As soon as the alarm set to vibrate went off, Euiju opened his eyes and hesitated as he moved to turn it off. He couldn’t move because of the children hugging his arms from both sides as they slept. Euiju admired the faces of the children sleeping obliviously with their cheeks squished this way and that, then slowly pulled out his arms. Their soft, fuzzy faces scrunched up mercilessly.
“Uuuung…”
The twins’ sleepy grumbling was so cute that even in his half-awake state, Euiju laughed and made a “puhehe” sound. He carefully withdrew his arms and turned off the alarm.
After a quick wash, Euiju checked whether youngest Roun was sleeping well, then headed to the kitchen. He put the marinated meat he’d prepared in advance on the stove and filled a pot with water to make anchovy broth. He added the washed bean sprouts and while bringing it to a boil, stir-fried the meat, and in the meantime prepared three fried eggs. After adjusting the seasoning of the bean sprout soup, he set the table and returned to the room to gently shake awake Euiho, who was sleeping in a bizarre position.
“Ugh, I’m sleepy…”
“Euiho-ya. Hyung has to go out now. I’ve set out food on the table, so eat when you wake up later. When the ahjumma comes, take good care of Roun together with her, okay?”
“Mmm. Hyung, have a safe trip…”
Euiju kissed Euiho’s cheeks a couple times as he whined sleepily, carefully covered Euiseong with the blanket he’d kicked off, then changed clothes, grabbed his wallet, and hurriedly left the house.
After confirming the ahjumma’s text saying she’d be home soon, he fastened his collar. Since Euiyeon was also at the hospital and he was busy with work, there was no one to look after the children, so despite their tight finances, they’d hired someone. Fortunately, the children liked the ahjumma, so he’d been able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Even though he’d come out wearing his thickest padding in the cold season with little of February remaining, the chill seeped into every corner. Since there was no bus stop near his destination, Euiju headed to the roadside and caught a taxi.
Euiju, who had been gazing at the scenery outside without thinking, took out a notebook from his inner coat pocket and began skimming through it. He’d organized information about geography and places Haeseong frequently visited.
Jin Haeseong. As he came to mind, Euiju put down the notebook and fell into thought for a moment.
-Jin Haeseong! You…!
Despite receiving a baptism of spit from their very first meeting, Euiju looked down at the celebrity he would be in charge of without a single change in expression. A youthful and beautiful face that hadn’t finished growing yet stared at him with hostile eyes.
-Why? Are you annoyed?
The question asked rudely despite having committed a rude act held a faint hint of laughter. Euiju answered impassively, “No.” He really didn’t have any particular thoughts. Since Team Leader Kim had already warned him several times, he’d been prepared, and even though he was young, he was essentially Euiju’s superior.
He didn’t want to go against him, and honestly, Haeseong’s behavior seemed like the rashness of a pubescent child, so Euiju found it slightly amusing.
Director Jin Yeongseol sharply scolded Haeseong for his arrogant attitude. However, the boy seemed not to hear, letting it go in one ear and out the other while glaring at Euiju.
What about him had offended his young superior’s mood? Euiju deliberately lowered his head and cast down his eyes as if intimidated, making it obvious. Those immature, spirited eyes seemed to want the opponent before him to bend and kneel before him. Since he wanted to trample his opponent and reign over them, Euiju played along with the tyranny of the actor he would be in charge of from now on.
In the end, Team Leader Kim, who had roughly smoothed over the atmosphere, dragged Euiju out of there and asked with a flustered expression whether he’d met Haeseong before. From his reaction, it seemed this was the first time the young actor had come out like that from the very first meeting.
‘Well, it’ll work out somehow.’
What had grown rapidly while receiving unconditional, almost excessive love from his father and mother was persistence, patience, and the mental strength to endure any hardship. Hadn’t he endured trials completely incomparable to such trivial things until now?
Euiju put the neatly closed notebook back in his coat pocket and looked beyond the window. The sun, just beginning to rise, was dyeing the entire sky blue.
He could endure it.
No, he had to endure it.
***
Euiju waited exactly three hours.
-He hates crowded places, so he tends to go exercise early in the morning. If you wait starting at 8 o’clock, he’ll come out on his own, so you just need to go by then.
-Understood.
-Ah. Unless it’s an absolutely necessary schedule, don’t just call him. He really hates being woken up by the sound of a bell.
Isn’t an alarm sound or a bell sound the same thing? Even during the handover, he’d had doubts, but didn’t add more words and just nodded.
That’s why. The reason he didn’t call Haeseong even though more than three hours had passed since the appointed time.
