# Chapter 28
After finishing his shower and heading to the kitchen, Tae Igyeol found a proper meal set on the table. He roughly shook off the water and removed the towel covering his head as he sat down at the table.
“Dry your hair first. I can wait that long.”
“It’s fine. It’ll dry on its own.”
“I only made the rice and bean sprout soup, the side dishes I bought from a side dish store on my way out.”
Mo Eunje explained as he took off his apron and pulled out the chair across from Tae Igyeol to sit down. Then he handed Tae Igyeol a pharmacy bag. Checking inside, it contained pills to relieve headaches and heartburn caused by alcohol, as well as a liquid hangover remedy.
“A simple hangover meal would have been enough. Why go to all this trouble?”
“After you drink a lot, you need rice and mild soup to settle your stomach, don’t you?”
It was a casual response, but it was a fact that even Tae Igyeol himself hadn’t consciously recognized. Yet he knew exactly what Mo Eunje preferred for a hangover cure.
“You usually cure your hangover with greasy food like cheese-loaded pizza or cream pasta.”
“You and Gye Minho were the ones drinking like there was no tomorrow. I barely drank last night since I was controlling myself to maintain my image. Your stomach hurts, right? Hurry and eat, then take the medicine.”
“…Thanks for the meal.”
Tae Igyeol picked up his spoon. Other than the small amount of food Mo Eunje had so rarely provided him last night, he had stupidly and stubbornly only drunk alcohol, making his stomach feel not just upset but like it was being torn apart. As he scooped a spoonful of the clear soup and brought it to his mouth, he met Mo Eunje’s eyes, which were looking at him with full expectation.
“How is it? Too bland? Should I add more salt?”
It was slightly salty, and adding a bit of water would have been good, but seeing those eyes sparkling with expectation, he simply couldn’t say anything. As an alternative, he thought he could mix it with rice.
“It’s just right.”
“That’s a relief. I followed a MiTube video, and it was surprisingly easy! They said adding green chili peppers makes the broth more robust and delicious, but I boldly omitted them because I was afraid you’d say it was spicy and wouldn’t eat it.”
“Good call. I was actually getting tired of delivery food lately and wanted some home cooking.”
“Then should we take turns making at least one meal a day?”
Isn’t that something couples living together or newlyweds do?
If he were to officially date Mo Eunje in the future, live together, or even get married, it might be nice to take turns and cook at least one meal a day. If Mo Eunje found cooking troublesome, Tae Igyeol was willing to attend cooking classes if necessary to prepare diligent meals every day. From this meaningless proposal, Tae Igyeol let his imagination soar to a distant future.
“Is one meal a day too much? Then how about one meal every two days?”
“How long are you planning to stay here?”
“Until I find a place?”
“Are you actually planning to look for a place?”
“Of course I am. I called my aunt earlier, but she said she was in a meeting with an important client, so we agreed to talk later.”
While part of him didn’t want to be too greedy and just wanted to live with Mo Eunje like this forever, another part wanted to send Mo Eunje away for fear that his uncontrollable, surging desires might ruin their current relationship. Tae Igyeol was confused as his feelings changed several times a day.
“Did you see the group chat? Ban Hajun broke up again, they say.”
Mo Eunje provided unnecessary information as he added diagonally cut green chili peppers to his own soup bowl. Despite liking spicy and robust flavors, Mo Eunje always put up with inconvenience and discomfort like this. Even at such a small gesture of consideration, Tae Igyeol’s heart felt tight. In the past, he would have felt his cheeks rise and his heart flutter when receiving such thoughtful consideration, but now his chest strangely ached and throbbed.
“It’s not like it’s the first or second time, why bring it up now…”
What he had intended to keep as an internal thought accidentally slipped out. Tae Igyeol’s spoon, which had been mixing rice into the soup, froze as if hardened.
“Well, it’s definitely not the first or second time. His inability to stay with one person for long has become a habit. Why can’t he stand being alone?”
Fortunately, Mo Eunje seemed to think it was a reaction to Ban Hajun and continued the conversation without awkwardness. Having regained his composure, Tae Igyeol responded casually.
“It’s because he has low self-esteem.”
“Nah, Hajun doesn’t have low self-esteem. Would someone with low self-esteem have such strong self-love?”
“Self-esteem, self-love, self-respect—they’re all separate things.”
“Is that so? Hey, try this. This rolled egg is no joke.”
A thick rolled egg was placed on Tae Igyeol’s empty rice bowl. Just looking at the cheese that had dyed the center yellow made his stomach churn. Even if he didn’t eat it, Mo Eunje wouldn’t mind, but he wanted to eat it because Mo Eunje had prepared it for him.
Tae Igyeol took a large spoonful of rice mixed with bean sprout soup and put it in his mouth, then bit into the cheese rolled egg. The cheese entering his hangover-suffering stomach was torture. It felt so uncomfortable that he could barely put another spoonful of food in his mouth. But without showing it, he roughly chewed and swallowed, then ate some white kimchi and dongchimi broth. The refreshing taste spread, making it somewhat bearable.
“Right, you should apologize to me first.”
“I’m sorry.”
