“Yes…”
Sangho glanced at Wonha, who was grinning in front of him.
Wonha had really come near his house and called. Since he’d already arrived, it was awkward to tell him to go back, so Sangho went out to the front of the mart with a reluctant heart. Wonha, who’d brought a large SUV, rolled down the window as soon as he spotted him and made an expression like he was thrilled to death. He wanted to say sorry but let’s eat next time, but because two or three cars lined up behind Wonha’s car in the narrow alley and were honking, Sangho unknowingly quickly got into the passenger seat. And the two quickly drove and arrived at this restaurant.
Slurp.
When Sangho scooped out several clam shells and put a spoonful of broth in his mouth, clean and spicy broth swirled in his mouth. Both the clams and pork broth were exquisitely steeped, and the rich flavor seemed to explode on his tongue. Sangho buried his head in the earthen pot just like that and started eating the soup frantically.
Wonha ate the soup placed in front of him without much to say. Unlike the chatty previous day, he seemed to focus silently on eating. Only after Sangho had nearly emptied his bowl to the bottom did Wonha ask if he should order a few more dumplings. Realizing he’d only focused frantically on eating, Sangho slightly blushed and shook his head.
“Um… it’s delicious. Did filming go well today?”
“Yes. It was a bit awkward since it was the first filming, but the atmosphere loosened quite quickly. The wrestling team students have amazing stamina.”
When Wonha answered while shrugging his shoulders, Sangho recalled the comic content again. Probably from the first filming, he’d gotten entangled with Kyungoh in various ways and built up favorable feelings. Though the pretty man before his eyes acting this friendly toward him was burdensome, Wonha was a character who’d get entangled with Kyungoh or Dohyun anyway. When he thought that the main characters had finally met, he felt secretly relieved.
“You met athlete Han Kyungoh too, right? That student is really decent.”
“Ah. Yes. He’s a decent student.”
When Sangho mentioned and praised Han Kyungoh, Wonha’s expression changed subtly. It was an expression like something didn’t sit well with him. For a moment, Sangho wondered if his mentioning Kyungoh had perhaps caused Wonha’s misunderstanding. If Wonha had quite liked Kyungoh, acting familiar might have been unpleasant.
“Is that type of alpha your type?”
“What?”
“Athlete Han Kyungoh. I’m asking if he’s your type, Sangho-nim.”
Wonha, wearing a slightly sulky expression, spoke while stirring his soup with a spoon.
Alpha? Is he asking if I like a manly type?
As that thought crossed his mind, Sangho thought Wonha was a bit cute. He’s jealous because I’m showing interest in Kyungoh.
But if he had to compare, Kyungoh would definitely like Wonha more than himself. Wonha had soft facial lines and slightly drooping eyes that made him look gentle—a beautiful face. His white skin and light-colored eyes were also very attractive. If things went wrong, he might even look like a woman, but he seemed to have exercised consistently, so his body was solid and his shoulders were broad. On the other hand, he was just a skinny janitor with rough skin and depressing dark circles.
Anyone can see Wonha is more attractive. Did he like Kyungoh that much? With that thought, Sangho grinned and waved his hands.
“Ah haha. No! Absolutely not. He’s a man.”
“What?”
“I like pretty people.”
At Sangho’s words, Wonha tilted his head slightly. Though he felt like the focus was somehow off, Sangho thought nothing of it seeing Wonha’s expression brighten in an instant at the words ‘I like pretty people.’
And Wonha, whose expression changed according to his thoughts, seemed to have a quite pure side. Come to think of it, Wonha was also two years younger than himself. With that thought, he seemed to feel a bit more comfortable.
“More than that, were you going to sleep in the storage again today?”
Wonha asked, pointing to the backpack placed next to Sangho. Sangho glanced at his bag once and shrugged his shoulders.
“Well, I have to go to work at dawn.”
“Isn’t it uncomfortable?”
“Riding a bicycle in the morning is more of an ordeal. There’s a mattress and stuff… It’s just for a moment, so it’s okay.”
“Hmm…”
Wonha’s eyes narrowed. Wonha, who blushed slightly on both cheeks, stirred the soup in front of him a few more times with a spoon. He seemed to have something to say.
“Why?”
“You could sleep over like yesterday. At my studio.”
