This heat, these cheers, and the protagonist of the trophy sparkling brilliantly on stage and the large bouquet is us. So you should be standing next to me too, so why are you so sad—
“Cha Hohyeon.”
Sitting alone at an empty table?
I slowly lifted my feet and now I ran.
“Cha Hohyeon!”
[I’m sorry.]
And at that moment when you shed tears saying you’re sorry to me, suddenly I heard the noise of a car tearing at my ears. Without even being able to scream, I felt your hands embracing me as that incident that happened in an instant appeared to move slowly.
You know, we were always together, we were always alive together.
“Hohyeon-ah, Cha Hohyeon— Please!!”
So it’s not what I’m thinking, right?
Cha Hohyeon, don’t die.
* * *
“……Yoon-ah? Yoon-ah! Go Yoon!! Doctor!!”
* * *
‘Actually, I was going to introduce you to the members today, but that won’t work. Just pack tomorrow and come right in. I’ll send Director Gye.’
Around the time my crying had barely stopped, Onseol said while comforting me. I grabbed hold of my dazed mind and stared blankly at Onseol exchanging numbers on my phone on his own, then greeted him and headed home, but honestly I didn’t remember very well what state of mind I was in when I returned. As soon as I arrived home, I immediately collapsed on the floor and fell asleep, and even though I went to bed early, I could barely open my eyes only when it was late morning.
“Ah, my face is a mess.”
My face was covered in tears. What on earth kind of dream was it that I cried so much?
I was sitting there blankly when Director Gye’s phone call asking when I was coming brought me to my senses and I washed up. Even while washing, I wondered several times whether taking this path was really the right thing to do, but since I’d already stepped in, all that was left was to move forward, so I resolved to steel my heart.
“You’re here?”
“Yes, hello.”
I met Director Gye, greeted him, and loaded my luggage.
“You’ll ride comfortably in the back, right? Goodness, why are you sweating so much in cold sweat? Are you sick somewhere?”
“No. And this seat is comfortable. I get a bit of severe motion sickness……”
I answered while quickly wiping the cold sweat with the back of my hand from the passenger seat. It felt like the noise of a car accident was stuck in my ears like tinnitus, so I couldn’t bring myself to sit in the back seat of the passenger side where the accident had happened.
“We’ll be there soon, so just hang in there a bit. Today, get close to the kids at the dorm and rest.”
“Yes.”
“And tomorrow there’ll be a concept meeting too, so it’ll be quite busy…… Ah right, you guys are scheduled to debut in the first half of the year, so you need to be prepared.”
The first half of next year was right around the corner. When I asked back if it was possible to prepare for a debut within 2-3 months, he said the members had already finished all preparations before I joined and that as rookies anyway, we only needed to practice two songs. Of course, knowing well that it was easier said than done and by no means an easy task, I hung my head low. This is going to be tough.
“Jerim, you have to work the hardest since you’re joining late. So get off here, you know which unit it is, right?”
“Yes, it’s 304, and the password is 0000.”
“The kids’ personalities are……”
Director Gye, who hesitated for a moment, looked at me awkwardly and smiled.
“Well, I trust you’ll do well. See you tomorrow.”
“Yes, take care.”
I was already exhausted just from riding in the car, but a bigger obstacle was waiting. Anyway, before I knew it, I stood in front of unit 304 and stamped my feet.
“I’m nervous.”
I hadn’t even been this nervous when I met the Fort hyungs before. But this time I was so nervous that I could only open the door after fumbling several times.
“Hello.”
I bowed as soon as I entered, but there was no answer. When I raised my head because there was no response, it was still empty in front of me. I had expected a palm-sized dorm since it was the first male group to debut from the agency, but I was surprised that it was unexpectedly spacious.
Is no one here? I got nervous for nothing.
As I was thinking that and awkwardly lifting my luggage to move, I heard something rustling. And I met a pair of light brown eyes.
‘Wow, he’s handsome.’
I didn’t know why he was lying on the living room floor instead of leaving the perfectly good sofa alone, but the man who was lying there listlessly chewing on something looked incredibly sexy and attractive. Judging by his overall light pigmentation, he seemed to be a foreigner.
Skin so white it looked pale, and incredibly light brown eyes and light brown hair that would look blonde when hit by sunlight—the owner of these features and I just exchanged glances without words. Of course, I, captivated by his appearance, came to my senses belatedly and offered a greeting.
“Hello.”
“……”
He didn’t accept my greeting and just tilted his head looking at me.
‘Does he perhaps not know Korean?’
Hesitating, I greeted him in English, raised my hand, and smiled awkwardly. Perhaps because I was already very nervous, my whole body creaked unnaturally.
“H-hi.”
“Gaepiya, Hongsamyiya?”
……Huh? What the?
