“How about calling me hyung outside?”
Ah. Well, calling him boss even outside is a bit much, right? I nodded at Cha Hyunwoo’s words.
“Okay.”
Just then, the dishes Cha Hyunwoo and I ordered were set up. I looked at the menu seriously, then asked Cha Hyunwoo.
“How about ordering a cola?”
“If you want to order it, order it.”
“Will you drink it too, hyung?”
Cha Hyunwoo was the one who told me to call him hyung, but he buffered at the word hyung coming from my mouth. Anyway, my original age was twenty-nine, so strictly speaking, Cha Hyunwoo should be calling me hyung. Thinking this far, I momentarily imagined the word hyung coming from Cha Hyunwoo’s mouth.
…Seems like it would be okay? Though I can’t really imagine it.
Lost in thought for a moment, I came out of my reverie at the sound of Cha Hyunwoo calling me. I shouldn’t tell Cha Hyunwoo what I just thought.
***
“If you’re not buying clothes, is there anything else you want to do?”
“But I do need to buy comfortable clothes.”
“Like training suits?”
“Yes. Actually, they don’t need to be brand products—as long as I can wear them….”
“There’s a sports store downstairs, should we go check it out first?”
“Yes.”
I sipped my cola and scanned the clothes Cha Hyunwoo, who was paying, was wearing. Cha Hyunwoo was wearing a neat dark brown turtleneck and black slacks. He’d neatly matched even his socks and shoes in black tones, showing he dressed well.
“Can’t I buy next time?”
“I wanted to buy it though?”
“I want to buy too.”
Cha Hyunwoo nodded with a face that would absolutely never let me pay for the meal. Well, I’ll just put out my card first and that’ll be that.
“Hyung, are you usually interested in clothes?”
“Mm. Moderately?”
“For moderately, you seem to dress really well. Today too.”
“Really?”
“Do you pay attention every time you get dressed?”
“…I paid attention today.”
I kept glancing at Cha Hyunwoo from the corner of my eye. I wasn’t the type to dress up well, but I also wasn’t someone who couldn’t recognize when others dressed up. As someone who often found myself surrounded by celebrities more than ordinary people, it wasn’t difficult to distinguish between people who dressed up and those who didn’t.
…Or maybe only handsome people show when they’ve dressed up.
Cha Hyunwoo was someone who dressed fairly neatly normally, but somehow today he gave the impression of being dressed up even better. His hair was moderately arranged with only part of it neatly swept back, and his clothes were well-matched without being excessive. Since the clothes fundamentally fit his body well, it made his physique look even better. Moreover, there was a subtle scent of cologne that you couldn’t smell at the cafe normally.
“You seem even more handsome today.”
“Really?”
“Your clothes suit you well too. Or maybe it’s because you have a good body.”
“Because I exercise.”
“You seem to exercise hard. I should too, though.”
“But you really don’t gain weight considering how much you eat.”
I wasn’t the type to gain weight easily before either, and it was also because of high activity levels, but here, even though it wasn’t to that extent, I barely gained weight. Was it Lee Hyun’s physical characteristic? I unconsciously felt my body with my hand.
It wasn’t that Lee Hyun was completely skeletal—it was just that the comparison group next to me lately wasn’t great.
“I guess I’m the type that doesn’t gain weight easily.”
“I should feed you well.”
“Hyung, are you going to feed me?”
“…Hm?”
“When I went to your place last time, what you made was delicious.”
“Ah, sorry.”
Cha Hyunwoo suddenly blushed and apologized. What’s he sorry for? I guess that’s not quite what he meant by feeding me? I chuckled and lightly joked.
“Hyung doesn’t seem to eat small portions either, but since I happen to eat more than you, it would be hard to prepare side by side, right?”
“…Yeah. Right….”
“What’s with that reaction? You said you’d feed me well, but thinking about it, it wasn’t quite that? Well, cooking isn’t an easy task.”
“Hm? No. Come again next time. I’ll make it again.”
Cha Hyunwoo swept his mouth once, then smiled. Instead of answering, I smiled back at him.
After a long shopping trip, I purchased two black training suits and three basic short-sleeve T-shirts in the same design but different colors. Cha Hyunwoo tried to pay instead, but I couldn’t accept even that, so I quickly put out my card first.
“If I asked you to come with me today, I should’ve been prepared to buy for you.”
Cha Hyunwoo playfully frowned. I poured the stuff into a large shopping bag, walked sluggishly, opened my eyes wide and pretended to be shocked.
“I just came out on a date with hyung, but if you buy me things like this, it doesn’t match the purpose.”
Cha Hyunwoo took the bag from my hands instead and walked ahead for no reason. I leisurely followed Cha Hyunwoo from behind and smiled softly to myself.
“Do I have to beg you to let me carry my own bag?”
“No….”
I grinned and caught up to Cha Hyunwoo with quick steps. I took my bag back from Cha Hyunwoo’s hands and walked beside him.
“Let’s go.”
I got in the car with Cha Hyunwoo, put the shopping bag at my feet, and fastened my seatbelt. Cha Hyunwoo looked at the shopping bag that was almost crushed at my feet, let out a short sigh, then moved the shopping bag and placed it neatly in the back seat.
