“Ah, you finished washing up.”
“Yes… Um, thank you. For the clothes and… But what’s all this?”
“Sit over there. Just need to prepare a little more and it’ll be ready.”
On the dining table was a quite substantial meal laid out—he couldn’t tell when it had been prepared. Not only were there various small side dishes, but there was also freshly stir-fried bulgogi and steaming hot egg custard. Soon rice served fluffy in a bowl and soup were also placed before him. As he just stared at the fully set table, Dowon, who had taken a seat across from him, spoke with a smile.
“It’s not an impressive meal, but it should be edible. Dig in.”
“Did CEO-nim do all this… yourself?”
“Does it look like someone else came and made it?”
“That’s not what I mean…”
His voice growing increasingly smaller sounded rather like he was saying that’s exactly what he meant. Since it was actually true that he just glanced at the entrance to see if someone had briefly come and gone, Muyoung shut his mouth tight. Perhaps knowing this about Muyoung, Dowon just finished checking the table and recommended the dishes.
“Eat first. Whoever made the food, it’s good if you can eat your fill.”
“…Yes, I’ll eat well.”
He slowly scooped the soup placed in front of him and took a bite. The softly cooked radish and savory beef blended with the broth and filled his mouth. The rice was also well-cooked without being too mushy, and the sweet scent of grain stimulated his appetite.
Only then did he remember that he hadn’t had a proper meal all day. Though it made sense since they’d met in the early afternoon and been outside until now, he hadn’t eaten anything separately even before leaving home. As warm broth and grain entered his stomach that had only taken in snacks and drinks while with Dowon, his hand gradually began reaching for other dishes too.
“I didn’t really understand why people watch mukbang and why it’s such a hit.”
Watching Muyoung eat, Dowon finally picked up his chopsticks with refined fingers.
“I think I’ll have to watch you every mealtime, Muyoung-ssi.”
Muyoung, who had been slowly chewing and swallowing the food in his mouth, paused his hand for a moment. Was it a compliment that he ate appetizingly? Since he knew best that he wasn’t the type to eat that well, he looked at Dowon with a puzzled expression. But it didn’t seem like he was trying to criticize anything either, which was also strange.
It was even more so because his tone was gentle. Was the way he ate strange? He didn’t think he’d eaten greedily. Somehow his earlobes tickled and saliva pooled under his tongue.
Not wanting to continue the stray thoughts, he put the bulgogi he’d seen in front of him on top of his rice and into his mouth. The salty-sweet seasoning and tender beef quality blended well together, matched well with the rice, and the mushrooms stir-fried together had a nice fragrance too. Dowon’s gaze watching him eat while nodding was full of satisfaction.
“There’s good alcohol. Would you like some with the meal?”
A small bottle and what appeared to be a matching set of glasses appeared on the table—when had he prepared them? It was perfect timing, as his stomach was gradually filling up and the atmosphere was starting to become relaxed. With even some neatly prepared seasonal fruits placed on a plate as good drinking snacks right before his eyes, there was no reason to refuse.
After filling their glasses, they both lightly took a sip and swallowed. Dowon, noticing Muyoung’s complexion change dramatically, appropriately tilted the bottle again to fill his glass.
“The aroma is good, isn’t it. I thought this kind of traditional liquor would be better than beer or wine.”
“Yes, this is the first time I’ve tried something like this.”
“It’s not expensive alcohol, but I also first saw it at some exposition. It’s brewed with rice and they only produce small amounts in various combinations, and I believe this one was paired with peach blossoms. I think they said peaches went in too.”
As Dowon said, the alcohol had an extremely good aroma. Since the foods they were eating together were regular meals, he’d thought it would be burdensome if the alcohol was even slightly strong or sweet, but rather it had a feeling of stimulating the appetite, blending well even to the aftertaste. The glass he’d intended to just tilt lightly to wet his lips had somehow revealed its bottom.
“Still, if you drink too fast…”
“No, the aroma is just too good…”
Embarrassed by how it looked like he coveted the alcohol more than the meal, Muyoung swept his cheek with the back of his hand and smiled small. He thought he’d gulped it down too quickly himself, but he had nothing to say even if he looked rushed to the person in front of him.
“Do you hold your liquor well?”
“Not really well, just enough to match the atmosphere.”
“Did you learn while working?”
“I first started drinking when I was a student… Isn’t it similar for everyone?”
Right, saying that, Dowon’s posture was upright as he finished drinking the alcohol remaining in his glass.
