The menu wasn’t really on Go Yoon’s mind.
The Abyss members who were present seemed to know this too, as they exchanged glances before soon whispering amongst themselves and starting to choose from the menu. And Jerim could only sit restlessly next to Go Yoon, who seemed to be in a bad mood for some reason.
‘Why does he look so upset?’
When they got in the car earlier, he had been relieved to see him conversing with Director Gye and treating the members warmly. But now in the restaurant, seeing him narrow his brow as if uncomfortable, rest his chin on his hand, and tap his fingertips, Go Yoon seemed to be in a bad mood.
“I’m fine.”
“……Yes?”
“I said I’m in a fine mood.”
As if reading Jerim’s thoughts, Go Yoon said this while resting his chin on his hand and looking at Jerim. It was an action that came from Go Yoon’s thought that since he was the type who was dense about himself but uncannily good at reading others’ moods, he needed to reassure him like this so he wouldn’t feel anxious.
“You like this place, right?”
“It has been a while.”
As if Go Yoon’s judgment was correct, Jerim finally let go of his restless heart and answered comfortably.
“Eat a lot. I brought you here to fatten you up.”
“I will.”
Go Yoon, who had been quietly watching Jerim’s smiling face, said it was silly and smiled slightly while ruffling Jerim’s hair with one hand.
Seon Hobeom and Ma Doun, who had been blankly staring at that scene unexpectedly, belatedly came to their senses and jumped in surprise before burying their heads in the menu.
‘His face is seriously amazing.’
As expected of Go Yoon, who was famous for being handsome, their eyes kept being drawn to him no matter what he did.
Seon Hobeom shook his head trying to shake off such thoughts and tried to carefully choose the menu with Ma Doun sitting beside him, but was shocked at the incredibly expensive prices.
“Eden hyung. Should we order cheap things or expensive things? What kind of menu costs as much as gold?”
Since the restaurant Go Yoon brought them to was quite pricey, Seon Hobeom felt self-conscious about choosing the menu and whispered to Park Eden. The variety was vast, and the price difference accordingly was also large, so Seon Hobeom and Ma Doun, who were particularly timid, hesitated for quite a while. But Park Eden, who glanced at them, fixed his gaze back on the menu with a nonchalant face.
“Doun-ah, Hobeom-ah. You two order things that digest well as much as possible.”
“Huh? Eden hyung, does it not digest well for you?”
“I’m fine. I’m worried you two might get indigestion.”
At first they didn’t understand, but belatedly agreed with Park Eden’s words and nodded their heads actively. Well, not only was he their senior, but they had ended up eating with Go Yoon who somehow seemed to dislike them.
“What are you eating, hyung?”
“There’s ginseng meatball jeon on the menu, so I’m going to try it.”
“Ginseng meat… what?”
‘Was that even on the menu?’
Seon Hobeom froze while holding a pen to check the menu, and Ma Doun next to him just silently snatched the order form Seon Hobeom was holding, scanned it, and said,
“Ah, it’s menu number 171.”
“……Seriously. When did hyung even see that thing at the end.”
It was almost at the end of the menu, but toward Park Eden who had caught it with eagle eyes, Seon Hobeom made an absurd expression and checked it on the order form.
“Seol. Here’s the menu. What do you want to eat?”
“I don’t need to look at the menu. Give me the order form.”
Onseol, who received the order form, checked items off without even looking at the menu, as if he knew everything. When the members tilted their heads in wonder at Onseol’s behavior, Onseol finished checking all the menu items, then said with a calm smile,
“I used to come here often too, so this will probably suit your tastes. Eden hyung doesn’t really discriminate when it comes to meat, so it won’t matter. Sunbae-nim, we’ve all chosen here.”
Go Yoon, who received the order form, immediately asked Jerim.
“Jerim-ah, you like pork neck, so should I order pork neck for you?”
Remembering that the part Cha Hohyeon particularly liked before was pork neck, Go Yoon asked, and Jerim hesitated for a moment before nodding his head. Seon Hobeom, who had been watching them from across, reflexively blurted out words along with an exclamation of “Oh!”
“Huh? But Jerim can’t eat meat.”
“……What does that mean?”
In the suddenly chilly atmosphere, Seon Hobeom, who had spoken up, shut his mouth like a clam.
‘He can’t eat meat? Is he making such a thin kid diet or something?’
Go Yoon frowned sharply, and Jerim’s expression, who had sensed something, began to gradually stiffen. And Park Eden sighed deeply in the chilly atmosphere and said,
“They said Jerim should avoid greasy food for a while because the place where he got stitches at the hospital could get inflamed.”
“……He got stitches?”
“Didn’t you know? It was five stitches on his back or something……”
Didn’t Jerim tell him?
As Park Eden answered saying it was strange, Jerim’s face also turned deathly pale.