“Thank you.”
“It’s nothing.”
Cha Hyunwoo was driving when he suddenly asked me.
“Hyun, can you drive?”
“No.”
I didn’t even have a license. After turning twenty, I looked into getting a driver’s license, but with the academy registration fee and the test, it seemed like it would easily exceed 700,000 won. Besides, since I’d be taking public transportation from now on anyway, there was no reason I’d need to hold a steering wheel. I did meet a senior in the military who harassed people about driver’s licenses, but except for that time, I never even thought about getting one.
“Do you have a license?”
“No?”
“You don’t even have a license?”
…Does Lee Hyun have one? I hesitated briefly at the thought that suddenly occurred, but answered roughly. There wasn’t anything like a driver’s license in Lee Hyun’s wallet anyway.
“I didn’t get one because I didn’t see the need.”
“If you think about getting one, tell me. After you get it later, I’ll help with practice.”
“Oh… but they say you shouldn’t do that between friends. They say it leads to fights.”
“Mm. That’s true though.”
“If hyung ends up disliking me, that’s my loss.”
“I won’t dislike you over that.”
I shrugged. I still had no intention of getting a driver’s license. When I vaguely brushed it off, Cha Hyunwoo maintained silence for a moment, then asked.
“Should we have dinner together?”
“Is there something you want to eat?”
“Is there something you want to eat?”
“I really don’t mind.”
“Should I cook at home? You said it was delicious.”
“That seems like too much trouble for you, hyung.”
And I could also imagine too well the sight of me awkwardly fidgeting beside him while Cha Hyunwoo cooked at his place.
“I’m fine with it though?”
“Hyung, you’re really kind.”
“I’m not that kind of a person.”
Cha Hyunwoo looked toward me while the signal was red. And Cha Hyunwoo hesitated for a moment, then continued.
“I want to be kind to you.”
“Ah….”
“…Because you’re kind.”
At the words that stuck on like an excuse, I briefly closed my mouth and looked at Cha Hyunwoo. Perhaps because it was late, Cha Hyunwoo’s face was tinged with the soft lighting. It was hard to tell whether Cha Hyunwoo’s face, dyed in the orange light of the road, was red or not. At that moment, I realized what Cha Hyunwoo meant.
No, not the hidden meaning in Cha Hyunwoo’s words, but all that context.
From why Cha Hyunwoo said he wanted to become close with me to why he made the next appointment.
In the original work, Cha Hyunwoo liked Lee Hyun too. But I wasn’t the Lee Hyun of the original work right now. And I wasn’t in a state of having completely settled things with Eun Haejin, nor in a confused state from a one-sided rejection.
Unlike the original, I didn’t meet Cha Hyunwoo in an alley while crying on a rainy day, and Cha Hyunwoo didn’t carefully approach a prickly and guarded Lee Hyun.
From where had the original changed? Could it even be called the original?
An American meteorologist once posed the question of whether the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil could amplify a tornado in Texas, USA. A trivial error created a huge reversal in development.
I stared at Cha Hyunwoo quietly.
Did Cha Hyunwoo like me then? Or Lee Hyun? Thinking of me and Lee Hyun separately was also starting to feel strange. It had only been just over a month.
I noticed Cha Hyunwoo’s ears turning red. I was curious what Cha Hyunwoo had been thinking while looking at me all day today. I didn’t do something like asking questions with my mouth to confirm Cha Hyunwoo’s feelings. It wasn’t simply because I’d noticed Cha Hyunwoo’s words and actions. It was because I recognized that both I and Cha Hyunwoo still needed time.
I didn’t want to hastily bring up feelings that Cha Hyunwoo hadn’t even expressed yet and either reject or accept them right away. Perhaps I’d been arbitrarily ignoring everything Cha Hyunwoo had been showing all this time. I didn’t want to be rude before I’d even noticed it all.
I briefly wondered if I could kiss Cha Hyunwoo’s reddened ears and softly tinged cheeks.
“…Why are you staring at me like that?”
“Just because.”
I naturally recalled the dimple on Cha Hyunwoo’s cheek. It seemed like I could kiss that cheek. Though that didn’t immediately affirm that I liked Cha Hyunwoo.
I turned my head and looked at the car window. Last time too, I’d been looking at the car window when I heard words similar to a confession from Jung Yoonseo. Of course, I couldn’t guess how heavy those words might be.
…Apart from the original work, I hoped I wouldn’t ruin too many things. Especially if they were other people’s feelings.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“Should we eat dinner separately? I’m a bit tired.”
Cha Hyunwoo looked at me for a moment, then asked.
“Are you very tired?”
“…I think so, a bit.”
“I’ll drop you off in front of your house.”
Cha Hyunwoo’s car smoothly stopped in the alley in front of my house. Cha Hyunwoo hesitated for a moment, then said.
“You’re not in a bad mood, are you?”
“No. Thank you for spending time with me today. Get home safely.”
“Yeah. You be careful going in too. See you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
I greeted Cha Hyunwoo and entered my house. Only after putting down the shopping bag did I realize I’d been tense.
End Of Volume 1