At Mo Eunje’s challenging words, Tae Igyeol apologized like an obedient child without even asking why. It lacked both soul and emotion, but he did it because he was told to. Mo Eunje narrowed his eyes and pressed further.
“Do you know what you’re sorry for?”
“……”
Tae Igyeol kept his mouth firmly shut and just maintained eye contact. Since his memory wasn’t intact, trying to answer would only put him at a disadvantage. Sure enough, the reason that came from Mo Eunje’s mouth was one that Tae Igyeol hadn’t even considered worth contemplating among the various possibilities in his head.
“Yesterday when the substitute driver came, you staggered as you got up and stepped on my castella! It was a precious gift from my first celebrity reader…”
He vaguely remembered the substitute driver arriving, but stepping on the castella bag was the haziest memory of all—he couldn’t recall it at all. He didn’t remember whether it had been intentional or accidental, but if anyone knew which was more likely, it was Tae Igyeol himself.
“I’m sorry. I must have been really drunk yesterday. I’ll buy you all the castella you’ll eat for a year.”
“You have to buy them from the bakeries I specify too.”
“Yeah.”
“Keep your promise. You didn’t just step on it once—you tottered around and stepped on it multiple times, completely flattening the castella. Are your feet that big? I couldn’t even eat it… If you hadn’t been drunk, I would have hit you.”
Mo Eunje’s voice softened, perhaps mollified by the promise of a year’s worth of castella. Pretending to apologize, Tae Igyeol placed the last remaining cheese rolled egg on top of Mo Eunje’s rice.
Yesterday’s Tae Igyeol, I commend you.
After finishing the meal, they cleared the table together. He wasn’t sure how many more times they would eat the side dishes Mo Eunje had bought, but for now, they transferred them to containers and put them in the refrigerator, then loaded the dishes into the dishwasher and started it.
“Huh? What’s this?”
It was when he had thoroughly rinsed out the disposable plastic containers that had held the side dishes. Mo Eunje, who had been looking at his phone while wiping the table with a wet tissue, spoke in a serious tone.
“What?”
“You… are in a scandal?”
“Me?”
“With Shin Dael.”
“What nonsense. Why would there be a scandal between me and her?”
“Check the group chat first. There are already several articles out.”
Tae Igyeol took his phone from Mo Eunje and entered the group chat. Gye Minho had sent a link and was making all sorts of fuss about it. When he clicked the link, a community post appeared. It showed various photos of him with Shin Dael, claiming they were scenes of Shin Dael enjoying a date with an ordinary man.
Just by looking at the clothes, he could tell they were from different days. It was evidence that he had met with Shin Dael often to praise Mo Eunje. The post already had countless comments. Judging by the fact that articles had been written based on this post, journalists must really have nothing to do and too much time on their hands.
“You can stay out tonight.”
“Why would I stay out when I have my own place?”
The scandal was absurd enough, but even more absurd words came out of Mo Eunje’s mouth. When Tae Igyeol looked at him with incredulity, Mo Eunje met his eyes with an expression that seemed to ask if he really didn’t know.
“Actress Shin must be very surprised too. This is when you go be by her side and score points.”
“You crazy fool, why would I try to score points with her?”
“……”
“Hey, Mo Eunje. Don’t think strange things. I’m not dating Shin Dael. We’re not anything.”
“I know. You said you weren’t dating when I asked before.”
For someone who claimed to know, his face showed that he didn’t know at all. Tae Igyeol sighed.
More frustrated by Mo Eunje’s response than the garbage scandal, Tae Igyeol grabbed his cigarettes and lighter and headed to the rooftop terrace. Walking toward the ashtray in the corner, he took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it. He called his father, Tae Hyunseok, but the line was busy.
Taeyang Actors was probably already checking the facts with Shin Dael and preparing damage control articles. The fact that there had been no contact with him suggested that even his father didn’t believe this scandal.
For good reason. Shin Dael already had a boyfriend she’d been dating for 10 years, since she was a high school student even before her debut. Only a few people at Taeyang Actors knew the truth—the CEO, a few director-level executives, and her manager—and they didn’t disclose it because her boyfriend was an ordinary person working as a high school literature teacher, and scandals could potentially be fatal weaknesses for actresses.
Shin Dael [Igyeol, have you seen the article?]
Shin Dael [Surprised? I’m sorry ㅠㅠ]
02:35 PM
Shin Dael [The company’s handling it now, so a rebuttal article will be out soon]
Shin Dael [I’m really sorry, but it’s probably better if you don’t go out today ㅠㅠ]
Shin Dael [I think journalists have gone to your neighborhood too]
Shin Dael [I’m so sorry ㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜ]
02:36 PM
[Why are you sorry?]
[Take good care of your boyfriend]
[Make sure to explain clearly that I have absolutely no interest in you]
02:37 PM [Let’s not see each other for a while]
Shin Dael replied immediately, but he didn’t check it. He wanted to hit his past reckless self. Even while being aware that Shin Dael was a well-known actress, he had failed to exercise proper judgment because he was so happy to have found a friend who could comfortably and purely talk about Mo Eunje for the first time.
