# Chapter 85
## 3-3
They had agreed to meet at the lamb skewer restaurant at the intersection at 7 PM. Since Tae Igyeol said he’d come directly from the gym, Mo Eunje left home a bit early, planning to walk there.
When he arrived at the meeting place, it wasn’t even 6:30 yet, and he wondered if he’d come too early. Thinking it would be better to take a walk than sit alone awkwardly, he peered through the glass window. He saw Ban Hajun sitting alone at the central table. If Tae Igyeol or Gye Minho had arrived first to secure a spot, they would have chosen a corner seat or a window seat that was as quiet as possible, but why did this guy always sit in the center where it was the noisiest and most chaotic with people coming and going? His psychology was incomprehensible.
Mo Eunje entered the restaurant and, despite making eye contact with Ban Hajun, pretended not to see him and sat at a corner window seat. Reading his intention, Ban Hajun scrunched up his face but obediently moved over. After saying they would order more food when the rest of the group arrived, they first ordered a bottle each of beer and soju.
“Look at this personality, ignoring the person who came first and got the seats.”
“Look at that sense, choosing the noisiest and most chaotic spot.”
Mo Eunje mimicked Ban Hajun’s tone exactly and threw his words right back at him. This was a tactic Tae Igyeol often used on Mo Eunje. When words were returned this way, the other person typically couldn’t think of a comeback, and the topic would shift—making it the perfect timing to use now. Sure enough, although Ban Hajun furrowed his brows, he didn’t press any further about the seating.
“Why did you come so early? I thought I’d have to sit alone for more than 30 minutes.”
“Just wanted to walk a bit. You?”
“I had nothing to do. I didn’t expect to arrive this early.”
Ban Hajun sighed and poured a glass of water, passing it to Mo Eunje. Unlike his usual energetic self, his mood seemed somehow subdued.
“Nothing to do? Did you take those sample photos?”
“I shot one couple, but I’m dying because I don’t want to do the post-processing.”
“Didn’t you say you got an offer to be an advertising model? Why not try it as a part-time job first? The pay seems better than taking follow snaps or date snaps. Especially since you’re dying over post-processing work.”
“I’m not really interested. But why are you alone? Where’s your butler?”
Always treating us as a set—can’t I come alone?
“He said he’d come after working out a bit more at the gym.”
“Why does he keep working out intensely before drinking? It completely defeats the purpose.”
“Tae Igyeol is acting strange.”
Mo Eunje brought up the problem that had been bothering him all afternoon in a serious voice. But Ban Hajun’s response was a snort.
“Why state the obvious? He’s always been strange. That’s why he’s still working out like a madman even though he’ll be downing drinks later.”
“No, I mean he’s really strange.”
“In what way?”
“I don’t know. But he’s strange.”
It was true that Mo Eunje had suddenly felt a sense of disconnection from Tae Igyeol today, but it wasn’t clear—like being covered in fog—so he couldn’t explain exactly what was strange.
“You’re a novelist, so why do you talk like that? Can’t you explain it properly, like you’re writing narrative text in a novel?”
“…Forget it. I don’t even know how to describe it, so how can I explain it?”
Feeling frustrated, Mo Eunje gulped down cold water.
He couldn’t share the details with Ban Hajun: that Tae Igyeol had suddenly become too nice, that he was treating Mo Eunje extremely well even though he wasn’t sick anymore, that he kept looking at him with peculiar eyes that made him uncomfortable, and that when Mo Eunje had joked he should pay 100 won per minute for staring, Tae Igyeol had paid 50,000 won upfront. Even between close friends, he had enough sense to distinguish between what should and shouldn’t be said.
Moreover, since Ban Hajun was not only his friend but also Tae Igyeol’s friend, it was better to be cautious with his words. Though he knew Ban Hajun wasn’t the type to spread rumors, if he shared one-sided speculations that led to clumsy misunderstandings, it would be harder to resolve.
‘Yesterday… do you remember?’
Tae Igyeol’s strange behavior had started with this question. Since he seemed determined not to explain, Mo Eunje had to search his own memories to find the cause and resolve it. The problem was that he couldn’t even get a hint.
“Look at this personality—making someone curious and then clamming up.”
Ban Hajun complained as he mixed the beer and soju that had been served.
“You said he was always strange.”
Mo Eunje received his glass of somaek, took a sip, and responded casually, putting his emotions aside.
“Well, how could he not be strange after having an unrequited love for 10 years?”
The muttered words hit Mo Eunje’s ears with perfect clarity. Though it was a very quiet voice, it felt as clear and distinct as if Ban Hajun had spoken directly into his ear with a megaphone.
“…You knew about that?”
“You know now too. I… found out by chance. When I noticed something and asked, he didn’t even deny it.”
