They must have packed an absurd amount of alcohol because the ice box wouldn’t budge. After struggling a few more times, Mo Eunje gave up cleanly and without concern, as he always did.
“I’ll give in. You just carry it.”
He said magnanimously as he took back the tray. The ice box that hadn’t moved an inch when Mo Eunje tried to lift it, as if it had been glued to the floor, Tae Igyeol picked up as easily as a cotton ball. He must still have plenty of strength left even after working out at the gym for two hours.
“Look at this guy’s timing? Shows up just when we’re about to grill the meat?”
Ban Hajun enthusiastically welcomed Tae Igyeol who came out carrying the ice box. Tae Igyeol merely glanced at him once, not even acknowledging him, and put the ice box down beside the table. Then he silently picked up the utensils. Gye Minho also stood across from Tae Igyeol and picked up the tongs.
“I want to eat soon…”
Mo Eunje unconsciously muttered as Tae Igyeol placed the grilling rack over the fire pit. He had skipped lunch to eat more meat for dinner, only watching as Tae Igyeol devoured pho, nasi goreng, and bun cha. Despite drooling, he had held back, earning the extra accusation of being foolish.
“If we want to eat delicious food, we shouldn’t even think about touching the equipment.”
Ban Hajun, who always burned the meat whenever he grilled it, said with a solemn expression as he raised his phone. He took pictures of Tae Igyeol and Gye Minho preparing to grill from various angles. He also captured Mo Eunje hovering around Tae Igyeol, hoping the meat would soon be placed on the grill.
Though he usually took casual photos with his phone, Ban Hajun often went out on photography excursions with an expensive camera as a hobby. He had many well-taken photos that made it seem like he might have more talent for photography than acting.
“Oh right. My mom’s new drama, I heard your brother is the lead?”
Ban Hajun’s father, Ban Cheol-ung, was a director with multiple million-viewer films, and his mother, Kim Heera, was a drama writer whose works always became massive hits. Since Kim Heera’s touch guaranteed high ratings and popularity on OTT platforms, there were rumors that top actors would wait years for a chance to appear in her dramas. Tae Igyeol’s younger brother, Tae Iden, had secured such an incredible position.
“The articles haven’t come out yet.”
Mo Eunje checked the entertainment news section of a portal site and even searched for Tae Iden’s name on his phone, but there were no articles about Kim Heera’s new work.
“You know how sensitive my mom is about speculative articles. If you lined up all the reporters who got sued by my mom’s lawyer, it would stretch from Seoul to Busan. There were three candidates for the lead role, including Tae Iden, and it was finalized today after the audition. The production company and Tae Iden’s agency will probably release articles soon?”
Regardless, Tae Igyeol showed absolutely no interest as he placed the meat on the grill rack. Across from him, Gye Minho arranged the sausages and pre-cut vegetables along the edges.
“What’s the story about this time? Is a high school student the main character?”
Mo Eunje showed his anticipation. He had been a fan of writer Kim Heera for a long time, always captivated by her trendy, cheerful narratives that made you laugh constantly but could also weigh on your heart and bring tears to your eyes. Even though it was a different medium, as a creator, Mo Eunje both envied and respected how she could write in a way that moved people’s hearts. So when he found out that the mother of Tae Igyeol’s theater and film department friend was that Kim Heera, he had nearly fallen over in surprise.
“It’s about high school students from wealthy families? The role Tae Iden got is the chairman’s son. And he’s even an illegitimate child. Isn’t it so predictable? Then he’ll probably do a modern Romeo and Juliet with the daughter of a chauffeur or live-in help. This time, the characters are completely steeped in clichés from the start.”
“There’s a reason why clichés are clichés, right? They work no matter when you use them. I’m so excited.”
Unlike the excited Mo Eunje, Tae Igyeol maintained a complete lack of reaction. Mo Eunje nudged Tae Igyeol’s forearm.
“Hey, Iden is the lead role.”
“So what?”
From Mo Eunje’s perspective, Tae Igyeol only cared about stocks and himself, regardless of siblings or family.
Ah, these days, also Shin Dael…
After sticking a long candle into a piece of cake that Gye Minho had bought and lighting it, they sang the birthday song enthusiastically with raised voices. Ban Hajun, wearing a party hat he had personally prepared, closed his eyes and made a wish with a serious expression before blowing out the candle.
“Now, we will proceed with the gift-giving ceremony.”
Ban Hajun acted as the MC while receiving the designated gifts. As he checked each gift with exaggerated acting expressions, he also made Mo Eunje and Gye Minho take pictures. He was truly a bothersome person with his boisterous personality. Still, since Ban Hajun always took great photos of Mo Eunje, he diligently took pictures from various angles. Hoping that at least one would turn out well.
“By the way, Igyeol. It’s my birthday, so can’t we invite Tae Iden and Shin Dael?”
“No, you can’t.”
Ban Hajun repeated the same repertoire from last year’s birthday, just replacing Baek Suji’s name with Shin Dael. Just like last year, Tae Igyeol’s answer came without the slightest hesitation, ruthlessly firm.
Come to think of it, Tae Igyeol never talked about or showed his brother to people around him. The reason Ban Hajun and Gye Minho knew about the Tae brothers’ relationship wasn’t because Tae Igyeol told them, but because they had seen a family photo Tae Iden posted on SNS. That photo didn’t even last two hours before being deleted the moment Tae Igyeol found out, but it had already been reported in articles and spread widely.
“Hey, how can you keep everything to yourself? What’s the point of having friends? Only Gye Minho gets to see Shin Dael in person, get her autograph, and take pictures with her.”
“I didn’t do that for him. This meddlesome guy did it on his own.”
Tae Igyeol lazily gestured toward Mo Eunje with his chin. Mo Eunje quickly lowered his eyes and avoided eye contact, afraid that Ban Hajun’s request might fly his way.
“Fine. I’ll pass on Shin Dael. Even I think that’s crossing the line. It would be awkward to invite Shin Dael when it’s just a bunch of gloomy guys here. But Tae Iden is your real brother, so that’s okay, right?”
Since he’d been a child actor, Tae Iden had so many filming schedules that he lacked the required attendance days, and even when he did attend school, he struggled to adapt to school life. Eventually, Tae Iden withdrew and chose homeschooling. Since he had few friends his own age, he wanted to hang out with his brother’s friends, so if they called him now, he would excitedly take a taxi and rush over right away. However, Tae Igyeol found his 8-year-younger brother extremely annoying.
“Your mom’s drama has Tae Iden in it, right? Ask your mom to invite him.”
“Are you in your right mind? You want me to say that nonsense and get my ears boxed by my mom?”
“If you don’t like that, I could hit you instead.”
“You crazy bastard, if you hit me, my eardrum would burst.”
Mo Eunje and Gye Minho agreed with Ban Hajun’s opinion and quietly nodded. But Ban Hajun wasn’t one to back down easily. Moreover, since today was a gathering disguised as his birthday party, he would be persistently clingy. Judging from his tenacity in begging for Baek Suji’s autograph for over a year, it was easy to guess.