Muyoung had also first put alcohol to his lips and learned about types of alcohol all after entering university. Even as an adult, it was a clumsy time with many mistakes for everyone. He’d vomited from drinking too much, and there were times he’d had to take care of peers who’d lost consciousness. While doing theater club activities, he at least started controlling it, so there weren’t any major incidents.
Come to think of it, except for when they did club activities together, he hadn’t really had proper drinking sessions with Jinho. Had he been careful because he didn’t want to show himself drunk?
There’s no use thinking about it now.
While exchanging one or two more glasses, Muyoung was able to shake off a bit of what happened today. But the tension remained. It was just that he was embarrassed by himself making mistakes in front of the other person, and the feeling that this showed the gap between them—this inferiority complex that wouldn’t quite leave was the problem.
“When I encountered you just as an actor, Muyoung-ssi, I thought this was a job that really suited you. But meeting you in person, it doesn’t seem quite like that either.”
“I know that I’m… not very actor-like.”
“This is how even you yourself don’t know yourself well.”
He looked at him for a moment, puzzled by Dowon’s answer, but rather became more confused and his reaction was delayed. In the awkward silence, it was Muyoung who ended up moving his lips instead.
“Don’t other people say anything when you’re like this?”
“…They just, well. Ask how I’m an actor.”
Though it was a story with the beginning and end deleted, it was a story both of them could understand. At Muyoung’s words, Dowon, wearing a faint smile, slightly shook his head and swallowed the rest of his alcohol. Muyoung unconsciously tried to follow suit but just fidgeted with his glass.
“When I said acting doesn’t suit you, it’s because for someone who acts as a profession, I don’t see artifice. Muyoung-ssi is…”
During the moment he chose his words, in the brief silence that followed, Muyoung took his eyes off the glass and looked at Dowon. The gaze Dowon met was straight and strong, so Muyoung couldn’t avoid it.
“You’re harsh on yourself too. And you hide a lot while doing that… It’s confusing.”
“…I’m just as I appear.”
“If you were as you appear, you’d be quite an impressive actor.”
At the compliment heard unexpectedly, Muyoung’s face reddened a bit. While he knew he wasn’t ugly enough to hear unpleasant words about his appearance, he didn’t have enough immunity to shamelessly listen to someone openly calling him impressive to his face.
“If we’re going by that logic, CEO-nim too…”
“It’s not a job that sells faces, but I do benefit from my looks. It’s even more fortunate if I don’t look bad to you, Muyoung-ssi.”
The man speaking in a confident tone had leisure in his expression too. It was also an undeniable fact.
“That’s right. CEO-nim is handsome. You’re capable and recognized in the industry too.”
Sarcasm mixed into Muyoung’s voice as he spoke stiffly without realizing it. Normally, he could have said this much as a pure compliment without any problem, but it was strange. He might have wanted to see Dowon waver a bit.
Muyoung just stared at Dowon after saying it. He knew he’d been abruptly rude. But he also didn’t think Dowon would let him off for acting this way. It was a sharp retort that came out momentarily. Muyoung himself knew too well it was a mistake, so he couldn’t put down the glass or bring it to his mouth. Dowon smiled while observing such a Muyoung.
“But those abilities seem useless for winning Muyoung-ssi’s heart.”
“Why is that again…”
The voice with particular self-deprecation rather made Muyoung more flustered. Once pausing like that, his head became complicated. He should say something, but nothing came to mind.
“It’s true that my family’s group is quite large, and I know that the company I’m running is not one that can be ignored in the industry. But I don’t remember being rude enough to force you to grant what I want, Muyoung-ssi. Am I wrong?”
Along with the recent mistake, Dowon’s face saying only correct things didn’t look upset at all. Watching Muyoung who couldn’t give any particular reply, Dowon closed his mouth for a moment then brought up a slightly different topic.
“You said you were cast in a theater club.”
“…Yes.”
“I remember it was quite long ago, but at the time an acquaintance insisted I go see it, so I saw a university theater stage. I think it was ‘Hamlet’, if I remember correctly. I don’t quite remember if it was a theater festival or not. They put on a work interpreting the production in a modern style.”
Muyoung could tell he was waiting for Dowon’s next words with a sense of ‘surely not.’ There were too many university students staging adapted classics, so he tried to suppress his agitation, telling himself it wouldn’t be so. But, could it really be? Did Dowon know too?
“It was good that the heroine Hamlet was played by a female actor and it flipped the antiquated patriarchy, but using a male actor for Ophelia wasn’t bad either. The pale and even pitiful actor caught the eye immediately even on that narrow stage.”
It was already a long time ago. More than anything, it was also the play CEO Choi had seen when he discovered him. It was a script that had gone through clumsy adaptation and a stage filled with the imagination that university students of that time could muster.