“…”
At the sudden proposal, Sangho’s pupils shook. Along with an awkward smile, Sangho, who was choosing his words for a moment, stammered.
“Ah, no. Um, I’m worried you’d be uncomfortable.”
“I’m not uncomfortable.”
“No, no. I can’t keep imposing on you like this.”
“Can’t you sleep over?”
Wonha propped his chin and stared intently at him. Though he asked pretending to be indifferent, his face clearly wanted him to come.
“Ah, that’s…”
It was difficult. Though it was true that Wonha felt quite comfortable, entering and leaving a very personal space that even his agency didn’t know about seemed to cross a ‘line.’ More than anything… someday Wonha would become entangled with Nam Dohyun too. Nam Dohyun’s possessiveness and obsession toward Wonha were beyond imagination. If they were too close, someday he could get hurt. In the worst case, it was a death ending.
“…Uh, yes. I’m sorry. I’m uncomfortable.”
When Sangho, who’d been breaking out in cold sweat for a moment, barely answered, Wonha visibly drooped like a puppy in the rain. He looked pitiful somewhere, but still Wonha didn’t throw a tantrum. He seemed not to want to become a ‘burdensome existence’ to Sangho.
“I understand. Instead, I’ll give you a ride to Korea University. That’s okay, right?”
“…Yes.”
When Sangho with a reluctant face nodded, Wonha showed a good-natured smile again.
***
The next day.
Sangho, who’d nearly finished cleaning the indoor gymnasium from the 1st to 4th floor, realized he’d finished work faster than usual. Yesterday he thought he’d spend the worst day just like that, but things went quite well after meeting Wonha.
The previous day, Wonha really gave him a ride to Korea University and went back. The electric heater someone had left in the 4th floor athletic storage he’d snuck into was also very useful. Because he’d heard the Center Director talk about ‘thief’ and such, he didn’t even dare touch the sleeping bag, but just by turning on the electric heater weakly, he could sleep quite warmly. Since his stomach was also solidly filled with pork soup, he didn’t feel very hungry when he opened his eyes in the morning either.
And despite the previous day’s filming, the 1st floor hadn’t gotten very messy. As expected, they’d eaten on the 1st floor so a lot of lunchbox trash came out, but it was very neatly separated for recycling, so disposing of it wasn’t that difficult. So Sangho could clean the indoor gymnasium with a quite cheerful heart.
Sangho, who was coming out humming while organizing cleaning tools as a finish, froze in place when he saw the Center Director standing at the door with a big smile. The Center Director discovered Sangho and quickly approached with an extremely welcoming face.
“Oh, Lee Sangho!”
It was the first time hearing such a genial voice. Sangho recalled being harshly treated by the Center Director the previous day and stepped back two steps from him. Then an annoyed expression instantly flashed across the Center Director’s face. But he raised the corners of his mouth with quite some patience and spoke again.
“You. Are you close with actor Jang Wonha?”
“What?”
“Actor Jang Wonha from Theater & Film. The filming here started yesterday.”
“Yes…”
“That person was talking about you? Saying Lee Sangho-ssi is having a hard time, so let’s do the recycling well.”
Ah. That’s why the 1st floor was clean. Sangho blinked and recalled the pile of perfectly recycled lunchbox trash.
“So, how are you close?”
At the Center Director’s probing words, Sangho hesitated for a moment. How are we close—he just didn’t do anything. In the past, he would have stalked Jang Wonha, but that couldn’t be called ‘close.’ When Sangho couldn’t answer hesitantly, the Center Director thought Sangho was hiding some great secret and got more heated.
“Actor Jang Wonha. He’s also the Board Chairman’s nephew. Perhaps… Sangho-ssi, do you have some connection with that family?”
“What? The Board Chairman’s nephew?”
“…You don’t?”
At Sangho’s question, the Center Director’s eyebrows furrowed subtly and changed to an expression full of doubt again. It seemed the Center Director had mistaken that he had some connection with the Korea University Board Chairman’s family. The Center Director seemed to want to change his attitude depending on how close he was with Wonha. Sangho, who had been quite tormented by the Center Director, felt like he’d somehow grasped power and unknowingly put on airs.
“With Wonha… we somehow became close.”
“Really? How much?”
“We just have meals together.”