“Fuck…”
Only when it was almost 11 o’clock did Haeseong come staggering along, rubbing his eyes. He muttered a sudden curse and looked up at Euiju standing properly beside the car door as if he was an eyesore.
“Do you know what time it is right now?”
For a moment, Euiju thought the words he’d been thinking to himself had unconsciously slipped out.
‘…Isn’t that what I should be saying?’
“If I don’t come out, shouldn’t you come up to wake me?”
Haeseong, who scanned Euiju up and down as if displeased, shoved his hands in his pockets and irritably furrowed his brow. Since he’d heard that Haeseong had been skipping exercise a lot lately due to growing pains and had simply accepted it being classified as an unimportant schedule, Euiju bowed his head. Though he’d waited three hours, a guilty person was still guilty.
“It’s your first day today. Don’t tell me you were late?”
“No. I arrived at exactly 8 o’clock and was on standby.”
Late? The wronged Euiju unknowingly snapped back a rebuttal. Haeseong glared at Euiju with displeasure, then kicked the van’s tire and said,
“Fucking stupid. Now that I know, open it.”
Haeseong rubbed his eyes with an annoyed face as if he wouldn’t lift a finger.
They said his knees hurt so he hadn’t been sleeping lately—the whites of his eyes were red and bloodshot. Euiju silently opened the van door. Haeseong, who climbed in, familiarly tilted the backrest and crossed his arms.
Remembering the team leader’s words that he needed to give him milk at a set time every day, Euiju took out the milk he’d bought in advance from the passenger seat and handed it to Haeseong. Though it had become slightly lukewarm since three hours had passed since purchasing it, it should be drinkable given the winter weather.
However, Haeseong’s eyes suddenly turned fierce after checking the type of milk.
“Didn’t you get the message? I don’t drink this. Go buy the low-fat one from manufacturer B.”
The milk Euiju handed over was a regular product made by manufacturer A. Hiding his embarrassment at the mistake of not checking the preferred type in advance, Euiju bowed his head and answered that he understood.
Euiju reached out his hand to receive the milk back. However, the milk didn’t land in his hand and was instead thrown straight onto the car floor, beginning to roll around.
Haeseong was grinning with one corner of his mouth raised as he looked at the dumbfounded Euiju, as if enjoying himself.
He’d thrown it on purpose.
“Aren’t you going?”
Haeseong, who had taken out his phone, urged him to hurry up and go with a crooked jerk of his chin. Euiju picked up the milk with its corners completely crushed and closed the door. He unknowingly let out a deep sigh, anticipating a somehow rough day ahead.
Since it was an affluent neighborhood, he ran toward the convenience store quite a distance away. After arriving and catching his breath while looking around the refrigerated section for the product, no matter how much he looked, he couldn’t see the product Haeseong was looking for. After searching on his phone and pulling up an image, he showed it to the employee.
“Excuse me, but do you not have this product?”
“If it’s not there, we don’t have it.”
At the employee’s prickly answer, Euiju left without hesitation. Seeing a convenience store from a different company across the street, he immediately stood in front of the traffic light. The fact that Haeseong was waiting in the car made him anxious, and he clenched and unclenched his hands for no reason.
Fortunately, that store had the product Haeseong was looking for. Carrying two packs of milk, he headed to the register and held out his card. While the employee was ringing it up, Euiju opened the milk with crushed corners that had been abandoned by Haeseong and downed it in one go.
The cool milk going down smoothly was only good in taste.
When he hurriedly returned, Haeseong was taking a light nap wearing an eye mask. When he handed over the milk after Haeseong woke to the sound of the door opening, he drank both packs right there in his seat and handed over the trash as if throwing it. Euiju, who roughly brushed off his coat splattered with white milk, returned to the driver’s seat and asked him,
“The Pilates appointment time has already passed. Where should I take you?”
“Just go. That hyung does it even if I’m late.”
Though he’d thought Haeseong would insist on not going since he was already late, Haeseong was stubborn. Euiju started the car and slowly departed.
***
After finishing his workout and washing up, Haeseong’s cheeks were fluffy. His spotless white face and red, plump lips led his appearance even further into the unreal. When Euiju opened the van door, Haeseong immediately climbed in. Since there was no other schedule, he set the destination as Haeseong’s home and started the car.
It was a car just about to depart.
“Go here.”
Haeseong suddenly showed him an address. Euiju, who had thought the destination afterward would be home, turned his body slightly and asked him a question.
“It’s not a scheduled location… May I ask where it is?”
“I’m supposed to hang out with friends. Just go when I tell you to go.”
Euiju quietly stared at Haeseong, who snapped coldly and lay down, then without complaint entered the address into the navigation.