‘Yoon hyung really, really…… hates lies.’
Because what Go Yoon hated most was lies. As expected, Go Yoon set down the order form on the table with a thud, with more irritation mixed in his actions than before.
‘This is bad.’
The atmosphere was now not just cold but shattered to pieces. Go Yoon stared at Jerim with an expressionless face, Park Eden frowned slightly at the strange atmosphere even after speaking himself, Seon Hobeom who had been picking at side dishes next to them froze, and Doun who had been drinking water also froze.
Only Onseol calmly munched on kimchi, and in the quiet except for the sound of him chewing kimchi, Go Yoon opened his mouth.
“Cha, no, Ka Jerim. What is this about. You said disinfection was all.”
As expected, he immediately turned his head toward Jerim and spoke with a cold expression. At Go Yoon’s momentum, Jerim shrank his shoulders, intimidated.
“That……”
“Tell me properly.”
Seon Hobeom regretted why he of all people had to sit in front of Jerim and Go Yoon and thought with his head deeply bowed.
‘I should quickly change to porridge.’
And Ma Doun, sitting next to Seon Hobeom, began to tremble more and more in the chilly atmosphere.
Eventually, the water Ma Doun was drinking dripped continuously onto the table due to his trembling. Of course, Ma Doun himself, still in a tense state, didn’t notice that all his water was spilling and just blankly stared into space.
‘I should have chosen porridge. What riches and glory was I trying to enjoy by choosing hang-jeong-sal……’
Most of all, the biggest problem was that the meal hadn’t even started yet.
“It’s not a big injury.”
After hearing Jerim’s answer, Go Yoon stopped looking at him sideways and twisted his upper body completely to stare at Jerim. His gaze felt like a silent signal asking Jerim if that was really true, telling him not to lie anymore.
Eventually, unable to withstand Go Yoon’s gaze staring at him so intensely, Jerim continued explaining in a tone that this matter really wasn’t a big deal, but the more he spoke, the farther Go Yoon’s momentum was from subsiding—rather, it became sharper and fiercer.
“It’s just a few stitches……”
Jerim’s voice also gradually lost confidence and crawled to the floor, and Seon Hobeom and Ma Doun across from him turned pale and could only give up with both hands and feet and blankly observe the situation.
‘We can’t intervene.’
They had no idea at all why Go Yoon was so angry, so even if they wanted to intervene, they couldn’t. The limit of their imagination was just guessing that he didn’t seem to be angry about the injury itself and there must be some other reason.
At that moment, Seon Hobeom, who had been reading the room, made eye contact with Onseol. As soon as their eyes met, Seon Hobeom sent Onseol a desperate signal to somehow resolve this situation, or if that wasn’t possible, to rescue him from this bed of thorns.
‘Save me.’
But despite Seon Hobeom’s earnest SOS sign, Onseol just persistently stared at Jerim and Go Yoon, only watching the situation.
When he was ignored by Onseol, who seemed to have the strongest heart, Seon Hobeom, feeling there was no longer any way to escape from here, despaired greatly and just glared at the innocent table.
“Just.”
Go Yoon opened his tightly shut mouth and scoffed while chewing on the word “just.” But when he revealed his angry face, he didn’t like how Cha Hohyeon would get scared, so he deliberately lowered his head and then crumpled his expression mercilessly.
‘That damn habit still.’
Given Cha Hohyeon’s considerate personality, he naturally knew it was an action to lessen his worry. Since he was the type to carefully observe others’ moods and conditions, this behavior wasn’t particularly unusual, and it had happened several times when he was in Fort too. Even if he felt like he was dying of pain, he was the type to just keep his mouth shut, quietly endure, and smile saying he was okay.
But now, that behavior was so annoying. If you died and came back to life, you should look after yourself more, and if you’re in pain you should say you’re in pain and deserve to make others worry, yet you’re still hiding it like this.
As he thought about it, his head throbbed, so while organizing his thoughts over and over, he scanned the Abyss members sitting around the table. They were mostly sitting there with faces that didn’t understand this situation.
‘They have no idea why I’m being like this.’
They’re probably thinking inside why he’s interfering so much when he’s not even their member. And thinking they’re annoyed regardless of him being a senior or whatever.
“Forget it.”
“Hyung?”
And seeing Cha Hohyeon worrying about him when he was the one who got hurt, Go Yoon spoke with a deflated face. He felt empty continuing to be the only one anxious, and on the other hand, he was also tired.
With such thoughts, Go Yoon avoided Jerim’s gaze and buried his head in the menu. He noticed the menu items Cha Hohyeon used to eat often, but given his current physical condition, he pointed to mainly bland foods and opened his mouth.
“Then instead of meat, I’ll choose something bland for you.”
“……Yes.”
At Go Yoon’s appearance trying to change the subject, Jerim also didn’t say anything more.