“When?”
“Last spring. Around April? I asked on a hunch, and his personality is so frustrating that he just spilled everything.”
Mo Eunje had found out this spring. Since the calendar had just turned to June today, if it was around April last year, Ban Hajun had known more than a year before him. Though he understood that it was Tae Igyeol’s free will to decide whom to tell first, he felt somewhat hurt. Even though it wasn’t something to feel hurt about.
Thinking back, despite being constantly together with Tae Igyeol and sharing all kinds of trivial stories, this recent conversation about his first love and unrequited love was the first time they had ever discussed anything related to romance. They had somehow lived without discussing such things. There were too many other things to talk about even without that. It was hard to remember what all those countless conversations had been about now.
“I’m glad he at least told you. It must be tough to keep it all to himself.”
“So, do you know who it is?”
“If it was 10 years ago, that was during middle school, so I thought about the people he hung out with then. I have a pretty good idea who it is.”
Tae Igyeol would only talk about his own feelings, not spread personal information about the other party. Similarly, Mo Eunje had no intention of mentioning that Cha Hyunwoo had been married, had a child, and was currently divorced.
But suddenly, a thought rushed in that it might not be Cha Hyunwoo. Judging by Tae Igyeol’s behavior—introducing him to a job at Ila Actors and meeting him separately for drinks—he did seem to think of him as special, but for some reason, Mo Eunje had an uncomfortable suspicion that he might have guessed wrong.
“Mo Eunje. In my opinion, you’re strange too.”
“What about me?”
“Compared to you, there’s nothing strange about Tae Igyeol. No, Tae Igyeol is strange too, but I can confidently say you’re much stranger.”
Ban Hajun emphasized “much” by stretching it out very long, pronouncing it like “muuuuuch.” Then he downed his somaek in one shot and, muttering something inaudible to himself, poured soju and beer into the empty glass.
“Hey, speak clearly. How am I strange? Among the four of us, I’m the most normal one, you know? You’re the strangest one, trying to project onto others. It’s always the strangest people who don’t realize they’re the strangest.”
Mo Eunje rambled on, aware that he had said “strangest” four times but unable to think of a better expression, so he just kept saying whatever came to mind. Ban Hajun, having downed another somaek in one shot, nodded with a resigned face.
“Fine, let’s say that. You’re right. It’s always the strangest people who don’t realize they’re the strangest.”
Though he hadn’t really lost, it felt like he had fought well despite losing. For a moment, he had a sense of déjà vu. He felt like he had experienced a similar feeling with Tae Igyeol before, but couldn’t quite remember. If he couldn’t remember, it probably wasn’t an important situation worth recalling.
“Anyway, yesterday I went to eat cold noodles with my girlfriend and ran into my first love.”
“Oh dear…”
Mo Eunje responded half-heartedly as Ban Hajun tried to smoothly change the subject. In truth, it wasn’t polite to continue discussing Tae Igyeol’s unrequited love when he wasn’t present. Just exchanging the fact that they both knew about his unrequited love already made his conscience prick.
“So did you greet each other?”
“As soon as I saw them, I unconsciously went ‘Huh?’ and acknowledged them first.”
“Ah… I know what that’s like.”
Mo Eunje had reacted exactly the same way when he first encountered actor Yoo Sijin in the bathroom during his first time accompanying Tae Igyeol to an Ila Actors event. It was because he had watched a drama starring the actor all night before and felt a one-sided familiarity. It would have been better if it had happened in the banquet hall, but unfortunately it was in the bathroom, leaving both of them embarrassed.
“Right, you said you did that with Yoo Sijin before. In that situation, it’s awkward whether you greet them or not.”
“Exactly. Even while saying ‘Huh?’, I thought they were someone I knew personally. I spent so long trying to figure out when I had met them.”
“You’re crazy. You really are the strangest.”
“How is that strange? People don’t talk about it, but I bet a lot of people have had similar experiences.”
“Even so, most people would immediately realize they’re looking at a celebrity when they go ‘Huh?’, and how many would actually speak to them? At least they wouldn’t mistake them for a former classmate and ask which grade they were in together, like you did.”
“Is that so?”
He had a lot he wanted to rebut, but he let it go, not wanting to start an argument. Ban Hajun shook his head as he mixed his third glass of somaek, using the zha cai salad and peanuts provided as basic side dishes.
“How could you possibly look at that incredibly handsome face and think they were a former classmate?”
“Hey, I see my face and Tae Igyeol’s face every day, so someone just moderately good-looking barely registers. I don’t even think Yoo Sijin is that handsome.”
He loaded up with comebacks, thinking this was worth defending even if it led to an annoying argument. On the other hand, he wondered what the point was of such a meaningless competition over appearances.