I froze in place while awkwardly raising my hand to greet. It didn’t seem to be English-speaking— After thinking for a moment, I tried greeting again.
“Bonjour?”
But the other person’s expression was the same. He still stared at me with a face that said he didn’t understand, and I felt sweat running down my spine.
‘They didn’t say there was a foreigner among the members!’
Communication with that foreigner was difficult for me, who was already poor with languages. As I just stared at the man with a confused face, the man who had been lying down chewing on something swallowed what was in his mouth, then spoke slowly, chewing each syllable clearly.
“Gyepinya-go, hongsamiya-go.”
Surely it’s not the cinnamon and red ginseng that I know. As if displeased that I was still hesitating, the man who had been waiting for an answer frowned, so I answered in a fluster.
“C-cinnamon.”
I didn’t know why he was asking such a question, but hearing my answer, the man furrowed his brow even more.
‘What do I do. He seems angry.’
I wanted to run out of this house right away. Because the man’s cold face was quite scary. Did he get angrier because I said cinnamon? Reading the mood, I gulped and corrected myself again.
“Actually…… red ginseng.”
Only then, as if the answer pleased him, the man slowly looked at me and formed a gentle smile on his lips. What on earth is red ginseng that hearing the words “red ginseng” creates an atmosphere like a scene from a soft coffee commercial? The man who had been smiling gently suddenly threw something at me.
Thud—
“Here.”
I reflexively grabbed what fell into my hand and slowly opened my palm.
[Red Ginseng Jelly]
My confusion increased. The man, who couldn’t know my feelings, rather even gestured for me to come closer to him. When I hesitated and slowly approached, the man suddenly held out something from the tray to me and said.
“Eat it.”
“Ah, yes!”
I held jelly in one hand and an unidentified yellow root in the other hand. In fact, before I could even examine what this was, I put it right in my mouth at the man’s words to eat. Contrary to him looking at me with a very pleased face, my expression gradually stiffened.
‘It’s incredibly bitter!’
Because it was so bitter that a tearful face naturally formed.
“That’s precious. Don’t open your mouth and chew thoroughly.”
I guess it’s a new kind of bullying. While thinking that and chewing, a tearful expression formed because of the bitter taste.
“Bitter?”
“N-no.”
“Don’t open your mouth.”
“Yes?”
“I said don’t open your mouth.”
In the end, I closed my mouth and shook my head as the man requested. Actually it was incredibly bitter, but given the atmosphere, it seemed like I’d get scolded if I said it was bitter. I was about to ask if I could spit it out, but.
“That’s an 8-year-old wild-cultivated mountain ginseng.”
“Kkeok……”
I couldn’t spit it out either. I didn’t know what wild-cultivated mountain ginseng was, but it seemed precious. Anyway, while making a dying face, as soon as I made eye contact with the man, I immediately smoothed my brow and smiled.
Smile, Cha Hohyeon.
Thinking that I had to smile to survive, I pretended to eat it very deliciously, and he looked at me as if watching a child who eats well. No, more precisely, a grandfather watching his grandson eat with satisfaction…….
‘Grandfather?’
Just then, suddenly with a crashing sound, someone appeared.
“Eden-i hyung!! I told you not to put red ginseng tea and barley tea on the same shelf! And what is that plant thingy that’s been drying for days!”
The person who just appeared shouted while holding two brown water bottles in both hands. His hair color was dark orange, wearing a white t-shirt with a stretched-out neck, looking disheveled as if he’d just woken up, but that naturalness rather suited him better.
“Arborvitae leaves.”
“What? And why the hell did you buy so much Sipjeon Daebo-tang?! Finish eating the Goguryeo ginseng extract in the fridge before buying more, jeez!”
……Arborvitae leaves? Sipjeon Daebo-tang? Ginseng extract?
“They were all received as gifts. And it’s not Goguryeo, it’s Goryeo ginseng extract……”
“Shut up. If you don’t clean it up by tomorrow, I’m going to vacuum up all those plant thingies!”
I was blankly watching the two of them chattering when I discovered leaves spread out on a mat in the distance. And I thought.
‘Did I perhaps come not to an idol dorm but to a health center?’
[Profile 2 Used by Director Gye]
Name: Park Eden
Gender: Male
Age: 22
Height: 182
Special Notes: Looks like a foreigner. Maybe because of his face, when he sometimes speaks with slurred pronunciation, it sounds like a foreign language. But unlike how he looks, his diet is that of someone in their 50s.
Precautions: Must absolutely not steal Eden’s health food. Last time when I was caught trying to sneak some, Eden said to me, ‘Do you want to be tempered in arrowroot juice?’ Every week the robust men delivering health food call Eden young master…… Eden-ah, let’s be honest. You’re not related to gangsters, are you?
Question: Why do I think of my grandfather whenever I see Eden?
